The War of 1002

by Fireheart 1945

Rating: teen
Tags: Other, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Human, Sad, Main 6, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Cutie Mark Crusaders
Length: 560452

A young man with a love of military history and MLP;FIM finds himself dragged into Equestria.

A young man with a love of military history and MLP:FIM finds himself dragged into Equestria as war threatens the pony nation.

I got the idea for this story from my Civil War book collection and Altoid's Blood and Guts and Ponies story, as it involves a human coming to Equestria to aid in its defense, partly by modernizing it's military and leading its forces on the battlefield.

Just a warning; the main character is Christian and pro-Union. Just to give people a heads up.

Published 2012-09-16 10:04:04 UTC
Last updated 2024-05-28 19:41:53 UTC

Prologue; a weird feeling...

James watched as his Urban Cohorts slammed into the unprotected wall of Pontic Phalanx pikemen, catching the opposing commander by surprise as his army was rolled up. The Roman forces chased after their opponents, slaying vast numbers of them as they fled the battlefield. Praetorian Cavalry completed the rout, as the Pontic general was cast down and killed.

A message appeared a the top of the screen;

"lol u got me there red roman :P but watch out 4 parthia"

James Lavigne (no relation to the hit singer) smiled. He was playing Rome; Total War and had just finished off the Pontic player after ambushing his troops with a strike from a nearby forest. Two opponents, the Pontic guy (whose username was "dedalus105") and a Gaulic player were already down in the free-for-all battle. Only a Parthian player still stood. However, he meant business. Parthia still had a good amount of cataphracts left, and his own infantry looked relatively untouched.

Well, this will be fun... I hope, James thought.

The odds were against James (whose own user name was Firestar1775). He was outnumbered and had a single unit of Triarii spearment to stop three cataphracts and perhaps 4 intact Urban cohorts and two archer units, along with a depleted force of Praetorian cav. He had this, plus 3 heavily depleted - which meant almost wiped out - Urban cohorts. However, James refused to just say "gg" and admit defeat"

If I'm going down, this guy will know he's been in a brawl..

Suddenly, he had that feeling again.

The feeling he was being watched.

No... It was the feeling that someone, or something, was able to see through his own eyes, and anaylze his thought process.

It was a strange feeling. The odd part was that this phenomenon would sometimes start, and then stop immediately; other times, it would remain for some time.

The times it seemed to stay was usually when he was playing a military video game, such as Rome, or when he was reading history. This puzzled James to no end, the fact that this... feeling... could select when to and when not to activate.

It was almost as if someone was monitoring him... for real.

James pushed aside his curiosity for the feeling for the moment. It could wait until this battle was over.

Parthian player advanced; his army was stronger, at least in number, to that of James' own. Several Eastern infantry marched over the plain towards his position, escorted by cataphracts, archers, and..

Damn it, how did I miss that? A unit of elephants was behind the main Parthian battle line. Although some players derided elephants as being useless and easily beaten, James knew the trouble and chaos they could reap if they were used well. They were also tough to kill, although javilins and pila could bring down the monsters. James had known, of course, that the Parthian (Decius994) had elephants at the start of the battle, but he had assumed that they had been killed by now.

An assumption that was clearly not correct.

James decided to withdraw into the forests to ambush Decius' army. Decius was still a ways off, and he had time to bring his army back together and bring most of it into the woods. One unit of archers wasn't so fortunate, and was hammered by a unit of cataphracts.

"Damn it," James fumed. He still had to set up his forces, and proceeded to continue his deployment.

However, in order to draw Decius' attention away, James needed a distraction to keep his opponent watching some other part of the battlefield. He decided to draw of his cavalry to flank the enemy line, as if he were going a after the Parthian archers. He wasn't really going to attack those archers, however; the goal was to preserve his forces and draw Decius' attention, not run down a few archers and get crushed by elephants and cataphracts.

Decius took the bait, as his unit of elephants and one unit of cataphracts peeled off. James withdrew his cavalry a safe distance away. While this had been going on, he had set up his forces in the forest; they were now invisible to the Parthian units.

Decius, knowing this, sent some of his expendable Eastern infantry into the woods and was met by the sight of a few Roman archer units firing at him. He sent in his other two cataphracts to crush the archers, only for James' Urbans to appear and attack from two sides. The Parthian cavalry was slaughtered and the survivors routed; Decius' general was killed when one of the Roman archers flamed him off his horse.

James sent in everything he had left at the Parthian infantry, and was rewarded to see his legions crush the Eastern infantry units easily. While this had been going on, Decius' remaining unit of cataphracts and elephants had still been chasing James' cavalry. James managed to bring one of his two Praetorian cavalry units back to kill the Parthian archers; the other was caught by the elephants and Parthian cav and destroyed; However, the unit did manage to inflict some damage before it was defeated utterly, and it delayed those two powerful enemy units from coming back to the fray until the rest of Decius' army was destroyed.

Realizing that he had no chance to win now, Decius made a suicide charge into James' army. His elephants managed to rout a unit of Urbans before losing most of their number and running amok. James's Urbans and Triarii managed to crush the remaining unit of cataphracts.

The other two players, still watching the game, gave James their congratulations, and even Decius994 said "gg" before leaving.

Most interesting to James however, was the feeling in his head, which was that of interest at the way the battle turned out and... was that... hopefulness?

James shook his head. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if he had lost. In fact, he had found some of his own defeats rather funny.

So why was there now a feeling that there was hope for...

The feeling, as if it realized James was thinking about it, suddenly disappeared altogether.

Odd.

James got off the game and the computer. it was time to watch another episode of MLP:FIM.

His interest in the show had been minor, until he had seen that video of Death Battles on Youtube where Rainbow Dash was paired up against the Decepticon Starscream... and Rainbow won.

He finally decided to watch the show after seeing this, still feeling weird about it. However, that feeling of "Oh this is weird - I'm a guy watching a girly show" went away when he had watched a few episodes.

There was no doubt about it; My Little Pony; Friendship is Magic was awesome.

Not that everyone on Earth felt that way. He kept his knowledge of the show a secret from everyone except his parents, who, to his vast relief, had accepted his interest in the show and did not think any differently of him for watching it. The internet was another matter. Here people bashed each other openly over the show and over whether guys who watched it were... weird or not.

The two episodes James was watching were the ones were Nightmare Moon returned, and the Mane 6 (as everyone but the show's characters called them) had to find the Elements of Harmony to defeat her.

James wanted more than almost anything to be able to get to Equestria and met the ponies himself.

He felt like a fool sometimes for that wish. It was fictional world. How could it possibly exist?

In my mind, he would tell himself. Occasionally, his wish to go to Equestria was so strong that he could feel it in his chest. It hurt knowing he could not get there, except maybe at the behest of God Himself.

Just as the group encountered the giant sea dragon who had mysteriously lost his moustache to a cloud-like wisp (Now who could have done that?), James felt the intruding presence again. He expected it to leave, and felt it was about to, until it noticed what he was watching.

James felt instantly nervous; this presence now knew he liked ponies. It might spread that information all over the world. He wondered, once again, if it was some new secret government technology.

...No. This felt like someone else's mind had hooked into his. Or at least, that was how he would have described it.

This feeling, this, intruder, had been coming into James' life, off and on, for around two months. He had wanted to tell his parents about it, but it seemed like such a minor issue compared to the chaos that a new baby in the family caused. James didn't want to be told off, so he had kept silent. And, oddly enough, he felt attracted to the strange presence, like he knew it from somewhere.

By the time James got back to paying attention to the show, the group had crossed the dragon's back and was at the rickety old bridge. The other seemed to have an interest in watching the adventure unfold, as Rainbow overcame her heart's ambition in order to fix the bridge, and it seemed to pay a great deal of attention as the final battle began and Nightmare Moon was overwhelmed by the Mane 6 and the Elements of Harmony, and James felt oddly happy when Princesses Celestia and Luna reunited... in fact, almost downright joyful, as if his heart would break from the happiness.

Wait, that wasn't him.

He wasn't happy... the feeling was.

The other suddenly withdrew.

James sighed. He didn't know where this... thing was coming from, or what it was doing.

He began to pack a nearby bag with books. He was going to his Pep're's (Grandfather's) for a good old-fashioned get-together. He began to think of all the things he would do while there; target practice with guns, paintball with relatives, manhunt (played at night, in the dark, outside, as was proper for the game), and a whole lot more.

James packed his own pistol. It was an authentic replica of a 1861 colt revolver that could fire real bullets, and James couldn't wait to try it out. He was a history buff, with the Civil War and WWII ranking high on his list of interests. The Warrior Cats series was also one of his favorite series. Speaking of books, James packed some of his Civil War history books and a copy of Harry Turtledove's The Guns of the South. He liked the book, although he was a Unionist at heart, or would have been anyway, if he had lived in the Civil War days. The alternate history drew him somewhat, but it was Robert E. Lee, and Lee's personality and code of honor that kept James coming back and rereading the book.

James had wanted, since 9/11, to lead armies into battle, to win the mind games between opposing generals, to conquer enemies of freedom, and, as much as anything else, to be loved by the men he lead. He would daydream of his imaginary conquests almost everyday. It didn't look as if life held those cards for him, though. Sighing at the thought of this, he put the final book in the bag, and placed his unloaded gun on top of everything else before shutting the bag and zipping it. He yawned loudly. It was only 3:30 PM, and he was feeling tired. He could suddenly see white at the edge of his vision, and his exhaustion drastically increased.

"Well, I guess I could rest my head on my pillow for a few minutes anyway," James said to no one in particular. He laid down, still holding the handle of the bag (which was designed for travel on airplanes and to hotels) as he fell back against the pillow. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness altogether was a flash of white li...

Hopefully that wasn't too bad of an opening chapter. I have plans for a good amount of action in the next one. The prologue was mostly to describe James a little bit and to get a foundation on which to build the rest of the story. I will try to make the other chapters much more interesting than this one.

Chapter 1; Rescue

A white flash...

Then black decended across his sight...

James woke up abruptly. His back was killing him (figuratively, of course); he was lying on something uncomfortable. He opened his eyes...

And was astonished.

He was lying under a tree in a dark forest. Foliage covered his view of the sky, though from what he could see it was daytime.

James sat up, trying to gather his thoughts real quick.

Okay, I get tired for no logical reason I can think of, I see a bright flash of light, and wake up in this... forest place with my bag under my arm... wait, what?

His bag; it was lying with his right arm hooked into it's extended handle. He quickly opened it up and looked inside, finding his Union kepi (unfortunately NOT a perfect replica, as it still had the plastic fasteners at the back), which he immediately put on to try to ward off the heat a little bit. The rest of his stuff was still inside, including his revolver and it's holster. He loaded the pistol, put it in it's holster and buckled the holster onto the left side of his shorts.

Well, now, where am I?

That was the $64,000 question. He wondered if he had somehow gone to his Pep're's and done some activity, and then forgotten everything up til now. He quickly cast this aside; his watch said it had been only 20 minutes since he had stopped watching MLP, and he would have been unlikely to have brought his bag with him for paintball or for manhunt.

James yawned, then stood up. He extended the handle of the bag, which had wheels, and walked over to a nearby... was clearing the right word? It was more like a small area where the sun managed to get a clear shot throught the leaves high above. He looked up, judging the sun's position.

He decided to head off in one direction that looked a bit more light than the others.

"Come on, lets go," he said to his bag, more to say something to ease the tension than out of expectation that the bag would talk back, and set off. It was not a long trip, but the bag slowed him down as it seemed determined to get caught on almost everything. He cursed as it got stuck in a small sandy place, and then got it out and kept going.

A town started to bear shape as the trees began to narrow. Well, at least I can get something to eat there, maybe found out where the frack I am, he thought as he continued onward.

There seemed to be a number of weird animals in the street, looking, from this distance like...

...No, it's impossible. This can't be...

And yet those animals did not change their appearance as they got closer. and the town's buildings looked really, REALLY famlliar...

...How in the world... this... is... IMPOSSIBLE!

He was in Equestria. That was the only immediate explaination his brain found. The animals on the street... were ponies. And the buildings looked familiar because...

This place... is Ponyville.

It was a startling realization. I've gotta be dreaming. He pinched his left arm three times, each time adding more pressure.

All three times, he felt pain.

And Ponyville, and it's inhabitants, did not disappear or change.

He stopped a moment to let it all sink in.

Wow, I'm really here...

He had little idea how it was even possible to be here, never mind the fact that this world was supposed to be imaginary, although, now that he thought about it, it must have had something to do with that white flash he had seen.

What WAS that light?

He wasn't going to get the answer just standing here. He began to walk forward, to go into the town, but stopped.

Hold on, these people might never have heard off, never mind seen, an actual human before. They might think I'm a monster of some sort, or...

Various other scenarios went through his head, most of them going poorly. He shrugged. He'd deal with the problem of being captured or imprisoned when it came. First, he had to know where he was... On the edge of the Everfree Forest, I'd guess. He looked around, taking in the details. Each pony's head came up to about his chin (James was 21 years old, and nearly six feet tall). The type of pony James had mentally labelled as "horse" ponies were significantly taller; "horse" or "stallion" ponies (the latter seemed to be much more accurate, as they all seemed to be male) had hooves which were a different color than the rest of their bodies, and they came from all three types of ponies. Big Macintosh and Fancypants qualified as "horse" or "Stallion" ponies. The houses were much more colorful than most human dwellings, just like in the show, and looked solid. James tried searching (eyes only of course; he would not actually be going in town) for any buildings he had seen in MLP;FIM.

Yes, there's Rainbow's cloud house, and way over these is Fluttershy's cottage, and there, that tall building...

He turned back towards Fluttershy's house, which was to his right, realizing he had seen three shapes moving in it's direction.

Those three... I can't make em' out much from this far away, but... from their colors, I'd say they were Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle, but what are they doing?

James remembered how often those two got into trouble on the actual show. Until and unless he was proved mistaken, he would believe that that wouldn't change here. And... if that was true, those three fillies would be headed right smack-dab into trouble.

James chose to follow them, hopefully discover more about his situation while doing so, and maybe keep the three girls out of trouble... through indirect action, of course.

He decided to stay on the outskirts of the forest, close enough to the town to see it, but not close enough for them to see him too easily. He tried going towards Futtershy's, but the bag slowed him down.

I WOULD have this problem with this thing...

Stifling a mental roar, he decided to leave the bag where he could find it; a particularly big tree with some light shining from the the ceiling of leaves overhead. He continued onward. Although he was worried about some animal jumping him, it didn't happen and he was able to get to an area of the woods. Fortunately, the Cutie Mark Crusaders seemed too pre-occupied talking to have gone very far and were just out side the forest boundary when he managed to crouch and crawl under a bush near their position.

"Aw come on Apple Bloom, we could have a good chance to get our cutie marks" said Scootaloo, looking confident and perhaps a little annoyed that Apple Bloom seemed to be reluctant to go with he and Sweetie Belle.

"Remember that last time we went into tha forest, with the cocka-thingy going and turnin' Twylight and the chicken ta stone?" Apple Bloom replied in that southern drawl James just loved to hear from anyone. "Ah don't want ana-thing like that ta happen again."

"Aw that cockatrice is probably on the other side of Equestria by now, after Fluttershy stared it down," Scootaloo continued, clearly undaunted.

"Yeah and besides, we're not looking for chickens this time around, so we'll know to look away if we see something with a chicken head," Sweetie Belle said, which suddenly made James uncontrollably think;

Maybe packing a pair of shades would have come in handy...

"You go to Zecora's all the time, whats the big deal?" Scootaloo demanded.

"That's diffrent. When Ah go there, I'm usin' tha path ta git there. I don't go wanderin' off it. Anything could happen if we just go wandering around in the Everfree Forest."

James started thinking as the conversation continued in this vein. He had a number of options. He could go out into the open and tell them to go home (or at least back into town), but that would likely just raise their curiosity, and curiosity could be like an illness; the more you tired to avoid the thing you were curious about, it more it would reel you in. Not to mention the entire town would soon know about him.

He could just stay here and try to pretend to be on of their older sibling catching them in the act, but he wasn't confident, and the only one he felt he could copy to any great success was Big Macintosh, who James had never seen go near the Everfree Forest.

Or he could just follow them. True, that was also dicey; something could sneak up on either him or the girls, and it could mean game over at that point.

James decided to follow them and see what happened. He had a gun, after all; none of the creatures out there would be able to attack without resembling Swiss cheese shortly after. Yeah, that sounded good.

He suddenly realized that the girls were no longer in front of the bush, and their voices and hoofbeats were now coming from inside the forest. He sighed and began to follow their voices as best as he could.

It seemed to be an uneventful trip so far. After 30 minutes of following the fillies and nothing even romotely interesting happening, James began to feel bored. And when he felt bored, he could become irritable.

He did now. He kept getting caught on branches, sometimes the girls would be out of his sight for a short while, and he tripped twice over large tree roots.

On top of that, the CMC seemed to have realized that someone, or something, was nearby.

It started when Apple Bloom, perhaps the most nervous in the group, heard something go "thump," which was James tripping for the first time. Scootaloo said that the noise had probably been made by a falling branch or fruit, and the group kept going, though they were clearly a bit more alert. The second times James tripped, he let out a small cry by mistake (or perhaps instinct). They all heard it, and this time it could not be said that something living was not nearby.

Scootaloo was insistant that they keep going, but both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were reluctant to continue on whatever foolhardy quest they had wanted to go on. It was only when Scootaloo kept going, threatening to go off all alone that kept the group walking on together.

Frustrated that his unofficial job of protecting the three fillies was made even harder by his detection, James tried to stay quiet, but was incapable of completely being inaudible, and kept stepping on twigs and getting caught by branches. Fortunately nothing had yet forced him to use his gun, and he began to think that maybe nothing would happen, maybe the three girls would go back after an uneventful excusion into the woods, and he would be able to plan how to get food, water, and shelter.

Then he heard a low growl.

It was low, but it was clearly audible; all the girls heard it, and began to look alarmed.

"W-w-what wa-aa-a-ss that?" Sweetie Belle shivered, hugging Apple Bloom.

"I don't know." For once, Scootaloo had no quick answer.

There was another growl. It was louder, and sounded canine.

Then a shape moved forward from the trees. From his knowledge of the show, James found the shape unmistakeable.

It was a timberwolf... and it wasn't alone. Four more stood up; an entire pack.

The three fillies screamed as the timberwolves began to inch forward, some licking their lips at the thought of such fresh prey.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders took off, scared beyond all reason, their blind fear rushing them even farther into the forest. James swore violently but softly, then began to run; stealth was not a priority anymore, and he couldn't just stay here and let the three ponies get eaten.

As it turned out, the girls hadn't run too far; they got cornered against a large boulder by the timberwolf pack. The pack began to move in, knowing the girls couldn't escape, and that they had all the tiem in the world to make the kill. At least, that's what they thought.

James unholstered his revolver and cocked it (James was right handed). It looked as if it had been loaded properly. However, this was the first time he was actually using a real firearm against a living, breathing (if a creature made out of wood COULD breathe), thinking lifeform. He hesitated; he had come to love animals, and although dogs were not his favorite, he despised the idea of hurting an animal just for the sport of it.

This wasn't sport, though; If he did nothing...

... Those three fillies will end up dying. I can't let that happen.

He took aim at the wolf closest to the girls; Apple Bloom was in the middle of the group, with the other two shivering and hugging one another, sure that the next moment would be their last...

James pulled the trigger. The pistol roared, and his ears protested at the deafening thunder; his hand was yanked upward was the force of the gunshot made it's mark. A puff of white smoke rose from the business end of the gun. It quickly cleared, and James was able to look on the scene again.

The timberwolf he had been aiming was was down, with a massive hole in it's neck. All the rest seemed confused and dismayed, both from the loss of one of their members as well as by the roar of the gunfire. For an instant, the CMC cringed and shut their eyes, then opened them and looked at the situation, almost as confused as their attackers.

There was no time to evaluate the girls' mental state, however; three of the timberwolves had recovered their wits, and one jumped at them, hoping to bring them down and claim the fillies as prey.

He didn't get the chance. James had cocked the pistol again, and shot at the bulk of the thing's mass; it's torso. The force of the shot hitting it pushed it a little off it's intended course, as well as leaving a hole though it's side that James could briefly see through. The beast's teeth hit the rock, barely missing Apple Bloom's face, it's fangs breaking off and further incapacitating it; not that it looked like it was getting up again any time soon. One part of his brain noticed it wasn't bleeding.

What a surprise... wooden monsters don't bleed, he thought quickly.

He cocked the revolver again, looking for the most dangerous target. The remaining three timberwolves had decided to concentrate on the new threat. They were looking straight at James and growling; he realized that he had stood up to fire, and that he was now visible to everyone.

...Blast!

The girls followed the wolves's gaze... and they saw him too, with the smoking gun in his hand.

All three wolves got ready to pounce; if all three of them did so at once, James would likely be fighting in close quarters with nothing but the butt of his revolver, essentially a club, and it would probably spiral downwards quickly from there.

"You run along home now, you hear me!?" he shouted, more to stun his opponents into brief non-action than to address the fillies.

"It can talk?" Scootaloo sounded very surprised.

It was also a foolish move to say anything on her part, as the nearest timberwolf turned back in her direction.

James shot again, blasting it's right shoulder clean through. It dropped, but didn't die almost instantly as it's two packmates had done, and instead yowled loudly. Also, as he fired that shot, one of the other wolves - the one on James' left - pounced.

There was no time to cock the gun and fire, so he whipped the pistol around so that it was now a club; the butts of old wild west revolvers had sometimes been used as gavels in old vigilante courts, so maybe it could do some damage here.

He jumped to his right as the thing pounced, but he wasn't fast enough; it's front left claws sliced his left arm, leaving three deep cuts. James cried out as pain gushed forth from the wound like floodwater. It was fortunate he wasn't using it for much at the moment.

Now angry, James whipped around and bashed the offender in the back of the head with the pistol; the wood on the back of it's neck broke, and the timberwolf howled in agony.

The remaining wolf jumped as well, though James saw this out of the corner of his eye and was able to retaliate in time, smashing the thing's nose and throwing it back a few feet as it too howled with anger and pain.

Taking the time to cock the pistol again, James saw the CMC still sitting near the boulder, watching the fight. Their eyes widened as James looked at them.

"Go on! Go home!" He shouted, hoping they would take hims at his word and run off.

Apple Bloom was the first to recover as she shook her head.

"Come on! You heard 'im, let's go!", she said as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo also tore their eyes away from the scene. They began to run as fast as their little legs would let them. One of the two injured timberwolves nearby tried to bite them as they passed, narrowly missing Sweetie Belle's leg.

James had problems of his own. The timberwolf he had hit in the back of the head had recovered, and growled at him. He shot at it.

And missed.

James stood there, surprised. He was feeling a bit low on energy, and his left arm was killing him. When he looked down at it, he was shocked to see how much blood was spilling from it. He was losing focus as well as energy.

I have to finish this quickly!

Luckily the wasted shot proved somewhat useful, was the gun had gone off not much more than a foot away from the timber wolf's ear; it was still stunned when he cocked the gun yet again (it was suddenly harder to do than before...) and leaned forward. The gun was almost touching the 'wolf's head as he shot it, blasting it's head clean off it's body.

Abruptly he was hit from behind; he fell over, the revolver flying from his grasp a and landing a couple feet away. He turned around just in time for the final standing wolf, the one he had hit in the nose, straddle his body, placing it's front paws on his right arm and chest, snarling.

Oh, I have had enough of you!

James used his injured left arm, the only part of his body that was free to retaliate, and struck the thing on it's injured nose with all the strength he could muster. His arm seemed to gush as mush pain as it did blood as he did this, but the force of the blow combined with his earlier attack on it made the timberwolf withdraw, yowling it's pain for all to hear.

James got up and leapt for his gun. he reached it as the 'wolf recovered it's senses.

James cocked the gun.

The wolf sprang.

James fired.

The timberwolf fell mid-jump as the bullet slammed into it's chest and tore through its body. It hit the ground, made one final effort to scratch James, who was out of reach, and then collapsed.

James took a moment to look around, wondering if there were more of the creatures out there. There didn't seem to be any, and the wolf that had tried to bite Sweetie Belle had apparently died while he was fighting the last two, so he stood up again. It was a lot harder to stand than it was supposed to be, and James figured, through the pain and loss of energy, that the blood he had lost had something to do with that.

Re-holstering his pistol, he took some of the leaves from a nearby tree and placed them on the wound. it wasn't enough to stop it, so he took more and piled them on the wound. Although the flow of blood was significantly less, it still didn't stop.

Groaning, he sat down next to the boulder where the girls had been trapped mere minutes ago; it seemed like ages had passed since he had first seen them there, in imminent danger. He laid his back to the rock, wondering if it was all about to end here...

Chapter 2; Respite

James began to lose focus as his energy poured away. His eyelids got heavy as he tried fruitlessly to keep them open. He lost track of time as it became harder and hearder to remain concious; clearly the makeshift bandage was incapable of doing it's job well enough. He had lost the energy to even cry out in pain.

Presently he heard, or though he heard, hoofbeats approaching, from the direction the girls had fled to. He used what energy he could to keep his eyes open, and saw a flash of orange and vanilla-yellow as his eyelids shut, and he fell back, back into darkness...

(Twenty minutes earlier)

The Cutie Mark Crusaders ran out of the forest as the large being had ordered. They ran into the town and kept running until they almost bumped into Fluttershy, who was accompanied by Applejack, near the library.

"Whoa, girls, no need ta rush,, said Applejack, who was a little put off by the surprise and - fear?- in the fiillies' eyes as they straightened up.

"Applejack, Fluttershy, thank goodness," Apple Bloom sighed in relief.

Fluttershy, noticing the girls' facial expressions, and becoming worried, asked "what's wrong?"

"You have to come quick!"

"He's in danger!"

"It's hurt!"

"Hold on, one at a time," Applejack said, nervous now.

Fluttershy, however, was moved to an immediate state of alert once she heard someone was hurt.

"Who's hurt? Where is he?" she asked, in a voice that would have sounded panicky to someone who didn't know her but was really of a caring nature.

"It's in the Ever..."

"Wait, y'all were in the Everfree Forest!?!" Applejack almost shouted. "What were y'all doing there?"

Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle all looked guilty. Scootaloo answered first.

"We wanted to find our cutire marks in exploration, so we went into the Forest to search for stuff."

"And did y'all stick to the path?"

"Well, um... noooooooo."

Before Applejack could start scolding, Fluttershy cut in.

"Nevermind that, is somepony hurt?"

"Well," started Apple Bloom, "he wasn't exactly a pony..."

"Where is he? Can you show me?"

"Now wait a minute, Fluttershy," Applejack interupted, "Ya can't just go wanderin' off into the Everfree to save some... creature we don't even know about."

Even a dragon would have quailed under the gaze Fluttershy now gave Applejack.

"Um, ah... okay, we'll go," Applejack finally managed to get out.

(More or less present time)

"It shouldn't be far now..." Scootaloo stated as they continued the slow walk though the forest. The only noise the five ponies could hear was the sound of their own hoofbeats and the occasional birdsong.

Suddenly Applejack tripped over something on the ground, something large.

"What the..." getting up and looking back, she was shocked to find a dead timberwolf, it's head blasted clean off it's shoulders. She began to shiver. Fluttershy was also scared and was on the verge of crying; however vicious some animals were, she hated to see anything hurt or dead, especially through violence. However, looking by a nearby boulder, she saw someone who she WAS capable of saving. She could have sworn it's eyes had seen them before closing.

"That's him!"

"He saved us from the timberwolves!"

"He need our help!"

Fluttershy approached the strange looking being. It had two long legs, and two long arms, one of which was bleeding profusely. It's head was round, similar in shape to a potato, and it's body was covered in clothing, mostly blue. An L-shaped sheath was located on it's left side, with something metallic inside.

She quickly checked to see whether the being was still breathing; it was. However, it was now unconcious and possibly going into shock.

"Wait here, I need my supplies." She quickly flew off towards her cottage to get bandages and hopefully some medicine, if it was needed.

James briefly regained conciousness, as he awoke to feeling something... different about his situation.

He was moving, though not under his own power.

He thought he could see a purple glow, as well as a familiar orange earth pony and a yellow pegasus on either side of... what was this, a cot or stretcher of some sort? He tried to straighten up, but found he had no energy to do so and again fell back into blackness.

Fluttershy noticed as her patient opened his eyes. She had found Twilight at her cottage (Twilight had been trying to get a book back from Fluttershy, as the book was now overdue) and had told her quickly that she needed her help. Twilight had quickly agreed, and followed to find the creature back at the rock. Twilight managed to make a stretcher out of nearby wood and leaves, using her magic to keep it together, then she levitated the thing onto the stretcher and were off.

Fluttershy was curious about her new patient, but worried; her own house had no room for any more patients, especially one that had a little more height than a pony. The three older ponies had decided it was wiser to move the creature into Twilight's house, which had much more room. Fluttershy was still worried, as this would still bring a large time delay into play; She couldn't teleport instantly, like Twilight, and flying took time. If the creature's status plummeted quickly, she might not be able to go from her house to Twilight's in time to save him.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had told everyone what had happened during their excusion into the woods, all leading up to the battle and how the being had saved them.

"It could talk? Oh my," Fluttershy had said, again excited but worried about the creature on the stretcher. She had managed to bandage it's arm, so the bleeding had stopped, but he was still unconcious most of the way into town.

The creature stirred, trying to push itself up. She was about to move her hoof to push him back onto his pillow when he gave out a sigh and collapsed back onto the bed.

James awoke yet again, though he didn't open his eyes yet. He could feel a stinging pain in his left arm, and he had to take a minute to remember what had happened. He sighed.

Well, I never thought I'd be here, in Equestria of all places...

Some people would have thought they had become insane, or that they were imagining things. James didn't. He wasn't stupid enough to push away the reality of the situation. All the evidence - waking in the Everfree Forest, the fight, the sensation of the pistol kicking against his hand as it went off, his wound - pointed at this world being fact, not some randomly generated dream.

He suddenly realized he was no longer wearing a hat. He opened his eyes and looked around, groaning a bit when his arm flared in pain as he moved, and found it lying on a bedstand close by. He also noticed his holster and pistol were lying next to his hat.

James took in his surroundings. He was lying in a bed, in a medium-sized room. There were stairs off to his right, and a window to the left above his head. On the walls were many, many books.

I bet I know just where I am...

It had to be Twilight's house/library. Few if any other houses in Ponyville could have had this many books in just one room alone. He sighed again, knowing that Twilight would have questions for/about him. He could think of several off the top of his head.

Who are you, what are you, how did you get here, what were you doing in the Everfree Forest...

He was NOT looking forward to that. He usually didn't like to answer personal questions, especially if the answers were demanded instead of asked, and knowing Twilight, they would probably be demands.

He quickly grew bored with the room at hand, and began to wish for some reading.

Now where are my books, they should be in my bag... Oh, blast!

Now he remembered, he had left the bag in the forest. It would be difficult to find now, and he clearly wouldn't be allowed out of here anytime soon.

A purple head appeared from the stairs. Spike.

"It's awake!" cried Spike, who then rushed back down stairs.

Great. Now I'm going to get it.

Sure enough, he heard activity downstairs; someone started talking (though James couldn't make out the words), then he heard a crash as something fell over, something that sounded like an apology and then some comforting words, then hoofbeats, many of them. Less than half a minute later, the entire Mane 6 trotted up the stairs into James' room, followed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike.

No one spoke for a moment. James felt nervous. He didn't know who was going to talk first, or who would do what.

Then the tension broke as the CMC rushed to James bed.

"Thanks for saving us!" All three of them spoke at once. They leaned over the side of the bed.

"Apple Bloom, where are your manners?" Applejack shouted, annoyed at her sibling and clearly worried that James might be dangerous.

James did the only thing he felt he could do to ease the tension; he patted Apple Bloom on the head, stroking her silky mane. She blushed and smiled as James' hand continued to stroke her. Applejack looked a little surprised at first, then appeared to calm down, saying "Awwww."

Pinkie Pie suddenly pulled a blue cannon seemingly out of nowhere.

Oh no, not now...

BOOOOOOOOOOM! The cannon roared as confetti and party favors flew across the room, with the party pony herself appearing at James' bedside.

True to form she started talking a mile a minute, with James barely able to make out anything she said, though that cute, smiling face was impossible to look away from and made him smile as well. He patted her mane as well, and she stopped talking and started giggling.

Twilight called Pinkie away from the bed, and James got a slight breather, though the CMC stayed where they were, still looking at their hero.

Twilight walked up, quill and paper being levitated in front of her. "Alright," she began, "I'd like to know your name and what you are please."

Drat! James lost his smile, and became nervous all over again. After a moments silence, Twilight said, slightly annoyed, "Well?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't like answering personal questions if the one who is asking is demanding an answer," James almost snapped. He felt sorry even before he had finished, and moaned as his arm sent a spear of pain through him.

Twilight jumped back at the admittedly rude response. Everyone moved back a little ways, but Fluttershy flew forward, noticing James' pain.

"Oh there there. Just relax," she said, patting James' arm. He took a deep breath and laid back.

Twilight stepped forward again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude or intruding."

"Well, I'm sorry too." James replied. He really was feeling sorry at this point. "I ask for your forgiveness, this stinking arm is still paining me."

Although she cringed, she got over it quickly. "Well, can you please answer my questions?" she asked, although more timidly than before.

"My name... is... James Lavigne." He was breathing a bit heavily; he was still nervous. "I am a... human."

He had been expecting a question to explain what humans were or where they were from, however, Twilight simply nodded, taking notes. After a moment she was done, though before she could answer, Applejack walked forward, took off her hat, and looked into James' face.

"Ah just wanted ta thank y'all for savin' mah sister," she said in a quiet and humble voice.

James moaned again, then said, "You are most welcome."

Now Rarity walked up. "I really must offer my thanks as well for saving my sister too," she said in her own quiet, but still slightly British, voice. "Really, timberwolves..." She shuddered. Then she looked down at Sweetie Belle, much more upset this time. "You must NEVER do that again, EVER!" She sounded imperious this time, and Sweetie Belle fell back before her anger, though Rarity quick turned back to James.

Twilight coughed, as someone usually does when trying to attract attention. "Anyway... what were you doing in the Everfree Forest?" As she said this, Applejack and Rarity both moved back to a more respectable distance. The CMC, of course, stayed right next to James' bed.

James sighed, though that was as much to try to let out the pain from his arm as it was from anxiety and resignation. "I..." He paused. He didn't know how he had got here, or how to explain it. He decided to try anyway. "I'm... not sure how I got here." He paused again to breathe a bit more. "I fell... asleep in my room, and.. ended up in the Everfree Forest." Knowing he would have to explain himself further, he kept going, a little less anxious now. "I was heading for this town, then noticed these three" - he nodded toward the Cutie Mark Crusaders - "heading for the forest edge outside of..."

Uh oh. He remembered that he had never met any of the ponies in the room (or any talking, civilized pony for that matter) before now, and had only seen them on a TV show. If he said Fluttershy's name, he would undoubtably be asked how he knew it. Then more questions and answers would have to be made, and they might not trust him by the time he was done. For all he knew, they might think he was spying on them and have him jailed (though that struck him as unlikely).

"Yes...?" That was from Applejack, who had seen James' face while he was thinking all this, and probably trying to find out if he was telling the truth or if he was hiding something. James decided to feign ignorance. Oh, he wouldn't lie; he would just leave some stuff out, hopefully explain everything better once his arm had healed fully.

"Outside of... a sort of tree... house... thing, and they were discussing something about cutie marks and going exploring. (He paused to catch his breath.) When they choose to go in, I didn't see anyone else to accompany them, and I followed them to see what happened.."

"Oh, so that was you who yelled out there," Apple Bloom interupted.

"Yes, I tripped a couple of times. However, nothing really happened until those - what did you call them? Timberwolves? - came along. These three (here he nodded to the CMC again) ran themselves into a rock, and those things circled them."

Everyone was paying close attention; even Pinkie Pie, who was eating popcorn as if she were at the movies.

Feeling a bit more confident, and feeling somewhat more energetic, James continued. "I pulled out my gun..."

"What, this thing?" Twilight asked, using her magic to take the aforementioned weapon out of its holster.

"Yes, that. I took it out, and shot all the timberwolves, as you call them." James saw a bit of shock come over Fluttershy's face, and saw the other ponies look at each other. He felt a need to justify himself. "If I didn't kill them, these three would be dead. That's the high and low of it." James looked up and saw a nod from Applejack, and then a much slower nod from Rarity.

Fluttershy, though still looking shocked, had calmed down.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Rarity burst out. "I'm Rarity."

James nodded, then groaned.

The rest of the ponies introdcued themselves, with Rainbow Dash going further and claiming to be the best flyer in Equestria (interestingly enough, she didn't see the disapproving looks just about everyone else, except Scootaloo, gave her as she said this). Fluttershy, however, had to be introduced by Twilight, as she couldn't say her own name loud enough for James to hear.

Spike suddenly belched, with a small wave of green flame spurting from his mouth, and a letter flew across the room into James' face, bopping him on the nose.

"Woah! Sorry dude," Spike apologised, running to pick up the letter. "Hey, do you have dragons where you're from?"

"Only those made of paper," James joked, thinking of the Chinese and their obsession with dragons and dragon costumes at festivals and culturally important events.

"Wow, dragons made of paper," Spike said, taking James seriously. "I wonder how they manage not to burn themselves."

James laughed and explained. Spike looked a little downtrodden, but picked back up.

"Spike, please give me the letter." said Twilight. Then, looking at James, she explained the way she sent and received letters using Spike. He just nodded politely. As if I hadn't seen it all happen on the show. She also said she had sent a letter to the Princess earlier, to inform her of James' arrival and injury, and then went itno a brief explaination of Equestria's rulers. Again, James just nodded politely and said nothing. He again noticed Applejack studying him closely, frowning a little. He gave a mental shudder. She knows I know more than I'm letting on. I really will have to explain this all later. I just hope Rainbow doesn't get up in my face and accuse me of being a spy.

Twilight read quickly. She gasped. "It says she's coming here, with Princess Luna, a contingent of Royal Guards and... my brother."

James felt hope drain away. Shining Armor is a tough guy, and if he thinks I am a threat to his sister... (shudder) I'll be no match for him in a bed. And if both Princesses are coming here with Royal Guards, plus their captain... Do they think I'm a threat? He had no idea what he could do if they were coming here to arrest him. Nothing, probably.

Applejack noticed his tension. "Now look here, sugarcube," she said in her normal Southern drawl (though James guessed they called it a "farming accent" in Equestria, as there was no reason for a Mason-Dixon line or for a "Southern/Confederate" identity to spring forth here). "The Princeses are the most kindly of folk, and they ain't gonna do anything bad to y'all." She spoke with utmost certainty, enough so that James gain some, though nowhere near all, of his confidence back.

There was a loud knock from downstairs. They're here already. Looking around, he saw that everyone else had similar surprised looks on their faces. Twilight read a little further; "P.s., I am writing this from the Royal chariot, so expect me very soon." She looked a little frustrated. "She should have written that on the main paragraph, not in a p.s.!" Yes, she looked pretty flustered. I would be too, if that happened to me.

The knock sounded again. Twilight recovered herself, yelled "I'm coming," and raced downstairs. There was the sound of a door opening, followed by what sounded like an exchange of greetings, then more hoofbeats came, getting louder and louder as the company below came up the stairs.

Slowly, horns appearing first, then crowns, then heads... The twin Princesses of Equestria appeared from the stairway, followed by Royal Guards led by Shining Armor himself. He looked around, saw Twilght, and shouted "Twily!" to which James winced; he could never get past that.

James did notice that neither of the Princesses looked hostile, though they seemed nervous, or was that just ordinary seriousness? The Royal Guards, however, were another story; even as their captain and his sister embraced, they encircled James' bed, their spears pointing in his direction. James instinctively reached towards his left side for his pistol... before remembering that Twilight had put it back down on the bedstand and that it was useless to him anyway; it had no ammo, and these guys would seriously outclass him even if he did attempt to use it as a club. Add to that, he was already injured and in a bed, lying down. He was just about helpless. And he hated that.

I have no intention of going to jail or into a circus ring. All his earlier fears had come back.

Princess Celestia, however, suddenly looked stern. "Soldiers, lower your weapons," she said in a clear and loud voice, though it was NOT the Royal Canterlot Voice, for which James was grateful.

They obeyed her, but one - a grey pegasus with a yellow mane and silver armor - was clearly not happy about doing so. "But Princess, the creature - it could be dangerous..."

She stared at the rebellious soldier. "That is no way to act or talk about your new military advisor."

Everyone in the room gasped.

Chapter 3; Explanations, a decision, and dinner

...Well, almost everyone.

James cocked his head, or tried to, as much as he could in a lying position.

"I'm sorry, Princess, I must have misheard you; I thought you just said I was going to be your military advisor."

Princess Celestia turned back towards him. "You heard me correctly, James. You will be our military advisor for the indefinite future... If you accept the position."

James frowned. Inside he was a little freaked out she knew his name. He opened his mouth to ask her how she knew it (as he knew Twilight had not been downstairs long enough to tell her his name), but she beat him to the draw:

"I have known your name for the past few months. I have stepped into your mind, and seen who you are and what you could be."

"It was you!" James almost shouted, the realization practically falling upon him like a flood. "You're the... thing, feeling, whatever... that I've felt every now and again."

She nodded. "And I've also seen your... show, that you watch us on. It is intriging to me how it is able to highlight so many happenings here so accurately and almost completely..."

She got no further before Rainbow Dash flew right into James' face.

"How have you been able to see us? Why have you been able to see us? Are you a...

"No I am not a damn spy!" James was irritated; this was not how he had hoped things would go.

The guards, startled by the outburst, raised their spears again, but at the orders of the Princess, they lowered them again. She turned to Rainbow Dash.

"No, he is not a spy. In his world, we are seen as fiction. Most humans, if not all, have no idea that we are real, that we are living, that we can feel and know."

She then went on to explain the T.V. show a bit, as she saw that James was not up to doing the task himself; she attempted to describe it as a better version of the projector (seen in "Hurricane Fluttershy"). James didn't think she did a good job, as they all continued to give him funny looks. Well, except for Pinkie Pie, who, although she listened, seemed to be doing so completely out of politeness. James wondered...

But he could not do so for long, as the Princess turned to him again.

"James, will you please accept the position of military advisor?"

"Why me, why not someone older, and better qualified for this? Surely there plenty of humans who are actually in the military who can help you better than I can." That was just the truth as James saw it. Celestia could have easily gotten someone like Schwartzkopf or Franks to lead her forces into battle and to modernize it if necessary. Why didn't she?

The Princess took a deep breath, "Because the... other candidates... would likely have thought they were insane if they were brought here. I can tell you don't think this way. Because you are not tainted with the rather violent, aggressive training and philosophy that they have. Because you are practically a genius in the games I saw you play. And... because you have a liking for Equestria. I think I can trust that any army I give you will be treated well."

James was speechless. She had just shook off his belief that another, older, more experienced person could have done the job better, and had praised him above what he saw as being realistic.

Shining Armor looked a bit annoyed, and James knew he was upset that Princess Celestia didn't seem to have faith in him to lead the nation's armed forces... for whatever reason she thought needed James. However, he stayed quiet. Luna was looking rather nervous, though the way she didn't ask any questions hinted that she and her big sister had already discussed James and his... appointment.

"Ma'am, I was only having fun in those games, and military history doesn't often hold a candle to the real picture." He tried to bring the picture around a bit.

She shook her head. "I chose you, above millions of humans, above many of our own people, to lead our forces. However, I do give you the choice of the matter. You may refuse, and I will return you to your world. However, please believe me when I say that there is a major threat approaching our fair land, and that we are indeed nearing a crisis."

Applejack spoke up for the first time since the Princesses had arrived. "Uh, yer Majesty, ah don't mean to intrude on this conversation, but what in the hay are ya'll talking about, crisis and all that? It's the firs' time ah've heard about it." she seemed a little miffed.

Celestia turned to the farmer pony. "I intend to talk about that to James, if he chooses to help us."

At that, James crossed his arms, moaning as the painful gesture was performed. "Ma'am, with all due respect, all you got to say to me about this threat can be said to the room at large, it's not like they're not gonna hear of it their ownselves."

Luna stepped forward, frowning; clearly she viewed James' words as a challenge, however small, of royal authority, and Shining Armor, who had said and done little up to this point, had a similar look on his face. Of course, as Captain of the Royal Guard, he would be loyal to his rulers over a stranger. And doubtless, as a Guard, he has had to keep quite a few secrets himself.

"What right have you, a creature from another world, to make demands of royalty?" Yep, she was a little pissed off. However, Princess Celestia cut in.

"He's right. I should not keep this knowledge from my trusted subjects."

Subjects. Hmph. As if they were all inferior by more than ruler and citizen. That was a little unjust, but James couldn't help feeling that way whenever that word was said on the show. In America, everyone's a citizen... except for illegal immigrants. Everyone has equal chance by law to become anything they want, within the confines of the law. Even the poorest man or woman could become president. His attention focused back on Princess Celestia as she began to speak.

"Our relations with the Griffons have been deteriorating rapidly. They believe amongst themselves more and more that Equestria is ripe for the picking. We have tried reasoning with them, but they believe in their superiority more day by day. Sooner or later, they will choose to turn to military action."

James held up his right hand; at the angle it was at, it was a little difficult to see it for the gesture that it was, the gesture that said one had question, yet the Princess saw it for what it was. "With all due respect, How far do you think they'll be willing to go? Will they demand concessions, or perhaps a slice of territory?"

"No... they want full conquest. They want all of Equestria."

Everyone really did gasp at that, even Shining Armor. The thought of an attack by the Griffons had apparently never occured to anyone in the room, even in their wildest daydreams. The thought of war seemed to be even further away, even to the guards; clearly war had not hit this land for an immense span of time.

"And the Griffons are not the only problem. You saw the chaos at the royal wedding?" she asked James, who nodded. "Shining Armor and Cadence defeated the Changlings and their queen, but they are marshalling near our borders, in massive numbers and growing daily."

She stopped as James raised his hand again. "Are they in conjuncture with the Griffons?"

"No, that is certain; the Changlings have no allegiances other than to themselves. This is unrelated to the Griffon threat, but is coincidental with it, and we cannot ignore either one."

She looked at him in earnest. "I ask you... no, I beg you, to become our military advisor, and help us in this war that is to come."

James thought for a moment. "This is really happening?"

"It is."

"...They're really coming?"

"Yes."

"And there's not a thing you can do to stop them other than by force of arms?"

"No. I can try to stall for time with the Griffons, though I can only promise months, perhaps weeks, before they cut off all contact and begin military action. With the Changelings... they WILL attack, and who knows when they will do so?"

James felt overwhelmed by the emotions and feelings that fell across him. "Can I have a moment to think about it please?"

She nodded.

James began to gather his thoughts.

First off, he felt a little upset that he had been spied on, and then obviously brought here, against his will... or perhaps against his convienence. His parents would be worried sick if he chose to help the ponies. And if it came to war, there was a possibility, no, a likelihood, that he would die. And even if he didn't, he would likely have to kill; true, Changlings were evil, and they were essentually vampires, sucking off of others' love, but it still felt... if not wrong, then troubling, to have to kill them. And Griffons, from what he had seen and heard from on the show, were civilized if, from the knowledge he had just gained, belligerent. They weren't naturally evil. Killing them wouldn't just be like exterminating evil bugs; the conflict with them would be against a people who had feelings and free will, who could think for themselves, who had lovers, sweethearts, and families.

However, a feeling of guilt arose; if he rejected this appointment, as it had been made clear he could very well do, he would have left the ponies to likely future of extermination, enslavement or at least of subjugation, depending on whether the Changlings or the Griffons won in the end. The ponies might win without him, but it was clear from the look on Princess Celestia's face that she doubted the ability of her army and guards to do so.

And now everypony was looking at him, waiting for his decision. James glanced in Shining Armor's direction, and saw that he had taken in the seriousness of the threat; it was clear he didn't want to face the Changlings again at any rate, perhaps out of fear for Cadence and Twilight Sparkle, if nothing else. James stole a look at the other guards; they were trying to look serious and tough, as they usually did, but James could see that they were also nervous.

He saw the fear in the eyes of the Mane 6, not fear of him, but for the situation they were in. Their Princess's despair of victory had infected them, so used were they that their leaders had solutions; to see Princess Celestia in doubt of a situation troubled them and spread her despair to them, even if subconciously. The trust Celestia had placed in James was clear to them, to the point where they trusted him too. Their Princesses looked at James with desperation, and the Mane six and the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at James in a similar way. He could barely meet their eyes without tears beginning to form.

And on top of all that, his heart was begging him to help them. That clenched the matter.

"... Alright. I'll help you."

Immediately the Mane 6 and the CMC perked up, as well as the Princesses; Celestia let out a sigh of relief. The guards, though, looked at James, clearly not trusting the being from another world in front of them. Shining Armor was the first to say anything.

"Permission to speak, your Majesties?"

Celestia looked at him, frowning a little; the captain's voice was noticably irritable, as though he had been left out of something. However, she nodded.

"With all due respect, this thing, this human... he's from another world. Why should we trust him?"

"Now wait just a cotton pickin' minute!" Applejack's voice was raised. Inside part of James sniggered. In some parts of my country, that might be seen as racist. It clearly wasn't here. Applejack went on, anger or outrage filling her voice, "This human just saved mah sister an' her friends from a pack of them timberwolves. And he got hurt fightin' em too! An' you ask if we can trust him?" Ah, so thats it. She must be really grateful I protected her sister. She has no other reason to be sticking up for me, and every reason to distrust me.

The Captain of the Royal Guard withdrew as if struck by a glove with a brick inside it, and the other guards, while turning in Applejack's direction, made no threatening move towards her.

"Captain, I understand any concerns you may have, but James has, in the few hours he has been here, proven himself trustworthy. He has my trust, and that of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. That should be enough for you."

Shining Armor, though scalded, was still upset, and getting more and more so by the minute. Princess Celestia sighed. "It has nothing to do with a lack of trust in you, Shining Armor," she said, and the captain perked up slightly. "However, we need someone with outside experience, who can train our forces in proper warfare, lead them into battle, and ultimately defeat them. You are a great guard, and a great captain, but you have no military experience against Griffons whatsoever, and it will take more than a love spell to defeat the Changelings this time around."

James tried to sit up, but his arm rebelled. Seeing this, Fluttershy came over to him.

"Oh you poor thing, you shouldn't be moving. Please lay back down. That is, if that's alright by you," she said, anxiety suddenly overtaking her face.

"...Fine." James did lie down, though his legs seemed to be fine.

"I do insist you stay in bed until a proper doctor can heal that arm of yours," Princess Celestia said, remembering for the first time that he was injured. Damn timberwolf. If it had missed... But it hadn't. The Princess went on, "You have also lost a lot of blood. You need to rest for a while."

"I can't do my job for you while I'm lying in a bed. The rest of my body is fine."

"...Well, I'll still have a doctor come to see you. If it really is just your arm, You should be good to go by tomorrow."

"Good. I can't wait." He could see Rainbow flash him a sympathetic look. Perhaps she remembers when she was stuck in the hospital.

"Now, I must return to Canterlot, to make preparations." Princess Celestia began to walk back toward the staircase, but before she left, she looked at James, gave giving him a small smile before leaving.

Princess Luna, however, did not follow her big sister, nor did she follow the Royal Guards as they left. Instead, she walked up to James, and stopped with her face not much more than two feet away from his, as though she was trying to study him. She stared into his eyes, making him uncomfortable, but he forced himself to meet her gaze.

"...You seem to be a very good person, James," she said at last. Where did that come from?, he thought. I've done very little for the community at large, until now anyway, and she hasn't known me for more than a few minutes.

She began to back away, but as she did so, her left hind shoe came off; before she could notice (and before anyone could tell her), her left front hoof came down and smashed it. She only noticed when the sound of bending metal came to her ears (not to mention everyone else's ears). She looked down and gave a small gasp.

"WORTHLESS TRINKET OF METAL! HOW DARE THOU REBEL AGAINST US! The roar of Princess Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice swept across the room almost like wind; James could feel it as much as he could hear it. Just like the Rebel Yell in the Civil War, he thought. He didn't want to suffer hearing the voice again, however, and neither did anyone else; Fluttershy was trying to hide behind a sofa opposite his bed, and Applejack had lost her hat, which had been blown onto a nearby plant. Caps lock; not necessary all the time.

However, Luna realized she had slipped, and lifted her hoof to her mouth. "Er... sorry, everypony", she said, quietly this time. Then, levitating the broken shoe with her magic, she began to walk out, offering farewells, and a rather heartfelt apology to Fluttershy, who, though still frightened, accepted it.

After Luna had left, James looked at the remaining nine ponies. The CMC had been quiet since the Princesses had arrived; so much that Jame had almost forgotten they were there. They were still near his bed, though farther away than before. James couldn't help but notice, however. Luna had not noticed her shoe coming off, nor did she realize she was going to step on it until it happened. He didn't notice he had said this all out loud until Twilight responded.

"Yes, our hooves cannot feel anything, so she didn't know until, well..." she broke off.

"But I noticed Rarity complaining, in the Hearth's Warming's Eve..."

Rarity answered this time, blushing slighty. "Yes, well, some of us can get a little dramatic sometimes."

"But then how can you pick anything up with them?"

Twilight explained that when a pony went to pick something up with their hooves, a beam of invisible energy would pick up the object. The mechanic was actually activated from the ankle (or fetlocks, in their case? isn't that what horse ankles are called?), and the object had to be touching the hoof for the thing to actually be picked up, shifted, or rotated. This was only true for the front hooves, though; the hid ones had no capacity to pick things up. I expected as such; rock hard, unfeeling hooves. They're basically used to it, since they've had to work with this mechanic since childhood. This explains it a bit better than I could have, though.*

With that explaination out of the way, James yawned, then looked out the window; to his surprise the sun was setting, casting a orange and pink glow across the clouds and over the horizon. Just like Earth... Well, MY Earth, anyway.

"Oh goodness, look at the time!" Twilight said, surprised. A loud gurgle rose, sounding out around the room. Everypony in the room started at the noise, before realizing it was James' stomach; he hadn't eaten since lunch that day, and that had been back in Maine.

"Why didn't ya tell us you were hungry, sugarcube?" asked Applejack, who was now smiling in a friendly way.

"I didn't want to impose, and I have nothing but the money in my wallet... Damn it, I left my blasted bag in the forest!", he hissed angrily, not upset with the ponies but with his own short-sightedness and the fact that he couldn't even offer to pay paper money that was probably all but worthless here anyway.

"Well, where did you leave it?'" Twilight quipped.

"I left it in the forest when I noticed the Crusaders going to Fluttershy's. I could see both her cottage and the library from there, and left it under a big tree. It wasn't too far into the woods.

Fluttershy thought for a moment. "I might know where that is. I could get it for you in the morning."

"But the timberwolves... I don't know if there are more of them. And the cockatrice, and.."

"I have a way with animals. I don't think they'll hurt me." She looked slightly scared, but her voice was full of confidence.

"I can't ask you to do that..."

"Oh, it'll be no problem at all, I promise."

Like how you said the Cutie Mark Crusaders would be no problem at all.

Before he could out-and-out refuse, however, Applejack came up to him. "Ya'll don't need to worry bout payin' us, we'd help anypony in need... or any non-pony in need", she added, noticing his facial expression. "And Fluttershy'll get that bag for ya lickety-split anyways."

"It's not just my wallet in there... there's a bunch of books, and a few more items that I... cherish, in there..."

He saw that Twilight's ears and eyes had perked up at the mention of books. Oops. However, at the look on his face she got it together again. However, her eyes still had a spark, lusting for yet more knowledge, knowledge only James had... or would have had, if the bag had been here instead of back in the forest.

Applejack asked, "Can ah use yer kitchen, Twilight?"

"Sure."

"Thank ya." With that, the pony with a southern/farming drawl went downstairs.

Applejack didn't take long to make a dinner that, though small, was capable of satisfying everyone. Of course, befitting her name, most of the meal was apple-based. James didn't complain; the apples here were delicious, and the sweet juice from the fruit helped quench his thirst.

At first everyone ate in silence; lying down, James couldn't concentrate much on eating and talking at the same time anyway. However, as the food dwindled, the ponies' curiosity of him became more and more evident.

"So, James, what's your home like anyway?" Twilight's question rang through the silence. Everyone looked up from their plates.

James didn't feel like answering. Still, he felt obliged to do so.

"...I live out in the country, next to some woods." That got a nod from Applejack. Surprise, country girl likes country.

Rarity sniffed upon hearing this, though Applejack didn't hear her.

Twilight then asked, with a small smile (clearly she was happy he was opening up a bit), "Do you have a country? What's it like? What's your people's current..."

James had lifted a hand to silence her. "Sorry, one at a time." He paused, hoping he could put what he felt into a good description. "I live in the United States of America, a proud country that espouses freedom as it's national idea." Every country James could remember had something, some idea, that set it apart. For the U.S., it was liberty. For Russia, it was a rough, tough, never back down attitude. Britain, royal tradition. Japan, a long reign and focus on family. "I live in the State - you would probably say province - of Maine, in the Northeast."

Rarity looked interested. Oh, you must tell us about the royal, er, American family."

James didn't know whether to frown or smile. With great restraint, he did neither. "We have no royalty in America."

Everyone looked up. James could swear he heard a bed spring go off. When everyone looked at Pinkie, he realized that he wasn't just hearing things; Pinkie was sitting there, looking like she had just hiccuped.

"Oh, excuse me," she said, looking a little sheepish. However, everyone went back to looking at James soon enough.

"But what other system of government is there?" Twilight asked this without hesitation. And it wasn't just her looking for an answer here; everyone wanted to hear the answer to this question.

No freaking wonder. They've lived over a thousand years with monarchy. with the same monarch. They can't imagine an effective government without one, or at least it's hard for them to come up with one.

"We vote for our leaders, in terms of four years, with no President to serve any more than two four-year terms."

The adult ponies looked surprised to say the least. "So yer leaders don't stay leader that long?", Applejack asked, her head cocked slightly to one side. Another thing I didn't consider. With one leader for over 1,000 years, they have confidence in her leadership and wisdom, more than we do in any president today.Well, Nixon and the Watergate scandal had fixed that distrust in American government in stone. Back in Abe Lincoln's day, people trusted the government. They don't anymore, blast it.

"We don't like the thought of one man taking power. We prefer it this way, over an absolute ruler who could do whatever they wanted with no law capable of stopping them." Looking at their faces, he added, "Not that all monarchies are bad. Princess Celestia doesn't seem like the bad sort. Princess Luna..." How do I answer this one without being insulting? Luna seemed to like the idea of absolute rule, albeit a benevolent one, more than her big sister. "...She's a little rough around the edges, but she's nice, once you get to know her."

"Yeah, about that. It don't seem right that you were lookin' at us without us knowin' about it," Applejack quipped.

...Drat. James wasn't keen on answering that one. That all said and done, he didn't like how that question had just come up, not least because he felt some hostility from it. "It's not like I was watching... private affairs. I could only see events linked to Twilight's friendship lessons. And as for me seeing you and you not seeing me... Think about it this way. Twilight, how many fiction books have you read?" He almost regretted adding that last. Before she could answer, he went on, "And how many times did you think those characters would someday be right in front of you, real as you and I are now, and talking back to you?"

She hesitated briefly. "...I never really thought I would meet them for real, though many times I wished I could."

James nodded. "I could see you through a screen; I couldn't see you for real. Most, if not all of us, think you're all fictional characters. Not that you are," he said, as Rarity began to inject her own opinion of this, "but that's how we see you. Therefore, none of us thought we we invading privacy or anything like that. We just saw some of your adventures."

The ponies calmed down a bit, and James sighed mentally; that was one little battle won.

"D...d... do you have, um, any, um, animals you take care of?" Fluttershy, or I'm a mouse.

"Yes. mostly a few cats." He wondere dif that was a mistake; Rarity's cat Opal was perhaps the nastiest creature this side of the Everfree Forest. He desperately hoped that not all cats here would be the same. "I've also taken care of a few horses in my day." Not that I've lived all that long. He resisted the urge to smile, as some of them suddenly looked a little shocked by this.

"You have ponies in your world?" Twilight asked.

"Yep. Truth be told though, they don't hold the smallest of candles to ponies here. Ponies and horses in my world don't have any desire to advance beyond the grazing animals that they are. They have no civilization, no language, and they don't typically understand when you talk to them." Seeing that they had all relaxed (again), he went on; Humans sometimes ride horses and ponies, for fun and for exercise." They all stared at him again. Blast it. "Most of them take care of their... companions, and a bond can grow between them, just like it would between a boy and his dog." James hoped he hadn't spread bad feeling about humans to the ponies in front of him.

After a long silence, Applejack smiled. Not that it was one that James particularly cared for; it was the kind of smile people have when they were thinking of mischief.

And she did not disappoint in this; "Ah reckon ah challenge you to a bronco buck. Ah win by buckin' y'all off, you win by staying on."

James digested this. Uh oh. Thanks, big mouth, for getting me into this. He thought about it. He had a fear for heights, but although Applejack's head came up to about his chin, he didn't think that, even if she did get him off, that he would go flying all that far. Plus, that grin she still had made up his mind. I am so not letting her get to keep that.

Quietly, he asked, "What do I win?"

That grin grew bigger. "If y'all win, y'all get some free apples, and a free room at Sweet Apple Acres while you're here. If ah win, ah get bragging rights, and you have to sleep in mah barn."

Oh, pride, how many nations have fallen before your blade! James gave a mental shrug. "I accept. Please wait until my arm has healed, though."

"Ah wouldn't have it any other way, sugarcube." Applejack was still smiling, but more sympathetically this time round.

"Aw come on, you'd have a better challenge with me!" Rainbow huffed.

Yes, and I'd have a hundred feet to fall if you did buck me off. No thanks. James wasn't all too inclined to bet that she wouldn't use her wings to try to get him off; to Rainbow Dash, flying was as natural as breathing.

Perhaps what he was thinking showed up all too well on his face, as she went on, forelegs crossed, "Oh, I get it. It's not like that, I'd stay on the ground like Applejack. I'd still have you off in a matter of seconds, though," she said, grinning.

Great, now I have two of them trying to get me thrown off their backs. He didn't have time to waste, however; already Applejack was looking at Rainbow in a familiar way, a way that said she was going to challenge her. NOT going to happen, I don't want a Mexican standoff here. "Applejack made the challenge first. I go with her." Rainbow released an "Awwwwww!" that meant disappointment. James went on, "I have Applejack to deal with first. After that, I think I might be too busy trying to train and upgrade an army to have much time for that kind of... pleasantry." Seeing she was still disappointed, he added, "I might be able to schedule some time between training sessions." Not likely. That's going to take up quite a bit of my time, but it might be possible. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Rainbow brightened up a little at this. Meanwhile, Rarity asked, "Do please tell us about your family, if that's alright."

James didn't like talking about his folks too much. Still, it was a question that he didn't want to brush off; he wanted to make friends here, real friends, no push them away. "Well, my Dad helps at building houses. Mom's... not employed. Not after having a baby two months ago."

"Oh, congratulations!" Twilight almost cheered. Everyone else used similar words.

Finally, after about five minutes, all the celebration from that began to die down. Applejack asked, "What do you do for a job, sugarcube?"

That last word is a bit repetitive. All the same, I won't bother telling you off for it. As for his job... "...I'm kinda looking for one." He thought about that for a moment. "Correction, I WAS looking for one, until I got here. Apparently, I'm now military advisor/reformer for Equestria." This morning, he hadn't had a job whatsoever. It had taken less than 24 hours to change that. Time, please take a damn day off.

The rest of the meal passed in silence as that last bit killed the mood; the only reason you needed a military advisor, or a military, for that matter... Nathan Bedford Forrest had once said "War means fighting, and fighting means killing." While disagreeing with the Confederate general on many points, James could see that that was too true. Deaths in Equestria tended to be from old age or from thankfully rare deadly illnesses, from what James could see. Taking life, however, was beyond most ponies' thinking. What will they do when they go out to battle? Will they fight, or will they run, or even surrender rather than killing? James could think of some brutal things human militaries did to make killing easier to take in the long run. James shook his head. I would not, COULD not wish any of those upon these people. I'll train them, help make war plans, maybe even lead them in battle. They'll learn on the battlefield, and they'll learn whatever I can pound into their heads before they get there. Giving up one's own morals in order to win is despicable when all's said and done. No, we'll win, and I won't make them give up whats good within themselves in doing so; and they WILL win. By God, he hoped they would.

Finally Rainbow Dash got up, stretched, and said "Well, I'm beat. I'm gonna go hit the sack."

"Ah need to be gettin' home as well. Come on, Apple Bloom."

"Awwwwww."

"Come along Sweetie Belle, you need to be getting to bed."

In similar fashion, everyone said their farewells and went home, although Fluttershy did check James one last time before leaving. Twilight and Spike simply said "good night" to James before leaving the room; Twilight was still looking very much interested in the prospect of reading James' books, as he had said she could.

All alone now, James yawned, growing tired. He laid back against his pillow and looked out the window to his immediate left. The stars shone and the moon was bright as he began to fall asleep.

* This is the hoof structure I will be using in all my stories. Also, the ponies will be speaking English unless I specifically say they are not.

Chapter 4; A new job and a not-so-new style

James awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming through the window. As he looked around, he remembered everything that had happened, everything that had been said. The realization hit him like a wind storm; these people really were counting on him, despite the short amount of time he'd been here.

He managed to sit up, though his arm protested. It was still hard to believe he was in Equestria, but what other alternative was there? He was convinced this was the real deal, not some insane fantasy.

Suddenly he heard hoofsteps on the stairs. A white pony wearing a nurse's cap and sporting a red cross on her flank entered the room. She gave him a brief look, then reached into one of her saddle bags. As she did so, Twilight Sparkle came into the room, with a small smile on her lips as the nurse pulled out a stethoscope.

"Morning James, this is Nurse Redheart, the Princess told her to check you out and see if you're o.k. to get out of bed."

Well, she did pull me into her world for a reason other than getting beauty sleep. As he thought this, Nurse Redheart said, "Yes, well, he's looking well enough to sit up, at least. I need to look at his leg... sorry, I mean arm," she amended, as James gave her a slightly puzzled look.

James sat up, pulled the sheets off himself (fortunately the ponies hadn't taken his clothes off to examine him after he had first been injured), and put his legs over the side of the bed. Redheart sized up his body at a glance. "So thats what a human (she pronounced it "hum-man") looks like. Could say more for the clothes, but that's not my job."

Um, If I'd had better warning, I might have dressed better.

"Well, lets see that arm of yours." He presented his arm, still bandaged, to the nurse, who then announced, "I'm afraid that bandage is gonna have to come off if I'm going to assess the damage."

Although a little worried by this, James did peel the bandage off, to reveal the hideous scabs and dried blood that mangled the surface of his skin. He was not surprised to see both ponies almost instinctively cringe at the sight. Nurse Redheart recovered quickly though. She set to work with an eye that someone in a medical field requires. She looked his arm over for a few minutes.

Finally, she looked up. "I don't think it's permanent, and I think it's fine to let you get up and about, as long as you don't put undue stress on your arm until it heals fully."

Phew. He sighed with relief at this, both verbally and mentally. He didn't like the idea of being confined to bed for several more days. The Changelings and the Griffons could strike at any moment. If I'm going to train the army, then I need every moment I can get. "Alright, thanks nurse."

She smiled at him. "No problem." She packed up her stethoscope and, after saying goodbye, left.

James got out of bed completely and stood up, stretched... Then heard a faint knocking that sounded as if it was coming from downstairs.

Spike came running up the stairs, huffing and puffing a bit. "It's Fluttershy. She says she's found your bag, James."

Twilight gasped... then put on a smile that would have suited Goofy. James smiled too, though NOT to the extent Twilight did; he did have limits to being silly. "That's great!" James said, elated and further relieved by the arrival of something from his own world, that he could relate to completely and use.

They all went downstairs. Twilight opened the door with her magic and welcomed Fluttershy into the house/library. The yellow pony was looking shy, as ever, but she managed to walk up to James. Her head does come up to my chin, so the height difference isn't significant, I guess, and she's dealt with animals a lot taller than I am. Heck, she stood up to a damn minotaur and was able to do it without a single stutter.

She still looked a little scared. "H... Here's your bag. I... I found it by the tree you said it was under." Yep, shy and scared.

James moved his hand to the top of her head and stroked it. Although she gave a little jump when this happened, she calmed down quickly and even began to look content.

He stopped petting her after a few seconds. "Thanks," he said quietly. He reached down and grabbed the handle. He now had a source of knowledge to draw upon, as well as his wallet; although he didn't have any Equestrian money, he did intend to at least offer to buy stuff rather than mooch off his new friends, and he also had some sources of identification. That could come in handy.

He walked to the living room with the ponies following close behind. He sat down and unzipped the bag; Twilight watched with a rather silly, massive smile on her face, pearly whites showing. It's not like this is a treasure chest, with you as a pirate. He refrained from laughing, and opened the bag. His Civil War books were the first things he could see.

He frowned. The book on top had pictures of a Union and a Confederate soldier, each in their respective uniforms, which was something James lacked, except for a not-so-authentic kepi. If he was going to be a soldier, he would need a uniform of his own. I'll have to make a trip to Rarity's. I hope she's willing to make a uniform for me. I'm not wearing THIS when I go out the train soldiers and fight.

Twilight was too interested in the books to pay any attention to James' facial expressions. "Wow... all this knowledge from another world... Can I borrow them? Uh, please?"

James jerked himself away from his thoughts. "Sure, you can borrow them, but I'll probably need some them again soon." He got up again and headed for the door.

"Um, excuse me, but where are you going?" Fluttershy asked in a quiet voice.

"I'm going to Rarity's..." He stopped. He hadn't thought this over. First of all, the ponies in the town would probably think of him as some sort of monster. He didn't want to get hunted down or arrested, even if that did end up being temporary. Secondly, he didn't know the way to Carosel Boutique. He'd be walking blind. And last but not least... Uh, what is third?... oh yeah, no Equestrian currency. That might just be a problem.

"Why were you going to Rarity's? You don't know the way... do you?" asked Twilight, who looked, at that last, slightly suspicious.

Sighing, James turned back to them and replied, "No, I don't." The fact of the matter is that the TV show is going to come back to haunt me like this over and over again. He would have to sort that all out later. "I was thinking about that. As for your first question... I need a uniform. I can't go around trying to get the army into shape wearing this", he said, gesturing at his current clothes. "And... I'm not sure how the peo... ponies are going to react to me. I don't want someone to go and yell "Monster!" when I go out the door."

Twilight smiled. "Oh, you shouldn't have to worry about that. Princess Celestia told the Mayor about you, who in turn told everyone in a town meeting today."

That was considerate. Relieved, James asked, "Can you take me there, please?"

Twilight and Fluttershy both nodded.

"Well, lets go then." James let the two ponies go out in front of him before he followed them out the door.

It wasn't the best walk James had ever had. For one thing, all the ponies would stop what they were doing and stare at him as Twilight and Fluttershy lead him through the town. Nopony cried out that there was freak or a monster loose, so the Mayor must have been able to convince everyone that he was not going to harm them. They were still clearly worried though.

After perhaps 20-25 minutes, Carosel Boutique was finally in sight. James sighed. Finally he could start to get down to business.

They reached the door; James knocked. Rarity's voice answered, "Come in!" They did so. James looked around. Rarity had apparently been busy; a number of dresses had been hung on models of ponies, in patterns primarily of blue and green.

"Ah, Mr. Lavigne," she said, managing to pronounce the name properly. At least she says it right. I'll never forget the time my college professor pronounce Lavigne as "Lav-ig-ney".* Why do people seem to have so much trouble pronouncing French names? "To what do I owe you the pleasure?" She seemed very curious. I would be, in her position.

In answer, James took out one of his books, showing the uniform of a Union Sergeant. "I'd like you to make me a uniform I can wear during my time here."

For a moment the white unicorn seemed starstruck. "You... you want me, to make you... a new uniform?"

I think that's what I came here for. He nodded.

"Oh, that's just fantastic!" Rarity exclaimed, giving a small jump. "I get to create a new uniform for the very first human ever to come to Equestria!" Her enthusiasm was overwhelming.

"Yes, well, its just that I can't wear common, casual clothing while training and leading soldiers, can I?" James stated.

Rarity calmed down a bit after a few moments, although still somewhat excited. "Yes. In any event, I'll need to measure you to get the uniform to fit just right. If you'll follow me."

James did. Twilight and Fluttershy followed him, into a smaller room. It's the exact same one where Sweetie Belle, er, cleaned up, to Rarity's disgust in the Sisterhooves social episode.

Raity turned towards him, levitating a pair of glasses onto her face. "Now, if you'll kindly remove your clothes I'll be able to measure you up nicely.

D'oh! James frowned... again. "Sorry, I can't do that."

All three ponies looked taken aback. "Why ever not?" asked Rarity, perplexed.

Should have known this would come up at some point. Drat! With a nervous look on his face, James said quietly, "It is inappropriate for a human to be seen without clothes in most circumstances."

"Why?"

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Do I really have to say this!?! A little annoyed, James said, "Because it's sexually inappropriate for us to be naked."

The three ponies all had shocked looks on their faces at this news, and they all gasped. Dammit. My temper got the best of me again. He supposed he could have said it better, and less directly. Well, that was all water under the bridge now.

Rarity spoke up. "Oh, I'm so sorry, my dear, I didn't know." Recovering, she kept on, "I suppose I can take the measurements with you... as you are, though the outfit might be a little loose."

"That's perfectly ok with me." James was relieved that that small impasse was out of the way.

The process took longer than James had thought. Rarity used the measuring tape well, though James might have added that it was a little aggressive, though not too intrusive. He had to endure the tape going under his arms, the measurement of his waist, the distance of his hip from his armpit, and more.

Finally, Rarity was finished. "Now, it shouldn't take more than a day for me to get this whole thing done. I think it will be ready by noon tomorrow."

"That's great!" Reaching for his wallet, James went on, "How much... ohhhhhhh." His voice deflated like a balloon without it's end tied up. He stared at the contents of his wallet; a couple hundred dollars and some change. All very good... in America. Who knew what it was worth here, or if it was worth anything? Uggghhh, why didn't I mention this earlier?

"What was that, darling?" Rarity turned around.

James sighed. "I was asking how much you wanted me to pay for this, but..." he opened his wallet and and flipped it so that she could see inside it somewhat. "I'm afraid I don't have any Equestrian money to pay for it."

She looked into his face. "Oh, dear, I'm not charging you anything. It's completely free."

James was surprised. Yes, Rarity was the Bearer of the Element of Generosity, but it still didn't seem to make sense to wave away the offer of payment. You couldn't stay in business long if the prices were free. Bemused, James simply said, "Thank you, ma'am. That will make everything a little easier, in any case."

Rarity smiled. "It's my pleasure. I do love taking on a new project every now and then."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Rarity answered, "Coming!" and went to do so. Everyone else followed.

Rarity opened the door; Rainbow Dash flew into the room, looking a little tired. She panted a little, then looked up. "Have any of you seen Ja..." She then saw James standing behind Twilight and Fluttershy. "Ok, good. You have to come right now; the Princess and Shining Armor are at Twilight's, they say they have to talk to you!"

They would show up in the few minutes I'm away. Clearing his head, James said, "Then we must go at once."

Shining Armor was not in the best of moods. He was still somewhat put off by the fact that a... human, of all things (and from a different reality/universe/world to boot), had been tasked to train and lead the army. Not to mention James was nowhere in sight. While Spike had informed him and the Princess why James had left and where he was going, it was still inconvienent to have to wait while Rainbow fetched him.

James came into the house at last, followed by Rainbow, Twilight, and Fluttershy. Shining stood up to his tallest height; to his relief, he had a slight height advantage over the human. That was comforting, though it meant little.

"Ah, James," the Princess said, not bothered in the least by his temporary disappearance, "we have a few things to discuss that we unfortunately did not have time to yesterday."

"Hmmm." James gave a small nod. "And what is up for discussion?"

Doesn't he know who he's talking to? How important she is? Shining thought, somewhat miffed by the short response. Apparently not. Princess Celestia went on, "First, what is necessary for the creation and maintainance of a military force?"

James sat down on the couch opposite, a hand under his chin; Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy kept standing. "Food, as always." The Princess laughed, although neither Shining or James did. The latter went on, "There needs to be conscription or a draft of some sort, if the Royal Guard is not going to be the only Equestrian force out in the field. Tents, firewood, weapons, the whole bit. And, if I might add, I personally think that spears alone will not hold off the enemies now opposing us. Weapons development and research should be a priority."

Shining was a bit annoyed by those last ouple of sentences; it seemed like James was belittling the Guard. However, the Princess again took no action to correct this, and only nodded. "I knew as much already. Our merchants in the Griffons' capital city - who I asked to gather intellience during their trips there - have reported seeing Griffon warriors armed with crossbows and swords."

Shining took a step back; he hadn't thought the Princess had taken such a step. James raised his right eyebrow, but asked no questions on the subject. "As you may or may not know, I came into this world armed with a weapon which is superior to crossbows in accuracy and stopping power. Might I go retrieve it?"

The Princess nodded. James went upstairs quickly, then came back clutching something; a long tube with a large cylinder at one end and a wooden grip below and to the rear of the cylinder. Shining was curious, as well as skeptical. A weapon superior to crossbows and spears? Not likely. However, he said nothing.

James then asked "May give a demonstration of this weapon?"

Princess Celestia shook her head. "Maybe another time. However, you can tell us how it works."

James nodded again. "Alright. This is a rather antique gun, but similar designs should work for the army, if they are armed with firearms. Here's how to load the piece." He did so; it was clear now that it was a projectile weapon. 'Now, to ready the pistol for firing, cock the hammer, like so," he said, doing it, "and you're ready for firing, by pulling the trigger." He looked at the pistol. "Well, building guns without a trigger guard seems necessary, as pony hooves are unable to get a grip on the trigger as is."

Shining now suddenly remembered hearing about guns before; they had been an experimental project, that had seen wide media coverage. They hadn't been contructed by ponies, of course, but in any event the project failed to achieve the desired results. And, he noted, shivering a little inside, it had been a Griffon project. If they decided to try again, and got it right...

James might be right; guns are superior to anything we currently have. Again, he stayed quiet, trying to size up the human and his ideas.

The Princess said, "I'll have to make preparation for the draft. I'll call on ponies from all four corners of Equestria to counter the Changeling and the Griffons." She sighed, clearly regretting the need for war, yet unwilling for the citizens of the country she ruled to be brought underfoot by the soon-to-be invaders.

James unexpectedly frowned. Shining thought he would have been happy to hear that last. He went on to ask a question; "Ponies? Not stallions, your majesty?"

She looked at him. "Is there a problem?"

"Well... yes. Simply put, if you have female troops mixed in with males... well, that will lead to love, and where there's love there's... errrr... foolishness, if you know what I mean. And the... relationships will likely hurt the army's ability to conduct warfare."

Foolishness? what did he mean by... oh. He made a face; he couldn't help it. However, as he recovered, he gave the idea more thought. Yes, that would be... distracting, to say the least. And we need every soldier we have to concentrate on the job at hoof. Yes, James seemed to know his stuff, even going into details that would have seemed mundane or that would have been ignored altogether. He had expected James to discuss battle tactics and campaign plans first, and then go into other details, if at all. The imagination and the reality were, as so often happens, quite different.

The Princess nodded, showing no signs of disgust at all. "I suppose you have a point there."

"How much time can you get me?"

"Pardon?"

"How much time can you buy at the negotiations? I'll need every day, week, and month to train the army, and the more time you and the other Equestrian diplomats can get, the better the army turns out altogether, not to mention the research and development of new weapons."

The Princess frowned, though she was not angry at James. "I don't know for sure. How much time is really necessary?"

James thought for a few seconds; "Between training and re-equipping the army, the amount of time it will take for significant numbers to reach the training fields... I'd say maybe three months, at least, and the results from that will probably be rudimentary at best."

Shining was surprised again; he had thought the human would demand a year or more; Royal Guards definitely required that much time and more to be able to report officially for duty. The Princess's frown did not go away, however. "I might be able to get you one month; I'm not sure how long I can keep them... reasonable."

Now it was James' turn to sigh. "I suppose I can train 30 day wonders, though I had thought 90 to be better overall."

Shining thought James had referenced something just now, but didn't know just what. In any case, it was irrelevant to the current subject. Princess celestia said, "I have already ordered a training area made just outside of Ponyville. The camp will be set up nearby." Then, losing the frown, she went on, "I have also decide that your current ranks" - here she glanced at Shining Armor as well - "are insufficient for you. As of now, Shining Armor, you are a Brigadier General, with all the priviledges and responsibilities that go with that title."

Shining Armor was speechless for a moment. A...a... general? Me? Then, managing to recover some of his wits, he stammered, "It... It's an honor, thank you your majesty." He thought about it all again for a few seconds. "But who will lead the Royal Guard?"

Princess Celestia turned to him. "You will. The guard will be deployed on the battlefield, as they already have some training to speak of, and are highly disciplined." She turned back to James. "As for you, you are now a Colonel, with the corresponding privileges and responsibilities that implies. However, you will still advise me and our army commanders on what to do in this crisis."

James was stunned for a few seconds, then said, "So basically, I'll be inferior in rank, but superior in influence and knowledge." He did not say it was if it were a question.

"Yes." Looking at both her new army officers, she went on, "I will leave you two to get aquainted. I must see that the necessary measures are taken in Canterlot." She began to walk out the door, then turned to James.

Both males in the room were utterly taken back by the question she now asked; "James, do you, like so many of my subjects, see me as a goddess?"

James was flustered to say the least. He was a Christian, believing in only one God and no other ANYWHERE, even in another world. Now is the moment I had hoped wouldn't come. My answer may well insult the Equestrians.

"No." He said. "I do not. There is only one God and no other."

Shining Armor looked shocked and offended, as expected. His face, however, was nothing compared to Twilight's; She was stammering, clearly trying to raise an argument, while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy just stared, mouths agape. Princess Celestia, however, smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. I am not a deity, though many of my subjects see me as such. I must confess, I sometimes like being thought of as such, but it is untrue. I manipulate the sun, and can manipulate the moon, through magic alone, though through magic of levels that none but an alicorn or the Bearers could summon. And our longevity in life is similar to the fantasy creatures you call elves; we can live a very long time, but we are not invulnerable to wounds or disease."

James smiled himself. "So you just like the title of deity, despite it's inaccuracy."

She blushed. "Yes. It's rather flattering, and one thousand years and more ruling Equestria have not removed some things from my personality."

James couldn't hold it in anymore; he laughed, long, loud, and hard, and the Princess laughed with him, with a shocked, open-mouthed Shining Armor looking on, speechless.

James managed to regain control and decided to mention something else he had thought of. "I also suggest, if you do allow females in the army, that the Bearers are not allowed in. Not because of any lack of bravery or patriotism," he said, because Rainbow was looking like she would kill him in a few seconds, "but because... all that chaos, that the battles will create... Who would benefit from it all?"

Princess Celestia stopped smiling and frowned. "Discord," she said quietly.

James nodded somberly. "I know the Elements sealed him away, but... do you want to take the chance that he will escape to wreak havoc, while the nation's forces are at the front lines and in no condition or position to stop him?"

She clicked her tongue; She apparently hadn't thought of this. Neither did anyone else. The formerly furious Rainbow now looked nervous and thoughtful, while Fluttershy was visibly shaking and Twilight was looking at James with determination and... was that a newfound respect? He wasn't absolutely sure, but he thought it was.

Thinking out loud, Celestia said, "But the only reason he escaped in the first place was because Luna and I had lost control of the Elements, and our power drained away slowly from his prison, eventually freeing him."

"Do you really want to take the chance?"

"...No." Her voice was firm. "If there is any chance the spirit of chaos could escape, then the Bearers must remain in Ponyville." The other ponies in the room nodded, though Rainbow Dash still looked disappointed.

James said, "Is that everything for now?"

The Princess nodded. "Yes it is. And now, I take my leave. I hope to see you soon, Colonel." She walked out of the library. Everyone watched her go. The door shut behind her.

James turned to Shining Armor. "So, what do we do now brother?"

*While James Lavigne is not my name, I do have a French surname and every college professor I have seems to get it wrong at least a few times; it's very annoying.

Also, Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence will NEVER be deities in my stories. Make of that what you will, I don't consider it an issue and some other authors have stories specifically claiming that they are not deities. Discord will never be one either in my stories; he is just what he is called; a spirit of chaos, nothing more, nothing less.

I will also edit my chapters as I think is necessary. Hopefully I made chapter 3 a bit better than it was.

Chapter 5; Chess and a massive surprise

Shining Armor turned to James, who in turn looked at him. Neither of them said anything for a moment.

Finally, the stallion broke the silence; "The only one who can call me "brother" is Twilight, and don't you forget it," he said, pointing his hoof in her direction. He didn't sound outraged or particularly angry; he just said it.

James relaxed a little. "Alright. I think we still have a few things to discuss."

"How about a game of chess? You play, don't you?"

At least he's warming up to me. Although he had been caught off guard a little by Shining Armor's suggestion, James nodded. "Yes, I play chess a bit. It will give us something to do as we discuss any outstanding problems."

"Alright then."

James looked at Twilight. "If you have a chess set, may I please borrow it?"

She nodded. "Of course." Then, as James went to sit on the couch (there was a small table on which to set the chess board in front of it), she whispered in his ear, "Be careful. My brother plays this game a lot, so he's dangerous to a new player."

"Good thing I'm not new to this game." James sat down as Twilight walked out of the room, returning a few minutes later with a chess set.

"Aw, lame." Rainbow Dash yawned. "I'm going to go check on the weather." She flew out of the house.

Why does everyone hate on the classics? Before he could remark on that, Shining asked, "Care to pick a side?"

"I'll be..." He thought for a moment. "I'll be White."

They set up the pieces; they were noticably different to any chess pieces James had used before, mostly due to the fact that they were pony-based rather than human-based, but each piece served the same function as would it's human-made counterpart.

After they were done setting up the pieces, James made his first move; 1. e4. It was White's standard move, allowing for the queen and bishop to develop quickly, as well as deploying a pawn towards the center. He remembered that Bobby Fischer had said "1. e4 I win!" It certainly fit in with his swashbuckling, aggressive play.

Shining thought for a moment, then played 1... Nf6. It was an aggressive move, threatening the pawn on e4.

Nc3. Protecting the pawn and developing the knight.

As he waited for his opponent to make his next move, James asked, "Does Equestria have any sort of artillery at it's disposal?" He had forgotten to ask this earlier. He knew cannons were known to the ponies (just ask Pinkie Pie and her party cannon), but they might not be weapons of war in this country.

2... e5. "Yes, some old cannons. Not sure how effective they'll be though."

Nf3. "Good to hear. If we can get breach-loading cannons, that would be great."

3... Nc6. "Oh, you have cannons that don't require muzzle-loading?"

Bc4. "Yep." And we've had them for quite a while. "Also, developing a crossbow with a trigger accessable to ponies should be a priority, and then we can work our way up to guns. I'm not sure how much gunpowder Equestria has, or if it can be made, but the stuff to build crossbows is definitely in supply."

4... g6. Going for the dragon, hmm? James thought, before Shining answered his previous statement; "I suppose you're right, and it might be easier to start out that way."

b3. If you're going to fianchetto, then I might as well try it as well. At least it leaves my back row less vulnerable than d4. "Is there anywhere suitable nearby to set up the training camp? We'll have quite a few volunteers, not to mention the draftees and conscripts."

5... Bb4. Attacking the knight. "Actually yeah, there's a space to the north of Ponyville where we can set up the camp."

Drat! The moment of decision. James knew that if he ignored the bishop and kept on with his development, his knight might be taken; in any event it was a threat to his own plans. If he made the move a3, he wouldn't have an effective place to castle his king, and Shining would be able to act accordingly.

He chose to develop the bishop; it would help to protect the knight, although the bishop was worth the same as the piece it was attacking; if Black chose to take it anyway, he could, and both sides would lose three points.

Bb2 a6.

Qe2. "That sounds good. I hope the materials to build it are either here or on their way."

7... d6. "They're on their way. The Princess told me before we came today."

James took a look at the board. While more of his pieces had developed, he felt cramped. Shining had broken John Nunn's rule of no more than three pawn moves in the first eight, but his pieces had more room.

0-0-0. James usually prefered to kingside castle, he hoped he was gaining an advantage here, as Black's queen would have to spend a few moves to really become a threat to his king.

He could see from Shining's face that he had expected James to castle the other way; however, he moved his own bishop to g4, pining White's knight to the queen.

The game continued for a few more moves without any pieces being taken, but it couldn't last forever, and Shining went on the offensive, leading to a massive clash as both sides tried to get control of the center. Neither side really won out here; James lost both his knights, but kept his bishops while taking a knight and a bishop from the enemy. Both players lost a couple pawns.

The game progressed for a while after this, as James kept trying to gain control of the left side of the board (from his perspective anyway) in an attempt to flank Shining's king, which had castled kingside. This proved excessively difficult, as Shining kept sniping as James' king and he had to send his own forces to counter it. James finally gave up on his idea.

Finally, James gained the upper hand (for him anyway). He managed to capture all of Shining's pieces, but lost everything except one of his pawns due to Black's successful use of his king and James' own lack of caution at this point. The game proceeded to a king-and-pawn-vs.-king endgame. Shining managed to use his king to block James entirely.

One space. That's all that stands between me and a new queen, and ultimately victory! James then made the mistake that cost him the game; Shining's king stood between James' pawn; however, due to White's own king standing behind the pawn, he could not move his king. Stalemate.

Rrrrrrrr... damn it.

To his relief, Shining did not look conceited, just glad that he didn't outright lose. It had been a good game overall. Twilight had followed the game intensely, though Fluttershy had left in the middle of the game to care for some of the animals she was currently nursing.

Shining offered his hoof to James, who shook it. "That was intense," said the stallion.

"Hmm." James nodded. "After I knocked your rook out of the game, I thought I had it in the bag. Good game."

"Good game indeed." Then, grin slipping somewhat, Shining added, "I'm... sorry about how I've been acting towards you."

James bowed his head. "I understand. I'm sure someone in my world would feel and act the same way. Please rest assured that I have no intentions of stepping over my boundaries." Unless I have an idiot commanding me. That didn't seem likely to happen with Shining Armor; he seemed to be a listening type who could take suggestions as long as they were good ones. Someone like Prince Blueblood, though... James shivered on the inside. If he ever takes command, we shall be ruined.

Shining Armor nodded at this. "I know that now." He suddenly looked at James a bit more seriously. "What's the matter?"

"I was just thinking of what kind of disasters Equestria would be in if someone like Prince Blueblood got a major command."

Shining shivered visably. "Yeah. Most ponies who meet him don't typically come off liking him. His name basically says it all; believes in his own superiority down to the core."

"Yes, I saw that when I, er, saw the Grand Galloping Gala. I won't go any further; if you want to know more, ask Rarity."

"Yeah, I heard it from her after the wedding..." His eyes narrowed. "How much of that did you see on that, uh, show of yours?"

"I saw enough to see the opposite of what usually happens in fairy tales; instead of the knight in shining armor saving the princess, the princess had to save the knight in shining armor."

"Hey, my mind had been taken over by that..." He looked harder at James face and noticed the amused smile he was wearing. "You're not as funny as you think you are." However, he relaxed. "You're not all that bad. How about we head over to Applejack's for some cider?

"Alright." James ate apples, of course, but wasn't generally a fan of apple-flavored products. It would have seemed rude to refuse though. He did have a question; "Is it an alcoholic beverage? I never could tell..."

"No, no, nothing like that. Its more like an apple-flavored soda. Equestria doesn't have much of an alcohol industry, and we don't import much of it."

"Oh, ok." James had sworn to God that he would never drink, and that promise had been made in his teenage years.* Sometimes he regretted that promise, but it had seemed worth making at the time; at least he wouldn't be the cause of an alcoholic mishap, and would never have to worry about being busted by the police for drunk driving. "Twilight, do you want to come with us?"

"Oh, yes, I can't pass up a visit to Sweet Apple Acres, especially for some cider."

Again, Twilight had to lead the way, as James didn't know the way despite his knowledge of the show. Again, all the ponies on the street gawked at him, and he tried to look away whenever this happened; this proved impossible, as ponies were spread in almost every direction, and his face could be seen from at least one direction no matter what he did. He could hear them whispering as he went by, though they oh-so-mysteriously quieted down whenever they noticed he was looking in their direction.

Finally, the farm came into view. James could see the massive red barn in the distance. It was a relief to get out of the town proper, and away from all those stares. Off course, the walk to Applejack's wasn't completely free of distractions regardless; James was trying to think about how he would train the army he was to command, but the sharp clip-clop of Twilight's hooves and the much heavier falls of Shining Armor's rendered this almost impossible.

They walked up the path to the house; James was just thinking of getting something to drink, whether cider or not, when a loud boom went off inside the massive red building.

Uh oh. James had forgotten to fasten his holster, pistol and all, to his waist; he had left it in Twilight's library. That seemed to have been a mistake. He looked to Twilight and Shining Armor, both of whom seemed worried.

James pointed at himself, then to the right side of the door. He then pointed at Shining and gestured to the left side of the door. The white stallion nodded, and they took up their positions. James tried to hear what was going on, but he couldn't hear anything. How ominous. He gestured again, at himself then to the door, indicating he was going inside, then pointing to Shining and then at the door. Again, his fellow officer nodded. James kicked open the door...

"SURPRISE!" The lights came on all at once; a massive table was several yards in front of James, with a large, pink cake on top and several of what appeared to be beverages laid out on either side of it. A large banner was flying several feet above the table, with the words "WELCOME TO PONYVILLE!" written on it. A certain pink pony with a blue party hat on her head jumped seemingly out of nowhere, forehooves in the air.

Uh oh. This time the thought came with a smile; Pinkie. Of course, he should have expected the party pony to do something like this. His smile faded as he thought for a moment. How on Earth did she know where I was going, never mind have the time to put all this together? He shrugged. It was Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie, as usual.

Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy came out of their hiding places. They were also smiling and wearing party hats. Pinkie, of course, was the one who went into a spastic explaination.

"Hiareyousurprised?Areya?Huh?Huh?Huh?Weweregettingthepartyreadyandsetfortommorow,butIsawyoucominganddecidedtostartitnow!Isn'thisgreat!?"

Well, that explained it. The party had been set up for tomorrow, and when Pinkie had seen them coming, she had chosen to launch the party now rather than later. Plus, their visiting would have ruined the party preparations and the surprise. Whatever the reason, James had to smile again. He looked around, and, although he saw no presents, he did see a smoking, familiar blue cannon. That explains the boom we heard.

Applejack came walking up to him. "Well howdy, sugarcube!" she said in a friendly tone. "What brings ya to Sweet Apple Acres?"

James nodded towards Shining, who had come in behind him and also had a smile on his face (Twilight was behind him, still looking a bit surprised). "After a chess game we had, he suggested that we come here to get a mug of cider, which I said yes to."

The orange pony smiled. "Why shoot, ah think ah still have a few barrels of cider lyin' around somewhere."

"Good." James sat down on one of the chairs at the table. "After that walk, I'm parched." He looked at the cake. Now there's a work of art.

Pinkie walked up beside him. "Aren't you going to cut it?" she asked, smiling.

James smiled too. "It looks too good to cut."

"Oh, that's silly! What's food worth if you're not gonna eat it?"

Got a point there. James cut a slice of cake, put it on a plate, and offered it to Pinkie.

She shook her head. "It's your cake, you should get the first piece."

James shook his own head. "If it's my cake, then I get to decide what to do with it. And I want everyone to get a piece before I get one. It's the least I can do to thank you all for your hospitality."

She looked thoughtful for a second; "Hmm. Put that way, you've got a point. Ok, I'll take it."

James cut a slice for everyone, then took a piece for himself. He dug his spoon into it, then...

Ooooooooooh. His eyes opened wide. That was good. It was chocolate cake with a vanilla-ish-flavored frosting. As perfect a taste as a cake could get on this Earth.

He enjoyed every last bite. On my next birthday, if it's possible, I'll commission a cake from Pinkie Pie. Screw it, I'll commission a party from her.

Still feeling thirsty (Applejack had not found the barrels of cider yet), he, reached for a bottle that appeared to be soda. He poured a glass of red-colored drink and brought it to his lips.

Twilight suddenly gave him a look. "Uh, James, what are you doing?"

She was too late; he emptied the contents of the glass.

Oh.

Oh.

OH! HIS MOUTH WAS ON FIRE!

James stood up, looked for something to drink quickly to quench the heat that was surely melting his tongue; he could swear he head a train whistle. He didn't trust the other bottles, those might contain something worse. He ran outside, looking for a stream. All he saw was a trough filled with water. It would have to do.

He plunged his head into the water, let it rush into his mouth. He felt much better within seconds, but he held his head under the water until he needed to breathe. He lifted his head into the air and gasped for breath.

He could hear laughter as he huffed and puffed, trying to let the air fill his lungs. He turned around and saw Rainbow Dash hovering a few feet behind him, laughing fit to burst and obviously in no hurry to stop.

"Oh my gosh, Did you see the look on his... It was priceless!" She kept on laughing.

"Go on. Laugh. See if I buy YOU a birthday present next year." James felt a little humiliated, but was relieved that no one else seemed to be in similar straights, though Applejack was clearly struggling to keep a straight face and everyone else (With the obvious exception of Rainbow Dash) seemed to be desperately trying to stop themselves from smiling.

He sighed. He supposed he would have laughed too, if only it had happened to someone else.

'N...now, sugarcube," Applejack said, still trying to resist a giggle, "ah found some cider, why don'tcha all come in and have some?"

Everyone went inside, the urge to laugh finally cooling down, though Rainbow was still giving off random giggles. Sure enough, there was a barrel of cider out in the open near the table; apparently Applejack had found it just before James had had drunk a glass full of hot sauce.

Applejack lifted the barrel onto the table and hooked up a device for pouring cider from it. "Everypony line up. Ah'll pour the cider."

James ended up near the end of the line, not that that bothered him. Rainbow went first, after a small argument with Pinkie, and got the first mug full of cider. She drank immediately.

Pinkie went next, then Fluttershy, Twilight, Shining Armor, then finally James. He held out his mug, and seconds later it was full. He held it up to his lips, and took a sip. Shining had been right, it was like an apple-flavored soda. He gulped down half his glass in one great chug, then lowered it and wiped his lips.

"Well..." Applejack looked like she was waiting for his reaction.

"It's pretty good." He sat back down at his chair as Rarity's got her own mug filled. "Excellent quality, certainly."

The farmer pony smiled. "Ah'll bet you saw us run them Flim-Flam brothers off our farm, didn't ya?"

James nodded. "Oh, yes. Good job. Except I thought it was because they panicked and switched off their safeties and made such rotten cider that caused them leave, especially when the townsfolk refused to pay the least bit of money for it." Putting his had to his chin, he thought about it more. "I guess either way, adding your friends to the process made the difference, as without it, those two wouldn't have made such rotten cider and might have won anyway."

Now it was Applejack's turn to nod. "Yep. It's great knowin' yer friends'll still up for ya, through thick an' thin."

"I didn't like how poor Rainbow didn't get the least bit of cider until the end of the episode though, nor how Pinkie just walked away with an excess of it at the beginning."

Her smile disappeared. "Oh, yeah. Ta tell the honest truth, ah didn't really think about that until later."

"Might I suggest making the cider earlier than you did before, so that more is made before the opening of cider season? And it might be prudent to limit everyone to one mug of cider per customer until everyone has had some. You'll still get the same amount of money you would have otherwise, and the customers will be more satisfied."

Applejack perked up. "Those are great suggestions. Ah'll think about em."

"Thanks, that's all I ask for. And I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"Ya don't have to apologise, ah needed a good remindin'.'

James bowed his head, then drank the rest of the cider in the mug. He set it down, and looked around at the party as it continued to unfold. Rainbow went back again and again for cider, while Pinkie just gulped down slice after slice of cake. Fluttershy was talking to Twilight about her animals and how to care for them better, as well as discussing books that might help. Rarity initially was getting more cider, then turned in James' direction and came towards him.

"Please excuse my instrusion, Mr. Lavigne..."

James held up a hand. "James is fine. Sorry for the interruption."

"That's quite alright. I must apologise, but so far I have been able to do very little work on your uniform, as Pinkie Pie came a few minutes after you left and said she was throwing a party for you, and she was..."

"Difficult to resist?"

"Yes, thank you. So it may or may not be done by noon tomorrow. However, I feel I must ask your permission to borrow one or more of the books you have, as I want to get everything on the uniform done right."

"That's fine. I think I have a few days before I have to really get to work anyway."

"Alright. Take care of yourself dear." She walked away.

James decided to get another mug of cider. It seemed like it would be polite, anyway. He got up and headed for the barrel. He found Applejack waiting there.

"Well hi there, James. Need a refill?"

"Yep."

She refilled his mug. However, before he could start drinking she spoke up again. "Ah couldn't help but see that you're not all that excited."

James was quiet for a moment. "I haven't really been to a party with guests willing to actually, well, party, for quite a long time. I'm not all that sure what to do."

"Don'tcha'll get out much?"

"No, not really, and when I do, it's generally with family, not with friends." Then shrugging a bit, he added, "I don't really have all that many to start with."

"Ya don't have many friends?"

"...No. I'm just generally too shy to push a relationship far enough to actually reach that point." He sighed.

Applejack smiled. "Ya got us."

James couldn't help but feel a little better upon hearing this. "Thanks."

"No problem, sugarcube."

"It's funny, but I'm able to talk and open up to other species, whether they are capable of talking or not, more than I am with other humans. I don't know why, but I'm not questioning it." He began to feel embarrassed. He cleared his throat, and tried to think of a different topic to discuss. "I'm glad this" - he lifted the mug - "isn't alcoholic. I was afraid it would be."

"Ya don't have ta worry about that none." She looked a bit curious. "Why's it that much of a bother to ya?"

"I made a promise to God that I wouldn't drink any alcoholic beverage of my own will. I thought it was a good idea at the time, I thought I would be less likely to cause a deadly accident, less likely to get arrested overall, et. cetera."

Applejack looked serious. "You're beliefs are that important to ya?"

"Yes. Some may call me a fool because of that, but I could care less for their opinion in this matter."

She seemed to think for a moment, looking at him intensely. Then she smiled. "An' that's ok. Don't let nopony tell y'all what to believe."

"That's basically what the US Constitution says. And thanks for all your support."

"No problem."

James emptied his mug. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Applejack looked curious. "Come in!" she shouted.

In came Big Macintosh, with a familiar grey pegasus mare with a blond mane and tail.

Well. I wondered when I'd run into her. He didn't even know the proper name to address her by. That would hopefully come soon.

Big Mac said, "Are you that hue-men, James Lav-ig-ney?"

"Ugh." James facepalmed, with an audible slapping noise heard by everyone in the room. That was embarrassing; Big Mac had just mispronounced not just the word for his species but his surname. Can't ANYONE get it right on the first try!?! That was a little unfair, as Rarity had gotten the name down quickly, but James couldn't help it. He looked up, sighing. "Yes, I'm James Lavigne," he said, putting an emphasis on his last name. "What do you need?"

"Excuse me, but I was told to bring you a letter." Ditzy Doo - or Derpy Hooves, whichever it was - spoke, sounding a little nervous. "A small purple dragon told me I could find you here." She gave him a small envelope; sure enough, it was addressed to him.

Spike. A letter from one of the Princesses then. "Thank you, miss, uh...

"Ditzy Doo, but some folks call me Derpy Hooves."

"Are they both alright then?

"Oh yes. By the way, do you have any muffins at this party?"

James looked at the table. "No, sorry, but we do have some cake. Please feel free, both of you, to have some."

"Thanks, but I have to get going. A mailmare's job is never done." She bowed to him, and he responed by bowing his head in a small bow of his own.

"I wish you a fair journey and good luck on your job."

"Thanks!" Looking happier, she turned and flew out of the barn.

James looked down at the envelope, then tore it open and began to read the letter within;

Dear Colonel Lavigne,

I have some good news to report. I've begun to set up the draft system, as per your advice, and I've sent some engineers to Ponyville to begin constructing a camp there. They should arrive tomorrow. I have told them to obey your orders and those of Shining Armor, so they should give you no problems. New recruits should start arriving within a week, if we're lucky.

Also, we've called for some meetings with the Griffons. I will do my best to drag out the negotiations, but I fear I only see one result; that they will (and would in any event) have thrown away anything that we offer them. I don't know how long I can keep it up, but Luna and I will do our best. I may pull Shining Armor out of your training camp to add a little strength and hope that his presence may make the Griffons hesitate before throwing away peace altogether.

With all that said, best wishes on your new job, and hopefully this whole mess will be over quickly and decisively.

Best regards,

Princess Celestia

James handed the letter to Shining Armor. The white stallion read the letter completely. "So.. it's really coming." He said this with a note of wonder, like he hadn't really believed it before.

"Yes." James said that with a note of determination. "Yes, it's coming, and we've got to win it. If we don't, I fail to see how Equestria will be able to avoid either extermination or slavery."

Big Mac looked confused. "We gotta win what, now?"

Applejack trotted up to him, and they whispered to each other for a few seconds.

"WHAT!?! WAR!?!" The big red stallion looked very surprised; his eyes went wide and he reared for a second.

They whispered again for a few seconds. Then Big Mac turned to James. "New recruit Big Macintosh reportin' sir!" he said, saluting.

James returned the salute. "Thank you. We'll need everyone we can get to face not only the Griffons, but also those damned Changlings. However, the camp isn't even set up yet, and you'll have to go through the normal proceedures that a new soldier must, well, go through, before you can be officially accepted as a soldier."

Big Mac didn't look intimidated by this new information in the least. Of course, he's a farmer. He's used to hard work. He should fit in no problem.

Applejack had a determined look on her face. "Ah'll sign up too, whenever y'all get that there camp up an' runnin'."

Uh oh. I forgot, she didn't hear the talk we had at the library. James steeled himself; she wouldn't take this well. "Errr.... I've told the Princess that the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony should stay home during this..."

"What!?! And after all the nice things I said to y'all and about y'all!" She was enraged. I would be, if I were her.

James tried to go on. "it's not..."

"How can ya do this to me? Ah'm brave, and loyal to boot!"

"Yes, but...'

"Why don't ya think we're good enough?"

"IF I COULD CONTINUE UNINTERRUPTED, PLEASE!" James' voice thundered throughout the barn, and even Applejack quailed a bit a the loud noise; Fluttershy gave an "Eeep!" and hid behind some bales of hay.

"I'm sorry for yelling, but as I discussed with the Princess, it's not a matter of loyalty or bravery, but logic and taking caution. The reason for the decision is BECAUSE you are the Bearers of the Elements, and therefore the only ones who can damn well stop Discord if he escapes again."

The orange farmer pony looked down at the ground. "Ah'm... ah'm sorry. Ah didn't think of it that way." Then looking up, she added, "But that's no excuse for bad language."

If that's all you have to criticize me by, we should get along fine from here-on-out. "I'm sorry too, and I accept your apology. I had to think this out, and believe me, I didn't like telling Rainbow Dash that either." The blue pony picked up her ears at the sound of her name, and gave him a slightly irritated look for a few seconds.

James went on, "Come on, we have a party to celebrate before all this happens. And Applejack, I think you challenged me to a bronco buck."

Applejack smiled. "Yep, ah sure did. You want to go right now?"

James smiled too. "Sure, why not?"

This has got to be either the stupidest thing I've ever done, or the craziest. James couldn't make up his mind; They were all at a small corral, where the bronco buck was to take place. He and Applejack were inside, standing next to each other.

James shook his head. Thinking like that would be distracting. Think only of staying on the pony's back, keep your legs wrapped around he middle, and keep holding on until she wears out.

Applejack turned her head in his direction. "Ya sure you're ready for this?"

No. In fact, I think I was stupid to agree to this. He couldn't say that out loud though, and he wouldn't back down; pride did have a way with him after all. "I'll be fine. Are you sure you can carry me alright?"

"Yup, ah don't think you'll be much heavier than some of the loads ah've had to carry."

"Alirght then, I suppose we should start."

Twilight had agreed to be judge; she asked, "Are you both ready?"

"Yes."

"Yup."

"Ok then, James, you can get on now."

James swung his leg over Applejack's back and sat on it; to his surprise, she showed no signs that she was having trouble holding him.

"Ok, 3... 2... 1... Go!"

For a few seconds Applejack did nothing. Come on, we're wait... She gave a sudden buck, and James barely managed to tighten his legs around her. She bucked again, and his back felt a little out of synce with the rest of his body, but he still held on.

She started running as well as bucking, and kept turning suddenly to throw him off. However, James had been on a bucking horse before, and this wasn't nearly so high up. In addition, he had an advantage over poor Spike; he had long legs, which he could tuck under Applejack's belly to make it difficult for her to buck him off. He also had the presence of mind to get a grip on her neck, not anywhere near so hard as to strangle, but firm enough to hold on to.

She became more and more unpredictable, using every trick in the book against him, and James found it ever more difficult to hold on.

She really wants those bragging rights. May God help me!

James was growing ever more... well not dizzy, but he found it hard to keep up with the here-and-now, and his reactions slowed. However, he could hear Applejack panting, and knew she was getting tired at long last. That fact stiffened his courage. I'm winning, I just need to hold out...

Applejack knew it too, and her tactics became ever more desperate. She would approach the side of the corral, then dash away in a different direction to give him the impression she was going to collide with the fence, and her turning grew more and more frequent. However, she bucked a bit less, growing more tired the longer she kept it up.

Finally, she slowed down and eventually came to a stop. She was huffing and puffing, and James could feel her heavy breathing. However, he felt completely discombobulated, to put it mildly; he felt that if she pulled one more move on him, he would lose, and he was too exhausted himself to go on for much longer anyway.

Applejack unexpectedly fell onto her right side; James fell with her, and his right shoulder slammed into the ground. Ow. He groaned. However, the farmer pony was obviously worn out, and her breathing was excessively heavy. James managed to untuck the leg that was under Applejack's side, then crawled to a fence post; he was too exhausted to stand and walk. He was huffing and puffing as well, legs out straight in front of him as he turned and managed to bring himself to a sitting position.

He began to think more clearly as the minutes passed; he could hear the watching ponies talking; apparently they hadn't expected him to last so long, or even come close to winning. He looked at Applejack. I seriously hope she's not faking it. He remembered the Running of the Leaves, and how she and Rainbow Dash had run for miles without appearing to grow tired.

After several minutes, Applejack rolled over, so she was now facing him. "Ah lost..." She sounded disbelieving. "After all... ah tried, ah still... lost..."

"Believe me, I can... hardly believe it... myself." He was still exhausted.

After a few more minutes, James had the presence of mind to turn to Twilight and ask, "How long... was that?"

The purple pony looked at a stopwatch. "A little more than fifteen minutes."

What!?! You must be kidding, that felt like an hour. He groaned.

Applejack stood up, and walked over to him. "Yall okay, sugarcube?"

"Yes, I think so." He still felt a bit off, but that would pass. "I hope you are also alright."

She smiled. "Oh ah'm fine. Ah must say, ah didn't expect ya to hold on like that."

"Yes, well, I have longer legs than Spike, and more weight, so I think I would be a little more competition than him." Then, he added, "One more good one and you'd have won, I don't think I could have held on for much longer anyways."

"Aw shoot. Ah had nothin' more ta give anyways." She offered her right hoof.

James took it and used it to pick himself up. "I wasn't going to sleep in a cold barn for who-knows-how-many nights."

Applejack looked confused for a moment, then started laughing. "Ya... ya really though ah meant that?" Now she was on her back, unable to speak for a few seconds for laughter. "Ah meant for ya ta sleep in our house right over there." She used a hoof to point to it. "As ya can see, it looks like a barn."

James did look, and saw that she was right; the Apple family house really did look like a barn. "Well that's no reason to mislead me."

Applejack finally managed to recover and pulled herself to her hooves. However, before she could speak again, Rainbow Dash flew into James' face. "Alright, enough talking, it's my turn now!"

James folded his arms. "I'm exhausted as it is after one round. To be fair to myself and Applejack, I would like to have our go tomorrow."

Rainbow folded her forelegs. "Aw, fine." She flew off a little ways. James sighed in relief. One bronco buck had been enough for one day, two would likely be disasterous.

Applejack walked towards the corral door. "Time to introduce y'all to tha Apple family house. Ya comin', James?"

James smiled a little. "Yes. That would be great." The human and eight ponies walked towards the house.

Chapter 7; Training begins

The walk to the camp was uneventful. The rest of the week passed by in the same way; James had to oversee the camp as it was being built, he ate, slept, drank, and discussed further engineering plans with Blue Fur; the bluish pony had many ideas, and not all of them were architectural; it turned out, he had had jobs in mining and in digging. James hoped he wouldn't leave after the camp's construction was done; Blue Fur could help the army immensely on campaign.

Not that the engineer was a complete, job-loving brick; Blue Fur had dreams (and daydreams) as much as anyone else.

"I once met a nice mare in Canterlot, before I started by career as an engineer. I was in training for my current profession," said the engineer.

"Ah? I hope things went well," James asked. It was break time, and they were both seated, James with his back a tree and Blue Fur lying with his hooves tucked under him.

"Unfortunately, I didn't even get her name; we talked a bit about our lives, then we had to go our separate ways. After all, I didn't want to be late to training." Blue Fur shook his head. "To my regret, we never had the fortune to meet again. A pity; I liked her, and I could tell she liked me."

"Maybe it's not over yet. You might get a second chance."

"Thank you, my friend, but I doubt it. Mares rarely take jobs like construction or mining, especially those from Canterlot."

"Females. Almost another species unto themselves. You think you know what it's all about, think you know just what to do, then something else comes and clocks you upside the head." Sighing, James took a look around; the camp was proceeding nicely; the recruits would start coming in tomorrow, though, and a few things still had to be completed.

"A rather blunt way of putting it, but somewhat true, from what I've heard." Just then a whistle sounded. Blue Fur stood up. "Back to work we go, sir."

"Alright. We still need..." James told the engineer exactly what he thought was needed, and Blue Fur accepted it, offering advice where he saw fit to do so, which they would discuss briefly and then make a decision. James couldn't help but feel grateful for the chief engineer. He was grateful that he wasn't alone in building the camp, or of training the army.

A number of Royal Guard officers had come to the camp; if they were surprised at who and what their new commander was, they didn't show it and treated him as one of their own superiors once they knew he was their new boss. They had been sent to aid in the training of the army, and had thought of a few things that James hadn't; for one thing, they had discussed that fighting on two legs was part of mandatory training as a Royal Guard, and that the recruits would likely have to learn to do the same.

Meanwhile, he had reports of a prototype crossbow that had been made by Equestrian military scientists. James had seen the plans for it, and he wasn't all that disappointed; the only thing that made him nervous was the fact that the crossbow had no trigger guard, which was understandable; lacking fingers, they couldn't grasp anything beyond a few millimeters from their hooves. However, that would make it easy for accidents to happen. He had the comfort that this was only a prototype, at least for the Equestrians; the crossbow much resembled a Medieval European one from his own world. It could be hoof-cranked, in a similar manner to the way one petals a bike, in order to pull back the string. Then, the quarrel could be loaded and fired, and the process would be repeated.

Unfortunately, the comfort that the weapon was just a prototype was also a curse; it was not in any sort of mass production, and the designs weren't finished. It seemed like the army would be stuck with swords and spears for some time. They did have cannons being made; they weren't breech-loaders, but almost any cannon was better than none at all.

James also had some good cultural and technical information on the Griffons. Although they were ruled by a king and queen, the fact was that the half-eagle, half bird species was divided into many clans. Clan leaders, in many cases, had almost as much power as the king himself; it was more like a confederation than a kingdom. And while they all prided themselves on good martial skill, they differed on levels of technology; some clans were very much pre-medieval, while other, usually richer and larger clans had technology on the level of the Victorian era.

That meant that any army sent out under a united banner would have varying levels of effectiveness on the field; some units would wield swords, bows and arrows, and pikes while units standing next to them from another clan would have crossbows and, possibly, guns of the type that Cortes and his men would have carried in the Conquest of Mexico, if not more advanced. However, none of Equestria's merchant-spies had noticed any cannons, though they had reported seeing a few ballistae and catapults. That came as a relief. However, he kept worrying about it.

The Changelings, as far as he could see, had no technology or civilization of their own, and thus would likely try to use their natural ability to change shape to gain victory. James wasn't too concerned; there were ways to reveal disguised Changelings, and their lack of any weapons save their own horns and their shape-shifting would probably make any battle against them a victory for the Equestrians, to say the least. Cannons and spears against practically unarmed, unarmored troops would be almost child's play, or so he thought and hoped. However, many of the workers at the camp, when they weren't either working or gaping at their commander, admitted they were far more afraid of them than the Griffons, and James couldn't blame them, after the events at the royal wedding.

He hoped he could provide the ultimate victory for them.

On the night before the recruits were due to arrive, James was heading to his tent for the night. They had finished the camp just a little while ago, and he was tired. However, he wasn't prepared for the one he saw in front of his tent.

A swirling mane of rainbow colors, a white coat... "Good evening, Colonel," said Princess Celestia.

James stood up straighter. "'Evening, ma'am."

She smiled. "I've come to see how the camp is coming along."

"As well as can be considered, but thank Blue Fur, not me. He's done most of the actual work, him and the laborers he brought with him."

"I knew you'd get along with him." A pause. "Would you walk with me, James?"

James didn't know how to take this, but before he could say anything, the Princess said, "Oh, it's nothing intimate. I just want to get to know my newest officer better."

"...Alright." Celestia led the way. James walked beside her, on her left. For a few minutes neither of them said anything; they simply walked through the camp, admiring the beautiful night for what it was.

Finally, Princess Celestia broke the silence. "I notice you seem worried, James."

"Who, me? Of course I'm worried. Any commanding officer who isn't worried about a war or the way it might turn out..."

She shook her head. "That's not what I meant. You seem nervous and worried about something else." When he said nothing, she went on, "I've lived for over a thousand years, James. I know when someone is troubled."

James sighed. "...I'm just worried about my Mom and Dad. They must be scared sick, now that I'm gone, and I have no way to talk to them." He sighed again after a few seconds. "They must think I got lost or kidnapped, or something of that matter." Suddenly he felt the tears on his eyelids. He immediately wiped his eyes, but knew that Celestia had noticed.

He felt something fall on his shoulder; he turned to find that Celestia had rested her head on it. "I... I'm so sorry. I never even considered anything like that," she said quietly. After a moment, she lifted, and then, sounding more merry than a moment ago, she said, "I may be able to help you in this. You know that I was able to teleport you here using magic?" He nodded. Celestia went on, "I may be able to send any letters or notes you may have for them. It's the least I can do."

"Th... Thank you." He tried hard to regain his composure. He succeeded. "That cheers me up on that front."

"You're welcome", she said, smiling a little. There was another few minutes of silence as they walked on.

This time, James broke it. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you choose me?"

"Didn't I tell you back at the library?"

"I remember it well, but there's loads of people out there who are not ruthless or barbaric, who try to be good in life. Why did you choose me, instead of thousands, millions, even, who have similar characteristics? I know I can't have been your first choice."

She was silent for a moment, then, smiling again, she said, "You again show your intelligence, Colonel. It's true you were not the first human who I, er, eavesdropped on. I went through the minds of many, and you are correct, there were others I could have chosen, others who did have those characteristics and personalities that I admire. Many of them, though, would have known only about methods of warfare that largely exceeds the ability of the technology likely to be employed in the conflict." She paused again. "It's not completely about what you had; it's also about what you didn't have."

"...Wha... What?"

She turned toward him, looking a bit more serious, yet not threatening or imposing. "I noticed you have a lack of friends. Most of those who I did look at had plenty, but you were the first who seemed to completely lack them. And I mean real friends, not those who play and hear you over your technological games."

She means computer and video games.

She went on, "I admit I felt sorry for you. I knew you had everything I could have asked for in an officer. I hoped by bringing you here, you could make some friends and know that you would always have someone who would support you completely, and you them, even if worlds apart."

James thought for a minute before answering. "I have made friends with the Mane six... er, I mean Twilight and her friends. I've gotten used to Blue Fur. And I'm hoping Shining Armor and I become friends, as well." He paused for a while. "I... don't know why, but trying to make a working relationship with another human being can seem so hard. I always got on better with ani- duh, I mean, other species." He could see Celestia wasn't bothered at all by what he had been about to say, and was in fact on the verge of laughing over the goof. "So I thank you, for the sentiment that had you bring me here."

"it was my pleasure."

They continued walking. "This probably won't be a one shot, one battle and it's over, you know." James said after a while. "It probably going to last some months, perhaps years. I can only hope I'm ready, and that I can make others ready, and make the effort to make them so."

"That's all anyone can do, in this situation."

"How are the negotiations, by the way?"

Princess Celestia grimaced. "I don't know how much longer we can hold them. They grow more arrogant by the day. They haven't directly said much about an actual invasion, but they've implied it."

"I'm sorry to have put you in that situation."

"Don't apologize. It's necessary in any case to delay them. Also, you may be happy to note that I am contemplating sending General Armor back here, to help out with the training. As much as I hate to say it, he has nearly lost his temper several times."

"Quite understandable, when those people are so arrogant and self-absorbed." James brought out General Lee's term for the enemy without missing a beat. "I hope that a few decisive battles will knock that out of them, but I know that's probably a lost cause."

"They have that in spades. You have seen the Griffon called Gilda, have you not?"

Now it was James' turn to grimace. "Yes, on the show. She's... she's... a word that would be excessively rude and inappropriate to say, especially in front of royalty. I can only hope that the other Griffons are not all like her."

The Princess bowed her head. Then she went on walking. "I know we can win this war, against both foes. And I know that you will do your part to win it."

"I'll do what I can." James went on walking as well. Looking around the camp as they continued walking, he felt himself singing quietly, but irresistibly, the Battle Hymn of the Republic as they walked on;

Mine eyes have seen the glory

Of the coming of the Lord

He is trampling out the vintage where

The grapes of wrath are stored

He has loosed His fateful lightning

Of His terrible swift sword

His truth is marching on!

Glory, glory hallelujah!

Glory, glory hallelujah!

Glory, glory hallelujah!

His truth is marching on!

I have seen Him in the watchfires

Of a a hundred circling camps

They have built for Him an altar

In the evening dews and damps

I can read His righteous sentence

By the dim and flaring lamps

His day is marching on!

Glory, glory hallelujah!

Glory, glory hallelujah!

Glory, glory hallelujah!

His day is marching on!

In the beauty of the lilies

Christ was born across the sea

With a glory in His bosom

That transfigures you and me

As He died to make men holy,

Let us live to make men free

While God is marching on!

Glory, glory hallelujah!

Glory, glory halleujah!

Glory, glory hallelujah!

While God is marching on!*

He finally came to the end of the song. He felt almost instantly nervous; he didn't like singing where large groups of strangers could hear him.

"...You have a great voice for singing, Colonel." Celestia said after a few seconds. James blushed; fortunately it was at least somewhat dark, so he was able to hope that she didn't notice.

He found that they had managed to circle back towards his own tent. "Thank you for the chat, ma'am."

"Please, we can put aside formality between friends."

"Well then, thank you Celestia."

"That's more like it." She smiled in a mischievous way.

James stretched. He really was tired by now. "I really must get to bed. I hope to see you soon."

"I hope so as well. Good night, James."

"'Night, Princess." He watched as she flew away, then went inside; it was his first night sleeping in a tent in Equestria; he had stayed at Applejack's the rest of the week. He quickly got into a pair of pajamas, tucked himself into his hammock, and fell asleep.

A rooster's loud crow put an end to his dreams. James lifted his head, looking at the clock nearby; it was about 7:00, give or take a few minutes; he had long since learned that clocks were often off by a few minutes or so.

He groaned. However, remembering the job he was supposed to be doing, he got dressed and buckled on his pistol and a sword that had been made for him by Equestrian smiths. It wasn't a katana, but it was sharp, flexible, and durable, and, with a hilt 5 inches long and a blade 14 inches in length, it was a decent weapon. He'd take it.

He walked over to the field where the recruits would be gathering. He folded his arms and surveyed the landscape. It was daunting, now that the day was finally here; thousands of ponies, from all over Equestria, would be coming here, to this camp, to begin the training that would be necessary to drive the soon-to-be invading forces out. He didn't know if he could do it.

"What in Celestia's name are you?" The rude question seemed to have come out of nowhere.

He turned his head... Oh, these guys. The three pegasi colts who had bullied Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in flight school, and who had tried squashing the former's confidence at the flyer's convention were standing several feet away.

He turned his body entirely. "I am Colonel James Lavigne!" He took a step towards them. "Who the heck are you?"

He noticed that they weren't the only ponies in the area; there were quite a few recruits standing behind them.

His aggressive manner did what he had wanted it to do; it had put the three bullies on the defensive. They all took a few steps back.

A stallion walked towards his new colonel. "Uh, we we told to, uh, report to someone with your name... uh, sir", one of them said in a typical, non-southern/western, but still scared American accent.

Of course. I should have remembered. The opening of the camp was to take place here, in only... a few minutes, if my memory serves me correctly. He softened his expression and said, "Yes." He jerked his head at a Royal Guard stallion several meters into the field. "Go to him; he'll assign you for the opening speech."

"Yyy... yes, uh, sir." Wow, is this poor kid scared. In any event, the recruit seemed glad to get away.

James sighed. This hadn't been how he'd expected or wanted to introduce himself. He did want the army to fear him, just to respect him. The three rascals had really put a crimp in that plan.

In a few minutes, hundreds had gathered before him and Shining Armor, who had apparently arrived fairly early in the morning. James didn't envy him; he must have been tired. However, he seemed fit enough this morning.

James remained where he was, trying to see if any ponies from the show's sidelines had come, but he failed to notice any. He shrugged. It made little difference. His job was to supervise the training, see if he could adjust it where it needed to be, and to command them in the field. He would do that regardless of who showed up.

"Excuse me, sir, but it's 9:00."

He started, then turned to his left, where a Royal Guard had approached unnoticed. Perhaps he hadn't meant to; James had been busy thinking, which would have accounted for him losing track of what happened around him.

"Alright." James looked over at Shining Armor, who had a Guard whispering to him as well. 9:00 AM was the time when they were supposed to get all this started.

Shining looked over at James, who nodded. Then they both walked out infront of the crowd of recruits, who by now seemed to number in the thousands.

She should be coming down right about... ah, now!

The royal chariot landed on the lawn not far away, with Princess Celestia exiting it almost before it stopped. She walked up to where James and Shining now stood, easily visible to the mass of ponies in front of them.

She lifted her head. "My little ponies, I wish with all my heart that I didn't have to summon you all for military duty." She bowed her head for a few seconds, perhaps wishing once more that things had turned out different. "However, the enemies who gather at our borders do not seek peace, but aim to force their will on our beautiful country. They have mistaken our peaceful ways for weakness, and have fallen to brute force and the darkest natures of their own hearts. Without an army to hold the line against the darkness, Equestria shall be destroyed."

The crowd had been tense before. Now they were on the verge of losing control; panicked whispering could be heard, and almost everyone was fidgety.

"That is why you are here; to teach them that Equestria will never be theirs for the taking! Our Pegasi work hard manipulating the weather; the Earth Ponies labor day after day to feed our growing nation, and the Unicorns bless our proud country with their magic. All this would be wasted should we surrender!"

"Here you all stand; I see a proud army, ready to fight for what's right! With valiant heroes such as yourselves protecting us, Equestria shall not fall, and a bright new day shall be upon us!"

The recruits had stopped panicking, and were listening intently; as that last sentence ended, they broke out in cheers. It as an inspiring sight; James hoped he could make the most of it. Morale is half the battle, he thought to himself.

"To ensure our victory, I have... invited the human James Lavigne, and made him a Colonel in our forces. He will help with the army's training and will hold a command on the field. I ask you to obey him as if he was a pony himself."

Invited... now that is... an understatement, I suppose. And why would I want to be a pony? I like myself the way I am.

"Brigadier General Shining Armor holds command of the army as it is." Shining waved to the assembled crowd as his name was mentioned. He stepped forward and spoke in a loud voice;

"You all know me. I have served as Captain of the Royal Guard for some time now, and I now take command of the forces that will defend Equestria from the invaders. I will do my part to protect my country and it's people. And with ponies such as you behind me, I know we cannot fail!"

James' mind was blank for a few moments as he tried to think of something to say.

"...nel? Colonel!"

James started. "Hmm?"

"Care to say a few words?" The Princess was now looking squarely at him. So was the crowd.

...I should have been more prepared for this part. He stood up straight.

"As Princess Celestia said before, I am Colonel James Lavigne, here to supervise the training of the army and to lead it in the battles unfortunately certain to come. The foe comes with sword and spear to claim these lands. I won't sugar coat it; it's going to be a fierce and deadly struggle, and some of us may not come back alive."

Amid panicked comments and more fidgeting, he bowed his head. "I depreciate war in general. It's not a game; if they win, the enemy will believe they have the right to do whatever they want to this beautiful country."

He lifted his head. "Our job is to make sure that doesn't happen, and to take the fight to them. If we do this right, we might be able to finish this before the coming of winter." (It was currently mid-summer.)

"We must remain strong in the tough and deadly time ahead, so that we may triumph and keep our future just that; our future, not one that our enemies can manipulate at will. And I believe we can and will accomplish our goal; with God's help, we cannot help but succeed."

"We will hold them back, and drive them back into the depraved pit they came from. For freedom and for Equestria!"

The recruits, who had all been nervous upon hearing the parts about death, began to cheer loudly when they heard those last few words; hats flew into the air and hooves waved.

James watched them in silence.

I sure hope I'm not lying to these fellows.

* Note; this version of "Battle Hymn of the Republic was sung by the "Three Irish Tenors, led by John McDermot, none of whom have any connection with me.

Chapter 8; Duel with a friend and camp incidents

Chapter 8; Duel with a friend and camp incidents

After the speech was over, James watched as the recruits made their way to the registration officer, where they would be processed by the great machine known as the bureaucracy, and given their uniforms and assigned to units. The regiments would be largely by city and province; 1st Ponyville regiment, 1st Canterlot regiment, and so on.

The uniforms the pony soldiers would be wearing would be similar to his own; a blue coat and kepi. Armor was scarce for the moment, hence it would be used only by Royal Guards. James had fumed about it, but there was nothing to be done other than wait; the Japanese phrase shikata ga nai (nothing can be done about it/it can't be helped) fit well here.

James walked to the field where the training would begin (he had insisted on starting as soon as possible) and sat down on a stump to watch. Already the Royal Guards who had been brought here were doing their work as drill sergeants; James didn't think any of the recruits would even think of fleeing in battle, not if they feared them more than the enemy.

"James!"

James turned to his left. "Yes?" Shining Armor was standing there, in his red uniform that he had worn to the Royal wedding... and to the assembly area earlier this morning.

"We need to show the new guys what they're gonna be up against."

James raised an eye brow. "And how do you intend on doing that?"

The smile that met this seemed all too familiar. "We're going to have a duel right in front of them, hopefully it will inspire them." He looked a bit cocky. "Do you have any training in swordsplay?"

"I was in a fencing class, if that counts."

The white stallion laughed. "Fencing? All that pretty stuff? You need some real sword training."

"I'm sure beating you would give it to me."

Shining kept laughing. "Well, I agreed to give this demonstration. You coming or not?"

"I thought the proper invitation to a duel was slapping someone in the face with a glove, with or without a brick inside it."

The laugher became hysterical. "Alright, we've wasted enough time. Let's get going."

"Hmm. James stood up and walked with his friend toward the crowd.

Why did I agree to make a fool of my self? In front of a crowd, no less. James was standing with hundreds of recruits, newly fitted with coats and kepis, sitting before him and Shining Armor.

Shining waited until all of them were seated, then said, "Me and the Colonel agreed to have a friendly sword duel to show you all what you're up against. Whoever wins gets a full coarse dinner tonight, while whoever loses gets KP duty."

James' head whipped to the left as he stared daggers at Shining. You never said that!

Shining affected not to notice. Instead, he turned innocently to James. "You ready, Colonel?"

No. It wouldn't do to say that out loud, though. "As ready as I'll ever be." He drew his sword. Laugh at my fencing skills, will you? We'll see about that!

Shining drew his own sword and reared, standing on his hind legs and holding his sword in his front hooves.

For a moment, they both held a fighting stance. On his hind legs, Shining actually stood taller than James, and was probably physically stronger as well. James held his sword out in front of him like a samurai; Shining had his sword to the left and behind his head, with the tip pointing vertically.

Shining struck first, with a vertical downward stroke. James broguht up his own sword to parry, then stabbed at his opponent's belly. Shininf jumped back quickly, but remained standing; he hadn't been lying when he had told James that Royal Guards had been trained to stand on two legs.

Laugh at my fencing eh? Have at you!

James tabbed twice more, forcing his larger foe to retreat once more. Shining attempted to strike back, aiming at James' neck. James leaned back, as if playing limbo, and the sword passed through thin air. He recovered and jabbed again, but Shining stepped to the right and swung again, so fast that James was barely able to block the attack in time; he almost dropped his own sword from the force of the blow.

He's too strong; I've got to end this quickly if I don't want be washing pots and pans tonight!

He ducked as another strike came, and jabbed upwards from the almost-kneeling position he had been forced into; Shining jumped back again, and brought his sword into a defensive stance. James stood back up and clashed swords again.

"Give up. I've won already!" Shining sounded a little strained as he said this, but was obviously still going strong.

"You can't win, Darth; if you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine." James made another jab, a feint, which again forced his enemy to fall back, but James was on the attack again even as Shining stepped back; for a few seconds, James hoped he could win, and win quickly.

However, he lost his momentum, and Shining recovered, and now it was James on the retreat, James who had to try to defend. He was forced back from his (now) taller opponent.

James fell back, but kept fighting. Suddnely he realized that he had been forced back to the edge of the wooden platform upon which they had been dueling; he could'nt retreat any further.

Shining raised his sword again for one last strike...

And James, seeing his opportunity, slipped between his hind legs; he came out the other side and stood up, sword raised. Shining whipped around, but couldn't quite hide the astonishment on his face.

James jabbed at him, and Shining, losing his balance, fell over backward off the platform. James stood there as he recovered.

"Nice move." The white stallion stood up and climbed back onto the platform. "It's not over until one of us is disarmed, though."

What are you talking... James realized Shining still held his sword. As pony hooves are unable to feel, as Twilight and the others told me, he must have to feel it's weight through his foreleg.

Shining struck as soon as he was back on the platform, catching James off guard; he had to whip his head back and to the right to avoid the attack, but his foe struck yet again.

James' actions went faster than his thoughts; his left hand went to his scabbard, and brought it up to repel the blow. He heard again the metallic clash, but this time his sword was free to attack without fear of a counterattack. He whipped his sword around, aiming not for Shining's body this time, but for his sword...

CLANG!

A sword flew through the air, landing off the James' left. He couldn't tell whose it was; he was still trying to catch up with what had happened.

He felt his right arm grow heavy, and realized it was above his head... with a comforting weight in his hand.

Wait... does this mean...?

Shining went back to all fours. He bore a look of great surprise on his face. James felt like laughing, but somehow found the strength to keep from doing so.

Neither of them spoke, neither of them looked away from the other.

"Uh... General? Y...y...your sword."

The both turned. Standing before them was a gray unicorn recruit, holding Shining's sword with his magic. He looked scared, but not terrified.

"I... it came down next to me. I th... thought you'd like it back."

"Errr, right, uh, thank you." Shining used his own magic to return his sword to it's scabbard. James sheathed his own sword and put the scabbard, sword and all, back on his belt.

Suddenly, James heard cheering and a massive round of applause; he turned to see the recruits throwing hats into the air (again) and stomping their hooves on the ground.

He bowed to them, and looked to see Shining doing the same. The stallion then turned. To James' surprise, he smiled. "Come with me, Colonel."

They walked off the platform and walked some distance from the still-cheering crowd.

"I must admit, I'm surprised, surprised and impressed. Maybe fencing has something to it other than just pretty dancing." Then, looking mischevious, he added, "And I never really meant that stuff about the dinner or KP duty, I just wanted to see how you would fight given an incentive."

James turned, incredulous. "You're just saying that to get out of washing pots and pans for the rest of the day."

Shining smiled, then went on, "I never thought I'd lose, though. I trained for years, and haven't lost since becoming Captain of the Royal Guard."

James turned his head, but kept walking. "As a Polish officer surrendering to the Germans in 1939 said, 'A wheel always turns. This one will.'"

Shining smiled again. "You're right, I'll smoke you next time."

"That's the spirit a soldier should have. Now, we have to get busy. I'm expecting a letter telling us how far they got with those crossbows the labcoats at R and D have got."

His companion's smile slipped. "I hate being reminded of what we're gonna have to do out there."

"I don't like it either, but if we don't..."

"Please, please don't. I don't want to think about it."

"Then let us discuss the training of the army. That may help solve our problem."

It became clear that the crossbow situation would be solved shortly; the prototype had been refined, and, despite lacking a trigger guard, was very accurate out to the normal range a crossbow would have, with the ability to hit targets out beyond that range. James had gotten a letter from one of the developers that the new version would be ready for mass production within days.

Melee combat, though, was still a job for swords and spears. James watched numerous times as recruits would try standing on their hind legs and end up falling over in one direction or another. The drill sergeants would get frustrated almost every time.

James walked over to the training field as one of these sessions was being conducted. A bright yellow earth pony stallion (with a brighter shade shade of yellow for his hooves and a bright, white star for a cutie mark) was attempting to stand in formation and hold the pole that did the job of acting for a spear upright.

"No, no, no! You need to stand tall and brace, like this!" The sergeant on duty brought himself into the position he was trying to teach.

"Ssss... sssorry, sergeant." The earth pony tried again, but in his nervousness dropped his "spear".

The sergeant growled. "After 9 times, you still don't get it. You should be ashamed to call yourself a recruit, never mind a soldier."

Before he could launch into a tirade, James, who had reached the confrontation by now, said, "I'll take it from here, sergeant."

The sergeant looked like he wanted to complain, but James stole a glance at his rank badge on his left shoulder, and the Guard, getting the point, kept quiet.

"Instead of trying to stand with both hind legs in one place, put on in front of the other, crouch, and hold the spear under your chest, like so". James proceeded to demonstrate, then said, "Now you try it."

The pony got up, crouched, then dropped the "spear."

The sergeant growled again, but James said calmly, "That's fine. Try it again."

The earth pony did try again, and managed to get into position successfully.

"That could be the beginning of the proper stance, I suppose", the Guard said, still sounding disapproving.

"Alright, now try again, faster this time. And I want more of you to try after this."

The yellow pony did so, and did so successfully.

"Alright, now I want five of you to come forward at a time, and try to stand beside one another while doing it, and try not to hit or bump one another."

The first attempt was admittedly sad; Three of them fell down before they were anywhere near done, and one of them knocked another recruit on his back. James had to work hard to keep himself unlaughing and professional.

"Alright, alright; pick yourselves up and try it again."

The second effort was better than the first, although one of them failed to balance properly and fell over sideways.

"Practice makes perfect. try it again."

This attempt went much more slowly, and they all reached the proper position at different times, but they all managed to get there.

"Good. Try it slowly for now, and try to speed it up gradually; overall, keep practicing. In any event, I want another group in front of me, now."

For about an hour, James and the sergeant drilled the greenbacks on how to stand and and how to stay in formation. It went... well enough, though James almost facepalmed several times and the sergeant lost his temper twice. After it was over, he felt like situation had improved, though there was still room for the same.

He went to the mess hall and got himself some lunch; a few apples and some mashed potatoes. He went to one of the tables and sat down. So far, no one else had bothered to sit near him; they were all either scared of him or otherwise anxious about him.

He bit into an apple and felt the juices slide along his tongue. He suddenly heeard the familiar clip-clop of hooves on the floor, and turned to see the yellow earth pony he had helped out in the drilling session. For a minute, they just looked at each other.

"Th... Thank you."

"Hmm?" James grunted.

"Thank you. For helping me during training. Uh, sir."

"There's no need for formality. During lunchtime, we can address each other by name rather than rank."

"Oh, ok." The pony sat down on the other side of the table and put the tray he had been balancing on his back on the table. He started eating.

James picked up his fork and took a few bites out of his mashed potatoes.

"You seem to know what you're doing, at least. I didn't like that sergeant at all."

"I wouldn't hold it against him, not for long. He's just doing his job, and Royal Guards, I think, train harder than a normal army would. They are supposed to be an elite force, after all."

"I guess." The earth pony ate one of the apples on his tray, then went for a carrot. "You did better than he did at getting his point across, your Excellency."

James looked up. "Where did the 'your Excellency' come in?"

The earth pony looked confused. "You are a noble, right?"

"A noble? Me?" James laughed loudly. "If i were a noble I'd be loaded and set for life, AND have the worst moral attitude possible." He still felt like laughing, but managed to gain some control over himself; some of the other ponies who had come to eat had started staring at him.

Unlike those other ponies, the yellow one in front of him kept staring. "I just though that you would be a noble, because they can afford the best education and can contribute more money to... something of this level of importance, I guess."

"Well, I guess I'm some stupid hillbilly from Nowhere who can't even count to eleven without looking at his belly button."

The earth pony chuckled. James continued, "Me and my family aren't rich. We aren't dirt poor, either. We're somewhere between the lower and middle classes, I'd say. We have enough to get by, and enough to do something fun every once and a while. We're... like the majority of people in my country, I guess."

The earth pony nodded. "Welcome to the club." He stuck out his right hoof. "I'm Bright Star."

James shook his hoof. "I'm James, James Lavigne, but just call me James."

"Seems fair enough." They ate the rest of the meal in silence, but in a state of peace.

Over the next week, the army continued to drill. It was getting better, and the drill sergeants weren't as easily ticked off by the occasional mistake as they had been.

Better yet, the first shipment of crossbows and quarrels had come in, enough for about 500 soldiers. It was only half of what James had been hoping for, but it would have to do.

Cannons were already being manufactured, and some recruits trained with them. James had a rather unpleasant session when one of the trainees dropped a cannonball on their Colonel's foot. James had howled loudly, then had to limp over to the medical tent. When the guilty recruit came by to apologize a few hours later, however, James forgave him; He wanted an army with high morale, not one that was scared to death of their superiors, and besides the whole incident had been a mistake.

At the moment, he was about to oversee the first drill session involving the new crossbows. Bright Star was among those who was to train with them; he had proven himself competant once given a good chance.

"Alirght, you all know how to handle a spear, no question. But a spear will only go so far." James walked over to one of the crossbows and picked it up. "We have drilled you informations quite a bit. Again, though, that will only go so far. Your main weapons" - here he hefted the crossbow for all to see - "will be these. This version of the crossbow had been tested by research and development teams, and is known to be accurate to about 100 meters, with the capacity to hit targets from beyond that range."

One pony, a blue-green pegasus with a cloud and what appeared to be a gust of wind for a cutie mark, raised a hoof. "Sir, won't these be dangerous?"

"Yes; as you know, pony hooves do not have fingers, there fore a trigger guard could not be created for this weapon. There is also no safety, so make absolutely sure this is unloaded when you're not using it."

The pony shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Sir, these things could kill if we're not careful."

James felt like smacking himself in the head; despite what they had been told, and the fact that war is, by nature, deadly, they had not seemed to have concieved that killing and being killed was part of the job. Royal Guards would have understood that truth, although they rarely had to meet it. He didn't though; that would have been unprofessional. As calmly as he could, he said, "And what do you think the enemy will be trying to do to you?"

Many of the trainees shivered; one poor rascal fainted briefly. That had been about what he had expected.

"Your families and friends back home aren't in any less danger. Without a doubt, the queen of the Changelings isn't feeling generous after her previous defeat, and won't abide to the laws of chivalry in any case." He took several steps forward. "You were brought here to stop the as-of-yet unencountered atrocities the enemy will surely commit. You are their shield and sword, and unfortunately defense alone does not guarentee victory. They will be trying to kill you, and they will do as such to your families if you don't stop them by their own means."

The blue-green pony, shocked, recovered enough to say, "That's... that's just sick."

"I know." His face softened. "I don't like it either. I never said war is a sport, or that it was fun, things it is most definitely not." He paused. "It is sometimes inevitable, though. If we don't defeat them and drive them back into the damned pit they came from, they will have the power - and no doubt the will - to do to Equestria as they see fit. And I know that none of you want that."

He could see he was reaching them; some of the recruits were whispering to each other, some more energetically than others. Bright Star was among them.

"For now, lets concentrate on what needs to be done; to learn how to use the crossbow effectively, and to stay in formation while doing so." He proceeded to demonstrate how to load the thing, and the proper position to stand in; it wasn't too much different than that for holding and aiming a rifle. He saw that most of them could stand on two legs properly; maybe Bright Star had spread the knowledge around. However, the posture for holding a loaded crossbow was different from that for a spear, and some of them were having trouble.

"Ok ok, back to all fours." He waited as they did so. "Walking and standing on two legs is much harder for you than for me because A: I've spent practically my whole life doing so, and it's become second nature, and B: because your own legs are built in a way different from mine; for example, your back knees bend backward, not forward." He paused again. "To do it properly, I'd advise using the tails mother nature gave you in order to balance. Use your body when upright to balance; since your back knees bend backward, lean forward. Now, try it."

They did try; less than half of them got into the proper posture; Bright Star was one of the minority who got it right.

"That's better; keep practicing off the field. for now, we have a fence you can use to lean on if you need to." James moved up to the shooting range and prepared to shoot at one of the targets. He aimed; the trigger was, as he had said, bare of a trigger guard, so it had to be pressed upward rather than pulled towards the shooter.

He fired; there was a sharp thwang as the quarrel was released, and the corssbow bucked against his shoulder, though not as much as a rifle would have done; strings didn't have the power that gunpowder did.

He lowered the weapon and looked at the target; he had managed to hit it, but barely. The quarrel was stuck on the outer edge of the target. Had it been a real, live Changeling, he would have missed.

He looked back, and found that the trainees were also a bit disappointed, though (thankfully) none of them seemed to question his authority or knowledge on the subject at hand - or hoof, if one was a pony.

James tried to smile. "As you can see, I still have room for improvement. I want each of you here several times a day, and practice, practice, practice until you can hit in side the circle just about every time, and I want your marksmanship overall to be better than that. For now, show me what you've got."

They did, or they tried, anyhow; most kept fumbling with their weapons, not quite sure how to reload. Of those that did manage to load correctly, most failed to hit their targets. James felt close to despair.

Are these the men I am to defend America with? Washington had said something to that effect after seeing his men flee from battle; another one of his famous quotations, one James felt all too well right now, was To place any dependance on militia is most assuredly to lean on a broken staff. True, they weren't militia, but right now they might as well have been. He let out a sigh. What was I thinking when I accepted Celestia's offer? I'm hardly older than any of them, and I know most of what I know from books and improvisation, not from personal experience. God, please show me what to do, because I'm not even sure of my own abilities right now. He made the sign of the Cross after that last, and hoped his prayer would be listened to.

"...nel? Sir?"

He sat up (he was currently sitting under a tree). I hope this isn't bad news; after seeing this lot fail so horribly with the weapons given them I don't know if I can take anymore. "Yes, what is it?"

Bright Star was standing in front of him. "Colonel, I don't know if I can walk on two legs for hours on end, as you do."

Well, at least that's a question I THINK I can answer. He said quietly, "I don't expect you to. In most case, you'll be walking on all fours as you usually do. When chasing a fleeing enemy (I hope they get that good!, he thought as he said this) or when marching, you'll be on all fours. However, when in the process of actually fighting, in the case of loading and firing a crossbow, you'll be much more efficient on two legs than on four."

Bright Star nodded. "That makes sense, and i'll be sure to spread the word."

"Thank you."

Bright Star just stood there for a moment, looking concerned. "SIr, you seem distressed."

Is it that obvious? Sighing once more, James said, reluctantly, "You're right." He threw up his hands in a sudden feeling of despair. "I don't know if I'm even doing all this right. Most of what I know of this business I know because I read so many damn books, and knowledge from those don't help everything. The rest I have to try to make up on my own." The lowered his head for a moment, then asked, "Holw old are you?"

"How old are you?"

James felt chaffed, but didnt have the energy to put his new friend in place. "Twenty-one."

"About three years older than me."

"That's what I'm getting at; I'm not much older than you. I'm not someone in his middle ages or with graying hair who knows absolutely what to do in almost any given situation." Then he looked off at the other recruits, who were still praciticing their shooting; as he watched, one of them bumped one of his comrades, who fell over on his right side. As he did so, he depressed the trigger, and the quarrel flew up straight into the air; after what seemed to be an eternity, it fell a short ways away. Groaning, James said, "And there's the inexperience I have to deal with. I'm not sure at all if I can get them to be anywhere near ready by the time they're needed against the blasted Changlings and Griffons." He fell back against the tree, feeling useless.

"You seem to be doing okay so far." Bright Star sat down next on his left and wrapped his right foreleg around James' shoulder; the human noticed that his hoof was scratched and dirty as it rested on his right shoulder. The earth pony went on, "And I think we'll all get better with time. All we need to do is practice more, and we'll get better at it. You're doing a great job."

"Thank you." James felt much better. Hs friend's remarks didn't destroy his worries, but it did succeed in supressing them to a manageable level. He stood up, and felt Bright Star's leg and hoof slide off his shoulder.

"By the way..." Bright Star's voice sounded... not cheeky, perhaps, but it sounded as if he had a question to ask, and one more friend-oriented than training sessions and drills called for. "'James' still sounds a bit too formal. Is there anything else I can call you, if that's alirght?"

James thought for a minute. What was the nickname most people with his name had? Oh yes... "Jim. Call me Jim in private. However, I still expect the usual reference to my rank when in drill or in more formal occasions."

"Bright Star stood up as well; as a stallion, he stood almost as highas James did. "Oh, I know that. You can call me Bright when we're off-duty."

"Excellent. Now, while we we chatting, I've noticed a lack of practice on your part."

Bright looked started, then, seeing the slight smile on one side of James' face, said cheerfully, "Don't worry sir, I'll make it up."

"Be sure you do."

Two weeks later, and almost a month into the training, James felt like Bright Star's arguement was validated. The recruits wers shooting much more accurately than before, and knew how to walk a short distance on two legs.

Furthermore, a troop of around 250 Royal Guards had arrived at the camp, drilling as combat soldiers. They got the idea of what to do mcuh more quickly than the trainees, and obeyed orders much more readily. They accepted James as their commander without so much a a blink of surprise or indignance, and obeyed him as they would have a superior of their own species.

They were also less prone to mischevious acts, as James found out one day as he was walking back to his tent.

As he walked by one of the barracks, he smelled smoke; he looked to his right and saw thick, black smoke coming out of the building. He was about to call "Fire!" but never said it; he notcied that a flat piece of wood had been placed on top of the chimney... and a laughing, purple pegasus was rolling in the grass close by.

A prank. I don't think he's going to like the reception he's going to get..

Sure enough, five ponies (three earth ponies, a unicorn, and a pegasus) came racing out of the barracks; their eyes rested on the purple soldier, who was still laughing fit to burst, and set on him. By the time James had gotten there, they had managed to hit and kick him several times.

"Alright, break it up, break it up!" James waded in and hauled the pegasus off of his (so-called) comrade. A number of Royal Guards had arrived and were doing the job that they were no doubt to happy to fulfill; that of police officer and peacekeeper.

Once that had been done (it took a little more than a minute; the other attackers were very determined to make the prankster sorry), James was about to speak, but a Royal Guard beat him to it; "Now, what's the problem here?"

One of the earth ponies pointed a hoof as the purper pony, who was still having bursts of laughter on the ground despite the beating he had received. "He was trying to turn us all into smoked veggies!" He spoke with a slight southern accent.

The unicorn shouted, "And he got my mane all filthy with ash and soot doing it!" His horn lit up, as if he wanted to use magic to pulverize his tormentor.

James nodded, then turned to the offender. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Hee hee hee... Nothing sir", the prankster managed to say between giggles. "W... wasn't it a grand ole' smoke, though?" He started to giggle yet again.

And now, I have to decide what to do with him. This could have killed someone, even if that wasn't his intention. Perhaps especially because he didn't. He couldn't dishonorably discharge the recruit; that would give anyone who wanted out of the army a free pass. "You don't seem to realize that people can suffocate to death on smoke. Your actions could have killed someone."

The pony stopped laughing for a minute and for the first time looked serious; clearly he hadn't thought that that had been possible.

James proceeded to hand down his verdict; "You will scrub the bathrooms everyday for three hours with nothing but a toothbrush and a little soap, and collect the garbage around camp. You'll be in solitary confinement for a month, and you'll have a guard watching you to make sure there are no repeat offenses in that time period. In addition, you will write a letter of apology to each of the ponies you tried to prank, and they will be heartfelt; You'll take as long as necessary to get that done, but it will be done. Have you got all that?"

The pegasus looked thoughtful for a few seconds, then answered readily, "Yes, sir." Then he proceeded to begin giggling all over again.

James sighed. You can't cure everyone of stupid. Then he turned to the lead guard. "See that this happens."

"Yes sir. Come on, you," he said,looking at the offending pegasus and then jerking his head towards the mess hall; the place for solitary confinement was near that area. Then, looking back at James, he added, "Don't worry, sir; he won't be laughing after he's been set to do all you've said for him to do."

"My thanks, soldier." He was about to go on his way, then he turned back and said, "Oh, and tell him he has to clean the soot and ash from the building."

"Yes sir."*

James sat down in his tent and began writing another letter to his parents, the only people back home who would believe anything he wrote on this letter; no doubt the way they arrived would have got their attention.

He hadn't gotten a reply, and didn't expect one; after all, humans had no magic on which to call upon to send a reply. Whenever he was off-duty, he would send the letters to Twilight, who would in turn have Spike send the letters to the Princess, who would in turn send the letter to it's final destination. He wished he had a a more efficient way to send his mail at this point; it gave him something to joke about when he wasn't feeling all that pleased.

He sighed as he finished. It had been a surprisingly busy day after dealing with the prankster. Privately, he agreed that the practical joke had been funny; as an officer, however, he had to see it as a dangerous (not to mention foolish and witless) act.

His relations with the recruits and guards was still relatively undecided. Some of the recruits seemed to take offense at being told they would have to take order from "a big, stupid ape," as one unfortunate pegasus had said where a guard, acting as a drill sergeant, could hear him. He hadn't repeated the offense.

Others seemed on the fence, took in what he said, and made no move to know him further. Only a small number, including Bright Star, appeared to actually like him, and a few had asked basic questions, which he usually answered.

He got up, stretched, and left the tent. As he did so, he heard someone call out something; a name of some sort. Then, with the realization hitting him with the force of a slap, he discovered it was his name, once again being badly mispronounced. He groaned; would the world ever be able to get it? Not likely, he thought.

He turned to see Derpy Hooves hovering in front of a trainee, trying to find him. The soldier, seeing james, pointed a hoof in his direction, and the mailmare flew over to him.

"Are you Mr. Lavigne?" she asked.

Well, DUUUUHHH. I'm the only human in Equestria. He refrained from saying this out loud. "Yes, what is it?"

"Here." She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out am envelope. "I was told to give this to you."

James lifted an eyebrow. Did Celestia manage to find a way to recieve replies from my folks? "Thank you."

He heard her stomach growl; she looked down at it, with a slightly sad expression on her face. "You wouldn't have any muffins around, would you?"

"Not on me. However, you might find something to eat in the mess hall." He pointed to the appropriate building.

"Okay, thanks!" She flew off.

"Right, down to business." He opened the letter. As he read, his expression grew more and more shocked; this wasn't what he had expected or wanted, not at all.

"Hey James! What's up?"

The human turned to find Shining Armor standing to his left.

He won't like it either, not a bit. He took a deep breath. "Princess Celestia had just given me some very bad news."

The stallion jerked back. "Is she firing you? But you've done great!"

"Worse; if she were firing me, she wouldn't need me anymore, and all this would have been an expensive diversion. Here, read for yourself." He handed the letter to Shining, who took hold of it with his magic.

As expected, he grew just as surprise and shocked as James. "The Changlings have invaded the northwest!"

"Yes." James looked at the camp; he would have to leave it soon.

"What do we do?"

"Our job as soldiers. We protect the populace from this attack." James thought quickly. "We need to stall them, buy time for the settlements in the northwest to evacuate." He looked up. "I'm going to rally every one of the Guard that were sent here, save those who are drill sergeants, our artillery, and... about one hundred and fifty of the recruits."

Shining looked shocked. "You're taking a force as small as that?"

"I have to stall them, damn it! And who else here, other than you, is qualified to lead them?" Then, more quietly, as he had startled the white stallion, "I don't intend to fight a straight up battle with their main force. I intend to slow them down, not confront them." He stood as straight and tall as he could. "While I do that, you can prepare the rest of the army and lead them to reinforce us. In any event, I intend to leave soon, with the forces I said I'd take, and march to the front. Can we expect you to follow in due course?"

Shining stiffened, then smiled in rivalrous sort of way. "Follow? I expect to get there before you do."

"That's the spirit! Now come, we have to tell the camp." Walking to the platform he had stood on a month ago with the Princess and her Captain of the Royal Guard, he found himself surprised with how much insubordination he had gotten away with talking to a superior officer.

Author's Note

* I borrowed this scene from one in Harry Turtledove's The Guns of the South, as I found it quite funny; the offender in the novel got off with just a beating from the victims, though.

Side Chapter 1; letters to home

Side Chapter 1; letters to home

Letter one, day 1 of army training, September 2nd, 2012 (1002 Equestrian calendar)

Dear Mom and Dad,

No doubt you'll have a hard time believing what I'm about to tell you. Heck, I even have trouble accepting it.

You can call off the police, if you have them looking for me, they'll do you no good.

As for where I am, well... you know that show that...

You know what, screw it. I'm in Equestria. Yeah, that's right, I'm in a magical land full of talking ponies and bright colors.

Yeah, you probably think I'm crazy. Like I said, sometimes I wonder. But my senses are telling me I'm really here, and the human body is more reliable than any machine.

I know you are wondering why I'm not home yet. It's... complicated. The ponies' leader, Princess Celestia herself, summoned me here; apparently she's been looking inside my mind, trying to gather knowledge of things military. Their under threat from some shape-shifting monsters called Changelings, and the Griffon kingdom to the north is stirring.

They... asked me to help them. Call me stupid, call me a fool, but you weren't there, you didn't see their faces, how desperate they were. I couldn't refuse with eternal guilt taking hold in my heart. So I accepted. Hey, at least your son is now a Colonel, higher than you thought I'd ever rise, eh, Dad?

I'm technically grown up now, able to make my own choices. I'm trying to train and lead an army, and it probably woon't be easy, but I have the confidence - for now - that I can get the job done. And to be frank, we're all gonna be haeding into danger eventually, and there's now guarantee we'll come back alive. God willing, we might get this whole mess over with quickly, and I'll be home. If not... if not, then I'm here for the long haul.

I love you, and give my love and hopes to baby Jonathan.

Sincerely, with the greatest of love,

Your son, James.

P.S. If you still doubt I'm telling you the truth, just remember the way this letter reached you; that should erase all doubts.

Letter 2, day 10 of army training, September 12th, 2012 (1002 Equestrian calendar)

Dear Mom and Dad,

Been busy trying to mold the farmers, artisans, and whatnot into an army. It's been... difficult, certainly much harder than I ever expected. With books, innovation, and whatever I can make up on the fly, I've been hard at work guiding these people - for they have the intelligence and capacity of people, regardless of the difference in body structure - making them better in the field of learning which they must now either acquire, or face conquest, subjugation, and maybe even extermination.

I wouldn't wish that on any American, or any good human overall. I love the principles of liberty and free enterpise on which our own proud nation was founded, and it would be a betrayal of those great ideals to fail or quit now.

Hoping for the best,

With love, your son, James.

Letter 3, day fifteen of army training, September 17th, 2012 (1002 Equestrian calendar)

Dear Mom and Dad,

Feeling pretty down. This ain't going particularly well.

Some of the poor rascals don't know the basics or the outcomes that war produces; they are completely ignorant - or perhaps are refusing to acknowledge - that war means fighting, and fighting means killing.

One earth pony dropped a cannonball on my foot the other day, and I had to go to the medical tent to get it fixed. Felt pretty upset when that happened, although I forgave the poor grunt for doing it.

It feels pretty bad with all the failures I've been throguh, but there is one bright light in a dark sky; my new buddy, Bright Star. He's an earth pony stallion, with a yellow coat, purple mane, and bright yellow hooves. You'd like him. He's helped me with some of the training, and he's given me confidence when I began to lose it. I wish you guys could meet him. Come to that, I wish you could come here, but with a war brewing on the horizon, that might not be a good idea in any case.

I have other friends I've made, and they've helped me settle in and make the most of the situation. When everything else fails, it's nice to know there are others who are giving you their best wishes.

With love,

James.

Letter 4, day 24th of army training, September 26th, 2012 (1002 Equestrian calendar)

Dear Mom and Dad,

Things are finally starting to look up. Some Royal Guards, Equestria's best, have come down to begin the training, and for the record I am very please with that. They have the discipline and skill needed, and drilling them is easier than trying to train newbies to the fray. They react faster and more skillfully than the recruits, and I couldn't be happier with how they're filling out.

I'm starting to feel like maybe I can do this after all.

With love,

James.

Letter 5, day 30th of army training, October 2nd, 2012 (1002 Equestrian calendar)

Dear Mom and Dad,

Maybe I really am doing it. even some of the new guys are getting with the program enough for me to start feeling really confident again.

Things have started to really stabilize; I don't have to go personally to every drill or session any more, and I can spend more of my time thinking and forming plans, like I prefer to do.

Oh, and something kinda dunny happened today. A purple pegasus (one of those with wings) flew up and placed a board on the chimney of one of the barracks, and ended up smoking out like five other ponies. They weren't too happy with that, and me and few guards had to break it up. Wouldn't you believe it, he was still laughing his ass off even after the beating, pardon the French (who we are decended from, happily enough). He probably won't be able to keep that up for long; I gave him quite the punishment. I personally find his little joke funny, but as an officer I have to see this as unacceptable behavior; he could have killed someone, even if that wasn't what he was going for.

At any rate, I'm going to have lunch in a while, and I can't wait. I'm starving (not literally).

With the best love I can give,

James.

Chapter 9; Invasion!

James' march to the platform was anything but jolly, and anyone who saw him knew, deep down, that something was up. Several ponies glanced his way; he ignored them out of necessity. They would know what was going on soon enough.

Bright Star was one of those who noticed. "Sir, what's going on?"

"Platform. Now. Gather everyone you can, and meet us in front of it."

"Uh, ooookaaaaaaaaayyyyyy." Bright looked surprised, but hurried to obey.

James was already past him, and he made his way up onto the platform; already, a few ponies had gathered. However, he didn't speak, not yet.

He had to wait a while, but by the time he was ready to speak, most of the camp was assembled. He was grateful to Bright Star and to Shining Armor for gathering them relatively quickly.

Shining Armor joined him on the platform. James nodded to him; Shining nodded back; he was ready.

James began, speaking loudly, so everyone could hear him; "Ponies of Equestria, soldiers, Guards, I..." He sighed. "I regret what I must tell you today. At... 6:30 this morning, a pegasus on the northern border discovered that a changeling force has crossed into Equestria. The enemy... has a sizable force, and their vanguard alone is estimated at approximately 1,000."

Many of the recruits, though they had better discipline than they did when they began training, began to panic, as they had when they had first been addressed.

"Listen, all of you!" James shouted at the top of his voice. He didn't have the Royal Canterlot Voice, but he was able to get their attention. "Your country needs you. Your families need you as well; they are one you are protecting and serving. And... I need you. We all need you now than ever."

He took a second to evaluate the crowd; they had calmed down considerably and were looking at him intensely.

"I am assembling a force to fight the enemy, and slow their invasion while General Shining Armor builds and trains a bigger force to engage the enemy directly." He stepped forward. "I am bringing all two hundred and fifty Royal Guards who have joined us, along with a hundred and fifty soldiers of the First Ponyville Regiment, to slow the enemy and buy the country some time, to better prepare, and to hurt the enemy." He pointed northwest. "Over there are some civilians who need our help. They need time to evacuate, and escape the horde of barbarians who sweep down to engulf them. We will provide that time." He took off his kepi and held it - and the hand holding it - over his heart. "I... I will lead you myself." He lowered his head. "I... This will be a perilous endeavor. I cannot guarantee we'll all come back. I can't guarantee that I'll come back."

James waited for a few seconds, then put his hat back on and looked up. "But if we don't do this, no one will. We have to fight, and in doing so risk our lives, because if we do not, we will forfeit everything we love; our freedom, our prosperity, our beliefs" - here looked up at the sky for a moment - "our peaceful lives, our right to pursue happiness, all will be thrown on the fire by our enemies. We must stand now, or all we love will perish before the darkness that even now advances on the soil of this proud and great land."

He could see determination begin to form on their faces.

"Ready your crossbows; limber the cannons; and lets give the enemy a lesson they'll never forget as long as they live!"

The troops began to cheer. He was relieved; they were listening to him rather than fleeing.

"Now, to all units I have mentioned, ready yourselves; we march at once. Be ready within the hour; we'll head for the train station, as it's the fastest way to Appleloosa, the first town under threat from the Changelings." James stepped off the platform, heading for his tent, to follow his own orders.

James got his things, including his books, and put them in his bag. He exited the tent and nodded to the pegasi who were dismantling the tent. He felt a little afraid of the ordeal ahead, he felt a little excited as well. *

A column of Royal Guards and Ponyvillan soldiers had formed up and were ready to march out. He was impressed with the speed they had readied themselves.

As he walked toward it, he glimpsed a flash of pink; he looked up and saw Princess Cadence fly down and land on the ground not far away. She walked up to Shining Armor and embraced him without a word being said between them; there was no need for them. James looked, then tried to look away. This was what they were fighting for.

They finally came apart and started speaking. James shrugged and walked to the front of the column.

He was about to call for the column to start moving forward - in fact he had opened his mouth to do so - when he felt someone kiss him, hard, on his right cheek. He turned to see Cadence, in all her splendor, standing there, unabashed.

"Take care of them." She said it quietly, but audibly. "And take care of my Shining Armor, when it's his time."

"I will." He nodded to get the point across even further. Then he looked forward. "COMPANY... MARCH!"

March they did, through Ponyville on the way to the station. The townsponies watched on in awe as the soldiers went through the town. Some of them waved, some cheered; if there were any who didn't do one or the other, he couldn't see them.

Don't they realize the these boys are headed of to a war? As he marched, he took the time to think about that word; War. It was a small word, but it's meaning was astronomical.

The train station came into sight. The troops marched to an area just outside of it to load onto the train that had been sent there; Celestia had said she was sending one in her letter.

The soldier began loading onto the train; he saw a red colored coat, and noticed Big Macintosh, coat clashing somewhat with his blue uniform, start to board.

"Big Mac!" An orange pony galloped into the station, hat atop her head. Applejack rushed to her big brother and hugged him, hard. He said something to her that James couldn't hear, and her reply was also lost to him.

James felt an odd urge to walk over to them; he did so, saying, as he drew near, "Don't worry about this big lug, I'll take care of him."

She looked up from the red fur she had been crying into, and said, quietly, but calmly, "Ah know you will."

Once the soldiers had boarded the train, and all their equipment, including the cannons, were on board, the train set off; the Mane 6 (or so humans, in their own world, called them) were there, waving good-bye to the troops as the train began to move.

He walked to the front of the train and sat down in one of the seats on the right side of the car. He brought a hand up to his head as he became lost in thought.

This is it, it's really happening. Then he felt a little foolish; it had been "really happening" when he had been brought into Equestria... no, even before that, otherwise he wouldn't have been summoned from his own world.

He reached into his bag, pullingmout one of his Civil War books, Brother against Brother; The War Begins, and began to read. He had finished the first chapter (One Nation, Divisible) and was started on the second (The Avenging Angel) when he felt the seat shift; he looked over to his left and saw that Bright Star was sitting there.

"Hey Jim." Bright gave a smile, but James could see nervousness in his eyes.

"Morning, Bright." James gave him a friendly nod, and went back to his book.

"Whatcha readin'?"

"This." James showed him the cover.

Bright Star whistled. "That picture looks pretty old." The photograph he was refering to was an old, black and white showing two soldiers, presumably one being Union and the other being Confederate.

"Well, the Civil War did happen over 150 years ago." James put the book back on his lap. He skipped to chapter 5, The Guns Have Spoken, where in Fort Sumter was fired upon. He read for a while in silence. Bright said nothing, but James could tell he was trying to read as well.

James got to a point where there was a painting of Fort Sumter under siege; in it, a Confederate soldier had been killed by the Union's return fire. Bright's hoof suddenly blocked his vision of the left page. "Did that really happen?", the yellow stallion asked.

"No; surprisingly, no human being was killed during the bombardment. As the caption, says, it's a figment of the artist imagination." He took a deep breath. "However, a Confederate horse was killed by Union fire, and, after the fort had surrendered, a Union gunner was incautious when he was loading one of the cannons for a salute, and died in the resulting explosion."

Bright recoiled. "Remind me never to enlist in the artillery."

James shook his head. "Unless they are inside a fort, artillerymen are usually safer on the battlefield than the infantry; it's they who have to do most of the dirty work."

"Yeah, but still, I don't want that to happen to me."

"No one does. It happens, though. We aren't perfect." James closed the book and sighed. "I wasn't lying up on the platform, you know; some of us, in all likelyhood, will die; I might even die."

"You?" Bright seemed incredulous. "But you're an officer!"

James laughed. "And therefore the enemy will be trying to kill me more than a normal grunt. What an honor," he added sarcastically.

Bright looked at him with a determined look on his face. "I've got your back."

James nodded gratefully. "And I've got yours." For a while after that, neither of them spoke, but watched the countryside flash by in the window.

"You don't seem as concerned about the horse dying as much as the human."

"What?" James had to think a moment before realizing what Bright Star was talking about. "Oh. Well... how do I say this?" He though for a minute. "Humans are the only life advanced enough on our world to have formed a civilization. Horses and ponies on our world just graze, and play with each other and wait to be fed. They aren't like you guys at all."

"Oh." Bright looked thoughtful. "But it still doesn't mean that they're not alive, or deserving of care."

"I know, but some people see it differently. Me, I try to treat animals and people fairly."

"And what am I to you?"

"A friend." That brought a smile to the pony's face. Again things were quiet for a while, except for the puffing of the engine and the clickety-clack of the wheels on the rails.

"Do you have... a very special somepony?"

James stared. "Where did that come from?"

Bright looked like a child caught in wrongdoing. "I... I just wanted to know..."

"Hmmmm." James sat with his head atop his hands for several seconds. "...No. I... just feel... shy around girls. I just don't know what to say, or what to do, or... augh, I just don't know. And to top it off, they are so... damn... explosive, at least emotionally."

Bright smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, the other side is another species entirely." He looked down. "I could never find somepony who was interested in me."

"Just keep trying, eventually someone will see you for who you are inside." Then, hoping he knew what he was talking about, "God's got a plan for you, for all of us, and you'll find someone in the end."

"I sure hope so."

"You will." James wrapped his left arm around Bright's shoulders. Then, after a few seconds, he relented and looked out the window again. "For now, we must focus on the matter before us."

Unfortunately, the train could not reach Appleloosa in a day, and night fell surprisingly quickly. Without adequate sleeping quarters, the soldiers had to sleep wherever they could find a comfortable spot.

James tried to sleep on the floor; with all the bumps and jerks of the car on the track, this proved almost impossible. He was jealous of Bright, who had won the coin toss for the seat. However, he couldn't complain; it had been a fair... gamble, he supposed.

Eventually, though, exhaustion took him, and he slept.

In his dreams he could see soldiers, human and pony alike, fighting out the Civil War; ponies and humans served on both sides, shooting muskets and cannons at one another, and he saw a Union Monitor duking it out with a Confederate Equestrian airship, and Big Mac and Applejack fighting for the Confederacy against Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle for the Union. Rarity did show up... as a rich Southern aristocrat, and Fluttershy as well, as a frightened Northern nurse.

The then dream changed; Panzer IIIs raced through city streets as a US Bazooka-man took aim; the panzer was hit, and a gray-coated, German-looking pony with an Iron Cross on his neck came out, blackened and burned...

A pony with Spartan spear, armor, and shield defended Thermopylae, human and pony comrades fighting against Persian ponies and humans, who were cut down like wheat before the scythe..

The trenches of World War One; Rainbow Dash was in a dogfight with the Red Baron...

BUMP!

James woke up as the train jerked. He tried to gather his conciousness together. He felt as if gravity was pulling him towards the front of the train; they were stopping then.

Then he frowned; why did it feel as if the stop was so abrupt?

The train finally came to a stop. James was about to get up and ask the engineer what the... heck was the matter, but the would-be subject of his attention rushed through the door. "There's an obstruction on the tracks, I need help to remove it!"

"Alright." James got up, and made sure his weapons were properly attached to his belt before stepping outside... into an oppresive wave of the desert heat.

Why would anyone want to live here? He walked to the front of the locomotive; sure enough, there was something on the tracks ahead. He looked back and found perhaps fifty of the soldiers had disembarked with him.

He walked over to the blockage. He was about to try moving it when something struck him; why did this look as if it were artificial, man - or rather, pony - made? A rock had been thrown across the track, with some logs and a telegraph pole.

Several soldiers, including a few Royal Guards, who, James was pleased to note, had brought their crossbows and spears with them, arrived at the obstruction. One of them looked at him. "Sir, this doesn't look like an accident."

"No, it doesn't. which means..."

Before he could figure out what it mean, a green jet of light flashed by his right arm. He blinked. Another green light flew past the left side of his head.

"Changelings!" shouted a soldier, who crouched and fired his weapon at the location where the incoming fire - which James' brain suddenly realized it was - was coming from.

James copied him, kneeling down, lifting his revolver. A black, porous creature rose from it's hiding place behind a boulder. James took quick aim and fired. A flash of green specks flew from it's head, and it fell to the ground.

Three more changelings rose from behind the boulder and charged the Equestrians; one crumpled with a quarrel in it's chest; the other two kept on going as if nothing had happened.

James shot again, but missed. He swore loudly, cocked the hammer again, and aimed more carefully. This time one of the monsters fell, though it wasn't dead; it kept trying to inch it's way forward, towards it's enemies.

Only a few other Equestrians had managed to fire, but none of their shots connected on the remaining changeling, who rushed forward without any fear whatsoever and stabbed it's horn into a soldier's chest; the pony screamed and fell over, as the changeling, with bright, red blood on it's horn, pulled back and prepared to charge again. It's eyes fell on James, and it crouched, getting ready to spring.

A crossbow bolt caught it squarely in the chest; it's eyes filed with outraged surprise as it struggled to remain standing. It took a couple steps forward, then collapsed without a sound passing it's lips.

James turned, looking for the shooter. He saw Bright Star standing on two legs, still holding the crossbow. He was shaking, clearly shocked at what he had done. James started to walk toward him, but a shout arrested the motion; "Look! One's getting away!"

James whipped around; sure enough, a fifth changeling was flying away, back to the north.

He turned. "I want any and all pegasi to get after him, and bring him back, alive. I want him alive, you hear me?"

Four pegasi flew off to obey his order. The remaining ponies seemed stunned at what had just occurred. he didn't blame them; that had been his first real ambush where someone had actually tried to kill him.

He allowed himself to just stand there, breathing, to collect his thoughts. He pointed to the blockade. "Let's get this crap off the track." He walked over to the boulder and pushed his shoulder against it. Four or five troopers ran forward to help him.

The boulder wasn't so heavy after fifteen more ponies helped to push it out of the way. After that, the logs, pole, and even a large cactus were brushed aside with ease; James suspected that the ponies' hooves were especially useful in removing that last, as they couldn't feel anything, and were hard as rock in any case.

James nodded to the engineer, who was still in the cab. He was just about to re-embark when he heard wings. Turning, he saw four pegasi soldiers... with a changeling, roped and bound up, held between them. The changeling itself looked quite the worse for wear; clearly it had refused to surrender without a fight and had been beaten into submission.

"Sir, reporting with the prisoner, as per your orders."

"Excellent job, all of you." He turned to the changeling. "Why are you so far south, and what is your objective?" he said in a firm voice.

The changeling said nothing.

"Answer the Colonel!" One of the soldiers jerked the rope which the black prisoner was tied to. "Now!"

"I answer only to my queen... not ponies or an overgrown ape!" the changeling answered, in an insectile, hissing voice.

James' temper flared like a rocket. "Bring him and his injured companion aboard the train; if the latter refuses medical aid... then he does. Make sure they have at least four guards, preferably more, so they cannot escape or attack anyone."

"You cannot escape our vengeance, monkey! We will consume Equestria, and we will do it soon!"

"GET HIM AND HIS COMPANION OUT OF MY SIGHT!" James shouted at the top of his voice. The changeling, to his annoyance, didn't seem fearful in the least; his own soldiers, however, cringed at the roar he made. The looks on their faces made him feel a little ashamed of having lost control. "Sorry, just please, get them onboard so we can continue on to Appleloosa."

The soldiers, though mollified, were still clearly scared of him as they pulled the prisoner - and his injured but struggling comrade - back towards the caboose. James watched them go, then walked over to the cab. "How far is it to Appleloosa from here?" he asked the engineer.

The engineer thought for a moment. "A little less than an hour from here, if memory serves."

"Thank you." He walked over the car. The clip-clop of hooves followed, and he looked back to see a still-distraught Bright Star walking slowly behind him.

They boarded the car in silence and sat down. The train started back up, and was soon back up to optimum speed.

"I never want to do that again. Ever." These words came from Bright's mouth a few minutes later. He sounded shocked. He looked at James accusingly. "You never told me it would feel... like that."

James knew what "it" meant. "I wouldn't have had words to tell you. It's... repulsive, to say the least."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Hey, I didn't know the Changelings were gonna ambush us. Contrary to all belief, I am not omnipotent just because I am in charge; I'm not omnipotent under any circumstance, as a matter of fact." Then sighing, he added, "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Saving my life. He was about to gut me when you got him."

"...Your welcome, I guess." Bright wasn't looking angry anymore, just upset. "Do you think he's going to be all right? The guy they hit I mean?"

James thought, then said, "He looked pretty bad, we have doctors and nurses looking after him, and there's probably a hospital in the town. Hopefully we can patch him up and bring him to the proper medical facilities. I think he'll made it."

Bright let out a sigh of relief. "That's good, at any rate." He stopped talking, and the scenery passed by.

Sure enough, Appleloosa was soon in sight, and the train came into the small station. They disembarked; Appleloosans watched in surprise as the troops walked of the train and unloaded their equipment. They also stared at the tall biped who marched out with them.

James didn't like that, but knew he couldn't do anything about it; at least none of them were attacking him, which was the most he could have hoped for.

A small delegation, including Braeburn and Sheriff Silver Star walked up to a Royal Guard officer who was overseeing the unloading of the cannons. The sheriff said something quietly to the soldier, who responded, much louder, "Oh, I'm not in charge. He is." He pointed a hoof in James' direction.

Well, I shoulda seen this coming, he thought to himself as the three ponies in the delegation began walking his way. He stood there and watched as they approached. When they stopped in front of him, he asked quietly, but politely, "May I help you?"

They seemed surprised, but the Sheriff didn't balk as he asked, "Welcome ta Appleloosa" - he pronounced it "Appoloosa" - "now what are ya'll here fer?"

To get down to business. Calmly, James began, "We are here to fight off the changeling hordes coming down from the north, and to protect you all while you evacuate."

"What do ya mean, ev-ac-u-ate?" asked Braeburn. "Cain'tcha hold them off?"

James shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we don't have enough soldiers to defend the town indefinitely. We can only stall them, and then for only so long. We are here to hurt the enemy and slow them down until a larger force can reinforce us; God willing, they'll come soon. In the meantime, this town and it's inhabitants are in danger of attack by these monsters. In the probability that this town falls, we need to ensure the survival and well-being of the citizens here. Can you do this? It would aid us immensely."

"Ya sure you cain't hold um?" asked the pink mare (with light green mane and a green apple for a cutie mark) tha made up the third member of the group.

"I am sure. We have four hundred to fight off thousands. We are outnumbered very badly."

Sheriff Silver Star looked thoughtful. "Thought tha war wouldn' come this far south, ifn' it came atall." He didn't complain, though. "Can ya give us a week?"

"I think we can. Oh, and we have a soldier on board who was hurt when a group of Changelings ambushed the train about an hour or so ago. If you have a hospital or at least a doctor's office in town, I would be most grateful."

"O' course, it's right over there yonder." The Sheriff pointed to a building down the street.

James sighed in relief. "Thank you, thany you very much."

Braeburn was still very upset. "How cain ya ask us to just abandon our livelihoods and our careers?"

Didn't I just tell you why? He decided to be blunt this time; "Because if we fail to hold this town, the changelings will kill or make prisoners of everyone of you they find. They almost killed the soldier we're bringing to the hospital, and I doubt they'll have any reservations when it comes to civilian lives." Seeing that he had shocked them, he went on, "If you stay here and continue working, you'll probably die, along with anyone else who stays. If you leave, and leave as soon as possible, you will be able to escape safely."

None of them said anything fr a moment, then Braeburn said with a resigned sigh, "If it comes to mah job an' mah life, ah'll choose life, and help everyone else live."

James' expression softened. "It won't be forever, just until we can get more troops up here and beat the Changeling into next week. Then you can all come home. We're here to protect you, not hurt you."

"Yeah, ah know. It's just... this is so sudden, darn it." Braeburn kicked at a stone in front of him.

"Now, I must get to work making preparations to defend the town." James shouted to the officer, "Are those cannons off-loaded yet?"

"Not yet sir, but we're almost done."

"Good." James turned to go.

"Wait a moment, uh..."

"Colonel."

"Colonel, who should we send off first?"

James turned back to the Sheriff. "I'd evacuate women and chil..." He saw the confused looks on their faces. "Er, mares and foals first. Stallions can evacuate later."

"Makes sense."

James turned again, but before he could go anywhere, Braeburn said, "Wait, just one more question."

"Yes?"

"Just what are you?"

"A human." James raised an eyebrow. "May I go now?"

"Er, yes, uh, o' course," the Sheriff said, still looking a little put off and confused.

James turned on his heel and walked off to make sure the army would do what it had come here to do.

"Are you sure?" James asked.

"Positive." The pegasus Royal Guard sounded certain. "At the speed they're going, they'll be here in three days."

"Excellent. Well done corporal."

The Guard looked utterly confused for a moment. "Sir, not to be insubordinate, but I'm a private."

"Were a private. That's in the past. Your work here warrants a promotion. Your observations of the enemy forces has given us the chance to oppose their advance and arrive here ahead of them. You'll receive the pay grade and privileges that a corporal deserves." Which isn't all that much above private, James thought, but he felt it appropriate to reward the Guard for his actions.

"Sir!" The Guard saluted, with a small smile on his face. "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome." James watched as he left, then went to try to pitch his own tent; they were about twenty miles north of Appleloosa, and to James' surprise they actually found what made do for a forest and a grass clearing. It was still sun-blasted, in James' opinion, but at least the terrain was somewhat familiar to him.

He tried to set up the tent, but he didn't have the hang of it yet; it collapsed three times, the last time falling down on top of him just when he was sure he'd gotten it right.

"Having trouble?"

James fought to get the tent off of him. There was Bright Star and two other ponies a unicorn and a pegasus, all looking quite amused.

He felt his cheeks heat up. He got to his feet and stood up straight. "I'd appreciate any help you boys could give."

"Sure." Bright nodded to each of his companions. "White knight" - the unicorn, who had a white coat and a brown mane, with a chess knight for a cutie mark - "Silver Lining" - the pegasus, who had a silver coat, a cyan mane, and three clouds for a cutie mark - "please help our Colonel set up his tent."

They proceeded to do so. With the help of the three ponies, the tent was set up in next to no time.

"Thanks guys, it looks great." James still felt slightly embarrassed, but that was wearing off.

"You're welcome, sir," White Knight said, in a New York accent. "Youse guys need anytin' else?"

"Nuttin dat needs magic, anywae," said Silver Lining, who had an undeniable Gaelic accent. "Ah spect' you'll be needin' somemat soon, though, sir."

"Not today, at any rate." James set up his hammock, and sat down. "Any word from the poor kid down in Appleloosa?"

Bright Star's smile slipped, but didn't disappear entirely. "Yeah, and it looks like he's going to be ok. They're still working on him though."

"My condolences and sympathies go with him."

"Hey, why don't you join me and the guys at our campfire tonight?" asked the yellow stallion.

James felt surprised. "You sure you want me to join you boys? A memeber of a species from another world?"

"There's nuttin wrong with ya, yer not of a bad sort, not atall," Silver Lining said, with a welcoming smile on his face.

"Youse gonna be welcome at our campfia" added White Knight."

"Thank you, my comrades... no, thank you, my friends." James gave an elaborate bow, even to the point of sweeping his hat off his head.

His new friends all looked pleased.

That night, at about 9:30, James walked over to the campfire where Bright Star and his friends sat on logs, eating their dinner.

He sat down on on of the free logs, and noticed that Bright Star, White Knight, and Silver Lining werent the only ponies sitting around the fire. An orange pegasus with a black mane and a schooner for a cutie mark was also there, eating from a small tray.

"Ah, Jim, thanks for stopping by." Bright Star waved his hoof around the campfire. "You already know White Knight and Silver Lining." Then, turning his head to the orange pony, he added, "Aren't you going to say something, Jack Tar?"

Looking up from his tray, Jack Tar said, "Sure, I'll say something; shut up and let me finish eating." He went back to doing just that.

Bright Star looked a little put off, and gave a nervous smile, groaning nervously. "He's a nice guy, once you get to know him. He's a sailor, and he's not to happy to be in the army."

"Damned right I'm not." The other ponies gasped and gave a jolt at Jack Tar's curse. He clearly didn't care; he just kept right on eating.

Bright Star leaned over and whispered in James ear, "I'm sorry sir, I didn't know he'd be like this."

"That's fine," James whispered back. "I wouldn't be happy if I was a sailor and had to try being a landlubber."

"If you're gonna sae somethin about me, say it ow loud. I believe in plain speakin'."

Yes, he's certainly an interesting character, all right. James said, "Alright, I'll say this plainly; I don't like your attitude, especially toward the soldier who will be watching your back on the firing line."

"An' ah don like tha thought tha we're bein' lead by some damn, dirty ape. Or tha ah've been taken awae from my beloved, blessed ocean and put on wretched land."

"Don't youse think dat maybe yer goin' to far, Jack? Insultin' the commandah ain't gonna make anythin' betta for youse."

"Ah, go boil yer head."

That's it. James stood up. "Jack Tar, listen to me, and listen to me very carefully", he said, in a deadly quiet voice. "You may have been uprooted from the profession you love the most, you may have been forced into a job you don't like, but" - and here his voice began to rise - "if you mistreat your fellow soldiers in any way, if you step out of line and try to drag others down in your misery, there is nothing the sea can do that you would fear more than me. Understood?"

Jack Tar looked at him, sizing him up as he spoke; as James finished, he put a slight smile on his face, as if James didn't know what he was talking about. "Whateva." He kept eating.

James sat back down, sighing. Some people never change. He waited as everyone else ate; he had had a few apples a few minutes ago, and they had been decent enough to throw off the hunger in his belly. As he waited, he hummed "Battle Hymn of the Republic"; it helped to ease the tension he was feeling.

"What's up sir? What kinda ditty is dat?" White Knight asked.

James looked up; he had been staring into the fire for the past few minutes. "Hmm? Oh, it's just an old army song, nothing really popular anymore, unfortunately."

"Oh, really?" Bright Star said, intrigued. "What's it called?"

"Battle Hymn of the Republic."

"Republic?" asked Silver Lining. "Ain't tha sometin' called demo-cratsy, or somewhat?"

"It's, 'Democracy,' and yes, my country, The United States of America, is run on democratic principles."

Bright Star raised an eyebrow. "Sounds rather... new."

"Sure, if you call more than two hundred and thirty years new." James chuckled.

Jack Tar gave a laugh, although he didn't say anything. Bright Star enlightened James; "Compared to the rule of Princess Celestia, that's new."

"Well, few humans live beyond a hundred years, so please excuse me if that sounds like a long time." James felt upset; no one here seemed to really understand democracy on a governmental scale, nor did they really seem to think it was a good idea. He supposed he couldn't blame them; after 1,000 years of a benevolent monarchy, they didn't think they needed democracy or the republican system. Then he straightened. Let them think as they please. We fought a war because the British king and Parliament wouldn't let us be represented in government, and sought to tax every last penny out of us. We stood against the mightiest empire in the world with nothing more than a group of ragtag amateurs... and won. What's more, we've made the republican system work. We are a superpower. Does Equestria claim that last?

"If it's worked for you, then that's all well and good," Bright Star said; apparently he was trying to lift James' spirits.

The human nodded. "In any event, the principles of liberty are at stake here, no less than when my country won it's independence. As one of our presidents said, 'the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.' In order for freedom to stand here, we must be victorious against both the changelings and the griffons, else the rights of this land will be swept away like twigs in a flood."

"Well said, Colonel!" Bright Star said, clapping his hooves. White Knight and Silver Lining followed suit; Jack Tar did nothing, only watched on, with a look of contempt on his face. James' spirits really did fall here, just a bit, upon seeing this. I'm really going to have to do something about him.

"Thank you." He looked back at the fire; What was it about fires that was so intriguing?

"So how youse been, Jim? Where's ya fam-ly?"

"Back home, in Maine; that's spelled M-A-I-N-E, by the way." Then, feeling cheeky, he added, "Nice New York accent."

"New York?" - White Knight pronounced it "New Yolk," and he said it in a puzzled way - "I'm from Manehattan."

"I thought the soldiers we were bringing up here we either from the Royal Guard or Ponyville?" James got a little peeved. No doubt it was a mix up.

"Yeah, me an' da guys - cept for Bright here - are from Manehattan. Don't know bout' no 'New York', but I was raised on the streets there."

"Aye, somepony musta made a wee mistake, and so here we are... at yer orders, sir."

"Zu Befehl." The German phrase was a military one, meaning, quite literally, at your orders; German soldiers said it instead of "Yes sir.

"Geshundheit."

James was about to tell Silver Lining exactly what he had said, but saw the soldier's twinkling eye and realized the pony was having fun with him. He felt himself smiling as he asked, "Spreichen ze Deutsch?"

"Nein, du?" Silver responded, winking.

"A bit." Then, a little more seriously, he asked, "Where did you learn German?"

"Ye learn all sorts o' tongues down in Manehattan. And I've been all round'the bleedin' country. Oh, and it's called "Germane," in plain Equestrian."

"Ah. Back in America, we call this language 'English'." He put a hand under his chin; yep, he was going to have to shave soon. "What do you do for a living, in any event?"

"Me?" The silver pegasus pointed to himself. "I work on the weather, like any ole' pegasus." He also scratched himself under his chin. "I do like makin' sculptures out o' the clouds, though. That's how I got this." He pointed to his cutie mark.

"I got my 'mark from beatin' everypony in my class at chess." White Knight broke into the conversation. "Beat almost everypony in Manehattan, come ta think about it. Some think I'm too good, though," he said, starting to lower his voice. "Some kids 'ave been pushing for me ta be banned from tournaments, they think I'm cheatin' see?"

Everyone - except for Jack Tar, of course - gasped. James said, a little outraged, "That's completely unfair. There's no way that I know of to cheat at Chess, at least not directly."

"That's cuz they say I'm doin' it all round' about, like. Ya know, makin' like I was bumpin' tha table, tryin' ta scared the other guy, that kind o' stuff."

James made a disgusted face. "And so they ruined your reputation with lies and slander."

"Eh. Not everypony believes em', but..." Here he shrugged.

"Well, hopefully that doesn't happen here." James yawned. Today had been tiring. "I suggest you all get some sleep tonight, we'll have plenty of work to do tomorrow." He stood up. "It was great getting to know you all." He yawned again. "Good night, all."

Bright, White Knight, and Silver all chorused their own variations of "good night" right back. James nodded, then walked away to his own tent. He practically fell into the hammock and fell asleep almost before he knew it.

Chapter 10; First battle

James got up early the next morning, and gave orders for the digging of trenches around the camp, and for wooden stakes to be placed in front of those trenches. The Royal Guards obeyed without question, and without complaining. The other soldiers, however... to say he had mixed results from them was the most polite way he could have put it.

Some of them, the farmers and others who had dealt with dust and dirt their whole lives, knew all about digging, and how to do it; they piled the dirt in front the trenches they were digging, allowing them to put up a barricade from behind which to fire from safety, and proportionally reducing the distance they had to dig downward. He had no trouble with them. Unfortunately, others had not come from such humble abodes, and balked at being ordered to dig. He had the most difficulties with the nobility and the rest of those from the upper class, those who had barely touched dirt their entire lives and had no wish to start now.

"I enlisted to fight, not to dig... sir," a green pegasus said to him. They were standing next to part of a trench that had already been dug.

"And you'll find that your life expectancy will increase when firing from behind breastworks," James replied, frustrated. He had already gone through this twice with other ponies, who had eventually done as he had told them. They had been earth ponies, though, which had probably helped to persuade them. He was finding that some pegasi had little interest in anything on the ground.

"I," said the pegasus, pointing a hoof at his own chest, "come from a respectable family. How a commoner, as you have been rumored to be, got to be in command, much less an ape, is beyond me."

James' temper broke. "And how you aren't still in diapers crying to your mother is beyond me!"

The soldier - if he could be counted as such, which James seriously doubted - stepped back in shock. "How dare you speak to me in such a manner? You should be put in a dungeon, maybe that will teach you your place."

"And the Princess has given me control of the army... as such I am superior to you. I could order you sent to jail, something that is beyond your petty power as of now. Now, get to work, before I really do send you to a place with three squares and a bed."

"Y...y... you can't do that!"

"Right straight I can." James was about to lose control.

"Having trouble, sir?" said a Royal Guard, an earth pony, who had come up on James' left.

"Ah, yes, Guard, thank you," the pegaus said, perking up. He pointed a hoof at James. "This barbaric monkey is ordering me to dig, as if I were some commoner."

The Guard snorted. "And?"

The pegasus drew back a step. "And so, I think he has no right to..."

"He has every right. He's your commander. I heard him. He wasn't telling you to do anything out of the ordinary. Now do as he told you to do, and mind you do it quickly, or I'll see to it personally that you end up in the most despicable, filthy, bug-ridden cell back in the Canterlot dungeons."

The pegasus choked, then made a sound between a neigh and that of a bird. He looked from James to the Guard, then decided that losing dignity was better than being imprisoned. He picked up a shovel and began to dig where he was supposed to.

"My thanks," James said, relieved.

"No problem, Colonel." The Guard relaxed a little. They began to walk away from that particular site. "He was stepping out of line. Back in Canterlot, we wouldn't have let idiots like that get anywhere near becoming one of us, no matter who his father was."

"I believe you. You seem to take in the best. And I really must thank you again. If he had called me an ape or a monkey again, I would have torn him a new one."

The Guard laughed, the first time James had seen or heard one (other than Shining Armor) do so. "I wouldn't blame you. Some people don't realize what really matters." then, his voice lowering, he added, "I was one of those sent to guard the Princesses the night they came to Ponyville to see you."

James' eyebrow shot up as if on it's own accord. "Oh really?" He tried to place the face. "Hmmm... You were the one on the extreme right of the line you formed around me."

"So you do remember. I hoped you would." The white-coated Guard stopped, turned, and offered his gray right hoof to James. "I'm Silver Shield. Friends call me Shield or 'The Shield'."

James shook it. "I'm James Lavigne. Friends call me Jim."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." They continued walking. "Wasn't sure what to take you for when I first saw you, but what you've done since then makes you an equal in my book."

James gave an elaborate bow. "Again, thank you. That's all I could hope for when I was first brought here." He then went back to business. "How are the Guards here holding up? Morale-wise, I mean?"

"We're doing well enough. The food's good, and stuff like this isn't all that out of the common way for us. We aren't just there for ceremony, you know."

"I know. Just... be careful on the actual battlefield. The enemies here aren't just petty criminals and burglars; they are willing to take life, and don't care if they lose theirs."

"I will, sir. Take care of yourself, Jim," he said, using James' nickname for the first time.

"I will."

James had other work to do, and more orders to give. He had to find a way to slow down the enemy advance while losing as few lives as possible. The enemy's vanguard, which was about three days in front of the rest of the pack - a horde that numbered thousands upon thousands - outnumbered them about two to one... which, with the changelings lacking technology, and certainly lacking artillery, would grant the advantage to the Equestrian army... or so James hoped. He knew they had an unfortunate ability to copy someone else's form, and if they chose to act like guerillas rather than a field army, they might cause great damage and even succeed in destroying the army before it could engage them properly.

James was counting on Chrysalis' vengeful nature to make the changelings take to the field, where superior firepower could smash them. He prayed that it would.

After lunch, he went to see Silver Shield. He found him around a site for a campfire. There was no fire now, but Shield was chatting with some other Royal Guards. He stood to attention upon noticing his commander's approach, and the rest followed suit.

"At ease," James said calmly, and their saluting hooves went back to the ground. "Shield, I need to gather some Guards and some regulars" - his word for any soldier who was not a Guard - "to try to slow the enemy while we prepare ourselves on the battlefield."

"Yes sir. How many?"

"About fifty, with equal numbers of pegasi and unicorns in each."

"Yes sir." Then, looking apprehensive, he asked, "Sir, what exactly are we supposed to do?"

"I'm not ordering you to stand alone. I want you to fire and fall back. Pegasi and unicorns will play a backwards leapfrog game; one group shoots once, then falls back behind the other, and wait until that one fires, then lets them fall back, and I want the process to repeat for as long as you can make it do so."

"Ah. Makes sense. Pegasi can fly to withdraw while unicorns teleport." Then Shield frowned. "However sir, I am neither a unicorn or a pegasus. I am an earth pony."

"I know. But I need someone who can act with authority to gather them. If you can find a unicorn or pegasus in the Guard who can lead them, and who had a good brain in their skull, then you can give them the assignment."

"Sir!" The Guard saluted.

Someone made sure James' orders were carried out; group of fifty unicorns and pegasi - some Guards, some regulars - left the camp a while later.

The next day, he began to hear reports of the fighting. "They're coming, and coming hard, sir," a tired looking pegasus trooper said, still hovering. "We're barely able to fall back in time."

James felt a little dismayed. Nothing seemed to tire or wear out the insectile creatures. "Are you at least managing to knock some over?"

"Yes, Colonel, we've hit some of them, and haven't lost anypony yet," the pegasus replied. He didn't even seem shocked that his detachment was out there killing things; he just seemed tired unto death.

"Well done, private. Get some rest, and something to drink. You've done enough for today."

"Thank you, sir." The pegasus sounded relieved. He flew off toward the field kitchen, panting heavily.

The human's problems weren't so easily solved. He needed the enemy force delayed, and he needed it delayed badly; the enemy was only a few miles away, and his artillery needed time to set up. He had deployed the army in a way he hoped would be effective; he had split the remaining Guard forces into two groups, which would have had 125 soldiers each; of the regulars, he had split into three groups, which, again, if some hadn't been sent north to delay the enemy, would have had 50 soldiers each. He had one group of regulars, supported by artillery, in the center, with the two groups of Guards on either side of them; the remaining two groups of regulars held the flanks, again supported by artillery. He had three batteries of muzzle-loaded, smoothbore guns, with four guns in each battery. The cannons could fire normal cannonballs, with explosive shells and canister to boot. He hoped it would be enough.

James' most important problem was communication; his own voice could only go so far in a battle filled to the brim with loud noise, and messengers could be killed, by accident or design, by enemy forces. He counted himself lucky he had most, if not all, of his units behind breastworks.

To forestall flanking, more trenches had been dug on both flanks of the army; deep ditches, full of anything the soldiers could find that was sticky, sap, honey, and anything the townsponies of Appleloosa could find.

It was an elaborate setup; he hoped it would serve it's purpose. He knew Equestria needed this victory. True, he couldn't hold against the enemy's main force, but he could - hopefully - destroy their vanguard, and give his soldiers, and the country, some morale and some breathing space.

From the trees in the distance, a group of unicorns and pegasi rushed toward the breastworks.

"Guards, I want you to check all of the newcomers; make sure they are who they say they are, and not Changelings in disguise!" He shouted. A number of unicorn Guards walked forward to check them.

More pegasi flew in from the north, and unicorns began teleporting in; a quick check, with magic, of course, proved none of them to be imposters.

Those who had chosen to run - some of them, to his dismay, carried wounded comrades on their backs - reached the lines not far behind their companions. "They're coming! They're coming, and coming fast!" a unicorn shouted as he ran past the commander.

He held up a hand to stop a pegasus who had a busted wing. "Are you all here?"

The soldier shook his head. "I'm sorry sir, they got two of our guys who didn't fall back in time. What they did wasn't pretty." He kept walking, presumably toward the medical tent.

James looked as his troops. He could see that they needed something to perk up their spirits; the sight of their comrades running back toward them and away from the enemy could produce a negative effect.

He walked out in front of the trenches and started speaking in a loud voice; "Do not fear this enemy. They are more machine than flesh and blood, and have no knowledge of free will and the right to choose, as we do."

He continued after a moment, after taking a deep breath, "Our enemy comes thinking they will have an easy victory, that they have only to look us in the eye to set us to flight. They are blind; I see an army of brave soldiers, willing to stand for what is right. Whose cause is the more valid; the one that seeks to subjugate, to exterminate, to trample beneath it all that stands before it, or the one that defends it's children, it's family and friends, that protects it's morals and beliefs? I know my answer; I believe you all know it as well."

"They outnumber us, that much is true; however, numbers do not tell the whole story. They are fearless warriors; we are determined and brave soldiers. There is a difference. A warrior fights for personal gain; while he fights with many others of his own kind, he stands alone in every fight. A soldier fights as part of a team; he works together with his comrades to win. You are all soldiers: this gives you the advantage over the enemy!"

Amid cheers, he went on, "We have the advantage in position and technology as well; we hold more advantages than the enemy. We will win this battle, and give the ponies of Apploloosa time to escape their tormentors, and show our enemies that Equestria will never be theirs for the taking!"

The army went wild; even the Guards cheered loudly as James walked back to the trenches and crouched, revolver out in front of him, ready to fire at the enemy.

"Now look to your weapons, and prepare youselves for the task before you!" he shouted as a last reminder.

They again did as he said, though some continued cheering even with their crossbows resting in front of them on the breastworks.

A black dot emerged from the treeline; another came, and another, then more, and more, and more, until James couldn't count them and gave up trying. The Changelings had arrived on the battlefield.

He heard something shaking; he turned to his right and saw a blue earth pony shivering, eyes wide as he saw the enemy.

James shook the pony's shoulder. "Come on, son, what will you think of yourself tommorow?" He felt it was cliched, but it was the only thing he could think of.

The pony turned to him, still shaking in great fear.

"Come on, boy, remember your home, your mother and father, all the things you've left behind, in order to protect them. They need you, and they need you now."

The soldier's shaking, though it didn't stop, reduced, and he grasped his crossbow tightly. He would fight, when the time came.

And it was coming soon; the Changelings had begun to charge; black, porous bodies rushed toward the defensive line, fangs extended, as if hungry for blood, and they ran as if they could do so forever. If they couldn't overwhelm the defenders - if they couldn't overwhelm all of Equestria - they didn't know it.

"All right boys!" James shouted as loudly as he could. "Hold your fire 'till you see their eyes; then rise and give them what they deserve!"

He looked at the cannons nearby, to his left. "Gunners, serve your pieces; fire when ready!"

They began to load, as he had ordered; they had been well drilled, and the first gun was loaded in less than twenty seconds. The gun captain didn't wait; he pulled the lanyard with his teeth.

The boom of the gun deafened his ears, and his body felt as if it had been slammed into the ground. A cloud of white smoke, easily twice the size of a cow, billowed across James' vision; the wind was blowing to the east.

A second later, a line of green - of grass - could be seen as the ball smashed into four Changelings in a row, and kept bouncing, hitting even more of them; the rest continued on, as if nothing had happened.

The rest of the guns thundered; the roar blasted James' ears. One of the guns must have loaded a shell instead of a cannonball, because he saw an explosion, and several Changlings fly away from the force of the blast. Again, the rest kept running, ignoring the casualties. Some fired green bursts of energy from their horns, but all of them flew over the breastworks without doing any damage whatsoever.

The other batteries in the army began to fire; unlike the battery in the middle, they were primarily firing shells, which tore up the enemy as they approached; black bodies flew through the air, slapping back down to earth, only to be trampled by their own comrades.

Twang! James heard a crossbow go off, and a quarrel shot out toward the enemy; it stuck in the ground not far in front of the onrushing horde.

"Hold your fire, damn it! Wait until they're closer, we have to make every shot count!" the Colonel shouted.

He saw and heard no one else fire in the next few seconds, so he concluded they had heard him. Between the thud of the gun, he could hear others - presumably sergeants and officers - yelling similar orders.

The Changlings continued their charge; they showed no fear whatsoever, and kept going, even as they were decimated by the artillery shells.

All of a sudden, James heard someone in the nearby battery - the one in the center of the line - call for canister, and he found to his surprise that the enemy was much closer than he had noticed.

He took aim, and waited... and waited... and waited... now. "FIIIIRE!"

He obeyed his own order, and fired off a round; the pistol bucked, as it had when facing the timberwolves and the Changeling ambush. The one he fired at fell; he didn't know if he was the one who killed it, as everyone else had begun to shoot.

The cannons went off at the same time, or as near to such as made no difference; the roar, for a few seconds, annihilated all other noise, except for a loud, hissing sound as thousands of small, metal balls escaped their containers and flew toward the horde.

The effect was devastating; the entire enemy front line, as far as James could see, fell, as did many of those behind them. Scores more were hit by crossbow quarrels and dropped; some were still alive, and kept trying to crawl forward.

The unwounded foes didn't slow down. James saw the Guards drop their crossbows and lift their spears. Most of the other soldiers he could see followed suit, though some still tried desperately to reload.

He fired two more shots, then holstered the pistol and unsheathed his sword. He stabbed at the first Changeling that tried to get into the trench; the sword connected, and the thing pitched dead into the trench. It's comrade, just behind it, tried to copy it's fallen companion; a sweep of the sword beheaded it, and sent it to it's death.

James stood up and backed away from the front of the trench. He swung at anything black and full of holes that was foolish enough to rush him. Three more Changelings died in quick succession. One tried to be smart, and fired a shot from it's horn. He ducked, and it missed. He then proceeded to stab it too, and, when it tried to shoot him again, he decapitated it.

He took a quick look at the line to either side of him; the ponies seemed to be holding. Then another Changeling pounced, and he met it with a sword to the stomach.

He took a deep breath, and noticed that no more enemies stood before him. He looked to his right, where there was still some fighting, and he rushed forward to aid the Equestrians.

He came upon a group of three soldiers fighting against five Changelings. He immediately reduced the attackers' numbers by one, and slashed another in the neck before the rest took notice of him. They proceeded to make quick work of the remaining foes.

He looked to his left, then to his right; few enemies were still standing. Almost all of them were on the ground, some with twitching wings, some still retaining enough energy to keep crawling forward, trying with the last of their strength to inflict damage. He had to admit, the enemy were brave. That, or the insectile structure of their society, if it could be called that, erased all individuality and made them mindless drones, uncaring or unnoticing of danger or damage. He felt it was the latter.

The last of the enemy fell. James sat down; the past - was it really just twenty minutes? It had felt like an hour - little while had drained him, and his adrenaline levels began to drop.

Slowly, the rest of the army realized that no one on the other team was left standing. They began looking for friends and comrades, hoping to find them alive.

James sat down; on the field where so much of the slaughter had occured, he could see wings flapping, and some Changelings were still trying to crawl forward.

He got up. "Take any Changelings still alive and tie them up. Make sure they cannot escape; we will march them down the streets of Canterlot, and prove that these beings are not the invincible juggernaut they would have us believe!"

Some of the soldiers shook themselves out of the daze they were in upon hearing his words, and rushed to fulfill his orders. James sighed in relief; they had won.

Then with a twinge, he remembered; every victory had it's cost. And no doubt some of the troopers under his command had been killed or wounded.

He walked back to the front line, trying to help remove the wounded.

After an hour, the wounded ponies had been brought to the medical tent; they had suffered 23 wounded in the battle, much less than he had feared.

The Changelings had paid dearly for their head-on charge; over eight hundred of their bodies had been counted dead on the field, and twenty five - all wounded to some degree - had been taken prisoner.

He looked at a small patch of ground not far away; the dead, all seventeen of them, had been brought there. He felt a horrible sickness threaten to consume them. With great effort, he forced it back down.

Was that...? He walked over...

It was. The blue pony he had comforted just before the fighting began, the one who had been shivering... now stretched lifeless on a blanket.

James couldn't help it; he began to cry, and sank to his knees. The crying became a flood, and he stopped trying to hold it back.

After a while - he never knew just how long - he felt something rock-hard on his spine. He looked up and saw Bright Star standing there, left foreleg stretched over the human's back. He embraced the earth pony, who hugged him back. He no longer felt alone in his sorrow; he had a shoulder to cry on, to depend on when things were at their worst.

Although sadness had it's hold on him now, he felt a ray of joy tempering the pain in his heart.

He stood up, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand; he had a job to do.

James prayed. He prayed long and hard for the seventeen who would not be going home. He knew that, in all likelihood, most (and likely all) had not been Christian, and hadn't been baptized or been through communion, likely didn't even know of God. He prayed anyhow.

The wounded were being transferred to the Appleloosa hospital; it seemed like most of them were certainly going to make it, and magic would likely close the gap on those with more severe injuries.

He knew, on the surface, that they had won a victory. Deep down, he felt like he had failed.

You know you're not God. You couldn't protect them. It was their time to go.

But I should have done something...

He had been arguing with himself like this for a while now, and it left him feeling no better than when he had started.

Presently he heard hoofbeats, and looked up from where he was sitting to see Silver Shield, Bright Star, White Knight, and Silver Lining all standing in front of him; to his vast relief, none of them seemed to have been harmed.

"Hey Jim, you don't look so good," Bright Star said, concerned.

James grunted unhappily. "I should have done better, then they might not have died..."

"Colonel, listen to me," Shield said, with a note of authority in his tone. "As soon as I saw the Changeling emerge from the trees, I thought we were all dead. To my surprise, almost everyone is still standing, a lot more than I thought there would be." He took a step forward. "You can't stop everyone from dying. Most of us are still alive to fight again another day. And I am eternally grateful for it." He bowed, low. "You proved you know what you're doing."

"Three cheers fer tha Colonel!" Silver Lining shouted, hovering in mid air.

Almost every pony who heard that began cheering; "Colonel! Colonel! Colonel!"

James felt overwhelmed by the cheers; the soldiers really did trust him at last.

He stood up. "Thank you all, my friends," he said, and they all cheered again. "With soldiers like you, I know we can win this war." Amid more cheers, he said, "We may celebrate the fact that we made it through this ordeal at some point, but to do so without giving our respect for the dead is to dishonor their memory. We must see that they are buried with the respect they deserve, and then, and only then, can we truly be cheerful." He heard many shouts of agreement as he finished.

Afterwards, they buried the dead; James had asked for white crosses to mark their graves, and he was not disappointed.

The funeral service was very sad; James watched as the blue pony was placed gently in his grave.

"Sir, you seem to have taken a liking to that poor boy," Shield said.

"I... I didn't even get his name." James sounded like he was talking to Shield, but in reality, he was reliving those precious seconds, just before the battle had started. "I saw him there, scared as anyone. Poor guy was shivering. I... tried to help him. I... tired to remind him what he was doing, and why. That was the last I saw of him." He felt the memory sear it's way into his brain, and knew he would never forget it.

Shield didn't respond; maybe he knew all too well what his commanding officer was going through.

After all the dead had been laid to rest, everyone paid their respects to their fallen comrades; flowers found their way onto the graves, and soldiers comforted each other on the loss. One soldier made a wreath, and placed on the grave of a friend.

James knelt, and began to pray yet again.

That night, the camp mood was very hushed. many ate their meals in silence, without any talking.

One thing had changed; the line between Guards and regulars was gone. They sat together, without rank or borders to divide them into groups. A true camaraderie had taken hold.

James sat down at the campfire again, with the addition of Silver Shield to the group. They ate quietly, but the human could see that most of them were very happy just to be alive. Even Jack Tar seemed less grumpy than he had a couple of nights ago; however, it was still clear he didn't like James.

He shrugged. Some people really wouldn't or couldn't change. And there was little, if anything, he could do about it.

The next day the sun rose in the sky, with hardly a cloud to create a shadow on the ground. It was as if it hadn't remembered the battle that had occurred.

James had sent a letter detailing the fight at Greenspot (as the place was known, a patch of green in the middle of a sun-blasted region; the allusion had been made from the word "sunspot") to the Princess, as well as another letter to his parents.

He had also sent a few pegasi and unicorn scouts to monitor the enemy's main army; to his surprise, it appeared they had stopped. Maybe the queen had been expecting to run over anything in her way. If so, she seemed to be shocked that someone had proved her wrong.

Unfortunately, he didn't think that would last; they would come forward eventually, and he would have to fall back, or the sacrifices made the day before would have been made in vain.

Or... he mentally slapped himself. Attacking the enemy was suicide... even if they didn't expect it.

Or was it? The Equestrian army had just effectively punched a bully right in the face; if he could follow it up...

I'm nuts. However, the more he thought about it, the more he felt it might succeed; if he could engage small enemy forces, pinch them off, and destroy them, the Changelings might pull back, giving Shining Armor more time to build his army... and postponing the retreat, which would likely have a negative effect of morale. Again, he wasn't thinking of directly engaging the main enemy force; that would be suicide with the forces he had. But a little aggression, well placed, could destabilize the enemy. And it would certainly buy more time. Robert E. Lee's aggressive defense in 1862 and 1863 against superior Union forces had made general after general fall back, with their armies following them. Surely it wasn't plagiarism to repeat the successful tactics of a general from long ago.

"Hey Jim, what's new?" Shield's voice came from outside the tent.

"Come in."

The pony did so. He looked at the map on the table, which had been donated by a pony in Appleloosa. "They seemed to have stopped for some reason."

"Yes, and I intend to take advantage of it."

"Yes sir; when do you want us to pack up?"

"Not yet, certainly." James stood up, and pointed to part of the enemy army that had bulged out - bulged south - from the rest. "I think our latest success has given the queen a slap to the face she didn't expect."

Shield smiled. "Yeah, I feel like we might just be able to win when they come again."

"I am under no such illusion, if you'll forgive me for saying so. I intend, therefore, to take advantage of our victory by following it up."

Shield drew back. "By attacking their main army!?"

James sighed. "No, I am not insane, Shield. And no, I don't intend to attack their main army. What I am going to do" - here he drew a semicircle around the bulge on the map - "is cut off this salient, and hopefully shock the queen into retreating and buying us more time to evacuate Appleloosa... and for our reinforcements to arrive."

Shield sniffed. "I don't know, it sounds pretty risky."

"And likely, the queen won't be expecting it."

"Sir, how will we get close enough to attack without being spotted?" No, he wasn't a fool.

"The army will move by night. I doubt they can see in the dark much better than we can."

"Hmm..." Shield's hoof flew to his chin. "Sir, might I suggest an alternative strategy? If that's alright with you, that is."

James sat up. "You have my full attention."

Silver Shield's other hoof moved to the map. "Maybe we can ambush them" - he moved his hoof from the army's current position to one between the two armies - "right here. Our scouts have noted natural ditches and a river here. They will have to cross here. If we move up some troops and our artillery under cover of night, we can hurt them if they move up."

"And we'll still catch them with their britches down... not that they wear any", he added, to the laughter of his new friend. "Alright, I'll buy it; it's still aggressive, and it still performs the same function. And," he said, looking serious, "If it works, I'll put a recommendation - in writing - for your promotion."

The pony jerked back, and went to all fours. "You're joki..." He looked more closely at James' face. "You're not joking in the least, are you?" When James shook his head, the stallion went on, surprised. "I never thought I might see the day where I would get a promotion for overriding a superior's plan."

"You'll get it... if your idea works." Then, standing up, James said, "Let's make sure it doesn't."

Chapter 11; At river's edge

James was pleased that the army obeyed him so quickly; the forces under his command moved forward that night, under cover of darkness, to the river crossing.

The crossing itself seemed easy enough to defend; any Changling that chose to walk, march or run rather than fly would have to ford through a decently thick river, while those that would try to fly would have to deal with angry pegasi troopers, who could use clouds as well as spears and crossbows to attack them.

A number of things were nagging at him though; what if the Changelings had detected their movements anyway? It might be possible, indeed, likely that they could see better in the dark than humans or ponies could. And their number alone could overwhelm anything sent into the air against them.

And, first and foremost, could the units under his command succeed in the massive ambush they were set to make?

He shoved his worries down; he, and the army, had made it's move already, and were committed to it.

Three hundred and eighty effective soldiers; that was what was going through the human's mind as the final touches of the ambush were set up. Three wounded soldiers had been too badly wounded to join the fight this time around. More to the point, his small force was once again going up against hordes that outnumbered it severely; if this failed, he probably wasn't coming back alive. If they won... if they won, they would have delayed the enemy and given Appleloosa more time to evacuate

Unicorn magic had been effective in helping to conceal the positions the soldiers were using, and foxholes and small trenches had been dug where natural foliage and boulders were scarce; these had been hidden as well, by means magical as well as natural.

James shook his head to clear it and refocus. The Changelings had come forward from their positions, but they had moved slowly and cautiously; the queen seemed to be reconsidering. He hadn't expected that, and it was disconcerting; it proved she had a working brain in her head, and was using it. The enemy wasn't going to come forward, not yet, not from their own exertions. So, he had to hope long range artillery fire would provoke them into doing something rash. The only other option would have been to launch a ground attack of his own, which he refused to do.

The guns were set, and ready to fire; all he had to do was give the command.

Silver Shield walked over to him and saluted. "Sir, artillery crews report all guns loaded and ready to fire."

"Hmmm, good." He raised his sword, knowing that a pony behind him would notice and give the word to fire once he lowered it.

"Sir, are you sure about this?"

"No." He lowered the sword.

The guns all roared as one; even with only twelve of them total, they produced deafening noise, and James could feel the ground shake as they went off.

Several seconds later, he heard explosions some distance to the north, in the direction of the enemy army. His scouts had reported that it had made camp maybe a mile and a half away... if what they had set up could be called a camp. To the pegasi scouts, it had resembled a hive, only above ground. He hoped the artillery was successful in damaging it, or at least the relatively small portion of it they were attacking; it was a very large encampment, stretching for miles in either direction, east and west.

The guns fired for several minutes. James took out a pair of binoculars; he could just see the hive-like structures from here. As he watched, one was hit by high explosive rounds, and fell over. A number of dots swarmed around the collapsed structure, without anything he could describe as a formation; apparently, they hadn't been expecting this.

That confusion didn't last long; the dots began to gather into formations, from what he could see over the forest treetops and what made do for desert structures. Clearly they had received orders to some extent.

"Get ready boys, they're coming!" he shouted, and loaded his revolver and cocked a long crossbow he had acquired from a wounded soldier who didn't need it for now; it was more accurate at long range than the pistol.

Shield looked at the sidearm. "Nice piece, if I may say so. Where did you get it?"

James looked up. "I got this 1860 Colt revolver from someone from the internet. Don't ask," he said, lifting a hand to forestall the question. "I'll tell you about it when we get back to camp." He couldn't bring himself to say, if we get back to camp.

He could see many Chagelings coming, both in the air and on the ground. He looked over at a nearby cannon. If only I had anti-aircraft guns, I could knock most of them out of the sky before they got close enough to cause problems. James felt a bit like a fool. He hadn't considered that seriously before leaving the camp.

The pegasi were ready, though; some were in the clouds even now, waiting for the command to attack. Their ability to bring lightning down on the enemy was more a makeshift tactic than anything they had learned in training. It would work here. It had to work here.

Now the black horde emerged from the treeline, heading for the river. The ones in the frontline splashed into the water.

That was the signal for the guns, now refocused on the river, to fire. They proceeded to do so; explosions dotted the water and the opposite coast, and black, hole-filled bodies flew through the air. Some Changelings in the water, struck by fragments, stopped moving forward and were carried eastward by the river's current; some struggled futilely against the tug, used their last remaining energy, and slipped under the surface.

Again, the enemy seemed to ignore their casualties; apparently dying was just part of the job for them. Some of the soldiers began to fire their crossbows as the Changelings closed in on the southern shore. More of the enemy fell, some shot through the head and no longer living, others sustaining wounds and drowning.

James looked nervously into the sky; fortunately, the pegasi were doing their job. A few were dogfighting bravely against the skyborne enemies; most simply manuevered clouds into place to blast the invaders with lightning.

Some of the airborne Changelings tried to attack the Equestrian ground positions, but few came anywhere close to hitting. Only the artillery was easily visible from the sky, and unicorn soldiers were trying out a new tactic; they would shoot off their crossbows, then fire beams from their horns. The strategy proved effective. Many black bodies crashed to the ground, either pierced by crossbow bolts or magical beams. The enemy dive bombing squadrons, severely depleted, withdrew back into the sky.

Meanwhile, back on the ground, a number of Changelings managed to gain a foothold on the southern shore of the river, and began moving forward, green beams flying from their horns. Fortunately they were bad marksmen; few of them hit anything, and since most of the Equestrian army was in fortified and camoflaged positions, many of them weren't even shooting in the right directions.

Artillery fire decimated the enemy warriors on the ground, but for every one that was hit or shot, two or three more seemed to take it's place. They kept moving forward, the rear ranks taking the places of those before them.

James lifted his own crossbow, took aim at a particularly tall Changeling, and fired. The enemy warrior started to lift a porous hoof to it's forehead, then crumpled with the movement uncompleted.

He began the reloading process; it was tedious in any sense, but especially while lying flat of the ground. Enemy beams filled the air, and he didn't want to risk being seen and shot.

Thunder roared; lightning began to strike the Changelings in the river. Even more Changelings were shocked by the electric charges that hit the water, and were electrocuted; most died, although a few survived, and a small number of survivors from the lightning attacks managed to swim or ford their way to the river's edge and continued to move forward, weakened and crawling but still determined.

Suddenly, the Changelings on the northern shore began to pull back; they turned tail, without another look back, and fled back toward their encampment.

I wonder what's eating them; it's not typical behavior for them to retreat. The ponies still had to deal with the enemies on their bank of the river; apparently they hadn't gotten the message to fall back. The Changelings still in the river kept going as well. James got another unexpected but nonetheless welcome surprise minutes later; the enemies in the sky began to fall back as well.

Those still on the southern bank of the river kept going forward, oblivious to their comrades' retreat. However, without a flow of reinforcements, they failed to advance very far before being cut down, by ground fire as well as lightning.

In a few minutes, the remaining enemy warriors had been mopped up; a few injured Changelings were taken prisoner. They chattered away at their captors in some insectile-sounding language; James didn't think they were offering endearments, especially when they tried to resist their captors when they could muster the strength to do so.

He got up from his position, and took a look around; there were no more live enemies still in arms on the field. His own forces seemed, at first glance, to have sustained very little damage, which, considering they were fighting from behind cover or in trenches, which were all camoflaged. The artillery crews had suffered most, but they had suffered no fatalities.

As the pegasi began landing, he breathed a sigh of relief; the flying ponies had perhaps been the most vulnerable units in this battle, and they didn't appear to have sustained heavy losses.

He took a closer look. He couldn't see Silver Lining anywhere. Oh God, please, no... He heard wings flapping, and looked up to see a silver-coated pony being carried between two pegasi, who landed a few feet away.

He ran over to them. "What happened?"

"He was shooting lightning at the enemy, when one of the flyers nailed him in the right side", one of the ponies bearing Silver said.

"At least I managed ta blast one outta tha sky with that lightnin'," a familiar, Scottish voice said. Silver turned his head to look at his commander. "Dinna worry sir, I'll be back befor' long."

James nodded. "Good to see you're alright."

Silver's smile slipped. "I wish I could sae tha same for some others; saw 't least two pegasi fall outta tha sky, and I hate ta sae et, but they won' be coming back."

The human winced. That was the problem with any battle; you could do everything right, and still die or lose members of your command anyway. "We'll find them."

"Tha's good." The pony groaned. "Now someone get me ta the medics, I hate havin' this damn hole in me side."

The ponies holding him carried him away. While glad his friend was still alive, James knew he had a job to do.

Silver Shield ran forward, just as he had before the start of the battle, and saluted. "Sir, we beat them. We beat them, and sent them running home with their tail between their legs. I suggest we pursue."

"No, Shield, that's begging for trouble. We're going to fall back. They know where we are now, and their queen will be trying to find a away to hit back. We're going back to the camp."

Shield looked disappointed, but didn't argue. "As you wish, sir."

The army drew back immediately, even faster than it had come forward. They had good reason to; less than half an hour after they pulled back, the Changelings launched a massive airborne attack on their former positions; James enjoyed the sight of them blasting the now unoccupied positions. A number of ponies actually laughed upon seeing them demolish an area for no purpose. It was made even funnier by the fact that the enemy didn't seem to notice that no one was shooting back until it was much too late.

James had taken stock; they had lost eleven pegasi dead, with nearly half of the survivors having sustained various wounds. The ground forces, mercifully, had taken few casualties, with no dead. He had no reliable estimates on the enemy's losses, but he assumed they were in the hundreds, perhaps over five hundred. The artillery and the lightning strikes had accounted for a large proportion of those casualties, with crossbow quarrels and magic beams accounting for the rest.

He had changed his mind; the army would entrench itself on a hill about half a mile from the river crossing; from there, they could monitor the enemy, and bombard them if they tried to cross again.

From this height, he could get a much better view of the Changeling hive, and so could everyone else who was keeping an eye on it. It looked even uglier and nastier from here, although he was two miles away and could make out little. The Changelings hadn't tried coming forward again since the withdrawl, but a few of them could be made out in the trees, if anyone looked hard. After two stinging defeats, it was about time that they tried gathering intelligence of their own.

A gun boomed off the James' left. He didn't want the Changelings to get any nasty ideas, such as imitating one of his soldiers and infiltrating the camp through such a method. To that end, he was trying to keep them as far away as possible.

The cannonball slammed into a tree not far from a Changeling picket; the tree collapsed immediately. The cracking and snapping of wood could be heard easily. The Changeling didn't move, indeed, barely flinched at the tree's fall.

"Hey Jim." Bright Star walked up behind James, with another pair of hooves being audible as well; he suspected they belonged to White Knight. He turned around, and found his suspicions to be correct. "What's with the cannon fire?"

"Hmmm. I'm hoping to keep them at arms length, to far away to try infiltrating the camp. Every one of their scouts we knock out is one that can't report what it has seen."

"Ah. I wish we could hit their camp from here."

"No, you don't. That would make them charge us again, and we're not prepared for it yet. In any event, we haven't got anything out of the prisoners we took." That was nothing but the truth. The prisoners taken in the first two battles of the war had refused to speak to anyone, with the exception of throwing insults at their captors and screaming their queen's glory and that Changeling victory was right around the corner.

"Mmmph." Bright sounded - and looked - disdainful. "They don't seem to get that we smashed them twice. We can do it again anytime we want to."

James didn't nod at that, but he was glad the army's morale was high. They had won two battles against a foe who outnumbered them to a massive degree, and had lost relatively little in exchange. However, while it was true that victories generally taught less than defeats, he had learned a few things from this one. They had won because the enemy had pulled back for some reason known only to them, and because they had improvised at the scene. The foe had thrown in an aerial attack that had made things harder, and if they had put more of their strength into it, they would have overwhelmed the Equestrians through sheer force of numbers; if they had thrown their full force into the attack, they would have overwhelmed the ponies sent against them.

He had also reformed his theories on how the Changelings communicated; it didn't seem to be a mental link of any sort, as he believed the forces in the air and in the river - and on the river bank - would have pulled back at the same time. He decided it had to do with the language he had heard from prisoners; it didn't look as if they used English when talking with each other.

In any case, the army had proved it was smart, reliable, and ready to fight like heroes to hold back the invaders. They would be ready to fight again, when and where they had to.

Chapter 12; To answer the call

Chapter 12; To answer the call

After the fight at the river crossing, the enemy didn't press forward, not right away. They kept trying to move their scouts up, certainly, but it was an easy matter to drive them off if they got too ambitious.

Unfortunately, they had not been distracted from the idea of imitating the appearance of Equestrian soldiers and trying to inflitrate the camp; four Changelings had been captured when unicorns managed to reveal them for what they were. They proved just as stubborn as previous prisoners had been, refusing to give their captors anything other than threats.

For a few days, though, the Equestrian army was able to relax, although, as Einstein would have said, all things were relative. While the soldiers still had to go on reconaissance and guard the camp, they weren't in a danger of an immediate attack, and would know right off the bat if anything changed.

James enjoyed a few mashed potatoes; he was currently seated facing a campfire, with Bright Star, Silver Lining (who had healed quickly and well enough to resume simple duties), White Knight, Silver Shield, and Jack Tar, whose attitude had not changed in the least, despite two major battles and a skirmish or two. The night sky made up for Jack Tar's poor attitude, though; the moon shone brightly and the stars were simply beautiful.

"...im? Jim!"

The human jumped. "Hmm?"

"Sorry, it's just that I've been trying to talk to you for about ten seconds and you didn't even notice", Bright Star said.

"That's fine. What's up?"

"Do you think we can hold this line? Until the reinforcements arrive, I mean?"

"...No, I don't think so. We can hurt them, I know that. But if we try to hold this ground no matter the cost, we lose."

"But we done gave them a smackin'", White Knight put in.

"Yes, but lets face the facts; we got in a couple of sucker punches. Next time, they'll be prepared. It won't be easy, not anymore. They're learning too; if they had thrown more air at us, we would have lost at the river crossing. And they have the numbers to outflank us and launch a frontal attack, all at once. If they do that, we're dead, and everything we've done up to this point won't mean diddly."

Silver Lining frowned. "Aye, I hate ta sae et, but they woulda had us if they'd thrown more in. I agree, et's not gonna be simple enna more."

Bright Star looked surprised and dismayed. "How do we fight them if all we do from this point on is fall back? Appleloosa is gonna be gone in no time."

"Who said we're not fighting? I didn't. I said we have to be careful. They can afford their losses much, much better than we can. We have to be ready to fall back at anytime, but we'll fight as had as we can and slow them down as much as possible. If we can do that, we'll have our reinforcements eventually, and then we can really let them have it."

Bright still looked down. "How will we be able to explain our retreats to the good ponies of Equestria? They won't like it if we lose the town."

"Ah. On that front, I have some good news, gentlemen." James pulled a newspaper clipping out of his back pocket. "I was intending to tell this to the whole army, but you all look like you need it first." He cleared his throat, then read, "The brave army of Equestria has proven it's value to the Princesses and to the world at large. It has thrown back the evil hordes that seek to eviscerate our lands, and has the complete support of the people. Doubtless, they will give us more reason to be proud of the efforts they have shown, and to appreciate the turmoil they are suffering in order to defeat this menace." He lowered the paper. "That's you they're talking about, boys."

Everyone's hearts (except for the orange pegasus) seemed to lift upon hearing this news.

Shield looked thoughtful though. "It doesn't mention our losses though."

"I know," Bright said quietly. "It's like they think this is a baseball game, or something."

"They weren't here. They would have gotten the details second hand. And the media doesn't like giving out bad news, especially in wartime," James responded. "In any case, the problem isn't clear cut, and the news on the political front..." He pulled out another clipping. "Ahem." He continued; "Lord Spokesbane, the Griffon ambassador to Equestria, has expressed disdain attaining to the Equestrian army, stating that it has 'won minor victories against a barbaric, uncivilized, and therefore unsophisicated foe' and that it is 'no more a competant army than an angry mob'. Princess Celestia has yet to respond to this uncivil criticism." He lowered the paper again.

Whereas the previous paper had raised everyone's spirits, this one had produced anger; Bright Star smacked his forehooves together, and Shield and Silver growled like angry wolves.

"He said what!?!" White Knight's horn glowed, and he let loose a beam that incinerate the branch of a nearby tree. "I oughta knock his block off. In fact, I'm gonna, if I evah see his smug face."

"I'd do more 'n tha. I'd put a crossbow up his arse and hit tha trigger", Silver put in.

"I understand your anger, but remember, we're serving a bigger cause than ourselves." James felt he had to stop them from doing anything foolish. "Remember, too, that your own people love you and are proud of you. Who gives a damn what anyone else says?"

"I do." Shield's voice rang in the night air. "He has no right to tell such lies, after all we've been doing up here."

"Try to look at this diplomatically," James said. "He's probably trying to cover up that we scared the Griffons with our success."

Bright rubbed his head with a hoof. "I don't follow."

"Right. Simply put, if he said anything positive, he would be giving us credit. And to ignore the issue would indicate that they're afraid. By insulting us, he reasures his own people and tries to discredit us."

"Monster." Shield spat the word; indeed, he spat for real, into the fire. "It's disgusting."

"I didn't say I disagreed with you." James threw the offending piece of paper into the fire. "And I don't think they'll be able to claim that we can't defend ourselves."

"No, they certainly cannae say tha," Silver said, defiance written all over his face.

A train whistle could be heard in the distance; James hoped it was carrying necessary supplies and food for the army, they needed all they could get.

"Colonel! Colonel!" Someone was calling for the human commander.

James stood up. "Yes, I'm here. What is it?" he called to the pegasus who was calling for him.

The soldier pulled out something from his saddlebags. "Here you are, sir."

James frowned. "These are instructions for cheating at dice."

"What!?" The pony took it back, and read it. "Er, uh, must have been a mistake," he said, not very convincingly. He looked in his bags again. "Here is the correct piece of mail. Colonel." He gave James an envelope.

"Uh huh." He jerked his head; the pony, recognizing that as a dismissal (and one with implications), immediately flew away after giving a quick salute.

James ripped the envelope open and read the contents of the letter. His eyes grew wider in pleasant surprise.

"What is it, Jim?" asked Shield, whose eyes betrayed his curiosity more than his words.

"Very good news. Very, very good news." He lowered the paper. "General Shining Armor is sending us 350 troops to reinforce us, with two more artillery batteries included. They'll be arriving in Appleloosa tomorrow at about noon, and we can expect them to be here within a few hours after that."

The loud cheers that greeted this proved that those around the campfire weren't the only listeners. The word would get out pretty quickly... not that that was all good. Changeling drones had tried to infiltrate the camp; it was possible that the unicorns assigned to detect them had missed a few. If they had succeeded in becoming clones of real soldiers, they would know what was going on, and fast.

His concern must have been evident on his face, because Silver Shiled lifted and eyebrow and said, "Not all good news, sir?"

"Mmmmmph. I just don't like the idea that disguised Changelings might learn about this."

"Ah, a concern that affects us all." He looked over a Jack Tar, but the friendly wink he gave James before doing so gave away his intentions. "I wonder if we got them all, or if we have some hidden away in our midst."

White Knight laughed. "Ya don't hafta worry about 'im. I checked him myself before we all started eatin'."

The orange pegasus looked up from his meal, looking a little confused. "What're ya all lookin' at me for?"

Everyone else laughed hard. Jack Tar went back to eating, with the word "annoyed" written all over him.

The new units arrived as promised, with unstained uniforms and eager faces marking them as inexperienced. Some of the more experienced troops would shout jokes in their direction as they passed, although they didn't deliberately insult anyone; fighting amongst themselves only gave the enemy the advantage. The Royal Guards didn't join in; most of them remained impassive and stone faced. Only off-duty did they usually show any real personality.

After subtracting casualties from the recent battles, James could count on a force of around 700 effectives, with 23 wounded stil in the hospital. Having 20 cannons in 5 batteries to play with would greatly increase their effectiveness on the field.

He did have some problems with the un-blooded troops; first and foremost was that they hadn't realized that war wasn't all fun and games, even in camp. Defenses had to be made, and chores done. Some tried to balk; none had joy of it afterwards, not after being given even harder work to do.

Even worse than the newbies was the fact that the Changelings began to stir about three days after the reinforcements had arrived. And...

"What do you mean, we can't expect anymore reinforcements!?"

"I mean't what I said, and I've said what my superiors have told me to say." The gray pegasus had a neutral look on his face. "From what I personally can make out, we don't have enough weapons manufactured yet. Mass production has ony just started."

Thanks for nothing. James didn't say it out loud, but he had to struggle not to. It was even harder to try to calm himself. After all this time, he had hoped more would be forthcoming; he had been wrong.

"Colonel!" A green earth pony ran up to the human. "Our scouts have reported the entire enemy army is moving our way."

What the Colonel said then would never be fit for polite conversation. It was vile enough to make the two ponies step back in shock.

He regained control of himself after several seconds. "Sorry," he said in apology. He tried to think of something to hold off the enemy; unfortunately there weren't that any clouds in the sky today, so lightning strikes were out.

He ran up to the front trenches and took a look through his binoculars; a black mass rushed toward the army's current position. some were in the air, but most were on the ground; clearly the Changelings were hoping to win through numbers alone, and he had the sinking feeling that they weren't going to pull back or falter, not today.

The veteran troops reacted quickly, getting into their foxholes and trenches; the amateurs reacted much more slowly, often asking pointed questions. James sighed. He hoped this battle would erase their inexperience. He also hoped it wouldn't erase the army.

"Artillery, FIRE!" He shouted.

The guns roared. seconds later explosions dotted the black mass, still perhaps a mile away. Black dots went flying.

The loss of a relative few didn't stop the remainder from rushing forward. They came on, charging right through the explosions, trampling their dead and wounded as they ran.

A few unicorns started to fire magical beams from their horns, although the enemy flyers were still far off. At least one Changeling was hit, though; it fell from the sky, landing amidst it's fellows on the ground.

Artillery fire continued to smash insectile bodies and rip them apart; those who weren't hit kept coming. James wished it were different.

Some of the bugs started to return fire, although their inability to hit anything showed what poor marksmen they were. It did force the defenders to keep their heads down, which was probably what the enemy intended.

The Changelings kept running, right smack into crossbow fire; hundreds fell, dead or wounded. Most continued their charge.

The artillery crews did their best to make the enemy think twice; double-shotted cannister tore into their lines, obliterating hundreds of the enemy at once with massed volleys. The screams of dying Changelings could be heard in the lulls between the hammering of the guns. Still, the enemy kept moving forward.

James felt like cussing again; they couldn't hold, not against a force that size. And through his binoculars, he could see the enemy was also flanking them.

"Fall back! And protect the artillery while you're at it!" he cried over the the sounds of battle. He pulled out his revolver; the enemy was getting close enough for him to use it.

He proceeded to do so; two Changelings trying to overrun a cannon nearby were killed by aimed pistol shots. Another two died from crossbow shots to their chests when Equestrian soldiers moved to protect the artillery as it limbered up.

Yet another Changeling flew at his face; he shot it, and it flew past his right shoulder. He heard it crash somewhere behind him, but he was already shooting at it's comrades; he hit one in the leg and another in the horn. The Changeling, whose horn had been shot off, screamed and tried to gore him with the sharp, jagged stump that was left. He fired again, and it feel dead at his feet.

Having fired all six shots, he holstered the revolver and drew his sword. A black, porous body chraged him. He stabbed it in the neck, and it fell quickly. Two of it's comapnions, following right behind it, jumped at him; he slashed at their necks, and found their bodies, minus their heads, falling to either side of him.

A purple beam suddenly fell in front of James, and he turned to see a number of unicorns using their magic to create a barrier to hold the enemy back. He looked back at the battery and found that all guns had been limbered and were being towed away.

"Hurry, sir!" one of the unicorns cried out. "I don't think we can hold them for much longer.

"You have my thanks!" he replied as he ran back toward the former camp, about a half mile away. He hoped they could make at least a brief stand there.

The energy shield held out for a while, especially as more unicorns joined in to make the shield stronger. Fortnunately, the unicorns were all able to teleport away once they could hold out no longer.

Their actions had not been in vain; every soldier who wasn't killed (fortunately most of them were still alive) was able to withdraw to the camp, where guns set up for a few more minutes to fire at the enemy once more.

James could see at a glance that they couldn't stay long; the Changelings off to either side of the army were still moving forward. Luckily, the Changelings who had been committed to the frontal assault had been slowed down significantly, and most of the supplies had already been evacuated. They were able to leave the camp before the enemy overran it.

They barely made it; the enemy's flanking forces tried to crush them, but they got through before the movement was completed, and, surprisingly, the horde began to slow down. Maybe they did get tired after all. In any case, The artillery would unlimber whenever they got a decent distance from the enemy and would fire as fast as they could before falling back again. The Equestrian soldiers used every chance they got to shoot at the enemy and then retreat, stalling the Changelings and buying time for other soldiers to make similar stands.

Before he knew it, the army was back in the desert again. He tried to make the most of it; boulders and skinny trees made good enough cover for the fire-and-fall-back strategy they had been reduced to. The slower pace of the Changeling army helped; the desert heat seemed to effect them particularly badly, and he noticed that they looked like they were dehydrating. Of course, the hot sun also sapped the Equestrians' strength as well. They needed more and more water as the day wore on, and eventually, of course, most of them emptied their canteens. Soldiers begging for something, anything, to drink grew more and more common.

Finally, both sides were worn out; the Changelings fell back a short way, leaving the ponies free to withdraw some ways off to re-establish their camp; the sun was setting and the moon was rising by the time this had occured.

The first thing James noticed upon entering the camp for the night was how tired everyone was; the newer troops had suffered the worst, and made up most of the casualties. 96 soldiers had been killed, wounded, or missing, though fifty wounded ponies had managed to escape the enemy and were being transfered back to Appleloosa. He didn't have the exact total of Changeling casualties, but they had to number in the thousands; their reckless tactics exposed them too much, and their lack of technology hampered them badly... just not badly enough to keep them from throwing the Equestrian army back seven and a half miles in one day.

He sat down under the shade of a boulder, more tired than he could recall having been in his life. His breathing was heavy as he gathered his thoughts.

Several logs fell in front of him. He didn't even jump; he was too exhausted to be surprised. the sound of hoofbeats was comforting though.

"Hey Jim, glad to see you made it!" Bright walked over to him and stood. James could see he was tired too, but not anywhere near as much as Silver, Jack Tar, and White Knight. Then he reminded himself that Bright was an earth pony, and therefore probably had had more exercise than the pony types.

"My friends, I'm very glad to see you're all alive. This has been a most distressing and dark day." He shivered; as hot as the desert day had been, it was very chilly at night. He bowed his head. "Boys, I have failed you. I've failed us all."

"What else could be expected from a stinking, filthy ape?" Jack Tar said, with arrogance and an "I-told-you-so" note in his voice. "By next week, Canterlot'll be gone, and we'll all be dead. And for what? For the stupidity of the Princess in trusting this beast!" He spat at James' feet.

A white blur flew at the orange pegasus and knocked him to the ground. Shield stood with his forehooves on Jack Tar's belly, while the pegasus struggled to free himself.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Shield roared; by himself, he was much more frightening than the Changeling army had been. "You should be glad you're not either dead or in prison." He stood up straighter. "If it were up to me, you'd never see the light of day ever again, you ungrateful son of a nag!" The white stallion lowered his head until it was right next to Jack Tar's right ear. "Apologise, NOW!"

"I'll do no such thing!" The orange pegasus tried to roll over; Shield's hooves kept him from doing so. "I'll never say sorry for saying the truth!"

He paid for that; Shield grabbed his mane in his teeth and shook him, hard. Jack Tar fell limp in his jaws, stunned.

"Enough!" James fired a shot from his revolver into the air. The noise made everyone stop what they were doing and look at him. He holstered the pistol, then said, firmly, "The enemy does a good enough job of trying to kill us without us doing it for them." He stood up, although he had to summon much of his remaining energy to do so. "I don't want anymore fighting amongst ourselves, is that clear?"

A chorus of quiet, subdued "Yes sirs," came back to his ears.

"Good." He sat back down. The crowd of ponies that had begun to gather around the spectacle dispersed. Shield released Jack Tar, and the pegasus scrambled away from him, while the others began to sit down. Bright Star gathered up the firewood and ignited the fire by drawing a piece of flint against the flat bottom of his right hoof.

Soon, a roaring fire blazed brightly; Unfortunately, much of the army's food had been lost, as there hadn't been time to collect it all before the Changelings overran the camp, so everyone had to make do with smaller portions than they had had previously. Jack Tar was eating by himself some distance away, clearly afraid of what Silver Shield would do to him if he dare to show his face at the campfire, though he hid his fear behind a tough face.

"What's on your mind, Colonel?" came Bright Star's voice.

"Too bad."

"...What?"

"Too bad, too bad, oh, too bad!" James said, unconsciously echoing one far more successful at war than he was. He lifted his hands to his eyes and started to sob into them. "I've failed, dammit. I've fuckin' failed."

"Sir, ya can't give up now, not afta all we've been through!" SIlver said, flying over.

"Yeah, coz if you give up, what ta be made o' da rest o' us?" asked White Knight.

"Jim, we still have our lives. It's not over yet," added Bright, throwing his left foreleg around James' shoulders.

"The fight progressed just as you said it would. You should be proud we managed to hold them off for as long as we did," Shield put in, deep voice ringing in the night air.

After a few seconds, James got himself under control. "Thanks, guys." He straightened up. "But still, we got knocked back a lot farhter than I hoped we would be. And... we... lost more than I was ready to accept." He bowed his head.

"Most of the army is still alive, and I saw you help to save that battery." Shield walked up to James. "If we have to, we can do what we did today and still hold them away from Appleloosa, at least for a time."

"F... for a time, y-yes." The chilling air made the human's teeth chatter. "We can't stop them indefinitely, not with the resources and troops we already have. And we c-can't lose troops in numbers that we d-did today. They have t-too many w-warriors to replace their losses. We need either reinforcements, or a miracle, or we'll lose the t-town, no matter what we do."

"Here." Silver threw a blanket over James' shoulders.

"Thanks." He was able to stop chattering, at the very least. "I need your support, and that of the army, more than ever."

Bright smiled at him. "You've got it."

Shield nodded. "We all answered the call of duty, and we're here to protect the innocents back there who are depending on us. You'll have our full support, whatever your decision."

"Good. Once more, I extend my thanks." He looked up into the star filled sky. What do we do now?

Side Chapter 2; more letters

Side Chapter 2; more letters

October 3rd, 2012 (1002 Equestrian calendar)

Dear Mom and Dad,

The worst has happened. A force of shape-shifting pony like insectile creatures called Changelings have invaded Equestria's northwestern border. They're intent on revenge for their defeat this past spring in the capital city, Canterlot, and no doubt they'll be ruthless in the vengeance they hope to dish out.

I've formed a force of four hundred to use delaying tactics, prick at the enemy, bleed him (or her, in this case) white... if they can even bleed white, that is. We had to head north, on a train. We got ambushed when a squad of those black, renegade bugs pushed some trash on the rails. No one died, no one except the Changelings, that is, but one of our guys was gored in the chest. He's hurt bad. I sure hope the hospital in Appleloosa can do something for him. He's lost so much blood already.

I'm not all that sure I can do this, but when we got to the town, I couldn't bear to see the desperate faces, and I knew innocents would probably die if I don't do the job I was summoned here to do.

I'll do everything short of allying with evil to get back home again.

Love you all very much,

James.

October 6th, 2012 (1002 Equestrian calendar)

Dear Mom and Dad,

I've seen what war is today; we met the enemy in battle, and by God Almighty we destroyed the enemy's vanguard. Our guys have counted over eight hundred of them dead on the field, most due to the firepower of our cannons, the rest from crossbow bolts and close combat.

The news ain't all good; we lost 23 wounded, some so badly I fear they'll die all too soon. Worst of all, we lost seventeen dead. I know it was my orders and the way I deployed my boys that lead to them dying. I knew war was about death and dying, but I didn't know it was anything like this.

Those seventeen... one of them was a poor pony, couldn't have been nineteen, who I caught shivering in the trenches just before things started off. He was... God, he was a kid. I tried to make him feel better about the whole mess, and it worked... but it cost him his life. Ii feel personally responsible for all the deaths that occured in this battle, but never more than when I remember that pony's poor, scared face; I know, deep down, I will never forget it.

I... I'm... sorry. I know you didn't want me to do anything particularly dangerous in life, but... I can't just back out now. I... I just can't. I'm so sorry.

Love, with all my heart,

James.

October 10th, 2012 (1002 Equestrian calendar)

Dear Mom and Dad,

We managed to pull a rabbit out of our hats again. We met the enemy and we sent them running. They lost hundreds in an attack while trying to cross the river. Our casualties were light again, but we lost eleven pegasi, the winged ponies. They did their job; they brought clouds into position to blast the enemy with lightning, and they pulled it off... but dammit, the cost, the cost.

One of those wounded was my friend Silver Lining; a rough, tough, fire-eating, loyal Scottish accented warrior. He got hit in the side; poor rascal got a Changeling horn in his side. He's gonna live, but this incident pushes the fact that I'm sending my boys, my friends, for crying out loud, into danger, into death's all too welcoming arms into my mind. I can't shake it.

We drew back from the river; they knew where we were; their attack afterward destroyed empty trenches and laid waste to ground we had abandoned barely thirty minutes before. Oddly enough, we were laughing; they were fools to think we'd stay there, and they wasted energy they could have been using against us.

I hope we can end this war soon. I grow ever more nervous.

Love,

James.

Chapter 13; Black tide

Chapter 13; Black tide

The enemy proved to be relentless; although the heat of the desert hurt the Changelings more than the Equestrians, they had the numbers to render that weakness moot. Pushed back, day after day, the army was lucky to escape with the majority of it's forces intact each time. The bug-like, dauntless creatures press forward, not caring how many casualties they took. They didn't care how many of their own warriors (if they could even be called that) died as long as they won.

They managed to overwhelm entrenched positions again and again, coming all too close to destroying the forces sent to stop them. Each battle cost the ponies at east a few lives, and a number of wounded. The bugs (as they were beginning to be referred to derogatorily) knew they could afford the cost, and that their foes couldn't afford theirs anywhere near as well as they could.

One thing James noticed was that, although the Changelings' strategy changed, their individual skill didn't get much better; one Changeling was about as skilled as any of it's companions, and never really improved. The ponies, in contrast, adapted better and better the longer they fought. They learned to take every bit of cover they could get, and began to practically second-guess their officers. Those same officers learned as well; they became all the more innovative as the fighting wore on. Sometimes, they would even be able to halt the enemy; one daring officer lead a counterattack that surprisingly regained a bit of ground before his command was forced back.

In the end, though, the numbers of the enemy proved too much each time, and they had to fall back from one position to the next. They never lost as much as they had on the first day of the retreat; the Equestrian soldiers fought fiercely, holding on as long as possible before falling back. Still, each mile of ground lost was another mile closer the merciless foe got to Appleloosa. The week ended with the town a mere two miles away from the front.

James felt as tired as anyone could get; another 100 soldiers had become casualties over the past week, with 37 confirmed dead, 55 walking wounded, and the remaining eight too badly injured to resume active duty; one brave soldier had to have a hind leg amputated. To the Colonel's surprise, he remained cheerful despite his loss. James only hoped he could be that accepting should such a thing happen to him.

He used his binoculars for the umpteenth time to peer over no-man's-land. The enemy camp-hive was easily visible, although it was just out of artillery range. Black specks buzzed around it, performing various duties.

He lowered the binoculars, frowning. Although the majority of his forces had survived, morale was sagging. He had around five hundred unwounded soldiers, with perhaps seventy lesser wounded who could fight if they had to. There had to be some way to take the fight to the enemy. The how of it was what had him, though; he couldn't think of any idea that didn't have an exceptionally high risk of the soldiers involved getting killed. The enemy didn't have a supply line that he could cut, and the way the bugs fought said that morale would never be an issue for them. If he tried to raid their camp, the attacking force likely wouldn't do anything important, and the counterblow would almost assuredly wipe them out.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to have some intelligence. He shook his head. He had though out a plan to spy on the enemy; a unicorn could use his magic to disguise himself as a Changeling. That part wasn't in question; it was how the soldier would act surrounded by the enemy, and above all, the enemy's insectile language. No one had been able to translate it. If they had to get in, they would have to sneak in, and he had no real clue of how to do it. The bugs had to have a pattern in their jobs; any insectile race typically seemed to have one. Again, if there was one, no one was able to see it.

He raised the binoculars again; one tower was taller than all the rest. It seemed to have no purpose other than to antagonate the ponies. It seemed to say, "Here we are. What are you going to do about it? Nothing!" He growled. He wanted that tower down; he wanted it down badly.

Presently, he heard hoofbeats approaching. He lowered the binoculars again and turned to his left. Shield was standing there, watching him.

"Colonel." The Guard saluted. "Any ideas, yet?"

"I've been trying, but so far it's no go." He again raised the binoculars to his eyes and looked at the offending tower in the distance. "A unicorn would be able to disguise themselves, yes, but we can't understand their way of think, or their language. And a pegasus would be recognized instantly and would be swarmed." He sighed. "They don't have any supply lines, so we can't stop them by cutting one, and we can't hurt their morale through a raid because their morale is nonexistent." There was a pause. "I really want that damn tower gone. It sits there, mocking us. Mocking me." Lowering the binoculars yet again, he thought, If only I had a nuclear missile, I could blow that pile of garbage off the face of the earth, AND the army protecting it.

"We have to come up with something. They'll destroy the town if we don't."

"I know, I know." As he said this, a crazy thought flitted through his mind. "You know what? We're gonna knock that damn tower down. We'll sneak our artillery into range by night, and blast the thing to smithereens."

Shield frowned. "Are you sure your emotions aren't influencing your judgment? That sounds pretty risky."

"It's better than trying it by day, and who knows? There might be something of value to them inside that tower."

"Something to that. I just hope we don't get hurt doing it."

"Me too."

That night, three of the artillery batteries crept forward, with James leading them. The unicorns in the task force did their best to mask the units approaching the hive-camp; he hoped it was successful.

Finally, with the enemy base (perhaps that was one of the more appropriate words) less than one mile away, they halted. The cannoneers unlimbered their pieces, and loaded them. James kept his eyes focused on the Changeling camp; it didn't look like they had been noticed. Good. And the tower was in clear sight. The gunner had all had good practice, as well as personal experience on the field; he was sure their first few volleys would hit it.

"Sir." One of the artilleryponies, a faint-purple unicorns, address the Colonel. "All guns loaded and ready to fire."

"Very good, corporal. Aim at the tower's base; I want it destroyed utterly in it's collapse."

"Understood sir. When do we fire?"

"On my command."

"Yes sir." The pony trotted back to his gun.

Everything seemed absolutely quiet for the next few seconds; it was as if the Earth itself had held it's breath, waiting for his command.

He gave it. "Fire!"

All twelve guns fired; the deafening roar cut through the night air like a hot knife through butter.

An explosion appeared a the base of the tower, then another blossomed higher up. A half- second later, five more shells struck, and two holes appeared; one of the batteries must have been firing solid cannonballs.

The structure tilted, first to one side, then the other; Changelings swarmed around the tower, as if in panic.

Another volley from one of the batteries sent two more shells and another cannonball smashing into the tower; the next volley from another battery battered it, causing it to tilt toward the task force.

"One more, boys! One more volley, and that tower's gone!" James shouted, feeling a sense of exhilaration fill his body.

He was proved correct; another volley sent the tower collapsing entirely. It hit the ground with a dull thud that he could feel almost as much as he could hear it. Changelings flew around the destroyed building, obviously deeply concerned about it's fate.

"Ok, boys, we did what we set out to do. Limber up those guns, and we'll go back to camp." He hastened to obey his own order.

Something flew at them from out of the darkness. James turned to see a single Changeling attempting to attack one of his soldiers. He drew his sword and hit it in the side of the head with the flat of the blade. It crumpled, stunned but not dead.

He grasped it by the back of it's neck. "I wouldn't struggle, if I were you," he said, quietly. "Come with us now, or else."

The bug stared at him with hate in it's eyes. "You miserable, stinking rats. What have you done?"

"I thought that was obvious. We destroyed the tower."

"You have destroyed the abode of our fair and generous queen, that's what you've done! How dare you!"

James stared back, then looked at a nearby soldier. "Hold him down. Tie him up, and take him with us." He stood up, and stretched. "We have some good news to tell everyone."

Despite the late hour, nearly every soldier was awake, fearing for their friends and comrades who had gone out on their mission. James could see the relief on their faces upon seeing that none of the troopers in the detachment had been lost.

"Guess what, boys?" he shouted. "We just scragged the queen's tower, and maybe her with it!"

A loud cheer arose upon hearing this news. His friends trotted up to him.

"Oh thank goodness," Bright Star said. "When the guns stopped firing, we thought you had been overrrun!"

"Well, I'm here, and we're all here, and" - he jerked a thumb back toward the prisoner - "we have a new guest tonight."

"Ha ha! I can see tha, laddie!" Silver Lining said, impressed. "Well fought, Colonel!"

"I admit, I had my doubts about this attack," Shield put in. "But we may have just won the war!"

"I'm not so sure." James did have his doubts about that. "This one, for one" - he pointed at the tied-up Changeling - "was pretty feisty, even after the tower, building, field palace or whatever it was got destroyed. I don't think it's over yet."

Inspite of his misgivings, the morale in the camp soared. By the next morning, soldiers hummed as they worked, and those assigned to patrol and guard duty went at it with determination. One soldier drew a cartoon of Queen Chrysalis fleeing the tower in panic, leaving the rest of her army at the mercy of a battalion of ponies rushing into their base, which produced plenty of laughs.

James laughed along with them, but kept the war firmly in his thoughts. None of my book told me it would be like this, he thought, as he tried to think of something, anything, to offset the numbers of the enemy; if the queen had survived, she would be very angry, and ever more determined to get revenge.

He sat down on the far side of the camp from the enemy, facing Appleloosa. We have to stop them. Some of the townsponies had absolutely refused to leave; Braeburn was among their number. However, they had, in no other way, opposed the army, had, in fact, gone out of their way to feed the soldiers; he could even see some of them making another trench line just short of the town. They hadn't been ignorant of what had been going on; The fact that the guns had grown louder each day had lead to the obvious (and unfortunately correct) conclusion that the army was in retreat. One mare who had been delivering food had been very surprised to find the army to close to the town. And, to be frank, he couldn't blame her.

We can't afford to make any mistakes. We don't have the room or the numbers to make them. He looked at the clock tower. It was a shame to see this town destroyed once, and that from a buffalo attack. We need...

He sat up. The buffalo... Yes, he did have an option, just not one he hadn't seen earlier. The solution was a political as well as a military one. He remembered watching the buffalo stampeding as well as their attack on the town. Their size and strength would make them almost unstoppable.

He started to walk back to his tent, with a feeling that he was being useful again. Before he could get there, though, a Royal Guard walked up to him. "Sir, the enemy has not stirred since yesterday, therefore, what are your instructions?"

James stopped and turned to him. "Continue to monitor the enemy. And send me someone who is good with talking and negotiating."

"Sir?" The Guard looked surprised.

"Until we get reinforcements, we are on our own... but maybe there are others who could help us... others nearby."

"Sir, I apologize, but I don't follow."

"The buffalo. I want someone to talk to them and bring them into the fight on our side. Their strength and size would overwhelm the enemy and help us to throw them back instead of retreating all the time."

"Sir, forgive me, but that sounds risky. If the buffalo decide they like Changelings more than ponies..."

"We have to try. Now find me someone to send to the town, and discuss the issue with them."

The Guard didn't argue any further. "Yes sir!" he said, saluting.

The human got back to his tent without any more distractions. He sat down and began to write a letter;

Dear Princess Celestia,

If you don't already know, we've been pushed back after our early successes and are now a mere two miles from Appleloosa. We are in desperate straights.

The issues I wish to discuss are important. I'll get out the most... insubordinate first. I know you probably won't like the idea of beginning negotiations, but we need help. As such, I am sending someone to Appleloosa to ask them about helping us open talks with the buffalo; their courage and size can help us smash the enemy and throw them back instead of having to withdraw again and again. I apologize if this is infeasible to you, but in retrospect, the buffalo would be overrun as well should the Changelings overrun Equestria; it would simply be a matter of time.

As for the other issue, it is most simple; we need more troops, and now. We don't have the numbers to stop them ourselves, and if the buffalo refuse to join us, we won't have a snowflake's chance in a desert of holding them out of the town. Send us troops. Send us arms. Send us anything! Just make sure it gets here and can knock the Changelings back.

...Sorry. But the situation is desperate. I've made preparations in case Appleloosa falls, but I'd prefer not to lose the town. I saw it destroyed once; I don't want to see it destroyed again. And, for the record, some ponies are refusing to leave the town, although they are helping us immensely. They'll be killed, or worse, enslaved if we are thrown back again.

Please, help us!

Colonel Lavigne.

He put the letter in an envelope and gave it to the ponies in charge of the mail. Then he went to get some lunch.

"Colonel, our scouts and watchponies have detected movement. The enemy are heading our way." A Guard pony had just reported in to see the commander.

"I see. And where are the enemy's flanking columns?"

"There appear to be none, sir. It's confusing. They appear to be throwing everything into a frontal assault."

"Hmmm..." James tried to think of the reason the Changelings had abandoned tactics that had helped them immensely before. He didn't have to think long. The queen survived, and she's so enraged that she's abandoned reason and strategy in favor of just obliterating us. It came us almost immediately.

"Have the army rally at once, we must hurt the enemy as much as we can."

"Yes sir."

The troops reacted almost instantaneously. Before he knew it, most of them were in the trenches, crossbows raised and ready to fire, and artillery unlimbered and loaded.

"FIRE!"

The guns fired off one after another. Explosions dotted the black horde, not stopping it but inflicting severe losses on the incoming foes.

One shell after another fell; for every enemy that was killed or wounded, two or three more took it's place.

Canister tore open massive holes in the Changelings' lines, tearing some to shreds while others fell from single hits from the tiny, but astronomically nurmerous metal balls. The rest of their front line were hit by crossbow bolts.

Once again, as if more evidence were needed, the enemy cared nothing for their heavy losses. Those not killed or wounded kept rushing forward, eager to close the distance.

James fired off all six shots in his revolver very quickly, then unsheathed his sword. He struck down three Changelings with an outward slash of his sword, then jabbed another in the chest.

Three more stopped just in front of him. To his surprise, one of them spoke; "You're coming with us, monkey. Now!"

"I'm not going anywhere." James struck the one who had addressed him in the shoulder, slicing deep into it's neck. The other two jumped on him, knocking him to the ground.

He kicked one away, then stabbed the other in it's left side; it screeched as he withdrew the blade, and fell.

"You will pay for hurting our queen!" the remaining enemy hissed.

"She brought it upon herself." He threw the sword into it's chest, then jumped forward and withdrew it. The Changeling dropped with a thud.

He looked around; again, the foe was winning through sheer strength in numbers, but they acted as if nothing had changed from the first battle he had fought against them.

In spite of himself, he smiled. The surprise bombardment of the tower-palace had done something after all. In her rage, the queen cared nothing for plans or strategy, only for making those responsible suffer. That could be exploited... if they survived.

And they wouldn't survive if they didn't fall back again, and quickly. The battery off to his left was being attacked by over a dozen of the enemy. He hurried over and killed two before they knew he was there, then jabbed two so quickly that they had no chance to defend themselves and fell dead at his feet. He got another before the rest had prepared themselves. One shot at him, but missed, and he beheaded it immediately. More soldiers arrived to throw the enemy off the battery; they clearly knew he was going to call for a retreat.

He did so, calling, "Retreat! Back to the town!"

The unicorns in the army put up a shield to block the enemy while the remainder of the ponies withdrew; James noticed that, as the enemy hadn't tried to outflank the army, the shield was holding most of them back, away from the town. Once the other elements of the army had escaped, the unicorns teleported away as their shiled collapsed.

James had to admit, whoever was in charge of building the defenses for the town was an expert; breastworks surrounded the town, and cheval-de-frix had been placed in front of them to keep the Changelings from getting in very easily from the ground.

A loud train whistle broke through his dispairing thoughts. He looked up to see a train, longer than any he had seen in Equestria so far, pull into the town and stop. Steam hissed from the engine.

What happened then was the most welcome and heartwarming thing he had seen since the fighting started; ponies, decked out in blue uniforms and bearing Equestrian flags, strode out of the train and marched toward the front line.

He began to cheer; Shining Armor must have come through at last! He felt like dancing to the tune of "Yankee Doodle". There had to be hundreds, no, thousands, of blue-clad troopers and armored Guards parading through town. At the rear of the column came the artillery... along with three cannons of a type he hadn't seen before.

Before he could ask what they were, a silver-armored Royal Guard marched up to him and saluted. "Sir, reinforcements from General Armor have arrived to help in repelling the enemy and to throw them off our soil. There are two thousand of us, with around six thousand still in training, some to hopefully join us in about five days." The Guard lowered his hoof.

"That's the best news I've had all week." He turned and looked at the strange cannons. "Tell me, lieutenant, what purpose will those cannons serve in the field? They are of a make I haven't seen before now."

"Glad you asked, sir. They are prototypes, meant exclusively for combating aerial foes." The lieutenant looked at the new guns too. "They fire an explosive shell that is set to burst at a certain time, between one to three seconds rather than bursting from impact, as usual shells would."

"That will prove useful against skyborne Changelings. We needed this."

The lieutenant smiled. "We got the idea from a soldier who was at the river crossing battle near Greenspot. He wrote a letter to a member of his family, who happened to be a scientist on our research and development team."

"Good, that's very good news. Have they been tested?"

"A few times, sir, against clouds. They seem accurate enough, but only time will tell if they're actually useful against the Changelings." His smile vanished. "Speaking of them, I thought the front was several miles to the north, what happened?"

James sighed, chin falling to his chest. "What happened? Too many of them, and not enough of us. They could outflank us at will, and did. If we had stayed in position, they would have destroyed us within a day, two days, if you're optimistic. We're lucky that most of the army survived, we have maybe 450 uninjured soldiers left, and about 78 walking wounded who we could put on the front line if we're desperate."

The lieutenant looked concerned. "And the rest...?"

"Either too badly wounded to continue service, or dead." He gave the truth, brutal and ruthless as it was.

"Oooohh." The Guard looked afraid, but when he spoke, he proved it wasn't his own death he was scared of; "Sir, my brother was in the original task force. I hope he's alright."

"Hmmm. You have my sympathy. I hope you find him in the camp we have set up."

"Thank you, sir."

"Find your brother - alive - at the camp. That's an order, soldier. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir!" The lieutenant saluted again, then hurried off.

James took another look at the new cannons; they did indeed look like they were built to defend against air attack, if a Civil War cannon had been redesigned and rebuilt for such a purpose. Their barrels were angled much higher than any other piece of artillery he had seen in this war, and they shone brightly; someone had polished them before they had been loaded onto the train.

Two thousand more soldiers! Maybe they couldn't go on the offensive just yet, but they could hold territory much more easily, and they could spread out over a much larger area of ground. And the new cannons would increase anti-air effectiveness immensely by themselves.

He smiled. Maybe the impending battle wasn't so hopeless after all.

At the campfire with his friends that night, James sat down, still trying to comprehend the size of the reinforced army. Morale had been sky high since the news - and it's bearers - had arrived.

"Abou' time they thought ta get more boys up to tha front," Silver Lining said, taking a massive bite out of his mashed potatoes afterward.

"They didn't have the weapons or the training to send them to us until now," Bright Star said calmly, depositing the remains of his dinner into the fire.

"What matters is that they're here now. I think we may have a chance to defend the town now." James looked up from the fire. "I am a little concerned that the new arrivals are inexperienced."

"They'll learn." Silver Shield looked up from the town newspaper. "They'll have to."

"That goes without saying, sergeant," Bright put in; Shield's promotion had come in from Canterlot, not that he needed it, as he had acted like a sergeant all along.

"Hey, anyone up fer a game o' chess?" White Knight asked, eyes twinkling in the light of the stars and the fire.

"No thanks; ya win tha game so much tha I can't get ana fun outta it ana more," Silver answered, making an exaggerated face of boredom.

Everyone laughed. James couldn't hold it back anymore, he began quietly singing "The Battle Cry of Freedom";

We will rally round the flag, boys,

Rally once again,

Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom!

We will rally from the hillside,

Gather from the Plain,

Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom!

The Union forever,

Hurrah, boy hurrah!

Down with the traitor, and up with the star!

While we rally round the flag, boys,

Rally once again,

Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom!

He looked up again from the fire and saw that every one was looking at him. He looked back down at the fire, knowing his embarrassment was showing on his face; he could feel his cheeks turn red.

"Huh." Shield's grunt rang out. "I didn't take you for a singer, Jim."

James felt his cheeks blaze. "Errr, emmmmm..."

To his great relief, no one laughed at him, though he heard Bright struggle to contain his mirth.

"Sir, I didn't mean anything offensive by that," Shield said quickly, noticing James' discomfort. "It was actually very good. In fact," he said, slowing down, "I think it highlights the very reasons we are fighting this war. Freedom; we're fighting to stop those things" - he spat into the fire - "from choosing what to do with our lives, and to stop them from using us essentially as fuel sources. And, of course, we're fighting for our lives."

"Hmmmm... I think I know somepony back en Manehattan tha can make tha little ditty inta something worthwhile", said Silver Lining, a hoof on his chin. "Aye, I think it can be done. I can write et down fer ya, if ya want," he went on getting up and flying away quickly and returning with a pencil and paper in his hooves.

"Emmmmm..."

"Come on, Jim!" Bright Star said. "You know we'd appreciate it."

"..."

Shield laughed. "You're bold and fearless in battle, but you can't summon the courage to tell us the lyrics to a song?" He continued to laugh for several seconds before seeing the look on the Colonel's face and recovering his wits.

"...Fine." James got up, and began the next phrase of the song;

We are springing to the call,

Of our brothers gone before,

Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom!

And we'll fill the vacant ranks

With a million free men more,

Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom!

The Union forever!

Hurrah, boys hurrah!

Down with the traitor and up with the star

While we rally round the flag, boys,

Rally once again,

Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom!

We will welcome to our numbers

The loyal, true, and brave,

Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom

And although they may be poor,

Not a man shall be a slave,

Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom!

The Union forever!

Hurrah, boys, hurrah!

Down with the traitor, and up with the star

While we rally round the flag, boys,

Rally once again,

Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom!

While we rally round the flag, boys,

Rally once again,

Shouting the Battle Cry of Freeeeeeeedom!*

The ponies around the fire clapped their hooves, with Silver Lining cheering out loud. James felt his cheeks practically burn.

"Dat was brilliant!" White Knight cried out excitedly. "I'd got ta enny concert dat had dat song in it!"

"Indeed, that was great!" Bright agreed. "I don't know why you're so embarrassed about singing."

"I... I just don't like... doing that before crowds..."

"Oh, aye, I can understand tha." Silver Lining finished writing things down. He flew over to James and held the paper out in front of him.

James stared at the paper. Not only were the song's entire lyrics written down, musical notes, presumably to the tune he had been singing to, had been written down. He turned to Silver. "I didn't know you were a musician."

Silver's right hoof went straight to the mane on his head, and now his cheeks went red. "I had a little practice. Whenevar I had free time and I dinna feel like make cloud sculptures, I did this instead."

"Looks good."

"Uh, thanks." Silver flew over to his seat and sat back down.

"Colonel!" A voice rang out in the dark. "Letter for Colonel Lavigne!"

At least he said it correctly. "Yes, I'm Colonel Lavigne."

"Here." The pegasus produced a letter.

"Thanks", James said as the soldier flew away. He opened the letter and read, silently;

Dear James,

I have gotten your letter, and it's contents disturb me greatly, though I must say, your plan to open talks with the buffalo was a masterstroke. At this point, almost any help we can receive is a blessing. I hope they'll listen to reason.

Unfortunately, most of our army is still in training, and production of new weapons has yet to meet demand. More worrisome, however, are the actions and words of Lord Spokesbane, the Griffons' main ambassador. Our retreats have been noticed, despite the fact that they were utterly necessary. He and his team have become ever more aggressive, and I fear I cannot hold off war with the Griffons for long.

I know that you and our brave army will do all you can to defeat the Changelings. You are all in my thoughts... always.

Sincerely and with all hope,

Princess Celestia

P.S., you are forgiven for your brash words in your letter.

James lowered the letter and looked up. He felt depressed. How could he not, with the Griffons a thread's breadth away from beginning their own war? Damn you, Spokesbane, you son of a motherfucking bitch! He sighed without realizing he was doing it.

"...What is it, Jim?"

"..." For a moment, all he did was breathe; all anyone could hear from him was the air coming out of his nose when he exhaled.

"...I need some time alone." He got up and walked away before anyone could ask what he was doing.

James walked out into an empty area of the desert, to the west of the army. The desert dirt and sand crunched under his boots as he marched to a boulder and knelt down, laying his elbows down on it and lifting his arms to pray.

"Oh, God," he said, looking up into the stars. "I don't know if I can do this. I... I feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities laid on my shoulders. I know I haven't been checking in all that much, but please, hear me out." He paused, wondering what to say next. "Please, I know I'm in a land with... people who are technically not Christian, but they need me, and... they need you. I need you, more now than ever before. Please, give us the strength to win the battle tomorrow, and give us the wisdom and courage to fight for, and to do, what is right." He looked up at one particularly bright star. "I ask you, please, to show the mercy and compassion you have shown man since the Earth's creation. Please show us the mercy you showed us all when you sent your Son to save us from evil, and from ourselves."

He heard something behind him, but didn't turn around, although he focused a little more on listening to the environment.

"Please forgive me if I have acted against you in any way. I love you, Father. Amen." He made the sign of the Cross as he finished.

He heard the clatter of rocks tumbling together, and turned sharply. Something hid behind a boulder to the left of his current line of sight. He felt his eyebrow raise as if from it's own accord; if the thing trying to hide behind the rock was a Changeling, surely it would have attacked by now? He walked up to the rock, drew his gun, and jumped behind it.

He lowered the weapon and sighed. It's just the guys. Sure enough, Bright Star, Silver Lining, White Knight, and Silver Shield had been crouching behind the rock. He didn't know what to feel. It was supposed to be private... He forced himself to relax, and holstered the gun. "...What are you doing here, guys?"

"Uh..."

"Uh..."

"Uh..."

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Shield stood up. "We followed you. I admit it."

"...Well, you did a good job of it," James said in a neutral tone of voice.

Bright stood up from where he had fallen down. "Jim, we were worried about you. You never try to go off alone."

"I had to this time. It was... important."

"We noticed," Shield said quietly.

"And private."

"Well, how were we supposta know tha?" Silver asked.

James was quiet for a few seconds, trying to keep his temper in check. He took a deep breath. "Alright, sorry about that. But I had a reason for it, as I suppose you all know by now."

"Yeah, no kidding." Shield looked at him closely. "I'd heard rumors you had... different beliefs."

"You mean that I denied that Princess Celestia was a goddess to her face?" James replied, to horrified looks. "Yeah, I did that. And you know what?" he asked. "She told me I was right. Heck, she even laughed about it. Just ask her, or Shining Armor. He'll tell you, if no one else."

Shield's jaw had dropped so low, James was surprised it was still attached to his head. He recovered slowly. "You said that to... royalty?" he asked, as if he had been about to say a different word.

James shrugged. "Where I come from, everyone is equal by law. There is no nobility or royalty in my country. I had no contact with any one who really was royalty, until I got summoned here to fight this war." He stood up as straight as he could. "We have a duty to protect this country and it's innocents from the monsters that have come to destroy it. And we'll continue to do that job, until we've completed it. Until then, religious debates can wait. Now, we have a camp to get back to; we'll need our rest for the battle that's coming." He saw nods coming from everyone.

"Now, let's go."

* Note, this version of the song "Battle Cry of Freedom" was sung by "The Weavers" who have absolutely no connection with me.

Chapter 14; Keep holding on

Chapter 14; Keep holding on

His dreams were troubling that night. Battles played across his mind, whirling cyclones of manufactured death ravishing beautiful landscapes and leaving barren wastelands behind.

Some of the most disturbing involved his new friends dying from blows struck by various monsters, and knowing his orders had lead it to be so. Worst of all, he could do nothing to stop it from happening.

James woke up in a sweat. He got dressed quickly and got out of his tent. Already the camp was a scene of activity, with ponies rushing to and fro to prepare for the battle that would likely decide the fate of the war with the Changelings.

He got his weapons ready; he had only a few more shots in his revolver, though he did have plenty of ammunition for his crossbow. He sighed. It just didn't feel the same as a gun; it didn't have as much stopping power in his opinion, and it couldn't shoot as far as a rifle.

He walked to the frontlines. The trenches had been dug in a semi-circle around the town, with cannons set and ready to fire. The anti-aircraft battery had been set up in the center of the line, where it had the greatest line of sight and presumably the best angle.

Soldier after soldier rushed to the breastworks. Crossbows were loaded and checked, and powder monkeys delivered gunpowder and ammunition to the batteries (hence the nickname "powder monkeys"; they, of course, were not really monkeys).

James watched the army prepare. He looked out over the plains with his binoculars; so far, the enemy hadn't done much. He looked back at his army, and found himself smiling as he remembered what one of his books had said about war; hurry up and wait. That was certainly the case here; some of the soldiers were fidgeting. In fact, two had begun a game of dice, but stopped when they realized he had noticed.

I don't blame you guys. If I was in this situation, regardless of rank or discipline, I would probably play a few small games myself just to have something to do. We'll have plenty of warning when the enemy comes out to play. He turned back to the Changeling base and raised his binoculars. He heard something clatter behind him, and again felt amused; the two soldiers must have resumed their game. He gave no sign he had heard.

A few black dots began to fly over their base; simultaneously, closer to the town, a number of pegasi started to lift off and fly back to towards the army.

One of them flew up to him; a regular, with a corporal's rank badge on his shoulders. The trooper saluted. "Colonel, we have sighted activity in the enemy camp, and believe they are about to begin their assault."

"Thank you Corporal." He continued to watch the Changelings as they made their own preparations for battle. "Go join the rest of your unit."

"Yes sir." He heard the flutter of the pegasus' wings and it flew off.

"Colonel, I don't think it's wise to remain above the trenches", another soldier said.

He lowered the binoculars; he was indeed standing above and a little forward of the trenches, the better to observe the enemy. He felt a little annoyed, but managed to crush the emotion; the soldier, whoever he was, was right. He walked over to the breastworks and was about to jump back down into the pony-made ditch when he felt something rise inside of him; it was a warm feeling, and he felt the urge to speak.

"Soldiers, friends, comrades", he shouted. He pointed toward the enemy lines as he continued; "There stands the enemy. Behind us" - here he pointed to Appleloosa - "stands the town, the gateway into the country. We have no room for failure; if we fail here, the gate shall be open for the foe to press into Equestria, and we all know that the "mercy" of our enemy would be worse than death." He stood straighter. "We have fought hard, and made the Changelings pay for every inch of land they dare to occupy. We've delayed them, and in so doing have given the people of the town time to get to safety. But it's not enough; today we must hold firm. We cannot afford to withdraw; they'll chase us and cut us down without mercy, and then our prior struggles would have been for naught."

He paused, knowing he had to give his army some hope. "In the past, various peoples have fought wars for power, land, or simply for the joys of battle. Many of you hold a question in your hearts; why do we fight? It's not about land," he said, shaking his head. "There's always more land to go settle or improve. It's not about power," he went on, as he shook his head again. "What do we want that we don't have here, in our own land?"

My mother, father, and baby brother, he thought. He shook himself mentally; he had a job to do.

"We certainly don't fight because we enjoy it; how many can say that you have?" he asked, watching many heads shake. "Why, then, do fight, bleed, and die on these grounds?" He paused. "Because behind us are your homes, your families, everything you hold dear," he continued, his voice lowering a bit. "In the end, we fight out of love for those we care about, and for their futures. And," he said, even quieter, "we fight for each other. The bonds we have forged in the heat of battle have become stronger than any metal could hope to be. They cannot be undone by anything our enemy could do to us, and they will outlast our lifetimes, that I know." *

"Now ready yourselves; we have a future to fight for," he ended, to wild cheers and defiant yells cast at the enemy. He jumped back into the trenches.

He turned to see the Changelings begin to swarm into the air and begin to mass on the ground.

He turned to the anti-aircraft artillery. "Don't bother firing yet, wait till they're in range." He had good reason to call out; the crews had loaded their piece, and one gun captain had been about to pull the lanyard.

"Sir, I'm good with measuring distance." James turned to see a red pegasus with a green mane. The pony went on, "I could fly up to that cloud, and fire lightning when the enemy are in range of our guns."

"Hmmm. How do you know the range of our new guns?"

"I talked to the crews. I think I can remember, sir." The soldier looked a bit nervous.

"...Alright, permission granted, just be careful."

"I will, thank you sir!" the trooper finished, saluting him before rising into the sky toward a cloud hanging overhead.

May God grant you all return safely. He knew the odds were against that happening. He hoped for it anyhow.

He turned back toward the incoming horde. They were closer now, of course. Looking through his binoculars, he could almost see their faces, angry and determined to erase the defenders from history. Some, in their haste, fired green beams from their horns, only for the energy to disappate well before they got close to the Equestrian lines.

A thundering roar met the ineffective enemy fire; the artillery had begun to fire, and explosions slammed into the Changelings. With the reinforcements from yesterday, many more cannons were now in operation; massive holes appeared briefly in the enemy ranks, to be closed quickly by replacements.

A bolt of lightning struck the Changelings on the ground. The pegasus must have found the range. Another boom, different from the rest, began to sound out.

The first shot exploded behind the first ranks of aerial foes, and the second burst well short of them. The third blasted three Changelings out of the sky, their wings beating helplessly as they fell.

The new guns must have been built for rapid-fire; more explosions illuminated the sky, and the gunners, readier this time, were dropping the Changelings like flies. Some caught on fire, trailing orange flames as they dropped from the sky; it was eerily beautiful. It didn't stop the survivors from coming, of course. That was the problem with the Changelings; although they had no real civilization and very primitive technology, if that, they had numbers, and they knew it. And their lack of technology was a blessing as well as a curse for them; he couldn't cut their lines of supply, or damage their production.

Crossbow quarrels flew almost as soon as the enemy was close enough for them to be effective. Changeling after Changeling was hit and crumpled, only to be immediately replaced by those behind them.

Double-shotted cannister ripped the foe's ranks apart, tearing their bodies apart. For a moment, James hoped this had stopped them; their front ranks had been all but wiped out, and their replacements were slowed down by their dead and wounded comrades, giving the Equestrians another free volley of quarrels to send at them. Then his hopes were dashed as the Changeling tide swarmed over their dead and continued their mad rush.

Another volley of cannister and crossbow bolts hardly slowed them down. James drew his revolver and fired off all six rounds; five hit their targets, sending them sprawling. Their companions kept going.

No other option, then. He holstered the pistol and unsheathed his sword. "Swords and spears at the ready!" he called. The soldiers obeyed as fast as they could, dropping their crossbows and snatching up close combat weapons. James braced himself.

The first ranks of Changelings stopped just short of the cheval-de-frix; their comrades pressed on, impaling them on the wooden stakes and climbing over the dead.

James slashed at the first enemies to show their faces; they dropped, all bleeding green blood profusely from the neck. More swarmed over the barricade, and leapt into the trenches, or tried to; the first ones to try were stabbed in the chest by spears and crumpled.

Black bodies kept coming, filling the trenches. To James' satisfaction, their numbers hurt them, for once; they kept interfering with one another's movements, making it almost impossible for them to fight effectively. Ponies armed with spears and swords cut them down in large numbers.

For all that, the Changelings never seemed to get any fewer; they continued to pour reinforcements into the breastworks, and their weight began to tell once more, slowly pressing the defenders back out of their own trenches.

Deafening roars boomed out once more; the artillery continued to fire, with soldiers protecting the crews as they loaded and reloaded, firing as the barrels of their guns grew hot. Not that the crews noticed; their hooves were unable to feel the heat in any case.

The anti-aircraft guns fired point-blank at the Changelings on the ground; they inflicted severe casualties, and the area around them was relatively well protected.

"Quick, rally 'round the guns!" James hurried to obey himself, and found that most of the soldiers who had heard him were doing as he said. He killed three Changelings in his way and scrambled over their bodies.

"Colonel, thank Celestia you're here!" said one of the gun captains, a gray earth pony. "They're pressing us hard, we need help to defend the cannons long enough to withdraw!"

"Leave it to me!" Did I really just say that? he asked himself. No time to answer now, of course; the swarm was massing around the guns, trying to find a weakness in the defense. a few pegasi with spears kept them at bay from the air, but the soldiers on the ground were in danger of being overwhelmed, especially from the rear, which was least protected.

He jumped over to the position and cut down a Changeling. "Defend the guns!" he shouted, slashing at another, which jumped away before he connected. It was killed by another soldier, and James struck another dead center in it's chest as it tried to fly over him.

For the next fifteen minutes, he and the soldiers defending the battery fought fiercely as the Changelings sent their endless numbers to overrun them. Time and again, they came on; time and again, the soldiers cut them down.

"URRRRAAAA!" James stabbed a Changeling that tried to pounce on him; he kicked the bug off the blade and looked for another target. He saw that the AA guns had been limbered at last, but there were still innumerous enemies between them and the nearest friendly position, where the Equestrians were trying to reform their lines.

A white light suddenly unfolded around him; he braced himself for death, until he noticed the light was transparent, and that it had enveloped the defenders. He stood up and turned around. The small number of unicorns in the force had created a barrier, holding back the black tide.

However, he could see from the strains on their faces that this barrier wasn't going to last long. "Come on!" he yelled, and walked forward. The gunners began to move their guns, and the shield moved with them. Changelings threw themselves at the shield, but it held firm against their assault.

They were almost to the new position before the shield started to flash, as the unicorns put all their effort to maintain it.

"I...I...can't..hold it..." One of the unicorns collapsed, having fainted from the loss of energy.

James picked him up and set him on his left shoulder; to his relief, the soldier wasn't too heavy to carry, although he could feel it's weight pressing down on him. He was surprised by his own ability. Must be adrenaline; I probably wouldn't be able to do this otherwise. "Let's go! Move it!" he shouted, as the shield began to fade.

They all broke out into a desperate run; a beam of green light flew past his right shoulder, but he didn't try to look back. he got to within inches of the new line when one soldier, startled, shot at him.

Time seemed to slow down. James threw himself forward, and the bolt passed under his belly, almost close enough to touch his chin as it whipped past.

He fell to the ground, and the soldier he had been carrying fell forward, landing a few feet away. James got to his feet and ran, picking up the still-unconscious unicorn and running the last few feet. He made it, and set down the trooper gently.

He heard a buzzing sound, and felt a strange sensation; he looked up and saw that another unicorn was scanning him with it's horn.

"Its you sir," the unicorn said after a few seconds. "Sorry, but you did tell us to check everyone."

"Yes, I did." He looked around. The Changeling attack had hit the entire line. Although the Equestrians were holding for now, he could see enormous numbers of Changelings enveloping the line to the east and west, though there were far more in the western force. Sooner or later, they would be able to attack from either side, and the only option would be to fall back into the town itself and make them pay the price of digging the ponies out, building by building.

Unless... He turned to a nearby soldier. "Sergeant!"

"Yes sir?"

"Gather a detachment and take them to the western flank, anyone who's free, anyone who isn't fighting, I don't care if they are in the Quartermaster Corp, just get someone to block that flank.

"Yes sir, but what about the other flank? There's a lot of them heading that way as well."

"It can't be helped. We're scrapping the bottom of the barrel as it is."

"Yes sir." The pony went off to follow his orders.

As the hours passed, the Equestrians fought ever more desperately against a foe who refused to stop coming, regardless of their losses. The came on willingly, taking horrible casualties to hurt their enemies even slightly. And their strategies were slowly working; the army's ammunition began to run out.

"I have no more bolts, Colonel! What now?" asked an earth pony. Sure enough, he had nothing left to shoot with.

"Switch to your spear, and prepare yourself."

"Er, yes, sir." The earth pony, yellow with a mane, looked nervous. "Do you think..."

Suddenly, his face seemed to change, becoming that of the frightened blue pony from the first battle... the one he had comforted... the one who had died...

James shook himself. It's too late to change his fate, but I can help this poor kid get out of this alive. "No, we will not lose this fight. Our spears and swords will prevail where our 'bows have not." He stood up. "Come on, they're coming!"

"Uh, yes, uh, sir." The soldier still looked nervous, but he lifted his spear and lifted himself onto his hind legs, in the position James had taught Bright Star and the others; it seemed so long ago, even though logic said it was a couple of weeks at most.

He looked eastward and was surprised to see how many trees had been completely destroyed, most likely by artillery fire. What is going on over there?

Note; I based part of this speech off of one Colonel Chamberlain gives in the movie Gettysburg.

Chapter 15; Fury in the Apple orchard

Chapter 15; Fury in the Apple orchard

Bright Star couldn't hear James' speech that well, but knew it was inspiring from the way the ponies who had heard it had broken out into cheers, so he cheered along with them. I know somepony will tell me what he said... if we survive this battle.

He looked at the incoming Changeling hordes. There's so many of them! He felt an urge to flee; he was an earth pony, after all, he was built for that kind of thing.

Before he could make that decision, though, he saw his friends and comrades taking their positions. They look just about as scared as I feel. His courage returned, and a grim determination settled upon him. I can't let them down, and I won't.

The cannons began to fire. Here we go again. He had seen this routine a lot within the past week; the artillery would fire, then the crossbowponies when the enemy got close enough, then it would fall to everyone to use swords and spears to defend themselves. The life of a soldier seemed almost predictable sometimes.

His unit had stationed in the apple orchards that gave the town it's name. Some of the leaves fell from the trees as the guns fired. One of them fell onto Bright's nose. He snorted and blew it away.

He lifted his crossbow to his shoulder, aiming as well as he could.

"FIRE!" shouted one of the sergeants.

He shot his bolt, and hundreds of "twang!"s went off, showering the Changelings with quarrels.

Bright still felt guilty everytime he had to go into battle. I'm killing living beings. This isn't right. The one thing that kept him doing it was the knowledge that they would kill him... and the ponies he considered his friends.

He reloaded, fired, reloaded, fired again. He felt like his weapon was his master; it demanded "food" in the form of crossbow bolts, and demanded them constantly.

The artillery roared, and the hiss of cannister balls whizzed through his ears. Hundreds of Changelings fell, penetrated by the minuscule balls. The rest simply didn't care, and their return fire, while inaccurate, filled the air.

He dodged one bolt of green energy, but dropped his crossbow; it slipped between his hooves to the ground.

Aw, horseapples.

He saw a Changeling come over the parapet and leap to the bottom of the trench. I guess the time for crossbows is over anyway, he thought. He picked up his spear and stabbed the drone in the neck. It let out a screech as it died.

I shouldn't be doing this. But if I don't, they'll kill everypony else. That thought sustained him through the fighting, as the porous monsters continued their assault. They kept coming no matter how many of them died, swarming over the defenses to attack the Equestrian soldiers directly. The fighting continued for some time, although Bright didn't know just how long it went on; time in battle seemed to take far longer to pass than it did normally.

An artillery piece fired so close that he stumbled; despite the fact that he had mastered the art, at least compared to other ponies, he had never felt it was natural to stand on just two legs, and in any case he felt his ears ring, and for a moment the noise of battle was almost nonexistant. He saw the cannonball strike a tree, and it fell right on top of two Changelings; apples rolled everywhere. It was almost comical.

He rolled away from the gun, and jabbed at yet another Changeling; he felt a weird thought strike him as the spear went through the thing's neck, the weapon supported by a single hoof. How is it that our hooves feel nothing, yet we know when we're holding something? He pushed the thought aside; it wouldn't help keep him alive, or anypony else.

He heard a crackling sound as his ears refocused; he turned to his left, and saw that a particularly large apple tree was about to crush him. He ducked out of there fast, before it could kill him... as if the Changelings needed any help doing that.

"Spears ready, gentlecolts! We're going to charge!" That was the company captain, Golden Shield, a brother to Silver Shield, although the latter hadn't mentioned the former much.

Is he insane!?! We're already fighting for our lives as it is, and you want us to charge right into death's waiting arms?

As if he had read Bright's thoughts, Golden Shield, a grizzled Royal Guard, said, in a firm voice, "I will tolerate no disobedience; any soldier remaining behind will wish the Changelings had killed him, you can bet your bottom bit on that. Now get moving!"

"Quite the motivational speaker, isn' he?", said one soldier near Bright.

Yeah, no kidding.

He rushed forward, slaying several Changelings who got in his way. He could see others following the order, if not with relish then with fear of the captain who had given the command.

To his surprise, the charge managed to retake the trenches. The company pushed on, their initial reluctance dissipating at their unexpected success, and they charged on into the trees, pushing the enemy back for once.

Bright felt a surge of hope. Maybe the captain isn't such an idiot after all.

"What? Some brain-dead moron ordered a counterattack? Without my permission!?" James was furious.

"Yes sir, Captain Golden Shield ordered a charge to retake the apple orchard." The pony in front of him wasn't nervous at his reaction to the news, but the concern on his face did question the captain's reasoning.

He wasn't the only one. James felt rage threatening to overtake him; with great effort he contained it, though it continued to boil beneath the surface. If we get through this battle, I am going to court-martial him. Although the captain hadn't disobeyed any direct orders, he had known that a defensive strategy had been in his superior's mind. He was going to pay the price for jeoparizing not only his own command, but the entire army's... well, not safety, certainly, but security.

And I'll be there to watch the WHOLE thing, he thought, with an almost predatory feeling inside. He shoved it down, as with his anger. Maybe the captain had seen some sort of opening. Maybe... if the planets were in perfect syncronization, if the weather was perfectly sunny, if hedgehogs could fly.

"Sir, what are we going to do with Captain Shield's disobedience?" asked the gray Guard unicorn.

James shook himself out of his thoughts. "Go and tell him that I order him and his command back to his original positions without delay, with a threat of court-martial if he disobeys.

The Guard still looked doubtful. "What if he still refuses?"

"Then arrest him on the spot and bring him into custody." James said it without delay. "Bring a couple others with you to ensure that that happens."

"Yes, sir." The guard saluted, and galloped away.

Now to focus on the battle at hand, the human thought, as more Changelings rushed toward his location.

Bright Star rushed forward, glad to be on at least three legs temporarily as he continued the charge. Another Changeling died as it was struck in the chest by a steel spearhead.

It feels good to be advancing again. Maybe we were going about it all wrong. He shook himself. Jim kept most of us alive as best as he could. It's not his fault, it's the enemy's.

All the same, something in the pit of his stomach said something was wrong... He wondered what it was...

It clicked, all at once. It feels too easy. That was it. The enemy's number should have swamped them, or so he felt, the moment the charge had begun. Maybe that was the way an advance was supposed to feel?

He kept on even with doubts clogging his mind, hacking and stabbing any black body that got in his way. Nearly a hundred other Equestrian soldiers advanced with him, and he felt reassured by their presence.

The attack went on, nearly to the northern edge of the apple orchard, before it happened.

Bright and hundreds of his comrades (Golden Shield's company hadn't been the only one to advance) stared at the black line, which was just standing there, waiting... They lowered their horns all at once...

"DUCK!" Bright shouted. He immediately did so himself.

He was just in time; a mere half-second or so after he did, green bolts slammed into the company. He heard screams, and bodies fell to the ground around him. He knew not all of them were unhurt.

For about a minute, the air was full of green bolts. More screams rang out, as well as curses. Then he heard hoofbeats, and the ground shook slightly. He looked up; sure enough, the Changelings were launching a charge of their own. A few continued to fire, though with nowhere near the deadly effect they had had a few moments ago.

The Equestrians somehow managed to get ready in time to meet the charge. However, unlike previously, they couldn't stand against it. The line broke in less than a minute.

They fled. For the first time in the war, Equestrian soldiers panicked. They ran back into the trees, with Bright one of their number.

"You damned flea-bitten cowards! Get back into the fight!"

Bright almost hesitated. That voice belonged to Captain Shield. He also noticed, to his bizarre amazement, that he was still holding his spear.

He kept running. Why don't you meet the enemy yourself, captain? He felt slightly guilty, but mostly anger penetrated his heart. The captain had lead his company into this mess, and now the Changelings had practically destroyed the company.

He almost stopped. The entire company, along with a few units near it, had abandoned their positions; except for the artillery, there was nothing in the enemy's way. They could break into the rear of the army and destroy it.

He did stop when he noticed a pegasus hiding behind a tree; the poor stallion was sitting with his hooves over his head, shivering in terrible fear. The fellow had a crossbow right beside him.

Bright tapped the soldier with his hoof. The kid jerked.

"No, NO! GO AWAY, YOU MONSTER!" The soldier stopped shaking, got up, and got a better look at him.

"Listen to me!" Bright said firmly. "We have to try to stop them or they'll cut the entire army to shreds." He stood straight. "Come on, you still have a crossbow and quarrels, get into the tree and start shooting."

The soldier got up, tears in his eyes. "Okay, I'll do it." He picked up his crossbow, then flew up into the tree. Bright was surprised at how quickly he had gotten over his fear.

He ducked behind the tree, waiting... Hoofbeats. He stabbed out on the right side of the tree, and met resistance. He was shocked to see it was a pony... then it's body changed shape, and turned back into a Changeling.

Ahhhhhhhh... He felt almost revolted enough to vomit. The shock of seeing a white pony, even though it had proved in reality to be a Changeling, had shaken him to the core.

Wait... if they're doing this everywhere...

He lurched backward, even more horrified. If they were doing this as a concentrated strategy, then they would be able to capture the army's artillery without another shot from them, and infiltrate the army's lines to make it even easier to destroy them.

We have to hold the line here, no matter the cost, or they'll kill us all!

He knew someone would have to rally the remains of the shattered units. Captain Shield wasn't anywhere close by. Bad feelings aside, the captain probably wasn't the best idea anyway. Nopony was going to listen to him, not after this.

Twang! He heard a crossbow go off from somewhere above him; the pegasus must have found a target.

The pegasus... Bright looked up. "Hey, you up there!"

He heard a loud creak. "Yeah?"

"We have to organize a line, go out and find some ponies to try to hold them back long enough for me to warn our artillery!"

"You got it!" The tree shook as the pegasus flew off.

Now to run, run faster than I've ever run before. He took off, galloping as fast as he could toward the south.

Before he got to the southern edge of the orchard, he crashed into a party of three ponies. He tumbled head over hooves into a tree. He was momentarily stunned.

Why is everything upside down? He realized he was on the ground, and that it was he that was upside down. He got to his hooves as fast as he could.

"Uh, please excuse us," said one of the soldiers, a gray unicorn Guard in silver-colored armor. "We're looking for Captain Golden Shield. If you could notify us of his current location..."

"You should stop worrying about him and start worrying about the Changelings; they broke our lines, and are heading right back toward our artillery. If we don't stop them, and soon, there won't be an army to save anymore."

"What!? Are you certain of this?" The gray unicorn scanned him. "Alright, so you're not a Changeling." He turned to one of his colleages, a pegasus Guard. "Go inform our frontlines to the south of the change in the situation, at once."

The pegasus saluted and flew off to the south. The unicorn turned back toward the north.

Bright's hoof stopped him. "You can't go up there, the Changelings are up there!"

The Guard turned he is head, indignant. "Get your hoof off me! I have orders, from Colonel Lavigne himself, to have Captain Shield bring his command back to it's original positions and to arrest him if he refuses."

"Forget it, he's almost certainly dead by now."

That statement seemed to bring a little sense back to the unicorn. "Hmmph. You're probably right. And if he's still alive, he's going to have to deal with his own problems." He still looked upset, though. "If I find him alive, though, I'll blame you for the delay in the delivery of the orders."

"Whatever, just get to safety..."

A green jet of light streamed between them, cutting off the conversation. The unicorn turned and fired his horn at the enemy, nailing one dead center. The earth pony beside him, armed with a crossbow, shot at the enemy as he ducked behind a tree.

More green bolts flew past their position, and more Changelings came forward, insectile sounds coming from them as they did so.

"Come on!", Bright said, tugging at the unicorn. "We have to get out of here!"

The unicorn growled furiously. "You're right. Hold on." His horn lit up, and a gray-tinged shield lit up around all three ponies. "Let's go, this spell requires a lot of energy to keep it going."

They all galloped as fast as they all could to the south. Only one thing was going through Bright Star's mind.

I hope we're not too late...

They were in sight of the artillery and the trenches. Bright felt relief flood his body. It looks like they haven't reached our lines yet. Green jets shot past his shoulder. Ah! I though we'd lost these rascals! He dodged as much as he could.

"Look out! Our cannons are going to fire!"

Bright looked up; indeed, the battery up ahead was preparing to fire.

There was no time to think, only to act. He jumped behind a cluster of Changeling bodies, and heard his newfound comrades follow suit.

The roar of the guns firing was obliterated by the hiss of cannister balls flew by over head. The Changelings bodies he was up against jerked. He braced himself, although part of his brain thought, how useless. Three more roars came, followed by hissing balls filling the air each time. He looked up, over the bodies he was hiding behind. There was a cloud of white smoke over the position.

"Come on! Now's our chance!" shouted the gray unicorn. They all rushed toward their own lines, scrambling over dead bodies. They had almost reached the trenches when three unicorns appeared in front of them.

"Halt!" one of them yelled. His horn and that of his companions lit up.

"Stop, you fool! We're on your side!" Bright cried out, knowing, even as he said it, that it was useless. Several magical beams flew over their heads as all three ponies ducked.

"Come on up, slowly now!" The call came from the same unicorn that had told them to halt.

They all obeyed, walking slowly back into their own lines. The white Guard unicorn said, "Now, prepare yourselves for scanning." He and his comrades went on to do so. "You're clean. What were you all doing out there? Did you realize you were being chased by Changelings!?"

"You have to listen to us! Our line was broken up north, and our units have been scattered throughhout the orchard. We need help to keep holding!" Bright said this in a firm, but loud, voice.

"Are you sure?" the unicorn asked in shock. "I knew Captain Shield gave the orders for a charge, but I didn't think this had happened. We could still hear fighting up north."

"Believe me, they're on their way. And they've been..."

"Pretending to be us, yes I know that. That's why they're called Changelings."

"Alright then, has Captain Golden Shield returned?" asked the gray unicorn.

"No, we haven't seen him since he gave the order for the attack."

Bright listened, ears perked. There were sounds of fighting inside the orchard, and, occasionally, the crash of a tree falling to the ground. Apparently, the soldiers in the orchard were still fighting. For how long, though...

Yes, for how long...

James listened dismally to reports of fighting in the orchards. The units were scattered and putting up infrequent resistance. Some units had stopped sending reports at all. He had to hope they were stil lfighting and were only cut off, not destroyed.

The battle in other areas was growing more and more out of control as the fighting continued. What had begun as an organized engagement had spiraled into a chaotic struggle.

James knew he had to try to regain control; he had been trying to, with little luck. By the slimmest of margins, they had prevented the Changelings from infiltrating their lines and impersonating real soldiers.

"Sir, they're still coming, we can't hold them off forever!" a regular said, with worry clouding his face.

"I know." He couldn't run from the fact; the enemy was on the verge of complete victory. In some areas to the west, despite his desperate orders to hold on, there was fighting on the outskirts of Appleloosa, and by the few reports he had gotten, the battle would soon spread into the town itself.

We've failed. To his immese surprise, he felt no sadness, only peaceful serenity. If it was all going to be over, then he'd die side by side with friends and comrades who had fought and suffered along with him.

The ground started to shake. A loud, continuous thunder could be heard to the west, drowning out the sounds of the Changelings' charge.

An earthquake, he thought.

"Sir, look!" A brown earth pony was shouting, pointing a hoof toward the west.

James turned... and felt his hopes soar.

Massive, brown-colored bodies were surging toward the Changelings. With loud roars and battle cries, the buffalo herd slammed into the Changelings' flank, crushing them against what remained of the army and their own warriors.

James gave a cheer, then turned to his soldiers. "Hurrah! Look, our buffalo allies have arrived. We'll crush the enemy!" The troops gave a tired, but persistant and determined cheer in response to this announcement.

The Changelings, on the other hand (or hoof), reacted in a confused manner to the buffalo attack. Their actions became disorganized, and now it was they who struggled to hold their ground. Although the buffalo didn't have anything like the numbers of their foes, they had the size to make the issue moot. Countless Changelings were tossed into the air like clods of dirt, while others were trampled and crushed.

"All units, try to link up with our allies! Push foward!", James yelled.

The army did it's best to obey; even now, fighting to the east was still confused, and, as he fought on with his comrades in arms, he received no further reports himself, as he was too busy trying to fore the enemy back.

Presently, as the buffalo penetrated further into the Changelings' lines, their resistance suddenly ceased, and they began to flee.

"Come on, we have them on the run!" James killed another Changeling that had turned around and had tried to gore him. He again kicked it off his blade and ran on.

Unfortunately, tired by hours of fighting, the Equestrian army proved to be in no condition to catch the enemy's main force befome it could escape, although smaller pockets were surrounded and cut to pieces by the allied forces. James finally ordered his forces to halt. A few soldiers threw themselves on the ground, too tired to care about anything but resting, while others licked their lips, thirsty beyond belief.

The army would need a massive overhaul, that was certain. It's ammunition was all but depleted, and the casuaties suffered in this battle surpassed all thoses suffered in previous engagements.

James sat down as the buffalo and the ponies began to intermingle. There didn't seem to be any hostility between them, and soldier and warrior shared stories, some so obviously and outrageously exagerated that he had trouble trying to sort out what had really happened.

"And what is this ape-like thing?" a deep voice came from behind him.

He whirled around, left hand on the sheath of his sword. There, several meters away, stood Chief Thunderhooves.

Oh, great. Now I might have to deal with this bruiser. "I'm a human. The name's Colonel James Lavigne. I lead this army."

The buffalo snorted disbelievingly. "How do I know you're not a Changeling in disguise?

"Because he's not!" A unicorn, with white fur and a tan mane, trotted up to them, and scanned James. After a few seconds, he announced, "He's clean."

"Maybe your words do have some truth to them after all." The chief still didn't sound trusting.

"Sir, I was the guy chosen to talk to the buffalo," the unicorn said.

"Oh? And what was the decision they made, and why did they make it?"

"Because we enjoy healthy relations with the Appleloosans, and our code does not allow for us to stand by while innocents are harmed," answered the chief. "That said, we shall have no further part in this conflict. We have done what needs to be done, and shall return home." He said this in a tone that brooked no arguement.

Damn it! Still, James was more pleased than not. The arrival of the buffalo had saved the army and the town, and, although they would not fight any further in the war, their intervention had likely tipped the balance of the entire conflict.

"Well, thanks for what you did do. They almost had us that time," he said quietly.

The chief nodded, then called his warriors together. They all left in a similar manner to which they had arrived. A few carried bodies of tribemates; the buffalo had not gone completely unbloodied, although their losses had been extremely low.

James watched them go, wondering what was going to happen now. the entire war had shifted from a near-defeat situation to victory in a matter of perhaps half an hour, if that.

Maybe I wasn't lying to these fellows after all. Maybe we really can win. It was certainly in the cards now.

Chapter 16; A stab in the back

"Are you sure you want these reports, Colonel?" asked a red pegasus regular. Looking nervous, the pony added, "I've seen them, and..."

"It's my responsibility to know the state of the army I control. Please give them to me." James knew the reports weren't going to be good, but that aside, he had to see them.

"Alright sir, but there have been orders I liked more."

"There have been orders I was happier to give, now, then, the reports."

The pegasus gave them to him, then trotted away.

James looked over the various reports. He had to bite down on his tongue to keep from screaming. The damage his small army had taken was breathtaking; a little over a thousand casualties, with around four hundred dead, many from Golden Shield's harebrained attack. 207 were so badly injured that they would be incapable of further fighting, and 123 were severely wounded, some so much so that they were expected to die.

There was one small problem he didn't have to worry about anymore; Captain Shield's body had been found, struck by dozens of energy bolts. Apparently he had died trying to rally his command.

James sat back in his chair, stunned by the damage. What a waste. He put his hand to his head. No, what a loss. Two whole fifths of the army were either dead or incapable of fighting, with many of the rest shattered by loss of friends and colleagues.

The Changelings, as always, had suffered losses far out of proportion to their foes; over eight thousand of their bodies had been counted in front of, in, or behind the trenches. Thousands more had died when the buffalo had smashed though their flank. The reasons for their withdrawal probably had less to do with their casualties and more to do with the queen knowing the buffalo had pierced her lines, and she had fallen back to escape death or capture. Whatever the reason, James was happy enough to see them go.

It had been three days since the battle. The Changelings had fallen back to Greenspot, the large oasis-like area where the first battles had been fought. They had abandoned their camp, and even now a few Equestrian scientists were probing it for more information on the enemy. Nothing much had been found so far, other than black and green structures, all empty of life. What there was simply reinforced the notions he and others had already speculated; the bugs were largely just that, bugs. They had a hive-life structure, with buildings that reflected that lifestyle. No particular weakness, for either the Changelings or their structures had been found, although the artillery was going to run some field tests to locate the best places on the buildings to shoot at.

The apple orchards to the north were practically destroyed, with wide swaths being cut by the combined fire of both sides. It would be a while before those orchards would recover. Fortunately, the town itself had sustained little damage, so the place was at least inhabitable.

James sat up in his chair and began to write out another order, and a request for more supplies; his army would need them. He had just finished when a cyan unicorn popped his head in.

"Sir, there's someone here to see you."

Tell them to fuck off, I'm busy. That would have been inappropriate. Instead, he simply said, "Who is it?" in a tired voice; he had been working most of these past three days.

"A bunny with a pancake on it's head." The feminine vice was unmistakeable.

"Princess." His exhausted voice managed to lift itself into something a little more respectable. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking on my army and my country, as I should." Princess Celestia's voice sounded jolly and fresh by comparison.

I wish I had that kind of strength now. I could use it to pull things together at once instead of stringing them along, as I have been.

"It's good to see that my trust in you was justified," the Princess continued. "I was worried, and for a time it seemed like the town would fall." She looked straight at him. "I'm so glad I was wrong."

"You wouldn't be so glad if you had seen the reports I got just a while ago," James said. "We lost more than a few of our own boys, and we would have lost a lot more if the buffalo hadn't come when they did."

"I am aware of our losses." Her voice changed, and her mouth curved downward. "It saddens me that so many must die for our liberties and for the safety of others."

"What's eating me is that I give the orders that inevitably lead to that result. I can't stop them all from dying, no matter what orders I give, or what I physically do."

"I know the feeling. Trust me, I knew that when the war started that some would have to die so that others might live in peace," the Princess said quietly in response. "Please know that neither I nor my sister blame you for what has occured."

"You don't get angry letters from parents who lost their kids." James picked up one of several letters sprawled by his hammock. "You are a monster and if you had any decency you'd throw yourself of a cliff, for your orders led to my son's death." He dropped that one and picked up another. "I don't know what lies you told the Princess to get into her army, but if I ever see you I'll tear you to shreds with my bare hooves. You're a disgrace to whatever world you belong to and if we're lucky your kind will never be seen in our fair land ever again." He dropped that one as well, and sat on the hammock, head in his hands. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Everything you can to ensure our victory." The answer came after a pause. "I'll speak to these ponies and convince them it was not your fault that their sons and siblings perished."

"No, don't do anything, they'll still think it of me."

"Listen, Jim, and listen closely," Celestia stated, in a firm voice. "I chose you to lead our army, and to lead us to victory. I know you can, the power to do so lies deep inside you. I would not have selected you if I had thought you would fail."

"I need more than just the army I have to do it, though, and my army is in tatters."

"it shall not remain so for long; I shall see to that. Whatever you need, we'll give to you."

James looked up. "The town's going to need plenty of help as well, the apple orchards that are their main source of food and money have been almost completely destroyed in the fighting."

"I had not heard that," the Princess said, surprise dotting her face. "Rest assured, I'll have the situation taken care of."

"Thank you." James raised an eyebrow. "Where did you hear that my nickname was Jim?"

Celestia grinned. "I heard it from a certain Bright Star, who, I've been told, was influential in saving our army from complete destruction. He dropped the nickname by accident when he was talking to somepony else, and I knew it had to be you; nopony would bear that name."

"Well, you were right about that. Now, how soon..."

"Are more troops coming? I've sent three thousand, five hundred more to this location. They should be here tommorow at noon."

"That's great!" Then he frowned. The lieutenant four days earlier had said six thousand were coming. There was something amiss there, and he could guess what. "How are the negotiations going?"

"You mean with Lord Spokesbane, and his associates?" Celestia scowled, though her wrath was not aimed at the human. "He's been abominable the entire time, rude at best and shockingly offensive at worst. I have to admit, I wanted to slap him for what he said about our army and it's conduct."

"Are you sure you should be talking to him then?"

A cocky smile returned to the alicorn's face. "I have ruled Equestria for over a thousand years; I can control my temper in political issues. Of course,", she said, growing somewhat stormier, "I haven't been challenged in the politcal field like this for a long time, so you may have a point."

"Hmmm."

"I suppose you asked the first question over the loss of troop numbers promised you?" She waited until he had nodded before continuing. "I have sent the remainer, about two thousand, five hundred strong, to guard our northeastern borders from Griffon aggression."

"Uh, are they right at the border, like, only a short distance away from it?" James could remember reading about the German invasion of Poland in 1939; the Germans had got as far as they did so quickly partly because the Poles had placed the bulk of their forces on the frontier, leaving areas behind much more lightly defended.

"Not right on top of the border, if that's what you're asking. Why?"

"Because it's too easy to break an army that is so close to it's own border. If they break through the defenders, what lies for them to do but simply march through the land unchallenged?"

"Again, you have a good point. I will countermand those orders."

"Thank you again. How many Griffons do you think they're up against?"

"Hmmmm." Celestia looked thoughtful for a minute. "Some sources say around five thousand, while others claim closer to ten thousand."

"I'd guess somewhere around eight thousand, if I had to make an estimate from those numbers."

"A wise conclusion." She paused for a few seconds. "Which is the more important front, the one against the Changelings or the Griffons?"

James took a minute to think. "We can't let the Changelings escape to rebuild their forces," he said at last. "They have no supply lines we could cut off, and since their morale is either constant or nonexistant, they can, and will, keep fighting until either they or their foes are dead. The Griffons have those weaknesses, despite their technological advantages; unlike the Changelings, if we hurt them enough, they'll fall back on their own accord, and cutting off their food supplies would make them retreat almost as surely as a military defeat would. We must finish what we have started here, then we can focus on the Griffons if and when they come."

"A good answer."

"Yes, but..."

He got no further; a pegasus regular flew into the tent. "Colonel, Colonel, sir!" the pony said in a British-accented voice. He turned, saw the Princess, and gasped. "And your majesty," he added, bowing. He looked up, took a letter out of his saddlebags. "I regret to imform you both that Lord Spokesbane and his diplomatic team have announced that they are leaving, effective immediately!"

'What? So soon?" Princess Celestia looked surprised. "I need to get back to Canterlot and figure out whaat he's up to."

James stood up. "If I had to guess, it can't be anything good."

"My suspicions exactly. Please forgive me for the hasty leave I must take."

"Not at all. You've bought us time, and may God grant that you can buy us a little more."

"I'll try." The magnificent alicorn walked out of the tent.

"Lord Spokesbane!" Princess Celestia flew into the room, hoping she was wrong, that war with the Griffons was far away. "What is the meaning of your leaving the negotiations?"

"Because there is nothing more to negotiate." The British-accented Griffon said, in a matter of fact tone. "We have seen that your army is incapable of defending it's own lands."

"What do you mean? They won a great victory a mere three days ago, didn't you hear about it?"

"You can claim all the victories you want, you can't make them real." The Griffon waved his right claw, as he had so many times at the peace table.

The arrogance of the obvious lie threatened to overwhelm her; she barely forced it down. "If you try to march on us, we will resist."

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," the Griffon said. "Many of your subjects would die to no purpose. You can't stop us. You can't even stop the black, insectile barbarians who are even now devouring your country. We are merely restoring order."

"That is a curtain for a declaration of war, ambassador," Celestia said, turning the Griffon's official title into an insult. "There shall be no victory for you in the conflict you have brought down upon yourselves."

"We won't lose, if you choose to oppose us. If you do, we shall punish you for it, all of you. King Raniero* has told me that, if you do not oppose our restoration of order, you shall maintain some autonomy when we are done. If you resist, however, your country will be outright annexed." The Griffon packed his last bag. "I'll see you in a week or so, when this whole mess is over." He walked out of the room, accompanied by two porters clutching his bags.

Celestia stared at the door he had exited through. Oh, what do we do now?

James wrote another request for materials and supplies, then decided to take a break. He walked out of the tent and took a look around. The camp was a sight of activity, though not all of it was work; he could see some soldiers playing various games. Some were clearly gambling, replacing chips with gold bits.

He looked back at the town; already some of the stubborn townsfolk were coming back to Appleloosa. Luckily they didn't seem too upset with the army, although the orchards had been pulverized; Celestia had authorized part of the Equestrian budget to used to assist the town until it could stand on it's own again.

A steam whistle sounded in the distance. He was all too gald to use his binoculars to watchs for the trains, seeing as the Changelings had done little if anything as of late. He saw a long train, even longer than the one that had arrived five days ago. He watched as the train pulled into town, stopped, and began to unload it's passengers and baggage... which amounted to soldiers and supplies and artilelry respectively.

Was that... He focused on a white unicorn stallion wearing purple armor. Yep, that's Shining Armor, or I'm a Russian Blue. He lowered the binoculars and smiled. Now he could catch up with his friend from the Royal Guard, not to mention he wouldn't have to bear every bit of responsibility anymore.

He went back to his tent and got into his hammock. He was still busy trying to rebuild his army, and, while the reninforcements would help immensely, they wouldn't accomplish the job just by themselves. While he wasn't that exhausted physically, his brain needed a rest. Before he knew it, he was asleep.

A crash to the floor woke him up. He took a minute to realize his hammock had been flipped over. He looked to his left, to see four purple hooves...

He stood up. Shining Armor was standing before him, looking amused. "You know, it's expected that an officer will meet a superior will greet him in camp, not from a bed."

"Oh, what's it to you?" But there was no really heat in James voice as he crossed the small space and sat down at the table nearby. "I've been awful busy just writing these reports, and my brain decided it was time for a break."

"Your brain should be court-martialed." They both had a good laugh at that. The white stallion continued, "So, what's been going on since you left?"

The joking mood left James, leaving sorrow behind. "They've been pressing us constantly, excluding the past three or four days. How so many of us survived, I'm not completely sure. The reinforcements we got saved us, but without the intervention by the buffalo, they would have crushed us here. As it is" - here he waved his right arm from one side of the tent to the other, trying to encompass the entire camp - "we barely lived to tell the tale."

"Well, we should be able to finish the job now, we have about..."

"A little under five thousand soldiers."

Shining's mouth fell. "What?"

"I'm not kidding; we've lost about one thousand, five hundred killed, wounded, or missing, most of them for the battle to save this town." Seeing the stallion's shocked face remain in place, he went on, "They had the numbers to keep pressing us, and they wouldn't stop coming. They aren't like you or me; we feel fear, they don't, or at leaast not the drones who do the fighting. They don't stop until they win or they're dead, or if their queen has ordered them to fall back, usually for her own safety rather than her army's."

Shining finally recovered. "it sounds like you all had one rough ride."

"No kidding! We've been fighting just to survive from the beginning."

"Well, now we can do more than just survive", Shining Armor said, an arrogant (or perhaps confident) smile on his face. "We can knock them into the middle of next week."

"It's about time, I..."

Another pegasus, with a tan coat and white mane, flew into the tent. "Colonel, General, I have urgent news, from Princess Celestia herself!"

"What?" They both asked in perfect synchrony.

"The Griffon ambassador announced that Griffon troops are coming into Equestria to, er..." He looked at a piece of paper he was holding in his left hoof. "Restore order, because he claims Equestria can't do it on it's own, and he has warned us not to resist."

James sat there, mind-blown. Then the anger welled up inside him.

"Son of a bitch! Son of a mother fucking bitch!" he yelled as he slammed his fist down onto the table.

Note, I got the name Raniero from a book in Harry Turtledove's Darkness series (which is about WWII being fought on an alternate world with magic almost completely replacing technology), and chose to borrow it.

Chapter 17; Sneaking forward

Shining Armor and the messenger took a shocked step back as James ignored the pain going through his own fist. The human's fierce face might have had something to do with it as well. He was so angry that he didn't move; he just stayed where he was, fist on the table, his furious face over it.

Finally the Captain of the Royal Guard was able to recover. "James," he said, with a frown on his face, "calm down."

"Calm down? Shi... Er, I mean, General, you might not have heard, but we've just been stabbed in the back," replied the human colonel. "We finally get a taste of victory after all this - here he banged his fist on the table again - freaking - he repeated the action - time - once more he pounded the table - "and now we have to deal with this," he said, dragging out the last few words in an outraged growl. He raised his fist to strike the table yet again, only to be stopped by a glow of energy from the unicorn general's horn.

"Come on, destroying your hand on the table isn't going to solve the problem." Then Shining's face softened. "I know what you're feeling; in fact, I'm probably even more upset than you are. But we need to focus."

James slowly calmed down, though it took several minutes. "...Alright." He lowered his fist, which Shining had released, and stood up, putting his hands on the table and leaning over it. "In that case, we should push hard here and now, so that we can defeat the Changelings before the Griffons become a major problem. Then we can bring all our boys back east and knock those aggressors into next week, and end this damn war."

He began looking at the map showing the Changeling positions. They didn't seem to be doing much, but he knew it wouldn't be long before the queen made the choice to attack again. "We've been falling back and back, now it's our time to hit them, and to hit them hard." He pointed at the map. "A force of Royal Guards will..."

"Hold on." Shining Armor stepped up and and looked James in the eye. "I'm the General, anything you say has to meet my approval first."

"...I see." James hadn't considered that. Breathing heavily through his nose, he went back to studying the map as he sat down. "General, if I may, I think I have a plan." Seeing his friend nod, he continued. "Some of our troops will make a frontal attack on the enemy camp, while more attack from the side, and a force of pegasi willget in their rear and trap them." He moved the little troop indicators on the map to various positions in a rough circle shape around the Changeling base. "If this works, we'll surround their camp from all sides and crush them between us."

Shining nodded, but looked unconvinced. "That idea sounds good, but they could see us all too easily and escape."

"Which is why we'll make our move at night, and wait for dawn's early light to make the actual assault", the Colonel replied, savoring the reference.

"That's still risky. They could still see us by the light of the moon, and there aren't any clouds to block it, even if the pegasi to be involved in that operation weren't in danger."

"If you have a better idea, I'd like to hear it." James folded his arms. "If you can outflank your enemy, you're the one who survives, even if you're the one who's outnumbered. And we can't afford frontal assaults, not with a fight on two fronts. Besides, I don't intend to risk anyone's lives in that kind of attack."

"I wasn't going to suggest that." Shining looked at the map. At last he lifted his head. "I don't know what else we could do, other than tunnel under their camp, and only Diamond Dogs can dig fast enough to suit us."

"Hmmm." James sighed heavily. "In any case, it's your decision, General."

"...We'll go with your plan. I just hope we don't fail."

"We won't. We don't have room for failure."

That night the army packed up and began to move. The sky was clear, with a bright moon brightening the landscape, making it almost as clear as day. James wished he could extend his arm long enough to slap the satellite, even if it wouldn't have done any good. He felt betrayed by the giant space rock's light.

They kept on even so; a few clouds did block out the light of the moon here and there, but Shining Armor had been right; there simply weren't enough clouds for the pegasi to entirely block the treacherous rays.

James didn't know how long it took before the regiment he was to lead the following day got into place; he passed the time by staring at the desert sand and the moon. Before long he felt entranced by the errie beauty of it all as the march went on it's way.

Presently he heard hoofbeats to his left; he turned his head and found Silver Shield's head a few feet to his left. At least, he thought it was the sergeant's head; the moon was nowhere as bright as the sun, and it didn't illuminate the Guard that well. "Sergeant, is that you?", he asked.

"Yeah, it's me." That was Shield, alright. He sounded subdued. "I just wanted to see if everything's going as expected."

"I'm not sure; the flanking units are miles to the east and west of us. I don't think the Changelings have noticed anything, though I'm not sure how well they can see at night."

Shield gave a grunt.

"You sound ill, sergeant. Are you going to be alright?" It was a different question from "Are you alright?" The difference was subtle, but noticable.

Shield noticed. "I'll be fine, just a bit under the weather after hearing about my brother."

"Oooooh." James removed his hat. "If it's any consolation, I'm sorry to hear that." He walked on, not speaking for a few seconds. "He was a... talented officer."

"You mean aggressive, Jim, I know all about him disobeying your orders." Shield gave a small laugh. "It was one of his greatest weaknesses. I remember wrestling him back when we were foals and dreaming of joining the Royal Guard. I found early on I could win by goading him into making some impatient move." The stallion shook his head. "It worked on almost any game I played with him."

"We could use that aggressive spirit now. We are going on the actual offensive for the first time."

"Hmmm..." The Guard looked down at the ground. "No Guard worth his stripes would even think of disobeying orders. Golden Shield dishonored the Royal Guard, and destroyed the ponies under his command, by not following your orders." He looked up into James' face. "I don't blame you for his death. I thought about it a while; he brought it on himself."

"I can tell from the tone in your voice that you still miss him."

"I do. I miss him more than you can ever know. But in the end, we have to live up to the fact that death exists, and that it visits us all. And we have to recognize the facts in those deaths, hope to learn from them. Maybe then we can make life better for ourselves and for others."

James grunted approvingly. "Well spoken, my friend." He stared at the ground as he kept walking. "I have learned all too much recently, if you know what I mean."

"I don't envy you, having to make the big decisions."

"You have no idea..."

The rest of the march went on in silence, as Greenspot finally came into view. Changeling towers were visible above the trees, dark, tall, and evil-looking. James couldn't see any activity coming from it, but that didn't necessarily mean anything; they may have detected the approach and set up an ambush. His soldiers were alert despite the hour, and their heads kept turning this way and that, watching for anything suspicious.

The artillery had been set up a distance behind his current position. His unit was in a sunken ditch, some distance away from the enemy camp. If the foe was ready for them, they showed no sign.

"Sir," Shield whispered in his ear, "we don't know the enemy's exact location, or what they're doing; we should have somepony go out on a reconnaisance mission."

"You're right," James said, also in a whisper, "we should. And you're coming with me." The pony grunted in response, but otherwise said nothing. The human pointed to three other ponies nearby. "You, you, and you," he said quietly as they turned their heads in his direction, "we're going on a scouting detail. Come with me." He lifted himself out of the ditch toward the trees, which were only a few dozen meters in front of them. He heard their hoofsteps as they followed him.

For a while, nothing seemed out of order in the once unblooded forest. An owl hooted, but other than scaring the Colonel and his squad out of their wits, all was quiet.

Then he felt something tap his shoulder. James turned, pistol drawn, only to find that it only the hoof of one of the ponies he had ordered to follow him. The soldier made a silencing gesture. "Sir," he whispered, "I can see a Changeling, over there," he finished as he pointed a hoof in the direction he wanted to indicate.

James looked; indeed, there seemed to be a black body sitting beside a small pool.

"Alright," he whispered back, "get up behind the trees, and don't let it hear you. I'll take up shop behind that one," he said, pointing at the closest tree to the Changeling.

They all hastened to obey. James crawled up to the tree he had in mind, revolver out and ready to fire.

He looked at the Changeling. It didn't seem to be doing anything; it just stared into the pool, sighing once or twice.

That's odd. I haven't seen Changelings act this way before.

Shield gave him an inquiring look from behind the tree he had taken up position behind. James shook his head, then lifted a finger to tell him to wait. The pony looked disapproving, but said nothing.

James kept watching the lone Changeling. It shook its head as it stood up. Then it sighed.

James nodded to Shield, then took aim at the Changeling. Before he could shoot, a merciful impulse fell on him, urging him to take the drone alive. "Don't move," he said quietly, but audibly.

The Changeling jumped; to his own surprise, it looked... surprised. And scared. It's eyes got wide as it realized it was surrounded.

"P-p-please, d-d-dont hurt me."

James almost took a step back in surprise. The Changeling's voice was different from the insectile, hissing voice the others used; in fact, he thought with amusement, it sounded almost exactly like the character Rand in Robotech.

He stood up. "We won't hurt you if you come quietly. Come on, we're going back to camp."

The Changeling looked frightened. "Are y-y-you sure no one will hurt me?"

"I'll make sure of it, just move. And no magic."

"O-ok." The drone walked forward, then his eyes lit up. "You're that monkey thing the queen wants."

"For everyone's information, I'm a human. And she's not going to capture me alive." They walked back toward the camp.

As they got closer, Shield whispered, "Are you sure it was a good idea to take him alive? I'm not convinced this was a good idea."

"Trust me," James said as he came out from under the trees, Changeling prisoner walking in front of him.

Chapter 19; Advance

Chapter 19; Advance

James sighed as he and his patrol were scanned. Unsurprisingly, the only one found to be a Changeling was the one they had captured, the one that acted strangely. He didn't know why, but he was intrigued by him... at least he thought it was a him.

"Sir, what do we do with the prisoner?" asked one of the unicorn regulars.

James looked at the moon. It was lower in the sky, but the time for the attack was still a while away. He hoped the other detachments were in position.

"Leave him here. I'll question him. Just get to your posts."

"Yes sir." The two unicorns left.

He looked at the Changeling, which was still sitting there, looking up into his face.

"What were you doing at that pond?" James asked.

This question was met by surprise, and not only by the Changeling, which looked astonished. "I-I-I thought you were going to ask me something important."

"I just did. What were you doing at the pond?"

The Changeling looked down, as if he were ashamed, but didn't answer. Shield looked like he was about to hit the creature, but James shook his head, and the Guard lowered his hoof, which he had raised to strike.

"..."

"You know, you act differently from the others. You didn't try to kill us, you didn't struggle, you just went along with what we told you." James sat down on a boulder nearby. "Why?"

The Changeling looked up at him, looking afraid. "Be..c-c-cause I'm... different." He said it so quietly James could barely hear him.

"Hmmm?"

"I-I-I w-w-was always different from the other drones." The words began to come, as if an avalanche was slowly starting. "I was a... a... a misfit." The creature looked sadder than ever. "I-I never had the connection the rest of the hive had with the queen. I was capable of independant thought from the moment I was developed enough for it." The Changeling stopped for a moment.

"And?"

"And so I.. was always having trouble. I could never feel the automatic loyalty the rest of the hive has for the ruling queen, and I could never escape the thought that I was insignificant."

"Why were you at the pond?"

"Because I... felt... lost." The Changeling's head fell, his eyes staring at the ground. "I wanted to fit in, for safety as well as for feeling like part of the group." He looked up. "Outcasts - those who are different and don't function as drones are supposed to - are... t-terminated."

"Terminated?" James asked. "As in, killed? Destroyed?"

"Yes, terminated. Only Changeling queens are allowed to have independant thought and functions."

"How are you still alive then?" James asked, curious.

"I managed to act like I was like all the rest; pretended to act normal. I worked and toiled for the good of the hive, being careful not to betray anything."

"And how do we know if we can trust you?" Shield butted in. "For all we know, you're a perfectly loyal Changeling warrior, and this is part of some plot by the queen."

The Changeling jerked away from the fierce Guard. "I... Please, I don't know what she wants, other than this, uh, human," replied the scared creature. "I don't even know if I want to go back."

Before the Guard could reply, James asked, "What is your name?"

"Whuh? My name?" The Changeling looked confused for a minute. "Oh. We... don't have names. If we're addressed, it's just 'you, you, or you', or by our numbers. I was 3,457th of my generation, so that's what I became. It's the only designation I've been given. To be honest, it's all I have to be proud of." Then he looked back at the ground. "What are you going to do with me?"

"We won't kill you, if that's what you're afraid of." James remembered something important. "Are you hungry?"

"Uh..." Obviously the Changeling hadn't expected to be treated so well. "We... don't need physical food that much, only if we don't get enough love to feed us."

"Hmmm." James looked at the horizon; a very faint light had lit up the east. It would be time for the attack soon. He stood up. "Drone 3457," he said in a loud voice. The black creature stood straight as well; apparently he was used to taking orders. "You're going to need a name; we can't just call you by a number all the time, can we?"

"Uh, er, no, ma - uh, I mean, sir," the Changeling replied, confused. "Whatever you think I deserve; I didn't expect to live this long anyway."

Does the poor bastard think we live like barbarians?, James thought. He realized that maybe he had; after all, the Changelings obviously lived under a brutal and oppressive society. Maybe they thought everyone else lived in a similar manner. He went on, "What would you like to be called?"

"I don't know, whatever you choose would be okay."

"Alright then." James pretended to think, although the name hadn't been in doubt in his mind since capturing the poor thing. "I'll call you... Rand. Is that acceptable?"

The Changeling, no longer nameless, looked up, still not sure what to make of the situation, but James could see a tiny hope spark in his eyes. "I guess so."

"Good." James looked at a soldier and said, "Take him behind the lines, but don't let Rand escape, and don't kill him. I want to speak to him again when the battle is won."

"Yes sir. Get moving, you", the soldier said, lifting a spear, but not prodding Rand, who looked scared, but didn't resist.

The soldier lead the Changeling away. James looked back at the forest, but heard some one call out behind him. He turned to see Rand looking back at him.

"Sir, be careful if you oppose the queen," the Changeling said. "She'll never give up, and no matter how many of her drones you kill, she'll keep fighting as long as she has the faintest hope of beating you."

"Thank you, I'll bear that in mind," James called back. This time the soldier took Rand away for real, and the human turned to stare at the black towers that had made their presence in the woods unmistakeable.

Shield turned to look at him. "Sir, with all due respect, I don't trust him."

"I know that, and I'm not taking what he says for granted. But i'd rather be a trusting fool than someone who's paranoid that their own friends are out to get them."

"Only proves you were never in the Royal Guard."

"As if my shape and size don't announce that to the entire world," James retorted. The ponies nearby, even Shield, chuckled at that.

James kept watching the woods, although he kept checking the light that kept creeping in from the east.

"Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light," he sang softly as the sun rose higher.

"Uh, sir?" Shield asked.

"Nothing."

A few minutes later, the artillery began to fire as the hour for the attack drew near. James heard trees crack and groan as shells smashed into them, and, occasionally, a faint screaming could be heard over the din of the barrage. Every so often something would make a breaking sound that sounded like something that wasn't wooden. At one point, one of the lesser towers fell over, and it made a deafening thud as it hit the ground.

"Please, God," James prayed quietly. "Please, let as many of my boys live through this as you can, and take those who are destined to die into your arms. Amen." He made the Sign of the Cross.

At last, the time for the ground attack came. James jumped out of the ditch. "Forward!" he cried, "forward, for liberty!" He ran forward, clutching his crossbow (as he had hardly any shots left for his revolver), and heard the soldiers as they followed him, screaming battle cries. They ran through the forest, yelling their anger and trying to hide their fear as the onward rush gained momentum.

The first Changelings James saw were two drones who were apparently scouts or pickets. They jumped, and made as if to run. James fired from the hip; his quarrel slammed into a tree near one of his targets. The Changeling he had shot at said something to it's companion, who ran off. The runner didn't get far; his body was riddled by quarrels before he got far. The other one, not knowing it's comrade was dead, charged the attackers, who mowed it down like they had it's companion.

The attacking ponies and their human leader came across a black wall; James knew it had to be part of the Changelings' defenses. A hole had been blown in one area of the wall, clearly by artillery.

Green beams began flying from the hole; the Changelings knew it was a weak spot in their defenses. Others began crawling over the walls, firing green energy at their foes. James could hear screams behind him as he continued on; they had to breach that wall, or at least hold the defenders in place while the flanking forces did their job.

He shot at one of the crawling Changelings on the wall; it screeched as it was hit and fell to the ground. He had to take cover behind a tree as three of it's comrades retaliated, and two of the energy bolts flew through the space he had been occupying a half-second before. He breathed heavily as he reloaded, knowing he had narrowly avoided death, then leaned over, aimed again, and shot another defender. He ducked behind the tree; green bolts hit the ground around the tree as he did so.

He looked around; the attack was threatening to stall. A number of ponies were lying ominously on the ground; he hoped they were merely wounded, and not badly so. He felt a jolt in his stomach as he realized someone would have to lead the charge into the breach.

Oh God, if only I were back home again, in Mom's arms. He felt like crying, but forced it down, though just barely. This was going to be the most dangerous thing he had done in the war so far.

"E-everyone," he said in a squeaky voice. He cleared his throat and yelled, "Everyone, get ready, we're gonna charge that hole. Crossbows and spears at the ready!" He was surprised to see so many of them hasten to obey, even though some of them were shaking in absolute terror.

Let's hope this works. If we can break through, we might have a chance.

"Chaaaarrrrgge!" James rushed at the broken area of the barrier; green beams tore through the air. He felt a tug as one passed within a hairsbreadth of his left shoulder. He found the courage to ignore it and kept going.

Several crossbow bolts hit the defending Changelings. A number of them dropped; others were hit by thrown spears and fell. James came up to the wall, jumped up over the broken piece of Changeling masonry (if it could be called that) and found himself inside the enemy's base at last.

Innumerable Changeling drones stood before him and the few Equestrian soldiers inside the camp. They rushed their attackers, dying to cold steel as the ponies and the human fought for their lives.

The enemy kept coming, in spite of their dead, with their fangs bared. They climbed over their dead, taking their losses, absorbing the damage done to them in order to inflict the smallest of losses on their foes. They would come forward, eager to kill, only to die, and yet others would stand behind them, eager to get into the fight. It wasn't long before James felt tired, his sword arm nearly spent from cutting down Changeling after Changeling.

Heh, I'll die like a hero, like I always wanted, he thought as he hacked another one down.

A sudden explosion came from the right side of the camp; pieces of the wall there blew inward.

Is that... He didn't even get the thought finished before a pony shoved his way through the new hole in the wall, followed by other blueclad soldiers. It is! He cut another Changeling down as it tried to shoot him. It's Shining Armor's flanking force!

He made his way to the top of a pile of dead Changelings. "Look!" he shouted, pointing to the right side of the camp. "General Armor's forces have arrived! We'll crush the Changelings!" He heard loud cheers and howls as the army regained it's morale. "Now charge, and remind these flea-bitten cowards why they should fear us!" He went forward himself, killing another Changeling drone as he did so. He didn't realize until after the battle that he had partly quoted Eldest, from the Inheritance trilogy, and to be honest, he didn't care even then. The army had it's chance to win now.

It proceeded to do so; trapped between two forces pressing them, and with loud shouts and the sounds of battle now coming from somewhere to the left of their base, the Changelings had to divide their attention between three forces, all coming inward, determined to defeat the invaders who had come so close to destroying their capital and killing them all.

The black, porous creatures kept fighting regardless. They fought to the last breath; James had a close encounter when a Changeling, cut in half and looking dead, suddenly tried to shoot him. He cut off it's head and kept going. He would later learn that others had similar engagements.

He had other things to deal with at the moment; he saw Big Mac, under assault from three Changelings at once. He was looking hard pressed.

James unholstered his revolver and fired twice; two of the Changelings fell, one dead instantly, the other mortally wounded and too badly hurt to continue fighting. Before he could arrive, Big Mac had taken care of the remaining one.

As the human approached, the red stallion turned. James thought he would be grateful; instead he looked a little cross. "Ah can handle mahself!" he yelled at the human.

I promised your sister I'd take care of you. James wanted to say it, but knew it would do more harm than good. Let him have his pride, as long as he's alive by the end of this. That was half prayer, half hope alone.

Prideful or not, the red stallion followed him as he made his way into the tower that was in the center of the camp; it was by far the tallest and the widest in diameter, and he was sure it held the queen.

It was a hard fight; the Changelings put up fierce resistance as the attackers made their way into the tower. Soldier and drone fell though the furious battle; in one case a soldier and a Changeling were bundled together and hitting and kicking each other with their hooves as they fell down the stairs. James had to jump out of the way quickly in order to avoid them.

At last, the Equestrians found themselves in the top room of the tower. James rounded the corner, pistol drawn...

And his luck ran out. A green jet of light slammed into his left shoulder. He fell backwards to the floor. He screamed as the pain caught up with the injury. He heard crossbow bolts fly across the room and hit his attacker, who sprawled over, dead.

"Aggghhhh..." James looked over at his left shoulder; the beam had cut through the upper edge of his shoulder and had gone all the way through. He knew blind chance had saved him from something worse.

What do I fuckin' care? My shoulder is on fire, dammit!

"Colonel!" He heard shouts as ponies rushed to his side.

"Get... the... blasted... queen," he ground out through the pain.

"Colonel, we've got to get you out of here!" said a white unicorn.

He wanted to argue, then wondered why. He wanted the pain to go away. He balked at the thought of being carried or dragged all the way back to camp. "Get someone back here to patch the wound. Don't argue," he added, as the unicorn looked like he was going to object.

The unicorn relented. "Fine sir, I'll get a medic." He galloped away.

James laid down, feeling the pain as he tried to rest himself. "Get me something to cover the hole in my arm... nnnnnowwww!" he said. Several ponies hastened to obey.

"Don't bother, I'm a medic!" came a new voice. A pegasus with light brown fur came trooting up; sure enough, his kepi had a red cross on it, and he had saddlebags strapped to his back. "Just relax, Colonel."

How the fuck am I supposed to relax when my shoulder is in puzzle pieces? Nevertheless, he tried to follow through with it. He hissed as something soft was laid against his neck, and the medic began to wrap him with white bandages.

A soldier came running in from another room, and began to whisper to another, who recoiled.

"Anything you have to say you can say to me", James said loudly.

"Colonel, it can wait..." James raised the pistol as the medic tried to talk him out of it. The medic took a step back. "As I was saying, urgent business..."

"Sorry about that, doc. Now what you're you two chatting about over there?"

The soldier who had run into the room came up to him. "Uh, Colonel, please don't kill me with your metal thunderstick... but... the queen's... gone."

James sighed, then growled as his shoulder rebelled. "Doc, you can keep bandaging me." The medic obeyed. As this was going on, he said quietly, "That's just like a dictator, to run away when in danger and leaving her people to die for her."

A purple-armored stallion came into view. Shining Armor stopped at the sight of James covered in his own blood.

"James!" Shining ran over to the human. "Are you alright?"

"You should see the other guy; he's a hedgehog now." Then seeing the unicorn general's face, he added, "I'm not gonna die, and with any luck I'll be walking out of here. How's the battle going?"

Shining removed his helmet. "It's mostly over. We've won."

"Not yet. The queen has escaped."

"Oh. Well, she'll be caught by the pegasi you sent to block them from the rear. We'll catch her, you'll see."

You're not one hundred percent sure if you're right, I can see the worry in your eyes. James didn't say it though.

At last the medic backed off. "I think you can stand now, sir," the pegasus said.

James sat up, though his shoulder pained him as he did so. With some help from the ponies, he was able to stand. He walked over to a window facing northward.

I hope they've caught her; the war here will be over if they have.

Chapter 20; Redeployment

Chapter 20; Redeployment

James lay in his hammock, still with an enormous bandage covering his left side. It had been a day since the army had stormed the Changeling fortress. Already newspapers were printing out stories of heroic success, with many of the details exaggerated. The part about his own brave charge against the breach in the wall was one such... somewhat misinformed tale.

He set down the newspaper, bored. The doctors, nurses, and medics had all insisted - not ordered, but insisted - he remain in bed. They had managed to rebuild the shattered bone and regrow pieces that had been lost. Not that that hadn't come at a cost; more pain. One of them had knocked him unconcious with a spell, which had helped then, but he knew he was not going to be leading anyone for a while.

The battle had had it's own cost; a fifth of the army had been killed or wounded, amounting to about a thousand troopers overall out of action. The cost might have been worth if if the queen hadn't managed to escape. James could remember a pegasus flying into the medical tent, a look of guilt and shame on his face. "Sir, I'm sorry. They hit us hard with everything they had left. The queen... got through us."

James had felt like losing his temper, but he knew the pegasi group sent to block the enemy's retreat hadn't been the strongest of the forces he had sent out there. "Don't apologize," he had said, clutching his shoulder. "If... anything, that was my fault. I should have given you more troops to prevent that from happening." The docs had forced him to end the conversation after that.

In the present, James felt an enemy creep up upon him, one that ranked as one of his greatest foes since birth, alongside math; boredom. He hated doing absolutely nothing.

After several more minutes of staring at the ceiling, he lost his patience. Screw it. He got out of the hammock, painful as it was to do so, and walked over to the table, sitting down in his chair.

Now this is more like it. He began to take note of current friendly positions and the Changelings' known escape routes. Despite the Equestrians' losses, the enemy had been almost completely crushed. Only a few hundred had made good their escape, with the vast majority fighting to the death. A few hundred of their wounded had been taken prisoner, but none had offered any information, remaining defiant despite their captivity. Now the ponies were the hunters, the proud cats, hunting the mouse that desperately tried to avoid being caught.

The camp had been moved up northward of the Changeling base, which was still remarkably intact, enough so that the scientists that were with the army were no longer complaining - so much - that there was little to learn from the hive-like structures. The green material they used to imprison those they would suck emotions out of was being analyized. So far, no inherent weaknesses had been found in it, but efforts to find one, and even to reverse enginner the stuff, were under way.

He moved some of the unit icons - carefully marking where they had been previously - in a way he thought efficient. After a moment, he shook his head and redid it in a way that was better.

The tent flap opened, and an earth pony regular walked in. "Colonel, there's..." The soldier noticed he was out of the hammock. "Sir, you shouldn't be..."

"Up and about?" James looked up from the map for a few seconds. "I'm no use to anyone laid up in bed, trooper."

"And you're no use to anyone injured or dead either." That hadn't come from the regular. James looked to see the white alicorn that the voice belonged to walk inside.

"I was bored, Celestia, and I hate being bored. Besides, what I said moments before is true."

The soldier looked affronted from hearing his commander address royalty so casually, but the Princess ignored him. "What I said is also true, and too many have died already."

"Boredom is very pressing in it's own way; to be frank, I was tired of staring at the ceiling and doing nothing to do the job you hired me to do, if you'll forgive me for being so bold." James looked back at the map, hand to his chin as he though about how he had moved the unit icons. And... "Forgive me again, but might I ask why you're here? You tend not to come to the army camp unless there is important news to be discussed."

"Forgiven for both accounts of rudeness, and you are right, this is not a social call, or at least that's not the primary reason for my visit." The Princess walked up to the table. "I'm redeploying you to the Griffon front."

James leaned back in the chair. "So, the birds have made their first move."

"Yes, and their first strike is aimed at Trottingham, a major city." She pulled up a map of Equestria with her magic and set it on the table. "As you can see, no other major settlements lay in the path of their invasion force."

"Is the army you sent there still intact? You understand that I cannot hold back their advance with them."

"Yes, I gave orders for them not to engage the enemy, as most of them have no experience yet." She looked serious as she went on, "We need someone to be in overall command there, someone who knows what he's doing."

"And I'm the one who comes closest to filling the bill." James leaned in, looking at the map intensely.

He heard Celestia giggle. "You undervalue your own abilities."

"Hmmm." James looked at the calendar. November had come. Winter was still a month or so away...

Winter... Yes... He looked up into the alicorn's face. "I think winter is going to come early to Equestria, Princess."

"Oh?" For once the Princess seemed a little confused.

"In many instances of warfare, a defending force has managed to use the winter environment", James recalled, remembering the Winter War between the Finns and the Soviets. "We know this country better than the enemy, and we can use that knowledge to our advantage. "

"Ah. Unfortunately I cannot approve that request without due council." The Princess looked apologetic. "It will probably be several days before I, Luna, and our ministers come to a decision. Until then the weather will go on as scheduled."

Damn it. "Well, in that case, I will do the best I can, under the circumstances." James didn't know whether he could hold; the numbers were four to one, and not in his favor. The upside was that these foes were not mindless drones; they would have weaknesses in morale and supply, which could be disrupted. Of course, that blade had two edges; the Griffons would have intelligent soldiers and officers who could form plans in the midst of battle and distribute them effectively.

"I'm certain you will. And, seeing as the Changelings have been defeated..."

She paused, and the soldier gasped, when James lifted a hand in response. "Forgive me once more, but the Changelings have not been utterly defeated, ma'am. They still have their queen, and several hundred of their drones. We cannot consider them defeated until every last one of them has been accounted for."

"Which is why I'm not pulling every single soldier away from this front." The Princess nodded to show he had been forgiven for the interuption. "Shining Armor will handle things here, with about two thousand soldiers; the rest will be going with you."

"Good; that will increase the ratio to two to one." From desperate to half a chance, in other words. It was better than he would have had, though, and those odds were more easily beaten than odds of three, four, or five to one.

Celestia nodded again. "And I will be sending the Changeling, whom you named Rand, with you."

James' eyebrow raised almost of it's own accord. "May I ask why? He would be more useful here, aiding us in intelligence against the remaining Changelings." He stood up, sarcastically adding, "And, for some reason, the troops don't seem to like him very much. He would be in great danger everywhere he went."

"He would, I admit, but the chance of the queen finding out about him, and trying to destroy him as a result, is much higher here than anywhere else. And this is an experiment of mine; I want to know if the Changelings can be reformed, to be brought into the light of good."

James grunted, but it held no approval or disapproval.

"You were able to get information out of him by treating him as an equal," the Princess continued. "And we've had less luck with Guards shouting at him and insulting him, which has happened, try as I may to get rid of such sentiments."

"in that case, Princess, I accept the post you've given me. (Not that I have the authority to refuse). I must ask that some of our most experienced troops, the ones in from the start, accompany me."

"I will see to that very soon, I promise you."

"Thank you."

The Princess bowed, then added, "But I expect you to try to rest, and allow that shoulder of yours to recover."

Oh, for Pete's sake, this again. He facepalmed as Celestia laughed.

Soon enough, James was at the station, waiting for the train to arrive. His right hand held his bag as he waited. His left, painful as it way, held a Civil War book, which he read intensely. He heard a steam whistle in the distance. He ignored it and kept reading until the train had pulled into the station.

The four regiments - all depleted from their optimal strength of a thousand - began to board, with artillery and anti-air cannons being loaded on flatcars at the back of the train. The loading process took a while, and James had plenty of time to read in his seat at the front of the train before it started moving.

He noted that Bright Star, Silver Lining, White Knight, and Silver Shield took up seats next to him, while Jack Tar took a seat some distance away. He noted the arrangements they made, but kept reading.

"Hey, Jim, how's it hanging?"' Bright asked.

"Fine. Just think about our future campaign against the Griffons. I've been trying to find a good weakness we could exploit easily, but there isn't much new information to go on."

"What do we have to go on?' Shield asked, looking interested.

"As far as i can see, they're more a confederacy than a true kingdom, with an alliance of clans of varying wealth, technology, and power supposedly united under one king." He took a deep breath. "They may as such be more loyal to their clans than to the king, and the armaments and uniforms of their troops will... well, lets put it this way. A unit of kilt-wearing, sword swinging warriors will be next to one that has soldiers wearing red uniforms and using guns."

"Hmm, that could be a weakness we could exploit," Shield said quietly, obviously in thought. "But you said some of them will be armed with guns?"

"Yes, with much greater range than my own," James replied, holding up his pistol; it still had a single bullet left. He had intended to use it to force the queen to surrender, but that hadn't happened. "From the last intelligence reports - which stopped coming when the Griffons began their invasion - a few of their units were confirmed to be armed with muskets, with a doctrine of maintaining a line of battle to make up for the inaccuracy of their weapons, mostly those coming from more wealthy and powerful clans." He sat up straight. "They'll be harder to beat in some ways than the Changelings. Their ability to think for themselves is a strength as well as a weakness. We might be able to break them if we hurt them badly enough, yes, but they'll be more flexible, and more maneuverable. And they'll have artillery of their own, though that will vary along with the clans and units employed."

"Dey can't be any harda dan da Changelings," put in Knight (the short form of his name they had agreed to call him by).

"Believe me, they can. We might be able to use their arrogance against them, but that will wear off eventually, and they do have a technological lead on us." Then, in a firm voice, he added, "Don't underestimate them just because we've all but beaten the Changelings. The birds won't be like them. Be careful, and don't give them the chance to outthink or outflank you."

"Don' worry, sir, we know a few tricks of our own," Silver said, with a determined look on his face.

"I sure hope so." James went on reading.

Once againg, the train had to chug through the night, and, in a deja vu moment, James again lost the coin flip to sleep on a seat, and had to get blanket and curl up as much as he could in the compartment to sleep. Not everyone was sleepy at the moment though; scattered whispers could be heard, and his own friends were chatting away.

He had let Shield and Bright borrow some of his Civil War books. They were busily reading as the human read a book about the First World War. James sighed quietly. He had gotten to the part about the Battle of the Somme, and the first recorded use of tanks. If only we had some of those, they might end the war pretty rapidly. I'd gladly settle on an old French Renault FT-17 or a British Mark IV or V, if only we could use them. But they didn't, and they'd have to make due.

He got up, and whispered to Shield, "I'm going to the caboose, to check on Rand."

The Guard snorted, but otherwise didn't show any disapproval. "Just be careful, sir."

"I will."

James walked down the corridors of the train, trying to keep quiet as he did so. It wasn't easy, with the shoes he was wearing, but he didn't hear anyone complain that he had woken them up, so he must have done something right in that regard.

He got to the caboose, and the guards stepped aside to let him pass, although they clearly didn't like it.

James opened the door, stepped inside, and shut it. Then he looked at the bed, where a black body the size of a pony lay upon it. As he approached it, it jerked and sat up, eyes widened in surprise, but as it recognized him, it calmed.

"Oh, it's you, sir." Rand relaxed and lay back down, hooves tucked under his belly. "I was afraid it would be someone else."

"Well, in any case, I'm here. How are your accomodation?"

"They're good, better than any I ever thought I would have." The Changeling's head drooped. "I just don't like how almost everypony treats me. They call me rude names, saying that I'm a freak, or a bug that needs to be squashed." Rand sighed. "I just want to be treated like I'm somebody, not just a cog in a machine or an outlaw."

James felt pity for the black creature before him. "Hopefully they'll get over it. I'll try to make sure they don't continue that. Most of them are upset about the invasion of Canterlot some months back."

"I know all about that, sir; I was there."

James didn't move, but found himself surprised at the new information. "And? What happened?"

"I think you know, sir. Everypony does. Princess Cadence and Captain Armor used their love to expel us from the capital, and from Equestria overall." The pony-shaped creature looked outside the window. "I remember the love we took in. It was... beautiful. It made me feel... empowered, like I could do anything." Then his voice lowered. "But when I looked at the pony we were getting the love from, I felt... regret. I was sorry to be stealing something so good from someone so pure, especially by force."

James digested this. "Did any other Changeling feel the same way?"

Rand turned back to him and shook his head sadly. "Not unless they were like me, feeling independant but hiding it for fear of termination." He shivered; clearly "termination" was a painful process, or otherwise so feared that it was incomprehensible to even think of disobedience, even for those with a free mind capable of independant thought. However, he continued, "A little while after that, a blast of pure energy - so enriching, but so painful at the same time - blasted us all out of the country, and scattered us to the winds. The queen spent the months after that gathering her lost army."

"That explains the gap between the invasions."

"Yeah." Rand looked down, and to James' shock he found the Changeling was crying. "What am I supposed to do, sir?" asked Rand, tears running down his face. "I'm a traitor to my people and a hated monster to everyone else. Maybe it would have been better if I had died..."

"Don't say that!" James exclaimed. "Everyone has only one chance at life, and only one." The Changeling's sad lament seemed way too close to advocating suicide, which, as a Catholic, he could not abide.

"But it's true. I was never truly happy back with the queen, and I will never be accepted in Equestria, either." He looked into the Colonel's eyes. "You have no idea how I feel, sir. I'll never be accepted anywhere."

"You're wrong." James crouched down beside the bed, so that he was no longer towering over the Changeling. "I know what it's like, or some of it." He breathed heavily before continuing. "I was always a little strange, a little out of the ordinary back in school. I was always the smart one, always quoting facts to people who wouldn't listen to them. I didn't always fit in either."

"Okay," Rand said, tears starting to slow, "I guess you might know a little of it. But you never betrayed your people or your family, have you?"

James closed his eyes for a minute. Lord, please give me strength! "No, I haven't," he said, opening his eyes at last. "I've had disagreements, and I've even been punished for bad behavior by my parents, but no, I never betrayed them." At least, not like you have. He had, once or twice, done something bad enough - such as stealing the car keys and hiding them when he didn't get his way once, or being violent towards another kid - that he and his parents had been estranged for a while, but it never lasted long, and they would make up every time.

"There, you see? How am I supposed to live in this world if I can't be accepted for who I am, instead of who others want me to be?"

"Come on, man, stop it," James said firmly. "You've been given a second chance! Make the most of it! You might be surprised at the results." Then standing up, he said, "Princess Celestia doesn't seem to hate you whatsoever, if you want to know."

Rand stopped crying for a moment. "Really?"

"Yes. She's all for giving you that second chance. Don't give up now."

Rand sat there in silence for a while, thinking it over. "Okay, sir. I'll try."

"Good. And you don't have to call me by rank all the time. I'm a Colonel in the Equestrian army, if you want to know. And my name is James Lavigne. Friends call me Jim."

By the time he had come out of the caboose, the moon was at it's highest... and he had gained a little knowledge he hadn't had before.

For one thing, the Changelings had been raised to suck emotions out of civilized races, such as ponies. They needed love, though physical food could also feed them, though not anywhere so effectively. The green material they used to ensnare those they captured came from glands inside their mouths, though these could only be utilized in the Changeling's true form. They also had a population mainly of male drones, with a small number of females to do the jobs that were the most regal and most connected to the queen. They could only have one queen at a time, with the old queen usually dying in a fight to the death with a young, fully grown one. If the old queen had already died and two queens were born at the same time, they would fight until only one was still alive.

It might not have been everything he had wanted to know, but it was more than he had known beforehand. And he just didn't have the heart to keep pressing the suffering creature inside the caboose. He kept thinking about Rand's position as he went back to his car. James knew the Changeling was in a rough spot. He hadn't done the duty expected of a Changeling, which was to fight to the death to protect his queen and to expand their territory, and had given information almost freely to the enemies of the hive. Not to mention the fact that most ponies continued to consider him a threat at best and a plague at worst. He would give the orders to give the Changeling good treatment and for the insults to stop, but he didn't know whether they would be obeyed or not.

He went back to his car, luckily not waking anyone while doing so, and laid down, covering himself with his blanket. He closed his eyes as sleep finally came over him.

The train pulled into Ponyville station, it's supply of coal and water nearly exhausted. James knew it would be an hour or so before the engine was going anywhere, and the soldiers were bored. He allowed them to step outside for a while, with strict orders to behave themselves.

He got out of the car and walked out of the station. He met with some stares, but that was nothing new, not in Equestria... not for him. It felt good to be away from the war, however short the respite. There seemed to be no difference between the town as it was when he had first arrived and the town in the present. He put his hands on his legs, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

As he stood up, something rammed into his side, and he fell over onto his right side. His shoulder exploded in pain. He got up, pistol unholstered and ready to fire.

James holstered his revolver as he identified his attacker. "Rainbow Dash..." The cyan pony was lying upside down against a tree, looking slightly dazed.

She recovered quickly, and flew over to him. "James! You're back!"

"Yes, I am. Please do not crash into me, though." I'm in enough danger at the front, I don't need any further injuries. His arm ached in sympathy with the thought.

"Oh, right, sorry." Her cheeks went a little red. "I was just so excited that you're alright."

She tapped his left shoulder with a hoof; he gave a cry of pain as his right hand flew to it.

"What's the matter?"

"I got shot there, that's what's the matter." He lifted his shirt to reveal part of the bandage.

"Oh my dear, that looks horrid," came a new voice. Rarity, James thought as the white unicorn trooted up to him. "And your uniform is ruined, oh you poor dear." She was looking at the hole in the left shoulder of the uniform's shirt.

"I can hardly help being shot." James lowered his right arm. "And as I told Shining, you should have seen the other guy."

"Oh, you saw Shining Armor?" came yet another, rather familiar, voice. "How is he? Did he come through it all okay?"

Is the entire gang gonna... Yep, he thought, as Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie came trotting in his direction, following Twilight Sparkle. He waited until she got closer before answering. "Yes, he was fine the last time I saw him. I have no idea how he is now, but I hope he's alright. He's not a bad sort at all. And... he's a friend.

"Oh, good," Twilight said as she stopped in front of him. Then her eyes widened as she saw his shoulder. "What happened?"

"Changeling shot me." Then, feeling the responsibilites of command and it's consequences come down on him, he added, "Others weren't so lucky."

"Luck? How is being shot and having your clothes ruined lucky?" Rarity inquired.

"Compared to being dead, it's very lucky. Compared to an amputation, it's lucky." He took off his hat with his right hand. "Too many others weren't so lucky."

"But we're winning!", Rainbow said, with a confused look on her face. "The newspapers are full of stories of the battle!"

"Do they mention the dead, or the injuries the boys on the front have suffered?" Seeing their shocked faces, he went on, "The newspapers exaggerate things; that's their job. They don't stuff that sounds bad, at least for them. Or would you say different, after an, um, incident with a certain newspaper some months ago?"

He saw them all shake their heads, some with more gusto than others. He sat down on the bench again.

"But we are winnin', ain't we, sugarcube?", asked Applejack, who looked worried.

"Yes, we're winning there. We would have won already, but the queen and a few of her drones got away. And yes, Big Mac is fine", he added. "He's with the troops on the train. If you hurry, you might find him before we have to leave."

"Leave? You're leaving, after such a short time?"

"Yes, Rarity, we're leaving in less than in hour. The train will be departing soon for Trottingham, and we have to all be onboard."

"Trottingham?" asked Twilight with a frown. "Why are you going up there?"

"Because the Griffons stabbed us all in the back, that's why." There were shocked gasps all around as he continued, "Their invasion force is closing in on that city, and we have to reinforce the troops already there before it's too late."

He waited as they digested the news, but before he could continue, he heard sobbing. Looking for it's source, he saw Fluttershy, tears soaking her face, head in her hooves.

"W-w-w-w-why?" she sobbed.

Because the bastards are greedy, and they want land and power for themselves, with out a care in the world for the inhabitants of the land they intend to conquer. He knew he couldn't say that, as Fluttershy was in no condition to receive such a message. Instead, he walked over to her, knelt down, and hugged her; she sobbed into his right shoulder and wrapped her hooves around him. He felt the others come up and hug the poor mare as she kept crying.

At last, she stopped, looked up into his face, and said, quietly, "Th-thank you." She got to her hooves and stood up. "Thank you, all of you."

Making poor Fluttershy cry? That's the last straw. I'll knock those stinking birds into the middle of next week, and I'll make sure they stay there. He said, "You're welcome," amidst a chorus of similar statements. He went on, "We'll do our best to protect this country and it's citizens; of that you have my solumn vow."

Fluttershy looked at him, still somewhat sad. "Why?" she said again. "Why are they doing this?"

He felt anger come upon him. "Because our enemies are greedy thieves who don't care who suffers as long as they get what they want," he said in a terrible, firm tone of voice. "And as long as they walk on this soil, I'll do everything that is morally possible to throw them back to the despicable pit they came from."

Everyone else back off a little on hearing this; he didn't even realize the tone of voice he had been using until he stoppled talking. He bowed his head. "Sorry if I scared you all."

Rainbow Dash hovered, hooves on her hips. "I wasn't scared." Then tapping his chest, she said, "And who are you to talk about scared? You lead that charge into the Changeling camp; you're a hero!"

James laughed, though it wasn't all that funny, and sat back down on the bench as the ponies looked at him with surprised faces. "You have no idea how afraid I was. I wanted to be back home, with Mom. The only reason I didn't was because I would have been letting everyone else down."

"You have quite a pessimistic view of things, James," Twilight finally said, breaking the silence.

"Believe me, after weeks of mud and blood, you'd have pessimism, and to spare." Looking that the concerned looks everyone gave him, he said, "I don't like it either, and I'm sorry. Hopefully I can get my optimism back after the war's over."

"Ah sure hope so," Applejack said. "Ah don't like everything y'all have been sayin'"

"Hmmmmm." James stood up. "Come on, let try to find Big Mac, the train leaves in maybe forty-five minutes."

They all followed him into the station. One thing caught the human's eye; a flash of blue-green, which ducked under a bush before he could get a closer look at it. It made him wonder, though.

James forgot about this incident as they looked for a big, red coated stallion. They found him sitting alone on on side of the station. Big Macintosh and Applejack talked for a while, while James stood a way's off and let everyone else talk to the red stallion as he tried to enjoy the peace while it lasted.

All too soon, the whistle went off, and it was time to reboard. The soldiers walked onto the train, saying good bye to those they had had the fortune to meet during their brief stop.

James waited until Big Mac was about to board, then said to Applejack, "Your brother needs to learn to let go of his pride sometimes."

Both Apple family members stopped, surprised. "Why?" asked the orange mare.

"Because I was just doing what I said I'd do, keep him safe, and what does he say? He says, and I quote, "I can take care of myself!"

Applejack gave her brother a fierce look; Big Mac took a step away from her. "You're in big trouble when ya get back to the farm, mister.

"In any event, I wish you all farewell, until we meet again" the human said as he boarded the train, Big Mac right behind him.

"Good bye!" they all said, waving as the doors closed. The train began to move.

James sat back in his seat. I hope we all can all meet again when this war is over. He murmured a silent prayer as the train left the station.

Chapter 21; Eastern theater

Chapter 21; Eastern theater

James sighed; it was the third time he had lost the draw for a seat to sleep on. The trip to Trottingham was another long one, and they had all just drawn straws. Shield and Knight won.

Right, I'd better not become addicted to gambling, or I'll be in serious trouble. He contented himself with reading a WWI book; the sun hadn't completely gone down yet.

The others had all found a place to lay down, and soon they were all asleep, except for Shield who seemed deep in thought as James continued to read. The human found the First World War to be applicable to many of the situations he was likely to be facing, although he intended to lay off the massive frontal assaults.

"Jim, I was just thinking..." Shield whispered.

"Yes?"

"The two sides in the Civil War claimed to be fighting for republican ideals. Why do you think that kind of government is worth fighting for?"

James thought for a minute before giving an answer. "Because democracy gives the average citizen some say in their government", he said at last. "Under an absolute monarchy, the rulers would be above all forms of law; hang it, they'd be the law. The people would have no say in the matter." He sat up straighter. "My forefathers fought for their independance from a king who taxed them with out allowing them to represent themselves in his government. When they resisted, and rightfully so, seeing as how many of these new taxes didn't care whether they hurt the local economy, he sent troops to garrison the colonies, with the soldiers having the priveledge to take up residence in people's homes. They would have to care for those soldiers, and worse, the soldiers didn't have to pay a cent. Against these and other injustices, my ancestors fought their battle for liberty, and, after eight and a half years of fighting, won it."

"I hope our own war doesn't last so long."

"My hopes are the same." James closed the book. "I was just answering your question."

"So you were." Shield shifted to a more comfortable position on the seat. "I at least understand why you prefer to be under that type of government, even if I don't fully agree with it."

"And I can understand why you feel more comfortable under a monarchy." James rested his head against the war of the car. "After being under a ruler who has reigned for over a thousand years, and very successfully, a different type of governing system seems less effective, or perhaps new-fangled."

He set the book down; Shield looked at the cover. "'First World War...'"

"You'd cry if you saw the casualty lists."

The Guard looked him in the eye. "That bad?"

James took a deep breath. "The majority of the war was fought on one continent, however, many of the nations involved had overseas empires, whose resources they utilized for the fighting." He paused for a moment. "The fighting destroyed much land in a country called France, and an entire generation in Europe was called upon to fight." He paused again. "One man said, as the war began, 'The lights are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.'"

"Why was the war fought?"

"It's immediate cause was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke. The long-term cause was the rise of nationalism and the imperial dreams of the warring countries, as well as revaunchism in France, which had been humiliated by Germany in an earlier conflict."

"Sounds... complicated."

"Yes. A system of alliances were in place on both sides to protect the nations in their respected alliances. However, this backfired; when war was declared on one country..."

"The rest had to follow."

"Yep." James looked at the book as well. "Pride can be just as lethal as the enemies we make, or perhaps imagine, in some cases. At first all those soldiers thought the war would be over quickly, because they thought that just because they came from such and such a country they had to be superior." He shook his head. "The idealism got knocked out of them pretty fast."

"I would imagine so." Shield looked outside the window. "It sounds like your world is filled with wars."

Perhaps you're right, but I'll argue about it as much as possible. "Peaceful events happen more often than ones featuring conflict. The reason peaceful eras aren't covered as well is because nothing really tended to happen that would catch the eye of many readers." He sighed. "During those times, people fell in love, got jobs, did everything people are supposed to do. Wars are discussed so much because they are disruptive."

"No kidding."

"We're still here, and we're ready as we can be."

"I just hope we can defend the city and the ponies in it."

"Me too."

The march to the camp from Trottingham station was not all that long. James till had to endure stares, glances, and whispers about him, but at last that torment was over, and he found himself at the camp... which wasn't in the best of condition.

Eventually this torment - and the town - had passed, and the soldiers of Equestria were in the camp, getting decent food for the first time in a couple of days. Everyone seemed to relax.

Everyone, that is, except their commander. James still had work to do, with planning the upcoming campaign being the foremost concern on his mind. Once his tent had been set up and the table set, he got a map and began placing units. He got a few more stares from soldiers who hadn't seen him in a while, but he appeared to have the respect of the troopers he had lead against the Changelings, so he wasn't all too upset.

He kept trying to find a way to inhibit the Griffons' supply lines; doing so would hinder them greatly, as they had already come quite a ways already; fortunately they had not taken any major settlements as of yet, as much of the area was mere grassland and forests. In spite of devoting an hour to the problem, he could find no way of doing it without compromising the forces he already had. Such an operations would take hundreds of soldiers to pull off correctly, probably thousands.

There was a crash outside, and the sounds of an argument.

"Could you keep it down, I'm busy!" James shouted, before realizing he was being ridiculous, and rushed outside, fearing an enemy attack. Upon coming outside, he swiftly knew that the Griffons had not made any move of any sort - or at least not yet - and that the commotion had come from several ponies, one of whom had been carrying a tray that had been smashed. Some of those involved in the quarrel were plainly soldiers, while the others... The others were dressed in clothing that a fan of Napoleonic history would have worn, clothes that suggested these individuals had tried dressing up to be soldiers but hadn't mastered the know-how. Some carried ancient swords, others held anything sharp that they could find, including scythes and sickles; quite a few of them carried hammers. A few had bows and arrows slung over their backs, and a very small number of them wore old, rusty armor.

"Now what's all this about?" the human asked, walking over to the scene.

The conflicting parties separated, some of the newcomers looking surprised to see him. He did his best to ignore it.

A regular, one he recognized as one who had fought in the Changeling campaign, turned to him and said, "Sir, these ruffians came into the camp, pushing past the guards who tried to stop them. They said they wanted to speak directly to you."

The Colonel's eyebrow raised. "Then what happened?"

"We tried to stop them for inspection, and they refused. Then a fight started."

"And?"

"Then somepony bumped into the fellow carrying the tray, and then you came."

And? That would have been simply annoying. Instead, he turned his head to look at the newcomers. "And what is your justification for barging into a military camp, breaking protocol, and disturbing the peace in the army I command?" He thought afterwards about the irony of that last statement; soldiers' jobs were typically non-peaceful.

The leader of the armed crowd, a red-orange earth pony with what appeared to be a legal document forming a cutie mark and wearing a brown coat similar to those worn by sharpshooters and frontiers men in the American Revolution, walked up. He wasn't a "horse" or "stallion" pony, but he was still almost as tall as James. He also looked a little apologetic. "Pardon us for tha disturbance, sir," the pony said, in a voice that sounded very much like what Abraham Lincoln was supposed to. "I didn't wish to intrude upon your time, but I wish to speak for those of us who want to defend our homes and our families from the vicious jackboot of the invader."

Why did I not see this coming?, James thought to himself. It would make sense that a group of civilians would want to fight without going into the army; for one thing, they could protect their own towns and homes without a general giving orders to leave those homes for the enemy to take, for whatever reason. For another, they worked hard to develop the land and the towns they lived in; it was simply inevitable that something like this would happen.

"And is that an excuse for shoving aside guards who are trying to protect the camp?" he asked, hoping to keep the conversation alive in order to learn about this group.

The pony stiffened. "Our foals and wives are more important."

Damn if I couldn't see that tidbit coming. The Colonel sized up the militia - as it undeniably was. They all wore something unique, except for a few who wore nothing at all. Their weapons were as varied as their uniforms and armor, and much of it looked worn.

One thing he did see from all of them was a fierce determination in their eyes, and, while morale was not everything, an army with good spirit had halfway won any battle it fought. And these individuals wanted to fight.

"And what do you call youselves?"

The members of the militia turned to each other, whispering. Then the red-orange pony came back. "I am Colonel Rusty, and we are the Unauthorized Regiment of Equestria.*"

Several Guards nearby lost their composure and burst out laughing, and even the regulars chuckled. This failed to faze the newcomers, who endured the embarrassment. Rusty ignored the laughter almost entirely, except to add, "We might not be the most elegant soldiers out there, but we are willing to risk our lives to protect the people and land we love."

"Unauthorized indeed." James' eyebrow raised itself even higher. "I have not received the paperwork for it yet, not that I have any regrets on that, mind you." That was met with laughter from everyone. He waited for the mirth to quiet down a bit before going on. "In all seriousness, I am glad to have any assistance I can get. However, I am concerned about the discipline of your group. It may not hold up to the same standards that we go by. Can I expect your boys to follow orders?"

Rusty looked slightly uncomfortable at this, but he answered readily enough. "So long as those orders are the best for those were serve."

You'll tell us to fuck off if we give you an order you can't fathom obeying, such as a withdrawal from this region. James could read between the lines well enough. Before he could act on that thought, a Guard spoke up. "Sir, you aren't seriously suggesting we take in a band of undisciplined ragamuffins, are you?"

They're a cute looking breed of cats. Mental joke aside, it was a controversial decision. He thought for a minute before answering. "They know the local terrain and geography better than we do, and we need all the help we can get in this war." He turned to Rusty, the appointed Colonel of the so-called Unauthorized Regiment. "I expect cooperation from you and yours, 'Colonel' Rusty", he said, put an emphasis on the rank; it had been given the earth pony as if it were a title to be inherited instead of a rank to be earned. "And I intend to inform the Princesses of this development."

Rusty stayed impassive. "I would expect no less; I was a lawyer before this whole mess."

"Then you'll understand my concerns."

"I understand them entirely, as I understand who and what you are." James must have looked surprised, as the former lawyer went on, "My brother serves in the army, Colonel. I know you are a human, and that you were chosen to lead us."

At least I don't have to explain about all that, then. James got an idea. The militia force could prove useful indeed. "Come with me, Colonel Rusty. I have a plan in which you and your group could help."

They went inside the tent. James went over to the table and sat down facing the door and the voted-in militia officer. "Colonel, I have a, er, order which I need someone to carry out."

"And why have you not given it already to your own soldiers?" Rusty asked, a little aggressiveness in his tone.

"Because we need those soldiers to hold the line. I can't afford to send a quarter of my forces to do the task I am about to lay before you."

"And? What exactly would you have us do?"

"Look here." James pointed out a number of dotted red lines on the map. "These are the enemy supply lines. They are supplying the Griffons with needed food, ammunition, and equipment to wage war. We have to at least try to cut those lines." James looked up. "I believe your... warriors could more effectively do this than the official military forces of Equestria could."

"We mean to fight, sir, not steal." Rusty looked a bit angry.

"If the Griffons don't get their weapons and food, they'll starve and have to retreat. And I'd rather have that than have lives lost by fighting them openly." Noticing the earth pony's sudden anguished face, he added, "I must note that your warriors have inferior equipment, armor, and discipline to ours. If they go out to battle the enemy face to face, they'll die. And then they will be unable to protect those they sought to keep safe. This job is much safer." He toned down his voice. "You know the land better than we do; you can hide easily, and you know the best places in which to set up traps and ambushes for the enemy. You would be serving your families best by doing this, and you'll gain experience with these raids."

Rusty looked at the map, and thought for a moment. "I can see your point," he said at last, sighing. "You work as well with words as you do an army, and I have fought many verbal battles in many courts; I have had few who were able to disarm me so well." Shaking his head, the pony went on, "I will relay your order to my boys; I'll try to tell 'em what you told me. I just hope they take it well."

"If you use the right words, they will listen, Colonel."

Rusty turned out to be a good speaker; the militia troops did listen to him, and it was clear that they trusted him. James could tell that most of the Unauthorized Regiment were of the sort who could live off the land; most were farmers. That wasn't to say they were uneducated. From what he could gather, Rusty had started as a farmer and had used knowledge of the law to become a lawyer, one who was competant and fair, and he was well known in this province.

In the meantime, James had other things to attend to. After noting the militia were obedient to their leader's orders, he walked around the camp on his daily patrol; he liked to see the state of the camp in person.

He heard someone talking in a foreign language. That was odd. Other than the Changelings' insectile tongue, he hadn't heard another language being used so continuously in Equestria. James listened in order to get the direction the voice was coming from, then walked to an area behind two tents. Two horse/stallion-type earth ponies were chatting. There was an empty bottle next to one, with fuller bottles close by. They went on, oblivious to his presence for the moment. James managed to hear a few words he identified as Russian. He noted the colors each pony sported; one, who looked a little tipsy, had a brown coat with black mane and hooves. The other was dark green with tan mane and hooves.

The brown pony noticed the human after a moment, then said something that sounded a bit outraged and questioning. James felt his eyes widen in surprise, but it wasn't the knowledge he had been seen, or the aggressiveness of the question, whatever it was. He had heard an offensive word, one that, despite the Russian, he understood.

"You realize who you're talking to, right?" James said in English. He looked at the bottles; sure enough, something was written in Russian on them...

"I'm sorry, your Excellency," the green pony said in a Russian accent. "He is..."

"Drunk. Yes, I know. And being drunk on duty is a punishable offense." James had no real intention of punishing the two soldiers for this instance, but he had to give the warning nonetheless.

"Forgive me, Colonel," the green soldier said, looking a bit fearful. "Not on duty, we're resting, having gamble." The soldier pointed at a pair of dice with his right hoof. "Not knowing you would come."

Obviously.

The brown soldier said something in Russian, and his friend recoiled in shock. Looking at James' inquiring glance, the green pony said, "He... he says... insults. He says bad things, very bad things."

Drunk, insulting an officer. If I really wanted to press on, I could at the very least court-martial this soldier. He refrained from doing anything for the moment. The soldier was, after all, drunk and therefore not thinking clearly. And this is a perfect example of why I will never drink an alcoholic beverage... as if my vow didn't set that in stone.

"Colonel, please, forgive us."

"You're forgiven, but know that other officers may not be so forthcoming." James turned to the brown trooper. "Am I understood?"

The soldier's eyes came together in a moment of clearity. "...Da."

"He says yes."

"I know. I have enough Russian to understand that and a few other phrases."

"We speaking... no, speak, in Stalliongrader. Small city, to north."

What a surprise, another re-named Earth language. "Has it been overrun by the invaders?"

"Nyet... I mean, no."

"Good." James turned to go.

"Wait."

"...Yes?" James stopped.

"Th... Thank you."

"...You're welcome."

The next few days were frantic as the invading Griffon army came closer. Luckily they didn't seem to be moving very fast; they were confident that they would be unopposed, that victory was all too close for failure to be possible.

Skirmishers did their best to make them think twice; regulars and militia sniped at the enemy from behind fences and houses, forcing them to stop in order to deal with the problem every mile or so. Again fire and fall back tactics were working, even more so now that the enemy was no longer a mindless horde.

The "Unauthorized Regiment" was doing it's part to slow the invaders. They would ambush wagons and convoys of food and supplies, bringing back what they could and wrecking that which they couldn't. Each attack killed or wounded a few of the enemy and disrupted their ability to resupply.

Better still, the guerillas captured a few advanced enemy weapons, guns to be precise. James was very happy to have some matchlock-style muskets in his possession, along with the ammunition. Unfortunately the only one who could use them was the human commander; the trigger guards and design of the guns was beyond the easy use of ponies. He sent most of them back to Canterlot to be studied, but kept one musket and it's ammunition for himself. It turned out to be much harder to load than his revolver or a crossbow, but it was designed to shoot farther, even if it was inaccurate.

The Griffons, even with all these problems, didn't stop, although they had definitely been slowed down. They kept coming in spite of everything done against them. They seemed to have taken an arrogant attitude, one that shrugged of the attacks as nothing important, as pinpricks that would have no effect on the war at large. James knew that sooner or later, he would have to face them in the field. His army was in good spirits, and moreover, the enemy's tendancy to loot civilian houses proved to hurt the Griffons more than help; the Equestrians were fired in anger over the thefts. They had better artillery, and more of it; many of the Griffon clans had no artillery at all, and much of it was very outdated, to include ballistae and catapults. Only a few, very wealthy clans had any cannons worth mentioning.

All that was necessary was to use the forces he had to beat the foe, which was easier said than done. The one place he was outdone was in numbers. James counted a force of 4,103 battle-ready soldiers. The enemy had about twice that, and while numbers were no guarantee of success, they did help to get there.

"Colonel, sir!" a pegasus said, arrving in the human's tent.

"Yes, private?" James replied.

"The Griffons are marching on a village north of Trottingham. If they take it, they will have a base from which to launch their attacks."

"...Alright, thank you soldier. That will be all, unless you have more news."

The soldier shook his head, saluted, and left. James looked at the map and sighed. He had to make a move immediately. He had known of the enemy force, and it's numbers, about two thousand strong, a vanguard to take the village, Starshine by name, and hold it until their main force arrived.

Here's a good chance to defeat them in detail. If we can destroy this force, we will stand a better chance against the main body. He knew he had to leave some of his forces behind, in case the enemy was using this force as a diversion and had planned a bigger attack elsewhere. He chose to take some of his veterans as well as a smaller force of inexperienced soldiers, in all utilizing a force of about 1,500, with the rest of the army to move up later and form a reserve.

The march began in the wee hours of the morning; everyone in the units that were to fight were tired and yawning, but there were few complaints. Soldiers checked their equipment and, in the case of the Royal Guards, armor. For his part James made sure his musket was ready for battle. He kept some matches in order to light the thing; matchlocks lit their charges by touching a slow-burning rope to a charge of gunpowder.

The march went on in the light of the moon. They at least could use the roads to travel, which increased their speed to some extent. The army marched through much of the day to reach Starshine, during which there was plenty of talking and chatting.

"Why don't you speak a language everypony can understand?"

James stopped and turned around. A dull red pegasus was hovering in the air, looking at the two Russian-speaking ponies he had encountered a few days ago. The brown pony wasn't drunk anymore, but he was clearly upset. He started using Russian again, obviously insulting the flyer, who just looked irritated rather than insulted.

"Break it up, break it up." James walked over and separated the two parties. Turning to the pegasus, he said, "They have a right to speak whatever language they want; if you don't like it, you don't have to listen." The pegasus, upset that his side had lost this particular battle, flew off in a huff.

"To thank, Colonel." The brown stallion spoke in English for the first time in heavily-accented tones. "To be grateful."

"You're welcome, just try to be careful in case you run into him again."

"To be doing, thanking you."

"Hmmm..." James tipped his hat and kept marching.

"Colonel, the enemy is advancing on the village. What are your orders?" asked a blue unicorn regular.

"Alert our forward positions, and make sure the Second Stalliongrad Regiment is ready on the right side of our line," James answered, getting up from his chair. They had been in camp north of Starshine for two days, and for whatever reason the enemy had taken their sweet old time getting here.

"Oh yes, uh, the Stalliongraders." The unicorn's face had a slightly disgusted look on it.

"What's wrong, private?"

"It's just that Stalliongrad has a rather... poor reputation, sir."

"...I see... Dismissed." The pony left. James went back to the map and moved the markers displaying the Griffon army southward, toward his own forces. The Equestrian army was ready for the foe.

Soon enough the forward units were in their positions on the field, to the west of Starshine lake, which anchored the eastern flank of the army. Soldiers waited with crossbows loaded and cannons unlimbered.

James looked at the trees about a mile or so away to the north. The enemy would be emerging from there shortly... wait. Several Griffons came flying in, high in the sky.

"Shoot them down!" James shouted.

"Sorry, sir, the AA battery isn't fully prepared yet."

"Damn." James turned back to the enemy flyers. They didn't appear to carry any weapons, now that he was looking carefully, just baskets.

The Griffons flew over the Equestrian lines, and turned their baskets upside down as they did so, but instead of dropping bombs, as James expected, strips of paper came fluttering down, landing among his forces.

Some soldiers fired crossbows at the Griffons, who ignored the shots and flew back toward their own troops.

James picked up one of the pieces of paper the foe had dropped. It was as he had expected;

Soldiers of Equestria! Your Princesses no longer command your loyalty! We come to remake this land from the corrupt and soft mess it has become. Do not resist our invincible advance; flee to your homes, and ready yourselves and your families for the new order! If you do so, you will be rewarded. If you choose to fight regardless, you only lay down your own lives for a dead cause. Give up, and face the light of the new dawn!

Bastards. James looked around. Other soldiers had also picked up the propaganda leaflets, and there was some muttering going on.

"Sir, what do we do?" asked Silver Shield, looking nervous. "Some of the boys might take these papers too seriously."

James forced himself to laugh. "We should thank the Griffons, sergeant." To Shield's confused face, he added, "They gave us free tissues and toilet paper. We were starting to run low." This was met by immense laughter from everyone. He could tell that most of the anxiety was gone, and that which was left was usual battle concern.

"Sir, the AA battery has been set up."

"Good."

Despite their flyby, the foe didn't show themselves en masse for fifteen minutes. During that time, the Equestrians made their defenses as airtight as possible, filling any holes in their lines. Many of the troopers chatted with one another simply out of boredom. For a moment, battle seemed far away.

"Sir," said a gray pegasus, "the enemy are setting up a battery of ther own!" The regular pointed with a hoof. James trained his binoculars on the place the trooper had indicated. Sure enough, a group of kilted Griffon warriors were setting up three ballistae. One of them fired; the rounded stone fell short of the line.

"Use our own guns; blow that battery out of existence!" James shouted.

His gunners obeyed; their pieces were already loaded, and seconds later they opened fire. Shells landed around the enemy position; one of the ballistae was hit directly, and the explosion wiped out it's crew. Four more shells landed around the other two wooden excuses for cannons, practically obliterating the Griffons trying to load them and wrecking the pieces. Five more shells landed in the position; the enemy battery was gone.

As the last shell detonated, a line of Griffon warriors marched out from the treeline, shouting and sounding battle cries; many, James noticed, had blue paint on ther faces and bellies, and occasionally on their wings. They wore kilts and came bearing swords and spears, with small, round shields bearing pictures that had to represent a noble house or clan. One of them marches slightly ahead of the others, carrying a flag; on the flag was a picture of a white battle axe with a background of green.

Other enemy units began to step out of the trees; one of them wore red uniforms and carried muskets, with a banner that bore a light blue x on a deep cyan background, bearing a Griffon figure in the center, with a crown outlined on it's head. The rest wore uniforms in between the two extremes, some wearing green and other blue, brown, white, and so on and so forth. Their arms were as varied as their uniforms, with some carrying pikes, other guns, some carrying whatever they could find; he could have sworn he saw a few individuals carrying clubs.

The spectacle was a sight to behold... but James knew he couldn't afford to waste time.

Especially as some of the units, including the one resembling Scottish highlanders, began to recklessly charge forward. Shouts of "Raneiro!" and "For old Graywing!" and other slogans filled the air as the charge gained momentum.

"All cannons, fire!" James shouted at the top of his lungs.

The artilleryponies obeyed; shells and cannonballs streaked into the enemy lines; some hit multiple foes in a row, causing an errily funny tumble backwards. Explosions blasted the foe, who kept coming.

Some storms of lead were unbearable. This one wasn't... completely. Some of the enemy troops, instead of continuing their advance, began to falter. A few ran away, back northward, dropping their weapons, some of them taking flight in blind panic. The rest just kept running forward.

James steadied his musket on a fence post, aiming for a Griffon soldier in a red uniform who appeared to be an officer; he carried a sword and was shouting orders. James fired. The officer fell to the ground, clutching his left leg. James had been aiming for his chest; the bigger the target, the most likely he was to hit it, not that he had. With a musket, you had to take credit for whatever hits you got, especially at this distance.

He looked to his right, at part of his own line. Some of his soldiers looked nervous; they would be firing on living, thinking beings this time around, who had families and friends of their own. They weren't organic robots, like the Changelings.

He waited as the foe got closer. "Fire!"

Most of his soldiers did shoot, and crossbow bolts flew into the enemy lines. Griffon soldiers toppled, falling, many clutching at themselves as they were hit, others crumpling instantly.

A roar and a lasting hiss; the artillery had begun firing canister. Enemy soldiers and warriors fell en masse, in ranks, looking for all the world like toy soldiers a child had discarded. For many of the Griffons, this was too much to bear; they started running and flying back in the direction they had come, some carrying or dragging injured and dead comrades.

A majority, however, remained in line. Most of those who did bore muskets and other ranged weaponry, which they now leveled at the Equestrians. A crossbow bolt tore through the air next to his ear, and he ducked down. He brought his weapon to bear, pulled the trigger...

Nothing happened. He looked down. He had run the rope into the ground, dowsing the fire on it's end and spilling some of the powder from the weapon onto the ground. He heard screams around him, and heard bodies hit the ground.

"Damn it!" He managed to fix the problem by re-lighting the rope and replacing the lost powder. This time, the gun went off, hitting an enemy flagbearer, who dropped the banner and fell to the ground without a cry, or at least not one James could hear. He cursed again and began to reload as best he could.

"Verdamnt!" James heard the German cuss coming from the foe's lines, and turned to see one of their soldiers drop to his knees - uninjured, in spite of the storm of bolts and canister rounds - and pick up the soldier he had just shot. More German, this time mournful.

What am I doing? The enemy are people too! How can I keep doing this!?!

A pony next to him toppled, a bolt stuck in his upper foreleg. The soldier screamed as he fell.

That's why. If you don't, they'll kill you and many of your troopers. Get up! He did so, grabbing the soldier's discarded - and loaded - crossbow and shot it. He failed to hit anyone, but one of the soldiers next to his target ducked, so he or somebody else must have come close.

From what he could see, the less-well equiped foes suffered the most; those with melee weapons had to close with the ponies, exposing themselves to heavy fire. Those who did come close were gutted by ready spears and stuck by energy from unicorn horns. The foes doing well - relatively - were those who simply stood still, loading, firing, and repeating their actions. They were inflicting casualties, although they suffered terribly from artillery fire. The red-uniformed soldiers were the most composed; they calmly went through the motions, unconcerned with death or injury unless it happened to them.

After what seemed like forever but had to be only fifteen to thirty minutes, a bugle sounded from behind the enemy lines. Upon hearing it, the Griffon units began to retreat, though not all of them did. A few units, including the highlanders, kept fighting; apparently they didn't know what the bugle call meant. They soon learned they should have fallen back, as they noticed after a few minutes that their allies were abandoning them. Then they began to fall back, many throwing down their weapons as they did so. After a few minutes, the sounds of battle ceased, leaving a field full of smoke and bodies, the majority - perhaps the vast majority - being Griffon.

James let his breath out; he hadn't even noticed he had been holding it. Turning to his right, then to his left, he could see shocked and scared soldiers, one of them continuing to load his crossbow and fire it, somehow unaware the battle was over. Some stared into the distance, their eyes alive but unseeing. The thousand-yard stare had been reborn in a peaceful land.

He found Shield crouching behind a stone wall, checking his weapon. "Take a few of your boys, gather the wounded, both ours and theirs," James ordered.

"Yes sir." At least the Royal Guard didn't seem to have shell shock. He obeyed the order, gathering a group of ponies around him and going out onto the field.

How long can we endure this horror?

"How the hell did you bungle the attack so badly?" shouted an angry Griffon General.

"Sir, we met heavy resistance from the Equestrians," answered a Royal officer from Raniero's personal army, with a British accent in his voice. "They used cannons and crossbows to halt our attack. Hundreds are dead, maybe a thousand or more."

The General snorted. "You exaggerate." He got up from his chair. "The ponies are weak, peaceful, incapable of mustering the resistance you have suggested."

"You would not call me a liar if you could have seen the field."

"Silence!" The General's claw swept the table, smacking the officer across the face. "I will not tolerate insubordination, am I clear, leftenant?"

"...C...Crystal, sir." The lieutenant lifted a claw to his slapped cheek.

"Good, now reform the ranks and make prepare to attack again. Flank their positions. Trap them, and force their surrender."

"Yes sir, will do." The lieutenant walked out of the room, still clutching his cheek.

"Oh, and lieutenant?"

"Yes sir?"

"There will be no excuse for failure this time around."

"...Understood, sir."

*Note, I got the idea for the Unauthorized Regiment from Harry Turtledove's book How Few Remain, in which Theodore Roosevelt forms a volunteer militia to fight an invading British force coming from Canada (read the book if you want to know more).

Chapter 22; Field of fire and steel

White smoke was still billowing on the battlefield when a pegasus shouted, "They're coming again!"

"Back to your positions, quickly!" James called. "Look alive!" The soldiers moved quickly to obey; the majority had been under fire even before this battle, and the rest had learned fast enough in this one. Well before the Griffons came into range of crossbow fire, almost everyone was in place and the cannons had been loaded.

"They must be scared, sir," a unicorn regular said. "They don't have nearly as many troops as we saw run off."

That wasn't necessarily true. The birds had been beaten once, but the human knew that even an arrogant enemy could be an intelligent one. "Keep a look out regardless; they may have something up their feathery sleeves."

"Yes sir."

From the look of them, most of the enemy this time around were of the red variety, armed with muskets and hefting bayonets on their belts. Their faces were like stone, without emotion, as they calmly advanced. There were only a few hundred of them, between three hundred and four hundred in all; nowhere near as many as had been alive when the first round of fighting had died off. If the rest of the enemy hadn't died or deserted, they were either in reserve or...

James turned to a Guard captain nearby. "Take a couple companies and bring them to our left flank. If they want to flank us, I want our boys to be ready."

"Understood, Colonel." The Guard immediately set off to obey his orders.

"Another enemy battery setting up behind their troops, sir," said a pegasus, clutching a pair of binoculars in his hooves. "They look like proper cannons, this time."

"Ugh." James looked through his own binoculars; yep, there was a battery of cannons back there, with crews wearing red. They looked as up to date as the Equestrian artillery. "Get our own guns to shell them, and alert the gunners immediately if you see another group of enemy guns."

"Yes sir." There was the sound of flapping wings as the pony flew away.

James peered at the enemy battery... one of the gunners was holding a lanyard...

"Get down!" He ducked below the fence.

There was a distant roar, and seconds afterward a loud screaming as the foe's shells flew through the air. They impacted moments later, with loud deafening roars. Wood splintered and stones shattered as the explosives blasted the Equestrian line. More screams, this time of living beings in pain, rose above the noise.

James looked to his left and saw that one gun had had it's wheel destroyed; it tilted on it's left side, inert and of no further use in this battle. One of it's crew was on the ground just behind it, with a wooden splinter in his side. A medic came up quickly and began administering to the injured soldier.

The remaining guns in the battery returned fire. Other friendly cannons boomed out one after another, and shells landed among the hostile artillery crews and the Griffon foot soldiers.

"More guns, coming out of the trees!"

"I see them!" James yelled back, to who he didn't know. "Hit them before they unlimber!" The Equestrian artillery complied, sending shot after shot into the enemy cannoneers. One of the enemy guns and it's limber were hit; the limber, full of shells, exploded, killling or maiming everyone nearby, and the cannon itself flew a short ways, it's weight impotent against the fury of the blast. As he watched, another gun was knocked out, though it's disabling wasn't anywhere as dramatic as it's twin.

Suppressed by the Equestrian fire, the opposing artillery was unable to fire quickly, and many of their shots were poorly aimed, largely over or undershooting. That nuisance, at least, had been settled.

The red soldiers either didn't realize what had happened to their artillery, or just didn't care. They stayed just out of effective crossbow range and leveled their matchlocks; a sheet of fire blazed from most of their weapons. striking the Equestrian line and inflicting casualties. A number of soldiers fell out of line; the rest tried to fire back, in spite of the distance away the enemy was. The scored a few hits, but most missed or fell short.

An infantry attack, with artillery support; yes, this was much more tactical and strategic than facing the Changelings had been. But James felt that something wasn't right.

The sounds of firing to the far left of the line, out of his sight, proved he had been correct. A pegasus flew up to him. "Sir, the enemy troops have flanked us to the left, many of them the kilted boys we knocked out earlier."

"Are we holding?"

"Yes, for now, sir. If they throw more troops in, we might need reinforcements."

"Thats the best we can expect for now." Then, realizing he had forgetten the enemy could fly, he added, "Tell Captain Barrel to bring a company to the right of our line."

"Yes sir."

As the trooper flew away, James looked back at the action, through through the sights of his musket rather than his binoculars. An enemy officer with a magnificent sword led a company, perhaps a hundred or so strong, at his section of the line. He aimed and pulled the trigger. The gun kicked his shoulder, and he was covered in smoke briefly as the wind blew into his face. When it cleared, he saw that the officer was still standing, though a soldier just behind him was clutching his chest as he crumpled.

He loaded the gun again, but before he could fire several bullets slammed into the fence, and he ducked back down; more metal balls flew throught the space he had just occupied.

That was too close. He felt like kicking himself; of course a single gun, blazing away every now and then, would be noticed. He switched to a discarded crossbow, loaded, and fired again.

James raised his head and squinted, trying to make out the enemy batteries. He could see one, but while there was activity, it wasn't firing back. He turned to a unicorn sergeant. "Get some of our guns to stop firing at the artillery and to start shooting at the Griffon foot soldiers." The sergeant nodded wordlessly and teleported away in a flash of gray.

A few minutes later, the intensity of the barrage against the red-uniformed Griffons increased, doing moderate damage to their line and disrupting their formation. Their rate of fire decreased proportionately.

The same enemy officer he had shot at earlier waved his sword, clearly ordering a charge.

Can't this idiot see he has no way to pierce our lines with the forces he has to bear? True, their initial offensive had inflicted some damage to the Equestrian line, but then, after their artillery had been suppressed, their attack had soured. And from what he could hear off to his left, the enemy had been fought to a standstill.

Idiot or not, the officer, a captain or lieutenant based on the number of soldiers he lead, gave the order, and his soldiers obeyed, fixing bayonets - a new unique feature for any matchlock, as James had not heard of them being used on matchlocks back on his own world - and leveling them like spears. "Raniero! Raneiro!" they cried as they ran forward.

Many of them paid the ultimate price for their charge; dozens were hit as they came on, crumpling or grabbing at wounds, others dead before they hit the ground.

What was surprising wasn't how many fell, but how many lived to reach their foes' lines. They came on, jabbing with bayonets and officers slashing with swords.

James ducked as one bayoneted musket came his way, then he cut of the end of the weapon with his own sword. He then stabbed the Griffon through the chest, and struck down another who foolishly tried to attack over the body of his companion.

"Die, monster!"

James turned to his left, and barely lifted his sword in time to block the blow from the enemy offcier he had shot at earlier.

"Who is the monster?" James batted away his foe's sword and made an attack of his own. "The one who invades another's home, or the one who tries to defend it?"

The Griffon blocked the attack. "The one who defends the greedy!" He slashed at the human, who dodged to the right and managed to strike the left wing of the Griffon officer, who screeched like an eagle.

"The only greedy ones here are you and yours!" James punched the Griffon in the face with the fist clutching his sword. The Griffon cried out and cut the human's left arm.

"Arrrgh!" He lashed out with his left fist; he connected, and although pained streamed through his arm, he was rewarded with his enemy falling to the ground. He leveled his sword at the Griffon's face. "You are now a prisoner of Equestria. Corporal," he said, nodding to a soldier nearby, "take him behind our lines to the detention center."

"Yes sir. Get on, you," the pony said, spear lowered and ready for action. "Don't try anything." He lead the Griffon away.

The loss of most of their officers pulled the heart from the Griffon attack; they began to fall back, though grudgingly. Finally they turned tail and fled, taking as many of their dead and wounded with them as they could before leaving the field entirely.

"We failed again!" The General was in a rage, flipping over the table in the middle of the hut and then throwing a chair through a glass window when this failed to satisfy his rage. "How could you have failed against these inferior specimens!? And where is the Leftenant!?"

"Monsieur, ze lieutenant has not returned, and we fear he is dead or captured," replied a captain in a French accent. He was unalarmed by his superior's antics; the General was well known for fits of rage similar to this one, and he had been through quite a few of them personally. In this respect he was braver than most of his compatriots; the other officers in the room looked like they would bolt any second, and one threw himself behind the upturned table.

The General snorted angrilly. "Mark my words, that weakling coward got himself captured!" He threw another chair straight at the French-speaking officer, who calmly stepped aside as the missile passed and broke against something outside. "General Hawkfrost* does not know defeat, and I have no intentions to meet with it!"

"Mon General, we must be realisitic. The enemy has more artillery and more ground soldiers, and zey hold the better ground. We must wait for our reinforcements, and attack then."

"I want my victory NOW!" The General flew into the captain's face and grabbed his subordinate's throat. "And to ensure that, I will lead this next assault MYSELF!" Then, turning to the other officers, he added, "Seeing as I can't count on anyone else to do it."

The captain coolly waited for his superior to release him, then said quietly, "As you wish, mon General."

More body shifting, more anxiety as they waited, hoping the enemy had learned their lesson and would not make another effort that day. A few hours passed in silence, and the sun began to set at last. Perhaps...

Perhaps not. Flutes and drums began to play as the enemy soldiers - most of them from the kilted or otherwise less advanced units - once more came out from the treeline. Shouts from the Equestrians brought ponies rushing back to their lines and looking to their weapons.

"Come on!" James raised his sword. "One more effort, one more stand, and we'll have broken them!" He picked up his musket and made sure it was loaded.

"Sir! Sir!" An earth pony regular ran up to him, holding a telescope. "Look over there!" the pony said excitedly, pointing with a hoof.

James did so, raising the binoculars to his eyes. A Griffon, wearing bejeweled, golden armor and bearing two large, drawn swords in his claws, was leading the attackers.

"Their commander, then." James lowered the binoculars. "Have the artillery knock down as many as they can before they reach us; it looks like their commander has decided it's do or die."

"Yes sir."

The guns roared a minute later. Shells and cannon balls hit the Griffons, who marched on regardless. A number of shells landed next to the enemy General, but he ignored them.

Some of the enemy - most of them wearing red uniforms - fired as they ran, taking quick aim. Few of them hit anything. Most, armed with swords, kept running, and some dropped ranged weapons in favor of those that involved melee combat. Many of them fell long before getting close enough to do anything effective. Quite a number, fear rising within them, panicked and began to run.

The General didn't seemed inclined to accept this; he barked out a command, and five of the red-coated soldiers fired into the deserters, hitting two of them and stretching them lifeless on the field.

What kind of commander kills his own men!?! James took a shot at the Griffon General. An officer beside the enemy commander fell, claw on his chest where he had been hit.

The enemy weathered the storm of fire, and finally the survivors reached the Equestrian lines. The clash of metal on metal and the roar and shouts of battle cires filled the air.

James was too busy trying to survive to pay much attention to his surrounding for the next little while, but suddenly found himself bereft of enemies. Catching his breath, he turned to his right and saw the Griffon General. At the same moment the General saw the human, finishing off a wounded pony as he turned.

"You!" The Griffon walked forward, swords flashing in the setting sunlight. "What are you? Bah, it does not matter." The General stepped closer. "Know this; I am General Hawkfrost, and no matter who or what you are, you must know that you... are... doomed!" The General struck with both swords as he spoke the last word.

James ducked beneath them. His enemy had two weapons to his one; he could only block one blow at a time.

Unacceptable. It was time for the odds to change. Now.

James picked up a spear with his left hand, all the while holding his sword in his right. He took up a fighting stance.

"Bah! Are the ponies so weak they had to send a two-legged monkey to fight for them? They had to send a circus reject to lead their armies?" The General laughed as he struck again.

Rage filled James as he blocked the blows, and stabbed at the General. The spear clashed against hardened armor and failed to penetrate. He was barely able to pull back before General Hawkfrost struck once more, burying his swords in the ground.

"I will present your body to the King! I expect he will be most pleased with my performance," the Griffon went on as he pulled his swords out of the mud.

"He won't get it." James lashed out with the spear and managed to hit his opponent's arm. The General growled as the spear bit. He followed it up with a strike to the General's foreclaw, knocking the sword out of the Griffon's grasp. "And you won't get the chance to lead soldiers on a battlefield ever again!" He tried to behead his enemy.

The General retaliated by dodging the blow and then grabbing the spear, ripping it out of James' hands and breaking it over his knee, throwing the broken pieces away. He then struck a fierce set of attacks, which James was barely fast enough to block.

Hawkfrost laughed. "I will kill you here and now, and your army will be destroyed under our might!"

"They aren't as worthless as you make them out to be," James said, defending himself as well as he could. "They have courage, and they have spirit. And they fight to protect the people and land they love." He began a counterattack, temporarily driving the General back. "What do you fight for other than fame and fortune?"

"A future ruled by King Raneiro and the Griffon kingdom!" the General replied, going back on the attack. "And I will see it brought to the forefront by my own claw!"

"A future that will never come!" James fought back, but had to retreat under the weight of the enemy's onslaught.

He was backing up when he tripped over something on the ground, and fell flat on his back; his hat flew off. He was stunned for a moment as the General loomed over him.

"And so it ends..." The general raised his sword over his head...

As James kicked him as hard as he could in the fork of the legs.

Hawkfrost groaned, dropped his sword, and leaned over, reaching for the injured area of his body. James kicked again, knocking Hawkfrost backwards. As the Griffon commander picked up his sword, James stabbed him in the neck. Hawkfrost let out a scream that was cut short as he fell to the ground.

Yes... and so it ends.

The human looked around as the Griffon expired. Most of the enemy troops had been dealt with, one way or another, and the rest were fleeing as fast as they could to the north and northwest. A few raised their arms in a gesture of surrender upon seeing their General perish; they were swiftly taken into custody.

It was over. They had won.

*Note, I did take this name from the Warrior Cats series. I also tried to model General Hawkfrost (somewhat) off of General Grievous from the Clone Wars.

Chapter 23; Snow fall

Chapter 23; Snow fall

The Griffon forces hadn't given up just because their two-thousand strong vanguard had been smashed. Although their main force had slowed, it continued to advance. Sooner or later they would engage the Equestrian forces again, and the forces James and his compatriots could muster would face a situation similar to the "Black Week" in the Changeling invasion, when retreat had been necessary against a force that outnumbered him and had the intelligence to outflank him. Not to mention the battle had consumed half the ammunition he had.

And not to say the quartermasters were willing to help much. "What do you mean, we're not getting more ammo?" James shouted in response to a soldier who had delivered the message.

The soldier, a bronze pegasus, shivered a little, but answered calmly enough, "I'm only the messenger, sir, not a member of the Quartermaster Corps."

"Then tell them I will court-martial them if they don't do their job and get us the supplies we need to survive and fight." The human sighed and leaned back in his chair, a hand over his face. This wasn't the first time supplies had been delayed by the ones who were supposed to deliver them, but it was the first time a direct order had been directly refused. After a few seconds, he lifted his head to find the trooper still there, awaiting further instructions. "Sorry for that," he apologized. "Just make sure they know that I'm coming down there if they don't deliver the supplies."

"Yes sir."

After the pony was gone, James redirected his efforts toward the map on the table. The number of red blocks outnumbered his own blue ones two-to-one. And the foe was reforming, with units already beginning to move out. Four two-block formations had moved out, with their objective being Trottingham; Hawkfrost's battle and campaign plans had been captured. Each block represented a thousand warriors and soldiers. Once they converged, victory would be difficult.

Once they converged...

He took a closer look. The hostile formations were all somewhat distant from one another, enough so that a day's walk would be necessary to bridge the two that were closest to each other. Vulnerable, if he could hit them one at a time while they marched divided. Even smashing one of them would increase the odds by that much.

He moved his smaller blocks around; he began a plan to knock out the two blocks to his left (to his enemy's right); as he suspected, he had a chance to surround and crush one of the Griffon forces.

It can be done. Even so, it would leave Trottingham up for grabs from the other three forces while he destroyed the unit on their flank. That was unacceptable.

He leaned on one arm of his chair, head on his hand, as he tired to think of a way to carry out the plan. Yes, the "Unauthorized Regiment," the band of volunteer fighters, could be called upon to defend the town, but that was suicide; the group didn't have the arms or the numbers to resist a determined attack. In any event, the unit was currently out raiding Griffon supply lines, and could not be called back in a hurry.

We could have some soldiers fell trees and use boulders to block the roads. But that would require splitting off some of my own boys to do so, and I can hardly afford that if this plan is to come into fruition. He thought about it. This time, deception would be necessary as well. The only question is, how? The only thing he could think of was to create fortifications and man them with dummy cannons and troops.

The more he thought about it, though, the more he came to think that this might actually work. After all, it had been confirmed that the enemy were not using radio to communicate; they would have to scout using the eyes of soldiers and scouts, and they would take time to inform their superiors of anything they discovered.

Yes... I could have a handful of my soldiers in the breastworks, enough to fire at the enemy and counter their scouts, and use unicorn magic to create false images of our boys to fill out the trenches... and a few pegasi flying around wouldn't be suspicious at all, either.

This was all just theory right now, of course. But the only other alternatives he could think of were either to fight a battle he would be likely to lose, or fall back and wait for winter and reinforcements to stop the enemy. Neither of those options seemed encouraging; time was not on their side right now. It was act now or lose, and he had no intention of losing.

While some of his subordinates didn't agree on the plan, James had the authority to override them. And, as it turned out, he had good reason.

The false trenches were dug, and logs were carved, painted and placed in appropriate locations. To an airborne observer, the defense would look solid and realistic; a pegasus admitted he'd almost been fooled himself, and would have if he hadn't known what was going on. Of course, without realistic soldiers to fill out those trenches, the whole deception would be for naught. Therefore, a few unicorns, mostly well versed in various types of magic, would create images of soldiers. James couldn't tell the difference from a real trooper and a fake from a distance. However, the false soldier could not be touched; his hand went right through the dupe, as if it were any old hologram back on Earth.

He was only able to supervise for a couple days, although he was able to leave it all to someone he fully trusted. He was getting a drink of soda when a voice interrupted him.

"This is a convincing bluff, my friend, but it could use some work."

James set down his glass, turned around, and found Blue Fur waiting a short distance away. "Greeting, friend," James hailed, "and how are you this fine day?"

"Quite decently, dear chap. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Too long. Here, have a glass on me." He filled a small glass with soda and handed it to the earth pony, who took it and drank deeply."

"My thanks." The blue-gray pony put down the glass and wiped his lips. "I was sent for the war effort; little else requires immediate attention in regards to engineering."

"We could use the help." James' wave encompassed the camp. "As you can see, we're making this great deception in order to strike first, knock them out one by one. We can't just remain here and take it on the chin. I'd apprieciate it if you could aid us in this endeavor."

Blue Fur chuckled. "I can, and I will. Watch me."

"I can't unfortunately. I have to lead most of our boys out shortly." James looked up, put a hand to his chin, and thought. "Hmmm..." He turned back to his friend. "Can I count on you to keep this facade going?"

"I believe so." Then, his face becoming less merry, the pony added, "Keep yourself safe out there."

"I'll do what I can."

In his small, enclosed tent, Rand the Changeling sat on a bed of pillows and looked out the little opening in the door into the night sky. His thoughts were filled with troubles. Other than James, he had not found anyone willing to be his friend. It was depressing, more so than being a prisoner.

He well remembered the invasion of Canterlot city. He had seen no comfort in the eyes of the ponies he had walked and flown among, only fear and terror.

In his heart (if he had one; that was a question he had asked himself more than once), he had known the attack was wrong; it had felt like a violation of general morality and of the freedom he had so often wished for himself and for other Changelings. In the end, though, fear of Queen Chrysalis had made him go through with his part of the invasion. The spell that had repelled the Queen's invasion had hurt; he had been scattered, with the Queen herself and her drones, to the four winds. It had taken months for them to reunite.

Rand shook his head. It had been an embarrassment to the Queen, who had vowed revenge. She had become... darker, in the light of the failed attack. That was the only word that could properly be applied to her change in character; she had become more willing to use violence, more willing to work her drones to the limit, caring less and less if they died from exhaustion or disease.

Then the war had come.

In the first weeks of the war, he had known nothing but terror as the first elements of the Equestrian army inflicted heavy losses on the invaders. Memories of spells zipping by his head, close enough to feel the heat, remembering body after black body collapsing to the ground from spear and crossbow; it had almost been enough to blow his cover of being a normal Changeling drone.

The night he had been captured, he had gone to the small pool and looked at his reflection, hoping to find something within himself, something that would forgive him for the acts he had conducted, something that would free him from the terrible life he was forced to live.

In a way, that had happened, although he had never thought it would have resulted in a gun being pointed in his face. Seeing the distrust by all but one of the group, being subjected first hoof to the hatred all Changelings now suffered from ponykind, instead of the love they so desired, hurt more than anything. It had only been James' willingness to trust him, however little, that had kept him from collapsing into absolute despair.

Since then, scientists and biologists had studied him excessively, though at James' insistence they didn't go too far; one researcher had advocated using him as a test subject. He shivered at that thought.

Presently, he heard talking coming from the door; "State your business here."

"General Lavigne, and my business is my business. Now, stand aside and let me in."

Rand felt his hopes soar a little. James was here!

"Sir, I'll have to scan you to make sure you're not a Changeling or a spy before I can allow that to happen."

Rand heard James sigh. "Alright, if it will make you feel better."

There was the slight hum of unicorn magic for a few second, then the same guard said, "He's clean. You may enter, sir."

"Much obliged." The door was pushed aside to reveal the one and only human currently in Equestria.

Rand sat up and stretched; without exercise, he was getting a little stiff. "Good to see you, sir."

James smiled a little. "There's no need for rank or titles here."

"Sorry s... er, I mean, sorry. It's just that I've always been subordinate to someone else before."

"I can understand that." The human sat down. "Now, on the whole reason for this meeting. In a couple days, the army is moving out, and I'm going with them. That means, needless to say, that we'll be separated for a while."

The Changeling felt his hopes beginning to fade. "What does it mean for me?"

James sighed again, taking a deep breath before going on. "The Princess has made plans for your transfer to the Royal Palace, where she'll keep an eye on you, and try to find a common solution for the Changeling race."

Rand shivered again. "I don't think I want to meet her."

"I've met her; she's actually quite kind, and she made no mention of ill treatment in store for you, in fact she explicitly said there would be none."

"I know that, but I helped invaded her city, helped to capture ponies to harvest them for love; I don't know how she'll get by that."

"Celestia is neither deity nor cruel. She is willing to forgive you. I've made sure to include every last detail of everything you've told me in my letters to her." James took off his hat and scratched at his head.

"What is it?"

"Well, while you're in the palace, being shown around by the Princess and being surrounded by comfort, me and the boys'll be heading in the direct opposite, toward death and destruction. It'll be a while before we see each other again, and I might not make it back."

"Don't say that! You'll be fine."

"I wish I had your confidence." James stood up, bumping his head on the roof of the tent. "Agghhhh, stinking..." He recovered his wits and headed for the door, turning around just before getting there. "I wish you the best of luck, my friend, and you'll be in my prayers." Then, as he exited the tent, Rand heard him whisper, "Say a prayer for me, too."

It was a grim three days, as cold winds blew and the clouds became gray. The roads were solid from the cold, so the transportation of goods and artillery wasn't a problem, but that factor ran both ways; at night the cold was intense, and the freezing ground was hard to just curl up on. And while the human Colonel wanted to maintain surprise, he didn't have the heart to watch his troops suffer through cold nights without campfires to warm them. And after making a small nest (as was the only fitting word) next to one of these fires, he had no complaints.

Teeth chattering, wrapped in a blanket to cover his body, he listened as the others talked about their lives and complained occasionally about the cold. He felt a little jealous of them. They had fur covering their entire bodies, giving them an extra layer of thickness to insulate themselves; he had just skin, clothing, and a few blankets.

Bright Star was currently saying, "I used to work on my parents' farm. It was tough work, but rewarding. I loved market day; it was time I could spend with friends as well as selling our produce."

"I spent my days at the docks o' Manehattan. Loved the sea, an' tha clouds, o' course. Loved ta make art ou' of 'em."

"Me, I knew I was going to be a Royal Guard from the day I first laid my eyes on a group of them; loyal, brave and true, all."

"Ya all know my story; chess, chess, n' more chess!"

James listened, but said nothing, just trying to remain warm by the fire. He crept a little closer to it over time, just trying to keep the cold at bay.

Someone threw another log on the fire; some of the ashes and sparks fell on James, who grunted in annoyance and pulled the blanket even tighter around himself.

"Sorry, Jimmy, didn' see ya there," White Knight exclaimed.

"It's ok," the human replied quietly.

"Hey, ya alright? Ya looked chilled to da bone."

"Oh, it's nothing," James responded sarcastically, "it's just that I have an almost complete lack of fur to kill off the cold. Never mind me, just keep doing what you were doing."

"Ohhh..."

"I can see you have hair on your head James," Bright said inquisively. "Where's the rest of it?"

"Never mind."

"You don't have to suffer though it alone," Shield said, tossing something over to the Colonel. "Here, I don't need it."

James picked up the extra blanket and covered himself. "Th-thanks."

"Don't mention it." The Royal Guard sat back down on his logs. James sat down on his own log and waited for the fire to warm him further. As he stared into the fire, he could almost swear he could see ancient battles being waged; beofr ehe knew it, he was singing in the little Chinese he knew, with the lyrics from a song in the movie Red Cliff;

Look, east the river flows

Waves rolling over a thousand heroes

Smile at this mountainous land

Victory and defeat lost in dust and sand

This land bids farewell

Over ancient mountains a rain fell

A heart full of things to say, but who to tell?

A chance not easily bought

The east wind borrowed and caught

As time washes by, our footprints are all for naught

Chi bi obscured in haze

Where friends once parted ways

Now only shine the moon's rays

A boundless world so unfair

Ancient dreams we cannot share

The red sun has set countless times

And the evening bell chimes

The divided shall unite, the united divide

In battle friends and ememies blur side by side

Passion is these gray hair's cause

To you I sing this song without pause

Two great minds over wine did confide

The law is the divided unite, the united divide

This farewell's approach we cannot slow

Nature's beauty gone with the melting snow

As he paused (as was necessary to feel in time with the song), he noticed the others looking at him or looking into the fire with ears perked, with Silver Lining hanging on every word; perhaps he understood Chinese. It wouldn't surprise me.

A boundless world so unfair

Ancient dreams we cannot share

The red sun has set countless times

And the evening bell chimes

The divided shall unite, the united divide

In battle, host and guest blur side by side

Passion is these gray hairs' cause

So I sing this song without pause

Two great minds over wine did confide

The law is the divided unite, the united divide

This farewell shall come too soon

Yet far corners of the world share one moon.

After he finished, there was silence. James put his cold hands over the fire.

Silver held a piece of paper, on which he was writing, using his left hind leg to buffer it. "Tha was be-autiful, laddie", he said as he finished writing; clearly he had understood, and had written the lyrics down. "I think I migh' send this en to one o' my friends in the academy."

"Why? What was he singing?" Bright asked, holding out a hoof to Silver, who obliged and gave it to him. As he read, hiis jaw dropped. "Oh my..." After a few minutes he passed it to Shield, who read it quietly and gave it back to Silver. The Guard's eye fell on an orange pegasus (who had apparently crawled up to the fire to listen), and he growled; he had never forgiven Jack tar for his actions during the Black Week. The pegasus, for his part, tired to look disinterested the instant he realized he had been detected.

Hmmm... James rubbed his chin with his left hand. Maybe it's not too late to bury the hatchet with this guy after all.

A Griffon soldier marched through the woods with his cohorts, confident that they would end this so-called war in record time. His green uniform and the flag his unit carried (a green flag with dark green swirls on it) identified him and his comrades as being from the Eastern Woodlands Clan, all proud, free, and loyal to Old Graywing, the clan leader.

The soldier sniffed upon seeing the unit up ahead; it was from the Clan of the Plains, which was known for living in cities and making profits out of olive groves and other such wretched, money-making crops. The soldier felt confident his clan was superior to all others, especially those that were urban; surely his upbringing in the wilderness was proof that his clan of rough, hardy woodspeople was better than some puny, city-dwelling weaklings.

The unit behind was loyal to King Raniero. Again he sniffed; the King had no direct control over his - or any - clan. The region under the King's control included the great city of Gryphos; that was one except to the soldier's detest of cities. It was practically holy ground to Griffons, and held the species' greatest art, cultural artifacts, and records of history. It was tradition for every Griffon to at least make the effort to visit the city as least once in their lives.

"Alrigh' lads, let's rest."

The soldier sat down, obeying his clanmate's order. He was famished.

"Look, those guys ahead are still going!"

"Let 'em; what do we care if they're all tired out later?" This was met by laughter by everyone.

After a short meal, the officer ordered everyone back into the ranks; the King's personal troops obeyed the quickest, while the woodslanders were somewhat slower. Germ hatin' sissy boys, the soldier thought, sneering at the Royal unit's cleanliness.

The march continued, with the sun climbing towards it's peak. It'll belong to us soon, the soldier thought. So far, nothing and no one had resisted them; sure, General Hawkfrost was reported as having been killed in action, along with most of his immediate command, but few had liked him, and he wasn't known for his brains. Not to mention he was loyal to the King over everything else, and rumors had abounded that he had had plans to centralize the army for the monarch, which hadn't made him many friends.

"Wait, boys, halt!"

The soldier obeyed, stepping over something on the ground...

Wait.

He looked at the object; it was a Griffon body in blue and purple uniform... a member of the Clan of the Plains. A crossbow bolt had lodged itself in the trooper's throat... but quarrels didn't throw themselves.

The officer who had ordered the halt was kneeling down, inspecting another body. Now that he was actually looking, the soldier noticed a large number of bodies in blue and violet.

Something flew from the trees and struck the officer in the chest; he crumpled with only a groan to mark his passing.

The soldier felt something strike the left side of his head, and everything went black.

James watched as the first bolts struck home, with numerous greencoats falling before they had time to form into any sort of line. The first unit of blue-and-purplecoats had walked into the ambush earlier, and most had fallen or panicked before they could muster a response; the shots they had fired had been ineffective, scoring few casualties. The Equestrian soldiers had been waiting for over two hours in the trees surrounding the small clearing for the fight to come. It had been over in minutes; he hadn't even had to use his artillery.

This new group had some warning, whereas the previous one had none; although several had been shot, the rest were forming into lines of battle as best as they could, and some began to return fire randomly with crossbows of their own. Again, they scored few hits, but they were hitting back.

Their formation didn't help them; they were perfect targets for the spread out pony troopers, who were arranged roughly in a semi-circle. And unbeknownst to them, more Equestrian soldiers were presently moving to cut of their retreat and turn the battle into a copy (of sorts) of Cannae.

The green soldiers kept shooting back even as their comrades fell around them. They were also more adaptive than the batch before them, with some of them lying down, others crouching, others firing behind cover.

A unit of red troopers dashed what was left of their line to the ground; redcoats ran right through the greencoats, bayonets fixed and ready as they charged. They were lead by an officer who looked almost exactly like his British counterpart over two hundred years ago in the American Revolution; he even wore a tricorn hat with a white feather on top.

Many of them were hit without even trying to fire; maybe they had received orders not to shoot, maybe they had been told they could just win with the bayonet alone. If that was what they had been told, it needed rectifying; their losses testified to that.

In spite of the casualties that had been inflicted on them, they kept coming, with no loss of spirit James could detect. If they got close enough to use their bayonets, they might disrupt the Equestrian attack enough to allow their comrades in other units to recover from the ambush.

"All guns!" he yelled, "Fiiiiiiirrrrrrre!"

A deafening roar met his ears as double-shotted canister from over a dozen guns decimated the foe's ranks all at once, bowling over many of those who had survived up until now and forcing the rest to take cover.

This mighty blast finally convinced the remaining redcoats that discretion was sometimes the better part of valor; most of them broke, running for the trees at the other end of the clearing. A few of them retreated in order, with one doffing his hat toward the nearly-invisible Equestrian positions before falling back with his fellows.

For all the good that will do them. Already more Griffon units were coming into the clearing, and some of them had some idea of where their opponents were located; officers were directing their fire, and screams began to rise, one by one, from areas they were shooting at.

Come on...

One of the Griffon soldiers in line suddenly spun around and toppled; another fell forward, with something resembling a stick from this distance quivering in his back...

Yes! "We got them surrounded!"

The enemy took longer to come to terms with that fact; some acted stupidly, ceasing whatever activity they had been up to and looking around, their heads erratically darting this way and that like those of birds back in Maine. A battery that was trying to set up was shot down, with the survivors taking cover under the guns they had tried to unlimber. Another red unit lost nearly half it's members before turning around to deal with the new threat.

It was hardly a battle anymore. It wasn't quite a massacre either, as the enemy were trying to fight back, here and there inflicting a casualty on the Equestrians.

It became clear to the Griffons they were cut off and surrounded; some threw off pieces of uniforms and tried to fly away, while others, more orderly, tried to break through the ring of attackers. Several volleys from crossbows showed them they couldn't.

James began to feel pity for the enemy troops. Enough is enough. He turned to a tan pegasus, who was hlding a bugle. "Blow the call to cease fire," he said. The bugler nodded and blew on his horn.

Slowly, the fire from the Equestrian lines began to slacken off and stop; the Griffons, confused and weary, followed suit. Perhaps they knew what was coming.

James turned again to the bugler. "Get some out there to demand their surrender."

The pegasus again nodded and flew off. A few minutes later a unicorn Guard stepped out of the trees. He was too far away for James to hear, but given the circumstances, he could guess the sentiment of it.

Clearly, no one was in overall command of the Griffons; their commander must have fallen. Most of their officers looked more than ready to have their troops throw down their arms and at the very least get out of the war. However, a few, mostly of the red-coated variety, remained defiant, shouting what were obviously insults and provocations.

Fortunately, most of the enemy began to put down their weapons and battle flags, and walked into the trees, with Equestrian soldiers guiding them the last few steps of the way. There had to be at least a few hundred marching into captivity.

Which still left about a hundred soldiers in the middle of the clearing, with six of them having commandiered a cannon and pointing it somewhere close to James' position.

"Surrender!" James called, bringing his hands up to amplify his call. "You can't expect to win this!"

A loud boom and a whoosh as the cannonball flew over his head answered him.

Blast it, now I'll have to finish them the hard way. He turned to a nearby battery. "Give them a couple volleys."

Seconds later shells and cannonballs flew into the enemy force, with the cannon taking a direct hit; most of it's barrel flew off, leaving a broken piece of metal attached to two wheels... or rather, one wheel, as one of them had been torn off.

That volley did what words had not; a Griffon rushed out of the ranks, waving his claw in the air in a clear gesture of surrender. After that, the Griffons were gave no more trouble, as weapons were thrown down, battle flags handed over, and the remainder forming into lines to be marched away.

As the enemy were led away, ponies began to walk among their abandoned equipment, which would be added to their own arsenal.

"Colonel," said a gray pegasus Guard, "you need to see this."

The pony lead James over to the gun that had been destroyed in the last few moments of the battle. Hmmm, it looks just like any other... The thought was stopped dead by a detail he hadn't noticed before; a latch on the enemy gun, allowing the rear end of the barrel, the one facing friendly forces, to be opened up and loaded without any need of a rammer whatsoever.

It was a breech loader. A gun that could potentially fire much faster than the artillery that he had at his disposal.

"Get this to the R n' D teams at once."

"Yes sir."

Something fell on his nose, something cold. James lifted a hand to it and felt a liquid substance.

Seconds later snow began to fall in earnest. Within minutes, white flakes had covered much of the battlefield, obscuring the dead and mangled Griffon soldiers and their equipment, as if someone wanted to put a blanket over something.

At the very least, he thought, I won't have to look at their lifeless corpses for a while.

Chapter 24; Fortress assault

Snow covered the ground next morning. Although the sun shone brightly, the air was cold, so cold that it was difficult for a human face to bear it without access to a campfire. Soldiers shook snow off their weapons and belongings, complaining all the while about the weather and it's aftermath.

James sat down, covered in blankets. The fire in the tent (enclosed in a stove cleverly made from tin cans), though small, kept him from freezing as he set his mind to the task ahead. One of the four enemy columns had been crushed. Now he had to deal with the others. It wouldn't be easy. The opposing forces had probably stopped, and scouts were confirming this theory via magically teleported messages. The weather was keeping the foe from advancing.

Those same scouts, however, were reporting that the closest enemy force was building a fortified camp, probably hoping to spend the winter in comfort. It would be hard to quickly march there without being noticed... unless of course, a blizzard covered their tracks.

And covered our approach. If we could come up onto that fort under snow fall, at night, we might capture them all without undue casualties. That would be assuming there was such a snow fall... he smacked himself in the head, recoiling from his own cold hand. Idiot. Pegasi can move the clouds and bring the weather we need. As he thought about, though, the harder it was to be convinced this was the proper course. Griffons could fly, and he had seen that they could rest on clouds as well as pegasi without falling through them; they might well have their own pickets in the air, ready to foil such a form of attack. Not to mention the extreme cold that would freeze the pegasi; even their fur and wings wouldn't protect them for long.

Again, the benefits of success seemed to outweigh the risks. If this attack succeeded, the enemy would be weakened to the point of being on even terms with the Equestrian army, and another victory would bolster morale on the home front. And he didn't intend to stop fighting just because winter was here; he intended to keep fighting, raiding the foe, breaking their spirit, cutting off their lines of supply, and generally making them miserable. For a foe without morale was a foe who was beaten.

Already, some of that was happening. The Unauthorized Regiment (though technically authorized now; the Princess had recognized it as legitimate), used to the local climate, was making bold forays, with reports of ski troopers hitting supply camps and taking caravans of weapons and food. More action, however, was required. And that action would begin by the storming of the fortified camp.

He stood up; he had made the decision, and now history (and God, of course) would judge him.

Although his troops complained about it, he gave the orders for the march to take place. It was even harder than the previous march, as snow was everywhere and the random sheet of ice made ponies (and even their human commander) slip every now and again.

Five days passed in misery; more and more snow fell, making a fast march impossible. He inevitably heard belly aching, some of it aimed at him; he tried to ignore it as much as he could.

Finally, with exhaust and frustration building, they stopped, just a mile or so from the enemy camp. Clearly, they hadn't been noticed yet, as no counterattack had been mounted and conditions inside the camp hadn't changed.

James managed to catch a few minutes rest, again covered in blankets; he was so often covered like this that he had heard some of the Equestrians call him "Fuzzball." Again, he ignored it.

Night seemed to come slowly, as the sun stretched across the sky as if it too was affected by the cold. Pegasi gathered what clouds they could out of the Griffons' sight, storing them close to the ground; they complained of the terrible cold at the altitude necessary to retrieve them.

It'll be worth it if we can take the fort. That was what he told himself whenever he had doubts, and he had them a lot. Before the second forced march and five day's misery, his troops had liked him; now they openly complained about his decisions. Yes, doubt was easy to acquire, hard to expel.

This has to work, no matter what.

As he watched the pegasi fly off to begin their work, the Colonel fixed his hat upon his head as tight as it would safely go. He turned to the ground force, which he was going to lead in person.

"You all know the drill," he said quietly; the night air would likely carry his voice to the enemy if he spoke any louder. "Get your ladders up to the walls as silently and quickly as possible, and hope to God they don't see you. Once we take the walls, we should be able to force a surrender." He took a deep breath. "Begin the operation."

His obedient soldiers either physically took up ladders of used magic to lift them. Their hooves had been shod in cloth to deaden the noise they would make. They moved forward, if not in total silence then in something reasonably close to it. James helped to lift one of the ladders, grunting a little at it's weight.

The journey to the fort seemed to take forever, although, given the distance, it could not have been more than an hour or so. Snow began to fall, though at first not in the amount James had hoped it would. However, it picked up the longer it went on; soon it was difficult to see the group ahead of his own. By the time he and his force were little more than 500 meters (more or less; it was hard to tell in the blizzard, so he had to guess as best as he could based on reports from scouts coming from the front) from the fort, it was hard to see much of anything.

"Come on, come on," he whispered impatiently, "almost there, damn it."

He heard something clack against wood up ahead. He hoped it was a ladder going up.

"Was ist los?"

Damn it! That had certainly been an enemy soldier. "Come on, boys, before that sentry raises the alarm!" he said, much louder than he had been before.

More satisfying clunks came from either side as more ladders came to the wall.

"Der fiend!"

James began to climb the ladder, aware that the sentry was going nuts. More German phrases and curses came from somewhere above him and to the left. There was a clash of metal, and then the sound of a blade htting flesh; a grunt came from a wounded soldier, from which side he knew not. The twang of a crossbow came to his ears, and then the delayed sound of a body hitting the ground on the other side of the wall.

Finally! He pulled himself onto the wall and took a quick look around. A unicorn was lying lifeless on the wall, and a dead Griffon was on the ground below. More Equestrian soldiers threw themselves up the ladders, determined to end the fight quickly.

He unshouldered his aquired matchlock and took aim at a kilted Griffon emerging from a tent, a sword in his claws. He pulled the trigger; the Griffon dropped his sword, looking utterly shocked as he fell.

As James reloaded, he felt a sense of relief; the enemy had been taken completely by surprise, and were either running (or flying) around in confusion or were trying desperately and blindly to fight back. They were failing at the latter; many had no chance to take up arms before being forced to give up. Taking flight (literally) was also not much of an option; the pegasi, back from making the blizzard, were preventing any escape, and Equestrian soldiers were taking more and more positions on the wall, encircling the foe. Soon it would not be a choice of win or lose for the Griffons; it would be a matter of surrender or death.

A Griffon in a red coat tried to rally the defenders, ignoring the fact that he and his forces were outmatched. Quarrels flew into the enemy from all sides, severely impacting the Griffons' ability to keep fighting. James took aim at the officer and fired, missing him entirely. The Griffon ignored the shot (or just didn't hear it in all the commotion) and waved his sword. His troops fired, and screams came from the Equestrian attackers.

This failed to halt the momentum of the assault. Within minutes most of the resisters were dead or wounded, and the rest simply threw down their arms and quit.

James leaned on a post nearby, sighing with relief.

Interrogating the enemy didn't take long. It was clear they had had no idea that such a powerful attack had been upon them until it was far too late. They had seen the pegasi setting off, as it turned out, but they hadn't sent out more than a few pickets to interfere with them, which had been key to the success of the assault.

Most of the garrison had been taken alive, with 1,756 prisoners being taken, including wounded. It was a decent bag, with Equestrian casualties being very low, with only a few dozen wounded and seven dead. The Griffons had been caught utterly by surprise.

James was present at the interrogation of the enemy commander, who was very angry at the easy victory his opponents had enjoyed and who completely lost it when James thanked him for the fort. Not that that thanks wasn't sincere; he intended to make it into his base of operations for the winter campaign. The stocks of food and water at the fort were abundant, almost moreso than his own supplies, which allowed for better rations.

He set himself up in one of the cabins; it made for more comfortable dwelling than a tent, especially in winter. A fireplace kept him warm as he set about planning further moves. Other cabins allowed his army, or some of it (the fort was designed to hold 2,000 people, not something a bit below 4,000) to house themselves well. He intended to expand the size of the base eventually.

James was fiddling with the map again, when the door opened. He turned to see a familiar blue-gray pony step inside and quickly shut the door. "Mornin', Blue Fur."

"Greetings, friend," came the reply. "It's colder than iced tea out there."

"Good thing the fire is warm," the human said, gesturing to the fire.

"Indeed." Blue Fur took off his glasses and blew on them for a few seconds before replacing them on his face. "The weather is not the reason I'm here, though."

"I didn't think so. What's new?"

"The inferior artillery we took from the Griffons. We don't need them, and all they do is take up space. In any event they would be difficult to use this season. I suggest taking them apart and using their wooden components to create skis for our troops."

"Hmmm... Seems reasonable, but it won't create enough skis for everyone to use, I'm afraid."

"I'm well aware of that; I AM an engineer, you know. However, I was not suggesting equipping everypony with skis, just a core of soldiers from around these parts."

James thought about it. "Yeah, I guess we can do that. Just be aware that the majority of the army isn't from this region."

"I'll bear it in mind. In any event, we should really expand this base; we have insufficient lodging for everypony."

"I know, I know, but time and convienence. I can't do a dozen things at once. I'll have it done as early as possbile, but it's not going to be done overnight."

"Just giving you a reminder, Colonel. And I have urgent business elsewhere, so if you'll excuse me..."

"Oh, please, don't let me stop you." He waited until his friend had left before going back to the maps. it would be difficult to roll up the other two enemy units, but maybe he didn't have to; ski troops could pester the Griffons enough to keep them on their heels until winter passed. At least, that was his plan. The fort would be the base from where he would give commands. Small units would be sent on a guerrilla-style campaign, with orders to annoy and harrass the enemy at every turn and to avoid a major engagement.

And skis would really help that plan.

Sorry if I haven't been updating that much, I'll try to post a bit more. Just be aware my school schedule might interfere with it.

First German sentence; "What is going on/ what's happening?"

Second German sentence; "The enemy!"

Chapter 25; Winter war

The biting embrace of winter was hardly pleasant. The wind blew often, frequently dragging another layer of snow with it. Human and ponies were almost constantly cold. Expansion of the base was difficult, though not impossible, and Blue Fur could be seen instructing soldiers on what to do and where to build things.

James was sitting in his own cabin, wishing the logs in the fireplace would actually catch fire; as it was, they were too wet from the snow and could not be lit. He tried to ignore the problem as he turned to his maps.

One idea made it's way into his frozen brain. If he sent out group of soldiers on harassment missions, some simulaneously, he wouldn't have to worry about spacing for soldiers' quarters as much. Detaching parts of the army on what was essentially a guerilla campaign had been necessary for his plans anyway; this just conveniently fit in with those plans.

He drafted the next orders for deployment. As he signed them, he noticed that the regiment sent on this assignment was that of the 1st Ponyville. He briefly considered changing this, then shook his head; Bright Star would understand. Showing favoritism was unacceptable for a commander.

I pray that you and your comrades return safely.

Bright Star waited as the night grew darker; three days ago his regiment had been given orders, orders that said specifically "raid, harass, and ambush the enemy." Those same orders also said not to become entangled in a major engagement. Some officers might have wondered what was acceptable in the confines of those orders.

Not Captain Rolling Barrel. As uncouth as a military officer could be without being demoted (or discharged), he was well liked by the soldiers he commanded, Bright included. The brown earth pony had been a farmer before the war, but had adapted to military lifestyle and tactics better than anypony had expected. The captain was currently looking at the Griffon base through a pair of binoculars, occasionally nodding.

Lieutenant Blitz rarely spoke anything except the language Jim called German, and he was, in contrast to his superior, very much a disciplinarian. Regardless, he and the captain got along surprisingly well. A yellow-orange pegasus, the lieutenant was always fussing about something; Bright had lost count of the number of times he had forgotten to switch languages, in which case Blitz would ramble on in (what was to Bright) gibberish before almost comically realizing what had happened. He was at Captain Barrel's side, every so often muttering something to the company leader, who would nod in response, though he remained silent.

Last but not least, "Sergeant" Rail of the Unauthorized Regiment (which was technically authorized now, to the humor of those who made the connection). He was unorthodox, but he knew the land around here like the back of his hoof, and had been instrumental in getting them this far. He was aggressive, probably due to the fact that his village had fallen to the Griffons, and kept urging Barrel and Blitz for more offensive action, and was constantly let down when he was overruled by his fellow officers; he had actually been caught drinking alcohol twice, with both instances occuring after the captain and lieutenant had refused his "requests". He was anything but drunk now, however, and kept his eyes angrily fixed on the Griffon base.

"You sure you're ready for this, Bright?" a pony in his squad asked.

"Yeah, never better," the yellow stallion lied. He was actually scared down to the bone, as he always was before a fight. This was his first raid, and he didn't savor it anymore than he would have a major, no-holds-barred open battle.

The other pony nodded, but didn't reply.

"Stille!" Lieutenant Blitz said sharply, turning around for a moment.

Everypony had learned what that meant. Other quiet discussions died off almost immediately.

Blitz grumbled under his breath, but said nothing further and went back to staring at the enemy base. After a few more seconds, Captain Barrel came down from his position, with the lieutenant in tow.

"Alright boys, here's what the boss wants us to do," the captain said, almost in a whisper. "There's a warehouse filled with all the supplies the birds need fer food and ammo. The rascals don't have it well guarded, so I think it'll be an easy job, but keep you eyes peeled; this could be a trap fer all I know."

"Jawohl. Stay alert at all times, and avoid the notice of the enemy," put in Blitz. "We have our instructions to avoid a general engagement where possible."

"That means you, Rail," Barrel said, turning to the aggressive NCO. "Don't shoot unless they see you, and don't take risks; if ya do, I'll make personally sure you never rise above sergeant, in this or any army."

"I got it, I got it," Rail said, reluctance in his voice.

"You all know the drill," the captain went on, turning to the rest of the company. "Y'all split up, stayin' with yer squads; half o' y'all will give coverin' fire to the other half." Then, with a twist of his hat, the captain said, "Good luck everypony."

Bright never knew exactly why the enemy didn't notice them; he expected some sort of alarm to go off at any second, or for a Griffon sentry to shout a challenge. That neither of these things happened over the next two hours was a miracle in and of itself. Griffon soldiers would, every so often, fly above the trees, looking for intruders. He supposed that they simply could not see very well in the dark of night, and the moon wasn't out tonight for whatever reason.

Finally, after an hour of freezing, sneaking, and being scared out of their wits, Bright's squad reached it's assigned destination. Only a short distance away stood the warehouse; it had been built outside the base, for whatever reason. Maybe the Griffons didn't have the experience for proper military enginnering; maybe they just didn't think anyone would attack them in the cold of winter.

If so, they were dead wrong.

Another squad moved up to their left. Bright clutched his crossbow in his hooves and made sure it was loaded. A couple Griffons stood on guard, but they seemed bored and tired than on alert. They clearly hadn't seen anything. One of them said something to his partner, but he couldn't make out what it was they were saying from this distance. Lieutenant Blitz muttered again in his own language to a pony nearby who clearly understood; the junior trooper began crawling quietly to the right.

To their front, the two Griffons suddenly pitched forward; four ponies had sneaked up on them. One of them issued a warning to the feathered invaders to remain quiet. Too shocked or too scared to disobey, the Griffons remained silent as they were disarmed and lead away.

"Vorward."

The squads moved forward, unopposed, to the warehouse. An earth pony began to light a fire as other soldiers kept watch. Eventually, an orange flicker arose from the wood, and spread quickly from it's source to the storage building.

"All right, everypony," Captain Barrel said, "we've done what we've set out to do; let's back off and watch the blaze."

Bright was only too happy to obey, but out of the corner of his eye he saw two dark shapes aligned against the night sky. There was a screech, like that of an eagle, and two crossbow bolts buried themselves in the ground nearby.

"Griffons!"

Several ponies turned around and returned fire; over half a dozen bolts flew from their mounts, and at least one stuck home, as a Griffon squawked in pain and fell from the sky. His companion gave a startled cry and flew back toward his own camp.

"Come on," somepony said in a loud voice, "inta the woods!"

Everypony proceeded to do so. They managed to make it into the woods before a Griffon platoon came in an effort to extinguish the blaze.

They never got the chance. Firing from the cover of the forest, the Equestrians put forth a withering fire of quarrels, sending a number of the enemy sprawling on the ground and making the rest seek cover. Although they were firing from a distance, the ponies had a numerical advantage, at least for now, and were able to make up in quantity of shots what they lacked in quality.

The fire continued to spread. Bright hoped it would do it's work before more Griffons showed up.

An explosion came from the warehouse; seconds later, a deafening BOOM and a lasting roar were all that could be heard as the ammunition within exploded. Bright looked away and shielded his eyes. The heat was intense for a few seconds, then gave way as the flames subsided.

The Griffon soldiers hadn't had a chance to flee; they were all on the ground, most ominously silent but a few screaming horribly in pain, some of them on fire and trying to crawl away from the blast zone.

Bright couldn't bear to look any longer. He turned away. At the same moment, he heard the order to retreat come from Blitz's throat, and he eagerly obeyed, trying desperately to ignore the sounds of injured enemies.

Silver Shield took a moment to marvel at his name; few ponies had ever used a shield, as they were too used to walking on all fours to use one and a weapon at the same time. It wasn't the first time he had had this thought, and it never failed to at least bring a smile to his face.

He had little else to smile about right now; his company was about to ambush a Griffon force that was advancing on Trottingham. Combat never got any easier, not since the first Changeling attaack on Canterlot. It had been the first real time he and his comrades had faced defeat. He had managed to kill a few Changelings even then, but their numbers had been overwhelming, and their focus on obtaining sources of love for energy meant the enemy hadn't even tried to kill him; they had instead immobilized him and his fellow guards. That had been exceptionally embarrassing. Only the love spell by Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor had thrown the black monsters back. His first taste of war, and it had made him sick to his stomach.

He still felt rankled by the failure of the Guard. It still pained him to remember being made unable to move, with Changelings all around, looking like some deity had tried making ponies but had failed to do it properly. Green goo covering his hooves; although he couldn't feel it, it had looked disgusting. Guards strapped down or made to sit back to back, disarmed and helpless. He shivered. Never again. He would never allow that to happen again. Ever.

He managed to shake himself out of his thoughts. The war had entered another phase, one that was less of open battle and one of movement and surprise attacks.

"Can't see why we're obeying the orders of that blasphemer," said a private in his squad, and earth pony with a coat of light blue and a mane of orange and red.

"Excuse me, Sky, I don't think I heard that," Shield said quietly... and menacingly.

"You heard me," Sky siad defiantly. "I heard rumors that... thing Princess Celestia hired to lead our army said to her face that she wasn't divine. And I don't..."

"The Princess herself set him in charge of the army," Shield interrupted. "Thats means you will obey him as if every word he says came from the Princesses themselves. Is that understood?"

Private Sky simply looked away instead of answering openly.

" Did you hear me?"

"Yes, sergeant. Sorry, sergeant," the junior soldier said reluctantly.

It wasn't as if what James had said that night hadn't bothered Shield. It had. After serving for years in the palace, it was hard to believe anything different from what everypony believed. But as a Royal Guard, he had had to deal with liars and criminals much of the time, and that had given him the experience to know, more or less, when somepony (or someone, as the case may have been) was lying or telling the truth. It wasn't as if either Celestia or Luna had confirmed (or denied, up till now) their status so far as the divine went.

He had heard such murmurings before, but they had largely disappeared after the battles to defeat the Changelings. Confidence in their commander erased any religious division the army had had between it and it's Colonel. That is, until more recruits passed training and joined the army; a little less than half the army James had to lead were fresh from the Ponyville camp, and the mutterings had begun shortly before the first fight with the Griffons.

Jim, with more urgent business to deal with, had probably not noticed yet. Most veterans had ignored the religious rumors and mutterings, but the new guys would make themselves known eventually, one way or the other.

"Eyes to the front!"

Shield again shook himself back to business. Now was not the time to think about internal problems in camp. Especially not since he could see the enemy coming; a line of Griffons marched in close order. They wore red coats and carried long muskets, and bayonets hung from their belts. A banner of white with red and blue stripes waved on a flagpole; two crossed golden Griffons stood in front of the stripes.

Troops loyal to King Raniero himself, then. The King's troops were the best armed soldiers in the Griffon army, and always had the best equipment and, reportedly, the best training. They were also understandably the hardest to beat. Shield hoped the ambush worked.

The road was surrounded by forest to either side; the road itself was slightly sunken and worn. A wooden fence stood on either side of it. The captain had decided this was the best place to stage an ambush.

Celestia, Luna, or God, whichever of you is listening, please let this work.

The Griffons were close. Any second now...

A quarrel flew from the woods and struck the Griffon officer leading the troops; he crumpled without a cry. The column stopped.

"Fire!"

The Equestrians obeyed; Griffons fell left and right as quarrels struck them. The ponies could hardly miss at such close range.

Professional as ever, the King's soldiers lifted their muskets to their shoulders. An officer gave orders to fire at the woods to his left; he died seconds later as a crossbow bolt hit him in the neck. Ignoring the loss, his soldiers fired.

One advantage the Equestrians had was that the enemy had trying to shoot at a foe that, for the most part, they couldn't see. Almost all their shots missed. Almost all; a couple ponies were hit and cried out. A few other Equestrians quickly dragged them to (relative) safety behind the trees.

Another disadvantage the Griffons had was that their weapons required a precise reloading proceedure, while the crossbow was more simple to reload, and at the very least would not explode if it's owner didn't load it just right (Shield had seen a few Griffon muskets explode in their owners' claws; the cause was later revealed as an overload of gunpowder). The Equestrian weapons didn't have the range or the hitting power of their counterparts, but in this scenario, it didn't matter. More Griffons were hit and fell out of line, or what there was of it; it was almost impossible to form a proper line when the road was only a few feet wide.

Shield took aim and shot at another enemy officer; it was easy to tell who they were, as they were the only ones swinging swords everywhere. His target fell, though others had probably been shooting at the Griffon as well, so he had no clue whether his hot had been the fatal one. It wasn't as if he wanted to know, either.

The slaughter continued. The Griffons tried to fight back, as they always did, but they were unable to see who they were fighting, let alone take aim. Most shots they did take were blind, and very few actually managed to hit anyone. The longer they stayed, the more losses they suffered.

It came as no surprise when the call came from one of the few enemy officers left standing called, "Retreat!" His soldiers were too glad to obey. They began to retreat, although some of them kept shooting at the foes they could not see to cover their comrades' withdrawal. The firing slowly died off.

"Permission to pursue, Captain?" a private called to Captain Lion Mane.

"No," replied the captain (who, true to his name, had a mane of red-gold and a yellow coat; he really did resemble a lion, except that he had hooves instead of paws). "We fall back. Gather the wounded, ours and theirs, then prepare to move out."

"Yes sir."

Shield leaned on his crossbow for a moment in relief. He was still alive, and ready to fight another day. For him, for now, that was enough.

Silver Lining flew through the night air with a squadron of other pegasi. The cold was difficult to bear, especially from this height.

That didn't mean he didn't enjoy flying, even now. The ground was ever more pretty from the sky, or at least that was what he had always thought.

The group of pegasi had been given the mission to bomb an enemy camp and then retreat back to the base. Each one carried an artillery shell with their forehooves; they had been refitted with an activation switch, so that they wouldn't explode by accident. They were lucky this night was cloudy, or else the moon would have illuminated them.

As they continued to fly on, Silver remembered his days as a sailor. It was what had drawn him and Jack tar together; they had served together on a ship for a few voyages. It was how he had learned to many languages, from sailing all over the world to new and sometimes exotic lands.

He frowned. He and the orange pegasus sailor had fallen out after the latter had insulted Jim to his face. As a former sailor himself, he could understand his fellow pegasus' feelings, but the way he had expressed them was simply unacceptable.

He didn't like where his train of thought was going, so he focused on the ground again. The Griffon camp was coming up. He sighed with relief; they didn't have any airborne patrols.

Probably all freezin' their beaks off. The birdlike invaders had thought they would have a walkover, that they'd simply flex their muscles and victory would be theirs. The Equestrian army had proven that that victory wouldn't come so easily, if it even came at all.

"Alright, everypony," the flight leader said, just loud enough for them all to hear, "We're over the target. Set your shells to explode, and drop em' all on my mark."

Silver did as he had been commanded; he turned the fuse.

"3, 2, 1... drop em!"

He dropped the shell, explosive head pointing toward the ground.

"That's it, everypony back to camp!"

Silver again obeyed, paying close attention to the Griffon camp as he did so. A couple minutes later, orange flashes dotted the enemy base.

Maybe you'll get a dose of reality, you bastards. He didn't normally swear - nopony usually did - but it seemed appropriate here.

White Knight shivered. It was cold tonight, as it was every winter night. And he had drawn the short metaphorical straw tonight; he was on guard duty, and the moonless night was unwelcoming.

How'd I evah get inta the army? He knew the answer; he had thought of war as a big baseball game, not as the bloody, costly affair it truly was. Patriotism and a belief that the war would be over quickly had settled the matter.

And ta think dat I could be back in Manehattan, beatin' everypony at chess. He giggled; a few of his victories there had been ever so amusing. One colt had lost in two moves*; he had laughed for weeks over that.

The night was dark, and it was beginning to snow. He wrinkled his nose once more. He felt like this job was useless; who would be dumb enough to attack now?

He looked to his right, where a fellow guard was supposed to be. "Hey, Shiny Bolts, how ya hangin'?"

For a second, there was no answer, and certainly nopony where he was supposed to be.

"Shiny, if you're pullin' a prank on me, I'm gonna...

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm here, buddy," came an answer at last.

Knight frowned. That voice didn't sound like Shiny's. "Ok, well, the shift's almost ovah. You wanna catch a biute before we bunk for da night?"

"Uh, no thanks, I'm good."

"Ok, if you insist..." Knight focused on his magic and teleported to his comrade's spot. A Griffon lay there, attempting to keep Shiny Bolts quiet. He raised his crossbow and his horn lit with magic. "Hold it right dere,buddy," he said in a dangerous voice.

"Oh, damn it," the Griffon said angrily, and released Shiny.

"Claws up, buddy."

The Griffon obeyed. "What in hell gave me away?"

"For one ting, Shiny never calls nopony 'buddy'," Knight said confidently. "For anodder, ya voice wasn't right."

"Damn it, knew I was off a bit."

"You ok, Shiny?"

"Shut the heck up and take that monstrosity to the prison barracks," Shiny said in his usual unfriendly way.

"Roger dat. Get movin', you." White Knight, his crossbow floating in from of him, marched the most recent prisoner all the way to the brig. He slept well that night.

Sorry for not updating this for awhile, Civ 5 and school are the usual suspects (and, in this instance, convicts) here. Thanks for all your support, everyone!

*This is actually possible; look up "Fool's Mate" on Google or Yahoo.

Chapter 26; The failures of the nobility

Chapter 26; The failures of the nobility

Lord Grimbald looked down his beak at the regiment he lead. The brown and green-coated troops chatted away, mostly in peasant accents. It was really boring to listen to the various subjects, such as the price of food and clothing, how many fish swam in the rivers, et cetera. In his opinion, their discussions weren't worth listening to anyway; as a member of the nobility, he cared very little for the lower classes. In his clan, the Silverbacks (so-called because of the traditional silver stripes painted on the backs of every Griffon in the clan, with the elite having the most complex, of course), the aristocracy ruled; peasants were generally beneath their notice.

He noted the fear in which most of them regarded him with; fear was good in the lower classes, as it prevented ridiculous things such as revolts and rebellions.

"Lord Grimbald!" a soldier called.

He turned to his right; it was a sergeant, about as high as a peasant could rise in this clan's ranks. Clearly, whatever he had to say was important; the lowly rarely tried to give their superiors reasons to punish them. He sighed. "Yes, soldier, what is it?

"Pony soldiers have cut our lines of supply again," the sergeant said worriedly, "we won't be receiving any more for some time."

Grimbald felt angry; again, the peasant class had failed. It never crossed his mind that the aristocracy might be responsible for the catastrophe. "So send some boys to go clear them away."

"We've tried that already, my Lord, but they come back the moment we leave."

"Then I expect you to maintain a constant watch on our supply lines." With a wave of his claw, he sent the soldier away. Too ingrained to subservience to disobey a member of the nobility, the sergeant left.

All things considered, it could have been worse, he thought as the march continued. Although rebel ponies and raiders kept stealing wagons and food, the clan elders made sure that the elite always received their goods, one way or another.

After a while, his claws began to tire of the march. It was time to call for a break.

The troops sighed in relief and started to pull out packs of bread and canteens full of water. Grimbald scoffed - the halt wasn't for their sake - but he let them do as they pleased.

He sat down and called for his servant, who answered at once; moments later, comforting wine and cheese were going over his tongue and down his throat.

It was all too good to last.

As he lifted another glass of wine, the glass was shattered by something that zipped by. Another fast-moving object slammed into a soldier nearby, who collapsed immediately. It took his brain a minute to determine what the thing was; an arrow.

Cries of "Ponies!" and "Equestrians!" rang through the forest. More Silverbacks were cut down as they tried to claim their weapons, and more scrambled for whatever cover they thought was sufficient to hide them.

Grimbald got up - rather more slowly than the would have normally, no doubt a result of the wine - and waved his sword. "Come on, you filth-eating mongers, get up and fight!" he shouted. Another arrow passed by his head, but he ignored it.

Some of his soldiers obeyed. Many were shot as they reached for their weapons, but at least some of them were able to reach their crossbows and swords in time.

What was more alarming was the fact hat many Griffons acted as if they had never heard his order; they kept trying to hide or find cover, their instinct to survive overpowering their loyalty to their leaders.

He walked over to one of these and slapped him full across the face; the soldier fell flat on his back, a look of utter shock on his features.

"Get up and fight, coward!" he yelled, his face inches from that of the peasant. "Or I'll have you whipped over a rack!" That threat wasn't completely sincere; torture was not a practice the Griffon clans followed. Still, he made it obvious that something horrible would happen to the soldier if he disobeyed.

Something rammed into the back of Grimbald's neck; he cried out in pain as he fell forward, trying to reach over and pull out the quarrel. "Help me, soldier!" he ordered.

The soldier looked him in the face... then ran, scrambling in the opposite direction. Grimbald tried to cry out, but he had practically no strength by then. As he looked, his unit broke apart, fleeing in whatever direction their feet and wings could carry them. His strength ebbed; his head fell to the ground. Then he never saw anything in this life ever again.

James began to warm his hands in the fireplace; unlike his soldiers, the appendages on the end of his arms could feel, and up till now they had been cold. The orange flames warmed him, dissolving the cold.

Most of his troops had quarters similar to his own by now. The fort had really expanded since it's capture; wooden walls had been replaced by earth and stone, and cannons aplenty stood on it's walls. Another wall was being constructed outward of the first one. When it finished, the fort would be able to withstand a siege from any force he had yet fought.

The sounds of drill sergeants caught his ears; with a natural coat of fur, ponies were able to operate in colder climes more readily than he could, and they proceeded to do so. Shouts of "Left, right" and "About face!" were ever more common.

Winter was already more than half over; a proper campaign could be under taken soon enough. James knew his army was ready for the battles to come.

He paused to remember how Christmas Eve and Christmas day had passed...

He stood outside, looking over the camp; even in these conditions, many of them were celebrating Hearth's Warming's Eve. Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi alike drank cider and sang carols; some danced in various ways, with the occasional mistake and fall, with the accompanying laughs making it all better.

James dipped his head. Christmas was clearly unknown here. While some decorations had been placed around the base, a Christmas tree was not to be found. Snow continued to fall from the sky, making a beautiful white blanket upon the ground.

He walked away from his cabin and walked around the base, watching and listening to the festivities. It was all so familiar, and yet so far. On the day of the year when people were supposed to be closest to their loved ones, he was worlds, no, a universe, away from any of them. A tear slipped from his eye, ran down his cheek and fell into the snow.

He missed them all so much...

Homesick and discontent, he made his way back to his cabin. He couldn't bear to watch the celebrations, not when he was on the verge of breakdown. He opened the door, went through it, and shut it, locking it with a key.

A light in the corner of the one-room dwelling caught his eye. He turned... and there, standing tall, draped in lights and glass ornaments, with a star cresting it's peak, was the most magnificent Christmas tree he had ever seen.

Under it's evergreen branches stood Bright Star, Sliver Lining, Blue Fur, White Knight, and Silver Shield. In one voice, they cried out, "Merry Christmas!" as loud as they could.

Crying tears of joy, James ran forward, knelt, and embraced them in a bear hug.

Even now, it almost brought a tear to his eye. They had constructed the whole thing from his books, which they had "borrowed" for the plan. At least he had people - or ponies - who cared about him here, even if he was disconnected and apart from his family.

Slowly wrenching himself away from those pleasant thoughts, he went through the winter campaign in his head; in many cases, the Griffons were starving, hungry enough to eat twigs, and many of them were doing so. Other encampments had to endure raids of such frequency that they were too afraid to leave their bases, fearful of being caught in ambushes. And he had done all this with a force of equal size to their own. Some Griffons, caught alone in the woods, surrendered without a fight; some were all too eager to do so, as some of them knew that they could at least fill their bellies as prisoners, whereas others were disgusted that some of their officers - mostly those from the nobility and aristocracy - always had luxury food and drink while the common soldier went hungry.

But he couldn't count on winter staying forever; it wouldn't, and before long spring would come. From the newspapers in Trottingham, many towns were already making plans for Winter Wrap-up.

He walked over to the fireplace and put another long on the fire; for good measure, he threw a few pieces of newspaper on it as well to help the blaze spread. Much of what was in there about the war was so exaggerated or so heroically inflated that he found it more funny than serious. Surely it wasn't serious enough to stop him from putting a few pieces of it on the fire?

As he sat back down in the rickety wooden chair, there was a knock at the door. Slightly irritated, he nonetheless got up, walked over to the door, unlocked, it, and turned the handle.

At first, a crown of gold and a pair of golden shoes seemed to stand alone against the snow. Then he caught sight of the soft, rainbow-colored mane and lovely smile. "Ah, your Highness."

Celestia's smile was almost enough to evaporate the cold. Almost. "I'm fine with just 'Celestia' from my friends, James," she responded. "May I please come inside?"

"Not like I could stop you, now could I?" It was true; Celestia had come with a pair of golden-armored Guards. He stepped to the side before she could reply and allowed her to pass. "Be forewarned," he went on, "it's not going to be all that much warmer inside than out."

"I've been through worse." She pulled up a seat with her magic and sat down; James followed suit, watching the Guards as he did so.

"Don't worry, sir," one of them said, "just think of us as furniture."*

Big, armored sets of furniture.

"How goes the war?" Celestia asked, her smile fading.

"It's going well," James said, not without some confidence. "We managed to stop them from advancing, and we've cut their lines of supply; they couldn't move forward if they wanted to. The troops have done everything they could under the conditions, and they have done more than I expected."

He took a moment to reflect on how military speech was so often bloodless. An advance could refer to a game of football or a battlefield. Unfortunately, on a football field people weren't trying to kill you, not unless you deliberately angered an opposing player (and how many times had that actually come to bloodshed?). On a battlefield, bullets and shells flew, all looking to hit someone's all too valuable person and end it.

From the look on Celestia's face, she understood that as well as he did. "That's the most I could expect, I suppose." She took a look at the map. X's marked ambush sites and raids. Only a handful were red; disasters and scenes of heavy Equestrian casualties; most were blue, sites where the ponies had been successful in their endeavors.

"Here is where their starting point was," James said, pointing to an area inside the nearest Griffon borders. "From there, they progressed southwestwards in a compact group, until we defeated their vanguard here." His right index finger came to rest on the place where the first battle against the Griffons had been fought, and where General Hawkfrost had challenged him... challenged him and died. "After their loss, they split into four columns, one of which we ambushed, and where we found an enemy prototype cannon, which we sent to research and development. We found another column of enemy troops making camp where this base is now sited, and took the fort with minimal losses. Since then, we've restricted our campaign largely to raiding them and ambushing them when they try to advance." He pointed to the two major Griffon camps. "As you can see, they've gained no significant stretches of territory during the winter fighting."

Celestia looked at the map a minute longer, then nodded, appearing satisfied. "Very good. I'm proud of the armies of Equestria and their leaders." She looked up. "I'm sure you want to know a little about Rand."

"Yes; I have been wondering how he's been faring, under your care."

"He's doing fine; he was very scared at first, but after the first few days he relaxed, and we're getting along just fine."

"I hope he hasn't faced the... excessive rascism at the palace that he has in this army."

"My Guards are well trained enough to not let such petty concerns show while they are on duty."

James nodded. "That's good. I don't relish having to destroy every last Changeling, or, by destroying their queen, removing their will to live. I'm hoping that we can find a solution and give them freedom."

"That is my hope as well." Celestia smiled once more. "I have good news for you as well, General."

"Gen... Celestia, I'm a Col..." He stopped as he realized what had just happened. "So I'm a Brigadier, now?"

"I believe that is the proper rank, yes."

James got up and bowed. "My thanks."

Celestia smiled again. "The pleasure is all mine." Then as he sat down, she went on, "The training camp is now home to tens of thousands of soon-to-be soldiers; they will be joining you in the early spring."

James sat up. "How many?"

"Considering the numbers we now have in the field, as well as those in training, I'd say we'll have fifty thousand soldiers in the army all together."

James felt like celebrating. If I hadn't promised God I would never drink alcohol, I'd probably get everyone in this room a cold one right now. He let out a rebel yell instead, waving his hat in the air.

Celestia watched happily until he calmed down. Then her smile disappeared. "I also have news that you won't like so much."

"Whatever it is, I doubt it could dampen my spirits."

Celestia proceeded to prove him wrong; "Prince Blueblood had demanded that he be given a rank in the army and given a command."

"Uh, what?"

"I think you heard me."

"Yeah, I heard ya." James felt his good mood evaporate. "You... you didn't take him... seriously, did you?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "I gave him the rank. He will be joining you and Shining Armor once the snow clears up."

Aw, what the fuck? James cleared his throat. "Ma'am, I think that was a terrible idea, if you'll pardon my opinion. He can't even treat a lady right, never mind a soldier. You didn't see the way he treated Rarity at the Gala, did you?"

She frowned. "I'd heard of it, yes. I forget sometimes that you had... connections with our world before I summoned you here." For a moment, she lifted her head so that she was looking at the ceiling. "It was hardly a decision I could refuse," she said at last, bringing her head down. "He offered us a substantial amount of money toward our research and development projects in return for a Generalship; the sum is more than I am willing to say here. Think of what we could - will - do with that."

"I am, and it's not really making up for putting a prissy illegitimate rat in place of a General."

Celestia gave him a withering look. "He is my nephew, and will not be spoken of that way... not even by you."

Damn, there goes the promotion.

"I'll admit he has a... less likable side to him," the Princess went on, "and you are not the first to raise such scruples. But I assure you, he will behave himself."

Right, like how a cat behaves when someone tries to give it a bath. "Yes, well, sorry about that. I'll hold him to that promise."

The anger drained from Celestia's face. "I'm sure he won't be the trouble that you predict he will be," she said, smiling again. "And I'll be checking in on him every now and then, to make sure."

"Alright, then, good seeing you again, Princess."

"Likewise, General; I hope to see you soon."

"Hopefully we'll hold Gryphos by then."

The Princess smiled, then motioned to her Guards to follow her. They left the cabin, leaving the newly-made General to his own thoughts.

Blueblood, Princy Blueblood, as a fuckin' General!?! What is the world coming to?

*Note; another quote I borrowed from Harry Turtledove. I thought it fit here.

Chapter 27; Lunar debout

National Act Number 1861; I, Princess Celestia, and my sister Luna, announce the foundation of a Grand Army of the Kingdom, with the intent to defend and protect Equestria and all it's inhabitants from the invading forces which threaten our country.

This act will come into effect immediately.

Announced in Equestrian newspapers in November 1002 (Equestrian calendar)

As the snow began to melt, James drafted yet another request for supplies and food; it would be needed, if he was to get the army he had been promised. The success of the winter campaign had restored the morale of his forces, and they often sang as they drilled, even with cold winds still blowing about. "The Battle Cry of Freedom" had been adopted very quickly, thanks to Silver Lining's friend in Manehattan; he could hear it being whistled even now. With a smile on his face, he finished the letter, put it in an envelope, and got up to deliver it to a mailpony. He opened the door; the cold was embracing. As a Mainer, he was used to cold winters.

A commotion met his ears, and he turned to his left; a black, bat-winged stallion descended from the sky. One of Luna's own guards, he thought as the pony noticed him and flew over.

The Lunar Guard saluted. "Sergeant Star Blaze, at your orders, General."

At least Celestia didn't demote me after my outburst about Blueblood, James thought. "Good. What news do you bring with you?"

"Sir, the Princess of the Night has ordered a battalion of the Lunar Guard to report to you personally; they will be here by nightfall."

"Excellent." That was what he had been hoping for. Something caught his eye; a soldier had shaken his head. When he saw that his commander had seen him, he tried to act as if he had done nothing notable.

Racism, or at least a fear of thestrals. He was pleased he had been able to remember a name that at least partially fit the trooper before him. That would do nothing to resolve the situation, however. I'll have to think of something. "That is well appreciated, Sergeant. I'll ensure that you and your cohorts have space, food, and dwellings of their own."

"Much obliged, General. Princess Luna will be coming with them."

Uh-oh. History had many instances where a politician had screwed up a war, not to mention that the Princess would be putting her own life at risk; if she lost it... Her people will lose hope. I cannot allow that to happen. What he said aloud was, "I see." I'll talk to her about that when she gets here.

To his surprise, Star Blaze made a motion with his hoof that could only mean, come closer. James leaned in closer, whereupon the Night Guard whispered, "Believe me, sir, I sympathize with you in that regard; her Highness puts herself in danger in doing this, but none of us were able to convince her to do otherwise. And... If you've met her, you'll know that she can be... difficult to argue with."

By that, you mean that she frightens you to death, and that uses the Royal Canterlot Voice if you annoy her enough. It was the obvious translation. Having not seen Luna since first arriving in Equestria, he hadn't gotten to know her as well as her sister. That seemed like her; she was mysterious, like the moon she controlled. "In any case," he said, lifting himself back to full height, "I'll make sure that you receive a rest; you must be tired, flying all this way."

Star Blaze nodded. "In daytime, too. I could do with some hay right now."

"Any news on when - ugh, do I really have to use his title? - Prince Blueblood is joining our forces?" he asked.

"He will be coming in a few days, sir; his carriage is currently on it's way."

As I suspected; he didn't leave his pro-noble attitude behind him when he left. There was nothing he could do about it. "Gooood," he said. "I'm sure we'll get along." Not a chance. Waving that thought away, he pointed to the mess. "You'll find something to eat there."

"My thanks, General." The Guard trotted away, his belly grumbling once where James could hear it.

What am I going to do with this prince? Nasty thoughts about his soon-to-be fellow General came to the surface; he allowed himself a few seconds of this, then cleared his head, walking back to the cabin.

To his further annoyance, the fire in the fireplace had gone out while he was gone. With anger, he went to the task of re-lighting it, eventually succeeding, and threw another log on the blaze to ensure it didn't go out prematurely this time.

James' own stomach groaned an hour later. He made his way to the mess hall (actually, it was a large tent, but few bothered to make the distinction between that and an actual building) and got himself some mashed potatoes and a couple apples, then sat down at one of the tables.

He chomped down on one of the apples; the satisfying juices flowed down his throat as a pony walked up and sat down on the opposite side of the table, facing him.

It's Star Blaze. He lowered the apple - he naturally felt silly leaving it in his mouth - and looked up. "Yes, Sergeant Blaze?" The pony looked troubled; a discontented expression was evident on his face.

Star Blaze leaned in. "Sir," he said, sounding discouraged, "I ask that you ensure that I and my fellow Lunar Guards are treated fairly by the other ponies in the camp."

I should have figured. "What happened? I know that thestrals don't exactly have the best reputation, but..."

"I'm glad to see that you know the name for our subspecies, sir," Star Blaze said, nodding. "Anyway, it was nothing I haven't dealt with before; nasty looks, muttering as I passed by somepony, and other similar things."

"If you are used to these insulting gestures, then why are you so bothered now that you come before me?"

The Lunar Guard looked indignant. "One Royal Guard accused us Lunar Guards of being carnivores," he said, his voice shaking.

James raised his eyebrow. "Do you do eat meat, or have your subspecies ever done so?"

"No... well.... maybe a very, very long time ago, well before Equestria was founded. But in the last one thousand, five hundred years or so, that certainly hasn't been the case. Just because some of us have fangs doesn't mean we actually eat other living beings."

James nodded. "I wouldn't have much of a problem if that was still the case, as long as sentient creatures were not on the menu." He pointed to one of his own molars.

Star Blaze looked concerned. "Are humans carnivores?"

"Obviously we do not receive all our nutrition from that; otherwise, you would not have found me eating plant matter." He empathized this by taking another confident bite of the apple. Once he had swallowed it, he continued, "We are omnivores. And, for the record, we are the only sentient species on our planet, and I have not eaten meat since arriving in Equestria, though I've had to take vitamins to keep my health up."

Star Blaze studied him closely for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I can live with that. At least we have an understanding, then."

I hope we do. James took another bite of the apple, finishing it off. "I believe that your performance in the field will be conductive in ensuring that you receive the respect you and your fellow Lunar Guards desire. You have something somewhat beyond what the others are fighting for, after all; otherwise, this conversation would not exist."

"Thanks, General, I appreciate this."

Back in his cabin, James had set up his hammock, and was enjoying a rest; his hat was over his face as the hammock swung gently back and forth.

A loud, sudden sounding of trumpets made him sit up in surprise; his kepi flew across the room, slamming into a wall and falling to the floor.

He got up, walked over to the hat, dusted it off, and replaced it on his head. Looking out the window, he saw that the sun was almost gone from the horizon. It was later than he had thought it would be. The trumpets sounded again. Rousing his brain, he remembered that Star Blaze had said that Princess Luna was coming, with a sizable number of her guards. It was only prudent that he be there to meet them.

He walked outside. A chariot was descending from the sky, followed by hundreds of Lunar Guards. In the chariot itself stood the midnight-blue Princess herself, looking down on the base.

The chariot landed. Mane billowing in some non-existent wind, Princess Luna stepped down from her transport; James noted that the shoe she had stepped on and crushed had been repaired or replaced. Four Lunar Guards descended around her, spears at the ready despite the lack of any danger being evident.

She saw him; it wasn't as if he were inconspicuous, what with being the only bipedal being present. She nodded in his direction, and began walking toward him; her Guards followed, on the alert.

"Greetings, General," the Princess said regally. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"Thanks, Princess, same here." James looked back at his abode. "Maybe it would be best to continue this conversation in my cabin."

"Yes, it might; it is rather cold this fine night."

Like you didn't help with that last bit. He decided it was best not to say that out loud; he was already feeling guilty about thinking it. "Right this way then," was what left his lips instead. As they walked, the army gathered around them, cheering both of them;

"Hurrah for the Princess!"

"Three cheers!"

"Yippie-kai-ayyy!"

"You seem very popular with the common soldiers, James," Luna remarked.

"Not as much as you are." He stopped, opened the door, and allowed her to walk in first; her Guard followed, one giving him a look - of curiosity or menace, he wasn't sure - before following his companions. James went in last, closing the door behind him.

"Well then," he said, making his way over to the table and sitting down, "I suppose you're here to take command of the Army of Eastern Equestria?"*

"No," Luna responded, "not exactly. I will be leading my own Night Guards into the battles to come. You will be allowed to advise us on the best courses of action."

Oh boy. James sighed loudly. "This is what I was afraid of." After pause, he went on (though he avoided her eyes), "The risk to your own life is far too great."

Although he wasn't looking at her face directly, he could almost feel the heat coming from it. "We have heard identical words from our subjects back in Canterlot," Luna said firmly, with a regality he didn't much care for, "and our answer is the same as it was then; we will take to the field."

He switched to angry French; "Ecouterez-vous moi?"* he snapped. Looking at her directly this time, he saw that she was somewhat taken aback by his response. He decided to take advantage of it, returning to English; "You're too valuable to your country to risk your life, and let me repeat that last one, life, on the battlefield." He got up and stood up straight. "Hundreds, even thousands, of soldiers can lay down their lives and the war will go on, but the instant you die the momentum would shift against us; your people would lose hope, and the enemy would be bolstered by their victory. This isn't just about you; the entirety of Equestria hangs in the balance, and your death - or that of your sister, Celestia - is a price we cannot afford to pay."

Luna tossed her head; "We must be seen to act, to lead our people in this time of crisis."

"Then act from the capital; will it take a Griffon arrow the chest to get you to see reason? That, I fear, would be the end; of your life and of Equestria as a sovereign nation."

To his relief, she seemed to consider what he was saying. Her guards had looked slightly aggressive for a moment, then, seeing that their Princess was not about to order him arrested, they returned to their neutral stances. At last, Luna said quietly, "but I control the moon; how could an army of Griffons compare to that?"

"Unless you insist on sending the moon crashing on top of a Griffon army - which would in all likelihood destroy all life as we know it on this planet as well - I see no usefulness in that fact, your Highness. And, as first the Changelings and now the Griffons have proven, magic in itself isn't enough."

For a moment, their eyes met in a contest of will; Luna backed down first. "I at least insist on being somewhere in the vicinity, so that my little ponies may see me among them."

James considered this. It was less than he'd hoped for. "I guess you could watch and command from some vantage point," he said at last, "but you will not enjoy the spectacle."

"I... I know." Her head fell a little. "You may not know it, General, but it is my responsibility to protect ponies in their dreams. These past few months have been... very frightening in that regard."

I didn't know she could do that. That aside, he could see where that would produce stress; a dream becoming one of battles, bloodshed and death. It couldn't be easy. He shrugged. "I'm sorry. If the griffons and changelings hadn't invaded, this war wouldn't have come."

She nodded, unhappily. "Yes, I know. It's... overwhelming. I..." Tears started to from in her eyes. "I can't... help them. I have to watch as horror after horror fills their dreams, as terror overtakes them, as the most nightmarish things happen, and I can't do anything to stop it. It's... too shocking. After viewing some - no, all - of these dreams, I feel like throwing up."

James nodded in sympathy, waiting for her to recover after this... information.

Luna wiped the tears from her eyes with her hoof. "Anyway," she said, clearly trying to escape her own memories, "I know it would be dangerous for me to stay here, but it wasn't just my idea; my sister wants to make sure you and Blueblood get along, at least for the first few days."

"Ugh," James muttered. "All right, as long as you aren't in personal danger, you can stay for a few days. Not that I have the authority to stop you, but I won't complain as long as your life is not at risk."

She nodded. "That's all I can ask for, I suppose. But now, to the war itself; what are your current plans?"

James pointed to the map. "This the current location of the base. Unfortunately, even at full capacity, it won't be able to house fifty thousand troops; more like eight thousand. We'd have to move at some point anyway." When he saw the look on her face, he realized he wasn't going over the information she wanted. "Oops, sorry. I was going over the construction plans for the base with Blue Fur this morning." He cleared his throat. "We'll hold a massive numerical advantage, with forty to fifty thousand soldiers against four to five thousand of their own, so I've outlined the plans for the offensive as such." He moved four blocks, with two going one way and two the other, with a fifth in reserve. "We'll hit their remaining two forces in the field and drive northeastward, toward their border, reuniting before we get there and marching en masse for their capital. If all goes well, the army should be in Gryphos within a month, maybe two, and the war will be over."

"Hmmm." Luna rested a head on her foreleg, looking it over. "It looks good on paper, but you don't seem to have assumed anything about their reinforcements."

"I did; they won't have enough. They can't muster anything more than ten thousand before our counter-invasion, and I can't see how they could save their bacon, even with the advanced arms they carry; and even that lead won't last long, as Equestrian scientists have made a musket that ponies can use, and from the reports I have received, breech-loading artillery units are even now in production. Unless they have an outside ally to help them, we'll defeat them, considering average intelligence on both sides and a superiority in numbers on our own."

Luna thought about it. "What if they use the same strategies that we did during the winter?"

"That's what the reserve units are for; to take care of such pests, and to reinforce the boys on the front line if we need them."

After a few moments, Luna nodded. "This plan may work."

"I hope so. How goes the fight with the Changelings?"

"Not as good as the fight over here. It's not so much that they are beating us as the fact that they are avoiding us as much as possible. We can hardly catch them, and when we do, our troops just end up fighting a very small number of them at any one time. Shining Armor is understandably frustrated."

James nodded. "I would be, in his place. An enemy that avoids battle at all costs is one that is the most difficult to defeat. But in a way, that's good. They don't have enough drones to fight us directly. For now, that's good enough. When the Griffons are knocked out, we can bring everything back west, find them, and crush them once and for all."

"I hope so."

"However, first we need to clear this pass." James brought his right index finger down on a point not far east of the fort's location. "That will allow our troops to get through intact."

Luna lifted her head. "I will deploy the Lunar Guard to clear the Griffons."

"How many did you bring with you? Because the birds have around two hundred and fifty troops guarding that pass."

"We... er, I, have brought four hundred of the best Guards in Equestria; I'm sure they will have no trouble."

"Yeah, and whenever someone says that, it means that trouble will happen."

Luna giggled. "Oh come now, James, you aren't superstitious, are you?"

"Just a little. Enough to take precautions. In any event, we have to clear that pass, immediately."

"I insist we wait until nightfall."

"Uhh... it is nightfall. You control the moon, remember?"

The Lunar Princess pouted. "Hilarious. But I suppose the point is taken. My Guards can go to work at once."

Star Blaze took his place in the line. So far, the stay in the fort hadn't been all bad. Meeting a species that had been long considered dead and gone, eating the food, getting a good rest; it had been all good. It didn't quite make up for getting the cold shoulder, especially by the regular Royal Guards, but it was what he'd got. And it wasn't as if he hadn't dealt with similar situations before.

Going into a full-blown battle, though, that was new.. as was the firearm he shouldered instead of his usual spear. It was much heavier than his old weapon, and was much more complex to use.

At least his fellow Lunar Guards were beside him, all brothers in arms, all tied together by bonds unbreakable. Long time rivals of their daytime counterparts, and often mistrusted by other ponies, the Lunar Guard needed to be as close-nit as it was.

A company of regulars and Royal Guards protected the flanks of their advance. From what he had heard, it was supposed to promote unity. From the expressions he and the other Night Guards got, it wasn't working.

No matter. The battle tonight wouldn't be focused on fighting each other, but the Griffons. He could count on that.

He glanced backward; on a hill, observing the action, Princess Luna was watching them. His heart soared; with the Princess on the Night watching, it was impossible for things to go wrong.

That reminded him of something he had heard about their human commander. It had been told to him by one of the few ponies, a regular, who hadn't been too afraid or upset to talk to him. According to camp rumors, Brigadier James Lavigne had denied that the Princesses were deities to Celestia's face. A few thought of him as godless, but from what the regular had told him, the General was part of a monotheistic faith that denied the existence of all other gods. In that case, it was understandable, but it troubled him a little. He shoved the thought aside; surely the Princesses didn't care, otherwise the human would not be in overall command.

Of course, one part of his brain said quietly, that could just fuel his own arguments.

He shoved that down too, and this time, nothing but a determination to do the job as best as he could taking it's place.

"You know what to do, gentlecolts," Captain Moonshine said, marching in front of the units, "we are going to take that pass, and we will hold it against anything this side of the sun and the moon that tries to retake it." He looked up at something or someone behind the troops - probably Princess Luna - then, nodding in what was probably a response to a signal, shouted, "Forward!"

At a quick pace, the line moved forward as ordered; muskets over their shoulders and fully loaded, the might of Equestria seemed incarnate in the soldiers taking part in this battle. For once, cold looks and teasing were nonexistent. The moon shone brightly on the regiments, with the stars playing secondary roles in the great play in the sky. Here and there, a cloud blocked a piece of the atmosphere, but they were not enough to keep the moon's light from reaching the ground.

Before he knew it, he was at the bottom of a massive hill, hundreds of feet in height, covered in grass. at the top would stand the Griffon detachment... if it had detected them. So far, the lack of artillery (on both sides; General Lavigne and Princess Luna had agreed to cancel the planned bombardment in exchange for the element of surprise) and any ranged fire gave the doubt to that last.

Finally, near the top, Star Blaze felt confident that they would catch the enemy asleep in their beds, awakening to find the guns of the Equestrian army in their faces.

"Who goes there?"

That simple sentence destroyed that hope. Captain Moonshine drew his sword. "Advance! Clear this pass of the enemy!"

With loud battle cries - the enemy sentry would have alerted his comrades in short order anyway - the Equestrians charged. The Griffon who had challenged them fired a musket shot into the air, and was promptly dead in short order, with the captain having slain him personally.

The shot awoke the Griffons; they poured out of their tents, grabbing weapons as they did so and chattering away in various languages. But the human had had the right of it; they were so taken by surprise at the nighttime attack that they were disorganized. Officers ran around, giving orders to troops that they didn't command, and here and there an enemy soldier would duck back into his tent, either hoping this attack was a bad dream or else overwhelmed by fear.

Most, however, chose to fight, however poorly and unorganized they were. Scattered matchlock and musket shots (as well as the occasional crossbow quarrel) rang out in the dark. Screams pierced the night. An Equestrian soldier shot a Griffon, then drew his spear and slew another, only to be struck down himself; he fell, curling up in terrible pain.

Star saw an important-looking Griffon, drew his musket, took aim, and fired. The enemy soldier, whoever he was, dropped instantly. Another charged him. As a subspecies of the pegasi, however, he was able to quickly fly into the air, and the enemy warrior's sword missed him. He brought the butt of his weapon down on the Griffon's head, and the soldier fell to the ground, clutching his head.

"I take it you won't be offering me anymore trouble?" Star asked, a hint - just a hint - of menace in his voice.

"Awwwwwww," the Griffon groaned, still holding his head in his claws, "no, I won't, damn it!"

Star took the soldier's weapon. All around him, the battle - if battle it could be called - was being won. Despite the will to resist that many of them had, they had never gotten the chance to form ranks and fight in an organized fashion. Although some of them kept fighting, more and more were either running or flying away, and even more surrendering, spitting curses at their captors, but all the same going into captivity.

This battle was over. But, as Star Blaze watched the enemy flee, he knew there was an entire campaign ahead. Again, no matter. He had confidence that he and his companions - whether they were from the Lunar Guard or not - could handle it.

*Note, I was not trying to copy Altoid in naming James' army this. But "The Army of Northeastern Equestria" lacks the dramatic flair of what was chosen, and no other choice seemed adequate.

*Note, the French means, "Will you listen to me?"

Chapter 28; Mascots and mercenaries

Chapter 28; Mascots and mercenaries

James watched, arms folded, as his new brigades and divisions marched through the pass so recently cleared. Thousands upon thousands were going through, to fight the war and hopefully to finish it in short order.

Forty thousand, he thought to himself. Forty thousand, all mine to command. The whole war would be over shortly. One final push, sweeping aside the remains of the enemy army, and it would all be over and he could go home. It had been a long and cold winter, with hardship, bloodshed, and death as the only reward.

A small part of his brain woke up, telling him not to count the whole thing as being over. He tried to brush it aside, and was only partially successful. It was a nagging feeling, but he could see no way the advance of the legions below could be halted by arms borne by mortal beings.

He finally tore his eyes away from the spectacle and turned around. The wrecked Griffon camp was only a few dozen meters away, with burned tents and smothered fireplaces forming a most wretched scene. Of the enemy warriors who had previously occupied this hill, only 130 had left it alive, out of 250, and that was counting prisoners. The rest had died from battle wounds or, more horribly still, from the fires that had consumed the camp during the fighting. Knocked-over braziers testified to the cause of the blazes. The flames had been extinguished, although smoke occasionally rose from a few places. It wasn't the most glorious conquest, but it had been a necessary one.

He heard something, coming from one of the tents that had been trampled in the fighting. He walked over to it, and the noise became clearer; a sad, pitiful meow came from the destroyed dwelling. That was enough to make him pick up the pace; he was an avid cat lover, and he couldn't bear to hear one in distress.

James began to pick up pieces of the tent, slowly uncovering the contents within; some stale bread, a blanket, a knurlap sack... and then, pushing the sack over, he uncovered a small, gray and dark gray-striped kitten, a frightened look in it's eye. His heart melted. Being careful not to startle it, he picked it up and raised it in front of his face.

"Meow."

"Don't you worry, little fella; you're safe." James put the kitten to his shoulder, his left hand holding it there.

It meowed again, but less worried this time and more content. As he began walking down the hill, the kitten began to relax; presently, he heard it purring. The sound was music to his ears.

Back in his cabin, James found a carton of milk. He poured it out in a dish, and offered it to the kitten, who meowed and began to drink as though it were dying of thirst.

It turned out that the kitten was female. She would bear a litter of her own in due time. For now, though, she just seemed hungry and thirsty. He could understand that.

Satisfied that the kitten would be distracted for a while, he went back to his maps. In a few days, he would be moving out as well as the troops he had been watching; after all, he couldn't command from several dozen miles away. Re-reading one of the letters he had received, he noted with mixed feelings that Shining Armor would be joining him presently. Between the two princes, the human would be commanding the left-most corps. Blueblood would have command of the center, Shining the right. With all three generals having equal ranks, it was hard to have the army divided in any other way without conflict between them. And frankly, he didn't see how they could lose now, with an overwhelming advantage in firepower and numbers. Although the feeling that something would go wrong again flitted around his head, he soothed it by reminding himself that the artillery at their disposal would number something like 90 individual pieces, with a battery or two of new breech-loaders, not to mention the musket-armed regiments in the force, which numbered something like 8 or 9, out of fifty and more.

Something curled in his chest when he read again about the part Prince Blueblood was to share in the operations henceforth. Even with victory certain, incompetence could cost more lives than were necessary, and if he knew anything about the upper classes (especially the nobility), he was certain that incompetence in anything save court intrigue was likely.

James forced the disgust back down; it served no useful purpose. He would deal with the situation when it came. In any case, he had things to do.

He heard the kitten's purring grow louder. He looked over at the dish and saw that the kitten had finished her drink and was washing herself. He again felt soft-hearted.

A loud knock at the door shoved him back into the present reality. "Yes?" he called.

The door opened. A familiar white unicorn stallion, wearing a red coat, walked in.

James stood up dramatically. "Ah, the Knight in Shining Armor hath returned from his perilous journey," he said, trying to sound as medieval as possible.

From the amused look on Shining Armor's face, he'd failed - or maybe he just found it funny, the way he'd intended. "And good morning to you, too."

"How was the trip from there to here?"

"It was okay, but I've been on faster trains."

"Hmm." James sat back down, taking another glance at the maps. With the recent breakthough, the Griffon forces had withdrawn from their positions and had gathered themselves in one compact mass. There was an air of desperation in the move, an effort to unite themselves in a futile attempt to weather the storm ahead.

"Anyway, lets get down to - gah!" Shining jerked his head back, and for good reason; the kitten had unexpectedly rubbed it's head against his. After a couple seconds, he relaxed and smiled. "Got a pet, huh?"

"I... guess so," James answered. "I found her in the Griffon camp that we cleared from the pass. She was starving to death, and I just couldn't turn her away. Plus, I just love cats in general."

The kitten walked across the table and licked James on the left cheek. He didn't mind; the tongue of a cat was rough, yes, but the gesture was one of like (if not love), so it was bearable. He stroked it behind the ears, then tickled it's chin; the cat purred like a finely-tuned engine all the way through this.

"Getting back to business," he said, putting the kitten on his lap - where it curled up and closed it's eyes - he went on, "The Griffon boys have grouped their four thousand or so troops in a single force, in a vain effort to defeat our liberating arms. Their commander is a Colonel named Eagleclaw, known to be aggressive in his strategies in previous conflicts against other Griffon clans."

"Sounds like we'll have quite the trouble fighting him."

"Yes, but aggression is not suitable for a situation that calls for defense; his game will be thrown off by that. At least, that's what I'm hoping for. And we have the numbers to outflank and crush them any which way we please, so I am predicting a victory when we end up facing him."

"You sound confident."

"I am; they have no further substantial reinforcements coming by the time this campaign gets underway. Even if they conscripted as many farm boys and peasants as they could, they'd have no time to train them properly. I expect a win."

"All that might be true, Shining said, hoof to his chin, "but if you've taught me anything, it's to be careful."

James could find nothing to say in counter to this. It was true; a good commander needed decisiveness as well as a good sense of caution. Too much of one and not enough of the other was a recipe for eventual defeat. In an effort to find something of importance to discuss, he asked, "What of the Changeling forces?"

His friend's smile disappeared, replaced by a look of utter frustration. "We couldn't catch them after the battle to take their fortress! They've been avoiding us ever since then, and we couldn't catch them."

Fabian strategy, deployed by the bad guys? Oh dear. It wasn't as if that hadn't already crossed his mind, but it was recurrent in the situation against the Changelings; he had gotten numerous reports after Princess Luna's arrival, telling more or less of a great chase, but no pitched battle. It was hard to fight an enemy who refused to fight. The only thing that kept him from despairing was the knowledge that the Changelings were probably starving, with no major source of love to draw from. The longer the chase lasted, the sooner they'd wear themselves out in that regard. "We'll get them in the end," he said at last. "They can't run forever, and they have nothing to draw power from on the run."

Shining nodded, but there was little joy in the motion. "That's all I could really tell myself out there."

"Then let's finish this fight, so we can bring everyone back to beat the Changelings once and for all."

A day or two later, James was back in a tent north of the base; after all, he had to keep up with his corps. The kitten - he'd named her Kiki - had come with him; even with the food had given her in the fort, she needed to eat more before she was completely ready to face the rest of the world.

He was feeding her again - on a diet suggested by Bright Star - when loud trumpets sounded from the southwest. He had a feeling he knew who that was, and a sense of despair tried to overwhelm him; he forced it back down, and made his face as blank as possible.

A fancy carriage, pulled by Royal Guards, entered the encampment. It eventually came to a stop in the center of camp, with trumpets still sounding. Sighing, James stopped procrastinating and made his way over.

The trumpeters stopped, and the door opened. Dressed in the fanciest uniform possible, with a bejeweled sword hanging from his hip, Prince Blueblood stepped out, an unembarrassed and arrogant smile on his face.

This won't end well. James stepped forward. "I welcome you to the military, Prince Blueblood," he said, trying to be polite (it was hard), "I hope our relationship here will be a harmonious one."

Blueblood turned to him, smile gone. "Is that how you speak to royalty, peasant?"

It's how I talk to everyone,, the human thought to himself, and I'm not changing it just for your sake. Aloud, he said, "How I speak doesn't matter to the Princesses." So there.

The Prince huffed. "It seems I have been partnered with a barbarian; I suppose I may be able to make this work regardless."

WHAT did you just call me, SIR? With a massive effort, he was able to keep from strangling Blueblood. Fortunately, he saw Shining Armor approaching, and straightened up. "I assume you've met General Armor," he said, making an effort to be friendly.

It was shot down at once; "Hmm, yes, a member of the lower class who somehow managed to worm his way into the nobility; I've met him."

That was a low blow, James thought, and it was; Shining Armor had halted, and was now red in the face. It looked as if this wasn't the first time he'd had to endure that kind of talk, either. And when did class have anything to do with love? As far as I could tell, Shining Armor and Cadence just fell in love; there was no trouble raised by what class either of them were in at the time. As in old Europe, though, it appeared that the blood one's veins bore had an impact on how one was viewed. It was honestly stupid, especially where love was concerned.

"Now, where am I to be living during my stay here?" the Prince asked.

"Right this way, your Highness." Right this way, your bratiness.

They ended up in front of a normal tent. As James had expected, this didn't go over well with the Prince.

"Is this a joke?"

"No, this is how everyone lives while in the military; in a tent," James said, starting to feel heated.

"But I am not 'everyone', now am I?"

That's it; I'm outta here. James made to turn his back and walk away.

"Is there a problem, everypony?"

That was a voice he was willing to respect. "Princess Luna, good to see you."

The Princess didn't look all that happy, but she was at the very least civilized. "I heard the carriage coming into camp, and I came to greet Prince Blueblood."

Prince Jackal is more like it. "Yes, and I brought him to his tent."

"This isn't my tent! It's a horrible example of peasant engineering - er, I mean, it's not what I expected," Prince blueblood said, not quite quick enough on the uptake.

"You may furnish your tent with what you have to work with," Luna said, sounding like she had gone through this kind of situation before. "I haven't heard any other pony complain about their humble abodes."

She turned her head in James' direction.

The real reason she's here is to keep us from tearing each other apart. He held her gaze until she looked at Shining Armor, who quickly lost the red that had been all too apparent on his face and straightened up. She won't be here long; after that, God and luck will determine whether we are able to keep ourselves from one another's throats. I'd better make the most of her short-lived visit here.

Satisfied that the three males would not cause any further trouble, Princess Luna at last nodded. "Prince Blueblood, you may set up your own private tent at your convenience."

"Thank you, Lady of the Night, your presence here had been inspirational as ever," the spoiled prince replied, bowing. "Servants, bring up my tent from the royal carriage." Three ponies who had followed him bowed their heads, then scrambled to obey. Three minutes later, they returned, with a large purple bag or canvas with them.

On one side was some sort of rope; one of the Prince's servants pulled on it. There was a whoosh as a massive, imperial tent sprang up almost at once; there were windows on a second "floor", and the tower was interlaced with patterns of purple, gold, and blue.

James felt his jaw dropped, and he and Shining Armor looked at each other, both wearing identical expressions.

Did Blueblood just one-up me? he asked himself, turning to look again at the new "tent". That question needed no answer.

"May I come in?" came a voice with a British accent.

"Hmm? Oh, come in," James called from his hammock. He had been lying in it, with an arm leaning over the edge to pet Kiki.

Blue Fur slid into the tent, taking care not to trip over the canvas door. "Well met, friend."

James sat up and stretched. "You usually have something to say when you come directly to my tent, or cabin, as was the case."

The blue-gray earth pony pretended to look offended. "Who, me? Perish the thought, sir," he said, winking as he finished.

The human chuckled, and Blue Fur went on, "I noticed your firearm hasn't left it's holster since I came back. Am I to assume you do not have a way to fire it?"

"Yes, that assumption would be correct. I've used all but one bullet for it."

"Hmmm." Blue Fur put a hoof to his chin. "If I am able to study it, and it's ammunition, I might be able to make more of it for you."

"Well..." James thought about it. On the one hand, it was an antique, or a replica of an original weapon from the Civil War. He had had to pay quite a price for it, and it had saved his life and the lives of others over the course of the war. Of course, with only one bullet left, it was nearly useless, and without further ammunition, it would remain so. "...Alright, but you have to promise to return it."

"Oh I will sir; my mother did not raise a thief. Unfortunately I will have to take apart the 'bullet', as you call it, to understand it's inner workings and to find the right chemical balance."

Sighing, James replied, "I give you permission to do that. I hope for results soon."

"You'll have them, sir." Blue Fur walked over to the door, then turned his head to face James. "After this bloody business is all over, I hope you and I can get a cold cider at the local saloon."

Kiki provided no problems to the extent of Prince Blueblood in the next few days. She often took food from friendly ponies, and drank milk in James' tent. She was very scared of fire, which was understandable considering that she had been found in the aftermath of one. That meant, unfortunately, that he couldn't take her to campfires with his friends.

"This one time," Silver Lining was saying, "I was on the sea, tryin' like anythin' ta keep my old ship afloat. If'n it weren't for a few rocks an' tha fool runnin' that lighthouse, I mighta saved 'er."

"Bad luck." Silver Shield spat into the fire. "What happened then?"

"I had ta find another job, tha's what. Weather control was the on'y one open, so I took it. Wasn' the most excitin' job, but it got me a few bits ta save up, and put food on tha table."

"Interestin'," White Knight said. "You evah get a marefriend?"

"Once," the silver Pegasus replied. "We didn't really get along, though, an' we broke up."

James heard a "Mrrow," and turned to his left and looked down. Kiki was rubbing her head at the bottom of the rock he was sitting on, clearly afraid of the fire but very attached to her new companion.

"That cat's been all over the place," Bright said, "meowing whenever she wants us to give her food, rubbing against our legs, very friendly."

James stroked Kiki with his left hand as he replied, "I found her in the Griffon camp, in a burned-out tent. Frankly I'm surprised she's even come this close to a fire." Kiki began to purr as his hand scratched her between her ears.

"The troops have taken a liking to her," Shield said. "She's become practically a mascot to them."

"A mascot..." James said quietly, more to himself that anyone else. He looked once more at the kitten, who was purring like mad. In her features a certain sense of delicacy could be found; so too could a durability and will that he found inspiring. Like the beautiful county he was trying to save, she was pretty and, in her own way, fragile, but she could put the hurt on anyone foolish enough to mess with her. "Yeah, I guess she could be."

"That mangy, half dead thing, a mascot? Are you out of your mind?" came a familiar and disliked voice. Looking up, he saw Prince Blueblood, with a few bodyguards, walking past their campfire. The Prince continued, "It would be best to put this cat down and end it's misery."

"The only one causing misery here is you," James shot back. "If all you can think of is putting others down to lift yourself up, then you aren't as mature or princely as you would have others believe."

And Blueblood understood that, if nothing else. "And who are you," he began, "to question, nay, to insult a stallion of true royal blood? A peasant monkey will never understand..."

James stood up. "If you call me a monkey or any other kind of ape ever again, I will make you regret it very quickly."

He heard gasps from his friends, and Kiki stopped purring.

"How dare you!" the Prince shouted. "You should be thrown in a dungeon, never to see the light of day again!"

"And yet here I stand, in a shared command. Remember that, in the days ahead. Your bluster will not deter me as it will others; I live in a country ungoverned by nobility and royalty, and seeing the result of those before me, I'm thankful for that."

There was a long silence. James gritted his teeth and stared into Blueblood's hate-filled eyes. neither of them spoke; they just stared, each waiting for the other to break contact.

Finally, Blueblood snarled and continued on his way; his guards hissed at James as they passed. The human sat back down, more than a little relieved that this encounter hadn't escalated any farther than it had.

"Not the best move, making an enemy of Prince Blueblood like that."

James turned around. "Star Blaze!"

The thestral nodded. "May I join you?"

"Of course."

"Who's this?" Shield asked as Star Blaze sat down.

"This is Star Blaze. He's from the Lunar detachment that secured the pass from the Griffons a few days ago," James responded, "which was influential in getting us here with relatively few casualties; if we hadn't hit them when we did, we would have had to make a much costlier attack."

"Hi," Star said in a friendly voice, "nice to meet you all."

The others calmed down after that, though Shield still looked at Star Blaze... if not in a hostile manner, then with a face saying that he was a rival of the Lunar Guardspony in every way.

After the initial greetings were over, Star asked, "Do you mind if I pet her?"

James was a little surprised to see that Kiki hadn't run off. "Oh, yeah, sure."

Star bent down, picked up Kiki, and held her in his forelegs, scratching her with his right hoof. "I can't feel her when I scratch her," he said, "but I think she's okay with it." Indeed, the kitten was purring away. "And even if she did try to scratch my hoof back, I wouldn't feel it, so that's a plus."

After a moment, James asked, "Why did you say I made a bad move by challenging Prince Blueblood?"

Star Blaze stopped what he was doing, and looked James in the face, though with seriousness, not hatred. Shield's face had a look on it that said, Are you kidding me? "Blueblood has political power, even if he's... unsympathetic toward others," Star said after a few moments. "I've been on duty at night, and once, I saw a pony run out of his room, crying his eyes out; the day before, he really tore into Blueblood in one of his speeches. The next night, I heard that he had lost his job."

"What happened?"

"Nopony knows. But everypony who knew about it pinned the blame for the job loss on Blueblood."

"That's..."

"I know."

"That's not the half of it," Shield broke in. "Nopony has ever been able to prove it, but it is almost completely accepted that he bribes and blackmails in order to gain and maintain his position. Again, we've never been able to prove it, and Princess Celestia never ordered an investigation - understandable, considering he's her nephew - but I'd bet every bit I own that the rumors are true."

"Deserves to go to jail, conduct like that."

"You got that right. Although as a Royal Guard, I'm supposed to be utterly loyal to the dynasty of the Princesses, so I feel a little... insecure saying all that."

"I understand." James yawned, stretching. "In any event, I suggest we all get some sleep; we're going to begin advancing tomorrow. If all goes well, the war will be over soon."

"It's been too long," Shield said strongly.

"Agreed."

"I see no reason to press the issue," Blueblood said, in a disdainful voice.

It was the day after the argument between James and the Prince, and Shining Armor could see no way to reconcile them. They were currently going over plans for the campaign, with a map and assorted unit icons indicating positions of friend and foe.

James looked exasperated as Blueblood continued, "Let them crash against our armies at will; we'll break them easily that way."

"That would be a good idea," James answered, "if the enemy had any intentions of doing so. So far, they have seen fit to do no such thing. And, considering that they're outnumbered so badly, I don't blame them; four thousand of them against forty thousand of us? It would be suicidal for them to attack. And," he went on, clearly pressing for every advantage he could get in this debate, "their commanders have more overall experience; they've fought amongst themselves as well as against their neighbors. If we push now we can destroy their army and end the war. All sitting here does is give them time to rebuild."

"But I just had everything of mine unpacked! How can you ask me to just put it all back in the carriage and move at such short notice?"

James' face had the word Idiot! all over it. "This isn't a camping trip; this is the army. We move. We fight. We skirmish. We get dirty. If that's too much for you, go home." With that, James went back to displaying his plan. "We'll march in the direction of their encampment here, and either they'll fight or, more likely, they'll retreat." He moved several blocks around. "Then, with their troops defeated or out of the way, we'll take the majority of our forces and forge through their lands until we take Gryphos. With their king captured and their capital taken, they'll have no choice but to surrender."

Shining had to admit, it looked like a good plan. But something just didn't feel right. "I think we should be careful," he said at last. "They might have a few surprises left."

"See? My.... fellow prince agrees, we should take our time."

"That's not what I said!"

The three generals began to argue loudly, each with his own opinion on how things should be done, until the tent door opened and a rather annoyed Princess Luna walked in. All three of them fell silent. James looked up at the ceiling, trying to look innocent, while Shining bowed and Blueblood just sat there, nodding to the Princess.

James finally coughed. "Yes, er, as I was saying, the best course of action to take is an immediate offensive. Already most tents and equipment have been packed, and the quartermaster corps have told me that supplies are well-stocked."

"I agree with James' plan, but I feel that I must urge caution," Shining Armor put in. "We don't know if they've really played their last card or not."

"Well, I say we'll do well enough right here," Blueblood injected, with a very hostile glance at James a second later.

Luna looked at all three of them; the look on her face was one that said, If you continue to argue, there will be trouble. "I give my approval of the plan. The army shall march." James and Shining dipped their heads in thanks, while Blueblood huffed and looked away. "Furthermore, duties in Canterlot have called me back there. I will be departing tonight. I expect there to be no more trouble between the three of you, or my sister and I will want to know why." With that, she left, leaving all three generals somewhat worried as James and Shining looked at one another; both of them knew that trying to cooperate with Blueblood would be almost impossible.

The army did not move very far that day, clearing ten miles northward without incident. The lack of enemy resistance both relieved and worried James; he wanted to find them either force their surrender or overwhelm them in a battle. A chase was unsavory to him.

Nonetheless, Equestrian morale was high and food was plentiful. Ponies from liberated villages gladly shared food with the soldiers and cheered them as they passed by. They even cheered the human commander, though few of them knew who or even what he was; anyone who was not a griffon was praiseworthy in their eyes at the moment.

James stood on a knoll, watching his corps set up their encampment for the night, as the moon rose and the sun sank over the horizon.

Movement from the air caught his eye, and he looked up to see Princess Luna's chariot, two thestrals pulling it in in full armor. He saw her look in his direction, her eyes filled with a look that was both farewell and warning.

I know, I know, Princess; get along with Blueblood. I'm gonna try, but...

The second day began rather inconspicuously, with nothing out of the ordinary at first. James marched at the head of the column, leading his corps. The march was killing his feet (for a few minutes he envied pony hooves, which couldn't feel and thus couldn't get tired), but the sun was shining without a cloud in sight.

As III corps came to a field, a large, round rock crashed down in front of them, bouncing to the side and narrowly missing the first rank of ponies.

"Form line!" he bellowed.

His leading regiments began to switch from column to line, bringing their crossbows (and quite a few reverse-engineered matchlocks) to bear. James raised his binoculars, despite the fact that he was exposed, and looked ahead. Another rock flew from a cornfield up ahead, overshooting his troops this time; if it had hit thirty seconds earlier... he didn't want to think about it.

"Sir, should we unlimber our artillery?" asked a pegasus from the Guard.

"Yes, and quickly!"

The pegasus flew off to deliver the orders. In the meantime, they would have to endure. It seemed like forever, and the catapult, ballista or whatever it was chucked more rocks at them; each time it did, he would follow it with his eyes, only to see it miss his soldiers, twice by just inches. He uttered a silent prayer to the Lord.

At last, a deafening roar sounded behind him; more followed it, and explosions dotted the cornfield, throwing stalks into the air, occasionally with body parts following them. He saw a body fly into the air, then, twisting, it fell to the ground.

That body... it bore little resemblance to a griffon. He took out his binoculars again and took a sharp look at the cornfield, looking for any... there. A another body was tossed into the air. His instincts had been correct; it wasn't a griffon. Instead of wings and feathers, two legs and two strong arms were noticeable, with a dog's head fitted on it's torso and a collar of sorts on it's neck.

He lowered the binoculars. "Diamond dogs," he said.

"Sir?" a private nearby asked.

James turned his head. "Those ain't griffons, boys, they're diamond dogs!"

He heard a chorus of angry shouts; clearly diamond dogs weren't held in high regard. He could understand; if they kidnapped ponies to do their dirty work - effectively enslaving them - then it was unlikely that the Equestrians would appreciate them on their land.

Finally, after five minutes, he held up his hand; the artillery gradually ceased fire.

He waited another few minutes; no more rocks came them. He gave silent thanks for that.

"Advance!"

The two regiments, the 2nd Fillydelphian and the 5th Manehattan, began marching forward, keeping their eyes peeled. Their ears moved in various directions, trying to pick up any anomalous sounds.

As they approached the cornfield, James saw the stalks move. He brought his matchlock to his shoulder.

He was just in time; there was a roar, animalistic this time, and a massive, blue minotaur ran out of the corn, battleaxe raised. James quickly aimed and fired; the minotaur slowed momentarily as the bullet tore through his left arm.

He never made it to the Equestrian line; crossbow bolts and further matchlock fire brought him down well forward of the line.

Diamond dogs began to stream from the cornfield; they howled and yowled, their eyes bloodshot and ancient spears in their paws as they charged.

More crossbows went off; dogs fell left and right. Scores more trampled their fallen comrades.

"Fire at will!" James shouted. He had managed to reload, and took aim at a dog clutching a battleaxe; he fired, the matchlock bucked against his shoulder, and the dog fell with a terrible howl.

More quickly took the place of those who had fallen, but the Equestrian fire took a dreadful toll on them; most were either shot down before they could reach their targets or fled in panic, throwing down their weapons as they did so. From what he could tell, they hadn't expected such a devastating response from their foes.

One of the few who didn't run charge at James before he could reload; he drew his sword and slashed at the spear the dog was clutching it it's right paw; the spearhead came off, and James took the opportunity to punch the dog in the side of the head with his left hand, knocking it down.

"Okay, no more, I give up!" the dog said in a creaking, squeaky voice. He - the dog had a masculine voice, as far as he could tell - pushed himself up as Equestrian soldiers took him into custody.

James looked around. No more diamond dogs faced them; they hadn't had more than a few hundred armed individuals, considering the short nature of the skirmish.

"Take their wounded prisoner, and get some answers out of them. I want to know why they're fighting us, and who their leader is." Giving the orders allowed him to calm down. Ponies went forth to follow the order.

I wonder what we'll find out...

James finished his tent and looked at the horizon; so far, other than the fight with the diamond dogs and their minotaur commander, there had been no substantial resistance, and they were twenty more miles down the road. So far, no one had come to see him with answers from the prisoners, but it was only a matter of time; the dogs had hardly been brave, and it seemed likely that they would give information very quickly.

He waited. And waited. And waited....

And finally, a brown pegasus flew into his tent, looking tired, but urgent. "General, we got our answers from the diamond dogs.

"Yes," James said, impatiently, "and?..."

"From what we could tell, sir, they were under contract from the Griffons; the birds hired them to fight in exchange for gems and precious metals, all to be given to them once the war was won."

The human sighed. It wasn't as if that hadn't been in his thoughts; there was no other real reason for them to take up arms against the Equestrian army.

"It gets worse, sir. There are a lot more diamond dogs than just this batch who were hired. The prisoners say that they are only a few out of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands. And," the pegasus added, looking glum, "Diamond dogs aren't their only source of mercenaries; a lot of Minotaurs, eager for glory and money, have been brought under contract as well."

"Damn it!" James exclaimed, startling the soldier. He hadn't counted on mercenaries whatsoever. And if what the captured diamond dogs said was true, then the enemy had numbers to match his own, if not exceed his. He had shot a minotaur; they clearly didn't go down easily. "Sorry," he said to the soldier, "nice work. Get some rest. You'll need it." As the Pegasus left, he thought to himself, We're all gonna need it...

Chapter 29; Battle of Sugar Cane River, part 1

Chapter 29; Battle of Sugar Cane River, part 1

Word of enemy mercenaries spread despite efforts by the three commanders (well, two of them anyway) to keep it quiet. Morale sagged, not so much as to prevent the Army of Northeastern Equestria from fighting but enough so that their spirits were dampened considerably.

At the war table, James, Shining Armor, and Prince Blueblood were at odds again; mostly it was the former two against the latter. What made it much worse this time was that various officers were present as well.

This was supposed to be a debriefing, James thought in exasperation, not a session of Congress! "Our best chance is to take possession of these heights," he said, pointing to a line of hills on the map. "If we can get there before the enemy, we will hold a significant advantage. Our artillery will be able to sweep the field of attackers, regardless of species or race with a view like that. Now-"

He got no further. "And how do you expect forty thousand ponies to march all that way in just a few days, let alone yourself, General?" asked a gray pegasus colonel with a ragged mane.

"We could march there easy enough," an officer with a southern accent said loudly. "In fact, you pegasi are gonna be the one fallin' behind."

"Even if our soldiers could keep up the pace, our supplies wouldn't keep up," worried a lieutenant from the quartermaster corps. "We may experience delays in our logistics system."

The argument in the tent rose to a high level.

Enough is enough. James took a matchlock that was lying next to the table and fired it into the air. The noise shut everyone up in short order.

"One at a time," he said, trying to calm himself as well as the others. "Colonel Gray Wing, I expect we'll manage well enough given the terrain and the weather from here on out. As for the supplies, we'll have them flown in by airship or on pegasi wings, with the balance being carried on the ground by hardy earth ponies. I expect everyone to do their part."

Turning back to the map, he went on, "Here's your orders for deployment, effective immediately. III Corps, under my command, will set up on the left, primarily on these two hills. II Corps, under General Armor, will be on the right, holding these heights. And I Corps, under... General Blueblood, will occupy the center."

Of course, the human knew the risk that this last bit entailed. But in his opinion it was better than having the Prince command a flank should it fail. If the enemy broke through the center, the idea was to crush them between II and III Corps. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that; the troops under Blueblood, though mostly raw, inexperienced soldiers, were as well trained as any, and they had plenty of artillery. If push came to shove, he depended on them to hold, whatever the idiocies of their commander.

"I'll deliver fresh orders when we get there," he finished, "but first we have to get there. Now get your boys to pack up their tents, pick up their crossbows and guns, and prepare to move out.

He glanced over at Blueblood. The Prince had been surprisingly quiet. To his further surprise, and more than a little disquiet, the Prince simply stared back at him without a sound.

It was a steady but grueling march. Every fiber of his being said that to have any chance, they needed those hills. James didn't have the energy that most ponies had, and was often tired. Mile after mile passed by, and gradually his eyes and mind began to wander from the road.

He was all to glad to rest for the night. His feet were exhausted, and his stomach screamed for food; he satisfied it by wolfing down some bread. He sat down with his back against a tree and quickly fell asleep.

His dreams were again full of ponies and war. Fluttershy cowered in a trench as German artillery shells rained down around her and Pinkie, who, true to her nature, found the whole thing more interesting than deadly, replying with her own party cannon. Rainbow and Applejack, in Union and Confederate uniform respectively, pressed muskets together in close combat, each trying to break the other with brute strength. Meanwhile Twilight fired spell after spell at Vietcong guerillas, fighting beside other ponies and American and South Vietnamese soldiers. It went on and on, every so often a scene he had witnessed on the battlefields of the war so far breaking in. He woke up more than once in a cold sweat, each time falling back to sleep with foreboding.

Two days later he was relieved to see that the Griffons and their hired troops had not yet reached the heights overlooking Sugar Cane River, a minor tributary that ran through these parts. It was vital that the Equestrian army hold this ground.

"Come on, boys!" he called, waving his sword, "just a little further and you can rest all you want for tonight!" He got cheers and a redoubled effort to reach the summit of the hill in front of them.

Fifteen minutes later, almost faint with exhaustion, he stood next to a tree on the summit, taking a few deep breaths before taking out his binoculars and scanning the horizon for any sign of the enemy.

We made it, he thought with relief. He could see troops coming up all around him; on distant hills, beams of unicorn magic arose to confirm the possession of those heights. It was a heartwarming sight.

He allowed himself to relax a bit. In the distance the sun began to set behind far away hills, giving the sky a yellow-orange glow as it began to disappear across the horizon.

In that glow, though, he thought he saw movement. He raided his binoculars again; sure enough, a few Griffons were flying toward the hill. There were perhaps a dozen of them, but if they were here, the rest of their army could not be far behind.

A gun boomed from a hill to his right, about half a mile or so away. An explosion flashed some distance away in the sky. The gunners of the anti-air battery had fired prematurely, not managing to score any hits. However, the roar of those guns did tell the enemy that the positions that they had hoped to take were now occupied by the Equestrian army; if the Griffons wanted these hills, they would have to take them the hard way. The enemy scouts reversed course and flew northward, certain to tell their commanders what they had witnessed.

Let's give them a warm welcome.

"Sir, our scouts have managed to find enemy troop movements here and here," a pegasus scout said, touching parts of the map with his hoof. "They'll be here in strength tomorrow."

"Hmmm. Good work soldier. Get some rest," James responded, moving red blocks around as necessary. "You're gonna need it." After the trooper left, he commented to his two fellow generals, "That means a battle within the next three days is inevitable."

"Building fortification and breastworks where we can would be prudent," Shining Armor added quietly.

"Yes, and as quickly as possible."

"Personally I fail to see the need," Blueblood interrupted from the couch he had had brought in. "Our troops are superior in every way; we even have magic at our disposal. Why we should cower behind logs and brambles is beyond me; we should attack as soon as we can."

I thought you were against advancing in the first place, James noted mentally. Why would you change your mind when our best strategy at this point is to let them come to us?

He got a look at Blueblood's eyes; they practically smoldered with ambition. You son of a bitch, he thought. You're doing all this for your own political ends. Soldiers' lives clearly didn't matter to the Prince, as long as he got what he wanted. "It's two to one," he said aggressively. "Two of us say it's best to stay up here."

"Not all of our troops occupy hills, you know. What shall be done for them?" the Prince objected, using the same kind of voice James had a few seconds ago.

"That's what the hills are for, artillery and troopers," James replied. "Our artillery on the hills can pour a crossfire down on any Griffons stupid enough to try hitting any of our units that are positioned in gaps in the heights. And most of that ground, like the hill we are... standing on, is full of trees and plant life, hardly easy for big, feathered Griffons to walk through, even without someone shooting at them... and we will be."

The Prince sniffed. "It would be a much more glorious victory if we swept them from the field through force of arms, destroying them in an all powerful blow."

"No army won because of what was written in the newspapers." In fact, he thought, quite the opposite, considering the Vietnam War. "The army does not have an assured victory even in a defensive struggle. Why suggest the very option that would see us destroyed?"

"Because it is the enemy who would be destroyed, not us, ignoramus."

"What did you just call me, kid?"

"What did you just call me, peasant?"

"Just something that a stuck up, no-good member of the royal family needs to hear."

"Just what I would expect from an uneducated, ignorant member of the lower class."

James picked up one of his gloves and picked up a brick, dropping it into the glove and raising said item above his head. Before he could swing, Shining Armor jumped between them. "This fighting isn't getting us anywhere, and we need to focus."

James sat down on a crate and folded his arms, but said nothing.

"I still say it's a good idea to fortify here," the brother of Twilight Sparkle went on. "There are more than enough trees we could cut down for this process."

"Its not just trees we need," James added, "we need as much earth as we can get to pile on those logs. That will make them significantly stronger against artillery fire."

"Ugh, dirty, nasty, filthy... er, dirt? Count me out," Blueblood said at once, turning up his nose.

"Big surprise," James muttered. The Prince stared back at him but did not respond.

The enemy did not attack the next day; if James had to guess, it was because they needed time for their trailing units to catch up with the ones already on the field opposite the river. He didn't have much time to dwell on it; he insisted on digging with his soldiers, making an embankment to be used for cover. Later he had to try his hand at the axe; he found out in short order that he wasn't destined to be a lumberjack, nearly getting crushed by a tree he helped to chop down. After that he just stuck to digging; at least dirt was more or less predictable.

Setting up camp was less of a chore. After he set up his tent, he felt much more at ease, even with the battle looming. He spent some time with Kiki, petting her and combing her fur. He was able to forget about the war for a little while as gentle purrs sending him to sleep...

Bang!

He awoke with a start. The rays of sunlight running through the windows was growing fainter as the sun slid over the horizon. James stood up and stretched, then, being careful not to wake the kitten, he stepped outside to see that a earth pony had accidentally dropped a barrel of water; luckily little of the water had been lost, but the barrel had taken damage. It would need repairs.

I hope our army doesn't end up like that barrel, he thought to himself as he went about his rounds, checking up on the troops and seeing to it that officers were checking up on them. For a while, it was just business as usual, almost boring despite it's necessity.

Then, as the final rays of the sun began to fade, a commotion came to his ears. He ran toward the noise to see a young, gray pegasus angrily quarreling with a captain, a proud earth pony from the Guard. The soldiers fell silent as the general approached.

"What's going on here?" he asked menacingly; a disorderly army was one on the brink of disaster.

"Sir," the pegasus said at last, "our captain..."

"Silence, scum!" the captain said, but he reckoned without James.

"Captain, you will let him speak," he said in a no-nonsense voice, "and then I will hear your side of the story." If there is one.

Miffed, but unwilling to go against his superior, the captain reluctantly bowed and remained quiet.

"Now, soldier," James said to the pegasus private, "what do you got to say about this rowdy disturbance?"

"Sir, I was doing my job, delivering food to the boys," the private said with a slight southern accent, "and the captain, he comes up out of nowhere and starts telling me to give him half of what I got on my wagon, and he don't even tell me why. When I said no, he said he'd court martial me."

James nodded in acknowledgement. "And you?" he asked, turning to the captain.

"Sir, I..."

"Was getting food for me."

Sighing angrily, James turned to his right to see Blueblood walking (goose-stepping was probably the more appropriate word) toward the site of the fight. "The private had his orders to deliver food to the front lines, not to you in person," he reasoned. "You'll get your own food when the boys have orders to do so. Until then, you'll have to wait, like everybody else."

"Ha, a royal prince, wait? I think not." Blueblood ran a hoof through his mane. "You really need that thing you call a brain fixed."

"My brain's working just fine; the rule is, everyone gets food when it's their turn. That's the system that was at work here until this captain interrupted it."

"He did so at my orders; royalty deserves unquestioning obedience."

"And yet here I am, questioning it. This soldier was delivering food to my corps, to my boys, in our own camp. You don't like it, bitch to the Princess, I'm sure she'll love to hear about how her nephew is behaving."

"Y... Do you dare threaten me with blackmail!?!" the Prince demanded, with a face like that of an angry fire.

"Is it blackmail if everything in it is true?" James countered. "And I will send a letter if I hear of something like this again."

For a moment, the Blueblood looked like he was going to run James through with the bejeweled sword the Prince wore on his waist. Then, huffing and putting his nose in the air, he turned around and went back the way he came, the captain following close behind. James watched them go in silence, arms folded.

"Th... Thanks for sticking up for me," the pegasus said.

"Wasn't just for you; everyone in this camp needs the food you and others are bringing to them. All the same, you're very welcome."

The soldier nodded, then offered a hoof. "Private Gray Wing, Fifth Baltimare."

James shook it. "Brigadier General James Lavigne, Army of Northeastern Equestria, Third Corps."

They broke off. "Sir, that captain was a noble back in Baltimare," Gray Wing explained. "He had to bluster and beg Blueblood to get his current position."

James frowned. "And how do you know this?"

"Because my brother works as a servant at his house; he overheard him planning to do bribe Blueblood for a captaincy, then wrote me a letter. Got unlucky enough to have him as my captain."

"Oh dear. And you didn't bother writing a letter to either Celestia or Luna about this?"

Gray Wing looked shy, scuffling his hooves in the dirt. "I wanted to, but they have more important things to deal with than the misery of one soldier. And who am I to address royalty, anyway? I'm just a dirt poor pegasus from Baltimare, I don't have the leverage even if I had the courage to do it."

"She'll listen to me," James said confidently. "I'll write to them about what happened."

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't want to get in more trouble; that captain ain't going to be happy for awhile, and I have the, er, fortune, to be in First Corps."

Damn. That has to suck. "And if they listen, the captain and the Prince will have no choice but to behave. I seriously doubt he wants to get his arse spanked by his aunt in front of everyone at the palace."

Gray Wing laughed, loud and hard. James joined in, as well as anyone nearby who had heard. Finally, as the laughter subsided, the pegasus said, still giggling, "I guess I can leave it up to you, then, General. Just don't forget us who are in... separate corps."

"I won't, I promise you that." He meant every word.

James awoke to an explosion not far off. He ran out of his tent to see a shell fly over the camp and explode in the woods beyond. Scattered thuds could be heard from the front line.

A couple of pegasi flew up to him and landed. "Sir, our entire front line is being bombarded," one of them reported urgently.

"Did you see any of their regiments preparing for an attack?"

"No sir. If I had to say, they're still waiting for the rest of their units to arrive before launching a general assault."

"How accurate has their fire been?"

"Not sure what it's going to be, sir; it just started. I can tell you, though, that it's not just cannons, were getting hit by ballistae, catapults, trebuchets, anything they can use to fling ordinance; they're throwing everything at us but the kitchen sink."

James nodded. "Have some of our batteries return fire."

The same pegasus protested, "Sir, we'll use up all our own ammunition if we respond with the same vigor as they do."

"I said some of our batteries, not all of them. I want some to remain silent. In the meantime, tell the boys in logistics to speed up delivery."

'Yes sir." The pegasi saluted, then flew away.

James went back to his tent and retrieved his sword and matchlock, with enough ammunition in case the enemy did decide to attack, then went to the front line. The occasional shell or rock that flew by or landed close by was enough to rattle him, but he kept going.

He saw Silver Lining taking cover behind one of the barricades he had helped build, and rushed in, ducking behind it himself. A shell exploded next to where he had been standing a few seconds ago.

"Good ta see ya, sir," the gray pegasus said, almost cheerfully. A rock slammed into the ground in front of the barricade, breaking into pieces as it hit. The earthen wall pressed against his back momentarily before it ceased shaking.

"I'd say the same," James shouted back, "if not for all the shells falling all around us." A massive javelin flew in and stuck in a tree some twenty yards away.

"Aw, those buzzards couldna hit a barn door at two yards in front o' their wee beaks, sir." Silver sat down, uniform tussled a bit as he did so. "Are they comin, ya think?"

James shook his head as he replied, "Not from what our scouts say, no," still shouting as rounds continued to land nearby.

"Tha's too bad; wouldna mind an open fight if all these blasted shots stopped."

A dull Boom! came from the direction of the Equestrian camp. More sounded, and a shell raced over their heads, on course for the enemy.

"Good ta know our own boys can shoot back, I was feelin' almost lonesome."

"I just hope they hit the enemy, not us," James shouted, "a couple of those rounds were too low for comfort." A shell from one of their own guns blew up just beyond the barricade, illustrating his point. For once Silver Lining didn't have a comeback ready. Instead, the pegasus just took a look over the top, then got back down, clutching his crossbow close to his body.

James took a risk and peeked at the ground beyond; a distant matchlock fired, and a small round lead ball fell to the ground twenty feet in front of the palisade. Someone had, obviously, tried to snipe him. Ducking back down, he sneered; the would-be sharpshooter hadn't taken a couple of things into consideration; one, that his weapon didn't have the reach to hit him from that distance, and two, his firearm was a smoothbore, so it wouldn't have had the accuracy to hit him except by luck even if he'd been in range.

"I recommend ya keep yer head down sir," Silver said quickly, "or else ya might be short a head."

James shook his head. "Didn't even come close. Way out of range, and with a weapon as inaccurate as you could imagine. Would have been more worried if he had been shooting at someone next to me."

"Getting a bullet in tha head is no joke, sir; neither is a Changeling horn much of a deal, I still got tha scar ta prove it."

"I can remember." It seemed to have happened a long time ago, not just a few months.

A fluttering of wings managed to make itself heard above the cannonade. Looking up, James saw a gray pegasus Guard coming down to land in front of him. The Guard saluted. "Sir, General Armor sends his compliments, and wishes to know what should be done about this bombardment."

"I'd suggest ordering every third or fourth battery to return fire; that way we can conserve our ammunition for the main engagement."

"I'll take your suggestion back to General Armor sir."

"You do that, and be careful on the way back."

"Yes sir." The Guard flew away.

Shining Armor was trying to use the same spell that had shielded Canterlot (sort of) during the wedding; what he hadn't taken into account was that the shield in this case was under constant pressure by hostile ordinance; within minutes the shield broke, with shells, rocks, and javelins falling everywhere. He was unable to successfully reconstruct the shield.

If Cadence were here, this would be no problem. For a few seconds he almost lost himself in fondness for his wife.

An exploding shell snapped him out of those pleasant thoughts. What am I doing? I can't be distracted now; my troops are depending on me and I can't afford to get sidetracked.

Large rocks landed in the midst of the camp, shattering on impact with the ground and sending splinters flying everywhere. Screams of pain arose above the din. Here and there, javelins from ballistae would land; they rarely hit anypony, unsurprising given the fact that their targets were not in direct sight. Nonetheless, they were intimidating. Soldiers ducked for whatever cover they could find. Some of the tents began to burn, set afire by bursting shells.

I wonder how the front line is doing. He wished he hadn't thought of that. They were probably getting hammered much, much harder than the main camp.

He heard the sound of feathered wingbeats, and looked up to see one of the Guards from his old gang landing. "Light Heart, reporting, General," the trooper saluted.

Shining smiled slightly. Light Heart was often nicknamed "Rebel Heart" for his independent spirit when he was off duty. He was popular within the Guard. "What did he say?"

"General Lavigne send his compliments, and suggests having every third or fourth battery return fire for morale's sake."

The Captain of the Royal Guard nodded. "That makes sense," he shouted above the noise. "Have every third battery return fire; aim for the enemy's own artillery."

"Yes sir, right away." Light Heart jumped into the sky to comply.

I hope he makes it through this.

Hugging the ground, under bombardment, with the ground shaking and the occasional dirt and other particles flying over him, it seemed more like forever than the fifteen minutes it took for his corps' artillery to get into action and fire back. It was unmistakable, though, when friendly rounds began flying toward the enemy.

Let's see how they like it.

A red-coated Griffon halted in front of General Grayfeather and saluted. "General, sir," he said in clipped tones.

"Well?" the General prompted. "What is the status of the enemy?"

"They do not seem to be fleeing from our bombardment, sir; I would hazard a guess that they will fight when we launch our main assault."

"Hmmmm." Grayfeather nodded. "And what have our scouts found out about the opposing commanders?"

"If I may use the map, sir."

"Permission granted."

"Right." The soldier walked to the map in the center of the room. "General Armor is stationed on their right, our left. Prince Blueblood is in the center, with their I Corps."

The General nodded again. "And what of the human?"

"He is on their left, on our right. I would say that his force will fight hard, given the winter campaign."

Grayfeather frowned. "That bastard cost us a lot of good Griffons, far more than we would have lost if Celestia hadn't called in that mercenary. He has yet to lose a battle against us. I intend to make this his first and last defeat."

"We are using mercenaries of our own, sir."

"And they will serve us well. They wanted gems and a slice of territory; once the conquest is complete, there will be plenty of both to go around."

"Our officers report that the Minotaurs in particular are eager for battle, and that's putting it mildly."

Grayfeather grinned. "And that's just what we'll give them. When the bombardment is over, we will begin our assault. Send the word for all units to be ready."

There was an explosion, and part of the roof fell in; debris crashed to the floor.

"Sir, considering the enemy had begun a counter-bombardment, we'll likely lose some of our troops to their fire if we have them line up immediately."

The General waved his claw. "Have them form line of battle regardless. Put our best troops, those of the King, in the center, and have Diamond dogs and Minotaurs on their flanks. See to it at once."

"Yes sir."

It took a minute for James' brain to register that the rounds had stopped falling. The sound of his own batteries firing had thrown him off. By now, most of the combat troops were on the front line, having braved the artillery fire to get themselves into position for the battle ahead.

Turning to a corporal nearby, he ordered, "Bring all our guns to the front line, into the positions designated for them."

"Yes sir."

As the pony galloped away, he got out his binoculars, trying to see through the dense forest. After a minute, he gave up and turned to Silver Lining. "Take these," he said, passing the binoculars to the pegasus, "and fly above the trees to see what they're up to."

"Aye sir, I'm on it."

"Everyone else, bring up your guns and crossbows, I think they're coming!" he called to the rest of the troops.

"Indeed sir," Silver shouted from the treetops, "here they come! Griffons n' Minotaurs an' Diamond dogs like ya've never seen!"

A few seconds later, James could hear battle cries in the distance. Howls, roars, and eagle screeches came to his ears.

Lord, I hope we're ready for this, he thought and prayed as he caught sight of moving bodies, because this battle could decide the fate of Equestria and the world itself.

Chapter 30; Battle of Sugar Cane River, part 2

Looking at war from a general's perspective, it is very easy to compare war to a game; you have the pieces on a map, and reports stream in from the battle. However, for an ordinary soldier, who sees things throughout his career that would give the bogeyman nightmares, watches comrades die and faces death himself on a regular basis, the most sadistic and cruel thing you can say is that war is a game.

- James Lavigne, Military Advisor and General of Equestria, replying to a reporter after the battle.

Shining Armor could hear the enemy long before he could see them. It was an errie sound, one of guttural roars and howling and battle cries in strange languages. A few gunshots came from the foe, more in anticipation of final triumph than of any real intention to harm his soldiers. From the looks of it, the Griffon bombardment had killed few, although it had devastated the camp and made craters all over the place. Skeletons of what were once trees had fallen everywhere, leaving stumps sticking out of the ground like bowling pins.

Looks as lifeless as Princess Luna says the moon is. He wished he hadn't thought of that; he, and his troops, were all too likely to follow suit.

The first battle flags came into view. They were of various shapes and sizes; one had red, circular patterns on a green background. Another was blue with tightly woven white lines knitted together in the center.

The banner carriers rose over the dead forest, followed by the soldiers of their regiments. This time, Diamond dogs and Minotaurs charged alongside Griffons through the dust clouds, screaming and howling at the top of their lungs.

"Artillery, fire!" he shouted.

The roar of the cannons was like the end of the world. For many of the enemy, it was; explosions tore individuals to shreds, blasted groups of soldiers high into the air, and sent weapons and gear tumbling to the ground. Some Diamond dogs turned on their heels and ran, or sought shelter among the dying remains of the woodland. The majority of the survivors, though, kept running at the Equestrian lines.

"Again!"

Some cannons, all breech-loaders, obeyed quickly, sending more shells downrange. A Minotaur was blown in half when a shell hit him mid-center; Shining knew the horrifying image would haunt him for months afterward.

The devastation thrown their way did not stop the foe, but it was clearly demoralizing; many Griffons slowed their pace, despite the angry rants aimed at them by their officers. More Diamond dogs stopped and tired to seek cover. It did them little good; Griffon officers kicked and hit them, forcing them back into the fray. One of them clearly refused, and was shot dead for his trouble. That rallied the rest of the dogs to get back into the battle, if only out of fear of their superiors.

They were the victims of bad timing as well as cruel leaders, as the front ranks had just come into matchlock range. Without even having to give the order, the General watched as a sheet of flame and smoke emitted from regiments armed with guns, and short, fast lances darted away from those with crossbows. Almost immediately, the entire front rank of the enemy, with a handful of lucky exceptions, went down under the withering fire. Screams arose from wounded and dying warriors. Another volley of cannon fire brought more down, with the sound of explosions and cries of the injured rising from the haze of dust and smoke.

Not being armed with a ranged weapon himself - other than magic, and that would only go so far; he was reluctant to use it for fear that it would erode his ability to direct the fighting - all he could do was grit his teeth until his boys were ready to fire again. It seemed like ages before they were.

Again, a roar, from cannons and matchlocks combined, and the twang! of bowstrings, and more death slammed into the foe's ranks, decimating platoons and delivering destruction unseen since Equestria's founding. This time, not all of the firearms going off belong to the ponies; some of the Griffons had managed to get their arms to bear, and they fired as well. Most of their rounds either overshot or stuck in the breastworks, but a few struck flesh. Here and there, cries of pain arose from the defenders, as well as curses from those who survived their wounds. Most of the Griffons now had ranged weapons of some sort; crossbows and matchlocks had forced change on them in a hurry.

The Minotaurs, though... the Minotaurs charged, massive battleaxes in hand, screaming battle cries as they rushed into the face of death. They were harder to kill or otherwise put out of action than either Griffons or Diamond dogs. He saw one take hit after hit, and shrug off the damage like it was nothing. Fortunately, that enemy warrior was finally felled before he could reach the Equestrian line, but scores more kept coming, even shoving aside their allies to come to grips with their foes.

Switching to canister, the artillery fired again. Massive holes were torn in the enemy line, and for a moment Shining hoped it would finally drive them back.

It didn't. The survivors, scarcely a majority of those who had flung themselves at his lines, continued their assault. Crossbow bolts and bullets flew through the air, ricocheting from rocks and trees and burying themselves in a soldier from one side or the other.

James watched as his artillery again went to work, dashing the enemy's lines to pieces and sending dirt, wood, and bodies flying. Challenges and curses intermingled with screams of pain from the attackers.

"Ready!"

His troops leveled their weapons.

"Aim!"

Silence.

"...FIRE!"

Smoke and flame erupted from the mouths of countless firearms, and crossbows twanged. Warrior after warrior on the other side fell, their front ranks melting away before the storm of lead. Canister rounds ripped further holes in their lines, sending some dogs running and yelping in terror.

It didn't stop the rest, of course. He had grown accustomed to the persistence of first the Changelings, and then the Griffons. The survivors of those terrible volleys simply kept up their assault, officers waving swords as they tried to reorganize their forces. Before long, his troops weren't the only ones firing.

He raised the matchlock to his shoulder, aimed at a particularly tall Minotaur, and fired. The beast stopped, grabbed at it's head, and barely registered the blood on its hand as it's own before crumpling lifeless to the ground.

James lowered the firearm and began to reload; he drew the powder horn, pouring a little into the pan, before shoving some more powder and the lead ball into the barrel. He took hold of the ramrod, pulled it out of it's sheath, rammed it down the barrel to force the ball downwards, then replaced the ramrod, cocked the weapon, and made sure the little rope that was on the end of the firing mechanism was still alight before again raising it and taking aim.

Reloading was a long process, to say the least. In the fifteen to twenty seconds it had taken to do so, he had been vulnerable. It was necessary, but all the while it was terrifying. The urge to run, or at least to seek better cover, was very strong.

He took aim at a Griffon officer this time around. The shot missed his intended target, but struck a dog squarely in the shoulder; the enemy warrior went down, howling and clutching his wound.

He began to reload again. Blue Fur, I seriously hope you are getting results with my revolver! By the time he was done, his troops were about to unleash another volley. The distance between the two lines was decreasing by the second; this would have to be a good one.

He leveled the gun, aimed, and, in a loud, tumultuous roar, he and his troopers fired in one massive volley. The smoke by now clouded the forest, but screams of pain and tumbling bodies could be heard, and cries of despair were audible over the din.

He knew it wasn't going the halt them, regardless of how devastating it had been. "Draw your swords and spears, boys!" he called. None too soon, as through the smoke Griffons, dogs, and Minotaurs began to scramble over the breastworks. He jabbed at one figure with his blade, and was rewarded by a cry of pain and the sound of a body hitting the ground. Another Griffon, wearing a kilt and with a face painted blue, slashed wildly. James ducked, then stabbed again, with the same results as the first time.

"Your skull will make a fine mug for my beer!"

James looked up to see a Minotaur looming over him. The monster lashed out with a battleaxe, narrowly missing James' head. He jabbed the beast as he had the two Griffons before, but all it did was make the warrior angry. Now on the defensive, he barely managed to parry a blow from the axe, and he felt tremors travel through his body as he did so; the Minotaur was much stronger than he was, and knew it.

Quickly, he stabbed upwards, at the thing's neck. This time, the massive warrior gurgled as he fell, futilely grabbing at the wound.

He looked to either side. So far, his troops were holding, though the fight was hanging in the balance.

God, please aid us!

Star Blaze leveled his firearm and let loose a volley alongside his comrades. The enemy fell, the enemy cried out, and the enemy kept coming.

They were too close now to bother trying to reload. Instead he picked up his spear and thrust it forward. The rest of his cohort had followed suit, presenting a spear wall.

The foe was undeterred. They jumped or climbed over the works and were pierced by sharp spear-tips. Hundreds more simply climbed over the dead and the dying, ignoring cries for help or to go back.

The captain ordered the company to fall back a few steps from the barricades, which made sense; all it did now was give the enemy the high ground. Still lashing out whenever an enemy soldier got too close, he fell back a few paces with the rest.

The enemy kept trying to break the phalanx, despite the losses they took trying to do so. Even bayoneted matchlocks were no match for real spears in a close up fight like this. Griffons by the score fell in savage combat, trying desperately to break the Equestrian line. They didn't even come close.

Where is our artillery? It had scarcely fired a shot since the bombardment had ceased. Up till then, it had been firing like crazy. As another foe was pierced through and through by his spear, he wondered what Prince Blueblood was up to.

Probably sitting in his castle-tent drinking tea while the rest of us fight and die. Star Blaze would have snorted contemptuously if he hadn't been so busy. While loyalty to the royal family was stressed during training and throughout a Guard's career, Prince Blueblood put that to the test. He typically did very little as a corps commander, other than giving orders to his soldiers that more resembled those given to servants than to an actual military. Just the other day, he had commanded a soldier to sip his tea for him to make sure it wasn't poisoned, then blamed him for ruining the beverage. Logistics were a joke under the Prince.

Small wonder our cannons aren't shooting. The artillery in II and III Corps were firing, as distant rumbles could tell anyone willing to listen. The lack of it from I Corps was obvious. If the Prince had ordered his artillery to fire unrestrainedly, then there probably wasn't any ammunition left to fire at the enemy.

Perhaps it wasn't needed. After fifteen minutes of intense close quarters fighting, the Griffons and their mercenaries reluctantly began to withdraw, pulling back gradually at first before breaking into a run back toward their own lines. Star Blaze and the rest of his unit cheered as they watched them go.

The medics began to come forward, taking friend and foe alike into their care. Blaze dragged an old friend from the Lunar Guard, Night Vision, over to a nearby tree and laid him down under it. Night Vision hissed as his injured leg got caught on something.

"Sorry, pal."

"Unnnngh," was all the other Night Guard said in response.

"Well, what do we have here?" said a rusty voice. Star turned to see a white unicorn medic standing nearby. The other pony went on without waiting for an answer. "Laceration, femur broken..." The medic got in close and looked closely. "And bleeding like crazy. You," he said, point a hoof at Blaze, "help me to bandage him."

Star said nothing as they went to work, wrapping Night's left leg in a thick cloth. Night growled in pain once or twice, but the job fortunately didn't take long.

"Well, son," the unicorn finally said, "you're gonna keep the leg, if my thirty years in the medical practice have anything to say about it. In fact, you'll be back in the fight within a couple months."

"Huzzah," Night Vision deadpanned.

"But, on the other hoof, you'll be stuck in a military hospital for the time being."

"Greeeeaaaaaaat, fucking wonderful." Star blinked at his friend's reply. Bad language was rare in Equestria, with minced oaths usually taking the place of swear words. Other, non-equine species did swear, with Griffons sometimes being stereotyped in that regard, but ponies (most, anyway; Stalliongraders were known to swear in their own language) were taught from a very young age that it was wrong. Still, the prospect of spending two months in a hospital bed was less than appealing.

"Better than losing the leg, Green Eye," Star said, trying to comfort him; his fellow Guard had earned the nickname for his green eyes and his ability to see at night almost as well as in the day.

"Yeah, I guess. But I hate hospitals, and for more than one reason."

Star nodded, knowing the Night Vision had had a bad experience in one. Hospitals, while necessary, were often viewed as, if not bad, then painful places, where one had to listen to hurt ponies cry out every so often in pain, and where painful operations had to be undertaken. At least, that was what foals believed.

"At least you won't be getting shelled all the time," the medic put in; he hadn't been fazed by Night's bad language at all. "Me, I have other ponies and people to get to work on." He trotted away to do just that.

"They're coming again!"

Star jerked his head in the direction of the enemy. Sure enough, distant battle cries could be heard, and he had a glimpse of red uniforms through the haze still surrounding the area. "Gotta leave ya, Green," he said to Night.

"Just make sure you get the one that broke my damn leg, would you?"

Star gave a small smile before rushing off to get his gun and repeat the whole bloody business.

Despite the ferocity of the assault, none of the enemy attacks had broken through. James was pleased about that. He was not pleased about the cost it had required to reach that result. Too many of his own soldiers were either dead or being taken to the rear for treatment. He watched solemnly as another casualty was taken aboard a stretched and levitated carefully away.

Still, the enemy had paid a much higher cost. Their dead littered the field in front of the fortifications, with some upon or beyond it, but none penetrating the line, and hundreds had gone to the rear as prisoners. III Corps was doing well. In a battle of tens of thousands, though, it was hard to determine just when the foe was running out of troops to throw into the fighting.

"Captain Fire Storm, how much ammunition is left for the guns?"

Fire Storm, an earth pony Royal Guard, answered quickly, "Enough for a few more rushes like the past few. Beyond that, it's anypony's guess. Plenty for our matchlocks and crossbows, though."

"Well, that's a relief, anyway." James raised his binoculars, trying to see through the haze of dust and smoke. What he saw was encouraging. "Seems like they aren't eager to try again." The lack of any battle cries or insults aimed their way was further proof of that.

"I wouldn't say they're done yet, sir; they're probably just trying to figure out an alternate way to get at us."

James nodded in respect. That was part of the way a proper soldier was supposed to think; about how the enemy would try to beat him, as well as what he would do to beat the enemy. "Crystal Clear!"

"Yes, sir?" another Royal Guard, this one a white pegasus, answered, saluting.

"Tell the colonels of the units on the flanks of our corps to keep an eye out for enemy flanking maneuvers. Once you're done that, tell the same to Shining Armor and Prince Blueblood, and do so without delay."

"Yes, sir." The Guard saluted again and flew away.

The fight wasn't over yet. That was clear, even if the Griffons and their gold-seeking cohorts had failed to gain any ground here. He kept his eyes trained on the other side as the sun progressed through the sky.

Shining Armor wiped a hoof over his brow. It had been a hard morning, to put it mildly, and it could have been much worse. He used his magic to grab his canteen and take a long drink. The hot sun wasn't making things easier to bear, and he was far from being the only one to take such advantage of the lull in the fighting.

Looking around, he noted it was odd to compare the bit of forest he was in now to what it had been this morning. Few trees had escaped unscathed, and most had fallen from enemy artillery fire. Some of the debris was currently on fire, adding black smoke to the white emitted by matchlocks.

And bodies were everywhere. The majority came from the enemy, but all too many came from his own troops. Everything had been done to repel the griffons, including unicorn magic. His forehead still felt worn out from the effort he himself had put into it. It had barely been enough to keep them from spilling over the breastworks. Medics were hard at work, trying to stop the bleeding and transporting them away for proper treatment. A wounded enemy soldier, well enough to walk, was being led away with other prisoners.

Shining ordered them to stop, then questioned the Griffon. "Think you people have had enough?

The enemy soldier didn't respond with words, but the gesture he made with his foreclaw was all too clear. In disgust, Shining ordered, "Take them away." The guards did so.

"You're going to have another thing coming when we take Canterlot," the Griffon said loudly.

He was too smart for his own good; a guard struck him over the head with a spear. "Get moving," the annoyed guard ordered. The Griffon went, intelligent enough to realize he would get another hit to the head if he tried to be smart again.

Shining looked back toward the enemy's lines and lifted a telescope to his eye with magic. The foe wasn't doing anything all that aggressive; perhaps they'd lost their taste for charging earthworks. He hoped so.

A flap of wings became audible to his ear. He waited till the clop of landing hooves sounded, then turned to his left to see Crystal Clear, James' unofficial runner. They saluted each other, then Shining asked, "What have you got for me?"

"Sir, General Lavigne says to watch for hostile flank attacks. He thinks that's what they're going to try next."

"Be sure to thank him for me; I'll keep an eye out."

"Glad to hear it, sir." Crystal saluted again, and then took to the sky.

"Sir, shall I alert the units to our flanks of the threat?" asked a Guard stallion nearby.

"Yes, and quickly."

"Yes sir."

"Well, this hasn't been our kettle of fish, has it, General?"

"Shut the hell up," Grayfeather growled. His subordinate obeyed. "They've been more resilient than I anticipated, that much is certain. However, their weakest link is the Prince they so foolishly put in charge of their center. Break him and his Corps, and the ponies will either run or die where they stand. Either way, we have them."

"Another headlong charge, General?" The lieutenant was starstruck.

"No, you halfwit. I'll have ten thousand troops to flank them from either side, while I send the majority of our forces the break Blueblood's forces. We can then surround their other Corps and force their surrender. We'll be in Canterlot by the end of the week."

"Sir, might I suggest waiting for tomorrow? Our troops are worn out and demoralized, and need food and water."

After a minute, the General reluctantly nodded. "Alright. I'll send some skirmish troops and artillery to keep them busy in the meantime, but for now our army will rest."

Then, standing up from his chair, the General added, "Tomorrow will sound the doom of an independent Equestria."

A shell exploded overhead. The shrapnel threw itself ahead of the explosion. Because the projectile had burst above the Equestrian position, not in front of them, most of the shards did little other than shred leaves - or rather, what leaves remained - and trunks of trees, not that many of those remained upright. James didn't flinch - much - from the explosion; he had seen many shells burst in that way.

For the past few hours, the enemy had been sporadically shelling the woods around his position, now increasing the weight of the barrage, then decreasing it, all at random. It was hard to say whether it was a serious effort to do damage for a ground assault later or if it was just harassment, considering how risky it was in the middle of the bombardment to send runners and flyers to deliver messages.

Noon gave way to afternoon, afternoon gave way to dusk. No further attacks came, although here and there enemy soldiers would creep into no-man's land and try their luck at sniping. Considering the inaccuracy of their weapons, it was unwise in James' opinion and was a general waste of ammunition; matchlocks and muskets were made for shooting at massed troops, not at individuals. It was still demoralizing to have gunfire going off every now and then, though; veterans would twist their heads in the direction of the noise, and duck when a bullet pinned off a rock or a log. Every so often a quarrel would get stuck in the breastworks instead of a lead ball. While the musketry was annoying, the crossbows were quieter and thus more frightening when one zipped by your head or landed in a tree stump next to you.

If they intend to keep us from a good night's sleep, they're doing a good job. He leaned up against a tree, waiting for pure exhaustion to carry him into sleep. The occasional gunshot, however, was like a hit to the head, and sometimes ponies would shoot back, further disrupting his attempts to sleep.

Eventually, even the enemy snipers seemed to have gotten tired, and he was able to sleep... for about thirty minutes. Then the sporadic shooting resumed, ruining what had been a good dream. Jerks. Apparently the enemy had just switched out the troops assigned to harassment. In anger, he went back to his tent. Not that he would find it all that less noisy there, but at least a few creature comforts could be found.

Kiki greeted him with a meow and by rubbing her head against his hand. He returned the favor by petting her lovingly as he got into his hammock.

Somewhere within the camp, someone began strumming on a guitar or banjo; he couldn't tell which. The gentle strings of the instrument, whatever it was, made even the occasional gunshot seem less bothersome, and, eyes closing and sandman working overtime, he was able to get some sleep at last.

The next day dawned. Awoken by Kiki walking over his chest, James fetched his gun and went back to the front line after feeding the cat.

Silver Shield was there waiting for him. "Well, sir, it looks like more fighting today," the Guard stallion reported.

"How do you reckon?"

"Because we have pegasi scouts reporting that the birds are flanking us." James swore violently. Shield didn't respond; he was used to his boss using bad language. "Shining Armor already gave the order to reposition, sir, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

"How many troops do we have covering our sides?"

"About five thousand or so, enough to hold them off for quite some time."

"They'd better." With that, James took out his binoculars and began to peer through the wreckage of the forest. So far, he could see...

A gunshot, then a bullet passed by his head close enough for him to feel the air tug slightly at his cap as it passed by. He ducked, despite the inherent uselessness of the action; by the time you heard it, the bullet was always past you... unless it had hit you, and then you were either dead or screaming.

"They still have some of their boys out in the field takin' pot shots at us, General," an earth pony regular said; he couldn't have been long out of high school age. "I wouldn't advise liftin' yer head over the edge."

"Point taken." He lowered himself down. Some people said God never gave people warnings. James had come across several circumstances that proved that belief to be wrong, now being among them. The story of the man who refused any aid unless it came from God himself. God sent aid, alright, just not always in the way people expected. In the story, a man trapped on wreckage from a flood refused aid from two people with boats, and had died. When he had asked God why He hadn't sent help, the Almighty had told him that He had sent those two boats to save him. Here, a bullet, missing his head by inches, was a clear warning not to press his luck.

He didn't. Instead, he took a long swig of water from his canteen. "Better than ersatz coffee, if anything I've read about it is correct," he said when he was done.

"No argument there, General."

"General." James turned to see Crystal Clear saluting him.

"Yes?" he replied, returning the salute.

"Scouts say the birds are gearing up for a major effort against our center and flanks."

James pictured the scene. A mass of - was "infantry" the right word? - charging into I Corps with as much strength the foe could throw at them? If skill and training were more or less equal for both sides, it would likely come down to a contest of leadership, and the Prince was a joke as far as that was concerned. "We'll have to do our best and hope for the same," he replied at last. "Warn Blueblood of what's about to befall him."

"Yes sir, but he might not listen."

"Make him listen, it's not about him; if he were alone, I'd say let him stay that way, but he has plenty of boys who deserve better than that."

"Yes, sir!" Crystal repeated, this time with more vigor. Then he took off once more.

James got to his feet. "You all know the enemy is here," he said in a loud voice. "You all know the stakes. They come to steal your past and cheat you of your future. But this contest will not be decided by numbers alone, but by what we decide in our own hearts. Lift up your spirits and make ready for battle this day. Pray to God for strength and courage, and remember that your families and friends rely on you for their safety and their freedom. Do not disappoint them!"

He was met by wild cheers and war whoops. Many stood, holding their hats and weapons in the air. For a brief moment, their fear of the enemy had dissolved completely, and they were lions on the field.

Prince Blueblood sat in a comfy chair, sipping from a cup of tea while holding a dignified pose. It was hard to miss that he was important; everything about him screamed that to the world.

It seemed a pity that the rest of the world did not recognize this as being so. The barbarian on the left flank, for instance; he could not see why his aunt would possibly give such a creature command over anything, let alone something so great and glorious as an army.

He had sent a command for more luxuries to be brought up. It was in such short supply, and the commoners seemed to care about nothing but mundane items like food and ammunition! Such short-sightedness.

"General..."

"How many times must I tell you, private, I am to be called 'Prince' in any circumstance?"

"Sorry, sir," the young soldier replied. There was an edge to his voice, but the Prince ignored it; it wasn't that insolent. "Anyway, Crystal Clear has arrived with a message. He says it's important."

Blueblood sighed. "Now, of all times? Very well," he said in an exaggerated display of reluctance, "send him in."

Crystal Clear walked in, looking worried. "Gener..." He paused when the private made a slashing movement with his hoof. "Er, my Prince, General Lavigne sends his compliments, and wishes to let you know that the foe has concentrated their forces against your Corps."

"Is that all?"

"Is that... Sir, I don't think you understand. They are concentrating their attack against you. In a few hours at most, you'll be in the fight of your life."

"My troops are superior to any number of the enemy, peasants and commoners though they may be." He took little notice of the strangled coughing noise from the two; it was probably just a passing cold. "In any event, I have more important things to attend to."

"But sir..."

"Be gone!"

To his surprise, Crystal Clear stood his ground. "I must protest this lack of action on your part, sir. It is not in the best interest of the forces under your command."

The Prince's eyes narrowed with rage, and he shook slightly. "How dare your question your Prince, filth? Be gone, or I shall feed you both to the manticores in the Everfree forest!"

This time, they both exited the tent as fast as their legs could carry them. He had expected no less. He took another sip of tea. Life, for the most part, was good.

"I'm sorry, general, but he wouldn't listen to me," Crystal Clear said miserably.

James nodded in sympathy. "It's..." It wasn't fine, and would never be. "...What it is," he finished, unsatisfied. "Worthless, spoiled rat. If he'd only just listen to me..."

"Sir!" Crystal said in protest. His face was red with embarrassment.

James could have cared less. Before he could say more, a soldier came up to him and said, "The supply train from the nearby village has reached the camp, sir, and have begun unloading supplies."

"That's good." It didn't make up for the fact that his fellow general had ignored his advice, but it was better than stewing in his own juices. "Get the wagons unloaded as quickly as possible, this kind of environment is no place for civilians."

"Yes sir."

A distant cannon boomed. James frowned. "Get that done double time, soldier!"

Crystal saluted, then went to follow his orders.

Meanwhile, the human general turned around and crouched just under the edge of the barricade. He checked and double checked that his piece was loaded, and, satisfied that it was, he awaited the inevitable assault.

Star Blaze crouched, avoiding the few bullets flying overhead. A few snipers kept up their work, even though the main body of their force was coming.

"Sergeant!"

"Yes?" he answered, looking to see a fellow Lunar Guard standing over him. "With all due respect sir, I'd advise you to keep your head down." A quarrel flying above underscored his words.

"Point taken." His superior lowered himself so that he was almost prone. "It's not going to be like yesterday, sergeant. The Prince received a warning from General Lavigne that the birds are massing everything they've got at our center; right here, in other words."

Star Blaze bit into his lower lip, accidentally drawing a little blood; it was easy to forget he had fangs. "That's... not good, sir."

"Damned right it isn't. What's worse, the Prince refused to listen to a word of it."

Though long since conditioned never to curse or revile the Royal family, this was almost too much for his self-discipline to bear. "Not our day, is it lieutenant?"

"All to fucking right it isn't." When the officer realized he had stunned his noncom, he explained, "I learned it from the General."

"I never thought the Prince would be one to curse so badly."

"Ha ha, you think you're so funny," the lieutenant replied. After a minute, he went on, "I learned it from the human General, not our esteemed Prince. Where did you think I learned it?"

"Stalliongraders, if anyone."

"Yeah, they practically can't speak unless they have at least one bad word in every sentence. Seeing the battlefield and all the stuff that's happened, I find it hard to blame them."

An artillery shell landed next to them.

Oh hell, we're dead! Star curled up in a ball and waited for the shell to go off.

It didn't. After a few seconds, he got up from the fetal position he had taken and looked more closely at the projectile, which had sunken into the earth somewhat. The fuse clearly hadn't worked properly, or they'd both be dead. The lieutenant laughed.

"It isn't the slightest bit funny, sir."

"Well," his superior said, after regaining some - not all, in Star's opinion - of his wits, "it's either laugh or cry, and I'd rather laugh this off than worry about something that never happened."

"It could very well still happen, sir."

"Not denying that. All too likely, given the big clash yesterday and what's going to happen later today. In any case, inform your squad. They'll be hitting us was a rock in their claws, and everypony who can needs to hear it."

"Yes, sir!" Star saluted.

He quickly went to obey orders. Some of the stallions in his squad were nervous upon receiving the news. "I hope you're wrong, sergeant," a youthful private, White Mist, said worriedly.

"I'm not, unfortunately. I'm sorry. I wish I was. For that matter, I wish the brass were all wrong about this."

"But doesn't that mean that the birds will..."

"The overall strategy isn't your concern," Star interrupted. "Making sure you and your comrades don't die here and now is. I'd suggest you worry less about what the big shots have up their sleeves and more about what this squad is going to do when we come to grips with the enemy. Any more questions?" he asked needlessly; when a sergeant spoke in such a manner, it cut off all discussion in it's tracks. "No? Then get back to your stations and keep your guns loaded and ready."

"Yes sir." White Mist did as ordered, but looked unhappy about it. Well, war was generally an unhappy business. If the kid hadn't learned that by now, chances were he would soon.

Before long, a lookout shouted, "Here they come!"

Star made sure his own weapons were ready for the fight, then went up to the front with his squad. Already he could hear the cries of the enemy; the eagle screeches, the guttural roars, and the howls made themselves heard.

Give it a rest, you rascals. All the noise did was alert the Equestrian forces to the impending attack. A few batteries were already firing in response.

I wonder how long they'll be able to keep it up. He'd asked an artillerypony why the guns had been more or less silent during the main assault. The pony had practically flown off the rails, raging that his battery had had no ammunition left after countering the Griffon bombardment and that it was the Prince's fault for not ordering forward more of it.

Why can't things be easy for once? "Up and at 'em!" He shouted, and the troops lifted their heads and their weapons, taking aim. He took a bead on an incoming Diamond dog.

"FIRE!" the captain roared.

Star did so. So did everypony else. A tongue of flame emitted from the ends of countless weapons, as well as a cloud of smoke the size of a cow. He also got a new bruise on his shoulder from the recoil, as was common with firearms.

Once more, enemy soldiers dropped en masse, yet the rest kept up their charge. Some shot back, but their results were unspectacular.

An angry, deafening roar sounded above the crackle of firearms, and then came the hiss of thousands of metal balls as canister rounds went off. Ragged groups of warriors fell, torn apart by the miniscule but astronomically numerous projectiles.

The hostile line stumbled, disintegrated... and was pushed forward by the ranks behind them. Still reloading, Star kept his eyes on the field. The birds and their goons were more numerous than he had ever imagined they could be. He forced himself to remained focused. He prepared to fire again.

He took aim again, this time eyeing an enemy officer. He pressed the trigger.

Boom! Something long flew from the barrel. It stuck in the officer's body and quivered like an arrow.

"...Oops." He'd forgotten to withdraw the ramrod before firing. That was good and bad; good because he'd hit his target, bad because he could no longer load his weapon.

Star looked around for another ramrod he could use. He saw a matchlock dropped by a dead soldier, who was now slumped up against a tree stump. This poor kid would never need it again. He prayed to whoever was willing to listen for the soldier's soul before picking up the trooper's gun and going back to business.

As luck would have it, thus gun was loaded and ready to fire. So he aimed at a Minotaur and blasted the bastard in the chest. The beast fell, mortally wounded.

By now, the enemy was too close for any hope of getting to reload into time to shoot again, so he picked up his spear and thrust it out before him. Others did the same, regardless of whether they were Guards or not.

The foe swarmed over the breastworks, flags waving and swords flashing. Star backed up, forming a square with his regiment. The first ranks of the enemy crashed into the spearwall and were impaled by their own momentum. Star withdrew his spear for another attack.

A gunshot rang out, and a Lunar Guard fell, groaning. Looking up, Star was horrified to see a line of matchlock armed Griffons aiming at the square. The front ranks withdrew slightly. He ducked.

As a rippling roar blasted his eardrums, he heard a bullet passed through where his head had been seconds ago. Nearby screams pierced the continuous sound of battle. He lifted his head, blocked an attack by a Griffon, then slew the attacker with a quick jab to the chest. He took a quick glance around him; maybe half the troops in the square had either been shot or set upon by the enemy before they could recover from the shock.

We can't hold. There were too many of them. "Captain, what are your orders?" he called.

"Captain's dead, sergeant," White Mist answered. "Got shot along with half the company. Far as I know, you're in charge here."

"Damnation!" Looking around, he knew this line couldn't hold on more than a few more minutes. Glumly, he called, "Retreat!" as loudly as he cold, then took a quick swipe at a dog before falling back with the company.

"Back to the guns, sergeant!" White Mist called. "They can buy us a few minutes."

It wasn't a half bad idea. Half the guns had been part of the front line and had been overrun, but some had been kept well back of the front line. He galloped as hard as he could; he could practically feel the enemy's breath on his neck.

"Run, you cowards! Flee before our invincible forces!"

"Run, you greedy filth, run!"

The taunts of the enemy, many and scathing, made him ashamed of flight. It was the only logical thing to do, though, outnumbered as they were.

BOOM! A cannon roared. Looking back, he saw that his company had reached the battery, had turned around, and were now lashing at those who had been nipping at their heels. A soldier shoved another round of canister into the breech, closed it, and pulled the lanyard. The same gun spewed death into the foe's ranks again, toppling large numbers. Star stopped running and turned around.

"You in charge?" asked an officer of the artillery, an earth pony. When Star Blaze nodded, the captain said, "Get as many of your boys to safety as possible; we don't have but a few more rounds 'o canister left. After that, we're done here."

"Got it. Come on, Second Company, to me!" Star hoped this withdrawal didn't turn into the rout he was foreseeing.

As he listened with trepidation to the sounds of battle to his right and left, James felt it was odd not to be hearing it in his immediate vicinity. He turned to Silver Shield. "How long do you think our flanks will hold?"

The Royal Guard turned his head to regard him. "They'll probably hold, God willing," he answered.

"I hope so..." He noticed something different about his friend's words. "You believe, then?"

"More or less. Haven't seen either Princess trying to protect us in battle, and I've been sneaking looks at your Bible. Seems to explain more than what I've been told, religion-wise. Found more of my prayers seem to have been answered praying to Him than to the Princesses."

James nodded. He was aware that this was a massive change in his companion, one that was probably shaking him up on the inside. To help get back to the situation at hand, he said quietly, "I wish the Prince would have listened to me. They have half their forces aimed at him alone."

"Nopony but Celestia can get that one to listen. You did what you could."

"Should've done more. As I told Crystal Clear, if he were alone, I'd say let him face the enemy by himself, but he has a lot of boys who deserve better, a lot better." He tilted his head to the right and downward, onto his shoulder. "Damn it, why can't..."

"General!"

James almost felt his heart stop. That voice had carried the note of doom with it. Trying hard to compose himself, he stood up and turned around. "Yes?"

A pegasus, covered in mud, dirt, and some blood, stood before him; it took him a minute to realize this was Crystal Clear. Either not noticing or not caring about his appearance, the ragtag pony spoke in tones of horror. "Sir, the captains on our right say that the troops of First Corps are falling back from the hordes. They've been overrun, General, and they aren't coming back. We're next!"

James felt like collapsing. Instead, he looked to the sky. What am I to do now, Lord?

Hopefully this came out okay. Also, I would appreciate it if someone could tell me how to post videos in chapters; tried to do it here, but it didn't work :(

Chapter 31; Battle of Sugar Cane River, part 3

James could only imagine what was going on to his right. It wasn't good. Before long, the Griffons and their allies would completely surround him, and then...

He chose not to think about it, and decided to give the necessary orders instead. "Fall back," he rasped, the words reluctant to leave his throat.

"Sir?" a private asked.

"Fall back." The words were no less distasteful than they had been the first time.

"Where to?" a lieutenant inquired. "Can't fall back without a fall back position.

"Uhhh..." He gave it some thought. "Pull back to that big hill, behind our camp." It was a good place to make a stand. He hadn't chosen it because it was surprisingly barren and thus vulnerable to artillery fire, but it was the only position he could think of trying to hold out from. Their only chance was to fight until dusk, and then try to break contact.

"Sir, that will allow the birds to take our camp!"

"I'm afraid it can't be avoided. Get to that hill before they encircle us. I don't expect spending the rest of your life in jail or in a prison camp is any more appealing."

The soldier who had objected dipped his head. "No, sir."

"Good. Then get over there, on the double!"

All up and down the line, his soldiers began to obey as word got out, falling back from their prepared positions and withdrawing toward the hill he had indicated.

Good thing that soldier reminded me about the camp. There are some books in my tent that I have no intention of letting those black-hearted scum getting their greasy mitts on. He turned on his heel and ran, knowing he was in a race against time.

James arrived at his tent after a quick and uneventful run. Oddly enough, a strange calm appeared to have taken place over the battlefield. The only indication of danger seemed to be the feeling of impending disaster in his chest.

He snatched up his bag, motioning for Kiki to follow. Other than the bag and the kitten, there was nothing he could take with him on such short notice.

A screech from the skies made him turn around; he felt something slam into his side, and he went sprawling to the ground. He looked up to see a Griffon warrior, raising his sword and about to strike the final blow.

An a brief moment, he remembered everything that had happened to him since he had arrived in Equestria. Oddly, he felt calm as the sword reached the peak of it's height, and a calm feeling of serenity overtook his fears as his doom began it's downward strike...

Shining Armor watched helplessly as I Corps disintegrated; thousands of ponies galloped as hard and fast as they could away from the battle, panic overcoming their features as they fled, oblivious to everything but the terror that had infected them.

It would be impossible to rally them in this state. And, pressured from the right and about to be pressured from the left, there was nothing he could do.

"General, what are your orders in the wake of this... debacle?" asked a unicorn from the Guard.

The obvious choice was to retreat, and immediately. That, however, would leave III Corps, and James, in the same mess as he was in. Abandoning his ally and friend was the last thing he wanted to do.

It couldn't be helped. Dammit, James, I'm so sorry. "Call for a general withdrawal, and quickly, before they can surround us!"

"Yes sir," the other stallion replied, and raced off to deliver the command.

Shining's eyes, however, were focused on the far left of what had been the Equestrian line.

There was a hiss and a caterwaul, and a ball of angry fur and claws threw itself at the warrior's face, and the enemy reeled and screamed with pain as he dropped his sword and tried to get a hold on the enraged cat. The sword landed mere inches from James' face.

He didn't waste a second. He drew himself up, unsheathed his sword, and plunged it into the belly of his foe. The enemy warrior fell, grabbing at his stomach as Kiki jumped off his face, turning around and spitting furiously.

"Come on, Kiki, move it!" James called as he gathered up his bag and started to run toward the hill.

"Come on yourself, sir," came a friendly voice to his right. He turned his head to see Silver Lining flying alongside him. "They're followin' us, sir," the pegasus continued. "They're coming as fast as their wings n' legs can carry 'em, an' they're not slowin' down."

"Get everyone you can see to that hill over there." James stopped for a minute and pointed to the hill in question. "Gather up any extra supplies and ammunition, and get up that hill as fast as you can."

"Aye, sir," Silver said as he saluted and zoomed away in a burst of speed.

James put everything he could into running; he looked back once, and saw the enemy beginning to emerge from the tree, and rush into the tents.

Hopefully they'll be too busy pillaging those to follow us too closely, he thought as he kept on running, willing his legs to put on an extra spurt of speed.

"General," the lieutenant said as he walked into the cabin, bowing to Grayfeather, "the enemy are fleeing before us. Even the wings of their force are pulling back. Your victory has been won, sir!"

"Don't celebrate just yet," the Griffon general scolded. "From all indications, First and Third Corps are pulling back, not routing, with Third Corp pulling back to this hill," he added, pointing to the offending landmark. "Order our right to continue pushing at all costs, and catch them before they can fortify that position."

"Yes sir." The lieutenant saluted and marched out of the tent.

Grayfeather looked at the map as he sat back down. Soon, he thought to himself. Soon.

James collapsed on the ground with exhaustion as he reached the summit. As he panted from the exertions of the long run, he looked up to see his troopers doing what they could to fortify and reinforce their position. Fallen logs and fence posts were taken up and placed to create new barricades. Soldiers kept checking their ammunition and powder, and a number of dutiful pegasi hovered some distance above to keep a lookout.

He forced himself to his feet and took a look northward. So far, few of the Griffons and mercenaries were in sight. That would change. He motioned to a lieutenant of the regulars. When the pony had come close, he said, "Make sure you stretch the line to all side of the hill. They're gonna be coming with everything they have, and I want everything covered."

The lieutenant saluted and trotted off to make sure the orders were obeyed.

"General..." James turned to see an anxious Guard standing there. "We have a... situation with the ponies who brought up our wagons of supply this morning."

Oh, what now? Forcing himself to remain calm, he asked, "What's the matter?"

"They're refusing to leave, and are demanding that we let them help in any way they can."

Great. Now I'm besieged by civilians as well as soldiers. He threw up his hands in exasperation. "Civilians aren't trained to fight. Tell them that, I have a battle to organize." Or at least, to save.

"Sir, I think it would be best if you came yourself. They're pretty stubborn folk."

Normally, James saw stubbornness as a strength, not a vice. This time... "Alright, I'm coming," he said at last. "Bring me to them."

"Right this way, sir." The pony lead him southwards, away from the soldiers who were now desperately trying to prepare for the hammer blow about to strike them.

As they came to the opposite edge of the summit, James noticed a large, mixed group of ponies, most sporting the look of hard working farmers; a number wore hats not dissimilar to that worn by Applejack.

If they're anything like her, I doubt I'll have an easy time convincing them to leave. "Alright, what's going on here?" he demanded.

A few of them showed surprise upon laying eyes on him. He rolled his own set of eyeballs; this again.

Most, however, stood their ground with determination. "You gotta let us help, Gen'ral!" A stallion with a golden apple on his flank shouted.

"Why should I? You aren't trained soldiers. I can assure you that you don't want to see the elephant; I swear you don't."

"You think I don't know what's at stake here, Gen'ral?" The stallion demanded indignantly. "Ah lost a brother to this war already."

James took his hat off and bowed his head briefly. "My condolences." He replaced the kepi on his head. "My objective here to keep that from happening to you."

"You don't understand, Gen'ral: mah farm is at risk, and so are theirs," the defiant stallion said, waving a hoof at the group he led. "Ah don't want no birds wreckin' mah place, or takin' the fruits of our labor."

"The chances are, that's going to happen anyway; we've lost this battle, and we can do now is try to perform a rear guard action to save what's left of the army. At dusk, we must fall back. I'd be more concerned with getting your families to safety."

For the first time, genuine consternation swept the small crowd; frightened whispers and shocked expressions were the lot of this band.

"Still, we'd like ta help you, Gen'ral," the stubborn farmer pressed on. "Ah'll send some o' the mares to bring word to their towns, but the rest of us would like ta help you."

Mares? James took a quick look; sure enough, many female ponies had shown up, and showed the same determination to protect their families and livelihoods as their husbands and sweethearts.

"We're goin' ta help whether ya let us or not, Gen'ral. Seein' what you said, ya don't have the soldiers to force us to leave."

Damn you, you're right. "...Fine!" James said angrily. "But I wash my hands of any blame over what befalls you this day."

"Thank ya Gen'ral," the stallion said gratefully, bowing his head in thanks.

"Don't thank me; by nightfall this day, many of you will probably be dead."

That succeeding in making the stallion shiver, but his determination remained strong. "What do ya need us to do?"

"Have the pegasi round up as many clouds as possible. Send the unicorns up to the front so we can use their magic to repel then enemy. And send the earth ponies to gather up as many supplies as they can, with a priority on ammunition, powder, and water, and bring those up here to the front lines."

"What about weapons?"

"If you find one that's been... discarded, you may use it yourselves, but be aware that some of them require more finesse and training to use than you're used to."

"Alright." Turning around, the farmer-turned-soldier said to the crowd, "Ya'll heard 'im; get to it! Merry Weather, Fluffy Cloud," he continued to two pegasi mares, "Ya'll go an' warn the towns nearby an' tell em' to evacuate, foals and mares first." The two ponies nodded and flew southward.

The speed in which the ponies in the crowd took to the stallion's instructions impressed James. "You seem to have a lot of influence with them."

"Yep."

"What is your name?"

The gold-yellow stallion posed dramatically. "Mah name's Golden Delicious," the pony said, putting a hoof on his chest, "and ah run a big ole farm round these parts."

"Interesting." James scratched his chin with his hand. "You wouldn't be related to the Apple family clan, would you?"

Golden Delicious pulled himself tall and straight. "Sure am! We Apples have a long an' hardy history here in Equestria!"

James nodded. "I've met Applejack. She's honest, loyal... and stubborn, just like you."

The farmer laughed. "She's a good 'un, just like the rest of us."

Before either of them could continue the conversation, a pegasus landed beside them. "General, they're coming."

James turned back to Golden Delicious. "Sorry, but I have a battle to direct." He ran back toward the front lines. "See you soon!" he called behind him.

"Sure thing!" the civilian called back to him.

"Okay, what do you got for me?" James asked, stepping atop the parapet, taking out his binoculars and peering into the distance.

"A couple regiments marching directly for us, sir." Lieutenant Blitz, famous for lighting attacks during the winter war, sounded worried.

James could see hundred of attackers approaching. They were likely only the first of many. He noted with satisfaction that they were disorganized; they came on as a mob, not in the strict formations they should have been in.

"They haven't stopped to reorganize; I think we can take this first wave easily, Lieutenant. In the meantime, have our cannons hold fire; I want to save the potential for damage for when the real mess starts."

"Zu Befehl, Herr General."

"Danke." James lowered his binoculars and replaced them in his coat pocket. Blitz had just said, At your orders, my General; it was good to know he could count on the lieutenant. "And tell another pegasus to take a message to Shining Armor, tell him I've got his back while he pulls out."

"I could deliver the message myself, Mein Herr."

"Nein." James shook his head. "I need you here. Send someone else, and make sure your company is ready." Captain Barrel had been wounded the day before, and as such Blitz had taken command.

"Jawohl." Blitz didn't look happy, but what could you do? War was not a happy business. If he wanted out of the fighting, then that was too bad. Thousands of others were taking the same risks, and were still ready to do battle.

James looked around for a gun to use. He saw a wounded soldier with a bandaged leg and walked over to him. "Mind if I use your gun?" he asked.

The soldier waved a hoof. "Sure thing, General. I won't need it." He adjusted his hat.

"My thanks." James picked up the weapon and it's ammunition. "Is it loaded?"

"Nah, you'll have to do that yourself."

At least I have it. James nodded, and walked northward to the line. The flag of the 5th Baltimare met his eyes. It was a bold flag, displaying a Bengal Tiger lashing out with it's claws in the center and waving two main colors, with white on the top half and green on the bottom half. It was, at the same time, a flag showing off ferocity as well as a wish for peace. James felt a resentment for the conflict rising within him upon catching sight of it.

He squashed the feeling. It wouldn't help here. He went up to the pile of wood the unit had muscled into position and began to load.

Put in the powder. Place the ball. Ram the ball down. Replace the ramrod. Put a little powder in the pan. Cock the mechanism. Annnnnnnnnnnd.... We're done. With the procedure complete, it was a matter of waiting for someone to come close enough for him to feel confident of hitting them. And the Griffon troops were still a long way off.

Squinting, he thought that they looked tired. A few flew excitedly, but their wings beat much weaker than he believed they should. A few battle flags waved among them, but he nodded satisfactorily, seeing that most were torn horribly by bullets and crossbow fire. They hadn't had an easy time, that much was clear. Best yet - for the Equestrian army, anyway - it was ever more obvious that they were in tatters as far as leadership and organization were concerned. Few officers were among them to control them and those who were there were too few to bring the weary troops into proper battle array.

Good, we'll whip this bunch quickly. As he raised his head, something caught in his nose, and his nostrils flared. Is that... smoke?

"General, lookie there!" a soldier shouted, pointing a hoof northward, in the direction of what had been the Equestrian camp. A thick vale of smoke was rising above the trees, with minuscule ashes being borne by the wind and scattered to the four corners of the earth.

"They're burnin' our camp!"

"Aw, noooo...."

"All my letters to my lil Munchkin are my tent!"

"Damn birds..."

James listened with half an ear to the angry disposition of his soldiers. The destruction of your enemy's camp was usually the sign that you'd beaten him.

Is this a sign from God? Are we well and truly beaten?

He looked around. His troops showed more sign of anger than of despair. More importantly, they seemed ready to fight, to come to grips with the invader, to resist his foul advance and to defy him to the last.

...No. We aren't. A new hope took hold inside him, and a powerful resolve fueled the fires of defiance. We'll fight to the gates of Canterlot itself to stop them. "Soldiers of Equestria," he began, "we have suffered a grievous loss today. But this fight is far from over; on our right, the noble Shining Armor and his brave warriors are retreating to the south. Our job is to cover them until nightfall."

He took a deep breath before going on. "On this hill, we shall prove that, although beaten, we are not broken. Our spirits are strong, our resolve to see this war won unshattered. Now comes the enemy, many and prideful; perhaps they think the war is all but won. I say they are blind, for you all stand with me here on this hill, prepared to fight for your people, to fight for the right to live in freedom and peace with your families. Hold them back, and at dusk we shall withdraw in good order. I only ask one thing of you; never let them see you run!"

He was met by a yell from uncounted throats, screaming defiance and hope. When he looked back at the enemy, he saw them waver, unbalanced by the unexpectedly valiant ponies. Their few officers screamed at them to continue advancing, and after a few minutes and with great reluctance, they did, in fact, continue uphill.

So a shout won't stop them. Let's see if this does. "Level your pieces!" he called out. When he saw that his troops had obeyed, he hollered, "Fire!"

Gunshots mixed with the sound of crossbows going off. Enemy warriors fell, slain or wounded by bullets. Quarrels struck them a second or two later, sending ever more of the Griffons and their hired thugs to the ground.

For a few moments smoke covered the area so profusely that it was hard for James, or anyone else, so see what effect the volley had had on the enemy. Then...

"Sir!" They're runnin'!"

"What?" As the cloud dissipated, James could see that, for the first time in the war, the foe really was running in absolute panic en masse. Dismayed cries mingled with the screams of the dying as the enemy ran headlong down the hill, occasionally tripping over a dead body only to get up and keep running. As he searched the field for officers, he realized he could see almost none; most had been felled by the withering fire. And he noticed that the number of slain outnumbered those of the survivors, who paid no heed to anything save their own terror.

His own army cheered, jeering at the enemy and giving massed shouts of "Hurrah!" If their morale had had any doubt laid within it, it was now dispelled.

"Don't get cocky, boys; it'll be harder next time," James warned them. "Blitz, are the cannons ready yet?"

"Almost, Mein General, but many were lost in the retreat."

"We'll make do with what we have." That's all any soldier can do.

Shining Armor noted with some relief that II Corps was withdrawing in an orderly fashion. They were joined by more than a few of Blueblood's own soldiers, who were, in a word, glum, and that was an understatement. Many of them stared straight ahead, though ponies and objects; he almost thought they were blind, except that they walked around obstructions and were careful not to trip over anything. He didn't want to think about what they'd been through.

Northward, the sounds of battle continued. A sudden roar of gunfire caught his attention, but after waiting for a few minutes he could hear no more.

He heard a flutter of wings, and a bedraggled blue pegasus trooper landed to his front. "General," the soldier said immediately, stopping to catch his breath for a moment before going on. "General Lavigne says... to withdraw best as... possible to the south; he... is currently engaging the enemy on a hill a couple miles northwest. I... flew as fast as I could... to tell you..." The pegasus collapsed in exhaustion.

Shining nodded to two Guards standing not far away, and without hesitation they went over to the soldier, picked him up, and carried him away. At least he knew something about the action now.

A cannon boomed in the distance, from the direction the messenger had indicated. No, the fighting wasn't over quite yet. He hoped it would end with the survival of his friend and the troops under him

"Artillery is at your orders, General," Blitz reported.

"Very good. Tell them to hold fire until I give the word."

"Ja."

James could survey the field from his position. He could see movement in the trees at the bottom of the hill, and knew another rush was in the works. "Wait til ya can see the whites of their eyes," he called out. "Don't waste what you've got unless you're sure you can hit what you're aiming at."

"Gen'ral." James turned to see a pinkish pegasus mare hovering at his left. "What'r yer orders?" She adjusted her cowboy hat.

"Gather the clouds you've found. When you hear me give the word, unleash lightning upon anything that isn't either me or a pony. Got it?"

"Yep. One big ole storm, comin' up, gen'ral." She flew into the sky.

"If only the problems of the world could be solved through peaceful actions," James muttered to himself. It wasn't going to happen, at least not here.

"Sir." A unicorn from the Guard at his right saluted.

"Yes?"

"We were joined by many survivors of Blueblood's troops, but a lot of them don't have ranged weaponry, and I don't want them out there unless they can do something useful."

"Send the unicorns to the front, and have them fire spells until they get to tired to do so. Have the pegasi gather what clouds they can, and zap yonder miscreants with lightning."

"And what of the earth ponies?"

"Have them bring the injured to safety, and fix any damage our defenses receive during lulls in the fighting. And send any walking wounded to join Shining Armor in his retreat if we haven't been cut off yet."

"Yes sir, I'll get right on it."

"Dismissed." James and the soldier saluted one another, then the human commander went back to watching the enemy. Even as he turned to look, they emerged from the trees and advanced, somewhat more carefully this time but still marching forward in a manner that bespoke a failure to completely reorganize; little groups remained apart from each other and were lead by sword-wielding officers who made little effort to rejoin the small clumps of soldiers together.

A recipe for disaster, if there ever was one. "Artillery... Fire!"

He saw soldiers pull the lanyards, and there was a slight hissing sound before multiple cannons blasted away. Shells began landing on the slopes, exploding and sending up clods of dirt. To his dissatisfaction, however, the angle was too steep, and most detonated in the woods rather than on the hillside. Two trees collapsed, and enemy warriors scrambled to avoid them. One landed with a dull thud, the other with a loud crack that made itself heard above the sounds of battle.

A few of his soldiers, overeager or perhaps nervous, began firing their weapons prematurely. Scattered bolts flew down hill, but almost none of them hit anything. Equestrian sergeants shouted for them to cease fire, and after several seconds the sporadic firing stopped.

James watched as the invaders approached. It was almost cliché by now. The multi-color uniforms of the Griffons were unmistakable, and were good targets for the rank and file.

Sergeants and captains gave the order to fire. Ponies leveled their weapons and pressed the triggers. Thunder, fire and smoke emitted from the barrels, intermingling with the cries of the enemy soldiers who had been hit. here and there, a mourning howl came from a Diamond dog, and furious roars echoed from many a Minotaur's throat.

As the smoke cleared, he could see the enemies beyond bring their weapons to bear.

"Duck!" He threw himself to the deck. He heard a ripping roar of thunder; wood splintered above his head, lead bullets ricocheted from rock, and a number of Thock! sounds came from the bodies of those who had been hit, along with screams and furious curses.

He rose to his feet quickly. For now, the Griffon soldiers were content to reload rather than rush the defenses his troops had so hastily erected. Any dog who had gotten his paws on a firearm did likewise. Those with melee weapons had no choice but to press forward or be shot down where they stood. By the time those so armed were anywhere close, the Equestrians were ready with another volley; entire lines of the attackers dropped as though they were marionettes whose strings had been cut by divine scissors.

This was too much for the dogs; they dropped their weapons and fled, most going on all fours to escape the barrage of defensive fire. Griffon commanders ordered them to go back, but none of them did anything of the sort.

A few Minotaurs, still alive despite their wounds, charged into the breastworks and began slicing away with their battleaxes. James picked up a bayonetted matchlock, and threw it into the chest of one of these. His target yelled angrily, but fell just the same. Picking up a spear, he made his way over towards another, a bull so fierce that even Guards backed away before his fearsome yowls.

He ran at the enemy warrior and, as the foe turned around, he shoved the spear through the enemy's neck. The Minotaur gurgled as he clutched at his throat and fell.

Looking around, he saw that the others had been put down, and the outgoing fire increased. Once you knew what you were doing, you could reload a gun rather quickly. That, plus the fact that the ponies were fighting from behind fixed defenses, was turning the tide in their favor. Fewer enemies remained to fire at them, and soon their commanders, a relative few of those who had first lead the assault, gave the order to fall back. The Griffons retreated reluctantly, some shooting as they backed away.

James sighed with relief. Another attack had been repelled. That meant another lull to get the wounded to safety and repair damaged works. He knew the luck he had had couldn't last forever; eventually the invaders would realize what they were doing wrong and fix it.

He muttered under his breath as his eyes swept the field. An overwhelming majority of the fallen were Griffons and mercenaries, but many ponies were down as well, crying for help and in pain, others ominously silent and still. It was a terrible scene indeed, one he hoped he would never have to lay eyes on again. He knew, too, that he was unlikely to get that wish until the war ended either way. And it wasn't about to end on this battlefield.

I was careless, he decided. I should have expected them to pull a fast one on us, to call forth mercenaries and whatnot. Instead, I was blinded by victory, and saw only what I thought was the light at the end of the tunnel. As a result, we're further away from that light than we were before. He felt like pounding a rock. He resisted only out of the knowledge that his flesh and blood hand would break on the hard surface; it wasn't a pony hoof, hard as rock itself.

He pushed those thoughts back down; they wouldn't help, and he would have all the time in the world to ponder his decisions... if he survived this battle.

He took another long chug from his canteen. It was certainly past noon, but that meant another several hours trying to defend a position under increasingly organized and ferocious assaults. He doubted his ammunition would last that long; eventually his troops would run out and would have to endure being shot at before a devastating charge overwhelmed them. At least, that was the scene his imagination formed.

The pink cowgirl mare from earlier fluttered down in front of him. "Gen'ral, the pegasi've gathered every cloud from here ta Trottingham; when do you want us?"

"As soon as the very next attack begins. It probably won't be much longer than five, ten minutes from now anyway."

"Okay, sir, just give us the go-ahead on yer own time, and we'll give 'em the biggest thunderstorm they ever saw."

"Good." With that, he waved his hand, and the pegasus flew away, up toward the aforementioned group of clouds.

I hope they have good aim; wouldn't want to be zapped myself. He sat down to rest.

"Excuse us, sir, coming through."

"Oh?" James turned to see two ponies hauling an injured soldier on a stretcher. He got to his feet and took a better look.

"Aw, damn it, Star," he said in a mixture of mourning and anger, "not you too." The Lunar Guard had his leg bandaged, and had a grimace on his face from the pain.

Star smiled weakly. "They got me, sir. Compared to too many of my friends and brothers in arms... I guess I'm lucky."

"If this is luck, may we never know misfortune."

Star laughed, then groaned. "At least they said I'm gonna keep the leg. And if you still need me to fight..."

"You'll do nothing of the sort," one of the medics interrupted. "Let's go buddy, off to the field hospital with you."

"There isn't one."

"Then we're bringing you to the next best thing." Before the Night stallion could say another word, the medics hoisted the stretcher up and carried him away; James could still hear him moan a little as they set off.

"He's not the only one from our corps to be so wounded, sir." James turned on his heel to see another Lunar Guard standing there. "We suffered too many losses when the metaphorical dam broke, if you pardon my meaning."

"I understand. What happened?"

"They hit us with more than we could bear. Too many of them, too few of us... and not enough leadership on our side to make a difference."

"...I see." James scratched his chin; he would have to shave soon. "And what of the Prince?"

Most of the time, stallions from the Guard, whether of the regular Royal Guard or the Lunar Guard, showed absolute respect for members of the royal family. This time, the Guard's face contorted with anger. "Oh, him?" The stallion snorted in contempt. "Last I heard, he took off in his personal carriage when the fighting got too close to his oh-so-glamorous-abode; didn't stop to think about the kids dying under his command." When James said nothing immediately, the soldier said, "Court martial me if you want, General, I'll take it fair and square."

"As it turns out, I agree with you." The stallion lifted an eyebrow. James explained, "He made himself unpopular with me and Shining Armor on his first day of soldiering, and he never improved. Seeing as he didn't listen to me when I sent a messenger to inform his about the Griffon buildup, I doubt he had the courage to face that disaster when it was unleashed."

"You can say that a million times, and I'll believe it every time you say it, sir."

"For now, I would be very grateful if you gathered the survivors of your corps and gathered them to the rear, in the likelihood that we shall need a reserve."

"Much obliged, General." The stallion saluted.

James returned the salute. "Dismissed."

General Grayfeather was not the happiest Griffon ever hatched. The four colonels in front of him knew what was coming. "You idiots, you sanctioned two assaults without properly reorganizing your forces?!"

All four of them shrank back from his fury. While not as... wrathful as General Hawkfrost, his anger was still a sight to behold.

One of them had the courage to try and explain his actions; "We thought it best to continue to pursue the enemy in his retreat, to take as many as we could..."

"We would have done better if you halfwits had stopped to reform your ranks, instead of letting... this," the general growled, waving a claw toward the burning remains of the Equestrian camp, "happen."

"It wasn't us sir," another of the nincompoops broke in, Scottish accent permeating his words, "it was the Minotaurs; you know them, sir, they wreck everything n' everyone that gets in their way."

"And as a result of their rampage, which you had the power to stop, many supplies and intelligence we could have gleaned have been lost. Colonel Gilderoy, you had the weapons to force the lumbering brutes to obey, yet you failed to use it."

"Better than letting the enemy escape..." another tried to put in.

"Fool!" Grayfeather took a swipe at the younger but less agile officer, who barely ducked in time to keep from being slapped full in the face. "The enemy was beyond your grasp at the time. Perhaps if you'd taken your time and done it right, you wouldn't be before me now. Hawkfrost might have allowed such stupidity to run abundant in his army, but as you all know, he died in battle a victim of his own recklessness. I will not sanction any such conditions in any army under my control, do you all understand me?" he demanded, dragging out the syllables of the last few words.

The other officers bowed their heads. Glideroy, the one with the Scottish accent, sighed. "We understand and obey, General. What r' yer orders?"

"Prepare another offensive, but get your artillery in place before doing anything. I'll give the order for the next attack. And you will wait for my order, and enforce patience upon your own soldiers, or there will be hell to pay."

Seeing them nod, he grumbled as he waved his claw and sent them away. His anger was still there, but it merely smoldered rather than boiled, as it had before. Sadly, for the Griffon cause at any rate, there really was almost nothing to be salvaged from the wreck of his enemy's camp, and he suspected that, contrary to Colonel Glideroy's claims, it was not only the Minotaurs who enacted the senseless destruction; all too likely, many frustrated Griffons, having lost friends and comrades, would have liked nothing better than to destroy what they could of the foe's possessions. And of course, many dogs would have had similar emotions running through them as well at the time.

Already scouts had confirmed that Shining Armor and his command had slipped away, and the army wouldn't catch them anytime soon, especially as the battle was far from over as it was. The general stared at the offending hill just to the south. Sooner or later, it would have to succumb to the attacks thrown against it... wouldn't it?

James made sure his matchlock was loaded and ready before taking yet another gaze at the bottom of the hill. Nothing had happened for an hour or so. He began to feel nervous.

The battlefield was amazingly quiet. The world seemed to hold it's breath, waiting for the blow that was about to come.

Finally, he heard artillery fire from the north. Shells and cannon balls, along with the occasional rock, streaked through the air.

"Get down!"

He dropped to the ground and covered his head. Explosions and dull hits made the ground shake, and dirt blew onto him and other soldiers taking over. When he raised his head, he found to his relief that this volley had failed to cause much, if any, damage; most of the munitions had overshot their targets.

That knowledge was tempered by the fact that the Griffons would be recalibrating their artillery angles. The next shots would be much closer.

He could see a few cannoneers watching him. "What are you waiting for?" he demanded. "Shoot back!"

He didn't have to tell them twice. they got to work at once. Within a minute the battery was ready to fire. For good measure, he walked over to the nearest gun. "Is this positioned where you want it be?" he asked the gun captain.

"Yes sir."

"Good." James took the lanyard and pulled it.

BOOM! He felt as if someone had lifted him up and slammed him back down. White smoke blocked the field. Other guns followed suit; although he could hardly see any of them, he could easily hear them as the cannons crashed off, sending death streaming into the forest.

The response was not long in coming. More angry shells crashed to earth, and he heard something strike metal and something crumbled. As the smoke from the gun dissipated, he saw that one cannon had been struck squarely by a rock, which had broken against the metal barrel and left nothing but a dent where it had struck. That cannon would fire again.

More to his concern was the artillery crew who had been hit by splinters. Three of them were down, but he could see that for two of them, their wounds were only scratches, which would heal quickly. The third, however, had been struck by numerous fragments and was honestly down and out, though not dead. Before he could call for a medics, two of them showed up and began to minister to the needs of the injured troopers.

"General!" came the voice of Crystal Clear. James watched him land.

"Yes? What is it?"

"They're bring up some of their boys to flank us, sir. I suggest looking to our sides and rear.

"Send our reserves to block our rear. Let them know not to let the enemy pass."

"Yes sir."

A rock slammed into the ground just behind the pegasus, who ducked instinctively but uselessly.

"I suggest you find good cover when you've done that."

"Yes, sir!" Before another object could land on him directly, Crystal Clear spread his wings and jumped into the sky.

Now, to see how long we can stand...

The bombardment lasted for about half an hour, though Bright Star didn't bother to check. All the while he kept his head down in the grass as projectiles flew overhead. Afterward, when he thought about it, few of the rounds came anywhere near him, or his buddies; they always seemed to blow up or land far behind. At the time, though, he didn't notice, or care.

Finally, the explosions and thuds came to an end. He raised his head, and when nothing happened initially, he got to his hooves and made sure his gun was loaded; the end of a bombardment could only mean a follow up attack.

Sure enough, sporadic warnings of oncoming Griffons quickly came down the line. He raised his weapon and made sure his right hoof was on the trigger; as the hard appendage couldn't feel, he had to check with his eyes.

And here came the invaders. This time, they came ready. Their line was three birds deep, stretching across a half mile or so. Most bore matchlocks, though some of the poorer clans bore crossbows and regular bows instead. Dogs came as well, but Griffon officers forced them to advance in an orderly fashion, with rusty crossbows, basic, primitive bows and swords looking as if they would disintegrate any moment with all the rust covering them, and their spears were no better. The Minotaurs looked absolutely miserable; they were forced to march, not run at the defenders as they had before. While terrifying, those charges had at least exposed them to Equestrian fire.

More such lines came on the flank of the first, slightly behind and advancing just as conspicuously. Dread began to take hold in Bright's heart. How are we going to beat that?

He felt like running; as a earth pony, he could run faster than either a unicorn or a pegasus. It would be so easy...

He looked to his right. He didn't know why, but he did. Beside him stood a fellow veteran of the war. From the looks of him, he'd fought from the first battles against the Changelings. There was little notable about him, other than a stoic, determined look on his face and a quiet sigh.

Oddly enough, that made him feel better. Running was for those who cared nothing about friendship; if he ran now, he would be abandoning his fellow soldiers. It would scar him for life, knowing that they fought while he ran and hid.

I won't run away. Not now, not ever.

Drums sounded from behind the enemy lines, and they increased their pace.

Cannons began to fire once more, but the effects were different. Instead of explosions, small knots of hostiles would drop. He didn't know what the artillery ponies were shooting, but it was effective, no doubt about that.

It didn't stop them; it never had, not by itself. The silent, steady march of the enemy continued. The Griffons rarely responded to the fire unless they wound up being hit themselves. The dogs were clearly worried, but more afraid of their immediate superiors, while the Minotaurs, as always, showed a contempt for death entirely.

Bright raised his matchlock. Killing another sentient being still felt wrong. It hadn't decreased since slaying his first Changeling in the ambush in the desert; in fact, the feeling, if anything, had increased. It was, however, plainly obvious that the enemy either had no such compunctions or had brushed them aside, and would slay him and his comrades if he didn't give it his all.

"Ready boys?" the captain called out. Without waiting for an answer, the officer continued, "Steel yourselves, wait for my order, then rise and give 'em what they deserve!"

I don't want to give them what they deserve. He forced that thought down. It would only make doing what he had to do all the more difficult.

"Steady... Steady..."

Bright took a bead on a Minotaur; it was important to bring those big bruisers down. Already, many times today, he'd seen the carnage a few of them could wreak when they got in close.

"Now, let 'em have it!"

He fired, as did everyone else. The sound struck his ears like a thunderbolt.

"Now!" shouted another, familiar voice, "strike!"

A something flashed, in unison with a roar like that of an angry god. An enemy soldier crumpled, dead long before he hit the ground.

What...?

More flashes, and more deafening thunder; lightning struck, and with every fall of a bolt an enemy died, stricken by a force that no armor or skin could hope to deflect. Now one was hit, now another farther down the line, and yet another was killed, struck dead by fury from the sky. The world darkened, even though it was a while before nighttime yet.

Have the divine powers, whoever and whatever they may be, come to deliver us? He looked up. High in the sky, pegasi, both soldiers and civilians alike, slammed their hooves into clouds, bringing lightning instantly into the invaders' ranks, dealing out death left and right.

If the effect was frightening for the Equestrians, it was terrifying for the foe. Warriors and soldiers alike dropped to the ground in panic, not knowing what else to do. More than a few took to their heels, or wings, and fled, as fast and as far as they could from that terrible spectacle.

At the same time, multi-colored bolts of magic streaked downhill and struck the enemy. Some of those hit just rolled over and moved no more; others, more in number, grabbed at burned skin, fur, and feathers, hurt though not killed by the attack.

A volley of canister completed the harvest of death; hundreds dropped as though by a giant scythe. More quarrels and bullets put a period to the matter.

A few of the enemy, brave enough to endure the terror that must surely have taken hold in their hearts, did manage to get ahold of themselves and march to within firing distance; they loosed everything they had. Bright ducked, and an arrow flew through the air where his head had been.

He had reloaded by then, and he shot back, as did everypony on the line. More enemy soldiers fell.

That did it. First in drabbles, then in hordes, the foe broke and ran for their lives down the hill, abandoning weapons, armor, and equipment in order to flee faster.

Bright Star sighed, lowering the gun. He'd survived. All up and down the line, ponies cheered at the sight of the enemy running away.

"Let's hear it for the pegasi!"

"Hip hip, hooray!"

"Hip hip, hooray!"

"Hip hip, hooray!"

He looked back at James, who simply looked relieved that this onslaught was over. "Don't cheer yourselves out just yet," he warned. "There'll be more yet. Make sure you're ready; we still have a job to do; protect the boys making their way back down to road. If we hold off their next few attacks, we'll be joining them soon."

Grayfeather listened to the noise of battle and of thunder. He grabbed at his chair. "What's happening out there?!" he asked himself anxiously.

Soon enough, he found out. a lieutenant, wide-eyed and in a state of panic, ran into the tent. "Help us General!" the soldier pleaded. "You have to do something, they have lightning and everything you can imagine killing us left and right on that accursed hill!"

What do you expect me to do, you poor wretch? I'm not a god. As fast as the though came, he got rid of it. "They are using the pegasi's natural ability to use clouds to do what they are doing. Send some companies into the sky to put a stop to them. And bring up any reserves we have." He lifted himself out of the chair. "And begin the flank attacks. Hopefully, that will distract them long enough for our troops to launch the final assault and finish them.

He looked down at his feet; the lieutenant was in a fetal position, sucking his thumb.

"Idiot." He look up at the guards at the tent door. "You heard me. Deliver the orders to our commanders."

"But sir, your protection..."

"That was an order!" Without further ado, the two guards left.

Grayfeather tried once more to crush the doubt now weighing in his chest. It should have been over and won by now, yet the ponies and their human commander still held out with resilience he had not expected. This time, although he managed to force it down, he was unable to bid it to leave completely.

We've won here, he told himself. The enemy has been beaten, and this is just a rear-guard action. Regardless of what happens, we've won.

Star Blaze listened to the battle taking place without him. Everything inside him screamed for him to rejoin the fight.

Too bad the medics had tied three of his legs to a boulder after his first few attempts to do so.

Reports came in, not by messenger but by wounded soldiers brought in for treatment. They brought in news of lightning bombardment and of continued resistance by the defenders. It sounded like the kind of event in which heroes were born.

And I can't help them. My friends and comrades are sacrificing life and limb, and I can't help them.

"Doc, I think my leg's getting better. You can untie me now!"

"Nice try," A doctor said, not even looking in his direction. "You're staying here until the General gives the order to retreat. Only then will we let you walk out of here... and only if we say you can.

Damn it, doc.

"And my name is not 'Doc,' by the way."

Star face-hoofed.

James emptied what was left in his canteen straight into his mouth. Hours of assaults had stopped the Griffons cold, but they were adapting quickly. He had to keep some pegasi on guard rather than use lightning strikes, as the winged warriors had tried numerous times to kill or drive off those blasting them with powerful electricity. And the flank attacks, though repulsed, had come all too close to cracking the line. As it was, he was taking significant losses; thousands of ponies had been taken to the makeshift hospital - one without benefit of a roof - while others lay where they had fallen.

I'll never play Rome again, not after seeing this, he thought, surveying the hilltop. Nor Call of Duty or Halo or whatever else is out there.

"General," a private said, coming up to him, "I'm running out of ammo; I only have two more shots, and some other guys say they don't have any left at all."

"Damnation."

A Guard walked up to him as well. "Sir, most of the unicorns are growing exhausted, and can't provide any more help with spells."

"And don't forget us pegasi," one of that subtype of ponies said, hovering in front of him. "Our clouds don't have the stuff left in 'em to make anymore lightning, or anything else of value to us."

What do you expect me to do!? I'm not a magician! I can't make arrows from thin air or conjure clouds or do anything like that! He threw up his hands in exasperation. The ponies before him looked all the more dismayed upon seeing the despairing gesture.

Control yourself. He dropped his arms and took a deep breath. "We'll have to use cold steel, in that case."

"Sir, that's suicide."

"it's what we have left. Have anyone who still has ammunition fire it off, then tell them to drop the guns and take up the spear." Inspiration struck him. "Have your troops wait until after they've fired off a volley, then charge. If we're lucky, we may be able to take them before they manage to reload." He looked around. "I know it's risky, but it's our only chance."

Silver Shield listened to the instructions given by the captain, though he kept an eye on the hillside. From what he could tell, the whole thing was, if not outright suicidal, then outright risky.

He could feel almost no weight from his powder horn, and he was down to one shot. He loaded carefully; if this was the last shot he would fire (hopefully only for this battle, and not for his life), he wanted it to be a good one.

A few shots from Griffon cannons flew overhead; none of them hit where they were supposed to, of course. The angle for normal cannons wasn't right for the job.

"On the line, colts! Move it, move it, move it!" A sergeant shouted. Ingrained to obedience, Shield did so without any hesitation, without any questioning, either aloud or in his mind, of the commands he received. He could see the birds and their erstwhile "friends" making another, final march up the hill. Equestrian guns fired their last shots; case shot was more effective than shells, despite being new (At least, for us, he thought, remembering the books James owned; some of the stuff used in this was mediocre compared to what he had seen from books about the First World War), and slew a fair number of the enemy.

"Ready arms!"

He leveled his weapon against the rock he was crouching behind, lining up what appeared to his eyes to be a pompous officer.

"Aim..."

He did so, taking a bead on the torso of his target; aiming anywhere else was likely to lead to a miss.

"FIRE!"

He, and everyone he could hear, did so. Bolts and bullets slammed into the enemy line, dropping hundreds. He had no idea if his was the one that knocked down his target, as it was all too likely that others had taken aim at him as well.

He dropped the gun and his powder horn; they were useless now. His spear, his every trusty spear, was now his only weapon. He picked it up, and it's weight was reassuring.

Now he saw the enemy level their weapons. He ducked, as did everypony else.

A rippling blast, and the sound of wood and earth being torn away by bullets, quarrels and arrows... And, somewhere, somepony who hadn't taken cover quickly enough screamed.

...Damn it...

"Go, go, go!"

Shield leaped over the rock and charged running full out, spear-tip sparkling in the dying sunlight. He heard more than saw others follow him, thousands of hooves thundering against the ground.

Looking ahead, he watched the opposing line get closer and closer, until he could see their shocked faces before him.

One leveled a crossbow, hastily reloaded...

He never fired it. Shield's spear went through his neck, and the warrior dropped his weapon and fell to the ground.

All up and down the line, the shock of the downhill charge, physical as well as mental, struck the enemy with the force of a hurricane. Many were cut down as they tried to reload or as they discarded the now useless guns too late. Spears thrust again and again, awash with blood, only to lash out again and again, striking down warrior after warrior and giving the foe no chance for a reprieve.

Having faced the fury of the Equestrian defenders for two days, and having been subjected to gunfire, artillery, lightning, and the most basic of magic, Diamond dogs began to run, again going to all fours to escape, losing all taste for battle.

Despite the power of the attack, most of the Griffons refused to run initially. They fought back with whatever they had, swinging matchlocks like baseball bats and slashing with swords and daggers. In spite of the casualties they suffered, they fought on courageously, refusing to give an inch without fighting for it first.

They paid for it. Trying to fight against an enemy charging downhill was difficult. Fighting against one using spears was even more so, especially if you weren't equipped with spears of your own.

"Come on, lads!" a Griffon officers shouted, trying to inspire his troops. "We can take 'em, they caun't last forever!"

Like hell we can't. Shield withdrew his spear from yet another victim and sized up the distance between himself and the optimistic enemy commander. Judging that he could get to him without overly risking himself,, he leveled his weapon and charged on three legs, with the fourth keeping the spear straight as he made his run.

The colonel didn't see him in time, and was only just beginning to turn when Shield's spear struck him squarely in the side. He could see a look of astonishment on his opponent's face as he fell, looking for all the world more stunned than hurt. The griffon hit the ground, groaning once before he stopped twitching.

A dismayed cry came from someone nearby; "Colonel Gilderoy's dead! No!"

Upon seeing their beloved commander dead on the grass, the closest Griffons began to run, all morale gone. Some took to the sky, others just fled as fast as they could downhill.

Oh no, you're not getting away that easily. He fixed his spear as he had before, readying himself for another charge.

"That won't be necessary, Shield. We've beaten them."

He turned his head to see his two-legged friend a few feet away, looking tired but triumphant.

"General, we should catch as many of them as we can before they escape..."

"We need to fall back ourselves. I don't want our boys to get too spread out."

"That'll be hard sir; the boys are on their way to Gryphos!"

"That lofty goal is beyond our reach today, I'm afraid." Turning to Crystal Clear, the General commanded, "Make sure the rest of our boys get the word. We have to withdraw to Trottingham as soon as possible, before their superior numbers can overwhelm us."

"There are still a few Minotaurs still fighting as hard as they can, General. I think we need to deal with them first."

"Yes, but make it clear that no one is to advance any further, it's going to take a while to gather our meager supplies and equipment as it is, and I want to get started as soon as possible."

Crystal and Shield both saluted. "Sir!"

James nodded. Then, as he turned and walked away, Shield heard him mutter, "'It is good war is so terrible, else we would become too fond of it.'"

This chapter is finally done, phew. Sorry it took so long, I tired to get it to be as dramatic as possible. The next chapter probably won't be out until August, due to a vacation I will be taking. I thank you all for your support of this story. If you notice any errors, please inform me in the comments.

Chapter 32; The Siege of Trottingham

The withdrawal from the battlefield where so many ponies had given their lives to protect their country was hard, in more ways than one. It took hours to round everyone up, and then another half hour to begin marching. Soldiers uncounted turned to look briefly at the hill where their final stand had taken place. Doubtless many were thinking of companions slain in the fighting, of horrors beyond the imagination of a civilian, wondering what had happened to the spirits of those they were leaving behind.

Scouts reported no immediate pursuit, so the Equestrians took their time. James was plumb tired anyway, and most of his soldiers were in the same state. No ammunition, carrying thousands of wounded soldiers and dragging now only symbolically useful artillery with them, the army would not, could not, move fast even had it wanted to. On many faces, the only feature was an ominous stare, with the feeling that the one bearing such a mask must surely be looking through the landscape and through other soldiers, not at them. They were in no condition to fight anytime soon.

The numbers were still coming in, but the casualties, needless to say, had been the highest of the war so far. Over fifteen thousand ponies out of forty thousand had been killed, wounded, captured, or missing. They'd given better than they'd got; they always had. Some estimated enemy casualties to be thirty thousand or more, out of fifty to sixty thousand. But, out of ammunition and supply, the only good the Equestrian army could do was retreat and hope for the best in the defense of Trottingham.

Scarred from shrapnel and hits from a warrior's sword he hadn't quite managed to block in time, James could only pray that the defenses around the city could withstand a siege.

"General, 3rd Corps is approaching from the north, just a few miles away." The Guard looked tired, but bore a smile he didn't even try to hide.

Shining Armor didn't blame him. The battle had been pure hell, and it was good to know that they weren't alone in surviving.

"Sir," a regular coming up to his other side reported, "Artillery has only five rounds per gun, and most of our troops have three or fewer shots for their weapons. Food is critically short, and we have well over three thousand wounded who need immediate attention. Reinforcements beyond 3rd Corps are not expected."

Shining sighed in exasperation. Having to abandon the camps had really hurt the army, but nothing could be done about that now, and trying to pack everything in the chaos of the retreat would have been, to put it mildly, a very bad idea. "In that case, prepare to move out as soon as 3rd Corps gets here. In the meantime, eat the grass if you're hungry." Ponies could, of course, eat grass, but hay was much more refined and was generally, assuming proper storage, more hygienic.

"Right away, sir."

As his subordinates left, Shining positioned himself on the road and stared northward, watching for James and 1st Corps. They weren't long in coming; over a hill a mile or so away, the battle flags of the various regiments forming the Corps appeared, battered and shot up, but still waving proudly. Royal Guard armor shone brightly in the rays of the setting sun, giving an impression of an invincible, victorious force. Unfortunately, Shining reflected, he knew better.

As they got closer, he noticed something... different about the approaching troops. At first, as he put his hoof to his chin, he couldn't figure out why; they were as tired as anyone else in the army was after a two day fight, probably more tired considering that they had fought longer than the rest of the army, and their clothes and armor were filthy. Their belt pouches, normally full of ammo, were empty, and they looked as lethargic as the soldiers they were about to join, worn out and in no condition to do anything but sleep.

Then he brought his hoof down, stomping in in the dirt; he had it. They carried an air of pride despite their disparaging looks; they hadn't had to fall back with the enemy on their heels, instead giving them a kick in the teeth before withdrawing, and thus giving themselves some breathing room.

Flags flying high, III Corps began to ascend the hill, it's bipedal commander in the lead. Shining smiled to see that his friend was still alive. James looked tired unto death, and his uniform was covered in dirt; it would probably take days to wash it clean.

When the human reached the crest of the hill, the two generals stood there for a moment, looking at one another. Then they ran towards one another and embraced.

"Thank God, you're alive," James blurted out, standing back up after a few seconds.

"There were a few times I thought I wouldn't be."

"Well, we're both still standing, so that counts for something." James' face twisted in a grimace. "Too many are dead, and still all too many after that are injured, some so badly that they'll lose something. Putting a hand to his chest and staring toward the horizon, he added, "there will be a reckoning for this."

Shining Armor didn't reply, but he too watched the sun set, nodding in agreement.

"Where on Earth is Prince Blueblood!?" James demanded.

"Sir," answered the Royal Guard before him (he had a New York accent), "he's still in Trottingham proper. That's the only official word I got."

"Blast it," James growled, slamming his fist down on a nearby tree stump; that did nothing more than hurt, and only made him all the more angry.

"That was the only official word," the Guard added. "Rumors are, he's lodging a court martial for someone, and that it's either you, Shining Armor, or both of you."

"That brat is trying to get us arrested?" Somehow, given the situation, that was more funny than infuriating; James let out a belly laugh at hearing that.

"I know. Hardly fair sir, considering all the trouble you both went through to get us out of that mess alive." Any respect the Guard had had for the Prince was gone now, after leaving his own soldiers to die. "If you told me to arrest him this instant sir, I would do so."

James thought about that. All things considered, he had wanted to do that the instant his troops had caught up with the rest of the army, but more important things had taken up his time, like trying to figure out how to shelter the troops so that at least they could expect some decent cover from the rain, not to mention adequate food; an entire field of grass had been consumed in mere hours, and since then there hadn't been an hour where some soldier hadn't come up to him saying, "General, we're hungry," or something of the sort in a pitiful voice. It was enough to bring him to tears.

What do you want me to do!? he wanted to ask every time; logistics were a mess, and food hadn't yet reached the front - or what miserably tired to pass for it.

Even more heart wrenching were the cries of the wounded. Misery had an iron grip here. Without tents to shelter them, they had to endure whatever the weather had to throw at them. Pegasi were trying to keep the sky clear, but they were hungry and tired, and their spirits were dampened. Every so often a miserable groan or moan would rise from where the injured where made to lie, tearing at the hearts of those who heard them.

Ugh, what am I supposed to do? I'm just one man! Turning back to the Guard, he could see he was awaiting an answer. Sighing, he shook his head. "That would create as many problems, perhaps more, than it would solve. And it won't get us the food and shelter we so desperately need." He grabbed his canteen and took a long drink; for once he wished he hadn't sworn off alcohol altogether. replacing the cap, he continued. "It would be more useful to transport the wounded back to the city; at least they'll get better treatment and dwellings there. Please see to it."

"Yes sir, I'm on it."

After the Guard left, James swallowed what was left in the canteen; at the very least the army wasn't - quite - short on water.

Bright Star marched sullenly into a village not far from Trottingham, hard, unfeeling hooves clopping on the stone path, gun over his shoulder. He was one of thousands trudging through the town, trying to get back to the city, back to the extensive fortifications around it.

One of the village mares approached him. "Where do you think yer goin'? Why r' you going back 'stead o' the other way? You..."

"Look here lady," one of the ponies in his squad interrupted, "you might not know it, but we just got out of the grinder, and we're lucky to be alive. If I were you, I'd worry about leaving before the stinking birds get here."

"How rude!"

"I don't care. Use your common sense." The mare let out a screech. Bright could care less; the soldier who'd done the talking sure didn't. The mare tried complaining to everyone, soldier or not, who would listen. None of the soldiers did. They kept walking.

Another mare was more infuriating. "Cowards! Your mothers would be ashamed of you! Curse you all!"

"My mother doesn't have a trash compactor for a mouth," a soldier yelled back. The outraged scream the mare made upon hearing this was more funny than anything else.

Before long, the little village was out of sight, but many of the townsponies had decided that it was indeed better to leave rather than stay and face the conquerors. They dragged carts full of belongings behind them, and some took their children and a few saddlebags full of possessions; a few took nothing but their families, the young among them confused and worried, asking their parents why they had to leave, and with so little stuff.

That night, civilians and soldiers mingled; the army had little shelter for their own, and food was short, but they shared what they had with the people and especially with the foals.

Bright Star sat down under a tree and looked up into the night sky. The stars held no answers. Curse you, he thought angrily as he stared up at them. You hold nothing, nothing at all, that can help us now. He had always looked up at them in wonder, as if they truly had the knowledge of the universe. The war had shattered that illusion, shattered it forever; those magnificent lights in the sky were only that, nothing more.

Fires arose from the gatherings of ponies; it could hardly be called a camp. From there, what little proper food anyone had was being cooked; more often, whether soldier or civilian, they fed on grass and water alone.

Is this it? Is this the poverty we'll be reduced to? Or will it be worse?

That's nonsense, a rather weaker but more reasonable voice in his head said. We'll get our tents back when we reach the city, and we'll have food to eat as well, not to mention ammunition and supplies.

It was hard to convince himself, seeing all the hardship and turmoil that was right in front of him. Nonetheless, it was something to hold onto, something to hope for. It was better than giving up to despair, that was certain.

He was innocent, innocent of a great many things. But not of war, not anymore. When wars had been mentioned in textbooks in school, they had portrayed most of them as heroic struggles against evil, with the good guys coming out on top. While that may have been true - or true enough - it didn't come close to revealing the full story. It was also about death, of loss, of hearts breaking, rending in two from all those taken by the storm.

Oh, mother, I hope this cruel war will be over soon, so that I can come home and never leave you again,

His mother wasn't here. His comrades and brothers in arms were. He gathered up his meager possessions - his matchlock and spear, a few cartridges he had managed to scrounge from those who would never need them again, and a few, tied up pieces of actual hay - and walked toward one of those campfires, hoping to get at least some comfort there.

"Hey, Bright," Silver Lining called as he approached the fire, "find anna thin' more ta eat?"

"No, sorry, just a few blades of grass and hay," Bright Star answered, placing what he had on the ground. "It's not like there's anything else, not with the battle and... it's results, a few days ago."

"Results?" White Knight exclaimed. "You for real? That was murdah, nuttin but."

"If you mean murder of both sides, then you're right," Silver Shield said as he sat down on a rock. "The Griffons and their little pets got a hell of a beating."

"Not to rain on your parade, Sergeant," Bright injected, "but we didn't come off any better than they did." When no one answered, he looked around. "Where's Jim?"

"He's too busy trying to organize things and get us supplies to come tonight, and he probably won't be showing up the night after, either, poor kid," Shield replied, looking down.

"'Poor kid?'" Bright echoed. "Shield, most of the ponies in the army are hardly in their twenties; I wouldn't be calling anypony "poor kid'".

"James isn't a pony, as he makes clear. And I've got the right to call him kid." Shield laughed. "I have the right to call all of you kids. I've been busting criminals and serving Her Majesty since you were in diapers, not to mention having to fight in this war."

After a few seconds of silence, Silver Lining quipped, "Ya don' have tha right to say it o' me; I've been sailing for Her Majesty."

"Where, in the Royal Navy? We barely have one!"

"Not in that navy, no, but in the merchant marine, aye. I've seen storms no pegasi could o' made, seen people washed overboard, even seen death a few times." The pegasus' voice grew quiet as he said that last. "Was ne'er pretty. An' since comin' inta tha army, it's gotten worse. Can't tell when it'll end, even if we do throw the bastards back in front o' Trottinham."

"Feels like it'll go on forever, is what it does," Shield said after a while.

"It can't!" Bright shouted, shocked.

"Who says it won't?"

"But... but nothing would be left of either country!"

"Underscores what I've been saying, doesn't it?"

Bright decided to just stop talking, knowing he wouldn't win this one.

"Anyways, thank God we're all still here." Shield picked up a few blades of grass and chewed on them.

"What did you just say?" Bright asked. "Don't you mean, 'Thank Celestia' or 'Thank Luna?'"

Shield swallowed his food, then shook his head. "Never saw either of them offer us divine aid during the fighting." He picked up a pebble, and placed it on the ground in front of him. "If our beloved leaders - and I'm not saying that in sarcasm, honestly I'm not - were truly the goddesses we believed - that I used to believe - they were, the enemy would have been crushed" - he stomped on the pebble with his right front hoof - "like that, and in less time." He lifted the hoof; his hoof was barely scratched, while the pebble had been pulverized. "And, between you and me, I've met the solar princess quite a few times. She's motherly and loving - not to mention mischievous - but she doesn't know everything, and doesn't pretend to. It was her personality that chiefly earned her my loyalty, not the beliefs we were brought up with."

"Well, okay..." Bright said, hoof to his chin as he processed what he'd taken in.

"Well, what abou' Nightmare Moon?" Knight asked.

"Don't call her that," Shield said fiercely. "Not where she or her Guards can hear you. She hates being called that, except on Nightmare Night, and she's touchy about that too. I haven't met her more than a few times. She's more... absolutist and old fashioned, but she cares about everypony too, even if she goes about it a bit less motherly than her sister. That said, she's having trouble fitting in; being gone a thousand years means a lot of changes, not the least being that almost everyone you ever knew is long dead, and technology and magic has come a long way since her time."

"Yeah," Silver said, "I'd hate ta be in 'er position, tha's fer sure."

"Well, religion aside, what're we going to do?" Bright asked.

"'What are we going to do?'" Shield responded. ""We'll do what we can, how we can, the best we can. Anypony - anyone - does less is a slacker or a traitor. You all joined the army for reasons of your own; some of you may have thought it meant you'd be able to date some mares back home, or maybe it would make you famous enough to be recognized. Those reasons, as I'm sure you've all learned by now, don't mean a thing anymore. What matters is survival, of us and our kingdom. And we'll manage, I swear to God and to all of you, right before me now, that I will do everything I can to bring our country out of this darkness, come hell or high water."

Everypony else at the fire nodded in agreement. Although there was no official bonds between them, they were all connected by the friendship they had forged in the conflict, as brothers in arms. They would all do the best they could for one another, and for any of their comrades.

James was exhausted by the time his troops finally arrived at Trottingham. Thousands and thousands of civilian refugees followed him and his equally tired troops; many were just children, their cries and misery tearing at his heart and all the hearts of those who heard them.

They should get some shelter and food where they're going. For that matter, so should my soldiers. That was what he told himself, anyhow.

And, for a wonder, he was right. The defenses of the city had been drastically improved since he'd last been here; massive earthen forts ringed the town, connected by an elaborate trench system. Banners depicting the two Royal Sisters circling a globe, the banner of Equestria, waved above the forts and from the high places in the town.

Luckily, forewarned of the refugees streaming into town, preparations had been made for their arrival and care. The sick were directed to various hospitals, and those who were hungry - the majority - were brought to feeding stations. Everyone in the town had pitched in to help; even the nobility and the rich were playing a part, although considering the alternative - being arrested or harassed by soldiers, not to mention the anger of the townsponies - it may or may not have been out of the kindness of their hearts, or perhaps not that alone.

And, at last, the army was receiving the goods it needed to continue the fight; food, drink, ammunition, tools, and weapons were flowing in, and even a few replacement troops were arriving every day. With that more or less settled, the question in his mind was how to defend the city properly.

"It's going to be hard to defend every angle of the city at once," he said to Shining Armor three days after their arrival in the city. They were both in a town saloon, drinking apple cider (James praised God it wasn't alcoholic) and trying to discuss ways to defend the city. "Best I can figure, we can fit maybe a thousand soldiers in every fort, and stretch the rest best we can in the trenches between them. The problem with that is if they concentrate on one area, we'll have... problems, to say the least."

"That's an understatement." Shining took a long draft of cider from his mug before setting it back on the table. "It would be disastrous. What I think is, we should focus our strength where they are concentrating. that should halt any attack they make."

"This won't be an open battle, not like most of the others we've fought." James took a sip from his own beverage. "It'll be a siege, each side trying to out-mine and out-position the other. They'll dig sappers trenches to approach safely, or more safely, at any rate, if they're smart. I'm hoping they won't be, but relying on stupidity from your enemies doesn't pay off, not enough to make it worth the risk."

Shining thought about that for a little while. "They don't have the troops to block off the entire city; we should be able to get a steady flow of equipment and food."

"Yes, but you aren't counting the people inhabiting the city; I don't know exactly, but I'd say there are probably over five hundred thousand, not counting soldiers and refugees. Feeding them and our army will be a challenge."

"Many of them are evacuating as we speak, I don't think it will be that hard."

James shook his head. "Even if two fifths of them leave - and I doubt that we'll manage that - that will leave hundreds of thousands of mouths to feed every day. It will be a difficult task. And the city is only about a mile behind our defensive lines; if they breach it, they'll be able to seize control, and I don't want to think what will happen to the population then."

The white stallion threw back his head in dismay. "You don't think they can get that far, do you?"

"If they can take one of our forts, I fail to see how we'll be able to keep them out of the city, this side of an urban battle, which would be harmful for the people living here."

"Guh!" Shining drained the mug he was holding, then set it down. "Another one, please," he called to the bartender. When the new mug arrived, he picked it up and said, "I don't even want to think about that."

"I don't either. I think we can keep a good-sized reserve in the city itself to plug holes, though obviously keeping them hidden from aerial scouts would be difficult."

"Which is why I can't agree with that stratagem, James. It would put innocent ponies at risk."

"Alright, alright," James said, waving his hands in the air, "you've made your point. But it's the easiest way, unless we dig tunnels under the city, which would take time we don't have."

Shining drank a bit more cider, then made as if to continue, but then a pegasus messenger raced into the saloon. "Sorry to interrupt, but Fort Liberty has reported being under bombardment; it's the one we took this past winter."

"I remember." I remember all too well was what went through his mind. "And?"

"And our scouts have informed us that a significant portion of the enemy troops have bypassed the fort and are heading this way."

James looked at his fellow general. "Well, that ends the argument. You'd better lead me back to my maps, so you can show me."

The soldier nodded. "Right away."

"They're coming from here," the messenger said, pointing at the appropriate area with his hoof, "and here," he added, repeating the gesture.

"They're flanking us from north and south," James noted. "I'd better send a recall to the troops at Fort Liberty; they'll be trapped otherwise."

"At once, sir," the pony replied, and, without waiting for orders to do so, raced outside, unfurled his wings, and flew off toward the northeast.

James didn't spare more than a few seconds before looking at the map again. "All things considered, and with reasonable reports from our scouts, they have about twenty to twenty-five thousand troops, not enough to envelop our twenty thousand completely. And it'll be hard for them to attack any one position without weakening another part of their forces."

"They'll have enough to block us from getting supplies," Shining Armor put in. "And I don't like the looks of the reports; they have a lot of artillery now."

"We have bigger artillery; have you seen how big the fort guns are? And we'll be fighting from behind cover; they'll have to cross open ground, which is being watched day and night by sentries and scouts. That said, this probably won't be the easiest task in the world."

"How long do you think we can hold?"

"Hopefully for a while. The food that has been stockpiled should last us and the population at least a month. Meanwhile, if they cut off our supply lines to the south, we'll do what we can to retake them at night, and supply the city so."

"Is there anything we can do to protect the civilians?"

"We have anti-air cannons in each fort, and we have enough shells to throw at them to prevent any effectual bombardment of the city without taking at least one fort, and even then, we could use artillery to keep them from advancing easily even if they did take one."

"Can't afford to take chances here."

"I'm not trying to. But we have what we have, so we have to make do with it." James shrugged. "It may or may not be enough." I hope to God it is.

Fort Celestial stood on the eastern edge of Trottingham's defenses. Made of earth and reinforced with wooden timbers, it was a strong position indeed, and that would have been true even without the massive, 15 inch cannons on it's walls. White Knight was impressed. In Manehattan, everything was done with speed, with impatience showing itself most noticeably when there was a delay. Even by that town's standards, these fortifications had gone up quickly and very efficiently. Equestria may not have seen war for a thousand years, but it's minds were still adept at protecting themselves and their country.

Hooves on his matchlock, he scanned the horizon. The enemy hadn't shown up quite yet, but it was only a matter of time. Scouts had confirmed they were coming. The only thing he and thousands of other soldiers could do was prepare and make plans.

He saw nothing all that interesting. Part of him was ashamed for wanting to see something, another was sick of being bored. And...

A burst of black smoke a few miles to the east, followed by a dull boom seconds later. The shell passed overhead and blew up in an empty field, but everypony had heard the whistling it had made. He threw down the gun and lifted a spyglass to his eye. There, in the distance, a cannon, manned by Griffons, had been set up. And, as he looked around, he could see more of them close to the first, ready for firing.

"The birds are here!" he shouted. Another projectile, this one a solid cannonball, streaked by and landed in the rear of the fort.

Already the defenders were running to their battle stations, guns and crossbows at the ready. Artillery crews began loading their monstrous pieces.

BOOM! Knight's ears screamed in protest of the roar that ripped through them, greater than any other gun he had heard in this war. The shell that left the barrel, already distant, sounded like a far off freight train.

Far away, the shell blew up just behind the enemy battery. It wasn't a total loss; the explosion wounded several of the enemy gunners, and a caisson, apparently full of ammunition, detonated spectacularly. More shells landed around the battery, flinging dirt skyward. Then one shell managed to land between two guns, destroying them both and wiping out their crews.

Several ponies began to cheer. Knight wasn't among them. The reason why was another projectile, this one a large rock, slamming into the fortress wall. That was enough to shut everyone up.

He heard another loud roar, much farther way and to the south. Fort Nightfire had woken up and was firing at the invaders. Moments later, Fort Shadestar to the north opened up as well. They weren't firing at the battery that had begun the hostilities, and with reason; more artillery of various types had been brought up and were firing away with everything they had.

The siege had begun.

"Anything yet sir?" Captain Nightshade asked.

"Actually, yes," James answered disconcertingly. "They've begun digging trench lines toward us. That isn't good at all."

"They'll bring their artillery up even closer, and in better positions."

"Well, yes, that's a probability." James lowered the binoculars. "I'm more worried they'll use them to dig into our own trenches, or close to our own, in order to bring up a strong attack force up relatively unscathed."

"That's... devious, sir." Nightshade, a Lunar Guard, looked unhappy. "I wouldn't have thought of that. What can we do?"

"Best thing would probably be snipers to knock out the troops doing the digging. Artillery wouldn't have much effect, and we don't have any weaponry that can fire at an angle high enough to ensure hitting them. The only other thing I can think of is that we could send raiders at night to wreck what they've done, but that won't work more than a few times before they start guarding themselves better. Curse it, they aren't playing stupid, as much as I wish they would be. Or, and this could be dubious on my part, we could dig trenches to meet theirs, but I doubt that would work, it would be too easy for something to go wrong with that plan."

"If you want, sir, the Night Guard can do the raiding. We're trained in stealth."

James nodded in approval of the captain's initiative. "That's very generous of you, captain, but there aren't enough of you to go around."

Nightshade smiled, or rather, contorted his face in what an ignorant person might mistake for a smile; his fangs were bared like those of a vampire or a wolf. "Their fear of us would make up for a lack of numbers on our part."

"Well, yes, there's that." James went back to studying the enemy sappers. "Still, like I said, they'll get used to it after the first few times we pulled it off, and then it would get harder. This is going to be... different from the other battles we've fought, captain, less outright battle and more an elaborate dance. We'll be trying to divert them from being able to get into our lines, and they'll be trying to slide this way and that, digging trenches and bombarding us every so often. And I don't think they'll launch an all out attack initially, it'll probably be a few weeks before they try anything like that."

"Cowards."

"Cowards, or people who've finally been taking their lessons?" James shook his head. "The Griffons are, from all accounts, a rather arrogant and touchy race. They've taken quite a while to learn that victory won't be as easy as they thought it would be, as much from stubbornness as anything else, but they've learned, or learned some of the lesson, anyway. We have a fight on our... appendages," he finished lamely after noticing the Night Guard's hard hooves.

"Not the open kind of fight I'd prefer. There's more honor in that."

"You're likely to have your honor tested by the end of the siege, captain; I didn't say they wouldn't hit us hard. The question is when, where, and how."

"Worthless mercenaries. We would've won if not for them. Gold-bricking thieves," Nightshade snarled.

"Believe me, I feel the same way. Well," James said, putting the binoculars into his pocket, "we've confirmed what they're doing. And this probably won't be the only such trench they'll be digging."

"Unfortunately I am forced to agree with you, General." After a few seconds of silence in the darkening night, the Lunar Guard asked, "Sir, how did someone as young as you become so knowledgeable about war?"

"Reading." When the pony's face showed disbelief, James explained, "I've read innumerable books on the subject for years. And sieges were among them; the Sieges of Vicksburg, Atlanta, and Petersburg, all from the Civil War; the Siege of Leningrad and the Battle of Stalingrad - yes, that was the name of the city - and multiple other battles from many, many wars, including both the First and Second World Wars."

Nightshade looked astounded. "How many wars have you people fought?"

"Many. I don't know just how many."

"Why?"

"Well," James sighed, "for one thing, magic is almost non-existent on our world, and any 'real' magic involved was manufactured in evil ways, by selling one's soul to get it. You probably don't comprehend everything that I'm saying, so I'll clarify; we cannot control the weather at all, except through dubious methods, like dropping ice cubes into clouds and things like that. We cannot levitate objects, so we have to use either machines or strong backs to carry heavy loads. And we cannot use anything other than scientific knowledge to make them grow. That, and pray to God."

Nightshade said nothing.

"And, of course, many times the world has been hostile. In the earliest times we needed clothes" - we wouldn't have needed them, if not for Original Sin - "to ward off the environment, and to conceal our private parts. Before people started living in cities, and even a long time after that, wildlife was - are, still, today - ruthless in search of their own food and resources. As a result, people had to be ready for conflict at any time. And, frankly, some people thought it was easier to take what belong to someone else, or to conquer other people, for the sake of the community as a whole. Since the foundation of the United Nations - and organization of nations dedicated to trying to keep world peace - and the end of the Second World War, which was ended by a new and devastating weapon that endangered the entire world, we haven't had all that many large conflicts."

"Still seems like a dangerous world to live in."

"Not always. My country hasn't suffered a foreign invasion since 1942, so I grew up in a peaceful environment." Peaceful in regards to war, at least.

"Hmm. I wonder how other species in your world see yours."

"Humans are the only species in our world intelligent and developed enough to speak in complex sentences and build civilizations; everything else has an animal level of intelligence."

Nightshade looked incredulous. "How did that happen?"

"God's will. I don't have another explanation."

"Hmm."

"History aside, our focus should be on the here and now; the Griffons want this city. Our job is to show them that isn't going to happen." Pointing at the trench some distance away, he added, "and I would be grateful if you could gather a group to do what you can to their works. And gather up as much intelligence as you can."

Nightshade saluted. "As you wish, sir."

It was a rainy night as another bombardment came in. The thunder of bursting shells and of the defenders' reply was loud even from this distance. Star Blaze had other, more immediate things to worry about... like the raid he was being sent on. Other Night Guards had been gathered together; there were about thirty or so here and now.

Captain Nightshade wasn't kidding around. "I'm not going to say this is going to be easy," he was saying now. "It won't be; there'll be pickets and sentries to watch out for. I expect you all to use everything you learned in training to get out of this alive. Use the shadows, keep your breathing down, and make sure you don't get spotted before the assignment begins. Understood?"

Star nodded and saluted, as did everypony else.

"Excellent. Now get out there, and teach the enemy why the should be afraid of the night." The captain was the first one to crawl out of the trench and begin the dangerous mission.

The advance was slow. Star had to make sure his hooves didn't step on or break anything, and doing so meant going slow. He ducked behind trees, crawled through a small field on his belly, and had to halt once or twice when he heard voices. Luckily the enemy sentries were none too bright; they didn't seem to care how much noise they made. Heated discussions were easily heard. Star almost instinctively brought a hoof to his mouth as he silently gagged at the arrogance of one of them.

He was more than a little frustrated by the time he got to the rendezvous point; it had taken him longer than it should have to get there.

At least I wasn't the only one who was late, he thought. Indeed, a few members of the raiding party we still absent.

The captain wasn't among them. "What kept you?" he furiously asked the last few ponies as they finally arrived.

"Sorry sir, met a party of Diamond Dogs. Had to get rid of them and hide the bodies, and it took a while."

"Still not an adequate excuse. Still, at least you're here." Nightshade peered out from behind a tree at the trenches the Griffons had been working on. "Looks like they're still digging. There's quite a few of them shoveling dirt, and a few, but only a few, guards watching them."

"Anything else, sir?" another thestral asked in a whisper.

"Yes... I can see Changelings... no, wait." Nightshade stared at what had caught his interest. After a minute, he turned back to the others. "They've got ponies working for them!"

No one said anything loud, but the little noise available said all there was to say.

"Are they working willingly, captain?"

"No, looks like they're being forced." Nightshade looked even more angry than his soldiers, and he let everypony know the reason; "This will make coming back a lot harder. Those civilians don't know how to move quietly and stealthily like we do, and they might end up giving us away."

"You can't just abandon them, sir!"

"I know, and I'm not going to; still, this is... unexpected."

"What are your orders, sir?" Star asked quietly.

"We do what we were going to do; smash up the trenches if we can, knock out some of the guards, and break anything even remotely useful to them. And we'll take whatever intelligence we can gather back to the city."

He turned around, looking back at the enemy. "When I give the word, go; strike like the hammer of night itself."

The next five minutes were tortuously long. Star felt his heart go out to those poor luckless ponies forced to work against their will for the enemy.

This is what we'll be reduced to if we lose. We can't afford to lose.

"Now!" Nightshade hissed suddenly.

Each thestral left the rendezvous point, each heading off in a different direction. Star crept downward through some tall grass, trying to ensure he wasn't spotted.

Somepony apparently hadn't been careful enough; he heard a Griffon call out "Hey! You!" He bit his tongue and waited.

"Get back to work, you lazy nag!" To add emphasis to his words, the Griffons snapped off a shot towards one of the prisoners. The bolt landed near the civilian pony he had been talking to.

"I'm trying," the mare retorted, voice displaying how exhausted she was, "but we've been workin' all day!"

"Would you rather sleep forever? You work till we tell you to stop. Otherwise, you'll regret it, and you family will too, in short order." The Griffon dragged a claw in a cutting motion across his neck.

Star Blaze was so blinded by fury he almost forgot his training. With a maximum effort, he remembered what he was supposed to do. He crawled forward, inching closer to the offending guard. No one else seemed to notice him. The guard took no notice; he was watching the captives work, making sure they continued to do what they were told.

In a brief moment that seemed to last a lot longer than it did, Star leaped up, drew his left hoof over the guard's mouth, and cut his throat. The sentry grabbed at his neck as he fell, but the only sound he could make was a gruesome gurgling noise as he expired.

"Hey, Whitefeather, what's gotten into you?"

This. Star drew his crossbow from his back and shot the other guard in the face. His target was dead before he hit the ground.

"What the... Agggggggghhhhh!!!!!" The third guard was yanked backward, something ran over his throat, and he toppled as well into the dirt. The shape of a stallion arose from where the guard had been standing.

"Good to see a friendly face," the other soldier said, in a loud whisper.

"Likewise," Star whispered back.

"Wha... what happened to the guards?" the same mare as before, green with a pink mane, asked, in a normal, wondrous tone of voice.

"Don't worry; you won't ever have to listen to them again," Star answered as he walked forward.

The mare stared for several seconds, then clopped her front hooves together in joy. "You're real soldiers! Our soldiers! Thank Celestia you've come!"

I don't know who you should be thanking, but I don't see the Princess anywhere. "How many more of you are there?"

The pony before him stopped celebrating and looked around; other forced laborers had stopped working and began to approach. "There are maybe thirty of us here," a stallion answered. "And I don't know how many are back in the barracks," he added, pointing a hoof eastward, "but I'd say probably a hundred of so."

"Errrr. That makes things harder." He kicked at the ground. "We'll do what we can to bring you back with us, we're just here to smash up everything to do with digging."

"Not like they didn't force us to do that for 'em," a ragged stallion from the group answered,

The effort to force back his anger took everything he had. After a moment, he regained control. "We'll take you with us anyhow; I'm sure our commanders can find a way to get you food."

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" the mare said, kissing the ground at his hooves. "But my foals..."

"We'll help them too, I swear to you here and now."

"I swear it too," said another voice, and Star whirled around to see Captain Nightshade. "We'll find them, and bring them back. Can you tell us where they are?"

"Back in the barracks; the guards said they'd starve them if I didn't work and do as they said."

"Trust us; we're the Lunar Guard, we know the night in ways you never will. We'll find a way." Nightshade turned to Star Blaze and the other Guards, including several who had shown up after the three sentries had been taken out. "Take them back to the city, and see if you can't arrange transport for them, in order for them to escape."

"Right away, sir." Star saluted. To the civilian ponies, he added, "I want everypony to follow me, in a straight line, single file, and I want total silence on the way there." He got eager nods in return.

Now I have to hope I can get them back safely.

James waited as cannon fire continued to either side. So far, he hadn't been able to see much through his binoculars; the moonlight wasn't enough to illuminate what was happening. All he could see was scattered movement in the darkness, dark shapes making sudden and sometimes violent movements.

"Hard to tell what's going on," he said to no one in particular. No one was around to hear him say it anyway.

After a while he heard something in the bushes behind him. Faster than he knew it, he had his revolver out and ready to fire. "Who's there?"

A figure rose from the bushes and clumsily walked forward on two legs. As the figure came closer, James realized it was a Lunar Stallion, front hooves up in the air in a gesture of surrender. "I'm not here to harm you, General," the soldier said, "just to give you word on the mission."

"Sorry, you can't be too careful," James said as he replaced the gun in it's holster, and the Guard nodded before returning to all four hooves. "What's going on? I can't see anything from here."

"We're doing just as you ordered, sir; smashing up their equipment and raising hell. But there's been a complication."

"Uh oh."

"Indeed. We found some civilian ponies forced to work for the Griffons. They were forced to dig the trenches, and I wouldn't doubt they were forced to work on building defenses for them."

"Slavery!" James hissed furiously. The specter of it had long faded from America, but it's foul taint had been resurrected here as if by necromancy.

"Yeah." If James was outraged, the Guard was several degrees past anything rational. "Wouldn't break my heart to wipe every stinking bird in the world off the face of the earth."

"I doubt that would be possible. But I suppose I will have to draft a new proclamation." When the soldier looked at him, expecting a further answer, he gave one, though not the immediate one the trooper undoubtedly hoped for; "I shall write it down, then call for a truce with the Griffon army. I'll present what they've done, and issue the punishment I have in store for them for it."

"Sir, forgive my saying so, but how do you propose to do that?"

"By threatening to put a Griffon prisoner to work for every pony forced into hard labor against their will." Having satisfied the Guard, James added, "Are the captives being brought here?"

"Yes sir; a certain Star Blaze should be leading them here at this moment."

"Ah, good. Make sure those poor people get some food, drink, and some rest."

The soldier saluted. "Never had an order I wanted to obey more, sir." He didn't wait for an answer, but galloped away.

James turned back to the action. It was all too likely he would get more reports soon.

More explosions came from the east, north, and south. James sighed. It was an almost constant reminder the city was under siege.

It had been three days since the raid, which had been pulled off successfully; the only casualty among the Night Guards had been a wounded leg. They had brought back all the fugitives safely, including two foals, which had enraged everyone who'd heard about it. The former prisoners were, in many cases, half starved, and their bodies gave every indication that they had been made to work beyond their limits; some of them had been moved to the hospital, including the mother of the two rescued foals.

If the Equestrian army had needed a tonic for defeat, it had received one. The news spread throughout the army and the city. Knowing their fate if the enemy were to be victorious, they acted with immense courage. In many cases, injured gunners kept fighting, firing their pieces as long as their bodies were able to perform even the smallest of actions, and soldiers hit by snipers often had to be dragged away from their posts, insisting they could stay and fight.

There hadn't been any major assaults, which wasn't surprising. He hadn't expected anything different. That wasn't to say the siege wasn't intense. In addition to bombardment, Griffon warriors would attempt to fly over the city. At first he had feared they were going to be dropping bombs, but instead they threw down little pamphlets and leaflets; they all claimed that resistance and flight were futile and that the city and it's defenders would do well to surrender. They promised food and provisions for all who gave themselves up. So far, nothing had come of that, and most of the propaganda ended up in the trash, where, as far as James was concerned, it belonged.

Already, the supply lines to the south and west had been cut. Each night, ponies would go out and clear the route of enemy soldiers; the enemy didn't have enough troops to encircle the city in an iron grip, and they were driven away relatively easily. Each morning, though, they would come back and cut the route again. With supplies already getting shorter, this was no laughing matter. Some equipment and supplies could be brought in at night, yes, but not enough to completely replace that which was used up.

James drank from his canteen; the water was cold, but enjoyable. At least the defenders had plenty of it to drink; underground wells supplied the bastion with enough water to feed the inhabitants and the army.

"General."

James looked to his right to see an earth pony regular, an orange-brown stallion. He nodded, gesturing for the soldier to continue.

"A Griffon with a white flag came through our lines. He say their commander wants to speak to you."

James thought for a minute about sending the enemy soldier away without any reply whatsoever. Then he shook his head. "I'll meet with him, but tell him, no tricks. I'll be along in a bit."

"Yes sir." As the pony trotted away, James thought long and hard about the meeting he was about to attend.

Hundreds of soldiers from both sides growled and hissed at one another as James Lavigne and the Griffon general met in the center of the circle.

James spoke first; "I suppose you're the enemy commander."

The Griffon nodded. "I am General Grayfeather of his Majesty's armies. In the name of the king and the gods, I demand you surrender yourself, your army, the city, and it's inhabitants at once."

"I will do no such thing; who are you to demand things you don't deserve?"

Grayfeather shook his head. "The ponies have gotten the best of the world and its riches and resources for too long. Now it is our turn to take command of the heavenly bodies and take the destiny of this world in our claws. You have the choice, human; you can surrender, and remain alive, or you can try futilely to fight, and be killed. It's your decision."

Shining Armor stepped forward. "Who do you people think you are?"

"We are your masters, or will be. Give up now, and we won't be as harsh as we will be otherwise."

Shining made a disgusted face. "You are despicable!"

"Hardly, not when I speak the truth. His Majesty will take these lands; you have the choice of giving up and living to see another day, or fighting and being punished for it."

"You worthless scum!" Captain Nightshade, who'd accompanied the party, hissed angrily. "I won't be giving up anytime soon, and your choice of labor is one of the many reasons why!"

Grayfeather shrugged. "We have the land, and it's people; we have the right to demand things of them. And the reason they were put to work was to punish you for fighting against us. Now, I repeat my previous demand; surrender immediately, or you and the rabble you call an army will suffer the consequences."

"Enough." James heard the entire crowd gasp. "No. That's my answer. You think you can take the world by storm, and command the world?" Shaking his head violently, James went on, furiously; "I vow, I will not stop fighting until this land is either free of you, or I have died trying to make it so, and not only will we drive you out, we'll destroy the tyrant calling himself king in your capital and bring him to justice for what he has done!"

Grayfeather hissed. "You dare insult me and our king?"

"Your king is a tyrant unfit to rule."

Grayfeather started to draw his blade, but managed to halt the motion. "For that, human, I will take you alive, and see to it that his Majesty punishes you for your insolence."

"He will not have the chance." James turned to his own soldiers. "Well boys, do you want to live the rest of your lives as slaves to these invaders?" he shouted.

"NOOOOO!" The unanimous roar came from almost every Equestrian throat. The ponies further began jeering at their opponents in true contempt.

"What makes you think we'll ever bend the knee to you people?" Captain Nightshade demanded to know. "We'll thrash you if you try coming any further!"

"And while we're on the subject, General," James said, turning back to the enemy commander and transforming the Griffon's title into one of contempt, "I have a demand of my own to make; you will not enslave or otherwise force or threaten, or coerce ponies, prisoner of war or civilian, into hard labor."

"You have no right to make demands of me, human!"

"And yet I'm making them. Hear me; for every pony forced to work against their will, a Griffon prisoner will be put to hard labor."

"How dare you!"

"I dare because that is the punishment I will enforce if you continue forcing ponies to slave for you. And furthermore, if you seek to break the established laws of civilization as well of those of war, don't be surprised if we respond in kind. This is the only warning I will give on that score."

"You have no power to make those demands of us, and I can assure you, if you carry it out, your sentence will only be worse."

"I repeat my first answer; no. If I see you on the battlefield, General, we'll do everything in my power to end your reign of terror." Defiant catcalls from the pony soldiers added to the weight of his words.

Grayfeather looked around; his eyes blazed with rage, but it was obvious he wasn't going to pick a fight here, not where he would likely lose his life almost instantly. "Very well, human, and all you ponies; you've chosen your fate. You won't enjoy it, I assure you." Turning back to his own soldiers, he made an angry gesture. "Return to camp; they'll see your claws unfurled soon." He and his cohort walked away.

James watched, his own anger and energy dissolving slowly. The... meeting, if it could be called that, had taken a lot out of him.

He felt a hoof come down hard on his left shoulder, and turned to see Shining Armor beaming at him. "That was one of the bravest things I've seen you do."

James shook his head. "it's nothing compared with what we have to do. And I was only telling him what I was thinking, what most of us feel they deserve. I said I would defend this city; I intend to do just that."

"Curse you all, why haven't you made any progress?" Grayfeather demanded.

"General, you seem to forget they have bigger guns than we do," answered a colonel in the king's service. "And they defend their positions like heroes. They won't budge, and it's not because of any lack of effort by the boys."

The General walked over to a tree, or rather, what had been a tree; Equestrian return fire had reduced it and the nearby forest to splinters and twigs. In the distance, but close enough for him to feel angered by the force of it's defiance, stood Fort Celestial. It had withstood fierce punishment; many of the walls were badly damaged, and the area around it had taken a pounding as well.

The real problem was a lack of heavy artillery on his part. Despite digging trenches to position his guns, ballistae, trebuchets, and catapults closer, they had failed to silence the defenders. And, as the colonel had pointed out, the ponies had larger guns in the forts than he did. His artillery crews had suffered heavy casualties, and much of their equipment had been destroyed. And it wasn't just the fortress guns returning the fire; the Equestrian army's regular batteries would fire as well, adding to the destruction. It wasn't seven days after the meeting with the Equestrian commanders, and already much of the woods in which the Griffon army and it's mercenary allies had taken shelter in was smoldering wood.

He forced himself to calm down. It really wasn't the colonel's fault. "Aye, Colonel, you're right. But we need to be doing more."

"What do you suggest, sir?" another officer asked. "I've run out of ideas."

"Hmm..." He looked around. Many Minotaurs and Diamond Dogs were standing close by, sheltering in what was left of the forest edge. The Minotaurs had practically no discipline whatsoever, but at least they could fight, and fight well. The dogs, on the other hand, had disappointed him in every engagement; if it wasn't discipline that was the problem, it was outright cowardice. Most of them had probably thought the war would be a cakewalk. Grayfeather had thought that too, but the reality had forced practicality on him in a hurry. The difference - besides the fact that he was in charge - was that the dogs never seemed to learn. They would go into every fight promising success, only to break those promises on coming into contact with the enemy.

Worthless. If they're not digging for gems, they're...

He stopped suddenly. "Digging," he whispered quietly to himself.

"Sir?"

"I wonder..." He turned to a group of dogs hiding behind one of the trees. "You there! Yes, you," he added, when they looked confused. "Come over here at once!"

"Yes, master?" one of them said in the whining sort of voice all Diamond Dogs seemed to possess.

"I want to know; how soon can you dig a tunnel under the fort you see over there?" the General asked, pointed to the offending structure.

"Hmm..."

"General, it ain't safe for you up on them walls," a soldier called to James. "Reckon you'll get a sniper shot through yer fool ear."

"I have to know how the battle is progressing, soldier." It was now eight days after the meeting. A lot had happened since then. Repeated raids had struck the enemy, but the Griffons and their mercenaries were on their guard; it was getting harder and harder to catch them by surprise. The enemy was also being more and more aggressive in their digging, and their guns were creeping closer and closer to the five eastern-most forts. It wouldn't be long before they would be firing from almost point blank range.

The birds had also stepped up their efforts to cut off the city. They were pulling combat troops from areas where they weren't immediately needed and using them to block off the supply routes. It was getting harder to supply the city and it's defenders. It was almost suicidal for refugees to try to escape; after a group of them were captured, most didn't bother trying to flee anymore.

In short, they'd done a lot of damage to the enemy, but the enemy had begun to choke them. It was a matter of time before a major engagement took place.

"Sir?"

Wow, am I tired of that honorific. "Yes?"

"You know them water bowls we done set up?"

"Yes, I remember; I ordered them placed there."

"Well, some o' them have started ripplin' and there ain't nothin' causin' em."

"Well..." James had expected the enemy to make an effort to dig under the forts and undermine them; the technique for catching them was almost as old as the existence of medieval castles. He hadn't expected them to have come so far so fast.

How can they have dug so far so fast?! It would have taken them at least three weeks to have made any reasonable progress, and that's assuming they started the day the siege opened, and I find that unlikely. I can't...

"Oh..."

"What is it, General?"

"Diamond Dogs. They can dig insanely fast." He looked eastward. "Yes, that's it. They're terrible warriors, but they're masters at digging underground. The Griffons got some good use out of them at last."

"Not so good fer us, if that's the case. How do we stop 'em?"

"Gather some gunpowder. And get me someone good at engineering; we'll need them if we're going to find that tunnel and destroy it."

"Yes sir."

After a while, the pony returned with a comrade. "You wanted somepony good at engineering, General?"

"Yes. If you were trying to dig a tunnel under this fort from somewhere over there" - here he jerked his thumb to the east, toward the assumed location of the digging - "where would you have begun, and what course would you have taken?"

"Hmm..." The pony, a blue one with a cream mane, stepped onto the walls, a hoof to his chin as he thought. At last, he said, "I would have begun someone in that direction" - he pointed with a hoof at the approximate point - "and I would have gone straight from there to somewhere in the center of the fortress. This is my belief where they would dig, considering my experience as a miner and an engineer. Of course, that's not counting any obstructions they would have encountered, like underground boulders and other hazards."

James nodded. "Thank you, corporal."

The pony looked confused. "Sir, I am but a simple private."

"Who just gave me something useful. Consider this a field promotion, and if you turn out to be right, I'll make you a sergeant once this whole mess is over."

The blue stallion saluted energetically. "Yes, sir!"

"Now, let's get going. We'll have to dig fast to counter them."

Rock dug his claws into the dirt, digging as straight a path as he could through the earth. He was a young Diamond Dog who'd been drawn into the soldier's life with promises of gems and diamonds aplenty.

So far, all he'd seen was death and destruction, and hard masters. Oh, a few gems had been given out, but more often the Griffon commanders showed what to him seemed to be ingratitude, cursing him and others like him for supposedly slacking off in battle. He wasn't ashamed of flight when it was necessary, but the Griffons didn't seem to understand.

Well, whatever. He was doing something he knew how to do. The earth crumbled away under his assault, as it dig before his comrades.

From the rear, a Griffon shouted, "Work faster, curse you! We're almost there!"

Rock had to agree, however upset he may have been at the tone of his master. Two days of digging by Diamond Dogs was enough to have come close to the fortress. It was only a matter of time now...

Suddenly there was an all consuming roar; the walls shook intensely.

Rock stopped and tried to look for a way out of the earthquake, but before he could do so in earnest the ceiling began to cave in. He had time for one short howl before he and everyone else present were buried under stone and earth.

James watched the earth rise around the site of the blast; dirt and rock streamed skyward from the enormous explosion, with brief streaks of fire illuminating the site.

"Well, corporal, I have to hand it to you; you did a good job digging a tunnel parallel to theirs. The explosives we set have done the rest for us."

"Thank you sir. Nothing like seeing your own work... speak for itself," the blue-coated engineer said humbly, watching the detonation. Some of the rubble was just starting to come down. Here and there, what appeared to be bodies also began falling to earth. James tried hard not to notice.

"What in the name of the gods just happened!?!" General Grayfeather exclaimed, watching the straggling bits of earth fall to the ground.

"I'm not sure sir," a lieutenant remarked, off-color; perhaps he feared being punished for the failure.

The General turned to him. "Care to hazard a guess?"

"The only thing that comes to mind is that they somehow detected the tunnel being dug and made one of their own, using explosives to blow up our own."

The General thought about it. "How would they have found it?"

"I don't know sir. I'm only a lieutenant after all."

"Not anymore, captain. You've probably summed up what just happened about as well as I could have."

The other Griffon looked stunned. Then, at last, he said, "Thank you, sir."

"Don't mention it. But I expect results to be earned from that promotion as well." Then, as he walked away, the general thought to himself, We'll just have to continue as we would have, I suppose. I just hope we can do this.

Shining Armor felt exhausted, a feeling with which he had become all too familiar with the past couple of weeks. As more explosions sounded in the distance, he sat down in a trench, drinking water from his canteen, surrounded by countless soldiers. His hooves were chipped, his normally well-kept mane and tail were dirty and ragged, and his coat was no better. Not that his mane could be easily seen; he wore his armor more often than his usual colorful uniform these days.

Shells came in from the north. Fort Shadestar wasn't quite as battered as Fort Celestial, but it wasn't in prime condition either. The walls were rugged, and the garrison was suffering from lack of sleep. Shining himself had a five o' clock mustache and beard growing, one he intended to shave as soon as possible. In all likelihood, he wouldn't get the chance until the siege was over, one way or another.

The unremitting roar of the fort's cannons in response, and those of smaller, regular guns boomed in response. Much of the surrounding terrain, formerly great forests and beautiful little ponds, had been torn up badly, and almost nothing remained of most of the trees that had grown there. Pitiful stumps and little puddles of water were the only reminders, along with the many, many craters, that a great ecosystem had once been fruitful here.

He lowered the canteen from his lips, savoring the water it had brought to them. He climbed the stairs up to the top of the fort's walls, and saw the devastation for himself. It scarcely registered against how tired he was, after all the detonating shells and the almost all-consuming reports of the fighting.

"Wow, Captain, you don't look too good," one of the old stallions from the Royal Guard mentioned, looking more amused that anything else.

"You don't look all that well yourself, Bright Eye," Shining retorted, but just as the soldier hadn't been mocking, so his own words lacked any heat whatsoever.

The other stallion shrugged. "However bad off we are, the Griffons have got to be worse off."

Even through the exhaustion, Shining doubted that. The enemy had all the time in the world, were getting plenty of supplies, and had plenty of food to sustain them, not the carefully hoarded rations the Equestrians had to subside on.

For the umpteenth time, an enemy shell blew up against the walls of the fortress. Neither stallion paid it much mind. It hadn't penetrated, and it hadn't inflicted casualties, so it wasn't worth worrying about. More projectiles, less well aimed, streaked by overhead, falling into the earth behind the fort and coming to rest in the mud.

General Grayfeather pounded the table with his fist. Two and a half weeks into the siege, and he was no closer to winning it than before. Although work continued on the trenches, it was getting harder to do with snipers taking shots at the sappers every chance they got, and when artillery was firing everything it had at them.

He had managed to cut off the supply routes, that much he had accomplished. But the city and it's defenses stood resolute and undaunted. The underground wells supplied the city with water, enough so that they wouldn't need more of it for months. He didn't have months.

In truth, this army was the Griffon kingdom's last hurrah. Although he was getting replacements, he felt like telling them to go home the moment they arrived; many were hardly out of adolescence, and others had no training whatsoever. There were plenty more griffons who might be brought into the battle... if the clans had seen fit to release them to the King, and they hadn't. If he lost here, he would deserve whatever the king had in store for him. And while his army plunked away at the defenses here, more ponies were being recruited into their Grand Army of Equestria; he had to bring the siege to a successful conclusion, and soon.

"Hmmm... underground wells..." He hadn't considered using the dogs again, not at what they were best at, since the debacle several days ago. Perhaps it was time to start thinking of it again, in a less direct manner.

"Lieutenant!" he called.

The officer at the door of the tent stepped in. "Yes sir?"

"I want every dog you have to begin digging for the underground wells located on the map I shall give you," the general said. "I want their supply of water cut off entirely."

"Yes General. I'll gather them up immediately."

"Good." Hope began to swell in him once more.

"No sir, I'm sorry. The Prince isn't here." The regular in front of him really did look sorry.

"Well then," James said quietly, instead of screaming, Where the hell is he!?!, "I need to find out where he went."

The soldier pointed a hoof westward. "Probably snuck out with the refugees before the siege started."

That would be just like him. "In that case, I suppose I have no further business here."

"I really am sorry you didn't find him, General," the trooper stated, truly sounding sympathetic. "I wanted him to get what he deserved. A lot of my buddies went into the battle at Sugar Cane, and too many of them never came out."

James took his hat off his head for a moment. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"You're not the first to say it. But thanks."

James tipped his hat in a farewell and walked down the street. He'd hoped to find Prince Blueblood at the address he had just visited, hoping to give the cowardly noble his just desserts. That wasn't going to happen, not now, at least.

He made his way toward city hall; the high tower on it's roof provided a good lookout point. Before he could do anything, though, a tired pegasus landed on the balcony. "Sir, just got word; the wells aren't giving us any water anymore!"

"What?"

"Couldn't believe it myself. I don't know what's gone wrong, but..."

"Without water, we're dead." James pounded a fist on the railing, which was a mistake; he cried out and waved his hand around in pain. "Blast it, how did it happen?"

"I don't know, sir, but you might want to check it out yourself."

"Alright, I will."

Following the pegasus, he was lead to one of the town wells. A crowd of ponies, mostly civilians though several soldiers were mixed in with them, had gathered round. Two of them were obviously trying to make to thing work.

"Don't matter how many times we lower the thing, it always comes up empty," one of them said, "and for one of them, the rope musta snapped."

"It did?"

The two repair ponies turned around, looking surprised to see him, but they remained professional. "Yep. Here it is," one of them, a unicorn, said, levitating the rope toward him.

James rolled the rope up until he reached the severed end. All it took was one glance to see the rope hadn't just snapped; the edge was too neat to have simply given way under pressure. In fact, it looked almost as though it had been cut by a sword...

"You," he said, pointing to one of the soldiers nearby, "Can you gather a group to go down the shaft and find the cause of this?"

"Yes sir, I will," the soldier responded without hesitation.

"Good."

Half an hour later, a group of thirty soldiers and a rope ladder were present. James sent down a pegasus first, to make sure the way was clear.

Before the group could even begin lowering the rope ladder, a frightened scream could be heard distantly from inside the well. The pegasus zipped out of the hole with a speed that would have made Rainbow Dash jealous. "General, there were Griffons down there, waiting for one of us to come down there!"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just got the scare of my life is all. I could see a tunnel, so they must have dug to that point, then stopped up the water with a large boulder."

"Ohhhhhhhhhh..." James muttered. This was an unexpected problem. Without water...

He tried thinking of a way to force the enemy away, to un-stopper the blockage. Of course, the method he'd just tried was of little use, since the enemy could kill any soldiers he sent down there one by one.

Maybe we could dig a tunnel down there ourselves... Within seconds, he dismissed the idea. For one thing, Diamond dogs dug faster than any pony could hope to match. For another, he'd be giving the foe yet another way into the city if he lost the tunnel to the Griffons.

At any rate... "I want this well blocked. I want as heavy a rock as you can find to be placed on top of this and the other two wells. I don't want them climbing up there."

His soldiers nodded in earnest. They knew what was at stake. The civilians, however, were less understanding. "How will I be able to get water if all the wells are all stopped?" a mare's voice asked.

"Our foals will die of thirst!"

"We need water!"

"I know, I KNOW," he said, waving his hands to try and calm the crowd. "I know you all need water. But you wouldn't be getting any of it, not with the enemy having dug down there and blocked it off. I'll try to come up with a solution, but in the meantime, just remain calm." He gestured to the contingent of soldiers, who all nodded and followed him out of the square.

"Sir, what are we gonna do?" one of them asked a few minutes later.

James sighed. "I don't know; the answers I can find aren't encouraging." He turned his head to the east. No doubt the enemy were celebrating their success. He could only hope he and Shining Armor could find a way to restore the water supply.

They couldn't. "I can't think of anything we could do that wouldn't put the city in danger," Shining Armor remarked despairingly to James.

"I can't think of anything useful either. And, like the inhabitants of this city said, it's not just the soldiers who need the water." James plopped himself down in a chair.

"Then-"

"'What do we do?'" James said, forestalling the question. He sighed. "Nothing other than either die one by one or withdraw."

"No." Shining now sounded absolute. "We aren't abandoning the city. That would leave countless innocents at the mercy of the Griffons."

Would you rather lose the army and the town? James thought, but didn't speak aloud the words his heart said so clearly. "I guess we could try to keep up the defense for a while, but hundreds of thousands will be thirsty while we do so."

"You would leave this city to be butchered?" Shining turned toward him, anger glistening in his eyes.

James shrank away from him momentarily; that had been unexpected, and unexpectedly furious. "They won't murder the inhabitants," he pointed out. "If we continue to try fighting without repairing the wells sufficiently, or get water from another source, we'll lose the army and the city anyway. If we retreat now, we can return to fight for the city another day, when we are strong."

"But there are hundreds of thousands of innocent ponies here! We can't just abandon them!"

"Did I say we would? We'll take as many as we can with us."

"How? The city has been cut off!"

"We'll gather everything we have and throw it against the west or south; they don't have the strength to stop the entire army from breaking through their troops there. And we'll leave a rearguard to cover our retreat, giving the population time to evacuate."

"That's cowardice."

That was something James had never expected to come from any friend of his. He stood up. "If you think trying to save lives is cowardice, then -"

"What?" the white stallion asked, getting up in his face. "I told the truth there."

In a terrible, quiet yet enraged voice, James asked, "Do you dare call me, I who have shed blood fighting for your country, who trained your troops and lead them in combat, for your cause and for your freedom, I who lead from the front, and have suffered the same shortages as the soldiers I led... Do you dare, after all that, call me a coward?"

"Maybe the shoe fits, considering what you're proposing."

"Says the one who trusted the words of a giant insect over his own sister!"

Shining stiffened. "Who are you to bring that up? You and your show, you were spying on us all!"

"How was I supposed to know you and the others were real? You appeared on a television screen, and for all I knew you were as fictional as elves, orcs, and dragons are in our literature."

Before either of them could continue, a soldier ran into the tent. "General, I must report a breach in Fort Nightshade."

"Hmmm?" both of them responded, looking away from each other.

"Uh..." Obviously, the pony hadn't expected to find the two commanding generals at each other's throats. Still, he managed to recover his composure. "Fort Nightshade has suffered a critical breach in the north-facing wall; if an enemy shell comes in from just the right angle, the fortress could explode."

James looked back and forth from the soldier to Shining. At last, he said, "Whatever our squabbles, we have a war to fight, and soldiers to look after. I suggest we investigate this matter at once; our fight here has nothing to do with the boys holding back King Raniero's armies."

Shining slowly nodded in return. "Yeah, the lives of our troops counts for more. I'll be blasted if I put our disagreement before my own troops."

"Alright." To the confused and worried messenger, James added, "Lead us there."

"At once, your Excellencies."

Chapter 33; Shattered jade

When they fired that first, terrible volley, everyone in the first rank, with practically no exceptions, fell to the ground at once. It took all the courage I could muster to go on, seeing them lying there as though even in death they desired some form of military formation. Too many of those faces, in the brief seconds I saw them, were far too young.

- Griffon survivor of the battle for Fort Nightshade, after the war.

James and Shining Armor followed the private to Fort Nightshade, the occasional artillery round flying overhead as they walked. It took them over an hour to reach their destination, and artillery wasn't the only problem; damage to the trails and roads, as well as unexploded shells that were being defused by bomb squads, kept them fro moving that far that fast.

However, when the two generals reached the walls of Fort Nightshade, there was no doubt in James' mind; this fort was a goner. A massive hole in it's northern wall was all too clear. What made it worse was the fact that the ammunition dump was dreadfully exposed; it was plain luck - or God's will - that hostile shells hadn't blown the whole place sky high.

James turned to the messenger. "How long has this breach existed?"

"About an hour and a half, sir, maybe two hours. We'd taken a pounding by shells, shells and more shells, with a few rocks tossed in for good measure. Don't know what we're gonna do about this."

James put a hand to his chin, surveying the fort. Clearly the garrison could not stay here, not unless they wanted to be blown up, something he doubted very much. Of course, more earth and timber could be used to shore up the gap, but the enemy could choose to continue their bombardment while they were doing so, and if a projectile of sufficient mass and speed struck right there...

We can't just abandon this place, that would leave a big weakness in our lines, and give the enemy a foothold close to the city, too close for my liking, not to mention it took months to build this fortress to where it was earlier today.

As he was thinking, Shining ruefully asked, "You're thinking about giving up this fort."

"I'm trying to think of ways of not doing that, believe it or not." He turned around, trying to measure how the terrain would feature into the defense if that was necessary. And to think I could be at home, safe in bed right now. There was some forest between here and the city, so that was good; what wasn't good was that only a mile of distance between here and Trottingham wasn't much to fall back on.

One idea was to build trenches just to the front of the fort, connect them to the existing trench lines, and man those rather than just abandon the position wholesale; the guns and the ammunition could be moved to better locations, and he wouldn't be giving up any territory; the fort itself could still be garrisoned, although without the cannons and the ammunition for them it would be much harder to defend against ground attack. Again, enemy action would be at least partially responsible for what would and wouldn't be done.

He detailed the idea to Shining Armor, who nodded. "That doesn't sound half bad."

"Still risky; this place is a weakness in our lines if ever I saw one."

"Better than losing it." Shining said this with an edge.

Mentally sighing, James didn't answer. Whatever the outcome of this siege, their friendship had taken a beating.

"You're sure you have this right?" Grayfeather demanded from the soldier before him.

"Yes General; there is a large breach in the fort that is on their northeastern defenses. Unfortunately they've already begun moving the ammunition and heavy guns out, so there's little chance of setting off a massive explosion."

The General just grunted. He'd expected no less. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes sir; they've begun digging trenches in front of the fortress. They don't intend to abandon the area."

"It's still a weak point, a brush we can tar them with."

"True, but if we can see it, they have too."

"That can't be avoided, I'm afraid. Still, I intend to strike the killing blow there." He moved another piece on the map before him into place, then another after it. "Send for the commanders of 2nd and 5th Divisions."

"Generals Raymond and Barlow, sir?"

"Yes. Now off with you." He waved his claw in dismissal, and the other soldier, taking the hint as well as the order, bowed and left.

After a while, Raymond and Barlow were in the tent with him. Raymond was tall and skinny, and looked more or less like a peasant farmer; that was what he had been before the conflict, but his courage and skill in battle had elevated him to general. Barlow was aristocratic, short, and (noticeably) fat, but he had a better education than the brawny Raymond. Raymond was from a backwoods clan, Barlow from an urban one. Despite their differences, they had worked well together, and the General had yet to hear of an open rivalry between them. Of course, in a clan-based society, that wasn't necessarily the case, but Grayfeather felt certain enough of it in order to trust them.

"Ya wanted ta see us, sir?" Raymond said, not bothering to salute. Barlow grunted in discomfort, but didn't correct his colleague.

Grayfeather couldn't care less about the slump in discipline he'd just witnessed. "You are to bring your divisions to the points designated," he commanded, waving his claw at the map. Both generals looked at it, and both nodded.

"I suppose this means we're about to launch the main attack?" Barlow asked, with the high-class accent that came from someone of his decent.

"You have it. The ponies were forced to partially abandon one of their forts due to a breach we made in the walls. They're building trenches in front of it to try and make up for it."

"If they're out of their breastworks, we can break 'em easy," Raymond claimed confidently.

Grayfeather pointed a claw at him. "Don't get overconfident. One thing I've had to admit in recent days was that the Equestrians, despite their love of peace, are at least determined in war, as well as innovative."

"Largely due to that two-legged bandit chief they hired to fight for them," Barlow put in.

"True, but he can't be everywhere. And everywhere he isn't, they still fight as well as they would have otherwise."

"I suppose you want another massive charge, then?" Barlow looked uncomfortable. Although his troops liked him (he didn't rub their noses in the fact that he was of noble blood), he didn't like leading from the front, with his corpulent body being the reason why.

"After the biggest artillery bombardment this war has seen, after blasting them from the sky, yes, we'll have your two divisions take the fort and break their lines. After that, the city should be open."

Raymond shrugged. "If I can control the Minotaurs n' dogs I got, we might do it. Got a lot o' new boys, but many o' 'em are barely sixteen, let alone experienced."

"I have the same problems as General Raymond," Barlow concurred. "Too many of my troops are mercenaries, more eager for blood and gold than victory, and of the Griffons I actually lead, far too many of them are too young, if any one cares what I think."

Grayfeather heaved a massive shrug and sighed. "I sympathize with you, gentlemen, but this is what we have. I'm sure you're all too aware of the consequences of losing this fight."

Raymond came to the point at once. "We lose the damned war, on account of there ain't anymore bodies to replace what we got, and them ponies do."

Barlow looked shocked at the boldness of his fellow general. Nonetheless, he added, "Although I doubt it will be as bad as General Raymond says, I must say that I have great difficulty seeing our victory come to light should we falter here."

That translates into, "I agree wholeheartedly with what Raymond said, but I haven't the courage to say it aloud, because maybe if I don't say it, maybe it won't come true." Nodding, Grayfeather added, "Don't forget, our performance here will also determine the outcome on the diplomatic field. Many of the zebra tribes have aligned with the Equestrians in denouncing our invasion, and Saddle Arabia has been most disagreeable with his Majesty the King since the onset of the war. Should victory elude our grasp, I fear they will do much more than merely grumble."

"Them Saddle Arabians are practically ponies themselves," Raymond said, discomforted. "They all got four hooves and long faces anyway, one way or another. Not afraid o' no zebras, not with them bringin' wood spears into the fight."

"It's a risk we cannot take. And we must take the city as soon as we can; nothing else matters now." Grayfeather stood up. "I expect your divisions to be in position by this time the following day."

Raymond looked like he was about to complain, then thought better of it. Barlow, however, exclaimed, "Sir, that isn't enough time for my troops to..."

"That isn't the problem. You just don't like moving fast," Grayfeather snapped. "It isn't my fault that you spend your days drinking wine and eating everything in sight."

"Sir, you insult me; I will demand compensation!"

"If you don't bring your division to the place I specified in time, you'll get more 'compensation' than you bargained for."

Barlow drew his sword. "I demand you duel me here and now sir, to.."

"No. You can take that sword and shove it up your arse. I will not duel you. And as I was placed in command by the King himself, you would be wise to consider what would happen if you tired to murder me in my sleep."

"I would never..."

"Of course you wouldn't. You haven't the speed to move faster than a one-legged dog." Barlow gasped in shock and anger. Grayfeather didn't care; well, actually, that wasn't quite true. In fact, he was more than a little amused by the fat Griffon officer trying to menace him right now. "You are both dismissed. And remember, hurry; speed is of the essence."

The other two commanders both left the tent, Barlow angered but at least sober enough to realize he wouldn't win here, Raymond looking disconcerted but quiet.

Grayfeather looked back to his map. Soon, he thought. Soon.

James moved a blue block on his map up to the location of Fort Nightshade; three red enemy blocks were lined up on the other side.

"That's all we can bring up, along with the troops originally stationed there," he said to his division commanders. "I doubt we can bring up more without critically weakening our lines in other places."

Colonel Barrel raised a hoof.

"Yes?"

"Sir, will this be the only attack they'll make?"

"No; if they're good, and we have to assume they are, they'll throw in other assaults of lesser strength and ferocity to keep our other units in place. But make no mistake; their strength will be deployed against Fort Nightshade."

The ponies in the group looked disconcerted. "Is it true they've gotten reinforcements?"

James sighed. "Yes, they have. From what scouts have said, most of them are either youths just out of their teen years or Griffons just short of retirement age."

"That's still more numbers in their ranks."

"We have to repel this assault," Shining Armor broke in. "Nothing else matters."

James felt like bursting with frustration. The city was a lost cause, or close enough to it as to be no difference. Our chances of winning here are like those of Lee winning at Petersburg, and look at what happened when he tried. He could still remember pictures of the last few days at Petersburg, remembering pictures of adolescent Confederate defenders dead in Fort Mahone. He seriously hoped the army he led didn't end up like them.

Major General Raymond of the Griffon Army stood silently, watching the fortress to the southwest. It was still dark, but the time was drawing near for the assault to begin. At dawn, the attack was to begin.

He still had major consternations regarding the upcoming battle. First and foremost were the rowdy mercenaries that formed at least 40-45% of his command. Minotaurs had been known to disobey orders that stressed patience, and Diamond dogs were short of any courage whatsoever. And even not counting them, perhaps half of the Griffons he actually led still had feathers from childhood in their ears, and some hadn't even been long out of school (if they had even had and education in the first place). Most of them hadn't seen battle before, and were all to eager to "see the elephant," as though war were a damned circus act. He pitied them, knowing that the elephant they would see was hardly glorious, nor was the fun they imagined it to be.

He heard clawsteps coming from behind. "General Barlow," he said without premonition.

He imagined his colleague nodding. "Yes."

Raymond turned around. "What brings you here?"

Barlow had a serious expression on his face. Despite the pudgy belly, he wasn't stupid or incompetent. "I have great worries about the offensive we have been called upon to lead. I'm sure your division is as patchy as mine, so I don't have to point them out to you."

Raymond nodded. "Half my real boys should still be at home, you mean."

"Yes, and the bandits we so erroneously call soldiers we've mixed in among them. It's beyond me why we still bother paying them, considering how much trouble they cause. I can hardly sleep a wink at night, with all the wild parties those drunken Minotaurs throw." Barlow made a disgusted face, which quickly reformed back to the look of worry he'd previously had. "And another head-on attack like the general is demanding will not be cheap. The new fish have no idea what will befall them."

"I can't see this fight being cheap either... even with the bombardment about to go in."

"Even then." Barlow began studying his face carefully. "Tell me, my friend; how did you become an officer, if you don't mind my asking? You have a peasant's blood, but you fight and lead like a member of the nobility."

Raymond shrugged. "I was in the war from the beginning, led from the front, and ranked up. And everyone else "better qualified" was either bad, got fired, or got killed. General Grayfeather thought it was a good idea."

"General Grayfeather." Barlow pronounced the name and the title with the utmost contempt. "His blatant assault on my honor demands repayment; already his slurs have reached the ears of my troops, and some of them, mainly the bandit troops we've hired, mock me, staining my reputation and dragging my name in the dirt."

Raymond didn't say anything on that juncture, not least because he quietly agreed that Barlow was indeed quite fat. "So what're you gonna do about it?"

Barlow looked toward the pony-held fortress. "I intend to wipe away these insults by deed. I will lead my troops this day on the field, and either emerge victorious, or die trying."

Now it was Raymond's turn to look worried. "You sure that's a good idea?"

"I have no choice if I wish to regain everyone's respect. Alright, curse it, I may enjoy my meals a little too much; that much I will admit. However, if it's a choice between staying in my tent while this fight rages and doing the best for my men, I have little alternative, especially given the wretched lies the general has thrown upon my name."

"Well, if there isn't anything I can say to change your mind.."

"None." Barlow stood up straight, a gesture that was almost as much comedic as it was regal. "This day I shall win the fortress we've been assigned to take, or I shall perish obeying my orders."

The day dawned. The sun rose in the east, casting golden rays over the horizon. The forests in the distance, or what was left of them, were still just dark shapes, rising from the ground and forming a sea of shadows on the skyline. White Knight watched the dark forest, a knot forming in his belly. Dying wasn't an easy thing to face, and never had been, at least not for him. Somewhere in those woods an invading army was making the final plans for it's killing blow, everyone here knew it.

Cannons began to belch from far off; more joined in, a continuous roar from the northeast. Knight ducked behind the walls as rocks, javelins, and shells began landing, the explosions tearing at his ears.

He'd been through bombardments before. But this... all he could feel was pure terror as the ground shook, as though in mortal pain. Knight screamed as dirt and rubble flew skyward; he didn't care about his dignity at this point, and neither did anypony else; almost everyone else was making noise, not all of it from plain fear. Missile after missile struck the earth, rending it and blasting craters into the ground. He heard a rumble and saw part of the wall farther south crumble, taking the ponies lying on it with it; luckily for them, it wasn't a long fall.

It seemed to last forever. He was sure the end of the world was upon them, as shells and other projectiles rained down as though from the very heavens; to be outside a trench or wall was death.

Finally, though, the deluge began to slacken off, then mercifully ceased altogether. He stopped screaming - he had become hoarse from it - and, after few minutes of quiet, got to his hooves and looked things over.

The trenches were largely intact, but the ground around them had been pulverized as though by the hammer of an enraged 200-foot tall giant. The walls of the fort were smashed almost beyond recognition, although they had done their job of protecting the soldiers taking cover behind them. The area looked almost like the moon except for the brown earth and wrecked forest in the distance.

From far away came the sound of drums, fifes, and bugles.

"Get up! Here they come!"

Knight took up his matchlock, which appeared to be the worse for wear; he hoped it would function properly. He began loading at once, as did everypony else.

Already the mighty host, determined to take the fort and destroy all those defending it, was in sight, and gaining ground by the second. In various colors and uniforms were their ranks clothed; Minotaurs, Diamond dogs, and Griffons alike, all in their respective units, moved, though not in complete unison, toward the fortress; their battle cries split the air even from here. Flags and banners were hoisted in the breeze, waving back and forth as the army that carried them came all the closer.

Equestrian artillery began to fire, some of them guns that had been removed from the fort. Explosions began tearing holes in the oncoming lines, bodies flying through the air along with earth and rock. Some in the enemy lines fired back, but their weren't in range of their targets, and their shots fell short of the defenders.

"Hold!"

Knight took aim, steadying his gun against the fort wall.

"Hold!"

He waited, as his target, a Diamond dog clutching a spear, came closer.

"HOLD!"

On they came, still screeching, yowling, and bellowing to the skies.

"FIRE!!!"

Knight fired, along with everypony else; the cloud of smoke that erupted blocked his view of the field for several seconds. When it cleared enough for him to see, he saw that almost the entire front rank of the enemy had ceased to exist; they were down, most silent and still but some howling with pain. The remaining foes, still the majority, charged over the bodies of the fallen.

He reloaded as fast as he could; by then the invaders were too close to easily miss. He raised the gun and barely needed to aim before firing, as there were just too many of them in too tight a formation to miss very easily. The second devastating volley by the defenders again obliterated the entirely of the foes in the first ranks, dropping hundreds easily in seconds, their bodies tripping up those behind them.

By then, guns were of no further use for those in the trenches in front of the fort; already spears and swords flashed, and metal clanged against metal. Knight, though, as well as other ponies on the walls, still had clear shots at other enemy warriors who had yet to reach the front lines, and he was able to fire off another round.

By then, more Griffons and mercenaries were in the trenches than he could count; the front line was simply being swamped with enemy bodies, and not all of them were waiting for the trenches to be cleared before moving on the fort.

There was no more time to reload. He dropped his gun and picked up his spear. An over-eager Griffon flew up in front of him. before the bird could do anything, he lashed out, and the enemy warrior let out a screech as he plummeted to the ground.

Furious Minotaurs began placing ladders on the walls, scrambling up them as fast as they could. While several of them were slain trying to climb up, some of them survived long enough to get onto the walls and begin attacking the Equestrian defenders. More Griffons flew onto the walls, slashing with swords, stabbing with spears, and a few blasting away with pistols.

Another bird fell before his spear, but a dog was on him faster than he could recover. They both went over the wall into the fort. There was a dull crunching noise as Knight landed, and found that he had landed on his foe, which had had good results for him but not for the luckless dog.

He got back up. Already the walls were being flooded with enemy warriors to the point in cases where it was difficult to swing a weapon at all. Occasionally a soldier from one side or the other would fall off the wall; that was literally how crowded it was. Some Griffons used their wings to land inside the fort proper, allowing them to flank the defenders from multiple angles.

We can't hold. That was all too obvious. Even as he was thinking that the walls were falling to enemy control, and the defenders had no capacity to regain them; indeed it was all they could do to hold onto what they still held, but step by step they were being forced back. He galloped for the rear entrance, direly wishing to live.

James watched from the tower on the city hall and the fighting raged all over the fort. Smoke had begun to partially obscure his sight of the battle, but what he could see was clear enough; the defenders were being overrun by sheer numbers.

"Doesn't look good, sir," Crystal Clear said from his right. "We're not going to hold, and they're hitting us everywhere to stop us from sending reinforcements."

"General Armor will be counter-attacking any moment now; maybe they'll be able to turn the tide."

"Maybe." Crystal's tone said he didn't believe it.

James didn't have his hopes up either. He brought up his binoculars again, observing the raging conflict once more.

Shining Armor was in full battle gear, his sword held in his hoof as he regarded the division one last time. About a full company were Royal Guards; the rest were regulars. Not that he had any contempt for the unarmored soldiers; they had proved they were just as determined as the Guard, even if they didn't have the armor or the training. They'd need every soldier they could get; Fort Nightshade was falling, and it was up to them ensure that it held. Banners waved in the wind, proud flags closing and disclosing as the breeze caught them.

He waved the sword toward the front; "Forward!" He ran toward the fort.

The division came behind him, running a fast as they could. With a loud chorus of yells, battle cries, and cheers the army raced toward Fort Nightshade.

Within minutes the battlements were in sight. Small groups of ponies struggled against a horde of Griffons, dogs, and Minotaurs. The clang of steel against steel was unmistakable.

"Come on!"

White Knight swung with all his might, and his spear again struck flesh; a Minotaur fell off the walls into the enclosure, clutching his belly and yelling as he plummeted to the ground.

Knight didn't know how much longer he could go on. After fighting for half an hour straight, he was exhausted, and there seemed to be as many enemies as there ever had been. The battle was taking it's toll on him, along with everyone else who had been fighting. As far as he could tell, the defenders had given a lot better than they'd got, but the attackers could afford the losses far better than they could.

He heard wild yells coming from the west; he was able to spare a glance in that direction, and he saw thousands of ponies running up from there. He gave a hopeful shout of his own before a sword slicing past his ear reminded him where he was and what he was supposed to be doing.

Already pegasi from the reinforcing army had taken flight and were approaching the walls; most of them had firearms, which they aimed as well as they could, getting close to the walls before firing. Their shots weren't the most accurate, but considering the fact that the enemy were almost everywhere, this made little difference.

The enemy staggered under the weight of the offensive; caught unawares in the effort to annihilate the defending forces, the Griffons and their mercenaries were themselves being annihilated by the counterattack.

Knight leaned against the wall, glad for the respite, as friendly forces started retaking the fortress.

Raymond panted heavily, leaning on his sword as General Barlow was laid on the ground on a stretcher. "I hope you are not seriously hurt, sir," he said.

"I doubt this injury will threaten my life, but alas..." Barlow rubbed his head. His leg had taken a sword slash, and it was barely capable of being saved as it was. The medics working on him hadn't known whether he would live through it. "General Grayfeather will have both our heads if we don't take that accused fortress."

"I don't think he'll go that far, but still, you're right. All's we got left is reserves."

"You mean most of the underage soldiers. I will not bring them into this fight."

"That is not your decision to make," came a raspy voice. Everyone present turned to the see Grayfeather standing behind them, with four red-coated guards at his back. "It is mine. And I order you to send them forward, regardless of your personal feelings."

"I will not..."

"You will. This is your last chance to maintain command of your division, general. I have some friends of the king with me who will relieve you of it, should you refuse."

"Curse you... I'll do it, damn you to hell, general, I'll do it, and when they die, I will place the blame of their premature deaths squarely on your head!" Barlow all but shouted the last few words, pointing an accusing claw at the general.

"You have no right to blame me for your incompetence," the general replied. Barlow let out a furious eagle's cry, which the general ignored. "As it is, you've said enough for me to report to the king. I doubt you'll rise higher in rank for the duration of the war. And if you know what's good for you, you'll remain silent."

"Do you not think you deserve shaming for putting chicks barely out of adolescence into battle?"

"It is what's necessary for eternal glory. And I can assure you, you won't partake in any of it, not for opposing me." Grayfeather turned around. "This war will be won. And I shall be the one to win it." He walked slowly away.

Shining Armor wiped his brow. After thirty minutes of intense combat, it looked as if the fort would be retaken. Although the Griffons had managed to reform after being hit, they were being driven back in a fierce struggle. It wouldn't be long before...

"Captain!" a member of the Guard called out, "more of them coming from the northeast!"

And just when we were doing so well. He ran onto the fort's northern wall to look for himself.

His mouth opened wide in shock. Wave after wave of Griffon foot soldiers were charging, flags waving back and forth, at the fort, without any fear or relent whatsoever. There had to be thousands of them. Most of them were armed with melee weapons rather than crossbows and firearms, but these would be more than sufficient if they came to close quarters.

He waved a hoof at the Guard, who had followed him. "Get every cannon we have to fire at them!"

"Sir, it won't be enough to stop them."

"Just do it!"

"Yes sir." The Guard, a pegasus, flew off to fulfill the order.

Deep in his heart, Shining knew it wouldn't be enough. Artillery alone had never stopped a full on charge. But he didn't think he could stand the guilt of being the general who lost Trottingham; it was a major city, a commercial center, and it's fall would be a massive blow to the country. Worse, and more importantly, the population of the city would be under the boot of an enemy who had already proved it was willing to mistreat them.

Well before the artillery began firing, the Griffons had reached the walls and were either climbing over them or flying into the fort under their own wing power. And there were masses still bunched up behind them, hardly able to move in any direction other than forward due to those still coming from the rear. When the batteries near the fort did open fire, they wreaked massive damage; they could hardly be expected to do less against such bunched targets.

It didn't stop those who had already gotten inside. Once again, the tide turned in favor of the enemy. Ponies who moments before had been on the verge of winning a hard fought fight were now forced to desperately defend themselves, just trying to survive the onslaught.

As the fighting went on, ponies were overcome by sheer numbers, collapsing in death as the breath left their bodies. It was hopeless. The battle couldn't be won, not by Equestria.

He was about to call retreat from the rear wall when a Griffon came flying in from out of the blue and pounced, pushing him over the wall. For a brief second his mind refused to comprehend what had just happened.

Then he hit the ground. His left hind leg exploded in pain, and he let out a cry.

The Griffon who had pushed him landed in front of him, brandishing a sword. The enemy soldier raised it to strike...

BANG!

The warrior stopped moving, as if he had hit a brick wall. He collapsed, falling over backward as he died.

Shining looked around, but before he could identify who had saved him he felt strong arms grasp his front legs and drag him backward. He looked up.

"James!"

"You might be stubborn, but your carcass is worth saving," the human responded as he continued to drag his fellow general back toward friendly lines.

"Look, about the other day..."

"Let's focus on not dying right now, and leave the apologies for later." James picked up a matchlock singlehandedly and blasted another Griffon who tried to attack them.

"Here, General, I'll take the Captain."

Shining smiled at his former title; it was one he enjoyed much more than general.

"Alright, Crystal, just get him back to the town; we're pulling out as soon as we can."

"What about you, sir?"

"I'll find a way back; trust me."

He felt himself being raised onto Crystal's back.

"Go, Crystal, fly like the wind!"

The pegasus Guard took off, and Shining felt the wind brush against his legs as he was carried to safety.

The help he had given his fellow general not withstanding, James knew his chances of escape were slim. He didn't have wings, and he didn't have the speed to keep up with his own soldiers. And as the army began to fall back, the Griffons followed them; they were tired out, true, but so were most of the troops they were chasing. And even with that being true, they outstripped any pace he could set.

He looked around in desperation, hoping to find something he could use to outstrip the enemy hordes.

He heard hoofbeats to his right, and a red shape stopped right next to him.

"Quick, on mah back!" Big Mac yelled.

James wasted no time in doing so, whipping his right leg over the back of the red stallion. Before he could even get comfortable, the big farm pony took off at full speed, and James had to cling on him for dear life. The fact that Big Mac hadn't taken off the yoke he habitually wore when he came into the army had it harder to lean forward without being poked in the eye by one of the two short metal rods sticking up out of it.

The ride seemed longer than it probably was. James had to readjust his position multiple times, and quarrels and bullets flew past them as Mac drove straight for the city. The pony also took the time to dodge obstacles; time after time James nearly fell off, only to just barely hold on each time. In another setting, in more peaceful times, he might have enjoyed the ride; as it was, he was just trying to hold on and stay alive.

At one point, he noticed a discarded gun lying just ahead, and snatched it up; that almost stretched him out on the ground, but it saved him too; a bullet zipped through the space his head would have been.

A loud screech made him turn around; a Griffon was sweeping down on him from the sky.

He turned, and aimed as best as he could. Time seemed to stand still.

As he depressed the trigger, he saw that the enemy warrior looked young, between teenage and adult. He saw the fear in the warrior's eyes as the hammer on the matchlock fell.

By then it was too late to stop the sequence. The gun roared, and the Griffon flew backwards, clutching at it's stomach. James almost fell off Big Mac's back again, but managed again to stay o. The gun slipped from James' fingers, and crashed against the ground.

More gunshots came from up ahead. When James looked to see, there was a line of Equestrian troops forming to his front, shooting at the pursuers. Big Mac jumped over the line, again nearly unseating James as he came back down to earth.

The remainder of the ride was more peaceful, although the fast pace the stallion kept up made James nervous. And no matter what else he could say, he wasn't proud of turning his back to the enemy, however necessary it may have been.

Big Macintosh finally approached the field hospital. When he reached it, he stopped. James jumped off his back. "Thanks."

"Eeyup." The big pony looked glad just to be safe, however temporary the respite was.

"If you can gather together anyone from your unit and get them together again, I would be grateful."

"Eeyup." With that, the red stallion raced away.

James walked into the big tent where some of the wounded were being kept. His heart sank upon realizing that many of the wounded hadn't had time to be evacuated, and they would be prisoners of the enemy right now.

He shook himself out of that line of thinking. It wasn't helpful. And there was a big issue he had to take care of at once.

Shining Armor was lying on a bed. His leg had been bandaged, and he was surrounded by doctors and medics. When James approached, one of them, a brown stallion, waved a hoof to stop him. "Sir, General Armor has suffered a fractured leg. It'll heal, but it will take time."

"We don't have time. I need to speak with him now."

"It's fine," Shining said, and waved them back. "I have a feeling I know what you're going to say."

"Yeah. We have to get the hell out of dodge, now."

The white unicorn stallion sighed.

"I don't like it either. I didn't like falling back before the Changelings. I hated to fall back when we lost at Sugar Cane River. But it's only going to get worse the longer we wait. With the big hole they've torn in our defenses, retreat is no longer compulsory; it's 100% mandatory."

There was a long period of silence. James could feel everyone else in the tent listening, waiting for the answer.

Finally, sighing again, Shining replied, "I guess we have no choice."

James nodded. "I sent out orders to prepare for withdrawal. Tonight, our best units will break through in the west, and pull out. We'll take as many civilians we can with us as is reasonably possible."

"Okay."

"We still have a bad leg to tend to, sirs," one of the medics said loudly. "You can discuss this later."

"Fine." To Shining Armor, he added, "See you on the other side."

General Raymond looked, horrified, at the remains of his division. The 2nd had been pummeled, losing over 45% of it's entire strength in the assault. The 5th had fared even worse, losing over half it's personnel in killed and wounded. That translated into well over ten thousand casualties.

All this for a piece of dirt and lumber? True, hundreds of ponies had been captured, and thousands more slain or wounded themselves, but nowhere near the number their foes had hit with.

Barlow, with a heavily bandaged leg and walking with a cane, surveyed the carnage. "How could it possibly be that we lost so many in one day, Raymond!? How?"

"Don't look at me; I didn't order it."

"You're right; I did," came the same raspy voice as earlier. Neither of them had to turn around to realize Grayfeather had arrived on the scene. "And we have won this city because of it."

"And how do you intend to keep them from escaping from the city?" Barlow demanded. "My division has been massacred, massacred, General!"

"Mine's been mauled," Raymond added. "Don't think I could get the boys to move if I wanted to, they're tuckered out."

"I have other units preparing to cut them off if they try. I wouldn't worry; the enemy are finished."

James and the leading officers in the army gathered around the map.

James pushed two blocks into position on the western edge of the defensive lines. "Their troops to our rear haven't been reinforced yet. Our scouts have confirmed that their units aren't in consolidated positions. We should be able to break out easily."

"When do you propose to do so sir?"

"Tonight."

There were more than a few looks of consternation. "Sir," a colonel said worriedly, "I'm not sure we can do that; that would require us moving out of our defenses some time before the breakout, and if we do that, they'll know what we're doing and attack from every direction."

"I don't think it will be quite as bad as that; for one thing, their communications take longer than ours to reach their destinations. For another, we still have plenty of dummy soldiers from the winter war and before; we'll man the walls with those, and some dummy guns as well. I want everything we can take with us to come with us."

Walking around the map, he pointed out the two units that were to lead the attack. "1st and 5th divisions will attack in this direction," he said, moving the blocks as he did so, so that they moved forward. "After them will come the units mauled during today's earlier action, followed by the remaining forces."

"What about the civilians?"

"They'll go along with the damaged units. In this way our troops will form a wall of soldiers around our wounded and around the females and children who are going to leave." He took a deep breath. "I doubt we will be able to take them all with us, so priorities are children first, followed by mares and, if we have room, stallions."

"Why can't we take them all?"

"Because we have maybe twenty, twenty-three thousand trying to protect over three hundred thousand. We don't have the numbers to look after them all."

He heard disconcerted voices mumbling, but none of them disagreed. He would have felt a little better if some of them had.

Bright Star watched the moon rise over the mangled woods. The white-gray celestial body looked ironically peaceful in comparison with the battered landscape, and nopony complained about it, not with the battle that was about to commence.

More death, as if this stupid war hasn't seen enough of it. It really was stupid; the only reason for it were the invasions by first the Changelings, then the Griffons. It was all about greed and pride, nothing more.

He listened to the officers as they whispered orders. Shouting had been forbidden as per the Generals' orders in order to avoid detection. Everypony was being careful not to make any noise.

At the wave of an officer's hoof, the troops began moving out. Bright strode forward on three hooves, the fourth keeping his matchlock over his shoulder. Shoulder to shoulder the line advanced; even in the moonlight the army seemed proud and defiant to the last.

For about half an hour, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Bright didn't know what was up; after the attack today, he would have expected the opposing generals to have at least done something to try and prevent their escape.

"Halt; was ist los?"

The call of the sentry was met by a gunshot; the enemy soldier cried out as he fell.

"Come on boys! Roll over 'em!"

Bright surged forward with the rest of them, the gun now off his shoulder and raised ready to fire. For a couple minutes, there was no one else to challenge other than that first sentry.

Then, two Griffons emerged from the woods. Clearly, they had been expecting a small raiding group; their eyes widened in shock at the army about to roll over them.

They were brave, of that there was no question; they both raised their weapons to fire when they got over their surprise. That did them no good at all; several soldiers fired at them, and they both went down.

"Advance!"

The advantage of surprise now gone, furious shouts erupted from the throats of every soldier as they broke into a fast charge.

More Griffons and a few Diamond dogs broke from the treeline; like the two individuals before them, they obviously had trouble comprehending the fact that a massive force was coming to roll over them. The dogs ran as soon as they got the chance; the Griffons tried to fight back, only to get the same reception as the three before them.

As the ponies raced into the woods, more scattered groups of enemy warriors revealed themselves. Again, they tried to resist. Again they were cut down before they were able to fire off more than a few shots.

The general disbelief at the feeble resistance offered so far spread through the ranks. Was this really all the enemy had?

General Grayfeather sat at his table. He was about to enjoy a cup of tea in celebration of the victory he was about to win. By this time tomorrow, the units he'd sent to block the Equestrians' escape routes would be fully entrenched and in place, and all he'd have to do was wait for the surrender.

He brought the cup to his beak and was on the verge of tasting the sweet beverage within when he paused. The sound of gunfire, distant but clearly audible, had broken out. He got up, replacing the cup on the table, and walked out, looking a the city he was besieging. What was going on? Were the ponies trying to retake the fort by the cover of night?

He turned to one of the guards at the door. "Find out what's going on."

The guard nodded and flew off at once.

For about thirty minutes the general paced outside, wondering what on earth was going on.

Finally, the guard came back. "Not sure exactly what's going on, but we know the western defenses are under attack."

"By how many?"

"That's uncertain, sir. At least a thousand, if you would have me guess."

Grayfeather almost felt his heart almost stop. If the enemy were trying to escape tonight, they wouldn't just throw a thousand soldiers into it; they'd throw everything they had at him. And the divisions sent to block either weren't in position or they were otherwise out of position.

"Send someone to confirm this, then order the units on either side of the breakout to attack at once!"

"Yes sir." The guard again flew away.

The general leaned against the wreck of a nearby tree. He hadn't expected the bloodied enemy to try an escape before properly tending to their wounded. He had been certain it would take three days for them to be ready for such a move, and by that time it would have been far too late. But now... Now he would have to see how things turned out.

Bright Star fired once more. More enemy warriors, trying in vain to halt the advance, fell, some injured and crying out in pain, others lying quite still. The Equestrian army was advancing with only light casualties; the enemy had had no clue of the hammer blow that was going to strike them until it was too late to hit back effectively. Now many of them were dead, prisoners, or fleeing from the field.

Why can't it be like this the rest of the time? he pondered during a lull in the fighting. The answer was, of course, that this time the enemy had been hit in the weakest part of their perimeter, and had been taken by surprise. Any other time, the Equestrians would likely have been halted long before now.

Another batch of a hundred or so Griffons, dressed in bright red, opened fire from up ahead. Some their shots struck home, with screams of anguish from those hit. The return fire, however, almost obliterated the tiny defending force; most of their number dropped, some hit by more than one projectile. Those who remained wisely decided to withdraw.

More gunfire sounded from the left and toward the rear. Nervously, Bright looked back. As far as he could see, there wasn't a hidden flanking force that had hit them. No, now that he was paying better attention, the gunfire was coming from farther away.

"What's going on, Colonel?" asked another private in the ranks.

"I would want to hazard a guess," Colonel Barrel answered. "The best I can tell is that they're trying to cut us off with a flank attack. Best thing we can do right now is stick to the plan. We'll keep going. There are over twenty thousand of us, enough to beat off a flank attack, and we have civilians to pave the way for."

Bright and the other soldier nodded, but he still felt nervous.

"Are you sure you can hold, colonel?" James asked.

"I think I can, if it's only a regiment," Colonel Sand Storm answered.

"If you're confident in your belief that you can repel the attack, then we'll continue with the operation as planned.

"That's the smartest thing I can think of doing right now, sir; gone too far to quit now."

"Damn right." So far, the ponies had succeeded beyond what he had expected. There had been far less resistance than scouts had said there would be. Perhaps it was surprise and the fact that the entire Equestrian army had been poured into this assault.

He lifted his head and looked west. Either this was a big trap, or they really had smashed a hole in the enemy line. He would find that out soon enough.

Oh Jesus, please ensure our path to freedom is clear, he prayed silently.

"Why haven't our northern forces joined the attack?" Grayfeather fumed.

"They're probably tired, sir, or else they didn't get the message yet," an aide answered.

The General felt like blowing a fuse. So far, only a regiment had managed to get into action, flanking the escaping army from the south, and from all indications they hadn't got far.

A Griffon messenger flew into the tent. "Sir, General Whiteclaw asks to confirm your order."

"What!?! Did he even begin to move!?"

"No sir. He wanted confirmation of your orders before doing anything."

"Inform him that he is no longer in command. Then give command to his second in command and have him send the attack in."

"Yes sir." Seeing that his commander was just barely in control of his rage, the messenger took the hint and flew off as fast as he could.

Grayfeather pounded his fist on the table. He knew that any force that went in now was, in all likelihood, to be too late to stop the enemy from escaping. The best he could hope for was that he could inflict casualties and ensure the fall of the city. He walked outside the tent and furiously shook his fist in the direction of the town.

Presently, he saw generals Raymond and Barlow walking up. "What are your two doing here?"

"Heard the gunfire, and wanted ta see what was goin' on," Raymond answered.

"The enemy are attempting to break out of the city."

"We winnin'?"

Grayfeather turned angrily toward him. "I don't have to tell either of you dolts anything."

"And why not?" Barlow asked. "Sooner or later we will hear of it anyway."

The stare Grayfeather gave him would have killed him if looks could do that. Barlow had been as cold as possible toward him since being insulted, and he was all too eager to see the commanding general humiliated.

"It does not appear to be going as well as we would have hoped," he answered at last, in a tone that said they should be happy to leave with just that.

They both got the message. After Raymond whispered to Barlow, the aristocrat nodded reluctantly and they both walked away.

He walked back into his tent, sat back down in his table, and raised his right claw to his forehead.

James heard the firing toward the front start to slack off as the night went on. Reports confirmed just what he had hoped they would; the enemy to their front had completely collapsed. The Equestrian army was now clear to withdraw. Although there were still enemy units harassing them from the side and the rear, those attacks weren't strong enough to break through and inflict real damage.

Thank God, we've made it. He sighed in relief.

"Sir, the units assigned to the front are reporting few casualties. It looks like we got away," Crystal Clear said, with a similar tone in his voice as James' sigh.

"How are the civilians?"

"They seem to be okay, sir, although many of them seem... out of it."

"A forced move is hardly an easy one. How many?"

"At least sixty-thousand."

A wave of guilt washed over the human; over two hundred thousand were left to the machinations of the enemy. The Griffons had shown they were more disposed to exploitation than to kindness.

"Damn it," he whispered.

"I feel the same way, sir, if it's any consolation." Crystal for once sounded not the least bit professional, and looked at him with caring eyes. "We couldn't save everypony, though, and we got most of the foals out at the very least. And you and the Captain" - the very common nickname in the Guard for Shining Armor - "got most of us out as well. We'll have a chance later to retake the town thanks to that decision."

"Thank you." James patted the officer on the back of the neck. Crystal returned the favor. As they continued walking, James felt tears sag down his cheeks, a sad song on his lips;

Where are the legs we looked ya run, hurroo, hurroo,

Where are the legs we looked ya run, hurroo, hurroo,

Where are the legs we looked ya run

But first ya went ta carry a gun

Indeed yer dancin' days 'r done

Johnny I hardly knew ya...*

*Note; these lyrics are from the Irish Rovers' "Johnny I hardly knew ye."

Chapter 34; Inquiry

Crystal Clear stood before the two commanding generals of the Army of Northeastern Equestria. "Sirs, reports indicate that our forces managed to escape the city without suffering appalling damage, and ammunition and equipment are still plentiful. We also managed to take some of the heavy fort guns with us, mostly from the western-most fortresses."

"That doesn't sound too bad," James noted.

"I'm not done, sir. We still don't have much to drink, certainly not enough for the whole army and the civilian refugees, and food is..." Here Crystal swept his hoof over the grass they were standing on.

Shining Armor muttered under his breath. "At least we can eat grass."

Who's "we?" James thought ruefully. Aloud, he said quietly, "And the status of our pursuers?"

Crystal's face contorted into an expression of suspicion. "That's one thing I don't understand; they aren't following us, at least not fast enough to catch up to us any time soon."

"Are you sure you read the reports right?"

"Yes. They all say the same thing, that pursuit is half-hearted at best. Looks like we're free to go."

"Hmm..." James tried to think of a way the army could use the enemy's behavior to their advantage, but only briefly. The army had taken a pounding, and with a critical food and water shortage was in no shape to pull off any kind of offensive action, not to mention that the refugees needed protection. "Well, in that case, we'll continue pulling back; we need provisions direly."

"Abandon territory without a fight?"

"Maybe not completely, but we cannot afford another major battle right now. We're not in any shape to fight it. We can skirmish, and I think we'll do so. However, I will not bring on another decisive engagement until we are ready for it, and we most certainly are not."

"I hope we can turn this disaster around soon, sir."

"I wouldn't go so far as to call it a disaster," Shining said. "It won't kill us. In the meantime, we should continue our retreat."

James glanced at him, surprised. Even after saving his life at Fort Nightshade, the stallion had been reluctant to agree with him in matters regarding withdrawal.

I do agree with Crystal, anyway. Somehow we have to recover from this and keep the land we still have, otherwise the loss of morale could be... problematic.

After other, more trivial matters had been settled and Crystal had been dismissed, James and Shining walked outside. It was a sunny day so far, and the breeze lightly blew on James' face. For a moment, he wondered, with some guilt, how the weather was being managed in Trottingham and other settlements now occupied by the Griffons.

Looking back at Shining Armor, he saw that the white stallion was currently bowing. Following the direction of the bow, he saw Princess Celestia walking toward them, two pegasus Guards to either side of her.

Well, damn. James didn't bow, although Shining gave him a short, wary glance. The royal pony came up to them both before stopping. He bore an expression that seemed happy, but James knew there was something serious on her mind.

"Good morning, James, I hope you're well. And Shining Armor, you look healthy."

Now James nodded. Shining got up and stood tall. "We're doing okay," James said. "As for the army and the refugees..." He waved his hand in a sweeping gesture around the camp. "It could be better."

"You'll be happy to know then, that as of earlier today a number of trains set out loaded with necessary goods. They should arrive within three days' time."

"Thank God!" James exclaimed.

"What about the civilians?" Shining Armor asked.

"I'll be bringing them with me to Fillydelphia; I've made arrangements for them there."

Shining let out a sigh of relief.

Celestia smiled a little as she went on, "The blatant aggression displayed by the Griffon and Changeling invaders has convinced many nations to take our side. Saddle Arabia has pledged their support; they will be declaring war on the Griffons any day now. And the Zebra tribes have come together to fight for our cause as well."

Everyone who heard her cheered loudly.

"However," the Princess continued, and here her face fell, "I do not come with only good news."

"Uh oh," James said worriedly. "What happened? Changelings stab us in the back? Again?"

"No, nothing like that. And no, Discord didn't escape again, either."

"Well," Shining quipped, "what is it, then?"

Celestia sighed. "I'm afraid Prince Blueblood as been working hard to court martial you both, and unfortunately..."

James felt stunned, but only for a moment; then outrage filled him. "I'm going to kill him."

"Leave some for me," Shining added, baring his teeth in rage. "He has some nerve, when he was the trouble all along."

"You won't take any action of the sort," the Princess said sternly.

James and Shining looked at one another. Both of them bore an angry expression, but the anger wasn't pointed at each other, and both acknowledged that maybe this time they'd gone too far.

The Princess' face slowly eased. "I'm afraid that he's not the only one. Since the only ones who know what happened are currently in this army, he's gotten quite a following. I'm afraid I have no choice but to call a court of inquiry."

"You're arresting us?" James shouted in disbelief.

"No, you're not under arrest, but you'll have to come with me to Canterlot for the inquiry."

"Then who's going to lead this army?"

Celestia looked into his eyes. "Is there anyone who you would trust in your absence to lead?"

Is there? James thought. There was, of course, Crystal Clear, but he was an orderly, an aide, not a general. He'd love to leave the job in the hooves of Silver Shield; the grizzled Royal Guard was a veteran fighter. But again, this fell flat; Shield hadn't had to lead thousands at once, and he didn't have the command experience, no matter how well he'd fought on the battlefield.

What about Colonel Barrel? That was an intriguing idea. Rolling Barrel had plenty of combat and leadership experience, and was the natural choice for the job other than him and Shining Armor. The one thing that really bothered him was that the aggressive colonel was too attack-minded, and wasn't the defender the army currently needed. Yet James could see no other obvious choice.

"I guess there is someone I'd trust, but I need some time to make sure things are set in order before leaving," he answered at last.

"Then I'd suggest you do so quickly; there should be a train not far from here waiting for you."

"I understand." James nodded instead of bowing outright, but the Princess didn't seem to care too much one way or another.

"Colonel, I want you to realize we'll be leaving the army directly in your care," James said to Rolling Barrel. "I want you to understand; there are to be no aggressive moves whatsoever, except maybe for raids by small parties of soldiers. If you can't promise to me here and now to remain on the defensive, then I cannot in good conscience grant you command of the army of Northeastern Equestria."

The colonel saluted. "I understand sir, and I couldn't agree more."

James was surprised. Obviously, his astonishment was visible on his face, because Barrel continued, "I've seen for myself that this army is incapable of sustaining a major effort, and, as discouraged as I may be in being forced to be on the defensive, you can count on me; this army will be intact when you return."

"If I return; Blueblood, damn it, is pressing hard for the elimination of my command of this army."

Barrel frowned. "I wish I could say what I thought of that beast in the presence of the Princess, sir. You and Shining Armor were the ones who stayed and looked after us." He offered a hoof. "In any case, it was good to know ya, and I wish you could remain in command; this army came far under you and the Captain."

James shook the offered hoof. "Likewise. With luck, you'll get your wish. May God keep you and this entire army safe until my return; until the end of days, for that matter."

Barrel saluted again. "Sir!"

James return the salute, grabbed hold of his bag, and left the tent, hoping this was not the last he would see of the army he'd helped to build.

"Hey James," came a friendly voice. He turned to see Bright Star and his other friends standing nearby.

"I'm glad to see you're all still here."

"Almost didn't make it," Silver Shield admitted. "Heard about that cowardly lout calling you out in Canterlot. Is there anything we can do to help?"

"No, I don't see how you can do that." He heard a faint meow; Kiki was coming, expecting breakfast of some kind. "There is one thing I must ask you, though; please take care of Kiki for me while I'm gone."

"Will do, sir; it'll be a nice change."

"Farewell, all of you; I will do my best to return." He watched as they waved in good-bye, then turned to walk away. Part of the reason was so they wouldn't see the tears in his eyes.

Soldiers gathered on his path, cheering for him and Shining Armor; many of them crowded around them, trying to get a good look at their leaders. In response, James raised his kepi into the air, which was met with a yell that could be heard for miles around.

He climbed into the carriage that was to take him to the station, along with Shining. Neither commander had anything to say, nothing to report. They simply pondered the future in silence.

"Canterlot! All out for Canterlot!"

Shining Armor made sure his saddlebags were properly secured before stepping off the train, with James walking out just ahead of him. Fresh air and a light breeze felt welcome on his face.

The capital didn't look any different since he had left. It felt so long ago since he had last left it. The stores were crowded, the streets full of pedestrians, and pegasi flew through the skies, avoiding the traffic jams below.

The biggest difference was the fact that posters covered the walls. Some were clearly official, others markedly less so. They all shared one thing in common; they were all propaganda.

One displayed a stalwart Guard stallion using a spear to ward off a Changeling and a Griffon; a mare tried to shield her foals in the lower left corner, behind the soldier. Another was a bit more word based; a Guard stood, thrusting an upraised spear toward whoever was looking at the poster, with the word, "VICTORY!" underneath him in capital letters. Both were very well made, and whoever had made them had artistic talent.

Neither poster showed what war actually was; the nightmare of death and the maelstrom of chaos. Perhaps the artists and editors had made a deliberate effort to be sensitive to the target audience. More likely, they had no idea of what the terror of armed conflict was really like.

Passing those by, it wasn't a long walk to the palace, but Shining had to redirect James, who had never been in the capital before and was drawing more than his fair share of curious looks, multiple times.

The palace was unmistakable; the towers there stood taller than any other building in the city. Many Guards were still patrolling the walls, some of whom glanced in the direction of the newcomers and then went on their way.

Two Guards did challenge them at the gate. "Halt!" one, a pegasus, said in an authoritarian voice.

"Sorry, Captain, but we have to scan both of you briefly," his companion, a unicorn, added.

"Go ahead," Shining told them.

The unicorn scanned him first, then, satisfied, went on to James. The spell obviously didn't detect anything out of place there, either, because the unicorn only nodded. "Sorry, generals, we have orders directly from the Princesses to do this with anyone coming to the castle."

"Don't apologize, you're just doing your job."

"Thank you, sir."

"I really think that the Prince has gone too far the time," the pegasus added, a stormy look forming on his face. "My brother was in Blueblood's corps at Sugar Cane River, and he never came back."

"I'm sorry," James said, taking the hat off his head. "I should have tired harder to keep him from getting that position. If all goes well, the evidence at this inquiry will prove the loss of the battle was his responsibility."

"Looking forward to seeing it happen, sir; you may enter."

"Thank you." replacing the cap on his head, James nodded to the Guard and went through the gate, Shining right beside him.

A servant in the palace, an earth pony in a tuxedo, bowed to both of them. "Welcome, sirs, to Canterlot Palace," the pony said to them in the usual, uptight voice expected of a butler. "My name is Iced Tea, and the Princess has asked me to escort you both to the throne room."

The two officers followed the butler to the throne room. Two Guards opened the doors.

On the twin thrones sat the royal sisters. Sunlight shone in from the windows, illuminating the room without the need for any artificial lighting as James and Shining walked in.

"Ah, James and Shining Armor; welcome," Celestia said in greeting. "Please come closer." As they approached the Princesses, the albino alicorn continued, "While we may have lost Trottingham, you did what you could to rescue as many of the inhabitants as you could, and you bought us enough time to train more troops. We have an active armed force of over a hundred thousand, including the armies still in the field.

Beside Shining, James sighed in relief. "Good to know more boys will be coming; we need them."

Celestia nodded, but then she looked deliberately at James. "If we cannot achieve victory quickly with the new forces at our disposal, I'll have no choice but to overrule your suggestion to keep the army an all-stallion enterprise."

"I... see," James said slowly, showing his displeasure at the idea. "I can only say this; I did not try to show favor to one gender over the other by making that suggestion, which was merely to keep order and discipline in the army. I did try to preserve that portion of the population responsible for childbirth and for caring for those children. And, of course, the whole gentleman thing comes into play over the whole thing."

The Princess nodded again.

"Our subjects have been greatly disturbed over the fall of Trottingham and the surrounding lands," Luna put in. "It is hard to keep their spirits up if we keep losing ground."

"With the new army we've been setting up, we should be able to throw the Griffons out of our land for good," Shining said.

"I cannot see the Griffons mobilizing anymore mercenaries," James added. "It's got to be expensive keeping them paid, plus all the money they're spending on their own troops. And the main source of reinforcements they've sent to the front lines are..."

"Juveniles," Luna deadpanned.

"Well... yes."

"It is truly a crime against the very nature of life itself when a people use their seed, their future, to win the present," Celestia said mournfully. "Every youth they sacrifice to this war is another beautiful life full of potential lost. King Raneiro shall pay for the innocent lives he's taken through this senseless conflict."

"Which brings us to the court of inquiry." Luna used her magic to lift a cup of tea on the arm of the throne to her lips, sipped it a little, then set it back down. "Prince Blueblood has rallied much support, most of it aimed at General Lavigne, though some of it is deflected onto Shining Armor. The charges, as you might expect, include incompetence, dereliction of duty, and slander."

"Those are all things applying to his conduct!" James exclaimed loudly.

"Please do not shout," Luna asked.

"Sorry," the human apologized, "but you are both absolute monarchs; can't you do something?"

"Unfortunately, neither of us were there to observe the battle and it's outcome," Celestia said with some sorrow, "and as such we cannot personally assure the judge that what you say is true. If one of us had been there, that would be a different matter."

"And the Prince has raised everypony he can to denounce you both, including widows and parents of soldiers who perished in the war." Luna took another nervous sip from her cup. "It is not looking good whatsoever."

Upon hearing the news of the parents and widows, Shining noticed James flinching slightly; the edges of his mouth twitched, and his eyebrow shifted, and small tears glistened in his eyes. Nonetheless, the human replied, "Bring them all before us, and we'll break down the arguments they bring against us one by one."

"I'm glad you're at least confident," Celestia noted. "Take my advice and read up on Equestrian law if you have the time."

"My time should be spent fighting the Griffon bandits," James said in anger, "not fiddling about in a trial started purely for political and not military reasons."

"I know, but now that the inquiry has been called, there's little choice." Celestia looked thoughtful for a moment. "The best I can offer is a good defensive lawyer for your cause."

"We'll take him," James said, "or her, whichever it may be."

"Good." Then with worry in her eyes, the Princess added, "Be careful, both of you."

James had a hard time getting to sleep that night. Even when he was able to manage it, he was only able to dream for an hour or so at a time before being awoken by nightmares of the coming trial. In some, furious mares accused him of deliberately leading their sons to slaughter, ending with them closing in on him with almost every sharp weapon imaginable. In others, he was proclaimed guilty, and sentenced to death by volcano; dragons laughed at him as he was tossed into the fiery mountain.

He woke up once more in cold sweat. It was still nighttime, and the moon's light shone in from the window. He heaved himself upright. Obviously sleep wasn't a good idea currently, so he put on his coat (as he was sleeping in his army trousers, he didn't have to worry about putting them on), buckled on his shoes, and, taking his hat off the nightstand, walked over to the door, opened it, exited the room, and closed it again.

He quietly walked through the dark castle as the dim light came through painted windows. He could hear little other than the sounds of his own footsteps. His mind flashed with scenes of the war, from the death of the soldier he had encouraged at the beginning of the first battle to the massive effusion of bloodshed at Fort Nightshade.

Could I have done it better? he asked himself silently. Could I have accomplished the goals we set forth without the loss of men we suffered in actuality? He realized he had just equated ponies with humans. He gave a mental shrug; they were, in intelligence and capacity to utilize and understand knowledge, equal to the human race. They were capable of making mistakes, showed the tendency to hate and to love, to be lazy and be hard-working; other than the bodily differences and turns of phrase, they could easily have been born human.

"Hey, who are you? Identify yours..." A Lunar Guard demanded. "Oh, sorry sir. Didn't recognize you there for a moment."

"That's fine," he said in response; the challenge had only briefly distracted him from his own line of thought.

He felt the scanning spell come into effect on his body for a few seconds, then it left just as abruptly. "Sorry sir," the Guard said. "It's my job. You could have been a Changeling in disguise."

"By no means am I flustered by it. Please, carry on."

The Guard looked as if he wanted to ask more questions, but James swept by before he could, again on the railroad of thought he had been travelling beforehand.

Presently, he came upon a balcony overlooking part of the city as well as the great plain stretching out for countless miles around the mountain the city was perched on. From there, he looked up into the sky, at the moon and the stars. The plains were illuminated by the dim, white light the celestial body offered.

Lord, what would You have done in my place? What am I meant to do?

He felt something stir slightly in his chest, although there was no audible answer to his equally silent query. Hope slowly grew within him; although it felt far from overwhelming, it was still a welcome feeling when everything else seemed to be conspiring to prevent the victory Equestria so desperately needed.

"Is there something wrong, James?" came a voice behind him.

He jerked around in surprise. Princess Luna was standing just behind him; he must have been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't heard her hoofbeats as she approached. When he remained silent, she continued, "I know there's something troubling you; one of my Guards came to me, saying you were wandering the corridors."

"I couldn't sleep," he answered.

"Are you nervous about the trial?"

"Well, yes."

"Is there anything else that is bothering you?" Luna looked truly concerned. "If you remember, I can see into the dreams of others; the ones you had tonight were distressing, to say the least. I wasn't able to help you simply because they passed by so fast."

James sighed. "I keep wondering if I could have done better, if I could have saved more lives through better decisions."

"What else troubles you? Come on, you can tell the goddess of the night."

James looked at her seriously. "You and I both know that you are not a goddess."

Luna looked slightly angry for a moment, then sighed, pouting. "'Tia gave it away, didn't she?" James' silence said all that needed to be said there. "Well, you're right. I would have liked the... myth, as it were, to remain as a tool to help maintain order. But that aside," she continued, "You can still tell me."

James turned back to the balcony and leaned on it. "I know that Blueblood is getting together all those who would blame me for the losses of their sons to this war. And... I'm not all that sure I can face them."

"You, who have defeated entire armies and fought unceasingly on our behalf, are afraid of a few mares?"

"It's not the same. Fighting an enemy on the battlefield is one thing; once hostilities began, you and he knew you were going to come at each other with the intention to slay one another. Angry parent and widows... They're not enemies, not in a military sense." He groaned. "Ugh, how do I explain this? I feel guilty because their sons and husbands have died because I ordered them into those battles. And they hate me for it; they have a right to. You haven't read the letters they've mailed to me."

"You could just throw them away."

"I can't. Knowing I made the decisions that led those troops to die, I just cannot compel myself to throw them away. And every time I read one... a few made it clear that their writers didn't blame me, or me alone. But almost all the rest are full of rage and hatred. That's more painful than any battlefield wound." He shivered, remembering some of the worst he'd read.

He heard Luna's hooves clop against the stone floor as she came up beside him. "In this, you are not alone. Despite how that show of yours depicts us and our world, in reality it's often not all that different from yours. That's not to say that war is common; far from it. But anger and hatred exist here; again they are not as abundant as in your world, but they exist." She too looked up at the moon. "I am still feared more than loved by our people. To many of them, I am still the crafter of nightmares and destroyer of dreams; it hurts, to say the least. The loyalty of my Guards and the few friends I have made, mainly Pip and the Bearers of Harmony, help keep me from falling into despair, but it still hurts, badly."

"It can't be easy to deal with all that."

"No, it isn't." They both stared into the night sky for some time.

"Why do so many hate the night, James?" Luna asked in a sad voice after a while.

James was surprised by the question. He thought about it for a minute before responding. "A character in a game I played once said on darkness, 'Aw, we don't hate it, it's just kind of scary. But the world's made of both light and darkness. You can't have one without the other.' Until the end of time, there's always going to be light and darkness."

Luna turned her head toward him. "I wish my subjects would understand that better than they do."

James felt like flinching at the word "subjects," but managed to keep from doing so. "Eventually, they should have no choice but to accept it, assuming good behavior and fair rulings on your part."

Luna looked down at the floor. "I doubt that will happen anytime soon."

"I didn't say it would happen right away; this sort of thing takes time. Like I said, eventually they will have no choice but to accept you."

The Princess sighed in response, then lifted her head to look at him. "Thank you for trying to cheer me up. At least I know you and a few others really do like me."

"It was nothing." James patted her mane; to his surprise, instead of the watery feel he'd expected, it felt like normal hair.

She noticed the absurd look on his face; she smiled. "I see you notice the magic affects of my mane. It's not really starlight, like everypony thinks it is; it's just a spell me and my sister use. It lasts for weeks, and it doesn't need much energy to maintain or to cast."

"It's very pretty."

"Thank you." Then, becoming serious, she said quietly, "Please be careful tomorrow."

James sat in his chair in the middle of the court room. The place was packed with ponies and a few non-equines, all waiting for the whole thing to get started. Shining Armor was standing nearby; he'd had a makeover, so his mane and tail were back to something resembling normal, and his hooves were once again smooth and flat. The human was in his uniform, the stallion in the uniform he'd worn to his wedding.

Dammit, don't all these people realize what's going on? James thought with indignation. How many came just to see me get cashiered, and how many simply came to see a new species in their midst? I'm not a zoo animal. Regardless of the reasons, most of the eyes in the room were fixed on him. He was, needless to say, feeling quite nervous. Even with both Princesses in the audience, he couldn't shake the feeling.

At last, the judge, a large white-gray stallion wearing a black suit walked into the room.

"All rise for the Honorable Judge Silver Gavel," a Guard said loudly, banging the bottom of his spear on the floor.

Everyone in the room did as they were told, standing if they weren't already doing so. Across the way, in a separate box, Prince Blueblood glared at both of them.

James glared back. He tried unsuccessfully to squash his anger.

"Order in the court," the judge said calmly, though no hard evidence of disorder was present. "You may be seated."

James sat back down quickly.

"The court has come here today to discuss the charges again General James Lavigne and Prince Shining Armor. The charges are cowardice, incompetence, dereliction of duty, and disorderly conduct. General," the judge said, looking down at James through his spectacles, "how you plead to these charges?"

"Not guilty, and I further state that these accusations fall on the head of the Prince who has accused me," James said a little heatedly.

BANG! "The scribe shall erase all that was said by the accused except for his claim of innocence, and the General is reminded to maintain orderly conduct during his time in court," the judge said harshly.

Fuck off. That would have been fatal to say, but it summed up James' feelings.

"And you, Prince Shining Armor? What is your plea?"

"Not guilty."

"Very well," Silver Gavel said, looking at a small pile of paper that was out before him, "this inquiry is now underway. The prosecution may make his opening statement."

"Your Honor," the lawyer for Blueblood said, standing tall and looking confident, "the two soldiers you see before you today have been brought here on charges, which we shall prove to be undeniable, that their conduct has resulted in the loss of a crucial battle, has lead to the fall of the great city of Trottingham, and has undermined royal authority on multiple occasions. This trial shall lead to the proof of guilt of the two military incompetents and will pace the way for an army led by those responsible enough to fulfill the aims of the present conflict. Thank you."

Is that it? Because that didn't sound convincing. Arms folded, James again said nothing, but his mind was full of rage at the unfairness of the trial.

"What does the defense have to say in reply to this?" asked the judge.

"Your Honor," said a voice that was all too familiar. James turned to his right to see Rusty, the old Colonel of the Unauthorized Regiment, standing before the judge and jury. "And respected members of the jury, this trial is the result of an unfair bias against commanders who have lead our armies and requited themselves well time and time again on the field against the external foes who threaten the very independence and security of our beloved country, and who seek to overthrow the duly constituted authority invested by our beloved Princesses. While it is true that the battle my colleague spoke of was lost, along with the beloved city of Trottingham, it is not from incompetence, certainly not from a lack of bravery on their part, nor is it a result of disciplinary infractions, and neither did the city fall by any lack of action of duty by my clients. I have full confidence that you will, in time, see that both commanders, who I am proud to say have commanded me in this time of war, are not guilty of the charges that have been leveled against them. I thank you all for your time this morning." Rusty sat back down quietly.

"The prosecution may call it's first witnesses," Silver Gavel announced.

"The prosecution calls Mrs. Cloud Banks to the stand," the opposing lawyer said.

A gray pegasus mare stepped into the box next to the judge. She gave James a look, but otherwise did nothing out of the ordinary.

"Your full name?"

"Cloud Banks," answered the mare, looking for the first time to be anxious.

"Your occupation?"

"I'm part of the weather team in Manehattan."

"What has brought you to the stand today?"

"I'm here..." she gulped.

"Yes?"

"I'm here to see justice done to the thing that has slain my son."

There was a silence in the courtroom.

"Your son? How was he killed by the accused?"

"He didn't kill him, not directly," Cloud Banks said nervously. "But through stupidity and bad orders my son, Golden Star, died in the attack on the Changeling fortress." Tears formed in her eyes.

"Where did this occur?"

"North of Appleloosa, some time this... this past autumn," she replied, lifting a hoof to her eye to clear it.

"Can you explain the details?"

"Well... no. But I know he didn't want to die, not in a place like that."

James felt a sense of pity as well as a bit of outrage. He felt bad that the orders he had given had resulted in death, but to put him in direct blame for the death of a particular soldier and imply that he could have personally kept it from happening was absurd.

"And who or what was the 'thing' that lead to his death?"

"He's sitting right there," she said, pointing a hoof directly at James.

"That will be all." The lawyer looked quite pleased with himself, and looked up at Blueblood, who gave the slightest of nods.

"Your Honor, I would like to cross-examine the testimony of the witness," Rusty said.

"You may do so."

"Thank you." With that, Rusty walked up to the box where Cloud Banks was sitting. "You said that my client, General Lavigne, has caused the death of your son."

"He has."

"Did you personally witness the event?"

"Wah... what?"

"Did you see Golden Star die?"

Cloud Banks looked like she was on the verge of collapsing into sobs.

A little more gently, Rusty again asked, "Did you see it?"

"Well, no. I wasn't there."

"Then how can you claim that the General's actions lead to his death?"

"Well... I..."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"He ordered him to fight!"

"'He ordered him to fight,'" Rusty echoed. "I'm assuming this means the General gave orders for the unit your son belonged in to fight."

Cloud Banks nodded.

"Are you aware that the General had little control over the battle once it started, and that, in the middle of thousands, he could not personally protect everypony at once? Or that the orders, no matter what unit they assigned to the attack, would have lead to that unit going into battle, and to the deaths of combatants on both sides?"

"But... but... they shouldn't have died!"

Damn it, James said in his mind, wanting all the while to rage and show pity on the poor Cloud Banks, what do you think war is about? A bunch of kids playing with foam swords and popguns? That would be great, but it's not the real deal.

"Tell that to the Changelings. They were more than ready to use your son and your family to feed themselves, to enslave you, to make you all less than nothing. In his death, he help prevent that from happening. Yes, it's tragic. Yes, this war should never have occurred. But the fault, if there is any, lies with the enemy who started this unjust war, not with the soldiers who have had to carry out their assignments once it started. And considering that you did not witness the fighting yourself or see the effects of the commands given by the General, I must, regretfully, question your status as a witness."

Cloud Banks really did break out in tears this time.

"No further questions Your Honor," Rusty said, producing a piece of tissue for the sobbing pegasus, who, upon taking it, exited the box.

Blueblood's smirk had, by now, long since become a frown. But he said nothing.

"Defense calls Mrs. Night Sky to the stand."

A mare with a midnight-blue coat, a mane of faint purple and blue, bat-like wings, and a white star for a cutie mark stepped into the box.

"Name."

"Night Sky," She answered curtly; she sounded almost like she'd come from the Royal Guard.

"Occupation?"

"My place is with the blacksmiths who forge weaponry for the Guard," she said in a quiet voice that sounded similar, but not identical to, Zecora's.

"What has brought you to the stand today?"

"I have come to testify on behalf of the prosecution regarding my sons, Nightshade, a Captain in the Lunar Guard and the army, and Night Star, also in the Lunar Guard," she said quietly.

"What is the status of your sons?"

"Nightshade was badly wounded during the desperate fight for the fortress that bears his name, and my Night Star was killed in the engagement," Night Sky answered with sorrow.

"And you would point to Generals Lavigne and Shining Armor as those responsible for this?"

Night Sky straightened. "My Night Star was a brave, loyal warrior of the Crown. He knew his duty, and he knew the risks. From all accounts, he fell bravely fighting the Griffon hordes, serving his Princess, his country, and his family."

"I beg your pardon, miss, but I did not ask for details on his death, but for your confirmation that the defendants were responsible for it."

"Who says I came to confirm it?"

Again a silence fell. James couldn't help looking at Blueblood's box and saw his expression change from a frown to open anger.

"I came," Night Sky said loudly and plainly for all to hear, "not to accuse these two of slaying my son, but to clear them of blame. Both Armor and Lavigne did their best as commanding officers. In wartime, it is inevitable that soldiers from both sides shall fall. Nowhere, in any reports I have read or in tales by the survivors, has there been any evidence, as you would say, of incompetence. My son died following the orders given to him, orders that were designed to defeat the monsters who have captured Trottingham. The plan failed, that I cannot deny, but in the end almost the entire garrison escaped the town, along with many of the inhabitants, due to the efforts of the Generals. I will not sit here and have the Prince or anypony else blaspheme my son by using him or his name as a political tool." She bared her fangs, looking directly at Blueblood, who looked momentarily frightened, before turning to face the prosecutor. "I cannot in good conscience condemn the defenders of our country."

As she folded her forelegs, the prosecuting lawyer looked around, as if confused. "No further questions," he said at last.

James felt hope revive again inside him. He looked to Night Sky, nodding in thanks, and got a wink and a smile in return.

An hour later, James was still feeling confident, but sadness had made a home in his heart. Five more 'witnesses' of grieving parents had been called to the stand; all of them had implicated him in slaying one of their relatives through incompetence on the battlefield. None of them had managed to stand up to Rusty in the cross examination, but the stories they told made him remember the battles, the blood and the mud, the ever present projectiles flying through the air, and the smoke and powder filling his nostrils. Again, the question of could I have done it better? waffled through his mind.

"The prosecution calls General Lavigne to the stand."

For a few seconds, he didn't realize his was the name being called. He looked around a moment for anyone getting up to go to the box, then realized why everyone was staring at him.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Shining Armor whispered to him. "Just tell the truth."

"I intend to." James got up and walked into the booth.

"Your name?"

"James Lavigne."

"Your occupation?"

"Military advisor and Brigadier General of the Equestrian Army."

"Are you aware of the charges in place against you?"

"All too well," he said, almost growling.

"And you proclaim you innocence in spite of them, and the evidence already arrayed against you?"

"Yes."

Walking in front of the jury and the judge, the lawyer pony turned around, with the ghost of a smirk just faintly and briefly visible on his face before disappearing. "Would you claim that the orders you gave did not lead to loss of life?"

"No," James responded at once. "I would never claim that."

"Then you admit that through your orders Equestrian soldiers have died?"

"Yes, but any officer knows-"

"You then admit to the charge of-"

"-that their orders can and will lead to the deaths of those under their command."

BANG! "General Lavigne, you shall not interrupt the prosecutor when he is speaking."

"And allow him to interrupt me at will? Not likely!"

BANG! BANG! BANG! "The defendant is out of order."

"I beg your pardon, judge, but why do you let him interrupt me and keep me from speaking in my own defense?"

"It is not your place to question the decision of the law," the judge snapped. "The prosecution may proceed."

"Thank you, Your Honor," the prosecutor said, smirking at James in triumph. If looks could kill, the lawyer would have died from the glare James gave him. "As I was saying before being so rudely interrupted, you admit to the charge of incompetence?"

"No," James snarled. 'I didn't say that."

"You admitted that your orders lead to the deaths of those under your command."

"As I was trying to say when I was rudely interrupted, that would have happened regardless of who was in command." James ignored the banging of the gavel this time.

"The defendant is reminded again that he is out of order, and that further displays will result in him being held in contempt of court. Now proceed, once more, and stop glaring at me, General!"

"You claim that under any commander that soldiers would have died?"

"Yes," James continued. "In war, death is almost inevitable. Any good soldier would recognize as much. The only way to avoid casualties completely is to call it off, which would mean the fall of the country to the invaders."

"And by what standard or standards do you make this judgment?"

"By the standard of history."

"And by what history? Of your home or ours?"

"Of mine."

"Am I to assume your world is one full of constant or near-constant warfare, then?"

You... you...! What was obvious, now anyway, was that the lawyer was trying to make his own world look bad in the eyes of the jury to further discredit him. He mouthed something foul at the prosecutor. "Worlds are of no consequence in this trial, only the realization of the truth."

"My question still stands."

"General, you will answer the question," Silver Gavel said sternly.

"Fine. War is, if not common, then much more common in my world than yours. It is off those many campaigns that I have drawn plans for battle, most of which have proven successful."

"Emm-hmm," the prosecutor said in an arrogant voice, "And why should someone who comes from a land where war occurs so often be leader of our armies?"

"I thought that was why the Princess summoned me here; as someone with knowledge of war, I could be of some use in fighting one."

"Which leads me to another point. Have you denied that our beloved Princess are goddesses?"

"Excuse me, what?" James asked, caught a little off-guard by this question.

"You heard me. Have you denied that they are deities?"

"General," the judge said, again taking a harsh tone, "you will answer the question."

"I object under the obvious fact that religion does not factor into-"

BANG! "Overruled; answer the question."

"Alright, I will. Yes, I denied that they are goddesses, and I have the right to believe that there is one God, and one God only."

There was a great amount of mumbling from the audience and the jury. Blueblood smirked again, arrogantly assuming he had won a victory.

"You claim that no other deities exist other than the one you worship?"

"I do. But would you convict me on what I believe of the afterlife, the universe, and the God I worship? In any case, religion is not a factor in this trial," James continued, "only the charges you have laid against me and my colleague, Shining Armor. And Equestria has a freedom of religion clause; I have done nothing against the law in that regard."

"Quite right," the prosecutor said, but as he turned away James could see the evil smile he was wearing. "No further questions at this time."

James got out of the box and sat next to Shining Armor, who facehoofed as he got back into his chair. "You might have just sunk your own boat," the white stallion said after a minute.

"I told the truth. I can and will do no less in this trial."

"Yeah, but still..."

"If the jury and judge are honest to their profession, they'll have no choice but to discount that which does not factor into the trial, and only count that which does."

"I hope so."

"The prosecution calls General Armor to the stand."

"Oh boy," Shining said in exasperation.

"Name?"

"Shining Armor."

"Occupation?"

"Prince, General, and Captain of the Royal Guard."

"The record on the Battle of Sugar Cane River show that after the center gave way, your corps withdrew from the fighting. Is that a correct assessment?"

"Yes, but-"

"Is it true that you gave the orders for that withdrawal?"

Shining frowned at being cut off, but from the example James had displayed, it was unwise to push the issue. "Yes, under the circum-"

"So you withdrew vital units from the fighting that could have been used to hold back the enemy."

"We had to, the battle had been lost by-"

"Answer the questions; yes or no?"

"I was answering it. Yes, we had to withdraw or-"

"Let all know that the defendant admits to having pulled units out of the battle that could have been used to stem that tide."

"Come on! I was just-"

Before he could draw a breath, the prosecutor was on him again. "Would you claim that your actions led to the loss of the battle?"

"No, the battle had been lost by then, by Prince Blueblood."

The courtroom began to seethe with furious murmurs and whispers.

BANG! "There will be order in this court!"

Smirking, the prosecuting lawyer said, "No further questions."

Rusty came walking up for the cross examination. "You claim the fighting was lost by the time you ordered the retreat. Why were you compelled to do so?"

"The center, under Blueblood, had already given way and the army had been cut in half. To try fighting after that was pure madness, so I ordered a withdrawal. I still firmly believe it was the right choice; it saved lives in the end, and allowed us to maintain forces to continue the war."

"What happened to the other half of the army?"

"It held out on a hill a mile or so behind our camp, under General Lavigne, and it did a pretty good job covering our retreat. I can't tell you more, because I wasn't there."

"How were you able to keep the enemy from overrunning you as you pulled back, then?"

"I rotated units in the rearguard. Luckily for us, most of the enemy were intent on crushing III Corps, so we were able to escape with most of our wounded."

"How heavy were the losses suffered by the entire army?"

"The exact numbers haven't been counted. I'd say between ten to fifteen thousand, including dead, wounded, missing, and prisoners. After the center broke, we were lucky to get away with that; most of our losses came after the center, I Corps, was broken."

"What shape would you say the enemy are in after two major fights in a row?"

"I'd say they suffered pretty badly. As far as I know, they didn't bother chasing us down much. They seem to be content with just holding the city for now."

"And the state of our army?"

"I'm glad to say that they are still ready for battle, and, with good provisions will be able to taking up the fight again in less than a week."

"Hmm. Thank you for your time, General. No further questions."

At the end of the day, James walked back to the castle. The trial had continued until five in the evening. So far, the prosecution had been unable to present anything other than questionable circumstantial evidence pertaining his or Shining's guilt, but it was possible that that would be enough to convince the jury. Admittedly, his hot temper hadn't helped the situation, and the fact that he was a different species combined with the fact that he was a foreigner might get him convicted on those traits alone. Of course, judges would state that juries had no right to do any such thing based on racism or suspicion alone, but, whether or not they admitted it, juries did hold that power, even if their verdict was overturned by another court. Right vs. power; that was what it sometimes came down to.

He went to his room and sat down on the bed. It was bad enough fighting the Griffons and Changelings; now he was fighting the very people he was supposed to protect. Taking out a pencil and paper, he wrote another letter to his parents; he hadn't had time to do it since the siege of Trottingham had gotten underway. Once that was done, he took off his coat and tried to get some sleep. His dreams were once more full of war, and though he slept, he was just as tired when he woke up as he was when he'd laid down to rest.

James marched into the court. The place was almost as full today as it had been yesterday. Once more, he took his place beside Shining Armor, who still appeared anxious but was overcoming it.

He sat down, and Shining asked, "What do you think they're going to be doing today?"

"More of the same perversion of justice they pulled yesterday," James answered, trying to make himself comfortable. "Interruptions, fake 'witnesses', biased judge..."

"Shhhh!" Shining hissed urgently. "Do you wanted them to add slander to the charges?"

"So what? I'm tired of the pathetic joke they call a case against us."

"So am I, but we need to be careful."

Before James could reply, the same Guard from yesterday ordered them to rise. James allowed a small smile to form on his lips. Today, the defense was going to go on the offensive, striking back at the "evidence" the prosecution had brought up against them.

"The defense calls General Lavigne to the stand," Rusty said after the formalities were done. When James had taken the stand, the pony lawyer-soldier asked, "Yesterday we discussed the battle at Sugar Cane River several times. Can you elaborate on what happened?"

"Gladly..." James described the battle, leaving out the more graphic details, from the beginning of the first day of the battle until the evening of the second. It took over thirty minutes to get through the abridged version of the tale, but he could see that most of those from the military - several disabled veterans of the earlier battles of the conflict had come to the trial - were nodding their heads in understanding. Most of the civilians, though, apparently didn't understand; most of them stared blankly, and many of them were scratching their heads.

"I'm sure the honorable jury would be better able to understand given visual evidence, perhaps a map?" Rusty remarked.

"Objection! This will take up copious amounts of time that we cannot afford to waste!"

"Overruled," Silver Gavel said, for the first time not being discriminatory. "The jury should have knowledge of what happened before voting to convict or acquit."

With that done, Rusty had a group of veteran Guards bring in large map of the battlefield, with various blocks and large pins representing units. After moving these around for all to see, Rusty asked James, "Can you tell again how things went, with this to back you up?"

"Yes, I think so." Blueblood was seething, but James didn't care as he retold the details of the battle, moving blocks about as was necessary, until he had reached the end of the tale. By that time, it was apparent to everyone, even those most innocent to what war really was, how the fighting had progressed.

"Is this your honest account of the events of the battle?"

"Yes. I was unable to personally oversee the other two corps, save for soldiers of the 1st who had joined after their force was shattered, but from soldiers' personal experiences and from that of General Armor, these are the most accurate details I could get."

"Thank you for your time, General. I have no further questions."

"I would like to cross-examine the defendant."

"You may proceed," the judge replied.

"Thank you. Now, General Lavigne, you have slandered Prince Blueblood much during your two speeches, not to mention what you said yesterday. I must say, it is not looking good for you."

"Prince Blueblood was in charge of the Corps. What happened to it was his responsibility. Look at the records."

For a moment the prosecutor - James hadn't gotten his name - looked a little taken aback, but quickly recovered his former cockiness and confidence. "We shall see what the records say indeed."

"Good."

After going back to his seat when he was dismissed, he watched rather satisfied as Rusty displayed various documents for all to see. In every record of provisions and supplies taken after the Prince had joined, I Corps was noted as being lead by him.

It also noted some rather extravagant and extraneous goods that had been delivered to the Prince personally. Although Rusty didn't comment on it, it was clear that the Prince had used the army logistics services to obtain luxuries for himself, including large quantities of bubble bath, imported tea, and garlic bread, along with butter to go along with that last.

For the first time, the prosecuting lawyer seemed to be at a loss for words. For a few minutes he seemed to almost be gasping for air. Then he asked, "Your Honor, I would like for these documents to be reviewed by experts to ensure they were not tampered with."

"Denied. These reports were all stored in secure containers, kept safe by loyal soldiers of the crown."

"But-"

BANG! "I said 'denied!' Now, unless you have a counter-argument, witness, or someone who can testify..."

Blueblood signaled to the lawyer for his cause by gesturing with his head. "If I may speak for my client for a moment, Your Honor," the prosecutor said.

"Very well, but mind you be quick about it."

The lawyer went over to Blueblood, who hissed something to him. After a few moments of quiet whispering between them, the prosecutor recoiled. James heard the Prince snarl, not quite quietly enough, "Just do it!"

"Your Honor, the prosecution calls Princess Celestia to the stand."

There was a shocked gasped that went around the room, followed by a stunned silence. James turned around to look at the Princess in question. Beside her, Luna was as stunned as almost everyone else, but Celestia, on the outside at least, appeared calm.

"Uh, ahem, erm," Silver Gavel said after about fifteen seconds. "Uh, yes, ahem. This request is denied, under the fact that-"

"That is not necessary, Judge Gavel," Princess Celestia said, raising a hoof to interrupt him. "I will go up on the stand."

Silver Gavel looked surprised, but after several seconds he regained his mask of professionalism. "If the Princess consents to testify, then she of course may take the stand, although it is noted that should she choose to refuse-"

"I will not refuse, not after everypony - everyone - has gone up when called. If my testimony can help this trial along, then I will participate where necessary." She got in the box and sat down.

"Name?" The prosecutor looked as if he dearly regretted what he was doing, and appeared to be as nervous as could be expected.

'Princess Celestia." The Princess did not seem to be angry, nor did she give any sort of serious you're in big trouble looks toward the prosecuting lawyer.

"Occupation?"

"Princess of Equestria."

"What induced you to hire General Lavigne?"

"When the threat of war became clear, I began scrying the world in which James lived. In my search, I found who I considered a capable commander, and asked him to accept the position of military advisor, which to my relief he accepted."

"Capable commander? He looks and sounds pretty young to me, certainly not old enough to have been a veteran of any previous conflicts."

"Perhaps, but his knowledge of history and military tactics made him a valuable asset. And his reforms to our armies have made them much more effective than they would have been without him."

"Would it have been possible to avoid war? By means of diplomacy?"

"I tried. I truly did. But Lord Spokesbane, the Griffon ambassador, refused anything other than the total subjugation of our people; the best he would accept was a puppet state on our part."

"What about the Changelings?"

She looked at him seriously. "If I had sent someone to ask them for peace, two things would happen. One, they would kidnap the diplomat and use his love to feed themselves. Two, they would see it as a sign of weakness, and they would be all the more eager to invade."

A murmur of discontent arose from the audience; from the sound of it, it was directed mainly toward the invaders, but much of the angry words were aimed at Blueblood and his lawyer.

"Well, considering the idea that war was inevitable, why not choose one of our own?"

Celestia sighed, as if she had known this question was going to be coming up. "I chose an outsider due to the fact that our world has been almost exclusively at peace since my sister and I began to reign over a thousand years ago. Our people have no knowledge of war, only of it's existence. The attack on Canterlot came terrifyingly close to killing ponies, and at that time I knew we would have to prepare should they come again."

"And why has this all been kept secret until now?"

"It was too important to be released. For all we know, the Changelings re-infiltrated our society since their expulsion. Even with all the Guards scanning ponies and non-ponies alike, if one of them were determined enough, they might be able to evade our security measures."

"And what about the city the defendants' conduct lost? What about their security?"

"They did all they could with the resources they had. I'm surprised they were able to hold out so long and so well. Not to mention they managed to rescue a significant portion of the population there."

"There are rumors that a feud between them ruined the chances of the defenders."

James breathed deeply, because that charge had enough truth to bite. But after a few seconds, he calmed down. First off, the fight had been whether to immediately abandon the city or to try holding it further. While the effort to hold the city after that had cost the Equestrian forces a number of casualties, the damage done to the enemy had been much worse than that inflicted on the defending force, most of whom escaped the siege with their lives as well as their arms, able to fight again later.

"And you would listen to rumors? If trying to nibble at the slightest things that could possibly be considered faults of the two generals is your best tactic, I must question your ability as a lawyer."

"Uh... no further questions," the prosecutor said, backing off a bit.

"Does the defense have anything to say before the Princess leaves the stand?" the judge asked.

"Just one question." Rusty walked over to the stand. "What is your opinion of this trial?"

"Objection!"

"Allow me to rephrase the question then. What is your take on hiring the general?"

"I believe it was the correct choice given the circumstances and the results."

"No further questions." As Celestia exited the box, Rusty called out, "Defense calls Sergeant Blazing Spear to the stand."

A Royal Guard stepped up; his right hind leg was, from just above the knee down, burned so badly that no new fur had grown at all, and the hoof on that leg was scorched black, perhaps permanently. He sat down in the box, his injured leg giving him some obvious discomfort as he did so.

"Your name?"

"Blazing Spear."

"Occupation?"

"Royal Guard and soldier in the military, retired from that last."

"I assume you are still a Guard then?"

"Yeah, just excused from military service."

"When did you sustain the wound to your leg?"

"During the assault on the Changeling fortress last autumn. One of the little... monsters must have charged his horn as much as he could without killing himself, because the burn I got was much worse than anypony else I know. After that I got an honorable discharge, but I was able to keep my job as a Guard."

"And who was responsible for that?"

"Objection! Leading!"

"Overruled."

"I don't know about the entire army, considering I couldn't be everywhere at once, but the Changeling was the one to blame, and he didn't last long after giving this... souvenir." Blazing Spear looked down at his leg, perhaps caught up in unpleasant memories. "I know it wasn't any failure in planning. We took out that fortress with casualties that were relatively light, maybe moderate at worst, and we destroyed almost their entire army. It was just one of those things that happens to soldiers in battles, and I was unlucky enough to get a permanent reminder of the war. Believe me, I've seen a lot worse," he added, his eyes staring blankly at nothing for a few seconds.

"Ah. No further questions." At this, distracted from his line of thought, Blazing started, then calmed down, shaking his head in order to refocus."

"Who was in charge of your unit when you were sent in?" the prosecutor asked.

"General Armor was the one in charge, and he was the finest officer I've served under."

"And what was - is - your opinion on General Lavigne?"

"Lavigne was a colonel at that time, but he was damned good." Many of the audience and the jury sounded a little surprised when he uttered the swear word, but he didn't seem to notice. "He wasn't the kind of officer to leave the fighting to everypony else, he was always on the front line himself, didn't try to squirm out of it. He's made mistakes, but anyone could have done so, especially in the confusion of war."

"What about his beliefs? Did you think of them as treasonous?"

"If you're talking about his religious beliefs, I couldn't care less; what mattered to us was that he was a good officer. And you only had to be with him a short time before you knew treason was nowhere to be found in him. If he believes what he believes, he can; he won't hear any complaints from me." Blazing Spear looked up at Blueblood with utter contempt flaring in his eyes before turning back to the lawyer. "Everyone here knows this is just a political play by members of the nobility. I didn't see Blueblood eager to go to war before winter set in. This entire trial is a disgrace to all who have served in this war."

BANG! "Extraneous testimony. The scribe will erase the last three sentences from the record."

"No further questions," the prosecutor announced, looking smug again, but it was clear he his cause had taken a beating here.

And so it was throughout the rest of the day. Rusty continued to call soldiers who had been in the war to the stand, and they hammered down every argument Blueblood's lawyer brought against them. The best the prosecution could do was attempt to criticize the decisions made during the Siege of Trottingham, but none of it was able to make any headway against the facts the defense brought up.

The most pathetic attempt to discredit James and Shining Armor was when a young stallion under the name of Snake Pit was brought to the stand by the prosecutor. "You claim you were in the Battle at Sugar Cane River?" asked the prosecuting lawyer.

"Oh yeah, I was there big time."

"Who gave you the orders on the second day?"

"The guy sitting next to Shining Armor."

Are you serious? James thought, half amused, half annoyed. This guy doesn't even sound like he's being truthful. What did you do, bribe him to say exactly what you wanted?

"Why was the Prince not there?"

"Oh, uh, he was sick."

James burst out laughing. Snake wasn't making any credible effort to create anything like a believable story. It was ridiculous. If this kid was ever trusted to tell the truth after this...

"Order in the court," the judge called, but he sounded bored; obviously he didn't believe Snake Pit either.

"And the general gave you the orders that lead to the destruction of I Corps?"

"Yeah, he did."

"What did he say?"

"Uh..." Snake thought for a minute. "I forgot, but it was bad, alright."

This time, James had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing uncontrollably.

After the prosecutor had had his fill, Rusty calmly walked up to Snake. "When did you sign up for the military?"

"When the war started."

"Hmm. What unit were you assigned to?"

"I was in the, uh, uh, the fifty... third Manehattan."

"Emm hmm... despite the fact that no unit of that number was ever formed in the army."

"Gah! That's not true!"

"Oh yeah?" James said. "Prove it."

Calmly, the judge said, "You are out of order, general."

"Sorry," James said, although the only reason he was sorry was the fact that his statement had been out of order, not because he had said it.

"The general may not be able to prove it," Rusty went on, "but I can." He went over to his seat and pulled out several records. "For one, the army records when it comes to units are very thorough. No unit with the designation of '53rd Manehattan' was ever commissioned."

"Well, the records must be wrong."

"Oh yes?" Although his face wasn't facing James, the human could tell Rusty was amused and contemptuous of the current "witness." "Other records and orders note that Blueblood in fact gave several orders that day, refused to sanction a report sent by General Lavigne to prepare for a massive attack on his front, and that subsequently his command was overwhelmed. After that, the details are sketchy, but nothing seems to back up your claims."

Snake was quiet.

"Furthermore, looking down the list of soldiers in the armed forces at the time," Rusty continued, holding said list in his hoof and reading it, "you were never in the military at all."

"Uh, what?"

"Your Honor," Rusty said to Silver Gavel, "I suggest we discount the testimony of this witness on the grounds of perjury."

"Let me see the records you mentioned," the judge replied.

Rusty gave them to him.

After a few minutes, the judge put down the papers in front of him. "The testimony of the witness is discounted in it's entirety. Furthermore, he has been found to have committed the crime of perjury in a court of law, and shall face prosecution at a later date."

"What!?!"

"Take him away," the judge said, as two Guards came up to take Snake Pit into custody.

"Wait, please, no! NOOOOOO!"

"Shut up!" one of the Guards said, raising a hoof threateningly. "I had a brother in the army who died in the war, and I'm more than willing to smash your face in for dishonoring him and everypony else in the service up there. Now, move!" Snake Pit wisely offered no further resistance or protest as he was lead away.

Silver Gavel announced, "This court will reconvene tomorrow morning for the final verdict. At this time, all the evidence and testimony will be brought together and collected into a conclusive end."

As everyone began to file out of the room, James felt a confidence rise in his chest that hadn't been there since the beginning of the trial. The tide had turned. The defense had held the initiative all day, and this battle, though not quite over, had been decided.

James' dreams that night were yet again those of war, but at least they weren't the nightmares he'd been having for so long. Instead, the Mane 6 again took roles in various conflicts, both real and fictional. Rainbow Dash replaced Luke in an X-wing, and destroyed the Death Star with the help of Applejack, who was dressed like Han Solo, and the shaggy Wookiee-like Winona. At Leyte Gulf, a destroyer escort under Twilight's command sank, still firing it's guns at it's attackers. At the Alamo, several ponies and humans surrendered, only for Mexican soldiers to raise their weapons, ready to fire...

He awoke, sweating like no one's business. Looking at the clock, he could see it was going to be dawn in a couple hours. He decided to go back to sleep for now. This time, he had no dreams whatsoever.

For the third day in a row, the court was packed. James had given up trying to decipher just how many of them there were. Reporters took up positions where they could easily hear and see everything. In James' opinion, the media should have no part in military affairs, but here they didn't seem to be particularly ravenous. Some of them looked at him curiously, but he just plain ignored them. The media weren't going to decide how this inquiry turned out. The jury would.

They had already been in a room to themselves for an hour now. He didn't know the reason why; the major points had been covered, all leaning fiercely for the defense.

Then he noticed that Blueblood was missing from his box. He hadn't noticed that until now. That could be troublesome. If he was currently trying to bribe the jury, things could become problematic very fast.

Oddly enough, the narcissist Prince walked into the court room just after James had noticed his absence. He went to his box, and after he had sat down, James could see he wasn't looking happy. His mane was a little less cared for this morning. What had been doing?

None of that was answered in the thirty minutes between that point and the time the jury finally filed back into the room.

"Have the jury reached a verdict?" the judge called.

"We have, your honor," a young stallion among them said. "We find the defendants..."

James held his breath, uttering a silent prayer to God.

"...not guilty of any of the charges laid against them."

James let his breath out in relief. Shining did the same from beside him.

"Furthermore," the stallion continued, "the jury finds that the responsibility for the loss of the battle by Sugar Cane River lies with Prince Blueblood, who records and witnesses have shown to have been in charge of I Corps on the day the disaster occurred, and who knowingly abandoned loyal soldiers of the crown in order to save his own hide."

"This... is an outrage!" Blueblood shouted.

"It is," said a mare among the jury, "considering you just tried to bribe us."

A gasp unrivaled in strength and volume rang across the courtroom; even Silver Gavel jerked back in shock, his glasses falling from his face.

"I don't know what you're..."

"Don't lie!" shouted a stallion in the jury, "I saw and heard you perfectly! You offered us as many bits as we cared to take if we convicted these two!"

There was a long silence.

Finally, the judge recovered. "Order," he said, even thought there was no need to call for it. "This court has found the defendants innocent of the charges they were brought against them. Furthermore, this court finds Prince Blueblood guilty of all charges laid against the defendants, as well as trying to bribe a jury and bringing in false witness and testimony for his own purposes." The judge was quiet for a minute. "The punishment for a member of the royal family is beyond my authority. It lies in our beloved Princesses' hooves to decide his fate. If they would come to the fore..."

Both Princesses got up from where they had been sitting and walked up to the judge's podium. Silver Gavel moved aside to allow them to take his place.

"Prince Blueblood, step forward." When the Prince didn't move, Celestia snapped, "Now!"

Even the Prince knew better than to refuse or argue. He got out his seat, fear all over his features as he walked dismally forward to stand before his aunts.

"Prince Blueblood." The displeasure of the solar Princess was unmistakable. "I am shocked and disappointed beyond words at your conduct. Not only did you abandon soldiers who you should have been an example to, but you also blatantly lied, cheated, and blustered to build a pathetic case by which you would be elevated to the detriment of two officers innocent of the charges you leveled against them, both of whom have better character, courage, and nobility in a single atom than you do in your entire body."

"But.. but..."

"Silence!" Celestia snarled. "I must admit, this is my fault. Because you were of my blood, I made excuses, tried to convince myself that all the tales about your doings were just that, tales, and I made you a commander in the army at your behest. I accepted your offer of money for our research and development projects in exchange for your rank. That last is a mistake that I regret beyond almost any other I have made in my life."

Silence filled the courtroom as the gravity of the Princess' words sank in.

"James... I mean, General Lavigne," Celestia said, looking at him, "would you kindly step forward?" Her voice showed none of the contempt and fury it had a few seconds ago.

James started a little. "Yes, I will do so, although I'm afraid I am ignorant as to the reason why."

"You'll understand soon enough."

He walked up to stand on Blueblood's left just in front of the podium.

"What do you think would constitute an adequate punishment?" Celestia asked.

Although surprised by the question, James answered quickly, "There is nothing adequate he could offer that would compensate for the deaths of thousands under his command. That said, I have no authority to judge him."

"The only thing I could say that would approach anything like adequate punishment," Rusty said, "would be toiling like one of the so-called 'commoners' he despises so much, working on farms, earning pennies a day as an employee in a store or factory, or perhaps he could be made to work on building ships and airships, and for him to continue doing so for a number of years to be determined by yourselves, and to actually be trained in the true soldier's craft; the mud, the blood, the bruises, the whole bit of it."

"I, a royal prince, labor like a peasant serf?" Blueblood said indignantly, without realizing he had combined two terms that meant entirely different things. "I shall have none of it."

"I wasn't finished," Rusty said, which killed the arrogant look the Prince had born. "I was going to add, should he refuse, he would be stripped of his title, privilege, inheritance, and money, and made to live on the streets as a 'commoner' for the rest of his days."

Blueblood's face became a mask of absolute and utter fear; nothing he had expected had prepared him for such a suggestion. "A-a-auntie," he said weakly, turning back to Celestia, "y-y-y-you w-w-wouldn't."

"And why wouldn't I?" Celestia asked, the coldness of her voice as stinging as the winter wind. All hope on Blueblood's face died. "I tried to raise you as best as I could, but you scorned common sense and insisted on showing contempt for those less fortunate than yourself."

"I never said a word against you!"

"Yet you show no compassion for millions of my subjects? You show me every respect, yet do nothing for the common ponies of this land?" Celestia shook her head. "And by having me called to the stand, you tried to use me as yet another tool in your arsenal, in order to boost yourself higher. Well, now I decree you shall rise no further. I support wholeheartedly the suggestion Rusty has made. You will be made to repay your debt to the country in sweat and labor. I also strip you of your rank of general and reduce you to the rank of buck private, nay, recruit. You shall never receive a higher rank in the military for as long as I can see a single fragment of malice in your body and character. If you refuse to go along with this punishment, or try to balk, I will strip you of your status as Prince as well."

James sighed quietly. This should have felt like a great triumph. Instead, looking at the rival who had given him almost as much trouble as the enemy, he felt nothing but pity. If only Blueblood had been able to get over his contempt for the common people, if only he had had common sense, he could have been a great officer, a great hero. Instead, all that would-be talent had been wasted on a futile pursuit of privilege and power. Reconsidering the sentence he had suggested, he could not think of anything that would have brought this once powerful Prince so low. Rarely had the mighty fallen further.

I apologize to anyone who has actually been in a court of inquiry, a court martial, or a normal court case if this didn't properly display the court proceedings. I haven't been in court myself, and even though I've read about famous cases, it's been a while.

Chapter 35; Invitation to dinner and a discussion of faith

As James walked out of the courtroom, he felt relief spread like wildfire though his body. Now he could go back to doing what he was here to do, which was beat back the invading armies. And this time, he had the numbers and equipment to force the weakened enemy back, and make them stay back. With more troops and artillery than he had yet had the honor of commanding, it would only be a matter of time before the enemy was driven out of Equestria. While he did respect the enemy's capabilities, he didn't fear them as he had earlier in the war. And this time for sure, he knew they could expect no real reinforcements, unless they forced the elderly and the hospitalized into their ranks. He sincerely prayed the Griffon commanders weren't that depraved.

The Changelings weren't much of a much either; they had been chased everywhere, given no time to build a nest or breeding chamber of any sort. Without the love they needed, their power would remain weak. Not that that meant they didn't need stomping on. He didn't intend to give them a ghost of a chance for recovery.

He felt the sun on his face all of a sudden, which distracted him from his thoughts. At the same time, he noticed six ponies in front of him... all of whom were easily recognizable.

Before he could say anything, he heard a voice call out from behind him, "Twily!" and he had to jump to the side to keep from being run over by Shining Armor as he ran to embrace his sister.

It was heartwarming to see them reunited, he reflected as he got up and dusted himself off. The other five Bearers made room for the siblings as they talked, then started walking over to James.

"Well, howdy James," Applejack greeted him, "how ya doin?"

"Fairly well, thanks, Applejack," he answered.

Before he could say anything else, Rarity gasped. "Oh darling!" she cried, "what happened to your uniform? It's all torn up! And there's dirt everywhere!"

Where did you think I was going, to the mall? James didn't have time to say it out loud. Pinkie jumped up on him, putting her hooves on his shoulders and knocking him over onto his back. "Omigoshweweresoworried!Youdidn'twriteformonthsandmonthsandmonthsandIhopedyou'dbealrightandyouare! Yay!"

James had to take a minute to digest all that. He noticed the others shaking their heads in polite amusement.

"Y'all gotta excuse Pinkie Pie," Applejack said as Pinkie got off him and he got up. "She get's a mite excited when she sees a friends that she ain't seen for awhile."

"I'll be fine. And what about all of you?"

"We're all okay," Twilight said, finally turning her attention to James. "So far, neither the Changelings nor the Griffons have gotten as far as Ponyville, thanks to you and the rest of the army." Her face turned serious. "We were there during the trial. To think that creep tried to throw you, both of you, out of the army just to boost himself is.. is..."

"Outrageous." Rarity's voice was virtually a growl. "That beast is a blight upon our country and on the world. He is the most self-centered, greedy, uncultured brute it has ever been my misfortune to meet. And to do this, after all you and the rest of the army have done is... inexcusable!"

"Well, I'm still here, in command, while he... isn't," James remarked, "and he's going to be spending the next few years toiling and laboring for a change, instead of scamming and cheating others."

"So those rumors were true?" Twilight asked.

"We weren't able to prove them all, but I'd say most of them are, considering the tactics he was using."

"It was nice to see him get what he deserves." Rarity looked him squarely in the face. "That whole religious part almost wrecked your chances, though. Did you have to be so outspoken?"

James had known this would be coming. "Yes," he said. "They asked for the truth, and the truth I gave them."

"Do you mean your responses to their questions, or were you stating that your beliefs were the truth?"

There was a short period of silence. James didn't say anything, but that in itself gave the answer away.

"Well, ah fer one think y'all are lucky ta get outta through all that," Applejack said, breaking the silence. "Them lawyers wouldn't know the meanin' o' justice if it bit 'em in the leg, 'cept the one that helped ya."

"Yes," Rarity agreed, "The prosecutor was obnoxious, to say the least, and the judge..."

"It's good to know this whole stupid trial is over and done with," Twilight broke in. "We've all been invited to the palace for dinner; I got the letter from Spike just before the session began today."

There was widespread rejoicing from the ponies upon hearing this news. James simply turned to the east, back in the direction of the fighting. He wanted to go back soon, to finish what he'd started.

James waited at the door with the Mane Six, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadence; none of them was fancily dressed, with the exception of Shining Armor, who was wearing his red army coat, as this wasn't an official party or get-together. The eight ponies were busily chatting. Some of it was gossip about things he didn't care about. A little of it was about the war, but mostly he ignored it, his mind on the conflict and how to end it quickly.

At last the Princesses arrived. "Good evening, everyp... sorry, I mean everyone," Princess Luna said in greeting to the them all.

"Good evening, your majesties," Twilight responded, bowing. Her friends, brother, and sister in law did the same. James didn't, though he gave them both a respectful nod.

The ponies prepared to enter, as did James, but Celestia said, "James, not you, not yet. I have something to discuss with you first."

Conscious of the looks coming his way, the human gave a mental sigh, and a small worry began to creep into his mind. He tried to squash it as he said, "Alright."

The others went in, and Celestia used her magic to shut the door. Then she turned to James. "I have something to tell you that may upset you, James."

"What is it?" The fear came rushing back, though he managed to keep it from showing, at least on his face. "Are you cashiering me, after everything that happened in the trial?"

"No, I wouldn't do that."

"Then what is it? Are there political developments, or...?"

"No, nothing like that." She looked directly into his face. "I've noticed you seem tense lately, and you avoid contact with others."

"I have my reasons..."

"And I know about your quarrel with Shining Armor."

"..."

"I know why you quarreled, but division is not acceptable given the circumstances. It could have been fatal in this instance."

"Hey, I was just taking the logical route."

"I understand that; however, that fight could have been fatal. Not to mention the obvious frustration you displayed in the courtroom. You could have lost the case if you had gone too far."

"So? I have a war to fight. You hired me to fight it, to advise you in the military art."

"I did, but my generals cannot command if their minds are as strained as yours is now."

James didn't answer for a moment. "What are you saying? Are reassigning me to the Changeling front?"

"No. I am telling you that you are going on leave for a week."

That hit him like a sack of potatoes in the face. "Did I hear you right?"

"Yes. And it's not just you. Shining Armor and other officers are to go on leave as well."

"But what about the leadership for the army?"

"We have enough to lead our forces if there are any major engagements. I doubt that there will be any, considering how badly our forces have hurt the enemy troops."

"Depending on the enemy to do nothing is a set-up for disaster," James countered, folding his arms.

"That would be correct if we didn't have an efficient network of scouts detailing everything the Griffons are doing," Celestia said calmly. "And the Changelings are constantly being forced to move, and the soldiers fulfilling that job have not needed you or Shining to do this."

"Then..."

"Most of our new units will be moving up on the front in the east, which will build our army there up to about a hundred thousand strong, with the rest going to fight the Changelings. We will need time to build up a suitable logistics system for such a large military, and we'll need time to build up ammunition for them to use. During the coming week, I will see that any deficiencies are dealt with. You will go on leave during that time. And there's no evasion, no way for you or Shining Armor to get out of this."

"I must protest this course of action," James said quickly.

"Your protest is noted. I must overrule it."

James felt frustration build up inside of him. Celestia had summoned him to fight a war, and Equestria was currently in position to win it. The Griffons weren't getting any stronger, nor were the Changelings, and that was unlikely to change. "Every minute they spend on Equestrian soil is another minute they have to tyrannize those in Trottingham and other settlements," he said at last.

For once in the conversation, he hit a mark. Celestia's face recoiled, and her ears twitched. Nonetheless, her voice was as solid as ever. "And the Griffons have taken the entrenchments we built there. If we move without proper preparation, we could hurt the citizens there more than help. I doubt the town could withstand another siege, even if we did eventually force a surrender. How many ponies would starve to death in that situation? And how many soldiers would die if you or other officers made a bad decision? I know you are in need of a rest from constant command."

"How many will die from prolonging the war?"

"You and I both know that I despise this conflict under general morals. However, if we are not properly prepared, we may trip and fall. I intend to have you hit the Griffons when we are certain on a quick victory, when the conditions are right. And you will have that chance, I promise you."

James felt like arguing further. The look in the Princess' eyes made him realize that that would be a waste of time. "...Fine," he said, almost growling the word.

"I understand your concerns." Celestia's face softened. "I know you fear for the lives of your soldiers, and for this country. And I know you've made friends that you care for." She put a hoof on his right shoulder. "I promise you'll have all the rope you need when your week is over."

James sighed.

"Now, let's eat. I, for one, am starving." Celestia used her magic to open the door. When James waited for her to enter, she said, "Guests first."

"Thank you," he said quietly, and passed through the doors.

James sat down in one of the chairs surrounding the table. The others had taken seats before he and Celestia had come in. Already various butlers and servants were bringing in the food on silver platters. They set the platters on the table, bowed politely, and left quietly.

He got what he wanted (which consisted of some mashed potatoes, some bread, some butter to go with it, and a glass of milk) and sat back down. The others did the same, and began eating.

Naturally, discussions began almost immediately. Mostly it featured recent fashions and events in Ponyville and other non-sequiturs (at least such as they were to him). He paid little attention to it and kept eating.

Perhaps inevitably, the topic turned to the war. It was something he preferred not to talk about. For all he knew, a clever Changeling spy might have unknowingly breached the castle grounds and was listening to them all now. The real reason, of course, was the weight of responsibility, the fact that thousands died because he sent them into combat. He'd made mistakes, he knew that. And every night he feared falling asleep because of the nightmares just waiting for him to do so.

All of that was unknown to those sitting at the table, except perhaps Shining Armor, who was distracted from any similar feelings by the presence of his wife and sister.

He felt something hard shove his shoulder.

"Huh?" He turned to see Rarity's hoof on his shoulder. She was sitting a couple seats to his left, so she could do this quite easily. He looked up at her face.

"Darling, Rainbow Dash just asked you a question," the fashionista informed him.

James could feel the eyes of everyone else present upon him. "Oh? What did you say?" he asked the blue pegasus.

"I said, 'how's the war going?'"

"Sure, as if it's a damn ball game," he grumbled under his breath. He was sure they all heard it regardless; he'd hoped they would. "The war looks as though we'll win in the end," he began. "Still some refitting and reorganizing to do before we re-engage, but we have more soldiers than the enemy do, and better, in my opinion. We'll have plenty of supplies and ammunition to throw around when we start the next campaign, which will be later this spring."

"Why did you lose Trottingham?" Rainbow asked.

"Rainbow!" Twilight admonished.

He felt his mouth quaver, but this time he took control of his anger. "We lost because they had more troops than we did, we were surrounded, and on top of all that we had to feed hundreds of thousand of civilian ponies in the city. We just didn't have enough food or water, never mind the fact that the Griffons had their Diamond dogs dig under the city and cut off the water to the wells. Try fighting when your stomach is half empty, you're thirsty, and to top it off you have spears and swords coming in from all directions, not to mention bullets and crossbow quarrels zipping by every which way."

The reaction to his commentary was unsurprising. Rainbow's face turned red, and she tried to look as if she hadn't asked him anything. Fluttershy looked horrified, while Pinkie's hair and face deflated. Applejack and Twilight looked on with sadness and sympathy in their eyes. Rarity gasped and put a hoof to her mouth in unpleasant surprise, muttering, "Oh dear." The Royal sisters shared a glance, but neither of them said a word. Cadence looked more than a little unwell, which was understandable, considering her special power was love. Shining Armor, though, nodded in full agreement.

"Sorry," Rainbow apologized, "didn't know it was such a sensitive topic."

"Sensitive?" James shook his head. "You don't realize how much of an understatement that is. I do thank you for the apology though, it was well meant." He stuck his fork into his potatoes and took another bite.

Nothing was said for a few minutes. James was able to eat in relative peace. The others ate as well, some of them stuffing a little more than was necessary into their mouths, as though the amount of food eaten and the flavor would erase the image he had put into their heads.

Then the doors to the dining hall opened once more.

James turned to see who it was. There, in the doorway, looking terribly disheveled and devastated, stood Prince Blueblood.

Again, James felt a mixture of conflicting emotions. One the one hand, he was still furious over what the Prince had done, not only to him but to others, and he despised the unbridled narcissism that simply came off him in waves. The more merciful side, and, he supposed, his Christian side, were, in contrast, full of pity rather than disgust, and he again wondered who and what the Prince might have been if he had chosen the right path.

He chose the wrong side. He got what he deserved.

Who am I to judge, though? Haven't we all suffered enough, without inflicting more?

He blackmailed ponies and tried to have you fired. Let him squirm.

It's not right, to want someone to suffer.

While he wrestled with his feelings, the Prince walked over to the table and sat in the chair between James and Rarity. The human could see that since the decision at the trial, he had been in absolute shock; his mane was a mess, his tail was unkempt, and his coat was ragged, as though he'd stopped caring for it.

"Ah, Prince Blueblood," Celestia said, without any of the venom apparent in her voice, "nice of you to drop in."

"Thank you, Auntie." Blueblood's voice shook, and his eyes stared at nothing.

James again felt his emotions begin to war within him. He glanced quickly at Celestia, whose only acknowledgement was a slight shake of the head. He nodded slightly. There would be no going back for the Prince in his punishment. He could take no morally right course that would change that.

Rarity acted as if the Prince didn't exist - no, she acted like he was the most filthy, disgusting thing she had ever laid eyes on, turning up her nose and looking away. "Twilight, how was your trip to the Canterlot library?"

"Pretty informative, but sadly I can't take any out, considering we're all going back to Ponyville tomorrow."

James ate a little more of what was on his plate.

The Prince turned toward him. "General, perhaps we could discuss our.. differences for the good of all. We're both sensible creatures, aren't we?"

James again glanced toward Celestia, who again shook her head slightly. "I'm afraid that if you're trying to go for sympathy, private, you're far too late."

Blueblood shivered, the memory of his public demotion all too vivid in his mind. "I know we have quarreled in the past, but..."

"If your aunt makes the laws around here, and as far as I'm aware she does, even you had any support from me, I could do nothing. As it is, I'm inclined to do nothing. Please do not ask me again."

The Prince recoiled. He then turned to Shining Armor. "Perhaps we..."

Shining merely shook his head and kept eating.

Blueblood looked desperate. He turned to Rarity. "Lady Rarity, I implore you, help me and I swear I'll make it up to you."

She turned to him. "Anything?"

"Anything. Merely ask for it, and it shall be yours."

Rarity was silent for several moments. "I suppose you'll tell me how you could ever make up for your un-chivalrous and most self-serving behavior at the Grand Galloping Gala," she said at last, using her magic to bring a slice of bread to her mouth, which she took a careful bite out of.

"I..."

"And how you can make up for trying to ruin two commanders better than yourself to make yourself rise higher in the world?"

"Well, I..."

"And how you'll instantly raise from the dead every soldier who died because you were an incompetent buffoon and a coward?"

"Uh..."

"Not to mention how many ponies careers you've ruined and corrupted in your personal bids for power?"

"Uh... I can give you anything! All the money and gems in the world!"

Rarity looked him full in the face for a moment.

Then she slapped him in the face with a hoof. The sound of pure, hard, unfeeling keratin meeting skin and bone resounded across the hall.

"I cannot believe," Rarity began, her voice dropping dreadfully low, "that you would have the gall to ask me for help."

"But..."

"All the money and gems in the world will never erase the shattering of my dreams for that night," she went on, ignoring his interruption entirely. "It was supposed to be our greatest night ever, the night all our dreams came true... the night I was to meet my Prince Charming."

"But," she continued, her voice filling with rage even though it remained terribly low yet audible for all to hear, "I had all my illusions broken like a piece of jade, one by one. I would rather die than take as much as one gem, one emerald, one bit from you."

The Prince appeared even more shocked than before, the reality that he was totally alone truly hitting him for the first time. He was quiet for the next few seconds.

Then, recovering some of his senses, he said, "Perhaps if you came to my private quarters tonight, I could..."

That did it. James began kicking the hell out of him, hard, with his left shoe. And he wasn't the only one; Rarity had joined in, her right hind hoof slamming repeatedly into the Prince's hindquarters and leg. James felt his foot connect between the Prince's legs, and Blueblood's face collapsed in pain. So did his body; the Prince fell out of the chair onto his side, groaning in pain as he reached for himself.

"Enough!" Celestia shouted. "I know he was being foolish," she said, looking from James to Rarity, "but I will not sanction violence against my nephew, even in light of what he has done."

"Sorry, Princess," James managed to get out, trying very hard to hide the amused grin that was threatening to engulf his face. Turning to the Prince, he said, "That was for Rarity." He spat on the ground. "And that was for my men."

Dinner passed on in silence.

James got his stuff well organized as he prepared to go to bed. The moonlight streaming through the windows illuminated sections of the room, leaving much of the rest in shadow as he packed.

Perhaps I'll read for a while until I get tired, he thought, reaching into his bag to take out Guns of the South; even though he was a hardcore Unionist, the book was okay, and it gave him an insight on how they did things back in Civil War days. Say what you could about him, Harry Turtledove didn't skimp out on facts.

As usual nowadays, the book made him uneasy. Wish I knew how to build an AK-47, came the thought very quickly. For that matter, I wish I knew how to make machines guns, tanks, and aircraft on the scale of World War 2 vintage, at least.

Look, I don't know how the tech works, I just use it, came the counter argument.

Not a satisfactory answer. I could help four times better than I am if I could help the Equestrians build this kind of stuff.

You have a design in your pocket right now, don't you?

"Yeah, that's true, he said aloud, reaching in and taking out a piece of paper. He didn't know if what he had in mind would be any good, but...

He placed it in a tight little side pocket on his bag and zipped up the pocket. He was going to see if what he did have to offer would be any good.

Then again, he thought, some things are better left buried. I'd hate for something like the atomic bomb to be unleashed in this this world. He shivered. No, that was not a pleasant thought to have at all.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Yes?" he called, placing Guns of the South on his bedside.

The door opened, and the room resounded with the hoofsteps of Princess Luna. "Good evening, James," she said.

"'Evening, Princess. How can I help you?"

"I felt like congratulating you on winning the case today," she replied, a small smile on her face. "It was most deserved. And quite frankly, I was glad to see Prince Blueblood being punished for his bad deeds. I've seen numerous dreams of his victims, though unfortunately dreams aren't allowed as evidence in court."

"Every code of laws has it's own flaws, I suppose."

"Indeed." The Princess' smile slipped. "You came all too close to losing, though. You lost your temper with the judge, for one. And on the religious issue, did you have to be so outspoken?"

"Yes. They wanted the truth. I gave them the truth."

"And what did you mean by that, exactly?"

James didn't reply. Both of them held the other's gaze.

"I spoke with Rarity earlier. She said you had the same answer for her question."

"...If you're asking whether I was telling the truth about the presence of one God, then yes, I did. And if you're asking whether I was telling truth in answering their queries, then its a yes to that as well."

"I see." Luna looked thoughtful. After about a minute or two, she asked, "May I ask what some of the basic tenets of your religion are?"

"'Religion' is a word that doesn't cut it for me. For me, it's a code, a doctrine, a way of life that we are supposed to lead. But Christians believe in the existence of one almighty God, Creator of all, that God sent his son to die for us so that sins could be forgiven, and that..."

"Hold on, I thought you said you believe in only one God."

"I do. Jesus Christ is the second of the three persons of God, who exists in a trinity. The final part of the trio is the Holy Spirit."

"Ah. Please continue. What are some basic rules you're supposed to follow?"

"Well, we can start with the Ten Commandments."

"And those are?"

"One," he said, tacking off the points on his fingers as he went on, "The Lord is your God; you shall have no other gods. Two; you shall not create a graven image of anything on earth or in heaven, nor will you bow down or serve them. Three; you shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. Four; remember the Sabbath day, for God made the world in six days and rested on the seventh; on the other six days of the week you shall work, but on the seven you shall rest. Five; honor your mother and father. Six; you shall not murder. Seven; you shall not commit adultery. Eight; you shall not steal. Nine; you shall not bear false witness. Ten; you shall not covet your neighbor's house, nor his wife, nor shall you covet anything that belongs to your neighbor." He sat down. "The Ten Commandments are basic, clear laws that anyone can understand."

"Indeed," Luna said in response. "Were these written in a more archaic form?"

"If you mean speech containing "thee," "thou," and "thy," then yes. The various sections of the Bible, the Christian holy book, were all written long ago, with the most recent having been completed between one thousand to one thousand, eight hundred years ago."

"That is a long time," Luna said with surprise. "Your faith is not something new, then."

"No, the Christian faith has been around for a little under two thousand years."

"And how many adhere to it's principles?"

"Christianity claims about two billion people who claim to adhere to it, out of a total population of about seven billion."

The Lunar Princess' jaw dropped; it probably would have fallen off onto the floor if it hadn't been fixed to her face. "I did not think a world could house the number of people you speak of, let along have a faith with that many in it."

They spent the next hour or so discussing the Bible and the coming of Jesus, as well as the miracles He performed. Luna listened in quiet but sincere interest.

"Jesus died?" she asked at one point.

"Yes; he rose again on the third day," James affirmed.

"He was alive again?"

"As alive as you and me, as alive as Lazarus, who he raised from the grave."

After listening to James speak for awhile longer, she said, "Thank you for sharing all this with me. I'm glad to have learned so much."

"You're welcome."

"I hope your stay in the palace was a pleasant one."

"It was. I would prefer to be going back to the front."

"I know the feeling. Sometimes Celestia has to drag me away from my duties just so that I can relax a little."

"I wish I could offer more help than I am. I have many books of wars featuring higher grade technology that that which we are using, but, seeing as I am neither a scientist nor an engineer, I could not guide you properly in making them."

"I understand. The problem would be that while we could read the books, the technological gap would be great."

"Yes, that's just it. Even so, I did manage to design something that I hope will aid us in the present conflict." He got out the paper he had been looking at before. Luna looked over the designs with him.

"Do you really think this could be useful?"

"I will be presenting it to Blue Fur tomorrow before I leave for Ponyville."

"Ah, yes. I've met him; he can be boring, but he's a genius when it comes to designs and engineering." Luna looked outside. "Oh my, how long have I been in here? I must return to my room and repel nightmares from ponies' dreams. I wish I could chat more about God with you, but..."

"Hold on," James said, reaching into his bag. He found what he was looking for and took it out; it own copy of the Bible. "Here, I'll let you borrow this."

"But this must be a prized possession for you."

"You have more need of it than I, and I have a pocket Bible stashed away in my bag."

After a moment, Luna looked up from the book. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Have a good night, Princess."

"And you as well." She smiled at him before shutting the door.

James smiled as well, then walked over to his bed, shut off the light, and tucked himself under the covers. If all went well, what he had in mind would help lead to the end of the war much more quickly than anyone had expected.

I do not intend to offend readers from other faiths by placing religion in this story. I merely wish to place something that is very important in my life so that, hopefully, others may come to enjoy it as well. I apologize if any offense was taken by any of you.

Chapter 36; Back to Ponyville

James made sure he had loaded all his possessions into his bag as he waited for the train. The station was busy, but even so ponies would take time out from their day to stare at him. He was uncomfortable with that, but he could do nothing about it.

"Don't worry," Twilight said from beside him, "they're just curious."

"I still don't like being gawked at by passersby," he remarked. "It's like I'm a rare animal at the zoo, like I'm some sort of weird pet." He said that last word meaningfully.

Twilight winced. "Sorry. I know you must feel..."

"Cut off from the world I know? That the various species here may think of me as somehow inferior? Or perhaps as automatically dangerous? You personally know how wrong those assumptions are, what with the whole Zecora episode and all. And yet how many of them here are actively thinking in that direction?"

The blushes on the faces of the Mane Six told him all he needed to know, and he noticed similar effects on nearby ponies who had overheard the conversation.

"Well, at least you get to spend a week with us," Rainbow said at last, getting up from the bench and hovering in the air in from of him.

"I do," he nodded. He decided not to remind them that once that week was over, he would be going back into the war.

"Ah've got yer room set up and ready," Applejack said.

"Thanks."

"Shucks, ain't no trouble."

A steam whistle sounded in the distance. Puffs of gray smoke were visible in the distance as the train rolled toward the station. It arrived a few minutes later, with the passengers leaving the train with the haste expected in a major city.

A few could not hurry; two former soldiers - even if they no longer wore a uniform, the respect in their nods and the salute one gave him confirmed that they had been in the service - came off the train, one supporting the other, who was missing most of his hind leg.

"Oh my," Fluttershy whimpered.

"Take a good long look," he said, waving a hand towards them. "This is the price required for liberty. These two were lucky; they came back. Far too many have not. Always remember their sacrifice, for through it you can still lead your lives as you wish."

None of them bothered to offer an argument. He could hear Fluttershy fight back tears.

Blasted invaders, Griffons and Changelings all. When I return, I'll see to it that the only way you see this city is through the fences of a prison camp.

The others began boarding the train, carrying their luggage with them. The bustle of a busy station soon took over.

James extended the handle on his bag and pulled it along behind him as he walked toward the second car in the train, where the others were boarding.

"General," came an almost mystical voice.

He looked around, but he didn't see the speaker.

"Behind you."

He whipped around. Only a few feet away stood Night Sky, the mother who had taken the stand in support of his cause in court. He jumped slightly, then recovered.

She smiled, fangs and all. "It is a valued talent among those who serve the Princess of the Night that we may surprise all, even the very subjects of the kingdom."

"It seems to be in working condition here."

She gave him that smile again. Then her face became serious. "I wanted to meet my sons' commander before he left the city."

James bowed his head. "Nightshade is an exceptional officer, and I'm sure Night Star was a valiant soldier, if he was anything like his brother."

"The two were almost identical in character and inseparable," Night Sky confirmed, nodding. "They were both dedicated to serving our Princess." She gave his a discerning look. "Some might say that some of your words in court were... troublesome."

James sighed. Religion again. "I told them the truth in there," he replied. "I had no intentions of insulting anyone. And if it weren't for the judge, I might not have had to say anything in the religious spectrum."

She looked into his face for a minute. Finally, she nodded. "I can respect our differences in that regard. But be warned, as many among the Night Guard take their beliefs with the utmost seriousness, regardless of who is right in this instance."

"Thank you for your understanding, and for the warning." He held his hat in his hand as he continued, "Once more, you have my condolences."

"You were right when you addressed the Bearers," Night Sky said, "The price of our freedom are the lives and the blood of our soldiers. I despise this conflict, even though I have strong ties with the Lunar Guard. But it must be fought out to it's conclusion. When you return from your leave, you'll have what you need to end this war and the bloodshed once and for all."

"I will do my utmost." He saluted her.

"All aboard!"

"Merde, that's the conductor," James muttered. To Night Sky, he said, "I'm sorry to have to leave you so soon, but my train is about to leave."

She gave him that smile yet again; perhaps it was usual for thestrals. "We will meet again, I'm certain of it."

He gave her another quick salute before running aboard the train. By the time he had found a seat and had sat down, Night Sky was nowhere to be seen.

The car was packed with ponies. He could practically feel their stares, even when he couldn't see the ones looking at him. He pretended to ignore them, taking out a Civil War book and reading it.

Or, he would have read it, if not for an interruption.

"So, rumor has it we captured a Chang..." Rainbow began

"Shhhh!" James hissed in a loud whisper. "That information is supposed to stay quiet; it's secret, you understand?"

"Oh, sorry. But did we?"

James thought back to about two hours before boarding the train, with his last discussion with Rand.

James walked through the castle corridor, stopping in front of a rather conspicuous door.

Two Guards blocked the way in. "Sorry sir, but we have to scan you," one of them, a unicorn, said.

"By all means, go ahead and do so." He waited as the tingling from the spell rippled through his body.

"Alright, you're the real deal," the unicorn in the pair confirmed "You may enter, General, but be careful; I'd trust that thing just as far as I could throw it. Without magic, mind you."

James frowned slightly upon hearing that last. Racism, or perhaps discrimination was a more accurate word, would be a struggle if the pony and Changeling species were ever to live in peace. But complaining about it would do him no good here; the look on the Guard's face confirmed that. "I thank you for the advice," he managed, a few seconds later than he should have.

He unlocked the door and stepped inside. Rand the Changeling was lying on a bed inside the room, reading one of the books from the bookshelves surrounding him. A solitary window was the main source of light for the entire room at the moment, though he saw a lamp in the corner of the room.

Rand looked up as the sound of the door opening caught his ears. "James!"

"Yeah, it's me," he said, less enthusiastically than the insectile being on the bed. "Just came to see how things are going for you."

"So far it's better than I thought it would be." Rand stretched. "I wish it was easier to get out of this room. Don't get me wrong," he added on seeing James' worried expression, "I'm not being starved or beaten or ignored or anything like that. But the Guards don't trust me, and most of the time that I'm not talking with the Princesses I'm stuck in here."

"Are you allowed any freedom whatsoever?"

"Some. I'm not a prisoner, or at least that's what I've been told. Sure feels like it, though. At least the food isn't prison slop."

"I'll chat with someone, hopefully things will lighten up for you a bit."

"I can understand their feelings, though," Rand said quietly. "I know, I was in the original assault on the city a little less than a year ago. I can still feel the fear, still hear the terrified screams as they ran from us."

That was going to be a major obstacle to Rand being accepted, James reflected. He hadn't seen much of the attack while watching the show; he'd mostly seen the parts attaining to the Bearers. He hadn't seen main battle for the city - if it could be called a battle, as most Guards he'd spoken to had maintained that they had been overrun surprisingly quick.

"Hopefully some of them will soften up after the war ends," James said at last. "How have your sessions with the Princesses gone?"

"To be honest, they're one of the few things I look forward to," Rand admitted, looking a little happier. "At least Princess Celestia doesn't judge me harshly, though Princess Luna hasn't warmed up to me yet. I guess it might be because she feels guilty she wasn't there, and she's trying to make up for it now by being extra vigilant."

"I think she'll come around."

"Maybe, eventually. But Princess Celestia is very nice, even knowing was in on the attack. She doesn't go overboard, and she know when she's' pushing her limits when she asks me questions."

"Well, if you're doing so well with her, why are stuck here most of the time?"

"Probably advice from the Guards. Most of them would love any excuse to throw me into the dungeon."

"That sucks."

"Tell me about it.' The Changeling looked up at him. "Why haven't you come to see me before now? You've been here for a few days from what I've heard."

James did his best not to wince. That struck home. "Sorry Rand. I had the trial to deal with. You wouldn't believe some of the bullshit they tried to put me and Shining Armor through. The rest of it was that I was exhausted mentally from all the stress and I didn't think of it until now. It's been a tough war, so say the least."

Rand nodded. "Okay, I guess I can understand that. I still wish you had come sooner."

"Yeah. Well, in any case, my train leaves in a couple hours. I have to get ready. Sorry to leave you so soon, buddy."

"Oh, you're leaving?"

"Sorry. If it wasn't a week's leave, it would be right back to the war."

Rand bowed his head. "You're the first one outside my hive who ever trusted me, who was willing to befriend me."

James felt his heart swell.

"I sometimes feel like I'll never be accepted, even with all the help."

"Don't let them tell you that; more importantly, never tell yourself that." He patted the Changeling on the head. "You have me and the Princess, and if she says something in this country, it goes. And, if I may say so, there is One who is willing to look past your exterior and see into your heart."

Rand looked up again. "Who is this 'One?'"

"I gave Princess Luna a book to borrow recently. I'm willing to bet she'll let you read it if you tell her I told you about it. That should give you your answer."

Rand looked confused; even though his eyes had no discernible pupils, that much was evident. But he didn't protest or complain. "Uh, okay."

James patted what counted for a mane among Changelings. "You'll get through this storm, trust me, and then you'll feel even better than you did going into it." He stood up. "As for me, I have a leave to get to, then a war to fight. This could be the last time we meet, given the inconvenient fact that war tends to kill those involved."

Rand got up, hugging the human commander. "Please get through the war alive. I don't want love the way other Changelings do; I want friends, for real."

"I'll see what I can do. Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to charge off alone into a machine gun nest."

"A what?"

"Never mind." James gave him a friendly noogie. "You take care of yourself now, and don't let some kid with a helmet get you down."

"I won't, I promise."

"Uh, hello?"

"Huh?" James grunted, refocusing on the present. Rainbow was staring at him; it had been her voice that had shaken him out of the not-so-distant past.

"You sorta zoned out there for a minute."

"Oh." He looked around to see them all looking at him. "What did you say again?"

"I asked if we... if we captured one."

"One? Oh, right. That." He cleared his throat. "Yes," he whispered, "it's true. We caught him shortly before the big attack on their fortress."

"What was it like?" Twilight asked.

"'It' is a 'he', and he was... different from the others. For one thing, he was... detached from the usual insectile thought patterns that most of them have."

"What did you guys do with it?"

"I told you, Rainbow, 'it's' a 'he', and he is currently in the palace, with daily talks with the Princesses."

Rainbow looked a little put off. "Why are you guys showing it so much mercy? Doesn't the Princess remember what those things did on the day of the royal wedding?"

James must have begun to visibly lose his temper, because she backed off after seeing the expression on his face. "Rand was born a misfit among the Changeling hive, one of the few capable of independent thought and action from the rest. He is not an insect, nor is he a monster any more than any of you. The first time we saw him - after which we took him prisoner - he was staring into a pool of water, wondering if he was going to have to hide who he was forever. He had to hide who he was for his entire life; if the queen had realized what he was capable of, she wouldn't have hesitated to terminate him."

"T-t-terminate?" Fluttershy shivered, bringing her hooves up to her mouth.

"That was his word for it, not mine. And since his capture, he has told us much about our enemy, and he has become a loyal friend, even if his freedom is... restricted at the moment. I am willing to trust him with my life, and I will not tolerate any word of insult or derogatory intent toward him." He gave himself some time to breathe. "He actually reminds me of you, Fluttershy."

The yellow pegasus went red in the face from embarrassment; she hadn't been free of discriminatory thought in this case. The others looked disconcerted at the news James had just revealed to them, and, he was satisfied to see, a little ashamed. Only Rainbow remained recalcitrant, but she said nothing further.

"Well, if you say it's okay to trust him, then ah for one am willin' to give him a chance," Applejack declared.

"Thank you," James said in relief.

"Hey guys," Pinkie said, appearing out of nowhere with a pile of cakes in her forehooves, "I just got back from the dining car; they had a sale on cakes! Want one?"

The next hour or so was spent eating delicious Equestrian cuisine.

Clouds of steam enveloped the train as it stopped in Ponyville Station. Ponies walked off the train, carrying their luggage as stallions working with the mail lugged bags of letters and postcards in and out of the cars.

James stepped off the train, pulling his bag behind him. The Mane Six walked off behind him, all of them chatting up a storm; as far as he could tell, it was new designs and fashions, which was not surprising given that Rarity had been the one to bring it up. He paid little attention to it; his uniform was all he needed for clothing, though he wouldn't have said no to a set of pajamas.

He was again the target of many a gaze; the few times he looked back, most of the ponies would look away and make as if they hadn't been watching him. A few, all either soldiers on leave or discharged veterans, gave him respectful nods as he passed by them, which, along with the occasional salutes, he returned.

"James, dear," came Rarity's voice, snapping him out of his thoughts, "you really must come by my boutique; your uniform is all torn and ragged; you shouldn't be seen in public wearing this!"

He thought about arguing the point that it just going to reach a similar, if not worse, condition once he returned to the battlefield, but her expression was determined, and he knew she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "If there's no saying no to it, I will go with you."

"Thank you, dear. Right this way."

She led him down the streets as the others followed. The town didn't look any different than the last time he had set foot there; it was as if there was no war at all. Other than a few ponies reading the newspapers, there was no sign of a desperate struggle against invaders. Heavy industry had yet to come to the town, which was fine by him; he didn't like the idea of a dozen smokestacks blocking out the sky anyway.

When he remarked on that, Twilight's eyes lit up with the chance to use her knowledge of history. "Ponyville is mostly an agricultural town, with a few minor industries. You probably don't know this, but the town was founded by Earth ponies-"

"I know; remember, I have my ways of knowing."

"Oh. right."

He could see he had caused her some embarrassment, as her face had gone red. "Sorry, please continue."

Twilight perked up somewhat. "Anyway, the town was founded by settlers including the Apple family. They succeeded in creating a viable economy from exporting Zap Apple Jam and many other crops. In due time, pegasi moved in, getting jobs manipulating the weather, and eventually unicorns began to turn up as well. It wasn't long before the town was prosperous."

"Glad to hear it. But aren't there a lot of gemstones around here?"

"Oh, yes, but mostly we only go to look for them when we have need for them, like for Rarity's dresses. Most of the ponies here don't want to mess up the place with a mining complex."

He nodded. "Good. Are there other reason for the town's wellbeing, like it's location?"

The purple unicorn nodded. "Yes, it's a convenient place for a railroad station, and the town's early good start gave extra incentive for the railroad companies to set one up. Just from looking on a map, you can see that Ponyville links to several towns and cities directly by rail, making it a vital checkpoint."

"Again, good. I shall mourn the day the train is no longer in service. Hopefully, it shall not come in my lifetime."

"Hey Jimmy," Rainbow asked suddenly, "what's been giving you trouble in the war?"

He turned around. "Who gave you that name?"

She giggled. "One of the soldiers coming home from the war. He kept talking about 'Uncle Jim,' and it doesn't take an egghead to know it was you he talking about."

"I'm not convinced he was. I am nowhere near the age to be an uncle."

Everyone laughed.

James wiped his forehead. "Please do not refer to me by that in public. As for your original question... do any of you know what mercenaries are?"

Rainbow's face showed no recognition, but Twilight gave him a nod. "I do. They're usually bands of people who are paid money to fight a war, but they're only in it for the money, not for the cause itself."

"Well, that's what's been giving us trouble. The Griffons paid a massive number of Diamond dogs and Minotaurs to fight for them after their original armies had been kicked around."

"M-m-m-m-minotaurs?" Fluttershy stammered.

"Diamond dogs?" Rarity gasped.

"Yes, enough to easily number forty thousand and more. We were expecting to face only ten thousand Griffon troops. You could imagine my surprise when I saw the first of them run out of a cornfield to attack our lines. Fortunately for us, we beat off that particular attack with little trouble, but their sheer numbers made them dangerous at Sugar Cane River. I'll tell you more about the battle later, if only so you can understand better the danger we were in."

"You know, for someone who is fighting a war, you make it sound almost bloodless," Rarity noted.

"I doubt there is any soldier who truly enjoys doing what he does," James replied quietly. "It is a condition that tests not only courage but the sanity, integrity, and morality of those who fight in it. Most soldiers wish they hadn't had to fight, to do what needed to be done for their survival." Seeing that they all cringed at the thought, he added, "Perhaps you now realize why war is a means of absolute last resort. War is a matter of life or death, of survival or extinction."

Any frivolous notions they may have held were replaced by seriousness. Twilight said, "That last bit sounded like a quotation."

"Yes, from Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

"Soon Zoo?" Rainbow asked, making a mockery of the name.

"S-U-N, T-Z-U. He was a Chinese general, a master of his craft. His writings are practically holy writ to militaries in the Far East."

"Why didn't they get further than they did?" Twilight asked.

"I suspect it is because they violated one of Sun Tzu's main tenets; 'the victorious army seeks victory first, then goes to war. The defeated army goes to war first, then seeks victory'. That's just what they did. We beat them again and again early on because they didn't take the idea of resistance seriously... not until it was far too late for many of their soldiers. They thought it was going to be a cakewalk. The defeats we inflicted in the first Trottingham campaign kept them off balance. And, for all intents and purposes, they didn't even imagine being caught in the frozen hell of talvisota."

"Of what?" Rarity and Rainbow asked at the same time.

"It's Finnish; it means, 'winter war'. They tried hiding out the winter in forts, thinking we would never dare hit them. Well, we did, and we gave them a beating. It was only after winter was over and the spring campaign was well underway that they finally realized they were in trouble and hired the mercenaries that kept us from the fast end to the war that we'd hoped for."

"And...? How well did they fight?" Twilight asked with trepidation.

"The Diamond dogs were generally cowards; if you got enough of them, they'd turn around and run back to their mommies. The Minotaurs, though, were something different altogether, and thank God there weren't more of them than there were, and that they hated using ranged weapons; they'd run straight at us, axes high in the air, and they would fall because we used guns and they didn't. They were tough, I'll give them that. Usually took several of us aiming at the same one to knock them down. And in the few cases that they got close enough to fight with their axes, they were... well, I didn't like having one yelling in my face while he tried to take my head off, lets go with that."

That kept everyone silent for a while as they digested his words.

"W-when will it be over?" Fluttershy asked, tears in her eyes.

Who says it'll ever be over? asked a part of James' mind. The more rational part countered the question; the enemies currently in the field had no foreseeable reinforcements, other nations had agreed to send troops and offer support, and the griffons would be overcome, of that he was certain. He hoped they would give up before he had to batter down their capital, but he doubted that. They were a very stubborn people, and in his heart he knew it would take his soldiers parading through the streets of Gryphos to bring home the message of defeat to the Griffons.

"I don't know, he said aloud. "It'll be over when we crush their armies, and, in the case of the Griffons, take their capital. Until then, we have little choice but to fight. I know the Princess is hoping for peace, but that won't come through talking, not with the Griffons, and especially not with the Changelings."

"We're here," Rarity announced.

James looked up to see Carousel Boutique looming over him. All the same, he suspected Rarity was trying to change the subject, mostly to cheer up Fluttershy.

"Alright, dear," Rarity said as they entered, "now if you'll just give me your clothes, I'll... Oh, right," she blushed, remembering, "it's a human taboo to go about without clothes."

"I do have the stuff I wore originally here, I can wear those until you're done. And thanks."

"Oh, it's my pleasure; fashion and clothing are my passions, it's always a delight."

James walked into the bathroom and changed quickly back into his civilian clothes - These feel small - and handing over his uniform for repair.

Rarity eyed it closely. "Hmm, lots of - ugh - dirt and dust, along with rips and tears galore. It will take awhile to sew these rips back together, never mind getting all the filth out of it, but it should be easily ready by this time tomorrow." She used her magic to dip the various bits and pieces of it - hat included - in a tub of water. "Since the announcement of the army's founding, I've had plenty of work to keep my hooves busy," she went on. "I have more than enough money to live off of, enough so that I can send decent amounts of it to charity and use the rest of it to spruce up my business. Every tailor in the country has been busy making uniforms for the soldiers." Her voice dropped slightly. "I just wish the clothes we were making these days weren't being used in the war. For that matter, I wish the war itself hadn't happened; it's so... depressing when one receives notice that a customer was... is no more," she finished.

Twilight looked crestfallen. "I knew more than a few Royal Guards during my stay in Canterlot. I've... I've..." She found it hard to continue as tears formed in her eyes. "I've seen some of the list of those who died," she finally continued. "I knew more than a few of them. It... hurts, to know I'll never see them again."

"The war has taken those lives and more," James noted. "It's for their sakes, and for those who still live, that we have to win. It'll pain me more than anything if they die in vain. I commanded most of them. Believe me, as the one who gave the orders that sent them into battle, it hurts me as badly as anyone else."

"But you don't think we'll lose, do you?" Rainbow asked.

"No," he said, waving his hand for emphasis. "With the new recruits, we'll have between ninety to a hundred thousand soldiers fighting the Griffons, and around ten thousand fighting maybe five hundred to a thousand Changelings. But a responsible commander doesn't assume victory will come just because the odds seem in his favor; many great leaders were defeated because they thought like that. I'll admit, I was guilty of it myself, until the news of the mercenaries got to me."

"But you have so much knowledge about war," Twilight protested.

"That does not make me or anyone else immune to mistakes. A general could, for his entire life, read up on military strategies, tactics, formations, conditions, et cetera, and still make a mistake here and there. Just because someone has knowledge, about any subject, does not annul their condition to slip up in that subject."

There was a short silence as this took hold in their minds.

"What time would you like me to return here to pick this up?" James asked.

"Oh," Rarity said, giving a little jump, "about one o' clock in the afternoon would be nice."

"Thanks."

"Now y'all get the visit the farm," Applejack said warmly, wrapping her foreleg around his neck. "Applebloom's been dyin' to see you again."

"Alright then, I guess it would be rude to keep her waiting." They all had a good laugh as James and the farmer pony left the store.

Chapter 37; On the farm

"Just you wait, Applebloom is gonna come runnin' when she hears you're back," Applejack told James cheerfully.

"I'll be glad to see her too. Hopefully she hasn't been in any life-threatening danger since I left?"

"Nah, she remembers what them timberwolves almost did; can ya believe it, she's even scared to go visit Zecora for fear of them varmints."

"Considering that my arm was torn open by one, I sympathize," he said, looking at his left arm as he did so. The scars were still there, although very faint by now. His thoughts travelled back to that first battle, and how it had almost ended his own life. How long ago had that been? Six, seven, eight months? Maybe more? It was hard to tell; the war seemed to stretch on forever; one little battle, a drop in the ocean compared to the big picture.

"Ah know, and she's been a mite more careful since then, but personally ah liked it when she was out there explorin', tryin' to get her cutie mark. Not sayin' she ain't still tryin', but..." She let the lack of an ending for that sentence speak for itself.

"Being almost killed by roving monsters in a spooky forest might have that effect. However, I agree, I prefer the Applebloom that was crazy about getting her cutie mark over the one scared of her own shadow."

"She ain't that scared, but ah would like it if she was back to normal."

"In any event, I hope the war hasn't had a negative effect on the farm?" James asked.

"Well, ah wouldn't say negative, but a few things are different," Applejack said, looking a little nervous. "Much of our crops are donated to the war effort. We still get paid, 'course, but honestly, ah liked sellin' our produce in the Ponyville market a lot better n' gettin' a check from the royal treasury."

"You don't get a lot of honest merchants in the market, and of course there's always someone who wants to haggle over the price."

"Ah know what things r' supposed ta cost," the orange earth pony insisted. "Ya think I could manage mah business so well if'n ah didn't know any math?" She bore a smile upon seeing his slightly surprised face. "Ah may just be a simple farm pony, but ah've have an education too. Enough so ah can count mah money."

They continued walking. James felt oddly calm. He had wanted to go on fighting the war, true enough; actually, he still did. However, having time to relax and fit back into civilian life for a while would be a nice change, even if it was temporary.

"Oh, and didn't ah tell ya? Big Mac is coming home on leave too."

"Really?" James said in honest surprise.

"Yep. Why didn't you know that?"

"I didn't bother to check who was going on leave and who wasn't; there are probably thousands of names on that list alone."

"Well it's a good thing he's on it; it's time to plant our crops fer this season." She gave him an evaluating look. "Wouldn't mind helpin' us, would ya?"

James was caught by surprise. "You want my help?"

"Yep." Applejack smiled. "Yer big an' strong. You could help us."

James considered it.

As he was pondering the idea, Applejack continued, "You'd get some bits fer yer trouble, and ah'd really appreciate it."

"Okay, you've convinced me," he said after a few moments. "But look here," he said, stopping next to a fence post and taking off one of his shoes, as well as taking the sock of the same foot, "this," he said, pointing to it, "it what you're expecting to use to knock apples out of trees. My foot would probably shatter with the force you use; your hooves are hard enough to do what you need, and since you can't feel anything with them it's easy for you. Not so much for me," he finished, redressing.

"Don't worry about that, sugarcube; we'll find a way for ya to do somethin' to contribute."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

By now the farmhouse was in sight. After a long morning of travel, James was looking forward to some lunch; he was sure the Griffons could hear his stomach growl all the way out in the northeast.

"You're back! You're back!"

A yellow filly with a bright red bow in her mane came bouncing up to James, who was barely able to keep Applebloom from sweeping him off his feet; she might have been a child, but as an earth pony and member of a farming family at that, she was strong.

She set her forehooves on his chest, looking him in the face. "Ah can't believe it! You're back!"

He patted her mane as Applejack chuckled. "You're her hero, no doubt about that."

"You're her sister; that is the greater honor by far." He watched as the orange pony blushed slightly. "It's good to be you too, Applebloom," he said to the filly. "You seem to have grown a little since I was last here."

"Ya think so?" she asked, looking into his face.

"Yes. With any luck, you'll be big enough to wrestle the bear Fluttershy has for a friend."

"What ah really want is mah cutie mark," Applebloom answered, sounding, and looking, disappointed. "Ya don't know how bad it feels to see everypony in mah class - 'cept Scoots and Sweetie Belle - with a cutie mark."

James glanced over at Applejack. She gave him a look that said, I've heard this before, and now it's your turn.

"I guess you'll have to keep trying," he said after a few seconds, "but please be careful. I can't be fighting a war and protecting you at the same time."

"Ah will; ah Pinkie promise."

"Alright, you little rascal, let's go and have something to eat; I haven't eaten anything since breakfast very early this morning," James said, and she got back down to all fours; even there, her head came up past his waistline. Although ponies in the show were depicted as being rather small, in reality they were bigger than they were given credit for.

"Mah sister ain't a rascal," Applejack said with mock indignation.

"You're right," he said, and she relaxed a little. That was a mistake. "She is a former rascal," he went on, and, from her astonished face, he could tell that he'd got her good.

"Why, you..." Applejack burst out laughing, followed by James and Applebloom in short order.

Grooooooooowwwwwwwllllllll

"What was that?" Applebloom asked.

Groooooooooowwwwwwlllllll

This time, everyone recognized the sound as James' hungry stomach.

"Ah think we should get ourselves some lunch," Applejack said kindly. "To the farmhouse, y'all!"

James awoke to the sound of a rooster crowing. He got up, yawned, stretched, and looked around. It took him a minute to remember where he was; then he put on his shirt, made sure his shorts were fitting properly, and stretched once more.

Since arriving at the farmhouse, he'd had little to do, as the Apples planned to start work once Big Mac had arrived, which was supposed to be sometime this morning. He'd played a number of board games with Applebloom and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders; they were amazingly good at them, although he'd managed to hold his own once he'd learned the rules. Chess and checkers they'd had; he was able to beat all of them quite handily at chess, but Sweetie Belle had a knack for checkers, and beat all of them easily. He was a little surprised that she hadn't gotten a cutie mark for it.

One thing they'd asked him about repeatedly was the war and the adventures he'd been on. He tried not to lose his temper; they were only kids, after all. They knew nothing about war as it truly was. He'd delayed, tried to talk about their own adventures, kept countering their questions with queries about the game they were playing. Eventually, though, some of his frustration must have leaked through, because Scootaloo finally suggested that they discuss something else.

Perhaps he needed the break from the war more than he'd realized. Big Mac, being a frontline trooper, would probably need it as much as he did.

He fastened his revolver onto his belt; Blue Fur had managed to return it before he'd left. The designs he'd been working on had been given to the engineer.

"Awful fine science went into that little piece of yours," the blue pony had said. "I managed a little of my own magic with it."

"You didn't alter it in any way, I hope?" James had asked.

"No; however, you'll find that in a few weeks, our army will receive a surprise of it's own."

James had nodded in understanding. He'd pulled out the blueprints for the project he'd been working on. "Can I ask you to give them another such, ah, surprise by the time I return?"

Blue Fur had looked over the plans, then nodded, smiling. "I doubt I'll have this complete within a week," he'd replied. "But ten days should be enough for the prototype to come out, give or take a few days."

"Thank you." James gave him a quick salute. They'd parted, each getting something they'd wanted.

He now had plenty of ammunition to use, and the gun was cleaned and polished as never before. He didn't intend to be parted from it for a minute; Equestria could, occasionally, be a much more dangerous land than the show depicted, as the war proved.

James walked downstairs, into the kitchen. Already breakfast was being prepared; the sweet smell of it danced through his nostrils, breaking through whatever shadows might have been crossing through his mind.

"Howdy, James," Applejack said to him as he entered. "Ya hungry?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Well, just sit down at the table; breakfast is almost ready.

James sat down, as he had been told. He pulled out Guns of the South and read quietly for the next few minutes. Although he disliked the idea of a successful Southern split from the Union, he did like knowing what it was like back into those days.

"The pegasi scheduled a dilly of a downpour last night," Applejack said worriedly as she set breakfast on the table and Applebloom came to eat. "Aw, hayseed," Applejack said in despair upon looking out the window. "The ground's gonna be slippery and sticky, an' it's gonna make everything harder."

"The pegasi manage the weather even at night?" James asked.

"Yep; and right now, ah wish they didn't." Both earth ponies bore worried expressions.

There was a knock on the door. James made to get up, but Applejack waved a hoof at him. "Ah'll get it."

She left the room to answer the door. A moment later, James heard a joyful gasp; Applejack cried, "you're back!" and he heard the sound of heavy hooves thudding on the floor. Big Macintosh walked into the dining room shortly afterward. Out of habit, the big red pony saluted James upon recognizing him.

James chuckled. "No need of formality here, big guy; I'm on leave, same as you are."

"You sayin' he's fat?" Applejack asked, apprehension in her voice.

Both males laughed. "It's just a nickname that the soldiers in his company call him," James explained. "It has nothing to do with overeating. He's quiet, but his comrades absolutely love him."

Big Macintosh walked up to the table and sat down. He was about to choose something from the table, but noticed just in time that his hooves were caked with mud. "The whole countryside's covered in mud, AJ," he said slowly and deliberately, as he always did. "Gonna be hard fer buckin' an' plowin'."

"Ah know, Mac, but it's gotta be done." Applejack sat down at the table. "We got James to help us, at least," she said, pointing her hoof at him.

Big Mac nodded, looking at the human and sizing him up. "He ain't the strongest fella, but he might be useful."

"Still, our hooves are gonna slip n' slide in that muck," Applejack said. "We need to find somethin' to get a better grip."

"Ah'd say we need horseshoes. The real ones we nail on," Big Mac stated. "Can't see boots stayin' on, not in this muck."

"Okay, then. We'll put on horseshoes ta get through the mud."

"But...That horseshoe is a little big for you," James protested.

She chuckled. "Ya think we don't keep some of the right size fer rodeos an' work?"

"I... guess it could work," he said as Granny Smith came down the stairs.

"What did ah miss?" the elderly mare asked.

"You sure this won't hurt you?" James asked.

He, Applejack, and Big Mac were inside the barn; Applebloom had been brought to school by her brother and Granny Smith was currently taking a nap. He was sitting in a chair next to an anvil, with several horseshoes of appropriate size lying on it.

"Ah told you, before, sugarcube, ah've had this done hundreds of times, and it never hurt, not even once," Applejack reassured him.

"Well, then." James took her right front hoof in his hand. Pony hooves were made entirely of keratin all the way through; the bottom of the hoof was flat all the way across to either side. There was no parts made of flesh, no frog, no soft part, nothing but smooth surface. Well, almost smooth; scratches and dents told of hard work and a rough life. Up close, it was possible to discern a pony's hoof from the rest of their foreleg, as the scratches in the side of the hoof became very clear from such a short distance. A lot of things that pony hooves did in the show - such as being flattened against a wall or the ground, or some part of them bending separate from the rest - were actually impossible; the solid mass he was holding testified to that. Those actions must have been added into the show for more drama.

"You gonna spend all day admirin' mah hoof, or are you gonna fit the 'shoe on?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry."

She twisted the hoof upside-down, after which he set the horseshoe upon it. "You sure the nails going in won't.."

"Ah told you, it won't. Ah can't even feel the things. 'Course, the leg gets heavier once the 'shoe is on, but it don't hurt."

"Alright then." He took a nail, set it into one of the holes in the horseshoe, and picked up a hammer. "Won't you look silly with holes in your hooves?"

"Who looks at the bottom of a hoof?" she asked skeptically.

"Ants. Pebbles. Rarity," he replied, and was rewarded by Applejack laughing.

With that, he began hammering. It didn't take long before the nail - a short one - had gone where it was supposed to.

As he continued working, Applejack kept talking. "We wear these all the time at rodeos an' other rough-tough events. It's part of our culture, it's traditional. It's also traditional to wear a bridle durin' a rodeo."

"Isn't it uncomfortable?"

"Heck no, they make 'em to order. You think we came all this way in time to mess up on facial gear?" she asked him, again giving him the same look.

"I guess not. A few hundred years, and people usually get something like that right."

"Yup."

James checked his own handiwork. So far, the horseshoe seemed to fit quite well, and Applejack showed no signs of pain or distress of any sort. Seeing his face, she chuckled. "What did ah tell ya?"

"Alright, you win that argument." He began work on the next one. "How well does Applebloom do at school?"

"Her grades make us proud," the earth pony said, smiling. "They might stereowhatsify us farm ponies as slow, but the only thing slow 'bout us is our way of talkin' - maybe."

"Good. And she's able to do that, even with..." He tried to think of a nasty word to use to describe Diamond Tiara, but he decided against it. "Even with bullies tormenting her," he said after a space of several seconds.

Applejack frowned, but he could tell that her anger wasn't directed at him. "Diamond Tiara an' Silver Spoon r' all up and proud that they got their cutie marks when they did. An' Diamond Tiara's father is, quite literally, Filthy Rich. Oh, he ain't one o' them nobles from Canterlot or anythin' like that, but he get's his kicks from havin' a lot of money. Ah bet Diamond took after him."

"Then why..."

"Do ah sell mah products to him, like our Zap Apple Jam?" she finished. "He ain't that bad, just needs a good reminder of what's what. An' his money is just as good as Rarity's or the pony down the street, or even that of the Princesses, if any o' 'em came down here."

"Alright, that one's done, give me another."

"Okay."

Before long, James was able to evaluate his own handiwork. Each of the four horseshoes had been chiseled to have edges aimed downward, but then, they were supposed to, in order to help Applejack grip the ground better; in essence, the horseshoes now fitted to her hooves had cleats.

"Well, mah legs are a mite heavy, but ah reckon this'll do," the earth pony mare said, lifting her legs to test them out.

"Just be careful; you don't want to scratch anyone with those."

"Ah won't sugarcube. You just worry 'bout gettin' Big Mac ready; ah got some apple trees to buck."

"I will."

As she walked out, her brother walked up.

"You ready?"

"Eeyup."

James picked up another horseshoe - a much bigger one, and also with the same jagged, downward edges - and began working. "Hope this war doesn't last much longer, he murmured as he hammered. "It feels like I take a bite out myself every time I have to swing a sword or fire a weapon."

"Eeyup," the big stallion repeated, much more mournfully this time.

James continued working. All the while, whatever part of his mind wasn't needed to focus on the job was worrying whether he had made all the right choices in the war. Whether it would have been possible to win at Sugar Cane River, or perhaps at Trottingham.

Maybe if I had been more aggressive in the campaign, maybe if I hadn't been so stupid as to think that the war was almost over... maybe we could have won by now and everybody could go home. His hand shook a little as he picked up a nail. I should have relieved Blueblood when I heard he hadn't listened to me, he thought viciously. Because I didn't, we lost a battle that could have broken the enemy once and for all. Not only that, but we lost thousands of soldiers who could have lived if I had done so. I might have brought a backlash of some kind; knowing the Prince, it would. But it would have been better to be in bad straits with the Princesses than to leave the bastard where he was.

He must have given something away, as Big Mac looked into his face with genuine concern. "Y'all right?"

James almost said yes out of habit. But he knew Big Mac would see through the lie, and besides, he didn't feel like lying. "No, I am not," he said, a few seconds after he should have.

"What's wrong?"

"I made a lot of stupid decisions that got soldiers killed, that's what's wrong. I should have fired the Prince at Sugar Cane when he ignored me. I should have never presumed the war was going to be over so soon. I didn't do everything right at the Siege of Trottingham; maybe if I had been more aggressive in it's defense, we might have avoided a disaster like Fort Nightshade and have actually held the place." James inhaled, out of breath; he hadn't realized how angry he'd been with himself until now.

Big Mac's face softened. "Yer mad at yerself." It wasn't a question. James' silence told the stallion all he needed to know on that score. He lifted his right front hoof, which hadn't been shod yet, and placed on James' left shoulder. "Ya made mistakes. Everypony makes mistakes. But ya gotta learn..."

"Don't tell me I need to let go," James said angrily, "this isn't a game; soldiers died because of my mistakes. How am I supposed to 'let go' without dishonoring their memory? Without being disdainful of the sacrifice they made?" He set down the hammer and buried his face in his hands.

Big Mac's expression didn't change. His hoof remained on James' shoulder. "Not sayin' to forget 'em," he said, "just sayin' to let them feelin's go. If ya don't, they'll haunt ya fer the rest o' yer life. Remember the soldiers who died, but don't let yer mistakes torment ya."

James looked up. The stallion was smiling sympathetically at him. "I should have done something... I should have arrested him..."

"You did that, you'd be in jail, an' that's the last place we need you."

James reached up and hugged the big pony around the neck. Big Mac hugged him back, though not with the hoof that had been shod. "Thanks, big guy," James said quietly.

"Anytime."

James went back to work, some of worries dissolved, at least for now.

We're soldiers; we look out for each other, even when we're not in the field. And that sets us apart from the rest of the crowd.

"Ya ready?" Big Mac asked James. He'd been hooked up to the plow, and James was going to push from behind.

"Whenever you are," the human replied.

Big Macintosh began pulling; to James' surprise, the plow went forward, faster than he'd expected. The handlebars pulled him forward, and he lost his balance, falling down into the mud.

Splat!

"Hmm?" Big Mac stopped and looked back. He immediately had to lift a hoof in front of his face to try to hide the fact that he was struggling to hold back laughter.

"Okay," James said, getting up and trying - unsuccessfully - to brush the mud off, "take two."

He got back into position, and this time, he was ready. The plow went forward, James pushing and Big Mac pulling. The ground was wet, and occasionally, James would lose traction and start to fall. Each time, Big Mac would patiently stop and wait until he had gotten back to his feet before continuing.

To pass the time, he asked, "What kind of crops do you grow here?"

"Oh, we grow celery, beans, corn, all kinds o' things."

"I'm guessing that your apple trees are the pride and joy of this farm, though."

"Eeyup," Big Mac said, pride in his voice. "As fer animals, we raise cows, sheep, and pigs."

"I can't imagine they like being herded, though."

"Sometimes, ya gotta be tough," Big Mac said, continuing to pull. "Sheep have half a mind ta wander off if ya don't keep on 'em. An' cows... well, they're content ta just be, is all. They don't make trouble."

"I suppose I can concur," James said.

The whole process took longer than James had expected. He didn't feel tired, not yet, but he was sweating, even though clouds would block out the sun quite often. It seemed like forever until lunchtime, but by then much of the field was finished. It had taken longer than it would have without the mud and the wet, but at least it was going well.

"Alright, fella," Big Mac said as they heard a bell from the farmhouse. "Time ta eat."

"Boy, am I starving," James agreed.

James carefully unhitched the big stallion. "I hope we can put a stop to this war soon," he said. "It can't be easy knowing you've got to go back there; I know you love farming a lot more."

Big Mac looked down. "Eeyup," he said at last. James patted him sympathetically.

They went back to the house together. Applejack was already waiting for them there. "These horseshoes have been workin' like a charm," she said, grinning as they arrived. "The work's still goin' slower than ah'd like, but at least it's gettin' done. How's the plowin' comin along?" she asked.

"Half the field's done, AJ," Big Mac replied, "an' the rest should be done 'round three, four o' clock."

"Oh, good. That'll give James plenty o' time ta help me."

"How am I supposed to do that?" James asked. "I thought we went through this yesterday."

"We did, an ah'm not askin' ya to buck trees. Ah'm asking ya to pick 'em off."

James looked at her in mild surprise. "Won't that make the harvest slower?"

"Yep, but maybe folks will pay a bit more fer apples that don't get dented when they hit the ground."

"I guess we can try that," he said thoughtfully. He sat down and began drinking a bottle of water.

I'd still prefer my idea of a cushy job at a museum, spreading knowledge of history, he thought as he took a big chug. But at least I'm helping to accomplish something either way.

"Come on, fella, it's only one more run."

Sez you, James thought, panting. Big Mac still seemed full of energy, while he had lost most of his own energy a while ago. Say what one would, plowing wasn't the easiest job ever. By now, the sun well past it's zenith, and was on it's way toward the horizon.

The final furlough didn't take very long, but he was still tired when it was done. After unhitching the stallion from the plow, he lay with his back up against it, resting.

"Gonna go help mah sister with the harvest," Big Macintosh said, stretching a little. "See ya there soon!"

"See ya," James aid, still a little out of breath.

After a few minutes - and a swig from a canteen he carried with him - he got up and began walking toward the apple orchard. By now, most of the mud had dried up, though there were a few slippery areas.

When he reached them, the two farm ponies were busy bucking trees; apples seemed to be falling everywhere.

"Hey, James!" Applejack said in greeting. "How 'bout you starting picking from those trees over yonder?" she said, pointing with her tail. When he nodded, she said, 'Great! Here's a couple baskets to get ya started."

James took them, headed over to the trees Applejack had indicated, and looked them over. They were a lot taller than he was, and most of their delicious produce was beyond his immediate reach.

Damn. How am I supposed to reach them? By climbing the blasted thing? His mind immediately came up with an image of himself attempting to do just that, and falling to the ground... painfully. He rejected the idea; heights had never been his forte. There's got to be something I can use, he thought as he looked around.

A fallen branch not far away caught his eye. Maybe... He walked over to it. After examining it, he smiled. It was just what he'd hoped for - a natural apple picker. A few twigs and sub-branches on one end made it ideal for the job.

He got to work. It wasn't a particularly fun job, but it was certainly an easy one. He picked one red fruit after another out of the tree. it was slow going, especially when he glanced over to see Applejack and Big Mac knocking dozens of apples of out a tree in a single kick.

Are you saying you'd rather be a pony? part of his mind teased.

No, of course not! he shot back. I'm human, and that's the way I like myself. And for them to be ponies and remain ponies is what both they and I would much prefer. He remembered Applejack saying precisely that sometime before he began training the army. James was a little more vigorous as he moved to the next tree. He ended up filling the first basket before he knew it, and moved on to the second one.

The hours passed, and the sun sank slowly on the horizon. By then, he'd managed to fill several baskets, though the number Applejack and Big Mac both harvested was enormous.

Well, there were two of them and only one of me, he thought in an effort to comfort himself as he loaded the last basket onto a wagon for Big Mac to haul away.

"Take 'er away, Big Mac!" Applejack called.

"Eeyup." The big stallion began to pull the wagon back toward the barn. James sat down under a tree to rest, and drink the last of the water in his canteen.

"Whoo-wee!" Applejack said as she wiped her forehead. "All in a day's work."

James made a noise like the whistle of a steam locomotive - a tired steam locomotive.

Applejack chuckled. "Ah hear ya." She stood there as he emptied the last of the water in his canteen. "Ya did good. And thanks fer helpin' us with these," she said, indicating the horseshoes she was still wearing.

"You came up with the idea."

"Well, yeah, but you put 'em on. Give it 'nough time, ya might make a good farrier."

James put the cap back on his canteen and yawned, looking up at the darkening sky.

"Would ya like a ride back to the barn?" the orange pony asked

"What?"

"Hop on!" she said, standing very still.

James looked at her suspiciously. "You're not going to try and buck me off like last time, are you?"

Applejack laughed. "'Course not, sugarcube. No competition this time, just a quiet walk back home."

"Alright," he said, getting up. She stood still as he tossed his right leg over her back and sat down. "I hope I'm not too heavy for you."

"Nah, ah've pulled an' carried loads heavier than you," she said as she started walking. "Matter o' fact, ah think you weigh less than last time."

"Hard to be full when the only thing to eat is grass, which humans can't digest."

"Well, that would be a problem," she admitted. "Sounds like you had a rough time in the army."

"Only during the retreat from Sugar Cane River and the Siege of Trottingham," he said. "There wasn't much else to eat, and even then, it was ridiculous trying to feed both the army and the civilian population."

The next few minutes went by in complete silence, with the only sound audible being the clip-clop of Applejack's hooves.

"What about yer family?" she asked at last. She turned her head to lay an eye on him; ponies could see in a greater radius around them than humans could.

James was delighted that she had chosen a topic apart from the war. At the same time, the question caused him to feel a stab of longing in his heart.

"You okay?" she asked after a few seconds had passed without a reply.

"Oh, um, yes, I'm fine," he said in a tone that he was sure fooled no one.

"Ya wanna rephrase that?" Applejack asked him in a serious tone, turning around to look at him again. "Ya know ah can sniff out lies, right?"

James sighed. "I just miss my family."

"Oh," she said, her frown disappearing. "Sorry." She turned to watch where she was going.

"No, it's fine." James looked up into the sky as the first stars began to pierce the gloom.

"We can talk 'bout somethin' else, if yer that uncomfortable."

"No, no." He sighed as the rhythm of her walk - so much like the horses he'd ridden before - threatened to rock him to sleep. He shook off the weariness as best as he could. "First off, there's my dad. He works as a builder, so getting some time in with him isn't easy. There always seems to be some emergency, like another engineer called in sick or got hurt, and after he gets the call, he's gone. Still," he added, looking up, "the times we have together are some of the best times of my life. I only wish we had more time to spend with one another."

"What about yer ma?"

"Mom's a clerk at a local super market. Her job can be stressful. But she loves us all to death, and I couldn't ask for a better mother."

"You got any siblin's?"

"Oh, yes," he said, not sure whether to frown or laugh. "My older brother works in an automotive repair shop; he's always on me about how I should work out more, calling me skinny, but to be honest it's all just good natured-ribbing. And I have him to thank when a snake bit me; if it wasn't for him and his quick action, I'd be dead."

"Yikes," she said, cringing a little. "Sounds like that was close."

"It was. Poison almost killed me. My leg was swollen for quite a while."

"Didn't ya say ya had a new baby in the family when we had that first dinner together?"

"Yeah, I did." James had to work for a moment to picture him. "He was only a couple weeks old when Celestia summoned me here. All that I can remember was that he was pretty quiet for a baby."

"You think there might o' bin somethin' wrong with 'im?"

"No, no, no," James aid in a hurry. "There wasn't anything wrong with him. At least, there wasn't when I left," he said, a little worriedly. What impact had his disappearance had on the family? Was his mom still able to care for the child when the she was wracked by his departure?

"You okay back there?" Applejack asked, sounding worried herself.

James shook himself. He'd said nothing for the past fifteen seconds or so, completely out of it with worry. "I'm..." he stopped as he remembered the last time he'd tried that line. "Just worried about how my family is taking my absence. They must be worried sick, and I'm wondering if that's-"

"Had any effect on how they're able ta raise the baby?" she finished for him.

"Well, yes," he said.

"Don't quite know what ta say ta that, 'cept ya gotta hope fer the best."

"I suppose so." They carried on in silence again for a few minutes.

"What about your family?" James asked all at once. "I haven't seen your parents around."

He felt her give a massive twitch, and she stopped walking. Her heard her give a little sob.

"Oh... I'm so sorry, Applejack..."

"Don't be," she said, raising a hoof to clear her eye. "Wasn't yer fault."

James decided never to mention the subject again. After about a minute, he said, "From what I've heard, Granny Smith had a big part in how the town turned out," he said, trying to draw her out of her misery.

It seemed to work. "Oh, you betcha," she said, beginning to walk again and with a bit of spring and pride in her voice, though a note of sadness still lingered. "It was she who found the Zap Apple trees, an' brought some o' the seeds back fer the first orchards here. But you probably knew that already."

"It's worth noting the details, considering history is one of my main interests. But the sales from that can't get you through more than a few months, as the Zap Apples disappear if you don't get them all, and considering they only come once a year..."

"You'd be surprised at how much ponies would pay fer some Zap Apple Jam," she replied. "The rest of our crops get us through the rest o' the year. Ah assume Big Mac told you what else we grow here? Besides apples, 'course."

"Yeah, he did." He felt his revolver slap against his side as she navigated over a pothole.

"Any reason ya carried that thing around all day?" the farm pony inquired, glancing over her right shoulder this time to look at the gun.

"I brought it for protection."

"Ya think we can't handle any varmint that comes our way?" Applejack gave him an a questioning - and challenging - look.

"You never know when you'll need extra firepower. As timberwolves hunt in packs, your hooves wouldn't be enough. And it's never a good idea to force a soldier to give up his weapons. I used this to save your sister from timberwolves, I might add."

"Ah know, and ah'm mighty grateful to ya fer that. But still, it's dangerous to carry around all day."

"Better than risking being torn to shreds by wooden monsters."

"They usually don't come this far outta the Everfree. But can ya at least take it off when we get inside? Wouldn't want it go off in the house."

"I can do that," he said, nodding as he saw the farmhouse looming.

"Here's where ya get off, sugarcube," Applejack told him. As he dismounted, she said, "You might do well enough for a rodeo yerself one o' these days."

"Once was enough. Twice was too much." James stretched as she chuckled. "I hope dinner's good."

"It will be, ah promise. Ya got one little detail to take care off, though, before that happens."

"And what might that be?"

Applejack motioned to the horseshoes on her hooves. "Ya gotta take these off me an' Big Mac before we can fix up anything."

Fortunately, it didn't take long before James was able to pull the nails out of Applejack's and Big Mac's hooves, and both of them stretched a little.

"Ah, that's better," Applejack said, moving her front legs around. "Ah like wearing these fer rodeos an' all, but farm work is a mite difficult with this kind o' horseshoes."

"You won't be wearing these particular pairs to a rodeo," James noted. "They'd be a safety hazard with the edges we made."

"Well, they'll be mighty useful if we get more mud," she replied. "Still, the ground's dry enough ta do things the usual way tomorrow, and ah know fer a fact they don't have any more downpours comin' anytime soon."

Grrrrrroowwwwwwllllll By now, James' belly was angrily protesting the lack of food inside it. "If I can make a suggestion," he said, another growl from his stomach underlining his words, "can we...?"

"Ah, yes. Don't worry, James, we'll have that lil' critter full before ya can say 'lickety split.'"

"Lickety split," he repeated. "I'm still hungry."

Applejack and Big Mac almost split themselves from laughter. Applejack hammered the ground with her hoof repeatedly as she laughed, and her brother almost dropped the piece of hay he habitually chewed on.

"W-w-well, we'll go take care of that right now," the orange farm pony finally managed to get out.

After a short walk from the barn to the house, the two ponies and singular human came in. James sat down at the table, taking a minute to warm up; it had started to get cold outside, and he was grateful that he was inside.

"Supper'll be a little while," Applejack declared from the kitchen. "Y'all will have to wait a lil' while, ah'm still a mite tired from work an' all."

"Fine by me," James said, getting up to go fetch a book to read. He retrieved Guns of the South from his room and went back downstairs, sitting on a couch and opening the book.

Ah, Chapter sixteen. He read up to the part where Lee, now President of the Confederacy, was taking fire from assassins at his inauguration before he became aware of a presence nearby. Looking up from his book, he came face to face with Applebloom, who was staring at him with a big smile on her face.

"Hi, James!"

"Good evening, Applebloom," he answered, smiling as he patted her on the head. "How was school today?"

"It was great!" she said, lifting a hoof in the air for emphasis. "Ah got full marks fer a history test, an we played dodgeball in recess; ah got Diamond Tiara out four times!" She paused, as if savoring the victory. "Didn't even get hit once! Then we went on a field trip to the local crayon workshop. It was so interestin' watchin' them crayons bein' made."

James found himself remembering a scene from a certain show* back in his youth and smiled, this time a little mournfully.

Applebloom didn't notice. "After comin' back home, ah went out with Sweetie an' Scootaloo ta find our cutie marks." Her enthusiasm waned suddenly. "Uhhhhhhhhhhh... it didn't go that well."

"What happened?" James asked, although his was not the only voice to ask the question; Big Mac had walked into the room and had been listening for the past couple of seconds.

"We tried makin' a fort outta some wood we found. We didn't know it belonged ta Mr. Breezy; boy was he mad," she said, sitting down and raising her forehooves in the air in imitation of the angry pony in question. "Had ta return all the wood, and he made us swear not ta come 'round his place fer a week."

"Wow, tough break," James said sympathetically, sharing a knowing glance with Big Mac. "Anything else happen since then?"

"Yeah, we thought about climbin' the tallest tree in Ponyville. Woulda done it if Scoots coulda flown on her own wingpower."

"Uh, Applebloom," James said worriedly, "you know that getting your cutie mark does not mean kill yourself trying, right?"

"Well, ta be honest," she said, her cheeks turning a little red with embarrassment, "ah wasn't so eager ta climb the tree anyways. It was Sweetie's idea, but ah talked her out of it, usin' Scoots' wings as mah excuse."

James didn't even want to imagine the whole scene, but his mind thought of what might have happened if they had failed. He shivered. Being almost allergic to high places himself, he wasn't eager for others to risk themselves in that way... especially not children.

"Later, we tried fer a job at the ice cream shop, but..." Here the yellow filly looked a little guilty. "Ah guess we used too much ice cream."

"Erm... How much is 'too much'?" James asked.

"Lets just say we had a job after that all right - a job cleanin' ice cream from the floor, walls, an' ceilin'."

James imagined some sort of explosion that left globs of while, brown, and pink all over the ice cream shop. It was all be could do to hold in the laughter that was trying to burst from his lips. He coughed, rather loudly and more energetically than he would have otherwise, to keep that from happening.

As he thought about it, these attempts by the CMC to earn their cutie marks were a bit weak and half-hearted, and he remembered what Applejack had said the day before. Applebloom did seem to have lost a lot of the courage she'd had before. He remembered various episodes wherein the threesome had conducted much more vigorous efforts to earn their cutie marks, and these attempts didn't have the spark or the energy that the others did.

"Did you all wrack your brains coming up with all this?" he asked.

"Well... no." Applebloom lowered her head, looking sorrowful. "Ah didn't, anyways."

"An' why not?" Big Macintosh asked gently, lowering his head and nuzzling her.

"Because ah'm scared!" Applebloom burst out. "Ya don't know how it feels, ta have nightmares about them timberwolves comin' ta eat me! Ever since that day, ah've been scared that ah'll get hurt if ah try lookin' fer mah cutie mark too hard!" James saw tears form in her eyes.

It was too much. He felt like crying right along with her. Instead, he got off the couch and, along with Big Mac, hugged her. A moment later, Applejack joined in; she must have heard her sister from the kitchen.

"Aw, sugarcube," Applejack said quietly to Applebloom, "why didn'tcha tell us how you were feelin'?"

"'Cause... because..." Applebloom sobbed quietly.

"Ya got me, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith... Winona," Applejack added as the family dog showed up and licked the yellow filly on the cheek. "And ya got lots of friends ta get you through all this."

Applebloom looked up, wiping some of the tears out of her eyes.

"Not to mention that I have a friend in Canterlot who might be able to help you with the whole nightmare problem," James stated.

"Really?"

"Yes. She's... first class when it comes to dealing with them. I'll mail her a letter, and maybe she'll... find a solution." James wondered how Luna was going to take his request, but he decided that was a worry for later.

"Ah guess that's better then just dealin' with 'em on mah own."

"An' dearie," came an elderly voice, "ah know more n' a little about them timberwolves and whatnot from the Everfree forest."

"Enough ta protect me, Granny?"

"Yup." The old green mare smiled at Applebloom, who at last stopped crying altogether.

"Come on," Applejack said kindly, "maybe dinner'll make ya feel better."

"Well, okay," Applebloom said, smiling a little.

James sent up a silent prayer as the others left the room. Then, his stomach growling at him to get a move on, he got up to eat.

We all have fears that we must conquer, he told himself, remembering, for a moment, that time not all that long ago when he had battled the timberwolf pack and how afraid he had been then. With God's help, we can succeed against the darkness that tries to consume us with fear and evil.

Note; R.I.P. Mr. Rogers. :,(

To fans of my Robotech story, I apologize. Erratic internet connections make it hard to synchronize use of the story tools on this website and watching the show (simultaneously) to make sure I have all the dialogue right. Hopefully, this chapter wasn't so bad.

Chapter 38; Dreams and recall

A rooster's crow broke through the dawn, and through James' dream. He awoke, feeling very annoyed. How was he supposed to sleep with that red-necked bird singing every morning? It wasn't as if he'd asked for a wake up call.

After a few moments, he calmed down. He got dressed and walked downstairs. No one else was down here yet, so he turned on a lamp (it was still quite dark outside) and began reading Guns of the South where he'd left off from last night.

He yawned. He was still a little tired, and it was difficult to concentrate on the story. He lowered the book and leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes.

His mother seemed to show up the instant his eyelids had shut, the one recognizable shape in the otherwise dark landscape he now beheld. He started.

"My son, where are you?"

"Mom! I'm... I'm right here!"

"You've left us, James, left us forever!"

"What!? No, I'm right here!"

"Good-bye, James."

"No! Come back!"

He ran after her, but she turned into a ghostly vapor and flowed away from him. He chased after her, only to be stopped by a massive head, wreathed in flames.

"D-Dad?"

"Do you see what you've done to your poor mother!?" his father's head shouted at him. "She's gone, gone because you've left us, gone because you disappeared and left us to grieve over your absence!"

"I didn't ask for..."

"Well, I've had enough, boy! You're disowned! You're no longer my son!"

James reeled, the words striking him like a sludgehammer. "Dad, you're not you; you'd never say that!"

"I'm going to do away with you," his father said, ignoring him and raising a giant, fiery hand. "DIE!"

The hand made itself into a fist and rushed toward James.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Clip-clop, clip-clop

Suddenly, his father's head disappeared, to be replaced by all of the Mane Six.

"Oh, thank goodness..."

"What're you doing around here?' Rainbow demanded. Didn't we tell you to take a hike?"

"Ya left our country at the mercy of them Griffons an' Changelin's, and now ya come running back to us?" Applejack shouted at him. "No way, no how!"

"You abandoned us when we needed you most," Fluttershy added, her voice still hers, but more sounding more disgusted than he'd ever known it to be.

"I would never - "

"Girls, ready your elements!" Twilight shouted. "We might be helpless to the invaders, but we can still take this filthy rat down!"

James ran as they charged up their elements. He heard the rainbow chase after him as he fled into the forest. He wondered how a forest had shown us when moments ago there had been little other than darkness, but he was too busy running to ask questions. He ducked behind a tree as the rainbow beam shot by him.

"That was too close," he said.

He knew they weren't going to give up that easily. He began ducking from tree to tree, hoping there wasn't something behind each one. Fortunately, there weren't, and he felt his adrenaline begin to die down.

Behind the last one, though, was a pack of three timberwolves, who jumped at him before he was ready. He dropped to the ground, and they sailed over him.

James reached for his pistol, which hadn't been there a moment ago, and fired at them as they came again. to his surprise, a beam of energy shot out of the end rather than the flame and smoke he was used to, and the wolf began to burn.

The other two stopped, glaring at him in ice-cold hatred. "You killed Applejack!" shouted the one on his left, in Twilight's voice.

"No I didn't..." But his eyes were already turning, in dread, to the wolf he'd destroyed; it's head transformed into that of the orange farm pony who'd taken him in. "Get 'im!" she yelled as he drew back in shock and horror.

"Uh, sugarcube?" came Applejack's voice from his right.

"What?" he turned, but there was only dark forest where he'd heard her.

"You're going to pay!" the second wolf, the one on his right, shouted, in Rainbow's voice. It jumped at him, wooden claws and fangs extended.

"No!" James lashed out with his right arm, which had acquired a pinkish-purple beam sword out of nowhere. The wolf fell to the ground, first the front half, then the back half.

"Hey! Can ya hear me?" Applejack's disembodied voice said again from his right. He heard a Clop! sound as though she'd stamped her hoof. but when he went to look, she wasn't there.

He fell as the last timberwolf jumped him. It followed him down, paws on his belly and fangs unleashed. it's head became that of his mother's. "Good bye, James," she said again.

"Wake up!"

He opened his eyes as his body shook. He was in the Apples' living room once more. Applejack was shaking him with a hoof, and looking into his face, concern on her face.

"Uggggggggnnnhhhh...," he groaned. He regained the feeling in his arms he'd lost inexplicably since he'd first closed his eyes. This was reality, then; what he'd been through was surely a dream.

"You okay, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "You sounded mighty feisty in yer sleep a moment ago."

"Ugh... Dad... Mom... fire.... you... girls... wolves... death..."

He grabbed at his head as Big Macintosh came down the stairs with Granny Smith in tow. "What's all the commotion about/" the old mare demanded. "Ah'm tryin' ta git some sleep!"

"Ah think our guest just had a bit of a nightmare," Applejack answered, still looking into James' face. "What're ya doin' down here anyways?"

"Rooster..." James grabbed at his head as the sound of the bird's crow reached him; it was now official, he had a headache to go with his recent nightmare. "Came down here to read. Thought you'd all be down here already."

"Well, we weren't ready yet."

James put his right hand on his aching forehead. "I'm... I'm... sorry."

She gazed on him with even more care. "Fer what?"

"In my dream..."

"Settle down. Relax," she told him. "Let's get breakfast outta the way first. Maybe you'll be calm enough ta tell us 'bout it then."

"O-okay." He laid back on the couch, but didn't dare close his eyes again. The dream had felt all too real, now that he thought about it; in it, the very things he dreaded had happened. He felt responsible for destroying wolf-Applejack in the dream, even though he hadn't known it would turn into her. After all she and the other bearers had done for him...

"So you see, that's what happened," James said as Applejack and Big Mac listened.

He had just finished recounting his nightmare, step by step, and now he felt a twinge of fear peck his heart; what if they ordered him to leave...?

"Ah just think ya had a bad dream," applejack said, draining a mug of milk. "Don't seem like somethin' ta worry about."

"But.."

"Re - lax, sugarcube. We all have bad dreams about one another sometime. It ain't nothin' to get steamed up over."

"Well, alright." James took a biscuit from a bowl on the table and bit into it. it's warmth and the butter in it's core cut through the shroud the dream had placed on his thinking.

What was I thinking? Of course it's nothing to get worked up over. It was a dream, for God's sake! I'm not letting it interfere with the rest of my day.

"Feelin' better now?" Applejack asked.

"Much," he replied, taking another bite out the biscuit.

"Oh, ah almost forgot, ya have ta go ta Rarity's today! She had yer uniform ready yesterday."

"Aw, blast, I forgot."

"Why don'tcha go there a bit later, after the sun's risen a mite more? Everypony else - well, almost everypony else," she added, looking around the room - "is still sleepin'."

"Sounds good to me." James yawned, lifting a hand to his mouth an a futile effort to stifle it.

"Go an' get a lil more rest, James; ya look a bit too tired to do any real work yet."

"Thanks," James said, getting up. But as he went back upstairs, he vowed to keep his eyes open.

A few hours later, James picked yet another apple out of a tree an placed it with countless others already in the basket. The sun high in the sky, and the day was warming up nicely. The mud had disappeared, which made his job a lot easier than it would have been otherwise.

Applejack bucked a nearby tree, causing the apples on it to fall. "Why don'tcha go ta Rarity's now?" she said, looking in James' direction as she began picking up the apples that hadn't fallen directly into her basket.

"You sure you got this?"

"Yep!" For emphasis, she kicked another tree. "We got things covered here."

"Okay, if you say so." He put down the apple his stick was carrying, then turned around and walked toward the road.

The trip there took perhaps fifteen minutes. He knew enough about the town now that he didn't need a guide to show him the way to Carousel Boutique. As he walked, he noticed the leaves growing on the trees. It had been awhile since he'd been able to his thoughts off the war and just take in the scenery. The flowers and the trees looked healthy, green, and growing, not to mention peaceful, quite the opposite of the war he'd been fighting.

Few ponies had been on the road, but once he got into town, he got a lot more stares and glances than he'd bargained for. He tried to ignore them, hoping this would make them lose interest. He might have done better to stare back, for that did nothing to reduce it, nor did it cause them to abstain from whispering behind his back as he passed.

At least the whispering and the looks didn't last long, and he was at the door to the boutique faster than he'd expected. He knocked on the door.

"Come in!" came Rarity's welcoming voice.

He did so, setting off the bell above the door.

"Oh, good morning, James," Rarity said as she looked over her shoulder from the sewing machine she was working with. "Here for your uniform?"

"Yeah." He looked around. "Sorry about not turning up yesterday, but Applejack asked me to help, and I couldn't say no."

"I hope you're not too dirty," she said, frowning a little as she got back to work.

"I'm not; I took a bath this morning." In ice-cold water as well, he thought bitterly.

"Well, I succeeding in stitching this former mess back together." A set of blue pants, a blue coat, and a hat flew in his direction. James caught them.

"Thanks."

"Any time, darling."

"What's that you're working on? A new design?"

"Hmph. I wish." She got back down on all fours and held her project before her with her magic. "It's another uniform for the military." She sighed, setting it down again. "It was exhilarating the first few times, but after doing the same thing hundreds - probably thousands - of times, it really gets quite dull." She went back to work.

"Is there...?"

"No, there's nothing you can do to help."

"Well, then..." James started to back away, only for his leg to meet unexpected resistance some distance into the movement. He cried out as he tripped and fell over backward. There was a crash as something else fell over as well. Then he felt his head slam into something.

"Oh, you great, clumsy oaf!"

James grabbed at the back of his head; nothing seemed broken.

"Do you know how long it took to set up those mannequin and those dresses? Do you!?" Rarity yelled, standing before him with an angry look on her face; it was almost as scary as artillery fire... almost. "All that work ruined. Now I have to start over."

"I'm... sorry." James collected himself, as well as his uniform, stood up, and turned for the door. "Thanks for fixing up my stuff."

"No, wait," Rarity said, sounding much calmer. He turned to see that her eyebrows had lifted and her teeth were no longer readily visible in her expression. "I'm sorry, darling. It's just that all this work has really occupied my time."

"Considering you don't want to work on uniforms in the first place..."

"I lost my temper when you wrecked the dresses that I had wanted to work on." She sighed again, and James saw, for the first time, that her mane wasn't as well kept as it normally was. "I haven't taken much time for myself lately, with the exception of your trial and the dinner the Princesses invited us to."

"Hey, at least you did a number on Blueblood."

He could have sworn that brought a small smile on her lips, but it was gone before he could be sure. "I haven't even had time to spend with Sweetie belle; honestly, it's been a nightmare, keeping my hooves busy all day and into the night as well."

"Hopefully you've been sleeping better than I have," he said as he stood one of the pony mannequins up again.

"I'll admit, I have no trouble sleeping at night." She stood the second one up and used magic to stand the other mannequin up before bringing up a duster to dust it off. "I'm so tired at the end of the day that all I have to do is just shut my eyes and I'm fast asleep."

"How many more of these do you need to make?"

"At least ten more by the end of the day. If I'm fast I might be able to slip in a new design." She sounded like she was now speaking more to herself than to him.

"Are you sure - "

"Unless you are a talented tailor or have a career in fashion, there is nothing."

"I'm sorry. I hope to God you'll be alright soon."

"Oh, I will be," she said, now adjusting the hat on the second figure.

"Again, thanks for the fix," James said as he headed for the door.

"Any time," she said almost absentmindedly as he left. He heard her sigh again as he shut the door.

"Sounds like Rarity's busier n' the time we put on our own fashion show," Applejack remarked after James told his story.

"Yeah. I'm not sure what to do. The best thing I can think of is to offer her some rest, but she'd never go for it... and neither would you."

"Hey, we all make mistakes." Applejack looked at the clock. "Oh, gotta go."

"Where to?"

"To market, to sell some o' these here apples." She motioned with her head toward the wagon full of bright red fruit outside.

"Don't let them gyp you."

"Heh. Don't you fret, ah told ya ah know what thing's are supposed ta cost." The orange pony was confident. "Thanks fer yer help yesterday an' today. Ah'll give you yer share fer the work when ah get back."

"Thanks, but you don't..."

"Yeah ah do. Ain't takin' no fer an answer."

"Alright then. I'll see you then."

Applejack left the house, and the door closed behind her. James got up from his chair and walked into the living room, intending to pick up from his book where he'd left off.

He'd never imagined Big Mac would be lying down on the floor reading it.

Ah! What are you doing!?! went through his mind as he panicked.

After a second or two, he began to calm down. I'll panic if he's actually read anything all that bad, and not before. He walked over to the big stallion, who continued reading until he was right next to him.

"Oh, hello!"

"Hi." James quickly looked at the pages the red pony had been reading. Luckily, he had turned more than a couple of pages, and was on the part where Lee was questioning a member of the AWB. Praise be, he didn't actually get to a part with super obscene language, or with the... romance... at the end. "Reading my book, I see."

"Oh, sorry." Big Mac stood up, picked up the book, and gave it to James.

"You're lucky you were just reading this bit. Some of the content in this book is... mature."

"Oh..." Big Mac looked into his eyes. "Did any o' that stuff really happen?"

"What, in this book? No." he heard Big Mac sigh in relief; he must have read through the results of the assassination attempt on Lee. "It's an alternate history novel, so nothing in this book - or I should say, almost nothing - bears any resemblance to reality."

"Wish we had guns like that," the stallion said, pointing a hoof at the book.

"Wish I had any real experience making them." He put the book in his pocket. "I can't give you what I don't have. Believe, me I'd have given you guys the knowledge of how to build them."

But even as he said this, he felt something inside nudge him. He didn't like the idea of unleashing the genie of automatic weapons into this once peaceful land. Perhaps not having AK-47 would increase the casualties of this war, as well as lengthening it, but it might prevent a massive spread of lethal, easy-to-make guns across the globe.

That would be a betrayal of soldiers you could save; in fact, if not for the fact that you have no books with you on how to make such a gun, you'd pretty much be guilty of that right now.

But if... He felt the words he would have used fall to the ground. He had no real answer. Of course he would want to save the lives of as many of his own troops as possible, and if he could give them AKs, he would have, in a heartbeat, too.

"I'll give you boys what I have," he said at last. "I have more I could be doing. And I'm going to do it."

He went back upstairs, grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, and began to work.

The next few days went by slowly. James enjoyed them to the best of his ability. True, some of that time was spent helping Applejack and her brother with the farm, but even that was bearable when he was able to talk to them all throughout. And she kept her word, paying him a reasonable number of bits for his help.

At one point, after a morning of harvesting more apples, he engaged in a chess match with Applejack. He found to his immense surprise that she was good at it. Aggressive and unrelenting were the only words he knew that described her tactics. Twice he lost pieces vital to his plans, and he lost count of the number of times when he discovered that one of his piece was in trouble and managed to save it. Her hooves were no obstacle to moving her pieces, although she knocked over a couple by mistake.

"Won that little rodeo," she said, standing on two legs and leaning on the table after finally managing to trap James' king against the side of the board with her own king and queen.

James tried to find a way out, but he could see no legal move he could make. "Congratulations," he said, shaking her right hoof with his right hand.

"Ya almost won yerself. Got a little worried in the middle when ya smacked mah bishop off the board. Ah think yer problem was you were playin' too defensively."

"Considering that I've been fighting the war very defensively up to now, that's not surprising."

"You sure yer okay, sugarcube?" she asked, looking a little concerned. "Ah know ya beat Shinin' Armor this past fall."

" I don't know what's off," he said. He brought a hand up to his head, trying to think of that game, long ago it seemed, when both commanders had played against one another. "I didn't beat him, we played to a draw." He looked back into her face. "I think the war might have had something to do with any loss of tactical skill I've suffered in chess. I've had a lot on my mind, Applejack, the horror of war just one of them. I can barely sleep at night with all the nightmares, and that's generally been true since the start of the war."

"Ah'm sorry to hear that," she said softly, concern on her face.

"I'm hoping they'll end when the war's over," he replied, though from the look she bore him now, she knew he doubted that that would be the case.

"Ya seemed ticked at the trial."

"With all the underhanded s..." he cut himself off. "stuff," he finally continued, "after all I've done, after all our soldiers did, that f..." He again stopped, this time partly because of the frown on her face. "After all I've had to do, after the friends I've lost and after all the injuries, they dared call me out? And trying to use my faith against me?" He suddenly realized that he'd balled his hands into fists, and quickly stopped. He sighed and slumped in the chair he was sitting in. James hadn't known just how angry he'd been about the unfairness of the court martial until now.

Applejack's hard, unfeeling, unbending hoof touched his shoulder. When he looked up, he saw her smiling sympathetically, trying to support him. "Least ya still got all of us; me, RD an' Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and the rest o' the family."

"Thanks," he said. "You're right; I do have all of you, and I'm very honored to have you as my friends." He stood up, walked over a nearby fence, and stared into the distance. "I just wish this d... blasted war was over."

Suddenly, a shadow fell over him; he looked up to see Rainbow Dash floating a few feet above him. "Hey Applejack, hey James. What's up?"

"Nothing," James said. "What're you doing here?" he asked.

"I was just flyin' around. I'm break from cloud duty." Rainbow continued to float there in midair. "How's it been hanging, anyway?"

"Not too bad, I guess."

"Heard you guys used horseshoes of the old kind to solve your mud problem," Rainbow said conversationally. She brought her right front hoof in front of her face, as though inspecting it. "Never really liked wearing them myself; they're way too heavy, and besides, I don't want any part of me to be made any less awesome."

Humble as ever, Rainbow Dash. "You wouldn't feel them directly, and you also wouldn't feel the nails holding them there."

"Well, no, but still, it'd be a pain taking them off in a hurry." Rainbow looked away from him to Applejack. "Hey, AJ, ready for that race later today?"

"Anytime, anywhere," Applejack responded with a challenging expression dancing over her face.

"I'd say four in the afternoon, three laps around the entire town. All on hoof," Rainbow added after seeing her rival and friend look at her in a questioning way.

"Ah'll be there," the farm mare said, "an' don't be late; ah'd hate ta leave ya in the dust."

"You just worry about yourself, old-timer; I'll be there," Rainbow bragged. She landed and spat on her right hoof. Applejack did the same, then they hoof-bumped.

"That's settled," Rainbow said, taking off again. Just then a distant whistle sounded. "Uh-oh, I'd better get going," she said, gathering herself before dashing away at full speed.

"What's all this about a race?" James asked.

"Oh, me an' Rainbow wanted to find out who was the best athlete... again. So we decided ta have another race between the two of us. It'll just be between us, an ah doubt you'll be able to follow us. Sorry," she added, looking a little apologetic.

James shrugged. "I'm fine with it." The truth was, he wasn't very much interested in racing, though he thought it was a bad idea to say it out loud, in case Applejack took it the wrong way. "I have a few things to catch up on anyway." Most notably, my reading.

"Thanks fer understandin'," Applejack replied, smiling again. Then she looked at the chessboard again. "Wanna play again? Got a couple hours before ah have to go."

"Alright." James set up his pieces, those of the white side, and prepared to move. He thought a minute before playing d4.

Nf6. "Weren't we talkin' 'bout the trial before Rainbow came just now?"

"Oh yes," James said, frowning somewhat. "The most embarrassing moment being when they forced me to openly discuss my religion with the entire court." Nf3 "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a biased justice system."

"Can't say it don't disturb me," Applejack said, playing Nc6. "Some ponies might say that what ya said was an insult o' sorts."

"When has telling the truth been an insult?" James asked, defiance creeping into his tone. "I believe what I believe, and no one short of God Himself will change it." He slammed down e3 a little hard.

"Wasn't blaming ya," Applejack said, looking worried. "An' ah approve o' tellin' the truth. It's just that some ponies don't care ta be told they're wrong." After a few seconds' silence, she moved her bishop out of it's safe harbor.

"People have been willing to die to tell the truth throughout the ages." James moved his kingside bishop out. "Besides, Princess Celestia confirmed, with Twilight and Shining as witnesses, that she and her sister weren't goddesses."

"Yeah, Twi told me herself," Applejack said. "Ya gotta understand why so many ponies believe that. They control the sun an' moon, ya know."

"Yes, and unicorns were doing that long before Equestria was united under one banner; for that matter, long before Celestia and Luna were born. Or does the Hearth's Warming pageant lie?"

"No, it don't. Spike does make a good narrator, though, don't he?" she said, with a mischievous smile on her face.

"He does. He's a little rambling, though."

"Ah think he was a mite excited, an' that was the Hearth's Warmin' pageant ta boot." Applejack moved her d-pawn forward two spaces. "The Princesses can still live a thousand years an' more."

"That is a curse as much as it is a blessing, if you think about it."

Applejack didn't need long to figure out what he was saying. She gave a small shudder. "Yer right." She recovered quickly and moved her d6 knight forward, toward the center. "Gotta give Princess Celestia credit fer over a thousand years' peace even so."

"It's a remarkable achievement." James moved his second knight to c3. "I suppose you wonder why my beliefs are different from any others you've heard about."

Applejack raised her eyebrow in what was clearly a question.

"I'll tell you more about it later tonight," James said. "But first, I think you'll find that it's your turn to move."

"Oh, right." Applejack made her move - another aggressive one.

James was about to make his next move when he heard excited voices.

Applejack must have heard them sooner than he had; her left ear had been pointed in the direction of the incoming Cutie Mark Crusaders for about ten seconds. That made sense, as pony ears had a longer range and sensitivity than human ones. "Sounds like they're happy about somethin'."

"Do you think they got their...?"

"Nah, they'd be more n' excited if that were the case."

All three fillies raced up to them. "Hey, big sis!" Applebloom said, smiling, "guess what?"

"What?"

"We're goin' crusadin' again, fer real this time!"

"That's swell! Ah'm glad y'all got over your fears," Applejack said happily, getting off her seat and nudging her sister gently.

James chose not to make a reference to a holy war, which was what a crusade was really all about, and instead decided to simply be happy that Applebloom and her friends had regained their courage. "What made you feel... ready, I suppose, to go searching for your cutie marks in earnest again?"

"Well," Sweetie Belle said, tilting her head in memory, "We were walking home from school, and we came to the bridge over the stream we cross every day."

"Suddenly this big fish just leaped out of the stream," Scootaloo continued, "and it went right over the bridge, right over us!"

"Somethin' about that big leap brought back somethin' we were missin'," Applebloom went on. "It sure stirred somethin' in mah heart.

"And then," Sweetie Belle cut in, "I said, "we've been giving up too easily on earning our cutie marks; if a fish could jump that high from such a shallow stream, we can find our cutie marks for sure!'"

Something about the story caught James' attention. He thought about it in the few seconds interval. Then he had it.

Scootaloo took over. "Then we started listing all the things we haven't tried yet, like we did before the whole, uh, wolf... thing. We're going to discuss everything in the clubhouse right now!"

"That reminds me," Applebloom said, looking at James curiously, "could ya come to our school tomorrow?"

"What? Why?"

"Fer show an' tell, o' course!" She and the other two fillies looked at Applejack. "Can we take him? Can we?"

James looked at Applejack and frantically shook his head no, mouthing the word to emphasize the point.

Applejack gave him the ghost of a wink, even as she smiled in amusement. "Now hold on," she said, "James ain't a science experiment or a funny-looking rock or whatnot y'all found. He's somebody with his own dreams an' feelings."

"Awwwwwwwwwwww," all three fillies said in disappointment, lowering their heads to stare at the ground.

"Aw, come on," the farm pony went on, "didn't ya just say ya had plans to discuss in the clubhouse?"

All three girls looked up, their disappointment fading. "Yep," Scootaloo said. "Come on, ponies, let's go!" The other two followed her, running full out toward the distant clubhouse.

"Thanks," James murmured.

"No sweat. Anyways, it's yer turn to move."

James castled. "That fish story seems to have aroused something in me as well."

"Why?"

James took out a little piece of paper and a pen, and drew a symbol on it. "Because this drawing is an early symbol of Christianity, the name of my faith." He set the paper of the table face up.

"It looks like a fish!"

"Emm-hmm."

"Well, maybe ah will listen to ya later."

"Yeah, maybe you will, James said quietly. He made a polite motion for her to move.

It was going to be a thrilling game.

James closed his pocket Bible as Applejack whistled and Big Macintosh simply looked on. They were in the bedroom the family had allowed him to use, and they were all sitting on the bed. Granny Smith was quietly dozing in a rocking chair they'd managed to drag upstairs.

"Wow," Applejack breathed. "That sounds... complicated, to say the least."

"It's actually quite simple," James explained. "All you have to do is believe in God, believe that Jesus was - is - God's Son, and believe that he died for our sins and that he rose again on the third day. You also must know that God is forgiving; if you're truly sorry and go to Him in honest repentance, you can be forgiven."

"Sorry he had to die fer all that to happen, though."

"It was necessary; no amount of sacrifice the human race could make could make up for all their sins. Christ defeated evil through his death, by giving himself up willingly and with no resistance."

"Still kinda sad."

"Believe me, that's why the five Mysteries involving his passion and death are called the Sorrowful Mysteries." James stood up and stretched. "The main messages of Christianity are love and mercy. People who strive for that, and who maintain their faith, shall live even though they die."

"Well, at any rate it's time fer supper." Applejack walked over to the door and pulled it open. "Applebloom!" She suddenly gasped. "What're you doin' eavedroppin'?"

"Ah wasn't droppin' no eaves, ah swear!" the yellow filly protested.

"They why were ya listenin' at the door?" her big sister demanded. James stood up and began walking over, as did Big Mac.

"Cuz it sounded like y'all were tellin' a story without me!"

"Oh," Applejack said, more apologetically. "Oh. Yes, well, it was... uh..." She brought a hoof to her chin as she thought quickly. "It was, uh, important. An' it was more n' a story."

"How long were you there?" James asked, though without any hostility.

"Well," Applebloom said, looking nervous, "maybe a good five... ten... fifteen minutes."

James and Applejack looked at one another. "I never said there was an age limit as to who could listen," he said after a couple seconds.

"Well, ah guess ah'll let this slide this one time," Applejack said. "But," she added looking back at Applebloom, "ah don't like the idea of ya goin' around listenin' at doors; ya got that, AB?"

"Yep."

"Okay then." The orange pony walked toward the stairs. "Who's hungry?"

As James followed the others downstairs, he felt a little more at peace than he had been before.

On the day before he was due to return to the front, James was in the living room, finishing one of his Warriors books, when the front door opened and closed. Applejack walked in, setting down a pair of saddle bags she'd been wearing.

"Good haul from the market?" he asked.

"Yep. Sold plenty of apples and celery today." She started going through the bags. "Got a ton o' bits, some carrots ah traded Carrot Tor for.." She gave a startled whinny. "Oops, almost forgot, a letter fer you," She said, pulling out a rolled up scroll.

"Oh?" James walked over and took it quietly. He was about to read it when a question formed in his mind. "Why do you occasionally make horse noises? Is it a second language for ponies?"

"Nah, just some sounds we make when surprised, scared, or tired. Leftovers from our ancestors thousands and thousands of years ago, 'cordin' ta Twi."

"Hmm. I wonder why she didn't just tell me herself," he said, opening the scroll."

"She prob'ly has a lot o' studyin' she's been doin' lately. That girl reads more books than ah ever thought possible."

James got the scroll fully open. He was surprised by how short the message was. It read;

I've been doing some research lately, some of which has been illuminating. Please come to the library as soon as possible. Try to keep from drawing attention to yourself. Twilight.

"Hmm," he said again. "Not a very long letter."

"What's it say?"

"She wants me to go over to the library at once. She says she's been researching stuff, something she says is 'illuminating.'"

"Wonder what that means."

"I guess I'll find out." James walked over to the door. "Do you need my help before I go?"

"Nope, but ah will later."

James nodded, then went outside and shut the door.

The trees along the road were in full bloom as James walked toward the town. In the five minutes since departing the farm, he had been trying to think of what it was Twilight wanted to discuss with him. Nothing seemed to fit. Military tactics were unlikely to be found in abundance in Equestrian libraries, while scientific ideas would have been more likely to have been sent straight to research and development.

A sudden shaking of the bushes made him jump in surprise. He caught a glimpse of mint-green from his right before whatever it was ducked down to avoid being seen.

That's oddly familiar. He tried to remember when he'd seen this... color last.

Then he remembered; The station! Yes, when me and my troops were on their way to the Griffon front, I saw this... thing in a bush... just like this.

He gave a jerk. No. It can't be... her.

James looked at the bush. It was large enough to easily hide a pony,, and it could be harboring...

He broke into a run. He felt his legs protest at the sudden exertion, but it was better than the possibility of being mobbed. Before long, his breath was coming in gasps, but he kept going.

He felt a little ashamed. To think, I'm able to stand tall in a battle, and here I am, running from, well...

A bright, mint-green flash broke out on the left side of the road, then, after he passed that location, it came again from the right. He kept going.

Suddenly, he struck something in the middle of the road. He fell over backward, onto his back. When he looked up, he saw a barrier of the same color as the flashes he'd seen in front of him.

Oh no, I'm trapped!

He took out his pistol. He would never, of course, use it against an inhabitant of Equestria, but it could still come in handy. He held it out in front of himself, pointed the barrel downward, and pulled the trigger. There was the usual roar and a cloud of smoke as the bullet dug itself into the dirt.

James ran. The barrier was gone; whoever had been casting it must have been shocked into releasing it, as he'd hoped.

He saw no more flashes, of orange or green on the rest of the journey. Nonetheless, even after re-holstering his gun, he ran most of the way to the library.

James stopped to catch his breath, which was reluctant in returning. Once he had managed to coax it back to him, he knocked on the door of the library.

The door opened, and Twilight's face appeared. "Oh, it's you, James," she said, a smile forming on her face. "Come in!"

James did so, making sure to quickly shut the door behind him. As he turned to face the purple unicorn again, she must have seen something on his face, for her smile slipped. "Is there something wrong?"

"It's nothing important." He walked past her into the living room, sitting down on the couch.

"Oh, come on," she insisted, her hard hooves clopping loudly against the floor as she positioned herself in front of him. "I know something's up from the look on your face."

"Well, alright." James related to her the incident on the road.

When he finished, Twilight nodded, as though in understanding. "I was afraid something like this would happen," she said, walking over one of the many bookshelves and using her magic to take a book, one starting to tear and worn from age, down. "Ever since finding this out."

"What's 'this?'" he asked, standing up.

"It's a reference book I found late one night this past week," she said, laying it on the table. "It's something that surprised me more than anything I've read since... well, since reading about Nightmare Moon. It details various species once found in Equestria." She flipped it open. "The date this was published predates the Royal Sisters. It was one I'd flipped through once, then never touched again until three nights ago."

"And what significance does this have for me?" he asked as he sat down, trying to sound polite, although it didn't seem like this fragile, decayed tome could tell him anything new.

Twilight proceeded to prove him wrong. She turned to a page with a picture of a bipedal being. The title for the column next to it read, "Human."

"What!?"

"Exactly my reaction after finding this," she said. "I'd thoughts humans were just from your world; in fact, I'd never heard of them until the Princess summoned you here. However, after finding this and reading it, I was shocked and surprised to have found out that humans aren't a new species in Equestria at all."

James sat up; he'd fallen down onto the couch cushions. "This makes no sense. If human beings came to Equestria in the past, what the hell happened to them/"

"I don't know. But from reading this, I now understand where a lot of things we take for granted, like brides, horseshoes, saddles, and the like, were all human inventions."

"I'll bet they did. What did they..."

"Invent them for?" she finished for him. "They originally designed them for horses that they used for warfare and to plow their farms."

"I bet the horses didn't like that."

"Well, I'm not sure about that. The horses described here are little more than livestock, animals; they definitely aren't displayed as having the level of intelligence of ponies, or horses from Saddle Arabia." Twilight looked like she longed to bounce up and down over the new information.

"You said they used them for warfare?" James asked, a troublesome knot forming in his stomach. If Twilight had found that humanity in Equestria had a bad history, maybe she'd had more than one reason for calling him here.

"Oh yes. Mostly, they were defensive conflict, waged against ancient dragon clans and Griffon tribes," she said, after seeing the look on his face. "What, did you think I was going to tie you up and haul you down to the basement?"

"I... might have worried about that for a few seconds," he admitted.

Twilight smiled in amusement before giggling a little. "Anyway," she said, "humans had a well-developed society, and after making contact, all three kinds of ponies loved their inventions, which you now see as fashion designs and in rodeos and in major events, like the Gala."

"What happened to them?" James asked.

"I don't know," she admitted, looking troubled and flipping over a couple pages. "That's the one thing that troubles me. This book must have been written before their disappearance, and I've been looking through every novel, reference guide, and textbook I could think of," she said, her voice speeding up a little and a worrying tone making itself felt, and she used her magic to flip through the book. "Nothing comes up. In fact, it's the only reference to humans I could find."

"Calm down, Twilight," James said, putting his hand on her mane and patting it. "If I'm sure of anything, it's that if there's a book on a subject you're looking for, you'll find it."

He felt as she took a deep breath. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said, turning her head to look up at him. "But I'm quite sure that there isn't another book in the library that discusses your species."

"Can't you order anything from the palace library?"

"I thought of that, but it's going to be hard to find any information unless I peruse the bookshelves myself." She walked over to the window, as James followed her. "Although I know somepony who might have more information," she added... ruefully?

"Now it's my turn to ask what's wrong."

"Well, I think I know who was trying to trail you," Twilight said, turning again to face him. "You see, I ran into a certain mare who was... ecstatic about seeing a real, live human. She couldn't stop talking about the subject, in fact. I've never seen a pony so interested in a different species."

She stood there, looking up at him - though she was tall enough that this didn't make more than a few inches' difference - for a few seconds. "Her name... is Lyra Heartstrings."

"The pony always depicted as being over-fond of humans?"

"You've heard of her?" Twilight said, eyebrow rising.

"Yes. Remember that show, and the fandom surrounding it; I wondered a few times if the real Lyra was as much a fanatic as she was in fiction. It seems like the two version match up surprisingly well."

"That's... incredible," Twilight said quietly, appearing both awed and somewhat disturbed by the information.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes," she answered, "it's just puts me off a little that while we know almost nothing about you" - the "you" embracing the entire human race - " you know everything about us. I never even knew that what we did during our friendship lessons was being monitored."

"Don't blame me; all I ever did was watch." James put a hand to her mane again. "I don't really know what to say, other than that we don't see anything on the show that might be considered inappropriate, and all we've seen are adventures relating to your friendship quests, as well as a few of the misadventures of the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"I know," she said, still looking downcast. Her head drooped. "it's just that every time you mention that show, I have to wonder; am I real? Is any of this real?"

James was caught off-guard by the question; he'd never expected that Twilight Sparkle, student to the Princess, would ever suffer an identity - or was it a reality? - crisis. As she sat down, he did as well. He took her right hoof in his hand. "You feel real to me," he said, stroking the bottom of the hoof, the hard, unfeeling material un-giving against the pressure he applied.

She looked up and smiled a little.

"If you were only a dream or an illustration, you wouldn't have independent thought, in fact no thoughts at all. Instead you and the other ponies are here in the flesh - and keratin - with a functioning civilization. And," he added, with a note of real regret, "if this weren't all real, how did I receive these?" He pointed to the scratches the timberwolves had inflicted on him during his first little battle. "Or this?" He tugged his collar to the side so she could see the ragged injury a Changeling had given him during the final moments of the battle for their fortress in the west.

Twilight shivered at seeing the wounds, but she recovered quickly. "I guess you're right," she said, her expression becoming more hopeful. "I guess it was a little silly to think that way."

"Yes, and the show is, for all it's virtues, mistaken in numerous ways. For one thing, you guys are quite a bit bigger in real life than you're depicted. And, having met ponies in person, many things your bodies are seen to have done - such as bodies getting flattened on the ground or against a wall - are simply not possible, with the only exception, maybe, being present in Pinkie Pie. And considering that I've been called on to fight a war, this world perhaps isn't as peaceful as the show would have use believe," he finished, cradling his left arm as the ghost of the pain that had wracked his arm made a brief appearance.

"I know," she said in sympathy. "In normal times, war is almost unthinkable, but this... we can't just let them..."

"We don't intend to let them," he replied. "By 'we' I mean of course the army. The enemy have been stopped, and now it's time to see how much they like being rolled back."

"I know that, too," Twilight said. "I have full confidence in you, and so does Shining Armor. His letters carry nothing but praise for you."

"Not always," he said. "Just before we lost Trottingham, he and I had a bit of a fight."

"What? Why?" she gasped, shocked.

"We disagreed on what to do; he wanted to hold the town to the last soldier, I wanted to pull back and save the troops we had. We both lost our temper, and I'm afraid it took the very battle that broke the city to get us to put aside our tomfoolery."

"He never mentioned that."

"I doubt he would. Officers keep disagreements like that to themselves, especially if it embarrasses them. And we managed to patch things up between us after the battle." He shrugged. "We both considered the feud at an end at that point. That's the way it should be." He sat back down on the couch. "Now, what were you going to say about Lyra? That's who we were talking about, right?"

The unicorn nodded.

"If she's such a fanatic about humans, why didn't you hear about them from her before now?"

"It's not like she prances around only talking about humans. But she's been excited the past week or so, and she was quite gabby at the market the other day. I could only assume she wanted to see you in person, perhaps question you... though 'interrogate' might be a better terms," Twilight ended ominously.

"I see," James said, thinking. "And from this you'd probably say..."

"It's best if you avoided her, yes."

A loud belching noise interrupted their conversation. A moment later, Spike the dragon came running downstairs, carrying a rolled-up piece of paper. "The Princess just sent me a letter to give you, Twilight," he said, handing her the scroll.

"Thanks, Spike." The purple unicorn used her magic to unwrap the scroll and read it. She suddenly turned to James. "It's for you," she said, levitating the letter over to him.

"Hmm? She can't know that I'm here," he replied, taking it.

"She doesn't; the letter said to bring it straight to you. I'm glad I don't have to walk all that way," Twilight added. "I have groceries to buy in the market today, and having to make a big detour wouldn't make it easier to get things done."

"Can you buy a big, juicy gem?" Spike asked, licking his lips.

'I'll see if I have any money left to buy some," Twilight said, walking over to her assistant. "I know you haven't gotten the chance to eat any lately, but they're not exactly a bit a dozen."

Spike's hopeful demeanor vanished. "I don't know why ponies would rather trade gems or put them on dresses instead of eating them," he grumped.

James couldn't help it; he burst out laughing.

Spike turned to him, frowning. "Who are you laughing at?"

James tried desperately to curb his mirth. "I'm sorry, son. I know I shouldn't have been laughing, and it was never my intention to hurt your feelings."

Spike pouted at him. "Don't call me 'son,' I'm not that young."

"My apologies." James got up off the couch. "But there are three things you don't seem to understand." James began ticking off the points on his fingers. "One; my teeth would break if I bit down on a gem; same thing with ponies, and most species, come to that. Two; Gems are beautiful, which is why Rarity uses them in clothing so much. And three; gems are very valuable, sometimes more so than currency." James reached almost instinctively for his wallet. At least, more valuable than the greenbacks I'm stuck with.

"Well," Spike said, eyes rolled up toward the ceiling, "I guess that makes sense. But still," he said, tongue again licking and claws intermeshing with anticipation, "it would be nice for me to have one to snack on. Like I said, I haven't had any recently."

"We'll see," Twilight said, smiling.

James read the letter quickly. "It's a reminder for me to go back to the Griffon front tomorrow morning."

"So soon?" Twilight was surprised. "Has it been a week already?"

"I guess so, otherwise Celestia wouldn't be telling me to go back to my job." He shoved the letter into his pocket. "They'll be needing me there in any case. The sooner we end the war, the sooner things go back to normal."

"And the sooner you'll have to leave." Twilight's head went about as low as it could go without hitting the floor. "We've spent so little time with you so far, and it feels like there's an hourglass that's emptying fast."

James sighed, walked over to her, knelt down, and hugged her around the neck. She reciprocated, putting both front hooves over his shoulder.

"I know it's hard," he said, and..."

"You might die before this is all over."

James winced, all too aware that that was a possibility. He was aware, too, of the effort Twilight was making to keep from crying, which he deduced was unsuccessful. "I'm not going to say that won't happen," he said, backing away so they could look one another in the eye. "It's all too possible. And I do have a family to be getting back to, that's certain if I live through all this. But I think we can count on winning the war, in which case I doubt anyone will be stupid enough to offer a military challenge to Equestria for a long time."

"But what does winning matter if your friends die?"

He felt himself shrink away from the question. "A question many soldiers have asked themselves through the millennia. It is for those who yet live that we must struggle on, and in memory of those who are no longer here to enjoy the fruits of victory with us; they wouldn't want us to live out the rest of our days in misery." When that didn't seem to mollify her, he added, "I have a duty to perform. As do you, with your friendship lessons to the Princess."

"I guess I can understand what you're saying," she said, as they broke the embrace and James stood up. "Though I still know, one way or another, that we'll have to say goodbye forever."

"I..." James couldn't think of something to say, because he knew that was all too true, however much he hated to admit it. "I know," he said at last, patting her mane again. "I still have a job to do. And it's best I finish it, so that this country can know peace again. You still have the rest of your friends, I might add."

"Well, yes." Twilight bushed away a tear with a hoof.

"Besides," James said, determination building within him, "If I have my way, it'll be the enemy who will be on the run soon enough."

Chapter 39; All's quiet on the Eastern Front

James made sure his hat fit well on his head before checking his bag to make sure he'd packed everything. He nodded, zipping it closed and pulling the handle out. His revolver hung on his right side, loaded though currently unneeded.

Glad this thing still fits, Rarity did a wonderful job with it.

There was a clatter of hooves at the door, then the door opened. Big Macintosh walked in. "Y'all ready?"

"Yep."

The red stallion nodded as well; he was carrying a couple saddlebags. He was also on his way back to the front, and both of them were traveling together.

"I guess we're as ready as we'll ever be, James said as he walked out the door, his fellow soldier following.

They trekked downstairs. They'd already had breakfast, though James had secretly hidden a couple buns in his bag for safekeeping.

Applejack and Applebloom were both waiting. The bigger sister was openly in tears, understanding the score much better than Applebloom, whose only knowledge was that her big brother was going away for some time.

"You better come back," Applejack said to Big Mac, "or ah'll... ah'll..."

Big Mac responded by hugging his sister tightly. "Ah'll come back."

You don't know that. Neither do I, come to that.

As though the stallion knew what he was thinking, he turned his head in the human's direction. "We'll both come back. Right?" he asked, with that last sounding like a threat.

James didn't know how to answer that, so he just nodded.

After a minute, the siblings parted. Applebloom leaped up to hug her brother as well. He gave her as much attention as he had Applejack.

James nervously looked at the clock. He was as sentimental as anyone, but if they were late...

Granny Smith slowly walked up to the big guy. "You go an' show 'em how an apple does things now, ya hear?"

"Eeyup."

James patted Big Mac on the neck as he said. "We'll be fine. And if it's within my power, I'll bring us both back alive." If.

"I wish you two weren't leaving," Fluttershy said quietly.

"If either of us had any choice, do you think we would have?" James asked. He, the Mane Six, Applebloom, and Big Mac were on the way to the train station. They'd all met up at the library, and the other ponies had chosen to tag along.

"This war has caused the parting of all too many friends already," Twilight lamented. "Not to mention the heartbreak it's caused so many families."

"We've got to end it," James aid. "We have more troops, we have more guns, and, most importantly, we are united as the Griffons aren't. Their clannish ways make any sense of unity highly suspect. And I suspect their slow advance was partly due to political infighting among generals. We don't have that problem."

"As true as that may be, numbers don't win battles alone," Twilight warned him. "At least, that's what I read."

"It's true. But those with superior force should have the brains to use them intelligently. Only a fool makes only a frontal attack without throwing in another force to out-flank and outmaneuver the enemy. And a sharp, short, but accurate artillery barrage can be better than one lasting for days on end."

"I just hope we can see you both alive after this war."

"Wish for the safety of all our soldiers, while you're at it. In fact, wish for the moon while you're at it."

"Well, if Princess Luna is willing to give me control for a single night, I might..." Her face lit up in recognition. "Oh! That's one of your proverbs, isn't it?"

"Yes. The moon operates by gravity alone in my world, and the Earth revolves around the sun in the same manner."

"What!?"

The others looked as surprised as Twilight; there was a chorus of gasps that went around.

"That runs opposite to everything in this world!" the purple mare finally said.

"Next you'll say that in your world, the clouds move on their own and animals are wild," Rainbow Dash added.

"Actually, you're 100% right about that, if you cut out the sarcasm."

No one spoke for several seconds.

"That's impossible," Fluttershy murmured.

"Ah don't think so," Applejack said, "didn't sound like he was lyin'. He's serious."

"It's no small wonder why you know so much about war, then," Rarity said. "Such an uncouth world must be full of conflict."

"It's true that war does happen," James admitted, turning toward her as they began walking again. "But the world, in my opinion, is more beautiful than ugly. There is evil, yes, but there is more good. If you could see America's achievements, as well as those of mankind as a whole, I think your opinion might undergo a little realignment."

"Such as?"

"We've been to our moon before."

"But you said your world doesn't use magic," Twilight protested.

"The achievement was technological, not thaumatical."

"What's thea... tha... what's that mean?" Applebloom asked.

"It means something of magical achievement, which, if James is right, wasn't the case," Twilight explained. She turned back to James. "How would that even be possible?"

"I have little knowledge of rocketry and other space-based technology, just the idea of what it does."

A bush nearby shivered. Twilight noticed. "I think we should hurry. The train's going to be leaving soon."

And we have to make sure Lyra doesn't try and make me a part of her collection. James understood that quite well enough.

A train's whistle deafened all those who heard it. James stood up from the bench he'd been sitting on, as did the others.

He felt a hoof touch him in the back. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Applejack standing there, smiling patronizingly. "Ah was happy to give ya a roof to live under this past week."

"The honor is all mine." James turned around. "Thank you for housing me in the first place."

"Weren't nuthin'. Thanks fer the job ya did."

"View it as my thanks for giving me someplace to stay."

"Aw, shucks," she said, "you're gonna make me blush."

"That wouldn't be such a bad thing; then you'd share a color with Big Mac and Applebloom." Everyone in the group laughed.

"I guess we should board before they take off without us," James was finally able to get out, collecting himself. "I don't know what General Barrel with say if I get back a day late. Or for that matter, what the Princesses would say."

"Take care, both of you," Rarity said to them.

"We will," James said.

"Eeyup."

"All aboard!"

James scurried onto the train, then stepped back as the red stallion followed him After Big Mac walked into the car behind him, James waved to the group collected on the station platform.

It was a bad decision. The train gave a sudden lurch, and he almost fell down. He was just barely able to clutch one of the handles on the side of the car and pull himself back up.

James walked into the car Big Mac had disappeared into, sat down beside him, and waved out the window. All the Mane Six and Applebloom waved back at them. Big Mac waved back to them, his eyes focused on his littler sister as she tried to keep up as the train pulled out of the station.

"Great little sister you got," James said, lowering his arm.

"Eeyup."

James unzipped his bag and began rummaging around in it, looking for something to read. Of course, him being him, it didn't take long, and he pulled out a Civil War book; this one featured the Atlanta campaign. He began reading it.

Jeff Davis killed his own chances out west when he set Hood in charge, just because he hated Johnston. He wondered how many times in history an army failed or a war was lost because of the likes and dislikes of one person, usually a ruler.

He continued reading. Although he didn't particularly like Sherman (considering his pro-slavery attitude and revelry in the destruction his armies had caused), he couldn't deny that his unrelenting fixation on the goal of Atlanta paid off. The only real mistake the Union general had made was making the assault on Kennesaw Mountain, probably a result of Johnston's tactic of evading Sherman continuously and retreating every time he'd been outflanked out of a position. He highly suspected Sherman had lost patience.

It had been a costly error, but it had been one Sherman hadn't repeated. And shortly afterward, Davis replaced Johnston with Hood... whose aggressive tendencies were the exact opposite of what the outnumbered Confederates had needed.

James turned the page, looking over at Big Mac as he did so, and to his surprise, he found the big pony was looking at the book, reading it. The stallion quickly realized that he had noticed, and looked away as quickly as he could.

"That's okay, big fella. History isn't meant to be hidden for the most part." With that, Big Mac relaxed. He looked quizzically at James, who chuckled. "It's okay if you want to read or look at any pictures you see. There isn't anything bad or inappropriate in this book."

After that, they both read quietly as the train sped eastward.

At noon, they were interrupted by a young pony pushing a cart of food. "Anything off the cart?" she asked.

"I'll have a bottle of soda," James said, taking out some of the bits Applejack had paid him with. "You want anything?" he asked his fellow soldier.

Big Macintosh pointed to a small stack of hay with his hoof.

The trolley pony gave a price that seemed to fair to James, although his knowledge of what things were supposed to cost in Equestrian currency wasn't the best. He paid her. She waved her hat in thanks and moved on after giving them the stuff they'd paid for.

The morning went by quietly. James yawned, growing bored. After hours of nothing, he leaned his head on Big Mac, who grunted but did not protest, as he was leaning against the window, apparently having the same intention of napping as James did.

Bump!

James awoke with a jolt as the train began to brake. He put his hands on the back of the seat in front of him to keep from falling off his own. As the momentum from the braking started to decrease, he was able to properly sit up and take stock of his surroundings.

"Anypony who's out for the army?" the conductor asked as the train finally stopped.

James stood up, as did Big Macintosh. Both of them gathered up their bags and walked off the train. They weren't the only ones; several other newly returned soldiers left with them. "Welcome back, sir," one of them, a gray unicorn, said, clutching a stick with a bag on the end of it.

"Good to be back." James patted his revolver. It was likely to become very useful soon.

"Good to have you back, sir," General Rolling Barrel said, extending his right front hoof.

James took it and shook. "Thanks for the welcome. Hopefully, we can win this war and be done with this mess soon enough."

"I hope so. I never want to press another trigger again."

"Hmm." James walked over to the map in the center of the large tent. "A good report on what's been going on would be a good start."

"I've got it here, sir," Crystal Clear said, unfolding a small scroll. "So far, there have been a number of skirmishes, but nothing resembling a major conflict. Reinforcements have arrived - in surprising numbers, I might add - and uniforms and damaged armor have been replaced or repaired. Food and drink have arrived in adequate amounts, and ammunition and powder are in sufficient supply - though the Quartermaster Corps have been complaining of overwork."

"Considering the logistics an army of ninety-thousand soldiers requires, I'm not surprised." James sat down in a chair and began surveying the map. It appeared about the same as he'd left it. "Anything further?"

"Just complaints from veteran sergeants that the new recruits aren't as disciplined or well-trained as they should be," Crystal answered, rolling the scroll back up. "Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary," the pegasus finished, putting the scroll back in it's place and standing up straight.

"Morale matters as much, if not more than, discipline; if a soldier isn't willing to go into battle, he won't fight at his best." James picked up a bottle of water, draining it. "I know I can count on you, at least. I presume we've been fortifying our position?"

"Yes, sir," Nightshade said from the corner. Everyone else jumped.

"Ugh!" Barrel stomped his hoof. "I thought I told you not to do that!"

"I thought I told you that the Night Guard answer to Luna alone," the Lunar captain replied, "and to any who have been given authority by her." He didn't say this with any hostility or anger. He just said it, as though stating a fact. "As per your question, sir, yes, the army's been digging trenches and placing sandbags along it's front, as well as building positions to the rear in case of the need to retreat."

"I don't think those will be necessary, though," Barrel spoke up, glaring at the night captain before going on. "The Griffons have about sixty-five thousand troops, but many of those are teenagers and mercenaries, or questionable value. Only a core of fifteen thousand are what I'd call dangerous. Of course, King Raniero has been screaming at every production center he has for more weapons, and we know they're going after bigger and fancier guns."

"A certain scoundrel by the name of Blue Fur has been hard at work in a massive, enclosed tent," Crystal put in. "He made this new-fangled rifle, and our troops have been testing it."

"He's done what?"

"it's a new weapon. It's.." Crystal scratched the back of his head, then, seeing James' pistol, lightened up. "It looks like that," he said, pointing a hoof in the direction of the gun, "only longer. And the inside of the barrel is kinda twisted... I forgot what he called it.."

"It's a process called rifling," James supplied. "It increases the range and accuracy of the gun."

"Uh, right. Well, this Blue Fur has also been working on a project that he isn't allowing anyone to see at this time. He says it's a project you approved." Crystal bore a look of disbelief.

"He has, actually."

"What?"

"I did actually give him the plans to a weapon that must remain a secret to the enemy until we're ready to reveal it." James took another bottle and emptied it.

In the interval, Barrel asked, "What was it you wanted him to build?"

"If you're so interested, I'll take you to his tent and show you myself." James got up and headed for the door. "That is, if one of you can show me the way."

"I'm here to see Blue Fur," James said to the bruiser at the door.

"You qualified?" the guard asked.

"I'm general of this army," he answered. "I gave Blue Fur the plans for this project in the first place."

"Alright, I'll get him." The muscular earth pony walked into the tent.

"Ah, it's you again, General," Blue Fur said, walking out the tent door a few seconds later. "Excellent."

"I'd like to see the product of the plans I gave you a bit more than a week ago," James said.

"I thought you'd come for that," the blue-gray pony replied, nodding. "Um, are they coming in as well?" he asked, looking past James' shoulder at the three officers behind him.

"Yes, they have my permission... and my trust."

"Well, in that case, come in, come in." Blue Fur turned around and walked into the tent. James and his entourage followed.

James looked up at the mechanical vehicle that stood in the center of the tent. It was made of metal, and large enough to house several crew members inside, and was similar in shape to a German A7V of the First World War, though the main body bulged out like a barrel on it's side. Instead of a set of proper caterpillars, the vehicle bore four large wheels, with the front and back wheels on either side connected by a thin set of caterpillars, which James was surprised would bear the vehicle up. In the front, a cannon stuck out, presumably a breech-loader. A series of openings were placed in the side, presumably where the crew could shoot out of; currently, metal coverings blocked these openings. A big observation post, almost identical to that of the A7V, stood at the top, probably for the commander to look out of and watch the battle. Almost as conspicuous, a very short smokestack stood at the top and rear of the machine.

It was impressive for the prototype of Equestria's new tank. Still, James was a little worried. His plans resembled a French Renault FT-17. "My designs don't look anything like this," he said quietly to Blue Fur, as the others looked on in awe. "I wanted a turret on top, and it was less than half as big as this."

"Well, yes sir," the engineer answered, "but - forgive me - you aren't exactly a genius when it comes to blueprints. I had to discard much of what was in the original design simply because it wouldn't work or would be... inefficient. I'm not saying the idea wasn't sounds, just the way you put it out there. I might be able to come up with something like your original design at some point."

"I'm sorry I questioned your innovation," James said, taking his hat off.

"It's something I'm used to. There are still things I could do to improve this current design, I know that."

"At any rate, how many of these could you and a proper crew build?"

"Hmm," Blue Fur said, raising a hoof to his chin and thinking hard. "I could build maybe five more of these within two weeks, given current supply. After that, we wouldn't have enough materials to build anymore."

"If I could get a skilled group of builders and engineers, as well as an adequate supply of materials, how would that improve the manufacture rate?"

"If you could do that, I'd be very grateful." Blue Fur thought for a few more seconds. "I think we might be able to build ten more in two weeks, with a similar rate of production in the following months."

James was a little disappointed - he'd hoped for more - but he hid it. Blue Fur had done well as it was. "Can the caterpillars stand the pressure they'll be under? They look very thin."

"Yes; it may look weak, but my unicorn associates have managed to magically shape and forge the metal, giving it properties that will allow it to go without breaking... as long as a cannon shot doesn't blow them off, that is."

"We'll probably lose a few that way." James walked up to the tank and placed his right hand on it. "How strong is the armor, and how much would it be able to withstand?"

"Oh, there's more than mere armor protecting it, although that alone is three inches thick, enough to repel a normal cannon ball striking it, and the rounded belly might well be able to angle shots away. No, this marvel has a device designed by unicorns inside that will, when powered by unicorn magic, project a shield over it, protecting the barrel and the crew inside."

"Barrel? I doubt the crew can fit inside the cannon."

Blue Fur laughed. "Not the cannon, no. I was referring to the entire machine; I've taken to calling it a barrel, given it's shape."

"In my world, machines with a purpose like these are called tanks."

"I fail to see the resemblance, sir; this looks nothing like your average water tank."

James decided to give up that argument. "How many are needed to pilot it?"

"That's been on my mind as well. The optimal would be three, for minimal casualties if the barrel were to be destroyed, but I fear that that would lead to a degraded performance. I'd say that five would be necessary for peak efficiency; preferably seven, though obviously that would lead to greater casualties should enemy fire break through the shield and armor."

"Five... So a commander, a loader, a gunner, a driver, and someone to operate the shield device."

"Precisely. And, if you added two regular soldiers, they could fire out of the openings in the hull with the new rifles I've made."

James nodded. "How fast can it go?"

"I'd say maybe eight miles per hour, assuming no obstructions get in the way."

"Great work, Blue Fur." James put a hand on the pony's neck. "These things could save a lot of lives once we've produced enough of them to have an effect."

"You're too kind, sir. I know I there are improvements I could make. Alas, many of them you find only through trial and error, and in the process of makings something new. It's the fun of engineering."

James chuckled, then brought his right hand onto the metal rung on the tank. "May I...?"

"Be my guest."

James climbed up the ladder built onto the hull. When he reached top, he noticed a hatch built just forward of the observation post. He opened it. The interior was dark, except for those areas illuminated by the open hatch. "I'm going in," he announced. He pulled himself up, sat down, and propelled himself feet first into the vehicle.

It was dark inside the tank. Remembering the openings in the hull, he made his way over to the left side and groped for a handle on the wall. A minute later, he was able to find one. He pulled it, but it didn't budge. After a few seconds, he realized he was pulling in the wrong direction and pushed instead. The window opened with a screech of metal.

"How is it, sir?" Barrel asked.

"Dark. Could one of you bring a lamp?"

"I will," the colonel said. Thirty seconds later, James heard Barrel's hooves on the rungs, and after a moment the earth pony's head appeared at the hatch. "Here you go, sir."

James took the lantern. "Thanks," he said as the colonel lowered himself into the tank. The illumination provided by the lantern allowed him to take a good look at the inside. At the rear of the vehicle, a boiler-like, rust-colored object loomed. A tall, white pole - possibly the shield mechanism - stood in the center, sticking out of a box-like with a little seat for the operating unicorn to sit on. The cannon was, as he'd guessed and Blue Fur had stated, a breech-loader, fitted on a swiveling platform allowing the gun to be rotated to the left and right as the gunner found necessary. An elevated chair, reachable by ladder, stood under the observation post, undoubtedly for the commander.

"It looks pretty sound, sir," Barrel said after taking a good look. "If we can get a bunch of these things, we could make a breakthrough easily. I'm going to endorse building more."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, Colonel."

"In fact," the earth pony added, looking back at him, "I'll lead the battle in one of these things the first time we use 'em."

"Are you sure about that?" James asked. "These things could have teething troubles, and they'll attract fire more so than a regular soldier."

"Yes, I'm sure. We need these, and more of them. The bigger the hammer we swing, the better for us."

"In that case, I suppose I can't really stop you. You'll, need, of course, to play commander in any training sessions these things see."

"Willing and ready for them, sir."

"Alright then, the job of Equestria's first tank general is yours."

"Kinda agree with Blue Fur on this one, sir; not to toot my own horn - not that I have one - but this thing looks more like a barrel than a tank."

"Barrel leading barrels. I guess it can't be helped," James said as his subordinate commander laughed.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I've called this council of war," General Grayfeather said to the group of officers before him.

All the assembled nobility and commanders began looking around at one another, Raymond and Barlow included.

"The situation, as you all know, has become dire. Our numbers haven't proven sufficient to defeat the Equestrians, and furthermore they continue to throw more soldiers into the fight. We maintain a technological lead, and the enemy has a Changeling invasion to think about, but unless we manage to turn the situation around quickly, we face fighting a defensive war against an enemy with the ability to outflank us readily. Unless the king is able to persuade the many clan leaders to give us more soldiers, we face a serious disadvantage."

"The King has no authority to conscript levies from the clans, except what those chiefs allow," one officer said.

Grayfeather frowned. That was the crux of the problem. Many clan leaders still have able-bodied Griffons, but were either refusing outright to commit them or were stalling for time. Considering the failure of the war until now, with the exception of the capture of Trottingham - which the King was currently thinking of renaming. With the army beaten repeatedly, and suffering heavy losses in the two engagements it had won, the clan leaders were supremely reluctant to commit further troops to a war that had seen much more failure than success. Diamond dogs and others who might have been willing to join for money were now weighing the potential gain they stood to make and the risk to their lives in a war that might be lost.

He comforted himself by patting a pouch on the belt he was wearing. There was going to be a big change in the clan leaders' dispositions soon, although he wasn't going to tell any of the officers here that.

"That may be true," he finally responded. "But even so, we must find a way to win this conflict quickly, before the superior Equestrian resources can be brought to fully bear. I am... open to any suggestions."

"I would suggest going the defensive, and holding onto our new territory," Barlow said. "Our troops are in no condition to make a concerted assault against an enemy who has been working unceasingly on breastworks since the fall of Trottingham."

"The loss of one of their most splendid cities should make the enemy agreeable to a peace on our terms," another officer offered. "Best to take what we can rather than risk losing it to the enemy."

"That is not your decision to make, Grimwald," Grayfeather pointed out. "The King has made it clear that such a solution is out of the question; the only solution is total victory." He got up and walked to the map gestured to the positions of the two armies. "The enemy's position is indeed strong, yet it must be taken."

"Madness!"

"Insanity!"

"What about our troops?"

"Our numbers aren't..."

"Enough!" Grayfeather lifted ac claw, indicating that he wasn't in the mood to hear anything opposed to his plan. "If the enemy's flanks can be turned, we can catch their army in a cauldron and put them in a crossfire." He moved the piece on the map, so that most of his units were massed on the flank of the army. "If that happens, we can defeat them."

"And if the enemy attacks us before that happens, what about our center? What do we hold it with?" Raymond demanded.

"If that happens, the center shall fall back, allowing the right and left flanks of the army to turn inward and destroy the enemy, similar to the plan I've set in place. You should be more concerned about your own troops than then enemy's own actions, I've taken them into account."

"Are ya mad?" came the Scottish accent of a captain as he forced his way to the force of the other officers. "Stark, ravin' mad? We have neither the resources nor the Griffons we need fer such an ambitious plan! Ya'd have all o' us die in some damn fool operation just ta make a point to the Equestrians!"

"Remove him from the assembly," the General said calmly to the guards at the door. "I'll deal with him later, and discuss with him matters of loyalty and military discipline."

"Get yer damned claws off me!" The captain yelled as the guards grabbed him and began dragging him out of the tent.

"Now then, I will hear no opposition to this plan, and neither will his Majesty. The plan will go forward, and victory will be ours."

"Then what was the point of askin' us fer ideas?" Raymond demanded.

"My intention was to test your willingness to take to the plan. I find myself unpleasantly disappointed." Grayfeather looked around the room. "You are all dismissed. Make the necessary preparation for the attack. I will come and inspect the troops personally by the time the day is done."

Most of the officers left immediately, but Raymond stood his ground. "With all due respect, General, Olaf was right; you've gone mad. What happened to you?"

Grayfeather was half-surprised at his own reaction; to bow his head as he sat back down. "You'd never understand. What we do is for the best for our kingdom and it's future dominion. If we fail now we are lost, as is our kingdom." He looked up. "The ponies have lorded it over all creation since their Princesses took the throne; we have no power over magic or the elements, and the sun and moon remain beyond our control as they always have. It's time that changed, for our people to take their rightful place in history. Perhaps you're right, and Olaf, too; perhaps I have gone mad. But it's a madness that's infected the entire kingdom. If we must go down, we'll take the entire world down with us if we can, for as I said, if we fail, we are doomed to a dark age where our people will never mean anything again to anyone. We'll be downtrodden, the laughingstock of nations, servants, slaves. If we are to take our rightful place, we must embrace the madness of power, or else be obliterated by a lost opportunity."

He sat up. "This is our last chance. I expect your division in position by the end of the day on our right flank. I'll begin my inspection there. We march within the week."

James signed his name on a letter to his parents, then sealed it in an envelope to be mailed. The lantern in the tent lit things up nicely.

I hope I can see you soon, he hoped and prayed silently.

The tent flap opened. "Who is it?"

"A few good friends," came Bright Star's voice, which was followed by a meow. James turned to see not only the yellow earth pony but also Silver Lining, White Knight, and Silver Shield. Kiki was perched on Bright's back; she jumped off and trotted over to James, who patted her behind the ears.

"Welcome, my friends. It's good to see you all again."

"Good to see that pathetic scum of a Prince didn't get you fired," said Shield.

"I thought it was the job of the Royal Guard to protect and serve the royal family?" James asked, raising an eyebrow in a mock inquiry.

"He doesn't deserve respect from anypony anymore, not after that putrid excuse of a trial they set up against you and the finest Captain I've known in my twenty years as a Royal Guard. Not to mention the insult to all of us serving in this war. Snake Pit; I hope he gets a life sentence at the very least."

"I'm just glad James wasn't the one who got thrown in jail," Bright said, extending a hoof for James to shake, which he did.

"I wish those at home better understood what it really was like at the front, and what risk we take for their future," James said, remembering the angry others and the hate mail he'd received.

"Those at home oughta boil their letters," Silver Lining replied, hovering a foot or two above the ground. "My family still write me letters sayin' to come home, as if I weren't in this to tha finish."

"Waitin' for yer orders sir!" White Knight sounded out.

"My orders are to get a good night's sleep. You'll all need it."

"Might want to be careful, sir," Shield said as he raised a hoof to try and stifle a yawn. "The Guard might get lazy if you issue those kinds of orders all the time."

"I'll bear that in mind." James stole a glance at his maps. He was already coming up with a plan for an offensive, even without the tanks - or barrels, he supposed - he'd wanted. Artillery was plentiful, as was ammunition. Before long, the plan was going to come to fruition.

The fury of Firestar shall break upon the enemy come dawn three days from now, he thought, knowing that, up until the few hours before the offensive was to begin, only he would have any idea what that meant.

Chapter 40; Trials and cannons

James walked up to Blue Fur as the tank rolled out of it's tent. By common consent of the officer corps, the official name of the vehicle was a tank, although the common soldiers had taken to calling this particular model a barrel as well as those who had made it. Blue Fur had named it the F2ME; First (of it's kind), 2nd design, Model; Equestria.

It had gone through a small modification; a coupling rod connected the front and back wheels for added pushing power. A small change, but this first test was going to see what sort of teething troubles the tank was going to have.

"Sir," one of the soldiers said to Blue Fur, "Our commander's sick with fever, and he's too weak for the test."

"Blast it!" the engineer pony cursed, stomping his hoof in frustration. "Who else can I trust?"

"Me," James said. He wasn't alone in saying that; Rolling Barrel had volunteered the instant he had.

"Ah," the blue-gray pony said, turning around and nervously wiping his glasses, "I, er... Generals, with all due respect, we don't know if these vehicles will even do what we want them to - and what would happen if a first-class general was killed or injured in an accident?"

"All the more reason we should go," James replied. "The soldiers need to see that these things can be safely piloted, and if one of us goes, the lower ranks might be more willing to join, if we manage to build more than just the prototype."

"Besides, I want to get rolling in one," Barrel added. "They might not be very fast, but it doesn't take a genius to see that all it would take is a massive hammer blow from a hundred or so to crack the Griffon lines."

"I suppose we'll take the command role in turns," James said. "I'll go first; every so often, we'll switch. Hopefully our anti-air crews are on station to repel any would-be scouts; the last thing we need is for the enemy to know what we're up to."

"We could just hoard the tanks until we have to use them," Nightshade suggested.

"No. No soldier should go into battle not knowing if his weapons will work. If it doesn't..."

"Yeah, I see your point. In the meantime sir, I'm going to get out of this sun; thestrals don't do well in the daytime."

"Make sure you're up for the night shift, and maybe I won't mind."

"Ha ha." The Night Guard walked away.

"Is the crew good?" James asked.

"Well, considering I've enlisted a former locomotive engineer, a couple artilleryponies, and a random unicorn, I'd say the prototype has what it needs, except for a commander, which you'll be playing."

"I guess there's nothing else to say. Come on, Colonel, we might as well."

"Looking forward to it, sir."

James climbed up the rungs on the tank and hoisted himself in; Rolling Barrel followed a few seconds later.

"Ah, general," said a member of the crew - when James looked around, he saw that it was in fact the unicorn in responsible for the shield. "Wondered whether you would be watching."

"I intend to do more than watch. Me and the colonel here will be alternating as commander."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Well, if you're sure..." The unicorn, a white one, stretched. "I am, or was, a medic, so at least I can help anypony - or anyone - who gets hurt."

"We might have need of your skills when this is over." James had seen the rules and details of the test about to take place. The tank would be put through it's paces; crossing a number of ditches, rolling over potholes, even fired upon by obsolete medieval period cannons, just to see what it could be put through. A small, wood-and-canvas village with a garrison of dummies and soldiers armed with stones - to simulate explosives - and pellet rounds - ammunition that, if they actually hit anyone, would do no lasting damage, though they had the potential to bruise - was to be tackled last.

James climbed up into the commander's seat. It gave him a decent view, though he wished for more. "At the sound of the whistle, we'll start," he said into the speaking tube for the driver; the engine was loud, and out of necessity such devices had been put in place. "Don't move until I give the word."

"Understood, sir."

A long whistle sounded as the referee started the trial.

"Take us out."

"Yes sir."

James grabbed onto the speaking tube as the tank began moving forward. The sudden jerk had caught him a little off balance, but he recovered quickly. "Don't go full speed yet, I want caution to be our main concern. And as for everyone else," he said, switching to the tubes for the unicorn and gunners, "keep those side hatches closed throughout the test, until we get to the town."

"Got it."

"Aye, sir."

"Roger."

James took a moment to monitor their progress so far. At about four miles an hour, the tank was going forward at half speed. Even going full out, it would be slow, and a target for artillery. Assuming the enemy gunners were not firing over open sights and were using indirect fire, that might not pose as much of a problem as it would have for the normal soldiers who would be going forward with the tank. Of course, the obsolete cannons in the test had to use direct fire. Not that he expected they would penetrate; he'd tried to make the test reasonably accurate without risk to the crew. If the shield worked like it was supposed to, it wouldn't be much of an issue, though he was sure the armor could keep the ancient ordinance from penetrating.

"What's your name?" he called to the unicorn.

"Red Cross, sir."

"Activate the shield. I'm not sure just when we'll start taking fire, but I want to make sure we're ready when it happens."

"Yes sir." Over the rumble of the engine, James heard something. "Shield system activated, sir."

"I noticed," James said. And he had; a faint, pinkish barrier surrounded the tank. "Hopefully we can fire through it, instead of having to take it down every time we have to fire."

"Ugh," came the voice of the gunner. "I wouldn't like to be the fellow who had that happen to him."

"Coming to the first ditch," James announced. "Hang on. Driver, slow us down to three miles per hour."

"Yes sir."

The tank lurched forward as it began crossing the ditch. For a few seconds, James thought it was going to catch there and get stuck, but the front wheel caught the opposing edge, and the tank evened out quickly enough."

"So far, so good. Let's try it a little faster. Go to five miles an hour."

"Aye."

The tank reached the second ditch, which was a little wider than the first one. The same process went through; the tank plunged, then caught on the other side and pulled through.

"Very good." James saw a number of ponies trying to hide on a ridge up ahead. "Heads up, gunners. Load."

"Loading blanks, sir."

"I've seen cannons like that in museums," Barrel commented. "If I remember right, these models were last in use around the time of Nightmare Moon's attempted takeover."

"Let's hope they have nothing on modern armor." James watched as the gunners slowly loaded as they approached the third ditch. These ancient cannons would have been as much a danger to their crews as to the enemy in their time; he remembered how often medieval cannons exploded during sieges, and how lucky one side was if only a few of it's guns blew up in the course of the investment. Blue Fur had taken precautions, strengthening the barrels so that they were unlikely to explode on firing, but he still worried...

He saw a puff of smoke and heard the BOOM! over the noise of the engine. The cannonball struck the shield and bounced off, causing a ripple effect in the barrier but otherwise causing no harm.

"How much energy did that take?"

"The meter went down a little, but not much," Red Cross replied. "Those old guns don't have the punching power to do anything more."

Another gun in the distance went off. This one sailed over the tank, missing it entirely. "God, I hope that doesn't hit someone," James muttered. He would have to have a talk with the gunners up ahead once the trial was over. Again, they'd done what they could to minimalize the chance of injury - or worse, death - but a random miss might happen to...

No. I'm not putting nay of those images in my mind, damn it. I will talk to them afterward, but these are ancient cannons, without rifling. Maybe I should be a little less critical.

Another couple of cannonballs struck the shield, with the same results as the first. "At least we know this damn thing works," he said aloud. "Feed more magic into the machine as you see fit, Red. I don't want to have to have a dent buffed out."

"Understood, General."

James felt the tank rock, as though it were a ship at see. "There we go over the holes. So far, we're holding up. Aim at the left couple of guns."

"Got it, sir."

"Fire!"

The roar of the cannon was deafening. The resultant cloud of smoke obscured his vision. He also heard coughing coming from the rest of the crew.

"Are you alright?"

He heard Barrel cough. "It'll pass in a few seconds, sir. Nothing to be overly worried about. Gunners have to deal with this all the time."

"Red Cross, if the smoke is harmful, I want you to call a time-out."

"I... think we can keep going. Just be careful, it's coming up to you, now." A rancid over of sulfur and powder reached James' nostrils.

"Thanks for the warning." James pulled his coat over his face and waited until he thought the smoke had passed. "Well?"

"The referee took two of the gun crews out of the action. We still have two more firing at us."

"Get them. And Red, use your magic to try to shield us from the smoke this time."

"Already taking care of it, sir."

The crew fired twice more. The remaining old cannons were put out of commission.

"Good job, but it's not over yet. Head for the town."

They received no further incoming fire until they actually reached the little clot of dummy buildings. As they approached, the soldiers inside started firing.

"Shield is barely registering any energy loss," came the report from Red Cross. "Unless there was an entire company shooting at us, I wouldn't be all that worried."

Several stones struck the shield and were deflected away. "I guess the test is over," James said as they cleared the last building. "I think this is a pass."

"I still get my turn, general."

"Colonel, I'm not going back on my word. And we should probably do this again anyway, just to make sure this whole thing isn't a fluke." James lowered himself down. Barrel was almost smiling as he climbed up.

James pointed at a section of red line with a stick. "Second and Third Corps will form up in the center. First Corps will be on our left, applying pressure to that section of the enemy army, as the Fourth will do on our right. Our artillery will concentrate on the center of their line, with a three-hour long bombardment. We will spare no shell or shot in this barrage; I want their center absolutely leveled, with their artillery being the first targets, after which we'll focus on their front lines." He used the stick to move a couple of blue blocks into position. "After the three hours are up, our army will move forward, with the First and Fourth to fulfill their attack plans. Second and Third will break the center, and drive straight for Trottingham. I intend for us to capture the westernmost forts of the city before the enemy can fall back that far. If we're quick, this could be the breakthrough we've wanted since the war began."

"Sir," an officer said, raising a hoof, "scouts report they're strongest on their flanks. What exactly are the First and Fourth supposed to accomplish?"

"Their job is to keep those enemy units from falling back and hitting the sides of our advancing units in the center. If possible, I'd like as many soldiers as possible in those outfits to take up skirmish formations, regardless of weaponry."

"Sir, what if they fail in that task?"

"If that happens, then we'll fall back if it's necessary. I'm praying it won't, and I think that if we succeed in cutting their army in two, as I expect, they won't be able to communicate effectively." He laid down the stick. "We discuss this over a map, gentlemen, but I assure you, this is no game. Real soldiers will be going into battle on both sides, and real soldiers will be dying. Many of you are worried about the inexperience of the soldiers you will be leading; I've worried about it myself. Many of the enemy are experienced veterans of previous battles, even if some of them are of uncertain quality."

"You might be wondering why I'm telling you all this. Well, the answer is simple; you need to know. You need to know the effective limits of the army we are in charge of, as well as a the capabilities of the enemy. Less than a third of our army are veteran soldiers, with the rest recent recruits. The enemy have fewer soldiers, but those who are left have all seen battle, including the mercenaries they hired. If we can make use of our superior numbers to pull off a coordinated effort, though, we might be able to end the war quickly. That is the goal of this campaign; to end the war in victory on the Eastern Front. I expect the best from each of you."

He paused. "I hope and pray for your safe return, and that of those whose lives you've been entrusted with."

Bright Star sat in the trench with the rest of his buddies, who were currently engaged in - and losing - a game of cards.

"Damn!" A pale-gray unicorn, Gray Sky by name, threw down his deck, glaring at White Knight. "Your mother should have put the word 'bandit' in your name somewhere. You're robbing us blind!"

"Ya want me ta rob ya blind, try your luck playin' me at chess," the other unicorn retorted. "Keep your fur on; I could take every last bit of your carcass and you'd still be hitting it rich back in Manehattan."

"Just because I'm the son of an aristocrat and my family is rolling money doesn't mean I like being beaten every time I play you," Gray Sky muttered. Even so, he paid up. "If I find you you've been cheating..." he added in a threatening voice.

"Really?" the final pony in the game, an earth pony named Firebolt, said in a tone of disbelief. "Come on, this is White Knight we're talking about. We've been with him in like, what? Three big battles, and few bite-sized ones to boot? We've saved each others' lives I-don't-even-know how many times, and you accuse him of cheating?"

"Yeah, well, how many games have you won against him?"

"More than you did," Knight said with cheek.

Gray Sky turned his head, aimed his horn at a branch on a nearby tree, and fired a burst of energy, incinerating it.

"Alright, alright, I get it; you're mad."

"Damn straight. Don't tick me off any more than you already have tonight."

"Don't blame me; blame the cards."

"Calm down, both of you," Firebolt insisted. "I think that's enough for one night."

"Fine; neither o' ya get to see if ya could turn dis bad luck around."

"You're just saying that so you can steal even more of my pay. No thanks!"

"Well, okay, but we'll never know who won now..." White Knight stacked the cards, as well as the chips they'd been playing with, and put them away.

"Not falling for it."

"Aw, you're no fun."

"We're in a war. Ponies are dying. How is that supposed to be fun?"

"Whoa whoa whoa..."

"I think we should all be getting some sleep," Bright interrupted, putting away the rag he'd been using to clean his gun. "Got a really big day tomorrow, if the brass are telling the truth." As though on cue, he yawned.

"Yeah, I guess so," Gray Sky said, though he was still taking every opportunity to glare daggers at White Knight.

"Bright's right," Silver Lining said as he set himself down gently. "Little birdy told me. Make it a big birdy."

"You weren't spying on our officers, were you?" Firebolt asked him. "They won't like it when they find out, and if I know anything about higher-ups, it's that they always find out about things like that."

"Nah. Got it from no less than the general commandin'. He didn' tell me much, just to get meself an' any boys I could talk to. That's all o' ya."

"Oh, well that's different, I guess." Firebolt stood on two legs and leaned lightly against the wall of the trench. "Can't say I'm stoked to get myself killed, but this war's gotta end sometime."

"Who say's it's ever going to end?"

"Oh boy," Bright mumbled.

"Aye, who ever said the war will end?" Jack Tar said, striding into the middle of the group.

"Simple; if the war doesn't end, we'll all be dead, and everypony else will be too," Gray Sky answered.

"Hmph. You want to be hopelessly optimistic, go ahead. I've got a battle to prepare for."

Bright stared after the orange sailor. Why did every word he said have to be such a downer? It sure didn't help anyone. And this wasn't even his conversation in the first place.

"What's his problem?" Firebolt said, tipping his hat.

"He's a sailor," Bright explained. "I don't think he likes being on dry land."

"A lot of pegasi don't," Silver said, laying down with his head resting on a rock. "Sailors even more so. I know I've been one o' 'em. Part o' the reason so many pegasi like sailin' is that they can fly almost to their hearts content when duty isn't callin'."

"Still no excuse for getting everypony down."

"I know. But ya canna change everyone."

"I think we do need to get our stuff in order, if you're right." Firebolt got back down to all fours and began rummaging through his bag. "Hopefully I don't lose my head over what happens tomorrow."

"Don't say stuff like that," Bright said admonishingly. "For all you know, that could happen."

"Aaaaaaah."

Bright lay down on his back and looked up into the sky as the stars began to reveal themselves. Counting them was a lot more fun than thinking of the dangers ahead.

James, Crystal Clear, and Nightshade (now a colonel) stood on a rise above the camp. James was watching the Griffon line, trying to discern movement in the pre-dawn light.

"Hope this works out," Nightshade said. "It would be a shame if it doesn't."

"Plenty of ammo for the papers," James answered. "Couple of press hounds somehow managed to weasel themselves in somewhere. If this fails, for whatever reason, they'll be coming after me. Yippie."

He heard Nightshade attempt - and fail - to suppress a snicker. However, when he started speaking, he was dead serious. "The media is always after a story, true or not. They just love ruining lives just for the sake of attention and money. If you want, I'll go and arrest them."

"Can't really do that either, not unless we want ponies screaming 'free press!' as they kick the hell out of us."

"Ha! Well, this is a country with absolute monarchy. If both the Princesses wanted it so, the press would only report what they wanted it to report. Besides, censorship is in effect."

"They always find a loophole to run through. Trust me on this one." James lowered the binoculars. "Unless our pegasi scouts were wrong, we know exactly where their artillery batteries are located, and we'll neutralize them in the opening volleys."

""I hope they didn't get shot down," Crystal said. "It's an awful long way to fall from a mile or so up. Believe me, I know; my right wing got a cramp during training, and if it wasn't for my comrades, I wouldn't be here."

"Eee. I believe you. I may be pre-disposed to believe you, considering I fear heights, but..."

"I can certainly understand why some don't like flying, after going through that. In any case, our scouts were flying from quite a height, though they had binoculars to make up for the distance. I think their reports are accurate."

"We'll see. We'll definitely see in a little while."

"Why isn't Shining Armor with us, sir? If you'll pardon my asking."

"Celestia wasn't clear on that," he said, and he heard the Guard draw breath before realizing his mistake. "Princess Celestia. She just said she had a job for him and Princess Cadence to do. 'Up north' was the only indicator."

"Brrr," Crystal said, shivering. "Sounds cold."

"And yet here we are, facing the hottest fires this side of... well..."

"I get it, sir."

"I don't know why you didn't just send in the Lunar Guard to spike their guns in the night," Nightshade said, sounding a little upset. "You know we could have pulled it off."

"You seem to regard me as a prophet, or a fortuneteller, perhaps." James turned to regard him. "Was the job in your capacity? Yes. But you have to remember that a plan rarely survives contact with the enemy. And the Griffons, having come from predatory ancestors, have a better ability to see in the dark than you'd think. All sorts of things could go wrong with a plan like that, and if you got caught in the middle of the enemy camp..."

"Alright, I understand. It just rankles, that's all."

"Your time will come, Colonel. Trust me."

Nightshade sniffed, but said nothing. The sun slowly rose over the horizon.

That was the signal the gunners were waiting for. With a thunderous roar, bright flashes burst briefly into existence as over a hundred guns of all sizes began to fire on their targets.

The first battle of the campaign had begun.

Chapter 41; Operation; Firestar's Fury

Bright Star watched as the first orange streaks of light flew from the west into the enemy lines. Explosions dotted the horizon, all the more visible because the sun hadn't fully risen yet.

"Wow," he heard Firebolt say. No wonder; the number of detonations was a sight to behold.

"Yeah." Knight whispered.

"There won't be a single Griffon left alive by the time this is over," Gray Sky said, in admiration.

"Don't count on it," Silver Shield warned. "I've seen enough in this war to know that some of them will survive, enough to cause us trouble, at least. So keep your matchlocks loaded. There'll be trouble."

"Hey, Sergeant, didn't the eggheads come out with a new rifle?" Firebolt asked.

"They did. Unfortunately, they've only just started production. Don't count on getting one anytime soon."

Bright could only stare at the horizon as shell flashes winked in and out of existence. It had to be complete hell over there. And if the enemy were really getting it in the neck, he might go on living a bit longer. To him, that really mattered. That, and having his buddies survive with him.

Gyor woke with a start a big explosion picked him up and threw him to the other side of the tent. He got up, trying to shake himself awake, only for another blast to knock him on his back.

He began to crawl, slowly, as more detonations shook the ground. When he eventually managed to get out, the scene before him was that of chaos. A massive explosion took place to his right, almost deafening him. He turned, and saw that one of the caissons carrying ammunition had taken a direct hit, causing the ammunition to blow up in the conflagration.

Gyor didn't realize what was going on for a moment. Then the captain yelled, "Get your lazy carcasses moving! I want every gun in this battery firing in two minutes, or you won't have to worry about the ponies killing you!"

Gyor sat there stunned for a moment, then finally managed to nod. He got himself up as more shells fell all around.

"Gyor!"

He turned to see three of his comrades trying to manhandle their gun forward. He flew over to help, and started helping. He himself was the loader of this particular gun.

"Load explosive ordinance!"

Gyor pulled the rammer from the gun's carriage and waited for the powder monkey in the crew to get a shell for him to ram down the barrel. That unfortunate individual was halfway between the cannon and the caisson when an Equestrian shell fell almost on top of him. Gyor and the rest of the crew instinctively ducked behind the gun carriage. When he looked up again after a second, there was nothing left of the powder monkey other than a single patched-up boot. He swore viciously. "Someone get me something to load here, or we'll die!"

"We'll probably die anyhow," the gun captain replied.

That was all too likely. Nonetheless, a member of the luckless infantry company assigned to guard the artillery took up his new unofficial role in the gun crew, pulling out a shell and running over. Gyor made sure the cartridge was properly inside the barrel before ramming the charge down. He backed off and held his ears as the gun captain pulled the lanyard.

Not even earplugs of the highest quality stood a chance against the BOOM! that washed against his eardrums. His ears ringing, he waited as another shell was brought, rammed it down, and withstood another barrage against his ears.

The Equestrians might have been a peaceful people before the war, but they weren't stupid, and they'd become skilled in warfare. After taking a couple of volleys from Griffon guns, they focused their firepower on his battery. Gyor could only watch as a direct hit on a cannon to their left took a direct hit, sending the dead or wounded crew flying away in all directions.

He saw something coming in his peripheral vision. He looked up just in time to see a shell coming right for him...

"Our artillerie is landing rounds on target," Blitz said, watching the bombardment through a spyglass.

"Good," James said. What was really making the difference in the barrage were the new heavy mortars. They were large enough that they needed to be placed on wheeled carriages in order to move them. Here, though, they were paying off in spades. While normal artillery fire was generally a nuisance against entrenched fortifications, mortar shells would almost straight up into the air and then fall back to earth. A lot of those shells would be misses, but the sheer size and explosive power guaranteed that even if the shell didn't kill the enemy, it would shock or stun him, with a morale blow to rival their physical hitting power. And those shells that actually entered a trench... well, it would be safe to say that that section of trench wouldn't exist anymore, with the same applying to those unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast. He didn't have as many of them as he wanted, but then what general in history ever had as much artillery as he wanted? He had enough, perhaps more than enough, for the job at hand.

The gray earth pony turned his head to regard him. "When vill ze main assault begin, General?"

"Short answer is, when I say it does." Knowing that wouldn't satisfy the newly promoted captain, he lowered his binoculars and added, "We need to properly weaken their artillery before the offensive can begin. After that, we'll blast their front lines in the center with everything we have. The ground assault will go in after the enemy line has taken a proper beating."

"I hope you know vat you're doing, General."

"Me too." James began walking down the hill.

"Vare are you going?"

"To lead this battle in person, as planned; I'm not the kind of man to leave fighting purely to others."

"And vat happens to us all if you die?"

"...Then someone else becomes General and I'm freed from all forms of physical, mental, and spiritual torment. But I'm not sitting in the back row anymore. I'm a man of action."

"I suppose, if you're villing to go, zen I have no excuse to stay behind."

"I appreciate the help. I'll be in direct command of the Fifteenth Manehattan. I want you to know that I don't want anyone to lag behind us."

"Jawohl."

James jumped down into the trench. He watched as his artillery began switching targets on schedule, directing their gunfire toward the enemy trenches.

The enemy hadn't been completely paralyzed; James picked up a matchlock and it's ammunition from a dead soldier, who was already being put on a stretcher. He wouldn't need either of them anymore. What happened to him next was in God's hands.

"General!"

"Morning, boys, and at ease."

"With all due respect, you're liable to get killed if you stay here!"

"And that's a risk you're all willing to take. Why shouldn't I be willing to pay the same price when you know you might pay the ultimate price yourselves? I don't intend to order my soldiers into any situation I wouldn't go."

"..."

"I have a loaded gun - two of them, now - and a sword to use. I'm going in."

"Well, if you're that determined."

"Hmm." James took up his binoculars again. "There's a small cluster of them to the right of us. Crystal, have our Fifth and Third batteries blast them."

"Yes sir." Within a few minutes, shells started landing near the position he'd pointed out. He nodded. So far, so good.

"Sir!" A pale-yellow pony pointed east with his hoof. "Here they come!"

"What? You must be seeing things, there's no way they'd..." James stopped talking when he realized that the soldier had been correct; perhaps a hundred Minotaurs had gathered just behind the enemy trench line; what they intended to do wasn't obvious.

What was going to happen was, and should have been, obvious even for them. "Level 'em."

"Sir."

Five minutes later, shells were landing amongst the mercenaries. dozen of them fell before whoever was in charge of them - if he was still alive - decided that standing still out in the open wasn't a good idea. Whoever he was, he proved he lacked any common sense whatsoever by sending his remaining warriors toward the Equestrian lines.

We don't even need machine guns for this; they'll be mowed down before they get anywhere near us, and for what? just to prove they're brave? In a vain hope they can return the damage we're dealing them?

The enemy detachment didn't last long; his first shot of the battle knocked down one of the Minotaurs about a hundred feet in front of the line. The rest didn't go much farther before they were all down, dead or wounded.

Foolish. If you're going to use swords and axes, at least use them intelligently. If you'd hit us from ambush in the middle of a dense forest, you might have accomplished something. Now you're all down, and you did us no harm whatsoever. Minotaurs, from what he'd heard, were like that; bull-headed, arrogant, and brave. They took the idea of death in battle as an occupational hazard, and they were hide-bound traditionalists. These fellows had proven they were brave, but had done nothing to prove how worthy their traditions were.

He carefully checked his contempt. That was not a useful feeling to have, even if someone had done something utterly stupid.

"Sir, look to your left," another soldier advised. "That guy looks mad about something, doesn't he?"

James put his binoculars to his eyes and looked. A Griffon with a lot of badges was literally hopping up and down, yelling at two lesser subordinates who didn't look very happy. He kept pointing out at the field, toward the spot of the massacre, and made contemptuous gestures both toward the officers and the dead and dying assault force.

"I don't think they wanted them to do that," he said. "I guess they have their own problems."

"Sir, how long before... you know..." a gray unicorn asked.

"In a couple of hours. Until then, we wait. Keep your guns ready, and make sure nothing fouls your pieces."

James had little to do during the intervening hours. Neither did his soldiers, though most of them showed signs of worry and fear over the battle about to come. Some fiddled with their weapons, making sure over and over again that they were properly working and loaded. Others tried playing simple games like Tic-Tac-Toe on the ground, while trying to ignore the shells flying over them. Still others simply stared out onto the battlefield, waiting and watching the enemy.

"How do think we'll... fare, General?" asked a pegasus regular.

"I suppose it depends on a number of things. Luck, courage, and on whether this bombardment leaves the enemy paralyzed or not. It's possible, but I'm not going to count on it."

"Has there ever been a bombardment of his scale where you come from?"

"Yes, and bigger as well." James thought for a moment. "In the First World War, British artillery saturated German defenses for five days, drenching their positions with shells. After it was over, British infantry walked - didn't run, walked - into no man's land."

"What happened?"

"After the barrage lifted, most of the defenders were still alive. The British lost thousands and thousands of men on that first day alone; over the course of the whole battle, they barely managed to gain five miles."

The soldier shivered. "Hope something like that doesn't happen to us."

"If you start getting shot at, go to ground and shoot back, and crawl toward the enemy trenches. That should maximize your chances of survival, even if their artillery wakes up."

"Please don't put such an image into my head, sir; the bullets alone are enough to put the fear of Whoever or whatever you believe in in me."

"Sorry. Just wanted to give an informative answer."

"Too informative, if you ask me."

James shrugged. "It's our job as soldiers to risk our lives for the future of our children and our livelihoods. Never said you had to like what that entails. I don't much fancy being shot myself. But it's the risk we've taken, and we just have to deal with it." He took a peek over the edge of the trench. He didn't get shot at, so he kept looking. The enemy trenches were a storm of fire and metal. "Looks like they're catching it. maybe we'll actually make it."

"Hope so."

James stole a glance at his watch. "Five minutes. Get ready, everybody!"

All around, soldiers dropped what they were doing and picked up their weapons, tensing themselves for the battle ahead. Most of them went at it with faces grim, even the greenhorns. No one who had seen what the enemy trenches were going through could doubt what war was all about... or that such a result could happen to them.

The final five minutes lasted for what seemed at once an eternity and a wink in the eye of time. Explosions distant continued shaking the ground. James took out a match. "Any of you got a flint or something?"

A Guard stallion offered him a hoof. James scratched the match against it, lighting it. "Thanks," he said as he lit the rope that would light the pan on his matchlock.

"It's nothing, sir." The soldier waved his hoof. "I hope you make it through; you've done a lot for us."

"I don't think you'd be surprised if I told you that my sentiments were the same."

"Not a bit, sir."

James was suddenly aware of the guns going silent. The absence of firing and explosions caught him by surprise. He gathered himself. "Over the top, boys! Get up there before they start shooting back!"

He didn't need to speak twice. Almost as one, the entire complement in the trench climbed up and formed into rudimentary lines. He was among the first out, though he never knew if he was the first.

"Forward! At the gallop, now!" He knew he was going to be left behind once he gave that command. He also knew that his troops would understand. A few recruits out of training, trying to carry their weapons over one shoulder and run on three legs, tripped and fell. The rest kept going well enough.

He reached down to one of the fallen soldiers, an earth pony, and offered his hand. The pony took it, and James pulled him up. "Thanks," the stallion said.

"My pleasure. Now come on, or we'll be left behind."

The other soldier nodded, and ran on. James began running as fast as he could, which, unfortunately, wasn't very fast compared to even the slowest runner in his forces. Oddly enough, there was no gunfire, only the sound of hard, pounding hooves.

A few scattered shots rang out from the Griffons. A couple ponies fell. However, the resounding response from dozens of crashing matchlocks silences what little opposition had dared to fight back.

Have they really gone to pieces, like we hoped? Or is this all a cruel hoax?

Silver Shield hoisted himself out of the trench. "Form ranks!" he shouted. "You, get in line!" The private he'd pointed to meekly obeyed, for the moment more afraid of his sergeant than the enemy. He was a new fry, but with time and experience, he'd become a good soldier.

So far, other than a few scattered artillery shots during the barrage, the enemy hadn't replied to the storm of lead that had befallen them. No shots, whether single or in a massed volley, came their way. Shield didn't trust it. It was way too easy. He'd served years as a Royal Guard. You just didn't get that lucky in war.

Or did you? The Griffons didn't seem inclined to fire, even though his troops had crossed over half the distance by now.

"Get your sorry rear ends in gear," he yelled. "Don't trust this quiet. Get going, before they start waking up!"

They were about three-quarters of the way across the land between the lines before the first hostile shot was fired. It missed it's target, but...

"Come on!" the company captain shouted. "Hurry up!"

The entire line was almost at a gallop now, except for a few individuals who stopped to return fire. If they had any effect, Shield didn't see much of it. The good news was that the fire they were taking was uncoordinated and largely inaccurate, as though the shooters had their brains rattled. And it was far less than he'd feared; it came nowhere close to even nearly threatening the advance in total. The few ponies who were unlucky enough to be hit would undoubtedly disagree.

At the edge of the trench, Shield pulled his matchlock off his shoulder, stood up on his hind legs, and aimed downward at a Griffon. "Claws up!"

The enemy soldier stared stupidly back at him. Shield needed a second to realize he was lying on the ground.

"Claws up!"

Slowly, as though he'd just recovered from a hangover, the griffon raised his claws half-heartedly. The look on his face showed no expression, as though he didn't comprehend what was going on.

When he looked around, he saw that a shell had landed on the opposite edge of the trench, just over the head of the Griffon. Other scattered enemy bodies. including a couple Diamond dogs, were lying around, most of them in a similar condition to that of the first; uninjured, but stunned beyond belief. If that shell hadn't killed them, it would definitely have shaken them badly.

Bastards. Poor bastards, but still... "Can you hear me?"

The Griffon didn't reply; he just lowered his arms, as though too tired to keep holding them up.

Shield turned to another soldier standing next to him. "Guard these guys, and make sure none of them get any funny ideas."

"Yes, Sergeant."

Shield got back down on three legs and jumped over to the other side. "The rest of you, with me!" The rest of the company complied.

"General, our lines have been penetrated in more than eight places along the line," the lieutenant said. "Many of the front line soldiers were stunned beyond any capacity to reliably resist. Others had to immediately withdraw before they could be taken."

Grayfeather listened with his right arm in a sling. A shell had landed near his tent; although the explosion had failed to kill him, his arm had been plastered with shell fragments. He was lucky that he still had it.

A day ago, he would have angrily demanded that his front line units remain in line, to hold their ground against enemy attack. Getting injured in the first fifteen minutes of a barrage that almost completely silenced his gunpowder artillery and had saturated the trenches made him rethink his former position in a hurry. The King would not be happy to hear that his army was in retreat. "Have our flanks come down on the enemy from the side."

The lieutenant shook his head. "That won't do any good general, or perhaps it would do less than good. Our entire lien is being hit. If we send in reinforcements anywhere, it will weaken us elsewhere."

Ordinarilly, he would have punished that display of insubordination. Now, though, what had been said made perfect sense. Still, the thought of what the King would do to him - dishonorably discharge him, and make everyone in the kingdom hear of his failure, if he was lucky, and death if he wasn't - made him rally. "We must try. Order our units to try and hold their ground. bring whatever artillery we can bear - even if it's horrendously outdated - and pull it forward. We must try to rectify the situation."

"Yes, sir," the other Griffon said, though he didn't sound pleased.

"In the meantime, send word to our friend in the east," he said. "Maybe he can put a halt to the enemy's advance."

"Only one, against an entire army?"

"It must be done. And if we win, he'll be well rewarded, as he knows. Send for him at once."

"Yes."

As the lieutenant left, Grayfeather looked at his ruined arm. Even he felt it was best to withdraw... but the shame of eternal disgrace and the thought of whatever the victorious ponies would do afterward was too much to make him recall.

Yet.

James jumped down into the trench. the soft earth gave way under his shoes as he took a look around.

"Uggggnh," groaned a lump of dirt to his right.

James pointed his matchlock in it's direction. What he'd mistaken for a mere lump of soil was in fact a buried Griffon.

"Give up!"

"Ugh.... what?" the soldier said, moving a little, but otherwise showing little capacity to move; obviously, he was too out of it to do anything even remotely threatening.

James lowered his gun. "A few of you stay back here to take these guys into custody," he said. "Everyone else, move up!" He went over to the other side and pulled himself up.

For the next little while, despite the noise coming from the north and south, there was practically no resistance to his immediate front at all. The advancing soldiers slowed down a little bit, now that they had crossed no man's land without much trouble. The veterans among them, though, remained alert. That slow down troubled him; it was best for an army that had broken through it's enemy to keep moving until it's objectives were met, and to do so with the utmost expedience. At the same time, he felt his diaphragm press up and down; he hadn't been able to keep up with his army, despite running as fast as he could, and his only real accomplishment was to tire himself out doing trying.

If all went according to plan, the first regiments were beginning to turn inward, to trap the Griffon troops to either side of the breakthrough. It would probably not go as well as the initial assault had; the enemy would be alert and ready for the attack. But they would be outnumbered and surrounded. If he had to, he could besiege them and starve them out.

He heard a whoosh behind him; he turned on his heel, half poised to fire. He relaxed as he recognized Crystal Clear, who was coming in for landing. "Glad I could find you, sir," the white pegasus Guard said, saluting.

James returned it. "I suppose you come with news of some sort?"

"I do. First Corps is advancing as planned so far. It's a lot harder up there than it was here, but at least they're on schedule, and their outermost units are beginning to turn inward."

"That great!"

"I'm not done. Our units to the south are facing heavy resistance. One attack was thrown back, with a second assault going in as I set off. The units on their flanks haven't gone anywhere near far enough to begin properly surrounding the enemy."

James clicked his tongue. "Thrown back" was another way of saying that a lot of good soldiers had died to no purpose. Others would still be lying in the field, screaming in pain. "Damn," he said at last. It was the mildest thing he felt like saying right now, and it was only with great restraint that he was able to keep from loosing much worse. "Is there anything else?"

"Nothing important, just stuff contending to the number of prisoners we've taken and how we're going to manage them."

"All things we can manage quite well at, in other words," James said as he turned back toward the front and continued walking. "I hope I don't have to tell the quartermasters to get going again, or they'll lose something that has the word 'quarter" in it."

"Ha! Is there anything else, sir?"

"Nothing you could help me with. I hadn't anticipated how being slower than my command was such a disadvantage in offensive operations."

"Sorry to say so, General, but you're wrong there."

"What do you mean?"

"I can easily carry you to the front, right now if need be."

James felt a mixed feeling welling up inside him. "I couldn't ask you to embarrass yourself in front of the Guard, and I might be too heavy for you."

Crystal laughed. "Sir, after pulling the Princess' carriage, as well as being falsely alerted to a crime or incident only to find out it hadn't happened, I don't think carrying my commander to where he needs to go will be any cause for embarrassment. And let me tell you something; in the Guard, during training the first few weeks, we have the old fashioned nail-on horseshoes nailed to our hooves, to help us build up our physical strength. They made us wear them everywhere when I was in training, and I mean everywhere; it's pretty hard to pick things up with those nailed to the bottom of a hoof, not to mention how oppressive the weight feels to a pegasus. And they had us carry loads and do all sorts of things to build us up. I think I can carry a single human."

"if you're insistent..." I came here to fight, not to ride.

"I am. We need you, sir."

That clenched it. "Alright." James walked up to his left side and pulled himself up. At once, the metallic saddle Guard ponies wore made itself felt; he slid around much more than he would have on a leather saddle, and the metal was uncomfortable.

"You seem nervous, sir," Crystal said, chuckling a little and turning his head to face him. "You'd think this was your first time."

James felt surprised; how had he noticed? "It isn't; I've ridden horses before where I come from. it's just that trying to be comfortable in a metal saddle is a false hope."

"They were made mostly for looks. Sorry about that."

"And it is my first time on a mount that can fly," James added, eying the white wings with apprehension.

Crystal chuckled again, this time sympathetically. "After almost dying from a fall, I can understand. I guess I can stay grounded this once." James felt him tense up. "I'm going to gallop at full speed, so get a hold of something and hang on," the Guard warned him.

James barely had time to grasp onto Crystal's neck as the pony reared, pawed at the air with his front hooves, and set off at a breakneck pace.

It was very unnerving to see the ground underneath him pass by so quickly, and he felt a constant far that he would go pitching face-first from Crystal's back. Thanks for installing that fear when you bucked me off last fall, Rainbow Dash! He also had no reins to hold onto, so he had to try and grip a few pieces of the Guard's fur, and it was a precarious grip at best.

It was still enjoyable, which surprised him. After a little while, he was able to feel a rhythm, between the rocking motion and the pounding of rock-hard hooves against the ground. And, he told himself, he wasn't as high off the ground as he would have been on a horse back on Earth. The metal saddle was still a bit uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do about that. Gradually, he got used to it. And, he reminded himself, the pegasus hadn't insisted on flying, which he knew would have led to some disaster of some sort, which would have involved him going splat on the ground. So his inner fears told him. Yeah, this was good enough.

"Enjoying yourself back there?" Crystal asked.

"I guess so," James replied, to which the Guard chuckled yet again.

Eventually, Crystal began to slow down, finally leveling out at a trot. "Wow," the pony said quietly.

James could easily see the reason for the awe in his aide de camp's voice. Thousands of Equestrian soldiers were pushing through the fields in line; uncounted numbers of shouldered firearms glistened in the sunlight, and blue uniforms made what appeared to be an invulnerable line from one end of the great clearing to the other; here and there a few Guard companies split the blue lines, but made it no less impressive. Artillery was being pulled up behind them by strong, fast soldiers, ready to be deployed in an instant, and hundreds of pegasi had taken to the skies, shielding the oncoming columns from any form of aerial assault.

"Such a display," James said quietly. "Who can stop such a force as this with any army in this world?"

"You don't want to be asking yourself that, sir, if you'll pardon me being superstitious," Crystal said, turning to regard him. "That said, I can hardly disagree, when presented by something like this."

"Hopefully nothing will happen to put our high hopes to rest.."

"Indeed. The front line is still a ways ahead. One more good sprint should get us there."

James made sure to hold on tightly again as Crystal set off once more at top speed.

Bright couldn't believe his luck. So far, except for a few isolated, scattered shots, no resistance had taken place. Even that naturally felt awful for him, and he counted himself lucky that neither he nor any of his buddies had bitten the dust.

"Where the hell are they?" Firebolt asked.

"I don't care," Bright said, "as long as they aren't here."

His companion wasn't so easily silenced, or made optimistic. "Could be they've got artillery in the woods on our flanks, ready to blow us all to the afterlife before you can say 'uncle.'"

"Aw, don't say things like that," Bright admonished.

"It could be true. Just trying to give you the heads up if they pull that kind of sh-" Firebolt cut off, and his face turned red, or as red as it could get on a face that was the color of reddish-orange. Even under stress, most ponies found it disconcerting to use what was understatedly called bad language. "If they pull that kind of thing," the other earth pony amended.

Bright would have said something more, but the sound of galloping hooves, even more potent than his own, came up from behind. He turned his head so he could bring his left eye to bear. The General was coming, mounted on a white pegasus Guard.

Bright had to admit that the Commander in Chief looked imposing as Crystal Clear slowed down. The tall, blue uniform was as clean as it reasonably could be on a battlefield, and his scabbard glistened in the sunlight.

"Thanks for the lift, I can take it from here." James dismounted and walked toward the front, bringing his own firelock off his shoulder.

"Do you need anything, sir?"

"Just keep me informed of what's going on."

"I can do that." The Guard saluted, turned, and flew away.

James continued marching up to the front line, matchlock ready for action. So far, nothing...

A single shot rang out from up ahead. A lead ball flew overhead. Whoever had fired was a bad shot.

It also meant that the time of an easy advance was over. Several crossbow bolts flew from the trees; most of them missed the blueclad soldiers, but a few found targets, who fell shrieking.

The Equestrians stopped, which allowed him to catch up, drew themselves up on their hind legs, leveled their weapons, and fired back as more gunfire erupted from the trees; the growth there shook as a storm of lead whipped through it. Screams arose from the tree line as well as from the ponies hit by return fire.

James leveled his own gun, took aim at a bush that was shaking, and fired. He didn't know if he'd hit his target, but he had other concerns at the moment. Squashing the fear that naturally arose within him was one of them. It was something that rarely left a soldier in combat, and some would say it never did. It was a feeling that he did not particularly enjoy.

He was able to force his fear down, contain it, cage it... but it kept yowling at him even so. It wasn't just going to evaporate, like water in a puddle.

He began to reload as more shots exploded from the tree line. All the while, he felt apprehension in the pit of his stomach; a soldier reloading was a soldier who was vulnerable, especially at this range. Sometimes in history, an attacking force would give it's soldiers some variation of alcoholic beverage to take the edge off their fear. That struck him as stupid, considering how dumb people typically acted when drunk, but right now the thought of taking such a drink, or of lighting a cigar, was tempting.

As if to underscore everything, two shots in close succession whizzed by his right ear. At least two of the enemy were taking a bead on him, and their best shots were much too good for his liking.

His second shot was ready. He raised the gun again and fired, this time at the bush below an avian arm clutching a sword. The sword fell from the enemy's grasp, followed by the arm that had held it.

James lowered his matchlock a second time and began the reloading process once more. His firearm was practically his master, demanding food be rammed down it's throat only to be belched up again. As he hammered the round in, he took a look at the line around him. More than one new soldier was looking around for something to use as a ramrod, having forgotten to remove theirs from their weapons before firing them. If their ramrods hadn't been smashed against a tree, they'd be quivering in a dead enemy's body by now.

He finished ramming the all into place. He lifted the firearm again, pulled the trigger, and waited for half a second as the hammer fell; the rope attached to it lit the powder, which sparked a chain reaction leading to the lead ball's sudden eviction from it's erstwhile home. The wooden stock rammed against his shoulder from the force of the recoil.

Thock!

Shit. That sound invariably meant someone nearby had been hit by enemy fire. A pony a few soldiers away let out a cry of agony and fell over backward. If the medics were able to survive the barrage of gunfire, they might succeed in saving his life, if not his leg.

Crackling matchlocks filled the air with smoke; after a few volleys, it was becoming harder and harder to see anything. Soon, soldiers on both sides would be firing blind, or at muzzle flashes if they were lucky. Those with crossbows, ironically, would be harder to detect, and thus their wielders would be harder to take out of commission.

In this kind of situation, some people collapsed like a house of cards after a while. Others found the rock of courage within themselves that they had never known existed before. It was like that now. Along with the sound of soldiers behind hit and falling, he heard hoofbeats heading away from the enemy, as well as angry shouts of officers trying to get them to get back in line.

Most, or at least as far as he could tell in the growing clouds of smoke, most stood, receiving and returning fire as coolly as veterans. Nearby, one greenhorn was talking to a comrade next to him. "Good time of year for plantin' crops."

"Yep," his friend - brother? - answered. "Got us a mite of a problem, though," he added, as though discussing an infestation or termites instead of a battle.

Beyond that, James didn't pay any attention. For now, not dying was all he was hoping for. God, please, deliver us this day!

Perhaps that was happening; enemy fire seemed to be falling away. Maybe the attackers had blown away enough of the defenders to panic the rest. Maybe they'd shot down most of the defenders; fire from companies of at least five regiments was pouring into the woods, and field artillery was set up and starting to fire. The shells blasted the enemy position, reducing shrubbery and knocking down trees.

"Fix bayonets!" a sergeant called. "Guards, take up your spears!"

James dropped his matchlock and drew his revolver. "Forward!"

"Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!" The Equestrian troops shouted their best hopes to the sky as they began their advance. From more than a few throats, the cry sounded very high pitched.

The Griffons responded with eagle screeches. Many howls issued from the trees as well, so obviously Diamond dogs were there as well.

The army charged, yelling and screaming as they did so. The tree line came closer and closer. James saw a dog stand up and aim a crossbow at the advancing forces. He took quick aim with his pistol and fired. The mercenary clutched at his shoulder, howled his pain to the sky, and toppled. A second enemy shook the bushes in front of his fallen companion's position. James fired twice, and the bush twitched even more as the enemy warrior dropped and scrambled around in pain.

He holstered his gun and drew his sword. The opposing forces were that close...

James leaped over a bush and slashed wildly, less to actually hit anyone and more to force anyone there to back up. A spear came his way; bringing his sword up, he blocked it, and after that he slashed at it, cutting the spearhead off, then impaling the soldier who had thrust it at him. The enemy soldier fell with a groan of pain A dog tried to take his head off with a sword. He ducked, and the blade swished over his head, narrowly missing his cap. He jabbed at that enemy as well, and was rewarded with a loud howl.

There were still a lot of enemies trying to hold this ground. A loud, throaty roar issued from the east.

"Merde!" he breathed. Sure enough, the enemy were finally playing smart, throwing in Minotaurs at the point where their melee weapons and superior strength would be most useful. Most ponies, even unicorns, who focused more on magic and less on physical strength, could overpower a Griffon. A Minotaur, however, had a bull's strength with a willingness to use it no matter what got in it's way. Their large axes would be superior to the short swords the Equestrian officers used, and their blades would be able to tear through spears and bayoneted matchlocks quite easily.

Some of his troops hadn't emptied their guns before fixing bayonets to them. When the gigantic monsters came into view, some of them were hit by gunfire and fell. More, unfortunately the majority, came on. None of them stopped or ran.

Looking around, he saw a discarded falchion, undoubtedly a former possession of a Griffon. He picked it up, quickly making sure it had no blood on it; he wouldn't use a weapon that had killed his own soldiers, not so blatantly. There was none, so it must have been dropped before it could be used.

After that, there was no time to think, only to fight. A large, half-bull monster lunged at him with an axe. He cut off the axe-head with his standard issue sword, which was in his right hand, and slashed at the enemy's belly with the falchion, in his left. The beast let out a roar as he fell over backward.

"Your head will look good on my mantle!"

James managed to turn just in time to see another warrior-monster approaching him at full speed, intending to ram him. He sidestepped, and the enemy warrior slammed into a tree, horns stuck in the wood. He had no time to savor the moment, as yet another Minotaur sliced at him, severing part of his lower coat. Taking advantage of his enemy's position - the enemy's arm was in no position to block - he stabbed the bull through the middle, giving him as kick as he withdrew the blade. The beast died with a groan.

It wasn't more than a few minutes into the melee, and already he was feeling fatigue in his arms. All around were the battle cries of living soldiers and warriors, friend and foe alike, as well as screams of pain from wounded and dying soldiers. Numerous bodies lay ominously quiet and still. He raised the falchion to try to block another blow. It wasn't the smartest move he'd ever made; the blade snapped in two. At least the axe itself missed him, but only by inches. Without a pause, he jammed the jagged remains of the falchion into the bull-man's neck, and the mercenary fell, arms clutching futilely at his throat.

How long can I keep this up? he thought. And how long will my mind be able to stay sane?

Fortunately for him, he didn't have to find out. "They're falling back!" one of his own soldiers yelled.

"What?" James said. It was difficult form him to believe, considering the burst of energy recently expended by both armies..

That didn't make it untrue. Griffons were beginning to retreat, some in good order though some simply dropped their weapons and flew away. Diamond dogs, seeing their allies abandoning them, panicked. Most just started running on all fours, trying to escape the battle. The Minotaurs took no notice.

Of course. They had the big bastards counterattack so that the Griffons among them could escape. It was a clever strategy, though he didn't much approve of the cold-bloodedness of it.

"Gang up on the big bastards! Three of you on one of them! Work as a team!" he shouted.

He hardly had to give the advice; most of his soldiers had gotten the idea themselves. In a duel, it would have been cowardice to bring friends to a fight. In an actual war, though, nothing said that was the case. And each of the Minotaurs was, for all his strength, only one being, and couldn't fight half a dozen enemies at once. They went down hard, but they went down, which was the point.

"Come on! After them!" He gestured toward the retreating enemy with his sword. "The fewer who get away, the fewer you have to fight later!"

A rousing if tired cheer arose. The Equestrians didn't waste time in running after their withdrawing foes. James leaned against a nearby tree and removed his hat. It would be a job trying to keep up with his army. He almost regretted sending Crystal Clear away. Almost.

"General, the center of our second line has been pierced." The unhappy Griffon lieutenant looked up from the paper he was reading from. "Large numbers are in flight, some literally. Minotaur reinforcements wiped out to the last by enemy action. Enemy is pushing forward. Southern section of original line is holding, but suffering severe casualties. Northern end of line is facing encirclement." The junior officer blinked, almost unbelieving.

Grayfeather could hardly believe it either. "Order the northern and southern units to withdraw, bulling their way through enemy units if they must. In the meantime, send whatever we have at hand to the center. We must continue to shore up the line there."

"Yes sir."

As the other Griffon left, Grayfeather leaned on the right arm of his chair and sighed. If things didn't turn around soon, the Griffon Kingdom was going to suffer a defeat that was sure to bring it's downfall.

"Sir?" came a voice from the tent flaps.

"Yes? Come in."

Another Griffon, this one a lowly private, entered. "Sir, I've come back with an answer from our special friend."

Grayfeather sat up. "And what does he say?"

"He says he's ready to go into action, as long as you have the gold to compensate him."

"A small price to pay for success. Tell him to join the fray at once. In the center, where the decisive point of the battle will be fought."

"Yes sir, on my way."

The general knew that this was their last chance. If their new ally failed, he would regret it in short order, as would the Kingdom.

James raised his gun once more, this time taking aim at a charging griffon clan warrior. The kilted fighter froze, sword above his head, and fell over backward.

He began the reloading process again. Although his troops were facing resistance, it wasn't going to be enough to stop them. They were winning, and they knew it. It made all the difference to their morale. The days of desperate defense against overwhelming foes were over; now the enemy would have to find out how they liked the defensive game.

Obviously, they didn't like it at all. Some of them, the clans with less in the way of technology or the ones with more traditional views on fighting, had few if any effective ranged weapons. Other kilted warriors like the one he had just shot lined up, fit arrows to bows, and let fly. These caused a few casualties, but most of the archaic projectiles overshot their intended targets.

The Equestrians lined up as well, and fired a volley into the bowmen. One massive echo of gunfire was enough to decide who had the better weapons; most of the enemy archers were down as the smoke cleared, and the rest were in full flight.

"We have them on the run!" he shouted. "After them!"

His own soldiers gave a cheer and charged. Any enemy who may have thought - or hoped - that the issue would remain in doubt had those thoughts shattered. The entire enemy force began their retreat, most running or flying as fast they could to the east.

Were those.... James brought his binoculars briefly to his eyes. Indeed they were; white tents littered the ground about a mile away. "The enemy camp," he said softly. The Griffons had burned his camp at Sugar Cane River to the ground. Now he had the chance to return the favor. "Keep going! Let's see how they like their tents going up in flames!"

Could anything in the world stop his army? Anything at all?

The answer to that thought came as a roar. A roar that seemed to shake the very air, a roar that made anything the Minotaurs uttered a mere breeze compared to the fury contained in this... this storm of rage.

From the trees beyond the camp, a massive shape arose, one with enormous, bat-like wings and scales covering it's body; a long, thick tail that could crush bones and send soldiers flying waved, and it's head bellowed another challenge. It's evil eyes gazed at his army, contempt in every feature of it's expression.

"Oh dear... a dragon!" he breathed, making the sign of the Cross. "May the Lord preserve us!"

From it's position in the sky, the dragon dove.

Author's Note

[youtube=http:

My first time using this youtube video thing, hope it works.

Chapter 42; How to slay a dragon

"Get down!" James yelled. He followed his own advice as the giant yellow lizard continued it's dive. He wondered for a moment whether lying prostrate on the ground was a good idea when facing fire-based weaponry, but it had to be better than being turned into a walking torch.

Why didn't I ask Spike or Twilight about dragons before now?

Right now, his high hopes were rapidly disintegrating. He threw away his matchlock and took aim with his pistol. It wasn't likely to kill the dragon, but anything was better than sitting there and not firing back. It gave him a sense of hope, even if those hopes were dim.

He wasn't the only one to start blazing away. Shots began ringing out as the monster flew closer and closer. A fusillade of gunfire sounded as an entire company disobeyed his orders and shot as one mass.

"Blast it, get down!"

Maybe they heard him and maybe they didn't. One way or another, whether by fear or common sense - or both - the ponies began to drop to the ground.

James turned back to resume firing. To his immense surprise, the dragon had covered the distance, and had opened it's mouth to flame. The gunfire hadn't fazed it in the least. It had a few cracked scales here and there, but nothing had penetrated it's natural armor. And now it was in position to strike back.

It did so, unleashing a stream of fire from it's mouth as it passed by overhead. James buried his face into the grass. and covered his head with his arms.

It didn't stop the horrible screams from reaching his ears as a wave of intense heat scorched his back. It was more heart-rending than he thought cries of pain could possibly be.

If I can hear them, then I'm not dead. For a moment, that relieved him... until he got up and saw...

He covered his eyes. No. They couldn't do that, it's not possible... No matter how he tried to shut it out, he could see the flaming bodies, as though their images had been burned into his eyesight. And the screams; only those of the damned were comparable.

Pull yourself together, a small and weak voice said within him. Others will die if you don't take charge.

They'll die even if I do, he countered, but he still shook himself off. It was true, however badly shocked he was at the moment. "Anyone out there who can still hear me, tell the artillery to set up!" Maybe our lead can't harm that monster, but I doubt it can withstand artillery fire.

No one answered. Turning around, he saw the army stopped in it's tracks. Most were standing, either watching the horrible spectacle or trying to pretend it didn't exist. A long, black streak went through the middle an entire company. Dozens were down, clearly dead, others were rolling desperately to banish the flames.

He made the Sign of the Cross once more. He tried again; "Have our guns set up, about two hundred yards apart, and let that thing have it on it's next pass!"

A Guard soldier standing not far away was the first to show signs of hearing him. The stallion shook his head and looked away from the slaughter. "What was that?"

"Have our guns unlimber about a couple hundred yards apart from each other, and spread them out so that only one of them is at threat at any one time."

"What kind of artillery?"

"Any kind, as long as it can shoot something that can blow this guy off the face of the earth!"

The Guard nodded, then turned and ran; James knew it was as much from horror as from duty.

He turned back to the dragon, which was in the process of turning for another attack. "I am not letting you lose this battle for us, you-!" he yelled at it. Doubtless the beast hadn't heard him. No matter; he meant every word he had said.

"Spread out," he ordered. "Don't let this guy get a bead on a whole group of you!"

Slowly, his army was getting out of it's shock. Some of his command began to move, though slowly, as though half dazed. A few, having recovered entirely, began berating their comrades to follow his orders.

He worried it wasn't going to be fast enough, as the dragon turned it's eye to survey the damage it had done. He was relieved that none of the Griffons had turned to re-engage. He wondered what that meant. It wasn't likely to mean anything until the yellow monster was out of the picture.

His shock was gone, replaced by anger and frustration. How many more obstacles will the enemy choose to throw in our path? Can they not see how pathetic their cause is?

The dragon stopped, in the same place it had before, apparently trying to assess it's next target before diving again. It's big, leather wings unfurled.

Leather. That means it can be damaged by our weapons. If we can get it grounded, it won't be as much of a threat. "Spread out," he ordered again. "Aim for the wings!"

There were hundreds of soldiers on the field. The chances of at least some of them hitting the wings was high.

The dragon had tried to aim at another company of musketeers. This time, though, it had fewer targets to readily pick out, as most had taken cover, and the rest were running to either side of it's predicted flight path in an attempt to stay out the range of it's fire It unleashed another torrent of flames; clearly, some of the troops hadn't dispersed far enough. The screams began again, though less in number.

More gunshots rang out as it passed. Some of the soldiers hadn't heard him. Others were too engaged in what was happening to pay attention. At least some of them did try to shoot at the wings. Several ripping sounds reached his ears, and the beast let out another screech, this one of pain.

It didn't immediately try to land, which was too bad. Well, at least this proved he could hurt the beast, though not that he had the firepower to put it down.

"Good Celestia!" came the voice of Bright Star. "What do we do now?"

James didn't like the prospects of what had to happen, but it was unavoidable. "We fall back to the artillery, and hope they can blast this guy."

"But Jim... er, General... the closest artillery battery is about half a mile back."

"Yeah, and that means falling back there. Hope the Griffons don't get the wonderful idea to rally and come after us."

Bright's ears went flat against his head.

"Fall back!" James ordered. "Fall back to the cannons!"

His army needed little encouragement. Their weapons were ineffective against the dragon's scales, and only marginally effective against it's wings. Some spread out and continued to fire as it dove again and again, hoping to do some measure of damage to even the odds. Black scorch marks lined the field, many filled with the dead.

The screaming... no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get rid of it.

Goldenscale grinned in a predatory manner that his ancestors would have envied. Below him, ponies scattered, desperate to escape the flames he sent forth to consume them.

A group of them stopped running, turned around, and opened fire on him. Their ordinance slammed into his scales and promptly bounced off. He looked at the scales the soldiers had hit; several were badly damaged. His anger blazed like wildfire; how dare the ponies so much as scratch his magnificent coat?

He retaliated by spurting yet more flame from his innards. The group that had foolishly tried to resist him were all caught in the inferno. Their screams were music to his ears.

He turned again, the wind whistling through his ears. His wings emitted a sense of pain; a few of the ponies had gotten lucky and hit him in one of the few spots where his natural armor had no coverage. He was determined to make them pay for that.

It didn't once enter his mind that he was on the wrong side of the war. His interest was in adding yet more wealth to his already considerable hoard. Dragons had taken similar deals in the past, and there was no reason he could see that he should have refused the generous offer of the Griffons.

Another pass, another wave of flame spurting out onto the gnats below.

It was shaping up to be a very good day indeed.

Colonel Nightshade folded his wings, yawned, and lay down under the shade of a tree not far from his tent. He had been busy most of the night, helping to make sure the way was clear of obstructions. The Lunar Guard hadn't found anything other than the opposing trenches, but needless to say they were tired.

Thestrals were well-known to sleep during the day; the sunlight never did seem to agree with them. As he prepared to doze away, the former captain wondered vaguely where his particular ancestors came from. Some ponies really thought thestrals in the modern day ate meat; with fangs, it was an easy if inaccurate assessment to make. Perhaps thousands of years ago that might have been true, but it sure wasn't now. He also wondered just when pegasi records began claiming that thestrals were technically pegasi, not a separate branch of ponies. Most Lunar Guards felt outraged about that whenever the topic came up but the pegasi scientists remained stubbornly unbowed. As far as they were concerned, if it was a pony, and it had wings, it classified as pegasi.

He felt slightly guilty as he tucked his legs underneath him. Other units in the army were out fighting, while some of the best in the business - of this, Nightshade was certain - were left out. However, after a night's work and the fact that the Night Guard performed best at night, it was understandable. Very understandable, he thought as he yawned again. Normally, the Night Guard had little to do, even at the time of day when it was active. Crime wasn't rampant in Equestria, though it wasn't quite negligible either, and few ponies were stupid enough to commit a crime under the watchful eyes of very scary, bat-like, fanged warriors. Mostly, similar to the Royal Guard, they stood guard at night, standing at their posts like their daytime counterparts until the sun rose.

That didn't mean there weren't rewarding moments. Nightshade grinned as he remembered catching a pony who had been trying to sneak into the palace; the victim had screamed in absolute horror after turning around to see Nightshade, wings outstretched and fangs bared, just inches behind him.

He never found out the reason for the attempted break-in. Perhaps that was for the best. He just took the guy to Princess Luna, who had dismissed Nightshade while she spoke to him. Afterwards, he heard the detainee had been released. That had worried him - the release of a potential criminal wasn't something that rested lightly on his mind - but it had been out of his hooves. Besides, he'd told himself, the Princess no doubt had good reasons for her actions.

He didn't fall off to sleep. Artillery continued to bang away at whatever targets they had, though it gradually got farther away. Rattling gunfire continued to reach his ears as well.

Naturally, many ponies, as well as members of other species and nations, thought of Guards as essentially living statues. It took a lot of discipline to just stand there as some tourist started teasing them or made funny faces. To Guards, the higher ups were powers unto themselves, feared by all who fell under their shadow. He knew the privates and corporals under him were scared to death of him, and they were fellow thestrals. His sergeants were harder to scare, but they followed his orders. Few suspected he wrote poetry here and there, or that he had an interest in mystery and science fiction novels. Perhaps once the war was over, he would actually write one himself.

He was also interested - in an outraged sense - of how some novelists had displayed the banishment of Princess Luna as a civil war between the sisters, with Guard fighting Guard. While the two services had a rivalry, he wanted none of his counterparts dead; far from it! And as for some topics written about the Lunar Princess... He dragged his mind away from that. Law, order, and justice, he thought to himself, not anger or vengeance.

The creaking axles of supply wagons jerked him out of his doze. Grunting in annoyance, he stared at them for a moment as they passed, then settled in for another attempt to get some rest.

Suddenly, from the east, a great roar came. It was an angry roar, an arrogant roar... a roar that got his attention. His ears switched to that direction, with the rest of his head about a second behind.

He'd heard roars like that. He'd had to face a manticore once. Subduing it had been difficult. He'd thought it was the scariest beast he'd ever had to fight.

Until he'd met a dragon face to face.

Luckily, he hadn't had to fight it, as the meeting was on friendly terms. In the next few hours, he'd become quite learned about dragons... especially about the noise they made in anger.

This was a dragon's roar, without a doubt.

He got to his hooves at once, as the civilian ponies pulling the wagons paused. What on Earth was a dragon doing here? It was the foremost question in his mind as he went to his tent and reached for his spear. Then, rethinking the situation, he grasped his crossbow instead.

Maybe it found the battle by chance, and started attacking both sides. It was entirely possible, as some dragons had quite an evil temper, and could go from happy as a lark to enraged in the blink of an eye. Something in his mind told him that wasn't the case.

He walked out into the sunlight. He involuntarily shielded his eyes for a moment, then continued on his way. He had to alert the Night Guard; the army would need all the help it could get if what he feared was coming to pass.

His Guards weren't happy about being woken, he could see that at a glance. However, none of them said a word; they had good discipline drilled into them from the moment they began training. Or it could have been they were afraid of him. That thought was one that came close to brining a smile to his face, one he didn't dare bring on right now.

"That was excellent mobilization, all of you... if I was commanding mules and donkeys, who can't gallop worth a damn." He pointed a hoof toward the east. "We have a situation, and I expect you all to be at your best, whether or not it's daytime."

"What's happened, sir?" asked a newer fish.

Nightshade could have stared him down for the lack of discipline, but he had no time. "We have a dragon on the battlefield." He watched as some worried glances were exchanged. "I know it's not the kind of thing you're used to. But if it's attacking our army, it's going to have to deal with the best Equestria has. That's you, or so I hope. Any questions?"

"Sir," the same thestral said, "I'm still wearing horseshoes from training today," and lifted his right front hoof so they could see the nailed-on piece of metal. "It's going to be hard for me to carry a spear, and harder still for a crossbow."

"Not a question, but I'll answer it. Simply put, either take them off double time, or else go as you are. And considering our army might well be under attack right now, that first option isn't a choice you can make. If push comes to shove, pick up rocks and throw 'em." The Guard looked upset, but didn't complain any further. "Now, all of you, to the skies, and let's show 'em the Lunar Guard is just as good in the light of the sun as in that of the moon!"

"This has got to be the worst day of my life," Bright said wearily.

James had no comeback ready for him. Terror was spreading through the two corps that were meant to breakthrough in the center. If the artillery couldn't stop the beast... then he would have to hope that the other two corps would be able to push back the enemy and outflank the dragon, and achieve what he could not. It was a idea like beads laid out on a string, and just as fragile. He wasn't going to count on it.

The dragon wasn't getting tired. On the contrary, it seemed to relish in the destruction and death it brought. He could almost swear it was smiling in a twisted sense of joy at what it was doing.

You MONSTER! How DARE you take pleasure in our pain and suffering?

"General, sir!" a Guard sergeant said, saluting. "Our bolts and bullets are having no effect, except to piss this thing off."

"Tell me something I don't know!" Most of the soldiers who were trying to shoot at the wings had given up and were in panic-stricken flight. It reminded him unpleasantly of the 1953 War of the Worlds movie. Except this guy can't cheat by bringing up an invincible energy shield. I hope so, anyhow.

The roar behind him added an exclamation point. Turning around, he could see as it continued assaulting his army. He could easily imagine it throwing out heat and disintegration rays, like the machines in the movie.

"How about that our anti-air cannons have set up?" the noncom asked, grinning slightly.

"That's news I don't know, until now. Have them fire at will." Pointing at the monster that was still tearing his forces apart, he added, aim ahead of him, you hear me? And aim for the wings!"

"You intend to ground it." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, I do. Then we'll be able to deal with it... well, if not on equal terms, then on something close."

"Got it, sir."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Sir!" The Guard stallion turned and galloped away.

James turned around as well, to see the dragon. It was aiming for yet another group of panicking soldiers. Most of them had dropped their weapons and were running as fast as their legs could carry them.

Nothing like an invulnerable enemy to make you run, he thought. He couldn't blame them. If they had been able to take down the monster quickly... but they hadn't, and could not, not with the choice of weapons a normal soldier carried. As it was, he was barely holding a lid on his own fear. The engagement would have to be decided by the skill, competence, and discipline of the army's gun crews.

From somewhere up ahead and to the right of his current position facing the dragon, a crew in one of the newer breach-loaders opened fire.

"Idiots!" he yelled, not that they could hear him. Normal artillery had no noticeable chance of hitting the beast, not in the air. All that would do was attract it's attention.

That's what it accomplished. The dragon turned just before it would have spit fire into the fleeing regiment and eyed the cannons. As if realizing what their comrades had done, and trying to desperately make up for the mistake, the remaining guns in the battery opened up as well. None of their shots hit, though one passed by the head of the dragon by mere feet. It's wings unfurled, broad and yellow.

It was a target the anti-air gunners had been waiting for. A shell burst near it's wing, then another passed under it and blew up several hundred feet behind it. Another ripped through it's left wing before exploding about a hundred feet behind the beast.

The dragon bellowed in agony and rage. Just then another shell burst just a few feet short of it's right wing. The blast obscured part of the wing for a moment, in which the dragon roared in even greater pain. The smoke and flame from the explosion cleared quickly. Several small but distinct holes and one rather large hole in particular now scarred it's seared flesh. Perhaps instinctively, the dragon folded it's wings into it's body.

Of course, that action meant it couldn't stay airborne. It fell, just before another volley of shells could tear through it's body directly.

"Ugh," James growled. Those three or four shells might have ended the monster right then and there.

There was a loud, deafening thud as the beast hit the ground. Dust and dirt flew from the impact site. He looked at the area intensely. Maybe that had finished it.

That hope was shattered in seconds. Within the cloud of dust that had risen around it, the dragon clearly arose from the crater it hade made, this time falling to all fours. A burst of flame issued from his - James assumed it was male - mouth, more in defiance than in any real hope of hitting anything.

"Fire now! NOW!" he yelled.

The gunners did their best to oblige. Other batteries opened up as well, adding their weight to the barrage. Several rounds landed around the beast. None struck home, though the explosions that burst into being around it would have frightened off any rational creature.

The dragon, apparently, wasn't a rational creature. That made it dangerous. It charged on all fours, still screaming in pain, but also in rage.

More shells burst around it as it charged, some from anti-air batteries. Others passed by it, bursting beyond it.

Come on, come on...

The dragon loomed over the four-gun battery. Stopping, it opened it's mouth and a stream of flame lashed from it; it went from north to south, like a sword being swung by a soldier, consuming every gun and every last gunner in it's path. Screams of anguish pierced the noise.

The tongue of flame had reached the gun caissons. They went up, one after another as the ammunition inside exploded. The force of the detonations knocked James to the ground, where he bounced up and down from the artificial earthquake. He yelled in discomfort and terror.

It went on for about a half minute or so. By then, he had no breath to scream further. He took a deep breath and looked up.

His heart almost stopped. The dragon wasn't more than fifty feet away from him, and both it's eyes were staring down at him. He didn't know why he wasn't dead yet. Perhaps it had a mild curiosity about him.

He saw it grin again. That outraged him, enough so that he lost most of his fear. He took his pistol in hand. "Do your worst!" he yelled at it, emptying his rounds into it's face.

It was in vain; the bullets bounced off it's scales. The dragon roared with anger. It opened it's mouth again.

A spear came out the sky and struck it on the nose; unlike his bullets, it went a little inside the nostril, into an unarmored piece of flesh.

The dragon roared in rage and pain, turning from him to look at whoever had been brave enough to attack it head-on. James turned to see a thestral from the Lunar Guard unslinging a crossbow from it's back. Others already had them out, and were blazing away with everything they had. Unfortunately, none of them had the luck of their comrade, and their bolts either bounced off the beast's scales or else stuck there without having penetrated far enough to do damage.

The dragon let loose a stream of fire. Those closest were caught, and fell to the ground, screaming, flaming torches. Others continued to fire, without any noticeable signs of fear.

Where on earth is the rest of 3rd Corps' artillery!?!

He got an answer as he heard the thunder of artillery as a battery behind him, sheltered in the trees, opened fire. A shell burst several feet from the monster's head. Other shells burst around it. Still another flew into it's face and exploded.

The Martian inside the hood was slain, splashed to the four winds,

And the body, nothing now but an intricate device of metal, went whirling to destruction.*

It was a good description for what happened. The head was almost completely gone, severed from the body after the hit, and what was left twitched almost as if in outraged fury for several moments before finally coming to the conclusion that it was, in fact, dead. Then it too fell, collapsing to the ground with a thud, the finality of which left the battlefield in a precious and most strange silence.

James could hardly believe it. The beast had been seconds away from claiming his life, one moment an unstoppable colossus of the battlefield; the next, a shattered ruin, lost to the elements and wind, with only God knowing just where the spirit that had so fiercely inhabited it gone.

He lay there, staring at the body for a time that he never bothered to measure. It may well have been a few minutes, but it might have been half an hour, too.

"General, are you alright?"

The voice came as if from far away. He turned around to see Barrel and Nightshade standing just behind him.

He picked himself off and dusted himself off. "I lived," he said, which was more than could be said for an unfortunate many.

Nightshade nodded to the dragon's massive corpse. "Heard that monster from where we were trying to get some rest, and hurried on over here."

James bowed his head for a second in respect. "My personal thanks. The big lizard was going serve me up like lobster on a silver platter."

"Won't get the chance now," Barrel said, with a disdainful look at the monster that had caused so much devastation. Clicking his tongue unhappily, he asked, "How many casualties do you think we've suffered?"

"I don't even want to know." James knew he had to address his fellow general's concern, though. "Several hundred at the very least, I know that. Maybe a thousand or more. A full battery of artillery and the ammo with it..." He looked upon the beast that had done what the entire Griffon army could not in this battle; to halt his army in it's tracks.

"Well, one way or another, he's going to have a long time to think about what he's done," Nightshade said, spitting on the ground.

"Back to business, capt... I mean Colonel. We must regain the ground the dragon took from us, before the Griffons capitalize on our misfortune."

"Right."

"My boys will go after the Griffons right away, sir," Barrel said.

"I'm counting on you, general."

"Sir." Barrel paused. "Sir, do you think this... beast, was hired out by the Griffons, like all those mercenaries were?"

James hadn't thought much about that. His chief concern had been not to be turned into a human torch, and to save as many of his troops as he could from the inferno. "I'm not sure, but I doubt this was a coincidence. If you can, capture a Griffon officer, in particular a high ranking one; he might have information about this."

"Sir!" Barrel saluted, then shouted, "Forward, you lugs! You heard him; let's take back our country from the invaders!" He got a rousing cheer as Equestrian soldiers came out of the treeline and followed him.

As he watched them go, James looked back at the dragon. Why didn't you stay out of this? Everything would have been better for us and you. Now you have nothing. He sighed. I need to get a lid on my own anger issues, or I'll end up like that one day.

Author's Note

* Note, lines from Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds musical. Good stuff, the original.

Chapter 43; Onwards, to victory

James groaned inside his tent. He patted Kiki, but it didn't reduce his sense of foreboding, nor did it stop the fact that a major battle had taken place. The kitten meowed gratefully, then started to wash herself as he put a hand to his head and leaned back in his chair.

Crystal Clear poked his head in. "General, I've got the reports." After looking at his commander's depressed slouch, he said, "I think this is a bad time..."

"No, come back," James said as the pegasus began to withdraw. "I need to hear this. And tell whoever's with you to come in as well."

Crystal, thus encouraged, entered the tent and came to a stop a few feet away, followed by Rolling Barrel and Nightshade. He pulled out a scroll and began reading it. "Enemy is in full retreat. Their right flank fell back, barely breaking through our net, while the left was able to hold out for some time, but inevitably had to break off contact as well. Griffon army has suffered very heavy casualties, between fifteen to twenty thousand. Our losses about ten thousand, with about four thousand... no longer among the living, and most of the rest wounded, with hundreds of severe burns. Ammunition low for small arms, artillery expending over 75% of it's ordinance over the course of the day. Over five thousand prisoners taken during the battle."

James nodded. "Anything else?"

"Yes sir. Numerous guns have to be replaced, and well over a thousand personnel weapons have to be replaced as well, with most of those needing replacement damaged or destroyed by the dragon's fire, along with... along with their owners," the white pegasus finished, visibly shaking over what had happened. "That demon killed a lot of good soldiers, and in worse ways than I could count. Being shot is one thing, but being fried to death... it's torture, nothing else but."

"I don't think I'll be able to escape the images that have been scorched into my brain," James agreed. "I might be able to push them aside for the time being." He took a peppermint stick, and another one for each of his three officers, out of his desk and offered one to each of them. Putting his own in his mouth, he waited a moment for the flavor to reach his tongue before continuing. "What, in you profession view, is the state of the army?"

"That depends on what you're asking," Barrel replied. "Do you want the physical state of the army, the state of morale, or something else altogether?"

"I want to hear about all of it."

Barrel sucked on the stick for a minute before swinging it to the left side of his mouth. "I'd say morale is low in Second and Third Corps, considering the incident with the dragon, though First and Fourth are in good shape. Crystal said it himself a couple minutes ago, we're low on munitions, and it would be nice if adequate miscellaneous supplies were reaching us." He crunched part of the stick and swallowed it. "Wouldn't say no to more tanks and better firearms, if we could get them."

"I have an update on that," James said, reaching once more into his drawer and pulling out a scrap of paper. "Blue Fur is currently working on the new rifle, but found a few flaws in it, primary among them being the fact that it would take an embarrassing amount of time to reload once all eight cylinders were empty. As for the heavy armor, so far, only two dozen have been completed, with five more on the way and seven more on the block. Another type of new rifle is being tested, but as with it's predecessor, it is merely a prototype for now, and cannot be expected to enter service for a while."

"That's stupid," Barrel said crossly. "How long does it take an industrial nation to fully commit to a war?"

"it takes some time, General," James said, sighing. "Especially for a country that has seen no war for over a thousand years."

"Surely there are precedents," Barrel argued.

"In my world, yes. Here... the ancient Pegasi were a warrior race, but back then, industry didn't exist, not as it does today; private artisans and blacksmiths would have produced the necessary tools for war. And they mostly waged relatively short campaigns, which left the need for logistics low, certainly much lower than is the case currently."

"Hmmm," Barrel hummed discontentedly.

"The way is see it, there's two choices," Nightshade said. "Either sit here waiting on logistics, or move ahead with what little we have left."

"That's what it looks like to me as well," Crystal said, not looking very happy. "Hope you have a third suggestion, General."

"Nope, I'm just as dry for ideas as the rest of you," James said, chewing up a piece of peppermint. "We could have it flown in, but ground convoys carry more." He let out an angry sigh. "Either we plow ahead with a couple rounds per trooper, or we sit here and give 'em back the initiative."

"If we don't get what we need, we'll lose the initiative anyhow," Crystal said, and his compatriots nodded.

James took the stick from his mouth and laid it on a napkin on his desk. "Best I can figure is, we got forward as far as we can, without bringing on a major engagement. And, if we're poorly off, you have to consider how badly off they'll be, after getting beaten so badly." He took out a pen and a piece of paper. "I think we all agree on the nature of the dragon's appearance?"

"Yep," Crystal said. "He was definitely hired by the Griffons to fight against us. The dragon inflicted no Griffon casualties as far as we were able to discern, and, from evidence given us by prisoners, he was hired out by the king in exchange for a large sum of gems and gold."

"Swine!" Barrel hissed, at the same moment Nightshade growled, "Scum!"

"Well, he won't get the chance to fight a second round against us as is," James commented, which made the others nod. "If you can, Crystal Clear, spread the word; if it spreads to the right people, if you know what I mean, this sort of thing will be less likely to occur in the future."

"I'll get right on it, sir." The pegasus Guard saluted and left the tent.

"You two," James said, looking at his other two subordinates, "Get this army collected and rolling. Don't stray into a battle, but beyond that advance as far as you can."

"Right." The two soldiers saluted and followed Crystal out of the tent.

James turned back toward his map. It was true the enemy army was in much worse shape than his own, but it wasn't destroyed, either. It could pull back and fight another two or three battles of similar ferocity. Then again, he outnumbered them, allowing for more flexibility.

Their goal was obvious at the moment; hold him out of Trottingham. The forts on the western side of the city had taken the least amount of damage during the fighting there. The enemy would use them against their original builders. Not that they had fallen back that far yet; they would still try to hold him away from there as long as they could. But between here and Trottingham there was precious little ground that offered such a great defensive opportunity. Quite frankly, he wasn't eager to besiege the city. When the Griffons had encircled the town, soldiers and civilians had shared the rationed food. He seriously doubted the enemy would do the same. In starving them out, he would be starving the remaining population even more. A long siege just wasn't an option.

"I guess I could bust out the tanks when we get there," he said to himself. It was an idea, but for now, he had just the vehicles that had been finished. He wasn't confident that a couple dozen tanks could crush the enemy. And, although some units were training with the tanks to properly provide support and be supported, that training wasn't anywhere near finished.

He sighed. It wasn't going to be an easy task, but it had to be done. And, once they'd retaken the city, maybe, just maybe, the enemy would be inclined to accept peace.

And then we can all go home. Oh God, please let it be so. Although he kept his feelings on the matter to himself, he was feeling very homesick. Oh yes, most of his army could say the same, but the difference was that their loved ones were here, in this world; he was separated from his family farther than any number of miles he could count.

"Just have to finish the job," he told himself. It was easier said than done, and he knew it quite well.

Crystal Clear calmly finished writing the general's next requests and filed them, placing them neatly in a pile. He chuckled inwardly. Most pegasi thought of such a job as a waste of their talents. He ruffled his wings. It had been his special talent since foalhood to organize things nicely and make sure they stayed that way. He just wasn't inclined toward cloud-busting or to racing, as many of his old friends were. He liked having wings, to be sure, but he wasn't about to become a square peg in a round hole. He frowned slightly. Many drill sergeants for the Guard hadn't thought that way, and had tried to ram him down a round hole regardless. They'd been deeply disappointed, and derided him all the more for it.

Some of the training had stuck; he knew what to do with a spear, and how to fly in formation. But he wasn't a great combat soldier. He'd failed a tactics course, and barely passed the weapons course. Eventually, some higher being must have smiled on him, for he was taken out of the rank and file and sent to file reports for higher officers.

It might well have been their way of punishing him as a failure. He laughed out loud a little. If that had been their intent, they'd miscalculated. He'd not only survived, but thrived as an aide-de-camp, so much that he had the actual rank of Lieutenant, if not the authority of one.

He'd earned a nickname for himself in the last fight; Saddleback Samuel. He had no idea where the latter part of the name came in; both first letters of his name were Cs. He knew the name wasn't all that derogatory; many of the soldiers in the army would have been glad to have carried the general into the battle.

Crystal took a canteen of water from nearby and took a drink from it. He'd seen General Lavigne look surprised more than once when the flat bottom of his hard, unfeeling hoof carried something away with it. From all he'd heard, the general came from a place where magic didn't exist, which would have ordinarily meant that this action would have broken the laws of physics.

If that's true, then I wouldn't be able to fly where he's from, because my wings wouldn't do much for me without magic; too small to hold me up on their own. That was a thought to frighten any pegasus, even him. Although he wasn't the most athletic or extraneous flyer, the idea of being robbed of his ability to fly was shocking.

He set the canteen down, noticing a few remaining, shallow holes in his hoof as he did so, reminders of the nails of the horseshoes he'd worn during his training. Those would disappear in time.

Crystal yawned. Today hadn't been too busy, and he was hoping he could take it easy for the rest of the day. All the important work for the day had been done, and so far it didn't seem like more would be coming.

He stepped out of the tent, and heard a voice from the other, more prominent (though not much more prominent) tent nearby.

Well I am a modern haro; m'name is Patty Kearney

Not long ago, I landed from the bogs of sweet Killarney

I used to cry out 'Soap fat!' because that was my trade, sir,

'Till I listed for a soljer boy in Corcoran's brigade, sir

Crystal ran into the general's tent, worried that an infiltrator might have penetrated the camp. All he saw was the general sitting with his legs up on the desk and holding his gun and a rag.

"Yes, Lieutenant? Is there something wrong?" James Lavigne asked, in a voice totally different from the one he'd been using seconds earlier.

"Not so far as I can see, sir," Crystal answered. "I heard someone singing in here and was worried someone unauthorized had gained access to your quarters."

His commander laughed. "Not likely. 'Case you didn't figure it out yet, that was me."

"I know that now, sir. I didn't know using other voices was one of your talents."

"It's not all that hard to do, when you hear other accents and get used to them. I was just singing to myself while taking care of my own sidearm; can't have it malfunction when I go to use it, now can I?"

"No sir. Every weapon should function when you go to use it."

"You were about to tuck in, I suppose," James went on.

"Yes, sir; I've been working all day filing things that needed filing. Unless you order otherwise, sir."

"No, no. Go ahead. I just want you ready to go when we set out tomorrow morning."

"I will be." Crystal looked at the map before correcting himself. "So it's true we're moving out, sir?"

"Oh my, yes. We need to take back as much ground as we can, now, before they reorganize and pull another damn trick on us."

"I thought it was the plan that we would be moving in three days," the pony continued.

"Did you? I don't remember stating anything to happen three days hence. I said I wanted this army to move as soon as possible, and from my brigade commanders, I hear it's possible to begin tomorrow, after breakfast."

"I suppose it's possible, sir. But I've seen the reports, and your requests for more necessary goods; I don't think we can afford to fight as big a battle as yesterday."

"I don't intend to. But what I know is, after a defeat like that, the enemy is in much worse condition. I doubt they'd be foolish enough to challenge us. We might not be ready to fight at the top of our game, but if the enemy fights, we can press our advantage, because we have more soldiers and more munitions, however little, than they. It'll be when we reach Trottingham that we'll really have to worry."

"I hope we can take it quickly, sir."

"I hope so, Lieutenant, for the sake of those still living there; we know how the enemy treats occupied land, and how willing they would be to take all the food and stuff themselves while ponies starve."

Crystal felt and rise of fury in his heart. "We'll crush them. I don't see how they'll have a kingdom after we're done with them."

"Neither do I, Crystal, but I cannot see the future. And, considering the surprises we've had to suffer, I'd say that caution, though not discretion, is sometimes the better part of valor."

"Understood, sir."

"Good." James went back to performing maintenance on his gun, all the while humming the song he'd been singing out loud a few minutes before.

Curiosity piqued Crystal's interest. It sounded like a war song, but not one he'd heard before. "Sir, what exactly is that little number called?"

James stopped cleaning the barrel of his gun and looked up. "It's called, 'We'll fight for Uncle Sam,' first penned in 1862, unless I'm mistaken. Basically, an Irish man immigrates to the United States and fights in the Civil War, with the song being sung in an Irish accent."

"Did you say Irish, sir?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because that is a word used to describe an accent common to sailors and many inhabitants of Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom."

James didn't say anything for a few seconds. "An interesting coincidence," he said at last. "Both our worlds have an affinity for many such things."

"You say that like you know how it came about."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Best for you to check on a librarian called Twilight Sparkle when this damned war is over."

"The Bearer of the Element of Magic? I doubt she'd have the time to discuss the issue. She's busy solving a problem every other day, or so I've heard."

James shook his head. "I know she would have the time, if you could spare it." He set the gun down. "I need your services as aide-de-camp now, though. Before long, you'll be going back to work again, regardless of where we encamp."

Crystal saluted. "I will perform as my duty requires."

The General nodded. "That's all I require of you. And from every soldier in this army. As long as they fight their hardest, I believe we can win this war. Now, go get some rest. You've worked hard today."

"Thank you, sir." Crystal turned to go, then paused. "How long do you think this mess will go on?"

"Depends on what you mean. If you mean the logistics mess, then I think it will be resolved fairly soon. If you mean the war as a whole..."

"The war as a whole, sir."

James sighed out of his nose. "I cannot predict that with any accuracy. If we destroy their army within the next couple of engagements, it could be over in a matter of weeks. If that doesn't happen, it might drag on for a year or more."

Crystal didn't let the pang of horror spill out onto his face, but his shiver gave away his feelings. "A year, sir!? I thought the... mess would have convince any sane ruler to make peace by now! How could even the king think of dragging it on that long, if not longer?"

"As a monarch, and apparently as a would-be conqueror, he doesn't like the thought of losing his crown, which would happen if he just let us march wherever we wanted. But he also doesn't want to lose prestige, or face, or whatever you would call it, with his own people. And so, he'll drag it on as long as he can, hoping to find a way to beat us."

"That's a terrible thought to have, sir."

"Nonetheless, it is one to take into consideration." Saluting as well, the General added, "Dismissed, Lieutenant."

Crystal returned the salute, and exited the tent. He couldn't help but feel a little relieved. While he'd wanted to know the answer, the knowledge his commander had just imparted on him was shocking. He decided not to bother asking questions for a while.

James stood before the Griffon prisoner, who didn't look very happy at being caught but ever so much happier than being slain on the field. "What unit are you from?" he asked.

"I'm from the Highwind Clan," the warrior - who was wearing a kilt and had a Celtic accent - replied. "Under good ole clan chief Graywing. What of it?"

"Sir," the gray-coated Guard standing nearby spoke up. "Any units from those lands don't refer to themselves as being in units, but as under a certain leader."

James nodded in gratitude. "What were your orders, then?"

"Gen'ral Grayfeather issues the orders; all I do is march an' fight where they tell me to."

James nodded again, this time in understanding. "How well have you been supplied?"

"Not as well as I wish we were. 'Least ole Graywing don't take more'n his own soldiers in food an' comfort. We dinna have enough to throw you rascals back, though, tha's fer sure." The Griffon looked unhappy. "Great gods in the sky, how did you come up with all this? An' so soon?"

James felt inclined to tell the prisoner that his gods were nonexistent, but he held his tongue. "Never mind," he said instead. "Has there been any dissent in the ranks, or in the officer corps, over the leadership and goals of the army?"

"What?" the prisoner said, looking confused.

"Is anyone saying things against the officers, general, or king?"

"Oh. That." Now it was the prisoner's turn to nod. "Aye. There are rumors - rumor, yae mind - tha the king wants ta tighten control, but then there's always been that sort o' talk. And aye, some o' the officers 'ave been complainin' 'bout where the army is supposed ta go, wha et's s'pposed to be doin'. Brigadiers Barlow an' Raymond 'ave quarreled with ol' Grayfeather, they have, not that they've come better off, mind."

"I believe that," James replied. "Alright," he said, turning to the Guards, "take him on back."

"Right, General. Come on," the Guard said to the Griffon.

As they turned to go, James couldn't resist a small jibe. "Donald, where's your trousers?"

The Griffon turned his head. "M'name's not Donald, and I've neva worn no trousers in tha first place!"

James watched them go, laughing inside his mind all the while.

"I hope we got what we wanted out of him," Barrel said, chewing on a piece of grass.

"I think we have, more or less. I doubt there was anything else of significance he could have told us."

"I suppose we should thank our lucky stars we got anything," Nightshade said. General, if I might make a suggestion?"

"Hmm? You may."

"I request that I take my Lunar Guards and utilize our abilities to their fullest extent."

"I'm afraid I don't fully follow," James replied, folding his arms.

"I'd like to take them on a major raiding expedition, to hit the enemy where it hurts him the most."

James thought about it, but held his pose. "May I ask why you haven't made this suggestion before now?"

"Because before the battle we fought a few days ago, we needed almost every soldier we had concentrated. From what I hear now, though, is our allies will be sending us troops soon, and the enemy's numbers diminished a lot more than ours did in the last fight. We can afford to split our numbers a bit right now, and as you now, we perform better at night than in the light of day."

James scratched his chin (I need a shave, he thought). "I know that for a fact. But I was thinking of saving the Lunar Guard for an offensive begun at night, to serve as a spearhead."

"That's a decent idea," Nightshade agreed. "But I think our talents are best used in nighttime raiding; we can be ghosts just as good as we can be soldiers. I want them to have nightmares about us, then wake up and realize those nightmares are real."

"You don't think small when it come to a physiological assault, do you?" James asked rhetorically. After a few seconds of thinking, he went on, "It'll be hard to keep in touch with you, if I go and let you do this. And I need competent commanders now more than ever."

"I knew you wouldn't want to listen," Nightshade said dispiritedly.

"I am listening, blast it," James replied, a little more heatedly than he'd intended; the thestral's remark hit him all the more because it felt unfairly untrue, and he hadn't wanted to hurt the Night Guard's feelings. "How about this; I'll keep you here, but we'll send most of your party" - he meant the Lunar Guard - "to do what you requested. I'll have a unicorn go along with 'em, to send us the information about their activities and location. I'm sorry if you wanted to go, but I need you personally here; you're too good an officer to lose."

Nightshade thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "If that's what you want, sir, it'll be done. I guess I'm lucky I was able to get a concession out of you, even if it wasn't completely the one I wanted."

"I need as many good officers as I can keep with me, seeing as the war's claimed so many of them already."

Nightshade jerked.

"Oh...! I didn't mean it like that," James said, remembering that the thestral had lost his brother at Trottingham. "But what I said was true, and if I take one in the head myself, I need one of you to take up the job for me, and I can't easily coordinate my forces if they are so far out of contact with one another, even with the system I agreed to set up."

"You getting one between the eyes?" Barrel said, shaking his head. "I never thought that could happen, not to a commander."

"I know better. I thought I was invincible once." James shook his own head. "That thought process is long gone; the Changelings beat it out of me, and I'm lucky to still be here after that mess, let alone this one. That I'm still here is something out of my control all together, and that goes for every one of us in this camp, and that includes the prisoners."

"It gets you thinking, doesn't it?" Nightshade looked east. "How long will this horror go on?"

"As long as it takes to win, Colonel," James answered. "It will not end tomorrow, or next week, and I know it didn't end yesterday."

"That would be funny if only it were funny, if you know what I mean."

"I think I do. For now, let's continue to ready ourselves for the march."

Crystal Clear landed next to him. "The reports you wanted, sir."

"Excellent, thank you." James scrolled down the first sheet of paper. "Good. Allied troops will be arriving to complement our army within a few days."

"Who?"

"You're not an owl, so I don't know why you're talking like one," James answered Nightshade, which got a quick laugh out of everyone. "A three-thousand strong brigade of Saddle Arabians and a 'large" - I'm unsure what kind of number is meant here - force of Zebras."

"Those barbarians?" Barrel said quietly.

"Don't let them hear you say that," James said, and he wasn't the only one to do so. "They haven't been idle, you know," he continued. "Griffon trade down there has been almost completely cut off, and Saddle Arabian navies have blockaded the major Griffon ports."

"What, without a declaration of war?" Crystal asked.

"This says they consider the act of a blockade as a declaration of their intentions, as well as the fact that they've boarded two ships and temporarily interned the crews until the civilians among them can be exchanged."

"I'd hate to have that kind of luck. That of the civilian crews, I mean."

"It strikes me as humiliating, even though they will certainly be released, assuming they do nothing to cause trouble." James folded up the papers and put them in his pocket. "For now, let's just get moving."

"Yes sir!"

After all the tents and equipment had been packed and breakfast eaten, the army set off after dawn. The morning air was cool and refreshing. The sky was clear of clouds and sun shone brightly on the earth.

The clip-clop of hooves resounded as the column moved. Dust arose from wagon wheels and hoof-falls.

All the while, Bright Star continued to march. His own regiment was one of those leading the march. Whenever he looked back, it was amazing to see how far the bluecoats stretched down the road; he couldn't see the end of the column, that was for sure.

"How far do you think we're going today?" Firebolt asked.

"I don't know," Bright answered. "We've gone a couple miles already, I know that, and I know that won't satisfy the sergeants, that's for sure."

"Yeah," his friend agreed. "I think our legs will be on fire by the time we're through. I really wish we could just take the railroad up to the city."

"I doubt that's a good idea. They'd have done something to stop that."

"Can't argue with that. The Griffons might be enemies, but they aren't stupid, however much I wish they were."

They continued marching for a while longer in silence. Then Bright asked, "How do you think it's going to go? With Zebra and Saddle Arabians at our side, I mean?"

"How should I know?" Firebolt looked surprised he'd asked. "I heard there's one in Ponyville, and she never stops rhyming. What do you want to bet they're all like that?"

"Er..." Bright was fine with a little rhyming here and there, but having hundreds doing it at once...

"I'm not too sure about the Saddle boys either. They wear pretty tack, sure, but that won't help them in a fight. They're better merchants than soldiers, if you ask me."

"Maybe they'll be more than meets the eye," Bright argued. "I don't know much about them, but I know they like big, curved swords."

"And how much will that help them against guns?" Firebolt countered.

"Why would you ask me that? A lot of the battles we've fought came down to swords and spears in the end."

"I remember. Those are the worst." Firebolt shook a little. "It's... different than just shooting at somepony, and being shot at. I'm still in danger, but swords... if one of those gets you... One of my most recurring nightmares has me being beheaded by a Minotaur with an axe big as a house."

"I don't have any quite as bad, but I have them, and they're a lot worse than the ones I had before the war." Bright took a moment to remember his life before going into the Ponyville training camp. "Life was a lot easier then. You never thought things could get as bad as they do."

"That's one assumption I won't be going by ever again. The least I can hope for is that there isn't another big mess like this in my lifetime, and that my foals, if I ever have any, don't suffer anything like this."

"Me too," Bright agreed.

James was currently sitting on a limber for one of the breech-loading cannons his army had. Basking in the morning light, he wrote in his journal as the caisson was hauled over the road.

One of these days, he wrote, we'll have a proper logistics system set up that will allow us to fight the war with utmost efficiency. One of these days, though, is the problem. We should have already had it set up. As I am only one man, I haven't been able to keep watch on everything all the time, and, unfortunately, Equestria was largely unprepared for the conflict against the Griffons when the war began; through battles against the Changeling horde, we got weapons that worked well enough to turn them on the big birds trying to flood into the - what is this? A kingdom? A Principality? It's not a republic, I know that. Anyway, the quartermasters need a good... reshuffling. Actually, read that as firing about 75% of them and replacing them with ponies who are at least willing to give us what we need, even if less skilled. I don't like firing people, but it's got to be done. I'm sick and tired of them complaining that we're taking too much from them; that's what they're there for, to give us what we need when we need it, and to deliver it on time. Any less is inexcusable and intolerable.

He set down the pen for a moment to give his hand a rest. Needless to say, he'd been pretty steamed lately at the stinginess of the army's quartermasters. He thought something obscenely rude about them, then shook his head and mentally apologized. Swearing at them, in mind or in person, wasn't likely to bring about the results he needed.

He saw a blue pegasus flying toward him in the distance. He waited until the pony, a blue one with a uniform and kepi of darker blue, hovered next to the caisson, saluting as he kept up with the slow pace. "General, sir. I've got a letter for you," he said as he reached a hard, dark blue hoof into one of his saddlebags and pulled out a scroll.

"My thanks." James took it from him. "Who's it from?"

"I don't know. The pony I who gave it to me said it was urgent you get it, though."

"Well, I guess I need to get down to reading it, then. Have a good one, soldier."

"Thank you, sir." The pegasus saluted and flew off.

James pulled off the seal and opened the letter. His eyebrows rose when he saw who'd penned it. "The Princess," he said quietly to himself. He hadn't gotten anything from her since the court-martial.

Dear James,

I'm relieved to hear of your recent victory over the Griffon Army. Although I had no doubt in your abilities, this is a war we're talking about, not a tea party, however much I wish it were. I admit, I am disturbed over the presence of a dragon in the Griffon ranks. I doubt even my powers, without the Elements of Harmony, could easily defeat one, not without cost. I have spoken to a few dragon elders, however, and they assure me that most dragons have no interest (and I mean no interest; my requests for aid were rebuffed, however politely) in the conflict.

I'm sure you're wondering why Shining Armor hasn't rejoined you as of yet. He is currently taking care of something of great importance to the far north, along with Princess Cadence. I apologize, but he will not be joining you, not yet, not until a crisis up there has been resolved.

Assuming this letter does not get captured, I believe it is a fair idea to give you a heads up on my plans to end this war. I need you to take Trottingham. As soon as possible, before the remaining populace suffers too badly. Afterwards, with our army clearly dominant over that of the enemy, I intend to ask the Griffon leaders for peace, with the conditions being a return to the state things were before the conflict began. I know this will be a surprise to you, and probably an unpleasant one, assuming, and I think I am right, that you would advise defeating the enemy utterly. My goal is to end the dying as soon as I can. You don't know how painful it is for me to walk down the streets of Canterlot and hear or see a family grieving. If that goal means letting go of a higher prize, then so be it. If they refuse, and they may, you have my permission to fight and win the war however you see fit, as long as your methods do not break common law and decency (which I again assume exists even in war; it is too bad a disaster not to have rules). Until or unless that happens, though I will try negotiation. Perhaps the Griffons are as tired of the war as we are, and any peace short of our losing anything is acceptable to me.

I have, over your previous objection to the matter, decided to have units of mares trained and brought into the army. While we hold a numerical advantage as it is, more soldiers are unlikely to hurt, and I think can only help our situation. I hope you can forgive me for overruling you here. I will be enforcing this change with strict rules, so that what you fear on that score will not come to pass.

You'll be pleased to know that you are being promoted, as well as your chief subordinates. You are now a Major General, if my knowledge of ranks is correct. Rolling Barrel is given the same rank, though he is still under your command, and Nightshade is now A Brigadier. Other promotions will be going through as necessary and as deserved; our surviving officers, to a large extent, deserve recognition for their deeds.

I hope you will be able to keep in touch. I must thank you for the effort you put for a nation which isn't yours to begin with.

With love, and with hope for the future,

Princess Celestia, Diarch of Equestria

P.S. Luna has been looking through a book that she claims is yours, but she seems reluctant to discuss the matter further, almost as though she is afraid or shy of me learning something. Can I ask you to please shed some light on the subject?

James lowered the paper. "Well, a promotion sounds good." In truth, it didn't change what he was doing, or going to be doing. He recognized at the back of his mind that Celestia hadn't promised he'd be paid for what he was doing. He acknowledged that fact, then discarded it, as with all the other times it had shown up.

More importantly, Celestia wanted to end the war before it was really won, the way Bush had in 1991, and how Jefferson had ended the war with Tripoli in the early 1800s. If Equestria was outnumbered and in a position where a draw was as good as a win, he would agree with that sentiment completely. His instinct in the current setup was to go on hitting the Griffons until they gave up, or, if they really were that persistent, until they had nothing left to fight with. He could sympathize for the reasons she had for ending it early; although it wasn't anywhere near the most costly war by human standards, it was a very bloody and violent conflict by Equestrian ones. As a peaceful ruler of a peaceful race and country, he could understand why Celestia felt the way that she did. That didn't mean he agreed with it by any means.

"Aw, nuts." It was the politest response to that he could come up with.

As for the units of mares joining... well, Celestia had told him that day was coming. Now it was here. He felt the chivalrous gentleman within him become troubled even so. He couldn't do anything to change Celestia's mind; she was female herself, and she was an absolute monarch, thought - falsely, as he'd said and she'd admitted - to be divine by those she ruled. And what the hell, the numbers would come in handy, so he decided to drop the matter entirely.

The last thing bothering him was the fact that Celestia still wasn't telling him what the hell Shining Armor was doing to the "far north," as the Princess had put it. What was up there to warrant such attention and secrecy?

She trusts you, blast it, so quit worrying about it. She has good reason, whatever they are.

He wasn't going to let the idea of status quo antebellum go so easily, though. He tore a page out of the back of his journal and began to write.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I acknowledge your previous letter, and I am pleased to hear that you are well. That aside, however, I must one thing you listed in it, that being of the decision to end the war before it is truly won. I can list several examples in my head of similar efforts to pull of such a peace. I must tell you, rarely did the side making the offer have reason to rejoice afterward, even if it saved the further effusion of blood at the present moment. Later on, the other side would break the peace and continue being basidiots troublemakers, often worse than they'd been prior. I understand your wish to end the war, but the truth is that a war can rarely be won unless the opposing power is beaten, and beaten to the point where it can cause no further trouble in the immediate future (immediate future meaning a period between several decades to a century). While this does mean further loss in the immediate, it saves countless lives later on. While I have no power to reverse your decision, I must protest it in recognition of the valiant deeds of the soldiers of this army, your army, and in the knowledge that such a peace would betray their suffering and loss in this war and transfer it to their sons, and to their sons. I mean no disrespect, but I feel I cannot allow this to go unopposed.

Happy you are well. I hope we can tie this war up quickly.

With concern and with hope for you and for the future,

James Lavigne, Major General, Army of Northeastern Equestria.

P.S. To answer your concerns over your sister, I allowed her to borrow a book - no ordinary book, mind you - entailing the faith of my fathers. A book detailing my religion, in open terms. If you confront her on the issue again, show her my letter, or the part explaining, anyway.

He looked it over twice. It looked okay. Hopefully, it could change Celestia's mind. Then again, he was talking about a pony who had lived well over a thousand years. Maybe he was the one who was wrong. He'd been wrong before, and the army had cause to regret his under-estimation of the enemy's means by which to wage war.

You're also contesting a monarch with absolute powers, warned a voice in his head.

So what? he countered. I haven't been ruled by an earthly monarch, and I don't intend to bend the knee before one now, even if she is a friend. I am not a subject, I am a citizen. If some people don't like that... tough.

He folded it up and put it in his pocket; he'd mail it later, after the camp had been set up in the evening. For now, his army was on the march. And if he had his way, it wouldn't stop until it had taken Gryphos and won the war.

"Please, God, may it be so," he breathed. As he got comfortable, he felt the urge to sing.

"Oh, we'll rally round the flag, boys,

Rally once again,

Shouting the Battle cry of Freedom!

We will rally from the hillside,

We'll gather from the plain,

Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom!*

Author's Note

I've noticed some Pro-Confederate readers have taken offense to some of what I have written in this story. I apologize for any offense caused, for that was not my intention. I admit, some Confederate songs - particularly To Arms in Dixie - I actually like. However, I am a Yankee to the core, and will remain one to the end of my days. All I ask is peace between supporters of the two sides of the argument, and for others to allow me to be me.

*Note; Lyrics from Matthew Sabatella and the Rumbling String Band

Irish song "We'll Fight for Uncle Sam" by David Kincaid

Chapter 44; Trottingham again

James spied on the western-most fortress defending Trottingham with a spyglass. He wasn't able to see much, not at this distance; even a spyglass or a set of binoculars had trouble seeing precise details. But he could see enough, and that he could see the city was the most important factor.

It had taken a couple weeks to get here. The enemy had skirmished with his units, but logistics and supply were the main concerns holding him back. That and a couple bridges the enemy had deliberately destroyed to slow him down.

"Wasn't sure I'd ever get to see this place again," a gray unicorn drawled nearby.

"Comin' back feels a lot better than runnin' from it," his friend agreed.

James agreed with the sentiment, but didn't voice his agreement. It had been a little while since the city had been captured by Griffon forces. He wasn't sure how the inhabitants were faring, but he wouldn't have bet the Griffons were doing their part to keep them fed. An occupying army felt it had the right to requisition whatever it needed, and sometimes whatever it wanted, whether it was significant to military operations or not. Refuse, and if they didn't murder you, they'd imprison you and throw away the key, then beat you when you objected. He had little doubt the townsfolk would be more than pleased for him to reclaim their city.

A lengthy siege would only exacerbate the problem. It would be difficult - no, practically impossible - to just bypass it. For one thing, that would mean his supply lines would become intolerably long. For another, the enemy would be free to assault him from the rear, or, worse, slip by him and attack Equestria directly.

No, the town had to be taken, and taken with haste when he made his move.

Which was why he hadn't initiated the battle yet. He didn't have a good idea of how to do it. He had the bigger army, one that had won a decent victory, but he hadn't won a decisive victory. The enemy still had an army, with a decent number of soldiers left. They had some inexperienced replacements coming in, which wouldn't do much to replace the veteran troops who were dead, but would stabilize their lines. The Griffon clans were bringing in what they could to win the conflict, via a defense intended to wear him down.

"Fuck them," he muttered under his breath. With armies under similar doctrines - that of lining up, banging away at the opposing line and hoping for the best - and with his own force having too much of it's own made up of greenhorns as well, he wished he weren't in a hurry to accomplish his task. Even the heavy mortars he had couldn't kill all the defenders in a fort; what would happen was that the walls would come down, and enough of the garrison would survive to fight anyway. That was how artillery worked; it would kill some enemies, but usually didn't come close to killing them all, not unless they were firing over open sights and shooting canister at an onrushing enemy. He didn't like to admit it, but the mortars were also maddeningly inaccurate. Their power was in the explosive force they carried, as well as the impact of such a blast. They weren't weapons designed for pinpoint accuracy.

He realized he'd been thinking in terms of what he couldn't do, not what he could do. He took a moment to think about that. What he did have was a force larger than that of the enemy, as well as decent commanders and high morale. His army had won recently, though not without loss, and he had more artillery than the enemy. On top of that, new weapons, such as the tank Blue Fur was working on, were being developed. Ponies could run faster on the ground, and he had a lot of pegasi in case the foe took to the air. He doubted that would happen; it was much easier to fight on the ground with your legs braced against solid earth than to fight with nothing but air to back you up. The Army of Northeastern Equestria was, though not undefeated, very well trained and was fairly solid. They didn't rely on a mixed force, and ponies from different towns and provinces got on much better than Griffons from different clans did.

He thought about the situation again. Blue fur's team had come out with a small number of tanks - sixteen completed machines as of now, with more on the way. If he couldn't siege the town and he couldn't go around it, he might be able to go through it, or at least through it's defenses.

The problems with that idea were obvious, though; he wasn't sure whether he had enough of the metallic monsters to make a breakthrough. It was true they would be a surprise; he expected he'd be able to do something if he used them now. But there were ways to counter tanks aside from gunfire; a massive ditch would be the best idea, and mines fashioned from artillery shells wouldn't be a bad notion, either. The enemy hadn't faced tanks before, and it wasn't as if they didn't have the notion. From what he'd heard, the idea of tanks was widespread. But ideas and reality were often different critters altogether. Most of the vehicles the science fiction writers wrote about and pictured were mostly Da Vinci -style beasts - they looked like the top of a tower in Age of Empires 2 with wheels attached and cannons sticking out on all sides. Not all that intimidating; all the gunners and crew needed to shoot and operate the machinery would be falling over one another in one of those, and they wouldn't be able to help it.

But even so, countering tanks wasn't as difficult as others made it out to be. The Germans, for the most part, hadn't lost their heads when the British had deployed their first iron monsters. Instead, they'd thrown grenades, dug ditches, used flamethrowers, done everything they could to stop them. Considering they'd held out until 1918, that spoke volumes about how tough a defending force could be. Of course, the generalship in that war had been pretty poor for the Allies, especially where new concepts were concerned.

"Damn it, there goes the history man inside me," he said, trying to drag himself back to the current situation. Every so often, history would sneak into his way of thought and distract him from what needed to be done.

James did have the hindsight history provided to go upon. "If I concentrate my armor, I might be able to accomplish something with it," he said, thinking out loud. Against an army from World War I, they might not suffice against the numbers available to the enemy. Against an army such as the one the Griffons had, unless they pulled another dragon out from under them, they would be good enough. Here, sixteen tanks might well be sufficient, especially against an enemy who wasn't ready for them. They weren't very fast - a galloping pony could easily outrun one, even with a rider or saddlebags - but they had something their predecessors in WWI didn't; an energy shield, one that could be renewed if necessary.

"I just might do it," he whispered.

He heard the hooves of a pony touch down behind him. He turned to see a light-gray pegasus facing him. He needed a couple seconds to realize it was Derpy. "I've got mail for you, General," she said, her eyes cutely unfocused.

He abandoned the minor irritation he'd felt when she'd interrupted his thoughts; he couldn't keep it up looking at that face. "Yes?"

"Mail from Canterlot." She looked inside her saddlebags, found it, pulled it out with her mouth, and offered it to him. "It got rerouted to Ponyville by mistake, so they asked me to take it here."

"For which I thank you," he answered, and took it. "At least I get to see you again before this mess heats up again."

She blushed, and her eyes focused slightly for a second before resuming their normal. "You wouldn't happen to have any muffins, would you? It's been a long journey, and I'm hungry."

He thrust a thumb toward the direction where the camp was being set up. "I don't know about muffins, but I can tell you they've got food back at camp."

"Okay. Thanks!"

As she flew away, he unfurled the letter. Sure enough, it was a reply to his reply;

Dear James,

I understand your point of view on the matter of the peace I would have us make. You've made a hard case, one you may well consider watertight. Nonetheless, I must regrettably set aside your advice. My goal isn't to make the Griffons suffer, or to demand territory or much, if any, compensation; it is to preserve our independence, and establish our sovereignty. As long as we are not the ones yielding to them, I am willing to take a good peace. I will be asking them for peace once Trottingham is ours once again. That is my final answer. Should they refuse, and with their losses they should not, you have the wherewithal to do what you consider necessary under the law to end the conflict as you see fit.

I doubt you'll take this well, but I believe it is for the good of Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom. Please do not try to flood me with letters asking that I rescind my decision, for I will not.

On a more positive note, your reinforcements will be arriving within days. Expect them shortly.

Hoping you are well,

Princess Celestia.

James read the whole thing twice. "Damn." Why the hell would you appoint me as your military advisor if you don't listen to me when I make a suggestion!?

For a moment, he felt like tearing the letter to pieces, or else burning it in a campfire tonight. Or maybe, he felt like doing both.

After a few seconds, he just put it in his left pocket and resolved to forget about it. That far he allowed his anger to be satisfied. He had a job to do; win. He had to do that, and do it soon.

James brushed aside the tent door and entered. Inside, Blue Fur was making some sort of calculation with various instruments.

He noticed the commander walking in. "Morning, old chap," he said as James came to a stop in front of him.

"Good morning." James brushed aside military formality here as he had the door, though he found it mildly amusing to be referred to as "old". "The tanks we have now," he said, without any further ado. "Are they fully functional?"

"Oh my, yes," Blue Fur answered, not bothering to look up. "The vehicles already built a fully operational, with full loads of ammunition and with crews either trained or in the process of training."

"And the fuel?"

"Enough for all of them to drive a few dozen miles simultaneously."

"Good. I'll need them ready for operation two days from now."

That got the blue pony's attention; he finally looked from what he was doing and stared into James' face. "So soon?"

"Yes. So soon."

"But we haven't the number of vehicles you wanted, and for that matter a number of the newer crews are having difficulty with their machines."

"Consider this, though," James said. "We need to take the town, and quickly. If we don't the townsfolk starve. What's worse is that they're on our side, even if occupied by the enemy. Furthermore, I don't want them" - he meaning the enemy - "to pull another surprise out their ass while we wait to starve them out. You're a brilliant engineer. The enemy have more, and I'd be a fool to think they aren't fumbling with their own technology to come up with something new. They've proven they're willing to buy mercenaries to shore up their own numbers. I need to beat them before they bring more of these resources to bear, or, as I said, come up with something new to unpleasantly surprise us."

"We've just started on this line of warfare," Blue Fur said sternly. "There may be kinks in the line, as it were."

"The enemy will have a bigger kink to worry about when we deploy these. They don't have the notion of how to deal with them, and I know a few ideas they might come up with to stop them."

"Are you certain you wish to go down this route, sir? I still say it's better to wait."

"And I'm telling you we can't afford to wait." James sighed. "I know it's risky, and I'm sorry to be overriding you here, but I need this town taken, as quick as possible."

"Well..." Blue Fur looked at a blueprint on the opposite tent wall. "I suppose the armor is useless if it isn't ultimately used. And, considering my family went through had times when I was a colt, my heart goes out to those poor souls in Trottingham."

"Alright. In any case..."

"General? You in here?" asked a voice outside.

"Yes," he answered. "What is it?"

"There's a Griffon what wants to meet us under a white flag," came the drawl from the pony outside.

"Hmm?" That caught his attention. "I'll be right there." To Blue Fur he said, "Thanks for your hard work, my friend."

"My pleasure, sir, even if I have misgivings. Hopefully, they will prove misplaced."

"Yeah, that's my hope too," he answered, before pushing aside the tent door and leaving.

James had his misgiving about the meeting even before sighting the Griffon officer. Seeing what the enemy soldier was wearing made him despair of a successful settlement, or whatever the enemy were offering. The Griffon was dressed in a pompous military outfit with several medals that he was sure were undeserved. The set even included a fake monocle, which the officer was wearing on his right eye.

Son of a bitch is probably one of those noble officers who thinks everyone under him is dirt, he thought viciously. he frowned even more than he was; if not for one of those kinds of idiots on his side, Equestria might well have won, or been close to winning, the war by now. Well, the Prince didn't have the joy of it afterwards, or at least, not for too long. With luck this guy would go home empty-handed (or was that empty-clawed?).

The look the officer gave him further fueled his rage; it was like he was beneath the Griffon's notice, as were the ponies with him.

I'll wipe that fucking look off your damned face.

He wondered why the enemy hadn't sent someone more practical, for this guy obviously wasn't going to be practical; he was going to act like a spoiled brat. A proper veteran of the war wouldn't be holding a victorious army in contempt. Not all, not even close to all, Griffons were evil, or anything like it. Many of them, in his opinion, just happened to be on the wrong side of the war.

Damn it, you're already angry, and he hasn't spoken a word. He held his hand over his heart. God help me.

"So you've finally decided to show up, have you?" the Griffon opened. "You must have had urgent business," he added with a nasty smile.

James pointed a finger at him. "Don't you dare suggest I or any of the soldiers under my command have done anything so filthy. What are you here for?"

"Don't point those dirty sausages at me," the Griffon snapped. "You obviously have no idea who I am."

"All I see..." James made a massive, conscious effort to control himself. It wasn't easy. "What do you want?"

"I've been sent by General Grayfeather of the Griffon Army to speak to you and your rabble," the enemy officer said.

James did his best to ignore the insult, but under his skin he felt something burning. "And?"

"He has instructed me to say that you would be well advised to cease your advance on the city of Feathersburg."

James was caught by surprise. "The city of what? We are near Trottingham."

"That name no longer has any meaning," sneered the Griffon. "It is now Feathersburg, and will remain so."

"Trottingham," James snapped. "I'll refer to the city by no other name. And I fail to see how you could stop us."

"His Majesty can, and so we will find a way." The Griffon sounded sure of that. "And, despite your current advantage, the town will suffer greatly should you continue moving forward."

James growled, and he wasn't the only one. "What do you mean?" he demanded in a very dangerous voice.

The Griffon obviously didn't know the anger he was generating; that, or he assumed it was no threat to him. His smile was both very amused and very cruel-looking. "Why? Because if you don't, the ponies in the city will not see so much as a slice of bread nor a leaf from a twig to eat, for we will forbid they have any rations whatsoever in order to feed our army."

"You son of a bitch," James said, his voice still low, but the anger unmistakable.

"You have your nerve to speak to me so, peasant," the Griffon said, leering at him. "It's your fault for resisting His Majesty's army-"

James took a step forward as his self-control evaporated, but General Barrel got there before he did. Whap! Barrel's hoof struck the Griffon so hard that it knocked him over backwards.

Clearly the Griffon hadn't expected the blow; he must have thought that diplomatic immunity would protect him. Well, there were lessons that were learned everyday, one being that if you insulted someone enough, he might not care about the rules any more. He got up; the monocle, or what was left of it - it had shattered - still hung from a string. The enemy officer's expression was full of anger, but for the first time showed fear. "How... how dare you ... do this?"

"Next time, remember who you're talking to, and how they might feel," Barrel warned.

The Griffon looked at him as though he'd spoken gibberish. James found his surprise comical; most Griffons weren't like this, or not as bad, but those in charge often were. If this isn't a condemnation of nobility everywhere, I'd be surprised. Then again, this bastard was being arrogant.

"I shall report to the General that you have refused, and reveal your depravity in allowing your own people to suffer," the officer said.

James didn't know whether to laugh or strangle him. God, there goes my anger again. Once more, he made a massive effort to control himself. "Go ahead and proclaim it to the world. You're the ones inflicting that suffering."

"In punishment for fighting us."

"Get out of here," James said, as several ponies stared daggers at the officer. "Get out of here while your head is still relatively intact. And let your general know that we're coming for him, and for the noble brats like yourself."

"Are you threatening me, sir?"

"If I tell you that the sun will rise tomorrow, is it a threat, or a prediction based on something likely to occur?" James asked. "Now I suggest you take your leave, before you piss off my soldiers beyond the breaking point."

The Griffon took a step back, gauging the situation for the first time. Finally, he turned and walked away. However, before he was out of sight, he turned around and shouted, "You will pay for this indignity!"

"We're sorry we had to listen to you in the first place!" a private yelled back.

That visibly rocked the Griffon, who thereafter did not turn back again.

James couldn't help but wonder if he'd inadvertently set back Celestia's plan for peace. If he had, he hadn't done so on purpose. The officer was just so disconnected from reality, and from common sense in general, that he had been barely able to control his emotions. Once more, he was very happy that the United States had never bothered playing around with nobility.

"Well, that was a fruitless meeting," he said.

"Sorry for losing my temper," Barrel apologized.

"I have a hard time blaming you, General, but please refrain from doing something like that again."

"I'll try, but if they throw another beast like that guy again, I'd advise you keep me away from him."

"I'll keep it in mind."

"Wish I'd nailed a horseshoe to that hoof; I'd have really gotten the point across that way."

"And you might have killed him. You're probably lucky that you didn't as it is." James sighed. "I need anger management too, but where do we find that in the army?"

"Sir, about what he said..." Barrel's head turned to face him fully, so that both eyes bore on James. "I'd hate to find out they weren't bluffing."

"That's why we're deploying our tanks earlier than we planned."

"We're deploying them now?"

"Not quite. I want to bring the army to decent positions before attacking. I want to break them utterly."

"Oh, good. Where do you want us to deploy them?"

"I'm... not sure yet. I'm still making plans. In fact, if you would join me tonight with the other commanders, I would be most pleased."

"Count me as being there, sir."

"Good." James took a look at the distant fortifications. They would be tough, but they had to be overcome.

"Nice to see ya back 'ere, sir," Silver Lining said as James sat down on one of the logs at the campfire.

"Good to be back," James said, getting comfortable. Silver Shield, Bright Star, White Knight, and Star Blaze were all there, seated around the fire. It felt good to be back among the old crowd.

"Glad you're still alive," Shield said, nodding to him. "Even glad the bat pony got through this." Star Blaze gave him a look, but without heat, as though they had been teasing one another like this for a time. They probably had.

"What's up?" Knight asked.

James took a stick that was on the ground and began to fiddle with it. "A couple days from now, we're going to begin a major assault, with the intent to liberate the city before the inhabitants suffer too much."

"Heard one their big shots went and threatened to starve out the ponies there," Star Blaze remarked, anger in his voice.

"He did. I heard him. I had the displeasure of having to meet with him." James started using the stick to scribble on the ground.

"They aren't all bad," Bright noted. "I've had a couple good chats with prisoners. I'll agree that too many of them are arrogant, though. They wouldn't have started the war if they weren't."

Shield chewed on a piece of grass. "Can't really wish for something like that, not now. All we can do is finish the war they started." He sighed. "Even fighting against the Changelings didn't feel like this. This feels like two nations just grinding soldiers down, spitting them out, and then sending more to do the same. It isn't the glorious conflict a lot of novels, and, lately, the papers have been printing."

"Most wars are like that," James answered. "Too many soldiers on both sides of the Civil War thought it would be... I don't even know, like a glorified bar brawl, I guess. They even referred to battle as 'seeing the elephant'. Well, they found out things weren't as they expected pretty quick."

"So did we," Bright said, sticking a marshmallow on the end of a stick and holding it out over the fire. "I learned much too soon."

"You did," James agreed. "But the bug was about spit me, so I can't say I'm not grateful for still being alive, and for counting you, all of you, as my friends."

"Speaking of which, what's going on with the captured Changeling, the one you like?" Shield asked.

James grunted. He didn't like being prodded. He also knew he could pull rank and refuse to answer. He could... but he wouldn't. "He's doing well. He's still being asked questions, but he's cooperating, and he's being allowed some freedoms. Seeing as he hasn't caused any trouble for over half a year, I'd say he deserves it."

Now it was Shield's turn to grunt disagreeably. However, he said nothing. Star Blaze stretched. "Sorry," he said to them. "Just doesn't feel as natural to laze off at night as it does to the rest of you."

"As opposed to lazing off during the day?" Shield asked. Star Blaze sent him another glare.

"Hopefully this whole mess ends quickly," Bright said. "I just want to go home. And my sister signed up for the military; I don't want to have her put in danger."

"She'll be disappointed," Silver noted.

"Too bad. If she isn't killed or wounded, I'll be happy, even if she's not." Bright pulled back the marshmallow, tested it with his muzzle, then chomped on and swallowed it.

"Canna say I'd be ana diff'rent." the silver-coated pegasus answered. "Course, me own sibs are busy with dockwork an' sailin', so I doubt the recruiters would be able ta get their hooves on 'em."

"My folks are all fact'ry workas," Knight added. "An' they're good. Can't replace somepony dat's good, not dat easy. Bosses won't like it, and at least most of dem ain't all dat bad."

"My family have always been Guards," Shield spoke up. "Bet that tells you what chances they have on that score." He made a noise halfway between a snarl and a heavy sigh. "I've already lost my brother. I don't want anypony else going through that, if I could do so. After the war, hopefully all I have to do is just protect the palace, and with luck that's all my descendants will have to do." He gave a nod to James. "I hope your plan works, sir, whatever it is."

"I believe it will. I won't give you any details, in case, and my God prevent it, that any of you are captured between then and now."

"Can't blame you," Star Blaze said. "I think we've all heard of pickets and sentries disappearing. It can happen to anypony." Then, looking at Shield, added, "Well, almost anypony." Shield gave him a look no more or less hard than Star had given him earlier.

A meow at his feet made James look down. Kiki was currently rubbing her head up against his leg. He scooped her up in his arms and held her, patting her all the while.

Shield snorted in amusement. "Little thing liked to weave in and out of my legs. I wound up tripping at least three times while you were gone, just because she did that." He scratched his chin with his hoof. "I couldn't hate her, though, She's just another victim of the war, after all."

A contented purr was the only answer to that.

"I can only hope we end off as well as she has," James answered after a period of silence. No one argued with him.

Chapter 45; Panzerkrieg

Chapter 45; Panzerkrieg

"Are you sure you want to do this, sir?" One of the crew asked.

"Pretty sure," Rolling Barrel answered. Two days after the meeting with the Griffon officer, he was about to lead the first real combat vehicles any nation on this world had known into major combat.

He looked eastward. Fort Bland (so named during the previous siege because of the "bland" food the soldiers had received there) stood not all that far away.

Wonder what you'd think if you could see me now, dad, he thought, scratching his chin with a hoof. He'd begun the war as a farmer, and was now a general leading troops in combat. He'd seen military technology switch from ancient to what he considered modern in the relative blink of an eye - the eye of time, it felt like. Spears to crossbows to guns, with better guns on the way, muzzle-loading cannons to breech-loaders, heavy siege guns that could blow entire companies to pieces, and cannons designed to shred anything in the air. It was a lot to take in, and he was surprised he'd been able to do so.

"Activating shield," the unicorn in the group said, flipping a switch and feeding the machine with magic. The shield that formed around the tank was more than transparent enough to see through, so visual aiming and driving wouldn't be a problem.

The farmer-turned-soldier took a deep breath. The plan was to break through the defenses and head straight for the city. Scouts had said they believed the enemy troops were all, or at least mostly, on the rim of the line of trenches and forts that surrounded the town. If the Equestrian Army could break through their line here and take the city, those defenses would be fatally compromised; squeezed between the army without and the army within, the only choices were to give up or get out. In the meantime, food could be brought into the city, relieving it of it's starvation issue.

Barrel didn't think the enemy could stop him, short of concentrating all the artillery they had on him. Along with the tanks, a sizable number of regulars and Guards were tagging along, ready to sweep out any resistance. It wasn't as if he was short of artillery either. Of course, this was the first time any nation had deployed proper, powered, armored vehicles in combat. There might well be unforeseen pitfalls ahead. Those could be a problem. Nevertheless, it was also true that combat was never without risks. Here, the commanding general was taking a risk, and the rewards if it came off right could be well worth it.

"Sir, will the ordinary soldiers be able to keep up with us?" the gunner asked.

"They should; it's not like this thing can go twenty miles an hour. Heck, you could pitch it off a thousand-foot tall cliff, and it wouldn't go that fast. It can't even go ten miles an hour as is. Anyone unable to keep up... well, they need more exercise, as far as I'm concerned.

"Hopefully the skirmish formation will work."

"I'm not too sure of that myself." Barrel scratched his chin; his hard hoof caught on a scab. "With more accurate weapons, it might be a very good idea, but we have, for the most part, smoothbore weapons being used by the ground pounders. The whole idea of a line of battle was to maximize your damage against the enemy by concentrating at their own line; that way, at least some of the bullets, or bolts if you were using crossbows, would be sure to hit. This is something we haven't tested yet. We've had skirmish formations before, but not for a main battle line." He looked out of the viewport again. "Then again, against fortifications and entrenchments, a line of battle is just asking for trouble. The Griffons learned that at Fort Nightshade, and we learned it, to a lesser extent, in the battle a week or so ago."

"Please don't remind me, sir; I was in the south, where our advance, for lack of a better word, foundered."

"Sorry." Barrel looked at a clock just below the viewport. "Should be starting just about-"

Before he could finish, a massive, all-powerful roar broke out from the west. A few seconds later, explosions dotted the fort and the breastworks around it. The rising sun illuminated the defenders, who ran around like ants in a kicked nest.

"Are we setting out now, sir?" the driver asked.

"Not yet, Lucky. I have orders to wait a few minutes."

"You want us to load up?" the loader asked.

"Yes, that would be prudent. High explosive; canister isn't going to be effective until we get really close, and any of them that stuck around to fight would be fools in any case."

"Sir, I've been in the artillery since the start of the war; I think I know a little bit about the ordinance I'm supposed to use."

"Sorry," Barrel repeated. "But make sure it's high explosive."

"Got it, sir."

The next several minutes went by as shell after shell blasted the enemy positions. Barrel was surprised by the weight of the barrage before remembering that the general had wanted most of the army's artillery focused on the point where they were going to break through. The enemy probably didn't appreciate the idea. Well, if they hadn't invaded, they wouldn't have had to worry about getting blown to pieces; that was how he saw it, even if part of him was sorry for the necessity. Blind anger and aggression didn't come easily for ponies, which might have been one reason why the enemy had underestimated them. Their loss.

"Get ready to move out," he ordered as the time wound down.

"Sir!"

There was a very loud rumble as the engine started. Barrel could feel himself shaking slightly in his seat from the vibration.

"Ready any time, sir!"

"Alright; bring us up to five miles an hour, Lucky."

"You got it, boss." That wasn't a military grade response, but, coming from a farm himself, Barrel couldn't have cared less.

The tank jerked to life, slowly rumbling out of it's parking position. After a few seconds, the other tank commanders gave their own crews the order to follow.

The bombardment continued as the tanks rolled forward. Barrel found himself tapping is hoof against the console; whatever one could say about these things, they weren't speed demons. He made a mental note to have something done about that.

The vehicle went over a bump, jerking him out of his thoughts. "How are doing?"

"Fine so far, sir."

"Good. Para, you ready to load another round once Gunny fires the first?"

"Ready and waiting, sir."

"Outstanding."

Ahead, a few Griffon pickets, startled, raised their pieces to their shoulders and fired. The rounds simply bounced off the shield. "Fire at will, Gunny."

"Firing!" The cannon fired. A blossom of orange flash and black smoke enveloped a group of the enemy, sending them flying in all directions. The survivors, understandably upset that they could do nothing of consequence to halt the advance, fell back in disarray. No, that wasn't right; they were fleeing for their lives. Other tanks had fired on them, and a few still were; along with the casualties inflicted, it helped to spread the panic.

Their main line's coming up, he reminded himself. These were only pickets, sentries. Even regular soldiers could rout them with relative ease. They have much heavier armament ahead.

Brigadier General Graywing, of the Highwind Clan, stood on the parapets of Fort Bland. An enchanting name, to say the least, he thought, amused.

"A good mornin' to ya, Clan Leader," a soldier called to him.

"Aye, so it is," the general replied. He wasn't one for sticking to military detail and discipline. His clan fought when he told it to, and fought hard. That as enough. "I hope your family is doing well."

"'Bout as well as could be, given the damn war an' all." The soldier who was speaking hammered on a piece of his matchlock that was out of position. "Me family is doin' well, but... well..."

"May I ask what is the matter?"

"Well... they've found it a mite hard to get as much food as they're used to, sir."

"Because of the blockade, I presume."

"Aye; those wretched Saddle Arabian galleys in our harbors an' blockin' 'em. Not a ship can get in or out, they can't."

Graywing felt something shiver down inside. It was true that the kingdom could produce some food on it's own, but without imports and exports, it would indeed be harder for families to find food. Saddle Arabia's declaration of war had come to the army's attention two days ago; the actual declaration itself had been issued five days prior. With the obvious conclusion that it had been fore-planned. The immediate blockade had been one instance of proof of that last.

"Not like they're starvin' yet, or anywhere close, just a few things like dates an' spices an' condiments that are becomin' a little rare, and the storekeepers have been raising prices for 'em."

"The navy ought to take care of the problem," the general responded. In truth, he wasn't so sure if it would.

The soldier proceeded to make the reason for that lack of confidence quite clear. "We're mountain folk, and so don't have a blasted fleet of our own, otherwise I'd say the thing was in the bag."

"Quite right; having to rely on other clans for our salvation makes me feel uncomfortable." The other Griffon nodded. "I'm also not happy with the King as of now. A lot of Griffons coming back from there tell me that Gryphos feels off from it's usual, happy self."

"The war, sir; too many of our own comin' home in body bags."

"...No. It's something else.... like an air of secrecy. The King has made a lot of unpopular decisions since the start of the... what was that?" Graywing asked, as a massive roar came from the west.

"Get down, Clan Leader; we've heard that not more'n a week before," the other Griffon said, setting down his piece and looking fear toward the west.

Before Graywing had the chance to respond. a series of explosions blasted the fort; the general fell on his side, stunned by the artificial earthquake. He heard someone close by screaming, and needed a minute to realize that it was he doing it. More shells struck, increasing in number, and he decided he didn't care about letting loose his fear for the world to hear. What was the point, when no one could hear him anyway from the explosions?

Time was difficult to tell when one was in fear of his life. Graywing was finally able to raise his head. He checked the watch he carried; only fifteen minutes had passed since the beginning of the bombardment. It had, of course, felt much longer.

"You still here, sir?" called a major from inside the fort.

"Yes, I am." He pulled himself upright. "What's the damage?"

"Not sure yet, sir; I shall endeavor to find out."

"Do so." With a salute, the subordinate officer left.

The general picked up a sound rising from the west. it was growing stronger by the minute.

"What on earth...?"

He looked to the west. Not much could be easily discerned; smoke rose from demolished barricades and wrecked limbers. All of a sudden, he heard the panicked shots of pickets from that direction. He could tell they were panicked; the ragged set of shots fired gave the distinction to him quite readily.

"Sound the call to arms; we're under attack!"

He turned to watch as the garrison scramble - some faster than others - to gather their arms and stand by to repulse the assault.

Graywing squinted. There appeared to be....

A pair of pickets ran toward the fort, dragging the limp body of a comrade between them. "Ready your arms! The ponies are coming!"

"So we've guessed!" Graywing called back. "Come up here and tell me what you've seen!"

He waved a claw to two other soldiers nearby, who nodded and flew down to relieve the pickets of their injured friend, who Graywing was glad to see was still breathing. One of the pickets, panting a little, flew up to meet him. He was worn out; he must have spent most of his energy trying to help carry away the wounded soldier.

"Sir... ponies have... some kind of new weapon," the picket gasped.

"Take a moment to rest, son. That's it. Now, then, tell me, what kind of weapon?"

"Some kind of... metal beast... on giant wheels... they have cannons... Our guns did nothing, shield... Ohhhh!" The picket fell.

"Someone, get me some water!" Graywing ordered. "These scouts need water, at once!" A couple more Griffons came and offered the exhausted pickets some water. A medic came and took a look at the one who had been speaking to the general.

"Sir, they need rest," the medic said. "They're suffering from exhaustion caused by extreme stress put on their wings in a short stretch of time, and whatever they've seen, it's put them into a condition where it would be unwise to force them to do battle."

"Alright, take them to your tent, then."

"Obliged." Calling to two other soldiers, the medic had them lift the soldier and carry him away.

Graywing heard the rumble grow louder. By now, the smoke was clearing a bit. He reached into a pocket on his coat and pulled out a spyglass.

Although still obscured by the remaining smoke, he was able to see more or less clearly. "What in the name of all the gods?" he shouted, greatly surprised at the machine that was slowly chugging toward the fort. It carried an obvious weapon, a cannon, in front, and was propelled by a thin set of catapillars, which were supported by large wheels. It was a little rounded on the sides, and the armor on it sloped a little on the front.

"Hold your fire!" he ordered. "Wait until they get closer before engaging with firearms and crossbows. Artillery, load your pieces and await my orders before firing!"

Griffon soldiers scrambled to do as he ordered.

More of the machines were now visible. They continued, as though oblivious to the situation and confusing they were causing, toward the fort. One of them sported a big Equestrian flag, displaying the Royal Sisters orbiting each other. Graywing nodded grimly. Do they intend to just plow through the fort and continue, as though we are nothing? he wondered.

They weren't going to get through without a fight; of that, he was certain. "Cannons, fire!"

The guns in the fort, as well as those the either side, opened fire. Some were breech-loaders, but the majority were the old muzzle-loaders.

Quite a few shots flew over or to one side or the other of the strange, new machines. Several hit; the general whooped as he saw one of the beasts take a direct hit. Then, looking once more through his spyglass, he saw to his great dismay that the machine was completely untouched; a pink shield flared around the vehicle, then faded as the blast diminished.

None of his crews had successfully destroyed or even hit one of the metal monster, which, having received fire, returned it with a vengeance. Their guns blasted the artillery that had been targeting them; a muzzle-loader took a direct hit, disintegrating the piece and sending the gun part of it flying. It struck two members of the crew, killing them instantly from the impact.

The surviving breech-loaders fired again. This time, the had a little more success; the shields of one machine, pummeled by multiple shells, collapsed. However, the battery targeting it had lost a couple of guns already, and were not able to follow up on their success.

Still, the fact that the shields were collapsible gave Graywing an idea. "All soldiers, concentrate fire on the machine just to the left - our left - of the one with the flag. Bring down it's shield!"

Soldiers - hundreds of them - heard him and started shooting. Dozens of rounds struck the shield of the machine he'd indicated. The shield reverberated with the number of rounds and bolts striking it; it looked for a moment as though it had some form of pox, as smaller, pink flare ups occurred all over it. However, as the soldiers began to reload, however, the shield was still up. The vehicles fired again. More artillery crews were struck down, and cannons broke and fell as blast blew off wheels and pieces of carriages. A limber full of shells exploded, taking three Griffons with it in the blast.

By now, Equestrian soldiers, lopping along with the machines, were close enough to fire their own weapons. Most of their shots struck the trenches and fort walls, but here and there they hit a Griffon. Screams of pain broke out.

The machine Graywing had ordered his soldiers to concentrate on rumbled on, as though absolutely confident that nothing could stop it. It aimed it's gun at the fort.

A shell struck the shield. The pink force field flickered, then died. One of the surviving muzzle-loaders took it's chance and fired. The shell ripped into the monster and exploded somewhere inside. Less than a second later, the stored fuel and ammunition blew up; fire and smoke poured through tears in the armor; what appeared to be the vehicle's cockpit tore off, flying into the air and landing some distance away.

Griffon soldiers cheered as the enemy machine blew up; the gunners who had scored the fatal hit cheered loudest of all. Before Graywing could tell them to quit the act and get back to the fight, five of the vehicles turned on the gun and fired almost simultaneously; the gun was obliterated, along with it's entire crew. The limber for the gun was hit and exploded, sending splinters and pieces of metal flying through the air, striking down several nearby Griffons. That took the heart out of the celebration.

"Clan Leader, most o' our guns've been blown ta pieces, sir," said a voice to hit right. Graywing recognized the soldier from earlier. "Don't see how can face these bleedin' cowards without 'em."

"All the same, we must try, for the honor and defense of our clan."

"Aye, the clan needs protectin'. Don' rightly know 'bout honor, but..." Another massive explosion interrupted him.

By now, most of the defenders' artillery outside of the fort had been silenced. The remaining crew that had a gun to fire were perhaps the wisest of the lot; instead of aiming for one of the metal beasts and undoubtedly bouncing their shot, they loaded canister and fired it into a group of Equestrian soldiers. They didn't live long after that; the vehicles blasted them almost immediately, but not before the canister balls had inflicted casualties.

"Can't bring the guns on the walls to bear on them, sir," one member of a nearby crew said.

"Can you handle it into a position where it can do so?"

"No, sir, and with all the lead they're throwing around, we'd-" A lead ball went through the gunner's head. He fell, without even a look of surprise on his face; death had been that quick.

Graywing watched as the vehicles poured shell after shell into the trenches outside the fort. The crews inside the fort were pulling their pieces away from the walls and down into the center of the fort, where they could be limbered and towed away. He hadn't given an order for it, but after a few seconds of thinking about it, he nodded. The artillery crews had been quicker than he had been.

"Deliver up your arms and surrender!" came a shout from above.

Graywing looked up. A pegasus with a loaded crossbow was hovering over the fort, aiming. Before Graywing could respond, the pony was tackled by a flying Griffon.

"You'll have to take my head before I surrender!" Graywing roared back. All the same, as he watched the fight, it was obvious that it was a losing battle; the iron monsters gave the ponies the advantage, even though the number of regular soldiers wasn't as many as it might have been otherwise.

"Retreat," he growled, disgusted. Then, as he realized no one had heard him, he yelled, "Retreat! Back to the city!"

Those who could hear him hastened to obey. The enemy had ripped the heart out of the defense by wrecking their artillery, and without any other way to disable or destroy the attacking machines, the regular Griffon forces were outmatched. Graywing knew they weren't cowards and would fight again, but for now, the tide of battle was against them. Graywing could not, in good conscience, force them to battle when they had no chance of winning.

We'll make a stand elsewhere, he promised himself. For now, we have to get out of here.

Barrel winced as he looked over at the tank that had been destroyed in the assault. Even without searching it, he knew the crew had died with their machine.

That could have been us.

He shook his head. It hadn't happened to him, and he had a duty to fulfill.

Most of the enemy had had enough. Griffon soldiers were drawing out of their trenches and falling back as fast as wings and legs could carry them. They weren't a disorderly mob; most still held their weapons. However, he could almost sense the panic they must have been feeling by this point. Pegasi began swarming the fort itself, taking shots at the defenders and fighting the enemy hoof-to-claw in a few places, their wings giving them easy access to the fort.

A pegasus not busy fighting on the walls swooped down and knocked on the tank's shield with his hoof. Barrel moved to the hatch, opened it, and stuck his head out.

"General, the enemy are in full retreat!"

"That's what I want to hear. Good work!" Both of them were shouting in order to overcome the nose raised by the tanks' engines. "Continue your pursuit; take as many as you can before they get out of reach!"

The pegasus saluted and flew off.

"Alright," Barrel said as he came back inside and closed the hatch. "Keep up the advance."

"Sir, we won't be able to keep up with the rest of our boys if they keep up that pace," Lucky Day, the driver, warned.

"I'm afraid it can't be helped, Lucky. Just get us as far as you can."

"Right."

Lucky took them forward. As they lumbered over a trench, Barrel was half-afraid that the ground would give away underneath them, or that the tank would get stuck. His fears proved unfounded, at least at the moment; the tank successfully rolled over the trench without any difficulties.

Behind the fort, there was little but open ground... and retreating Griffons, who were hauling away what they could, including cannons.

"Think you can score a hit here, Gunny?"

"Might be able to," the gunner answered back.

"Fire at will."

The cannon roared. A few seconds later, one of the retreating cannons was hit; the carriage collapsed and the gun crashed to the ground.

Barrel whooped. "That's giving it to 'em!" He doubted the enemy had anything that could stop him right here and now, nothing close.

James watched as the tanks rolled forward. He felt some satisfaction as the defenders were handily routed.

"Anything wrong, sir?" Crystal Clear asked.

"Nothing of the sort, Lieutenant." James lowered his binoculars. "In fact, quite the opposite. The assault is succeeding quite well so far."

"Mind if I have a look, sir?"

James gave him the binoculars. Again, he reflected how odd it looked for the bottom of the pony's hard, flat hoof to somehow latch onto the thing.

"...I can't find anything to contradict you, General," Crystal said as he lowered the binoculars after fifteen seconds or so. "Will the Fifth Brigade have to go in, considering the success of our frontal assault?"

"The Fifth and the rest of the division, as well as the one on the other side of the advance. We have to prevent the enemy from coming down on the flanks of Barrel's command. I say we go, now."

"As you wish, sir. If you need a lift, I can do that, too."

"I don't want you to feel encumbered."

"I don't feel put upon, sir."

"Alright, then." Crystal stood stock still as James got on his back. "Fifth Brigade, forward!"

The soldiers behind them began moving. There were thousands of them, four regiments worth, or about four thousand altogether, discounting battle losses and illness, which fortunately wasn't as much of an issue as it might have been; Equestrian technology, while critically behind military-wise, was more than up to the challenge of fighting disease.

However, after the surprise in the previous battle, James wasn't going to assume that nothing could stop him. He'd made that mistake twice. He wasn't going to do it again if he could remember the lesson. "Keep a good eye out, and be careful; your families, your people, and your country need you!"

He got a resounding cheer. He wasn't sure why; he'd just reminded them they might well die in the next while.

Crystal began to trot forward. "It doesn't seem to bother you that you have no weapon," James noted. "And I thought aides de camp were meant to remain-"

"I am a loyal member of the Royal Guard. I have a duty to their Majesties and to Equestria. I serve, as we're all doing. I'm not the best fighter, but another soldier in the ranks isn't the worst thing ever for an army. And as for weapons... I'm sure I can find something that's been discarded."

James grunted in reply. Crystal was all too right about that. Discarded weapons were all too easy to find on a battlefield. "I hope they don't mind that I'm riding on your back," he said, trying to change the subject. "Considering we're fighting for the continued freedom of Equestria, they mind see it as, well..."

"I understand. Believe me, though, I'm sure most of them understand that you need an extra pair of legs to get you around quickly. Equestria is a land where most of the population is used to supporting one another anyway; it's nothing all that out of the ordinary."

"...Alright, then." James quickly checked his revolver. It was properly loaded. Replacing it, he inspected his sword, drawing it a little out of it's scabbard. It looked sharp enough for the battle ahead.

"All the same, could use..." he muttered. "Crystal, is there a spear I could get with an edge more like a sword, rather than just a point meant for thrusting?"

"A sword-staff, you mean?"

"Yes, something like that."

"I'm not sure. You could ask one of the camp's smiths to forge something of that sort for you. I doubt you'll have the time in the next few hours to ask one of them, though."

"I know." He took a look at the ground up ahead. The enemy seemed to be mostly watching the fighting off to their left - James' right - and almost appeared to be unconcerned with an attack to their immediate front. Some - many, actually - were moving deliberately toward it.

"How long will the illusion last?" James asked quietly.

"The spell they're using to mask out approach is one that requires very great concentration, and it's the kind that's more difficult to hold the longer it moves away from it's caster."

"And as a pegasus you would know this how...?"

"I talked to the unicorns performing the spell. That's what they said."

"Ah. At least we're invisible to the enemy now. And what exactly prevents every unicorn in the army from performing it?"

"Most unicorns aren't as skilled with military magic as they were maybe two thousand years ago. I've read that they had even more powerful illusion spells than this. For now, we are indeed invisible, at least from the front. How long that will last..."

Griffon soldiers continued to rush toward the battle in the south. So far, the illusion was working...

Then, suddenly, a Griffon officer pointed at a soldier not far away. He began gesturing to his own troops, then suddenly stopped, claw still pointing at the Equestrian soldier, as though an entire army had made itself visible to him at once. James couldn't help an amused smirk.

By now, the brigade was well within range of the defenses. the Equestrians stopped, leveled their guns, and fired. A ripple of lead balls tore through the defenders. The majority slammed into the earthen ramparts, but some - a fair number - struck flesh.

"Charge!"

The ponies dropped their guns, drew swords and spears, and rushed the Griffons as fast as they could go.

The enemy, shocked by the sudden appearance of hundreds of it's foes and further demoralized by the burst of fire that force had leveled against it, were stunned by the surprise. Nonetheless, some of them recovered fast enough to use their own weapons. Scattered Griffons fired crossbows and matchlocks at the oncoming attackers, here and there, a scream of pain or a muffled thump marked the place where a soldier fell.

It wasn't anywhere near enough to stop the Equestrian army. James began to reach for his sword as Crystal jumped over the trench...

Out of nowhere the butt of a matchlock struck James in the chest as Crystal was in the air over the trench; he fell off backwards, his back protesting strongly as he slammed into the dirt there.

The Griffon who had hit him raised the matchlock for another clubbing blow. James did the only thing he could think off; finish unsheathing his sword, which successfully blocked the strike, but the Griffon continued to press against it, sensing weakness. James kicked him in the crotch, which made the enemy double up in pain and drop his own weapon.

Not my preferred way to fight, but a bit better than being dead. He stood up as quickly as he could, though the suddenness of being so rudely dismounted and slammed to the ground made his head swim.

A second Griffon thrust a spear at him, but it never reached it's target; a brown glow covered the spear and deflected it from it's intended course. Someone shouted; a spear of Equestrian make struck the Griffon in the chest. He fell with a loud scream.

James turned to see a brown-coated unicorn stallion there. "Thanks."

The soldier didn't seem to hear him. "Give up, Griffon bastards! You're outnumbered!"

"Urrrrrgh..." The Griffon James had kicked got up slowly.

James raised his sword so that the point of it was at the enemy soldier's neck. "I'd surrender, if I were you," he advised."

The enemy frowned, but his eyes quickly shifted back to the sword when James gave it a little shake to remind him he was there. "I suppose it would be prudent to surrender," he said, a very youthful British accent marking his voice.

Damn, this guy's a kid. "Good." James lowered his sword, and was gratified when the enemy soldier didn't try anything. He couldn't help but feel admiration that such a young foe had fought so well. "You'll at least have food, drink, and shelter as you sit out the war; the basic amenities." He looked around. On both sides of him, the fight was going well for the Equestrians. "Sergeant," he said to the unicorn, noting his rank by the stripes on his shoulder, "take all prisoners into custody. Make sure they receive whatever treatment for their wounds they need, and lead them to the area we're keeping prisoners for now."

"Sir. Alright, you lug, get moving."

"Yes sir." Now a prisoner, the enemy soldier didn't look ashamed to show he was a little afraid. "Thanks you for sparing me," he said to James.

"I wish I could spare every one. Sorry about the kick." James lifted himself up out of the trench and grabbed a matchlock from a fallen Griffon soldier. There was more fighting to be done, and it wasn't going to be won by just standing around exchanging pleasantries.

Grayfeather watched the fight from the tallest tower in Trottingham, near the center of the town. Fort Bland had fallen surprisingly fast. He could make out square-looking objects from here, as well as soldiers, both his own and his enemy's, but little else.

All he knew for certain was that Graywing's force was in retreat. He set down the spyglass angrily. "Can't I trust one of my subordinates to do something right?" he thundered.

"A messenger, sir," one of his aides told him.

"I can see him," the general said as the incoming Griffon came in and landed. "Well?"

"Sir, Graywing's compliments, and he says he is sorry he was unable to halt the enemy."

"I should damned well think so! What happened?"

"Big bombardment, then the Equestrian's hit us with these iron mechanical monsters of some sort. They have shields, magic, I'd say, that keeps out bullets and shells."

Grayfeather looked back at the battlefield, which was over a mile away. "Is that what those box things are?"

"I'd say so, yes, sir. They have cannons. Blasted us to pieces in minutes."

"Did you get any of them?"

"Might have got one, sir. I wasn't around to see much after Graywing gave the order to retreat." The Griffon looked tired, and stared through the commanding general. "Sir, he requests whatever artillery you can spare to stop them. He says he's under pressure."

"Under pressure indeed!" Grayfeather knew he'd misjudged Graywing, but unless he took charge now, a simple misjudge of character and courage wouldn't matter. He turned to the aide who had spoken before. "Do as he says. Bring forward what artillery we have."

"Might not be feasible, sir," the other aide said

"What!?"

The aide pointed. "I think they've begun another attack to the south and north of the fort, sir. I don't think we can spare those cannons."

Grayfeather picked up his spyglass again. "Indeed," he murmured unhappily. "Can't take cannons from the adjacent forces. That leaves the reserves. And our special unit."

"You mean...?"

"Yes, we'll be throwing them in. They know what the deal is. And if they don't get the job done... well, better than sacrificing our own, now, isn't it?"

"Will they fight, sir?"

"Oh, they'll do so, or else suffer our wrath, and their families will starve." He lowered the spyglass. "Our other reserves are armed with new weapons of their own. They might be able to turn the tide in any event."

"Sir." Grayfeather watched him leave, then went back to monitoring the fight.

Barrel watched as Griffon forces continued to fall back. Here and there, a unit that had gotten it's courage up would try to make a stand. Whenever they did, though, they regretted it. Their weapons were only of threat to common soldiers, and while a few Equestrians became casualties from each stand, the Griffons and their mercenaries suffered much more than their foes did. Without cannons, they couldn't hope to do much more than delay the ponies for more than a few minutes.

"Keep going! We've got them!" he shouted.

The other tank crews wouldn't be able to hear him, but they would follow his tank. As long as he kept moving forward, they would keep going as well.

More Griffons came forward, from the direction of the city itself. They stopped well out of matchlock range. Barrel felt some slight contempt. Were these troops so new that they didn't even know the range of their own weapons?

The next few seconds gave him his answer. The front rank of the enemy force went to their knees, and both lines fired... something. Beams flew from their weapons, beams of all sorts of colors, beams that hit several of his soldiers and sent them sprawling.

"What the...?"

The enemy didn't pause to reload, either; those guns that weren't guns kept shooting. His own troops, out of range, either went to ground or were hit and sent there.

Several beams hit the shield, but to his relief, none broke through. That was something in his favor, then.

"Stop!" he ordered. "Gunny, shell them!"

"Yes sir!"

A moment later, the gun roared. The shell flew just over the Griffons and blew up in the woods behind them. Barrel thumped his hoof against the tank in frustration, but the tank to their left succeeded where his own had not, landing a shell in the center of the line; Griffon solders went flying. The rest continued to fire their strange weapons.

"Forward!"

The tank began to move again. His own soldiers followed, but at a belly-to-the-ground crawl. The Griffon fire was intense; beams seemed to be coming every time a Griffon pulled the trigger.

Okay. They have a weapon can halt our soldiers. Let's see them stop these. "Full speed ahead, Lucky. If we have to run them over, we will."

"Uh, yes sir."

Barrel looked at the line ahead. There didn't seem to be any cannons, or any kind of artillery, among the enemy, so he didn't have to worry about that.

In the meantime, with fewer targets among the unprotected soldiers, the enemy had been increasing their fire against the tanks. He hadn't thought much of it, until the unicorn in his crew, a white one called Pale Lightning, shouted, "Sir, our shield is about to collapse!"

"What? Really?"

That question was answered as the shield suddenly broke.

"Give it more energy!"

"Yes sir!" A second later, there was a burst of light, and the shield reformed around the tank. A number of beams had hit the tank, but had failed to penetrate the armor. Lucky for us.

Other tanks on the move had kept up the fire. It wasn't anywhere close to accurate, but they inflicted casualties and messed up the enemy's line of battle, which benefitted the Equestrian army. Griffon soldiers fell, some thrown like dolls from the exploding shells, others falling straight to the ground. Their fire began to slacken off a bit as Griffons were killed or wounded. Barrel's own gunner continued to fire, blasting away at targets of opportunity.

Before long, the enemy began showing signs of wavering. Their troops were looking back and forth between their officers and the field, as if willing the commanders to order a retreat. In addition, some of the Equestrian soldiers had gotten close enough to fire their weapons. Although it wasn't much, it added to the damage being done by the tanks' cannons.

A Griffon officer waved his sword at the oncoming tanks. One of his subordinates said something to him, only to be shouted down. A moment later, the officer clutched his chest and fell over backward. Another officer, apparently wiser than the first, waved his sword as well, but in a gesture that was obviously commanding a retreat. By now, with Barrel's tanks now closing in, none of the Griffons was in any position- or disposition - to disobey. They withdrew orderly, but with a sense of growing panic.

Barrel's tanks followed them, crashing through the woods and continuing their forward momentum. He got a quick look at one of the discarded weapons the enemy had been using; it looked like a gun, save that the thing appeared to be made of wood, with the exception of a large crystal ball fastened on where the firelock mechanism would have been. It had a trigger, to be certain, but there was also a trigger guard, so a pony would be unable to use one, or at least, pegasi and earth ponies wouldn't be.

Just looking at it made him feel uneasy. Something was just wrong about it, but he couldn't put his hoof on it.

He put the matter out of his mind. The enemy were falling back before him, and the town would soon be in sight. He was concerned with possibly having to fight in a city; James had made it clear that tanks didn't do well there, as well as giving compelling reasons for why that was so. But with a massive hole torn in their lines, the army could easy outflank and capture the remaining defenders. If the Griffons didn't pull back, they would be in big trouble.

A different pegasus than the one before tapped the shield. Barrel again opened the hatch and stuck his head out to listen.

"Sir, there's a group of ponies coming toward us from the city."

"What? Are you sure? What about the Griffons?"

"Might have seen one or two of them with 'em. Can't say for what reason; they were pretty far off when I saw 'em."

"Could there have been an uprising in Trottingham?" Barrel asked himself. "Might be... but how foolish... In that case, we have to hurry..."

He'd been speaking under his breath; with the noise from the engine and smashed foliage, the pegasus had had no chance to hear him. The scout put a hoof next to his ear.

"It's nothing," Barrel said loudly. "Just get a better look, then come back."

The scout saluted, and flew away.

"Give me all you've got, Lucky, even if it breaks the engine; we have to reach the town, now!"

"Yes sir!"

Barrel felt the vehicle speed up. He could also hear the engine whine in protest. Well, that was too bad. If the townsponies had been foolish enough to launch an uprising, he had to get to the town before the Griffons could issue reprisals of any sort.

Grayfeather set down his spyglass and rubbed his temples. This fight was going poorly; even with their new weapons - called magical repeaters, crystal rods, and magic guns by the troops - they had been unable to halt the advance. Already, outlying forts and trenches were being outflanked.

"Order the forces to the north and south of the breach to withdraw. Have them meet up here and here," he added, pointing to two areas on the map just to the west of the city.

"Yes sir." An aide saluted and left.

"Are our new recruits entering the battle?"

"Yes sir. They should be making contact with the enemy at any time."

"Good. No need to waste our own blood if we don't have to." He sat down in a chair nearby, the sounds of distant battle reaching his ears. "We'll need every resource we have to hold them back."

Barrel could see the city by now; houses, shops, and other big buildings were now easy to see.

"I can see something coming at us, sir," the gunner shouted.

Barrel had seen it, too; a line of ponies, hundreds, quite possibly a thousand or so, in brown and green uniforms were marching toward him. He could see several Griffons with them, as well as a line of the birdlike enemy behind them. To his confusion, the avian aggressors didn't appear to be prisoners, but were acting almost as if they were running the show. He could make out some of the ponies' faces. They didn't look happy; in fact, they looked downright miserable.

Almost as if...

"No... They wouldn't have done that," he said, trying to deny it. Yet it was undeniable. These ponies had been coerced, one way or the other, to fight for the Griffon cause.

"Those bastards are forcing our people to fight against us!" he heard the gunner shout.

The rest of the crew gasped, then shouted angry things of their own, none of them complimentary and most of them unprintable.

"Enough!" Barrel yelled. "Stop acting like a bunch of school colts and start acting like soldiers!"

"But-but we can't fight our own people, General!" Lucky stammered.

"...I know." He slumped down in his seat. He was truly at odds at what to do. He could not in good conscience open fire on his own people, especially as they obviously weren't doing it of their own free will. "Full stop," he said finally.

"Yes sir," Lucky answered sadly.

The tank stopped. Upon seeing their leader halting, the other tanks did likewise, as did the soldiers alongside them. The entire spearhead stopped in confusion and dismay.

Barrel picked up a spyglass and aimed it at the Griffon officer who seemed to be in charge. He could see an arrogant, malevolent smirk form on the officer's face. The Griffon raised a sword, clearly ordering his troops to open fire.

"What do we do, sir?" Parallel Lines, the loader, asked, sounding very worried.

"Nothing yet. Let's wait and see what happens."

The ponies ahead hadn't fired, though some raised their weapons, which mostly consisted of matchlocks and guns of a design he hadn't seen yet. After a few seconds, the officer in charge shouted at one of the ponies near him. The pony responded, whereupon the officer attacked him with the sword, sending him falling face first to the dirt. Another pony, behind the officer, angrily lifted his own gun to shoot him in the back, but was cut down by the shot of one of the Griffons behind the line.

What happened next warmed the hearts of Barrel and his soldiers. The pony regiment, enraged by the shooting of two of it's members by their supposed leaders, turned their guns on their officers. The Griffon behind them - obviously there to keep order and force them to do as the Griffons wanted - fired on them, but couldn't stop them from attacking the officers sent to force them into battle. The Griffon officers fell, some blasted by dozens of shots, others were clubbed, kicked, and punched down and beaten on the ground. After dealing with the officers, the ponies reloaded and aimed at their oppressors.

"Full speed, Lucky! We have to help them!"

"Yes, sir!" Lucky yelled back willfully.

It was obvious the pony troops ahead had no training; they fired ragged volleys, if they bothered using any sort of volley fire at all, and they didn't bother to use what cover there was. However, they were fighting with a rage that the Equestrian army lacked. If they couldn't meet the enemy with equal training and experience, they were making up for it in numbers and anger.

Soon enough, the tanks were able to add their fire to the battle; without cannons, and with only perhaps a company's worth of troops to begin with, the Griffons suffered badly from the fire; they withdrew after only a couple minutes. Most of their contingent had been felled, and the survivors were fleeing in fear of their former charges.

"Keep going, Lucky! They made a big mistake here, and they're going to regret it big time!"

"Are you certain of this?" Grayfeather asked, trying hard not to show the panic he felt inside.

"Yes, General. The pony troops we conscripted revolted when we ordered them to fire. They turned on their officers and killed them all."

"All?"

"Yes sir, I fear all have been slain. And of course, the traitors were joined by their brethren across the way."

"That means there are no fresh troops between the enemy and the town," the general said, panic kindling quickly. "Take the families of the traitors into custody, and repossess their property."

Before the aide could leave, another Griffon flew into the tower. "Sir, the forts to the north and south of the breach have fallen."

Grayfeather grimaced. That meant that the enemy had a clear shot at getting into the city, if if they took the town, they could readily outflank his remaining defenses.

He could fight in the town. Force the enemy to regain his city one ruined building at a time. But after a few seconds, he shook his head. That wouldn't work; the enemy had a larger force, and could afford to surround him. If his army was destroyed, the war was as good as lost. His Majesty wanted the city, but his cause wouldn't survive without the army to back it up. True, he could delay the enemy; they would be worried about the welfare of their fellow ponies in the city. However, that wouldn't mean he wouldn't be trapped.

With a heavy sigh, and wishing he were giving almost any other order, he rasped, "Order a retreat out of the town, and out of the remaining fortifications."

"Sir?"

"We'll make another stand elsewhere. Do it!"

"Sir!"

Grayfeather watched him go. Then, turning to the rest of his staff, he barked, "Well? Why are you all just standing around? Get everything packed and ready for departure!"

He turned back and looked at the battlefield one more time. He could make out enemy soldiers closing in on the town. More than a few of them wore the brown and green coats that had marked the police that the kingdom had recruited to maintain order in the town and, more recently, been it's first soldiers conscripted from the conquered population. It hadn't been an idea that worked, but still, he felt it had been an experiment worth trying.

He realized his army wouldn't have time to arrest and take with them the families of the pony soldiers they'd conscripted. He scratched the wooden support next to him. He couldn't have everything. Saving his army was ultimately more important than punishing traitors.

He snarled, then scratched the wood with both sets of fore-claws. He couldn't see how the kingdom could pull back from this defeat. He shook himself mentally; he was going to win in the end, no matter what the enemy threw at him.

The cost, though, the cost was growing...

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes, General. The enemy are withdrawing from the town, en masse."

"Hmmm." Barrel scratched his chin. "Could be a trap of some sort."

"Not likely, sir," the pegasus answered. "They're dragging along about everything military they have with them."

"Were they carrying any loot with them?"

"Like stuff they stole? If they were carrying that stuff with them, I didn't see it."

"Alright, then. Have our soldiers enter the town and make sure there aren't any traps set for us."

"Yes sir."

Barrel could barely conceal his excitement. The town was theirs for the taking. "Full speed ahead, Lucky."

"We're going into the town?"

"No, we're going to skirt around the sides of it. We'll continue the pursuit." Hearing a disappointed sigh, he chuckled. "I know, victory parade, mares kissing you all over the place, free drinks and food, I'm with you on that. But we have to keep on the enemy now that we've got them where we want them. I don't want to have to fight them later if I can smash them now."

"Do you think we can do it?"

"Not if they fall back quickly, but we've got to try. We'll do what we can."

"Alright General, but I'm going to miss that celebration."

Barrel couldn't control his laughter as the tank plowed on.

James thrust his sword into the ground in an effort to wipe it clean. Then he leaned on a short old tree to his left. It had been a tiring three hours of battle. His army was exhausted, as he was himself. Many units had fired off all their available ammunition and were stopped in order to receive more.

He still felt a sense of joy when the pegasus messenger brought him news of the enemy's retreat. "They're coming out of their forts and trenches and going east, General. I think it's for real."

"Well, good." James pulled his sword from the ground, which, though dirt and dust now clung to it, was otherwise mostly clean. "If they can, have our force continue the attack, if the commanders feel that their troops are in condition to follow."

"Yes sir." The pegasus turned to fly away, then paused and looked back at him. "Uh, what if those troops aren't in condition to go on?"

"Then we'll rest. I'd rather keep on them if I can, but if I can't, then there's no fault for not being able to and no point hurting ourselves trying. In that case, we'll stop for a while to rest and resupply, then pursue."

"Got it." This time, the pegasus did fly off.

James sat down under the tree. He had his doubts his army, after hours of almost non-stop fighting and moving, could actually pursue, but if it was possible, he'd try.

How many more soldiers are you responsible for killing, on our side and theirs? asked a voice inside him. How many could you have saved if you'd just starved out the town, or done something else?

I don't know. What I do know is, we lost too many, or at least more than I can immediately, and we won the town back. He half sighed, half panted. He'd gone through another fight, and for some reason hadn't died, or even been seriously injured, at least not to his knowledge.

"Thank God," he gasped. The army had won again. Now he, and everyone else, would see what would happen because of it.

Chapter 46; Liberation

James watched as thousands of ponies lined the streets. The cheering was deafening. Many even walked up to the tanks; although many were clearly afraid of them, they knew that the machines and their crews were on their side. Confetti, streamers, and flowers fell from the windows, and ponies of all ages leaned out of the windows to watch and cheer. Joyful music played, although it was disorganized and scattered.

Regular soldiers had other pleasant surprises in store as they marched down the streets. Many could hardly move for being kissed, and for having flowers and free food jammed in their faces. Many, he knew, were enjoying such affections, while a few were a little put off by it.

"You'd think this was planned out," he remarked to Crystal Clear.

"I have my doubts about that, sir."

"In any event, we need to evaluate the damage to the army, as usual."

"I also doubt we got hurt as bad as they other guys did."

"I agree. But, still, we need to know. And we need to replenish our supplies, especially shells and fuel for the tanks; they used up three-quarters of their available ammunition."

"Hard to concentrate on all that with this going on," Crystal noted.

"I must admit, it's a bit - okay, very - uplifting." James caught a flower that almost struck his head. "I suppose it would defy tradition if I didn't put it in my hat or above my ear." James took his hat off, pulled most of the stem off the flower, and placed it on the front of the hat before placing it back on his head. "I still say we should mourn our dead before going directly to celebration. I don't know how many of the militia died, but I know the number wasn't zero."

"I agree, but these ponies have been under Griffon rule for some time. And, considering what they were planning to do... I think they have a right to celebrate."

"That reminds me. What's the status on getting food into the town?"

"We have food pulled in on carts. It'll be a while until it's done; the enemy wrecked the railroad as they left."

"How?"

"Through some sort of machine they had. It ripped up the railroad ties as it moved back, so we'll have to replace those before we can bring food into the town by rail."

"That's... devious, especially considering how much I love trains. I assume engineers are fixing it?"

"Yes, but it's going to take a few days."

"Damn..." James was unable to continue, as a flower went into his open mouth just as he opened his mouth to talk. He coughed and spat it out.

"A waste of a good flower," Crystal said as what was left of the flower hit the ground. "The townsponies must have been saving up flowers in anticipation of starvation."

"They didn't have to eat too many of them, given how many of them-"

"Believe me, ponies can grow and find flowers pretty easily, but this wouldn't have been enough to feed two hundred thousand."

"What the enemy planned to do was pathetic, not to mention nothing short of evil."

"From answers I got from prisoners, that was policy from the king and his officers. A lot of rank and file soldiers disapproved, but, when your superior in the army gives an order..."

'You don't want to be the one who displeases him," James finished. "Court martials that succeed and the destruction of a military record can be damaging."

"Yes."

"I suppose we need to also consider the future campaigns," James said, trying to think. "Once we push them back to the border-"

"I thought Her Majesty wanted to call for an end to the fighting once the city was liberated?"

"...She does," James said reluctantly. "But I disagree. Finishing the war now will just let them regroup and come at us again. I want to beat them, to make sure they know they're beaten, and that we can do it again if we have to."

"Sounds like a rough deal for them, sir. Might make them angry enough to try again, even if they don't win."

"I don't want..." James stopped himself; that was out of his control entirely. "well, that's not my place to decide, but I doubt Celestia will rip chunks off the Griffon Kingdom. That I approve of."

"Princess Celestia, and isn't that the same thing, letting the enemy off when they're beaten?"

"The difference being that if we do it the way we need to, they'll have had an entire army march across their lands, beaten their armies on their own land, and forced the surrender of their leadership. That's different from just stopping now."

"I hope it is, for our sakes, sir."

"I think it will be. You won't have to carry me into battle once the war is over."

For the first time in the conversation, he got his aide to laugh. "I don't mind it, sir, not when it's necessary, and not when it's me making the offer." Crystal sobered up surprisingly quickly, becoming serious once again. "I suppose that's what we're fighting for, isn't it, General? To do things our own way, and in our own time?"

"One of the things we're fighting for, anyway," James agreed.

Crystal turned to regard him with both eyes. "And what are you fighting for?"

James almost stopped. It was a question he hadn't pondered for a while.

"I guess, when I was offered the job," he began after several long seconds, "I just couldn't say no. Everyone there was looking at me, expecting, hoping I would accept, or at least do something. It would have torn my heart to refuse. I would have been leaving an innocent - or at least, a peaceful - people to their own devices in a field they weren't used to, a field they'd more or less forgotten."

"Didn't know you had such a soft heart," Crystal teased.

"I know, but I think you would have been one to condemn me if I had refused," James answered, and Crystal nodded. "And besides, I had the knowledge to help. I've read up on so many wars and battles... it would have been wasteful not to accept."

Crystal nodded again. "I understand. Well, here I was think you'd accepted for money or some sort of promotion for some sort, and all it took to get you make that decision was a soft heart." The aide chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't tell anypony."

As James thought about a way to respond, a flower fell into his hands. He looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever had thrown it, but he couldn't tell; every window seemed to have a pony cheering the army.

He continued to regard the flower as he thought.

"Well..." James said at last as he placed the lily in one of the pockets on his shirt. "I think we need to get everyone fed, and properly bury the dead, before leaving to fight again. Make sure the orders for that go out."

"On it."

"Good."

The king looked at Grayfeather with displeasure. "We are not pleased, General," he said. His accent was partly Italian, but the menace behind the words made up for how funny his words might have otherwise sounded. "We are, in fact, furious. We should ask why you should not be removed from your post with the utmost haste, and replaced with someone who will serve the position better."

Grayfeather tried, hard, not to falter under the glare the king was giving him. "Your Majesty, I have done what I could, with what forces I had. The enemy have more backbone than we gave them credit for, and we had to struggle against the resistance, both passive and active, of the population we conquered. With their new machines-"

"Which we should have had long before the enemy," the king interrupted. "Why did you not set your own engineers to build our own mechanical menaces?"

"Given the clannish ways of the people, we do not share resources as well as we should," the general said regretfully, with anger in his voice over the fact. "I have indeed given orders for our own units to be built."

"That does not answer the fact that we did not have our own tanks, as the enemy call them, before they did."

"Simple, sire; we thought there was no need, that the conquest would take mere weeks. We suffered more than we thought we would, and we have had to call all sorts of riff-raff into our ranks that no army would normally consider."

"The old and the young," the king said dismissively. "I need for the army to accomplish it's purpose in order that I might accomplish my own," he added, dropping the royal we.

"The army has done what it could-"

"Not fast enough," the king interrupted. "Never fast enough. After our victory in taking Feathersburg, you should have pursued the enemy with the utmost haste and destroyed them." The king had renamed Trottingham after its capture.

"Without sufficient supplies, and with heavy losses, that would have been hard to accomplish, Your Majesty. Though weak, in their peace-loving ways and their daily lifestyle, they've proven surprisingly good soldiers."

"Which meant Hawkfrost underestimated them, and was destroyed, along with his vanguard." The king walked around the inside of the tent, a claw on his sword. "I am conqueror of Equestria, General. I ask you how I may retain that title if you fail to earn us victory? And how will I have my plans fulfilled without some vestige of conquest?"

"I understand, my lord."

Perhaps the king had seen that he was curious. At any rate, he went on, "The plan shall come to fruition two weeks from now. It was supposed to begin after the conquest of Canterlot, but you and the other generals bungled that up." The king's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Was this conquest merely for the-"

"Plan itself? No; it would have been nice to have the resources of two kingdoms as opposed to one. However, the war would have made the plan much easier. I trust you are still a loyal royalist?" the king asked suddenly, turning to regard him with two penetrating eyes.

"Y-yes, my lord. Tragically I am uncertain of the loyalty of other clans to the crown, and I have doubts how willing the clan leaders will be to go along with the plan."

"They will go along with it," the king said imperiously. "They will, or they will lose what power as remains to them... along with their lives, if their, ahem, protests should become too loud, if you understand me."

"I shall endeavor to place royalist officers in command of the army, sire. I believe your soldiers are ready."

"Good."

"One thing, sire, if I may."

"Speak."

"I need more supplies if I am to hold onto our remaining conquests, and to have any chance of proceeding further, as well as more engineers to build our own war machines and, above all, more solders and modern artillery."

"You will have them... that is, should I decide to keep you in command. I shall be monitoring your progress from now on most closely, General, and should I find you are unfit for the job, I shall dispose of you and bring forth another who will get the job done. Need I say more?"

I'll fire you if you lose another battle, and you'll be lucky if that's all that will happen to you. Grayfeather made the translation in his head; he couldn't help swallowing nervously. "No, Your Majesty. I understand perfectly well."

"Again, good. Now, I take my leave of you. I give you the order to hold onto the towns and villages we still have in this land. Do so no matter the cost. And quietly replace any officers who prove a hindrance to the plan."

"Yes, my lord. I shall."

The king didn't bother with a farewell, but left without another backward look.

James went back into his tent as the camp was deconstructed. Although his army had tried, they'd failed to catch up with the enemy. With brutal irony, the celebrations had delayed them long enough for the main body of the enemy to make good their escape, although Barrel had managed to isolate a couple of their rearmost regiments, and from all reports was tearing them apart; they'd refused to surrender.

He packed what belongings he had. Shield and Bright were helping to pack up the mobile table. "Thank you both," he said in gratitude.

"Think nothing of it, pal," Bright replied. "I'm just glad we've gotten this far."

Shield hissed at the word "pal"; clearly, he considered it a breach of protocol to be so casual with a superior officer. However, he offered no further protest. He and James packed the disassembled table into a box to be transported.

"Just sorry we didn't catch all of them," the older Guard pony said. "Now the war will continue."

James felt tempted to say that according to Princess Celestia it wouldn't, but he held his tongue. For one thing, neither pony was likely to take that well. For another, disrespecting a friend, even one who's views he disliked, was wrong in and of itself. He didn't like the idea of trying to end the conflict before it was truly finished, but he had to respect the fact that she was a royal leader and that he was a general. She could set policy; he couldn't. He sighed. There was little he could really do.

"I wish I was smarter," James sighed.

"What do you mean?" Shield asked, raising an eyebrow. "We've won most engagements we've fought under you."

"But we haven't won an all out, smashing victory that totally destroyed our enemies. Even the Changeling Queen escaped, although her army was wrecked, and she could build up another in spite of such a blow." James wished he hadn't been so fast to dismantle the table; he had nothing to bang his fist on. He contented himself by lightly slapping a nearby tent pole. "So far, we've bashed up the enemy and forced them back, but each time, they've come back, ready to fight again."

"Well, you brought us this far," Bright put in. "I'm not dead, at least not yet. You've done alright."

Before James could respond, he heard someone outside saying something. "I need to see what this is about," he said.

"We'll come with you," Bright said, with Shield nodding behind him and setting down a small pole.

With a nod of his own, James stepped outside and just barely kept himself from yanking his pistol from his belt; a group of Griffons walked past, and it took him a moment to realize that they were unarmed prisoners.

He sighed with relief. The voice he'd heard was a sergeant keeping order; "Keep going, you lot! Stay in line, all of you, and no sudden movements!"

He leaned against the tree to his right. None of the prisoners showed any inclination to disobey their captors; some had on their faces a look of relief, glad to be out of danger, at least for the moment. Others - a relative few, but an annoying few - acted as if they owned the world, standing up stiff and straight and beaks in the air, as if totally ignorant of their current condition as prisoners. Most were dressed in a variety of uniforms, some blue, some green, more than a few dressed in brown to match the feathers of their lower bodies. Several wore kilts, with body paint still on their bodies. A few prisoners whispered to one another, but most stayed silent, looking from one of their guards to another.

There, that one looked like... He tried to whistle to one of the guards, but failed; whistling had never been his strong point. Instead, he shouted, catching the attention of one of the guards.

"Yes sir?"

"Bring that one over here," he said, pointing.

"Alright, General."

The guard brought him the young Griffon soldier who had tried to... well... I'll try not to hold it against him, James thought.

The Griffon looked up and saw him; a brief spell of fear crossed his features, but a moment later, the prisoner's face rearranged itself to a neutral configuration. James couldn't help being impressed.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked forcefully, hoping he wasn't overdoing it.

"The mercenary General hired by our enemies," the other replied, in the same British accent he had the day before.

"Show more respect to the commanding General!" his handler shouted.

James waved his hand in a calming gesture. "That's enough of that," he said. "I just wanted to ask a few questions."

"I suppose I can't stop you."

"Well then, question 1; why are you fighting?"

"What are you asking me, sir?" the Griffon asked, confused. "I'm not sure whether you're asking something practical or abstract."

"Why are you in the army, at your age? And what are your motivations for fighting?"

'Well, now, there's a good question."

"Are you going to answer it?"

"Something inside instructs me to resist, but my mother raised me to polite, even in the most trying circumstances." After a short pause, the soldier continued, "My clan needed to dedicate soldiers to the war effort, and I was conscripted. My father was so proud to see me for the first time in a royal uniform; my mother and sister were in tears. I knew not then what for, but since..." He gulped. "I'm afraid I've seen enough horrors to last me a lifetime."

"You and several armies."

"I don't doubt it, sir."

"Were your leaders pressuring you into service by some other means than mere conscription?"

"If you mean they actively supported the war, then yes. Most urged as many males in the population as could be to enlist, saying that eternal glory and great riches would belong to those who fought in it." The Griffon looked around, swallowing again. "I... I thought that war was nothing more than a massive brawl, a rather boisterous game or sport. I have since been... disabused of the notion."

James nodded in grim understanding. "What is your name, soldier?"

"Martin, sir."

"Martin? I thought most Griffon names were more natural, like Whiteclaw or Rosebeak or something like that."

The Griffon nodded. "Most rural clans have that tradition. I come from the Brasshawks Clan; we are mostly city dwellers, and have developed different traditions namewise."

"I see. I want to know how long your term of service has lasted until now."

"How long I've been fighting, you mean?" Martin asked, and James nodded. "About two months."

"You've been here since Sugar Cane River, then."

"Yes sir."

"Alright. And were there any dissenting voices back home?"

"Oh yes, sir. The mayor of our town was one of those voices publicly calling for peace, or at least for another means of gaining our demands. He was a veteran who fought in a minor rebellion in our province, against the effort of a local lord to seize power in our clan; as such, he's considered something of a hero. There were many times he addressed our local legislature debating against those who called for war. However, the call to arms and the zeal for war overruled him in many hearts. I have yet to hear any more, but a letter from mother said that a number of nobles who are loyal to the king have been visiting him."

"And where do your loyalties lie?"

"Sir?" the Griffon cocked his head. James was gripped by a powerful desire to laugh; the movement was just like that of a bird back home, odd looking and sudden, and the position of his head was funny.

Fighting down the urge, James continued, "Where do your loyalties lie insofar as king and clan?"

"Ah. My loyalty is to my family and clan first, over all. The king may have influence over our clan, but I would side with my clan and my clan leader first and foremost, in the case of a struggle between them and the king. Such is the state of every clan that I can think of."

"Thank you for answering my questions. Hopefully, they will lead to peace."

"To your conquest of us, you mean," Martin said, face falling.

"No, no, no. I mean peace. The Equestrian government has no desire to seize territory in this war, it simply wants to remain free of foreign rule and dominance."

He turned to the guard. "Take him back with his fellows."

Martin looked surprised. "You aren't going to..." He gulped once more. "Punish me?"

"No. We both had our duty in that fight. Either one of us could have died; it was not personal."

"But... but the General - our General - says you are a blasphemer and a ruthless criminal, a soldier fighting for nothing but money in the service of a cause not your own... you're a Traveller!"

"A... A Traveller?"

Martin nodded. "That's what our legends say you are. Mysterious, two legged-"

"Please do not say ape or monkey," James asked, "I take that as an insult."

"Well then, as a whatever-you-are. A biped, who goes around, does something in some legend or tale, and then fades away like a ghost from history."

"Interesting."

"Is it true, sir?" Martin asked. "Did you really slander the gods?"

"Mmm hmm. I told the truth, and sadly, in my own zeal, I'm afraid I may have carried it too far, and too fast. However, in my own defense, not that it matters, I was feeling very angry at the time, with your own General making demands and threats. As for a criminal..." James stretched out his arms out sideways. "Here I am."

"I suppose you haven't killed me or hung my entrails, that's something."

"I suppose." James turned to the guard. "take him, with the others, to the prison camp." When Martin's face betrayed a sense of fear in response, he added, "It's not that bad, you know. The rooms aren't a luxury hotel, but at least you won't be in danger, unless you're foolish enough to start it, and I don't think you are. The food is of decent quality, although not stellar, and activities such as volleyball and kickball are organized every week or so."

Martin sighed with relief, then asked, "What about interrogations?"

"What do you think you've just had to go through? You get interrogated here, then you get sent to the camps."

"If I had not answered you, how much worse would I have found it?"

James shrugged. "I don't know, but unless stuff filtered in from the army, which as far as I can tell it does not, and the guards there were all fanatics to the cause, I think you'd have the same level of experience there."

"I wish I hadn't been caught," Martin added. "I feel disgraced."

James had to prevent himself from frowning, for that was exactly how he would have felt in the same situation - not that I'd have the sense to surrender, he thought to himself. "I'm sorry, but there's no cure I know for that other than time. I hope this war ends soon, private. If all our enemies were like you, I could face this war knowing both sides at least tried to play by the rules."

He nodded to the guard, who took Martin away.

"He reminded me of myself," Bright said when Martin was out of earshot. "I thought of war as nothing more than a big hoof fight, until that first Changeling ambush."

"What, when they ambushed the train?" James scratched the back of his head. "Considering all that's happened, a little skirmish like that... well, after what we've all seen by now... well..."

"It's not so much of a much anymore," Shield finished for him.

"Yeah. I admit, I underestimated what they could do; I considered them to have primitive technology, if they had access to it at all, and that superior firepower would be enough to even the odds. I was wrong about that, even though we destroyed the fortress they built."

"I hear our scientists got some valuable intelligence just from studying the ruins," Shield added. "Of course, nopony tells me what they found, so I have no idea what they found."

James turned his head slowly, surveying the landscape, his thoughts lingering on battles he'd fought, on lives he'd seen lost, and on those days before the war, training an army of recruits and eager volunteers.

"Let's continue packing up," he said finally.

It took the rest of the day to move the camp. Oddly enough, the crowds cheered the wagon drivers and the ponies that pulled them almost as enthusiastically as they had the soldiers. James wasn't sure why, but he eventually settled on the idea that the townsponies hadn't seen friendly forces in a while and that anyone on their side and actively doing anything, however slight, to fight their former oppressors was welcome. And, from a practical perspective, soldiers and logistics personnel generally didn't receive the attention and glory that they deserved. At least the crowds weren't blocking the road, so, aside from the normal escorts for the wagons, he needed to take no action whatsoever.

Once he army was through the town, James questioned a number of scouts. The news about the enemy wasn't depressing, but not entirely encouraging either. The enemy army was retreating, and the tanks were too slow to catch up to them. They had suffered heavy casualties in the fighting, but their condition wasn't so bad as to prevent them from fighting again. Their biggest loss, other than troop numbers, was artillery; a number of regiments were completely without them, and others had lost a significant amount. Many in their ranks were as surprisingly young as Martin, and defeat appeared to have had it's effect on their morale; there was a distinct lack of singing from Griffon soldiers, and they marched with their heads down; as often as not, a soldier who had marched into the war with weapon borne proudly on his shoulder now dragged it after him, as though about to abandon it at any moment. Mercenary groups who had joined them were clearly thinking of splitting, and only a strong presence of Griffon officers - and the threat of severe punishment - was preventing them from outright deserting.

He gave it all some thought before replying. His own army wasn't in it's best state, either. Although the enemy had again suffered heavier losses than he had, his own losses weren't exactly nonexistent. A few tanks had been lost, and, although they had terrified the enemies who had had the misfortune of fighting them, they hadn't been quick enough to properly pursue the foe once they were beaten. His own supplies of ammunition were decent, but not great. Still, he comforted himself that, although not at peak efficiency, the Equestrian Army was in far better condition than the enemy. They had plenty of food, and Equestria's industry was beginning to fully gear up for the war, with more weapons, ammo, and equipment being produced at an ever-increasing rate. New ironclad designs for the navy were coming out, although scarcely needed, as the Saddle Arabians and their galleys and galleons were taking up the slack in the naval theater. Rumors abounded in the army about a recent sea battle, mostly good ones.

"Alright," he said at last. "Very good. Continue to monitor the enemy, and above all else, do not get captured. You've done well bringing me and the other officers this information. I would prefer it if you could keep up the good work."

"Sir, if we were going to be caught, it would have probably happened when we were new to the job," a green earth pony replied.

"All the same, if you're smart, the enemy can be smart too. Be careful."

"As you wish, sir." The soldier saluted. James returned it.

After the scouts had departed, James turned to Crystal, who had been standing by, listening to the report. "I guess we should be grateful that we've gotten so far."

"I can't disagree, sir. I thought we'd had it a few times a couple months ago."

"Yeah. And now everything's turned upside down."

"Well, I do have some good news, sir, or good news of a sort. Actually..."

James listened carefully to what his aide had to say. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes sir, our investigators have asked several citizens already, and more will be asked about it."

"I hope you're wrong about that. It sounds... bad, to put it mildly."

"That's a pretty big understatement."

"I've got to tell the Princesses about this, and now."

"I agree. I'll draft the letter now, if you want."

"Yes, please do so. Let's get over to the new location for the camp. I think this matter is of immediate importance."

"Let's hope they don't get to making more; they would have had us if it hadn't been for our own new weapons."

James leaned a little back in a chair. His own tent was done, as were those of his friends, aide, and many of the soldiers'. The camp had been set up three miles past the town, and it was a little past two o' clock.

He finished writing and set his pen down on the desk. It wouldn't be all that long before he would have to start using quills, as he had gone through three of his own pens and he would likely run of out in for the remaining few in the next couple of months.

He got up, stretched, and walked outside. A large number of tents filled the plain; his own tent had been set upon a small hill, and he was able to watch his army go about it's business.

"A rather awe-inspiring sight, wouldn't you say?"

He turned. "Princess?" Princess Celestia, a couple Guards, and the Mane 6 were standing several feet to his immediate left.

"I think so. Last time I looked in the mirror, I was still wearing a crown." Celestia and everyone else chuckled a little.

"This is a surprise," James stated. "I wasn't notified that you were visiting."

"I wanted to keep it quiet," the Solar Princess answered. "I didn't want anyone other than Twilight and her friends to know I was coming, in case of Changeling or Griffon spies."

"But why are you here?"

"I have come to make peace with our enemy, as well as to inspire our soldiers should I be unable to forge a peaceful solution. I have confidence that, with the war shifting in our favor, that more bloodshed can be averted, at least with the Griffons."

James' growing grin faded. He wondered if it was wise to try at least some sort of last minute protest. The change in his facial expression did not go unnoticed by Celestia, who sighed and said, "I am aware of your misgivings. Rest assured, I have taken them into account and I will be taking the utmost care in these negotiations."

James didn't like being cut off like that, but clearly, there was nothing else to be said. He turned his face away, mouthed a foul word, and turned to regard her again. "In that case, might I ask why Twilight and her friends are here?"

"The Princess thought it would be a good idea if we came along," Twilight answered. "If our troops saw their Princess as well as, well.... she called us heroes, but I'm not sure if that's accurate-"

"I am!" Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"Anyway, if they saw those who bear the Elements, the soldiers might be encouraged. At least, that was the reasoning."

"Good to see you again, Ja... oh, I'm sorry, General," Rarity corrected herself.

"I am among friends. As such, rank means nothing, at least for now."

"At least you look okay," Fluttershy said quietly.

"...I've been lucky."

"Pretty hale, too; you been eatin' yer apples?"

"Yes, many of them from your farm, which is doing quite well in feeding the army." He saw Applejack blush a little.

"Aw, shucks, just doin' our part an' all. How's mah brother?"

"He's doing well; quiet, but well."

"Quiet's normal fer him," the orange pony replied.

"I must admit, I was eager to see the army and how it's been doing," Twilight put in. "I wanted to know the state it's been in."

"That so?" He watched the lavender unicorn nod. "Well, we've found something I think you need to see, Princess," he went on, addressing Celestia.

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you, if you can just follow me."

"I'm still not sure just what you're up to," Celestia said as they entered the tent of Blue Fur.

"You'll see," James replied ruefully. "Blue Fur?"

"Oh, General? What can I do for... ah," the blue-gray pony said, catching sight of the Princess. "Well, if you wanted to introduce me to royalty, you could have given me a couple hours' notice; I'm sure I could have set this place up to look halfway like a palace by then."

James snickered. Rainbow laughed loudly, and the other Bearers slowly followed, Twilight looking a little surprised that some one would make a joke like that in front of the Princess, but eventually caving in. Celestia's laugh was the loudest. "You might as well blame me for that," she replied after a few seconds. "I didn't tell anypony where i was going, with the exception of Twilight and her friends."

"I can guess why that is," the engineer answered. "So, General, I have my doubts that this is a social call."

Recognizing that as a question, even if it wasn't phrased as such, James nodded slowly. "It's about those weapons captured from the Griffons. You know, those weapons."

"Oh, yes, those." Blue Fur made a face of disgust. "Yes, I think the story of those need to be told to somepony, particularly one in charge of the country."

"I hate to interrupt, but what are you two going on about?" Rarity asked.

"I'll show you." He reached into a crate, pulling out one of the weapons taken from the recent battle.

The Guards lifted their spears.

"It's not dangerous!" James insisted. "At least, not now; the orb holding the charges has been removed." He turned, facing away from the Princess, pointed the weapon at the ground, and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. "See?"

The Guards relaxed, but maintained cautious faces.

"And what is so special about them?" Celestia asked.

"Well," Blue Fur said, "they're better than our current weapons in a stand up fight; you could fire something like a hundred, maybe two hundred shots; all you'd have to do is keep pulling the trigger, and it would keep firing as long as it had energy. It has a much farther range than our own matchlocks, which I am happy to say will soon be replaced with rifles of our own; perhaps not as quick to fire as these, but they'll have the range to compensate."

"That sounds bad," Twilight said.

"It gets worse." Blue Fur readjusted his glasses. "These weapons, part wood, part metal, have been carved and shaped into working conditions by magic."

"Wait up," Rainbow interrupted. "Griffons can't do magic; the closest they come is being able to rest on clouds, like pegasi."

"You are correct. Griffons have no direct access to magic, although clearly, some of their smarter brains have figured out how it works well enough to design a weapon based on it."

"Then how did they make them?"

"Perhaps Fluttershy should leave," James suggested. "I don't think it's wise to show her what comes next."

"I...I... I'd know about it sooner or later," the yellow pegasus murmured. "Better to get it over with now."

"Okay then," James said. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Anyway," Blue Fur continued, "with the fact that Griffons cannot perform magic, the only conclusion - supported by ponies in the city, who have been willing to come forward with the news - is that ponies in the town made these weapons."

There was a very audible silence.

Rainbow recovered enough to ask, "Are you saying ponies made these?"

"Not by their free will; they were forced to, although that's still not the worst part. The worst part is that the Griffons, who had forbidden all magic in the town during it's occupation, coerced unicorns into feeding the orbs which hold the energy for the things with as much magic as they could bear, without killing themselves in the process; they and their families would be denied any rations for the next three days if they refused."

Every other pony in the room gasped; even the Guards, one of whom was a unicorn, had trouble maintaining their stone-like expressions upon hearing this news.

"Bu-bu-bu-bu-b..." Twilight stammered, trying and failing to form a cohesive sentence, her face shocked and eyes and mouth as open as they could reasonably be.

"That's terrible!" Rainbow shouted.

"Are... are you sure?" Celestia asked, shocked.

"Yes. A few Griffon prisoners told us, mostly those who knew of it but weren't otherwise involved, most of those who had anything to do with this are dead, retreating, or else captured and pretending they didn't know anything about it."

Again, a silence. Rarity and Twilight looked at their horns, as though they would fall off at any second, with Rarity giving hers a tap to make sure it was still on her head; Applejack and Rainbow both bore outraged expressions. Pinkie was uncharacteristically quiet; Fluttershy was on the verge of crying.

Celestia's visage of shock slowly changed to one of anger - not of out-of-control rage, but of anger, all the more scary for being controlled. "I cannot believe this," she said, slowly and menacingly. "How could the king stoop so low as to hurt my ponies in such a way?"

"Power," James said simply. "Power, and a desire to punish anyone who gets in the way. The Griffon officer we met before reaching the city said that the starvation they threatened the city with was punishment for our resistance to their king's rule."

Once again, there was quiet.

Celestia made a visible effort to control her anger. At that moment, a loud cry from the medical tent pierced the air. Fluttershy gasped and looked horrified; all the others shared similar looks.

The Princess, appearing to struggle between anger and pity, sighed after a few moments. "I want peace. I don't want any of my ponies to suffer any more than is necessary. So many - too many - have paid the ultimate price, and too many have been permanently injured, in mind and in body. However," she said, her voice hardening, "I will not let this indignity go unpunished. I will be taking a very hard line towards the king for this, and I will demand repayment for this atrocity. As much as I want peace, I cannot let the Griffons think that they can do this and escape without penalty."

The world cannot be allowed to think that they can bully ponies and get away with it. James translated that easily.

"I would like for you and your team to destroy these weapons," Celestia continued, speaking to Blue Fur. "They have been made at the cost of our people's health; I will be sending the ashes to the meeting as a message."

"My Lady, these beam weapons are partly metal as well."

"Then I will also send the molten slag that was once part of them."

'What about the orbs?" Blue Fur asked, looking and sounding worried for the first time in the discussion. "They are full of magical energy, and as such they would likely explode if we tried to break them."

"That would be a problem," Celestia agreed sadly. "I think we'll hold on to those; perhaps we can return the energy inside to it's original owners. If not.... well, we'll think of something to do should we be unable to do that."

"I will get to it as soon as I can, Princess."

"Good." Celestia turned to James. "If you'd be so kind, please lead me to the front lines. Maybe our soldiers will be inspired by my presence, and I might be able to part some good cheer on them."

"...Alright," James said, although he felt sure something was going to go wrong. "I'd advise you to be careful, though. I can't guarantee your safety."

"The enemy are miles away and we are well out of range. I don't think we'll be in any danger."

"Alright," James said again. His misgivings were still there, but if your boss said to do something, or said that she was going to do something, it could be difficult to tell them no.

The quick entrenchments in front of the camp might have been hastily made, but they were sturdy enough; James had enough experience with them to know that.

However, things were going the way the Princess had hoped; the soldiers stopped whatever they were doing and looked up to see her. Excited and hopeful mutterings broke out; murmurs of "The Princess!" and "She's here!" as well as "It's her, it's her!" came to James' ears; clearly, in spite of what they had suffered and the work they had to do, Celestia's presence amongst them was revitalizing their spirits, just as she had hoped.

"Hello," she said to a group working on the trench itself. "I hope you won't mind..."

"Hmm?" the closest solder said, looking up from his work. "Oh!" he gasped, surprised. "P-Princess!"

"I'm sorry for bothering you when you were so busy, I just to know how well you and your comrades are doing in general."

"Oh, well, I, er," the soldier said, still surprised that the Princess had chosen to speak to him. "Well, it's like this, yer ladyship," he went on in a Cockney accent that was obviously natural to him. "Me an' me boys 'ave seen quite the sights, an' I'm not sayin' they been good sights either. Got more n' a few good nicks meself," he went on, raising a foreleg so they could see a long scar down it; clearly, it had been caused by a projectile sweeping by, just missing on a direct hit. "An' this ain't the worst the boys've suffered. There's many a one that won't be goin' home to mum, there is."

"I'm sorry to hear it," Celestia said, becoming quiet for a moment as she digested this. "And how well are you faring when you aren't in battle?"

"Quite well, quite well, me lady. Quite well. More n' enough food fer us all, and decent blankets and hammocks fer all when we're a sleepin', an' good shelter at night."

"I'm glad to hear that. Is there anything I can do to further help?"

"Any more comfort and ya'd think we was campin'," came the response, to a round of laughter. "Nothin' much material, yer 'ighness, but I wish everyone back home knew the hell we're goin' through for 'em. Wish they'd have some respect in the paper, 'stead o' just more news, ya know what I mean."

"I do know what you mean, And I'll do what I can on that score; I completely agree that our protectors need more recognition."

"Thank ya kindly, yer ladyship," the soldier said, doffing his hat a little. Celestia blushed in embarrassment at the gratitude the soldier was giving her.

"You, and the rest of the army, are most welcome."

James heard something in the distance - a muffled roar.

"Oh, 'ell," the soldier said; no sooner did those words leave his lips than he ducked down into the trench he had helped create.

What is he... Oh, no...

With a scream as it fell, a shell fell out of the sky and blew up not far in front of the trenches.

How could they have brought artillery this far forward? Without our notice? And how did they know they were coming!?

That was what went through his head. The words that came out of his mouth were drastically different; "Artillery! Get down!"

He heard someone gasp, but he could have cared less; he threw himself on the ground, as did every other soldier in eyesight.

As another shell passed by overhead and exploded behind them, James looked around; Princess Celestia and the Bearers hadn't taken cover. Instead, they were looking at him as though he'd gone crazy.

"What you doing!? Get down! On the ground!"

"But the dirt..." Rarity spluttered.

A shell exploded not far away, showering her in the very substance she abhorred so much. She screamed in surprise and dismay.

"It's dirt or your life!" James insisted.

He saw the Princess still standing, and would have tried to go and persuade her to get down, but a whitish blur came out of his peripheral vision and tackled the Princess from her left side. At the same time, another shell blew up, sending shrapnel flying through the air; one passed through the air above Twilight's head, which encouraged her to obey common sense and drop to the ground. The others followed shortly; even Rarity, though she did so with utter distaste. Someone yelled, "Let go of the Princess!"

"Make it stop!" Pinkie yelled, not sounding at all like her usual happy self.

Don't you think I would if I- Another detonation interrupted his thoughts.

The bombardment wasn't long in terms of actual time; a couple minutes, if that. However, it felt like much longer to those who had the misfortune to suffer through it. When at last the explosions stopped and there were no more telltale screams for falling shells in the air, James picked himself up and dusted himself off. There were no screams of pain, and after a moment, he realized that no one had been hurt. He turned around.

The others had taken cover; Twilight had cast a shield spell, encasing them in a pink-purple glow. Celestia was on the ground; Silver Shield was lying on top of her, shielding her from the attack. Two other Guards were pointing spears at him, and ordering him away from her.

"You're under arrest for attacking the Princess," one of them said.

"No!" Celestia said firmly. "Excuse me," she said to Shield, who stood up and backed away. "I assume you did this in an effort to protect me?"

"Yes, your Majesty. It is the duty of any Guard to protect his Princess, even at the cost of his own life; all I was trying to do was fulfill part of that service; when you hear the noise of artillery, for everything and everyone worth believing in, get down and stay there till it's over."

As Twilight dropped the shield spell, Celestia just looked at her protector; there was an almost motherly look in her eyes, and James wondered if, for a moment, she'd forgotten that his job was to protect her. He couldn't help but feel that that would be very much like her.

"Well, in that case, I must thank you for potential saving my life," she said, nodding in respect and approval.

"That is unnecessary, My Lady; it was my job."

"And you did it well. You have my gratitude."

James looked around again, saw a pegasus officer, called to him. "I want you to gather whatever other pegasi you can and go after that artillery unit. If you can capture them, don't mention the Princess or the others; just bring them back and we'll question them at that point."

"What if they're in too many numbers for us, sir?"

"In that case, refrain from attacking them. However, I doubt they would have been able to sneak an artillery battery this close to the camp without being noticed by our scouts if they were that well protected; a group of a few hundred people tends to draw a crowd," James finished dryly.

"Yes sir, I'll get on it."

"Good." As the officer turned and flew away, James turned back to Celestia; she was still busy talking to Shield. The discussion had turned to the Guard stallion's family and how they were getting along.

"Yes, James?" Celestia said as he approached.

James took a deep breath. "Princess, although I have no power to force you, I must ask that you leave this place at once; you may still be in danger."

Celestia raised her eyebrow. "My soldiers still have need of me."

"Princess," James insisted, "whether or not the Griffons were intending to blow you off the face of the earth, if you remain here, you offer them a second chance to do so. And if, in any event, you were injured, or, may God forbid it, killed, what would happen to morale, and Equestria as a whole, then?"

Celestia thought about it for a few seconds, then sighed with reluctance. "I suppose you're right. Still, I would like to visit whatever counts as a hospital before we go."

James nodded. "I can understand, and I wouldn't have it any other way. The field hospital is outside of artillery range, and as Griffons can't effectively disguise themselves as ponies, that should be safe enough."

"Very well, then. Please lead us there," she answered.

"In that case, right this way."

Chapter 47; With pen and sword

James accompanied the others on the way to the field hospital. He was glad not to have anyone to add there; in spite of the effort of the enemy to bomb the encampment, no one had been injured, much less killed, though there had been a number of close calls. He hadn't heard back from the lieutenant yet, but it was only a matter of time before news, of one sort of the other, got back to him.

"I suppose it's going to be hard to say that the army has everything it's own way," Twilight remarked on their way there. "After going through that, I have considerably more sympathy for the soldiers doing the fighting."

"Heck, I wasn't scared," Rainbow said, but James was certain he heard someone in the vicinity gulp.

"It must be awful to be a soldier," Fluttershy mumbled. I wouldn't want to... Oh, I mean this in the nicest of ways, but..."

"Ah think we understand, sugarcube," Applejack said kindly. "Fer the record, that wasn't fun."

"Well, duh!" Pinkie burst in. "It was like an earthquake, only there were big explodey thingies coming down too, so it was also like being in a rockslide! Or maybe a volcano and an earthquake? I maybe all three at the same time..."

"It's been a very, very long time since I witnessed a lethal conflict," Celestia put in, as Pinkie continued to ramble on. "Seeing how far military technology has advanced from that round of fighting is unsettling. Spears have been the traditional weapons of the Royal Guard since long before my reign, and most other nation's militaries relied on such weapons for their own protectors for just as long if not longer. This kind of warfare feels... different."

"And it's one that's liable to prove fatal to you, Princess, and to Equestria as well should you decide at any point to take the field," James replied. "Equestria cannot afford to lose you or your sister."

"I know. But until recently, the main enemies I had to deal with were bickering nobles and singular, though very powerful, foes. The fact that I can't go out and fight the battles that will decide the fate of Equestria myself is one that will take some getting used to."

"I think we're here," James said as they came to a tent where occasional moans and groans of discomfort could be heard.

"Oh my," Fluttershy whimpered.

Oh, right. I don't want her psyche shattered. James turned to Pinkie. "Pinkie, would you mind taking Fluttershy to the mess?"

"Mess? What mess?" the pink pony replied. "I don't see a mess."

"He means somewhere to eat, darling," Rarity told her.

"Oh, okay, but you should really say what you mean."

James was about to respond in a half-outraged way when Pinkie's eye fluttered a little, as though giving him the ghost of a wink. He relaxed. "Alright, and afterwards, please try to have a little fun. I think that should be no trouble for you."

"Don't worry; it won't. Come on, Fluttershy!" With that, the two ponies in question walked away.

"I have to warn the rest of you, it's not a pretty sight in there whatsoever. If anyone has a weak constitution or can't stand the sight of blood, now's the time to say it."

"Hey, we came here for a reason," Rainbow Dash answered.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." With that issue taken care of, James held aside the cloth that served for a door and ushered them in, following behind them once they had passed.

Inside was a scene not all that different from that of a hospital, although much of the equipment was more makeshift. Many ponies lay stretched out on beds, some fast asleep, others groaning in agony from their wounds. Doctors and nurses were busily at work, trying to apply bandages and take care of wounds.

"I think you were right to send Fluttershy and Pinkie away," Twilight remarked, stunned by the sight as they continued to walk through the field hospital.

"We need a new splint for this one," he overheard one of the doctors say. "This one isn't serving it's purpose."

"I'm on it," a nurse answered.

James looked to see a pegasus soldier lying on a bed nearby. He appeared peaceful, but if a splint was involved, that meant some form of broken bone or fracture.

"What's wrong with him?" the Princess asked the doctor who was taking care of the soldier.

"His wing was hit by a bullet in the last battle, Your Highness," the doctor said, looking up only for a moment from his work. "He'll have to have a splint, and then a cast, and that's not guaranteed to save the wing. It's entirely possible that he'll never fly again."

Rainbow gasped; the idea of never being able to fly again was one that provoked great horror for a pegasus, especially one that loved to fly most of the time. "You... you don't think that will actually happen... do you?" she asked.

"I don't know; that's one of the most infuriating things about some cases for a doctor, that sometimes we cannot predict one way or the other which way our patients will go. I have my hopes he'll recover, but other than that and some medicine, I honestly have no idea how he'll turn out. I wish I could be of more assistance to him and to the other patients."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"All I can say," the injured soldier said, "is to try and enjoy having all your limbs intact. You never know if or when you lose 'em."

"Glad we're finally out of there," Rainbow admitted, about thirty minutes later.

"I hope I never have to see the inside of such a place again," Rarity agreed.

"Equestria has had a great deal of luck keeping the peace," James said as they walked toward his tent. "Naturally, when that sense of... a long-lasting peace, I suppose, has been penetrated, it's hard on those who were relying on it."

"I hope this conflict will end soon," the Princess remarked. "I can see why you want the peace to be in our favor, though," she added, looking at James. "Our soldiers have shed their blood, lost limbs, and many have even lost their lives. Naturally, the army won't want those lives to have been lost in vain."

"Em hmm. And none of us wants the Griffon King to think, 'Oh, well, I failed this time. Five years down the line, I'll try again.' That would be a waste."

"It would. I'm coming to appreciate your side of the argument more than I did."

"Wait, you two have argued?"

"Yes, Twilight. It wasn't an argument that threatened our relationship, but we disagreed on how far to take the war against the Griffons. I want, or wanted, rather, to end the conflict once we had taken back what is ours, while the General wanted to take the war to the enemy and, I presume, de-throne the king?"

"I would if I could," James said. "I want to take their capital, in any event; as that hasn't been done by any invading army since it's foundation, they'll feel pretty cocky as long as they hold it. By taking it, we make them realize that they aren't as strong as they thought they were, and that we aren't as weak as they thought we were."

"That might create long-lasting hostility and resentment between our two peoples, though," Celestia said. "I would like to keep that from happening."

"You can't make everyone happy; I hate saying that, but it's true."

"No, but perhaps I can reduce the anger between us."

"I guess it would be difficult to avoid the relations problem, considering that as of yet the Griffons are united under their king," James commented. "If that unity were to die off, it might be feasible, but I can't see a way to make it happen. Ponies don't have the power to shape-shift, not like the Changelings, and even if it were, they'd have cultural differences to deal with, along with body changes. One slip up, and we have dead agents."

"I agree. That kind of operation would be beyond the chance that I'd be willing to trust. I'm hoping that the arrival of our allies will help the situation."

"Yes. Unfortunately, I know for a fact that the Zebras aren't armed with the most up-to-date weaponry, and the S.A.s, while better, aren't as good as we are in that department. Our own battle doctrine is also undergoing some measure of re-adjustment considering the recent battle and it's results. I also have my doubts that Zebra and Saddle Arabian commanders would be willing to put themselves under a foreign General, especially considering how... outlandish I am."

"I can see the problem," Celestia replied. "I can't say for certain whether or not they'll be willing to take your commands, but at least they will be on our side, and I'm sure we'll come up with something."

"I'm also going to try keeping up the pressure on their army," James said. "Assuming they aren't willing to take the peace you want them to."

"I am having greater doubts about the willingness of the enemy to make peace," the Princess admitted. "I'm still going to try, and hope they'll listen."

"I can't blame you for trying, or for hoping. But I think we're in a much better position than the enemy. The army will be ready should that initiative of your fail."

"Thank you, General. Now, I'm going to talk to some of the officers. Twilight, you and your friends should go and find yourselves something to eat."

"We will, just as soon as I pick up Spike."

"Okay then." Celestia turned her head to face James. "You have my thanks for leading the army this far. I ask that you look out for my student and her friends."

"I can do that, but I was under the impression that they knew how to look out for themselves."

She laughed. "They do, but I think a little time spent together would do you all some good."

"In that case, I have no trouble with it."

"I knew you wouldn't." With that, she walked away.

"Alright, where is Spike, anyway?" James asked, turning to Twilight.

"I left him by a wagon the soldiers were unpacking. I thought it might be a good idea to keep him as far out of danger as possible, and given what we've seen today, I think I made the right decision."

"I agree. By the way how has the war been affecting Ponyville lately?"

"Not all that much," the lavender unicorn answered. "Some goods are harder to lay our hooves on, but as there's been no battle near the town, trade and prosperity haven't really changed. Naturally, the news has turned it's focus to the war, but life is still largely what I was before the war. The main difference is that a lot of the stallions of the town are missing, having been called into the war."

And some are paying, or have paid, the price for their service. "You've been through Trottingham?"

"Of course we have, darling," Rarity said. "It's one of the cultural centers of our country. It grieves me that much of the town is either ruined or damaged so badly, as it's art and way of life have been a great inspiration for me."

"Which brings me to a couple questions, if you won't mind."

"Go on."

"Why are saddles considered pretty things wear for ponies, considering that they were originally designed for someone to sit on while riding?"

"Well, I can understand your confusion with this, but, as with most clothing, there can be multiple uses for them; for a safe platform on which to ride, as you mentioned - sometimes, when on a long journey, a parent pony might wear one of these to allow their young to ride on when the youths in question get tired. There are also saddles made for simple looks and comfort for the pony wearing them, such as on the dresses I made for the Grand Galloping Gala, and some that serve both functions. Some, like the ones worn by ponies during Winter Wrap-up, are traditional to wear during an event."

"Alright. Well, what about nail-on horseshoes? I haven't seen you guys wear them much."

"In that case, darling, a lot of ponies just don't like having their hooves left with holes in them, even though it doesn't hurt us as our hooves are hard, unfeeling, and unbending, and helps us maintain a decent grip on the ground. However, as Applejack doubtlessly told you, they are traditionally worn during rodeos and other, similar get-togethers, and just because they may be mounted on a wall doesn't mean they won't be used if they have to be; you won't find me using them," the white mare finished flatly.

"Why would you need them to grip the ground? I thought the front hooves of ponies - or, rather, a sort of effect initiated in the fetlock - were able to grasp things."

"True, but there are limits to what they can hold onto; if the object or item in question is too large - which generally means bigger than the diameter of field generated by the effect in the fetlock - the mechanism won't be able to grasp it. The ground is one thing our hooves are unable to hold onto, as such. The field isn't very big, anyway; it's only an inch or two in diameter, so it can't even reach to the point where the horseshoes would be put on the hoof."

"Okay." Turning to Twilight, James said, "Speaking of Spike, I've noticed you let him ride on your back every so often."

"Oh yes. Ponies don't mind others riding on our backs, as long as the rider realizes that it's our choice, not theirs, and that we're the ones who will make the decisions during that time. When the Diamond Dogs tried to force us to do their will... well, I think you saw what happened, and got the point."

"I did. And I noticed that Spike didn't particularly like being bucked off and subsequently roped."

"Oh, right," Twilight said, blushing a little with embarrassment. "It turned out for the best, even for him, considering the large number of gems I gave him to eat afterward to apologize to him. He's like a little brother to me. Sometimes he's sarcastic and occasionally lazy, but I couldn't ask for anyone better as an assistant."

"Good."

The others were silent for a moment. Then Twilight asked, "Are you and Blue Fur sure? About what the Griffons did to make those... things?"

"We are. After questioning the ponies in the city, we confirmed that they had, in fact, forced unicorns to feed the orbs that gave those weapons their power. And that's not all they did. They forbade any other use of magic, and banned pegasi from flying beyond the city limits and all flights above five hundred feet."

"What!?"

"About the reaction of the pegasi in the army, Rainbow. These edicts were mainly to prevent spying, and supposedly those restrictions were to be abolished after the war. However, a number of Griffons, mostly officers, abused their power in enforcing them, and, naturally, no punishment befell them for it; when a number of lawyers tried to bring the case before the governor, they were jailed for 'disturbing the peace'."

"They can't do that!" Twilight protested.

"You mean that they had no right to do it, which is different from having the power to do it. They were quite liberal with orders to restrain the population and forbid dissent, but had a tendency to ignore or slowly respond to instructions to ease up on them. They didn't, as far as I'm aware, kill anyone, and actual violence against civilians was rare, but they were pretty nasty. And I'm sure you heard of their threat to starve the city population if we refused to stop advancing against them."

"Why? They're just hurting themselves; when we win the war, we'll punish them a lot more than we would have because of all this!"

"Their objective isn't to lose; they want to turn the war around. They were trying to buy time. Hence the new weaponry. They started, in many cases, with superior weaponry at the start of the war. They may well have their own version of the tank by the time we reach their capital."

"Is there any good news?" Rainbow asked, deadpan.

"Yes. The city is receiving a big stipend from the crown to compensate for losses, and numerous convoys full of food are on their way. The railroad company in charge of the line that runs to and from the city is going to repair the stretch of track that the enemy destroyed during their retreat, so goods will come in faster and in greater quantities. And, first and foremost, we are in a better position to continue the war and keep pressing them than they are to flip the outcome. Reinforcements are coming in to replace our losses, while they have to scramble to draft anyone capable of holding any sort of weapon. In the meantime, their ports are being blockaded, so their economy is taking a beating and their people can't get the goods hey want and need very easily."

"How long do you think it'll drag on?" Twilight asked, concerned.

"I'm no fortune teller or someone like that who can see the future, but I'd say sometime within the next year. Just when and where it will end will depend on what happens, which I cannot be expected to predict."

"You don't have much hope for the peace talks, do you?"

"No, Twilight, I do not. I wish we were fighting an enemy who would realize that the deck's stacked against them and quit, but their actions and words during the course of the conflict have given the lie to that idea. Even if the average soldier and civilian on the street wants peace, their king won't have it until he has no choice but to accept it."

"Can't the clan leaders force him to give up? They're less a kingdom than a collection of fiefdoms."

"I wish I could believe that. Something tells, me that won't happen though. I don't know why, but either they support the war, fear losing some of their land to Equestria if they lose, or else really believe they can turn the war around. I don't know."

There was another short period of silence.

"Hi guys!' came the voice of a certain pink pony, who, along with Fluttershy, had appeared almost out of nowhere. "Whatcha doin'?"

James shared a glance with Twilight. "Just talking."

"I love talking! I love to talk about all the parties I've been to, how happy they made everypony, about all the big cakes I've helped make, and how my bestest bestest friends in the whole world loved the big party I set up for them! Did I say how happy my parties made everypony?" When everyone nodded, she went on, "Well, it's worth saying again!"

"Hey you guys," Spike shouted from an army wagon up ahead. He jumped out and ran over to them. "What's up?"

"The sky," James answered at once.

"...Really, dude?" Spike said, face falling. "Do you know how much that joke's been overdone?"

"Sorry."

"It's alright. I guess."

Before anyone else could respond, James heard a voice calling out. "General! General!"

He turned; it was the pegasus he'd sent out earlier. "Yes?"

"Sir, we found the enemy battery. There were no troops defending it, only the gun crews trying to haul them away. After a brief fight, they gave up. They're under guard, and we're gathering up their cannons."

"Very nice work, soldier. Have the guns taken into our arsenal. I'll interrogate the prisoners myself, when I have the time. After that's done, get something to eat, drink, and then get a little rest. You've earned it."

"Yes, sir." The officer saluted, then flew off.

"I hope the army can end the war soon," Twilight remarked. "It's not easy, knowing what they're up against."

"Just be glad you're not fighting it."

"What was the reason for your attack on our camp?" James demanded.

"We had our orders; we were to bombard your camp in order to remind you that we're a going concern, and far from beaten!" the Griffon opposite him replied.

"Are those the only reasons you had for the attack?"

"Aye. If the general commanding had any other reason, he kept it to himself. I think he would have told us if there was a particular reason."

"... I can say with certainty that you didn't kill anyone, or even wound anyone. Your attack, if it was meant to cause damage, has utterly failed."

"Of course you'd say that. You lie!"

"Considering that we're from opposing armies, you have reason to distrust me. I think we're done here." James turned to a couple of soldiers standing by the door. "Take him to the holding area, and take him past the site of the recent bombardment while doing so, even if it's out of your way."

"Will do, sir. You, get moving." The soldiers led the prisoner away.

"You didn't tell them about the Princess. A good move, if I might say so," Crystal said.

"True. I haven't heard of prison breaks yet, but I doubt they're impossible, and I don't want the enemy to know how close they came to killing one of the two leaders of Equestria, in any way."

"It would raise their morale, and they would redouble their efforts if they knew. I am shocked myself. I hope the papers keep a strict blackout on this subject."

"I think they will. As much as I, and the Princess, are for free press, this would be a bad time for it."

"I have no complaints about that." Crystal tried to change the subject; "She'll be off to meet with the enemy's leaders soon enough. Do you think they'll honor the ceasefire?"

"She'll have protection from a couple of Guards... Guards with upgraded weapons. The enemy leader, general, king, or whoever is coming will be allowed only two guards of their own as well. That is, if they accept the ceasefire and agree to the meeting. If they try to kidnap her... well, they won't come off well. I can promise you that."

"Clan Leader?"

"Aye?" Graywing asked. "Spit it out, boy, what's the matter?"

"There's a pony out there, wavin' a white flag o' sorts. I reckon they want a parley."

"Oh, do they, now?" the erstwhile colonel remarked. "Let 'im come, let 'im have his say."

"Aye sir."

As the soldier left, Graywing sighed. The war wasn't going well anymore, and right now the king and his generals seemed o be trying to make it harder. Several high ranking officers - colonels, brigadiers, the like - had been dismissed for incompetency, although he knew that wasn't the case and that most of these individuals had very decent, in numerous ways. Of course the king wanted scapegoats. That was all too obvious. Someone had to take the fall for losing so much ground. He clenched his claws in anger. None of those who had been dismissed had deserved it. How were they supposed to react to superior artillery, or to metal monsters unleashed upon them?

Even more disconcerting was the fact that many of these officers either hadn't been in a major combat role or else had honest reasons to excuse their failure to halt the enemy... as well as the coincidence (if it could be called that) that each had been a major proponent of their clans' sovereignty. He didn't quite know how to react to that. The king had nominal control over the clans, but his power over them was limited. When Griffon kings tried to step over the line, an uproar of some sort had always come to the fore to oppose their measures, which had kept the balance of power in check.

Naturally, the war demanded sacrifices, from the common soldier in the army to the manufactory worker. However, the king had taken steps not... accepted before. It had already made many clan leaders suspicious. Their dissent had been quelled, to an extent, by the fact that most of them had supported the war, at least initially, but the recent reverses were changing minds, in the army, government, and the common Griffon. It wouldn't be long before something snapped, and then who could predict what would happen?

Perhaps the pony was coming to bring an offer of peace. perhaps all those problems could be resolved if the king swallowed his pride and accepted that the war was no longer to his advantage.

Perhaps.

Celestia made herself comfortable as she waited for General Grayfeather to join her. She was currently sitting at a rather simple table, with a cushion to sit on. If it was supposed to be an insult - to pull her down from the décor and splendor she expected - It wasn't working, and she actually laughed on the inside at the idea. She sipped at some tea and took a moment to savor the flavor. Some ponies, and many members of other species, didn't care for the flavor, but personally she loved it. She was a little too well known for liking it. It was a drink that helped her relax and focus on the situation.

She remembered how she'd tired her hoof at many things in the preceding millennium; painting, pottery, acting, basically anything connected to the arts. She hadn't been good at everything, which was funny, as one would think that over a thousand years of life would produce some result in those fields. She'd come to realize that each pony had their gifts, and that each pony had faults. The same held true for all species.

It was with regret that she also recounted the battles - most non lethal, but a few, thankful a very few, that were - that she had witnessed or had participated in. The battle with her own sister loomed first and foremost among them, but it was hardly the first, or the last. While she cherished peace, both between nations and between individuals, sometimes force was the only option. It was never one she used without reluctance.

The tent flap was pulled aside by one of her two Guards, both of whom were armed with a modified matchlock that allowed them to fit a bayonet on the end. "Your Highness, the General is here," he announced; he said it without the slightest hint of disapproval or displeasure, as he was trained to do.

"Excellent. You may let him in." Perhaps the knowledge that this is taking place between the lines, with a company of troops on either side keeping watch, with cannons, no less, will keep the Griffons from doing anything... unpleasant. Hopefully my ponies will take no action themselves, and this conflict will be resolved shortly.

General Grayfeather walked in, along with two guards of his own. His face was a mix of tiredness and arrogance as he sat down opposite her. "Ah, Princess," he said, setting his claws on the table. "I assume you've seen the futility of this conflict and have chosen to surrender at last?"

After centuries on the throne, it was easy for Celestia to keep her face straight, although in her mind, she was tempted both to laugh and to express outrage. "You assume falsely, General," she said firmly. "I have come to make peace between our two nations. And I most certainly will not be considering my own surrender, if that is what you were thinking."

"Then I fail to see why you have called for this meeting," the general answered. "There is no acceptable peace between Equestria and the griffon Kingdom except for the unilateral surrender of the former."

"You fail, or perhaps refuse, to see that this war has turned against you," she countered. "Our army has chased you from Trottingham, and could, if I allowed them, drive you back to your borders."

"That would be costly, wouldn't it?" Grayfeather asked, grinning. "For such a peaceful race, the cost of resisting us has been enormous. Surely you can't expect your people to accept the idea of losing even more husbands and sons? Especially you've already suffered heavy, if not unaffordable, casualties."

"You are over-exaggerating our losses; I admit, I wish we did not have to lose so many ponies." She took a deep breath. "But what you've done, and would have done, makes me ever so much more determined to make sure that their loss wasn't in vain. You mistook, and continue to mistake, our peaceful ways as weakness. You ignore the fact that your ports are blockaded, that your land campaigns have been a failure, and that you are in fact losing, to the point of drafting the under-aged and the elderly and otherwise unqualified. You ignore that, despite hiring a dragon to attack us, we were victorious anyway. You also ignore our industrial capacity for sustaining the war. And, first and foremost, I think you ignore the effect your treatment of ponies who have had the misfortune of falling under your rule has had on our soldiers and their will to continue the fight."

"We were punishing your futile resistance to our conquest, and enforcing on you the fact that rebellion would be a fatal error."

"And yet, as we are supposedly peaceful, you couldn't have had an expectation of resistance from a civilian population, could you?"

"A precaution," the General said quickly, trying to deflect her argument. "As the ponies under us have been resistant and worthlessly reluctant to obey us, we've had to be harder on the people than we would have otherwise."

I will not tell him he sounds like a frog, she thought as hard as possible. Her sense of outrage overcame the former desire to laugh. "You have committed atrocities against our people," Celestia said forcefully, dropping all pretenses, "including the manufacture of weapons that involved the near-deaths of many unicorns by forcing them to give up as much energy as their bodies would allow for and still live. When the public become aware of this, and they will, they will be all the more inspired-"

"I deny-"

"-to continue the war," Celestia continued, raising her voice to drown his. "Soldier," she said, turning to one of her Guards.

The Guard turned, opened a long box on the floor, picked up something inside it, and threw the object onto the table; it was one of the beam rifles the Griffons had been using.

Grayfeather simply stared at her. "These would not have been necessary if you had conceded defeat," he answered.

"These were not necessary at ALL. There is no excuse for abusing my ponies. However, in spite of your abuses, in spite of your willing blindness, in spite of all we have suffered at your claws, I am willing to be generous; leave our land, pay for all the ponies your invasion has hurt in any way, and sign a treaty of non-aggression, with the agreement to uphold that treaty for a hundred years, at which time we will consider renewing it. The amount to be paid is currently being calculated, although it shall not be devastating to your economy. In addition, your king is to make a public apology for all the misery his invasion has caused us, and to revoke all further claim to any land outside his realm."

"Ignoring that we still have superior warriors, Princess, this is not generous. That last in particular interferes with other international relations."

"It is generous, compared to what many of my subjects have been urging me to enforce. Do you think we would let you off with a warning, letting you invade some other poor country? You have lost the war; in another month, perhaps two or three, you will have been pushed back to our border, and then you will experience the misery of our invasion of your lands."

"That will not happen. We will suppress your counterattack well before your armies reach the border."

"Excuse me for pointing it out, General, but you are outnumbered as it is, and you are replacing your losses with teenage children and the elderly who are barely able to fly or walk without some sort of help. You have also hired mercenaries against us to bolster your numbers, an attempt to overwhelm us that has not succeeded. Your ports are blockaded, and garrisons of seaside clans await invasion by Saddle Arabian forces that could come upon them at any moment, and the troops you have there are not present in this army, needless to say. At this point, it is our mercy, and not yours, that matters."

"Even were I to take all this back to the king, he would refuse it. I, as his representative on the battlefield, and as his loyal vassal, cannot undertake any policy His Majesty would not."

"And your ruler has gone against the idea of clan sovereignty. You don't have the support for the war that your did. Mercenaries who might have otherwise willingly joined you are hesitant or else flatly refuse to join your cause. As the recent victories of our army have shown, fighting for money in a doomed cause isn't worth it."

"And you haven't taken in a mercenary?" the General countered, grinning again. "The beast that leads your armies. Don't act like our use of those willing to be paid is so one-sided."

"James Lavigne is not a mercenary," Celestia countered. The human wasn't one of her subjects, true enough, but he was someone entirely on her side and loved Equestria, and for those reasons and more, she gave him her whole-hearted support.

"Someone forced, then, or otherwise-"

"He is doing all this quite willingly; I gave him the chance to go home, without penalty, and he chose to stay."

"And yet you don't pay him."

"Oh, I will." When we win this war, I shall grant him a big reward, make no mistake about that.

"Our soldiers continue to fight. You should not believe the war is won in your favor, Princess."

"If you continue to struggle," she said, standing up, "they'll be fighting and dying for no purpose; the wounded and crippled from the war will have suffered their terrible injuries for nothing. The tide has turned in Equestria's favor, and there is nothing you can conceivably do to reverse the facts. I am not even calling for unconditional surrender or Griffon land; we merely want what is ours to be returned to us, as well as reasonably payment for damages done to us, and an end to your expansion efforts."

"All of which are unreasonable; you will be our subjects, whether or not you resist or like it."

For a full minute, both leaders looked one another in the eye, neither saying anything.

"Is that your final word?" Celestia asked finally.

"It is. And you may consider it the final word of His Majesty. If any more ponies come with any message other than that of the surrender of Equestria, we will take them prisoner."

It hurt, hearing the absolute finality and knowing that her negotiation had failed, done in by Griffon pride and refusal to admit the war was lost. She sighed. It would mean more ponies, Griffons, and other participants in the war would continue to die and suffer crippling wounds. Both of the major nations would take some time to recover from those losses.

I know he knows that the war is lost. I could see it in his posture. But he and his king are so stubborn that they willfully blind themselves to anything but what constitutes good news in their eyes. It reminded her of a child throwing a tantrum when things didn't go his way, willfully destroying even his own toys in his rage and ultimately getting nothing but a time out and perhaps a spanking if he'd gotten really out of control. Of course, there were major differences; Griffons were not, and never would be, ponies, and the idea that Equestria gave birth to the Griffon Kingdom was absurd. But it couldn't disperse the image of an infant Griffon king throwing his toy soldiers everywhere after being told he couldn't take cookies from the cookie jar.

"Then I must return to Canterlot, and continue to handle the affairs of Equestria and the war," she said, feeling suddenly weary - not physically, just spiritually. "I must confess my regret that you could not see the benefits of peace. I hope you and your kingdom do not come to long regret this decision."

She didn't wait for a reply. She walked out, her Guards following her (one of them toting the beam weapon; no use leaving that behind).

Celestia looked to the east; a company of Griffons, watching her and their General as he also walked out. To the west, her own faithful, valiant soldiers were also watching, hope in their eyes, hope that was quickly dashed by the sad look on her face.

She continued walking towards them, until she was relatively close to them. "I am truly sorry, my little ponies, but there is no peace between Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom today."

She watched their faces fall even further. Some just showed the exhaustion that those who have witnessed terrible things commonly bear. Others cursed - silently, so that she wouldn't hear the foul language they were using - while one of them actually broke out in tears.

"I know it's a burden upon you all," she continued. "But know that all our people, all your sweethearts, wives, and children are behind you." She could tell that this had caught their attention. "This fight is for them, and their future as well as your own. I vow to you that we shall not relent until our country is free once more from invaders! We shall be victorious!"

That got cheers. Soldiers shouted their approval and threw their hats in the air. Some began chanting slogans.

Good luck, my brave warriors; you'll need it if you're to end the war as soon as possible.

As Grayfeather walked away from the parley, one of his guards - an aide, disguised - whispered, "That did not go as well as one might hope, sir."

"Just between you and I, soldier," Grayfeather whispered back, "I agree with her that our position is closing on untenable."

"Then why-"

"Because I had orders to be as... adamant as I could should such an event crop up, to be as obstinate as I could, in order to make all peace save that which His Majesty desires impossible. Because the king has spoken, and as his vassals we must obey, even if those orders lead us to ruin, because that is the ultimate duty of any soldier. I have been drilled in this doctrine since my earliest days as a warrior, as an apprentice at the military academy. And... it would be a bad decision, a very bad decision, to disobey him. His ultimate plan may just be enough to turn the tide."

"It had better be some sort of unbeatable superweapon, because I fail to see how we shall otherwise win on the battlefield."

"We are going to copy the enemy's machines; of that, I can assure you, or else create a design of our own." The aide grunted in response.

Grayfeather had been telling the truth about his military education; he had been schooled, from his first days in the king's military academy in Gryphos, that obedience to the king and his orders was to override everything else. This discipline was the key element in his life as an officer. Politics were not for a soldier to think about, or dwell on, unless instructed to.

"Saying all that made you sound a bit stupid, sir."

"A sacrifice. All soldiers should know that they must make sacrifices."

"Indeed sir, but our sacrifice makes us despised by the world."

"The world can rot. His Majesty has given us a job. We will complete it, or die trying. That's the way a soldier's life works."

"That didn't go well," Crystal muttered. "I don't know what they said, as the guys who went with the Princess aren't telling, but for all things lovable, why?"

"Why struggle against the inevitable?" James took a long draft of water from his canteen. "Because sometimes, it's not so inevitable. And because kings, particularly those wanting land, power, and gold, can have a rather curious inability to be reasonable." He took another drink; he'd been anxious about the results of the conference between the leaders. In all honesty, he'd been worried the Griffons would somehow try to kidnap the Princess and hold her hostage. It hadn't happened, thank God, but maybe the anxiety had made him more thirsty than he would have been otherwise. "Maybe the king has something up his non-existent sleeve, maybe he thinks he has an ace to play. And maybe, he's plain greedy and stupid. I don't know. What I do know is that we'll have to continue fighting, and that we appear to e in a winning position."

"That would be bad, if they had something in reserve. I'm still waiting for their own tanks to come out."

"It'll probably be a little while," James said. "I think they'll try and study ours first; imitation is the most sincere form of flattery," he remarked.

"And when they can't figure out how we did it, they'll try and make their own."

"They'll probably succeed at some point. We'll have to come up with a way to move artillery to the front lines quickly when they do." James finished off his canteen. "Now, on to our next move." He walked over to his map. "We need to get over Sugar Cane River before we can really drive them out, and that's going to be a challenge."

"Hard to fight when you're neck-deep in water," his aide agreed.

"Especially with weapons requiring wet powder to work," James said, nodding. "Which is why I'm having Blue Fur work on three light but durable bridges to cross."

"I hope you won't have us charge across them in broad daylight; a narrow causeway would give them a shooting gallery."

"Exactly. Which is why I'll have the Lunar Guard fly over first, at night, to silence their pickets. Our engineers will then place the bridges in their optimal places, after which the army will cross."

"Are you sure they can get the job done?"

"I am confident. And we have to try something."

"Odd to think that this will take place within eyesight of our previous battle bearing the name of the river."

"Within earshot is probably more like it; I intend to cross about a mile south of the battle site."

"Why not have regular pegasi do it?"

"Because no other troops in this army are as adept at night combat, and at making surprise attacks, than the thestrals. Once the bridges are in place, the rest of the army will cross." He frowned for a moment. "I doubt we'll be able to get enough sacks and cloth for the entire army, though; I'll have to rely on a brigade to cross over each bridge and hold until daybreak."

"Why sacks and... ah, to muffle our hooves."

"Yes. I want this to be done in silence, for batteries to set up in choice places before the sun rises on our crossing. I want to give the enemy a shock."

"What if they form a trench line on the other side of the river? So that they could shoot at us from anywhere we chose to land?"

"I'll have scouts confirm their locations, then shift the crossing sites as necessary. They can't cover the entire river. We can cover more of it than they can. I want to try outright flanking them this time, preferably if they remain ignorant of our crossing the river."

"That would be nice, but we've tried wiping out their army before."

"I know, and you've yet to see a fulfillment on that promise, or wish, however you would prefer."

"When will this be done?"

"Three nights from now. Our engineers need time to plan out and build the bridges, and we need to prepare our units for the operation."

"I hope this works sir, or that we can destroy their army before they can get there."

"I have my doubts of that last, I'm afraid. A river makes a decent place for a stand, and it'll take some time to cross. They're not fools, they'll be trying to come up with ways of countering our tanks, and a river would be the most difficult place for them to tread. If the river doesn't flood out the crew or get into some important component, it will slow them down and make them easy targets for their guns. And, unfortunately, the shields on them won't hold against that kind of combined fire."

Crystal shrugged, conceding the point. "Wish I could say that those things moved faster. Only thing they're good at is fighting and not much else. You could race one and be waiting a day, if not two or three, for it to get to the finish line. They're slowing down our movement overall, and the Griffons can pull back faster than we can move forward, especially considering how they've been systematically destroying the rail lines."

"Alright, so using tanks will be difficult, if not impossible. And the enemy will be using all that time to reinforce and build up defenses. So we attack without them. We'll cross the river, and, assuming all goes well, we'll force them out of their defenses and into retreat."

"I hope it works."

James nodded. "Me too," he said quietly. He took off his hat and scratched his head. "Me too."

Chapter 48; Return engagement

James watched as several wagons of lumber were brought up; the engineers immediately went to work, taking planks and putting them into place.

"How long will this take?" he inquired of one of them.

"It will take some time, sir," a tan-coated stallion answered. "Maybe a couple days."

"Is there any way to get the process to go faster?"

"Not if you want them to be good."

Quality over quantity, James thought, Or in this case, quality over time. "I expect them to be done three days from now at the latest. I'd prefer two, but if you can't meet that particular deadline, then I'll be willing to wait another day."

The engineer nodded. "We'll be ready by then, sir, I can promise you that."

"Good."

"Of course," the pony continued, "all this depends on just where we're supposed to be crossing, and on the particular landscape there, as well as the distance between shores. The longer a bridge we have to make, the more stress on the center, and the more time and wood we'll have to spend shoring it up."

James grunted; he'd played a bridge construction game on the computer, and knew, to some small extent, what construction required, especially after having dropped fifteen trucks in a row into the river. "I'm counting on you and your team to get this job done," he said aloud. "You'll get the information you need."

"Thank you, General, that will help immensely."

James nodded, waved, and walked back toward the camp. So far, the advance had not been opposed as much as it might have been. All indications were that the enemy wanted to fight a battle on the river. It a good plan. The problem for the enemy was that the Equestrian army could afford to stretch itself farther than they could. In addition, the Griffons were suffering a blockade of their ports that was being strengthened over time; more Saddle Arabian ships arrived every day to completely block them. The Griffons had resorted to blockade running, but that was a risky endeavor at best and foolhardy at worst. Their reputation was now in the trash after Celestia had revealed what had gone on in lands under their occupation. As a result, there were few who were willing to trade with them anyway.

Can't really say that I'm put off with the way the war's going, he thought to himself. However, before the enemy could be defeated, he needed to cross the river. After that, forests would be the main obstacle. He grimaced. Forest fighting wasn't clean, and all sorts of things made it unpleasant. The fact that the forest could burst into flames from the combined fire of both armies was a rather inconvenient problem.

Other than that future issue and the current effort to cross the river, the only place Equestria was having trouble was against the Changelings. The insectile force was avoiding battle wherever possible. An ominous report said that they appeared to be growing in strength, based on the number of them present during the last few skirmishes.

Just what we need; for the buggers to get their strength back, he thought dismally. "As if we didn't have enough problems," he whispered under his breath.

Arriving at the camp, he went to his tent, went inside, and started studying the maps he had. One was of the local region, the other a much smaller world map keeping an eye on military events all the Griffon Kingdom and the lands around it. He nodded in satisfaction after inspecting the latter; the Griffons weren't doing well. A rather large fleet from Saddle Arabia was approaching their southern coast. If that wasn't an invasion fleet, it had to be a raiding force, or else more ships for the blockade, enough to make blockade running almost if not entirely extinct.

The current battlefield wasn't going to be easy to deal with. The enemy were giving no signs of giving up the war in spite of their defeats and the increasing odds against them. Indeed, they seemed to be all the more defiant, or at least their leaders did. A river was a decent place to make a stand; history was full of bloody attempts to cross one, only for withering fire to throw them back, or make their losses high in spite of success. While he had the numbers to make such a crossing under fire, he preferred not to take unnecessary casualties.

The natural recourse to using boats and bridges was to fly... which was what the enemy would be looking for, being winged people themselves. Pegasi would have difficulty if he tried to use them in a major landing attempt, of that he was certain.

"If only I could build a giant cannon and throw my army across the river," he said, trying to get himself to laugh. That wasn't likely to happen, but merely wishing he could do that couldn't, by itself, hurt.

"Could burrow under it," he considered. He tossed that out after about a minute's thinking. It would take too much time, and the likelihood of the tunnel collapsing and flooding out it's diggers was too high for him to seriously give it any weight.

"Well, then, going through is all that's left." He prayed it would be enough.

Star Blaze watched as the engineers slowly and carefully brought up the bridges they had made. Their hooves had been wrapped in cloth as to avoid making noise, as were those of every soldier who would make the attack.

He looked up briefly at the moon. It was shining tonight, but a group of pegasi high up were going to take care of that by blocking it out with clouds.

Still not the best time to make an attack, he thought. I guess it had to happen soon, though. The longer we leave the enemy alone, the sooner they can get back up on their feet again, and we don't want that. He wondered whether Princess Luna would have withheld the moon tonight for the sake of the attack. He had his doubts; the moon, as well as the sun, was here for the entire world; using it for the sake of a single nation, or for military purposes, would be an abuse of power, or at least most non-ponies would think so, and he didn't see how he could have blamed them.

He felt a kinship with his Princess; a sense of duty, mingled with the feeling of being left out by other ponies, if not tragically misunderstood. Most in the Lunar Guard had feelings like that. Perhaps it magnified their loyalty to her. Regardless, he felt more alive, more ready for action, at night.

"That's our cue to go," he heard a nearby sergeant say, as the pegasi began blocking the moon.

"Remember, stay as close as you can to the surface of the water when you start flying," another added.

Star Blaze didn't feel like he needed the reminder, but he was careful to crawl forward slowly to the riverside through the tall grass. Once there, he quickly spread his wings and allowed himself to drop until he was just above the water before leveling out and flapping his wings. He could see other Night Guards around him, all determined to do their jobs as best as could be.

They reached the other side without any calls of alarm, so that was good. He was careful to advance quietly, with as little noise as possible. He'd heard that two Guards in another Lunar unit had stepped on twigs while trying to sneak up on the enemy in a prior mission; their commander had forced them to carry the sticks around with them until the mission was over. He didn't want that to happen to him, or to any of his buddies.

"You hear that?" he heard someone up ahead say.

He stopped immediately; he felt rather than heard the other Lunar Guards do the same.

"Oh, it's just the wind," came a second voice, crustier than the first.

"Right, I'll raise you ten gold pieces," a third one said.

Oh, you can't be serious... He crawled forward. Around a small fire, three Griffons sat, each with several cards in their claws.

"I'll raise two more gold pieces," the first one, a youthful Griffon, said, pushing forward two gold coins.

Star resisted the urge to laugh. You can't make this stuff up - really, you can't. He turned to another Guard, who nodded. He edged forward as the crusty sounding Griffon said, "It's over boys; two kings!" and laid his cards down next to the fire.

"Aw, come on!" the young one said, throwing down his set of cards. "You win too much."

"I'm just good, son."

"Well, who's up for another round?" the third one said, undaunted.

"Wait, what's that?" the young Griffon said, his eyes suddenly looking to a spot on the other side of the fire.

"It's just yer nerves, kid. Now, gimme the cards, so's I can shuffle 'em again."

"Sorry, game over." Star reached up and bashed the crusty Griffon in the side of the head with a hoof, knocking him out. The other two didn't have time to do or say anything; a second later, both of them were on the ground, stunned by other Guards.

"Good work," his sergeant said. "I can't believe these idiots were playing cards when they had us to worry about."

"Nopony expects the Night Guard," Star said.

"True, but I was talking about the army as a whole." The sergeant turned to the crusty Griffon, who was stirring. "Why weren't you morons keeping watch?"

"Just be glad our job was easy this time, Sergeant," another Lunar Guard said.

"I wasn't speaking to you. Come on, why were you just sitting around, playing poker while our army was on the other side of the river?"

"How were we supposed to know you miscreants were going to make a move at night?" the Griffon answered. "Can't move a bleeding army when it's dark as death outside."

"So you got bored and decided you'd gamble instead of looking out for us."

"Like the other bastard said, why are you complainin'? Ya got what ya wanted, didn't ya?"

"Watch your mouth," the sergeant said coldly. "You and you," he said, pointing to two Guards. "Take these bozos back to camp. And I'd advise you three not to make any noise to alert whatever other Griffons are out here, or you'll get it in the neck... literally."

The two older Griffons stared at him, but said nothing. The young one just seemed surprised that he'd been caught so quickly and easily.

"Get going," one of the selected Guards said, thrusting a spear forward for emphasis. Sullenly, the Griffons got going.

"This was too easy," Star said, taking up position.

"Sometimes that's how it really works. But keep on your guard. Spread out, and keep searching; there have to be more around here somewhere, and not all of them will be as dumb as these guys."

Star knew what the sergeant said was true, but that didn't keep him from wishing that it wasn't.

"So far, so good," Silver Shield whispered to himself. "Let's keep it that way, shall we?"

He got no answer. He didn't expect one. But he could see that the whole plan was indeed going well; the bridge in front of him had been placed at it's designated point without any trouble from the enemy.

One of the regiments began moving forward, it's orders given in whispers as well; with a calm night like this, voices could, and probably would, carry. It wasn't at top strength; the war had dwindled it' s numbers. Still, it's banners were well taken care of, and the soldiers marched as though they'd never had to suffer the shock of battle. And there were still hundreds of them to make the crossing.

Not much a fan of having my hooves covered, though. It wasn't as though the keratin could actually feel the cloth around his hoof; it couldn't. But it made his leg heavy, and as the material was wont to do, it would slip and slide from step to step, making it hard to know whether his next step would fall on something flat or whether he'd have to take cautions against tripping. But it would serve it's purpose; it would make the crossing stealthy, after which he could freely ditch the cloth.

The unit passed over the bridge and started to deploy from column to loose skirmish order. The best way by far to enter the woods just beyond; it was damn hard to maintain a line when trees and underbrush would make it stagger and dodge all over the place. He was getting the idea that James was going to make it a permanent doctrine. Shield wasn't so sure; under fire, yes, a line of battle would suffer losses, but until sufficient numbers of new rifles and ammunition reached the front line, it was the best way to maximize firepower. It wasn't exactly efficient, but then a smoothbore weapon wasn't made for accuracy - it was intended to shock the enemy. And some lead shot at the same location was bound to hit something. Against melee troops, a skirmish order wasn't a good idea either; the distance between your own troops would make the unit easy to shatter if the enemy actually got that close.

"Move forward," came the word of the colonel in charge of his regiment.

The unit did so. The sounds of the unit's hooves was muffled by the cloth they wore. Company by company, the regiment came over the bridge. The artillery was brought over as well, the wheels also being covered by cloth to muffle them.

Shield untied the cloth and threw it away. It would be collected later by somepony, but truth be told, he didn't really care what happened to it.

For a while, he didn't hear anything coming from the woods. Silence, here, meant success. He felt his worries start to slide.

Then, some distance away, a gun went off. There was a loud scream of pain and more gunfire. The scream died off, but the damage was clearly done.

"Come on!" he ordered his company.

The company surged into the woods; it was true that they wouldn't be able to take on a whole army, but the brigade wasn't supposed to take on the enemy on their own; it just had to hold until morning. The best way to do that was hit the enemy a good, hard blow first, shocking him, before bracing for counterattack.

Trees, trees, why do we always have to fight in the middle of a stinking bunch of trees? For a pony who, before the war, had been used to protecting cities, fighting in the woods wasn't as easy to get used to as it would be for one who had lived near or in one most of their lives. At least it's not the Everfree Forest; some rulers even before Celestia's time tried taming it, and they all failed.

He had barely gotten through that thought when he collided with something. There was a surprised shout, and then a string of angry words in a language he didn't understand. The figure went for something on his belt.

That made up Shield's mind; he shoved his gun against the figure's belly and depressed the trigger. The Griffon - for it had to be one of them, considering the Italian or Spanish he was hearing - stopped shouting and screamed, before crumpling to the ground.

Scattered gunshots rang out around him as his company blazed away into the darkness. All it had taken was one shot nearby to ignite excited the troopers. Shouts erupted from Equestrian throats, various battle cries and cheers; "Hurrah for Equestria!" ""Forward for the Princesses!" "Freedom for ponies!"

Other shouts met them, far more hostile; "For King Raneiro!" "Down with pony domination!" "Celestia the tyrant!"

More gunfire came, from Equestrian units as well as Griffon warriors. Screams of pain mingled with angry jeers and catcalling. A cannon boomed from somewhere up ahead. A second or two later, a tree fell, it's deafening crash resounding throughout the woods.

Good thing it's hard to aim artillery in a forest, unless you're firing over open sights. That could have done something terrible if it had been better aimed.

Griffon officers began calling for a withdrawal. The Equestrians followed them.

"Damn it," James muttered furiously as the sounds of fighting broke out. "The element of surprise is gone now."

"I suppose it couldn't have lasted forever," Crystal said sympathetically.

James continued to listen, trying to gauge just what was going on. The noise didn't get any closer to the river, so he supposed that was good.

Gradually, though, the noise intensified. That likely signified an enemy counterattack. "Get some support up there," he ordered. "I don't care whether or not the units you send were scheduled to take part in the attack or not, just get them up there."

"I will, sir." Crystal began barking orders to other officers standing by.

James could only wait. he didn't have to wait long before a pegasus assigned to the attack came back. "We're holding them for now," the soldier said, barely pausing to salute. "But there's a lot of them coming. they're reinforcing quickly."

"How long can you hold?"

"The cap thought you'd ask that. He doesn't know. Maybe two or three hours."

"Cap? What happened to Colonel Swift Wing?"

"He's down, sir. Bolt to right hind leg. Medics say he'll live, but he's in no state to command right now."

"I see. Well, you can tell them I'm sending reinforcements."

"How many?"

"The whole army, if I can rouse them from their sleep."

"Right. I'll tell the cap."

"Good. Now go."

After the pegasus had gone, Crystal said, "It might take a while for the entire army to be assembled."

"I have my doubts as well. They're have to get up, groggy and tired, find their units, and go run as fast as they can to the battle site. That could take at best thirty minutes, which is probably wildly optimistic; an hour to two hours is more like it. And that soldier just told us about one of the three assault forces; I have no idea how the other two are doing."

"We'll have reports soon enough, sir."

James shivered a little as a cold gust of wind swept over him. "I hope they come soon. I thought that personal radios might be dispersed among our military by now."

"Our society has seen no major war in many generations; getting set up for one takes time and experience. And, if there's one thing I've learned, its that throwing in something new too fast can hurt you."

"Well, it can, if you fail to utilize it properly. God, it's cold tonight," James answered as more cold air swept around him. "I hope there's been no report of windigos, because at this rate we'll end up freezing before dawn."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Crystal said. Getting a look at his superior's shocked face, he hastily added, "I doubt it. There have been no reported windigo attacks for hundreds of years. The Princess whipped them the last time they tried something, and they haven't been back."

"Well that's something, though you'd think a damned war would be a feeding frenzy for them."

"No doubt. but there's been no sign of them whatsoever."

"Alright then." James continued to shiver as the wind persistently swept over the land. "You'd think, though, that in early June it would be warmer, even at night."

"Sometimes the weather is beyond even a pegasus' control. We can't control the wind, for example, even though we can control the clouds and make them do just about anything, within reason, of course."

"Let us hope we can maintain the advantage," James replied, and Crystal didn't argue with him.

Star Blaze shot his crossbow; the Griffon he aimed at fell.

That's one more out of the fight. Now for the nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine of them left. Although the initial attack had had considerable success, the Griffons had finally realized what was going on, and they were throwing units into the battle with almost reckless abandon. From a general's viewpoint, that made sense; they needed to crush the bridgeheads before the Equestrian army could fully take advantage of them. Naturally, from a soldier's viewpoint, any reinforcement for the enemy, for whatever reason, was always a bad thing.

He began to reload. The Lunar Guard preferred crossbows over matchlocks because the former were better for stealth attacks. In a major engagement, they sometimes came out second best. not here, not so much; the darkness helped conceal the Lunar units, while the enemy kept exposing themselves every time they fired.

The battle had raged for some time; he wasn't sure just how long it had been. Long enough for the enemy to have reinforced a couple of times, that was for sure. The fighting grew more and more intense.

Star shot again, then began reloading without checking to see whether he'd scored a hit. A bullet struck the tree he was hiding behind; not all the enemies were idiots, and some of them would be able to guess he was in a certain area.

Artillery on both sides fired away at one another; except by luck, they generally didn't hit anything, save, of course, the trees. Enough of them fell that Star wondered whether or not it would be more cost efficient for lumberjacks to use cannons instead of axes. Griffons and ponies fired away at one another, ducking and weaving through the trees in order to find a good spot to shoot from.

"Damn it!" came the voice of someone to his right; a lucky Griffon had scored a hit. "Fuck me, it hurts!" the other Guard moaned, obviously in serious pain.

"Hold on, son, you'll be alright," somepony else said; no doubt a medic. The wounded soldier continued to swear horribly whether or not that would prove to be true.

Star fired once more, then ducked; three more shots scored the tree, causing it to bleed sap in copious amounts.

I never thought I'd say this, but I hope the morning comes quickly. This confusing melee is worse than any nightmare dreams can come up with. Another tree, severed from it's foundations by a shell, came tumbling down, as though in testament to that thought.

James hummed quietly to himself, trying to put off his anxiety. So far, the southern and middle bridgeheads were holding, but the northern one was slowly giving ground.

His officers had tried to rally the camp, and slowly but surely, more units were on their way to the front line. However, he was a long way from feeling secure. General Grayfeather had obviously woken up, and was trying to crush the bridgeheads flat before they could become more than bridgeheads. Artillery was probably not as useful as it could have been, but given the terrible maelstrom of fire underway in the woods, both sides were probably lucky that the forest wasn't on fire.

God, was I wrong to make this attack? He'd known, of course, that such an operation had it's risk. But he hadn't truly known, not until now, just how risky it was. The units assigned to the attack were doing all that they could, but how long would it be before they ran out of ammunition?

"Victory disease." The term had originally come from the Japanese, but it summed things up enough. He'd become confident his army could win almost any battle, given the shining victories they'd won, in spite of their troubles. While the odds were still stacked against the Griffons, and were likely to stay that way, the enemy could still inflict losses. They could still make their foes pay dearly for crushing them.

How many have died for that mistake? How many have died for all my mistakes, total? It was something he would probably never know, but it deeply troubled him.

If the Changelings and Griffons hadn't invaded, Equestrians wouldn't have had to fight to repel them. That too was obvious, and he thanked his conscience for trying to cheer him up, but it didn't kill the feeling completely.

The rest of the night passed by, as did units heading up to fight. They looked tired, but they carried loaded weapons and their eyes were alert. James might have felt more proud if he weren't so tired - and nervous - himself.

Finally, as the sun began to peek over the eastern horizon, the sounds of battle began to die away, and an earth pony messenger arrived, having galloped straight from the battlefield. "Sir, the enemy has fallen back from out bridgeheads," he said.

"God be praised," James whispered. Out loud, he said, "That's very good. Is this from your unit, or from the whole front line?"

"Other messengers from the other bridgeheads got through; the southern and middle forces managed to link up, and the northern one appears to have held it's own."

James sighed with relief as his anxiety finally died away. "Very good," he repeated.

A grumbling noise came from the earth pony's stomach. "Sir, if I could be so bold, could you please send up some food? We're all hungry and tired after having fought all night."

"Of course. Crystal, see to it."

"Yes sir, I'll get on it right away."

"Good." James yawned. "I think we're all tired, after tonight. I'll probably be off to bed as soon as I'm sure our troops over there are secure."

"I thought ya told us that they couldna get across tha bloody river," an angry Griffon colonel said.

"You expect me to take the blame, when it was your unit that couldn't hold them back?" Grayfeather countered.

"How are we supposed to see in tha dark?" came the defiant reply. "We tried to hold the blighters. We really and truly did. But they've got more o' everything than we do, and they brought up more troops than we could deal with."

Grayfeather sighed. He knew that to be true. "And yet, unless I am mistaken, part of the reason the enemy were able to make the inroads they did was because so many of your soldiers, and those of other frontline commanders, were so sure the enemy could not do exactly what they ended up doing that they became complacent. That blame lies on them... as well as all officers who knew of such a temperament and failed to rectify it." He took a deep breath, trying to gain a hold on his anger. "You're dismissed. If I ever hear of this sort of thing happening again in your unit, I will remove you, and take you as far down as I can go."

The colonel saluted, made a sarcastic kind of bow, and left.

Grayfeather sighed again. The king wasn't pleased over the army's performance. He sure wasn't going to be happy about this. The officers were becoming more and more restive. And while it was true that the general himself had believed that the ponies could not currently attack, he wasn't going to let insubordination go. He had been sacking commanders more loyal to clan or self en masse, and replacing them with more capable officers loyal to the crown.

He knew, deep down, that the war wasn't going well, that it was probably going to be lost. But his obedience to the crown ran more deeply than any mere thought. He would obey. And if others failed to obey, or refused, they would be swept away.

He had tried to counterattack the moment he'd heard of the bridgeheads. Naturally, the enemy had been ready and waiting. For a while he'd been confident that he could destroy the northern bridgehead, but it had held, thanks to reinforcements. The Griffon army, outnumbered as a whole, could not bear to throw it's remaining strength into the meat grinder. As such, he had - once more - given orders for a retreat.

May it be the last time...

"We did it," an exhausted but triumphant Royal Guard said, taking off his helmet and lying on his side.

"We did." After a few hours of sleep, James was still tired, but he wasn't about to fall over. And how many more such fights do we have to go through before this war's over?

While he was still mulling this over, Crystal Clear landed next to him, his heavy hooves making a loud pounding sound as they hit the ground. "Sir," he said, saluting. "Scouts have confirmed that the enemy are in retreat. What are your orders?"

"I want whatever units we have that are not thoroughly exhausted to pursue. Try to catch as many of their units as possible."

"I will draft orders to that effect, sir. However, I must point out that a lot of our troops didn't get a good night's sleep, and the foe are in retreat, taking whatever they can with them. We might not be able to catch them."

"I still want to try. The more ground we recover, the better for us. And I want the army to do whatever it can here."

"Alright sir. I'll follow your instructions." The aide paused. "Are you alright, sir? You don't look too good."

"...Just the usual worries of a general, I guess."

"I think it's more than that."

"Okay, well how about this; I thought the army I controlled could win any engagement. I thought they could overcome every obstacle, because they'd overcome them before. And yet last night, the forward units of the assault could have been cut off and destroyed; the northern force almost was. If not for the reinforcements we sent up, the whole thing could have become a disaster."

"It didn't go off as bad as that. The other two wings of the assault were able to hold their own, and the northern force fought hard."

"I know, but still, it's hard to shake that feeling." James stood up from the rock he'd been sitting on.

"On the bright side, we're over the river now, and we won't have to worry about that kind of obstacle for a while, if at all."

"Yes. Instead, we'll have to deal with forests and bushes and undergrowth and what-have-you for the next two hundred miles or so."

"It's not so bad as that, but yeah. I didn't take you for a pessimist."

"I try to be optimistic. I really, really do. But everything I've been through in that war challenges that."

"Can't say I blame you." Crystal yawned, and brought a hoof up to his mouth in a vain effort to stop it. "I'm tired," he said unnecessarily.

"We all are. I suggest you get a nap. You've earned it. Most of the army, if not all of them, have earned it."

"Thank you, sir."

As his aide walked away, James sat back down, looking eastward. Inside, he wondered how long it would be before he, or anyone else here, would see peace again.

Chapter 49; Shifting priorities and discovery

James drank from his canteen as the army crossed over the bridge. Although still tired from staying up all night, he was pleased to see that his army was advancing. Crystal had managed to point out deficiencies in the maps he had, so he knew they didn't face unending woodland all the way to the Griffon capital.

"We have plenty of ammunition and food to last us a while, and while our assault units suffered casualties, we have other units replacing them in line, and we'll be able to maintain sustained operations against the enemy," Crystal Clear was saying, reading off a list he was holding.

"I'm not surprised. That fight last night was largely an affair of soldiers rather than artillery, and shots had to be placed carefully."

"That being so, what is our next course of action?"

"Keep moving. I want to keep the pressure up. If prisoners are telling the truth, the king isn't pleased with his generals."

"That's stupid... uh, sir."

"Ha, I don't mind. Go on, I can tell you want to say more." James took another long swig; he had been thirsty since dawn, perhaps because of his anxiety.

"Well, I find it ridiculous, given the resources they have. Of course, if their king wants to be stupid, I'm all for it, so long as it helps us."

"Me too, come to that. Damn, empty," he added as he finished off the water in the canteen. "If he fires Grayfeather and puts someone less competent in command, I'll have no complaints. It'll make my job easier, and the sooner the war ends, the sooner we can all go home." He yawned. "I hope that's soon."

Before his aide could reply, a flapping of wings and the sound of landing hooves came to their ears. "Sir, General... a moment, if you will."

"Yes?" he replied, looking at the pegasus soldier who had just landed.

"I have a message from the Princess."

"Oh, really? What does she say?"

"She's asking that you join her at your tent. She didn't say anything else."

Princess Celestia hadn't left the camp yet; although she'd sent Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6 back to Ponyville and her mission of peace had failed, she'd insisted on coming up to watch the battle. Not that there had been much to watch, although there had been plenty to listen to. He didn't know why, but she doubtless had her reasons, and she was Princess. Maybe - no, probably - she wanted to know just what her soldiers were going through.

"...Okay, I'll be right there. Good work."

It didn't take too long to find his own tent; it was one of the few that wasn't yet being taken down.

"Ah, James. Congratulations on winning our latest victory against the Griffon invaders."

"Thank you," James said, nodding. "But you'd do better thanking the soldiers than me. I didn't fire a shot last night."

"I will, in fact, be doing just that later on." She paused. "I would like to discuss my plans for the war in your tent, if you wouldn't mind."

"I suppose we'd better get on with that," James said, and opened the flap to let her in.

"Thank you," she said as she went in. James followed her, and sat down on a chair facing the map of the overall war.

"Now then," the Princess said, getting a good look at the board, "we're doing well against the Griffons. Our allies have cut of their trade, so their imports and exports are almost non-existent. Saddle Arabian fleets have begun taking small islands off their coasts, as stepping stones for possible invasion sites. Their main army has suffered terrible losses and is now heavily outnumbered and steadily losing ground."

"The main problem is, they're still fighting," James noted somberly.

"Indeed. But while we've been fighting the Griffons, we've turned most of our attention away from the Changeling threat. I've been looking at reports of the fighting there more carefully, and I do believe that, somehow, they've been receiving reinforcements. I'm not sure just how they're doing it, but then we don't have eyes everywhere, and can't really expect to."

"They're the smaller threat."

"So we thought. But considering their recent increase in strength, I'm having second thoughts. If left unchecked, they may soon have the numbers to outright face our army there in battle. A loss there would leave much of the west open to an unchecked rampage, un doing our previous efforts there."

"You're shifting me from here to there." It wasn't a question.

"I am. I believe it is worth doing."

"Hmm." James took another look at the map. "I would really like to be the one who finishes the war here," he said, more to himself than to her.

"I am aware of that. However, sometimes need comes before want. I am therefore sending you there."

"Can I at least have the choice of my successor here, if it isn't Shining Armor?"

"You may, though, if I'm not mistaken, you will leave General Rolling Barrel in charge here."

"I... was, in fact, going to," James said, surprised.

Celestia smiled. "I'm not a monarch who just sits on the throne and looks pretty, as I'm sure you know by now. I've been reading the reports you and your aide, Crystal Clear, have written. I think, regarding his aggressive personality, that he is a good choice."

"Okay," James said, relieved. "However, unless I'm mistaken, this front will receive priority shipments of new weapons and equipment?"

"They will, but I'm not going to neglect our army in the west. I will be sending you whatever supplies you need to get the job done."

"Alright, I guess that's settled. I'll just have to pack, and..." A meow interrupted him.

"Ooooh, how cute!" Celestia said, laughing as Kiki wove in and out of her legs.

"Hmmm, she might prove difficult to pack up..."

"Ha ha ha, I suppose so," the Princess replied. "Still, even in a hot climate, she might be able to do well. I'd advise giving her plenty of water, though. And I'd bring plenty of sunscreen and whatever else in that category you need."

"Like you'd need it."

"I may control the sun, but as I told you before, I am not a goddess, and therefore the ultraviolet rays from the sun can still affect my skin. Not that I'm the one going there anyway, but I'd still need sun lotion."

"You have fur, so how... Okay, this discussion got derailed."

Celestia chuckled. "So it did. And you were the one that did it."

"I guess I did. Well, actually, no; it was little one here" - James picked up Kiki, who emitted a disappointed meow as he did so - "who got us off track."

"A kitten does make a good distraction," the Princess agreed. "I just hope she doesn't distract you from your duties."

"No, I don't think she will. And I think she'll be happy to be with me, even if we have to move. It's not like I haven't don't that often while on this front. Or in the war, period."

"It isn't, that's for certain." Looking somber, she added, "I only wish I could have invited you here in peacetime."

"Yeah, about that... Princess, you know of the show we have back home, and they couldn't have made that to have the accuracy it does without a direct connection here somehow. I want to know... what's the origin of that?"

Celestia looked surprised, but she recovered quickly. "Ah, at last, we come to that subject. I had a feeling, hopes, even, that we might get to it sometime. I suppose we have some time, and I think I do owe you an explanation."

She took a deep breath. "Several years ago, I was experimenting with teleportation magic, with a small contingent of Guards as the only observers and partakers in the event. I was trying to find a way to expand on the usual unicorn teleportation spell, to create a portal of sorts. If I could have succeeded, it might have revolutionized transportation in Equestria."

"And angered all the railway companies."

"No doubt," Celestia replied, smiling a little. "I would have given them compensation for any loss, believe me. But back to my story. I made the effort. It required a great amount of energy, perhaps more than I use to move the sun every day."

"However, I'd made a critical miscalculation. Instead of creating a portal to an isolated part of western Equestria, as I intended, I accidentally summoned a being from Earth to this universe."

"The being before me didn't surprise me. After all, as I proved when seeing through your mind in the months prior to summoning you, I wasn't new to the scrying art. I'd used it before; I'd scryed humanity for hundreds of years beforehoof. The fact that a human had been summoned wasn't what roused my curiosity."

"My Guards, naturally, wanted to protect me. Their first reaction was to draw their spears. But I ordered them to be still. The woman was certainly scared, and she didn't know what to make of a land of magical, talking horses, as she called us. However, after reassuring her, she lost her fear, or I should say, she lost most of it. I doubt I could have been completely relaxed in the middle of a circle of Royal Guards had the situation been reversed. "

"After giving them orders to stand off a ways, I chatted with her. I found out that she was a creator of television shows back in your world, and that she had been instructed to come up with ideas for a new show. I admit, my curiosity was piqued. She talked about the shows she'd made or helped make."

"I can't deny that the thought of asking to make one of us crossed my mind; partly as a joke, you see. She'd make one of us, and everyone one her world would think it was fake, never dreaming that the beings displayed would be real. However, I realized that this meeting had the potential to do much more. As I said, I'd scryed humanity for centuries, learning of both beauty and disaster, of evil... and kindness. Perhaps, I thought to myself, I could create a bridge between our respective worlds, and that one day we might actually cross over to try to give your people aid."

"She was skeptical. There were too many cultures and people of different ideas to end all conflict, she insisted. While conceding the fact, I still wanted to try. After all, our own world wasn't always peaceful, in fact, there were times when parts of it were war ravaged. And, putting conflict aside, there were many people who would benefit from our magic, in areas of health, sports, architecture, all sorts of things. I made the request. She was still a little cautious about it, but then, after being teleported out of your universe against your own will and then having such and idea brought to you by the very being responsible for that is may be quite disconcerting. However, she agreed in the end."

"But.. then how do you get the events to her? How come so much of what's here at least somewhat resembles stuff on the show?"

"I must confess, it's not a perfect system. I remember my first viewing of the Royal wedding. You'll notice a point in the cave beneath Canterlot where Twilight's hooves bend, which is, in actuality, impossible, as are the complete flattening of bodies and body parts. And Miss Lauren Faust took the idea of "little ponies" a bit too seriously. I'd be shorter than you in the show, whereas I am taller in reality, and the bronco bucks you had with Applejack and Rainbow Dash wouldn't have been possible either. But overall, I couldn't complain. She at least got the words right, and the voices were accurate to the last degree."

"So the voices and the lines..."

"Were really what was said most of the time, yes, almost like a recording."

'How did you get all that back to her, though? Did you go back in time personally and watch all that?"

"No; except for the time spell used by Twilight in one episode, time travel is not yet feasible, and I have my misgivings over whether it should be used at all. However, I digress. I was able to view these events after the fact by quite literally using a crystal ball, as well as the planet's magical grid, to recreate the events. I'd send the ball to miss Faust, who would then take what she saw and mold it into the show you watched."

"And you're still doing it?"

"Yes, I am. I intend to do it for a long time to come."

"But Twilight.. isn't that like spying on her?"

Celestia blushed. "Well... maybe, I hadn't thought about it much before. I certainly had no one to talk to about it. I held back from telling her, fearing it might effect her, making her and the others think that every move they made was being watched. I had no ulterior motives for using the show, only to try to create a sort of bridge. Naturally, I was surprised, if pleasantly so, when male humans began liking it as well."

"So the show... isn't wholly for selling toys or for entertainment?"

Celestia frowned. "I'm afraid that companies sometimes make things harder. Miss Faust had to be careful, and a few times came close to blowing the cover of the show. I didn't want it revealed so soon, before an appropriate audience was ready for us. I can't really say I liked the toy versions of me, my sister, and Twilight and her friends that came out. Recently, they've wanted her to make a movie, one that has no bearing on what is really happening in Equestria, and they want to turn Twilight into an alicorn as well, which is not part of my plans, or isn't for the foreseeable future."

"Ouch. I'll have to remember to be careful what I watch when I get back. Well, if I get back." Suddenly, James remembered something. "There was a Griffon prisoner we took. He spoke of my species as 'Travellers', as beings that came into the world, then left for some reason."

"Ah, yes. I am familiar with that particular legend. Occasionally, humans would be brought to our world by magic, whether accidentally, as in my case, or deliberately." Again, she blushed. "I can't deny that I've done it myself every now and again."

"Well, in that case, how were the spells you used different?"

'Er... the one I was experimenting with... kind of exploded, which may go a long way towards explaining my Guards' hostility towards Miss Faust."

"Uh, 'kind of exploded'?"

"Okay, so it was a fairly big explosion. But in the epicenter of the blast, Miss Faust was alright. And she was conscious; as you'll remember, when I brought you here, you basically fell asleep. I had intended to bring you into my palace. Unfortunately, something went wrong with the spell in your case, and you came out in the Everfree Forest. Magic can be weird like that sometimes, although, considering that you saved three of my younger subjects, I won't complain."

"Yeah, I guess not. But what about the book Twilight found?"

"Ah yes, that. It was incorrect. No doubt the author merely heard of humans and made his own assumptions. I'm afraid there is no evidence of native humans in Equestria or anywhere in our world. I'm sorry, if it's any consolation to you."

"But then how did stuff like nail-on horseshoes, bridles, and saddles come into your culture?"

"I didn't say that those humans brought here didn't bring their ideas with them. They did. They were indeed responsible for those developments, which were in play well before the three original pony tribes united." She stopped to let that sink in. "Occasionally, magical disturbances or an inexperienced unicorn would accidentally bring humans in from your world. They would tell us about them, and their ideas, and then ponies would try to help them back to their world. Naturally, this didn't go unnoticed, hence the idea of 'Travellers' by the Griffons."

It all seemed to fit. But there was one more question on James' mind. "Princess, if you've been scrying us, you know of the terrible things some people do. War is only part of it; crime, including murder, drug and alcohol addiction, genocide... I don't see why you'd want to help us out; in fact, I have no idea how you're able to like me, or any other human being."

Celestia nodded. Perhaps she'd been expecting that question as well. "It's because of those reason that I want to help you. As well as the evil, I've seen great good as well; in fact, much more of it than evil. The evil actions, in our world and yours, are magnified by the horror and devastation they cause, whereas the typical life of a farmer who respects the law and just lives his life without any point that would draw in a writer goes unknown by society. Even in the middle of things like you've said, I've seen mercy, kindness, and most important of all, love. I do not loathe the many for the actions of the few. And while war is awful, it is, as it is here, necessary. Evil regimes often cannot be deposed by any other physical means."

James sighed, with relief if nothing else. "A lot of your people would have different opinions to say the least."

"They will, and while I wish it were otherwise, I will respect their beliefs in this regard, should it come to fruition. But that will be in the future," she continued. "We need to discuss the military situation."

"Will our allies be coming up? I haven't seen them whatsoever. What are they doing?"

"I understand your frustration. They've been slowed down, the Zebras from pre-battle rituals and the Saddle Arabians by trying to sell anything they can get their hooves on legally. However, I've spoken to their commanders, and to their national and tribal leaders. They will be moving up shortly."

"I won't be the one seeing them, though. Barrel will."

"He will. But I intend to place you back in command for the final push, so you'll have your chance to see them."

"I hope they don't try getting out of the war before it's over."

"They won't. neither of them want the Griffons to win, and, unfortunately for the Griffons, they, or rather, their leadership, have been rather condescending toward the Zebras, so they're in this to the end."

"How..?"

"King Raneiro has repeatedly sent diplomats to them who acted as though the only reason they were sent was to being insulting. The Zebras, even those in tribes these diplomats didn't go, were outraged enough to swear that they would fight the war to it's conclusion."

"The king's an idiot, as far as I'm concerned."

"He hasn't made the smartest choices in the war, no. Anyway, if you have a plan for the west, I'd appreciate it if you could tell me."

"Only thing I can come up with is try to take something important from them, something important enough to force them to battle against superior might. However, I have no idea just how to get that done."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to defeat them. You've won numerous battles, against them and our enemies here. I am confident you can do it again."

"I'll certainly try, make no mistake about that."

"Good. Well, this conversation went on longer than I expected, but I think it got a few things off our chests. I'll be returning to Canterlot; I have to keep the country running, and this visit to the army camp has probably left an enormous amount of paperwork to fill out."

"Send it to the sun."

" I wish I could do that, but it's got to be done." She smiled. "I know I can rely on you and my other commanders to get things done, both here and in the west. If all goes well, I hope to see you again soon."

"I have my doubts we'll be done that quick, but I hope so too."

"Farewell, James, and may success follow you."

"Sir, you can count on me," General Rolling Barrel promised. "I'll keep the Griffons on the run, and keep kickin' 'em whenever I get the chance."

"Very good. Just be careful. Although the enemy are in decline, they can still lash out and bite you."

"They can, but if so, it's a bite from a snake that already dead. I'll try to avoid even that, if I can, though." Barrel saluted.

James returned it. "I'm glad I can entrust this command to you. I'm already anxious about this army, and I haven't even left yet."

"I can understand, sir, or at least I think I might be able to."

"Well, at any rate, try not to blow everything left in this stretch of Equestria to bits while I'm gone."

"Ha ha, I'll try not to!"

James shook Barrel's hoof. "Good to work with you, General."

"Likewise, sir. Hope you get back soon."

James nodded, made sure everything he needed was packed, and proceeded out of the tent. A carriage awaited him outside the camp, ready to transfer him to the station in Trottingham. It was one of a few disadvantages he had; a pony could have walked, or even run, to the city (of course, a pegasus could fly there, if they so chose) without overly wearing themselves out too much.

Kiki followed him, jumping into the carriage with him. As the doors slammed shut, he was grateful for her company. The soldiers the carriage passed cheered, knowing who was inside. Some bore somber faces; he could understand. He had been bound with this army for half a year, though several terrible battles. They'd gotten to know one another.

He waved back in what he hoped was a friendly way, but he couldn't be sure; he was deeply moved by their confidence in him, in spite of his own shortcomings.

I could have done better, I know I could. More of you would be going home if I were a Rommel or Lee. I'm not. And my mistakes have proven it.

The trip to the station took about half the day. The train arrived at the hour it was supposed to, and while, inevitably, he drew curious glances, he made himself put up with it as he got on the train and sat down.

The ride wasn't all that out of the ordinary. The train sped by lush forests and green fields; the sun shone on lands that hadn't seen war, where war was nothing but an abstract idea... except, of course, to those who had lost loved ones.

Farmlands passed by in the window. He briefly wondered how Applejack's farm was doing. Probably quite well, as Ponyville hadn't been exposed to enemy attack throughout the war.

The Changelings were stopped in front of Appleloosa, he reminded himself, that was a desperate fight. And the Griffons... they got cocky, and didn't move fast enough at the beginning. That cost them the initiative. The worst thing (for us, anyway) they could have done, after beating us in the siege, would have been to follow and try to destroy us. It would have cost them, but they might have been able to do it. But then, they would have faced a new army. True, the new guys would have been recruits, but that has only so much to do with the big picture; eighty-thousand inexperienced soldiers can wear down it. Hmm. I don't know why they dallied with negotiations if they wanted war. Maybe they wanted to try and persuade the Princess to give up without a fight, but then why the big, noticeable build up and change in policy?

Perhaps the king was inexperienced. He'd only ruled for a few years, and those in peacetime. Whatever the reasons, the Griffons hadn't moved fast enough, and as a result, they'd effectively lost the war.

The Changelings, though... they were still a going concern. And if they were regaining their numbers... that could - no, would - be a problem. With most of the Equestrian forces fighting in the east, the army in the west had but five thousand soldiers to utilize in battle. The enemy facing them was still outnumbered, but growing ever more desperate; there were increasing attempts by Changeling drones to infiltrate the camp there.

Here I am, worrying about the army while I have no power to make anything happen. I suppose I should be glad I'm getting a rest. And, unless our army suffers a major disaster before I get there, we should be able to deal with the Changelings. He rested his head against the back of his seat. It was so comfortable, he just wanted to...

James opened his eyes as the train came to a stop. He stretched his arms, then picked up his bag as the conductor shouted that they had arrived in Canterlot. The sun was already starting to fall over the horizon.

As he shuffled onto another train that would take him to the front, he couldn't help trying to recollect the dream he'd had while napping. He knew it had involved Rainbow Dash flying a triplane from World War I, a uniformed Twilight Sparkle, and an angry Rarity shouting at a shame-faced Private Blueblood. Of course, like most dreams, much of what he'd dreamed was lost or forgotten very quickly, although he could remember the highlights.

He shrugged as he sat down. Dreams weren't as important right now as winning the war. He felt himself begin to fall asleep again almost at once.

"All out for Appleloosa!"

James stretched again, then grabbed the handle of his bag and walked out. He felt the scorching sun on him immediately, as well as the heat of the day. Why would anyone want to live in an environment like this? It's desert and sun-blasted land farther than the eye can see, and it's not like there's another town nearby. The only link to the outside world this place has is the railroad, and Heaven help them if it ever gets cut.

"Excuse, me, sir." James turned to his left. There stood two soldiers, one a Guard, the other a regular. "Are you the general?" the Guard asked.

"I am." Uh, who else could I be? As far as I am aware, I'm the only human being in Equestria presently.

"If you'll please step this way."

James followed the two soldiers to a cart that was in the process of being loaded with goods from the train. Provisions, what else? He sat down on the back of it as they finished.

"So what's going on out here in the west?" James asked the Guard as the soldiers sat down as well and the cart set off.

"You should know, sir. We've sent regular reports."

"I've seen them. But I want a personal account of what's going on here. Paper and ink don't always tell the whole story as well as a verbal account."

"Ah. Well, truth be told, it's not the bloodbath out east. The Changelings try not to fight at all, and it's easy to understand, considering that their army was almost wiped out in the first months of the war. When we catch some of them, though, they fight back as though they had every chance of success. They won't give up, and the only way we've been able to capture one is to disable it entirely, up to and including dog piling them and holding them down as we cuff them or tie them up."

"Hmm. Anything else?"

"Yes sir, and plenty. We've lost a fair amount of supplies, mostly food, due to improper wrapping and refrigeration, and the Changelings occasionally raid our supply lines, destroying ammunition and equipment we need. They're also trying really hard to infiltrate our camp; no doubt you'll be scanned quite a few times when you get there."

James noticed the Guard kept an extraordinary close watch on him as he said that last sentence. He's no fool, he thought as he realized what the Guard was doing. He's waiting to see my reaction, to see if I bolt or do something else to give myself away as a Changeling. "That'll be fine," he said. "Better to have security in this kind of situation, especially when the enemy can mimic you."

The Guard relaxed a little, but kept an eye on him. I probably wouldn't do much different, considering everything that's happened out west. "And how has morale been in the army?"

"Well, we're mostly sick and tired of chasing after them and not really being able to do much. It's not as high as it should be, but the boys will fight, make no mistake about that. It's just getting to the fighting that's the trick."

"I can promise that I'll try and bring them to battle. It probably won't be easy, but I'll give it my best shot."

"I guess that's all I can ask for." The cart continued on it's way.

It took several hours to reach the camp. James wasn't surprised, but he was tired of all the hours wasted on travel. It was already late afternoon by the time they arrived.

He jumped off the wagon, bag in tow, and walked toward the sentries guarding the entrance. "Halt," one of them said. "Standby for scanning."

James wasn't surprised. He felt a weird sensation as the unicorn cast his spell. The ray of light the soldier cast moved up and down, until he finally stopped the spell. "Right, pass on," the soldier said.

"Alright. Thanks."

The Guard and the regular who had met him led him to his assigned tent. "I hope you enjoy your stay," the Guard said, in a teasing sort of tone. "I know it's not a first class hotel, but it's home."

James laughed. "So it is. At least, for now." He wondered how long he'd be staying here, and how soon he could fight the battle that he and the army needed to fight.

Chapter 50; The Gamble

James took yet another look at his map and sighed. The war with the Changelings probably wouldn't be easily won. They were creatures of stealth and disguise, which made the task ever more difficult. All an enemy combatant here had to do to get into the camp was pretend to be a soldier who had been wounded and he would literally be carried in. Of course, he'd tried to beef up security, but the enemy would not stop trying. Not a day passed when the enemy tried sending at least one drone to infiltrate the camp. From the Queen's viewpoint, it was a relatively cheap tactic.

"Bring them to battle," he said to himself. It was proving more difficult than he'd thought. The enemy didn't need to defend a front line, or protect supply lines or anything of the sort. They got their food by living off the land... and, no doubt, off the love of the ponies they'd captured. It was frustrating, to say the least; an enemy without something to defend was one that couldn't have the initiative held against it this side of a military defeat, and the Queen was smart enough to avoid battle directly.

Blast, with all the new staff and officers I have to get used to, how am I supposed to know my own army, to say nothing of the enemy? That was another irritation. He'd forgotten to request that Crystal Clear be reassigned with him, and although he'd submitted a request for that to happen less than a day ago, it would take time for it to be processed. In the meantime, he was stuck dealing with commanders with whom he had no prior relation to. More than one soldier had questioned why a member of a different species was given authority over them.

It had been tempting, really tempting, to discipline those who said such things. Considering that most of the veteran troops from the previous battles here had been reassigned to the east when the Griffons had attacked, most of soldiers here, new and relatively inexperienced, didn't know him, except perhaps from the papers (which were of no use for getting to know someone for who they really were, in his opinion). He desisted, knowing that it would only fuel dislike and perhaps disobedience against him.

James took off his hat and scratched his head. Just then, he heard someone outside clear their throat. "Uh, General? We caught another one." The brown muzzle of a unicorn stallion shoved it's way through the tent flap.

"Another Changeling?" he asked, to which the newcomer nodded. "Has he said anything?"

"Nothing but the typical insults, sir."

James growled in frustration, though not at the soldier. "Have you gotten anything out of the prisoners lately?"

"No, sir, nothing."

"Blast," he muttered under his breath. He wasn't someone who approved of brutal beatings for prisoners... and the army had orders from the Princesses directly forbidding it in any case. The Changelings were desperately hard to interrogate, given their fanatical devotion to their Queen. A number of soldiers had been demoted for striking prisoners, which had done nothing to get the information sought. While a few Changelings were like Rand, most were not, and those few had reasons of their own for refusing to give information; the affection for comrades and a form of patriotism. They may also have been afraid of being killed by their fellow Changeling prisoners, which was a legitimate concern. He'd taken the liberty of separating the more self-aware Changelings from those who were not, which eased that problem, but did nothing to make them more forth coming. "Is there any other news you have to bring me?"

"Er... well, yes sir. A convoy carrying food for the army was ambushed. Three casualties, one fatal, and the destruction of three large crates of fruit by fire."

James groaned and put his head in his hand. The army did not have the numbers to keep after the enemy as well as maintain enough combat troops to reasonably engage the enemy. The miles and miles of desert between here and the train station would have made that impractical anyway. Maybe the modern day U.S. Army or Marines could do it. The Equestrian army could not spare the troops or resources.

"Well, is there any good news?"

"Uh, yes sir, though it's less significant. The shipment of mail from the camp has gone out and reached the station without incident."

"Thank God," James murmured, as much to himself as to the soldier. And he was thankful. The mail would mostly be from lonely husbands, sons, and lovers for those back home. His own request regarding Crystal Clear would be among them. "Alright, is there anything else that needs doing, beyond the usual?"

"No, sir."

"Thank you. You have my permission to leave, if you wish." He picked up his canteen of water and began to drink. He set it down when he was done and went back to regarding the map.

It took him thirty seconds to realize that the soldier had not left; the sense of being watched awoke him to that fact. He slowly raised his eyes from the map to see the unicorn was watching him with curiosity. So far, few soldiers in the army seemed to know how to respond to him, beyond the formalities necessary for military personnel.

"Is something wrong, soldier?"

"Er..." The unicorn started. "Uh, no sir. Nothing. Just... well... I guess I was... um... curious."

James nodded. "I understand. I hope things are well for you and your family."

"Uh, they are, uh, sir. They were proud to have a son in the army."

"Probably because they didn't understand what war is about, but then, I think we were all like that. What is your name?"

"M-my name? It's Coal Black, sir. My parents gave it to me because of the color of my mane and hooves."

"Well, Coal Black, carry on. You must have a few comrades to join up with."

"Yes sir." With that, the unicorn finally left, for once without a detectable trace of nervousness.

James sighed again. The soldiers here would have to get used to him, and he to them, very soon. He looked again at the map. The Changelings had been receiving reinforcements lately. As a result, they were growing more aggressive, though they refused to fight any large detachment of soldiers. Why they-

He stopped. He looked back at the map. Northwest of the desert wherein the army was stationed were the badlands the Changeling threat had originated from. The reinforcements were coming from there. Which meant...

"I've been stupid," he said slowly. He had been looking for a base like those the Changelings had built in their initial invasion, not the hive they had come from. It was logical to assure they would have made a structure, above ground or below it, to house themselves. While they might have indeed have established a hidden base of sorts, he'd missed the more basic fact that the enemy hadn't just materialized out of thin air. They had a home.

"Maybe they have something they need to defend after all," he thought out loud. The enemy had something they had to defend after all. If the army could go after it, he might indeed force the enemy to battle, and on his own terms as well.

Boy, would I rather speak over radio than give speeches to a crowd, James thought. With the officers of the army, and a number of curious non-commissioned troops gathering to listen, he felt what an actor might have called stage fright.

"You all know that, several months previously, the Equestrian army fought against the Changeling menace and was able to defeat them," he started. "We did so, though sadly not without loss. Few of you were present for those battles, but your resolve must be as strong as those who gave their lives to defend your homes and your people."

"It turns out, the enemy has a home as well. That's where they are receiving these reinforcements from. Without delay, we must go after it. I believe it is somewhere in the badlands beyond the desert, somewhere to the northwest of here."

"Naturally, some of you will worry that taking the army out of Equestria will leave it without protection. While the enemy force isn't strong enough to properly engage us, I agree. I intend to leave half of this force of approximately five thousand to keep an eye on the enemy hereabouts, while I take the other half, invade their hive, and cut off their reinforcements. My hope is that the enemy will be forced to come to battle at last and be defeated on a field and at a time of our choosing rather than continue this futile chase across lifeless wasteland. Once this has been done, we'll be free to go to the east and put the clamps on the Griffon Kingdom and bring down their king, without fear of attack from another direction while doing so."

"All of us must perform to the best of our ability if we are to see this operation through to it's conclusion, and a successful conclusion; any other result is unacceptable. When you begin to wonder why this war must be fought and why you are fighting and how much longer this suffering must go on, and I believe that happens to all of us feel that way eventually, remember your families, your sweethearts, and your home towns, as well as the relative peace you enjoyed before the conflict. All those and more are what we are fighting to protect and maintain. We will be victorious in the fighting to come!"

Some, mostly recent recruits, cheered, as did some of the officers. Others began whispering to one another. James didn't complain; he' expected a response like this.

"Ready your weapons, and remain alert. That is all." He walked off the platform.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, sir?" an officer asked. "It sounds ambitious, and for all we know, the bugs could have hidden an infiltrator who heard everything you said."

"It is ambitious. But assuming that we outnumber them ten to one as of now, and that half our force would maintain that at five to one, that would allow either army the firepower and number to prevail should there be any trouble. As for the potential spying, I had unicorn teams scan everyone, or just about, so that shouldn't be an issue."

"I suppose that might be true, but how do we know what they have defending their main hive in the badlands, assuming your guess is correct?"

"We don't. If we find those defenses, should they exist, to exceed the capacity of the force I bring, I will, of course, withdraw and request that the other force join me. But the enemy will continue to be a thorn in our side until we destroy their ability to make war."

"Exterminate the nest, sir?"

"Who said anything about exterminating? The Changelings aren't insects, or at least, aren't regular insects like ants and bees and termites. Killing them off would make us even worse then the enemy we are fighting. No, we'll simply cut off the supplies and reinforcements they are receiving from there, and hopefully get them to fight the final battle on this front on our terms."

"What about our logistics?"

James winced. That was something he hadn't thought of. "I suppose we'll try to live off the land, insofar as we can, and protect our supply lines as best as possible. Of course, we could also try bringing them in by airship as well. That's probably the best I can promise you, unless you know how to dig a big tunnel from Appleloosa to there, or build a railroad from there to here."

The officer shook his head. "No, I don't think even the Princesses could do that. If you like, I'll make a request for the army to purchase or rent airships from the nearest suppliers."

"Thank you, um..."

"Sword Stroke, at your service, sir."

"Very well, Sword Stroke, I will leave that task to you."

"Yes sir, I'll get right on it."

James watched him go, then took a look at the army he commanded. Most of them weren't veterans. They were mostly armed with matchlocks, but a few units still used crossbows. Two of the most recent units were carrying a new rifle that had come out of a Canterlot manufactory. It carried a four-shot magazine, which could be ejected and have a new one put in it's place very quickly. It had a lever on the side. It wasn't a bolt-action lever; it was pulled downward, and the cartridge that had been fired would be ejected and replaced by a spring-powered mechanism, which would also pull the lever back in it's initial position. He'd used one and found it to be reliably accurate, much, much more so than the matchlocks the army was still using as a whole. Naturally, he found it harder to use than his own pistol, as he had to be careful not to depress the trigger, but then, it was designed for a different body than his own, so the design made sense.

Furthermore, the lines of supply weren't always secure, considering the recent attacks. While what he'd said to Sword Strike about numbers was currently true, it wouldn't remain that way for long. The 'real' war was in the east, which needed the resources more than he did. He acknowledged that, but he still resented the fact that he could not easily replace losses. He also resented having to think what felt like such a cold-blooded manner as well, but it was necessary for an officer, and especially for a general.

The army he wasn't going to be super powerful, and while it had a few new guns, it still relied on single-shot weapons to do most of the work. His army was made of inexperienced troops just out of training, and logistics weren't ensured.

He nodded. Of such humble beginnings did great expeditions arise. The odds had been against Hernan Cortes and William Eaton as well, and yet each of them had defeated enemies who outnumbered them. While the odds may not have been as great here, the experiment would be just as risky... and the rewards for winning would be great.

The preparations didn't take long. He picked the units with the most updated weapons, and divided the existing supplies between the two forces. He was careful to try to include the veterans he had in it.

"I hope we'll have enough water," Sword Strike said.

"We should. The Buffalo have provided us with the locations of a few oases on the way, so we'll beeline for those on our journey."

"Good. Hopefully we'll be able to accomplish our mission."

James grunted, but otherwise didn't reply. He was still worrisome about the campaign himself. All sorts of things could go wrong; thirst was only one of them.

"Pity we couldn't get the airships we requested."

"Yeah, it is." James still felt flustered about that. One would think that the state would be able to provide the things he needed. He'd hoped that the Princesses could persuade the owners of some of them to part ways with them, at least for a while. But then, there weren't many airships that traveled in this area. Plus, he could easily imagine, to his chagrin, company owners trying to hold onto their airships; after all, they were probably expensive, and no doubt the rich could find ways of filibustering, even in a country that was run by an absolute monarchy. That last was only reason he could think of that the request hadn't been fulfilled yet, which was the reason he was incensed over the issue. "We'll still have to continue our mission," he said. "If only the Buffalo had offered to send us some scouts of their own, instead of mere directions; that would have helped us immensely."

"That is a shame, but it can't be helped now."

"I suppose not."

"There you are," came a welcome voice to James' ears. He turned to see Crystal Clear jump off a cart and walk toward him.

"I could say the same to you," he said, only to see the stern look in his aide's face.

"We're separated for a few days, and already you've replaced me with a local. Without even giving me advance notice, of all things!"

"Hold on now..." James paused when he saw the mischievous glint in his subordinate's eye. "You had me there for a moment."

Crystal smiled. "I'm glad I could do that at least once. How are things?"

"Friend of yours?" Sword Strike asked.

"Yes. Crystal Clear, my aide in the east. I'm glad he's come here. I would find it hard to get things done without him."

"I heard something to the point that a certain officer had made a request to transfer me here," Crystal said. "And I wondered, what if I could bring a little help with me?"

"I what manner?"

"I sent a letter to Her Majesty that a certain regiment be brought along with me. After all, the war out in the east is going well. A few hundred more soldiers on this front, on the other hoof, might be of some use."

"You didn't..."

"I did. The First Ponyville Regiment, or what's left of it, has arrived with me. And, incidentally, your friends Silver Shield, Silver Lining, White Knight, and Bright Star, who are part of that particular unit."

"You are a rascal, you know that?" James felt a huge feeling of gratitude rise within him.

"I am a fish out of water among pegasi. Or, perhaps more appropriately, a pegasus out of the sky and on the ground. How can I be of service?"

"Help me and Sword Strike here get half this army ready to invade the badlands and take the Changeling hive away from them."

"Hmmm." Crystal scratched his chin. "I assume you've thought this over?"

"I have. There isn't as much desert to cross as there might be. We should be there in eight days, maybe ten. It might not be the easiest task in the world, but it should be doable."

"I'll try to help ease any potential problems."

"Good. I'll be relying on both of you. I'm hoping we'll be able to get going in short order."

"We'll both do our duty to the best of our ability," Sword said, saluting.

James returned it. "I'm counting on it."

James was happy to see his other friends once more. It was a short reunion, but one that all of them enjoyed.

"My friends, I am glad we had the chance to meet again before the campaign started."

"So are we," Bright answered. "And thank Crystal; if he hadn't made the request for our transfer, we wouldn't be here."

"I still wonder whether it was a good idea," James said. "It might have increased your chances of getting killed."

"We've have had that same chance out in the east," Shield said. "General Barrel is going on the offensive, and under him that means hard fighting."

"At least you wouldn't be in a sun-blasted place like this."

"We weathered it before," Silver Lining replied. "We can bloody well do it again."

"What's ya plan, chief?" White Knight asked.

"I intend to bring the war to the Changelings' front door and see how they like being invaded."

"My guess is, they won't like it all that much," Shield said, grinning. "Of course, we didn't like it at all when they did the same to us." His face sobered up a little. "I just hope we can do it without getting too many ponies killed or mangled."

James winced. He didn't like being reminded of that, general though he was. "I'll do what I can," was his answer.

It was amazing how quickly some good bureaucracy could get things running smoother. Within two days, everything was ready. James found a Colonel, a unicorn named Golden Fire, to maintain command of the soldiers who were staying.

"Are you up for the task?" he asked the officer.

"I am honestly unsure, as I have never been in command of an entire army before. However, if you assign me the task, I will do what I can."

"I'm glad to hear you say that."

"I might not hold it long in any case. There's been a rumor that Prince Shining Armor will be arriving soon to take command in any event."

"What? I hadn't heard that. How did you obtain that information before I did!?" James was perplexed.

"I am not sure. As I said, it's a rumor. It could be utterly false, for all I know."

"Well, if it is true, then I apologize if you were expecting a longer stay in command."

"It's alright, sir. I didn't expect to hold it in the first place. I don't really mind who is in charge, as long as they can bring the war to a close."

"I think most of us can sympathize. Good luck, and keep an eye on the enemy, when and where you can."

"I will, General. Thank you."

James nodded, then left the tent. The hot desert air began beating on his face at once, a reminder that the whole enterprise was likely to be difficult.

It was. While the desert here wasn't made of sand dunes, that didn't make it a place of abundant life. There was no grass that ponies could eat when they got desperate. The animal life only came out at night, except for a few curious specimens that emerged to watch the army as it marched.

"They ought to make umbrellas that repel sunlight," he grumbled to Sword and Crystal. "It would make things easier."

"Well, they haven't, and they aren't going to," Sword answered. "Besides, the other extreme is freezing, which is just as bad."

I don't know. I'd rather freeze than burn. He didn't say that out loud. "I suppose," he said. "Here's hoping that the badlands are better than this, although if they were, they wouldn't be stuck with such a name. Anyway, has there been any sign of the Changelings?"

"No sir. None."

"Hmm. I'm not sure whether that's good or bad. Or if that's because they're keeping themselves concealed better than we are. And unlike us, they don't have to worry about being sunburned or, as far as I'm aware, suffering heat stroke."

"The prisoners who were more open with us said that the chitin that forms much of their bodies is more immediately resistant to heat," Sword said. "It does have limits, though. One of them said that if they covered a member of their hive with their bodies that they could potentially heat that individual to death."

"Ugh," James said, as though that were happening to someone right now in his sight. "I'm assuming this particular individual witnessed such an event himself?"

"He refused to say, but we all got the idea that that was the case, given that he was so tight-lipped about it."

"That... would be terrible if true. I hope not."

He spent the next little while wondering how harsh Changeling life was. It kept his mind off the blazing sun for a while. He needed those kinds of distractions. While the supply lines hadn't been attacked yet, they were vulnerable. There was enough to eat right now, and the situation was the same with water, but he worried about it all the same.

The next nine days were full of ups and downs. The oases the Buffalo had directed them to were lush and green, and had plenty of fresh water to replenish their supplies.

"This place is still hot as hell," James mumbled, "but I can hardly complain."

"It's full of life," Coal Black said, taking a drink. "I'm tempted sometimes to follow our supposed neanderpony ancestors and just lap up the water from the pond directly."

"I am as well," James replied. "I'll be glad when we're out of this blasted desert. I'd prefer to go into a blizzard without proper snow clothes than go through this again."

"I wouldn't know about that, seeing as I don't have to wear clothes as much during winter. I would prefer it if we didn't have to wear these uniforms," Coal added, using his hoof to tug at the collar of his coat.

"It's necessary. Anyone without one could be a Changeling, seeing as their disguise would require that they steal clothes for it to be fully affective."

"I guess. Still..."

Coal felt his left hind leg jerk from some sort of impact. He pulled it away, and quickly turned to look.

A big snake had crept up on him without his being aware of it. It had bit him, or rather, it had tried to bite him; it had struck his hoof, breaking it's fangs against the hard, unbending surface. It wasn't done, though - it was rearing back for a second attack.

It never struck - James took out his pistol, lined up the snake's head, and pulled the trigger. The snake flew a couple of feet through the air in the other direction, twitching - it's didn't seem to know it was dead yet.

"Gah!" Coal jumped away from the body. "That was too close! That thing almost got me!"

"Yeah," James said, blowing on the end of the gun to clear the smoke away. "I expect all the carnivores and scavengers are going to be out; it's a feast, all laid out and ready to eat. I hadn't thought of that."

"Is everything alright?"

James started and looked around. A large group of soldiers had gathered around them, no doubt brought running by the sound of the gunshot.

"It is. But from now on, no one is to go anywhere without weapons and a partner in tow. I will be drafting orders to that effect. Everyone is to keep an eye out for poisonous and dangerous plants and wildlife."

His words were met by affirmative mumbling and whispers. Some of the ponies present were already looking nervously around them.

"Prepare to move out once we're restocked on water. And again, keep your eyes peeled. there will be worse enemies to encounter down the line than hungry reptiles."

"Mark my words, some poor guys is gonna get bitten anyway," Shield muttered. But he said this too quietly to be heard by anyone but himself.

There was no further trouble with wild animals, though James resolved never to tell Fluttershy what had happened. It was still blistering hot, but it got less so the farther northwest they traveled. Supplies were holding out so far, though James continued to worry about it. He was worrying about the unknown quality and quantity of the enemy ahead, too. He had brought the heaviest artillery with his army, believing he was going to face structural defenses, which, although it was slowing them down slightly, would hopefully even out the playing field later.

In time, the landscape changed. It was no longer desert, but managed to look just as awful and lifeless. "So that's the Badlands, huh?" he said, looking at the land ahead.

"So the map says, and if I've calculated our position correctly," Crystal said.

"Hmph. No wonder the bugs wanted to leave."

"The trouble is, they wanted to leave and take over Equestria," Sword noted.

"That they did, and now they're going to pay for that mistake."

"Sir, something is approaching from the west," a soldier said, drawing his weapon.

James raised a pair of binoculars to his eyes. He saw a Changeling looking back at him on the ridgeline some distance away; there were others, standing alongside the one he was looking at.

"They're coming!" Shield yelled.

"Deploy in battle formation!" James shouted, putting the binoculars away. "Now, for crying out loud!"

His army was mostly made up of inexperienced soldiers who hadn't seen a real battle before. However, apparently, they'd been trained well. They began to from up in line of battle, matchlocks and rifles at the ready. Cannon crews loaded their pieces with the speed and air of professionalism that belied the fact that they were essentially greenhorns.

It still took some time for all this to be accomplished. James was surprised the enemy had not made more progress than they had in the five minutes since he'd seen them. In fact, they were still well over a mile away. And merely walking, not running in a headlong charge. Upon noticing this, James stopped waving his arm at his troops and took out the binoculars again.

There were only a handful of them The lead Changeling was holding something long and stiff. At the end of the object was a white rag.

"Hold on," he said, more to himself than to anyone else. "When have the enemy ever done anything other than attack, snatch, and suck the life out of people?"

"Ready to fire, sir, at your orders," an artillery pony shouted.

"Hold off. It doesn't look like this is an attack."

"Sir, we should blow them away with artillery," Shield suggested.

"They have a white flag. They're coming to negotiate."

"All the more reason to blast them now," the officer said. "They've never done this before. There's no way they're serious."

"I said hold off."

"Sir, with all due respect..."

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing." I hope. "We wait. And no one is to fire unless I give the order. There's only a handful of them."

Shield sighed, but obeyed. There was silence as the Changeling party approached. When they were twelve feet away, the one with the flag asked, "Are you the leader of this expedition?"

"I am," James answered. "And you are...?"

"I am Drone number 4502. Friends call me Fix."

James felt an eyebrow raise. That last was something unexpected. From what he'd learned, or thought he'd learned, the Changelings were, if not a hive mind, then dogmatically group - Queen - minded. They had no individuality, except for deviants like Rand. With a great effort he suppressed his curiosity. "What is your purpose in coming here? To discuss the Changeling Queen's surrender?"

The Changelings in the party looked at one another. It wasn't a conspiratory series of looks; rather, all of them appeared nervous. "Are you referring to Queen Chrysalis?" the flag bearer asked.

"That is the name of your queen, yes."

"With respect, sir, she is not our Queen," 4502 - Fix - said. My Queen's name is..." He said something unpronounceable in Changeling. "That would be something like 'Metamorphosis' in your language. Chrysalis claims to rule all Changeling hives. In reality, the only hive he has any right to rule is her own."

"I... have had claims to the contrary, made by her own subjects."

"Well..." Fix hesitated. "It is true, in a way. Her hive is the most numerous. She uses that fact to hold us under her in dominion. She has held us all in bondage. While we still have some freedom, she... has used her power liberally to keep other hives in line. I saw what happened one day when my Queen tried to, er, speak her mind. Chrysalis had her beaten in front of all of her own subjects... in front of me, and everyone here with me, to teach her to remain in line."

"It was the most numerous. The war has reduced their numbers greatly."

"Probably not as much as you'd think, outlander," Fix said, shaking his head. "At least, not as much as both of us would wish. She still has a couple... councilors at our Queen's palace to keep tabs on her. If they detect any sign of our disobedience, there will be trouble."

"Why have you come to us, then?"

"Merely to ask you to stay away. Chrysalis' councilors will force us to fight... to our destruction, if that's what's necessary to halt you. Luckily for you, they haven't detected your advance, though drones from our own hive have. My Queen, and by extension, all of us, would like to avoid any altercations between us."

James felt his head spinning. Rand had never let on to anything like this. None of the Changelings from Chrysalis' hive had.

"Alright, hold on, let me make sure I have this straight. There are more Changeling hives than one, though Chrysalis has held you all in some sort of union or as control of you as puppet states. She exercises that control. And you have some measure of individuality."

"All true. We have some individuality, though we are largely bound to obey the Queen."

"Has she used any drones from your hive for the war effort?"

Fix, and the rest in the Changeling party, again looked nervously. "Unfortunately, yes. She required all hives to take some part in the war. She required us to build fortifications and bases for her, and every hive other than her own had to provide some of our own as soldiers in her army. Most... have not returned." Fix looked down, in unmistakable misery. "We have lost numerous drones to the war."

"The why should we trust you?" Shield demanded. "You've helped the enemy, even if all this jaw you've spoken of is true. And you live off the love of ponies!"

Fix frowned. Then he scowled. "Don't act like you know what you're talking about," he growled. "We didn't want any part in this war; Chrysalis said she would kill our Queen and take all our supply of love, as well as all our eggs and larvae and food if we refused to help her. And believe me, she was in the position to do it then and there. Friends and neighbors of mine have disappeared off the face of the earth, whether worked to death or killed in battle I don't know. And we don't choose how our bodies work, either. At least our own hive didn't try to steal love. We tried to earn it."

"By hiding yourselves as us," Shield countered.

"It's what we have to do to survive," Fix yelled. "Ponies wouldn't just let us come up to them and ask, 'Hey, can you give me some of your love'? They'd jail or destroy us before we went twelve steps into a town. We have to disguise ourselves as ponies to survive, to exist!"

"Enough, both of you," James snapped. "I don't want either of you to bother the other again. Is that clear?"

Shield bowed his head reluctantly. Fix bowed. "I will say nothing further on that score if your soldier does not," he said.

"Are you sure you weren't followed?" James asked him.

"They have not; we still know some secret entrances to our hive that they have no knowledge of. We felt, er, no inclination to tell them."

"I can understand." James put a hand to his chin. His mind was not only spinning, it was also running, all the little gears chugging, clicking and whirring.

It sounds like the perfect situation to offer an alliance, he thought. But I have no political authority here; that's up to the Princesses to decide. He mentally growled. Be that as it may, it's now or never. It'll take three days, assuming a pegasus flies from here to Canterlot without stopping whatsoever. By the time the message reaches them, the decision is made, and a reply comes back, it'll be too late; even if they don't know this particular stretch of land well, Chrysalis' supporters will have almost surely detected us. He looked at Fix. Then again, how do I know these fellows aren't lying? for all I know, they could have made it all up, and this is all just an act to delay us.

James put his other hand, his right, on his belt, not far from his revolver. "How do I know you're telling the truth? How do I know everything you've said isn't just moonshine?"

One of the Changelings behind Fix, a tall one that, if he judged Changeling bodies correctly, was female, spoke up... in English. "Fix, step aside. You have not the means to prove our claims."

"But..." Fix dropped into Changeling for a moment.

The female Changeling said something forceful back, though it didn't sound cruel. She spoke with a voice full of authority, and suddenly James had an idea who this particular Changeling might be. Returning to English, she continued, "I, on the other hoof, have the proof our audience needs." She stepped in front of the group and looked James in the eye. "I am Queen Metamorphosis, and I come in peace."

Author's Note

Sorry if this one came out slow. Recently, writer's block has been a big problem. Hopefully this is half good.

Chapter 51; Plans for revolution

James kept his hand by his revolver. However, he didn't shoot. The Queen wasn't acting hostile, and none of her followers showed any sign of physical aggression. He realized that he should probably have identified her sooner; being the tallest among the group, as well as female, it was obvious, or should have been. The Queen was noticeably different from Chrysalis, however. While the latter had borne what was supposed to be a mane in a sort of wild manner, Metamorphosis had her mane braided, not unlike Applejack. Chrysalis had had an unmistakable air of malevolence around her; he felt no such force around this particular queen. And, given the fact that the group she brought with her as a handful of retainers rather than an army, he didn't believe that his army was going to be attacked. So many questions that need to be answered, though, he thought. And I will have them.

"I hope you can forgive me if I say that it's difficult to believe what you've said, given that a member of your race has declared war on Equestria. That particular hive have tried to overthrow the rightful rulers of that country, and are still up in arms against it in spite of military fortunes. I think you'll understand why me and my officers will need some questions answered before we can make any sort of deal."

The other Changelings looked worried, glancing nervously at one another. The Queen, however, merely sighed. "I thought that would be the case. I must agree, considering what would happen to my subjects if I do not."

"Alright." Turning to Sword Stroke, he added, "Get me every officer in this army Major and above. I am calling a war council."

"Yes sir."

"Are you sure about this?" Shield asked him.

James started, not realizing his friend had come so close. "No," he whispered. "But I intend to become sure, one way or the other."

The air wasn't hot, like it had been in the desert, but it was still... dry. That was the only thing he could think of to describe it. The Badlands weren't entirely dead; the fact that Changelings could live here - that anything could live here - was proof of that.

The army had taken defense positions, all the while keeping an eye out for hostile activity. Not all the watching was done on the land outside the camp, either; plenty of soldiers were eying the Changelings in their midst. James had a feeling, a strong one, that the visitors had no hostile intentions. But then again, he hadn't been truly present in Canterlot when the attack had taken place; many of his soldiers had. And by now, some of them had seen what Changelings could do in battle. He could understand their feelings. It would take a miracle, in his opinion, for them to lose their distrust.

"I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them, not that that would be very far," Shield said, still glaring at the intruders. "I say we send them home; no doubt they're lying through their fangs. And even if what they're saying is true, I don't see why we shouldn't keep and eye on them every second of every day. They live off ponies' emotions, and they can disguise themselves as us at a moment's notice."

James was going to reply, but Shield's voice suddenly came from his right; "And what would you know about it?"

He looked. The pony before his eyes was an exact replica of Silver Shield, only without the armor.

The Shield that did have armor jumped up from where he had been lying down. "How dare you make yourself look like me!" he roared. "Change back, immediately, or I'll haul your worthless ass to jail myself!"

"No jails out here," the other Shield said, grinning. "The only prisons out here are in Changeling hives."

"Is that a threat?"

"Drone 4502," the Queen said, in a no-nonsense tone of voice. "Stop antagonizing our hosts."

As Fix switched back to his natural appearance, James thought about the exchange. Wow. She said his number like my mother would say my name if I were in trouble. Maybe the numbers are their official designations, but they allow nicknames which they use most of the time... He broke off as he realized that his officers had gathered as he'd ordered, and were waiting for the council to begin.

"I think you all know why we're here," he said. "We have to decide whether or not to skirt around the hive that has just contacted us, or to take a third course."

"We should just send them away," a Major suggested. "They admitted that they were helping our enemies."

"Only because we were forced," the Queen said indignantly.

"Even so. How do we know that you haven't come to us because you were ordered to, and were given instructions to lie?"

The Queen looked ready to flare up, but she was clearly making a massive effort to control herself. "I can offer no proof of that. But if I came here by trickery, my hive would have great cause to regret it, and quickly. I have no reason to lie, and no room to do so. My subjects are brave, but their lives would be lost in a futile gesture if we were forced to fight. I do not want that to happen."

She's telling the truth here. He was certain of that. "Does Chrysalis have any armies in this vicinity? As in, within ten to twenty miles of here?"

"No. I'd say, based on the evidence, she has no idea that you're here."

"And yet you knew. Your scouts must have detected us."

"They did. However, we saw no need to, er, enlighten the councilors of that fact. They do not know you're here either, and unless they find out, it will remain that way."

"Can you tell me the location of Chrysalis' hive?"

"Oh yes," the Queen said with scorn, though it wasn't directed at him. "My subjects have had to go there to bring tribute. It's north of here, about thirty miles."

"In that case... hmm." James scratched his chin. "I would still like some general information about Changelings to be... corrected. I have been told things about them that contradict some of what I've seen and heard of here."

"I cannot refuse. What would you like to know?"

"First off, I have been told that Changelings aren't really individuals, except for deviants who are somehow disconnected from the normal mindset or hive-mind or whatever one would call it."

Metamorphosis thought about that for a few seconds, then said, "It is both true and not true. Not true in the sense that, to an extent, that members of the hive are individuals, with dreams and hopes of their own. However, drones are all connected to the will of their Queen. If we give an order, they are, except for the detractors you mentioned, obligated to follow it."

"Then..."

"Chrysalis' hive is ruled by a tyrant, as you well know by now. Her personality and her need to control every aspect of drone life may well have sapped the individuality of her own subjects; it's not impossible, I know that. I've noticed her own people acting almost like automatons. They act and think like she would. I should know," she added dismally. "They like to express their sense of control, even over me."

"I was told that there was only one Changeling hive."

"Again, yes and no. My hive and others were independent at one time. Chrysalis subdued us through sheer military might, cunning, and in many cases, outright treachery. I wouldn't argue that she tells her subjects that. It would give her greater control over her own people, and she'd largely be able to keep the truth secret, except for the few who have to know, like her councilors."

"How would she be able to hold that fiction if she marched against you? Or for that matter, after conquering numerous hives?"

"I assume she tells her drones that the enemies they were facing - us - were rogue drones in an outpost somewhere who had to be put down, subdued, subjugated."

"Okay. I was told, by the same source, that you usually deal harshly with those who are not connected to the hive mind."

"Not all of us. Mostly, we can still find uses for them. It's only those who go out of control and violently insane who have to be put down. If your source was telling the truth, then I assume Chrysalis would exterminate those that she found within her hive - probably to kill off any potential rebellion. Not that that has much bearing on reality; detractors have often contributed greatly to a Changeling hive, either in spite of or because of their differences. But naturally, a power freak wants to root out any source of independence out of fear that it would mean rebellion. And who knows?" the Queen asked, shrugging. "Considering the tyrannical way she rules, maybe those detractors would be a threat, at least from her own eyes."

James quietly mulled things over. If this were all true, and he had no reason, save the war obviously, to believe otherwise, then here was a golden opportunity to both free a subject people and deliver a striking blow against the enemy. Of course, he could just ignore Metamorphosis' hive and strike due north, crushing Chrysalis' own hive and taking her effectively out of the conflict, in which case the other hives would go free in any event. But that had it's own problems. Those councilors, who were the real power behind Metamorphosis' people, would, if they discovered his army, force their hive to war, and he would most likely be cut off from his supplies. Assuming he defeated them, it would mean that the word would be out. If Fix had it right, there would be more of Chrysalis' followers in her own hive than he'd expected. And that problem wouldn't stop there. No doubt Chrysalis had "councilors" in other hives. If those were brought to bear, however reluctantly, it would change the balance of power.

Those hives might not want to be under Chrysalis' control, but it was likely that they had no choice. Queen Metamorphosis almost certainly had to sneak out of her own hive in order not to have been noticed. If other Queens were held hostage, he could see how they would have no choice but to fight him. And they would either destroy him and his army or be destroyed themselves in the process.

"I still say they aren't to be trusted," a second Major said. "We can't trust a race that lives by lies and deception."

"And how else would you have us live in our current form?" the Queen asked. "We can't help needing emotional energy to live. And if we tried to get some from an actual town or city, what do you think that would look like? A bunch of ugly, black pony-looking things coming out and saying, 'sorry for the need, but we need to buy some emotions off you'? They'd tear us to shreds or throw us in prison, all the more so now that that tyrant has made war on you. We can't help being who we are, or change our needs."

"But perhaps we can change our attitudes toward one another," James said quietly.

His subordinates all turned toward him.

"Sorry to say it, Jim," Shield argued, "but I have misgiving about any alliance with creatures that look like our enemies, and live like them. If they want our help, maybe we should take this Queen hostage, that way her hive will do-"

"Did you even hear your own words just now?" James asked, just as quietly, but with more authority behind it all. "Is that what they taught you in the Royal Guard, to take hostages and use them to your advantage? I thought they taught you loyalty and honor there, not the working of criminals."

"They taught us those things," Shield protested. "Loyalty to the Crown and honor above all else. But-"

"But nothing. And you know full well that dishonoring the white flag is not honorable. Quite the opposite. The white flag was made so people would have protection against what you just ignobly suggested during a truce."

Shield didn't reply; he just stood and looked own front hooves.

"And what of you, Crystal? What do you have to say?"

"Me?" the aide said, surprised. "I'd be against allying with them or letting them off with nothing if I were in your place. However, I am not, and I trust your intuition. It's gotten us out of some rough times before, and I wouldn't be surprised if it did it again."

You might not trust my intuition if you knew how much of what I know came from others, all better than I at this trade. "If I may suggest it, is it possible for you to remove the councilors?" he asked the Queen."

She scoffed. "Yes, for a while. But they'd be baaaa..." She trailed off. "I see. Are you offering a military alliance?"

He took a deep breath. "Yes."

Immediately, protests broke out from the ponies who heard it.

"I am aware of your feelings!" he shouted, raising his hands for silence. "I know what another hive of this species has done. But we cannot, in light of this new evidence, place all Changelings in the same basket." He took another breath, and spoke more quietly. "Look at the practical facts. I don't think we could survive if this hive were forced to fight for our enemies, as our supply lines, already tenuous as they are, would be cut, and it is very likely that we would be discovered if we just proceeded north. A loss for the enemy is a win for our side. And, just as important, the combined strength of our own forces and the liberated hive would be stronger than if we just proceeded alone."

Of course, we'd also be freeing oppressed people from an evil tyrant, but I don't think that will sway very many of them, distrustful as they are of all Changelings. I know a few of them, or perhaps more than a few, would say it's cliché as well. Maybe it is, but I don't have to give a care about thoughts like that, so I won't.

"Hmm." The Queen thought about the proposal for a moment. "I could easily remove the councilors. They rely on fear to keep us in line. But the problem I'm worried about is that they have several guards around our nursery. They haven't interfered with our business there... yet. But they will, you can count on that. I shudder to think of what would happen if those guards got a whiff of trouble..." Here, she really did shudder. "And they have a messenger ready to go at any sign of upheaval, make no mistake about that. The coup itself would go off well enough, if only we were able to take out the guards and cut off any messenger they might send before they could carry out their threats."

"Wouldn't they be able to inform the Queen via the hivemind, or link, or whatever it's called?"

"They would not; the Queen can force her will on her own subjects by it, but they cannot reverse the polarity, so to speak. They need to use verbal communication amongst themselves, and they would need to speak to the Queen, or give her something in writing, in order to pass on news to her. And, in order to enforce her will on her subjects, she'd have to be in relatively close proximity to them."

"Hmm. The trouble with the whole thing is doing it right," James noted. "It can be accomplished easily enough, but preferably I'd like this to go down without a messenger getting away, and without collateral damage." He looked westward, trying to think about what needed to be done.

"Sir, are you certain this is the course we should pursue?"

Can't you give me a moment to think? "I am. for all the reasons I outlined a minute ago. If any of you have a better idea..."

There was a round of muttering as the officers assembled tried to come up with a better idea.

He took the chance to continue thinking. "Is there a secret entrance around here?"

The Queen nodded. "That's how I was able to leave without being detected. I don't think that most of your army could follow us back, though; they'd see you for sure, even if we were successful afterwards." She shivered. "I cannot put my hive's brood at risk. If this is to be accomplished, we must do it quickly and with precision. I'd say we probably have a day, maybe two, before they find you, and then this would all come to nothing."

"I cannot argue with that."

"But... sir... that sounds suspicious. For only a small piece of our army to enter their hive? It's ideal for you to be ambushed!"

"I know, Major, but what choice do we have? I wasn't expecting anything like this when we left. We have to take whatever chances are given to us." And we all have to learn how to trust sometime. It's not fun, living in fear of betrayal and lies. If we pull this off, maybe we can partially erase the stain on all Changelings that Chrysalis brought. It would mean less conflict and hostility later. I don't want to win the war, only for everything to fall apart once it's over. "I've made my decision," he added. "We will form a plan in accordance with the Queen and liberate this stretch of land from enemy control."

His officers still looked dubious at the idea, but the Changeling party visibly relaxed. Fix sighed with relief, while the Queen merely nodded in James' direction. One Changeling started dancing, only to stop when he realized that he was being stared at.

The assembled officers began muttering to one another, but he paid them little mind. They might disagree with him, but they'd follow him. That would do. Opinions generally didn't change overnight, and an hour or two was asking a bit much.

"It's right over here," The Queen said, as they walked westward.

"What's over here?" James asked. "I don't see anything other than a few withered trees and tumbleweeds."

Metamorphosis smiled. "Which proves how effective our hiding places are." She stopped in front of a boulder and sat down. She tapped her hoof on it twice very quickly, then three more times, with more space between each tap. A final three taps in quick succession, and she stopped.

James wasn't the only one to exclaim in surprise when a much smaller rock next to it rose, revealing what was clearly some sort of speaking tube, as one would expect to find on old steamships. It was made, not with metal, but with the same material that Chrysalis' armies had used to build their bases. A voice in Changeling came from it. The Queen answered in the same tongue. The voice came again; if James had to put a label on it, he would have said that it sounded confirmatory, as opposed to sounding questioning, as it had the first time. The tube disappeared as the rock took it's place.

The boulder shook a little, then, as though it were on a hinge, swung onto it's side; a large hole, big enough for the whole party, had been underneath it. Now that he could see the underside of the boulder, he noticed that it was mostly hollow, though not to the point where it would collapse if somebody sat on it; light enough to swing open more easily than it would be otherwise, but strong enough to stand up to the wind and weather.

"Hiding in plain sight is easy enough for us," the Queen remarked. "This is just one of many such entrances."

James heard one of the ponies behind him mutter something, but he wasn't able to hear the precise words. He chose to ignore it. "And why are you willing to give us such facts?" he asked.

"Because, eventually, ponies and Changelings will have to share a world in peace, and the best way to do that is to build trust. I am willing to show off Changeling lifestyle because it will do us more good than harm. There was a time when I would have been as secretive as possible, but with the fiasco in Canterlot. that's no longer feasible. Come, if we stay out here too long, we might be spotted."

"By what?" he asked as he followed her down the hole.

"Her patrols. The guards they station in my hive will go on aerial patrols, looking for anything - or anypony - out of place."

At that, the rest of the party - Silver Shield, Bright, a couple of junior officers and several privates, as well as the Changelings who had come with the Queen- followed them in. The boulder came back down.

But unexpectedly - at least to the non-Changeling members of the group - it wasn't dark. An eerie green light spouted from crystals on the walls. It highlighted everything - true, everything looked green, but at least the light didn't make things appear out of place.

He was pondering the light when he heard the Queen speaking with someone. Looking to his left, he saw her conversing with a Changeling that had been sitting in a nook in the wall. He quickly realized that this was the one who had been on the other end of the speaking tube.

From the looks of it, the sentry didn't look as if he was sure that he and the Equestrian soldiers should be here. His voice was questioning again, and only after the Queen said something rather forceful - though not in a malevolent way - did he back down.

"Sorry for the delay," the Queen said. "He's just trying to do his job. We'll probably have similar run-ins down the line with other sentries. They take their job very seriously, especially around secrets like this tunnel."

"I suppose it can't be helped," James murmured, but offered no real protest.

The tunnel was long, and the walls were, for the most part, black, with only the green crystals on the walls lighting the way. It was unnerving for everyone who hadn't been there before, but the Changelings took it in stride. Occasionally, they'd whisper to one another in their own language; James had a funny feeling that they were talking about him and the Equestrians. When one soldier started looking this way and that nervously, one Changeling said something to his comrade, who pretended to poke himself in the eye. Both of them chuckled, though not in a very nasty way.

There were indeed other guards in the tunnel, at several different checkpoints; the Queen had told the absolute truth there. Each time, they tried to argue with her, but after using a measure of force in her voice, they conceded to her wishes, although they did not stop staring at the newcomers until they were out of sight.

After they had been walking for something close to an hour, James could feel the anxiety building. He was about to ask how long it would be before they arrived when suddenly the Queen stopped, and James, after readjusting his sight, realized why. There was a black door of the same material of the tunnel just in front of them. The Queen made the same sequence of taps on the door as she had with the rock.

"Doesn't that hurt?" he asked.

"No; Changeling hooves are just as hard and unyielding as those of ponies, and have no nerves; although of a different material, they function the same way. We'd have a harder time disguising ourselves as ponies if that were not true." Just then, a shutter in the wall next to the door opened, and the Queen again addressed someone behind it. After a few seconds of back and forth chatter, the shutter closed and the door opened.

"Quickly, down this hallway," Metamorphosis urged. "Sorry for the lack of a welcoming committee," she added dryly, "but I wasn't expecting to bring home guests."

"It's fine," James said quickly.

They marched down the hall; anxiety ran high, but with the entrance into the official hive, a sense of purpose swirled inside all of them. It overcame fear and caused them to move like people on a mission, which, of course, they were.

"Are these hallways what form the hive?" James asked.

"Oh no, this hallway is merely connected to my chambers. You should be safe there while we make our plans for my people's defection to your cause. The main part of the hive is, in essence, an underground city. You might find it difficult to reconcile that idea with your own image of what a city should look like, but I promise you that that is what it really is."

"Why are you hurrying us along then, if it's so unlikely that we are to be detected?"

"Because the councilors find out all sorts of things, and of course, that information doesn't get passed directly to me," the Queen said, again sounding dry. "They relay everything to Chrysalis, while only giving me instructions."

"Is everything here made out of that black stuff?" Bright asked.

"Almost everything, yes. It took many centuries to build all this."

"What powers the crystals on the walls?"

"Magic, of course. Fueled by emotional energy. It's all linked to a large, central crystal in the center of the city, which is where we bring the emotional energy in order to get them all to light up and stay lit."

"Wait, doesn't that mean giving it your food?"

"Well, yes. But that energy is used for numerous things. Without it, the walls you see would be impossible to make. It serves for all kinds of things."

"And how many ponies do you have in prison to power it?" a soldier in the back of the group asked snidely.

"None, idiot," the Queen said, rolling her eyes. "We have many members of the hive working daily in the nearest towns to earn that energy, not steal it. When they've collected a decent batch, they bring it here, to be used as needed, whether as food, power, mortar, or for other things. The phrase, 'a little love goes a long way' is one we take very seriously, as it's certainly true; a single delivery of energy can power these crystals for weeks on end, for example, or feed our children in the nursery for a month."

"You said, 'our children,' in the plural," James noted. "Can Changelings other than the Queen reproduce?"

"Yes, but reproduction from anyone other than the Queen is something very carefully watched in Changeling hives. We can't afford to have a population surplus if we consume too much energy by doing it, otherwise the children we bear would die in hunger and misery. I must carefully watch our young as they break forth from their eggs, keeping an eye on them as they grow into adolescence and ultimately adulthood. Every so often, I run into a youngster who is disconnected from what you might call the 'hivemind'. As our usual means of preserving our control over them - not that I like to exercise it much, personally - won't work with them, they need special classes, as well as mentors to watch over them and help them to become productive members of the hive."

"You act like yours is a civilized society," Shield said.

"It is, even if you don't or won't recognize it as such. I am indeed the ultimate lawmaker in the hive, but I put rules in effect to bring about peace and prosperity, not to abuse power, as she does. The hive is run much like a city above ground, although perhaps more tightly than you'd be used to; as I said earlier, having too many mouths to feed would be trouble, even with the energy that our many deliveries would bring, and, being despised by most people outside, we need to be highly disciplined and obedient to survive and thrive in this environment." She stopped talking as they came to another door. She didn't tap this one; rather, she used magic to shape a sort of spiral into the door; the green light melded into the door and disappeared, leaving no mark or other trace of it's existence, but a moment later there was a click, and the door opened.

"Welcome to my room," The Queen said.

The room was large, as large as one would expect a royal bedroom to be. Although the walls were black, most of the other objects in the room had color. The bed was... a bed, with actual quilts and sheets and all a bed would require; it was large and had a pink curtain around it, forming a sort of roof over the bed as well. A crystal, of white this time, stood atop a golden post near the door, where it gave light; a much bigger white crystal that hung from the roof of the room - positioned over the bed - lit the entire room. A small chair and table, both made of wood, stood near a window to their left, close to yet another door, one that was very tall and very grand. A door on the opposite end of the room was less fancy, but it looked at though it got more use.

"Where did you get all this?" James asked. "It doesn't look like it was made by Changelings."

"You're right, it wasn't. Most of it wasn't, anyway."

"Have you been stealing things from ponies' homes?" the same soldier from before demanded.

The Queen said something that sounded foul in Changeling, then rounded on him. "No! Do you still think we can only live by unfairly taking that which belongs to others? It's simple. Our harvesters, and yes they are disguised, earn money as well as making energy; it gets sent back to the hive, where we use the currency to buy things we can't make ourselves, or that are of better quality than things we could make on our own. We went through a period of making our own beds; they didn't measure up as well as ones made by ponies."

"So you have a treasury of sorts?" James asked."

"Yes. And of numerous types of currency, in case we need to purchase things in lands other than Equestria. It's nothing compared to the treasury in Canterlot, but it's a whole lot better than not having money at all. Besides comfort, we buy medicines and supplies for dealing with the injured, as well as tools to help in our construction. Not that we need tools so much; we could live without them. But a lot of things are easier to do when you have access to better technology, and having some creature comforts takes a bit of the heat off when you've had a bad day."

"Interesting," a pony in the group said, looking at the crystals. "What are they made of?"

"We call them sssssiirrrraccck, but you can call them... oh, bother, I don't think there's a word in your language that that would properly translate to. We make them out of some kind of crystal, which we call by the name I've just told you; each is carefully carved and given a node to connect to the big crystal in the center of the hive; the same goes for all of them."

"Why do you people like black and green so much?"

"It matches the color of our natural bodies, as well as that of our magic." The Queen shook her head. "We've wasted enough time with nonessential trivia questions. Now it's time to get down to business." She motioned for them all to sit in a circle; while the Equestrians mumbled, they complied. James touched the floor as he sat down; the material felt hard, but not in the same context as concrete or rock. Something about it told him that it was a sturdy material, well designed for building.

To his surprise, he found the Queen pointing a hoof at him. Feeling grateful about the invitation to speak first, James said, "I must thank our hosts for having brought us here, and for giving us the chance to form a new alliance. Forgive me, but I must ask if this room is secure."

"It is. I don't normally stand up to the councilors much, so they haven't found a need to take over my palace."

"Alright then. The main problem will be to get the..." He stopped and frowned, though not out of anger. "Do you have a map of the hive? It would help out greatly."

"I do." The Queen's horn lit up again, and a large scroll appeared in a flash of green; it unfolded and lay flat before them.

She's right that this is a city, he thought. It clearly wasn't as big as Canterlot, but it was still fairly big, considering that it was underground. He could see various blocks and what he assumed were important buildings - he couldn't tell, because they were all labeled in some sort of Changeling script. One really big building, ornate and tall, was off to one side. "Is this the palace?"

"Yes. It's where we are now."

"How come it was built off to the side, and not in the center?"

"Because, assuming there was the be an attack, the enemy wouldn't be able to trap the current monarch - namely, me, but my predecessors and my successors as well - in her own palace. Other hives were built with the palace in the center, but escape from the middle of a city would be difficult. I may abscond from here whenever I need, taking those who escaped the enemy's grasp with me in order to regain my hive at another time. But again, enough questions. What is your plan?"

"Hmm." James scratched his chin - Ugh, I need a shave - as he thought about the issue. "Well, first off, I need to know where the nursery is."

"it's right here, not far from the palace," Metamorphosis replied, pointing at a large, circular building. "They have guards all around it; they won't let our own people do it, as they know that doing this pretty much guarantees their hold over us."

"How many?"

"Usually about thirty or fifty; enough so that some of them could..." The Queen appeared reluctant to go on. "Could do... to our young..."

'Okay," James quickly said. "Is there anything we could do to distract them?"

"They are very dedicated to their job. They just stand there, threating any of us who get too close, with the exception of those who need to get in to care for our brood. It would take something pretty big to get them away from their posts."

"Would an explosion do the trick?"

"Hmm... it might, but we don't produce war materials in the hive."

"Is it possible to overload one of those crystals, so that it would blow up?"

"Yes. That happens every once in a great while, but we take great care to prevent that from happening, and at any rate the explosion wouldn't be big enough to distract them."

"What about that big crystal?"

"No, absolutely not. It is vital to keeping power flowing throughout the city. It does more than just provide light, of that I can assure you. However, there are a number of smaller, secondary crystals around the city that we've built, in case the big one broke or somehow stopped working. We could overload one of those with emotional energy and cause the detonation you're looking for, but I'm still not sure it would work. What are you planning if it does work?"

"To surround them somewhere, in a place where we would have the advantage. Are they the only garrison troops here?"

"They are the only substantial garrison, but there are groups of guards all over the hive. I'd say maybe thirty groups of two guarding certain areas, as well as patrols, probably about the same number. Including replacements for when a watch has to sleep, I'd say between a hundred and seventy five to two hundred eighty, more or less."

"And how many of your hive live here?"

"Twelve thousand, not counting children. I suppose if we could lure them away from their posts, we could surround and attack them as they're scattered. I could organize an attack like that, although it would take time for the word to spread, and more time still to actually organize things. And the main problem would still be the safety of the young in the nursery."

"Hmm. You said that they allow in those who are assigned to care for them?"

"They do. I can see what you're trying say, and I'm sure attacking them from within the building would not be enough, as the nurses don't number very many. The same would apply if I put them there to guard our young."

"What about the routine? What do the foreign Changelings do during the day?"

"Nothing much, other than guard, patrol, east, and sleep. The councilors stay in a residence across from the nursery, close enough to the palace to get here quickly, and close enough to the nursery so that the guards can get to them if there's any trouble."

"Are any of those secondary crystals near their residence? It sounds like that would get the guards' attention without their thinking that it was an attack."

"There's one that is fairly close, but not close enough to do any damage, if that's what you're thinking."

"No, although that would be great, as it would add to the deception. Well, could we hold the councilors prisoner?"

"No. That wouldn't work. They'd order the guards to attack the nursery anyway, even if we cut their throats afterward. That's how dedicated they are to her."

"Well then-"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the less fancy door. "Hold on," the Queen said as she stood up.

Queen Metamorphosis felt a sense of dread as she went to answer the door. Could they have found out so quickly? She tried, with difficulty, to restrain her thoughts. No, this must be something else. There's no logical way they could have found out what we were doing. She stopped just shy of the door. "Yes?" she asked in Changeling, opening the door with magic to see a member of her own hive.

"Sorry to bother you, your Majesty, but Chrysalis' councilors have... requested to see you at once."

Surely...? "I guess I have no choice. I will come down immediately."

"Your Highness is the very image of-"

"I will come down." Then. seeing that the courtier was looking at the crowd in the room, she added, "Not a word to anyone about this. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my Queen. I will keep silent." The servant left.

"I apologize," she said to her guests. "I have no choice but to see the councilors."

The leader - the one who wasn't a pony, but some sort of bipedal person - looked alarmed, and his hand reached for the gun on his belt.

"No, no!" she said, raising a hoof to forestall him. "You are my guests, and come under our protection. Plus, I don't think they know you're here. They like to barge in at unexpected times," she added. "They like to keep us on the edge of our hooves."

She didn't stay any longer but walked down the stairs.

She thought about the whole affair so far. Changelings weren't mind readers, but they could detect the different emotions coming off of others. Most of the ponies were distrustful of her; the Guard certainly was, though not hateful. The one in the back who had accused her hive of stealing things definitely despised her people, regardless of whether or not they made a (to her, at any rate) honest living. The strange being wasn't as bad as the others, but he was still slightly apprehensive. It would have to do.

Assuming the plan worked, and her hive was freed, and the war won... what would happen after that? Would her hive be able to mingle freely with ponies? Or would mistrust and anger destroy them? Would the Princesses demand the annexation of her people to their own, just to keep an eye on them?

Whatever life we'll live then, it will be infinitely better than living under that monster. She easily remembered years of enforced servitude. Of how she herself was slapped or kicked when unwilling or unable to comply with a demand. Of her subjects receiving treatment just as bad, if not worse. Of how the councilors took energy her hive had harvested and gave it to Chrysalis to use. Being an Equestrian protectorate wouldn't be so bad, compared to that; at least physical punishment would be forbidden, if I know Celestia. And I do. It had been years ago; she'd disguised herself as a particularly tall unicorn mare - it had to be a tall one, for Changeling disguises were more or less cosmetic - and seen the Princess in person at a great ball before the years of oppression by Chrysalis. She'd even gotten to speak with her for a few minutes.

She could also remember the day that the skies blackened with enemy Changelings, and how, after her army was virtually destroyed in the battle to keep the invaders out, the evil Queen, Chrysalis, had walked up to her, arrogant and behaving like there was nothing whatsoever to fear, and demanded, in a calm yet cold voice, for her surrender.

And of course, for us to have any future after that, I had to agree. They had us by the throat, and they would have squeezed. Hard. She still felt a tear come to her eye whenever she remembered the sadness in the eyes of the few of her soldiers who had remained, and how one of them had promised that, no matter what happened, he would fight to protect her if he had to, against Chrysalis or anyone else.

Her own people were still ready to obey her, to glory or ruin, and that wasn't simply because of her power to enforce obedience, though she could have used this. It was mainly because they loved her, although, considering the fact that she had been unable to protect them from the attack, she didn't think it was deserved.

"About time you got here, slouch!"

That hated voice drew Metamorphosis out of her thoughts. Two councilors and a couple of their guards were standing in the throne room, waiting for her. "And what request would you offer me today?"

"We do not 'request' anything, as you ought to know by now," one said, sneering at her. "We demand, and you'd better fulfill our demands, or you and your worthless people will suffer for it, mark my words."

"Fine. What are your demands this time?"

"Watch your tone, scum." The one who had spoke slapped her across the face. "Now, we have received our instructions from the Queen of all Changelings, Her Majesty Chrysalis herself, and we now relay them to you. The needs of the current conflict require more effort from this hive, which is but a mere extension of her Majesty's own, the councilor said, sneering nastily at that last.

"And?"

"We require more energy than this hive has been supplying us. You will give us fifty percent of your stock immediately, with 25 percent more of that which is delivered to be brought to us."

"But... That would mean our own hive would lose food and vital power that it cannot afford!"

Slap! "How dare you question us?" the more prominent of the two said. "Your worthless people are as nothing before the needs of our Queen! You will comply, or your hive will feel our displeasure. Do you understand? DO YOU!?!"

"I... I understand."

"You'd better see reason faster in the future. Her Majesty's patience is not infinite."

What patience? she thought. Fifty percent of our current stock, as well as 25% more of the energy our harvesters deliver? That will cripple us! Our hatchlings will go hungry, and my subjects as a whole will starve! Not to mention that to make up for the food shortage that we'll have to draw back on power, leaving our hive dark most of the time. We won't be able to recover from that easily. Then, almost as an after thought, she wondered, I wonder if other hives have received similar demands.

"Still worried about your own miserable subjects, are you? We told you, your hive is but nothing compared to our Queen's needs. If your subjects serve us well, they will not be harmed... beyond what the shortage will cause them, of course. Delay, and things will go poorly. Very poorly. You do not want to see how poorly they will fare."

Curse you both! "I will comply, and send out the necessary orders," she sighed.

"Good. Remember, we have guards... protecting your nursery. It would be a shame if we had to issue certain orders to them. Farewell, slave of our Queen. Until we receive further orders."

Metamorphosis resisted the urge to burn them to a crisp with her magic. It had been like this for more than seven years. The only thing that was really protecting the councilors were their threats, as well as the might of the hive they represented. They knew it, and hid behind those levers.

It's a good thing we're starting an uprising. If I had any doubts about it's necessity, they're gone now. If they demanded this, they'll take more. Sooner or later, we'd have to stand up for ourselves. Better to do it while we still have some strength, instead of letting them drain us little by little. And we'd better do it fast; they'll be wanting it within half a day, although they might let me get off with just a beating. That last she thought without any real fear. She wasn't afraid for herself, except in that she was necessary for her hive. She was far more afraid for her subjects, and what would happen if the uprising didn't work, than she was for herself.

James waited with trepidation as the silence went on. The ponies had gone to their weapons, and he himself had kept his hand on his pistol, though he hadn't drawn it. Nobody was aiming at anyone else yet; the Equestrians were just jumpy. For five minutes, nothing was said by either party; the only sound was that of anxious breathing.

Finally, one of the Changelings said something in his own language to another, who responded. James noticed something feminine about the second. After all the information he'd received, it shouldn't have surprised him, but it did.

Bright noticed too. "You're a mare?" he asked.

The female Changeling said something that sounded hardly complimentary in her own language, then said, "Yes, I am female. Why should that surprise you?"

"Well, I just thought..."

"You thought all of us, save the Queen, were mindless drones connected to the Queen purely by a sort of mind control."

"Uh, well, er... how was I supposed to know? You all look the same to me! Same size, same muzzle, no eyelashes or anything to tell you apart!"

"Are your eyes really that dull?" the female asked, rolling her eyes. "My comrades and I can tell each other apart with ease. The size and location of the holes in our bodies, for example, as well as by the state and shapes of our manes."

"Are you calling me blind?"

"No, just foolish."

Fix turned to her. "Scree carrack clee!"

"Sil sokk qulock!" she replied, turning to him.

Fix reeled back, as though stung.

"What did she say?" James asked.

"Nothing I can repeat in public," Fix answered.

"Next time, don't try to shut me up!" the female Changeling said, keeping her eyes on him.

"I didn't say that!" Fix protested. "Be careful around Meta," he added, looking at Bright. "She's a little fiery."

"Don't speak for me, especially when you're saying things about me!" Meta snarled.

"Can you guys please stop arguing?" another Changeling in the group said, rubbing his temples with a hoof. "You know how I don't like loud noises."

"Sorry, Calcareus," Fix said, turning to look at him. "I'd forgotten."

"And I keep telling you, call me Cal," the third Changeling replied. "Who would want a name like 'Calcareus'?"

"It's better than Cicadellidae," yet another Changeling, also a female, spoke up. "I don't know what they were thinking when they named me."

"Wow," a young private in the group whispered, "they're talking just like ponies would."

"And why shouldn't we?" Meta asked forcefully - clearly, the private hadn't been quiet enough. "Except for the link to the Queen and our need for emotional energy to survive, we are basically like ponies."

"I can see why you'd think otherwise, though," Cal said, rubbing an eye this time. "Sometimes, I wonder whether or not Chrysalis' subjects aren't a separate species, considering how so much more insect-like they act."

"As far as I'm concerned, they are another species," Meta said, stomping her hoof, hard, on the floor. "After what they've done to us for seven years and more, they aren't Changelings. They're monsters."

"You know they can't help it... not entirely, anyway," Fix said. "Their Queen is responsible."

"'Not entirely.'" Meta quoted. "I've seen those worthless councilors; they enjoy their job! And most of their guards, too. Maybe a few of them don't like it, but it's not like they do anything to help us, either."

'How come you speak English as well as we do?" James asked.

"Oh, it's a required course for all Changelings," Meta shrugged. "Those assigned as harvesters have to learn more than the Equestrian tongue. It's basically a second language to us, although we usually use our own language in the hive."

"Then..."

"Sometimes we slip into this speech more easily around ponies," Fix explained. "Maybe it's a subconscious sort of thing, I don't know."

"In any case," Meta went on, "We're sick and tired of being pushed around, of being beaten for failing or being late, and for standing up to them. And knowing our allies halfway hate us doesn't help, either."

"No one here said that," Shield protested.

"But you feel it. I can sense your distaste, your dislike - from one of you, even hatred. And all of you are anxious; I don't even need my ability to detect emotions to know that."

"Are you saying that you can read our minds?" Bright asked cautiously.

"Of course not. But I can easily deduct certain things from the emotions coming off of you. For example, you're feeling nervous, but very curious, so I can make a good guess that you're actually trying to get rid of at least some of your preconceptions about us."

Bright stood sat there, staring.

"Felt a little surprise there from each of you," the female Changeling said, grinning a little. But that smile quickly died. "And now the distrust is back, even stronger this time."

"Yeah, well, considering that you're able to do all that," Shield muttered, "it's rather obvious why."

"So, just because we can do this - a natural ability that we just have - you won't trust us?"

"We did get attacked by Changelings, and you admitted that members of your hive were fighting against us."

"By force. For the love of... do you think we'd fight for her if we had the choice? I've lost a brother in this war! Most of us have! If they didn't hold our hatchlings as hostages, we'd have rebelled long ago!"

"Unless your Queen wanted otherwise."

"Well, of course," Meta answered, as if to a child trying to learn. "But she's just as sick of this occupation as we are, and at least she's tried to protect us, insofar as she could."

"Does she have to use her power to enforce her demands much?" James asked.

"What, her? No! She doesn't use it often. She doesn't have to; we follow her for as much as who she is as what she is. She's always joyful when new eggs are laid, she tries to organize things so that everything runs on time, and she always tries to be there to help someone out when a loss, whether material or otherwise, is suffered. Also, she likes to sneak out of the hive to purchase books from Equestrian stores for the hive library." She sounded wistful as she said this.

"Or rather, she did," Cal said. "For the last seven years and more, we've been stuck under that beast, and since then, we've been, well... you ponies might say poor, or dismal, but neither word does justice to it. I don't think any words could."

"And it's not like you take how we feel about ponies into account," Cicadellidae added.

"How you feel...?"

"Right. Ponies are all rich, and they're happy, and they never run out of love. And yet they never think of giving that love freely to us."

"That's just biased!"

"And your views of us aren't?"

"..."

"It might be illogical to feel that way, but when things go especially wrong, sometimes members of our hive blame it on the idea, justified or not, that ponies are to blame for it all. It isn't fair, true, but they can't help but think how much better things would be if ponies weren't so stingy with their love."

"But... how were we supposed to know? It's not like you went out of your way to reveal yourselves that much," Bright complained.

"No, that's true, but facts tend to be ignored when people are angry. And, since Chrysalis' guards give us a beating when we get angry at them, we don't have any other real outlet for our anger and misery."

"But.. what have we ever done to you?"

"We could ask you the same question. Our hive has always tried to interact peacefully with ponies, though, yes, in secret; I doubt, as had been said before, that you'd take well to the appearance of our actual bodies. I've definitely been able to get out of the hive every so often. It might be why I find it harder to blame ponies for our problems."

"So, we both have stereotyped ideas of each other," Bright said, finally nodding.

The door on the other side of the room opened, surrounded by green magic. Queen Metamorphosis walked through and shut it. "They don't know you're here," she said quickly. "However, we must move quickly; they've demanded fifty percent of our stock of energy, as well as twenty five percent more of that coming in from deliveries."

The other Changelings all gasped.

"But... how will we feed our families?" Fix yelled.

"We can't let them get away with this!" Meta greed, thrusting a hoof into the air. "If they want this today, they'll want more tomorrow. Soon, the hive will wither away to nothing!"

"I told them that; they gave me the usual response to objections," the Queen said. "It's a good thing you and your army came, actually; given the fact that they have no knowledge of your presence here, they would have made it whether you came or not. I don't know what they'd do with that energy, but I am not about to let them get it; we'd starve."

"Hmm. Maybe it would be a good idea for them to get that delivery of energy... or at least, a small part of it," James said, thinking.

"What? I thought you were with us!"

"I am. Is the energy explosive?"

"...What are you planning?"

"Let's say that a big cartful of energy was brought past the councilors' residence. And say it happened to explode in an obvious accident. The guards' need to ensure the safety of their superiors will entice them to abandon their posts to help... whereupon they end up surrounded by an angry crowd of your subjects and captured."

"This is the same plan you outlined earlier. Why this one modification?"

"Because, the more convenient the 'accident', the less likely the guards will be to assume you had any deliberate part in it, and the less likely they are to attack the nursery."

"Hmm. It might work. But I doubt they'll just give up; either way, it means that some of our people will die."

"It does. But at least your hatchlings will be spared, ensuring the future of the hive."

"Indeed. Of course, they might assume we blew it up the energy in a deliberate attack, and... well... I just don't know whether the risk is worth it. But," she continued. "after the recent meeting, I have no choice but to initiate some kind of action."

"Why don't we combine an explosion with something else?" Cal suggested. "Maybe we could stage some kind of fake protest rally to distract them..."

"That's possible," the Queen said, "but they'll counter something like that with force, and an open protest would make the explosion seem less accidental, and they'll take punitive measures anyway."

"Oh."

"In any case, the army is expecting a signal from us within 36 hours," James added. "Hmm. If we made some kind of feint attack from the outside, that might distract the guards. As they're going to fight, they'll be surrounded and crushed."

"It's possible," the Queen admitted, "but the councilors will be the first to demand that we go and fight, and I have no idea if they'd send the guards out to fight. Probably not; they're brutal, but not stupid. It would be easier to live under them otherwise. They'd know that the hive would be subject to a change in sides at that point."

James sighed. "I know how to handle military affairs to a point, but I'm not prepared to deal with this particular kind of hostage taking, where the executioners would take orders to kill their captives and do them in spite of the loss or capture of their leadership. Honestly, other than a situation at Trottingham, I've never seen anything this... dark before in this world. If this were something where I come from, it would usually fall to police - or special, heavily armed police units - to deal with this."

"Maybe so, but that's not the case here." The Queen shook her head. "There are hundreds of baby Changelings in the nursery, defenseless. Any provocation we make - that's obvious, anyway - would lead to their.. their... t-t-termination." She shook badly and covered her eyes.

"Is there a secret entrance into the nursery?" James asked.

"No. Sadly, before the takeover, we didn't think anyone could d-do such a thing."

"Hmm."

"And there's the possibility that some of the guards might remain, no matter what we do."

"I guess we'll have to make a kind of flexible plan that takes multiple contingencies into account," James said. "Even if some of the guards left, they'd almost certainly leave a hole of sorts in their coverage. If we have a group smuggle the kids out the windows where and when they aren't looking, that might solve the problem." James rubbed his forehead. "It's possible that we could do that, as well as the distraction. Would the guards immediately attack the nursery if we took Cal's idea into account?"

"Hmm. A rally - assuming no explosion - would draw their attention if it came down their street. And no, as long as the action weren't taken for open rebellion, they might harm the children. That doesn't apply for the marchers, though, who would be put in harm's way, and if any of them were caught, they might be killed."

"Hmm. We're back to our old plan then." Cal put a hoof to his chin. "Maybe what we do is this; blow something up - 'accidentally', of course - outside the councilors' house. Surround and take out the guards that come to check things out as soon as they're out of sight of the rest. Set up roadblocks - again, out of sight of the nursery - that keeps other guards from informing the ones stationed there of our activities. Try to rescue the hatchlings from holes in their perimeter coverage in the meantime."

"I can't say it's without risk," the Queen said. "But something like that sounds like our best choice. The roadblocks shouldn't be hard to set up; all we'd need are maybe thirty of our own at each place to block off the streets at any place, as the patrols only go in twos; we'd take out any who decided to check things out. Of course, they might try to fly over such partitions, but that's something any of us can do too, so that shouldn't be much of a problem. And maybe we could pull an attack from inside the nursery, as you suggested earlier, once our children have been evacuated." She sighed. "I'm putting all of us at great risk," she said, looking at her subjects in particular.

"Well, once you've said that what we'll do, there's no choice but to do it, is there?" Fix said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Your Highness, We'll all do our part."

"Yeah!" Meta added. She said something further in Changeling, something that actually brought a smile to the Queen's face.

"I suppose we'd better get started, then," the Queen said, standing up. "I haven't had much hope for the past seven years," she added. "But now, which the chance before us, I'm starting to know once more what it feels like." Then, still smiling, she turned to the Equestrian party. "As for our guests... Welcome to the hive!"

Author's Note

My recent descriptions of Changelings is similar (though certainly not identical) to that of those portrayed by Goldfur and others. I hope I did a good job on this one; the debate on what plan to take felt grating on me, but maybe that's just me (hoping it is, anyway).

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys the holiday season, than you all have a wonderful new year!

Chapter 52; The underground city

"I suppose we could hardly refuse your welcome," James said. Privately, he still felt somewhat worried about everything, but several minutes of talk between himself, his soldiers, and the Changeling party had removed much of it. I'm glad they aren't mind readers. I know that Equestria has only the worst views on Changelings... and considering the attack on Canterlot, those views are somewhat - though not entirely, no, not even close to entirely - justified.

"This alliance was merely optional when we proposed it, but now, it's an absolute necessity," the Queen answered. "I wish we could have met the Princesses before that monster attacked Canterlot, but sadly, due to our... current status, we were unable to."

"Welcome is all well and good," Bright said, "but we'll need a place to stay; I doubt you'll want us to eat and sleep in your own room."

"You're right; I don't. But I have quarters available." She grimaced. "I only wish we didn't have the vacancy, and not for the reasons some of you might think. A few months ago, some of my personal servants objected to the way the councilors were treating me. They didn't like that; they had one..."

"Murdered."

"Well, yes, as an example, and arrested the others. They're either stuck in whatever counts for a prison in Chrysalis' hive... or dead, and made to suffer before they died."

James was no Changeling, but he could feel the sorrow in the Queen's voice. And, looking around, he saw it mirrored in the faces of the other Changelings in the room.

They really have suffered. And, now that I look more closely... I think the Queen has a few new marks on her face that weren't there before she left us. He decided not to comment on it.

"Anyway, we'll need to make arrangements to feed you. I doubt you'll be able to eat emotional energy, as we can."

"Do you have any real food?" Shield asked.

"To us," Meta said, "emotional energy is food."

The queen waved her down. "To answer you, yes, we have some small supplies of fruit. And, while I'm allowing you some measure of freedom in my palace, I must insist that you return to your quarters when my guards see any of the councilors coming. It would certainly not do if they saw you. As for your weapons-"

"We aren't giving them up!" Shield said, jumping up.

"I wasn't going to say that, but I ask you to use caution. And, if I find out that any of you use their weapons to bully or hurt any of my people, I'll throw that individual in jail. I won't trade one set of murderers for another. Is that understood?"

Shield stood there, glaring, for several seconds, before finally sitting down again.

"Since we have only a limited window of opportunity, we'll have to spread news of our plan quickly. I want Meta and Cal to go out at once and spread the news. Cicadellidae, I want you to lead our visitors to their quarters. And Fix, I want you to act as guide for them. You know this palace as well as I, if not better."

"What if some of those Cal and Meta are going to pass the news to the councilors?" Bright asked.

The Queen turned to him, a look of anger on her face. "My subjects cannot do anything contrary to my will. And even if they were able to, they've experienced the rule we've been set under. None of them want Chrysalis to remain in control. Once the news of the plan goes out, they'll keep it an absolute secret, and they'll fight. We've been waiting for a chance like this for the past seven years. Tomorrow, come good or ill, we go to war."

"Without weapons," James said gravely, remembering.

In response, the Queen touched her horn. "These are our weapons. They may not have the same impact as guns or cannons, but the sheer number of bolts we can put in the air will sweep our enemies away like a flood. Not to mention how useful they'll be if fighting comes to close quarters. I hope it doesn't, but we'll be prepared if it happens."

James nodded. "I guess we can't complain too much. But if we succeed, what will you do then?"

"Continue to fight, until the fight on this front has been won. We will do our part to defeat the terrorist who has been misruling my people for so long. And I can tell you this; I will never allow another murderous tyrant to reign supreme over my people and I. If I see another ruler like her rise among the Changeling hives, we will be the first to respond."

The Equestrian delegation was lead down the stairs and into a massive antechamber. James found himself impressed, even if the design wasn't purely Changeling. Eight giant white pillars, four on each side, lined a large, long, blue carpet, which flowed down the center of the room and led to a black-colored throne. The walls were coated with white paint, as was the roof. The designs on the walls and pillars were certainly Changeling, even though the paint was noticeably imported. Numerous white crystals lit the room, which was filled with light almost everywhere.

"This is where the Queen holds court," Fix said. "Disputes, laws, planning for further gathering of energy, it's all done here."

"Is there a proper throne room?" Bright asked.

"Yes, but it's usually reserved for secret meetings. Although, considering the past little while, I suppose it's not the only place where things like that can happen."

"How long ago was this place - this whole hive - established?" James asked, eager to learn more.

"I don't know how long; I'm not a historian of our people, and tragically history in our hive has been suppressed by the outsiders. However, I'm sure it's been over a thousand years since construction began, and it might go back further. This palace took decades to finish, and it's been refurbished and redesigned over the centuries."

It's impressive, considering the work that's been done since then. He was unsure what to think overall of Changeling society. It was obviously closely controlled and more well-regulated than he would be comfortable. Democracy, and the republican system overall, were entirely unknown here. That would have been true even if another hive weren't oppressing this one. Perhaps it comes from them resembling insects

His personal belief when it came to science was that science was made by the Lord, and that the laws of science in turn governed nature in general, with occasional exceptions, namely miracles. That wasn't to say that he didn't believe that God had a hand in the doings of the world; he did. Too many great and unexplainable things happened for him to believe otherwise. James also believed magic in this world to be an extension of those ideas of science and nature. Doubtless, theologians back home had argued over that, and, if this world were ever linked to his own, they would argue there as well.

But that would be then, if it ever came. They had to look at the present as much as the future, especially since the present was the path to that future.

In the meantime, the group walked across the antechamber to a door on the opposite side, with Cicadellidae leading. From there, they descended a small staircase before turning left and making down a narrow hallway with numerous doors.

"This is where you'll be staying the night," Fix said. "These rooms aren't very big, but they are very cozy."

James opened one of the doors. Fix was right; the place was pretty small, but the bed was obviously of good (if also imported) quality, and a little desk and chair were off to the side. A little window let in some light, while another white crystal hung from the ceiling, lighting the areas the window could not.

"Thank you," he said, turning back to the guide.

"I was merely following my instructions," the Changeling replied.

"As was I," his companion agreed.

The way they said that made it sound as if there were nothing else that could have been done. If he had the talent for it, James would have whistled. As it was, he made another mental note. Apparently, direct disobedience to the Queen wasn't only impossible, it was practically unheard of. That explain why those belonging to Chrysalis' hive fought to the death almost every time. They probably didn't think of surrender as an option, that is, if they even could. Again, he felt uneasy. While he couldn't help admiring the architecture and loyalty here, he found it questionable to give absolute obedience to anyone not of divine origin. While obedience of that kind could accomplish great things, it could also inflict unspeakable horror if one obeyed the wrong ruler. Seeing what happened over the past ten and a half months, that's a no brainer.

He crossed the little bedroom, curious to see what the window had to offer. He had expected to see something resembling a city, but the sight that met him surprised him nonetheless. A small metropolis, set inside an enormous cavern, met his eyes. Few of the buildings, for that was what they obviously were, had much resemblance to what he or the ponies would consider proper architecture, but they were obviously well designed, and most appeared to have identical construction patterns. Green and white light, presumably from more crystals, lit the buildings, which were constructed out of the black material he had come to see so much of already. The hive didn't seem to have a main street he could recognize (or at least not from this angle), nor were the buildings in blocks that he would have thought of as being organized, but here and there Changelings went about their business. Some flew, but most walked. Some carried saddlebags full of material or energy; he couldn't tell the difference from this distance.

"Does everything here have an octagonal pattern?" one of the soldiers asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Most buildings do, yes," Fix replied. "Such has always been part of our designs."

James caught a glimpse of something from the window, and he turned his eyes back toward it. Some where in the distance, two prominent Changelings were busy speaking haughtily to another. He couldn't hear them from here (and, he remembered, he wouldn't have understood them even if he could), but their gestures and posture were both clearly hostile.

One of the rogue Queen's patrols, he realized. He felt something in his stomach fall as one of patrol slapped the victim in the face, then kicked him (or her; he couldn't tell) as he fell.

No one's going to help the poor guy. Even if I went to Metamorphosis, the bastards would just take her protests as another opportunity to slap her around and tell her how worthless her hive is. They might even impose more sanctions. I'd thought I'd known what tyranny is, but to read about and see are two very different things.

Feeling somewhat sick, he turned back to the rest of the group, who were still talking with Fix. "...were constructed in the time of Queen Cocoon, and took about ten years to complete."

"Do you have any food?" a pegasus in the group asked. "None of us have eaten since we left camp today."

"I will make sure to see that food reaches you," Cicadellidae answered.

"Thank you, uh Cica, uh..."

"Just call be Cica, or Sick, if you prefer; I get that one all the time."

"Uh, thank you, Cica."

The female Changeling nodded and left.

James sat down on the bed in the room he was occupying. As he'd thought it would be, it was comfortable and warm. No that he was able to get a closer look, only the mattress, sheets, and pillow had been bought; the rest was made of the black material the Changelings apparently loved to build with. "What's this stuff made of, anyway?" he wondered.

"You'd probably be surprised," Fix answered. "The ingredients include saliva and the green stuff we use to stick stuff together."

"Yuck!" a soldier exclaimed.

"It's what we have to build with," Fix shrugged. "And it works. We probably couldn't have built all this if it didn't."

"And what else did you use?" James recognized the voice of the hateful soldier who had questioned the Changelings before. He stood up (reluctantly; the bed was comfortable) and dashed to the doorway. This time, he managed to spy out who just was speaking; an orange unicorn. "Pieces of ponies, perhaps?"

"Private Lightning Rod!" Shield shouted at the unicorn, "shut it! Even I don't believe that. It's downright stupid, in fact."

"You don't like them any more than I do; why don't you admit it?" Lightning Rod countered, sneering.

"I said, shut up. And wipe that pathetic excuse for a grin off your face. No, I don't trust them, but I've seen enough to know they aren't going to double cross us." Shield walked over to him, hooves clopping loudly against the floor. "I knew you had a lot in common with your brother, Jack Tar, but I'm ashamed to say that you both share a bad attitude and a lack of common sense. If I had known you'd have caused this much trouble, I would never have brought you with us." Shield snorted with annoyance. "I think the Queen's warning was directed at you in particular. And what she has in store for you if you break her rules is nothing compared to what I'll do to you." He brought his face close to that of Lightning. "Is that understood?" the Guard pony whispered.

After a rather long pause, Lightning Rod sighed. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Glad we're clear on that. But I've got my eye on you until this over." With that, Silver Shield backed off and sat back down.

Suppression of hatred and racism isn't enough to kill it, James thought sadly. Sometimes, I wish it were... but then, free will wouldn't exist. We have the freedom to make our own choices... good or bad. But the bad gets you screwed - whether now, or later, it does.

Fix had been standing by, furiously silent and dragging his hooves on the floor. After Shield was done talking, he seemed reluctant to speak again. "...If any of you want a tour of the palace, " he said at last, "I'll take you. If some of you just want to sit here and hate, that's... fine, too."

"I fully apologize for that display," James said. "By no means do most of us agree with what he said, or at least, we don't share that same level of.,. anger. Once we eat, I'll gladly go with you on that tour."

Fix nodded. "Thanks."

Cica walked back in, a tray of cabbage, lettuce, apples, carrots, and celery encased in a green glow. "I'm back. Anyone miss me?" She set it down in their midst.

The ponies each began to take something from the try. James made sure to get one of the apples before they were all gone.

"Where do you get all this?" the Major said, speaking again after keeping silent for a long time. "And how is it still so fresh?"

"We bought the seeds and planted them here, underground," Cic answered. "We keep the specimens that grow to maturity in a vault that is kept full of ice."

"But why? Surely you don't need it, considering the energy you take?"

Cica ignored the faint trace of hostility in the Major's voice. "That's true. But a good snack here and there won't harm us. Taking in energy is nice, but sometimes we want something of a different taste."

"Could you subsist only on this kind of food?" Bright asked.

"No; we need the energy to survive. Without it, we'll eventually die. That why the fact that the tyrant is taking so much of our energy is such a big deal; we'll likely lose at least a quarter of our people here, if not more, if we allow that. We can't."

"And they'll know it," Fix muttered. "They might see us as worthless, but they know what we think of that deal... and them. They'll be on the watch for trouble."

James listened to the others mumbling and whispering.

"This is our home," Cica said quietly. "We can't just let this happen."

The word "home" brought memories of life back on Earth. James felt a deep homesickness settle within him. He'd been away from home for almost a year. He was further away than any of his soldiers from home. On another planet, in another world; it had been exciting for the first several months. But now, after having seen war firsthand, having made decisions, good and not so good...

You still have a job to do. He tried hard to bring himself out of the past and back into the present. Think of how they would feel if you deserted them now. His conscience guided him to look upon the ponies, as well as the Changelings in the new alliance. Of how you would feel. He sighed, as quietly as possible. He indeed had a job to do, and wasn't going to stop until he was done.

James found himself impressed, in spite of his general lack of interest in construction. The Changelings had taken time with everything; nothing looked particularly out of place, with the exception of private rooms. The whole place was efficiently run; there was no discernible kitchen, and after a moment, he remembered that the inhabitants didn't need solid food, and therefore had no need of such a room, which would be a waste of space that could be used for more important things. He felt a sense of avid curiosity about the place. He couldn't help wondering how well the place would stand up to an attack, but he filed that thought away for later.

Although he was impressed by the tour, he was glad when it was over. Fix led them back to their rooms.

Lightning Rod hadn't moved. He was still cradling his rifle. The other ponies who had declined the tour were still there, but none of them were so obviously hostile - in fact, none of them showed any hostility whatsoever, considering that they were playing cards - as he was. Cica was watching the game quite intently, and was obviously trying to ignore Lightning's glare, which probably wasn't easy when one took into account how he kept cleaning his gun.

"He's been like that the whole time," she said when they drew near, rolling her eyes as she did so. "Didn't even try getting a decent word out of him." Her focus shifted back to the game; the Major had thrown down his cards in frustration, and a younger pony gathered in all the bits as the others watched jealously.

"It'll be getting dark outside," Fix said.

"How do you guys tell the time in here anyway?" Bright asked. "You live underground."

"Well, if you want to know the precise time, there's always the big clock in the center of the hive," Cica said, sounding amused. "But not counting that, we've mostly worked the day cycle into our systems."

"I can see most of our guests seemed to have settled in," came a voice behind them. James knew even before he turned around that it was the Queen. Her eyes glowed, in a mixture of anger and hope. "The councilors sent for me, and told me that, as we would suffer an imminent energy shortage, it would be more efficient for us to send a larger contingent to the war front as soon as it could be arranged."

"They said that?"

"Well, not quite; they mostly demanded more warriors for the fight, with the energy shortage only coming in as an afterthought. Still, it's the thought that counts, isn't it?"

"How many did they demand?"

"About half the hive, which is about ten thousand or so."

James was caught by surprise, by more than one element. After withstanding the gasps of everyone, pony and Changeling, around him, he said, "You don't seem as upset as you were earlier."

"Because they've gone and made a mistake, or at least, I think it's a mistake, and not a trap. They're going to gather the whole hive tomorrow before my palace to make the big announcement. I think that would make a decent time to launch our attack."

"But what about the nursery?"

"When they said the whole hive, they meant it, and, I've obeyed their demands - though reluctantly - up till now, so they won't suspect that I'll do anything to upset them. They still don't know that you're here. They may be expecting some trouble from the crowd, but they'll need most of their soldiers there to keep order, so the nursery should be lightly guarded. My idea is that we'll gather and hide a large group near the nursery. They won't have the coverage they need at the nursery to keep an eye on everything, and in any case my subjects know this place better than they ever could. We should be able to catch the guards by surprise and take them out of the picture, and without destroying anything in order to do so. Once that's done, we'll be able to launch an attack on their soldiers. This is where you and yours will come into play. We'll need your firepower to help deal with the soldiers, and it would be best if I positioned you in a building off to the side of the rally."

"But where will you be?"

"On the podium, with the councilors."

This captured everyone's attention.

"What? You can't do that!" Fix insisted.

"I can. And I'll have to, to maintain the idea that Chrysalis' servants are still in control, up until the uprising begins."

"But... Your Highness... you could die!" Cica said.

The Queen stood up straight. "It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make for the freedom of my hive. My subjects are willing to give their lives. I can hardly aspire to less."

"But who would replace you?" James asked.

"I have a daughter of my own."

"She's only eight, though," Fix said.

"And she's lived almost her entire life under the hooves of Chrysalis and her councilors. I want her to know what freedom feels like. If I have to die to achieve that goal, I'll die knowing that my daughter and her people will be free."

James bowed in respect. "The words of a true leader."

"I just hope this isn't a trap, and that we succeed," Bright spoke up. "If it doesn't a lot of... people will wind up dead."

"It is a trap," James answered. "Our trap. I doubt the soldiers will have things their way. Trying to deal with twenty thousand angry people with numbers of two hundred or less strikes me as bad odds, however well trained they might be. They'll have fire coming in from all directions. And we'll have the advantage of surprise over them, which is the best force multiplier of all." God willing, we'll get through this with few, if any, casualties. That might not have been likely, but a man could hope. "We'll need to alert the army to get going early," he added. "If we could sneak a couple platoons in here, that would increase our chances. With the army outside, blocking the exits and preventing messengers from getting out, the coup should go undetected, until it's too late for the enemy to do anything about it."

"If we do bring in more troops, we'll have to house them in the palace," the Queen said. "This isn't a hotel. We don't have an infinite number of rooms to house them. And I can't risk moving them outside the palace because they might be seen."

"They could pretend to be Changelings that were training for a mission," Bright suggested.

The Queen shook her head. "That wouldn't work. We can detect other Changelings by the fact that we can't take energy from them; they would know your troops just by detecting emotional energy from them. So, nice try, but no."

"Oh." Bright looked down at the floor.

"I think we have lodging for... what do you think, Fix? Ten, Fifteen more?"

"Fifteen, but I'd say no more than that. However, we could station more in the secret passage we used to enter the hive."

"Good thinking."

"I'll take care of it, sir," the Major said. I really have to find out what his name is. "I'll draft the orders for deployment immediately, with your permission."

"Granted," James said. "See to it." He turned back to the Queen. "If things go our way tomorrow, you'll be ruling a free nation again."

"Assuming things do go our way."

James grunted, but he didn't bother to answer that. He knew that, in war, things often didn't go the way one planned them. It felt like it happened all too often.

Metamorphosis sighed as she gazed at the hive from the balcony just outside her bedroom. Even though the preceding years had been terrible, the hive had managed to keep up with every demand so far, however strenuous. It had managed to largely retain the size of it's population and welcomed new growth.

She didn't know whether to dread the next day or welcome it. If something went horribly wrong, the results would be disastrous. Not that she expected it to, but the worry nagged in the back of her mind, and refused to go away completely.

And even if the rebellion succeeded, and the war was won... so what? Ponies wouldn't take kindly to Changelings even so; the soldiers' clear opinions were all too clear on that. She muttered a Changeling curse word under her breath. Chrysalis had messed up life for all Changelings for the indeterminable future, even if she was overthrown. The new security measure since the attack on Canterlot had made it ever more difficult to gather the energy needed. As a result, she'd had to send gatherers into smaller cities and towns on the outskirts of Equestria, which had had repercussions on the amount of energy gathered.

It wasn't only the energy that was at stake, though. The lives of the harvesters themselves had become much more dangerous. They had to be constantly aware of their surroundings, of the opinions of their neighbors, and of whether or not the Royal Guard was conducting operations in the area; before the attack, they had been able to relax a lot more. More than a few had been discovered and had fled hours or, in one case, even minutes before the authorities, often unable to bring the energy they'd gathered back with them, or else only able to bring back a limited amount of it. Two had been captured by the Royal Guard; other harvesters had confirmed this. She had no idea how they were being treated, and the other harvesters weren't exactly eager to try to find out. She could understand the fear they felt, that they would be discovered in so doing, and be captured themselves.

Before Chrysalis had taken over, she'd had plans - not well formulated, just thought about - to reveal the existence of her hive to Celestia, to try to begin relations between the two states. Needless to say, none of those plans or ideas had made it off the ground; Chrysalis had made it abundantly clear after the conquest that no such missions were to take place, ever. Even victory now wouldn't mean that such a mission would be possible; pony fears about Changelings would be too strong for the next, oh, two or three decades. Thanks so very much, Chrysalis. You've done the very thing that was likely to doom our species by making us all too familiar with the Equestrians, and not in a way to make them exactly happy to know about our existence. Already, harvesters had brought back newspapers from Equestrian towns. The second invasion had only increased fears, and the press wasn't something easily reined in, even by a monarch.

The upcoming battle would change everything, one way or another. But would her people have any proper place in the world after the dust settled?

James wrote quietly in the light provided by the crystal above. He still wrote letters to home regularly, in spite of being busy. His original pens had run out of ink, and his pencil was close to being just a nub; he'd been using them for things other than just writing letters.

Sorry I couldn't have come when it was peaceful, he wrote. This place is beautiful... well, the place I'm staying at right now, some people might not want to use beautiful to describe it, but in general, this world is. Aside from the war, obviously.

Me, a general... a year ago, that was laughable. I was another guy setting up to go to college, preparing to live a normal life, if anything in life can be described as normal. Now... even though I'd always wanted this job ever since that project I had to do in class, I'm not all that certain that being one is such a great thing. I've seen the land and it's people torn by conflict, ripped up by the angry shells and cannonballs. Sometimes, it's hard to realize that I'm in the world depicted by the show. I find that particular doubt so troublesome that it's almost a war in itself to bring myself back to reality.

I'm sick of seeing the dying. No amount of video gaming or watching movies can prepare you for the real thing. The former is just watching somebody being felled and sometimes forgotten in the form of entertainments I've noted. The real thing... I don't think anyone can truly understands how it feels to have the very same soldiers you helped train die in actions you've ordered them into. Survivor's guilt is strong, not least among officers.

He set down the pencil, which rolled off the desk and circled around his shoe. He didn't feel as sure of himself as he had when the whole mess had begun. A kid felt he was invincible, could do the impossible. The other guys who tried it and failed? Not good enough or just foolish. That is, until you tried it yourself and got a bloody nose, literally and figuratively, and sometimes worse.

I'm getting too far into my own thoughts. If I get stuck here, I'll have a hard time getting myself out. Not without some effort, he pushed away the line of thought he'd been travelling on. He arose and looked out the window once more. Can't stay negative. Won't be able to do much if I remain there.

In a way, the Changeling hive really was beautiful, though you'd have to be one of them to truly appreciate it. The lights that shone clearly revealed a city of sorts. Even at night, the place was busy.

Perhaps for those who live here, there isn't a daytime. After all, this whole place is underground, and it has to be lit 24/7. No wonder they need so much energy. "Hmmmm." Must have been a nice place to live eight years ago. Now, though, it's almost as though you could taste the misery. And I don't like what I'm tasting.

He shivered a little. The place wasn't freezing, but it was a bit colder than he'd like. He'd found a large, black device on this side of the room - under the window, in fact - that looked as though it were used for heating. He'd tried turning the knobs several times, but nothing had happened. Maybe it's just broken.

There was a knock at the door. "Yes?"

The door opened. Queen Metamorphosis walked in, shutting the door behind her before sitting down. "Sorry for barging in like this," she said, "but I'm having trouble sleeping."

"And you needed to talk to someone."

"Yes. The uprising, and the risks involved, are just cutting into me." She paused. "I guess my curiosity is not appeased by promises to ask later. First and foremost, who are you? I never actually asked the question."

James bowed, deeply, sweeping his hat off. "I am James, of the noble house of Lavigne, Count of Maine and Duke of New England."

The Queen snickered. "Now try being serious. The burst of amusement coming from you gave the game away before you even started."

James chuckled. "Brigadier James Lavigne, General of the Equestrian Army and Military Advisor to Equestria, at your service. Well, technically, at Equestria's service, but even so."

"I've never seen your kind before."

"Humans don't seem native to this world, and possibly this world. I was summoned here by the Princess."

"I see. I would have expected someone of your rank to be... well... older and more experienced."

"That makes two of us."

"Hmm. So you're mercenary of sorts?"

"No," James said firmly. "I'm sick of the Griffons putting out that bull...shot. If I fought only for money, don't you think I would have had the temperament to try to ally with you?"

"I suppose not." She stood back up and came to the window. "This coup will effect the future of my people... but to what purpose? We'll still be hated and feared, thanks to that one stupid... the word I was going to use isn't one royalty should ever say. Regardless, she's destroyed any chance of our two species cooperating within the next half-century, if not longer. Already the Royal Guard, having gone on a recruiting spree, is looking for energy harvesters - all Changelings, actually - and even though my subjects will suffer, considering the wedding attack, I'm not surprised and I can hardly blame them. Hardly - it's still trouble for us. without the energy we need, we will starve, and we can't copy other species well enough for me to sanction trying to get it from Griffons or anyone else."

"That is a problem. I can't deny that."

"Sometimes, I wonder whether whatever gods are out there are determined to make us suffer. We're ugly to the eyes of ponies, and few of them are ever going to get that, at least insofar as I can see. We need to take energy from them to live, so they, and everyone else, term us as parasites, with some justifications. And, now, the attack on Canterlot and this damned war have put their hackles up for the next several generations." She sighed and sat back down. "I wonder if what we do will make a difference, even if we are successful. I feel like it might be hopeless."

James reached into one of his coat pockets. Inside was a small cross. He held it tightly, wondering if it was the right time. "You're not abandoned or alone," he said slowly. "And it's certainly not hopeless. There is Someone who is watching over all of us, and if you believe in Him, He will never let you fall from His hand."

So began a conversation that lasted for hours into the night.

Author's Note

Sorry for how long this took. I've had a significant amount of writer's block. :twilightblush:

Chapter 53; Uprising

James managed to get up early (or at least, he assumed he did; it was difficult to tell time when one was underground). He checked his revolver, decided it needed lubricant for the spinning part, and gave it more oil. He made sure it was fully loaded - although gunslingers in the Wild West had sometimes left some empty slots to keep from shooting themselves, he didn't think it was wise to follow suit, in case he forgot to fill those empty slots before battle. He would need every advantage he could get.

He looked out the window again. The hive was truly a marvel, even if it was underground. He didn't think the enemy could stop what was going to happen, but he'd been wrong before, and there would be casualties before all was said and done.

And you could be one of them. He shrugged that thought off. He'd had it before, prior to every battle he'd fought in. Even if that proved to be true, it was a risk everyone in the military took. The Queen could be one of them, too. That was harder to get rid of. Queen Metamorphosis was brave, and her heart was in the right place, but she was a loss the hive could not afford. Worse, he had no control over that decision.

He took out the cross he'd shown the Queen. We need Your help now, Lord. Please be with our mission today. May Your Will be done in all things. Amen. He made the Sign of the Cross, then replaced the cross in his coat pocket and checked his sword.

The blade was sharp and strong, and after closely examining it, he found no cracks or any clear flaw that would cause it to break easily in combat, so he put it back in it's scabbard.

Combat ready as I can be, I think. I just hope everyone else is, too.

He went over to the door of the bedroom and pulled the door open. Shield was there, as was the Major, who, James had learned, was named Silver Crest. "Couldn't sleep, General?"

"I could, but I had nightmares most of the night." James stretched. "The one where I got eaten by an evil, black dragon and munched on was... interesting."

"You don't say," Shield murmured. "I dreamed I got thrown into a bottomless pit by Griffons. Wouldn't be a problem... if I were a pegasus."

"Having my horn chewed off and thrown into jail by Changelings and Griffons wasn't much fun, either," Silver Crest noted.

"Sounds like that sucked." James looked around. "Anyone else up yet?"

"Not yet. We still have few hours to zero hour," Shield replied. "I say, let them get whatever sleep they can. We have to be well rested and thinking clearly."

"I suppose you did not consider the idea that the longer they sleep, the greater the chance they'll have nightmares?"

"Well, no. I guess... hey!"

James chuckled. "Just yanking your tail."

"Not very funny, sir. I wouldn't call a nightmare a joke."

"My guess is, we've suffered nightmares not least because we're in command," Silver Crest answered. "They only have to worry about obeying orders; we have to worry about giving them, and the effect it will have on them."

"Hmm." James sat down. His stomach felt like it was rolling over, and not with hunger. Not that this was uncommon; he'd felt that before and during battles, and sometimes even afterwards.

"We have to win. It's not just a better chance for the Changelings here, it's also a necessity for Equestria. We won't be able to survive easily without a proper line of supply, and having allies who know the land will be vital, as will the numbers they bring with them into the alliance."

"I don't doubt we can win," Silver Crest replied. "I'm just wondering if we're doing the right thing by freeing this hive, that's all."

This again. James was about to sigh when Silver Crest added, "I'll follow your instructions, though, whether or not I agree with them."

"Glad to see we're all on the same page, at least."

Soon enough, the other soldiers began emerging from their rooms, yawning and stretching as they did so. "So, where's breakfast?" Bright asked.

"I'm not sure," James replied. His own stomach growled slightly. "I'm a little concerned about that myself."

As though on cue, a Changeling walked in from the doorway leading outside the former servants' quarters. "Here you are," she said - James realized it was Cica - as she set it down. "The Queen gave me instructions to see that you were well fed."

"Instructions fulfilled." Bright quickly picked up an apple and ate half of it in one bite.

James snagged an apple for himself as the others dove in. "My thanks."

"I was only fulfilling the Queen's orders." Cica looked worried, something that was slightly harder to tell in a species without any discernible pupils, at least when undisguised. "My hopes are with you today, and with my hive and my Queen."

"We'll lick them," James replied, taking another bite of apple and swallowing it before further responding. "Twenty thousand to two hundred doesn't work for the outnumbered side."

"I hope for all our sakes you're right. I suppose my fears are leftovers from the days of their oppression. But still..."

"We'll be giving you all the support you'll need." Already, he had some ideas coming up, not all of them that bad. "As long as you're ready for freedom, we're ready to rumble."

"I'll bring that back to the Queen. She'll be glad to know of the strength of your intent." Cica nodded and walked out.

We'll win. There's really no other honorable choice I can see, and I don't care about those choices that aren't. If anyone wants to call me an old fashioned medieval fool, he can do it... after we've won.

"Good, you're assembled," Metamorphosis said, nodding.

"Wish we had more time to sleep," a soldier in the back groaned.

"You always want more sleep, Lion Tamer," Silver Crest snorted. "This is the time to live up to your name, not to catch a few more winks."

"A stallion can dream, though," Lion muttered.

"The main problem is getting you to the ambush positions without being spotted or otherwise detected," the Queen went on. "Which is where our former plan kicks in. We're setting up a minor distraction some distance up the street from the palace. A few of our hivemates will pretend to have an accident transporting the materials for the podium the councilors want us to set up, whereupon you'll dash to the buildings Fix and Meta guide you to. After that, all any of us can do is wait until I give the signal."

"Again, you'll be in the center of it all," James said, "and likely to suffer some form of injury."

"I've accepted the risk. My subjects know the plan, and they'll be quick the engage the enemy once I've give the signal. The danger shouldn't be all that high."

"How will we recognize your people from the enemy, though?" Bright asked.

"Good question. And that has an answer; all our people will be wearing green bands around their right forelegs. I told the councilors that that was intended as a sign of solidarity. And that's true, from a certain point of view."

"What will be the signal?" Shield inquired.

"You'll know it when you see it. It's not just going to be a nod or shake of the head from me; it'll be big, trust me. If there are not further questions, wait here by the palace doors while I check on the preparations." The Queen's wings buzzed as she took to flight and out the aforementioned door.

"Forgot she could do that," Silver Crest said. "She's been walking most of the time."

"Considering how thin those wings of her's are, I can imagine why," a pegasus in the group snorted.

James had them split into two groups, one on either side of the doorway. They waited for several minutes. James kept his ears open for any sound of something dropped or smashed, but there was nothing out of the usual coming from the sounds he heard.

Then, suddenly, there was a loud clatter of board dropped, followed by the sound of something metal - something big, by the sound of it - going clang! against the ground. A number of loud hissing and buzzing noises came from the outside.

"That's our cue," Fix said. James started; the Changeling had come almost out of nowhere. "Follow me."

They did so, and James got a glimpse of what had caused the chaos. A cart loaded with wood and a set of pipes had lost one of it's wheels, and lay in the street. An unfortunate Changeling was covered with planks, and was shouting - if the noise that emitted from him could be called shouting - at the top of his lungs. Another Changeling was fiercely arguing with the two who had been pulling the cart.

"Come on!" Fix hissed. "Keep going. You'll have plenty to see later."

James tightened his grip on his revolver, which was still in it's holster. However, there were no yells - that he could discern, anyway - calling them out, and minutes later, his group had reached their destination.

It was, as with most Changeling buildings, black, and made out of more black material. James almost moved his hand away from the wall when he remembered that spit was one of the ingredients for the material, but refrained.

"Quickly! Duck behind these windows, and for hive's sake, keep low and keep quiet!" Fix instructed.

"I don't take orders from a Changeling," one of the soldiers, one of the reinforcements who had come in since this morning.

"You'll take them from me," James snapped. "Do what says. Now!"

He heard the soldier grumble, but the pony did as he was told.

"I can see the others," Fix said. "They're in position; I can see Meta waving from here."

"Are you going?"

"No. The Queen figured you'd need a translator, and someone to tell you what they're saying out there during the ceremony, or whatever they're calling it."

"Right. Then it might be a good idea for your to stay down as well. They might get suspicious if they see the same Changeling at the door."

"Didn't think of that." Fix ducked down too. "I hope this works."

"Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long," James muttered as sounds of hammering and sawing came to his ears. "This floor is hardly the best place to lie on for four hours."

The councilor frowned. "Your workers are incompetent idiots!" he yelled at her. "They can't even transport goods properly without messing up!"

"A wheel coming loose happens every now and again," the Queen reasoned.

"Silence! They will be punished. Send them to our quarters. They will have justice done to them there once the purpose for the rally has been fulfilled."

"Fine. I'll see to it," she answered, silently promising to do no such thing.

"The podium better be complete by the time we've set, or you'll catch it with them."

"It will be done." You biased... It took her a couple seconds to remember that the "accident" was intentional. Well, biased anyway. I'm sick of seeing what you've done to my people, and that ends today.

It took about an hour for the platform to be completed - well within the timeframe the councilors had wanted. Still, she heard one growl to the others, "Took these slaves long enough."

"A lot of them won't be this sloppy much longer; our warriors will teach them some discipline," another said, and laughed.

She had to fight hard to keep from blasting him and his companion to oblivion right then and there. Another little while. A little while, and you'll never make those kinds of statements again. I swear it.

At last, the time came. Thousands of her subjects crammed the square on all sides. Soldiers from Chrysalis' hive were stationed on the platform as well as around the edges of the square. They held spears - unheard of elsewhere, even on the Equestrian battlefields. They probably thought that the sight of such weapons - as well as the use of them in "punishing" her people - would keep her subjects in line. They were probably - no, had been - right.

One of the councilors stepped forward. "Servants and slaves for the hive of Chrysalis!" he boomed. "Today, you are required to give more to the war effort. This is not a request. It is not a suggestion. You will follow through with it, or else you will suffer and then be made to do it regardless. The conflict has been fierce, and though our conquering forces have won many victories, Her Majesty, Queen of all Changelings, has demanded more from all involved in the war effort. That includes this excuse for a hive you've set up. Until now, you've given half-heartedly, and only been required to give a small amount of your energy and levies."

Small!?!

"Now, what must be done is simple. Half of you will be taken from here and brought into Her Majesty's Royal Forces. You will not complain, he went on, as several angry shouts had arisen. "Those who do will be shown the wrath that befalls on all who disrespect Her Majesty. Our demands will be met. And you will provide for us with all your hearts in this endeavor. All individuality and materialism will be stamped out of you. All your loyalty shall be to the One Hive, for the glory of Her Majesty the One Queen."

"You have no right to do this, damn you!" came a shout from one of the crowd.

"Silence! All who speak against us will perish!"

"You've taken everything from us, and now you want us to serve the butchers who infect our hive?" came another catcall.

The councilor gave a fierce frown. "You will adapt to serve us, or you will be crushed underhoof," he said, in a cold, quiet voice.

"Curse you!"

"How dare you demand even more from us?"

"You wanted our energy, now you want our lives? Never!"

"SILENCE!" the councilor roared. "For this indignity, I am ordering our soldiers to take ten random slaves from the crowd and execute them in the sight of all. Let this entire pathetic excuse for a hive see what it means to cross us!"

"I will not condone such an action!" the Queen interrupted.

Even she was unprepared for the ferocity of the backslap the councilor gave her. She fell to the floor, face stinging. "You have no choice in the matter! How dare you!? You lost any right to give orders when we rightfully annexed your people. Now you will remain silent, or we'll add you to those to be slain!" the councilor shouted in her face.

The Queen bore an infuriated look as she rose from the floor. Her wings buzzed as she lifted from the podium and into the air. Now was the time...

"I hope she gives us the signal before this gets out of hand," James muttered, listening to Fix's interpretation, as well as to the catcalls shouted by the crowd. Not that he could understand them, but it was obviously the shouts of a crowd that did not like what was being dictated to it.

The councilor shrieked something at the crowd. "He said... uh oh," Fix said, ears fixed upwards in shock. "They're going to kill ten of our people! At random!"

James watched as the Queen was knocked down. "Come on, dammit," he whispered. "If you're gonna do this, now's the time..."

The Queen got up; he could almost feel her fury. However, instead of yelling defiance, she arose, wings flapping too fast for the eye to see. Her horn lit up with green light. Instead of the usual glow that came from a Changeling or unicorn's horn, it flared; the light grew bright, almost too bright to look at.

Suddenly, the burst of magic was released. The pillar of green energy raced upward and impacted on the ceiling of the cavern; rock and earth burst from the explosion.

"That's the signal!" James got up and scanned the street quickly as the soldier Changelings began to move toward the crowd. He aimed quickly and pulled the trigger. The Changeling he shot at went down, but he couldn't be certain that his was the one that brought it down; other soldiers had begun shooting as well.

Green bolts began flying from the crowd seconds later. Caught by surprise from the unexpected gunfire, several soldiers were struck before they could respond to either threat. The attack had caught them entire off guard, as had the unexpected revolt. For a few moments, James began to feel hope rising deep within his chest. Would the victory come this quickly and cheaply?

He found out better a couple seconds later. A bolt of energy from one of Chrysalis' Changelings roasted part of the window from which he was shooting. Cries of pain from both sides came from throughout the square.

Equestrian soldiers poured from the palace; they had likely been drawn by the noise, not by any actual order. However, they moved quickly to exploit the chaos and reinforce the rebels.

The appearance of more soldiers gave an immediate boost to the rebels' morale. Loud cheers in their our language echoed everywhere. It did nothing, however, to dampen the morale of the forces on the other side. The foreign Changelings fought as hard as ever.

"Sir, a group of them are moving on our building!" Shield reported.

"Don't let them get close! Blast them, now!" He switched to a different window to get a better shot at the new interlopers. Over a dozen enemy Changelings moved forward, some with menacing spears, others firing upon the building with their horns.

One of those bolts struck home. A pony cried out in pain and dropped his rifle. A medic among the group moved to help him.

James picked up the rifle. It was a good weapon, even if it's original user was down (he forced himself to think that way, instead of as dead or wounded). He picked out a target and fired. The Changeling went down. He switched to a different target and fired. That enemy too went down.

He had to duck quickly to avoid getting blasted. About six or seven bolts flew through where his head had been seconds before.

I hope this stuff they make everything out of isn't flammable. All they'd have to do was set fire to the place. He raised the gun over himself and fired a quick shot. He felt the gun jerk afterward, and when he brought it back, he found the end partly melted, and the wood starting to burn. He threw the rifle outside and hoped it knocked some of the enemy down as it went. He got up, snapped off a shot with his revolver, then ducked back down. As he looked, he saw the other soldiers doing likewise.

"Get some of our guys up to the second floor," he said to Shield. "Quickly!"

Shield just nodded and called to three other ponies to follow him upstairs. They followed without any fuss.

More bolts struck the outside, and a few flew inside and sizzled against the walls they hit.

I hope we can hold on until the other units and the rebels can put down the enemy, or else we might end up burnt meant before the victory is won.

Metamorphosis let herself fall to the floor as chaos broke out. Gunfire rattled from either side of the square, and her own subjects began attacking the oppressors. Jets of green light flew everywhere.

"TRAITOR! the councilor shouted in her face. "So, you thought you could get out from under Her Majesty's hoof with this pathetic attempt at rebellion!"

"It's not an attempt; we will win or die rather than suffer one more day of oppression!"

"SILENCE!" He struck her with numerous blows, more forceful than the slapping had been. When he was done, he nodded to a soldier who was standing guard. "Execute her, and when you're done, kill her daughter and see to it that to entire nursery is cleansed."

The soldier stepped forward. The Queen tried to rise, but she was out of breath from her demonstration a moment ago, and couldn't defend herself.

May liberty be ours, even though I die here, she thought as he lowered his horn and charged energy.

Bang! Bang! Gunshots rang out from the direction of the palace. The solder toppled, hit in the neck. The second shot she'd heard had struck the councilor who had taken so much joy in hitting her. He screamed in pain and fury. More shots rang out, sending him sprawling.

She turned her head to look. Equestrian soldiers were pouring from her palace. In spite of the danger to her person, she smiled.

Nor were the ponies the only ones to help her. Several of her subjects attacked the councilors and their remaining guard, swarming them and giving them no chance to prepare themselves.

The Queen groaned as she got up, only for one of her subjects to jump on her from the side. "Stay down, My Lady! she heard him say. "If you try to rise, you'll be hit!"

He has a point, she thought as numerous jets of green light flew over the platform. "Get off of me," she ordered. "We'll crawl toward the palace and seek cover there."

Her subject nodded, and obeyed her command. She slowly turned herself around and began to crawl, hoofstep by hoofstep, toward the palace.

She was making good progress, when suddenly, the Changeling who had prevented her from getting up let out a cry. She stopped and turned; he had been hit. Part of his foreleg was burned, and he was screaming loudly with pain.

"Hold on! I won't leave you behind!" she gasped out.

"Protect the Queen!" came a shout from the square. A loud buzzing of wings reached her ears as numerous Changelings lifted off and began to form a circle around her and the injured subject, shielding them from the further attack with their bodies.

"No! Get down, or you'll be hit too!"

Before they could move to obey her, she heard hoofbeats on wood and the Equestrian soldiers arrived. One waved a hoof at the the makeshift guard.

"Let him pass," she ordered.

They did so. The pony, a tan-coated stallion, looked upon her. "Queen Metamorphosis?"

"Yes?" she answered in the same language.

"Please come with us to the palace. You'll be safe there. We'll take over the fighting here."

"Thank you."

"She's our Queen, we'll protect her!' One of her subjects said.

"Enough!" she said. "To the palace, everyone!"

They'd barely started walking when she heard someone cry, "Look out!" a another Changeling flew above her. It wasn't one of hers'. It quickly let off three quick bolts of green light.

Equestrian rifles rang out; the enemy soldier fell out of the air, crashing to the floor. However, it was too late to stop the bolts of energy. One slammed into the back of one of her people who was trying to protect her. Another just hit wood.

The third... the third struck her right hind leg. The pain came almost instantly; she collapsed and cried out, unable to keep herself from doing so. She found she was unable to stop screaming once she'd started.

"Quick, carry her to safety!"

"We'll do that," one of her subjects snapped. "She's our Queen!" She was in too much pain to stop screaming to try to correct him. She felt herself being picked up; she cried out even louder as her leg was bumped in the process, intensifying the pain for a brief but all too long moment.

She kept screaming all the way to the palace, all the way to her room, in fact. By then, she was able to get some form of control over her cries, and she managed to reduce it to a loud cry every couple of seconds instead of one loud screech.

An Equestrian medic, a gray unicorn, as well as one of her own doctors, were standing by. "Third degree burns," the medic said, looking closely at the leg. Part of her leg is badly mangled. We need water, and quickly."

"Your Majesty, please remain still," the Changeling doctor said to Metamorphosis as she jerked her leg in a burst of pain. "You," he said, speaking to one of the palace servants standing by, "fill a pail of water and bring it here."

"Elevate her leg," the medic said to another servant. "Get one of her pillows and raise the leg upon it; get it above heart level." The Queen braced herself as the servant did so, groaning as yet more pain came as the leg was elevated. "We have to keep her from falling into shock," the medic went on. "We need gauze as well, and some cloth in order to put water on the wound."

"I have some in the palace clinic," the Changeling doctor said. "I'll have the first servant get some when he gets back with the water."

"Good."

The Queen raised her eyes to look at the wound. She quickly wished she hadn't; it looked like something had taken a bite out of her leg. She moaned again; just looking at it seemed to make it hurt.

"Try to relax, Your Highness," the Changeling doctor said. "Your excitement might cause shock to come all the more quickly, and you can't afford that. We, the hive, I mean, can't afford that."

The Equestrian medic looked puzzled at the use of a different language from his own. Nonetheless, he didn't argue, especially when Metamorphosis made a deliberate effort to relax, which wasn't easy.

The first servant came back with a bucket of water. Her doctor took it. "Go down to my clinic and get us some gauze and cloth, immediately!" The servant didn't waste any time before going.

"Based on my years of experience," the doctor said, "I believe you'll live, Your Majesty. However, I cannot promise with any certainty whether you'll keep the leg."

"Between you and me, she replied, right now, I'd welcome the separation."

"I promise I'll do everything in my power to save the leg, unless you order otherwise."

"...No. I'll try to keep it, even though it's killing me." She took several, deliberate breaths. "What about the battle? What's going on?"

"I don't know. Right now, my concern is keeping you alive and making you healthy again. The medic was willing to help, if you're wondering why he's here. He heard you were injured and came without any persuasion being necessary to compel him so."

"That's good." It was better than good, actually, she thought after a few moments. If ponies were willing to help Changelings, maybe the future wasn't as dark as she'd feared. James told the truth; I can't doubt it now. Concern came through the pain, for her subjects as well as for the current commander of the Equestrian forces. I hope he makes it. It would be a shame if he went through all this trouble and died for it.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" A Changeling ran into the room, panting and, once she looked closely, scarred and bleeding, but triumphant. "We've taken the nursery!"

"were any of our young harmed in any way?"

"No, we caught the guards by surprise; we overwhelmed them. The only thing even slightly problematic is that we woke up the newborns, and they're crying for food."

That news did more to ease her pain than the treatment of the medic and doctor. If she had been a cat, she would have broken out in joyous purring. "That's great news," she said, with considerable understatement. "But we aren't done. Tell anyone who will listen to you to keep fighting until every enemy is neutralized. Oh, and do get food to the nursery."

The Changeling nodded, then raced back out.

"I'm afraid I wasn't able to understand any of that," the medic said, looking a little miffed. "If I could be so bold, what was that about?"

"That was... Ahem, that was good news." She tried to get more comfortable without further straining her leg. "Very good news indeed."

"Fire!"

The ponies Silver Shield had led to the second floor began shooting. Their fire had an immediate effect on the enemy below, who now had to refocus some of their forces to deal with the problem.

They didn't like it. They started lifting off from the ground, wings buzzing.

Shield fired, once, twice. Each shot hit an enemy. One fell to the ground at once, the other tried desperately to stay in the air. Another shot sent him to join his comrade.

A black hoof knocked the rifle to the side; another enemy had come up from directly below the window he was firing from. Shield turned the gun around and clubbed the Changeling before the enemy could attempt to blast or stab him.

Gunfire broke out from the direction of the square. That could only mean that friendly troops were coming to help. Thus encouraged, Shield shot another enemy out of the air. He took another clip from a bag on his side and put it in place.

Other Changelings began to pour from the buildings. For a moment, he lost some of the confidence he'd had seconds before. They were hiding more troops in the city!

He was proved wrong very quickly. The newcomers began attacking the enemy.

Never thought I'd be glad to have Changelings for allies. Glad it happened, though. Now the pressure's off. He kept shooting, though with much more care than before.

The remaining enemies had no real chance of success. Outnumbered, and encumbered on three sides, they went down one after another. Some were struck down by bullets, the rest were hit by jets of green light by Metamorphosis' Changelings or were stabbed by them. The fight lasted only a few more minutes before all opposition was crushed.

Shield sighed in relief. "We won," he heard a member of the squad say.

"Here," Shield said. "There's still fighting elsewhere." Looking around at places the fighting was still ongoing, he added, "You weren't far off, though. Come on, let's go see the General."

They went down the stairs. "Sir, we've..." His victorious feelings fell like a mask from one's face as he saw James' leg bleeding profusely. "Sir!"

"Ugh..." James turned his head with uncharacteristic slowness. "Oh, it's you, Shield," he said, a little more quietly than he was generally in the habit of doing, which raised the feelings of alarm in Shield. "Wouldn't you believe it, at the very end, some son of a... AHHH!" he yelled as a medic swabbed the leg with cold water. "...Got lucky enough to scratch my leg. Who'd have thought it?"

"Hold still!" the medic snapped.

Concerned for the fate of his commander and friend, Shield walked over to him. "You sure he'll be alright?" he asked the medic.

"He should be alright... provided he sits still long enough for me to bandage the damned thing."

"I've been worse," James said. "Remember when the Queen - the other, evil Queen, that is - shot out part of my shoulder?"

"Yeah. That was too close. So is any serious injury. I'd advise you not to take this one so lightly."

"Trust me, I... ugnh." James leaned up against the wall. "I think we got 'em all."

"You're damn lucky," the medic said, as he began bandaging the wound. "You lost some blood, but the scar isn't deep, so it should heal quickly. You can probably walk soon, matter of fact... when I say you can."

"Sounds fair, I guess," James said, with more strength in his voice than he'd held a few moments before. "I think we've all but won."

"There's still fighting over by the building where Silver Crest took up position."

"They should have faired as well as we did," James said, concern in his voice. "Get everyone here over there, immediately!"

"The reinforcements are already heading in that direction," Shield noted.

"I'd still like to know what's going on over there. The fighting should be over, with an overrun situation like this."

A pony from outside ran in. "General, sir, I... Oh," he said, as he realized James' condition. A Changeling - friendly one - ran up beside him.

"I'm fine. What is going on?"

"Sir, I must report that the building the Major is holding is still under attack. There's fighting inside the building."

"How did they... Ugh... they didn't have the reinforcements we did. The Changelings that helped us came from the nursery. The guys on the other side didn't have that kind of help, and there weren't all that many in these ambush squads." He raised a hand and pointed at the door the two had just come from. "Get help to them, now!"

The pony ran out. The Changeling didn't. "We've taken the nursery," he announced. "And the square's ours. The oppressors are all but defeated. Most of those left have fled to a building toward the center of the hive."

"Please get help to our guys over on the other side of the square, at once!"

"We will. Are, in fact," the Changeling added, looking outside for a moment. "They shouldn't take long." He raced outside.

"I'll be glad never to do that ever again," Fix said, from a position by the door. "Glad we won. How long di that last?"

"Maybe fifteen minutes," Bright said, sitting down by the window.

"That can't be right. That felt like an hour."

"I'm telling you, fifteen minutes. The big clock says so."

"Fine. But-"

Suddenly, the gunfire stopped. The abrupt silence was almost as loud as the noise had been. "Is that it?" Shield asked.

"I don't know," James said. "It could be, but we still have to deal with the enemy who have barricaded themselves in the center of town."

"Should we bring up artillery?" one of the soldiers asked.

Fix gasped, shocked. "You can't do that! You might destroy other buildings by mistake!"

"If we try to just storm the building, we'll suffer more casualties, and lives can't be retaken once lost, unlike battlefield positions," Shield said.

"I'm not sure the Queen-"

"General?" came a voice from outside. "General!"

"In here!" James called out.

A pegasus, one with a blue coat and deep blue mane, one that James recognized flew in. "Sir," he said. "it is with great regret that I report the death of Major Silver crest."

Now it was the soldiers' turn to gasp. You can't be serious! Shield thought. Silver Crest was a veteran! He was on the front against the Changelings from the start! I knew him from the academy! He can't be dead now!

"...What happened?" James asked after several seconds of silence.

"Sir, we initially caught the enemy by surprise, but they regrouped quickly, and they rushed our building. Some of them made it before our allies were able to assist us. Silver Crest had just run out of ammo, and he was trying to reload when one of the enemy stabbed him in the neck with his horn. He died before we had any chance to give him medical aid."

"...Curse it," Shield said, echoed exactly seconds later by James.

"What do we do now?" Bright asked.

"Besiege the building the enemy are stuck in. Neutralize them however we have to. But I want it done as soon as possible and with as few losses as possible. With your permission?" he added to the medic."

"Yes," the medic sighed. "I suppose you can get up now, but I still advise caution, sir."

James stood up. "We must save the mourning for the Major and other casualties for after the battle. The fight is not yet over. Does anyone have information on the Queen?"

"She in the palace," said a Changeling who was walking into the building; Shield identified her as Meta. "She got hit early on, and she's recuperating in her room."

"Please take us to her," James said.

"This way." Meta turned and walked out the door, closely followed by James and Shield.

James was still feeling the pain in the scratch on his leg when he reached the throne room. The Queen was lying on her bed, one leg in the process of being bandaged by an Equestrian medic and a Changeling. Her head was facing James and his band as she raised it as well. "Ah," she said, trying feebly to smile. "I was worried whether or not you'd lived through it."

"More than a few haven't." He nodded toward her leg. "I see we have the same problem."

"I doubt it," she answered. "Not when what feels like half my leg has been burned away."

"Yeouch. Yeah, I only got a scratch in comparison. But back to back to business. What's left of the enemy force has holed up in a building near the center of town."

"In our administrative district, I've been told," she replied. "And what of it?"

"We'll take heavy losses storming the place," Shield said. "I'm requesting your permission to bring in artillery to knock it down."

The Queen scowled. "That has a big risk of wrecking more than just the one stronghold. You'd have to get those cannons close to the building, because it would be difficult to get an angle on it, considering where it's positioned. That would leave the crews vulnerable to being shot down before they could do any harm to the enemy."

James found himself both surprised and impressed by the Queen's knowledge of military tactics. "That might be true, but we have to try something."

"And we might have a solution. From the reports I've received, the material we build most of our structures out of, known as Kracaacckkkklll, is highly resistant to burn damage. I'm having some of my subjects attach a block of it to an axle and a pair of wheels. We can use it to approach the building without being fried. After that, you can set a bundle of cannon shells by it and use a gun to set them off, collapsing the building. You can also bring up other soldiers who can take refuge in other buildings across the street and stop the enemy from messing with our makeshift bomb before we're ready."

"I suppose we need to wait, then, while the assemble the thing. But, if the building is already surrounded, will we need such a vehicle?"

"You will when they realize what you're doing. It's designed so you can bring it right up against the building and lay down the bomb. Then whatever team has been assigned to the action can turn it so that it faces the enemy again and back off. Our people and the soldiers who have already taken up position in the other buildings nearby can lay down fire on the enemy, which will keep them from interfering with the bomb. After it goes off and the place comes down, we can charge whatever enemies survive the explosion and capture them. Needless to say, that should end the battle and free us. We'll then be free to help you finish off Chrysalis."

"Good."

"Sir, I'd advise that you don't go along with the team that sets up the bomb," came the voice of the medic who had patched James up. "You've done your part in this battle, now let others do theirs."

"...Alright. But I'm still going to watch the structure go boom."

"I wouldn't dream of stopping you, so long as you stay safely out of the blast radius."

"Right then. We have a plan to go through with. Let's get on it."

Carapace looked outside briefly before yet another green jet of energy from outside forced her to duck back behind the window. "Curse them," she said in frustration, "Do these characters ever give up?"

"They have their Queen, just like we have ours," one of her companions said. "They can't disobey her, anymore than we would want to disobey ours."

"I know, but they've lost here. If they want to go on serving..."

"I don't think there's any way to get them out of there, short of rushing in and crushing them."

Carapace risked another look outside. She wasn't the only one being shot at, and plenty of her hivemates were shooting back. The problem was, it would take hours, perhaps days, to clear the enemy out by that method. And charging them... that would be expensive. "There has to be some other way," she hissed. We'll suffer a lot more dead and mutilated than we already have doing that!"

"Hold on!" her hivemate, Pollen, said. "There's something coming down the street!"

"Ours, or the enemy?"

"I don't know, but the enemy don't seem to like it much, so it could be ours. It's a block of Kracaacckkkklll with wheels."

Carapace got up her courage again and looked outside. Nothing came her way, at least, not yet - most of the enemy's fire was directed toward the object Pollen had described. It was having no effect whatsoever; all it was doing was making the block even blacker than it usually was, if that was even possible. The block advanced, slowly but steadily.

"They must have hollowed it out to let them approach the building," Pollen said. "But if all they want to do is get close, why didn't they build more?"

"I don't know," Carapace answered. As she continued watching, she added, "Maybe they didn't need to."

"Huh?" Pollen looked outside too. "Looks like they're trying to get close to it. But it makes no sense; that block isn't big enough to hold more than a few Changelings or ponies at one time."

Carapace contemplated that. The block continued moving, propelled by the hooves of ponies and Changelings. When it got close to the enemy stronghold, it turned and backed into the building. "Are they trying to cut their way in?"

"They can't be. Look, they've backed off already. Wait, what's that?" Pollen pointed at the object - no, objects, tied together and set up against the side of the building. "What did they drop off?"

Carapace got a good, long look. "Those are artillery shells. It's a bomb!"

"A bomb? Are you sure?" Pollen looked outside again. "If it is, it could blow away the building next to it, the way it's placed."

"Just sit tight. If the enemy realizes what the crew inside that block have done, they'll try to get rid of it. No doubt we'll have instructions coming soon regarding this."

She was right about that. Other Changelings quickly came up, telling them the whole plan. "Keep shooting at the windows," one of them said. "Keep them good and occupied. When we're ready to set it off, we'll yell as loud as we can; when that happens, take cover, and fast!"

Carapace quickly got up and shot a couple of bolts of energy from her horn before coming back down. Everywhere, from all directions, other Changelings of her hive, hundreds of them, kept up the fire.

The enemy gamely returned it. A hivemate screamed as a bolt caught him in the neck, but not for long. She shivered. That could have happened to her. The only consolation was that the other Changeling had died very quickly, without a long time to suffer.

She shot a couple more times herself, then ducked beneath the window once more.

"Take cover!" came a cry in Changeling.

She knew what that meant. "Get down!" she hissed to Pollen, who was still up and shooting. He promptly obeyed.

Seconds later, the loudest roar she'd ever heard blasted her ears, and the whole building she was in shook like crazy. A shard of something flew through the window, impacting on something inside. She cried out in fright; it felt like the explosion would take this place down along with the building it was designed to destroy.

It didn't. The roar died away, replaced by the sounds of structural collapse. Carapace looked out the window.

The explosion had ripped out the corner of the building, and had severely damaged the one beside it. The building that was the target of the bomb trembled as pieces of it fell off. Suddenly, with an almighty crash, the whole thing came down. Frightened and dying screams and hisses of the enemy came with it, but these were mostly cut off as the structure gave way. In moments, nothing was left but wreckage.

Carapace cheered, and she wasn't the only one; hundreds, thousands, yelled their gratitude for victory to the heavens.

"Charge!" came the order in Changeling. "Attack!" an Equestrian soldier yelled at roughly the same time.

Still uttering loud war cries, the Changelings of Metamorphosis' hive rushed forward, with Equestrian soldiers running along with them. Carapace flew out the window and landed gently on the ground before following.

There was no noticeable resistance; everyone, pony and Changeling alike, was able to reach the building without any casualties. "Search the wreckage for survivors!" an Equestrian soldier said to his squad.

Changelings were doing the same. Carapace was careful as she began to pick through the wreckage. She found a couple enemy bodies, both dead. She found another one, badly injured, too far gone already to realize who she was. She wasn't even sure if he knew she was there.

"Hey! Look who we found!"

Carapace ran over to where she'd heard the voice, as did others. When she arrived, she hissed in mingled triumph and fury. Her comrades had found two of Chrysalis' councilors, both alive and relatively well, though one had suffered a broken leg, along with a regular drone, who hissed furiously, though he was unable to do anything else, considering that he was buried under a pile of rubble.

"Traitors!" the uninjured of the councilors said. Carapace was enraged that he had the gall to be angry. "You've made a big mistake. Your hive will be annihilated, wiped from existence as though it had never been, your very history erased. Succeeding generations shall have no idea you ever lived"

"Shut your worthless mouth, you damned pile of scum-lined trash!" Carapace yelled. "You have a lot of guts to say bullshit like that when you've lost!"

"Silen-" The councilor was struck in the mouth by another Changeling. The hoof of her hivemate knocked out one of the councilor's fangs. The servant of Chrysalis coughed as his head struck the ground; after a couple seconds, he spat green blood.

"Our hive will never have to obey your orders again," said the Changeling who had done the hitting. "You have lost, and your tyrant of a Queen is doomed!"

"I say kill them, right now!" another Changeling shouted. "Make them know just what we've felt the past seven years under their hooves!"

"Yes! How many of us have been put to death on their orders? Let's deal with them the same way!"

"Make them suffer before they die, the way they did with us!"

"What's going on here?" a pony asked, walking up to the scene.

The crowd ignored him. "Kill them!" they cried.

"Kill them!"

"Death!"

A Changeling grabbed the councilor, who looked frightened for the first time. The Changeling charged his horn, which blazed with green light as he prepared to deal a furious and hate-filled blow.

"STOP!"

That voice caught the attention of all Changelings, and most of the ponies, present. The shouting ceased. The Changeling holding the councilor cut off his intended spell and turned.

Drone 4501, known around the hive as Fix, was running up, hooves clopping loudly against the ground.

"Fix, what are you doing here?" The would-be executioner asked.

"Hey! What's going on?" the same pony from before shouted.

Ignoring him, Fix raised his voice, so that everyone present could hear him; "Her Majesty has given the order that none of those taken prisoner are to be harmed or killed."

"WHAT!?" Several angry shouted echoed through the area.

"It's what Her Majesty has commanded," Fix shouted back. "If any of you disagree, take it up with Queen Metamorphosis. The order came from her personally. I heard it from her lips. Will any of you try to disobey?"

"Liar!" somebody yelled.

"Are you able to go through with your intentions, after hearing the word of your Queen?"

Silence followed. For a few moments, there was nothing to be heard.

"...Tie them up, and take them to Her Majesty," Fix ordered.

Quietly and sullenly, the crowd obeyed. Someone found some rope, which they used to tie the legs of the councilors and their would-be defender.

"Traitors! Failures! This will not sta-" A Changeling in the crowd put a circle of rope around the councilor's muzzle and tied it, tightly, before tying on a kerchief as an added gag.

Fix nodded. "No matter what they say, they've lost. You can hardly bring upon them anything worse than that."

As the councilors were led away, the exact same pony asked, somewhat frustrated, "Seriously, what just happened?"

James looked on, a smile coming slowly to his face. "We've won," he said, watching a number of prisoners being led away from the wreckage.

"I guess we did," Shield answered, with a tone of wonder. "Looks like they were going to string up a couple of them right then and there."

"Yeah." James felt his smile fade slightly as he realized that he'd narrowly avoided watching a group of prisoners being tortured and killed. He was all for fighting and, if necessary, killing enemies in battle. That was war. Killing prisoners, on the other hand... "I think I would have been sick if they'd done that," he said.

"To be honest, I would have been, too." Shield turned his head to look at James. "What do you think happens now?"

"We continue fighting the war, Major. Surely their commitment to victory and the alliance has dampened your suspicions?"

"Well, somewhat, but..." Shield stopped. "Sir, you know I'm just a Captain."

"Not anymore. We need whatever competent soldiers we have in positions of command. Seeing as poor Silver Crest... well... we need someone to replace that position, as regrettable as the necessity is. You fit the bill. Are you going to reject the responsibility, and the higher rank?"

"Well... no," Shield said at last. "But I feel guilty that he had to die for me to take his rank."

"Blame me for that. I was his commander. The responsibility for the losses we suffered today ultimately fall on me."

"You're still haunted by that, aren't you?"

"I don't think I'll ever be free of it. Not anytime soon. I suppose there are worse demons to be tormented by."

"Where to now, sir?" Shield asked, no doubt trying to change the subject.

"To the palace; I think the prisoners are headed there, as is the crowd."

Queen Metamorphosis nodded in approval as the councilors were brought into her room, along with several dozen of her subjects. James and a few Equestrian soldiers followed them.

"My subjects, we have won!" She felt as though the roof was going to come off with the force of the cry that shook the palace.

"You scum!" one of the councilors hissed, spitting at her. "You've betrayed-"

"I betrayed no one." If the Queen could have risen from her bed, she would have. "We suffered under your control. Every single day since your-"

"We will not listen to your pathetic-"

"Oh no. You are going to listen, if I have to have my subjects string you between two posts by your ears as well as your legs." She motioned to a Changeling next to him, who tightened the rope around the councilor's muzzle. "We suffered every single day since you took control. My subjects were arrested, beaten, and, all too often, murdered while were under your rule. We lost energy and material. You sought to bring every last bit of misery that you could to us, and tried to kill off all source of joy in our lives. You slapped me around every last chance you got. And you have the gall not only to be outraged, but surprised, that we've thrown off your rule?"

"All we did was carry out the orders that our Queen gave us. And she will be enraged, furious, vengeful, when word of this comes to her ears!"

Metamorphosis would have sighed if she'd been more surprised. More disturbing were the angry shouts of her own people. One of her subjects tightened the rope a little too tightly.

"We should hang them in the middle of the hive, the way they did with those who stood up to them!" one of her subjects yelled in the Equestrian language.

"Yes! Kill them!" Shouted another.

"ENOUGH!" the Queen yelled in her loudest voice. "I gave the orders that our prisoners would not be harmed, and that is final on my part!"

"But.. what about our suffering?"

"I promise, we are going to defeat Chrysalis once and for all. But aren't we better than that? Better than our former oppressors? If we take the same path they have, we become monsters, no different from them. I'm proud of what we've accomplished since I took the throne, and this latest victory has made me proud of you all. To do as your anger and hate demand would diminish our accomplishment, and that of our newfound allies. So, no, we will not take revenge upon our captured enemies. We will simply fight Chrysalis' hive until we succeed in overthrowing her, but we will not resort to evil methods and vengeance in our fight to free our species from a tyrant, for in using such methods, we would become tyrants ourselves. I did not become Queen to let us corrupt our ideals and betray our ancestors. Yes, we have suffered for over seven years, but we have gained new strength from our triumph as well as our freedom. Although we have a lot of work to do, I know we can accomplish any feat we set our minds to. I, for one, would not have our legacy be one of hate and murder. Think of our future children, and what we would tell them about this day. Will they hear tales of slaughter after the victory? I think you all know the answer to that in your hearts."

The group had become quiet. Most did look as though they were ashamed, or at least regretful for their outbursts. A few still looked angry, but even those faces softened somewhat.

"I thought so. I am proud of you all. Please don't diminish my pride in you by insisting on doing this wickedness. For now, let us look to the future of our hive, and to the war that we have now entered, on the side of Equestria. My first act will be to contact Princesses Celestia and Luna to establish friendly, or at least amiable, relations."

"Your Highness," Fix said nervously, "I have my doubts that's wise."

"I understand your concern," she replied. "I know what you're going to say; it's dangerous for us, and it could have consequences, but we can no longer rely on our secrecy for safety. At the end of this war, there will be a new world, one that either sees our survival and that of Equestria or that will see our subjugation. The Equestrians now have knowledge of our location anyway. We can't simply ignore that fact."

"They could launch a military strike against us when the war is over, out of fear of what we might do," Fix warned.

"That's occurred to me," the Queen replied. "But we cannot continue the exact same way of life we lived before the battle. We still need emotional energy, but it would be better if our harvesters weren't targets of the Equestrian government."

"I guess we have no choice, if you're so determined," Fix sighed.

"Take courage, my child. The future that awaits us will require some measure of change. Hopefully, it will not require all that many. But no matter what happens, we will survive." She then looked up. "May we all go forward together in victory," she said with a nod toward the Equestrians.

The ponies clearly didn't know just how to respond to that. Some of them looked suspicious, and not without reason, she realized; her conversation with Fix had been entirely in Changeling. However, most did look hopeful rather than upset.

"But first," she went on, "we pay our respect to those who died, Changeling and pony alike, who died to bring us our liberty."

She saw James take off his hat, and a Royal Guard next to him remove his helmet. The ponies who had come with them followed suit, and her subjects bowed their heads.

May their sacrifice not be in vain.

Chapter 54; Alliance confirmed

Of all the things he had expected to happen in his life, being welcomed into a Changeling hive as a liberator was one of those things extremely low on Silver Shield's list. And yet it was happening; Changelings lined the streets cheering the Equestrian army that was in their midst, as well as the reconstructed army for the hive. Over two thousand Equestrian soldiers were marching, unmolested, by Changelings. Well, not totally unmolested; every few feet seemed to bring another Changeling shouting thanks or offering something to eat.

The victory celebration had erupted several hours after the ceremony commemorating those who had died in the struggle for freedom. It had been a very somber occasion, entirely contrary to the current mood. Then, the entire hive had been silent, except for those who stepped up to make speeches, the Queen most prominent among them. The way she held her head in sorrow, the passionate way she spoke, and the strength in her voice, as well as the sad faces among the Changelings had finally convinced Shield that these Changelings were friends. He'd never admit it to anyone - save, maybe, a very close friend or family member - but throwing away his distrust, at least a little of it, felt very liberating itself.

"We shall never forget the names of those who perished to give the present and future generations in our hive freedom from the most evil dictator ever to have lived among our species," the Queen had said - in Equestrian, which James referred to as English. "The task which they have started, I promise you all, we shall complete. And we no longer struggle alone; Equestria lends us their strength. Their aid in our liberation will not go unrewarded or unnoticed; it shall forever be written in the chronicles of our people, and the names of their dead in this battle shall be added to those on the monument we shall set up to remember the day we got our liberty back. It is but a paltry repayment for their aid, but aside from the alliance we have set up and the military assistance we shall provide, it is all we can do at this point in time."

"We have a long way to go before the war is over... However, I know that our hive has the courage and the will to change the world for the better. We will win this war, and rise from the depths of oppression to a free and prosperous society. This... I... vow."

Not the worst speech ever, Shield decided. He jerked his head to the right in order to snap up an apple that had been tossed from the crowd. I wouldn't mind doing this a few more times. The free food is nice, and it feels good to be appreciated.

He looked behind, at the Changeling soldiers following his contingent. There weren't that many of them, but they were well armored, using the a flexible version of the material they used to construct buildings. Most of them carried spears, but a sizable fraction of them carried matchlocks. One or two that he could see carried one of the new rifles. He felt a surge of anger at that - all too likely, they had been taken from dead soldiers, and the idea of others using Equestria's new technology made him uneasy - but he forced it down. The Changelings weren't a people who liked the idea of waste; their way of thinking probably concluded that if something wasn't in use, it wasn't being useful.

And they had paid the bill for their brave uprising; they had suffered hundreds of dead, and twice as many wounded. As he marched, he saw one Changeling lacking his right foreleg, which had been amputated at the knee; it had been replaced by a black-colored replacement that, although it mimicked Changeling anatomy, could never hope to have the same ability as an uninjured leg. He passed a female of the species, wondering where her mane was, before he realized it had been burned away, with only a few shreds remaining. Another Changeling had lost his entire tail, and yet another was missing an eye entirely; he hadn't even bothered to get an eye patch. The gaping, black hole made Shield feel somewhat sick to his stomach, and he wondered why the Changelings nearby weren't throwing up already.

With a great strength of will, he made himself keep his composure and kept marching at the head of the formation. As a newly-promoted colonel, he no longer just led companies, but an entire regiment. True, it was understrength, but so was any unit that had been in a battle. The Equestrians hadn't suffered as badly as the Changelings, but they had suffered thirty dead and over a hundred wounded. Luckily, Changeling hospitals were well stocked with medical supplies, so the wounded, Changeling and pony both, were well cared for. In spite of that, there wasn't enough room in the hospital, or enough doctors, for that matter. Some patients wouldn't leave their beds for weeks or months. For a small, sad number, there would be no leaving.

Shield felt himself getting angry again, but it was for a different reason. Lightning Rod hadn't bothered to take into account the sacrifices the Changelings of this particular hive had made; his hatred for the whole species ran that deep. He had actually said, at one point that they'd deserved the losses they'd taken, as a beginning to a redemption for their race. Shield felt himself being grateful to the Almighty that no Changelings had been present. As a result of that particular outburst, Shield had banned him from the festivities; in fact, he'd almost called for the guy to go to a mental hospital, but decided that a good court martial would do if the orange unicorn slipped out of line again. Lightning was currently outside the hive, confined to camp for the time being.

Of course, the war wasn't over. No amount of celebration now could mean that. There were more battles to come with Queen Chrysalis and her host, and whatever hive-slaves she would force into battle with her.

For now, though, he allowed himself to feel a sense of accomplishment in what had been done.

"The whole hive is in an uproar," the Queen noted to James, who was seated next to a window; the Queen herself was staring out of it. "A good kind of uproar, mind you, but rather unusual; its generally been quiet these past seven years or so."

"Obviously, your people remember joy, otherwise, the celebrations you see now would be impossible," James replied, taking the chance to drink some water.

"Yes. What I find somewhat distressing is the new hole in the roof of the cavern I made at the start of the battle. Its.. well... new, and this place has been in darkness since the founders of our hive built this place."

"Isn't it more convenient this way though?"

"Not by Changeling standards; we prefer to keep our hives hidden. Even if some of our harvesters give themselves away, are captured, or both, our location is still safe. We'll seal the hole again, but it will be a few days before it's anything like it was before."

"A lot of things have changed." James paused again, taking another drink - for some reason, he was very thirsty all of a sudden. "Would you rather they had not?"

"Well, when you put it that away... still, an alliance between ourselves and another species has never been done before. We've had dreams of it before, yes, but its never happened."

"Between the soldiers our two forces bring, we can put a stop to our enemy." James took yet another swig of water. "The main question is, do we march immediately on Chrysalis' hive, or do we wait?"

The Queen turned her head to look at him. "I've been thinking about that. Assuming she is unaware that you left with half your original force, she'll still be out in the field, detached from her power base. However, it doesn't mean that her hive won't be well defended. If we can bring another two or three hives to rebel against her power, we'll have a greater chance of taking it down quickly. that will leave her field army cut off entirely. Between our troops and yours, we should be able to trap her and finish her off."

"How many troops can you bring into the campaign with us?"

"A vital question. We can immediately bring something like the number your own force into the field, though 'immediate' is relative, meaning two or three days. I would prefer twice that, and half my hive if I could do that. However, that would mean that we'd have trouble subsisting off our own resources; essentially, we'd have too big an army to keep supplied. And if I did bring that many, a lot of jobs here in our hive would go undone, causing us to stagnate. Five thousand is perhaps the most realistic, though I'll keep an open mind on the matter."

"I see. About six to seven thousand, three hundred something, then. Formidable-"

"But not invincible. Especially if word gets out to Chrysalis about what we've done, in which case she'll do all she can to force the other hives to fight for her."

James frowned. "Won't the knowledge of a rebellion cause those other hives to rebel as well?"

"Probably not. Chrysalis is no fool; she likely has conditions similar to our former servitude set up, making it difficult if not impossible to revolt without horrific loss. I could be wrong, and I'm desperately hoping and praying I am, but I don't think we can count on that happening..." Metamorphosis raised a hoof to her chin, thinking hard. "Hmm. Of course, there's always the option of espionage and propaganda."

"How would we implement it?"

"Chrysalis' Changelings might not be able to tell a member of my hive to that of another; all they could sense at once is that the Changeling would not be one of them. We could sneak a member of my people into another hive, and secretly spread news of the revolt. That would be risky for the agent involved, war is not without risk, and if they ploy succeeded, it would save more lives than it would endanger. It would be better than fighting them, at any rate."

"I guess it would." James scratched his chin. "It would definitely be much cheaper and probably more profitable than fighting an unnecessary or unwanted battle, but just bringing the plan to fruition would be a task in and of itself. The agents would have to be intelligent, and have a good enough memory to remember that they are supposed to be from a different hive than their own. Furthermore, before they could spread the news of the revolt, they'd have to get inside; I doubt you know where their secret entrances, assuming they have them, are. On top of that, the whole affair would have to be told to the Queen of that hive without Chrysalis' councilors knowing about it, which would be the most likely point that the whole scheme could go wrong; if the other Queen is too servile, she'll tell Chrysalis' people, and then we would have to fight. And not just that particular hive, either, as I doubt the enemy will do nothing in regards to the other hives."

"All points I have to weigh carefully before coming to a decision," the Queen answered. "You're right; it's highly risky even at best. But if we march as we are to Chrysalis' hive, chances are, we won't have the troops to just storm it, and they'll have secret entrances to allow messengers to reach her without being noticed. We'd probably have to face a combined might of all they other hives in existence. We wouldn't be able to handle all of them at once. Assuming we were somehow able to defeat them, it would be victory at the cost of those who never wanted to fight the battle in the first place. I'd prefer to try it this way."

"But how will you keep in contact with your agents?"

"We'd send more than one; a group of maybe eight or so, who we'd rotate between active service and sending messages to and from the other hive and our army. Its not the most efficient way, and it certainly isn't the quickest, but its the only one I can find that would have a good chance of maintaining secrecy."

James thought about it for a few minutes. "If you're going to do this anyway, I can't stop you, and I guess it's a decent plan. We'll need every fighter we can get. But this whole venture is going to be riddled with risks. Hopefully, we won't fall into a hole we made ourselves."

"I hope not either."

The allied forces marched out of the main entrance of the hive the following day. James was impressed at how well hidden the entrance was from the outside; the door, when left unexamined, appeared to be another boulder, albeit much, much larger than the one through which he had entered a few days ago. Unlike the first, it had been cut in two; the two sides would slide away from one another to allow entry into, or exit from, the hive. The Changelings went to great lengths to keep the location of their hive secret. No doubt the other hives took similar, if not identical, precautions.

"Ugh, if I'd remembered what the Badlands looked like, I might never have left the hive," James muttered. Still, someone has to beat Chrysalis, it might as well be us.

Queen Metamorphosis was going along with them. "It is a Changeling Queen's duty to lead her armies in person," she had insisted when James had commented on the decision. "I will lead, and there is nothing you can say to dissuade me. besides, I'm not without protection; I shall be wearing armor when I go out to fight, of similar make to that I've provided my soldiers. The armor itself is new, though the concept is not."

"I hope it fares well."

"Seeing how our buildings were largely invulnerable to enemy fire, as well as how durable it is in general, I think it will serve its purpose."

For most of the day the allied army marched northwestward. "Queen Camilla and her hive live some distance to the northwest of mine," Metamorphosis had said. "Her hive has an even higher population than mine, though not by more than a few thousand or so. I haven't seen her for a long time, but when we last met, she was a fiery individual, more so than I could ever be. If she hasn't been killed for that, and if she hasn't grown despondent and dispirited, she will join us willingly."

When dusk finally began to set, the two armies stopped and set up camp. Tents went up in the Equestrian camp. To James' surprise, the Changelings didn't set up tents of their own. Instead, most of them began gathering dirt, while the rest dug deep trenches. After a while he noticed that they were building large, black orbs.

He watched the process, realizing that the Changelings were building much more durable equivalents of tents. The space inside would probably be minimal, but it would be enough for two or three Changelings to comfortably nest in. Overall, a very efficient method of producing housing. It also explained why Chrysalis' army had been able to build bases with walls and towers so fast; if you set thousands of Changelings to do such a job and gave them a week, it would be done well within that timeframe.

By the time the sun disappeared over the horizon, the camps were completed. Inside his tent, James set himself to studying one of the maps of the region he'd been provided. The ones provided by Equestrian sources were of poor quality; apparently, they hadn't wanted to stay long enough to fully map the place, and, considering what there was to see - much less eat - of the surrounding countryside, he couldn't blame them. The ones provided by Queen Metamorphosis, however, were much more detailed.

From it, he could pick out eight hives total. Five were scattered to the west, and it was toward the one at the very bottom of those that they were currently headed toward. One was in the south, the one they'd just freed. One lay in the east, one to the north, and one - that belonging to Chrysalis - somewhere in the center. He found it hard to decipher - the Changeling language was one that was hard to read, as it was something like calligraphy and normal writing mixed together, and in any case he would have found it hard, if not impossible, to pronounce many of their words even if he understood it.

In the meantime, part of the plan relied on the revolt remaining undetected. To solve that problem, some of Metamorphosis' drones would continue to carry energy and materials to Chrysalis' hive to maintain the illusion that nothing had happened. It was a dangerous job - if the illusion failed somehow, those drones would most likely suffer badly - but it needed to be done, and they wouldn't betray their own hive in any event.

The Queen, James, and the officers appointed to both armies had argued over what course to take. However, they eventually agreed that they would try to loosen the enemy Queen's grasp on her race before confronting her in battle. That meant going a little out of their way, but Metamorphosis had reassured them that it would not be necessary to free every hive on their own; another one or two would suffice to convince the other hives to free themselves. After that, they would meet up and besiege the central hive.

He went outside, pausing as the night air chilled him. Although summer was well upon Equestria and the surrounding lands, it didn't keep the nights from being cold at times. Looking up at the moon and the stars, he felt part of him feel that it was worth it to get a view of the sky like this. Nonetheless, his body cried out for relief, so he walked among the camp fires until he reached the one his friends were seated around. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not a problem, Jim," Shield replied. "Why don't you come and sit down? Our guests have been getting ready to tell us a story."

James looked up to see three Changelings sitting by the fire with Shield, Bright, Knight, and Silver. "Oh, well then, don't mind me," he said. "Please, continue."

The Changelings - who he now recognized as Meta, Cal, and Cica - were sitting on a rock off to one side. "I don't know where you thought I said 'story,'" Meta said, "but the yellow one asked what life was like for us before Chrysalis took over."

"The name's Bright Star," Bright said.

"Right, Bright Star. Anyways, there was the usual harvesting of energy by our harvesters, who went out into Equestria and did things to earn the energy. Many perform, disguised, as musicians, comedians, and rock stars."

"Wait, aren't the first and third the same thing?" Bright asked.

"Not to me," Meta said, her face showing signs of disgust.

"But does that mean that all of your harvesters are deliberately exposed to crowds?"

"By no means, but many are, as that's the easiest way by far to gather emotional energy, as emotions are running high and can be gathered en masse. Others serve as novel writers and as actors. Still more are workers in factories. Whatever jobs they need to perform and are best suited to, those are the jobs they are assigned to."

"What about inside the hive?"

"Well, some of us have jobs storing the energy our harvesters collect. Others serve as administrators, sentries... generally, any task we need to have done, our Queen assigns us, just like with the harvesters."

"Sounds like its all work and no play with you guys."

"Actually, no. Most of our harvesters enjoy the jobs they're assigned to, and our drones are given jobs, inside the hive and out, that are best suited to their talents. And we don't lack for holidays of our own. Every half year, we used to be given to a big festival in Palace Square, where we would eat, drink, dance, and all round have fun. They were one of the few times the entire hive, or close to it, were gathered together at once. The Queen would read out the numbers and names of drones who had done exceptional work, a list that every drone wanted to be on, and we would shout their names."

"What was the point of those festivals?"

"Mostly to celebrate prosperity, our young, the hard work we put into our home.. in short, for just about everything good that happened to us. Not to say that our lives were carefree. Sometimes, food would be scarce, and we'd have to ration food. Its hardly pleasant to work while you're hungry, but someone has to do all those jobs around the hive, and who's going to construct a building if not the drones who are supposed to do it? And who is going to account for the materials we have in stock if not our administrators?"

"How often did something like famine happen?"

Meta, and the other Changelings, shivered. "Too often. Its the reason we celebrated our prosperity when we could. A lack of food meant a lack of prosperity, and that would be true even if the entire hive were made of silver and gold. Without emotional energy to feed off of, we starve. It contains vital nutrients we can't get from any other source. Fruit, vegetables, and... other things... would keep us alive for a time, but without energy, we're sunk. That's why the loss of fifty percent of our stock would have been such a disaster. Even if we didn't need it to power our crystals, we'd starve, and badly."

"Which explains why you need the energy. But doesn't your way of getting food count as parasitism?"

"No. Our hive, at least, tries to give something back. We heard about what the tyrant Queen did when she was in Canterlot. That definitely counts as a parasitic way of gaining the energy Changelings need. Chrysalis' method, which involves sticking ponies in green pupae, would suck a pony - or any creature, really - dry of emotional energy, while preserving their bodies for future harvesting."

The group began to look mildly sick at this point. "But what point would that serve?" Shield asked, disgusted. "It's not even necessary, if what you said earlier is true."

"It isn't... not unless you want a permanent source of food. An even more direct method would be to bite the victim and suck their emotional energy from their bodies all at once, leaving them emotionless wrecks for the immediate future, while empowering the Changeling who did it."

"Ugh," Silver said, looking green.

"Don't look at me as though I invented the whole thing," Meta said. "Our hive and our Queen find it as repulsive as you do. That's why we use the methods we do. Think about it. A musician - disguised, of course - will be receiving the emotions around him or her, true, but they will also be entreating their audience to music, something enjoyable. An actor will likewise provide good entertainment, while a comedian makes ponies laugh. We give back to society where we can, instead of just taking, like Chrysalis tried to do."

"Ah, I see now," Sliver said, nodding. "But why would they try stealin' it like they did?"

"Partly because of the immediate effects when a drone is overloaded with energy. Imagine a drone with an earth pony's strength... with greater strength, actually. Imagine a drone able to fly faster and farther than the fastest, strongest pegasus. Imagine a drone with magic stronger than any average unicorn could hope to pull off. Imagine that.. and more. An all powerful army... that's what Chrysalis wants. An army like that would be... formidable."

"Try practically unstoppable," Cica said, speaking for the first time in the conversation. "An army with magic like that would have the power to level a castle, enough strength to pull one apart, and be able to outfly and outmaneuver anyone sent to stop them. They would be incredibly difficult to stop head on. Even your weapons would have trouble stopping them."

'But that would require a lot of energy being used up very quickly," James noticed. "The effects would only last a short while, assuming they used it up all at once like you're saying they would."

"That's true," Meta answered. "But if they took hundreds, thousands, of prisoners before a major undertaking - like a battle - and then infused their army with the energy of those prisoners, they would have unprecedented abilities for the next... Cica, Cal, what do you think?"

"I'd say half an hour to a full hour," Cal said.

"Fifteen to thirty minutes," Cica replied.

"Somewhere in those time frames," Meta continued. "Not to say their drones would be invincible - they could still be killed, for example, as the energy would not provide super armor. But while they lived, they'd be able to do wreck the opposition, and obliterate the walls and defenses of whatever fortification or city they attacked, and chase down and capture those who tried to flee from them."

"If that's the case, why didn't they just gather all that energy before they tried attacking Canterlot?"

"Because its not easy to collect an excess of energy to the point they would need, other than by having those prisoners in the first place. They would have to use most of that coming back just to feed their own people."

"Is there any other use it could be put to?" James asked. "Like, in a Changeling crystal or mechanism of some kind?"

"Too much energy in one crystal will shatter it. More than once, a Changeling hive accidentally burned out the conduits and crystals they used to light their homes due to giving the system too much energy. Other than that, we had theories as to what it could do, but few that we've acted upon, and fewer still that we actually put into effect. Queen Camilla's hive tried to build a portal at one point, for super fast transportation, but the machine they built malfunctioned; they were lucky to have any survivors from among the scientists who were working on the project."

"Emotional energy has power to do this?"

"Emotions are really that powerful. They are part of who we are, after all. Certain emotions are harmful to our health; anger and hatred are consuming, and a Changeling that consumes either will be unhealthy, as well as having the unpleasant side effect of being snappish and easily disturbed for the next little while; of they consume too much of it, the effects can be devastating... and permanent. Love is the most coveted of emotions, as it is pure and a small amount of it gives off more energy than any amount of hatred could possibly hope to aspire to, but joy and contentment are nice as well."

"So the type of emotional energy involved will effect the consumer?"

"Basically, yes."

"But then why would Chrysalis and her people turn evil?"

"First off, the emotions themselves won't change who we are, the Changelings, that is; the energy will have some effect, but we retain our original character and attitude, with some exceptions like the one I just told you. While the... taste, I think the closest word is, varies, it's not enough to change us from our original self. Secondly, the energy is mostly just that, a supply of nutrition to keep us alive. We usually take it in limited amounts, as a Changeling that consumes too much energy can cause accidents to happen due to under or overestimating their new, and temporary, strength."

"So they chose to be who they are."

"I think it was largely Chrysalis' decision; after all, the drones in a hive usually take after their Queen. I think we all know how it spiraled downward - the drones being bullied became bullies themselves. They're stuck in a cruel society their Queen forced them to accept, and now anyone outside their group is just considered another target, another source of labor and food."

"How come-"

"It didn't happen to our hive because our Queen isn't like that. Like I said, the Queen's character often rubs off on her drones. Unfortunately, we didn't have the strength to fight them off during their conquest. We ended up being the last hive conquered, which meant that the strength of the rest of the Changeling race was arrayed against us. We didn't have much chance against the tens of thousands that came against us, although our forces fought bravely up to the point of their destruction."

"The Changelings that invaded Canterlot didn't arm themselves with spears or guns, and your Queen said it herself that a Changeling's horn was as good a weapon as any. Why do you arm yourselves otherwise now?"

"That is a question I've asked myself. Chrysalis stifled sources of knowledge that came outside our realm, and drones who came back from their hive said that they'd gone back to very primitive ways, like living and sleeping in a crevice in the wall rather than in the buildings you've seen in our hive. I'd say that she has some idea of Changeling superiority, or something very much like that, and she's trying - or, I should say, was trying - to take us back to our roots, with the idea that we don't need pony technology to live or thrive. It would have also made it easier for her to rule over us without tech from the outside, a traffic we managed to maintain in small amounts during the years of oppression. You should have seen our library before we were invaded; it was stacked with books we'd brought. One of the first things they did was to wreck it and burn most of the books in there, though we saved some."

"Ya got any games ya used to play?" Knight asked.

"Yes. We loved to play flying ring, which involved us throwing a round circle with the middle cut out to one another. A variant was ringhorn, where we'd try to catch the ring on our horns and throw them back without magic. In either version, the rule was to back up ten steps after a catch was made, gradually making the game harder and harder. The winner would be the last one to catch the ring."

"I meant somethin' like chess, a game play on a board."

"Ah, yes. We enjoyed playing... bother, I don't think your language has an exact translation for the name. It gave one player nine pegs, and other twice as many. It was designed to test how smart we could be at infiltration. The player with fewer pieces had to try to get one to the other side of the board, while the other had to try to stop him. In compensation for the mismatch, the player with the bigger force could only move a single peg at any one time, while the player with the smaller force could move two. It's a challenge for both sides, and it can get pretty heated."

"Is it played on a championship level?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that. There is no 'Changeling nation,' despite what Chrysalis claims, and each of our hives usually works alone, like city-states, not a unified country. If you're asking whether or not we would go to an official gathering of hundreds of thousands to watch one game, then no, though the idea has been proposed numerous times."

James was quiet as he digested all this. What was really weighing on his mind was the campaign ahead, but he felt that it was impolite to look uninterested. The war was going to get even more complicated with the inclusion of former enemies into the allied ranks, and some ponies would find it hard to accept, if they could accept it at all. Sometimes people just refused to listen to facts, no matter how reasonable... or obviously true. Not everyone in his army had accepted the new allies with joy. Most, though, had the good sense to remain quiet about their misgivings.

The alliance needs time to solidify. And time is something we are all too likely to run out of. The Griffons are no doubt building new weapons even as we speak here. this campaign must be won, and won soon, or else our efforts eastward will be in jeopardy.

They continued on for the next three days. In that time, James had come to thoroughly despite the Badlands. Why anyone - or anything - would choose to live in this kind of environment was beyond him. The Changelings seemed to bear up well, but he and the ponies found it heard to remain cheerful in any respect. Nighttime was an exception, as the darkness shrouded the landscape and allowed one to forget the blistering days.

The camp was well protected on the third night as James went out to inspect the defenses. Sentries were at their posts, and the rest of the army was either already asleep or else seated around campfires, talking and eating.

He went back to his own tent when he was done and began writing another letter for home. He frowned; the words seemed reluctant to come to his mind.

"Sir?"

"Hmm? Yes, come in."

A light gray pegasus in Royal Guard armor walked in. "Sir, are you alright?"

"Yes, why?"

"You appear frustrated."

"Never mind that now. I doubt you've come here just to discuss my emotions."

"Oh, yes. Her majesty Princess Celestia herself is arriving sometime in the coming week, having received news of the... new developments."

"Wait, she got it that fast? I thought it would take this long just for the news to reach her."

"I think it has. She'll take two or three days to reach this place, more if you move from here."

"Doesn't she have things to take care off back in the capital?"

"I can't say for sure, but I don't think she'd leave if she weren't sure that her duties wouldn't be taken care of. Perhaps her sister or her ministers are taking care of it."

"I see." James scratched his chin. He hadn't foreseen this happening. "Isn't it dangerous for her to come here?"

"The Princess thought you'd say that. In any case, she says that she's coming with a company of pegasi that will reinforce the army, all armed with the latest weapons."

"Is she taking her chariot?"

"Not fast enough. She's flying by her own wings to this location. Besides, the chariot would likely attract attention."

"Hmm."

"Also, Prince Shining Armor has returned from his excursion to the north, and has taken command of the army under Golden Fire. They are advancing to your position to combine forces."

"I told Golden Fire to keep the enemy Queen and her forces distracted, so they would not find out about our mission here."

"Prince Armor understands, but the army there is now his. That means he has the authority. That said, he has kept five hundred soldiers to do that job, and taking the remaining two thousand to rendezvous here."

"That could be problematic," James said with considerable understatement. He doubted that Shining Armor was going to be easily satisfied, considering that he had, without royal authority, made and alliance with the same race that had conducted the attack on Canterlot and taken control of the Guard Captain himself, even if that had all been done by a different hive. At the very least, he would have to answer some questions, which was hardly his favorite pastime. Nothing for it but to answer them, in that case. Only thing I can hope for is that it doesn't get as bad as our fight at Trottingham.

"I wouldn't know about that. All I know is that I was given orders to tell you about the changes in the situation, and I have done so."

"Very good. In that case, go get some rest. No doubt you've flown a long way, and this landscape isn't friendly to outsiders."

"Thank you, sir. It feels a lot like the desert, except not quite as hot and the life here is almost non-existent whatsoever. At least the life in the desert was there, even if it was hidden during the day."

"Yeah, scorpions are all I've found here, and the only thing they enjoy is crawling up people and stinging them." He nodded, dismissing the Guard, who saluted and left.

Two or three days from now, everything is either going to be great or its all going to... well, anyway, now I have to worry about whether the Princess is going to tell us to throw all the Changelings in prison. I doubt she'll do that, but even discounting that, there's the whole "Made an alliance without permission" thing. Guess I'm just going to have to see what happens and hope for the best.

Metamorphosis didn't seem surprised when he told her the next morning. "I can't really say that I didn't expect something like this. Maybe I didn't think it was coming so soon, but regardless of that, what's done is done, and she'll be coming. All we can do now is prepare."

"Surely you don't intend to-"

"Go to jail, or become a puppet again? Certainly not. But I'll hear her out. Who knows, this could be a good thing, and if that's the case, I welcome the meeting. In the meantime, I suggest we make ourselves busy with military concerns."

"Hmm. Well, if you want to change the subject, I suppose I can't really complain. We aren't exactly sure how or when the next battle will occur. Sadly, I have little intelligence on our enemy right now; I hope your agents have more information than my scouts."

"I do, though not that much. Our drones infiltrated Camilla's hive and have begun spreading the news of the uprising. So far, no effort has been made to stop them, though that could have changed since the last report came in. Its been two days since we first infiltrated the other hive, and no alarms has been raised. Of course, it could all be a trap, but based on the logic of what we know, I doubt that."

"I wish we had more information to go on. We could do with some."

"So do I. However, I suppose its the best we could hope for in this situation."

"I don't have experience in propaganda and spying. Since the war began, the fight was largely between several different races, not members of the same species against each other. It was hard to spy on the other side when your would be agents had hooves, not claws and talons, and were herbivores as opposed to omnivores, not to mention the cultural differences."

"I wouldn't know about the war in the east; all I know is that its happening. But I agree, that would be difficult, if not impossible, task for a pony to accomplish. Even for us... We can't really change into forms other than ponies, and only those of the infiltrator's own size. For example, I couldn't transform into, say, your average mare; I'd be better suited to imitating Celestia or Luna, or maybe Cadence."

"Don't say that name around Shining Armor, by the way," James warned.

"I won't. I know about the events of the Canterlot invasion. But the fact remains. And I cannot imitate a stallion.. Likewise, one of my subjects could not try to imitate any of the Princesses, only a pony of their approximate size."

"Why? Is it a problem of the quality or power required of the transformation?"

"No. Even if one of my subjects was able to transform into Celestia, it would be an obvious fake, considering the difference in sizes."

"I see your point. And I'm assuming you can't grow claws or anything like that?"

"No. That would require magic outside our natural ability, and that sort of magic is very, very dangerous in any case. If its done improperly, the pony or Changeling or what-have-you in question could be stuck in their new and possibly not-so-enjoyable form permanently, which is why its easier to stick to pony forms, although we can consume emotions from other species. And I think we've gotten off track."

"Oh well. Assuming we continue on our course..."

"I'd actually advise that we stop soon. We're getting close, and we want Celestia's arrival to remain secret from Chrysalis' drones and officials. Otherwise, they'll force Camilla to fight against us, and I would rather we didn't have to face them."

"Won't they be patrolling out here?"

"They probably are, but they might not be patrolling out here as much as farther east and southwest. Nevertheless, I'll keep up a number of counter patrols in order to keep watch. Our sentries should also be put on alert."

"If Camilla's hive is as close as you say, how long would it take to get there from here?"

"Between one to two days, if we move at the pace we've been going. Its probably a good idea to halt, seeing as we'll need food and drink, and no doubt having more of that, and more ammunition, stocked would be beneficial."

James nodded. "Hopefully, the camp isn't detected during the pause."

"This whole excursion has great risks. However, this is necessary, as much for the extra supplies as well as Celestia's arrival."

James nodded again, but didn't otherwise answer. He looked to the north instead, silently hoping that things wouldn't go horribly wrong.

The allied armies had fortified the camp quite well. Trenches ran around the camp in a radius of half a mile. Artillery was spaced out between several well-defended outposts, and sentries stood on guard, constantly watching for signs of an attack. Here and there, Changeling patrols flew over the camp, keeping an eye out for enemy scouts.

All in all, James was pleased with the camp's defenses. The allied forces had cooperated well in making them. All the same, he felt nervous. There was no guarantee that the enemy hadn't detected them. It was true that supplies of food, water, ammunition, and other necessities had reached his army, which he was grateful for. However, he was leery of remaining in one place, especially here, in the middle of enemy country.

James was looking west through binoculars. He was currently in a trench facing that same direction, with a mixture of ponies and Changelings occupying it. He let down the binoculars, for a moment, wiping his eyes as a gust of wind blew a thin veil of dirt around. He raised the binoculars again. So far, he had seen nothing, and logically, he knew that the flying patrols would almost certainly see trouble long before he could, but the worry remained.

"You doing alright, General?"

James turned - lowering the binoculars again as he did so - to his left; a Changeling had asked him the question. "I don't particularly like sitting in one place waiting for the other side to find me."

"I wouldn't worry about it. We built enough in the past couple days to hold off anybody that decides to mess with us."

That was true. The camp even had watchtowers built, with soldiers manning each one, and several bunkers with artillery inside them had been constructed. "Perhaps," he said, looking out west again. "Then again, it pays not to become overconfident."

"You sound like you speak from experience."

"I do. Its one of the lessons of the battlefield... an unpleasant one."

Before his companion could speak again, there was a flutter of wings and the sound of hard hooves landing. James turned around to see another Guard pony. "Sir, Her Highness Princess Celestia is approaching and will be here any minute."

"Very good. Lead on."

Metamorphosis was already waiting in the middle of the camp when James arrived; no doubt the patrols had informed her. She nodded in greeting to him. "Well met, General. I think we're going to have company soon. Royal company, to be exact."

"So I've heard. Where is she?"

"She's..." Metamorphosis suddenly pointed a hoof eastward. "There."

James looked at where she was pointing. "Ah," he murmured. In the distance, but flying quickly, were a large number of pegasi, as well as a white alicorn.

"I'd say that's our guest and her escort," the Queen said, "assuming they aren't disguised enemies. I'll know when they get closer."

The group of flying ponies flew over the camp. Upon catching sight of James, Celestia nodded, gesturing for the large squadron to land. The Princess landed right in front of them, with the pegasi landing to either side of her.

There was a moment of silence. Soldiers, both pony and Changeling, began to gather, curious as to what was happening.

Celestia looked around, then fixed first the Queen, then James, with a very focused eye. At last, she smiled. "Well met, James. Very glad to see that you're still whole and hale given the war and its circumstances."

"I am glad that you're safe and sound here."

"And this must be the Queen I've heard about." She turned to regard Metamorphosis, but without a trace of hostility, either in voice or posture.

The Queen nodded. "You must be Princess Celestia."

"I am. Rest assured, I am not here to drag you or your people off to prison, nor force you to swear fealty."

James thought he heard Metamorphosis sigh quietly at that. "I am relieved to hear you say that. But in that case, why did you come? You're worth a fortune out here, and not a small one."

"I know. But matters of state sometimes involve risk. I intend to make this alliance permanent, and see how our two peoples can cooperate, in the present as well as the future. We have much to discuss."

"We do indeed. Much rests on our success in the field, as well as on what we do here today."

"I intend to put any remaining fears we may have of one another to rest today. James, is there a tent where we may confer alone?"

"Yes. There's one right there," he said, jerking his thumb to his left.

"Thank you." Then, as James started to follow the Princess and the Queen, Celestia turned her head. "Oh, I'm sorry, I should have specified. I meant the Queen and I, alone."

"Oh, I see. Girl's day out."

Both monarchs laughed. "Don't get jealous, now," the Queen said, still chuckling.

"Worry not," Celestia said. "We'll be fine."

Metamorphosis felt nervous as they entered the tent. She doubted that Celestia was going suddenly going to turn tough and threatening away from witnesses, but she couldn't help feeling a little shiver of fear rise up her back.

"I'm very pleased to meet you," Celestia said, in a voice that washed away the Queen's fears, or at least suppressed them. "Its good to know that not all Changelings are under our enemy's control."

"Near enough, sadly. Chrysalis began consolidating her control over the Changeling hives ten years ago. There was war all over the Badlands. The weakest hives fell first, and were subjugated."

"I never heard of that," Celestia said, showing concern.

"Naturally. The Badlands aren't exactly well visited or well documented by ponies, and we are well schooled in the arts of secrecy. The wars concluded with the conquest of my hive. The day we were conquered was the worst day of my life. Sometimes I wish I could just erase it from existence, it was that painful... and humiliating."

"Even the best of alicorns and unicorns could not do such a thing. In effect, the other hives are forced to work for Chrysalis?"

"Yes. Not by choice, either. The councilors she sent us made sure to keep guards from their own hive at our nursery. They enforced their will on us every day. I can't say exactly what they'd do to your people if they had succeeded in their invasion, but I can tell you this.; it would have been better to die fighting."

"All the more reason to end this war as soon as possible. What is your plan?"

"To spread news of our rebellion. There's another hive near here that is prime for revolt. If Queen Camilla aids us, our armies will be greatly reinforced. In this way, we intend to release the other hives under the tyrant's control. If we can do this to a couple more hives, we should have the troops necessary to attack and subdue Chrysalis' hive. After that, we can surround and destroy her field army."

"What if she find out what you're doing and comes back to take command?"

"In that case, we'll have to come up with another plan, one that will have to deal with us being badly outnumbered. However, we've come fairly well along, so I'm not going to let us be stopped by something like that. I won't let my subjects be enslaved ever again. I swore that on the day we liberated our hive, with the timely aid of your forces."

Celestia nodded. "I would expect nothing else from a leader as strong as you."

"It's not strength. Merely what needs to be done."

"Call it what you will. I am impressed by it. I only wish I had been there in person to make the initial alliance."

"Please, don't blame James. he only did what he had to. There was no time to do things officially."

"I know. I am not blaming him. If anything, I applaud his decision."

"Anyway, what do you have in mind for today?"

"To make the alliance official. To that end..." Celestia's horn glowed for a moment. There was a flash of light, and a rolled-up scroll appeared between them. "I wrote a treaty for us to sign, together, as equals. It ends all conflict with your hive, and grants them their rights in Equestria as residents, who are to be protected under the law. It also announces the alliance between your hive and my country, as well as that between any other hive that manages to become free and wishes to ally with us."

Metamorphosis gripped the treaty in her magical grasp, unfolding it before her eyes, checking it for any small print or trickery. There were none, unless part of it was written by invisible ink.

Really? Invisible ink? You're getting paranoid. She sighed, forcing herself to let go of her worries. "This is what you said it is. Sorry for doubting you."

"I can't blame you for it, considering the reputation Chrysalis gave all Changelings with her invasion. Its only natural that you would worry."

Metamorphosis read the treaty over again. "It all seems in order. I'd be pleased to sign, but-" She stopped as Celestia conjured a quill and some ink. "Right then." She gripped the quill, dunked it in the ink, and wrote her name in the proper place.

Celestia took the treaty when she was done. "Interesting, though I cannot read this."

"Its my name. In the Changeling language."

The Princess's eyes glowed with honest curiosity. "Indeed. We have a lot to learn from one another, Miss..."

"Metamorphosis. Queen Metamorphosis."

Chapter 55; Meeting of royalty

James felt a weight lift from him as he watched Celestia and Metamorphosis walked side by side out of the tent they had shared. he hadn't logically thought that there would be a problem, but it was great to see that his fears had no foundation on which to stand. There was no hint of hostility in their eyes; indeed, both appeared happy and content as they approached.

They both stopped a few feet in front of him. Without preamble, Celestia, still smiling as she spoke, said, "I can see why you made your choice. It was the only one to make at the time. however, in the future, if time isn't so much of an issue, please alert me before you make any sort of political arrangement."

"I will, assuming time permits it. The problem is, events in war can pass in the blink of an eye. Decisions have to be made immediately or not at all."

"I can't find fault with that statement. And I am pleased with the decision you made in this case. I said, if time isn't so much of an issue."

"I think we're one step closer to peace," the Queen said. "Our future is still at stake, though, and we cannot let down our guard now. If no one objects, I'll make the decisions as to future treaties on this front, as I'm a ruler in these parts, and I have great concern for what happens in this land."

"I have no objections," Celestia replied, "but I will be staying for a few days. The soldiers on this front have received less recognition than they deserve, and with Prince Shining Armor arriving in a few days, I want to make sure there is no altercation. Since the invasion, his opinion of Changelings is not very high, and I want to make sure any fears he has will be put to rest."

James didn't say anything. He felt that the concern was valid, but he felt it would be disloyal to his friend to say so in public. Better to keep silent.

"In any case," Celestia continued, "I advise that we go and make our alliance public with an announcement to our combined armies. I will make a further announcement in Canterlot when I return there."

"Excellent. But we need more than goodwill to win this war. We need supplies and food," the Queen said.

"I am Princess of Equestria. When I tell ponies to do a job, it usually gets done. The army will receive everything it needs, though I must point out that the supply route is very long, and even with the system working as quickly as possible, the necessary equipment likely won't be arriving very quickly, at least not from the ground."

"What about the airship owners that are being so reluctant to part with their ships?" James asked.

Celestia frowned. "I've been having talks with them, discussing how urgent the need for them is, as well as pointing out that the country needs them at this crucial time. I'm willing to pay a price that is more than fair, but if they refuse that, I'll resort to simply confiscating them for the duration of the conflict. I've had enough with their foolishness, especially when our nation is in danger. At least the railroad companies were willing to do what was necessary."

"Undoubtedly because they would still profit from it," James muttered.

"Perhaps. Either way, I'll provide you with everything you need."

"Good. I'm glad to hear that."

"The good Queen told me the plan. While its full of risk, I suppose there isn't another course to take. I hope to meet this Queen Camilla myself, if all goes well in the next few days."

The Princess did as she had said she would. Both armies - except for the sentries and patrols - gathered in the middle of the camp to hear her speech.

"Today, we celebrate the end of hostilities between Equestria and the hive of Queen Metamorphosis, and the official start of a new, beneficial relationship between our two states."

Ponies and Changelings alike cheered.

"Yes," the Queen said. "And soon, we hope to add to our coalition others who have been oppressed. When we win this war, our peoples will coexist in peace and harmony. Nonetheless, we should always be alert for future crises, and protect the freedom we have gained. Liberty can only be maintained through constant vigilance and the will to defend it. With faith and courage, we will face the new dawn that is coming... together."

There was more cheering. James was relieved that he didn't hear any catcalls or any other hostile sounds from members of the crowd. It was a good sign that relations between the two species were being built. If the foundations of the relationship remained solid, it could cement peace between them.

"I suppose I'll take your questions now," the Queen said jovially, a smile on her face. There was laughter in response to this, honest mirth; even Celestia chuckled.

Nonetheless, a soldier raised his hoof. "What will you do when the war here is over?" he asked.

"I haven't decided quite yet," the Queen admitted. "However, what happens in Equestria is of great importance for our people. I will be giving great thought to that question."

"What about what happens here?" a Changeling asked. "What happens when we have freed our people?"

"I would prefer for things to return to how they were before Chrysalis took over, but I realize how foolish that would be. I can't really give a solid answer to that before we have defeated the enemy. Our position in the world has changed, though. We cannot rely on secrecy as much as we used to; Chrysalis' attack on Canterlot put paid to that. Our people must realize this, and make the appropriate preparations. We must take our position in the world, without wholly relying on the hidden location of our hives and our secret existence among the populace of our new allies."

Another soldier asked a question; "Do you like cake?"

The Queen looked a little taken aback at this; then, as the crowd began to chuckle, she laughed. "Yes, I do," she admitted. "Not that it's necessary for our diet, but a good snack is always well appreciated."

The next question was a bit more serious; "Will you continue to send your people to harvest emotions from us?"

The Queen didn't flinch. "Yes. Emotional energy isn't a matter of choice, but that of life or death. However, it will be passive, not violent or hostile. We need the energy, but we do not need to take it by force. I much prefer to pursue our normal, peaceful policies."

"What about Chrysalis' hive? What happens to them when we defeat them?"

Metamorphosis was silent for a moment, clearly thinking her answer over. "It depends to what extent Chrysalis is willing to fight. If she doesn't care for the age or potential of those she sends to battle, we'll have our job cut out for us. If we can persuade her to surrender, I would prefer that. However, if we must destroy her in battle, that would also end the war, and her daughter would take over for her. Under the guidance of the other Queens, we may be able to help her reform her hive. I dearly hope we can do so. I can't predict just how the future will unfold, though, so I cannot make any detailed plans as of yet."

The rest of the questions were mostly non-consequential and comical in origin. James sat down on one of several flat rocks and smiled.

God willing, we will win this war, and we'll forge a new peace.

Oh capricious wind, that turns fire against wood to destroy utterly the foe, who can understand your wild ways?

A rather intriguing lyric, written by a Changeling writer, translated and now available for James' eyes to comprehend. This was one of the more interesting ones, as most Changeling writers, when they spoke of nature, tended to focus on the environment they lived in, which meant they were, at least to his eyes, boring. Still, no doubt Equestrian scholars would delight in studying a culture that had, until recently, largely remained secret from them.

James set the paper down onto the table before standing up to stretch. The rest of the day had been promising. Celestia and Metamorphosis had discussed possible plans for a trade agreement, after which they had inspected their armies and the fortifications they had built.

He sat back down and began to write. Relations between both peoples continue to develop steadily. There are still some skeptics in both parties, but I suppose that is to be expected. After all, the whole invasion thing still hangs over everyone's heads. However, military cooperation is practically assured. I wish I had more material and soldiers to bring off the campaign - and a faster logistics system- but I guess most commanders in history have wanted such, and found they had to make do with the forces and equipment they had.

He set down the pencil and stood up again. After discussing the matter further - especially the need for further secrecy and deception - the two monarchs had agreed that airships could not be used to transport supplies until the deception was blown. That meant that supplies would be coming in more slowly. Ammunition wasn't the main problem - food, and especially water, were.

I suppose there's no help for it. Blast.

He heard hooves approaching the tent, and turned to face the tent flap as it parted. "Sir, the Princess has requested you join her," said the Guard who walked through. "She says it is a matter of utmost urgency."

Uh oh. Trouble, now? "Lead on."

James had expected that the event that he had been called for would be in the middle of the camp, so he was surprised when the Guard led him outside the camp, toward the western defenses.

What could have happened here? Surely there hasn't been a break down in the alliance, not now...?

Yet again, his anxiety gave way as he saw Celestia and the Queen standing together without any sort of hostility. Celestia nodded in greeting when she saw him. "Good, you're here, James. Rest assured, there is no trouble insofar as the alliance is concerned."

"That's good, but then why did you call me here?"

"Look." Celestia jerked her head toward the west.

James looked. "Where have I seen that before?" he said as he spied a group of Changelings approaching, with one of the group clutching a stick with a white rag attached.

There was one big difference from the first such encounter; this time, the Queen coming with them didn't bother to hide herself. In fact, she wore a large, golden crown, with several gems grafted into it. In addition, her body was covered what seemed to be golden armor; the armor had holes in it to match the positions of the ones on her body.

Metamorphosis chuckled. "Camilla did always love to make a rather elegant entrance."

"Too elegant," James muttered. "She's too easy to see by enemy spotters."

"And an entire camp surrounded by trenches and cannons isn't?"

James had no counter for that. "I suppose she looks decent," he admitted. But she'd be better off leaving the theatrics home.

Camilla and her party approached to within ten feet of Celestia, James, and Metamorphosis before stopping. For a few moments, no one said anything.

Then the two Queens ran toward one another and embraced.

"Ah, sista," Camilla said in a heavy Celtic accent, "I've missed ya so. It's so good to see ya again after more n' seven years!"

"Its good to see you too, Camy," Metamorphosis said happily. "I'd all but given up hope of seeing you again until just recently."

"Ya, I'd hearda tha a wee bit. My reason fer seeing ya now." As the two Queen parted, Camilla added, in an amused tone, "Not that I wouldna have come just ta see yer pretty face."

"Who the frack taught her English?" James whispered to Celestia.

"I can't be sure," the Princess whispered back. "No doubt she had an Irish teacher. if I understood Metamorphosis correctly when we spoke earlier, the Changeling hives adopted the accents and phrases of those who first taught them this speech. Its highly likely that most of her hive will speak in a similar manner."

"We have a lot to discuss," Metamorphosis continued. "And, if we have the time later, a lot to catch up on."

"Indeed. Might as well get down ta business. First o' all, what help can ya be ta us? The kingdings have our nursery well guarded, and ya know as well as I what they'll do."

"I do," Metamorphosis agreed grimly. "If we can sneak some troops in by secret entrances and use them to aid the uprising, we'll have a good chance of crushing their troops. I'm assuming they have a couple hundred soldiers there?"

"Aye. But how ta protect tha nursery during the fighting, tha's the question I'm askin'."

"We'll need to distract the guards. Persuade them to leave their posts. We'll need some kind of diversion, combined with a quick assault to capture the nursery. We'll have troops outside to block any who try to escape."

"Sound good, 'summing we take tha nursery first. But what do we use to lure the blasted buggers away?"

"We'll discuss that, but I'd suggest we do that inside the camp. It would be better for security, and we can hardly conduct our business just standing here."

"True 'nough. Wouldna 'ave expected ponies ta aid in our liberation, though," Camila said, gesturing with her head towards Celestia. "Neva expected a... someone ta help, either."

At least she didn't call me a blasted monkey or an ape. That's just as insulting to me as calling a pony a horse.

"We'll be more than willing to help," Celestia said. "If you're willing to join our alliance, we'd be honored to add your name to the treaty Equestria has signed with Queen Metamorphosis."

"Gladly, but only after me subjects 'r free from tha tyrant's grasp."

Celestia nodded. "Of course. Why don't we discuss this over tea?"

"Never much a one fer the stuff. I prefer coffee."

"Fair enough."

Camilla made herself comfortable inside the tent, along with Metamorphosis and Celestia. She had to take off her armor, true enough, but the pillows she was lying on made up for the temporary loss of clothing. Not that she needed it, but she liked to be stylish. And the armor wasn't just for show.

She sipped the cup of coffee a Guard had given her. It was refreshing, and gave her a jolt of energy, something she needed. "So, anaway, I got word from one o' ya little birdies, M. A' first, I didna know whether ta believe it. I questioned tha first of yer subjects I could get me hooves on. Luckily, he convinced me he was tellin' tha truth. Seein' yer army today wiped the last o' me doubts."

"An army that you could add to, you know," Metamorphosis said.

"I know. Problem is, how ta do it? Ya told me how ya saved yerselves, but far as I can tell, them councilors ain't all stupid enough ta hold a big damn rally full of people who hate 'em. This'll require somethin' more direct. Unless waitin' is out?"

"It is," Celestia confirmed.

"Good. Canna wait ta kick the blaggards out more n' a few days, now I know that freedom is actually possible now."

"In that case, the best idea might be to attack when they go to change shifts."

Camilla frowned skeptically. "Ya, and that would leave us, what? Fifteen seconds a' best."

"But a crucial fifteen seconds. If we pull it off right-"

"And tha's the whole problem, gettin' it right."

"Hmm... is there anything whatsoever that might require most, if not all, the guards to leave their posts?"

"Na, tha's... tha's..." Camilla's voice trailed off as she remembered something.

"What is it?" Metamorphosis asked.

"Well, I don' know whether it's a weakness or anathing worth mentionin' but... the councilors were complainin' the other day tha' their house needed repairs."

"Interesting... perhaps we can engineer a collapse," said the tall, bipedal soldier, "and make it look like an accident. Of course, their guys will all come running, where we can ambush them and take the nursery in one big blow."

"Maybe. Sound like it might actually work. If we send in a 'repair crew' that actually serves to weaken the structure," Metamorphosis said, pondering the idea."

"Aye. An' I can tell me own hive tha plan and wha ta do. Big thing is gettin' it done, though. Gettin' yer troops to where we need 'em before the whole mess starts will be a wee problem. Me palace is in tha middle o' the hive, not tha side like yers, M."

"I know. Best we can do is sneak some of my own soldiers in; they won't be able to tell the difference, while keeping the Equestrian troops in the secret corridors until the fighting starts."

Camilla flinched. "I'm afraid... they know about a few o' those?"

"What?"

"They found a few o' them, an' then they wanted us ta tell 'em about all our secret entrances, and since then, they've been on the lookout fer more."

"And...?"

"I didna tell 'em where all o' them were, M. But I had ta give 'em at least some o' what they wanted; they woulda taken our entire stock o' energy if we hadn', and this was back in the early days, when Chrysie was still strong."

"I see. That could complicate things."

"I left a few secrets to ourselves. Had ta tell a few stretchers here an' there, bu' I convinced 'em that we showed them all our secrets."

"That will still make it harder for the Equestrian forces to take part of the battle."

"It would be," Celestia said, thinking. "I'm not concerned about glory here. If you believe that only Changelings have a chance of making it inside in sufficient numbers, then I'm willing to concede the point. We can still blockade the hive from outside to keep messengers from escaping. The only issue is identify the two sides, so that friendly forces and non-combatants don't suffer from misidentification during the fighting."

"We tied green bands to our legs during the battle to free my hive," Metamorphsis spoke up. "But that might not work a second time, and I had a good excuse when we used that idea. We won't have an excuse for something like that here."

"I may have an idea," Camilla said. "I'll choose some warriors ta fight, and they'll be wearin' headbands. They'll be hidden among tha buildins' 'til tha fightin' starts."

"I suppose that settles that problem," Celestia said. "The entire plan relies on good timing. However, if we free the nursery, that should free us to deal with the enemy force however we see fit to do so."

"Aye."

"We'll still have to sneak some of my soldiers in," Metamorphosis said, frowning. "Hmm." She rubbed her chin with a hoof. "Is that entrance under the withered tree still a secret?"

Camilla smiled in response.

James began drawing up deployment plans inside his tent after the meeting was concluded. He had enough soldiers to do what he needed, and Metamorphosis had lent him half of her own force in order to effectively blockade the hive.

He felt more than a little worried. A surge of fury raced up his spine. Why did they enemy have to take hostages, especially kids? It was depraved. He had no objection to killing an enemy soldier; that was war, and it had always been war.

Cowardice.

With a great force of will, he suppressed his anger; it continued to boil, but it wasn't going to interfere with the immediate situation. He continued to write out his orders. His troops - well, technically, they were Celestia's - would guard the northern sector, while the Changelings would cover the south. That part of the plan was solid enough.

"Excuse me? General?" came Metamorphosis' voice.

"Yes, come in," he said as he turned around.

The two Queens walked into the tent. "Good afternoon," Metamorphosis said in greeting.

"Ah, let's just skip tha pleasantries," Camilla interrupted. "M was tellin' me 'boutcha, but I wanted ta see ya in person 'fore I go home ta get my people ready fer this thing."

"I see." I really don't like it when people talk about me behind my back, especially when they're so open about it. I guess there's nothing for it now.

"Aye. So yer a hummin'?

It took a moment for James to realize what she meant. "No, it's pronounced hu-man."

"Hue-men."

"No, Human."

"Harman"

"What, no, there's no A. No R, for that matter, either."

"Humain?"

"No, Blast it, I..." He caught the glance between the two Queens at that point. "Damn it, I don't like being taken advantage of like that."

"Looks like I owe you ten bits," Metamorphosis said to Camilla. "He got upset faster than I thought he would at that."

James crossed his arms.

"Oh, please don't take it like that. We aren't trying to belittle you."

"Aye, just thought a good, ole friendly wager would be in order 'fore we parted."

Metamorphosis summoned ten golden coins, which Camilla took in her own magic before dismissing the money, presumably to her own palace.

Admit it. You may well have made the same bet in their place.

Yes, but... oh, fine, I'm acting like a fool. Happy?

He unfolded his arms and sat back down from where he had stood up.

"Sorry. I haven't seen Camilla for seven years, and I guess we're both a little excited to spend even the small amount of time together that we have today," the Queen apologized.

James felt his anger start to fade, replaced by guilt. Remember, they suffered under a brutal rule for more than seven years. If their joy is a little.. imperfect, they're no less in need of it. "Sorry myself. I'd forgot what you've both suffered through."

"No harm done," Camilla answered. "Fact is, no matter how our plan on the 'morrow works out, we'll be free. We'll have you an' yer troops ta help with tha."

"I hope you know what goes into a battle, then," James said, "as well as the cost."

Camilla's head turn to the side. "I know that all too well. Me mum led us in tha war that cost us our liberty. She... she died, and I had ta take tha throne."

"Oh.... I'm sorry," James said, taking his hat off.

"Guess... Guess I can' complain. She lived a full life, and was tha best mum of tha age, she was. I hope ta live up ta her memory by freein' tha hive she led. That would please her, could she but see it."

"We'll win," Metamorphosis promised. "We'll free your hive, and we'll go on to free the rest of our people from Chrysalis."

James took out his canteen and poured water from it into three paper cups before handing one to each queen, leaving the last for himself. "To freedom, and victory." He raised the cup and drank from it.

"To victory!"

Author's Note

Sorry if I overdid the Irish accent thing. I felt like each Queen should have something to set them apart from one another, and having an Irish, rebel Queen just seemed to fit.

Chapter 56; Liberte Cherie

Chapter 56; Liberte Cherie

As dawn slowly broke over the eastern horizon, James marched - as quietly as possible - with a company of soldiers assigned to help blockade the hive. He was less than thrilled with the assignment, but it was true that his own soldiers would have great difficulty in telling the Changelings from different hives apart in an urban battle.

He felt a sense of anti-climax for the situation, at least for himself. Not that he was eager to be shot, of course, but it felt like he would be missing history in the making.

History's always in the making. You'll get more chances further on. He laughed in his mind, careful not to do it out loud. That was true, but the uncertainty of the future - at least, uncertain in the minds of mere men, ponies, Changelings, and likewise - still harassed him.

"Glad I'm not going to be shot at this time," he heard a soldier nearby whisper.

"And how," one of his companions agreed.

"Shut up, both of you!" came the whispered but harsh voice of a sergeant. "If you bozos give the game away, I'll have the two of you locked up - after I'm done chewing you both between my teeth and spitting you both out."

The sergeant had spoken more words than the first two soldiers had put together, which wasn't to say that he was wrong. Silence was key here. No enemy patrols had been seen yet, but even so, on the off chance that they were there, the Equestrian army, as well as Metamorphosis' troops, had been ordered to keep quiet and speak as little as possible.

One of the Changelings leading them made a sound reminiscent to that of a cricket. That was the signal that they had reached their designated position. As James lifted a hand to stop the column, one of them reached down and began fiddling with a group of five small rocks that were scattered o the ground. Apparently, it was some sort of puzzle required to open a secret doorway, as two pieces of the ground, shaped liked half moons facing each other, lifted from the ground. Another Changeling lifted himself from the hatch (the doorway reminded James more of a hatch on a tank than anything else) and began conversing with the one who had been moving the rocks. It seemed like the guard was satisfied, for he said something that sounded confirmatory and lowered himself back down, closing the hatch again.

"Our comrades are ready," the Changeling said. "Our warriors r' ready ta go when tha Queen gives the word."

"Good," James whispered back. "How long will it be until the battle starts?"

"Gotta wait till tha Queen gets back, and that might be a wee bit." Although the accent wasn't as strong for this particular Changeling, it was obvious that he was from the hive that they were about to liberate. "Can't move till then."

"Well then." James thought about ordering his troops to dig in, even though the sound of digging could be more audible than whispered voices. The wish to keep the operation a surprise for the enemy battled with the desire to prevent casualties. The former won out, though narrowly. He turned to his command. "Set up anti-air cannons, and make sure your guns are all loaded. And remember to do all this as quietly as possible; I don't want the enemy to find out what we're up to until it's too late for them."

He got nods in return, and the soldiers began doing what he had instructed.

I suppose we can only rely on the Queen now, and hope that we don't miss any of the messengers that try to escape...

Queen Camilla was grateful that she had managed to get back into her hive without being noticed by Chrysalis' soldiers. She had just emerged from a secret entrance with her retainers and hidden the passageway when a couple of those same soldiers rounded a corner and saw them. "You! Puppet!" one of them snarled at her. "The councilors have been looking for you for several hours; they aren't very happy with you, or your miserable excuses for subjects."

Curse them, she thought. They must have pulled one of their surprise visits while I was away. What new atrocities have they committed while I was gone?

"If I were you," the second soldier said, "I wouldn't waste anymore time; get to the palace at once!"

Camilla felt a very familiar sense of indignity that a mere drone from another hive was giving her orders. And the soldier hadn't said your palace; instead, he'd said the palace. It was a small difference, but the sting was there nonetheless. "I'll be there," she said, turning away from them and heading toward her home. And if I'm luckier than I deserve, we'll be free of you forever by the time the sun sets on this day. She didn't say that out loud; they were always listening for such words. But she felt them flare inside her, a fire that could not be quenched.

As she continued to walk through her hive - her city, ponies might say - she saw her subjects going about their business. They tried to do so without taking notice of the occupying troops, often going to great lengths to ignore their existence, but their speech was generally very guarded, and frequent glances down the street betrayed a sense of fear. A group of her subjects were busy whispering to one another; over the past several years, conversations, except inside homes, were whispered, the speakers fearful that they would be overheard and, for some reason or another, hauled off to prison for "interrogation."

Sometimes, the soldiers didn't need - or seek - a reason to do things. Two of them approached the speakers. "What are you doing?" one of them demanded sharply.

"N-nothing," one of them, a male, answered. "We were just talking, that's all."

"Talking about us, or about our illustrious Queen, perhaps?" the second soldier asked in a threatening tone.

"No! Why would you think that?"

"Because all you slaves unjustly despise Her Rightful Majesty, that's why," the first soldier said.

"Perhaps if you treated us as equals," a second male in the group said, "and not as slaves-"

He got no further. The second soldier struck him across the face. The speaker yelped, clutching at his muzzle. "You have no right to wish for a higher position," the second soldier said, rage rippling through his voice. "Yours has been set by the High Queen of all Changelings, and you shall accept and like it or else we will slay you as an example to other traitors." He motioned to his comrade. "Take this worthless scum and throw him in prison. Let's see if a few weeks of starvation and interrogation improve his attitude." Addressing the injured civilian, he added, "Don't even think of resisting. We'll kill your friends as potential traitors if you do, and you'll suffer all the horrors we can inflict upon you before you finally die."

"I-I'm coming-" the Changeling said, only to be struck again.

"Your right to speak has been rescinded. Keep your mouth shut, or you'll regret it."

Camilla watched this, enraged. Even more infuriating was that the second soldier, the one to order the arrest turned toward her... and smiled, in a way that said he knew what she was thinking, and that he believed she could, and would, do nothing about it.

You must stick to the plan, she reminded herself. By the end of the day, those bastards will either be dead, or will be in jail themselves, and regretting that they'd ever laid a hoof on my subjects. She didn't think, or speak, in an Irish accent when dealing with her own language; there was no equivalent for such an accent in the Changeling tongue.

That got his attention. "Do not defy us, wretch," the second soldier said, hissing furiously. "We're the ones in power here, and you will accept our decisions or be replaced. Be silent and do not interfere."

Camilla forced herself to keep walking, but as she watched her subject being taken away, she felt the need to be free, to make her own decisions for the good of her own people rather than for the conquerors. As things were, her people had their energy taken from them by invaders who had done nothing to earn it. They had to work for the good of those same invaders, with little of the labor being for their own benefit. The slightest signs of disagreement and dissent were dealt with harshly. Chrysalis' drones acted worse than Canterlot blue bloods, refusing to accept or treat her people as equals. It was long past time for these things to change, as far as she was concerned.

She made her way to the palace, where she nodded to the guards - who were thankfully of her own hive - who nodded back, opened the doors, and allowed her and her followers through.

She groaned inwardly when she saw the councilors waiting for her just across the hall. Without preamble, they both marched right up to her. "Where have you been, you worthless bitch? We've been waiting for six hours for you!" one of them shouted at her.

"If you didn't make your visits a surprise, I might have been ready to receive you," she replied.

"Don't question our methods," the other said, slapping her across the face. "You should have been here. You weren't here. Explain yourself."

"I had to inspect a new district, she said. "We've been expanding the hive, as you know. And I had to make sure it was being done properly. You wouldn't believe how much I had to correct the workers there."

It was all true, in a way. If I count the camp M and her allies have built as a new district, she thought. And it was also true that construction was currently taking place in the hive.

The first of the councilors to address her scoffed. "As if the doings of common drones needed overseeing."

"We expect you to be here in the future when we show up," the second added. "And do not ask us to change our policies. We are in charge. You will adapt to our needs. You should have known that, considering that you've been under us for seven and a half years or so already."

"The Changeling nation requires sacrifices on the behalf of our Illustrious Majesty," the first one said, without waiting for her response. "More energy is needed. You must send more workers and give us more of the energy you have produced. Do not complain; this is the best your miserable, defiant people can aspire to, and if a few of them die, their loss is of no consequence whatsoever."

"They are to me," she replied.

"No one of importance cares what you think," the second councilor said. "And this will be done, or you and your... people, will suffer for it."

Damn you both. "I will - reluctantly - obey."

For that, she got struck again. "We told you not to complain. Do as we have instructed without fuss."

"Fine." Now get out of my sight! she barely kept herself from screaming. Grinning to one another, as though they knew what she wanted to say to them, they walked out of her palace.

"Shut the doors behind them," she ordered the guards. "And gather my most capable officials and officers; I will be meeting them in the throne room for... an emergency meeting."

"We hear and obey, Your Majesty," they replied. One of them added, "I wouldn't miss either of those scumbags, I wouldn't.

"I know how you feel, Mealworm," Camilla answered. "Hopefully, what transpires later will accomplish that."

She made her way over to the throne room and sat down on the massive, gilded chair. She lifted a hoof to her chin and sighed.

One way or another, my hive will be free again, but what will it cost us?

The Changelings she had called for arrived fifteen minutes later. They were all capable, having proven their worth over and over again. Drone 1194, more commonly known as Sylvia, was her chief advisor and friend. Drone 8943, alias Aphid, was known for hard work and for inspiring the same in others; it was he who was in charge of constructing the new district. Borealis had once been the best Changeling in the hive at making light shows - had, that is, until the act was banned by Chrysalis' councilors; the official reason was that the lights could portray secret messages, but Camilla suspected that the councilors simply wanted her subjects to work more, and cutting out "needless distractions" could accomplish that... and wiping out joyful activities would severely damage hope, making it less likely that they would revolt.

"I think ya all know what we're here fer," Camilla began; she enjoyed using the Equestrian language when she got the chance to.

"Ta give the feckin' duffers what for, ya mean," Borealis replied.

"Aye." She should have known that Borealis would have been the most eager to mix it up with the enemy. Unlike ponies, Changelings did not have cutie marks, but that didn't mean that they didn't have things they were good at, or that they didn't enjoy those talents. Borealis' talents had been suppressed for years. He would want to get them back. And it was unlikely that his concern was just for himself; the whole reason he had enjoyed putting on light shows was to provide entertainment for exhausted drones who had worked all day. He cared about the rest of the hive.

"Well, 'bout time," Aphid said, a very hungry look on his face. "Can't have drones workin' eighteen hours a day. I may enjoy hard work, but there's such a thing as crossin' tha limits. Labor can't be constant, and that what the gobdaws are wantin'.

"Well said." Aphid liked hard work, but he wanted to be fair about it. Currently, drones were being forced to their limits, and if the pressure continued, workers would start dying on the job from over-exhaustion.

Only Sylvia still appeared uncertain. "Ya sure, Mi'lady, that this'll succeed?"

That question was very much like her. She was always trying to make sure the Camilla made the best choices. Sometimes, she'd had good reason to be concerned, as sometimes things had gone wrong when Camilla had ignored her advice. After a few times of that, she listened much more closely.

"I'm sure," she answered. "We canna just sit here and wait fer the war ta end. We must make our stand, and that right soon. Today, in fact."

"Today?" Sylvia said, eyes opening wide. "Ya sure we've had enough time ta prepare?"

"Aye. The ponies and M's troops have taken their positions 'round our hive, ta block any of them what try to escape."

"We better get to it, then," Aphid said. "They'll find out soon if we don't, and it'll go worse fer us then."

"I suppose..." Sylvia still didn't seem convinced. "I'm assumin' there's no goin' back now?"

"Aye."

Sylvia remained silent for a few seconds, then sighed and said, "I will do me part for this venture, yer Majesty, have no fear o' tha."

"I won't." She turned back to Aphid. "Are our warriors in place?"

"Aye, yer Majesty, all of 'em. Might be we'll give the git a bit o' a surprise," he said, smiling at that. "When do ya want us ta go?"

"When I give the order." When she realized that failed to satisfy, the Queen added, "An hour or two. Have they they noticed anything?"

"Oh, aye. Can't hardly move drones around without someone gettin' suspicious. Luckily, I was able ta tell 'em that it had ta do with the work I've been doin', and tha these drones movin' about were on errands I've ordered them on."

"Good. Will they notice anything from now to the point of the uprising?"

"I doubt it, ma'am, but as always I could be wrong."

"Hmmm. Make sure that, no matter what happens, ya take tha nursery an' keep it safe, no matter what it costs ya."

"Aye, we'll take it and protect it, yer Majesty, even should it cost us a thousand lives 'r more."

"Don' say tha. We aren't losin' a thousand drones. They can' have tha many of their own in our hive. We'll lick 'em*, its a matter o' gettin' it done."

She looked around at them all. It was with a jolt that she realized that some of these faces might not report to her again after the battle. It was the one thing that even briefly made her wonder whether or not fighting would be the best idea. However, if something didn't change soon, the whole hive would be put at risk. Losing more energy would be disastrous, especially when they were already giving so much already.

"This be somethin' we must do," she continued. "We'll be starvin' before long. I have o'er thirty thousand o' my people ta look out fer, and I won' just sit by n' let 'em die one by one. No more tyranny, no more beatin's, no more jailin' people what don't deserve it. From now on, we make our own destiny, not have it shaped by the buggers what seek ta rule o'er us."

"An' bout bloody time, too," Borealis agreed.

Borealis wasn't feeling quite as confident about an hour later, as he crouched in a building, hiding from the enemy patrols on the top floor of a tall building. The Changelings loyal to Chrysalis were well protected by armor, carried spears, and, from the behavior they displayed, would be utterly ruthless. If they captured anyone in arms against them, they would not be merciful, he knew that.

On the other side of that argument was, how much damage, how much suffering, and how many deaths would they caused if they stayed? He knew the answers all too well; too much, too much, and too many, respectively. Throwing them out now might be costly, but it would be much more so over time if it didn't happen.

I always enjoyed putting on a show. They thought it would be better if we remained miserable, and tried to cut that out of my life. I've only been able to keep up my talent by practicing in secret, and then all I could do is maintain what I already knew. Who knows how far along I'd be now if they hadn't come?

There was no answer to that; what would have been was hidden forever from the knowledge of mere people. Now was the time to fight, and try to make up for seven lost years.

The current plan was for a troop of warriors under his command to capture the nursery in a lightning strike; after the young were rescued and moved to a safe location, his force would then help to encircle the enemy, who would hopefully be stuck in the middle of the hive by then, surrounded by a hostile populace pelting them with bolts of energy from their horns. Aphid's division would try to ambush enemy patrols and eliminate them one by one; failing that, he would block their way toward the nursery and try to keep them from escaping. Considering the rebel numbers, the outcome, in any case, was a foregone conclusion. The casualties suffered were not. There were about a thousand garrison troops in the hive, and these would be outnumbered something like thirty to thirty five to one.

It's up to me to make this go right, Borealis thought to himself. My father was a soldier. I rarely thought about the battle he fought and died in until now. Perhaps I've been trying to suppress it, trying to act as if it never happened; then I wouldn't have to believe that he died without success. Well, da, I'll try to make you proud of me, wherever you are. I never considered life a fighter. All I ever wanted to do was entertain. But the only way I can do that is fight now, for a better tomorrow.

"I think it might be time now," one of the warriors fighting with him said.

"Oh, is it?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Well, we best get on with it." Borealis raised a hoof to signal to another group across the way to begin their assault. Then he flew out the window, followed by several of his group.

None of the guards noticed. They were busy watching drones walking by and making sure they didn't get too close.

Borealis and two others landed on one of the guards on the roof; the guard was knocked down, and one of the other Changelings stuffed a hoof in the mouth of the soldier so he couldn't scream. The guard bit down, hard, but the hard chitin hoof, unable to feel the impact, remained unhurt.

"Gag him and bind him," Borealis whispered, "and make sure he and his friends stay that way."

He looked around quickly. The other guards on the roof had been similarly neutralized. There was no alarm, so he assumed that this part of the plan had been unnoticed.

"Right," he said, once the guards had been securely bounded and gagged. "Now, let's get on with it."

He waved at the drones who were on the street below. Someone must have been watching, because all of a sudden, the pedestrians stopped walking about and turned to face the guards.

"Now!" Without further ado, he and his command dived on the enemy below as the crowd charged. The guards had no time to try to resist; swarmed from above and below in a surprise attack, they were captured just as quickly as their comrades on the roof.

"Traitors!" one of the captured guards yelled. "We'll-"

Someone stuck him, hard, in the head with a hoof. The guard slumped, knocked out cold.

"Next time, I'll gut you," said the Changeling who had knocked him unconscious.

Borealis wasn't onboard with that kind of idea. I don't like them, but that doesn't mean I have to become one of them in order to beat them. He was all for kicking the invaders out, but not for sinking to their level.

"Alright, we'll go inside and make sure none of them are hiding there." He pulled open the door and walked in, followed by eight or so others.

For a few minutes, they found nothing but sleeping Changeling infants, warmly wrapped in towels and placed on pillows. Borealis, looking upon them, almost felt like falling asleep right then and there. He shook his head as he reminded himself that he had a job to do.

They walked up the stairs and opened a door. A Changeling was busy looking after one of the young that had awoken. The drone looked up in surprise. "Wh-wha? What are you doing here?"

"Are you the only one in the whole hive who doesn't know what's going on?" one of the drones with Borealis asked. "We're freeing our hive from Chrysalis' bastards, and we're making sure none of her scum are hiding here."

Borealis felt something in his heart fall the instant the words were out. The drone before them smirked. "So, you traitors chose to rebel against Her Majesty? You'll pay most dearly for that!" The drone picked up the infant he had been tending to.

"Let him go! NOW!"

"Silence! If any of you so much as take another step toward me, this child will die!"

Borealis took a step back, horrified. "You wouldn't do that...!"

"I said silence! And I will. Now, if you wish for the hatchling to live, you will surrender yourselves-"

That was as far as he got. Suddenly, the enemy drone gasped and fell. Borealis grasped the infant Changeling in his magic before the child could hit the floor.

A Changeling of his own hive was standing behind the drone who was now obviously one of the occupiers. "Glad I'm not too late," she said, taking the child from Borealis. "They kept a few of their garrison in the nursery itself, not just outside of it. I just remembered and was on my way to warn you."

"Partly my fault. I'd seen their soldiers for so long that I assumed they'd all be in armor and carrying spears. Should have reckoned that they might have a few out of uniform here."

"Well, what's done is done." The female Changeling - apparently a nurse - took the infant and laid it back in its cradle. "Little guy barely woke up," she commented as the child yawned and fell fast asleep again.

"Perhaps that's for the best," Borealis said. "Now he won't have a traumatic event etched into his memories."

"Perhaps." The nurse made sure the infant was snug inside his coverings before looking at them once more. "Now go out there, and make sure this child will have a bright future."

Aphid watched as a patrol of Chrysalis' soldiers marched down the street. Both of them marched confidently, sure that no one would dare to attack them, that no one would stand up to them, and sure that they were right.

That wasn't how things went, not this time. After Aphid saw light flickering from the nursery roof, he screeched, "Attack!" and, dozens following him, he charged the invaders.

The soldiers stopped and stared, stunned by the assault. Then one of them grasped his spear in his magic, preparing to throw it. He never got the chance; several bolts of green energy struck him, and he fell over, twitching. His comrade stood up on two legs and brandished his spear. It did him no good; he was also blasted, by two dozen bolts or more. He fell to join his companion in death.

Up and down the street, similar scenes were occurring; patrols, caught off guard, were either struck by bolts fired without warning or were rushed by the angry fighters, who, either by magic or by swarm attack, were brought down, one after the other. Not all of them died before they got a chance to hit back; screams of wounded hivemates rose above the buzz of angry wings and the battle cries of the opposing sides. But nowhere, or at least nowhere Aphid could see, were the enemy able to stop the sudden attack, or even slow it down.

We can't let the councilors get away. Camilla herself said they would go on trial, and that's damn well what's going to happen. "Some of you, follow me to councilors' lodgings; the rest are to continue to assault in earnest!" he shouted. No one objected, which was nice for a change; as a forepony (well, technically foreling or something like that, but that sounded stupid in his opinion), his workers would usually complain to him about one thing or the other.

Everywhere he looked, the enemy were being caught and defeated in detail by superior numbers. Some of them managed to pull away from their attackers, but they were hotly pursued. No doubt some would be warned about the attack and find somewhere to hole up and defend, but for now, everything was going for the rebellion. The enemy had been caught utterly by surprise, never imagining that the people they held down would revolt against them. The shock of that, combined with the attack itself, was enough to allow the rebels to move on with minimal casualties, in spite of the enemy's armor and weapons.

Unfortunately, the building where the councilors dwelt was several minutes away, long enough for over a hundred of the enemy to arrive in time to defend it. Other groups of soldiers began to arrive just as the rebels got within range of the building.

Aphid cursed. The councilors and their soldiers must have made a contingency plan of sorts, which involved the councilors' home as the fall back point. He was just beginning to hope that they might be able to pull off a cheap victory. That wasn't going to happen now.

He sent forward about a hundred of his own warriors to lay siege to the building, which was two stories tall and had several windows. Bolts of energy flew from both sides.

Hopefully none of them escape the ring outside, he thought.

Shield rested under one of the withered trees that littered the landscape. The Badlands offered little shelter, so sleepy soldiers had to make do with what litter there was.

Shield was sleepy, but he refused to close his eyes. While his unit wasn't involved in the main battle, it was still required to keep an eye out for any enemies that would try to escape.

"There's one," he said, pointing a hoof at a flying figure some distance away.

A battery of anti-air guns nearby lost no time preparing to fire. Pegasi were also getting ready to intercept the enemy if he managed to escape the field of fire.

The figure was easily identified as a Changeling; there was no doubt about that. However, Shield couldn't see whether he had a headband on, which would indicate that the approaching flyer was an ally.

"Get me a pair of binoculars," he ordered. One of the crew of the nearest cannon threw him a pair. "Thank you." He lifted them to his eyes.

The Changeling wasn't wearing a headband of any sort. That was all Shield needed to know. "Its not one of ours; Fire!"

The gunners immediately let loose a barrage against the enemy flyer. Their battery wasn't the only one to do so; well over a dozen or so guns had opened up. It was a lot more than was necessary; Shield felt that the quartermasters would have screamed their heads off at the inefficiency. Inefficient or not, it got the job done; the enemy flyer fell out of the sky.

"Go get him," Shield ordered a squad of pegasi standing nearby. "Tie him up if he's still alive and bring him to our camp."

The squad saluted and flew off. Shortly afterwards, he saw them flying back toward the Equestrian lines, the enemy Changeling being held up by two of them.

A few minutes later, a battery down the line opened fire on another enemy who was trying to escape. Shield nodded. The enemy were trying hard. Not that they were succeeding, but they were trying. It didn't mean they'd get past it. Occasionally, from positions a mile away or more, green jets of light flew up to intercept escaping enemies. They wouldn't get past the line. Shield knew that deep down.

Camilla watched from a distance as her forces continued the fight. Although hundreds of the occupiers had been dealt with, hundreds more had managed to hole up in the building where the councilors lived. Now a full scale siege was underway.

She flew toward the fighting, watching the whole thing unfold. A group of her subjects attempted to suddenly storm the building; they were repulsed, with the survivors dragging, or trying to drag, dead and wounded comrades with them. Thousands kept shooting at the besieged building, keeping it under fire as Aphid and the other commanders no doubt tried to rally for a second attack. The enemy were shooting back; she had to dodge several bolts that the defenders had shot before she reached a safe sport behind one of the buildings across from the enemy stronghold.

Aphid and Borealis were sitting together, discussing what course of action they should take next. Camilla walked right up to them. "Ah, m'lady," Aphid said, first to notice her. "What the bloomin' hell r' ya thinkin' comin' down here ta get shot, pardon me language?"

"I'm yer Queen. I can do whatever the bloody heck I please, includin' come to tha forefront o' battle. Now, what do ya got planned to deal with their infestation here?"

"Right," Borealis said, looking worried but too knowledgeable to voice his concerns. "We tried rushin' 'em."

"I saw. That dinna work."

"I guess not," Aphid agreed reluctantly. "On'y thing left is rush 'em from all directions, air an' ground."

Camilla took a brief look around the corner. The enemy would not move from that location, and she was utterly sure that they would reject a demand to surrender, and she wasn't going to risk the life of a messenger of her own for such a dubious job. Storming the place would be expensive; she'd be able to afford it, but she preferred to keep as many of her subjects alive as possible.

"Maybe we oughta ask the ponies fer some o' their cannons," she said at last.

Aphid and Borealis looked at each other before replying. "Ya sure they'd be willin' ta part with 'em?" Aphid asked.

"I think so." In fact, Camilla wasn't quite sure, but the Equestrians were, at least for now, allies; her hive and their country had the same enemy in this battle.

"What abou' tha damage to surroundin' buildin's?" Aphid asked.

"Wha about them? A few of them knocked down would be better than wastin' the lives o' hundreds tryin' ta storm that place. An' who knows? Maybe the pony gunners r' good enough ta hit what they're aimin' at."

"An' what r' we supposed ta do in the meantime?" Borealis asked - demanded, really.

"Hold 'em a' bay. I'll go an' tell 'em ta give us some."

"Ya can't be going ou' there yerself!" Aphid said, shocked. "They'll blast ya, same as they'll blast the buggers."

"Ya canna tell me what ta do. I'm goin', and ya canna stop me!" With that, Camilla cast a shield around herself and took flight.

James crouched next to a battery of anti-air cannons, watching carefully for flying enemies. So far, this particular battery, as well as those near it, had knocked down three escaping enemies. Other than that, however, there was nothing else going on. He yawned before taking a drink from his canteen.

"Ugh, I'll never get used to this place," one of the gunners said. "Just about everything here is dead except us."

"And it's almost as hot as the desert," a comrade agreed.

"You lugs just keep an eye out," the gun captain ordered. "If we miss any of them because you two were dilly-dallying around, you'll both end up canned."

James grunted. He wasn't someone who particularly liked laying down the law himself, but he had to agree with the gun captain here.

Without any warning, the secret entrance that he had seen earlier opened. James reached for his revolver, but quickly arrested the motion; it was the head of a Changeling Queen, and there was only one who could be coming out from there.

"Ah, there y' are," the Queen said, sounding relieved.

"What's going on down there?"

"We're winnin'; most o' them r' dead or taken ta jail. But there's a couple hundred o' 'em holed up in the councilors' house. Can ya spare a few cannons ta clear 'em out?"

"What about collateral damage?"

Camilla shrugged. "On'y other way is drown 'em in our own bodies, and I wan' as many o' me people as possible ta live. When we win, then we can rebuild."

It was a logical argument. "I guess we can spare a few guns, if we've essentially won the fight. I'll have a battery sent right down."

"Thank ya. Ya don' know what this means ta me."

"You got a bigger entrance somewhere? Our guns won't fit down that little hole."

"Oh, aye. The main entrance. I'll lead the soldiers to it meself. Just give ta me and we'll finish this thing."

It was well over and hour and a half later before the Queen was able to return with the cannons, four medium-sized, breach-loading guns and their ammunition. James had decided to come along, seeing as the Equestrian army could take care of things on the surface.

Camilla expected to be shot at from ambush by soldiers they had missed. However, her fears proved groundless. No such ambush materialized. In fact, the hive seemed deserted. Few of her own people were in sight; most were, no doubt, either at the site of the siege or else were keeping an eye on that fight.

In short order, the battery arrived at the site of the battle. Since her departure, nothing much had changed; there were a lot more burn marks everywhere, but otherwise there was little to note.

"How are we supposed to hit that building?" one of the gunners asked. "There's too many other buildings in the way."

"I can deal with tha." Camilla took a deep breath before announcing her presence with a loud screech. Hundreds of Changelings flew toward her. "Help these ponies get their cannons to the top o' the buildin's over yon," she instructed, pointing with a hoof. "An' carry the gunners, while yer at it."

"Wait, what?" one of the gunners, a white unicorn with a ragged mane, said, surprised. "You're not- Whoa!" That was all he managed to get out before he was picked up and carried away.

The pegasi among the gun crews helped carry their heavy pieces to the top of the buildings the Queen had designated. In the meantime, Camilla's subjects kept up a very hot fire on the makeshift fortress, preventing the enemy from getting a clear fix on the situation. Other gunners objected to being carried like dolls, but ultimately, it was the fastest way to get them to the roofs, and Camilla didn't want to waste time.

"You goin' with them?" she asked James.

The general shook his head. "No, I'll do fine on the ground, thank you very much."

They both walked up behind the buildings across the street from the enemy stronghold. "Glad ta see ya hole an' hale, yer Highness," Aphid said. "An' ya brought a friend. This over already?"

"Will be, in a mo."

She heard James taking a deep breath of his own. She didn't bother to stop him from shouting; "You boys going to give up, or are we gonna have to knock your pretty little house down around your ears?"

He got shot at for that. It would have been comical if the situation hadn't been so lethal. James had to jump behind the building to avoid getting hit; six or seven bolts flew through the space he'd been a moment before.

"Fire!" came a yell from somewhere some distance above her.

Boom! The roar was deafening compared to any noise so far made during the battle. Almost in unison with the gun going off was an explosion inside the councilors' dwelling. Two more shots followed, with a fourth behind them. The house was rocked with explosions. Between the time the first gun reloaded and fire again, Camilla could hear screams of pain from inside.

Another volley of shells smashed into the dwelling. The ninth shot the battery fired must have either hit something vital, or else the structure was already close to collapse; either way, with a loud crunching and cracking sound, the building collapsed. The sound was as loud as the noise produced by the cannons. Dust immediately arose from the ruined structure, virtually blocking out the view.

"Now! Attack!" Camilla shouted.

Her subjects were quick to obey. With battle cries and shouts of victory they rushed the ruins.

Surprisingly, here and there a jet of light flew out toward the attackers. A barrage of counterfire, however, was enough to neutralize the feeble resistance.

Aphid was one of the first to reach the wreckage. He quickly scanned the area, then waved, signaling that all was clear. With that, the Queen nodded and moved forward to more closely inspect the shattered building herself.

There wasn't much left. A lot of the black material Changelings used for construction lay around the site, as well as a lot of wood, some of which was on fire. Already, groups of her subjects were coming to put out the blazes before they got out of control.

There were also a lot of bodies in armor. Most were clearly dead, killed by the structure's collapse. A considerable number moved feebly. A few others were also still alive, but didn't move at all; it was if they were in shock at what had happened.

"Get this mess cleaned up," Camilla ordered. "Take tha hurt ones ta one o' our dungeons and care for 'em there, but with tha medicine an' care one o' ours would get; ya ain't ta bully 'em in any way. Take tha dead and place 'em all outside; we'll bury 'em later. Ifn' ya find them councilors, bring 'em ta jail too. We'll try 'em at some point. Pile tha wood and stuff somewhere it can be carted away."

"Tha last, m'lady, is somewhat intaposin' with me own job, ain't it?" Aphid said.

"Well, perhaps," Camilla admitted. "Still, I wan' it done."

"Aye, yer Highness; I'll see to it."

Camilla looked around. Her subjects - her people - seemed a bit tired, but triumphant, even though she noted that the idea that they were free hadn't yet seemed to settle within them.

It will; oh, how it will!

Author's Note

Please do not take this the wrong way. When I say lick, I mean as in to beat someone, and nothing more.

Chapter 57; Northern advance

The success of the battle had a massive effect on morale. In addition to another freed hive, the allied forces now had another base of operations, as well as a significantly shortened supply line. Queen Camilla had successfully managed to hide a lot of foodstuffs and preserve them. The number of soldiers available had virtually doubled, as Camilla raised her army from scratch and armed them as best as she could. Mostly, her forces had spears and armor, but it was better than nothing. Furthermore, the newly freed hive could send agents of their own to the other hives, doubling the news of the successful revolutions and adding additional weight.

James sat down inside the underground metropolis next to a building. There was little damage to most of the structures, as the enemy had largely been surprised and overrun in the streets. Already, cleaning crews had cleaned up what little had been damaged, and the dead had been cleared away as well. The wounded had been seen to immediately, and quick action by Queen Camilla had prevented retaliation against Chrysalis' surviving servants.

It was two days after the battle. The first major event since then had been a mass ceremony in respect for the dead. Camilla's hive had suffered losses, but nothing close to that of the enemy. Even so, the Changelings showed great respect for their dead. The day after that was marked by major celebration; there were dances in the streets, cheering crowds, a parade, and a general sense of euphoria.

It was all well and good to celebrate; James had seen the celebrations, and here and there had eaten sweets the Changelings had hidden from the occupiers. But the enemy was still out there, and they had to be fought and defeated. This victory, while freeing Camilla's people from a cruel occupation, did not topple the tyrant queen, nor did it unbalance her in and of itself. The rogue queen could only be dethroned by defeating her in battle, and that might not be easy. And even then, James felt uneasy about the results of that battle. Did Chrysalis have a successor, one who might ultimately be relied on to heal the wounds her mother had caused? Or was there no successor, and the whole hive would fight to the death rather than give up? If the latter was true, how could he justify the loss of one of the Changeling hives?

I'd be a murderer if that happened. They'd be fighting me all the while, but not because they chose to do so.

He sincerely hoped that would not happen.

"Got a whole lot of work to do before that happens," he murmured.

"Hey, new guy, why' ya no' joinin' in tha merry makin'?"

James turned to see a Changeling standing there. The pony-sized insect was clutching a bottle, though not threateningly.

Please don't tell me this guy is drunk.

His suspicion was confirmed as the Changeling suddenly reeled, and was unbalanced for several seconds before righting himself. "We'll a be a lickin' 'um all by this time ta'morrow. They ain't a nothing ta be-" He collapsed on the sidewalk before he could complete the sentence.

James grunted uncomfortably. This was one of the reasons he'd made his vow of abstinence, though he'd been more worried about injuring or killing people on the highway. It wasn't always easy to hold onto, but things like this made it easier to withstand the temptation.

He dragged the drunk Changeling and hauled him into the building he had been sitting next to before placing him on a sofa that was inside. It probably wasn't the big insect's home, but he doubted any harm would come to him while the alcohol wore off.

He went back outside and sat back down. He didn't know just how the future was going to turn out. Assuming the rogue queen was defeated, he'd go back to fighting the griffons, who had the advantages of technology to augment their feudal government system. They would have new surprises in store, he knew that. Whether it would be enough to stop the Equestrians and prolong the conflict was doubtful, but losses on both sides were likely to be heavy.

He sighed. He didn't know what the future held, and it was fruitless to try. The future would become the present soon enough. Now he had to push the campaign forward, and defeat the current enemy before worrying about the next one.

Camilla and Metamorphosis stood on a small ridge just to the north of the hive. Both were looking northward. Both had been standing there for several minutes. Neither had said a word.

Then Camilla broke the silence. "Whadya think, this gonna go the way we wan' it ta?"

Metamorphosis sighed. "You know I can't predict the future, C." She paused for a few seconds. "I think we can win, but who knows what sort of surprises that witch has in store?"

"Dunno. All I know is we'll fight 'em ta victory or extinction."

"Perhaps not the words I'd use."

"We canna tolerate anotha o' the seven past years. There'd be none o' us left by then!"

"We'd have suffered horrible losses from starvation and mistreatment, yes. Assuming we won, though, could we really make things be the way they were before it all started?"

"We'll give it a damn good try."

"But the world's changed, at least for us. The ponies now know where our hives are located. And they'll soon know where the rest are. We won't be able to operate in the secrecy we used to hold dear."

"We can move."

"You know that's impractical. It took us centuries to build what we have, to become used to our environment and learn to live with it. No doubt, when the war is over, we'll likely be receiving delegations from other powers. If we continue our isolationist policy, we risk being swamped by those who would like nothing better than for us to disappear."

"They can try."

"You've always been a fighter, C. And I can't help but admire that. But our future is at stake, and not just regarding the direct outcome of the war. Our way of life is likely going to have to change, however much or however little, to accommodate."

"Our traditions'll triumph in the end."

"Tradition can only go so far. This war has unleashed technology on a level as yet unforeseen, and all too likely it will get worse in that department. We can't win a battle against what has become the conventional Equestrian army, not with the magic and tech they have to throw our way."

"We are no' gonna win this war just ta become puppets," Camilla answered vehemently.

"And I'm not advocating being doormats," Metamorphosis insisted, which calmed her fellow queen down. "I'm just saying that to prevent that outcome, we'll need to change our approach."

"Och," Camilla grunted unhappily.

"Not your preferred ending to the epoch, I know."

"Let's just think 'bout crushin' Chrysalis, shall we?"

"All right." Metamorphosis wasn't against changing the topic by this point.

"We have all the numbers ta get the job done."

"True. The question is how to win without losing enormous numbers of our own subjects doing it, and without destroying the hive we'll be fighting."

"Aye. It'll be a bit hard ta do tha when they'll be a fightin' us to tha death, won' it?" Camilla said in a voice with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"We can't wipe them out without becoming the beast we're fighting to overthrow." Metamorphosis sighed. "We know approximately where their hive is, but not where all the secret entrances are. If we try to besiege them, we'll face surprise attacks from the rear, and they'll still be able to sneak food and energy in, while keeping us out."

"Aye. Gettin' in ain't gonna be easy. Course, we migh' come on 'em unawares..."

"I'm hoping that happens; it will save us from a lot of troubles we'd have otherwise. But we can't count on that. While no threat worth speaking of has approached Chrysalis and her hive in living memory, they take patrolling seriously; there are hundreds of patrols sent out, on land and in the air, by day and night, or so my subjects who have had the misfortune of having to go there have told me. It's highly unlikely that we'll take them by surprise, given those circumstances."

"Could just scour this bloody excuse for a desert till we find an entrance."

"And how likely do you think we'll be able to find one, given the lengths we go to hide our own?"

"Gotta try somethin'."

"And we will." Metamorphosis sighed again. "I just don't know what."

There was a short period of silence.

"Might as well go back to camp and see what Celestia and James can add to that topic," Metamorphosis said. "We'll need all the help we can get."

"Aye," Camilla replied, nodding. "Let's go."

The next day, the allied forces began to pack up. Tents were packed up and carts loaded with supplies and equipment. Artillery was limbered and shells carefully packed.

James packed up his possessions; he made one more sweep around the tent, making sure he'd gotten everything before helping to pack the tent itself.

After all that was said and done, Celestia emerged from her own lodgings. She nodded to James before approaching a large group of soldiers. Clearly, she was about to make a speech.

"Brave soldiers of the alliance," she began, "you have won two major victories here in the Badlands, and freed two city-states from the oppression of our enemy. Now the true contest will begin, as we go to face the enemy directly. The coming struggle will by no means be easy, but it is necessary for freedom and peace to take hold on the world. I know that it is all too likely that some of the faces I see here may not return, and some of the survivors may return maimed and crippled. Most will no doubt carry horrible memories their entire lives. However, the end of this war is at hoof, and we cannot waste the chance to put an end to the evil queen's reign. Once we have gained the victory, our peoples can live together in the peace that will flourish. For our children and our own future, we must, and shall, win!"

"Our enemy," Metamorphosis said, having appeared without James noticing, "will be fanatical in defense of their home. They have been twisted by their ruler and will be willing to go to extremes and efforts we cannot. However, the tyrant's forces cannot match for Equestria and two Changeling hives. We will make the supreme effort and in so doing reverse the effects of the past seven and a half years. I will not allow my subjects to suffer under a monster's rule ever again; we will win this campaign and restore the independence of our fellows who are still under the hoof of our enemy, and in so doing ensure our future. Kreeeeee ko rak!"

The Changelings in the army cheered, and the Equestrians followed suit. "What did she say?" he asked an insectile warrior standing nearby.

"She said, 'Victory or death!'" the pony-sized insect replied.

James nodded. The Queen was taking this seriously. As did her fellow Changeling ruler, who stepped up to speak as well. However, she started of speaking Changeling, which, although her own people could understand, left the Equestrians looking at one another in confusion. To her credit, Camilla realized what she had done; she coughed in mild embarrassment and cleared her throat. "Aye, we haveta win. Canna have et any otha way. An' we can win; with twenty thousand and more, how can we not?"

James went through the numbers in his head; about two thousand, four hundred well-armed ponies, ten thousand Changeling drones from Metamorphosis' hive and fifteen thousand from Camilla's, over twenty-seven thousand in all. Against the tiny number who had been fighting in western Equestria, that would have been like dropping an anvil on a cockroach. Against Chrysalis and the combined forces of her hive, though... it might be more like dropping an anvil on another anvil. He also wasn't sure that the other hives would free themselves, even if news of the revolt spread. He expected to face between five thousand to ten thousand defenders, not counting possible support from other hives still under their control.

I just don't know how this will turn out. All I can do is pray and hope for the best... and do my best.

The armies began marching later that day. Long lines of black chitin and multi-colored coats marched northward, their equipment and artillery towed behind them. There was much talking amid the ranks, and not all of it was conversation between members of the same species. Wheels and axles groaned under the loads their wagons carried; pegasi flew overhead, trying to scout out the land and protect against enemy scouts. There hadn't been any sightings of the enemy yet, but none of the military commanders and monarchs were taking chances.

The advance was at a decent pace. James approved of that. However, the Badlands was hardly a good place to look at; even the desert would be an improvement. The springs here were generally unclean, and what water could be found had to be filtered before it could be drunk. Edible plants were in very short supply. Dead and withered trees were everywhere. As a result, it was difficult to be joyful, or to portray the advance as a glorious triumph. Of course, glory wasn't the reason the allied forces marched, but James was someone who liked to put things in the best and most honest light.

For the first two days, nothing of note really happened. It was better than James had hoped. He began to hope that the march would catch the enemy by surprise.

On the third day of the march, James had just sat down on a rock and begun to drink when a tan pegasus landed in front of him. "General, sir, I bring a message from Prince Shining Armor."

"Yes?" James set down the canteen and looked up.

"He say's he's about an hour away, and that he'll be joining us in our attack to the north."

"Ah. Good. Give the General commanding my compliments." James picked up the canteen again and stood up."

"I will, sir. Good day." After saluting, the pony flew away, back toward the south.

James was still worried about what his friend would have to say when he found out that most of the force heading northward were Changelings. Doubtless it would stir something in him. However, James knew that the firepower Shining's force was bringing would be most welcome, and any reinforcement out here was a plus.

He yawned; he wasn't tired, just bored. He didn't like being bored, but being out here made it hard to not be bored.

James began walking to where the Princess and two Queens were discussing something. Apparently, they hadn't gotten the message.

"Oh, James," Celestia said, raising her head and noticing him. "What brings you here?"

"I have just received word that Shining Armor is approaching from the south; apparently they are about an hour away and closing."

"That is wonderful news. The reinforcements will increase the odds in our favor."

"Hmm," Metamorphosis hummed, rather discontentedly. "Will he accept us? I know that Chrysalis impersonated his bride-to-be, and he might harbor... suspicions."

"He will not move to harm you," Celestia reassured her. "I sent messengers to him to inform him of recent events, and while hardly thrilled, he promised he would not do anything foolish. I will also accompany you when we go to greet him, if that helps."

"That would be-"

Whatever Metamorphosis was going to say, Camilla cut her off; "I ain't afraid o' no one. No thank ya. We ain't babes needin' a watcher."

"What if we just appear together, no one leaning on anyone else for support?" Metamorphosis asked her.

"Sounds alright ta me. Jus' don' baby me an' I'll be fine."

James watched as two thousand of the troops he had left when he had set out on his campaign approached. His own army stood, watching them as well, some already cheering.

At the head of the two regiments was a white unicorn stallion wearing purple armor. James smiled. It was good to see his friend and fellow commander again; he wondered what business had called him away to the distant north. He expected to catch up on that, as well as coordinating efforts against Chrysalis and her hordes. He stood there waving his hat with everyone else as the friendly force approached.

Finally, Shining and his army reached the place where the Princess, the Queen, and the human advisor were standing. He took off his helmet and bowed to Celestia. "General and Captain of the Guard, reporting as ordered," he said as he did so.

"Greetings, Prince Armor; it warms my heart to see that you have arrived unharmed."

"Likewise." Shining smiled and placed the helmet back on his head. "Your safety has been the main concern on my mind over the past week. I'm glad to see you and James are alright."

"We're both doing quite well. The campaign has succeeded beyond what any of us would have expected." Celestia paused. "Can I introduce you to the Changeling Queens Metamorphosis and Camilla?" she asked, gesturing with a hoof toward the two Queens.

"Charming," Metamorphosis said, bowing.

"Wotcher," Camilla said, and didn't.

Shining nodded to both of them in response. James wasn't sure, but he thought the smile slipped. "We'll have to discuss our plans for the coming fight," he said.

Everyone present nodded. "I'll take a few minutes alone with you to catch you up on everything that's happened," the Princess said. "If you'll come with me..."

Shining started after her, then paused and turned to James for a moment. "I'd heard you had success, but I never thought you'd drag... Changelings into the fight."

"Everyone of them who fights for us subtracts from the enemy and adds to our cause."

"Even so. I'll catch you later." Shining continued following the Princess.

"He seems nice," Metamorphosis said quietly, "but I could sense his anxiety. Underneath that tough exterior he's nervous about something, and I'd say its us."

"Why?" Camilla said, in honest puzzlement. "Not like we're with her anamore."

"And most ponies think of the Changeling people as a monolithic empire with dreams of global domination," her fellow Queen replied. "The news of the truth hasn't spread yet. And no doubt some of those who hear of it and read of it in the paper will think their media has been mind controlled by us or something. In fact, if I had to guess, that's probably what the Prince was worried about, that we were controlling the Princess the same as he was controlled by Chrysalis."

"And we resemble her how?"

"Oh, let's think; big holes in our bodies, large, Princess-sized stature, the fact that we're Changelings... any of that ring a bell?"

"Och," Camilla grunted with a tone of reluctant agreement.

"He'll warm up eventually," James injected. "I'm sure that Celestia has some way of convincing him that she isn't brainwashed or anything. And with the reinforcements, we'll have the necessary firepower to break into their hive."

"Yes, but can we?" Metamorphosis asked. "Can we do it without wiping them out, I mean," she quickly corrected. "We have to win, but I'd prefer to do it without slaughtering the entire hive."

"A lot o' our subjects wouldn't give a damn," Camilla answered. "Considerin' what we suffered, it's hard not ta see othawise."

"True, but that doesn't mean they're right. And would you like being responsible for that sort of... genocide?"

Camilla shivered. "Notta chance. Don't solve tha problem o' what ta do, though."

"...No, but we'll find a way to do it."

Shining glanced approvingly at the artillery park that had been set up, as well as the many, many stacked boxes full of supplies, food, and equipment. It was always good to see that the army was well organized.

He followed the Princess into her tent, where she sat on a large pillow and invited him to sit on one across from her. Considering that he was wearing armor, that would have been uncomfortable. "No thanks, Your Highness."

"Ah. Well then, I'm sure you have some concerns about the current state of affairs."

"Yeah, considering that out of every being I've passed, only about one in five, if that, is a pony."

Celestia nodded in understanding. "And you're worried that I may be under mind control, or something not far off from it."

"Well, yes, considering how quickly you took to them."

"You expected... otherwise, I take it?"

"...Princess, you know what they did to us. You saw what they did to us. To me and Cadence. To Twily and her friends. I don't understand how you could like them so soon, so quickly, and so easily after all that, not to mention the loss and pain we've suffered from their war, unless you had a spell put on you."

Celestia nodded once more, this time sadly. "I recognize what our enemies have done to us, and what our people have suffered. I know what you and Cadence went through. If we look at everything from that point of view, we do have a lot to be angry for. I also know that hatred is not what I seek for my people - for any people - and I believe in forgiveness. I also know that these two Queen and their hives were involved in the war against their will; indeed, the occupation they underwent underscores that fact, as well as illustrating that we must be victorious here. The Queens, once their subjects were free, joined us of their free will. In fact, they wanted to join."

Shining stood silently.

Celestia sighed. "I'll prove to you that I am not under foreign influence. The day you entered the Guard, you were so anxious to make a good impression that you kept fumbling with your spear as I walked among the new recruits, you included. Furthermore, your first meeting with Cadence involved you tripping over her hooves as you were carrying a platter of cupcakes for the officers."

Shining nodded, but said nothing.

"The Queens I met are not like Chrysalis whatsoever. They are both deeply grateful that our army liberated them from her control, and have cooperated without any hint of intent to dominate."

"Doesn't mean they don't steal love, though."

"It's something they need. And, unlike Chrysalis, they don't go out to replace ponies to get it." Celestia paused. "Have you heard of Red Nose, the famous comedian?"

"Well, yes, but what does that have to do with-"

He stopped talking as the Princess waved a hoof for silence. "He keeps crowds laughing at his clown-like antics for hours on end without let up, and has a reputation for being intensely friendly with everypony."

Shining nodded. He'd been to one of those performances, and he could confirm that everything Celestia said was truthful. Red Nose was funny, and ponies loved his shows.

Celestia continued, "Metamorphosis has informed me that he his a drone from her hive in disguise."

Shining let his tongue scrape against his lips in discomfort.

"He gathers the emotional energy of the crowds and delivers it to her hive for consumption. They get the food they need, and we get a boatload of laughs. It strikes me as a good exchange. I see no reason to be hostile to the entire Changeling race for the acts of just one hive. If we're successful, we'll never have to worry about an attack like that the one that took our beloved capital ever again, and it won't be a hostile, enforced peace, but one that all parties cheerfully agree to. Wouldn't you prefer that outcome over the destruction or permanent occupation of one race over the other?"

Shining didn't want to give in, but he could agree that was the peace he would have liked, and reluctantly nodded.

"Can I trust you to work with them?" she asked.

He thought for a few moments before nodding again. "I'll follow your order, Your Highness."

Celestia studied him for a moment before nodding in turn. "Alright, I trust you. Unfortunately, I find that I cannot remain with the army much longer, for duty calls even for a Princess, and Luna will need my help."

"I thought you were going to stay until we won here?"

"I was, but I've been told that a lot of work had been piling up in Canterlot, and I'm needed there as much as the army is needed here. And I know the army will perform well, with you and James in charge. The two Queens are also capable, from what I've seen, and I think we can expect a victory."

"I'll perform to the best of my ability," he said, saluting.

"I have no doubt you will."

James watched the Princess and the Guard Captain emerge from their tent. He sat down and drank some water under a tree. It looked as if things were going better now, and that Shining would be able to get along with the Changeling Queens.

If we can finish this quickly-

He never finished that thought. He stood up and glanced at the sky, at a small group of black dots that were coming southward. It looked like a patrol, but something felt... off.

A patrol of Changelings and ponies from the allied camp arose to meet the newcomers. The oncoming troop met them in midair, where they apparently exchanged words. One of the new Changelings suddenly blasted one who had come with the ponies.

"Enemy patrol!" James shouted. He quickly unholstered his pistol.

Up in the air, two of the enemy held up the allied patrol while the others swooped down on the camp.

Uh oh. This can't be good. Especially if... He glanced toward the Princess, who had just become aware of the danger and was turning her head to look.

Something must have caught the eye of the enemy Changelings; in any case, they quickly identified the Princess and dived toward her.

"No you don't, you bastards!" James aimed quickly and pulled the trigger. The gun roared and kicked against his hand.

He wasn't the only one shooting at the attackers. Ponies were taking up arms; unicorns were blazing away with spells, while pegasi took off, clearly with the intent to intercept the enemy before they could get a shot at the Princess.

Three of the enemy were hit and fell out of the air, spiraling as if they had been aircraft hit by flak and machine gun fire. The last one came on, firing green jets from his horn in a desperate attempt to hit Celestia.

His shots did no good. Celestia might not have expected an attack on her person, but she reacted quickly; she cast a force field around herself and began retaliating in kind. One of her spells hit the mark, and the enemy Changeling suddenly stiffened and fell, crashing to the ground just a few feet to the left of Celestia's shield. He groaned in pain and attempted to recover.

He never got the chance. Half a dozen ponies and Changelings tackled him before he could move more than a few inches. He struggled in vain against them; within moments, an alert pony got some rope and used it to tie up the attacker, leaving only his mouth free. Not that it was fully free even then; his muzzle was tied, too, in a way that whoever held the rope could use it to jam his mouth closed if he tried anything.

James looked around. The two Changelings who had tried to slow the allied patrol were both dead, killed in the air; they had fallen to the ground several hundred yards away. The three who had been hit in midair were also down; one still moved feebly. He sighed with relief. Hopefully, this had been an overeager squad without backup.

One of the ponies who had gone to stop the enemy patrol had been wounded, though not fatally. The allied Changeling, though, was dead; he had been shot in the neck, and the wound there made it clear that he wouldn't have lived even if he had survived the initial blast.

He looked at the Princess; she had lowered her shield, and was now looking curiously at the prisoner.

"Let me deal with this," he offered.

"I wish to question him," Celestia responded, looking up. "I intend to know the intention for this attack, especially when it could not have succeeded against the numbers that are apparent here, as well as to know how much they were previously aware of our presence, if at all."

"They were trying to get you, Princess, and it's a blessing that you're still alive. He could still zap you if you give him half a chance."

"With all due respect, Princess, I think he's right," Shining agreed. "If you're determined to do this, please be careful."

Celestia gave no sign of hearing either of them. "How much do you know?"she asked.

The Changeling spat at her hooves.

"Answer her, whelp!" said an allied Changeling, shaking him.

"I do not answer to scum and traitors," the captive hissed.

"You will now, fool," said a Guard who was standing there, brandishing a spear.

"There was no call for that," Celestia said sternly, before turning back to the captive.

"Weaklings and dust, traitors and mud! Her Glorious Majesty shall destroy you all!" the enemy drone screeched before she could speak.

"Take him away," Shining said, disgusted. "Unless you wish us to... coerce the truth out of him?" he asked, turning toward Celestia.

"No. Definitely not. Add him to our roll of prisoners. Perhaps after Chrysalis is defeated he may give us answers."

With that, the Changeling who had shaken the captive pulled the noose tight around the prisoner's mouth and, with a group of friendly troops, led him away.

Celestia sighed. "We've had no luck in Canterlot at getting them to speak anything other than curses and threats at us."

"You can't really expect anything better," Metamorphosis said, approaching. "They take after their Queen, and they'll never talk unless their Queen permits them, which she obviously won't."

James heard the Changeling they had wounded groan loudly. "Oh, please," he heard the injured insect moan, "let me live."

"Hmm," Metamorphosis hummed. "There are exceptions to the rule, of course. I think this may be one of them."

She walked over to the wounded enemy, followed by everyone else. James knelt down, but kept his gun handy; the Changeling might be faking, though he doubted it.

The Changeling watched them; a clear sense of fear radiated from his face, and he curled up, whether in pain or to ward off potential blows James wasn't sure. He was sure that it was his own bullet that had hit the drone, though; the injury didn't look like one that would have been inflicted by an Equestrian rifle or matchlock.

"Yeah, he's not connected to the... hive-mind, I guess you'd call it," the Queen said. "That should mean something." She turned to the enemy Changeling. "We don't wish to harm you further, we just want you to answer our questions."

"I'll... I'll... I'm still loyal..."

"I know. But please... why did you attack this camp when you had no chance of wiping it out, instead of just going home to report what you had seen?"

"Because the group leader... said to. He said... there were... sightings of... an army... coming here."

James felt something inside him drop. "There goes the element of surprise."

"Perhaps not all is lost." Celestia turned back to the Changeling. "How did you know this?"

"Scouts yesterday... thought they saw... big line... drones from satellite outposts... less responsive.... denied it."

"Satellite outposts?" James turned toward Metamorphosis.

"Chrysalis designated the other hives as such," she replied. "No doubt to reinforce the belief among her subjects that there is only one Changeling hive, spread out all over the place." She frowned. "No doubt the members of our hive who were sent to continue the deception tried to deny the existence of our army in order to protect us. I hope they'll be safe..."

"We just took out their patrol," James said, thinking out loud. "They'll be expecting it to return, and when it doesn't, they'll know something's up. And from what you've told me, its impossible to try to infiltrate the hive by disguising yourselves as them, because they can tell whether or not a drone is from their hive, right?"

"Right," Metamorphosis said, deadpan. "All we can do is move quickly."

"Won't do... any good," the wounded drone mumbled.

"Why not?"

"Cause... Drone 1101 stayed back... to watch... no doubt... he's going back even now. Won't... catch him."

James swore viciously under his breath. The element of surprise was all but gone, and Chrysalis would know of the revolt soon enough. "Bind up his wounds," he ordered. "See that he is treated well, and that his wound is healed. Make sure to keep him separate from his hivemates, and make sure that they come to know none of this."

Several soldiers and medics of two species moved to obey. An Equestrian medic bandaged the drone, then helped him to stand. The drone leaned heavily on the medic, but he was able to stand on his own power, and limp slowly away with help.

Damn, now I feel bad for shooting him. It wasn't that James regretted protecting Celestia, but the notion that he'd permanently injured the drone, one who wasn't just a carbon clone but a being with a fully independent thought process, cut him to the heart. Did what I had to, he told himself, but it didn't give him any sense of conviction or comfort.

"Well, the jig is up," he said out loud. "We must move swiftly to make up for this setback."

"I agree," the Queen said. "Speed is our only advantage now. If we move fast enough, we can cut Chrysalis off from her own hive. Without effective communication with their leader, the defenders will suffer a considerable amount of confusion, making for a less sturdy defense against us." She turned to face one of her subjects. "Tell everyone to make ready to move, at once."

"Your Majesty," the drone said, bowing, and raced away.

"That goes for us, too," James said loudly. "Pack up and ready yourselves for a double quick march. Everyone is to keep his weapon loaded and ready at all times. Get going."

The Equestrian soldiers went to obey his orders. He turned toward Celestia. "Sorry for the danger you were put in just now."

"Its not your fault," she answered. She shook her head. "It seems the conflict has gotten harder. I expect you and Shining to give this your best. If we succeed here, we knock a dangerous enemy out of the war and "

"We'll succeed or die trying," James replied.

Celestia jerked slightly. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Chapter 58; Rapid pace

Allied units kept a careful watch on the skies as they marched north. Silver Shield was relieved that the enemy hadn't managed to snag the Princess. He was also relieved that she had left the day before; at least Equestria wouldn't have one of its leaders in danger.

The enemy hadn't made another appearance since the initial incident two days ago. The allied army wasn't going to be caught by surprise again. Pegasi patrolled the sky, and observers on the ground kept scanning the horizon for any potential threats. Scouts of both species kept up a careful watch for any foe who might make a ground attack.

The Badlands wouldn't have been where he would have wanted to fight some of the penultimate battles of the war, but terrain and the position of the enemy dictated the necessity. It was hot out, though not quite as hot as the desert. Little scorpions and serpents crawled and slithered around, making for a rather precarious march. He had been surprised and shocked to find out that Changelings often ate such creatures when nothing else was available to eat. He knew he wouldn't have wanted to touch them even if he had been desperate. Fortunately, the army still had food, so he wouldn't have to worry about that for a while.

He stopped briefly to take a drink of water before continuing. There wasn't much water out here, and the few animals that could bear to live in the Badlands congregated near the oases.

The allied army was somewhere around 29,400 strong. That was a lot of mouths to feed. Luckily, the addition of the Changeling hives to the army had relieved the supply lines somewhat. He didn't know the numbers the enemy could bring to battle. He hoped the allies would outnumber them when it came time to do the actual fighting.

He wondered how things were back home. He would have preferred to be back in the castle, protecting the Princesses there. No newspapers had reached the army, and probably wouldn't for sometime to come. The news would probably have to wait until the fighting up here was wrapped up, if it could be.

The end of the war here was in sight. One way or another, the upcoming battle would decide the future of the west.

Borealis began to set up a barricade as the sun began to sink toward the horizon. It wasn't all that difficult; all it took was a mixture of dirt, slime, saliva, and rock to make a solid structure. Ponies might not have found the process to be a clean one, but that was something Changelings usually put in second or third place to efficiency and effectiveness, if not fourth, fifth, or somewhere even farther down the line. And the cannon the barricade was built to protect would have a lot more cover than it would have otherwise, that was certain.

A buzzing of wings caught his attention. He looked up to see a friendly detail - of other Changelings, obviously, as pegasi wings made flapping noises, as opposed to an outright buzz - carrying a large tub of water.

"Water's here," one of the newcomers said.

"Good," he replied. Then he took a closer look at one of those who had been carrying the tub. "What happened to Antenna?," he asked, having seen a large bite mark on the subject's torso.

"Snake tired to eat him. Luckily he had us. That snake won't bother us anymore. Won't bother anyone else, in fact."

"Did you bring it here with you? Might have been able to make a good meal out of it."

"Sorry. We had our hooves full with carrying the water from the oasis to our camp."

"Well, that's a waste. Still, at least he's still here."

"Sure am, boss," Antenna answered. "Stupid snake wouldn't have caught me so easy if I wasn't so busy." He didn't add anymore, but dipped his muzzle into the tub and starting drinking.

"Leave some for the rest of us," Borealis ordered. "We need to make this last for more than just us."

"Sorry," Antenna paused. "I'm thirsty," he added needlessly.

"Obviously. Just remember that we are, too."

In the end, more than twenty Changelings ended up drinking from the tub, which left hardly any left over by the time they were done. Borealis and everyone else had gotten their fair share of water.

Presently, he heard more wings buzzing in the distance. "Oh good, more foragers are coming back," Antenna said, stretching.

"Odd, I didn't think there were any squads assigned to that detail that were to be out this late," Borealis thought out loud.

"Maybe they're just late returning?"

"Maybe." He listened a bit harder. "Blast me if it isn't coming from the north," he added, looking in that direction. There was something coming from there...

"The enemy!" came a shout from an alert pegasus.

Borealis didn't let his fear take hold. "Into the skies, all of you!" he shouted at the group who had been drinking. "Stop them before they destroy anything!"

He hastened to obey himself. He took to the air quickly. "Form up in delta formation," he ordered. "We'll intercept the enemy! Follow me!"

Borealis took the leading position in the triangular formation and streaked toward the enemy, his unit behind him. Around the camp, as he glanced down briefly, similar actions were unfolding. Pegasi were taking off, with or without weapons in their hooves, as were Changelings. Other ponies and Changelings took up defensive positions, awaiting the coming attack. Anti-air artillery crews readied their pieces, keeping a careful eye on the approaching foes.

Might be best if I do the same. He refocused on the enemy, who were a lot closer now. Some were already charging their horns. Borealis knew that his group was outnumbered - there were well over a hundred of the enemy in the sky, and less than thirty with him. But the mere knowledge that his Queen was in danger kept him going, and no doubt helped to steady his hivemates.

Both sides began shooting at one another. The battle was on.

Meta watched as friendly forces began ascending to fight the enemy. She felt a pang of fear, but stifled it.

"Well, Meta? What does the situation look like?"

She turned around to see her Queen. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I can't tell from here just how many of them there are. Probably hundreds, if I had to say."

"I doubt this is a serious effort to halt us," Metamorphosis said, thinking out loud. "They're probably trying to slow us down by doing however much damage they can to our supplies and our striking power. That means that the supply dump in back of the camp will be the target, along with any cannons they can destroy."

"They might be looking for you, Your Majesty," Meta reminded her. "You should hide before they get a chance to see you."

"Yes, I suppose that would be prudent," the Queen answered, as though that had hardly occurred to her. "Send someone to Camilla's tent to warn her to do the same."

"I will." Meta paused. "Good thing your tents look just like everyone else's."

"Indeed. And no doubt its good that its made of Kraccckk, otherwise it would burst into flame upon being hit."

Meta nodded. "By your leave," she said, and waited until she got a confirming nod before leaving.

By now, the soldiers who had been dispatched to intercept the enemy had made contact. The enemy had left a force to deal with the interceptors - around half their force, which was bigger than Meta had thought it had been. The rest... the rest were swooping down on the camp, firing jets of green energy in every direction.

She ran toward a member of her own hive, who was standing around, unsure of what to do. "Get a message to Queen Camilla," she ordered. "Tell her to keep herself hidden."

"I will." The other Changeling didn't waste any time; he ran off to do as he was told.

Anti-air guns began to fire. Their roars and the dull thuds of the exploding shells was encouraging. However, she realized, they wouldn't be able to tell members of one Changeling hive apart from another this time; no one was wearing arm or headbands. She hoped they wouldn't kill friendly troops by mistake. She also realized that they were only firing sporadically, here and there, perhaps to prevent the massacre she feared.

One of the enemy came, swooping down and firing at pony tents and their occupants. She took aim quickly and fired a bolt of her own. Hers wasn't the only one in the air, though, so she wasn't sure that hers was the one that killed him. Down he went, though, wings ablaze, body perforated with rifle rounds.

Fires began to blaze up every so often as flammable materials were hit and started burning. Smoke rose, further obscuring the view of the sky. Meta began to wonder how much damage the enemy would do before the fighting was over.

Silver Lining had taken to the skies quickly. He hadn't thought to bring a spear with him, but he had thought to bring his rifle. That wasn't the best idea, as the recoil every time he fired at the enemy was enough to knock him head over hooves backward. He settled for clubbing an enemy that got too close. That was easier than shooting, he found.

"Take this, ya blighters!" He whacked another enemy Changeling in the face with the butt of his rifle.

"Taste death, mongrel!" came a hostile yell from a second one, who tried to tackle him. He didn't quite manage to turn around fast enough, and he and his foe fell, both of them punching and kicking each other with their hooves, the rifle dropped and forgotten. Silver managed to disengage before they hit the ground, letting his enemy strike the ground before hitting him as hard as he could in the back of the head. The Changeling tried to get up again, so he kicked the enemy warrior as well.

A shot rang out. There was a loud twack! as a bullet struck the enemy warrior. The Changeling hissed once, then slumped to the ground, mortally wounded.

Silver nodded to the soldier who had shot the enemy and flew back into the sky to do battle again.

It took a moment to get back up to an optimal height. It was plenty of time to see more fights like the one he had been in. He suddenly realized that, unless an Changeling was attacking a pony, or unless it was wearing the made-up armor that the allied Changelings had taken to wearing, he found it hard to tell who was friend and who was foe. Even the ponies who were in the air might be enemies in disguise.

He also saw enough to realize that the armor, while practical and valuable on the ground, wasn't much help in the air. A friendly Changeling attempted to dogfight one of the enemy. However, he was weighed down by the armor he wore, light as it was. The opposing Changeling had no such limitations. He managed to get on the tail of the armored one and blazed repeatedly at him. The armor did protect the armored Changeling, but not enough; after being hit numerous times, he was struck in a vulnerable spot and fell, screaming all the way. Silver cursed. That was a friend, no matter how much he resembled the enemy, out of the fight, probably for good.

He realized he had forgotten to take a weapon with him. In hindsight, that was an obviously bad oversight. He swore again. His hooves would have to do.

James fired again at an incoming enemy; it fell, lifeless, to the ground. That was another one down.

This is insane. They can't possibly destroy our army with these numbers. What could they hope to do, considering how many of them are down already?

He knew the answer; this was a delaying tactic, a raid designed to slow down the army and reduce its effectiveness. It was highly unlikely that any of the enemy would make it back alive. He realized as soon as he thought it that it might not have been in Chrysalis' mind for the attackers to come back; they would likely fight to the last one still alive.

He smelled smoke and turned around. His tent had been hit, and was now ablaze. He gave a shout of dismay; while his bag hadn't been inside, everything else, including his maps, hammock, and desk were there, and would burn to a crisp.

A jet of green light struck the ground near his foot, causing a small explosion. He whipped around and shot at the enemy Changeling he suspected had shot at him. His first shot missed, the second didn't.

"Blast it," he growled. He knew his duty - to help his troops. But he wished he didn't have to let his equipment burn. With a very heavy sigh, he turned away from the burning tent and took aim.

The doctrine that he and the other commanders - namely Shining and the Queens - had come up with in the case of this sort of attack was that any Changeling shooting toward the ground was to be considered an enemy. The army had been briefed on this doctrine, which limited what friendly Changelings could do, but also kept the chances of friendly fire in the case of an aerial attack lower than they could be.

And the enemy attack was already running out of steam. The majority - not the vast majority, unfortunately - were down. They had managed to burn down a large number of tents and had damaged some of the artillery, but with the entire army now rallying, the element of surprise was long gone, and the badly outnumbered survivors were struggling to hold their ground.

He knelt and aimed once more, at a persistent drone who had circled him twice. "You're coming with us, monkey!" it shouted.

"Nope, not happening." He shot at it. He missed twice, but the third shot hit home. "And I'm not a monkey."

The enemy drone fell to the ground in front of him. He pointed his pistol at its head. "Surrender!"

The drone hissed, outraged that he had even made the suggestion, and began charging its horn to shoot him.

Even as he lined up the shot, he marveled that the Changeling was aiming at his leg, not at his chest or head. The enemy really wanted to take him alive, even if the orders to do so were unrealistic. Before he got a chance to fire, though, the enemy warrior groaned and collapsed.

All around, the enemy were being overwhelmed. Within minutes, the entire attack force was wiped out.

James turned back toward his tent. All the cloth had been burned away, and now his desk - just about everything flammable, actually - was on fire.

Good thing I hadn't brought my bag up; I'd hate to have lost my books. Even so, the loss was bad enough; this ability to direct the campaign had been hindered. And, looking around, he saw that a large number of other tents had been hit and were on fire. That meant that a lot of ponies would be without shelter. He cursed fiercely in French, German, and Spanish.

He sighed. Now he'd have to see what else the enemy had managed to do. He hoped it wasn't any worse than it already was.

Shining groaned when he heard the reports of the damage done during the raid. The entire enemy force, estimated at four hundred strong, had been destroyed. The allied forces had suffered less than half that repelling them. The main problem wasn't the casualties inflicted, though even one would have been bad enough, but the damaged done during the raid. More than half the army had lost their tents, and a number of cannons had taken damage and would need to be repaired or replaced. Even worse, a fifth of the food and ammunition the army relied on had been lost. All in all it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it wasn't good.

The enemy had succeeded in hurting the army, that much was true. However, he reasoned, they hadn't managed to inflict such damage to keep it from moving. The Changeling camp had suffered little, a result of their dwellings being flameproof, and the Queens hadn't been hurt. There was enough artillery left to do the job it was supposed to do, and there was still enough food to last a week before it would require replenishing.

He looked up as the flap to his tent - one of those that hadn't been destroyed by fire - opened and James walked in. "How bad a shape are we in?" the human asked without preamble.

"Not the best, but we can still keep going. We have to; if anything, this attack puts the pressure on us to move. The only other option is to retreat, and we haven't suffered the losses to really excuse such a maneuver."

"I thought so to. But what are we going to do about the loss of tents and equipment?"

"We'll have to do without the tents, unless we can get more cloth to make more, and the chances of that are..." Shining spread his forehooves in opposite directions.

"Not great. Yeah, I figured that out." James grimaced. "Either going to have to share space, or some of us are going to have to lay outside in the heat of the day and cold of the night. Not that Luna or any other pony is responsible for that, but still..."

Shining shrugged. "Nothing for it."

"Nothing?" came a new voice. Both of them turned to see Queen Metamorphosis stick her head inside. "Sorry about eavesdropping, but I heard about the tent problem and I may have a solution."

"Which is...?" Shining prompted.

"My subjects could build habitats for your soldiers to live in. The dwellings might not have a lot of space, but they're better than nothing whatsoever."

"Well, that's that problem solved," the white unicorn murmured. "Thanks," he added.

"Don't mention it."

"I'm going to ask some of our engineers to try to recycle damaged and destroyed artillery pieces," James stated. "Some of the guns have melted barrels, but the carriages and wheels are intact. In others, the carriage is burned away, but the cannon itself is still able to fire."

"Good idea. It will minimize our losses. Only thing we can't really solve is the food issue."

"I'd offer to help there as well," the Queen said, "but emotional energy can't be consumed by ponies."

'How do you know that?"

The Queen made a face. "Because one tried a few days ago, and he vomited everything in his stomach after only a few seconds."

"Oh." James scratched his chin. "No vegetation to eat out here, or at close as makes no difference. No where near enough to feed an entire army, that's for certain. Pushing forward is the only option. Unless you think it would be wiser to withdraw, Your Highness?"

"No. We came here to fight, not run home crying from our first major action with the enemy."

"Our course is set, then. We're committed."

Another day of hard marching wasn't Bright Star's idea of fun. However, the officers and army commanders had urged a longer and faster march than usual in response to the enemy attack, and it was nearly sundown by the time the allied forces stopped for the night. The first thing he did was drink everything in his canteen. The second was to go and refill it.

When he got back to his squad, he saw a number of Changelings digging up the dirt around the position. "What's going on here?" he asked - nigh demanded, actually.

"Calm down," Firebolt insisted, walking over to him. "Our captain said they'd be fixing each of us a place to sleep for tonight."

"Why would they need to... oh," he stopped, remembering the raid the day before. "Why didn't anypony tell us before now?"

"Do you think the higher ups tell us everything? They're here, and they're doing... something."

Something just about summed it up. The Changelings buzzed and hissed to one another in their strange language as they gathered the dirt together and began mixing it with slime, ground-up rock, and... was that spit? "Ugh," Bright grunted quietly in disgust.

The mix might have had unsavory ingredients, but it quickly produced results. Within an hour, the twenty or so Changelings had built four small structures. They weren't roomy, but Bright could see that a pony would have enough space to sleep and keep a few items. "Thanks," he murmured.

"You are most welcome," the nearest Changeling - a male - replied. "Now if you don't mind, we have a lot more work to do."

Bright watched them work a little longer, then remembered how tired he was; a full day's march made him more exhausted than he had expected it would. He went into the little shelter the Changelings had just finished. It was cool inside, but once he had spread out a blanket and a pillow on the ground it was warm enough. He left his rifle standing by the doorway, with the ammunition next to it, and wrapped himself up to sleep.

James scratched at the dirt with a stick, trying to create a detailed map. "Okay, so we're here," he said, pointing with the stick to a trio of triangles representing the camp. "Now, we have to get here" - pointing to a circle with spikes coming out of it, representing Chrysalis' hive - before they" - pointing to a group of stick figures representing the force Chrysalis controlled - "manage to come home." He tapped the stick on the palm of his left hand as he turned to Metamorphosis. "Have our scouts had any luck finding the enemy Queen?"

"We have," Metamorphosis answered gravely. "Out of twenty scouts I sent, two returned... one of whom will have to have his leg amputated. The rest... They got them all."

"So they're coming?"

"They are, as fast as they can go without wearing themselves out. Even Changelings can take only so much, and even Chrysalis realizes that if all her drones drop dead from exhaustion, she'll have no army at all. But she's coming fast, to make up for lost time."

"What about the five hundred or so you left to keep them distracted?" James asked, turning to Shining.

"First reports got here today. They found the entire enemy camp abandoned four days ago. The enemy must have had misgivings even before they detected us outright, because they departed before that quick raid by that enemy squad a couple days ago, the one that nearly got the Princess."

"Tha's bad. They'll be a comin'," Camilla observed.

"How far are they now from the hive, and from our army?" James asked.

"They've most likely moved since the scouts detected them." Metamorphosis held a hoof to her chin. "Probably thirty miles from us, and a bit more from the hive. If we move fast tomorrow, we can cut them off, but only if we move fast. Even then, I can't say for certain just where the secret entrances to their hive are located, so they might be able to circumvent our effort to separate them from their home."

"I can have our entire pegasi contingent fly to intercept them," Shining offered.

"A good idea," the Queen said. "I can have a large number of my subjects fly with them to help. They should easily outnumber Chrysalis' direct command. After that, our ground forces should be able to move in and surround her army and hive. With your technology and our numbers, killing to capturing Chrysalis shouldn't be too hard."

"That's if things go according to plan," James broke in. "We should also have a Plan B, in case Plan A doesn't work."

"Right. In that case, we can surround their hive and blockade it. Their only choice will be to starve or come out and fight."

"What about their secret entrances? They could make life difficult for us, and smuggle food and energy into the hive."

"That will make things harder," the Queen agreed. "Our best idea to breach their defenses would be to dig our way inside, from multiple directions preferably. We can also search for the other entrances to their hive and either use them ourselves or block them off so they can't be used."

"Assuming we can find them..."

"Yes, assuming."

"One way or the other, we have to win," Shining insisted. "We can't let the war out here drag on any longer."

"My biggest concern," Metamorphosis said, "would be if the hives under their control came with relief armies."

"What about the chance of revolt within those armies?"

"Well, yes, that would still exist, but you can't really fathom the grip Chrysalis has. Not all Queens are as fiery as me and Camilla. Some might feel that nothing could weaken Chrysalis' hold over them; I have no idea how many of them might feel that way, considering that we were kept separate from one another for well over seven years. Revolt might not come so easily for them."

"Can't their people rise up without them?" Shining asked.

"Oh, that's right, you weren't with us in the beginning," Metamorphosis said, surprised. "Changeling drones cannot take any action that their Queen forbids or does not approve of, so that would be impossible."

"Oh."

"We can take 'em," Camilla insisted.

"But at what cost?" her fellow Queen demanded. "I want something of my hive to be left after the war, Camilla. And we'd all too likely be outnumbered. Even if we did win, the result would be the fatal weaken of our species; any two-bit despot with anything resembling an army would be able to take control of us. Most of them wouldn't want that any more than we would, or do."

"Have ta do somethin'."

"And we will. Just not fight every other Changeling hive in existence."

"...Fine."

"Our army will have to accomplish its objectives quickly," James observed. "Our supplies aren't what they used to be. Either more will have to come in, or our food is going to run out."

"I think we can drop all subterfuge," Shining said. "We can't exactly play the secret game any more when it's not a secret, can we?"

"No. If Celestia can get her airships, we might get our supplies after all."

"Yeah. She wasn't happy about it. She told me before she left that she was going to get them, one way or the other. But they'd still take some time to get here. They wouldn't be able to help us quickly enough to affect the campaign much."

"Och, gettin' a headache here," Camilla said, rubbing her forehead. "Can' we just smash Chrissie's army flat, and then worry bou' all them details? Maybe her daughter'll listen once 'er mum's dead."

"That's assuming she even has an heir," Metamorphosis replied. "She never let on, and she was always careful to keep that kind of information from getting into our hooves. if she doesn't have one, her hive will descend into chaos. We can't even predict what would happen. Most likely, they would destroy themselves in the anarchy. They might launch a full out attack on our army and die fighting. We can't know."

"Has that ever happened to a Changeling hive before, where the reigning monarch died and left no one to take their place?"

"No, which is why its such a nightmare to even think out. At least, no such incident has happened the memory of any Changeling hive and survived as solid history. There are stories and legends, though, of hives that lost their Queen and the heir; shortly afterwards, they went extinct. The tales differ in the exact details, but they all end the same way."

"Well, might not want to let that happen," James replied, with considerable understatement.

"Indeed." Metamorphosis relaxed somewhat. "We have the ability to win this fight. We'll find a way, once things become clearer.

James scanned the horizon for hostiles. It was just after sunrise. The pegasi and the Changelings who were assigned to halt Chrysalis' army had taken off just minutes ago, and he could still see them as they flew to the northwest.

As the day went on, the army continued on its path northward. The pace was much quicker than normal; They were going with Metamorphosis' suggestion to move as fast as possible. He walked - no, jogged - as far as he could, but eventually the pace tired out his legs and he had trouble keeping up. He solved the problem by hitching a ride on an artillery limber for a while. The ponies pulling it didn't complain, so he figured he didn't add too much to the weight load.

He got off after twenty minutes or so and went jogging again. He began to work out a pattern; he jogged for a while, after which he'd get another ride on a limber or wagon. Every time he sat down, he checked his revolver to make sure it was in working condition. It was, but the dust and sand could impair the operation of firearms, so he kept checking. Every so often, he'd find a few grains of dust in the barrel, after which he would scrub it until it was clear of the obstruction.

By noon, James suspected that hey had covered somewhere near half the distance to their target. The army was getting tired as well as hungry, so he and Shining Armor ordered a halt.

Over the course of the meal, Bright pointing northward. "What's that?"

"I don't know," James admitted. "I've been wondering that myself. Unfortunately, my binoculars got melted when my tent burned down, so I can't use them."

"Here, I still have a spyglass," Sliver Lining said, giving him a small telescope."

"My thanks." James put the spyglass to his right eye, closed his left, and trained it on the object up north. "Hmm, that's strange," he murmured.

"What is it?" Shield asked.

"It appears to be a tower. A very short one, more like a lookout post than anything else. I'd almost say..."

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because all the Changeling hives we've come upon have been entirely underground so far." James gave the telescope back to Silver. "It wouldn't make sense for them to build anything above ground, given how much they love secrecy"

"Maybe Chrysalis had it built out of arrogance," Bright suggested.

"Maybe, but if you're an arrogant despot, why stop at a single short tower? Why not build an entire fortress?"

"I can offer some explanation." James turned to see a Changeling - female, by its voice - standing next to him. "They probably did set up over-ground defenses. That tower would probably be either a command post of a lookout for their hive."

"And what about the whole secrecy thing?"

"Chrysalis probably did get arrogant, as you said. She's certainly tried to keep us down. In any case, she probably believed that she could afford to give up secrecy somewhat, in order to protect herself better, whether from you or us if we happened to revolt I can't say."

"I see."

"Of course, it could be recent. Changelings can build extremely quickly when we need to."

"I've noticed. Thanks, uh..."

"I can understand if you don't recognize me. I'm Meta."

"Oh yes. I remember. You were with us while we were planning the first rebellion."

"I was. And I'm here now to fight Chrysalis."

James nodded. "Good. Another fight ahead, then."

"Probably not a big one. they've be heavily outnumbered. They'll be trying to slow us down."

"Can't have that. We'll have to get rid of it somehow."

Later that afternoon, James stood by a battery of artillery. By now, he'd been able to borrow a proper pair of binoculars and could get a much better look at the enemy position, a little less than two miles away.

It wasn't anything all that complex. It was a serious of elevated trenches reinforced by black material. The tower stood in the middle; it clearly wasn't finished, so he assumed the position was very, very recent indeed. In the trenches were hundreds of hostile Changelings, who kept their eyes on his army.

"They seem to think they can halt us," he muttered. "Our job is to show them they can't."

"Why not just go around?" Shining asked.

"Because that would take time. because the enemy could emerge from there to slip a knife in our ribs if we ignore them. Because the fewer soldiers the enemy have to fight with, the better for us."

"I don't think they really designate anypony as a soldier. These were probably laborers and architects until just days ago. Maybe just hours."

"...I really wish you hadn't reminded me of that. I'd prefer not to massacre every last member of their hive to beat them."

Shining shivered. "I still don't like them, but even I don't want that."

"Yes. The question is, how to go about it?"

"Only thing we can do is capture Chrysalis," Metamorphosis said. "Of course, if she orders them to fight, even at the cost of her life, they'll do it anyway."

"So its unavoidable, is that what you're telling me?"

"No. I'm just saying that it'll be a difficult job."

"Can a Changeling Queen be made to give up power and give it over to another?"

Metamorphosis thought about that for a moment. "Yes, I'm sure it can be done. Old Queens, dying and on their deathbeds, have been known to give their power over to their successors. I can't give you the details, but it can be done."

"My original source was that Changeling Queens had to fight their predecessors to obtain the throne."

"Well, they can; it's probably how Chrysalis came to power herself. More progressive hives prefer to solve things peaceably if possible."

"In any case, we still have to smash that position," James said, lowering the binoculars. "Artillery, fire!"

The guns began to fire. Artillery shells slammed into the enemy position and exploded. Cannonballs tore into the tower, ripping it apart. Here and there, bodies flew into the air.

"Troops, advance!" Shining shouted.

The allied army began moving forward, covered by the artillery. Friendly Changelings took flight to harass the enemy with fire from the air as ponies formed their ranks and marched ahead.

The ground forces began to spread out as they approached the enemy's firing range. By now, the tower had toppled, with only a stump still standing, and the forward positions had been perforated by cannon fire. Even so, the survivors among the enemy fired at the attackers. Some Equestrians and Changelings stopped to fire as comrades moved forward.

The enemy's defense wasn't made any easier by the flyers, who fired hundreds of bolts, sometimes very accurately, at the defenders, who had an agonizing decision to make; either take some of their force and shoot back at the flyers and reduce their outgoing fire against the ground attack, or concentrate on the ground and get cut down from the air.

It wouldn't have mattered much either way. The attackers came in overwhelming numbers, with artillery and air support. Any rational commander would have withdrawn before the fighting had even started. Chrysalis' subjects didn't even try. They fought until almost all were killed. The only prisoners were those who were found unconscious and those who were disconnected from the hive mind and could think more clearly than their comrades.

It was all over in less than thirty minutes. James went up to inspect the enemy position once the fighting was over. The allies had suffered about two hundred casualties; almost a thousand of the enemy had perished in a futile defense. Their little fortress was nothing but ruin now.

"Come on, back into column," he called. "Have to keep moving. Quickly, now!"

It was another fifteen minutes before the allied forces were able to reform and continue their advance. The enemy had bought somewhat less than an hour's worth of time by their labor and loss. But if something had gone wrong with the intercepting force, that might be enough.

Metamorphosis felt a pang of anxiety. It wasn't overwhelming or anything like that, but it was still there. So far, no word had come from the detachment they'd sent. It was already late afternoon, and the sun was already sinking over the horizon.

She looked northward. The enemy hive was close. She could practically sense it.

"Do you recognize anything?" James asked her.

"Hold on." She scanned the area around her. "Yes, there's a big rock over there that I remember seeing whenever I had to come here every now and again. I could probably lead you to the main entrance from here, if there wasn't a bloodthirsty army protecting it."

"Why did you?"

"Why did I what?"

"Why did they make you come here?"

"Basically to really remind me and the other Queens that we were under Chrysalis' control. On my first visit, I'd hoped that, even though we'd suffered through a brutal occupation, that I could make things easier for my subject. I... was wrong. Before I could speak she ranted at all of us - she'd 'invited' the other Queens as well - and started demanding all the more sacrifice from our hives. When I finally spoke up and requested that she let up on the harshness with which her drones treated us, she silenced me in mid-sentence and had me beaten in front of everyone. Not so bad that any of my bones were broken, but enough so that the other Queens got the idea that she was the boss and we weren't to complain. Then, when she had dismissed the other Queens, she told me directly that we could expect no better than we were already getting and that I was never to ask anything like that again - from her or her subjects. Of course, that was an order I disobeyed numerous times, though never again was I foolish enough to do so in front of her."

James was silent for a minute.

"We have to win," the Queen went on. "No matter what it takes. So that no Changeling hive ever has to bow down to another again... or to anyone else."

"Yeah, I agree. My great-something forebears didn't stand for tyranny either. We were fortunate enough to win that fight." Then, in a much quieter tone, he added, "I hope I'm fortunate enough to win this one."

There was a sudden buzzing of wings and exclamations in the Changeling language, though the Queen was too far away to hear what was being said properly. "What's that all about?" she asked one of her subjects who approached her.

The other Changeling bowed deeply before replying. "My Lady, we have held the enemy five miles southeast of your position. He have cut Chrysalis off from her hive!"

That took a moment to sink in. James recovered first; "We did it."

"Yeah, I guess we did." Metamorphosis shook her head. "I thought we could, but now that its actually happened..."

"We're a big step closer to ending the war," James finished for her. "Tomorrow.... Tomorrow, this could all be over for good."

The Queen wasn't the most optimistic person; that would have been nearly impossible, given the dictatorship that she'd had to live under until just recently. But hope began to swell within her. "Yes. Yes, it could very well be."

Chapter 59; At all costs

Chapter 59; At all costs

"Allied units have surrounded the Queen and her army," an earth pony captain said. "There were more of them than we thought there would be; there are closer to a thousand or so, maybe twice that, even. They've made repeated attempts to break through, but we've managed to hold them, if barely."

Shining sighed with relief. He'd been worried that the Queen would manage to escape. The monster who had impersonated his wife and had tried to conquer Canterlot and all of Equestria was encircled and entrapped. She could be finished off now.

"That still leaves her hive to deal with, though," James pointed out. "They know we're here now, and they're not just going to sit around doing nothing."

"Indeed," Metamorphosis observed. "We need to keep up the siege here, and make sure she can't escape. We should be able to do that, assuming we remain alert."

"She'll probably try to make a run for it tonight," Shining said, "since we're all tired from marching and flying all day."

"True. I'd advise that whoever we're going to leave as sentries get some rest now, and we should rotate them every couple of hours or so."

"Not the worst suggestion ever," James noted. The night is when they'll make their move; after all, its easy for them to hide in the dark."

"Oughta jus' get 'em now, when both o' us r' tired," Camilla urged.

"We won't be able to fight at our best," her fellow Queen observed.

"Neither will they, when they've been fightin', runnin', and flyin' all day. We have a good deal more n' they ta spend."

"But the point is to spend as little as possible, especially now that this war is about to be wrapped up."

"Would ya rather us be known as cowards and fools, then?"

"All right, enough," James broke in. "Enough of that. The war's hard enough without us trading words. Our army needs rest after the furious pace we've set today. Yes, they'll be at their best tomorrow, but so will we, and since we have more troops and better, that means the balance swings much more in our favor."

Camilla huffed, crossed her forelegs in front of her chest, and said nothing further.

"I'm just hoping we can do this without bungling it," Shining said nervously. "Its just when you're about to win when things go wrong."

"If we can keep them inside the ring we set around them, we'll come out on top," Metamorphosis said. "Now, I suggest that we get a good night's sleep. There's a fight to be had tomorrow, and we have to win it."

James watched the sun sink slowly over the horizon. Night was fast approaching, and darkness would soon fall over this area of the world.

Is the conflict here almost over? And what will that mean for the eastern front? Will our newfound allies fight for us there, or will they just be content to win here? Not that I can exactly blame them. The two Changeling hives the allies had liberated had clearly suffered under the enemy's rule. They weren't obligated, by any means, to assist the Equestrian army in the east. He wondered how many of them had even seen a griffon, or if any of them had.

"Take things one step at a time," he verbally reminded himself. "First, we crush the Queen, and then we worry about the next fight."

He wondered what would happen once victory came. Would he only be removing one dictator, and allow another to rise instead of the one he was fighting? He had no idea what the other Changeling Queens were like. In hindsight, he probably should have asked that question before now. Could the old, "proper" order be restored? Or would the Queens decide that unity was best when faced with a world that generally despised them, and elect one to represent them as a confederation? Those were questions he had no answer to, and he didn't think he had the power or influence to do much about it. Until Chrysalis was dethroned, those questions were moot anyway; to have answers, the victory had to come first.

What will be the legacy of our campaigns here? Will we just be toppling the old orders without creating a new one, and leave our former enemies to decide for themselves the course they should take? I want our victory in this war to mean something, so I don't have to come back and redo the job just because I screwed up the first time.

He sighed. The future would come. How he, and everyone else, met it would be the challenge.

Already, the air was getting colder. He shivered slightly, and began making his way back toward the camp.

Luckily, the Badlands didn't have many mosquitoes or any other similar pests, though scorpions were a constant threat. No one had died yet from being bitten, but there had been a couple of close calls. Which was why, when he saw one crawling around the path he was using, he crushed the little creeper under his shoe. It made a crunching sound as it died. He didn't know whether the thing would have killed anyone, but he didn't want to take the chance. If a colony of fire ants took up residence in your yard, you got rid of them before they could inflict damage on people and property. It didn't make him feel any better about doing it, of course.

He made it back to the dome-like structure a Changeling had built for him. it wasn't roomy, but it was big enough for him to lie down in. He drew a blanket around himself, making sure his weapons were within reach. It wouldn't do if there was a surprise attack and he was caught unarmed, after all. He yawned as he got himself comfortable, and was asleep not long afterward.

He awoke the next morning. The sun was already up in the sky as he stretched, fastened on his weapons, and got out of the dwelling, rifle slung over his shoulder.

He met Shining Armor and the two Queens in large tent where meals were being served. He got a couple apples, two pieces of bread, and a bit of butter and went to sit down with them. "Morning, James," Shining said in greeting.

"Good day to end a war, or for ending part of it, anyway," James replied, sitting down.

"Let's hope that happens," Metamorphosis said in response. "I have trouble believing it will be over that quickly."

"An' how not?" her fellow ruler asked.

"Because, while Chrysalis is a tyrant, she's not stupid. She'll be thinking of some way to get out of this mess."

James shrugged. "If she had a secret entrance inside the ring we have around her, she would have used it by now."

"I know. Still, she's not just going to sit there and do nothing. I think we've all seen things go wrong just when they appear to be going right."

"Hmm, yes," James murmured, feeling a pinprick of worry. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to be careful."

Just then a pegasus flew into the tent, clearly looking for someone. Upon seeing James and Shining, he flew over to them and landed. "Generals, a lone Changeling is approaching our surrounding force from the enemy lines."

"Is he making a lone effort to attack?"

"No. He has some sort of banner. It looks white, but there parts of it so dark with dust its hard to see."

James looked back at the others, who were already looking at each other. "I didn't think the Queen would be one to surrender," James muttered.

"I'm not sure that's what it is," Metamorphosis said worriedly. "Could be anything. Could be a distraction, or a trap, even."

"If it is, maybe we ought to play along, just long enough to hopefully spring the trap without us getting it."

An hour and a half later, James and his fellow commanders had reached the western side of the force that had surrounded Chrysalis and her command. Basic trenches had been dug, and artillery had been well placed and sited to prevent a successful attack. Hundreds of black bodies lay in front of those positions. The Changelings had tried to break through, tried and failed bloodily. From the number of slain, they'd tried repeatedly, only to find that attacking the Equestrians and their allies head-on was ineffective.

"That's their camp, of in the distance," the pegasus said, pointing with a hoof.

"I see." James could see black bodies moving around. There were far fewer than he expected. The enemy casualties he'd seen might have had something to do with that. "And where is the Changeling you said was coming?"

"He's over there," a silver-coated unicorn said, pointing a hoof at the Changeling, who, now that James was looking, was standing about fifty yards away.

"Thanks," James said quietly, and began walking over to the enemy warrior, who was standing there, holding a pole with a white banner, which was speckled with dust and dirt.

As they approached, the Changeling turned and looked at them. "Am I to assume you are the commanders for this excuse of an army, as well as the traitor Queens?" he said in pompous, arrogant and contemptuous tones.

Shining made a noise that sounded like a hiss. James let out an angry growl. "Yes, we are. And you'd do well to remember you're not among friends."

"That is irrelevant," the Changeling said. "Her Majesty, Queen of all Changelings and Ruler of the Badlands, will come in an hour to discuss terms for the termination of the war."

"So she's given up the ghost, has she?" James said. "Took her long enough. She's coming to surrender, then?"

"I would not even attempt to think of what our glorious and magnificent ruler has imagined," the enemy warrior said, in the same tones as before.

"Maybe that's why this war has gone so badly for you," James replied, and got an angry glare in return.

"Not a particularly polite thing to do, forcing a peace conference when she's the one responsible for the war," Shining grumbled. "Not to mention to bad attitude of the messenger she sent."

"What others think does not matter," the Changeling said, and now it was his turn to receive angry looks. "She will be here in about an hour. be rea-"

"Stop giving us orders," Metamorphosis interrupted. "We'll see her... but we're not obligated to obey your commands."

The Changeling glared at her to, then made his face blank. "I leave to report to the Queen," he said, in a more level voice than before but with some of the original arrogance still there. Without any further ado, the Changeling turned and began to leave.

"Oughta throw the bastard in jail," Camilla muttered angrily. "Got nerve, callin' us traitors, as though we owed her."

"Let him go," James answered. "As far as his hive is concerned, he's just another leg or arm, or part thereof. In the meantime, I'm going to inspect our lines here. Wouldn't do to just let her escape, not now."

"Gave up mornin' coffee fer this?" Camilla grumbled, muttering under her breath as she walked away.

Shining looked with approval at the allied defenses in the area. Looking and pointing at the slain enemies, he turned to a sergeant next to him. "Did you have any trouble fighting them off?"

"They didn't really have a chance to break through, sir," the sergeant replied. "They tried like hell, though. They got some of us. Nothing like what they lost themselves, though, and they didn't capture anypony, thank goodness."

Shining let his hoof fall to the ground. "Did they particularly try to capture our troops?"

"Yes. They failed, but they tried, and very hard. My guess is, they wanted to suck the love out of 'em so they could power themselves up and hit us with enhanced power. 'Course, nopony really knows what those freaks are thinking at any one time."

Shining grunted at that. "We're still here, and now the tables have turned. They don't have much choice."

"They'll go out fighting if they get orders from that insane Queen of theirs," came the answer. "Anything she tells 'em is automatically right with 'em. She tells 'em to fight, they'll do it, and they won't ask or even think of questions. That's not true bravery, not true self sacrifice."

"Whether it is or isn't, we may be able to end the war today."

"Maybe." The sergeant didn't sound convinced. That wasn't particularly surprising. Sergeants often tended to be pessimistic, if not downright cynical.

A loud trumpeting sound came from the east. "They must be coming," Shining said, observing the enemy camp.

"Maybe," the sergeant said again. "Could be coming to attack us, though. We should make ourselves ready. Something in these bones o' mine tells me something's gonna go wrong."

"Hopefully you're wrong. I've got to go up and get ready to meet her."

"I'll keep watch over here," the sergeant said. "Good luck, general."

"The same to you."

James watched as Queen Chrysalis, surrounded by a party of bodyguards and possible officials, walked into the camp. She looked just like she had when she'd attacked Canterlot, and she had an air of power about her. She bore an expression on her face, a sort of sneer, and arrogance and self-assuredness seemed to come off her in waves.

He sniffed. He'd come prepared; he was clutching a rifle. Currently, the barrel was angled toward the ground, but he could bring it up into firing position real quick. No matter how much power the Queen had, a bullet would always be faster than a sudden charge or an attempted spell. And he wasn't the only one with a weapon; most of the ponies nearby were prepared, as were the allied Changelings, who looked on, ready for action if something happened.

Several Changelings on his side shouted insults. Most were in their own language, but a few were in English. James heard one cry out a bloodthirsty threat that made him cringe. Metamorphosis shouted something at her followers, who abruptly stopped their catcalling. After a moment, Camilla followed suit, and her subject became quiet too.

Chrysalis hadn't responded to the jeers she had just endured, other than to sneer even harder. She came up to James, Shining, and the other two Queens. No one said a word as she came to a stop.

It was Chrysalis who spoke first. She turned to Metamorphosis and smiled wickedly. "So the one who craves softness has come to betray her rightful allegiance and set herself against me. How do you like knowing that you've set our race back centuries with your treacherous actions?"

"Tyrant," Metamorphosis spat. "You never deserved my allegiance. You don't even deserve that of your own subjects."

"Ah, the fool speaks. Too bad you're too stupid to know what's being done for your own good."

"Damn bitch," Camilla shouted.

"And the even more backwards Camilla. How lovely to see that you're just as blunt an idiot as ever. I'm surprised your lips haven't fallen, knowing how much you use your foul mouth. Why don't you do us all a favor and shut it for once?"

She turned slowly toward Shining. "My would-be husband," she remarked. "It was fun having you as my puppet, it really was. I wonder how well you're getting along with Cadence, considering how much time you ended up spending with me before you were officially married."

"Get to the point of this visit," James said, interrupting before anyone could leap forward and murder the Queen. "Your unconditional surrender. Now."

Chrysalis turned her contempt on him. "And the over-sized gorilla. And experiment of Celestia, possibly, or perhaps of her violet follower."

James moved the barrel of the rifle so that it was closer to the Queen. "You might want to remember where you are," he said in a menacing voice. "We're the ones winning the war. You'd do best to remember that."

"Point that thing somewhere else. You have no idea who you're dealing with."

James didn't move. It was hard to resist raising the barrel of the gun and pulling the trigger. "You're giving up," he said. "When you're our prisoner, you won't be mocking anyone."

"Fool. Why would you think I came to offer my surrender?" Chrysalis smiled nastily again. "it is your surrender I have come to demand, not to offer my own."

Shining stood there with his mouth wide open. "You've got to be kidding. You're outnumbered. You're losing. We have your hive surrounded, and your army, too. We can crush you in a matter of hours, if that."

Chrysalis laughed. It was a bitter, mocking laugh, designed deliberately to insult. "You are an idiot, just like I've always known. You do not understand the power of the Changeling Kingdom," she said. "Of the nation I built, that I now lead."

"A nation built on the backs of slaves," Metamorphosis hissed. "We've been treated like dogs - no, worse than dogs, like inanimate objects. We've had to suffer big losses in this war. We've been insulted and abused. And yet you expect us to remain loyal, in spite of everything?"

"That is the price of building and maintaining a powerful empire, wretch," Chrysalis retorted. "Our people are now on the brink of being the greatest on the face of the Earth."

"No; we're now engaged in a fight to rid ourselves of tyranny, a war of Changeling against Changeling."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Don't ya dare point a hoof at us," Camilla growled. "Ya love power, and ya love beatin' us, like we was slaves."

"If you act like disobedient children, that's how you get treated." Chrysalis shrugged. "You kept balking at what I told you to do."

"It would have cost our hives too much!"

"Price of success, you worthless traitor. No one gets anywhere without paying that price. Once the Equestrians mobilized against us, I needed every available Changeling warrior. If a few die here and there-"

"You didn't care about our lives, stop pretending to be so innocent!" Metamorphosis burst out.

"Don't you dare interrupt me! And you're right. As long as the Changeling Kingdom gets what it needs, I don't need to count the cost."

"You mean as long as you get what you want."

"If you're determined to see it that way, yes. As long as I get what I want."

"I don't think there's any reason for you to stay," James warned. "Unless you give up right now, we'll crush you and your hive."

Chrysalis laughed again. "And how would that fuel your altruistic ego? You people supposedly claim to be the good guys. Let me make this clear to you; as long as I am on the throne, my entire hive - of all ages - will fight, to the bitter end, if necessary. We will never give up. You can't beat us. And when we triumph, you'll only be remembered as the filth under our hooves."

James sniffed audibly. "We'll find a way to win. Now, I think you were just leaving. Your demands for our surrender are rejected without hesitation."

Someone - James never found out who - tripped Chrysalis with a rifle. She fell to the ground in a heap, letting out a scream of surprise. Allied soldiers laughed loudly as she got back up, steaming with anger.

"You'll pay for that," she hissed. "You'll all pay!"

"I doubt it. Now get out of here. Why don't you go and think the situation over before we pound you and your little army to pieces?" James suggested.

Chrysalis turned her back on him. She hissed something to her subordinates, who fell into formation behind her. They left without another word.

"Shoulda jus' grabbed her and made off," Camilla growled. "That'd shut 'er up, and we'd be rid a problem."

James shook his head. "They'd just fight to free her anyway. Her whole hive would attack us." We also have honor, he thought to himself, but he didn't say it out loud. Someone would have said something cynical if he had, and he detested cynicism, especially of the mocking sort.

Camilla sniffed and shook her head. "No one listens ta me."

"Don't worry, C. Soon, we'll win this war, and we'll be free again."

"I'm more worried about the power she mentioned," James said. "I'm assuming that means the combined forces of the other Changeling hives, which are probably coming to fight on her behalf."

"That's probably it," Metamorphosis agreed, nodding. "At least, I think so. But still," she went one, a bit of concern in her voice, "she sounded like she knew what she was talking about. The only other possibility would be a major magical attack, but the amount of energy needed at that scale... Our observers have seen hardly any canisters used to contain emotional energy in their camp, and without a huge stock of it, she can't make an attack of that magnitude. And she obviously doesn't have a secret entrance in the area to escape from us, or she would have used it by now."

"Which leaves it up to us to make a move. I see." James scratched his chin. "Wow, I need a shave," he muttered under his breath. "Alright. I'll go back to our main camp to plan an attack on their hive. Our forces will keep the Queen surrounded and attack from all sides, giving her no chance to breathe."

"Right," Shining replied. He looked away. James couldn't be sure just what he was thinking. Maybe Chrysalis' words had struck a nerve. James decided not to push the issue. Some things had to be resolved alone.

Shining studied the plateau - or perhaps it was a mesa or butte, the three were very similar - ahead, under which the enemy hive resided. It wasn't all that tall, but big enough to look imposing. He couldn't see any holes or slots for defensive weaponry, but that didn't mean anything, except possibly that the enemy had camouflaged any above-ground defenses they had set up.

He let down the spyglass he'd been using and sighed. The problem at the moment was that, as of yet, allied troops hadn't found any hidden entrances to use. Obviously, the enemy knew too much about camouflage. They would, he thought bitterly. After all, they can make themselves look just like us.

Not far away, a battery of guns began to fire at the plateau. Perhaps the gunners were bored, or else they were trying to provoke some sort of response, because he had given no orders for them to take any such action.

Whatever their intention, they got no response. He'd hoped they wouldn't; he didn't want the army fighting a battle, unless it was on terms friendly to the allies. After a few minutes of ineffectual fire, the battery fell silent. The plateau was completely undamaged, except for some new shell holes that hadn't been there previously. Shining made a mental note to chastise the gunners later; the army had ammunition, yes, but not enough to just throw away ordinance whenever soldiers felt like it.

Out of nowhere, he felt his head hurt, around the area of his horn. Instinctively, he lifted a hoof to the affected area, unleashing a quiet moan as he did so. "Gotta get some pills for this later," he muttered.

Something didn't feel quite right. Usually, he could feel a headache coming on. And something was off about the feeling. It felt... he didn't know exactly how to say it, but it felt like it was magic-oriented, or perhaps brought on by magic instead of some internal problem.

Somewhat perplexed and a little disturbed, he let his hoof drop to the ground, where it threw up a bit of dust as it made a clopping sound. He turned and looked at the artillery battery. One of the unicorns was rubbing his head, just as he had been doing.

Just a coincidence... Or maybe my subconscious is remembering back to when... He shook his head as he began to walk back to the camp. He didn't want to think about the time, just prior to the wedding, when he had been under her control. Just seeing her again had been enough to get him into a rage.

He grew more concerned, however, when he saw other unicorns acting in a similar way. Even non-unicorns seemed to act stiffly, and were looking around, as though expecting a nasty surprise to come about any moment.

The Changelings in the army were acting even worse. Their wings constantly buzzed, even though most of them remained on the ground. They were especially jumpy, jerking in surprise at every unexpected noise and movement. One or two were on the ground, groaning and clutching their heads. It was disconcerting to say the least. he still didn't particularly like them, but they had proven that they were on his side, and frankly, he didn't enjoy seeing others in pain, even former enemies.

He saw James sitting on a rock up ahead, cleaning his pistol. He lifted it up to his eyes, examined it for a moment, then shook his head and wiped it again. Shining smiled slightly. At least James didn't seem affected by whatever was going around.

He walked up to him. "Hey," he said in greeting."

James looked up. "Oh, hi," he said, sounding a little distracted. "What's up?"

"Not much, unless you count a sudden outbreak of headaches going around."

"That hasn't happened to me, not yet." James paused. "Something still don't feel right, though."

"You too?"

"Yeah. I think everyone can feel that something's... off. I think every unicorn has what you have, and other ponies can feel something too. Changelings.... they've gone nuts."

"Ugh, I'd hoped it was just me." Shining tried to think through the pangs of pain in his forehead. "Maybe the Queens know something about this. They'd better, or we won't be any closer to an answer. Only thing that comes to mind, and strongly, is magic. Bad magic. Very bad magic."

"I've got the feeling something terrible's about to happen," James said quietly.

"I hope you're wrong."

"So do I," Metamorphosis said, landing right next to them. "My head's burning, and the place where my wings connect to my body is just on fire."

"Do you know what's up, then?" Shining asked.

"No," she said, and the stallion's head fell. "All I can think of is magic, for something like this to happen."

"Do you think Chrysalis is trying to bewitch us?" James asked.

Metamorphosis shook her head. "No," she said again. "For one thing, she'd never settle for just giving us all headaches and a bad feeling. She'd try to burn us all alive, or something equally painful." She cricked her neck several times before continuing. "I can say that it isn't anyone in the camp with us, so it must be something the enemy are doing."

"If so, we'd better get them before they get us," James said, standing up. "Let's hit them, before they finish whatever they're doing."

Something green flashed off in the southeast. "What was that?" the human asked, looking.

Whatever it was, it was green. From some distance away, a green beam flew toward the hive; it struck the lower area of the plateau, causing an explosion at the base of the natural structure. Even from here, Shining could feel a wave of intense heat from the beam.

Abruptly, the pain in his head vanished. That brought him out of his awestruck state. "What in the world was that!?!"

"What did they do?" the Queen added. Suddenly, she jumped back in horror. "How did they do it?"

"That came from their camp," James observed. "That means that our force we sent, the one that was trying to block them..." his voice broke. "They're gone."

"I don't all of them will be," Metamorphosis said, shaking herself out of the silent shock. "The ones trying to stop them from reaching the hive will be, unless I'm mistaken."

'We have to get over there," James said, scrambling for his weapons. "Bring some soldiers."

"I'll send my entire army," the Queen said. "We'll come at them fast and hard. But I think that whatever that was supposed to do, it succeeded. They'll be escaping even now. We need to move, now."

"I'll rally out best units to attack," Shining said. "Let's go!"

James stared in shock at the devastation at what used to be the western side of the blocking force. The area was blackened around the area the beam had travelled. Cannons lay on the ground, barrels melted and wood burned away. Carters in the ground showed where ammunition had been stored prior to... whatever it was that had happened. As for losses... little remained but blackened husks. Certain pieces of ground had been turned to glass. Burned out wood and melted pieces of metal were all that remained of the rifles the troops had been using. The northern, southern, and eastern sides of the blocking force had escape unscathed, so the disaster wasn't complete. But it was bad enough as it was.

He shook his head. "I never thought she had the power inside herself to do this," he muttered.

"She didn't," Metamorphosis said, walking up behind him. "And I think I may have an answer. We need to go and examine what remains of their camp. I hope my suspicions are wrong," she added, shaking her head fiercely, as if to get rid of a swarm of bees. "My subjects should have overwhelmed all resistance by now."

"How would they be able to do that, when they could have fried the entire attacking force like they did here?" James demanded.

"I don't think she had the resources to do that twice," Metamorphosis said. "Come on, let's get out of here."

James looked at her. "You don't think that what we'll find over there," he said, pointing to the enemy camp, "will be any better than what we found here, though."

"I... I don't," the Queen admitted.

James made sure his rifle was at the ready. Without a trigger guard, the weapon wasn't as easy to hold as a human-built rifle would have been, but even so, he pointed it at the first black body he saw.

Metamorphosis put her hoof on top of the rifle and forced it down. "It's one of ours," she said quickly. "I can tell."

James lowered the rifle. "Hey, you," he called to the Changeling ahead. "Yeah, you," he added as the Changeling pointed to itself in question. "Over here."

The large, pony-like insect flew over to them and landed in front of them. "Ah, my Queen," he said in English, bowing to her.

"Never mind about royal ritual," Metamorphosis said. "Just tell us what we need to know."

"I will."

"How heavy was the resistance you faced?" James asked.

The Changeling snorted. "There was hardly any resistance at all. A couple beams - just the usual horn blasts - and a few that tried to gore us, but not much else."

"The rest of them are gone, then," James sighed.

"Uh, well," the Changeling said, scuffing the ground with his hooves, "I wouldn't say that."

"Hold on, I thought you just said there was almost no resistance."

"Oh it's true. But... Well, I think you'll have to see for yourself."

James and the others followed him to somewhere approximately in the middle of the camp. There, James stopped in shock. Hundreds - probably a thousand, or more - black bodies lay on the ground. A few were still groaning and moaning feebly. The rest were clearly dead, and looked the worse for wear. He made the sign of the Cross, looking on the sight with horror.

Metamorphosis sighed. "Just as I'd feared."

"Did you do this?" James asked the Changeling.

The Changeling threw up his hooves. "No! I swear, we found them like this when we got here. In fact, there probably weren't more than a dozen still able to fight, and they weren't able to do anything but put up a token resistance before we subdued them. Most of our captives died shortly after, and the ones we took are dying."

James looked around. Some of the enemy were still moving a little. Now that he looked, though, they looked almost as if they had starved to death; in numerous cases, he saw the stomach area was scrunched up, as though more muscle or bone had been there was wasn't any more.

"If we didn't do this, who did?" he demanded. He turned to face the Queen - the friendly Queen. "What were those suspicions of yours?"

"I... I never thought even she would do this," she said, not immediately answering him. She turned her head away. "Changelings feed off of emotional energy. A normal drone can only feed off of ponies - off of any sentient creature, actually, but we can only reliably impersonate ponies. However, a Queen has the option to take energy from her own subjects, if need be. It's what she did here; she drained them almost entirely of emotional energy and used it to fuel the spell she used against us."

"By killing her own people?" James said in a weak voice.

Metamorphosis nodded, still looking away. "It's the only reasonable explanation."

"They can't have had that much energy left, and if she had been able to get that energy by love, why didn't she use it to fry Canterlot back when the initial invasion of the city failed?"

"She had been feeding off of Shining Armor alone. Each of these Changelings probably only had a small amount to give her, but they numbered about a thousand. Whatever you can say about Shining, he's only one pony. This was a horde she sacrificed."

James looked around, breathing heavily. Dead and dying Changelings - he could barely think of them as enemies anymore - littered the ground wherever he looked. "Can she do it again?" he asked finally.

"She probably won't have any of the energy left over from the attack," the Queen answered. "Her reserves are probably empty."

"That's not what I meant," James said slowly. "What I was asking was, can she do it again if she gets back to her hive?"

Metamorphosis looked him straight in the face. "She can, and probably will."

"How are we supposed to fight that?" Shining asked, looking back at the devastated section of friendly lines.

James felt something fall inside him as he thought of something. "Can she hit more distant targets?"

"What do you mean?" the Queen asked.

"Can she, for instance, hit Canterlot from here with that... that... magic?"

Shining jolted.

The Queen thought for a couple seconds, then, thankfully shook her head. "No. I don't think she can hit something that far away, not directly. That spell requires a straight line between the... Queen and her target. Of course," she added, "no one has delved deep into that particular line of magic, and-" Metamorphosis stopped, choked, then violently retched on the ground. She coughed, then retched again. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "it's just..." She narrowly managed to keep from vomiting again. "I never thought anyone could be that vile. No one knows what that... what that line of... magic can do."

"She knew what to do with it here," James observed. "What's to keep her from blasting cities off the face of the earth?"

The Queen thought again, carefully drawing her eyes away from the dead. After a minute or two, she said, "I can't say for certain. But if she was able to do so, she wouldn't be able to do so accurately. To perform any form of magic properly, you need to personally see what you're doing, and if you're using any sort of offensive magic, you need to see what you're aiming at. If she tried it, she'd most likely miss hitting anything, on account of there's a lot more land covered empty forests, plains, and desert than with settlements. Not that I'd want to take the chance in any case."

"Or she could try over and over again, and eventually get it... wrong," he amended. "Does she need to kill to do this?"

"No, she can take raw emotional energy and do it," the Queen answered. "These drones were all she had to draw upon, and since she couldn't bust her way out of the trap conventionally..." She turned away and was abruptly sick again. "She could just take the energy stored in canisters. She wouldn't have to... do this, not unless she ran out."

James breathed deeply, and let it out again. "This makes things more complicated, but we still have a job to do," he said. "I'll send the fastest pegasi we have to deliver the message to the Princesses. If we can have enough unicorns in every town on standby, we might be able to avert damage. In the meantime, we need to speed up our progress here."

Metamorphosis looked at him as if he'd started sprouting gibberish. However, after a few seconds, the look faded and she nodded. "Indeed. We need to do something, anything, to beat her right now."

"Any ideas on how to do that?" Shining asked, speaking up suddenly.

"We can dig," the Queen suggested. "If all else fails, we can dig our way in. It also wouldn't hurt to try to move ourselves and our camp as far underground as possible, to keep from being wiped out if she really does do this again. We also keep looking for any hidden entrances and secret passages inside that we can. Oh, and one more thing."

"What?"

"When we do get inside, we go straight for her palace and take her out, one way or another, before the battle gets too far out of hoof. Otherwise, she might escape, and this will have all come to nothing."

"What do we do if the other hives have armies on the way?" James asked.

The Queen sighed and shrugged. "Do the best we can, and hope as many of us as possible live."

He heard someone else retched behind him. He turned to see Camilla recovering from throwing up. "Ugh, what on earth...?"

James and Metamorphosis looked at one another. "Chrysalis sucked all the energy out of them, to power the spell she used to break through our lines to freedom."

Camilla was sick again upon hearing that. "She realla did tha?" she asked, clearly hoping they would tell her it was some sort of fabrication. When they didn't, she spat on the ground, though not toward the rows of dead bodies. "Neva dreamed... this could happen."

"Well, it has," her compatriot said. "And now we have to deal with it."

Camilla looked again at the slain enemy bodies scattered everywhere. "Neva thought I could feel so sorry for 'em," she muttered. "I'm assumin' our job ain't changed whatever?"

"No," James answered. "We have to win here. No other outcome can be allowed to happen," He reached into his pocket and felt the tiny cross he'd stowed there. "God willing, let it be so," he said, too quietly for anyone else to hear.

Chapter 60; Help or harm?

James looked nervously at the northern horizon as the sun slowly rose in the east. He had sent scouts to confirm whether or not the other hives were gathering an army. They had returned to reveal that this was in fact true. A large Changeling army was not only formed, but approaching, and contact was imminent; the time of their arrival was estimated to be three days. There were easily over twenty thousand of them.

He had already set his best engineers to digging a tunnel in order to break into the enemy hive. Unfortunately, no one was absolutely sure just how far down they'd have to dig to reach the street levels of the hive. There were estimates, and the allied Changelings had some decent ones forthcoming, but no one could give absolute knowledge on the subject. As such, while the tunnel was being dug, and was being dug with speed, there was no direct plan of just how to finish it.

No secret entrances had been discovered, in spite of tiresome efforts by the allied forces. Either they weren't there to find, or they were hidden too well to found accept by accident. Of course, it was also possible they were kept hidden with magic, a possibility that was uncomfortable with him, to say the least. Unicorns were, of course, looking into the subject and going along with the search parties, but they'd uncovered no magical camouflage whatsoever. It was almost as if the enemy didn't exist, for all the signs of them that were visible.

Its like trying to find ghosts that don't want to be found. He sighed irritably. Having no way into the enemy stronghold other than mining his way in was annoying. And there wasn't much he could do about it.

Artillery occasionally fired at the mesa, trying to provoke something, anything, from the enemy. No response had been forthcoming as of yet, though the artillery crews kept trying. At least they were doing it under orders, or rather, an acceptance of the practice, instead of doing it on their own whim. A battery tried, even now, to get shake some sort of response. Again, shells burst against and under the mesa. Again, there was no response of any sort; not a single drone or bolt of green energy to counteract the fire. Again, after a minute or two of firing to no effect whatsoever, the guns went silent. James sighed once more, even though he'd expected no different.

Friendly Changelings began to fly around the mesa once the guns ceased fire, trying to find some sort of opening. He, Shining, and the Queens had elected to try swarming the mesa in the hopes that thousands upon thousands of individuals could find some sort of opening or entrance there. But, after two hours, they returned. "Can't find any trace of them," one of the Changelings from Metamorphosis' hive said, taking a long drink from a tub of water before continuing. "They can't afford to not have something up there. But we couldn't find a thing out of place, other than craters."

James patted the bug's neck as he drank again, all the while thinking about the problem. He couldn't see any solution other than the few he and the others had already set into motion.

"Well, thank you for making the effort anyway. With any luck, something will turn up."

"Thanks, General." The Changeling went back to drinking.

James turned and went back to a tent that had been set up for him and the other commanders. It was enclosed, so he had some measure of privacy; there was even a small desk and a matching chair, which he sat in.

Maps wouldn't help here, nor any of the tools he was used to using. Neither Queen had anything like an adequate map, not that he'd expected one. Chrysalis would not have been - and surely wasn't - interested in giving away secrets. She was also determined to remain permanently hostile, and she had the power to inflict severe damage on the allied army if she elected to do it. And she would, given time.

Or perhaps she's waiting for the approaching Changeling army to meet up with her before pressing the issue. He didn't know what to do about that. If he took his army out of their positions around the enemy hive to form a line of battle, the enemies inside the hive would attack him from the rear. If he stayed put, his army risked being flanked and thrown back piecemeal.

He banged his fist on the table. There was little he could do other than pull all the troops back to the encampment he was residing in, the one most southward, so that if he was attacked, at least it would be from the front, and the army would stand some chance.

Rrrrrrr! The problems with this... operation are so blasted complex! If only we could just find one entrance, if only the hive wasn't underground, if only the enemy would give up and make it easier on themselves, and on us...

He made an effort to calm himself. It was not easy, given all the problems the siege was giving him. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, trying to make his mind blank. The effort wasn't entirely successful, but it had the effect of dropping some of the mental burden.

James stood up, sighed with regret, and walked back outside. The hot air met him, though softer than it usually did, as a breeze caressed his face.

"General? Excuse me, are you the General?"

"Hmm?" He turned a little to his left so see a group of six ponies, all wearing uniforms. "Yes, I'm a General, though not the only one present in the army."

"Yes, well, we were given a message by Princess Celestia to give to you; it's urgent," said the one who seemed to be the leader, a gray pegasus.

"Oh? So many of you?"

The leader nodded. "There are a lot of Changelings about."

"Not all of them hostile," James said, waving his right hand to encompass the army.

"Not all of them friendly, either," the pegasus replied, which was certainly true. "We needed to make sure it reached you, and there's safety in numbers."

"I suppose it can't fault that logic," he answered. "Alright, back into the tent with me."

He walked back into the tent he'd just been sitting in and turned around, sitting in the chair once more. "Now, first off," he said, blowing some dust off himself, "what can I do for you?"

The pegasus smiled. It took a couple seconds before James registered just what sort of smile it was. "Die."

All six ponies lined up... and green energy started building up around their foreheads.

Assassination! was the first thing that ran through his mind. It was so obvious. So this is how I'll die...

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he knocked over the desk, crouched, and drew his revolver. At the same moment, the disguised Changelings opened fire.

Their beams all flew over his head, ripping through the tent cloth and setting it on fire. One of them whipped mere inches above his head, close enough for him to feel a slight wind as the deadly projectile passed over him.

He didn't stop to question, he just fired. The gun roared; the gray pegasus fell, shot through the head. He reverted back to a normal, undisguised Changeling as he died.

James didn't sit still. He ducked to his right under the cover of the smoke the pistol had emitted. Just in time too; another volley passed right through where he'd been a second before.

The smoke obscured his vision, but he fired blindly into it, silently and wordlessly praying that no friendly soldiers were standing somewhere behind his target where they could be hit. A cry of pain, only a few feet in front of him burst out, so he figured that he had nothing to worry about on that score... yet.

Another, more ragged volley of green bolts struck the desk; he could hear the wood catching on fire. He raised the gun above the now smoldering desk and fired blindly. No scream of thud answered him this time. "Damn it!" Another bolt passed over his head. "Fuck!" he screamed this time as another impacted on a rock nearby.

He heard the enemy speaking in their own language, as well as their hooves getting closer. They were going to rush him.

This is how it ends... went through his mind. One of the assassins climbed over the desk, only to be blasted in the face. He clutched at his face as he reeled over backward and disappeared.

"I'm not that easy to kill." In the next moment, though, pain ran through shoulder, and he screamed as agony consumed him. One of the Changelings had gotten him at last. He aimed at the one who had shot him and fired, hitting the enemy in the neck.

A cyan-colored hoof knocked the gun away as a fifth attacker was upon him. Luckily, the blow didn't have much force, and didn't throw the pistol far. He rolled over - in spite of the building pain - and retrieved it, holding it by the barrel. It wasn't a smart decision, as his hand was immediately burned by the hot barrel, but he managed to club the blue enemy in the face before dropping the gun again. The Changeling he had hit reeled, holding his nose, which bled green, as James held his right hand in his left and twisted from the pain in his shoulder... and his right leg, which had been badly cut by the enemy warrior just before James had hit him.

The final foe powered up a bolt as he aimed from behind the desk. "We said, die!" he hissed in triumph.

Another gunshot rang out. The Changeling suddenly slumped onto the desk, abruptly lifeless. In reflex, the bolt fired, soaring over James' body and going through the wall of the tent. The Changeling with the broken nose, still disguised, turned in time to see someone shoot him in the leg. He howled as he too went down, and his disguise faded, leaving only a struggling black body in a misplaced blue uniform.

A pony entered the tent, fully armed and uniformed. Screaming in fury and pain and full of adrenaline, he picked up the gun by the barrel again and charged. He could see the fear on his target's face as he came closer.

Suddenly, he stopped moving; he was encased in a whitish-gray field, which he recognized as magic cast by a unicorn. At the same time, someone just ahead of him shouted, "Control yourself, General! We're friendly! We're on your side!"

It took him a moment for his rage to die down, and before he realized that the pony he'd been about to attack was in fact just a soldier who'd come to see what was going on. The adrenaline cut out, and as the unicorn behind his would-be target released the magic, he fell to the ground, dropping his gun and clutching his shoulder. "Damn... it," he mumbled, leaning on something. "The same... damn... one..."

"General, hold on; a medic will be here right away!"

James only groaned in response. "Sorry," he moaned at the soldier he'd almost attacked. The pony simply nodded in understanding.

"We need to get him out of here, the tent is burning!"

On hearing that, James made sure to find his gun and grasp it tightly. A couple of ponies picked him up and carried him outside. He took that long to realize that the tent was indeed burning furiously, and anything that remained inside would have been likely to have burned along with it.

"Another tent - ach! - lost," he murmured as they set him down. "Same... fucking... arm..." he groaned as he tried to get comfortable in what made for a bed in the field hospital.

"Don't worry, General. We'll get those wounds treated," a doctor said from his right.

"Ugh... ugh... How bad is it?" he asked.

"Well, you got a bad burn on your shoulder, which is shot through, I'm afraid. The cut on your leg didn't slice an artery, so you'll live through that, thought its certainly not pretty. The shoulder wound is what's bothering me most, but I believe you'll live through it."

"Great. Now what... aaaaaah.... do my shoulder's prospects look like, and when will I be back in the fight?"

"Well..." the doctor touched a hoof to his chin. "I think there's a good chance you'll recover fully. A week at the very least before the shoulder's working the way its supposed to, though you'll be able to walk well before then. In my professional opinion, your shoulder will need more than a week."

"Haven't got a week, doctor. Three days at tops, and we might be fighting for our lives." He groaned again as another burst of pain ripped through the shattered shoulder.

"Good thing you're right hoof- er, right clawed, or whatever you'd call it, otherwise you'd have trouble."

"At least you're not threatening to tie my arms and legs to the bed if I don't agree to stay."

"How says I won't do it? But if you're right, you'll need to fight just to stay alive. We all will. I shiver just to think of what will happen if we get captured."

"They won't get me, doc. I'll make them pay full price for taking me out."

"I believe you. I notice you kept a good grip on that gun of yours."

James lifted his right arm to his face. Sure enough, he was still holding his pistol - by the handle, this time, not by the barrel. "I'll need it," he said blankly.

He waited as the doctor gave him something for the pain, which succeeded in reducing, but not entirely eliminating, the ripples of fury shaking his shoulder. He waited, too, as the staff got to work. In the end, he got a bandage on the arm and a pillow under his head. Not a very good way to get a proper bed to sleep in, he thought.

The medicine he'd taken for the pain was still in effect when Shining Armor and the Queens walked in minutes later. "You too, huh?" Shining said.

"What do you mean, 'you too?'"

"They tried to get me," the white stallion explained. "Five of them, saying they had a message for my from the Princess, and then when they got me alone, they tried to blast me. Luckily I'm a master at casting shield spells, so I was able to block them. After that, some of our soldiers came and took them down. We captured two of them, and they've been sent back to Canterlot for imprisonment."

"They made an attempt to do us in, too," Metamorphosis added.

"Aye, they tried blazin' us when our backs were turned," Camilla said, sounding furious. "Buggers musta forgot, they was messin' with a pair o' Queens. Fools. Well, they ain't gettin' up again, and we're still here."

"Sounds like they were trying to wipe out the army's leadership all at once," James observed. "What I want to know is, how did they get past our security. It's not like we didn't think about enemy infiltration. We have a unicorn and a Changeling from each hive at all entrances. And we have patrols flying overhead all the time. How did they get through?"

"I don't know," Metamorphosis said, looking down. "We had everything set up like it was supposed to be, and they still got through."

"If one o' 'em guards was sleepin' on tha job, he'll be in my prison before nightfall, mark me," Camilla said angrily.

"I don't think that's the problem," Shining said. "I'll be going around and asking questions, but I doubt it was any lack of security, at least on that looking outside, that let them in."

"We'll need to be extra vigilant." James tried to sit up, failed, and laid back down. "Blast it, if only we'd found one of their tunnels, we wouldn't have to... dig one of our... own..." He stopped talking.

"What?"

"...I'm an idiot," James said simply.

"I don't see how," Metamorphosis replied. "I... oh." She lifted a hoof to her mouth.

"I think you see it now. They must have one of their secret entrances here, somewhere in the camp, right under our noses." James breathed heavily. "We kept looking outside the camp, while what we were looking for was here the whole time."

"Do... do you think so?" Shining said after several seconds of silence, caught off-guard.

"It makes sense," Metamorphosis said quietly, clearly thinking. "It would explain how they got in in spite of the guards. We'll have to increase camp security overall. And above all, we'll need to find this hidden entrance and use it against them if we can."

"That's just it, though," Shining protested. "We haven't found any entrances anywhere. How can we find one in our own camp, if we haven't found one outside it?"

"We'll have to keep trying," James insisted. "This time, we look inward, instead of outward."

"We might not have time to find it," Metamorphosis interrupted. "There is a big army coming down from the north, in case you haven't noticed."

"True." James sighed. "We have to find out how to deal with that. I'd would like to do it without withdrawing from our current positions, but I don't see how that's possible."

"Its not over until its over," the Queen said encouragingly. "If they defect to us-"

"That's a big if," Shining interrupted. "And what do we do if they don't?"

The Queen lowered her head. "I'm hoping that doesn't happen," she said. "We'll have to fight, in that case, and do our best in trying circumstances. But I've got a card to play," she went on, looking up. "I'll go up and try to reason with them before any battle takes place."

"Ye won' be alone," Camilla said encouragingly. "I'll go with ya."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"Ya don' have ta." Camilla rubbed her head against that of her friend.

"In the meantime, I'll order us to prepare, in case we do have to fight," Shining put in. "And I'll help and try to find out how they got in. If we can find an entrance..."

"We'll be able to get in," James finished. "I hope my shoulder is well enough by then."

Soldiers were busy digging trenches and stockpiling what supplies and equipment they had. Artillery was kept in perfect working order and guns were looked after with special care. Allied Changelings made a number of defensive structures and helped to strengthen the positions all around the camp.

It was three days after James had been wounded, and, while he had been allowed out of bed, the doctors had made it absolutely clear that he was not to utilize his left arm whatsoever, and, though they hadn't told him, he knew they had a medic tailing him to make sure he listened to their instructions.

The Changeling army was approaching; scouts had confirmed it, and pickets had seen them approaching. He felt the fear of the impending battle. There had been no effort by the approaching army to contact the allied forces, and the Changelings the two Queens had sent hadn't returned.

They couldn't afford to lose. Equestria was still advancing against the griffons. They needed as many soldiers as possible there. At the very least, if they lost here, Equestria would have to bring more soldiers from that front to this one in order to shore things up, and that would give the enemy in the east time to recover. That was something Equestria could not afford.

The Changelings with them really couldn't afford to lose. They faced continued slavery - or worse, extermination - if they lost. There was a subtle but visible determination in their actions today that hadn't been there previously. They set themselves to their tasks, refusing to let anything slow them down. None of them backed away from any task, there was no complaining, and they hardly spoke at all, except when circumstances demanded it, and then only laconically, short, sharp, and to the point.

James looked at his shoulder. the doctors had said it was healing, though not as fast as he'd have liked. He let some air out of his nose in place of a sigh. His frustration, his worries... it was all building up inside, as it always did before a fight.

How many of these faces will never be seen again after today? he thought dejectedly. He rubbed his arm nervously.

"Sir? Sir, it's time to go."

James shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "I suppose so," he replied, still distracted.

"Sir, is something wrong?"

"It's... complicated. Let's go."

The Guard led him to Shining and the two Queens. "'Bout time ya showed up," Camilla said smartly.

Metamorphosis rolled her eyes. "It's only been five minutes."

"Time is everathin'," came the reply, and none of them could find anything to immediately counter that. "Gotta head 'em off 'fore they get 'ere."

"Let's be off, then," James suggested.

Camilla felt her thoughts collide with one another as they walked northward. Even as they did so, soldiers fell back past them, preparing to utilize the positions being prepared to the south.

Her memories went into overtime. Her first memories of her mother as a hatchling... Her first time ingesting the royal jelly that would mark her ascension to a princess of the hive... her first lessons in speaking the Equestrian language... The death of her gentle - though very firm - mother... years of oppression under the enemy... the revolt that freed her people...

She sighed quietly. Her memories may not have been the happiest ever, but they were what she had as she headed toward possible doom.

No. That's not all I have, she thought, shaking her head. She had her subjects, and her hive. A home to fight for. New memories to make. Better ones. A future at peace. Free.

She wondered what she could do to make that happen. She didn't let her feelings show on the outside; the others would think she was her old, defiant self if they looked at her right now. But she could feel the emotions of James and Shining Armor, and both were worried, with great anxiety also coming from both of them. The result was a spiraling feeling of despair; only a desperate Changeling would even think of feeding off such a mixture, as it would have the same effect on her hunger as drinking salt water would have on someone who was thirsty.

She tried to shake it off by thinking of the more happy memories. She well remembered the day she was introduced to the subjects she'd one day rule by her mother, who was still well at that point. She remembered meeting Metamorphosis, and how the two of them got along like peas in a pod, playing games and practicing what they knew on each other. She had to fight to keep a smile off her face at that. If she'd been a pony, a Changeling feeding off the emotions from that sort of memory would keep him or her feed for about a week.

Camilla saw James point somewhere ahead. There, in sight, was the potentially hostile army Chrysalis had brought together. On catching sight of it, her mind fell back into a most unpleasant memory; that of her hive's army being destroyed on the field of battle, down to the last soldier. The enemy army had stood victorious despite their own massive losses, and most terrible of all was the death of her mother on the field of battle. Chrysalis had walked right up to her, and forced her to surrender her hive's sovereignty. After that had been seven and a half years of terror, abuse, and repression.

The mix of emotions could confuse even a Changeling Queen. She didn't know how to deal with them, and wondered how Metamorphosis was handling the problem. Surely she was affected in the same way. She gave a mental shrug. It was irrelevant to what they had to do, or at least, she hoped it was, or would be.

She noticed as James' emotions cooled suddenly. She didn't turn, but the eye on the right side of her head - the side facing him - swiveled slightly in order to get a better look.

The foreign general was holding a small object in his had - a tiny, metallic cross. After a moment, he put his hand to his forehead, brought it down to his chest, and across his shoulders.

Camilla remembered that Metamorphosis had mentioned that James had talked to her about his beliefs. While Camilla herself was sometimes tempted away from believing in anything, a result of years of being under a heavy hoof, she was never able to remain in that state of mind for long. Something always seemed to get her out of it.

Before she had any chance to ask him about it, Shining spoke up. "We could all die in the next little while."

James blinked. "Well, Govan," he said, in an accent not unlike her own, "If we are to die, let us die like men."*

Camilla wasn't sure if he was making light fun of the way she pronounced his language. She looked toward Shining Armor, who saw and shook his head slightly. Somewhat perplexed, she kept walking with the others.

Metamorphosis looked at the army that seemed to stretch across the plain. They definitely outnumbered the soldiers in the allied forces, that was for certain.

And five Queens led them; all of them had prepared for battle differently. A couple wore armor, with varying amounts of décor. One wore silver armor and helmet but no crown, one wore no armor but had jewels and gems threaded into her mane and tail, and the fifth wore nothing but her crown.

A mixed lot indeed, she thought to herself.

Even from here, she could also see a knot of councilors, conspicuous by the arrogant way they bore themselves and how they kept imperiously shouting instructions.

The group came to a halt about five hundred yards in front of the advancing Changeling army. The opposing army also halted. Even from here, she could hear the furious shouts of the councilors as they tried to force the various Queens to keep advancing. One of the Queens - who seemed to have taken charge of the others - snarled back, and suddenly several drones leaped on the counselors, wrestling them to the ground and holding them there.

Hoped sprang in her heart as the Queens bounded forward, galloping toward the small band of Equestrians and Changelings.

"Good thing we remembered to bring white flags," James murmured. A pony, off to the right, was carrying one, as was a Changeling, to the left.

"A very good thing," she replied. "I don't know what sort of reception we'd have gotten if we'd forgotten them. They probably wouldn't have known we'd have come to parley, and I don't think we'd have lasted long."

"Us and our bodyguards vs. tens of thousands of them?" James snorted in a sort of half amused, half frightened sort of way. "According to practical standards, we'd be dead in two minutes." He thought about it. "Maybe five."

Metamorphosis would have replied to that - not that there was much to argue about - but the other Queens were getting close, and so she kept silent.

The one in the lead - who wore armor largely bare of decoration except for red gems set in it here and there - motioned to the others to stop. Metamorphosis recognized her as Queen Cocoon, who was ruler of the northern most Changeling hive. After the others had stopped, she kept trotting forward for a few seconds before coming to a halt. "Camilla, Metamorphosis," she shouted, "Is that you?"

"Aye," Camilla shouted back. "What fore 'ave ya come?"

"For war, what else?" Cocoon yelled in return. "At least, that's what they told us," she went on, jerking her head back toward the councilors, who were still struggling to get free.

"And what do you tell us?" Metamorphosis said loudly.

"That maybe we have, and maybe we haven't," came the reply. "Each of us got your message, and what we don't quite agree upon is how to answer."

"I suppose that means your infiltrators got in with the knowledge of the revolt," James said quietly.

"Indeed. I hope they were successful," Metamorphosis said, also quietly. "What are you here for then?" she asked, raising her voice.

"We want to know whether its possible, after years of oppression under Chrysalis, to overthrow her, before we take any action for or against her."

"Well, that was brutally honest," Shining muttered.

"Wasn't sure whether to believe you myself," Cocoon went on. "Not until minutes ago, when I saw you in league with ponies."

"Why do you hesitate then?"

"Because we also want to know whether things will be any better if we do manage to beat the tyrant Queen. Will we have to live under occupation?"

"They can try," she shouted in the Changeling tongue. "Celestia said that wouldn't happen, and I believe her."

"You met Celestia?" Cocoon asked.

"Yes, and considering that I'm still here and haven't been turned to vapor, I'd say she's sincere."

Cocoon didn't reply immediately. Instead ,she went back to confer with the four other Queens with her.

"What do they need to talk about?" Shining asked, clearly frustrated. "They must know that between them and us we have Chrysalis outnumbered badly."

"Numbers don't always matter the way you think they do," James said, and the stallion winced. So did Metamorphosis, who like throwing up once more as the memory of what had happened only a few days ago came to mind. "The councilors will have made sure they knew about that incident," James went on, "and probably exaggerated it for effect."

"Prob'ly tol' 'em we'd died when they sent those assassins three days ago," Camilla added. "That should shake their trust of 'em."

"If they told them," Metamorphosis answered.

After a few minutes, the five Queens stopped talking, and Cocoon came back. "We'll listen to what you have to say," she said. "Come forward and we'll talk."

All four of the commanders of the allied army looked at one another. Then, with a unanimous though unspoken accord, they nodded and began walking forward.

By the time they'd reached the five other Queens, Metamorphosis wasn't so sure it had been the best idea to approach them. None of them looked especially friendly. Three of them were obviously nervous, one she wasn't sure of - that particular Queen seemed to have negativity, though not hostility, coming off her - and Cocoon looked... was that worry, skepticism, or something else?

"We'll hear what you have to say," Cocoon said when they drew near.

"Yeah, and then wonder whether or not to die in a futile battle," another of the Queens said.

"Queen Nocturnal," Metamorphosis said, bowing to her.

"In the flesh. Say your say."

Cocoon turned to her, but Nocturnal just glanced back and said nothing.

Metamorphosis started at the beginning, just prior to the revolt that freed her hive, and her story went on until the point where the allies had cut off Chrysalis from her home. She'd tried her best to get a positive impression across without lying or exaggerating anything, but of course, she couldn't really skip over the bad occurrences either. To her relief, none of her audience seemed to out-and-out disbelieve her, thought Nocturnal remained aloof.

At the end of her story, Cocoon stepped forward. "I'm impressed," she admitted. "You've managed to free yourselves, with Equestrian help, of course, and have come quite a ways. Yet, and please forgive me, I think you forgot part of the tale."

"Which part?"

"The part where half your army was obliterated, by the Queen herself."

"Is that the lie she told you?" Metamorphosis shook her head. "They got a few hundred maybe; definitely not thousands. And that was merely done in to escape us, done more out of desperation than anything else. I suppose she didn't tell you how she did it?"

"No, all we were told was that she managed to get enough love in order to get the spell to work-"

"She took the energy from her own drones, leaving them starving and dying, while she escaped."

Even Nocturnal, negative though her outlook was, couldn't ignore that; she lifted her eyebrows. The other four Queens gasped in shock. "You can't be serious..." Cocoon tried to protest.

"I'll show you the camp they had. I'd show you the bodies, but they've since been buried, for moral as well as health concerns. And this isn't the first time she's lied through her councilors. I suppose they told you that they tried and failed to assassinate me and the other leaders of the coalition?"

"Something like that," Cocoon answered. "I guess the results speak for themselves." She was quiet for a moment.

"Do any of you remember how life was before she took over?" Metamorphosis asked. "How we went about our lives without someone from another hive giving us tyrannical orders that we could not realistically fulfill? What's stopping you from joining us now?" She took a deep breath. "Our biggest mistake was not helping on another when she came to power. She was able to conquer each of our hives one by one. If we'd stood together then, we would have been able to beat her, and perhaps we wouldn't be out here, fumbling about under another Queen, who has no right to give another of her equals orders. But we have a chance to finish her for good now. She lost many of her drones in the assault on Canterlot, and many, many more since the war began. We outnumber her just with the army our alliance has formed; if we all join forces, victory won't just be assured, but imminent. I ask you all, please, to consider whether you want a destructive war of Changeling against Changeling, tearing apart our hives' futures, or if you want to end this here and now."

For a few moments, there was no reply. They're not going to buy it, she thought, trying to cut out the panic she was feeling.

Then Cocoon did something unexpected. She smiled. It was so unexpected that Metamorphosis took a couple steps back in surprise. "I knew you had it in you," she said.

"Wait, what?"

"Do you think we hadn't discussed this before now with each other? We were already leaning towards helping you."

"But then why act like the issue was in the balance?"

"Because a couple of our number still weren't sure whether they were backing the right horse, so to speak. And, in general, I just like messing with people."

"Hmm, I must have forgotten that aspect of your personality since the conquest. I was so busy dealing with matters at home..."

"We all were. We didn't really have the time or the chance to see one another, except at her bequest, and then we weren't even allowed to speak to one another. Now, though, we have the chance to change things. I suppose it fits things. We are Changelings after all."

Metamorphosis snorted in faint amusement. "So, will you help us?"

"Go forward, probably get ourselves killed for no reason?" Nocturnal said negatively. Then a smile swept across her face as well. "Sure, why not?"

James and Shining both sighed with relief. Camilla chuckled a little. Metamorphosis remained calm, though inside she felt a rising tide.

Look out, Chrysalis. The world has aligned against you, and your reign is about to come crashing down around your very ears.

Author's Note

Said by Patrick Clebourne, an Irish-born Confederate General, just prior to the battle of Franklin.

Chapter 61; Decision in the West

James stepped out of the tent and into the morning air. Dawn was just past, and the sun was slowly climbing over the horizon. He scratched his back for a moment - somewhat painfully, as his newly injured shoulder protested the motion - before sitting down under a tree.

It was now two days after the Changeling army had joined. Anywhere between thirty to forty-thousand had joined the allied ranks, heavily tipping the scales in their favor. The tunneling efforts had been continued; indeed, two more tunnels were being dug in addition to the first one. There was an almost never ending buzz of wings as patrols swept by overhead.

More than a few ponies were uncomfortable with the development. They were starting to feel dominated, and many, even those who had been friendly toward Changelings, were acting with serious caution. Other than a few shouting matches between species, however, there was little trouble, which was good, as they still had enough problems to contend with.

The number one issue was that they still had no immediate way into the hive. No entrances had been found yet, and that was a serious breach of security. While he had survived an attempt by the enemy to kill him - though he had sustained a couple serious injuries - several soldiers had been assassinated, and not all of them had been ponies. Every Changeling hive present had suffered at least one death.

He began to walk around, trying to marshal his thoughts. They'd already been in position for nearly a week, and supplies were not infinite. Although he had received enough for another week just a day ago, the haulers had informed him that, unless he got more from airships, they would not be back for yet another week, assuming there was no delay... and the enemy were not stupid. They'd be doing all they could to disrupt the supply lines, which were already long and vulnerable.

The enemy had still showed no inclination to push back against the siege lines. He'd thought that the defection of the massive army that Chrysalis had depended on would have caused her to snap, but as the days had gone by with no major counterattacks, he had, reluctantly, decided that this was not the case. Obviously, he'd have to rely on the allies' ability to break in, eliminate resistance, and kill or capture the Queen.

More than a few were for her immediate death in battle, or execution if captured. While he understood their concerns - the Queen was extremely powerful, and expecting her to stay in jail was perhaps too much to hope for - he wasn't the kind of man who relished slaughtering someone who was, however temporarily helpless. Yes, he'd kill an enemy who was shooting him or making some other effort to kill him; that was war, would always be war, and there was nothing for it. But there came a point were combat began to turn into murder, and he didn't intend to cross the line. Of course, the Queen would likely fight to the death rather than let herself be captured - he accepted that was likely to happen. He agreed that would be most convenient, as much as it repulsed him to think that way, but in that case, two things were likely to happen, based on whether the Queen had set up an heir; the hive would die, or it would obey the dictations of a new Queen. In the first case, there were few options; they could live as prisoners, but without the guiding force of a Queen, they'd slowly wither and die out. In the second, whether the hive continued to fight would be entirely up to the new Queen.

He was so busy thinking about this that he didn't see the root on the ground. He tripped over it and fell on his face.

"Oof!"

He pushed himself back up into a sitting position and glared at the object that had caused his fall. He kicked it, which wasn't a smart choice, as his foot got caught under it and he fell over again.

"You alright?"

He looked up to see a friendly Changeling looking him in the face. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, getting back to his feet. "Somebody left this stinking thing lying around and didn't bother to pull it up." Without thinking about it, he reached down and gave the root a hard tug.

At first, it didn't give way. He pulled harder.

He heard a sound, like that of stone grinding together. He stopped.

"What's going on?" a pony nearby asked.

"Trying to pull up this - damn - root," he said, the last few words being punctuated by hard tugs.

A crack in the ground appeared a few feet away. He was so surprised that he let go of the root. The crack sealed up again almost instantly.

"Did anyone else see that?" he asked.

"I sure did," Shining Armor said, trotting over. "Do you think...?"

"Only one way to find out. Give me some help here..."

Both of them tugged at the root. The crack appeared again. Other soldiers began to help, and before long, the crack had widened into a decently sized hole, one big enough for a pony - or Changeling - to get into.

James couldn't help a grin. Neither could Shining. "I think we found our way in," the white stallion said happily.

"Alright, so we have three tunnels, one each here, here, and here," James said, pointing out the approximate locations of the tunnels they'd been digging on the map. "And we found a secret entrance here," he added.

"And we shouldn' use this right away why?" Camilla asked.

It was nightfall once again. The secret entrance had been secured quickly; the single Changeling who had been manning it had been a key reason why the crack had been so hard to open. He had been captured, though not without several bruises inflicted on those who captured him, and sent back to Equestria for imprisonment. No effort had been made by the enemy to destroy the entrance, so clearly the discovery had gone unnoticed. James, Shining, and the numerous Queens were in a Changeling-made tent together, and were discussing plans for the attack, along with several officers of the rank of major or above with them.

"Because the tunnel we found is made in such a way that it is necessary to move single file," James answered. "We won't be able to get a decent foothold inside before the enemy discover it and counterattack, destroy the foothold, and collapse the tunnel. The ones we're digging, on the other hand, can accommodate several troops side by side at once, plus artillery, which won't fit into this secret entrance."

Camilla sat down again, once more crossing her forelegs in stubbornness.

"Those concerns aside, we have to make sure this remains our secret," Shining added. "I don't want any knowledge of this leaving this room, or what qualifies for one."

"Then what do you intend to do?" Cocoon asked cautiously.

"It's a simple plan, but if it works, it will make things easier," James said. "Our forces from the three tunnels will launch diversionary assaults on the hive, while a force takes the secret entrance, slips around the battle, and attempts to kill of capture Queen Chrysalis. If they are unsuccessful, we'll shift our main efforts to the three columns we'll have sent into the city, and push on from there, with all efforts being made to get to the palace, which is our primary target. All our forces will make a beeline for it and attempt not to get held down in costly street fighting. I don't want this to turn into another Stalingrad."

"A what?" someone asked.

"Never mind," he said, mentally chewing himself out. "Our objective is to take the Queen down, one way or the other, as fast as possible and with as few losses as possible. If we get bogged down in street fighting, our losses go up, and with the war here almost won, it would be a shame if a lot of people died who didn't have to, people who could rebuild after this devastation if they lived." That got a nod from almost everyone.

"Can we pull it off, though?" Shining asked.

"Assuming we can hold their existing forces in place, we have a lot more we can do at once than they can," Cocoon observed. "If push comes to shove, we can just have some soldiers fly over or through the battle to the palace."

"Not the worst idea ever. I'd also insist on the Changelings in our army wearing something on their persons so as to prevent friendly fire," James said. "I would rest a little easier if we didn't have to worry about that."

"Friendly fire will likely happen no matter what we do," Metamorphosis observed. "But doing that would definitely reduce it. In any event, I agree that speed is paramount. We need to win fast, or risk this becoming a massive slug fest. We'll still win either way, but the number of lives lost would make it a hollow victory."

And therein was the problem. If the operation did what it was supposed to... if things went their way, or if whatever makeshift plans they were able to make in the midst of battle did what they were designed to do... If that succeeded, the war would end quickly, and with any luck with minimal losses to either side. But plans often failed to survive contact with the enemy. The plan was relatively simple, but it was not foolproof. And if heir efforts to end the battle early did not succeed, an entire hive would be wiped out, and the allied forces would suffer severe losses putting them down. Some would cry the word necessity in this case, and perhaps that would be the case. But necessity did nothing to ease guilt, and did not bring people back from death.

He sighed. This battle was hardly something that would be resolved easily. Everyone who participated would have to be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and make the ultimate effort if things were to go their way.

"Does anyone object to the plan?" Shining asked.

Various faces looked around; it was clear that no one was certain whether the operation would succeed, but while there was some whispering, no loud objection was raised.

"When will the tunnels we're digging be completed?" James asked.

A Changeling - not a Queen - who was present answered, "We should have the first one complete very soon, within the next day or two. If we really focus everything we have on the project, we might be able to complete the other two tunnels... three days from now, but only if we really concentrate of building them, if we have thousands working on the projects at any one time.

James crossed his arms. They would have enough supplies to last to that point, but that was a long time to assume that the secret entrance they had captured would survive; if the enemy had any idea that the entrance was compromised, they would doubtless destroy it. On the other hand, even if they did, the three tunnels they were digging would allow soldiers to move in en masse into the hive, and perhaps some units could be sent down secondary routes to the palace.

"...I suppose, if that's the best we can ask for...?"

"It is. We'll have to rotate soldiers and equipment over numerous shifts a day, and it will require time. I'm sorry, General, but you can't rush a job like this past a certain point, not without workers dying from exhaustion and equipment failing."

"I see. Alright, I'll take your word for it. But please, get this work done as soon as you can. I want the entrance we discovered to remain a secret from our enemy, and its not a secret that can last forever. Nor can we rely on supplies to last for more than a week."

"I understand. We'll work with the utmost haste and efficiently as possible."

"Good." He looked around. "Anyone have anything else to say?"

"I don't think so," Metamorphosis answered. The other Queens and officers said similar things.

"In that case, I think we can adjourn this meeting. I think we can all agree that nothing we've said is to leave this tent. Now, let's go out there and get this job done."

The next three days were a blur of activity. The work was intense, as more and more earth was dug up, brought to the surface, and either hauled out of camp or used to strengthen the existing camp defenses. Wood and black Changeling building material were brought into the tunnels to strengthen them as well. There was always a large crew of workers, mostly Changelings, but with some ponies, at work, digging as fast as they sanely could. Every day, soldiers were sent out to gather water to drink; with the precious substance becoming rare - the oases nearby simply didn't have enough water to quench sixty-seven thousand soldiers - using it to bathe was forbidden until further notice.

It took about three and a half days for the tunnels to all be completed. A number of obstacles - mainly underground boulders and small deposits of coal and oil - had made the digging a bit more difficult than expected. At last, though, each tunnel was completed, or near enough. In order to keep the enemy unawares, the final layer of dirt and rock had been left un-dug. Dynamite was being prepared to blow this away, so that the allied army could get into the hive.

The battle plan was unchanged. All three forces would primarily aim for the palace, though detachments would occupy buildings on either side of the streets they used in order to keep enemies outside the area from interfering. A few companies would sneak in through the secret entrance and try to capture the palace from an unexpected direction. Once inside, the detachment - or any of the columns, if the detachment failed - would aim directly for the Queen's throne room and private chambers. Metamorphosis and the other Queens had provided the directions necessary to reach those destinations, having been ordered to the palace numerous times before. Chrysalis would be given the option to surrender... or else. Assuming she took the second option, the force present would use whatever means necessary to neutralize her. In the meantime, thousand of soldiers, all with wings, would fly cover over the mesa and the surrounding land to prevent the Queen and whatever remains of her forces were left from escaping.

The need to win the war, and win it quickly, was emphasized on the third day of digging when Chrysalis attempted a series of attacks similar to that she had used to escape back to her hive several days prior. As allied fliers were always patrolling above the mesa, she could not safely exit the hive to aim. As a result, the energy that was released was wildly inaccurate; blasts of energy, each enough to devastate a town, blasted areas of the Badlands far from the allied forces. How the energy was able to leave the hive without needing to blow a hole in the top of the mesa James didn't know. He only knew that blasts of green and orange light fell on the land around the hive. So far, none of the attacks - he couldn't help being reminded of SCUD missiles - had done any harm, though the scorpions and snakes living the areas that got hit might have disagreed. But they couldn't rely on the Queen's bad aim lasting forever. Sooner or later, if you shot at a target long enough, you'd hit it. A single blast that actually hit could obliterate a fourth of the army easily. It couldn't be allowed to happen.

They made the necessary adjustment to the plans. The assault would be launched late in the afternoon that day, as opposed to noon the next day, as they'd been thinking of doing when news of the delays in the digging had reached the officers and Queens. As James had put it, the threat of being nuked made you act pretty quickly.

At last, everything was set. Shining Armor was going to lead one of the three divisions going into the dug tunnels, with Camilla and Metamorphosis to share command. Cocoon and two other Queens would lead a second column, and the remaining Queens would lead the third.

Which left James to lead the detachment assigned to sneak in and assault the palace. The time set for the attack to begin was 5:00 P.M., five minutes away. Two hundred Equestrian soldiers stood with him, his friends among them, along with about the same number of Changelings allied with them.

He kept glancing at the watch as soldiers began to pull on the root that opened the secret door. The crack opened up, and the Changeling they'd put down there let out a reassuring click. The Changeling who had helped to open the crack turned toward James and nodded. James nodded back. So far, the game hadn't been given away.

He could almost swear he could feel his heart beat faster. This was it. They were about to bring this theater of the war to a conclusion. The odds were heavily in their favor, but, as one who had read many books of history, he wasn't sure he could trust in the outcome until the battle was over.

It was now one minute till go time. Already, the other wings of the attack would be ready to attack. They'd already be in the tunnels, just far enough away so that the exploding dynamite wouldn't harm them. He probably wouldn't be able to hear or feel the detonation, but the hive sure would. The assault from the other tunnels would hit the enemy at once, consolidate gain, and form a perimeter at the mouth of the tunnel to ensure reinforcements and artillery could approach without undue risk.

The attack was timed so that the enemy would be dealing with the three big attacks, unaware that one of their secret entrances had been discovered. The fourth attack force - his - would then strike and make for the palace as the enemy was distracted. They had about two regiments worth of reinforcements, but James - and, he could tell, most of the soldiers, both pony and Changeling - knew that if the detachment got caught as it exited, that stage of the assault would turn into a catastrophe. Maybe some soldiers would be able to get out, but...

He reached into his coat pocket to check to see whether the little cross he carried was still there. Intellectually, he knew it was, but intellect only got one so far. He murmured a short prayer only audible to him before he stopped fondling it and placed it back.

He checked his watch again; fifteen seconds left. They'd be lighting the fuses in the other tunnels now...

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one...

A short, sharp blast on a whistle nearby signaled the beginning of the offensive. James turned around. On many faces, fear was abundant, though most were trying to suppress it. On others, mostly on those of Changelings, a stoic determination was present.

"Come on, boys! Sooner we end this mess, the sooner we get to go home! Freedom for all!"

This was met with a cheer, but he didn't pause to listen. He jumped into the pit below, nodding to the Changeling at the station there. Ponies and Changelings dropped in as well, one by one, as he walked down the corridor. Although he had to duck his head at bit, the ceiling wasn't low enough that he had to crawl, or anywhere near it.

What's waiting for us down the line? he asked himself. He'd find out, and his command with him.

Shining Armor cast a directed version of the shield spell he was known for to protect himself and his troops from the detonating dynamite. This version of the shield was not designed to bubble around the caster, but was intended to reflect any incoming projectiles or enemies coming from a single direction. It cost less energy to set up an maintain; certainly much less so than the shield he'd used to protect Canterlot. But even so, the spell was severely challenged by the force of the explosion, and for a moment, he was sure that either the spell would be broken or the ceiling would collapse. Neither happened, of course, but he could help letting out a big sigh of relief.

"Come on!" he shouted behind him. "Go, go, go!"

He was quick to follow his own command. He raced through the dust and smoke. His hard hooves made a comforting clop as they hit the ground just beyond the tunnel they'd made.

He looked around. No one had been quite sure just what they'd find when they got into the hive. As the dust cleared, he got a better idea of what he was seeing.

They had broken through the wall of rock facing a street. Two buildings were only a few feet away, with what appeared to be another street some distance off to the right. Off in the distance, on the street they were facing, a massive, castle-like building stood, in what looked like the approximate center of the gigantic cavern. He knew immediately that it was the palace.

More to the point, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of Changelings who were now staring at the site of the detonation, and at the ponies streaming through. Clearly, the explosion had caught them off guard, but that was already starting to wear off; there was no mistaking what the many growls and hisses meant.

"Spread out! Make room for the rest of the division!"

Ponies and friendly Changelings - the latter all wearing black and green bands around their legs and green headbands - rushed through the hole, weapons at the ready.

Green jets of light began to fly toward the attacking force; a loud buzzing arose as many Changelings on both sides took flight, some firing with their horns at the opposing side.

Equestrian soldiers were no less active. Rifles began firing at those who attacked the expedition, and as some soldiers fired at the defenders, others moved to secure the nearby buildings as strongpoints. Allied Changelings moved to do the same.

Although some of the enemy had begun to fight back, it was clear that most of those who were currently fighting had little to no combat training of any kind. At first, many of the enemy attacked en masse, without any real organization. That didn't work, as most of these were cut down before they could get close. Others simply fired from wherever they'd happened to be when the detonation had occurred, and as a result were felled where they stood by accurate rifle fire. If Shining could have used a single word to describe them, it would have been "shocked." They had had no idea this was going to happen. It was almost certain that the enemy drones attacking them were maintenance, construction workers, and haulers; civilians, in other words. They were not up to fighting with determined, trained, and well equipped soldiers. They were fighting simply because they'd either received an order from someone after the explosion, or, much more likely, had been told beforehoof by the Queen to fight any invaders they encountered.

Bolts of green light flew through the air as he turned his head back toward the tunnel. "Get our artillery up here, now!" He shouted, before turning back to the fight, such as it was.

I hope the others are doing well.

Queen Cocoon ducked behind a building as a storm of green jets of light swept over the forces she and Nocturnal commanded. She blazed back, and thought she'd hit something.

She spat on the ground. The enemy had been prepared here. Somehow, some way, proper enemy combat troops had been stationed here. The only thing she could think of was that the tunnel's location had been discovered by an enemy drone during one of their attempts to assassinate allied soldiers, and sent the information back. Not that they'd had an entire legion of soldiers facing them when they'd broken through, but enough troops had been stationed nearby that the enemy had been able to gather quickly. Apparently, they'd had some idea where the tunnel was going to come out, but hadn't gotten the exact location.

Not that that mattered at the moment. Right now, staying alive counted for more than speculation. That could come later.

"Keep moving, keep moving!" she yelled to her own troops. "Some of you go around these fools and pick them off from the side!"

Hundreds that she could see quickly moved to obey. While some of them got picked off, the enemy weren't able to stop that force from going where she'd told it to go. She could hear Nocturnal shouting similar orders to her own drones.

She looked to her left. Queen Antennae had been one of the first to be hit when the column had come out of the tunnel. She was on her side, being tended to by her subjects, who surrounded her to form a protective shield between her and the enemy. Cocoon had no idea whether she'd live through the battle, or even if she'd live at all; she'd been hit in the chest, which wasn't a good sign.

No matter how prepared they'd been, the enemy were outnumbered, and badly. The fact that they were being flanked and were unable to do much about it was proof of that. Add to that the immediate assault from three directions, and they couldn't even concentrate their forces against one spot without critically weakening their defenses elsewhere.

A slight minority of those fighting were ordinary drones, untrained in combat. They were fighting anyway. She could understand. A drone had to obey its Queen's orders. And since they had to fight, they'd have to be taken down like any other enemy. It was unfortunate, but unavoidable.

Cannon fire broke out from somewhere to the northwest of her position. Shining Armor must have gotten the Equestrian artillery into action. Just after the roar of the cannon came the crash of a falling building. Dust arose from somewhere in the hive.

At the moment, though, she and her wing of the assault were being hit by withering fire. She had to beat this enemy force, or at least push it back. She hoped she could do it without suffering too many losses.

James had his pistol out and ready to fire as the detachment proceeded down the hallway. There was barely enough room for pony-sized beings to move through one at a time. So far, nobody and nothing had been encountered. The enemy didn't seem to have any notion they were there.

After some time - James wasn't sure, because it was too dark to look a his watch and check - a large door, not that different from the one he'd encountered in the secret entrance of Metamorphosis' hive, began to loom out of the darkness. Explosions and shouts, very muffled, came from beyond it.

Maybe we've done it, he thought. Maybe the enemy-

"Scra! Scree leek an clee!?" came a demanding voice from somewhere up ahead.

"Shit," he cursed.

At that moment, a Changeling in their detachment answered back. The voice shouted again, this time sounding threatening.

"Come on!" he yelled. "Forward!" At the same moment, he rushed ahead. A dark silhouette came out of the darkness, a green light building from its horn. He fired. The enemy drone screamed in rage and pain as it went down. It tried to shoot him again. A second shot put an end to that.

"Sir, here's a stick of dynamite," a soldier said. A cylindrical stick fell into his left hand. At the same moment, a unicorn in the detachment lit up his horn, allowing James to see what he was doing.

A shutter in the door opened, and almost immediately closed up again.

James took a match out of his pocket, lit the fuse, and tossed the dynamite at the door. At the same time, several unicorns threw up magical shields.

There was a deafening roar, louder than that of a cannon going off. The tunnel shook, and here and there pieces of it fell in. Two of the shields were broken, but the rest stood up under the sudden blast. They collapsed when the unicorns who'd cast them felt it was safe to let them do so.

James ran through the cloud of smoke and dust. He felt himself trip over an outlying object and fell. He pushed himself up and moved to let the others through, "Come on," he said. "Watch out, there's a slight drop."

The Changeling who had opened the shutter just second before was lying in a heap just opposite them. It wasn't dead, but it was unconscious, and there of no threat. The detachment had come out in a corridor somewhere, as there were no buildings. Light shone from crystals located every so often along the wall.

About nine soldiers, five ponies and four Changelings, had come through the wall before a small squad of enemy drones rounded the corner. They shouted in surprise.

He didn't give them a chance to recover. He shot two of them quickly. A shot from one of the ponies took out the third, and a series of shots from the allied Changelings killed the fourth.

"Hurry up!" he shouted. "If they know we're here, we'll have a hard time of it unless you get out here now!"

The soldiers under him moved as quickly as they could. While the corridor they'd come out into wasn't particularly wide, it wasn't prohibitively narrow, either. Before long, forty more had come through the holed that had been blasted in the wall.

The blast wouldn't go unnoticed for long. A roar that loud would draw attention. He partly regretted having to blow the door down, but it was likely that the enemy would have been notified in any event to their presence. And besides, he liked blowing things up. WHat young man didn't?

"Guns and horns at the ready. Get moving."

"Sir, we've only gotten sixty or so out this far."

"They'll have heard the big boom we made just now. They'll be sending reinforcements."

"And if we set off before the others can get out, we risk the enemy wiping out the rest of the detachment."

James would have argued further, but decided not to do so. For one thing, the soldier was right. He couldn't know absolutely whether the enemy had committed everything they had to the major fighting yet, and if they hadn't, they might have a thousand troops or so waiting to attack.

On the other hand, if they didn't move fast, the Queen might escape. It was unlikely that she could fight her way out... unless she used that destructive spell she had been using recently utilizing. He briefly considered whether she'd use it on her own city, but dismissed the question almost as soon as it had properly formed. It was stupid. Of course she'd be willing to use it. She'd been more than happy to suck a thousand or so of her own people dry just to get back here, so it didn't take a big stretch of the imagination to assume she'd be willing to obliterate part of her own hive to maintain her rule over it.

He waited for a sudden attack to come, but except for the four who had just been wiped out, no further counterattack came until the unit had disengaged from the tunnel. As the last few soldiers began to walk out, an enemy drone appeared around the corner, sighted them, and shouted something in his own language. Several soldiers attempted to blast him, but the drone whipped out of sight before the shots could connect. A moment later, more drones rushed around the corner. Several were hit. The others charged forward, some firing with their horns, others trying to get close enough to strike with the spears they carried.

None of them got the chance to use them. In less than fifteen seconds, all of the thirty or so attackers were down. Although a number of ponies and Changelings had been hit by jets of green light, none had been killed outright. Nonetheless, James decided that they'd overstayed their welcome.

"Come on!" he insisted. This time, as he advanced, he heard countless hoofbeats behind him as the rest of the detachment - those who weren't dealing with the wounded, at any rate - followed him.

After rounding the corner, they came into a large street. His eyes required a bit of readjusting after having been in a dark tunnel for about thirty minutes or so; he rubbed his eyes a couple of times before continuing to take in their surroundings.

A bolt of green light came in from the right and struck the wall to his left. That jerked him out of complacency. "Half of you, cover us, we're going in," he ordered. He ran forward, revolver out in front of him, as the others, or at least a substantial number of them, followed.

Initially, there was little resistance; while here and there the enemy tried shooting at them, they were not present in significant numbers, and they were neutralized without any undue trouble.

Let's be careful, he reasoned inside himself as a measure of optimism arose. Don't count them out until they're out.

This feeling of caution was well advised. A few minutes later, as they were a little less than halfway toward the palace, he saw a gate open. Hundreds upon hundreds of well-armored soldiers poured out. The golden plates of their armor shone brightly, and the spears they carried glinted in the light.

"You reckon that's their version of the Royal Guard?" James heard someone behind him ask.

"I guess so, he replied, though he wasn't sure the speaker had been asking him. "I think we might have a fight ahead of us after all. Anyone who's good with a gun, get into some of the buildings lining the street. I want any Equestrian Royal Guards we have to line up and prepare to receive the enemy if they're able to get close enough; some of them will probably make it through the gun fire, considering the armor they're wearing."

There was no arguing, only action; about fifty Royal Guards put down their rifles and reached for their spears. Regulars either laid down in the street, found cover in the street, or followed his instructions to get into the buildings and fire from there. Changeling drones fighting on their side took to the air and prepared to fire from there.

As the enemy unit approached, James thought it looked as if its numbers were slightly fewer than the detachment he led. Nonetheless, he knew that it was highly likely that he'd take some casualties here. If ordinary enemy drones fought to the death, he could expect these guys to keep fighting even after loosing limbs, assuming they were the Queen's personal Guard.

They didn't rush forward, like the other soldiers had. They marched forward, without any concern for their own safety but without launching a reckless charge. In the meantime, the soldiers James had ordered to cover his advance had caught up. At this point, he was glad to have their firepower.

The enemy unit increased its speed to a trot, but it kept ranks. He thought he saw something shimmering in front of them, and, cursing, he realized that they had cast some sort of shield in front of them. Hopefully, it was a weak shield, and could be penetrated by gunfire.

"Hold your fire until I give the word," he ordered. "Hold... hold.... hold... Now, let 'em have it!"

A ripple of rifle fire burst from the Equestrian forces, and a multitude of bolts issued from the allied Changelings. The storm of fire struck the shield, which wavered under the onslaught. A second volley brought it down. At the same time, the enemy formation increased its speed again, now galloping toward them, but still in that eerily controlled manner. They started falling almost at once; even the armor they wore couldn't protect them from a volume of fire like this.

They didn't hesitate to respond in kind; green jets flew at the allied forces, even as the enemy ranks charged ahead. agonized hisses, buzzes, and shrieks told him they were scoring some hits. With a strong effort, he kept his attention on the enemy force.

Equestrian gunfire and Changeling bolts were tearing sizable holes in the enemy unit, but not as much as he'd expected or hoped. Clearly, the enemy armorers had known what they were doing. The enemy troops were going to get into melee range, and he wasn't going to be able to prevent it. With that in mind, he holstered his gun and got out his sword.

He was none too soon. A spear lanced upward, and he was just able to dodge out of the way. He hit back and felt the blade strike metal. Sparks clashed as the two weapons struck. The enemy soldier withdrew his weapon, intending to thrust out again. Dodging again, this time to the left, as the Guard jabbed at him, he stuck his sword in the warrior's neck. He expected this to end this particular opponent, and thus he was very surprised to find that the spear came for another strike, just grazing his arm, before the Guard Changeling seemed to realize what had happened to him and finally crumpled.

James didn't even have time to take a breath. Another armored Changeling came up over the body of his fallen comrade, his spear falling in a downward arc toward him. It took an upward swing of his sword to forestall the attack. The enemy soldier pressed hard, trying to use his weight to complete the attempt at killing him. At this, he partially succeeded; James fell over backwards from the weight, but the spear only struck the ground between his chest and arm. The Changeling tugged at the spear, which seemed to be stuck.

James didn't waste time. He pulled out his gun again and shot the enemy soldier dead. As this second opponent fell, he used the last two bullets in the gun to kill a third and then a fourth Changeling.

He holstered the gun again and picked up the spear of his first opponent. A fifth enemy was coming to engage him. The spears struck one another as he tried to block the enemy's strike. The two soldiers, one human and the other Changeling, now had their spears clashing right up between them in a deadlock, each pushing against the other, as if each was trying to break the other through strength and sheer force of will.

It was James who broke the deadlock; he kicked the enemy soldier's barrel, and while this force was insufficient to knock his opponent over, it was enough to break his concentration. As the Changeling, unsteady standing on its hind hooves, tried to regain its balance, he reached under the enemy's weapon with the butt end of the spear and struck him in the chin with as much force as he could muster. The Changeling dropped his weapon and settled back to all four hooves, an his horn started to light.

He didn't give the enemy the chance to utilize the spell. He stabbed the enemy Guard in the neck with the business end of the spear. The Guard tried to stab him back with his horn, but James was able to step back in time, and the enemy crumpled to the ground.

James clutched at his chest with an empty left hand. He took a couple deep breaths and then looked for more enemies to fight.

There weren't that many left. The enemy had thrown themselves with discipline and an utter lack of regard for their own lives in to the battle, but they had been weakened by gunfire, and a number of soldiers, mostly Changelings, had been able to get around them and strike from the sides and from behind. Encumbered by armor, the enemy couldn't react as quickly; they couldn't fly at all, in fact, which was how the pegasi and allied Changelings had managed their feat. Under attack from all sides, the enemy force wasn't able to sustain its attack. If it had been fighting entirely with foes who all had armor as they did, they might have succeeded in slowing the detachment down for a longer period of time, if not thrown it back.

A sixth enemy rushed him. His one was covered with green blood, presumably his own, but that didn't seem to phase him much. James picked up his sword and blocked the attack before slaying this opponent as well. A seventh enemy Guard shot at him, but the shot was deflected by a shield cast by a unicorn. James rushed this enemy and cut him down as well.

By now, most of the enemy were down. It wouldn't be long before the rest of them were taken out, and then the advance could proceed.

Another artillery shell flew across the hive, obliterating yet another building. Numerous structures had been destroyed, and more were coming down every minute. Before long, the allied forces would be able to break through the defenders and have a clear shot at the palace.

More and more of the hive was being destroyed in the fighting, yet it was doing the defenders little good. At best they were able to hold the attackers for a while, but then the enemy had the choice of either retreating or being overrun by an avalanche. Most of them remained in place and died at their posts.

Shining shook his head. The enemy weren't accomplishing anything other than the destruction of their home. For the first time, he could actually feel sorry for them; if the regular drones among them could have given up, he was sure they would have done so by now.

Even with overwhelming numbers, the army wasn't moving fast enough; he could feel time slipping by, lost opportunity blowing by without an effort made to properly exploit it. The Queen could be leaving the hive through an escape hatch right now, and if she did that, who knew how long it would be until someone was able to nab her? And how much damage would she be able to inflict before then?

His eyes widened as an idea formed in his head. He ducked a bolt of energy that had been fired at him as he thought about it.

"All Guards, fall in behind me, giant delta formation!" he ordered.

"What about us?" A sergeant in the Regulars asked.

"You just stay put, and hold off the enemy. We're going to make a beeline straight for the palace."

"And how are you going to manage that?" the sergeant yelled back; a cannon firing behind them seemed to add an underline to that question.

"I'll deal with it. You just keep them busy here. And limber up a couple cannons, and move them in with us."

He looked behind him. About a hundred Guards or so had lined up, weapons ready and awaiting his further orders. The rest must not have heard him. It would have to do.

Shining concentrated his magic. His horn lit up brightly as he cast a gigantic shield over himself and the company of Guards behind him. "All unicorns, give the shield more energy as necessary," he instructed. "We're going to go straight for that palace like a living battering ram, and nothing is going to stand in our way. We need to get there, fast, before the Queen has a chance to escape, or worse, cast the spell she's been using to glass the Badlands around our camp."

He nodded as they stood silently. They'd heard him just fine, and understood just what he wanted them to do.

"Alright; forward!"

If someone had asked him, as the company began trotting forward, whether he was nervous, he couldn't have honestly said no. The shield spell was one he'd had a lot of practice using, true, but only when it was stationary. Of course, he knew the theory around making a shield capable of being moved, but he hadn't had much practice, and he'd never used it to protect an entire company before.

Nonetheless, once it got started, it seemed to catch the enemy by surprise. A number of Changelings remained in the street, firing at the shield, but their individual efforts were no match for it; all those who stood in the way got plowed out of the way as the pace increased to that of a gallop. Enemy drones and debris flew away from them as it was struck.

More of the enemy concentrated their fire in an effort to kill the shield. Unicorns in the unit simply used their own magic to strengthen the magical barrier. He took a quick look behind him; the limbered artillery pieces were starting to lag behind, as the crews weren't used to having to run while hitched to them. However, they looked like they'd be able to remain under the shield until it reached the palace.

More enemy drones attacked, this time crashing into the shield in an attempt to break it. He tried and failed to suppress a satisfactory grin. Last time they'd tried this, he'd been under what was essentially mind control, and, without a constant re-charging of the shield, it had been easy pickings. That wasn't the case this time; this time, he was fully in control of his actions, and, with over two dozen other unicorns helping, the barrier was not going to fall.

Unless she uses that spell... that might be powerful enough to do it, and us, in. With that in mind, he ran as fast as he could go. He wasn't the most athletic unicorn; earth ponies were better at running than unicorns.

It didn't matter. Chrysalis didn't use the spell; whether that was because the Queen didn't know. or whether she simply didn't think of using it in time, he wasn't sure. Either way, they reached the wall in front of the palace unscathed. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Unlimber those cannons," he ordered. "Blow up the wall," he added, "and then bring them into the grounds and bring down however much you can of the palace."

The artillery crews, showing some relief at no longer having to run at full speed while towing their own guns, quickly unlimbered and loaded them. Shining released the shield he'd cast during the run, and cast another one to protect the rest of the company before he let the artillery crews fire.

Two loud roars - though nowhere as loud as the dynamite had been - let loose almost at the same moment. The section of wall that had been blasted was ripped apart by the cannonballs used to breach it. When the dust cleared, there was a massive hole more than big enough for the unit to run through two at a time.

"Come on!" With a brief, impulsive rear, he rushed at the hole. He thought he was the first one through, but the other Guards ran through almost immediately.

He'd thought he'd be facing armed opposition, but there was no one in front of him. He was surprised.

An unexpected explosion off to his left made him jump in surprise. Another section of the wall - the one facing north - blew in. He cast a small barrier in front of himself as a few pieces flew his way.

The dust began to settle. A bipedal figure emerged from the dust, holding a gun that could only belong to one person that Shining could think of. He smiled as ponies followed James through the second hole.

"I thought I was supposed to get here first," James said, walking over.

"Yeah, I would have told you, but that would have taken too much time."

"Oh really? No excuses. And I was wondering why a giant pink bowling ball was crashing through town." Both of them chuckled.

"I thought we'd be facing somepony right now," Shining went on.

"Would have been the Queen's Royal Guard, if they hadn't been engaged us. Reason why we're late."

"The Queen has a Royal Guard?"

"Yep. Wearing gold-plated armor and all that. They hurt us," James added, and Shining could hear a wince in that statement, "but we took them down in the end, and the fact of the matter here is that we're here and they're not... anymore."

Both of them looked at the palace that loomed before them. It resembled nothing so much as a castle built entirely out of black material. It was made readily for defense. For whatever reason, no one was-

The head of a drone appeared at one of the windows and let loose a bolt at them. "So much for a break in the action," James muttered, going prone at once. He holstered his pistol, drew the rifle that had been on his back, and fired back at the drone. All at once, more enemies began firing from the battlements and windows.

The cannons began firing at once. Changeling building material was blasted away, and defenders were thrown from their positions.

"Forward!" James ordered. "Faster we pull this off, the faster the war's over!"

Shining moved forward as well. The soldiers followed them. They were eager to end this war, and they weren't going to take no for an answer from the enemy.

Metamorphosis fired another blast from her horn. The spell was intended to stun rather than kill, and her attacker crumpled onto the window sill he'd been firing from. The enemy were still fighting back hard, but they were being overwhelmed. She had given orders to stun the defenders wherever possible, and well over a thousand prisoners had been captured, bound, gagged (that last to keep them from chewing through the ropes) and sent to the rear. Almost all of them were civilian drones, not soldiers.

The enemy were being overrun by sheer weight of numbers. Their soldiers simply weren't enough to halt the attack, and the civilians who had been, for lack of a better term, drafted were so poor at fighting that they were more of a hindrance than a help. They didn't know when or how to take cover properly, and their aim left a lot to be desired. In close quarters combat - which was happening more and more frequently - they were fierce, but they had so little training, if any at all, that a trained soldier could defeat them relatively easily.

As she watched, some of the enemy drones began to fall back. That was surprising, until she remembered the rather dramatic attack by Shining Armor just a few minutes ago. If an attack force had managed to get inside the palace, Chrysalis wasn't going to take kindly to it.

The trouble with that was, that meant that the allied forces could move forward against lighter opposition. Metamorphosis nodded. She wasn't a battlefield genius, but she didn't have to be to win this battle. "Keep moving!" she yelled, to Changelings and ponies alike. "Let's show them that they can't keep us back!"

She was quick to take the lead. Not far away, Camilla was yelling at her own drones, telling them to get moving.

This ends today, she thought, and relished the thought of peace.

James crouched behind a black-sized object and returned fire with his rifle. The enemy he was aiming at fell.

The hallway he and the others were in was a storm of fire; bullets flew in one direction, green energy in the other. Here and there, colorful energy flew at the enemy as unicorns fired spells of their own.

"We're getting nowhere fast," he said, to no one in particular. The attack had been designed to take the Queen out quickly in an attempt to spare as many lives as they could. Clearly, that plan, if it was still even feasible, was in jeopardy. They couldn't take the cannons inside, not when they were busy reducing the outer defenses.

Luckily, the enemy unit in front of them didn't last long, and the defenders were taken out, one way or another. James stood up, sighing. "Anyone have any idea where the throne room is?" he asked.

He wasn't expecting an answer, but a Changeling in the detachment replied, "I was inside the palace once when I had to personally deliver emotional energy here. I think it's quite close, actually."

"Lead the way, then."

They followed their guide for a few minutes. It was made longer by the fact that the drone had to stop and think a few times when they came to intersections, but he was never held up long. A few of the enemy also attempted to stop them, but these weren't present in great numbers, and were easily dispatched. Nonetheless, James was eager to end the battle before the fighting got too out of hand, and more importantly, before too many people died.

He spotted the doors to the throne room easily; they were the largest doors in a large, long. spacious hallway. Apart from that, several more of the gold-armored Guards he'd fought earlier were in front of it. They spotted the attacking force at once and moved to engage.

James hit one with his rifle, before a bolt from one of them melted part of the barrel and set the wood on fire. He dropped the weapon in haste and took out his revolver. He managed to take down another of the enemy before the last of them got close enough for melee weapons to be effective. He holstered the gun quickly and unsheathed his sword, just managing to get it out before one of the enemy Guards attempted to run him through with an armored horn. He blocked the attack, though just barely. The soldier tried again, then, when that didn't work, suddenly turned around and bucked him in the chest; James fell backward several feet and almost lost his sword.

Ow, my back... Ugh...

The same enemy as before attempted to gut him again. He rolled to the left, even though his back protested with pain, and lashed out with his sword. The enemy soldier blocked the strike with his hoof and then delivered a powerful punch to the chest, knocking the wind out of the American.

A bolt of energy struck the enemy soldier, who was blasted off him. James quickly got to his feet and saw that Shining Armor was the one who had blasted the enemy drone. He nodded in quick thanks and moved on the enemy combatant, who was now on his back and trying to right himself like an upside-down crab. It was almost comical.

He looked around, and saw that none of the other enemies were still alive. "Take him prisoner," he said, pointing to the upside-down drone. "Shouldn't be too hard." A couple of friendly Changelings chuckled, and moved to do as he'd said.

The rest of the unit moved over to the gigantic doors where James made a noise similar to that of a whistle. The doors were big, and no doubt sturdy. They had been built for grandeur, and to make anyone who came upon them pause in awe... and, perhaps, fear.

Does anyone still have any dynamite?" he asked.

"I still have a couple sticks, General," one of the engineers answered, but, on something that big... I don't know how thick they are."

"Let's use them," Shining said. "Might as well, the artillery probably won't get in here for a while. If it doesn't work, the unicorns and Changelings in the unit will combine to blast the doors."

The engineer laid the dynamite next to the doors and lit the fuse on them. Everyone ran down the hall a decent distance, and the unicorns cast shield spells to protect the unit from the explosion.

The detonation blew pieces of Changeling masonry outwards; the noise assaulted his ears, even though he'd covered them to protect against the deafening roar. Even he looked up, a big hole had been torn in the doors, though most of them remained intact - say what you would about them, Changeling architects didn't skimp on their projects.

James and Shining were the first to breach the hole in the doors. The other soldiers followed them. The room they entered was full of dust and smoke; James coughed, and he wasn't the only one.

Slowly, the debris began to settle. A large, horse-like figure appeared in front of them, shrouded as if it were merely a shadow.

The dust cleared, and the form of Queen Chrysalis formed in front of them. She looked completely unconcerned that the door to the throne room had been blown in, or that several companies worth of soldiers were coming through it.

"So," she said at last, as the clouds of dust finally settled. "So. You've broken into my hive, destroyed my house, and now you're going to try to finish me," she went on, in the same arrogant voice that was so typical of her.

"Not if you give up now," James said, setting more bullets in his revolver. "Make it quick. Even you can't survive getting shot by hundreds at once."

Chrysalis was silent for a moment. Then she began to laugh. "Fools," she said. "You think I'll just hand over my crown and my kingdom, just like that?"

"You have five seconds," James warned. "Otherwise, you'll have so many holes torn in you that it'll be hard to tell which ones you had originally."

The Queen's horn lit up.

"Fire!"

A green bubble of immense proportions formed around the Queen just before the soldiers opened fire. Bullets and beams struck and were turned aside. From inside, Chrysalis laughed again. "Fools! You'll all perish before me!" Her horn lit up again.

A wave of green energy came at them from the center of the bubble. James - and as far as he knew, everyone else - was blasted about twenty feet away; rifles and spears flew about the room, dropped and scattered. He felt his already painful back scream in protest as he hit the ground once more.

"But not before I punish Equestria for their transgressions against me!"

"What does she-" Shining Armor began, before stopping. "Oh, no."

"She'll try and vaporize a city," James said, although he was sure he didn't need to remind his fellow commander about that. "I'd say she wants Canterlot blown to pieces."

"There's some stuff stacked behind her," a soldier noted, a hoof to his head.

"Those are canisters used for holding emotional energy!" a Changeling hissed. "That's where she's getting this level of power from!"

"Great," James answered, as the unicorns in the unit - those who had recovered already, at any rate - blasted the shield again, to no effect. "Always great to know why you're going to get killed."

A blast of green energy came through the window and struck the shield. The barrier wavered, but held up under the assault. Chrysalis staggered, as though she'd been hit, but recovered quickly.

"Your time as ruler is at an end!" came a loud shout from outside. Moments later, Metamorphosis flew through the window, followed by Camilla.

"I should have expected you'd be here," Chrysalis muttered audibly, though her voice sounded distracted. "I'll deal with you both in a moment."

"No, you'll deal wit' us now!" Camilla answered.

"The energy-!" James yelled.

Metamorphosis looked at the large pile of canisters behind Chrysalis and nodded before looking back at the opposing Queen. "You're not the only one who can use energy on this scale," she said. Her own horn lit up as well.

"What're you-" Chrysalis' eyes lit up. "No, no, I forbid it!"

"You have no authority over me anymore," Metamorphosis replied. Energy gathered around her. Camilla followed suit. For a few seconds, they stood still. hen, without warning, they unleashed massive blasts of energy at the shield, which wavered, faded, and finally popped.

"You treacherous slime!" Chrysalis hollered.

"Takes one ta know one," Camilla answered.

"Well, you're too late," Chrysalis said, and with a wicked smile, the energy she'd built up glowed bright green. James noticed a large black entity above the Queen he hadn't noticed before.

Without thinking about it, he rushed her, as did Shining. They slammed into her just as she unleashed the energy.

The world seemed to go black and green, and it was unbearably hot as the three of them fell over. There was an explosion; masonry fell from the ceiling...

I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead....

After about ten seconds, he heard himself breathe, and realized he couldn't be dead if he was breathing.

He felt Chrysalis' chest move, and realized that being next to a furious Queen wasn't the best way to remain alive.

"You!" she shouted at him as he rolled to his right; Shining rolled to the left. "You've ruined my plans for the last time!"

"Yes, I have," he replied, drawing his gun, "because you'll have no plans after today."

She fired a blast at him, but a shield of combined pink and green deflected it. He looked up to see that Shining and the two allied Queens had combined their magic as he quickly backed away.

Metamorphosis looked almost as if she were at peace within herself. "Oh, the energy," she murmured. "It feels wonderful!"

James realized what she'd done very quickly. She's absorbed all the remaining energy in those canisters. I hope that has no negative effects, on her or any of us here...

She turned toward Chrysalis. "But what will feel even better is when you're no longer Queen, and we can live in peace."

She fired a blast of her own, much more powerful than the one Chrysalis had used. The evil Queen only just managed to fly out of the way in time. A massive scorch mark was left on the floor where she'd been moments ago. Chrysalis retaliated with an attack of her own, but it lacked the strength of her opponent, and her attack was kept from its intended target by another shield, this one cast by Shining and Camilla.

"Never thought I'd like working with Changelings," the white unicorn muttered. "Feels good to be wrong!"

Chrysalis landed in the middle of the throne room. She looked disheveled, and her entire body was shaking with rage. James was suddenly reminded of the times Twilight had lost control.

"I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!" she screamed in her loudest voice yet. "MY THRONE, THIS KINGDOM, THIS LAND, ALL ARE MINE!"

"It's over," Shining said in a firm voice. "Give up. Now."

She snarled, and charged up another spell.

James knew immediately and instinctively that the Queen was not going to give up short of force and that further attempts to negotiate were useless.

A bolt of green energy lanced outward...

He felt his gun buck against his hand as he fired-

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

He cocked the weapon a seventh time and pulled the trigger, but all that reached his ears was a click. He'd fired all the bullets he'd had in the gun.

Chrysalis wavered. Three of the bullets had struck her; one had severed her horn at the base, two had struck her chest, and the other three had missed and lodged in the chair just beyond her. She coughed, staggered, and finally fell on her right side. Her crown fell off and rolled away.

He let his gun arm lower, and he holstered the pistol. He looked around as soldiers began moving forward again.

The first thing James noticed was that the noise of battle had died out, not just in the throne room, but across the city. No further screams as people were hit, no more cannons or rifles firing, and, apparently, no more beams flying.

"Camilla! NOOOOO!" a voice to his right cried.

Oh no, he thought, turning slowly to his right.

Queen Camilla had been Queen Chrysalis' final target. She'd been hit in the chest; apparently the shield she'd tried to use to defend herself had collapsed and the beam had gotten through. A red hole marked where she'd been struck.

A Changeling rushed over, checked his Queen, and then said something quietly in his own language. "You, medic," he added, pointing at a Guard with saddlebags marked with a white cross, "get over here, now! Help me, before she dies!"

The Guard looked a little frazzled at being ordered around by a Changeling, but he didn't object, and ran right over. He also looked her over, even as he pulled bandages from his bags. "I don't know if-"

"Do it!" Metamorphosis snapped.

"Enough!" James shouted, as did Shining Armor. "Medics," James went on, "Do what you can, everything in your knowledge, to save her. And get someone to check Chrysalis, too," he added.

Shining went over to the enemy Queen's body. "I'm not sure she's still..." He paused for a moment.

"Let me look," a medic from among the regulars said.

James wasn't sure what he should do if they found her to be alive. Chrysalis was a dangerous enemy, and he wasn't sure a prison could hold her. On the other hand, she wasn't going to get much love from a dungeon; if anything, she'd suffer dislike and mistrust, which would, if anything, weaken her. And, awhile he was fine with killing an enemy when that enemy was trying to kill him, it didn't feel... he supposed some people would have called him a fool, but it didn't feel... well, the same to kill one who was already on the ground and wounded beyond the point of consciousness.

Metamorphosis was muttering something in Changeling over her friend's body. A drone who was with the medics - James wasn't sure whether he was a medic himself or not - looked up and said something to her in their own tongue. She hissed something back, and he responded, though in a nervous tone of voice. Camilla looked slightly less shaken, but her fear for her friend's life was still evident.

The medic looking Chrysalis over turned his head around. "She's dead," he said, "At least clinically. But some of her organs are still operating, and I think her heart is still in working order. I might be able, with some help, to revive her."

He looked over at Shining, who looked conflicted, but nodded. "Equestria does not murder its enemies while they lie helpless," he said. "We'll try saving her, but it's off to the deepest pit of the deepest dungeon once she's up and running again."

"In the meantime, we'll have to transport them both back to the camp," James said quietly, though audibly. 'But that's going to be a long trip, and I'm not sure they'll make it that far."

"They won't have to."

James jerked in surprise. He whirled out his gun and pointed at the intruder, a short white Changeling, who walked out from behind Chrysalis' throne.

"My name is Princess... no, Queen, Amalda, now," the newcomer said, in a quiet but soft and almost childlike. "And I might be able to provide some assistance."

Author's Note

I know a lot of you probably wanted Chrysalis outright dead. The issue with that is, that would be problematic if she ever shows up in the main series again, in season five or beyond; with the exception of omitting Twilight's becoming an alicorn as well as omitting Equestria Girls, I intend not to (generally) deviate from the main storyline of the series. Besides, killing an enemy who's now helpless as well as powerless is too dark for me. Justice is not served through vengeance (which only breed more hatred, and hasn't the world already had enough of that?), but through law and order. After all, the Nazis hung after the Nuremburg trials weren't killed until their sentence had been pronounced on them by a court of law.

Edit; also, Amalda is NOT related to Shining in anyway, as she was born several years before the war.

Chapter 62; A new monarch

James, Shining, Metamorphosis, and various Equestrian and Changeling soldiers sat around Camilla's bed in the royal hospital. She was still breathing, and her face appeared peaceful, as if all she had done was fall asleep.

The fighting had only ended an hour ago The drones from Chrysalis' hive had felt her "death" and their severance from her control, which had immediately fallen to former Princess Amalda. The drones had immediately stopped whatever they had been doing and had stood where they'd been when Chrysalis had been taken down, as if unsure what to do. They hadn't responded much when allied troops who had been fighting them minutes before came to take them prisoner. A couple had put up a half-hearted struggle, but most had come quietly. Actually, "coming" was a bit overstating it, as they made no attempt to move and often had to be dragged, albeit without resistance.

Since her ascension to Queen, Amalda had given orders to her people that the victorious allies were not to be attacked in any way, and that no further efforts at resistance, direct or indirect, was to be undertaken against them. She had also given instructions to begin gathering the slain and wounded of both sides, and for her subjects to treat them with respect. No reports, from either Changelings or ponies, had indicated any effort to break these new decrees, although, realistically, hardly enough time had passed for them to be tested whatsoever.

Chrysalis was also in the hospital, a bit further away and under heavy guard. She had been clinically dead for several minutes, but her own people had managed to get her heart and lungs working again in time to keep that from becoming permanent. She was also unconscious, though the Equestrians hadn't taken any chances; the former Queen was chained to her bed, incapable so much as moving anything other than her head if she did revive. The doctors and medics, Changelings all, had said, with one accord, that there was little point to this; her horn couldn't be expected to grow back. The bullet that had severed it had cut it off too far down to allow it to recover. The former Queen could still ingest emotions, but she wouldn't be able to use the power from those to cause any further harm. Her powers were broken.

"We've done all we can for 'er Majesty Queen Camilla," said a doctor from her hive, in something not far removed from a normal accent. "Only thing we can do now is wait."

James looked down at Camilla's head; her pillow was covered with green blood that she'd coughed up. She was in critical condition, though the combined efforts of nurses, doctors, and medics had succeeded in stabilizing her. The attack that had come so close to killing her had nearly reached her heart. Had been even a shade more powerful, none of them would be here. None of the doctors could say with certainty whether or not she would live, but most predicted that her survival was probable. James sent up a silent prayer that she would live.

Many had not. Their former enemies had thrown themselves at the allied forces without regard for their own lives and safety. The enemy had suffered far higher casualties than the allies had, partly due to that reckless self sacrifice, but that didn't mean the allied forces had gotten off unscathed. An hour didn't give him or anyone else enough time to count how many had gone, but the number would be significant.

The attack had been launched with one of the goals being to save lives in the end. This hadn't worked out as James had hoped for, but at least some of the hive was still standing - literally as well as metaphorically - whereas it likely wouldn't have done if their assault hadn't proceeded the way it had. Still, the blame for the losses both sides had suffered could not be laid entirely at the hooves of Chrysalis, though much of it did.

I hope I don't lose all value for life as a result of this war. It's going to drive me mad if this keeps up.

Peace had definitely come to the west. No more threats of Changeling attacks on Equestria. No more wondering whether one theater of the war would succeed, but the other would fail. That was gone. The defeat of Chrysalis' hive meant one of the two big opponents was out of the war. That was something that James found difficult to recognize. Of course, the injury Camilla had sustained distracted him, to be sure, but that wasn't the only reason.

Perhaps it was that, having been at war for ten and a half months, he had trouble expecting anything more than the same.

Amalda was standing with them. They'd briefly questioned her; apparently, Chrysalis wanted to hide the fact that she had an heir, in case one of her acquired "vassals" tried to assassinate her, or the heir. Without clear knowledge whether Chrysalis had an heir or not, it would have been difficult for anyone to know whether or not the rule over the Changeling hives would continue. As it was, Amalda had been brought up by her mother in secret, and being taught to be as cruel and heartless as her mother. Clearly, these teachings had not sunk in. Amalda had kept her true feelings a secret. Beyond this, little was known about her, except for her age - approximately fourteen - and that her current coloration was natural for youthful hive princesses; only after they had grown up did they acquire the color black, as did every other Changeling.

"Is there..."

"...No," Metamorphosis sighed. "There's nothing more you can do."

"Or any of us, really," one of the medics standing by added. "My Changeling colleague was right; only thing we can do is wait and see whether she gets better."

"In that case, we have work to do," Shining said, standing up. "We have to alert the Princesses to our victory here and make the peace official."

Amalda stared out the window. James wondered if she'd even heard. She had to have a lot of things on her mind right now, the future of her hive and her sudden ascension to a throne that might not hold any real power much longer being among them.

Apparently, she had heard, as, after a long silence, she turned toward Shining. "I will sign this peace, but I will not let my hive become a puppet state, nor allow my people to suffer for my mother's past crimes."

"You don't really have any options other than what the Princesses and your fellow Queens have to say about it," the Guard stallion answered.

"Wrong. I can start the fight again if the terms are too harsh. I would prefer not to, and it would be a... costly decision, but we will not be your slaves."

"Like you people don't deserve it, after all you've done to us," one of Metamorphosis' subjects muttered angrily.

"The terms haven't been decided on yet," James said, standing up as well and raising a hand in an effort to stop a potential fight. "But right now, we're not trying to kill each other, and for the time being I'll take that." He nodded toward Shining Armor. "I think that letter would be a good idea though."

"I'll get started right away."

James watched as the stallion walked away, then turned back toward Camilla. He wasn't sure what course the next few days would take, but he would see it through to the end.

Silver Shield walked through the half-ruined Changeling city. The battle had torn much of the place to pieces, and even what was left intact looked decrepit, though that could have just been the state of mind he was in.

He was in yet another Changeling hive. This time, though, instead of being a liberator, he was a conqueror and occupier.

The difference was significant.

Many of the Changelings he saw were occupiers as well. However, they were allies, helping to maintain security. They could also be identified by the bands they wore on their heads and forelegs.

The ones without bands had eyes on them almost everywhere they went. They had caused no trouble since the battle had ended, but one could never be too careful. They walked almost as if in a daze, not looking at the occupying troops, indeed hardly watching where they were going, with the little attention they did have being focused on their tasks.

Most of them were hauling the dead away for burial. They carried both friend and foe with respect, and didn't seem to have any prejudices against one or the other. In fact, it was as if they had no emotions whatsoever left after their defeat.

It puzzled him. How could those who had so recently been so dead-set against Equestria suddenly flip to submissive, just like that? Yes, there was the whole needing to obey the Queen thing, but none of the drones he saw seemed to harbor him any ill will, and even the Changelings on his side had some measure of independent action and thought. He'd expected occupation, for however long it lasted, to be dangerous, to have to deal with open hatred and perhaps even resistance and rebellion. What he got instead was troubling in a whole different manner.

"Stinking beasts," he heard a member of a patrol of nearby allied Changelings say disdainfully. "Ought to put 'em under seven years occupation of our own... and go hard, real hard, on any defiance."

"Not our orders," his companion replied. "Our Queen just said to watch them."

"She didn't say anything against roughing them up a little, either."

"...No, but I get the idea that such an unauthorized crackdown would have serious repercussions."

The first Changeling just shrugged. The two patrols passed without comment to one another.

A small group belonging to Chrysalis' - no, Amalda's - hive were standing nearby; they'd certainly heard the brief conversation. They just watched the patrols pass by; one, a male, looked like he would have protested, but another, a female, next to him shook her head, and he desisted.

It was odd, Shield reflected, to have any sort of feeling for their former enemies other than hostility. And yet he could definitely feel a small - just a small, but very real - sense of pity for his former opponents. They'd fought the war as long and hard as they could... and lost it. Now, they had virtually no choice but to bow to the allied occupation of their home.

I wonder if the ponies of Trottingham felt the same way these guys do when we lost the town to the Griffons. From all accounts, the Griffon occupation of Equestrian lands hadn't been pleasant; though the enemy had avoided committing atrocities - to an extent, anyway - they had gone out of their way to show that they were the masters, as mercifully short as that period was. So far, the allies hadn't done that, but then again, the fighting hadn't even been over a day. No one would have had time to come up with an official policy yet toward the conquered population, other than the patrolling that was designed to prevent any attempt at an uprising.

He heard a commotion ahead. "Let's go," he urged his squad, and increased his speed to that of a fast trot.

Half a minute later, they rounded a building and found the source of the disturbance. A squad of Changelings under Queen Camilla was busy shouting at a group of Amalda's subjects. One of the latter was on the ground and looked as if he'd been struck.

"Ya do wha' we say, where an' when we say it," of Camilla's soldiers was yelling. "Ya go when we say ta go, ya do what job we tell ya to withou' question, and ya don' show us any lip in tha doing, or yer all due fer a black eye, got it!?"

"Why are you doing this to us?" a female Changeling asked. "We never di-"

The soldier backslapped her in the face. "You bleedin' bitch! Neva did nothing ta us, ya say?" He closed in on her. "Me own brother was murdered by yer damned soldiers, and that bastard neva got his. Ya held us underhoof fer years, slavin' us ta death, and now ya say ya neva did nothin' ta us, or our hivemates?"

"I didn't know-"

"Too daam bad. Now ya ge' ta feel wha we did fer the past seven an' a 'alf years. Maybe if I'm lucky, you'll get twice that.," the soldier added spitefully, looking almost pleased at the idea.

"Enough!" Shield shouted as he approached.

The squad of Camilla's soldiers turned. "You stay out o' this, Pony," said the soldier who had been slapping the civilians around.

"I'm here to keep the peace, as are you."

"An' it was going fine 'til this one," the soldier said, indicting the male Changeling he had hit, who apparently had been knocked out cold, "hadn't been shootin' off 'is mouth."

"The only ones I see disturbing the peace are you guys. Clear off. Now."

"We only take orders from 'er Majesty, Queen Camilla, who, I migh' add, is in tha hospital, thanks to the tyrant bitch."

"And these people had nothing to do with it; Chrysalis did. Now, are you going to clear off on your own, or am I going to have to bring you all in by force?"

"You'd neva do it."

"Try me."

One of the Changelings in the squad whispered something to the soldier in charge, who snapped something back. The second one tried again, speaking longer this time and in earnest.

With a reluctant sigh, the soldier in charge muttered something in Changeling to the rest of the squad. They all turned around and began marching away, though the leader snapped something fierce at the civilians before departing.

"Thanks," the female said.

"..." Shield just nodded, not sure what to say to someone who would have been ready to kill him just hours before. Before any of them could speak again, he nodded to his squad, and they moved off.

The rest of the patrol went on without any further incidents. Still Shield was conflicted on how to feel as he went back to the palace, which was where a number of Equestrian units were stationed; the authorities in charge had at least figured that out in the time they'd had. He went to the bed he'd been assigned. Of course, his personal belongings hadn't been brought up, but they would be soon enough.

He put down his weapons, got out of his armor, then laid down on his back on the Changeling-built bed, staring at the ceiling as his squadmates talked to one another.

The war in the west was over. But what would happen now?

James looked out the window of the room he'd been given. The entire hive was devoid of much activity. There were patrols, true enough, but there was little point; tied to Amalda's will, the Changelings here could not, with few exceptions, take action against their conquerors. In fact, there was more danger to the defeated than the victor; numerous squads of allied Changelings kept trying to assert their authority and bully the conquered population. Seeing as they'd all been under control of this hive for a number of years, it was natural that they'd want revenge. He'd ordered a couple squads asserting themselves so thrown in the palace dungeon, and made it clear that he wasn't going to tolerate such behavior from Equestrian troops. The Queens under whose command those units had been had freed their subjects, and told him he'd had no authority to jail anyone. Even direct evidence of the bullying didn't persuade either of them. Only after all the Queens of the allied hives had gathered were there rules set to deal with such abuses of power.

Amalda had silently sat through it, angry about the incidents, but virtually powerless to protect her people. She seemed somewhat mollified by the results of the meeting, but the melancholy she'd been displaying since the hive's surrender had increased. He wondered if she'd ever be able to get over it.

Perhaps just as dispiriting as that powerlessness was the urge by the other Changeling hives to enforce reparations; even most of those who were against abusing Amalda's subjects demanded them. Her defiance during the meeting hadn't made anything better. One allied Queen had wondered out loud whether her temperament - her personality - was any different from that of her mother. The implications were obvious. Another had suggested imprisoning Amalda until their hives got their fair compensation, thereby forcing her subjects to do as they wanted until then.

James forced himself to calm down. This bickering over the scraps wasn't going to go away until the terms of the peace were settled. Celestia and Luna would on their way as soon as they got the notice of the surrender. It would also be quite possible that Cadence would be coming as well, which struck him as a bad idea; the very Princess the hive had wronged coming here would make them feel like their defeat was being rubbed in their faces, and it might trigger something very bad.

The defiance Amalda showed - a willingness to pay reparations, but refusing in all manner of ways, some of which were very rude indeed, to become a puppet ruler - stirred outrage among the conquerors, not all of them Changelings. Some Equestrian soldiers were calling for her to be dethroned and imprisoned, and the hive made a subject state of Equestria. Some were shouting for outright annexation and permanent occupation.

"The Eagle must bear it's wings," he murmured. That was what the new Queen's name meant in German; Eagle. Amalda, like her namesake, would have to learn to fly - metaphorically, for physically she seemed a decent flyer - very quickly.

The lights around the hive glowed brightly. The white lights, which a few green piercing the dark, were comforting. But by their light he could easily see the damage done. If reparations were forced, he failed to see recovery coming very quickly. It felt odd, feeling pity for the people he had fought, but the feelings were real. He pulled his small cross out of his pocket and stared at it for a couple seconds, wondering what he should be feeling, and how he ought to proceed.

Oh, God, please help me now.

There was a knock at the door. Sighing, he replaced the cross in his coat pocket as another knock came. "Yes?" he called.

The door opened. There, looking nervous but also determined, stood the very person he'd been wondering about.

"May I come in?" Amalda asked.

"It's your castle."

"But you're the conqueror." The strangely light and benevolent-sounding voice was sorrowful.

James shook his head. "I don't intend to rule over anybody. I just want peace here."

"Perhaps, regarding your own feelings. But others don't feel the same way you do." Amalda sighed. "My mother's first act, upon regaining consciousness a few minutes ago, was to try to bite the doctors attending to her. They've muzzled her, and she's now being moved to a cell deep in the dungeons. This will only increase the urge by the other Queens to force us into the mud and put their hooves on our necks. They'll be prepared to stomp, and hard, if we try to resist their measures."

James stood silently for a moment. "Well, your mother did try to conquer Equestria, and she's committed numerous war crimes. Not to mention that she's tyrannized over the other hives for over seven years, with policies of execution and beating the inhabitants of those hives."

"I know that. It's been made abundantly clear by the other Queens. Only Metamorphosis is showing much impulse to be merciful, with a few more uncertain and a couple, Queen Nocturnal among them, angling for vengeance."

She looked away for a moment, then turned back toward him, eyes blazing. "Whatever my mother did, I have not assumed leadership of this hive for my people to become slaves. I will not allow that to happen."

"What power do you have to resist that possibility, though?"

"We can continue to fight, as I've threatened before. We'd probably die, but that would be better than living as the abused servants of other peoples. And some of us might escape to rebuild our home somewhere else."

Amalda breathed deeply as she finished. "I don't want to continue the war. We've lost, and I'm willing to admit that fact. But if it's a choice between being stomped into the mud for a hundred years and going on with the battle..."

"I understand." James scratched his head, thinking, trying to reconcile the rights of the victors with those of the defeated. "You'll probably be required to pay some form of reparations, probably in the form of energy and money, as well as building materials."

"Yes. I'm willing to accept those, provided that they do not leave my subjects starving."

"And made to accept that your hive, and mother, were responsible for the suffering of many over an extended period of time."

Amalda nodded. "I'm willing to accept that, too."

"You'll probably have your military limited."

She sighed. "I guess I cannot expect anything better. I'd be willing to accept that as a term, as long as our military is not abolished altogether."

"Equestria might - although this is only a theoretical scenario - demand that Changelings from your hive remain unhidden in their land as long as they are there."

"I'd fight that at the peace table if it comes up, but if its absolutely necessary for peace, I'd agree to it. Of course, they might demand that of the other hives, which would give all us Queens something to agree upon, which is to say a unanimous refusal."

"I see. I think those are the more reasonable terms you'd be asked, if not demanded, to accept."

"I'm not willing to go much, if any, further than that. That last one, theoretical as you say it was, would be crippling. The love would go out of ponies the moment they cast their eyes on us, and emotional energy would be very difficult to harvest properly. That goes for any Changeling hive, by the way, not just ours."

James was quiet for a moment. "Why did you come to me, someone who, very recently, was fighting, even killing, your... combatants?"

Amalda sat down on the floor. "I'm not a hundred percent sure," she sighed, looking away. "Perhaps its because you're not a member of the Changeling hives who hate us, nor are you one of the ponies, who want us all muzzled and kept under control."

She turned to look at him once more. "Now Celestia is coming, and now doubt the other Princesses will likely be close behind. Most of my subjects believe already that their doom is upon them, or close at hoof, and the rest will surely believe it soon."

"I promise you-"

"Can you?" the teenage Queen asked, her eyes boring into his, and James knew his initial assumption that she was no fool was a correct one. "Princess Cadence in particular has every reason to bear a grudge against us. How can you be absolutely sure she does not? And how can I expect her husband, brave as he is, forgive the country that kidnapped and impersonated his wife and attacked his home?"

"How can they be sure you won't do it again?" James countered. "I personally don't think you will, but that's what they would answer you. And in retrospect, they have the right to ask. Your people have been accustomed to being tyrannized over, to the point where many have become almost as savage as your mother. Some of those almost killed me on many battlefields. I've seen their willingness, indeed, inclination, to cruelty before and during the liberations of the first two hives. They'll need time before they can become anything like normal Changelings again, assuming there is a normal standard."

Amalda held his gaze challengingly for a time, then finally broke contact. "I know. But all they did, they did because my mother said to do so. No Changeling, save deviants, can defy their ruler's will. Even so, some nations will not be so forgiving as others. I despise the situation I am in right now, but I see no way out; it is like the hatchling that desperately tries to escape its egg, but lacks the strength to break the eggshell."

"Some - not me - would say your country deserves no better. I'm sorry, but, realistically, that's what some people feel."

"I'm aware of it. Too aware of it. And I hate it, but as I said, there is no way out."

"No way out, eh?" James felt for the cross in his pocket. "You know, when there's no way out you can see, there's Someone who can see a way out."

It was nice to be back on the surface, James thought to himself as he watched the Equestrian delegation arrive by flying chariot.

It had been a week since his talk with Amalda. It had taken time for the message of victory to reach Equestria, but the response had been quick.

The chariot came down onto the hard, dusty ground. Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence stepped out.

Shining Armor, who was standing next to James, looked inquiringly at Celestia. The alicorn nodded, and the Guard stallion an to his wife, the two embracing one another in front of all. One or two of the Changeling Queen snickered, but the Royal Guards didn't. They kept to their jobs, professionally, though perhaps with a spring of pride in their hoofsteps.

The regular soldiers of the Equestrian army weren't so well composed. With loud cries and cheers they met their Princesses with a tumult of voices. Celestia nodded once again, and waved to the soldiers, who redoubled their cheering. Blue hats were soon flying through the air en masse.

It's like they've forgotten that we still have to finish the Griffons, too, he thought. But perhaps the cheering soldiers had a point. One of the main threats to Equestria was down, unlikely to pose a problem for the next generation. And the majority of the soldiers here had been stuck fighting Changelings during their enlistments. They probably thought that the Changelings were the only enemy worth mentioning.

Perhaps they're right. But I'm not letting my guard down... yet.

Metamorphosis stepped forward. "I welcome you, Princesses of Equestria," she said, quietly and with a firm voice. "Today, we shall end the state of war that has existed between Changeling and pony since the Canterlot affair."

"I greet you, Queen Metamorphosis," Celestia answered. "I'm pleased to hear that."

Queen Amalda - practically as white as Celestia - stepped forward as well. "My hive will hear your conditions of peace," she said. Her voice was still young and sweet-sounding, but there was an undercurrent of firmness underneath; her statement wasn't a promise to end the war so much as it was to agree to hear out the conquerors.

He could see that Celestia took it as such, though her smile didn't change one iota. "I would be most pleased to discuss the terms in question," she answered. "Preferably, I would like for us to discuss the treaty in privacy, between the rulers and commanders of the two belligerent sides, and perhaps a few guards to ensure that the discussion remains orderly."

"I can offer the throne room in my palace as such a place," Amalda answered. "However, I must ask, if politely, for all media to remain outside while we discuss the peace terms." James wasn't surprised to hear that; a number of ponies with cameras and holding clipboards had followed the royal procession.

Celestia nodded. "I agree. We can spread the news after our business together has been concluded."

"I have a more conventional way into my hive than those your soldiers blasted through our walls," the youthful Queen said.

"We'd be pleased to take you up on your offer," Celestia replied.

That didn't speak for everyone. By "we," Celestia had probably meant her fellow Princesses. The other Changeling Queens clearly weren't happy, about either the arrangement or the fact that Amalda was still taking a somewhat hard stance. Some of them were muttering to one another in their own language, which the ponies in the army had barely begun to translate, let alone understand. But they didn't openly object.

"Please follow me," Amalda said, turning around. "Oh, and watch out for scorpions. I have a hard time believing the world will forgive us if a member of the delegation should die on this day of peace."

It was about half an hour later that they all reached the throne room. In the past couple of days, Amalda's subjects had cleared the place up, and had covered the gigantic hole in the roof, although they hadn't begun repairing it yet. A table had been set up in the middle of the room, and it was here that the party sat down.

"We should get started as soon as possible," Celestia suggested. "I see no reason to put off the main cause for our being here."

"I agree," Queen Cocoon said. The other rulers nodded and voiced their assent.

"Queen Amalda, are you ready to receive the terms Equestria offers?" Luna asked, speaking for the first time.

Amalda reluctantly nodded. "Yes."

"She's threatened to go on fighting if the terms are too severe," one of the Changeling Queens said, very conspicuously. "I'm not so sure how far to trust her."

"I will not allow my people or myself to become slaves or puppets to the victors of this war," Amalda insisted.

"And what were you doing to us these past seven years!?"

"Please, be calm, all of you," Celestia said gently. "I and my fellow Pricnesses do not seek to intrude on the sovereignty of our former adversaries. There will be no annexation or puppeting here."

There was some muttering in answer to this, but there was no out and out protest.

"Item one," Celestia began, raising a set of papers in front of her muzzle, but she was interrupted by the doors opening.

"Sorry I'm late," came the voice of Camilla, who came walking through the doors. "Doctors kept trying ta stop me." She sat down next to Metamorphosis.

"You shouldn't be walking around," Metamorphosis hissed audibly to her.

"I ain't gonna miss the end o' that war," Camilla snapped back. "Got shot fer me trouble. Not gonna miss this, after all tha trouble I went through ta get here."

Celestia cleared her throat. "Item one. Amalda's hive will give the former Queen Chrysalis up to Equestrian custody."

"I think she'd be better off in one of our own prisons," Metamorphosis answered. "After all, her first victims weren't ponies; they were fellow Changelings."

"But how would we decide which hive to imprison her in," Luna asked her, "seeing as she has oppressed all of you?"

"We can make arrangements," Cocoon said. "I say the first hive to suffer under her hoof be the one to take and sentence her."

"And how can you be sure that justice would be done in that case?"

"Futter justice," Nocturnal said rudely. "She's oppressed us all, in ways you can't imagine. She dealt harsh justice to us for the slightest provocation; I say that's what we give her."

"Hmm. I see this is a topic of contentious value," Celestia said, looking slightly discomforted, but still strong. "Very well. I will change that term to simply be to give Chrysalis over to allied custody."

"For the sake of my hive, I accept," Amalda answered, bowing her head.

"Item two. Amalda's hive will pay for forty percent of the damage done to Canterlot during the initial invasion, as well as paying a tenth of the cost of the destruction wreaked in Appleloosa and its orchards, with the cost to be paid in building materials or actual money."

"I accept."

"Item three. All prisoners held captive by the hive will be given over to allied custody."

"I accept, but notice that we already freed them, on the day we were defeated, in fact."

"Noted. Item four. Your hive will undergo methods to root out any cruel intentions and instincts in your subjects, as witnessed by allied forces during the war and your occupation of the other hives."

"I accept. I've already started such a program."

"Very good. Item five. Your hive will promise not to use warfare as a means to expand in the future, though this does not abolish your right to an army, nor your right to self defense."

Amalda nodded. "I accept."

"Item six. Your hive will not attempt to genetically mutate or alter its own citizens for battle or for other purposes."

"This is the first time I've heard of that," James said, surprised.

"I found a few brawlers, as Amalda called them, in the basements under the palace," Shining explained. "Changelings biologically or genetically changed to be larger than normal, with very, very thick chitin, akin to armor, and smaller eyes, which I assume was meant to keep those eyes from being so easy a target. I'm assuming she just didn't think to unleash them, or maybe she just didn't have the time."

"Yeah, I'd have hated to have gone up against those," James said, trying to think of the being Shining had just described.

"This is one term I gladly accept," Amalda replied. "I hated the project, but my mother never listened to anyone but herself."

"In addition to these terms, Equestria would like to extend a non-aggression pact, a pledge for each country not to attack the other. In exchange, your hive's harvesters will be allowed to continue in their current function without harassment if discovered."

"I am willing to discuss such an arrangement, provided the agreement doesn't lean toward one side or the other."

"It would not." Celestia lowered the paper. "Those are Equestria's terms for peace. I am very pleased to hear that you accepted each of them in turn."

"Well, we haven't had our full say yet," Metamorphosis put in.

"What would you add to these terms?" Luna asked her, looking at her intensely.

"I'd like to say this." The Queen raised herself up. "That Chrysalis made the lives of every member of our hives as miserable as she could, not even shying away from abusing us, her peers, whenever she felt like doing so. I am not one for vengeance, but we've discussed amongst ourselves the minimal requirements for peace between us and Amalda's hive."

"Go ahead," Celestia replied.

"Similar to the Equestrian demand for repayment, we demand material for rebuilding our homes, as well as enough energy to reimburse our hives for that we lost within the past two years to your hive. We acknowledge that we will not be able to receive this at once, but we want it done within a ten year period. This should give your people enough energy to feed themselves and provide lighting while giving ample time to repay us in full."

Amalda looked at Metamorphosis for a moment, then bowed her head. "I accept this demand."

"Furthermore, we demand that your army be limited to the size of that of one of the three smallest hives, to ensure that no further acts of aggression will be coming henceforth."

"I... I accept," Amalda sighed. "But I want a pledge that you will not take advantage of our army's reduced size to attack us within the ten years you mentioned previously."

"...You're in a poor position to be making demands, but I find that to be reasonable to agree to. In addition, we'll have the right to keep inspectors in your hive to make sure our demands are met. They will not be allowed to give orders, as Chrysalis' councilors were, but they will inform us at once if any breach of our demands is detected."

"I accept, but I will not tolerate them telling my subjects what to do."

"As I said, they'll be forbidden from doing that. They'll only inform you if they believe that you're not fulfilling the terms of this treaty. To wrap up, we also demand that your hive pledge itself to gathering emotional energy, including love, by peaceful ways, and not through force."

"I am willing to accept that."

"Those are our minimum demands. And believe me, you're getting the best you can hope to expect. Several of our number wanted to impose harsh - very harsh - terms upon your hive, but the rest of us talked them down."

"As I stated, I accept all your terms."

"Very good. We'll discuss the amount of building material and energy to be transferred in a later meeting." Metamorphosis sat back down. She sighed, before a smile lit her face. "At last, it's over."

James also breathed a sigh of relief. Next to what various Axis powers had received at the end of the Second World War, these terms were relatively light. There would be no occupation, no harsh amounts of tribute demanded, only the assurance of a peaceful order and a reasonable demand for repayment.

The war in the west was over.

Chapter 63; Back to Canterlot again

The camp was a scene of busy activity. Carts and airships were loaded, tents - or those that remained - were packed, and soldiers gathered up personal items.

Most of the great Changeling army that had gathered was in the act of dispersing or had already dispersed. The majority of the hives showed no intention of joining the war in the east; they were content merely to have won their liberty once again. James, Shining, and the Princesses had all tried to reason with them, but with little effect. Queen Nocturnal had questioned their right to ask that her hive risk their lives in another war when her people and Equestria had only been the briefest of allies. Antennae had declined as well - although her refusal was much more polite, which was all the more admirable given the fact that her wound from the battle was still healing. The others had simply not answered and left.

Metamorphosis had listened, and was still on the fence about such a conflict. She did admit that, while the war raged, love would be difficult to acquire - while not absolutely necessary, as other emotions could also be harvested, it was more potent than the others. She was also grateful that Equestria had freed her and her people, as was Camilla. The main issue, as with the other Queens, was the idea of battling hundreds of miles away from homes that were already safe, especially as Equestria was already winning that conflict. But neither of them ruled out an intervention entirely.

James and most of the other high ranking officers and officials had been hard at work the past few days preparing to head out to the east. The fighting there continued, with large scale skirmishes and minor battles being told of in the papers that reached them. It sounded as though the Equestrian army was advancing, though the going was slow due to the forests they encountered. By all accounts, the enemy hadn't given up and weren't ready to see reason. Perhaps their ability to slow the Equestrian advance gave them confidence that they might be able to manage a turnaround. If that was so, they weren't reckoning on the fact that the war was going against them. The blockades put in effect by Saddle Arabia were hurting their economy badly, and food was becoming harder for them to get.

The day after the peace was signed, Celestia had given a speech to all the factions involved in the now wrapped up western conflict. A few of the defeated, including Amalda herself, had listened, but most remained home rather than face the victors.

Amalda had listened quietly, conspicuous in the crowd due to her white chitin. After the speech was over, Cadence had quickly found her. James had watched, worried, as the young Changeling Queen turned to face, her, her actions peaceful but her eyes defiant.

"I just want you to know that I don't blame you or your subjects for the attack on Canterlot," Cadence said quietly. "That was your mother's work, and I know now that the regular drones had no choice in the matter."

"Hmm," Amalda grunted, nodding.

"Hopefully, this misstep between our peoples can be forgiven with time, and we can spread the joys of friendship with each other."

Amalda nodded again.

"I know it's going to be tough, rebuilding after this war. But you can do it. If necessary, I'll transfer some materials from the Crystal Empire to help, and to show there's no hard feelings."

"That would be helpful, thank you."

The two rulers bowed to one another, and then went their separate ways.

It was the first time James had heard of any Crystal Empire, and he had asked Cadence about it. She'd seemed embarrassed that he hadn't gotten the news until now; the army in the west hadn't had a decent connection to the media until recently. She'd told him everything about it.

"That's why Shining had to go 'up north' at one point," James nodded after she'd finished.

"Yes, we both had to go north. I'm just glad we were able to find the Crystal heart and get it working; I still get headache when I remember how much work I had to put into the shield."

"Do you think the king's gone for good?" James asked. "You said witnesses say he exploded into several pieces when he was expelled."

"I... I'm not sure. I think he's... gone, but then, there was no body or body parts to find, not up till now, at least."

"Can we expect any sort of reinforcement or at least supply from there? Forgive me for asking, but any help in beating the Griffons would be welcome."

"Not right now. The city's still recovering from it's time in slavery, and the fact that they've been lost in time a thousand years. Food might be plentiful, but everything in town is still operating in a medieval fashion, and it will take time before we can suitably modernize them."

"I see. Are you an independent monarch now?"

"That's another thing I'm not sure of yet. But I'll never stop loving my aunts, or my Twilight, that's for sure."

"And love can't be manufactured."

"Precisely. Even my magic can't bring up love that's non-existent; it can only inflate that which already exists. And, between you and me, I think that just makes the emotion even more precious."

"Of course." James had looked to a soldier standing nearby. "You got the time?"

"Sure, it's two-thirty."

"Thank you. Sorry, Princess, but I have work to do."

"Naturally. Take care of yourself, James."

"I'll try."

In the end, Metamorphosis had agreed to join the conflict on the side of Equestria. Camilla had quickly followed suit. Neither Queen would be personally coming to the fray; both had some serious work to be done, setting their hives in order. However, the commanders they set in charge of the expeditionary forces were competent and decent enough.

It had been a surprise for everyone when Amalda had offered a thousand of her own soldiers for the war. "I am well aware that we've shed blood for wicked purposes during the conflict between us," she had said. "I am also aware that nothing I, or any one that is not a God, can do can bring back those we've slain. However, I hope to make amends, at least part way, by offering this contingent."

There had been a long silence. Then Celestia had stepped forward. "I accept this offering. I can see no treachery in your eyes, young one. I hope we can correspond properly sometime soon."

"I accept it as well," Luna had added. "You are indeed young, yet you harbor much nobility within you, in spite of being the child of an evil tyrant. I think we can expect greatness from you in your time."

Some Equestrian soldiers had grumbled at the idea of fighting alongside their former enemies, but in the end, they remained loyal to their Princesses. That night, all had celebrated the end of the war.

A week after the peace was made, James thought back to the events of the past month or so as the train in Appleloosa filled with soldiers and equipment. He was already seating the in front car, with Shining and the rest of the army's leading officers.

As the train began moving, James was glad he had time to just sit and relax for a bit. The army had been marching most of the time; the only time they stopped was mostly to eat and sleep, and to rest when the troops were tired. Four thousand Equestrian soldiers and about the same number of Changelings had been overjoyed to finally reach Appleloosa. The latter had disguised themselves as ponies in order to keep the peace, and to keep the public from panicking. They were allies - most of them willingly - but Equestrian citizens as a whole could not be expected to trust that fact, even though it had been announced in the news. Already, from a copy of a newspaper he had read today, there had been people who had been bashing the idea of allying with their former enemies. Their objections were loud and concerned.

He wasn't sure what to make of the problem. It would be a while before Changelings were trusted by a significant number of the population, even though they had helped - been the deciding factor, really - in the offensive that saw the fall of a hollow empire. All he could do was fight the war and finish it. He had no political power, and, being the only human being in this world, he probably couldn't expect to have any. Military power, he had - to an extent. In any case, while he may have been liked by the soldiers, much of the civilian population had a different view.

He pushed those thoughts aside. No one could do everything; the only thing someone could do was what they could do. Racism couldn't be killed in a day. He pulled a book out of his bag - one detailing the Carolinas Campaign in 1865 - and began to read.

James, though a Unionist himself, couldn't' help admiring the men who had fought on the other side, especially those who continued the hopeless fight into 1865, when the war was lost for them. The ferocity with which the Confederates fought at Bentonville naturally caught his eye.

Men are drawn toward last stands, even the ones that are hopeless, pointless, or both. Of course, that might hold true for our enemies. The griffons had made it clear they would not give up on their own, in spite of the overwhelming weight of advantages their foes held over them. So be it. If we have to shatter their army with force, I will. Their king will be the one to blame for the whole mess. If not for him, this foolish and wasteful conflict need not have occurred... except maybe that out west.

His eyes rested on what might have been the most noted picture of the battle; a Union charge against a Confederate battery late in the fighting (though, as the notice under the picture stated, the battery was later recaptured). Even with their cause in ruins, the Rebels had fought well, and he admired their courage. With Lee having surrendered before the battle took place, though, there had been, like the battle of New Orleans in 1815, no point to the fighting, although naturally, the men who had fought the battle hadn't heard about it yet.

Hopefully the enemy aren't so drawn to such an ending... or to something even worse. But from everything I've seen so far...

"Looks like fierce fighting," Shining said as his eye caught the same image James had.

"Hmm. Hopefully our enemies don't fight with similar valor."

"Don't I wish. We'd have won by now if they were like that. But you and I know better, and so does the rest of the army."

"Yeah." James leaned back against the seat. "Hopefully, the boys who fought out west will take them as seriously as we do."

"I hope so," the stallion answered, frowning. "Some of them don't seem to think the griffons are much to talk about."

"The experience will come soon enough. And we'll tell them different, before they go into battle. I'm not sure whether they'll listen, but we have to try."

The train car as cramped. James found it hard to get comfortable, but had eventually managed to fall asleep. He managed to catch up on rest the next day, as the train didn't stop except to pick up more coal and water for the engine and food and water for the soldiers; this was no express.

Resting, reading, eating, drinking, and sleeping were about the only things he or anyone else could do. He heard grumbling, but not of a mutinous nature, for which he was grateful. Occasionally, someone would find something remotely fun to try, which would naturally draw attention as long as the event lasted, which was usually not for very long, after which boredom sunk back in.

After the train had stopped in a junction past Ponyville - the train hadn't even made a pretention of stopping there - the engineer told them that the brakes and numerous water pipes had been discovered to be faulty; Equestrian locomotives weren't used to hauling thousands of soldiers, artillery and equipment all at once, or at least this one wasn't. In any event, it would take a few hours to replace the worn parts.

After talking about it briefly, the commanders had decided to let the troops stretch their legs. It was a very popular decision, as within moments, the air was full of the noise of thundering hooves and doors were crowded with soldiers trying to get out; in a couple cases, numerous individuals had tried to go through a door at once and got stuck. James giggled behind a hand as the conductor and a pair of soldiers attempted to extricate five who had foolishly tried to exit all at once, and who, as a result, completely blocked the doorway.

When the car was mostly empty, James got up and stretched. He heard numerous cracking noises, mostly in his legs. At one point, he stretched too far, and the new injury in his shoulder flared. He clutched at it, and in the process fell down, rather painfully, to the floor. He got back up, muttering angrily, and left the car, towing his bag behind him.

It was a pleasant place to stop. Unlike the heat of the Appleloosan desert, the field where the junction had stopped was full of grass, high enough to touch his knees, and a breeze blew across his face, dulling the summer heat. Soldiers began taking out food they'd stored up and eating it, as if this were a big, organized picnic; a some even took a few bites of grass. The Changelings in their ranks shed their disguises, at lest for the moment, and laid down.

"Beats the desert any day," he said quietly to himself.

He sat down on the steps of the car - on the side facing away from the sun - and closed his eyes, taking in the peaceful moment.

"Huh, there's a pegasus coming in from Canterlot," a Royal Guard said, looking at the sky. "Wonder what he wants. Probably some reporter looking for a story."

"Or maybe a mail pony on his daily run," another said.

"Nah; looks like he's coming down."

James looked around, but the flying pony wasn't within his eyesight; likely, it had already descended on the other side of the train. Whatever the individual was doing, James couldn't see it. With a reluctant sigh, he stood up - more cracking of stiff bones - and walked to the other side.

A blue pegasus with a tan mane was talking with most of the other commanders, including a Changeling and Shining Armor, who were speaking at length with the newcomer.

"What's going on?" James asked, coming up.

"Ah, General Lavigne, excellent," the pony said, bowing in his direction. "I'm from the railroad company that owns the line around here. Unfortunately, a bridge on the direct route to Trottingham has collapsed; three other trains barely escaped falling to their doom in the past day alone, and we've only just started getting the message out."

James groaned. "Enemy activity? This far west?"

"I do not know, sir. However, the only reroute is through Canterlot."

"Which will take us well out of our way and add more time to our journey," James muttered. "Lovely. How did you know where to find us?"

"Fairly simple; I followed the line until I saw your train."

"I see." James put a hand to his chin trying to think.

"I doubt the bridge's collapse is due to the griffons," Shining put in. "It was probably an act of nature that caused it. I don't believe that any of them have managed to get around our army to the northeast, or we'd have likely heard about it much sooner."

"Whatever the reason, it's bad news for us," James replied; he wasn't looking forward to having an even longer trip to make."

"I have a second piece of news, as well," the pegasus said. "Princess Celestia heard about the bridge, and she wants the army to disembark in Canterlot."

"Which will further delay the arrival of the reinforcements that we are bringing to that front," another officer mumbled.

The newcomer shrugged. "I don't give the orders, sir; I just carry the message. Celestia wants the train to stop in Canterlot, and that's that."

James looked at the others, who all looked from him to each other and back again. He didn't like having to extend the journey, and he couldn't see a good reason why this was being ordered. On the other hand, he was certain that the pegasus was no Changeling in disguise trying to deceive them, not when Chrysalis had been defeated a week and a half ago.

Ultimately, they decided to give her to Metamorphosis; given her sense of justice, and powerful personality, I understand why. It might have been a mistake to imprison her in Canterlot, given the availability of emotions there.

That thought aside, he wasn't thrilled. Militarily. That failed to account for the part that really did want to enter the city and see a few familiar faces again. And being able to sleep in a bed, even for just a night, instead of on the hard ground or on a train seat was very alluring. Ultimately, the Princesses would have their reasons for doing this. And the messenger was right; he and the others didn't really have a choice, and no one was about to mutiny, so the course was clear.

"Right," he said, sighing, "Canterlot it is."

It took another day to arrive in the city. By now, James' back was bothering him quite insistently, though thankfully not very painfully. The brief respite in the field had been a tonic for the chronic boredom the army had been experiencing. However, that ailment had begun to creep back in when the train finally pulled into the station. Night had fallen, and the army debarked by streetlight and lanterns.

A disguised Changeling breathed in deeply. "I can practically taste the emotions already," he sighed.

"Don't be an idiot," one of his companions replied sharply. "You start sucking emotions off them here and now, you'll be in jail before you really get to enjoy any of it."

"Yeah, but still, it feels almost like a buffet is waiting for us."

"Just don't start digging in. You'll have a lot more than just ponies to fear if you fall for it, that I promise you. And the Queen forbade it anyway."

The first one sighed again, but didn't start anything.

Hopefully, our allies can keep themselves under control. This city probably feels like a smorgasbord to them, and I can't really blame them for being hungry. Then again, they're bound and bred to obey their Queens, and therefore probably won't cause any trouble.

It took a while for things to get organized. Luckily, there were a few barracks at the castle for the Royal Guards who could rest there, and no doubt catch up with their comrades. The regulars had some empty hotels and vacant apartments with which to stay the night, which had all been prepared for them.

James watched as his troops dispersed. He could practically feel their relief at being able to sleep somewhere other than a train. He had insisted that they carry their weapons with them; in the event that some emergency happened, he didn't want them to be caught without some means to defend themselves. He doubted that such a need would arise, but then, anything could happen in the middle of a war, and it paid to be prepared.

"General Armor! General Lavigne!" a Guard stallion said, walking up to them. "Princesses Celestia and Luna have bade that you spend the night in the palace."

"I guess we have no choice," James said, looking at his companion, though he said it without any real reluctance and with more than a hint of amusement.

Shining snorted, then said to the Guard, "Lead on."

"And please try to keep us away from any reporters," James asked, more seriously this time.

After being magically scanned by the palace guards - I wonder if I'll ever get used to that tingling sensation - James and Shining were allowed inside the grounds. To their surprise, a small tent city was set up there.

"What's all this?" James asked.

The Guard who had been leading them stopped and turned his head around. "Princesses Celestia and Luna heard that the soldiers coming here would be short of living space, so they decided to allow some of them to bunk here for the night."

"You sure that's safe?"

"If we can't keep their Royal Highnesses safe, we're not the Royal Guard."

James didn't reply. Shining chuckled, and said, "That's the Guard for you."

"Still, hopefully there are enough facilities here to see to the needs of these guys."

"Their Highnesses gave them the run of the place," the Guard answered. "Anyone wants food, they can go to he dining hall and get some."

"I see. I'm still not sure why we were told to stop in the city, though."

"Their Highnesses have a reason." The Guard continued walking in silence for a moment, then, almost reluctantly, added, "Rumor has it that it has something to do with boosting morale for the civilian population, convince 'em the war's going to be won."

"I see," James said, though that was only partly true.

The Guard led them through the palace hallways until they came to the closed doors of the throne room. "The guests of their Highnesses have arrived," he said to the pair protecting the door.

They both nodded. "They've been waiting," an orange earth pony on the left - on James' left, anyway - and added, "please, go in."

The doors opened. James and Shining entered the room; their guide stayed back in the hallway.

Celestia and Luna sat on gilded thrones, both watching the newcomers with smiles on their faces. "Welcome, Shining and James," Celestia greeted in a warm voice. "We are both pleased that you've arrived safely in Canterlot."

"It has been too long since we've been able to treat with our top commanders in a peaceful situation, detached, immediately, at least, from business," Luna put in.

"I'm just glad to be off that train," James said. "I'm still stiff from sitting and trying to sleep in the same seat for two days straight."

"That can be taken care of," Celestia answered.

"And if riding the train is causing you pain, we could have airships deliver you to your destination," her sister offered.

"Maybe the train doesn't look too bad after all," James whispered to himself; he had a fear of heights.

"What was that?"

"Nothing important."

Luna made a concerned sort of grunting noise, but added nothing further.

"I'm just glad to be back home," Shining said, sounding happy. "I'm looking forward to the day this war ends for good."

"You've done a magnificent job of doing that," Luna said. "Thanks to you both, and thousands of our soldiers and the efforts of our allies, we've defeated a dangerous foe and made friends of the Changeling race, or at least brought us up from hostility to various states ranging from indifferent to good... depending on which hive one refers to."

"Thanks should really be given to the troops who didn't make it back," Shining replied, as James was opening his mouth to say the same thing.

Celestia and Luna both bowed their heads. "We acknowledge their noble sacrifice,"Celestia said mournfully. "My sister and I are going to do what we can for the grieving families, and to see that the dead, both ours and theirs, receive the proper respect."

"In addition, I've set our best architects to make plans for a monument to our fallen soldiers," Luna added, "to be constructed in the capital, in a location where all can see and remember the loss we've sustained to maintain our peoples' freedom and sovereignty from our enemies."

After a moment of collective silence, Celestia spoke up again. "It is in part due to the victory we've won out west, and the casualties we've suffered, that I decided to have our former western units disembark here upon learning of the collapsed bridge on the line."

"Does anyone know what caused that to happen by now?" James asked quickly

"Indeed we do," Celestia answered. "The builders who inspected the structure found that the bridge had been overgrown with various plants that got into many small cracks and there expanded, eventually causing it's collapse. There were no enemy troops involved, if that's what you're thinking, as we've scouted the area out thoroughly for any trace of griffon incursion."

"An old structure, weaken by nature and time," Luna said. "A new one is already being planned, based on modern designs."

"To get back on track - if you'll pardon the pun," Celestia said, chuckling a little, "I've chosen to stage a victory parade in Canterlot, in celebration of our western triumph, and to give our subjects hope that this conflict will soon be won; in addition to the morale boost, I intend to remind our ponies of the cost of the conflict, and to remember and honor the lives of those who fell to ensure our liberty."

James' mouth quivered slightly on the word "subjects," but he was sure it was slight enough that nobody noticed. In general, though, he approved of the idea, though he was still somewhat concerned that this would delay reinforcements to the east.

Something must have shown on his face, because Celestia added, "Is there something wrong, James?"

"Well... yes, there is. Every minute we're here is another that we're not out east, helping to finish the war the griffons started. And every day we delay may be more Equestrian soldiers that don't reach the front lines to help shorten the conflict."

"I understand your concerns," Celestia said, nodding sympathetically. "Luna and I discussed the problem at length. We decided to temporarily suspend operations there until your force can reach them."

"If it's enemy action you're afraid of, don't be," Luna added. "They have 'shot their bolt,' to use the common phrase, and we outnumber them by more than two to one. With reinforcements heading eastward, including the ones you lead, and more allied troops arriving, that will soon increase to a three to one advantage, or very close to it. I don't expect any trouble from an enemy attack."

"Nor do I," Celestia said. "All the same, we are going to make this go by as fast as possible. In fact, we intend for you to be on your way by early evening."

"Hopefully the troops will have their fill of being kissed by then," James muttered with amusement.

That brought a laugh out of all present.

"Hopefully they will," Luna agreed, still chuckling. "But nevertheless, our troops will have their hooves full tomorrow with the parade and redeployment. I'll ask the railroad companies if they can't spare any cars that are more comfortable, if that can be arranged and if you're adverse to flying."

"I'll take that," James said immediately.

"Good. As for your summons here, I'd said initially that we weren't discussing business, and yet we've been doing just that for the past several minutes."

"The outcome of the war is important," James said seriously.

"I wasn't saying that it wasn't. However, you've been out in the field for most of your time in Equestria. It grieves me and my sister that your stay has been so filled with violence an bloodshed. I would have loved for you to have come in peacetime."

"And as for you, Shining Armor," Celestia said, dipping her head toward the stallion, "I also regret that the months after your wedding have been filled with conflict, instead of joy and wonder, as they should have been."

"My duty is to Equestria, and to the Equestrian throne," Shining answered. "I can never forget that."

"I would never ask you to." Celestia sighed. "None of us ever wanted this war. If I could have made peace with the griffon king, I would have, as well as with Chrysalis. Unfortunately, neither of them would listen to appeals of peace. they called for conflict instead."

'They will regret it," James said. "They've paid for it; Chrysalis is a prisoner, never to see the light of day again, and her hive now paying for her actions. The griffons got whipped again and again, and we'll do it yet again if they're fool enough to continue."

"That's the point. I'd rather not have to whip them, as you put it."

"Regardless," Luna said firmly, "they have chosen war. War they have received. War they shall receive, if they don't surrender."

James tried to stifle a yawn, but failed.

"I can see that you're both tired," Celestia said. "I'd advise you both to get a shower and get some rest for tomorrow. You've more than earned it."

"Thank you," James replied. "I'll get on that. Hopefully we can talk again tomorrow, and not end up just discussing the war."

"I hope so too."

"Sweet dreams to both of you," Luna said. "I'll try to protect you both from nightmares this night."

James nodded. Shinning said, "My thanks."

"Now go, both of you. We all have a busy day to prepare for tomorrow."

Chapter 64; Parade

James thoroughly enjoyed getting clean again; he'd known mostly dirt and grit since going off to fight, and it was great to feel all of it washed away... at least, on the surface. There were wounds and scars - dirt, if one would will - that could not be cleansed away so easily, not by mere men.

Shaking his head in an effort to clear those thoughts away, he got dressed and headed for his room. All the while, he went over the war so far in his head.

We had God's blessing, to be sure. We were able to survive, and even when we lost, we put the hurt on the enemy. He felt part of himself shiver as he went over a report that had reached him just prior to the shower. According to that one, Queen Chrysalis almost got her way with Ponyville; if we hadn't knocked her over, the town would have disappeared in a storm of fire. The only place that got hit scorched was a plain to the north of the town, and no one died, thank God.

He reprimanded himself mentally. I can't assume that the griffons are going to be easy meat for our slaughter, or that they won't have something equally desperate and devastating. I've made that mistake way too often. We have to be alert, and do our part to end this war before they can pull out something like that. I don't know what power they could wield that could cause the kind of damage that Chrysalis' spell would have, but then again, I didn't know the Queen could do what she died, either.

He turned, reaching the room he'd been assigned to. Well, a good night's rest ought to do me some good. I'll ponder more on the problem in the morning.

He reached for the door and began to pull it open, but his ear caught the sound of hoofsteps approaching; heavy ones, too. James turned his head to the left, where the noise was coming from.

"Mind if I join you for a few minutes, James?" Luna asked softly as she came closer.

"I don't mind. It's your castle, after all."

Luna chuckled politely. "It your room for the night, and you are a most welcome guest, therefore you have the option to accept or to refuse."

"Hmm." With that, James pulled the door open, and both of them walked through. James sat down on the bed, while Luna remained standing.

"I'm glad to see that you're well," Luna began. "I hope the past few months haven't been too hard on you, or on our armies."

"They haven't exactly been a lark," James answered. "But most of us have survived, thankfully. Hopefully the war ends soon."

Luna sighed. "We've tried sending back prisoners of war to request peace, but they were arrested for treason when they reached their own lines. We'll have to defeat them with military force, for their king gives us no choice and refuses sound reasoning, even when we have the advantage over him in every way."

"Dictators tend to ignore reasoning," James replied. "Some back home have done things not only costly regarding life, but also utterly ridiculous and senseless."

Luna snorted in mild amusement, but became serious again very quickly. "If only they left their foolishness at home. How many more thousands will die before this war ends?"

"A few, at least, that's the sad truth of it. We'll try to head straight for their capital and end the war as soon as possible, but it's going to be a slog through those forests. I'd suggest burning the woods down, but I doubt that would meet with your approval."

"No, it would not. Fluttershy would never forgive you if you did that."

"I know. The only thing I could suggest is just going around them with our excess troops and seize as much land as we can, all the while flanking them out. I'm going to try that when I get back there."

Luna nodded. "Very good." She turned her head to look out the window for a moment, deep in thought. Finally, she said, "Thank you for letting me borrow your book; it made me realize that I really am loved, even if people in this world aren't so caring."

James nodded. "I'm glad it's helped you."

"I suppose you'll be wanting it back now..."

"You can keep it. I might want it back at the end of the war, but you can definitely keep it until then. If I die, you may keep it forever."

"Don't say that!" Luna gasped loudly. "I don't want any more of my friends to perish in this war!"

"It's a possibility. I'm not saying I'm going to die, but I can't know. I'm just saying if..."

"An 'if' that I find most despairing. Many of my Guards have laid down their lives in this conflict, and I hate to think that more will."

James ran his fingers through Luna's mane. "I'm sorry." For a moment, neither of them said a word.

Suddenly, James felt a yawn coming. In spite of his efforts to block it, he was unable to suppress it. The sound jerked Luna out of her reverie. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I forgot how tired you were. I shall depart now and allow you to get some sleep."

Although part of him wanted the Princess to stay, James knew she was right. "Alright. Thank you for visiting."

"T'was no trouble." Luna turned to leave, but stopped just short of the door.

"What is it?"

"Do you... do you really think that I can be forgiven for almost unleashing eternal night upon the world... twice?" she asked, eyes closed and facing the doorway.

Whatever James had been expecting to hear, this wasn't it. He was quiet for a few moments while he recovered. "Well, do you believe in Christ as God's Son and Savior?"

"Yes," she replied, turning her head sideways to look at him.

"And do you believe he died to save you from your sins?"

"Yes!"

"Then you are saved. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's not okay to do bad things, and never will be, but as long as you believe wholeheartedly, you're eternally saved, even if you have struggles in this life. We all do, on that last one. I definitely do, and will, given everything that's happened since the start of this war." James sighed, remembering the battles. "I think most of us will have scars from this conflict, but given enough time and effort, we'll be able to rebuild."

"Hopefully, tonight, you'll be able to sleep soundly. I've practiced, and I've found ways to help even in the dreams of soldiers. I promise you, I'll try to protect you from nightmares."

"Thank you."

Luna used her magic to open the door. "Good night," they both said, at almost the same time. Luna smiled slightly, walked through the door, and shut it quietly.

James awoke to the sun's rays streaming through his window. He groaned, then sat up and stretched before getting dressed. Naturally, the only thing he had to wear was his uniform, or at least, that was the only thing he actually wanted to wear that he considered respectable. His only other clothes were the ones in which he had come to Equestria in; it wasn't that he didn't like those, but he liked the uniform better. Besides, the uniform was fairly comfortable, and he liked wearing it.

He felt his stomach growl; it didn't care which set of clothes he wore, so long as it got food, and soon. Alright, fine. I'll go to the dining hall and get something. Just be quiet and let me do this already.

He finished, walked through the door and closed it, and made his way to the dining hall. He passed a number of Guards as he went, but none of them challenged him.

They may act like walking statues, but they've got feelings just like everyone else, he thought. They just don't display them on duty.

He walked into the dining hall to find that Celestia was already seated, eating a small piece of banana bread. She nodded when he saw him. "Good morning," she said warmly. "Would you please sit down and have breakfast with us?"

"Us?" James repeated. "What, is someone else coming?"

"Indeed. My sister and Shining Armor will be arriving at any moment, along with a guest. My nephew might also be coming, though I'm not certain."

"Well, bring them on," James said, sitting down in a chair not far from her. "I'm all for company right now." He reached out for a bun, picked up a butter knife, tore the bun in half and buttered both halves of it before chewing the delicious concoction down.

He managed to butter and eat another bun before Shining came through the door. "I see the party's started already," he said in an amused sort of way.

"Hardly a party," James replied, reaching for a third bun. "No cake, for one thing."

"Sorry," Celestia said, sounding - and looking - as though she meant it. "My chefs had trouble getting enough eggs and flour to make anything more this morning. The war is eating up a lot of our supplies, no pun intended, as available food must be brought to the soldiers and sailors doing the fighting, and Trottingham and it's surrounding area need a lot of attention, since the griffons went to the expedient of stealing most of the food that wasn't tied down, and even most of that which was. Although the ponies there are able to eat normally again, the farming community in the region have fallen disastrously behind in crop yields due to the conflict, and thus we must continue sending food there."

"Hopefully, we can get our kingdom back up to snuff after we've won the war," Shining said, in a determined tone of voice.

"We will. Unfortunately, there will be many who will be unable to enjoy it." Celestia sighed. "If only their king would face up to reality... But that's unlikely to happen, and we must deal with the situation as is." She turned to James. "What ideas do you have to that effect?"

"Hmmm." James thought carefully for a minute. "I think we can afford to split off numerous four-hundred strong groups from the army, intended to take the war to the enemy. As raiders, their concerns will be pillaging railroads in particular, as well as destroying military supplies and factories and manufactories responsible for the creation of military materials. They won't be intended to take or hold territory; that will be up to the army. But they'll make their presence felt. Enough of that, and maybe we won't have to take their capital to win, because the political pressure - internal political pressure, to be precise - will be upon them to quit."

"An interesting concept," Celestia answered. "Anything else?"

"Re-purpose any airships we have to be military craft. Use them to bomb enemy positions before a battle, to keep an eye on their positions and movements, and-"

"Oh, honestly, there's better uses for giant balloons than such mundane purposes."

James froze. No... It can't be...

There was a burst of white light and black, and before them, on top of the table, stood Discord.

James had his sword halfway out of it's sheath before he noticed Celestia looking at him and shaking her head. Puzzled, he nonetheless sheathed his sword and sat back down. "Um, Princess.... is there any reason why Discord is no longer stone and is waltzing around unopposed?"

"Oh, that's right," Celestia said, bringing a hoof to the side of her head. "I was going to send you a letter about this, but I was busy dealing with something else and I forgot entirely. I'm sorry, James. That was an oversight on my part."

"That's fine. But..."

"Oh, you're so dull," Discord interrupted, pretending to gag. "I still remember when this country was run in such a way that it was actually fun to live in!"

"Fun, perhaps, for you," Celestia said, still calmly. "Hardly so for the ponies who had to undergo that 'fun'. I'm hoping you've moved past that."

"What? I've been reformed, my dear Princess, as you well know," the dragonequus said, bowing. "How could you think I would return to my former ways... most of the time," he added in an undertone."

James leaned back in his seat. To be honest, he didn't know what to make of the self-made lord of chaos. He felt like he was sitting not far from a bomb that could go off whenever it wanted... and keep exploding over and over again, like the theoretical Carolinian bombs H.G. Wells had loved to describe. On the other hand, Celestia hadn't managed to rule a country for over a thousand years by being stupid. She wasn't one to trust without reason, and that helped calm, though not entirely eliminate, his fears. He allowed himself to relax slightly, though his left hand - under the table, where no one else could see - still rested on the pommel of his sword. Just a reassuring habit, of course.

"Come on, don't you have anything to say?" Discord said, still looking at James with amusement. "Or do you soldiers only have strategy and tactics to think about?"

"We have a lot to think about," Shining replied, a hint, or more than a hint, of anger in his voice. "Like the guys who aren't coming back."

This was the first thing that even made their new guest lose his smile even momentarily. "I admit, I don't like that ponies are dying," he said, "and I hope this conflict ends. There's a reason I'm not in it; I've made a personal vow never to use my powers to kill or maim anypony."

"That doesn't mean he's done absolutely nothing," Celestia said. "He's helped with designing and implementing magical defenses for Canterlot, which would help keep the city safe if the enemy managed to get through. It's unlikely now, but even so, it's a contribution that's helped calm the citizenry. Most are invisible, and would only be visible during an enemy attack, which is why you haven't seen them."

"Ugh, blue all over," Discord went on, looking at James' uniform. "Couldn't bother imagining some other color to go with that blue? Perhaps some orange or red in such and such a place, and some white there, and some black - can hardly forget black - with a sport of green, violet, and indigo in whatever space remained. Or, better yet, wear hats on your feet and shoes on your heads, with candy canes and foam swords instead of those beastly guns and spears you soldiers carry with you everywhere. That way, everyone could have enjoy themselves, and best of all, nobody would end up dead!"

James was quick to check his uniform; nothing had changed.

"Suspicious type, aren't we? Well, perhaps I should ask your new companion what he thinks about my design changes."

"Hmm?" Before James could ask what he meant by that, he heard his own voice speaking to his right;

"Yeah, these colors are great. Wonderful idea, Discord! Go you!"

James turned to see a large, multi-colored conglomerate of cloth giving Discord what appeared to be a thumbs up. It had every color Discord had just mentioned, with a few more added in.

I really don't like being made fun of... Remember, don't rise to it, just sit here...

"Discord, I'm pleased that you're using your powers playfully rather than in an evil manner," Celestia said, "but I think the curtains would appreciate being back in their usual places."

"Oh, you're no fun anymore, Celly," Discord said, looking disappointed. "It's not like they get much exercise anyway. But as you say..." He snapped his fingers; the curtains, which had made up James' doppelganger changed back into pure purple and flew back to where they'd been originally. "I remember when you were so much more fun to play with."

Celestia's face didn't change. "I was young then, and I wasn't in charge of an entire country, with the masses to look out for. And the fact that you refused to cease your initial activities, even though the majority were begging you to stop, was a massive turn-off."

"Ugh. Ponies. Don't ask them how to play; they always come up with something boring. Well, I'm off to see Pinkie Pie; maybe she'll be in the mood for some chaos." And with that, the dragonequus vanished.

"That went better than I expected," Celestia commented. "As I was would have said in my letter, James, I decided, after much thinking and after intense internal - and external - debate, I set out to rehabilitate Discord, hoping to give him some friends to interact with, as well as bringing his chaos magic over to our side."

"I hope the population doesn't consider him-"

"He's not a god; you know that, or so I've heard. And he does admit that, when you manage to talk to him privately." Celestia sipped some of her tea before continuing. "Chaos magic is, as you might expect, quite different from the normal magic; so fundamentally different, in fact, that it took him over thirty years to master his control over them. Even now, as he himself admits, sometimes something he does surprises even him... not that there's much that does. It's not inherently more powerful than... conventional magic, I suppose we'll call it, it's just so different that those without powers over it - like most beings on this world - will come face to face with it and think it god-like." She took a bite of an apple and swallowed it. "All facts considered, I believed, and still believe, that the risk is worth the reward in this case."

"Like trying to defuse a nuclear bomb, and wondering if its the blue or red wire that will set it off or deactivate it."

"I didn't intend to let this experiment go forward without safeguards. The Bearers have the elements to stop him if he causes any nonsense. Even so, I don't think, at least at this stage, that they'll be needed. Fluttershy has managed to befriend him, and hopefully that relationship will be the doorway that will allow for further trust to build." Celestia snorted in an amused sort of way as she sipped again. "I do hope he keeps that mischievous side that defines him; all I want is for that mischief to be kept from turning back into villainy. He was right; there was a time when I liked to pull practical jokes, and have some of the more amusing sort of fun that he loves so much. My responsibilities, though, and the love of my people took, still take, and will always take, precedence over enjoyment."

"Hmmm. I guess I'll let that whole problem slide, then. Not that I have a choice." James took his hand off his sword, and sighed quietly. "To return to our original subject, airships and tanks should be deployed, with upgraded versions reaching the front as fast as possible."

"I agree," Shining was quick to say. "More tanks and artillery, though I'm not sure how effective airships would be in a military situation. We could use pegasi for the aforementioned tasks."

James grunted in disagreement, but didn't reply. It was true, and the airships would be vulnerable to any griffons that took to the air. However, they could carry more armament than a pegasus could, and deliver their ordinance with much more... dramatic results. "Terrifying the enemy - short, of course, of using atrocities to do so - can bring about victory in itself, and having a fleet of airships bomb their front lines would definitely inflict fear upon them."

"The airships aren't a bad idea," Celestia concluded, "but I'm afraid they won't do much good. The griffons have developed their own cannons designed purely for killing anything in the air. As a result, we've lost numerous pegasi during the recent forest campaign."

"The weapons are funneling even those with wings to the ground," James muttered. "I guess you both have a point, though not one I'm pleased to note in this case."

"I understand. Anything else you could think off?"

"Ah, yes. Tightening the blockade. I hear they've resorted to trying to run the blockade in order to sell goods for money and war materials."

"Indeed. Ironclad warships have just started coming off our docks."

"Ironclads?" James repeated, surprised. "First I've heard of that."

"They're experimental at this stage. We have a version of the two-turreted ironclad you have in your books, as well as a second type, designed to ram enemy ships, though it does have cannons on its sides, in case such a tactic isn't ideal. We don't have more than two of each launched at the moment, though, and they're undergoing trials. Saddle Arabia will be responsible for maintaining the blockade for awhile yet."

"Hmm."

"On a more positive note, our zebra allies, as well as Saddle Arabian troops, have caught up with our forces, adding to the number of soldiers fighting on the griffon front."

"A significant advantage," Shining observed. "And it will be a powerful proof to the enemy that they're pariahs in the eyes of the world."

"Of course, I hope to be sure that our allies will be determined in their efforts to fight," James replied. "I intend no insult toward them, but I have no experience with their fighting capabilities, or their will to win."

"I would not worry about that if I were you," Celestia answered. "The zebras have a history of fighting bravely, and as for the SA troops, they're loyal to their allies and will fight to the end, whether bitter or not. I'm confident of their ability to help end this war in a victory."

"Good," James said.

"Now, I think we should discuss just how to proceed with the parade..."

James watched as the preparations were made. Plans for the march were deliberately designed to get the troops to the train station, so they could embark to the eastern front. Thanks fully, instead of just one, overcrowded train, there would be multiple ones, one setting out before the next, to take the soldiers were they needed to go.

The roads the troops would march on were being designated as such currently. At 1 P.M., the parad would start. Changeligns would disguise themselves and march along with the rest of the forces involved. The army would march with all its equipment; artillery and limbers would go with them as a further demonstration of Equestrian military might, along with a few tanks that had come off the factories.

Those last had stirred James' attention. They were different from the ones that had helped recapture Trottingham; they were smaller, with two crewponies instead of a whole squad. They were of a radically different design; they were similar to FT-17s, but still had large wheels with thin treads, as did the current models fighting on the front lines, with more emphasis on the engine. The new tank had been nicknamed, "The Gallop," due to the fact that is was more than twice as fast as the "Barrel," with a 17 MPH top speed. James approved. These tanks were designed to pursue a fleeing enemy, or to raid behind enemy lines. They didn't have a very strong energy shield, and the solitary gun they carried was smaller than those in the "Barrel" model. However, James intended to throw them into battle after the outcome had been decided. They weren't there to necessarily break through front lines, though they could aid in that capacity if they needed to.

Of course, the preparations caught the eyes of the many ponies going about their business. Curious glances and the gaze of many were everywhere. Most of them would know by now what was going to happen, naturally; the morning papers had announced it. But that didn't stop them from stopping and staring.

James folded his arms contentedly. The city was peaceful. When they weren't watching the parade being prepared, they were eating breakfasts, trading with merchants, and going into stores and businesses to work and purchase items.

Peace and prosperity. Somewhat in short supply in the east right now.

"Excuse us, General, could we please have a moment?"

"Ugh," James groaned under his breath. He knew that kind of voice; a reporter. And, judging by the number of hooves he heard clip-clopping on the street, there were a few of them. He sighed quietly, and turned around. "Yes? What can I do for you," he asked, trying to remain polite and patient.

A red mare with a quill and papers sticking out of a pair of saddlebags was running toward him, with a pegasus stallion hovering in the air holding a camera a foot or two above her and to her left, with two other earth ponies, who also appeared to be stallions, on yellow, on her right, and the other black, on her left, approaching with her. The mare stopped several feet in front of James, as did her companions. "General," she said, reaching out her right front hoof, which he took. "I am Quick Quill, reporter for the Canterlot Times. Mind if I have a word?" she asked, withdrawing her hoof.

"I suppose," James said, deliberately adding a warning tone in his voice.

From her nod, he knew she'd taken his meaning. "I don't intend to accuse you, General. Others might, but I'm just here to ask a few questions for our readers. So," she said, reaching into her bag and taking out a piece of paper, "What are your views on the current conflict? What reasons do you believe Equestria has for fighting?"

"Well," he said, as she reached back into her bag - with her head this time - and came back with a pencil in her mouth, "Equestria was attacked, and mobilized to defend itself. That's one of the most basic reasons for fighting a war, and entirely justified."

"Reasons - for - fighting - a - war," he heard, or something like it, from her mouth as she wrote the words. "And what do you say to those who call for an end to the fighting?"

"That would be plausible, if the enemy showed any interest in ending the conflict that they started. Unfortunately, their king has no intention of calling for peace. As one member of the public said some time ago, he's the type who'd gladly burn down the world, so long as he could rule the ashes. He refused to negotiate, so after we repelled their invasion, we invaded them in hopes of bringing the war to a swift, or at least, swifter, conclusion."

Quick Quill finished writing that down. "What about those who say that the blood shed in this conflict is too high a price to pay?"

What about those who accuse you and the other commanders of wasting the lives of their sons? was what she really meant, though, to her credit, she hadn't phrased it like that. He let the air go out through his nose, trying to think of a good answer. "What about the future that would come if Equestria didn't take up arms to protect itself, and to remove two dictators from power?" he answered. "If Equestria had just sat there and died, this nation would now have become a battleground between Chrysalis and King Raneiro, with only war and oppression to look forward to. The price of freedom isn't cheap, but the price of tyranny is really too high a price to live with. If the readers believe that it would have been better to sit down and let themselves be conquered, then I must raise an objection."

"Raise - an - objection. Very good. And how about the current campaign in the griffon wilderness?"

James lifted a hand. "I cannot and will not speak of army plans in public." Especially when I'm not sure of them myself, he added mentally. "However, I can say that we are looking for, and working towards, a resolution of that admittedly costly fighting, which is just as hard on the enemy as it is on us."

"Hmm. Last question. There has been a sizable minority that have been concerned that giving a... foreigner command of Equestrian troops was risky as best. Any answer you would care to give them?"

People don't like that you're different - in numerous ways - and are blaming you personally for the loss of lives in the war up to date. Your reaction? James felt a strong undercurrent of frustration course through his spine, along with a hint of sorrow. Didn't these people know that he was trying to bring as many of his soldiers home as he possibly could, and that their loss hit him hard as well?

A look of anger must have shown on his face, as the reporter backed up nervously a couple steps. Realizing this, he made and effort to control himself and bring a neutral expression on his face, grunting noncommittally as he did so. "They would be at odds with the Equestrian ideal of harmony," he said curtly. "Ideals espoused by their Princesses. The nation needs unity in this time, not division."

"Thank you for your time," Quick Quill said when she'd finished writing. "I apologize if those questions, or some of them, were difficult to answer. The editor wanted to hear the story, or some of it, from the other side, shall we say."

"If you want a story on the other side, go to the griffons," James suggested.

That startled a laugh out of the party. "My, a comedian as well as a general," Quick Quill said, recovering. "Again, thank you for your time." She motioned to the pegasus. "Paparazzi, take a picture."

"Hey, now wait a-"

Poof!

"Ah, my eyes!" James brought his hands to his eyes, a measure much too late to keep from being flashed by the camera.

"Nice one. back to the paper, boys." Without any further ado, Quick Quill and her companions turned and crossed the street.

James rubbed his eyes, still trying to get the image from the flash to go away. Not the worst interview ever, he remarked to himself. I would still have rather skipped it, though. He sighed. Reporters gave you a choice; either answer their questions - and possibly be blasted - or don't answer... and definitely get blasted. Overall, it hadn't been the excruciating torment he'd expected, but it wasn't something he would have said yes to twice.

Oh well. Back to overseeing the parade's preparations...

Bright Star felt a strong feeling inside as he marched through the streets with his unit; thousand of ponies of all shapes, sizes, and stripes of life were cheering and throwing flowers. He chomped a couple out of midair; they weren't all that bad, and he was a little hungry for a good snack.

The crowd was quite enthralled by the sight of the army marching down their streets. Pegasi hovered above, taking pictures and throwing flowers and wreaths. Earth ponies and unicorns, though ground bound, were no less enthusiastic. Unicorns levitated flowers down to soldiers, with roses being caught in multiple mouths. The amount of hoof stomping was almost deafening; in fact, Bright was sure the sidewalk might well suffer some significant damage by the time the parade was over.

Some in the crowd were quite keen on getting close to the soldiers; police had a full time job keeping the crowd from interfering with the army. Bright could swear he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

The unit behind them seemed especially happy. Bright sniffed. Makes sense; they're Changelings. They're getting the most out of this parade. No harm appeared to come to anypony in the crowd, though; obviously, whatever emotional energy the disguised Changelings were taking, it wasn't enough for anyone to notice. In any case, the Changeling contingent wasn't causing any trouble, and they were composing themselves well. He supposed they'd come through alright, assuming none of them gave the game away. They'd had orders from their commanders to maintain their disguises, out of fear that the crowd would be hostile or fearful. The word had gone out in the news already that most Changeling hives and their Queens were eager for a peaceful existence with Equestria, of course, but no one in the governments involved were sure how the ordinary pony would react to undisguised Changelings, so the order stood.

"Bright... Bright!"

Wait... that sounds like...

A yellow earth pony, of a hue not far from Bright's own, burst out of the crowd and embraced him; Bright dropped his gun (which was unloaded) as the mare hugged him.

"Ugh... little sis... you're crushing me..."

"Hey!" a police officer shouted.

"Bright Heart, I thought you were conscripted," Bright managed to say as the smaller but very strong mare released him.

"Oh, I was," she answered. "But my CO gave me permission to view the parade."

Bright noticed that she wore a blue uniform much like his own.

"Alright, you," the officer from before said, approaching. "Get back in the crowd, and we might overlook this little incident."

"Sorry, copper," Bright Heart replied. "My brother's a bit more important than your regulations."

"Kid sister," Bright said, as the officer turned to him.

"Be that as it may, this counts as a disturbance of the peace," the officer said. "I'll give you one more chance..."

"Sis, just go," Bright said, picking up his gun. "We'll meet at the train station."

"But..."

"Go," Bright said. "I love you, little sister, but please, don't go to jail on my account. We'll meet later, I promise."

Bright Heart pouted, then sighed. "Alright. But I'm going to see you there, even if I do get arrested then." She turned around and slowly headed back toward the crowd. "Be there," she said, over her shoulder.

"I will," he promised.

James watched as the first couple regiments approached the station and the temporary podium that had been set up. He found himself smiling slightly in spite of all the worries he'd have to deal with later on. This army was a well-oiled machine - perhaps not as well disciplined as armies back home, but highly motivated and in possession of high morale. That, as far as James was concerned, was more important than discipline; what use was discipline if soldiers were too demoralized to fight? The will to fight was higher on his list of priorities, and this army fit the bill.

As the regiments came in front of the podium, they stopped, as was planned.

James heard Celestia's hooves clip-clop on the wood as she stepped up to begin her speech. He wasn't sure whether to wince or to smile. I seriously hope this isn't boring.

"Soldiers, and all citizens of Equestria," the Princess began. "Words cannot describe how proud, for the lack of a better word, I am of your efforts over the past eleven month. You've put up with hardship with little complaint, and your productiveness has given us victory in this conflict over Queen Chrysalis. All that remains is to push on the griffons, and continue, regretful though the necessity is, to advance until the fight is won."

There was a fair amount of applause and hoof-stomping in response.

"As you can see, our army remains strong, and continues to expand. Our allies have come into the war, and the pressure increases on our foe to give up his foolish fight. I believe that the might displayed in this parade will be sufficient to persuade any doubters in our ability to win the conflict."

"Victory! Victory!" the soldiers shouted.

"I hereby make a public demand, addressed to the King Raniero; a plea to surrender and spare thousands of lives that will be lost on both sides in a futile defense. I promise mercy on him and his nation if only he would give up this destructive and foolish war."

"Victory! Victory!"

"In the case that the griffon king refuses to give in, our armies will continue their march, until the threat is no more and our land knows peace once again. Our victory in this war is inevitable at this point, and we shall not be denied it!"

"Victory! Victory!"

"I commend you all, and my thanks for your participation in the festivities today, as well as the war effort."

More cheering met this statement. There was one final shout of, "Victory! Victory!" before the soldiers turned and marched into the station.

"I suppose that speech wasn't all that bad," James said.

"'Wasn't all that bad?'" Shining said, from Celestia's other side. "The crowd was eating out of her hooves!"

"I admit, I'm glad it's over," Celestia said. "I do hope that my subjects (James shivered slightly) have gotten the message; that we will not be defeated at this stage of the conflict."

"What will you do with this massive army when the war's over?" James asked.

"I'm still thinking it over," the Princess said. "But I think we'll maintain an official army, along with the Royal Guard. I'll also set in place protocols designed for a fast and efficient mobilization. Most of the troops you see here will be demobilized, but a hard core of them will remain as professional soldiers."

"I see. I'm glad that this army isn't just going to be disbanded when the war's over."

"I would prefer that I could do such a thing," Celestia replied. "But this conflict has proven to me how necessary a military is. We'll also have a navy with similar principles in mind that I've outlined for the army."

"Very good," James answered, turning to her. "While the thousand year or so reign of peace you established was impressive, it is by no means infallible. War is part of being people; when its not nation against nation, it's person against person, people against disease, a struggle with depression, and, most importantly, the good and restrained side of our natures against the evil, sinful and indulgent. Sooner or later, a war between nations would be inevitable. To cast aside what we've learned in this war would be foolish."

"Do you really believe that war is so inevitable?" Celestia asked, turning her head to face him with both eyes.

"In this life, yes. That's why a having a multitude of arms at the ready and planning for the eventuality of conflict are essential for a nation that desires its independence. Magic, or what you call magic, is not sufficient to keep a nation protected and enemies at bay. Sometimes, the availability of arms can prevent a war and make both sides think twice before deciding anything rash." James looked away for a moment, toward the soldiers boarding the train. "And I certainly hope that our armaments and numbers will help bring this particular war to an end as soon as possible."

"As do I," Celestia replied.

"And I," Shining agreed.

James kept staring at the embarking soldiers. Many would likely not come back. But for the sake of a free and secure Equestria, they would march, and he would be more than glad to lead them... preferably to victory.

Chapter 65; On the Eastern Front once more

At least the ride here was smooth, James thought as he emerged from the car. The rails had been repaired to a certain extent, though they weren't able to reach anywhere near the battle lines. As a result, he, and the final contingent of troops, was getting off at Trottingham Station. Small crowds, though nowhere near as populous as those in Canterlot, cheered the army on as it went forth to do battle.

Blasted tie-eater, James mentally groaned as he saw the mangled railroad lines past the station. The griffon device that had done the job had ripped the ties it had passed over in half, so the rails could not stand as they were supposed to. If it had been made to do its work over dozens of miles, as he suspected, it would cost considerable time and effort to repair. As a result, the supply lines would grow longer, and perhaps more vulnerable. He felt certain that griffons in towns they captured would not sit still and just let Equestria rule them or give them orders; Equestrians hadn't. He wasn't sure how to deal with guerilla warfare if it sprang up, and it was a possibility he couldn't ignore. History showed that the more force - and the more brutal the reprisals - used, the more resistance would increase.

Have to win quickly, he thought as he walked with his troops toward the outskirts of the city. That's all there is to it. Capturing their capital should shock most of them into giving up, and then we can get on building a new peace.That, at least, was what he hoped would happen.

"Generals Armor and Lavigne, over here!" a British-accented voice shouted.

James turned to see a carriage, with a uniformed pony waving. He walked over, with Shining outpacing him and arriving first. "What's this for?" Shining asked.

"To give you both a ride to the eastern front, of course," the pony replied. "There's another two occupants, so I apologize for any tight squeeze there might be."

"That'll be fine," James replied.

Another pony took his bag and placed it on the carriage, fastening it and making sure it fit well before coming back down. James stepped into the carriage and took a seat, with Shining right behind him.

"Hey, boss, how's it hanging?"

"Ah, General Barrel," James said, cheerfully. Shining gave a polite nod. "And Crystal Clear!"

"Glad to see you again, general," the pegasus aide said politely.

"Indeed."

"I'm supposing there's another reason to this meeting than just picking us up," Shining said.

"There is," Barrel said as the carriage started moving. "We have to get you both caught up on the current campaign, and a private carriage - with well insulated windows - was the best place to do it. Better to get the briefing done before you guys got to the front."

"I suppose that's a valid reason... although just getting there would be nice too."

"Of course, sir."

"Who's going to lead the troops to their destination?" James asked.

"Don't worry, sir, I got it all figured out. I've sent a few of our officers to do that job." Barrel's friendly expression changed to one of careful neutrality. "Is it true that some of them are changelings?"

James and Shining looked at one another before the former answered, "Yes, it is. They're firmly on our side."

"It might be a good idea for them to maintain their disguises, then. Not all of our troops believe the news, at least in regards to friendly changelings.

"I suppose that can't be helped," James sighed. "The changelings will also have trouble using any useful disguise against the enemy, since they can only effectively disguise themselves as ponies. Anyway, what's the status of the campaign into the Griffon Kingdom?"

"Unfortunately none too good," Crystal Clear answered. "The forests on their western border are quite thick, and easy to get lost in. The enemy are able to defend themselves quite well, especially since some of them live there. In spite of our numerical advantage, we've been unable to successfully outflank them, and each time they shift units to block us."

"Not that those units are particularly good," Barrel growled. "It's largely local militia units from the nearest griffon clans, putting up the best fight they can with weapons they're unfamiliar with. They've made their own muskets, apparently, so they have supply problems we don't have-"

"Different sizes of ammunition and armaments, for example," Crystal Clear cut in.

"-And those without a gun use archery," Barrel continued. "But the forests make our advance slow, and those stinking militia are always able to slow us down just long enough for more professional, better-armed units to arrive and hold us up."

"Add to all that, our armor isn't as useful as it would be elsewhere," Crystal said. "Mostly, they get stuck in the thick woodlands, but the griffons have started digging ditches with the objective of trapping our vehicles and then setting the forests around them on fire, or having cannons pound the trapped tanks until they're destroyed. They camouflage the pits and trenches, so we can't detect them very easily."

"Furthermore, they chop down trees and use them to block the few roads that exist," Barrel said. "And then they ambush units that come to clear the blockage. Add to that the pits they dig..." He turned to Crystal, and both of them shared a look of disgust.

"What?"

"They put either wooden spikes at the bottom, or they set some sort of explosive, or, worst of all, they somehow rig the inside of the pit to catch fire when somepony falls in."

"Ugh," James grimaced with some horror. Shining looked disgusted.

"Yeah. It's bad," Barrel said. "I'd suggest burning the entire forest down and getting on with it, but Their Highnesses wouldn't approve, I know that."

"You're correct on that score," Shining said. "And the fires would hurt us, too. That option is out."

"We've been able to advance some," Barrel concluded. "But our pace has been painfully slow."

James sighed. "We need another method of attack."

"We've been trying, sir," Crystal insisted. "We've tried using pegasi to outflank them by flying around and over their positions, but they've been attacked every time they land, and not always by soldiers."

"You mean-"

"Yep," Barrel said, anger showing on his face. "Civilians, armed with pitchforks, torches, and whatever real weapons they can get their claws on attack our pegasi, along with actual ground troops. Each such attack we've made has ended in failure."

"I see," James said, which would do for an understatement until he came up with something better. "So our options are somewhat limited. The only idea I can think of off the top of my head is to try everything at once, a massive offensive from every unit we have."

"We've thought of doing that," Crystal said, nodding. "But we keep getting missives from Canterlot urging us to get a move on, and we haven't had time to set up such an assault."

"And who's been sending these orders?"

"The Princesses, or at least, their names are the ones on the letters. 'Keep making every effort to press ahead,' 'Move to attack immediately while the enemy is weak,' 'the fate of the kingdom hinges on the success of your assault in this campaign;' those are the kinds of "orders" we've been getting."

"That doesn't sound like Celestia," Shining said suspiciously.

"We've noticed," Barrel said. "We've tried tracking down the one giving these out, but so far no luck."

"We suspect it's the Canterlot nobility getting uppity," Crystal reasoned. "They've always resented the fact that their power has been slowly eroding. A success in war might give them a little of that power back. Unfortunately, we can't be these messages aren't from the Princesses, so we've done what we could, apart from our own attack efforts independent of those receipts. The results.... well, they'll be what you see."

"I'll write to Celestia immediately," Shining replied, taking out a quill and paper. "This has to be stopped."

"Of course, the writer might not be a pony," James said.

Everyone else turned to him. "What do you mean?" Shining asked, quill out and ready to write.

"It might be from the enemy, urging us to make futile and costly attacks that achieve little and whittle down our morale."

There was a short silence, and then Crystal said, "But that's impossible. The letters come from a mailbag carried by a pony, who is guarded during his journey. There is no way these letters could have been produced by griffons."

"Well, how long has it been since you last received one of these?"

Crystal thought. "About a week or two ago, possibly, though we've been expecting another one."

"That might coincide with our defeat of the Changelings under Chrysalis," James replied.

"Who might have been supplying those letters," Shining realized. "To focus us on fighting here and not on them. A clever plan, and well thought out. They wouldn't exactly want to share with the griffons had they been able to win."

"Its only a suspicion," James noted. "We can't be sure."

"Even so, the idea that these letters may well not be from the Princesses would ease our minds," Barrel noted. "They've let their generals in the field tend to have a high measure of independent control so far, so these missives have been disturbing, to say the least."

"I'll see what I can do," James replied. "How much ground have we taken?"

"We've been able to press about twenty miles into their land. I'm not sure just how many square miles that is, but they've put up quite the defense. In most cases, our ratio of inflicting between two to three enemy casualties to every one of our own is dropping rapidly to one to one," Crystal summed up. "If this situation keeps up, we might well have to quit the war simply based on all the ponies back home who will be screaming for peace."

"That's not acceptable," Shining answered. "The griffon king made it clear that he's not going to accept any peace other than that of a defeated Equestria. Most of our people know that by now; most of the protests the diarchy have been receiving stopped after Celestia's conference with General Grayfeather.."

"That's good," Barrel said. "All the same, we don't want to risk starting them back up again. Sadly, the enemy, even their makeshift militias, are very determined, being on home ground. That makes them even harder to beat."

The carriage went over a bump; James dropped his hat and bent down to pick it up, grumbling slightly as the others continued speaking.

"How many troops can we rely on?" Shining was asking as James straightened back up.

"About 94,000 Equestrian troops - not counting the reinforcements, which will bring us up to 104,000, including changeling detachments - and about 6,000 Saddle Arabians, along with 5,000 Zebras in numerous tribes. That brings our forces up to approximately 115,000, not including casualties we may have suffered in the interval of us coming to Trottingham and back," Crstaly sounded off.

"And what about the enemy's numbers?"

Crystal sighed. "We aren't sure. More than they had before the campaign started; much of it's the militia that's been giving our pegasi grief, but there have been more red-coated griffon soldiers than usual, and not always on the frontline, or where those units are most sorely needed."

James frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't they deploy their best troops in the places where they'd do the most good?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell us," Crystal said. "The only ideas we could think off are that they're trying to shore up less-determined or less well equipped units, but..."

"That doesn't quite fit," James finished for him. He looked outside the window, at the passing countryside, trying to ponder the problem.

Why would they not send the King's own troops - who, by their own admission, are the best the griffons have to offer - into the front lines where they're most needed? It's like they're being positioned for something, but for what, And who?

It took a couple days to reach their destination. James was impressed by the massive array of tents, as well as the artillery park he passed and the well-organized supply dumps, at least in the one clearing he passed through.

"Our army isn't as well organized out on the field, unfortunately," Barrel said when he commented on that. "It's chaotic, fighting in these stinking forests. Sometimes soldiers from different units get jostled together, and it all becomes an even greater mess."

"Even so, we have to keep pushing forward." James sighed. "Not going to be easy, but even so..."

"Any ideas you've had since you left?" Barrel asked.

"Yeah. Repurposing airships in order to bomb the enemy out was something I'd thought of, but it got shot down."

"I'm assuming you meant the idea, since we've seen no airships around here, and for good reason," Barrel replied. "Anti-air guns have become rather numerous on both sides; any aircraft built with current technology would be shot down for real. We've had to limit our pegasi attacks to nighttime assaults. Even so, we've made little headway with those attacks, as I've told you before."

"We'll have to try," James reasoned. "With the changelings in our ranks, we might achieve something."

"If the bugs can do some good, now would be a good time," Barrel said, his voice carefully neutral.

"When the reinforcements arrive, we'll be set," James said. "What about the SA and zebra commanders? Do they get any say in operations?"

"Ah, yes," Barrel said, again neutral. "Chief Jelani and his wife, Furaha, are technically in charge of only their company of troops, but they have considerable influence among the other zebra leaders."

James frowned. "He brought his wife?"

"Yep. Trust me, we thought the same thing. Turns out, they've got a sort of joint ruler-ship over their tribe; Jelani is the de-jure chief, and makes the most important decisions, but Furaha handles his household and runs all the smaller but still very important business."

"And they left no one in charge back home?"

"No; they've given the job to their young but promising son; they say they've arranged it as a test for him, for his future inheritance as chief."

"I see. Well, how have the zebras fought so far?"

"Actually quite well, given their lack of most modern weaponry. They're not at home in the woods, though. And most of them don't speak our language; we have to have translators when some run of the mill warrior of theirs comes to deliver a message."

"And what about...?"

"The Saddle Arabian commander is named Aali Abd al-Malik, a high general in his king's army," Crystal said. "He doesn't speak much English, as you call our language, and he's somewhat vain, but at least he's competent and extremely loyal to his king, though stubborn as a cranky mule when he wants to be."

"I hope we can get along," James murmured.

They continued. The clearing wasn't big, so they passed through it very quickly. They came into the woods; James found his sleeve almost immediately caught on a small, low branch. He tugged it loose, most of the branch coming with it.

"That's just part of it," Crystal noted.

'Where did you guys even set up the majority of the camp?"

"It's scattered throughout the place, in patches where we've chopped down the trees just for the purpose. Some of the lumber we use for firewood, most of the rest for field fortifications, in so far as we can create fortifications in a place like this."

"Prince Blueblood would flip if he'd had to camp in a place like this," Shining observed, chuckling.

"I suspect so," Barrel answered. "Anyway, our Grand Headquarters for the coalition army is just ahead. We'll be there in a few minutes."

There was another clearing mercifully close. Unlike the previous one, this one was clearly not natural, as tree stumps and large stacks of logs were everywhere. A blue, white, and red-striped tent stood in the center. "The GHQ, I assume?" James asked.

"Yep," Barrel said, chewing on the piece of grass he'd stuck in his mouth.

As they got closer, the sound of arguing voices could be heard. "Oh boy, not again," Barrel grumbled.

All four of them rushed inside the tent. There, James laid eyes on the commanders of Equestria's allies.

Chief Jelani was recognizable at once; he was a zebra, obviously, and was shouting at what would have looked like a perfect, full-tacked and ready horse back home. Since the zebra chief was speaking in Swahili, James didn't understand a word of what he was saying, but the tone and furious look on his face said that he wasn't happy. Next to him, seated, was what appeared to be his wife, who looked perfectly calm and at home, and appeared to be simply allowing her husband to shout himself out. She appeared to be quietly brewing tea, even as her husband raised a hoof at the other general.

Abd al-Malik - or at least James guessed that was who he was - was no less upset. He was shouting back in Arabic, oblivious to the fact that his opponent couldn't understand him. He had a green coat of fur, wore a bridle on his head and a saddle - in Arabian style - on his back. All four hooves had gold horseshoes nailed to the bottom of them, and the bridle and saddle had jewels embedded in them. Clearly, he was someone of importance or at least someone who thought he was. Translators on both sides of the issue - a third zebra and a second Saddle Arabian - were trying to translate each other's speak into English, which they'd then try translating, quite belated, to their leaders.

Both leaders initially didn't notice the new arrivals. Both of them continued bickering - or perhaps they were just trading insults, James wasn't sure. However, Jelani caught sight of the newcomers after a moment and went quiet. Abd al-Malik went on shouting for a few more seconds, then, puzzled by the sudden lack of resistance, turned as well.

For a moment, there was silence.

Jelani broke the silence first. He said something in Swahili. "Greetings, honorable allies," his translator spoke, in the same sort of accent Zecora had. "I trust your travels went well?"

"A thousand greetings," Aali Abd al-Malik said through his interpreter, glancing rather snidely at the chief. "I am honored to meet the courageous and honorable commanders of our allied troops." He spoke with much less of an accent than did Jelani; in fact, if one hadn't been looking for it, one might have some difficulty knowing it was there.

"Hi," James said, giving a small bow to each leader in turn.

"What was all that about?" Shining asked, foregoing greetings for the moment.

Both commanders seemed to blush once that was translated, though Jelani recovered more quickly. He spoke again to his interpreter, but his wife raised a hoof. "Please pardon my husband and this fop," she said, in perfect though heavily Swahili-accented English, much like that of Zecora as well. "Since our arrival, they've been arguing non-stop."

"I see," James said cautiously. "Might I ask what this little... discussion was about?"

Jelani spoke for a moment with his wife before again talking to the interpreter, who translated. "I apologize for the disturbance. My... colleague was-"

"The chief took offense when Al-Malik said the zebra troops were not properly equipped," an aide off to the side said, catching them by surprise. "So the chief responded by saying that the SA troops were too bejeweled to be of any practical use in a battle, and it all escalated from there."

"That's it?" James looked at Shining, who looked back. "Honestly, our argument during the Siege of Trottingham was more substantial than that."

Shining nodded, then turned back toward the foreign commanders. "Let's get one thing clear," he began. "While you might both be big shots, you're both here to help Equestria, and I'm Equestria's highest ranking military officer." He pointed a hoof at al-Malik. "Your king gave you orders to serve under Equestrian commanders, and I'm sure he won't be pleased if I send him a letter explaining how you weren't willing to act in harmony with friendly troops. And you," he went on, pointing to the zebra chieftain, "are here because you volunteered to help us. I could ask Celestia to send you home if you can't do anything better than argue. From this point on, I want both of you to work together without any further outbursts of this sort. Do I make myself clear?"

The chief looked somewhat miffed when that was all translated, but after a brief conversation with his wife, he reluctantly nodded.

Aali Abd al-Malik wasn't so easily mollified. He said something that sounded quite scathing in response, and his translator - who was almost as well dressed as his commander - interpreted with the air of someone doing a job they really didn't want to do. "How dare you presume to give me an order? I serve my sultan, and no one else. And if you dare to do such an ignominious thing like send me back, I would lobby with him to leave the conflict. Try fighting the war when the blockade is left to the minuscule Equestrian fleet."

James snapped. "Your king is interested in bringing this war to a successful solution. Imagine the prestige loss your family would suffer if your king believed us over you, and had you replaced with a less troublesome commander."

He knew he'd struck a nerve when the translator had finished speaking. The Arabic-speaking horse - or pony, James wasn't sure, as the structure of the body differed in some ways when compared to ponies from Equestria - jerked back. "You wouldn't dare," the reply came.

"We've taken a number of rather risky dares in this war already. You know better than to think we're bluffing," James replied.

Al-Malik spoke at length with his translator; clearly, he'd been rattled. Finally, the translator replied, "I will... consider your requests."

"Requests my-"

"Leave it," Shining said quickly. "It's not worth it."

"...Alright," James said after a moment, though only after making a great effort to control the anger he was feeling.

Al-Malik muttered something, but the interpreter did not translate. Whatever it was, James was sure it wasn't a compliment to anyone.

"Can we please try to agree on some measure of military strategy, if not in ethics?" Rolling Barrel asked. "I propose that the generals commanding look at the map of the battlefield."

After that was translated, the chief and the SA general both nodded, though the latter with some measure of proud reluctance.

"Now," James said, as Crystal brought out a large map and spread it out before them, "Here's what we had in mind..."

"I don't know how you guys talked me into doing this," James murmured.

"It was at least partly due to your ideas regarding airships," Shining countered. "We just used a hot air balloon instead."

"Besides, it's the only way to really get any idea of what's going on with our own eyes," Crystal added.

All three of them were inside the basket of a hot air balloon - far enough behind the Equestrian lines to be out of range for the enemy's anti-air cannons - in order to watch, or attempt to watch, the battle about to commence. James was finding it difficult to concentrate on the troops below without a strong sense of fear coming over him, his prevalent fear of heights.

"Don't worry, sir," Crystal said. "If something goes wrong, I think I can carry you back to the ground."

"Thanks," James replied, but that didn't make him feel much better. The enemy had already fired a few shots in their direction, but none of the shells had exploded anywhere near them. Even so, the problem persisted, and he knew it would until they were back on the ground. With a massive effort, he managed to focus his attention on using his binoculars to view what he could.

There wasn't much of the battle that he could actually see. The thick woods made it difficult to tell who was who and what was going on.

The whole idea for the battle was to probe the enemy lines, find out where they were strongest and where they were weakest. Initially, pegasi messengers had reported advances of about a half mile, but after that, the enemy had halted the division that had made the assault in the woods. The best any of them could see - and what they were concentrating on - was the fight on the southern-most edge of the line, where the Saddle Arabian and zebra troops were fighting in one of the larger clearings in the massive forest.

The SAs were well-armed with jezails, rifled muskets of Arabic design and decoration, very accurate, even though it was still a muzzle-loading weapon, as well as with curved, bejeweled scimitars. Some of them kept out of the enemy's range and peppered them with long range, persistent gunfire while others moved forward under cover of the barrage with their swords, only unsheathing them once they got close.

The zebras fought without sophisticated and, for this world, modern weapons. However, James was surprised that they didn't simply charge forward with spears, as he'd expected. Instead, they used archers, who utilized fire arrows, to attack the enemy positions. Much of the griffon defensive structures were made of fallen timber, and caught fire easily. The fires didn't spread very far, as the substance used to keep the fire burning didn't let them, they did cast a large pall of smoke over the enemy's position. While the defenders were either preoccupied trying to put out the fires or were blinded by the smoke and flames, other zebras dashed forward. Some fell - some griffons fired, shot, or threw weapons even though they could not see the attackers - but not many. When the assaulting warriors were close, they hurled the lighter of the two spears on their backs into the enemy positions before switching to a heaver one designed for killing at close quarters. Some few of them, carrying caskets of water on their backs, threw water on the fires, which had the effect of putting out the flames but also creating steam, which continued to keep the enemy from seeing what was going on. Only once this was done did they make their shock attack. The archers put away their bows at this point and rushed forward to join their comrades.

James was impressed by the effective use of this rather primitive weaponry in a modern, or pre-modern, battle. Although indeed less well equipped, the zebras were able to use what they had and make it work.

Both the SAs and the zebras were able to push past the griffon positions in the clearing. However, once they were back inside the woods, the zebras wisely did not attempt to use fire again, and James wasn't able to see much else after that point as the fighting moved again into the woods.

About fifteen minutes afterward, another pegasus came up to deliver news of the fighting. "We're doing what we can, sir," he said the Shining Armor. "But the enemy had several layers of defense ready. We broke through one, and now we've gotten entangled on the second. I think it's that way all up and down the line."

"What about the Saddle Arabians and zebras?"

"They got a little further into the woods, but they've been stopped too. I think everypony's been stopped, or at least stalled, on this second defensive line."

"Blast," the white stallion said softly. "Well, thank you. Keep us posted."

"Will do, sir." The soldier saluted, then flew back to join his comrades.

"Well, that's that," James said quietly. "I don't think we'll be able to penetrate their lines, not today."

"It wasn't part of the plan to do so," Shining observed. "But I'm disappointed, too. I thought we'd at least find something out about potential weak spots."

"Only thing we found out is, they're prepared to fight for every last inch of this forest," Crystal observed.

"We've only begun making the raider units," James said, thinking out loud. "In fact, orders for their instatement only went out today, and we haven't been here long enough to effect a real attempt to outflank them. It would take days to go anywhere, and they have patrols buzzing around to detect any such effort we make. And we know that the enemy has some sort of militia act in place; that much the few prisoner's we've taken in this fight have told us, so every town we come across will have some defense in place, and that slows us down, by however much." He sighed. "In order to outflank them real good, we might have to forego a united frontage and detach a corps to make a really wide sweep to one side or the other, but that would expose a modest-sized piece of our army to ambush."

"And they'd notice," Shining said. "We need to break through and advance, but the question is how."

"Maybe we'll find something out in the reports of the battle that we get this evening," James said. He sighed. "I hope that as few of our boys as possible paid the price for that knowledge."

"Me too."

"In the meantime, I think we've gotten all we can out of this little aerial excursion," Crystal said. "I suggest we call off the current offensive and rethink what we're going to do on the ground."

"Yes! Thank you," James said quickly. Then, noticing, the rather amused faces of the others, tried to recover. "Ahem, yes, lets do that," he said.

Crystal chuckled. "I'll take us down. Just keep your cool, sir. We'll be earth-side in a couple minutes."

As the hot air was let out of the balloon and the basket began to slowly make its way to the ground, the fear of heights that had gripped James began to dissipate as well. His mind continued to wrestle with the problem before them, or rather, problems. In addition to their task for clearing the forest and making their way to Gryphos in the face of determined enemy opposition, they had to make sure that allied troops behaved themselves and didn't end up fighting each other. That last might not prove much of an issue, but James didn't want to take a chance. As well, the population in the area was hostile, making for likely revolt in areas they held, or would hold.

One thing was certain. They had to succeed, and soon.

I hope we get a miracle soon, or this will be really costly.

Chapter 66; Order

Brigadier Barlow looked over his casualty list. It wasn't good, but it wasn't disastrous, either. The ponies and their allies had struck through the forests, and had ultimately been stopped cold by griffon forces, as well as by civilian militias that had formed; the fact that unprofessional and non-military groups were so critical to the defense of the mother country was something that weighed heavily on his mind. It was irksome; the militias didn't respond well to army commands, whatever the enemy may have thought, and were more focused on protecting their towns and villages than in sustaining a combined defense. They were, as such, unreliable, given their lack of discipline, though their patriotic fervor left nothing to be desired.

He muttered under his breath. The losses were coming closer to one - one than they'd had in previous situations, but even that wasn't good enough; the enemy still came out ahead, given their numbers and resources. And no one had anticipated how well the technologically deficient zebras could fight.

Brigadier Raymond had the same issues, as did every other general-level officer in the army. There was also the shortage of food, as well as the usual clan bickering. His own clan leaders weren't happy with the turn the war had taken; he knew none that were. There had been a petition by clan leaders, sent to the King demanding for a cessation of the war. He wasn't sure how to take that; on the one claw, it felt like treason. On the other, though, he would be pleased, quite pleased indeed, to see a peaceful result and go home to his mansion and live the rest of his days in peace.

The King's response to the petition hadn't come through yet, or at least, not so far as he had heard. He knew it wouldn't be much longer in coming. Raneiro would not be pleased. However, there wasn't much that Barlow could see him doing about it; the King ruled by the will of the clan leaders, and if enough of them banded together in a common cause, he could face being thrown out of the Kingship, along with his would-have-been successors. What would happen should that sequence of events come to pass, he didn't know; there would be internal chaos in the land, and the army would likely disintegrate as clan leaders pulled them out of the war. That would not be so good, as he wasn't sure how the alliance fighting against the Griffon Kingdom would respond; not in a way benefiting the Kingdom, he was sure of that.

He began writing a report of his division's losses, as well as its expenditure of ammunition and the need for more food and munitions for future engagements. It took a short time to complete, then he sent it on its way.

He yawned. It was late in the day, and the sun was going down, a reminder that the griffon effort had not met its goals. How the King would have controlled the two celestial bodies, he had no idea, but he believed the King had some sort of method planned out.

We were arrogant, he thought. We were so certain that there would be no appreciable resistance, and, once such resistance did occur, we believed that we would be the better soldiers and warriors and crush our enemy easily. And, of course, we started much too late in the year; that last winter was utterly brutal, even without the pegasi making things worse.

All these reasons and more were clear for anyone willing to use logic. The King hadn't listened so far.

He settled into the bed and was about to take a short nap when a red-coated griffon barged through the tent flap.

Barlow frowned. His guards should have informed him of such a visit, and just barging into a superior's tent wasn't acceptable behavior. "Soldier, I do not tolerate such insubord-"

"Brigadier Barlow, I come on a mission assigned by the King with the concurrence of his servant, General Grayfeather," the soldier interrupted, not even trying to defend his actions.

"Is that so? Then tell me, so I can report your insubordination and mark you down for a disciplinary infraction; multiple infractions, in fact."

"You are ordered to forswear all allegiance to your clan leaders and pledge undying loyalty to His Majesty the King, placing your clan's place in your heart second to His Majesty's own."

"WHAT!?" Barlow leaped out of bed, temper flaring. "How dare you make such demands of me, or any griffon, for that matter!? I demand you leave at once, you fanatical fool, or I'll-"

"You are ordered to swear allegiance to His Majesty alone," the soldier repeated. He pulled out a pistol on his belt. "If you refuse, I am ordered to execute you on the spot for high treason against the kingdom. I advise you to change your answer, and especially your manners, for this is your last chance to obey."

Barlow thought about it, but not for long. "I am loyal to my people first, and to the King second," he replied. "I reject your pathetic demands in all their particulars!" he shouted. "I will not turn traitor to my clan just to serve the King. How dare you, and how dare he, try and force me to make such a decision!?"

The soldier shrugged. "Good-bye, then, traitor Barlow," he answered and grinned slightly.

There was a twang, and the soldier stiffened before crumpling to the floor, dead with a bolt in his back. Barlow looked up to see Raymond and a few other griffons at the door to his tent.

"Thought I wasn't the only one," Raymond said, reloading the small, one claw crossbow he carried.

"You mean one of these beasts make the same demand?"

"Yep. Too bad for him I was quicker on the draw." Raymond frowned. "Far as I can see, this is goin' on all through the army."

"The entire army?" Barlow reached for his sword, unsheathing it. "How could such a thing be happening?"

"Don't know. Don't seem like just a cult of boys loyal to the King. I'd say this is all the King's doing."

"But... But how could he?" Barlow asked, more rhetorically than for any other reason. "The clan leaders would never accept such a move!"

"Which make me think that they might have been the first ones ta receive 'ultimatums' like the ones we just got."

Barlow stared. Then horrified realization came upon him. "You don't mean to say... Our clan leaders.... the first to perish under this... this...!?"

"New royal policy? Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised."

Barlow picked up his sword and a small crossbow as well, and left the tent. At the door, both of his guards were down; they'd been assassinated. "We need to leave."

Raymond frowned. "What we need to do is kill Grayfeather. He had to have been colluding with the King for months to do... this," he spat.

At that moment, gunfire broke out in the northern end of the camp. A moment later, a cannon followed suit, blasting away.

An old griffon, flying at speeds that would have impressed a younger member of the species, flew down and landed next to them.

"General Graywing," Barlow said in greeting, bowing briefly in respect. Raymond didn't bother; he kept his eyes peeled, looking every which way. The elderly but very fit griffon was admired by most of the army as a skilled and brave commander, and a worthy and honorable clan leader.

"Since you greet me as a friend, do I take that you're opposed to this atrocity that is perpetrating the camp?" Graywing asked.

"We are," one of the griffon guards nearby said.

"We must leave," Graywing said. "We must leave, and find a way to reorganize elsewhere."

"But...!"Raymond protested, "We have ta kill that blasted Grayfeather; if we kill 'im, this-"

"Think, Brigadier Raymond. Grayfeather will be surrounded by the King's best troops. To attempt to slay him, and overthrow the King's followers, would be utter madness and nothing else. I believe he's prepared for the eventuality that a few of us got away, and would try for such an effort. We'd be walking into a trap, and our heads would answer for it."

At that moment, artillery opened fire somewhere in the camp. Guns began firing off, and distant twangs of crossbows firing came to their ears.

"Ain't stoppin' some from tryin'," Raymond argued.

"No. It will be troops loyal to the King that will be responsible for most of the sounds of battle that we hear now. We must flee immediately, and gather what other survivors we can, and attempt to find out what is going on elsewhere in the kingdom."

"Or," one soldier said, "we might find shelter with the Equestrians."

"No," Barlow waved a claw in refusal. "We've been fighting them. I refuse to defect to our enemies, former or otherwise. We'd only be giving them our families and our freedom to them on a gilded plate."

"Not to mention, we'd lose our ability for independent action," Graywing added.

"And we'd be under that blasted blasphemer," Raymond put in.

"We can discuss this elsewhere," Graywing said, as a shell exploded not far away. "Our primary concern should be rallying survivors and escaping. Barlow, gather whatever troops of your clan you can, as with you, Raymond. We'll meet in the marshes to the southeast and make further plans there. I'll go and try to save whatever leaders would follow us there."

James listened to the artillery in the distance, expecting for shells and cannonballs to fall inside the camp, or against the forward lines. Instead, the expected detonations never seemed to come close to the Equestrian lines.

"What the...? What could they possibly be up to?" he muttered to himself.

"A question I was about to ask," Shining Armor said, a hoof twisting in the dirt in anxiety.

"It sounds almost like the shells are falling inside their own camp," Crystal Clear noted. "They must have some rookie gunners."

"No, that can't be it," Shining answered. "There's too many guns going off for that, and their officers would have stopped them by now."

"And there's regular rifle and musket fire," James added, a hand on his chin. "I doubt it's a celebration of sorts."

"I suggest we send some pegasi scouts," Crystal suggested. "A bigger group than normal, too. And maybe prepare our army to attack them, if we find a chance to."

"I think that's a good course of action," James replied. "Hopefully, we'll be able to rouse the army for such an effort. We haven't been expecting to attack for a few days, at least."

At that moment, a Saddle Arabian soldier galloped up to them. "His Excellency, Abd al-Malik, has heard the distant noise in our enemy's camp, and asks what measures you will take, as well as what your advice will be to His Excellency in this hour."

James looked at Shining, who nodded. "Tell him we'll be attacking as soon as our scouts report back," the stallion answered.

The SA soldier nodded as well, then raced away. General Rolling Barrel came trotting up in his place. "I trust you've heard the commotion in the enemy lines?" he said without hesitation.

"We have," James confirmed. "We're sending out scouts. Crystal, see to it immediately."

"Right away, sir. I'll draft the orders at once."

That dealt with, James turned to the east.

What's on earth could they possibly be doing? What could they be thinking?

"General, most of the traitor officers have been dealt with," an aide said to General Grayfeather in his tent.

"Excellent," the general answered. "Soon, the army will be running much more smoothly and obediently."

Cannon fire went off about a mile away. The general frowned. Of course, there were some who not only refused the King's demand, but who had killed the one sent to deliver it, and even more troublesome, had managed to rally their troops to resist. One company had even dared try to assail his tent in an effort to kill him; well-aimed cannon and musket fire had put an end to them, and it really was the end; the survivors had all refused to declare their supreme loyalty to the King, and were "dealt with," as the aide had said a moment earlier.

"Take prisoner anyone found resisting if you can, and slay them if they persist in their foolishness," he ordered. "If they are too blind to see that the kingdom will be better off for the united purpose that shall come, then they will never be made to see. If those who are captured refuse to declare loyalty, execute them, as with the idiots who attacked us fifteen minutes ago."

"It will be done, sir," the aide said. "But what should we do if the Equestrians take advantage of this... turmoil?"

The general grunted uncomfortably. It was a good question, and the one problem that he couldn't adequately deal with if the Equestrians and their allies chose to take advantage of the situation. "Tell the troops to abandon our trenches and fill them with anything that will burn," he said at last. "Place loyal units on our flanks, so they will be able to stop any ground units that come. And have our cannons and loyal musketeers stand by to shoot down any pegasi that attempt to fly over the fires."

"Sir, what if the fires spread out of control?"

"They won't. We've cut down most of the trees right next to our trenches, and we can send troops with water buckets to fight any dangerous fires that do threaten to spread; no doubt the Equestrian pegasi will use clouds to extinguish any flames that threaten their side. We'll retreat a mile or two once this... business is done, and rebuild our lines there. And from there, we will not only begin to reclaim our kingdom, but we shall light the beacon that shall spell the end of Equestria."

There was pandemonium in the griffon lines and camp. Most of those who had refused the King's demands had been killed, leaving their troops without organization, or, quite often, without a clear picture of what was going on. Only a few units, mainly those whose officers had survived the attempts on their lives, managed to get themselves in any sort of order before the King's soldiers came, along with the officers and units who had decided either that their allegiances lay with the Crown or that their survival outweighed their loyalty to their clans. Whenever an officer or unit managed to slay or capture the one delivering the "ultimatum," soldiers from the King's own regiments attacked within minutes, methodically reducing areas of resistance, though the price of doing so in numerous cases was costly. Those who were captured - whether or not their commanders survived - were offered one last chance to serve the King as opposed to their clans. Those who refused the demand were killed outright. Most of the surviving mercenaries agreed to continue serving in the King's name rather than be murdered, and of course they received more gold in exchange for hunting down those who rejected the new way.

Some soldiers managed to escape, as had Barlow, Raymond, Graywing, and their troops. Those who did manage to leave fled wherever they could, but nowhere could they escape the feeling that they were being hunted, outlaws in a kingdom suddenly turned against them.

In the various clans around the land, things were even worse. Clan leaders were either forced to accept the demand or be suddenly slain, as with the officers in the army. In cases where the clan leader surrendered his or her authority to the King, royal soldiers moved in, along with a small army of porters, to seize whatever wartime resources were located inside that clan's borders. Any who insisted in protesting were arrested, charged with treason, and sent to the capital for a one year sentence in the royal dungeons. In a few areas, a clan was able to capture or kill the "messenger." in such cases, the royal army would sweep in; it would try to end the resistance as soon as possible, but, if faced with strong defenses, would sit back and begin to besiege the towns and cities, all the while plundering and despoiling the land, so that the food, stone, wood, iron, and other resources that belonged to the "traitors" was appropriated in the King's name.

A pegasi landed in front of the commanders. "Sir," he said, saluting, "You'll never get a better chance to attack if you looked for a hundred years."

James frowned. "Explain."

"They're fighting each other. We saw fighting along their line, griffons fighting one another all over the place."

"What madness is this?" Barrel exclaimed.

"Whatever it is, our scout's right," James said quickly. "Issue orders for a general attack. If what they've seen is true, we'll catch them fighting one another and smash them as a fighting force."

"What, just have the troops drop whatever they're doing and advance, just like that?" Barrel asked, stomping a hoof at the last word for emphasis."

"Yes. Form ranks, do it now, and push against the enemy until they break or until we're too tired to hammer them any more."

"He's right," Shining agreed. "Issue orders to all our commanders; attack! Attack immediately!"

Equestrian soldiers advanced through the forest, toward the enemy positions they'd been stuck against for the past several days. in many places, the enemy were present in force, and resisted fiercely, repulsing some of the attacks. However, the allied forces often came up against positions where the defenders were depleted to the point where they couldn't hope to hold against the attacking force, and gave way. Some of the griffons and their mercenaries fought for every inch of ground, but most, when the defense was broken, simply fled, often throwing away their weapons and, in some cases, armor, in order to flee faster.

James came upon one of the locations where the griffons were still fighting each other. Red-coated soldiers, equipped with bayonetted rifles, savagely assaulted a much smaller group of armored warriors, who were armed with anything they could find; guns, crossbows, swords, even sticks and rocks.

I don't know what's going on here, but I have a feeling that the smaller group will be more willing to provide information... provided any of them survive this. He took out his rifle - the trigger, designed for ponies, felt weird to him - and fired. A royal soldier fell to the ground, dead before he had any idea of what was going on.

Many of his comrades shared the same fate. It was about a minute before the griffons of both groups realized that they were under attack from someone other than their own kind. The battle, at least here, degenerated into a three-sided brawl. All the combatants shot at one another in a wild free for all. Twice, James was forced to shoot an armored warrior in self defense, in spite of the fact that he especially wanted prisoners from their group.

I've seen some crazy things, but this is just ridiculous, he thought as a quarrel flew over his head. He fired at the one who had shot it, more in an effort to make his target duck than for any other reason. He turned and shot another red-coated soldier down.

The fight didn't last for long. The commander of the two griffon forces must have died fighting each other, because their efforts were without coordination, and neither had ability to keep the Equestrian soldiers from simply filling the air with lead. In a short while, this particular piece of forest belonged the Equestria.

Soldiers from both griffon parties lay, dead or wounded, in the position where they had been hit. Some hat been hit from multiple directions at once; one of the enemy soldiers had arrows and bolts sticking out of him, along with five gunshot wounds.

"Gather the wounded and any who have surrendered. Find out what's going on," he ordered.

James sat down under one of the many trees, eyes still open and rifle at the ready. He sighed. This business didn't get any easier, though hopefully the information from prisoners would ease the confusion he was feeling.

"Oh... Mother...," a griffon not far away moaned weakly.

"It hurts... I don't want to die," another groaned, with sounds of sobbing coming him. Others, wounded and dying of both pony and griffon, said similar things, or simply screamed their pain to the four winds.

James felt a powerful, sorrowful emotion leap into his throat, and tears began to fall from his own eyes. How much longer will people get hurt, bleed out and die just because of the crazy orders of an insane king? We must bring an end to it!

Fortunately, he was not long in waiting. Two prisoners, one from each of the griffon parties, was brought before him. The royal soldier was struggling against his restraints and attempting to bite his pony captors; luckily, both were unicorns, and they were able to shield themselves. One used his magic to clamp the griffon's beak shut. The other was lightly wounded, but not badly hurt enough to keep from standing up straight; he was still in his armor, but he didn't bother resisting. He just looked confused, as though stunned by everything that had happened.

James turned to the royal soldier first. "What is going on? Why were you attacking your own people?"

The griffon, his beak clamped shut, couldn't immediately answer. James had to motion to the unicorn to release his beak before he said, "It does not concern you, only the Griffon Kingdom."

"I would advise you to answer me properly; while Equestria doesn't practice torture or other, similar forms of interrogation, that doesn't mean they don't have ways of making you talk. Now-"

"I'll tell ya what's happened," the other griffon said, speaking in a voice bordering on insanity in it's tone; James was startled by how disheveled this particular prisoner was. "What happened, was, our clan leader received a visitor. He told our leader to declare his loyalty to the king and forswear his clan and people. When he said no, he tried to kill 'im, but we shot him before he could. Then these barbarians came and ripped through us, that's what's happened. And then you came along."

Whatever he had expected to hear, James was surprised. "Has this been happening everywhere?"

"Everywhere there are traitors who would deny our King his authority and keep our nation broken up into a worthless confederation of powerless idiots!" the royal soldier shouted. "Everywhere that fools gather and plan to withhold what belongs to the King, to betray our sacred soil by keeping recruits and iron and who knows what else that could be used to have won this war by now! We will stamp these traitors out, and rule an empire that will finally be respected and feared by all!"

"An empire that starts out by slaughtering it's own citizens can't stand," James said in counter. "You've just made everything worse. I hope you realize that your King's actions have just cost you the war, since you'll be fighting not only us, but your own people."

"If they resist His Majesty, they are not my people," the soldier retorted.

"Bring him down to our camp," James ordered. "Send him on to a prison camp, and send a letter strongly advising that this subject be further interrogated as to what's happening."

The unicorns nodded. "Will do, general," the one to the left of the prisoner said. "Move it, joker," he added to the soldier, who again had his mouth clamped shut, as he had just attempted to bite again.

"What about him?" the other said, pointing a hoof at the other prisoner.

"Take him and the other prisoners too. Question them, but if they're as shell shocked as this guy, don't push them. Send them on as well."

"Yes sir."

As the prisoners were all rounded up and led away, James sat down again, professional shock beating against a hope that the war might well be finished sooner than he'd thought.

How idiotic can a ruler be!?! First he starts a war that he doesn't even win, then, while in the middle of that war, he starts another, striking his own people, just so he can have total authority. Either the war's driven him truly crazy, or he was power mad to begin with. Either way, he continued, nodding firmly, we have him. If we push now, before he can gather the resources and recruits he wants, we can maintain our numerical advantage and bring this fight to a decisive conclusion. Soon enough, this war will be over, and, if God be kind, I'll never have to listen to screams of pain like that again as long as I live in this life.

"The enemy are breaking through our lines!" an officer reported. "They'll be here in an hour, perhaps less.

"Why weren't the trenches filled with wood and burned?" Grayfeather demanded.

"With all due respect sir, we didn't expect them to react so quickly to this... brief chaos. We were able to stop some of their advances with the measures you took, but elsewhere we were still fighting the traitors, and it was in those areas the enemy broke through. Furthermore, pegasi are coming quickly with clouds to drench the flames."

Grayfeather cursed so violently that everyone in the tent turned red. "Break camp. We'll set up another defensive line to the northeast. Have any traitors we've captured sent to the capital to be judged and destroyed by the King. We'll still win this war, if only we can hold until the new recruits, supplies, and artillery arrive. It will, given that the King can now take what he needs from the clans to win this conflict."

Gryphos, capital of the Griffon Kingdom

Thousand of griffons had gathered in the main square of their beloved, holy capital city. Most were anxious; the King had issued a proclamation throughout his demesne that a speech of the utmost importance, one that would be decisive and announce a change that would bring the war to an end.

Roland was one of those in the crowd. He was confused as to the nature of the upcoming speech, like almost everyone else.

"I hear tell that the King's finally going to make peace with Equestria, he is," an old maid nearby said to another.

"What I heard is, he'll be gatherin' more taxes for the war effort," the other said cynically. "Kings don't win no war wit' out 'em, and 'o do ya think'll be payin' 'em?"

"Confusin' is what it is," an older male said. "If we was just gettin' more taxes, then what's with the royal get up and fancy speech makin'?

"Maybe he's going to pull some sort o' secret weapon that'll crush them varmints that have been ravagin' our ports," a sailor nearby said.

'I 'ope so," a merchant answered. "My business is barely holdin' on, what with those stinkin' Arabians stealin' my ships and sinkin' my cargo."

"Shhh, 'ere 'e comes," a peasant whispered.

The King walked out over the balcony, holding up his front claws to motion for silence... after he'd allowed the crowd to cheer for a several seconds. Quiet fell over the crowd.

"My people, my blood," the King said in a loud voice, easily heard by the entire gathering. "For centuries, our kingdom has been torn by division. We have dealt with much hardship to establish a nation, and yet much of it is wasted on trying to maintain a united nation in the face of a world that is unwilling to give us our proper recognition. In particular, Equestria has slighted us by keeping the sun and moon under their direct control, and by refusing to share that responsibility, one that is too important to be left to one or two ponies, or even to an entire country. So we went to war to right this injustice, and our valiant warriors marched on our foe's land, defeating them time after time. Only the evil efforts of a blaspheming traveler and the ponies' wicked determination to maintain their selfish and domineering ways, no matter the cost to their own kingdom, have prevented us from gaining victory over them."

Roland didn't nod. He and the entire kingdom had been told this before. Some still believed in those words fervently; many about him whispered words of agreement. But the cost had been staggering. And, although the King's censors made it difficult to gain a picture of the war, rumor was currently, as it often was, stronger than official sources. After losing a brother in the conflict, he'd lost any real taste for the war, to put it mildly.

"Unfortunately, we are faced with problems from within. as a kingdom riddled with clans, we have had to try and balance, to negotiate and deal within our own country, instead of all striving outward, as our focus should be. Too many times has one clan gone hungry while it's neighbors eat heartily. Too many times has one become stagnant while another grows. Too long have we been torn by inner rivalries and, too often, bloodshed."

"This ends today."

Roland looked to those beside him. Everyone looked just as confused as he did. What could the King mean by that?

He explained his statement in short order; "This all ends today, friends. In the past, the Crown has had too little authority to end this petty and worthless squabbling. No longer. No longer will our nation be torn apart from within while other nations look upon us as backward fools. Today, our kingdom will be made whole. All clans shall be brought under the protection and grace of the Crown, that we may be one country, without division and hatred tearing at us. We shall balance out the resources each clan has and receives, and bring about a united law upon all the land. We shall bring an ordered nation out of a divided, chaotic corpse, and take our rightful place in the world as a great power to be respected by all that inhabit this world."

There was a considerable amount of applause. In the King's own demesne, many griffons thought the same; that the land was too divided, weaken by inward striving, and that there ought to be greater unity.

Roland didn't join in. He was appalled. The King was doing away with the old ways and, from the nature of the speech, was going to force his way upon the entire kingdom. While others might clap and cheer, he knew that the other clans weren't going to just accept this new change without a fight. With most of the army on the front lines, or so he presumed, how could the King get his way?

The King didn't explain how. He only said, "Some initial hardship shall occur due to this new system, and a few traitors will even resent and resist it. However, we shall come forth on the other side stronger, wealthier, and more powerful than we could ever have been before. I thank you for all your patience, and may the gods favor our cause in this war and in the times to come."

More cheering took place.

"And no longer are we a Kingdom. As of today, I declare the rebirth of our nation into the Griffon Empire. And my name shall no longer be King Raniero, but Emperor Blackstar, Conqueror of Equestria and all who would stand in the way of our nation's progress."

The majority of the crowd were wild and ecstatic at the news. Many believed that the nation should be united as the King had said, and they were more than happy to get their wish, and they applauded the King as he turned and walked back inside.

A sizable minority, however, were worried. Whispering began again, even more urgent than before.

"Well, didn't expect tha'," a middle-aged cobbler said.

"Aye," the sailor from before agreed. "And what happens now?"

"The other clans will never agree to this, or at least, most of them won't," Roland said. "They're not about to give up their autonomy just to serve the King, well, Emperor now."

"Aye, the lad's right," the merchant said.

Roland grunted. He wasn't a child anymore - he was 21 - but sometimes, people just refused to let go of the little kid they'd been so familiar with.

The merchant went on, "If the blockade was - is - bad, what'll this do to my business? Am I going to have to go to the King just to get a charter and trade rights?"

"And how much 'o our silver an' gold'll he take to finance all he said to do?" the cynical maid asked.

"Never mind the taxes," Roland said. "This means civil war, and worse yet one that we'll be fighting while the Equestrians are invading us."

Those nearby muttered anxiously. "e's right," an old griffon near them said. "This'll tear us apart, it will, and then them ponies'll be able ta just waltz in and wipe the board with us all."

Just then, a battalion of soldiers emerged from the palace. They marched through the square, the crowd parting to make way for them. A band marched with them, blaring the royal anthem and singing a battle song that had been popular for royal warriors in days gone by. It was awe inspiring, and it made Roland wonder if the King was all that crazy.

When the troops had gone, the crowd began to disperse. Roland thought about everything that he'd heard and said in the past hour or so. It was almost impossible to comprehend the changes the King was making, right here and now, and he was uncertain of what to make of any of it.

He heard a commotion up ahead, at one of the exits to the square. "What's going on?" he asked.

No one answered. They didn't have to. Up ahead, someone was shout; "Lemme go! Lemme go, I tell you, I'll-"

"You have been conscripted into His Majesty's Royal Army. Come quietly, or you'll be punished severely."

Roland stopped. "Oh no..."

There was a loud scream up ahead as someone was clawed in the face, followed by the sounds of someone getting pounded on.

Roland flew up into the air a few feet to see what was going on.

A soldier was holding his bloody face, a claw over three long, deep scratches, while other soldiers beat up on a middle-aged griffon - The merchant! Apparently, the wealthy griffon hadn't wanted to go into the army, and had tried to escape, an escape that had failed. "Let this be a warning to any who try to escape conscription," the officer overseeing the whole mess declared.

Frightened, Roland tried to fly out of the square, but was met by three soldiers, all flying as he was, two holding bayoneted rifles, the other a sidearm. "Halt," the central one, the one with the sidearm - an officer said. "By Order of His Majesty, all healthy males are to be conscripted throughout the Empire. You are to come with us, or else face the penalties of being a traitor."

Roland looked for a way out, but other soldiers were either taking to the skies to prevent similar escapes or were taking whoever tried to leave the square. "Fine," he hissed furiously. "But I protest this in the strongest terms possible."

"For that, you earn a night in the guardhouse when we get to the camp, fool. Take him, and put him on bread and water for the night," the officer said to the soldiers. "Take him away. Put him in the guardhouse at the camp. Bread and water only for the night."

"Can we have some fun with him first before we do that?" one of them asked eagerly.

"No," the officer said, shaking his head. "Just throw him in and make sure he only gets rations of bread and water. Tomorrow, his training begins, and hopefully his stupid and foolish defiance will have completely melted by then; His Majesty has no room for shirkers and busybodies in the war."

"My brother died fighting in your war, and now you're going to have me killed by the ponies too," Roland protested.

"Shut up!" the guards said in symphony.

"Two nights. And it's not like you're the only one who's getting this treatment. Every village, town, and city is being scoured for shirkers like yourself. Take him away; I have more work to do."

'Right. "Get movin' you," the first guard said. "Or else don't," he added, again in an eager way.

"Come on," the other said. "Tim, you like beating people up too much."

"You're too soft, Jimmy," Tim answered, but didn't take his frightening threats any further. And, stuck between the two of them, Roland was forced to fly southwest, supposedly toward the camp... and toward the war.

"A most brilliant speech, my Ki- er, Emperor," an aide said as Raneiro - or rather, Blackstar now - withdrew from the balcony. "You had them eating out of your claws."

"Indeed. Now, withdraw from my presence; your services are not required presently. And bring those generals I've instructed to meet with me to the throne room."

"Yes, sire." The aide left, as did the recently self-declared Emperor.

He smiled as he walked toward the throne room. Father, I have succeeded your reign in all it's glory and power. I have brought this realm into unity, and have more authority than you were ever willing to take. Yes, you were always the fool, wanting to maintain the balance of crown and clans, never realizing that in order for us to rise to world power we'd have to do away with such weak ways. The people don't matter as much as the nation as a whole. There will be a brief period of pain, as idiots and traitors resist the new, and as my new army defeats the Equestrians and their stupid allies, but after... indeed, after... I'll rule over a nation that will supplant Equestria's place in the sunlight - literally - and have the very power of the heavens in my grasp.

He entered the throne room; the officers - the chiefs of staff - were already there, looking at a map of the Griffon Kingdom - Empire - and Equestria. They stiffened to attention as he entered.

"As you were," he said, and they relaxed... slightly. "I expect you've all been briefed on the new situation?"

"Yes, sir," General Blackfeather, a relative of Grayfeather, responded, as he was supposed to; they'd all known about the plan for months in advance.

"It may have been better to have gained victory over Equestria first, though," another said.

The Emperor's eyebrow twitched. "Our victory will come, now that we will have the necessary recruits and resources coming in."

"Which is what concerns me," the other went on, either unaware of the shock of his fellow officers or just not caring. "The clans won't just accept this."

"We'll make them accept it. That's the reason for keeping back the best of our troops in the past month. As we speak, our troops are enforcing a united nation upon all. Any who are stupid and worthless enough to refuse the changes being made will suffer for their treachery. And once we've won the war, we can deal with our internal problems. Speak to me no further on this matter."

He pointed to another general, who was in charge of gathering the supplies and resources. "We will have substantial amounts of iron, aluminum, tin, copper, wood, and food coming in from the re-appropriations to fuel our war machine for a considerable while," the general said, "as well as enough troops to even the playing field numbers-wise against the Equestrians and their friends."

"However, owing to the chaos on the front lines," another said, "It's possible that our defenses will be compromised temporarily, allowing the enemy to gain some ground, perhaps even come out of the western woods and into the southwestern plains."

The Emperor stared at him, but didn't rage within. That was all too likely to happen. "Then I suggest you do what is necessary to hold the enemy back, including burning the woods to the ground if necessary."

"That would deny us significant amounts of timber if we were to retake the area," the officer replied.

Blackstar knew that the general's concern was more for the forest than for the resources it provided. "Even so, if it seems we cannot stop the enemy advance, I order you to burn it down. Environmental concerns do not impress me when it is our future on the line."

That particular general bowed reluctantly and said no more.

"My lord, if we do manage to take Canterlot, how do you intend to gain control over the sun and moon?" Blackfeather asked. "With the Princesses removed from power-"

"But not from life," the Emperor interrupted. "I've had our best artisans craft special chambers for them, neutralizing their powers, except for what we allow them to do. Chief Engineer, I order you to come out."

Out from behind the doorway a mild-looking griffon with a headband full of small tools, as well as a belt full of bigger ones, walked in.

"I've been waiting for someone to ask that question, General. I am glad that you took the time to ask. I believe the design to be sufficient for our purposes. Isn't that right?" he asked, turning to the CE.

The engineer replied, "The design I will momentarily bring to your attention ought to keep the Princesses in gilded cages, so to speak. As you know, our people possess no magic of our own, except possibly the ability to land on clouds. However, there are elements that can be used to reduce or eliminate the threat of magic from an area."

He laid out a blueprint over the map. On it was some sort of sphere; a green gem hung down from the top. "This particular kind of gem, known as Marbozite, is known to effect unicorns' ability to use magic, usually causing it to behave unexpectedly. In the chamber surrounding the sphere, there are blocks of the ironically named Magicite, which in reality utterly blocks the user's ability to use magic whatsoever; criminal unicorns have rings full of this material placed on their horns to prevent them from utilizing their abilities."

"Commendable for holding the Princesses and any unicorns," Blackfeather said, raising an eyebrow. "I fail, however, to see how this keeps the sun and moon in motion."

"The sphere blocks the effects of the Magicite, which is rare enough that we unfortunately cannot utilize it on the front lines, at least, not yet. His Majesty, I believe, hopes to find veins of this material inside the clans, to help capture, not kill, the Princesses." The Emperor nodded, waving a claw to urge the Chief Engineer to continue. "The Magicite, in any event, is there only to prevent their escape should they manage to break out of the spheres, where they will be confined day and night; the real gem in the crown, if I may be so bold, is the Marbozite, which normally distorts the use of magic, but which the artisans under me have managed to engineer in order to use the subject's magic for our own purposes."

The gathered generals looked interested at this point.

"We have used captured unicorn soldiers to test this system. It took a while to get the desired effect, but we managed to direct the subjects' magic out toward the space around our world, which is exactly the effect we desire. Simply put, once we have the Princesses in custody, we will be able to force them to use their magic only in controlling the sun and moon."

"That's not particularly reassuring," one of the generals protested. "How do we know that they won't use the celestial bodies against us?"

"You forget that Celestia is abominably altruistic to the core," the Emperor answered. "She would never utilize the sun so, and her sister follows in her hoofsteps. Also, if they were to get any ideas, we'd be able to take out our displeasure on the pony population."

"This is all well and good," the environmentalist general from earlier said. "But it can only be made good once the war is won, if indeed it is to be won. At the moment, we've lost a considerable amount of our own territory, with the expectation to lose more before the situation is stabilized and the clans brought into line. We ought to be forging more weapons for the front, not designing miracles for a future that can only be if we win the conflict."

"We will win the conflict, general," the Emperor said in a dangerously quiet voice. "And the resources of the Empire I have just established will be utilized as necessary to win. In any event, we'll now be ready when we do win."

"And now, we shall return to the business of stamping out the treacherous elements in our nation... and then we shall crush Equestria."

Author's Note

I had this idea before the new Star Wars movie came out (points if you got the reference from the chapter name before now), in fact it's been in my head for a long time. If it resembles Star Wars III, well, it's not like what happened in Episode III was an original idea. Other such organized purges include;

The Pueblo revolt against the Spanish in the late 1600; the Pueblo rebels secretly sent sets of beads to one another, with each bead representing a day; when the beads ran out, the Pueblos revolted, one of the few times a native force decisively routed the conquerors. Pope, the leader of the revolt, later established himself as an authoritarian ruler over the Pueblos, and was despised by his own people. The unity of the Pueblos collapsed on his death.

Stalin's purges in the late 1930s. Over 35,000 officers in the Red Army, many with no real disloyalty to the regime whatsoever, were falsely charged and either executed or, if they were "lucky," we sent to penal camps in Siberia.

French King Philip's annihilation of the Templar order, many of whom were loyal.

Hopefully, you guys enjoy this.

Chapter 67; Winds of change

Roland wasn't feeling very good as he was finally led out of solitary confinement. "You get your taste of being a fool, or do you want more?" the officer in charge asked.

"I didn't do anything wrong," he insisted.

"Still a fool, then." The officer smirked. "We know what to do with fools who don't want to do their part in the war."

"A war that's lost."

"Silence!" The officer slapped him. Roland tried to slap him back, but the officer dodged, and one of the guards got the hit instead. The officer knocked him off his feet and hit him again. "You are to obey," the officer said. "You will be silent, and you will do what you're ordered without question. That is the new state of affairs. And we don't tolerate defeatism."

"I'll speak whenever I please."

Slap! "Then I'm obligated to strike you whenever you disobey, idiot."

The guards frog-marched him to a field full of new recruits, most of whom looked quite unhappy. Some were cursing, and almost all were unhappy.

"Is this where you're going to make me train?" Roland asked.

"Be quiet." The officer went up to another griffon with a fancy uniform and a number of medals. The officer whispered to the colonel or general, pointing back at Roland every so often.

The higher officer frowned. He walked over to Roland. "So, you're a defeatist and a disobedient fool?"

"I don't see why I should die in your war when my brother already made his sacrifice."

"At least your brother was a hero and died for our people. He'd weep in his tomb at your attitude. You're a disgrace to the Empire."

"How dare you assume what my brother would say or do!?!"

The colonel paused. "There will be no training for you."

"Oh good," Roland replied sarcastically. "Now I can leave."

Slap! This time, it was the colonel who slapped him. "Don't be stupid. You are on the Probation list. We're going to use you, defeatist or not. You're going straight to the front lines. You'll be given a matchlock and thrown in with the other garbage who don't like the new state of affairs. We'll send you into battle and see how many of you come back. If you live through the war - and that seems unlikely - you'll get your rights back. Until then, you're scum made to serve the Empire's cause." The colonel waved. "Take him to the penal battalion. He is to be made to serve in the front lines, along with the other troublesome idiot we picked up from the capital."

The guards dragged Roland some distance to a different training field. These soldiers looked even more unhappy. They wore khaki uniforms that were faded, more like sackcloth than anything. They fumbled with their weapons, clearly unused to them. Their officers didn't even bother trying to show them how to use them; in fact, they were mostly standing by, watching their troops fail, laughing at every soldier who couldn't even hold his matchlock the right way up.

Someone shoved a matchlock in his claws. "Here," another officer said. Take it."

"How am I supposed to use this thing?"

"Don't ask questions, stupid. Just get in line."

Roland went to his assigned place in the line up after taking his so-called uniform, grumbling furiously. To his surprise, he wasn't the last one. Other griffons, all looking as miserable as he felt, were thrown into the faded uniforms that would have better served as rags.

The griffon to his right bore a rather obvious set of bruises on his face. "Stinkin', rotten no good filthy sons of goats and rats," he said. "Wish I could boil the one that did this to me," he added, pointing to his scar.

"I think I know you from somewhere," Roland said.

"Not sure, lad. I've met a lot of folks."

Roland studied his face for a moment. "I do know you," he said, recognizing the other. "You're that merchant the soldiers beat up."

"And you're the fellow who said we were goin' into a civil war. Well, so much good our mutterings did, to drag us in here."

"What happened?"

"What do ya think? They set up a roadblock and started nabbin' folks. They tried to nab me, and I struck him. Next minute, they were all on top of me, beatin' me senseless. Musta been knocked out, because the next thing I know I woke up here, and they told me that my business was being confiscated by the Empire for my 'crime', and that I'd get it back - maybe - if I lived through the war." The merchant - the former merchant - shook his head. "Like that'll happen. They'll make sure I'm on the front rank every time, to make sure I die and my family end up homeless, to make us suffer even after I'm dead. Worthless, filthy loser of a rat-born Emperor."

"More talk like that, and we won't bother setting you on the front rank at all," a nearby officer said, approaching. "We'll just shoot you, and then your family will definitely remain homeless and poor. Shut up, and stop blaming His Highness for your stupidity, or we'll shut your beak for you... forever."

With that, the officer departed. "Freak," the merchant whispered. He offered his claw to Roland. "I'm Marley, not that it's any consolation to either of us."

"Roland." He took the offered claw and shook it. "We're in the same boat now. Might as well try to survive together. Two work better than one."

"Aye, maybe. Just maybe..."

Silver Shield led his company forward as the Equestrian Army and its allies continued the advance. The enemy had abandoned their effort to defend every inch of ground, and were falling back in some disorder, if his eyes weren't lying to him.

It had been a week since the advance had begun. The griffon forces did attempt to fight back sporadically, but the results of their recent "experiment" had crippled them; their cause was no longer united, and the confusion engendered by the purge had robbed the enemy of many of their best officers and soldiers. What was left wasn't able to hold back the victorious allies. In skirmish after skirmish - they couldn't properly be called battles, given how short they were and how little real resistance was encountered - the griffons and their mercenaries were routed.

"We'll be out of these stinking woods soon," he muttered to himself. Then the fight would resume in more open ground, where the advantage would shift, or so he hoped.

It came sooner than he'd expected. His company reached a decent-sized clearing in the forest, a mile or so wide and about half that long. It wasn't quite the end of the woods, but if the maps he had were anywhere near accurate - and they weren't always (he could swear that even the griffons didn't have clear maps of their own territory) - they were getting close.

"Hey, Captain," one of the soldiers closest to him said. "I think I see griffons on the other side of the clearing."

"I see them," Shield said grimly. There was at least a regiment in front of him, and while the rest of the regiment his company was a part of was coming up, he'd be on his own for a few minutes.

For their part, the enemy didn't look particularly eager for battle. Their "uniforms" weren't of very good quality; Shield would have had a fit if any Royal Guard had showed up to work wearing such apparel. They advanced, but it was clear they weren't the most eager of recruits, and recruits they were, for they didn't bother to advance in any sort of skirmish formation or with any real caution; they remained in a block-like formation, with close ranks and files. Of course, a thousand fighting a hundred could push the latter back and possibly destroy them if they got the chance.

"Spread out," he ordered. "Have the first rank lie down, and the second line fire over them. Wait for my order to fire before giving it to them; anyone fires before I give the word, they'll be on KP for a week!"

The company moved to obey. Though the majority were recruits as well, the difference between their training and that of the enemy unit before them was apparent, and the veterans gave some quick advice to the new guys as they hurried to follow his instructions.

Another line came out of the woods behind the first enemy unit. Shield swore under his breath, but then noticed that the second unit wasn't particularly strong; they were perhaps a hundred strong, and for whatever reason, they stopped some distance behind the first unit. Oddly enough, they still acted alert, even though they weren't going directly into battle. They wore red uniforms, and were well armed, but weren't advancing to engage the Equestrians, at least not immediately.

What is their deal? Shield thought to himself. Any halfway sane commander would try to pile on what they had right now, especially their best troops.

Regardless of the enemy's reasoning, he wasn't complaining. He'd fought the King's soldiers before, and they were the toughest soldiers he'd fought discipline and weaponry-wise. If they weren't going into the fight themselves, fine by him.

The first unit began to increase speed as it's officers gave commands in a rather contemptuous tone. One struck a soldier with the hilt of his sword and began scream at him and the others around him.

"Not yet, not yet," Shield said to himself.

The enemy came closer.

"Not yet..."

The enemy were well within range now.

"...FIRE!"

A solid sheet of smoke and fire erupted from the barrels of a hundred guns. The smoke rose above the battlefield, though not entirely obscuring the vision of the enemy.

The enemy unit had been decimated by the disciplined fire. Most of the first rank was down, along with many from the second and some from the third. Some of those in front who had survived kept moving. Others, behind those who had just become casualties, halted, having seen the elephant of battle for the first time.

The Equestrians ejected their first rounds and fired again. More of the enemy fell, some just crumpling to the ground, others twisting in a darkly humorous way and a few still standing, screaming and clutching wounds.

Through the smoke that was now hanging over the battlefield, Shield could see that some of the enemy soldiers were already trying to fly away even as others raised their weapons and still others kept trying to move forward.

The line of red-coated soldiers began shooting as well... at those griffons trying to flee the battle. The deserters were shot down without mercy; every last one who tried to flee was killed or left screaming in pain on the ground.

Just like at Trottingham, part of his mind said, remembering the ponies the griffons had tried to force into battle. They'd had troops arranged to do this too.

Whatever the effect the Equestrian fire had, it became clear to the enemy in the first unit that they had no choice; either keep fighting, and possibly die or be wounded, or try to run and definitely die. The majority stayed and began shooting. They were only armed with the now out-of-date matchlocks, but there were so many of them shooting that every now and then they were bound to inflict casualties. Sure enough, a few Equestrian soldiers cried out, or crumpled to the ground and moved no more.

However, the Equestrians continued to fire; the enemy took between fifteen seconds to a minute or more to reload, whereas the ponies could just eject a spent magazine and put another in its place in a matter of seconds. The weight of fire told; the enemy continued to fall in heaps.

But there were a lot of griffons. And, seeing as they were essentially doomed regardless of whether they stood or ran, they kept fighting, though less out of patriotic duty than out of fear of their superiors. After a few minutes, some of them got the idea and either crouched or laid down as well, using fallen comrades for cover. Even though their fire was slow and inaccurate, it would be foolish to regard it as harmless.

Shield didn't. He sent a runner to bring up the rest of the regiment, which arrived in short order. Backed by fresh troops and firepower, the tide of battle turned against the enemy. Scores were being shot down by the weight of fire alone.

The enemy squawked and yelled in dismay. At this, most just stopped firing and ran or flew toward the Equestrian lines, their arms raised in surrender; Royal soldiers shot a few of them down, but the majority of this band of deserters were able to escape into Equestrian lines.

"Come on, we've got them!" Shield shouted. "Forward!"

With a mighty shout, the Equestrian force surged ahead. Fewer and fewer of the enemy tried to fight back; most just gave up on the spot when approached by a pony. The only one who put up any real resistance were the outraged officers, who only lasted moments before being overrun.

The Royals in front of them pulled back; their job was over with. Shield felt enraged; sure, the griffons were the enemy, but no one had any business using their best troops to murder unwilling combatants.

Then he had other things to worry about. More of the enemy, all in red, began to emerge from the trees. This force formed up in line and began firing. Their weapons weren't mere matchlocks; their rate of fire wasn't that far from the Equestrian weapons.

"Front line down! Second line crouch!" Shield ordered, speaking as quickly as he could in the hopes of reducing casualties. Those who heard obeyed.

Now it came down to both sides banging away at each other. The enemy were quick to copy their Equestrian foes; they spread out quickly. Bullets flew over head as Shield laid down and began firing his own rifle.

"Captain, I think we've got an enemy unit trying to outflank us to the left," a soldier said, running up to him.

"Ugh. Another thing to worry about." Inside, he felt concerned. Where did they get the numbers to outflank our army this quickly, and where did they come from?

That worry was irrelevant for this fight; the enemy had the numbers to do it. What mattered was how he and the rest of the army dealt with it. "Keep me informed." With that, he went back to shooting.

"Yes, sir."

The enemy began to push forward. Urged on by their officers, they began to advance, firing as they did so. While these soldiers weren't experienced either - they stood up straight rather than crouching or rushing - they were willing, unlike the previous regiment. They soaked up their losses and continued fighting, even though the score chart wasn't favoring them.

Artillery behind the Equestrian lines began to open up. Shells fell on the griffons, who, though noticeably shaken by the barrage, nonetheless kept up the advance. Their fire wasn't well aimed, and Shield was sure that the enemy weren't used to their weapons. Even so, they inflicted casualties, though not in the numbers they themselves suffered.

It was unclear how long the two sides banged away at each other; Shield had learned by now not to trust his sense of time in the middle of battle. All he knew was that his rifle required him to constantly shove more ammunition into it.

Presently, he reached for another magazine and ended up with an empty hoof. "Oh, that's just great," he muttered.

He looked around. Fewer and fewer soldiers were firing; they were running out of ammo as well. Soon, the entire company would run out, and the regiment with them.

The enemy was getting closer. They'd been shooting the whole time, but from their attitude, it seemed as if they were thirsting to charge, even though many of them were no longer among the living.

They'll be upon us soon enough, bullets or none. We'll have to get them first before they get us. With a sigh, he dropped the rifle and picked up his spear; even though bayonets were fast replacing spears and swords in the army, he still preferred the weapons he'd originally trained with. "Fix bayonets," he shouted. "Get ready to receive them with cold steel!"

The company followed suit. Soldiers fixed bayonets to the end of their guns and braced themselves for the order.

"Belay that order!"

What!? Shield looked behind him, where the voice had originated. A brown stallion with a tan mane and tail stood there, waving to the regiment.

Colonel Briar! What's he doing? Can't he see...

"Withdraw immediately!" the colonel continued. Before Shield or anyone else could protest, the colonel added, "We've been flanked. Our division is pulling back. Let's go, before they can encircle us!"

...And maybe I was the one who was wrong. Being outflanked was a good reason to retreat. Getting encircled was no fun. "You heard him, boys," he said. "Pull back... but in an orderly fashion, like soldiers, not a mob. The artillery will cover our withdrawal. Let's go!"

The company - and the rest of the regiment with it - began to fall back. The artillery continued to fire as they did so, for the enemy still advanced, even more eager now that their opponents were withdrawing. As the last few ponies made it to the woods' edge, the artillery crews switched to canister. The effects of this volley cut down many of the enemy that were still on their feet, and allowed for the artillery crews to withdraw without further harassment.

Shield wasn't happy, though, not one bit. The enemy had halted the advance and were in the process of throwing it back. Fortunately, most of the wounded and dead had been taken away by the withdrawing soldiers, but the field still belonged to the enemy.

James frowned. "Are you certain they're pressing that hard on our left?"

"Yes, sir. I saw their troops myself," Colonel Briar answered. "They managed to outflank us, and we had to fall back as a result."

"How far have they pushed you?"

"About half a mile, sir. We're digging in as we speak, hopefully we'll be able to hold their counterattack there."

"I'd hoped they wouldn't have reinforcements this soon," James said, letting the air out of his nose in replacement of a sigh. "Why couldn't they just curl up and go away?" He hissed to himself. "Never mind," he added, seeing that Briar was about to answer. "We'll just have to find some other way of kicking them in the teeth, that's all. Good work saving your regiment."

'Thank you, sir. It wasn't all due to our own efforts, though."

"Explain."

"The enemy, sir. The first unit engaged was wasted in an assault on our unit, with outdated firearms. They were clearly unwilling; their uniforms were little more than washing rags made into something remotely resembling military outfits, and when a group of them tried to flee, a line of soldiers in back shot them all."

James let his fist fall on the table. "Barrier troops, trained purely to kill deserters. It's not the first time we've seen this."

"Yes, but now they're shooting their own people; what on Earth's going on up in Gryphos?" Rolling Barrel asked.

Another military dictator has happened, that's what. A brutal one, too. I'm surprised one this vicious has come to power in this world, but then I shouldn't be surprised by much here anymore. I've seen Chrysalis just as willing to kill her own people just to temporarily escape us.

"Whatever's going on, we need to overcome their army," Shining Armor put in. "It's clear that these were recruits, if not the most willing."

"The second unit were all in red, and very willing," Briar added. "Not very well trained, though somewhat adaptable, but very willing."

"Most of the units we engaged today are in red, and the Royals' efficiency as fighters has gone down overall," Barrel said, chewing on a piece of grass. "Either those guys were left out of the war from the beginning, or they're new recruits as well, meant to be... I don't know how to say it... it's like they're meant to be bodies thrown into battle to stop us, and send some firepower down range."

"It worked," Briar answered. "Our regiment ran out of ammunition. Captain Shield was about to engage them in close quarters, but I countermanded him; we were outflanked already."

"I see," James said. "Alright, they've thrown more bodies into the battle, and I'm assuming this is going on all along the line. Was there any sign of more enemy artillery than usual?"

"No, sir. We didn't suffer heavy bombardment."

"I'm hoping that means that their productive capacities have not yet caught up with their, er, griffon-power," James finished lamely. "If so, they have soldiers, but no increased artillery or defensive capacity. We should keep pressing them. We need to keep pressing them, and break them if possible. Those people cannot be allowed to rally and gain time for their King. We'll need to send in our armor."

"That wouldn't be a bad idea, but we still face a mile or two of woodland," Shining said. "Our armored units won't be effective, or at least their ability to move will be badly restricted."

"Hmm. Problematic. And yet the tanks are our best weapon in this case, especially against those who have never faced them."

Crystal, seated, put his front hooves under his chin, clearly in thought. "I'd almost recommend... no, no, too risky."

"What's on your mind?" James asked.

"Oh, sir," Crystal said, jerking out of his reverie. "It's nothing. Nothing particularly useful."

"Well, let's have it. Can't be any worse than what we've come up with so far," Barrel said.

"...I was just thinking of the tornadoes, the kind pegasi can create?" When he got nods, Crystal went on, "When these get to be strong enough, they can topple trees and smash things. We really have to be careful when creating and using them. What I was thinking is that we could use them to wreck some of the woodland in order to create a sort of instant highway, if you will, allowing our tanks a good pathway to get through."

"Please pardon my boldness, but I wasn't finished."

"Boldness pardoned. Please continue."

"I was going to add that this would be quite dangerous. The pegasi involved would have to maintain control over a prolonged period of time, under fire from the enemy and with all sorts of refuse from the forest getting caught up in it; it's not like a city or town's effort to send water up to Cloudsdale, you know."

"I see." James set a hand under his chin. "Couldn't the pegasi just maintain control long enough to direct the thing towards its target?"

"Ugh..." Crystal looked shocked. "That would be extremely dangerous, sir. We wouldn't have any control over it once the pegasi left the twister, and I can't be sure how long it would last, or even if it would stay on course. It would likely either turn and wreck us, or fizzle out once the pegasi left it."

"Ah." James sighed in frustration. "Well, so much for that idea."

"Perhaps not," Shining said.

"Oh?"

"The pegasi might not be able to remain with the tornado for long," Shining continued, "but unicorn magic may be able to..."

Jones stood at his post, a sentry in the woods. He checked his rifle, which had been a matchlock before being remodeled, as well as his armor for the umpteenth time. He sighed; there was little else to do. He couldn't even set his rifle down and lean on it; that would be against regulations, and given the change in government and the takeover of the army by fanatics loyal to the King - Emperor, now - breaking rules would be the worst idea he could think of.

Not that he approved per se of the whole "Emperor" thing; deep down, he was loyal to his clan. However, the thought of even showing that loyalty made him want to pull feathers and call himself stupid. And the ponies were on griffon land; if they won the war, well, the results might or might not be worse than the purge that was, to his knowledge, still ongoing. If the Empire won the war, maybe things could go back to something not far from what they were before...

He felt a breeze pull at his feathers. It was odd; usually, the wind couldn't be felt much this deep in the woodlands that formed the border between Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom - well, Empire. Of course, every once in a while the weather could be fickle rather than predictable.

Instead of going away after a few seconds, though, the breeze actually began to get stronger. "What in the name of..." Jones said, grabbing as his coat. The breeze became a wind, and the wind became a gale, all in just a few seconds. He heard timber creak in the distance, then crack sharply, as the wind continued to increase in force and speed.

Then... then came a sound he dreaded. It was like the sound of a freight train rumbling, but much worse.

Sentry or none, this wasn't something he could stand up against. Not alone. He dropped his rifle and began running, for it was too dangerous to even try to fly.

The tornado rapidly gathered speed. It was much larger than James had seen them get in the show; this one was huge, and it was being used to tear through the forest. Trees were uprooted or else destroyed in the whirlwind, and he could only imagine what it was going to do once it was released and let go. He'd had to remove his kepi and hold onto it to keep it from being swept away.

All of a sudden, the twister began moving northeastward. So far, so good.

Flak began bursting in front of the incoming maelstrom. He'd expected no less, but he worried, as he often did, whether he'd sent a bunch of loyal soldiers to their deaths in a project that might well fail. Luckily, the enemy hadn't calibrated their weapons properly for the first volley, but that would change, and quickly.

The destruction was awesome. James hoped that whatever animals lived in the path of the twister had already evacuated, and felt a moment's pity for the obliteration of their homes.

I need to keep my troops alive and moving, and this was the best way. God, please forgive me.

The tornado continued it's path of destruction. Behind it was left fallen trees, liking for all the world like giant, broken toothpicks, as well as the occasional stump. Wreckage was everywhere.

Just before the halfway mark, a multi-colored glow surrounded the tornado, and pegasi began to emerge en masse from the gigantic vehicle of destruction they had created. It wobbled, and badly, but it continued on the course that the pegasi had been previously steering it on.

He drew out his sword and pointed it forward.

At that moment, engines started; hundreds of engines started, and a pall of black smoke briefly arose on the plain below the hill on which James stood. Dozens of tanks, both of the "Barrel" and "Gallop" designs, had been waiting for this moment, to rush ahead. Unicorns were clearing away wreckage, along with those earth ponies and pegasi who were standing by for that purpose.

The armored cavalcade began moving forward, engines backfiring and guns at the ready. Shields began popping into place.

May God keep you safe, boys. I hope as many of you as possible you return safely. It's up to you now.

Barrel had been waiting for the signal. Now, it was time to go and try to end the war.

"Forward," he said, tapping the driver with a hind hoof in case the latter hadn't heard. He heard a muffled response (the engines were so stinking loud!), and then the tank began to surge forward.

I've wondered what might have happened if the three tribes hadn't unified. I think I may have found a piece of the answer. The twister the pegasi had created for the battle's purpose had destroyed, uprooted, and outright smashed almost everything in its path. If the pegasi of old had been able to create something of this nature, they'd have something not far off from a superweapon at their immediate disposal. Of course, knowledge of available options had increased since then; if it had not, everyone would still be fighting with spears, swords, arrows, and other archaic weapons.

The tornado continued on for a few minutes before the unicorns released it. Barrel braced himself, but the spiral of destruction didn't turn upon those who had made it. Instead, it continued on roughly the same path, though it kept jerking back and forth. It definitely reach the enemy lines; Barrel saw, or at least thought he saw, an enemy cannon being thrown half a mile away as if it were no lighter than a toy.

Eventually, the whole thing started to fade out as it lost momentum. It died out surprisingly quickly after it tossed the cannon, among other objects. It finally disappeared, leaving no evidence that it had ever existed.

Well, other than the trail of devastation, of course.

"You could make a highway out of what got cleared out," Barrel muttered to himself. The noise of the engines carried his voice away, but the idea remained. "Or it would make a good cutting for a railroad. Regardless of what happens later, it's our road... the road the Gryphos, and eventually to peace."

As they closed on the enemy lines, there was no gunfire, as Barrel had expected. Were the enemy so stunned by the tornado that they weren't going to fight back?

As if in answer, a shell landed nearby. The fragments merely bounced off the magical shields of his tank and those nearby. A few more touched down, but not very many.

Then they got to where the enemy front line had been.

We wouldn't have even needed tanks to go through here, Barrel thought. I think it's safe to say that we've blown away the competition.

More shells landed in the dirt around the tanks, as if the enemy were starting to truly wake up for the first time. However, it was inaccurate, and the shells that hit weren't able to penetrate the shields of the tanks.

A few gunshots rang out; not all of the griffons had been swept away or too traumatized to fight back. A few of the ponies advancing to either side of the tanks fell, but their firepower was more than enough to suppress the enemy. And when Barrel's tanks began firing, the few remaining defenders were either blasted from the remains of their fortifications or began to wave white rags in miserable surrender.

Barrel stuck his head out of the commander's hatch. "Keep going!" he commanded. In case that wasn't clear enough, he waved his hoof to the northeast. His troops got that, alright, and continued their advance in confidence.

Grayfeather wasn't pleased, but for once, he didn't have anyone to blame, not when he'd seen the twister with his own eyes. Equestrian tanks were barreling through the gap left by the whirlwind, and there was nothing he could truthfully do to stop them. Even bringing up units from the side and engaging wouldn't help; the enemy had cut off a piece of his army, and he wouldn't be able to coordinate a counterattack with that particular wing. Unfortunately, that meant the inevitable; another retreat, with what forces he could bring out of the battle.

"Another loss," he muttered. The enemy had found a way to break the stalemate he'd hoped to force upon the enemy, which, had it succeeded, would have allowed time for the rebellions currently taking place to be crushed, and the resources the Empire could then gather would have been brought to bear. "Curse that two-legged menace. Curse the Equestrians. And cursed their benighted, filthy allies!"

No, I won't lose control, like Hawkfrost did. Remember your duty to the Ki- Emperor. He gathered himself and sighed furiously. "Prepare to withdraw," he said to an aide. "Destroy anything we cannot take with us. We must not allow out entire force to be cut off and surrounded by this thrust."

"Yes, sir." The other griffon flew out of the tent.

"Sir," another aide said, somewhat worriedly, "how do we prevent them from doing this to us again?"

"You mean the tornado?" Grayfeather thought about it. "We'll build underground bunkers, deep enough where the whirlwind could not reach them, or the troops and artillery inside them. We'll just hide in them, and when the storm passes, we'll emerge to strike again." It was a good idea, but it wouldn't save him here. He shook his head in frustration and sorrow. "Make the preparations. We'll set up another line further back, a few miles to the north of here." Maybe there we might find some way to halting the allied tide.

Windrunner sighed as the Emperor's troops approached the rebel village, the homeland of the Highwind clan. His home had been attacked one by the Royals, an attack which had been beaten back. Since then, they hadn't come again, though the clan's scouts had informed the village of a gathering force of about three thousand strong. Where they got the troops, considering the needs of the front line and the Saddle Arabian landing in the south, he wasn't sure. However, it was true that, if the reports were accurate, then the Highwinds were outnumbered by greater than three to one; they were barely able to muster eight hundred warriors to protect them.

Red-coated soldiers marched from the woods, more than he could hope to count. They were superbly armed, and clearly well lead, considering how disciplined their ranks were. Cannons were also brought, but did not yet fire. Clearly, the Royals wanted to overawe the village, and force it to give in without a fight.

That wasn't going to happen. The clan leader, Stormheart, had convened the entire town last night. He had informed the village that the King, who had elevated himself to an Emperor, had declared war on all the old ways and the whole system of clans throughout the griffon lands, how the clan's troops on the front lines had been killed by the backstabbing Royals and their officers taken to prison for a kangaroo trial, to be hanged at a later date.

The village had erupted in mourning; cries of sorrow and grief had torn through the night air. Among them, however, were loud war cries and shouts of rage. With one consent ,the entire village had chosen to further resist the Royals, and never submit to their rule.

The enemy lined up, just outside of the range of the village's best gun; the best they had were some badly outdated arquebuses, some crossbows, regular bows and arrows, and, of course, armor and swords. The enemy had artillery; he counted at least eight, whereas the town had maybe two ancient ballistae, and only one could be brought to bear on the front where the foe would advance.

It would be an... interesting battle, assuming the enemy really pushed. And it looked like they would.

First, though, a group of three enemy officers - Windrunner recognized one as the soldier who had lead the initial assault about a week ago - came forward, waving a white flag. They were going to ask... no, demand, surrender.

Stormheart wasn't having any of it. "Stop right there, or we'll blow your worthless heads off!" he shouted from his position on the wall.

The three officers stopped. "How dare you threaten agents of the Emperor like that!?" one of them shouted.

"You're here to take our freedom and our autonomy; there is nothing to discuss. We refuse to bow to your filthy Emperor!"

"Then you will die, and we'll take your people as enforced servants to the Crown, and requisition your goods in the Emperor's name!" The officer shouted. "Your bodies will lie where they fall; no one will bury them, and your village will be burned down, until all that is left is a monument to your stupidity!"

"It's better to be free than slaves!"

"Then you condemn yourself and your people! So be it!" The officers turned around and marched furiously back toward their troops.

Windrunner braced himself. He had his crossbow, a relic of his father's and grandfather's. He wouldn't let it fall into enemy claws, not without a fight.

The enemy cannons began to fire. The wooden walls of the village were no match for the superior projectiles of the big guns, which ripped the wood apart and sent splinters flying everywhere. Along with the screams of the wounded and dying came the sounds of houses being hit; some were set on fire by the barrage, others simply crumbled.

Windrunner simply gritted his beak. This wouldn't end well, but at least the non-combatants would be about a mile or so to the east already; they'd escape safely, with much of their belongings, so the dire consequences the officer - probably a colonel or brigadier - had predicted would not come to pass. He was glad they weren't here; they would have hated to see their ancestral home torn down like this. Stormheart had told his son, who was only fifteen, to take charge of those who were fleeing, so that the clan would survive even if the village and its defenders didn't.

It was likely that Stormheart knew that the odds weren't good that those who were to defend the villages would survive the onslaught; as the leader, he would have been the first the scouts had reported to. Even so, it was almost inconceivable to not attempt a defense of the place where the village and its people had lived for centuries. So the decision had been made; for a group to defend the village while the rest escaped. They'd be able to restart later... If the enemy were held at bay long enough.

The enemy's guns fired for about fifteen minutes. The wooden walls, at least those in front of the enemy cannons, were reduced to rubble. Dozens of the defenders were down, wounded or dead.

"This is your last chance," the enemy officer from before shouted over a bullhorn. "Surrender, and your lives will be spared. Resist, and we'll slay you all as traitors and make your people serfs!"

"Shut your filthy beak! There's nothing to discuss, as I said before!" Stormheart retorted.

"So be it!" the officer shouted again. "Legions, advance! Execute the traitors and leave their corpses for the birds to eat!"

The Royals began moving forward. Their ranks held bayonetted rifles in their claws as they marched forward. None of them shouted battle cries, as was common in conflicts where griffons participated, but maintained an eerie silence, with the only sounds from them being their feet striking the ground as they walked.

There was an angry yell from the remains of the walls; an arrow sped toward the attackers, only to bury itself in the ground some distance ahead of them.

"Don't fire till I give the word!" Stormheart yelled. "When I do, give them fury!"

The enemy continued their merciless advance. When they were about three hundred feet away, they stopped and began to raise their guns to their shoulders.

"Now! Let 'em have it!"

Arrows, quarrels, a few bullets, and a stone from the lone ballistae, which had survived, flew toward the attackers. Dozens went down, screeching in pain. The stone from the ballistae knocked several off their feet, and the stone splintered in the process, sending fragments into nearby Royals.

The Royals didn't take this development well. They began firing into the rubble that had once been a decent defensive structure. Bullets struck down many of the defenders; splinters killed or wounded even more.

The crew for the ballistae released another stone, then the crew was shot down. The machine itself was battered to pieces by all the bullets shot at it; it fell apart and collapsed, the wood and ropes falling here and there, leaving behind a shapeless wreck.

The defenders kept shooting. The Highwinds weren't going to lose this easily. More of the Royals went down as ragged volleys of arrows and arquebus bullets fire tore into them.

None of the enemy tried to flee. They kept shooting as well. They hadn't needed to come this close, that was certain; they just wanted to make sure their shots connected and did maximum damage. If they'd wanted to, they could have just sat beyond the defender's range of fire and shot them to pieces, forcing them to either surrender, withdraw, or engage in a futile charge. The Royals wanted to make sure the resistance was dealt with, swiftly and decisively, and were willing to take losses to make sure that happened.

Why do they hate us so much? he thought. We weren't doing anything wrong. We're just defending ourselves.

The Royals had better guns, that was also certain; they were able to fire five times before needing to reload, and that only took a couple seconds; it took between fifteen to thirty seconds to reload an arquebus after a single shot, with about ten to fifteen seconds for crossbows and two to five for the normal bow and arrow. Since the defenders were already badly outnumbered, the rate of fire the enemy was bringing to the fight was wearing them down, and quickly.

The unequal contest continued for about ten minutes. The Highwinds did what they could but their firepower was insufficient. They took losses.

"Charge! Wipe these cretins from the face of the earth!" the enemy colonel shouted. "Don't let any of them escape!"

Here it comes, Windrunner thought as he fired at a an enemy soldier who was bracing himself to charge. The soldier went down, but there would be far too many to fight off with melee weapons; that was clear enough at just a glance; the Highwinds had suffered too many casualties to have a chance.

Just then, loud shouts came from the south, and a large multitude of armed griffon warriors charged at the enemy from the side. A horn sounded as they came.

The unexpected army crashed into the flank of the enemy as they charged. Large numbers of enemy soldiers went down, never having thought that the village would have help.

Neither did we. The Highwinds hadn't sent for aid, and for good reason. The griffon clans tends to be at odds with one another, and the Highwinds were no exception.

Regardless of the circumstances, Stormheart, who had managed to survive, yelled, "Run down this rabble o' Royals! Finish them, like wanted to finish us!"

Windrunner and those of his clan didn't hesitate. They took flight and surged toward the enemy, who, being struck in the flank by surprise, were in a state of confusion.

More cries came from the northeast. Other griffons charged, flying and running as fast as they could, carrying swords, spears, and blunderbusses.

Windrunner cut down two of the Royals before they had a chance to fight back, then managed to cut down a sergeant who was better prepared, but still out of position. Stormheart took an enemy's head, bashed it against his own armored cranium, and then gutted him.

The fight lasted about five minutes. Finally, someone on the other side who had survived shouted, "Retreat! We'll deal with these traitors another time!"

That wasn't going to happen. If these soldiers got away, they'd just send for more. Windrunner and his clanmates, along with their unexpected allies, continued their attack, giving the enemy no chance at all to flee. He would forget most of the battle, though flashbacks and short memories would remain; of how an enemy soldier, a spear through his throat, expired as he passed by; how an enemy officer continued to issue commands that could not be obeyed, before being blasted off his feet by a blunderbuss-carrying warrior; A Royal and a comrade on the ground, squeezing each other's throats and hissing threats to one another...

He had no idea just how long it lasted, but suddenly, there were no more enemies to fight, no swords and rifles clashing, no further griffons being cut down. Windrunner looked back. The entire enemy force was down, dead, dying, or wounded. Only the artillery crews, who had been a fair distance from the fighting, had evidently escaped.

His body began to register how tired it was. He sat down, out of breath, a sigh passing his beak. He eyed the newcomers...

"Ach, the Green Valley boys," Stormheart muttered. "Why did you boys come up to save us?"

It was a valid question, Windrunner thought. The Green Valley Clan were the archenemies of the Highwinds.

"Couldn' let you Highwinds 'ave all the fun," one of the newcomers said. "The Royals tried this with us, only with just a hundred instead of a few regiments. The survivors are all in our local jail now," the other griffon added, grinning rather predatorily. "With the King turning against the clans, I'd say our struggles with each other'll just 'ave to wait til he get his royal rear end kicked off the royal throne, don'tcha think?"

Stormheart thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "Aye. We'll just have to put aside our rivalries for now, til the king get's his. But only til then.

"Well, of course."

Chapter 68; Clash of armor

Chapter 68; Clash of armor

James sat, his head and shoulders sticking out of the commander's hatch of a Gallop tank, watching as the army continued to move forward. "Keep going boys," he shouted. "Sweat now might well save blood later!"

At least, I hope it does, he thought to himself. Since the "Whirlwind Advance," as the papers called it, had begun, he'd tried to keep the army moving, in the hope of giving the enemy no time to really entrench and stop the offensive. He knew it would be taxing, but forcing the enemy to retreat rather than stop and make another costly stand would be worth the price. What was the use of rest if it meant more casualties? Better a soldier panting and exhausted than one six feet under. Or so he was telling himself.

Luckily, there had been little complaining. Perhaps ponies were better at running long distances without tiring than humans, but whatever the reason, most of the army was trotting along at a decent pace. Throughout the week the advance had kept going, and Grayfeather had been forced to pull back under constant pressure from the Equestrian tanks. Now that the army was out of the woods and in the plains, it could move, and boy, was it ever!

Pegasi were flying overhead, guns at the ready; others, currently out of sight, were watching the opposing army and keeping tabs on it. Hourly reports were coming in, and at last there was some measure of encouragement. Enemy soldiers were marching with their heads down and with a slackness that indicated hopelessness in the common trooper. A supply dump had been torched, and here and there farms were burned to the ground by the retreating forces to keep their provisions out of Equestrian hooves. Clearly, enemy morale was at an all time low.

We'll lick them, James thought, a tiny, almost unnoticeable smile forming on his face. Just a matter of "when." May God grant its soon. I know my soldiers are sick of the war, and I am too. Sick of having good people die on my watch, tired of being in this beautiful land just to destroy everything, he added, looking at his clenched fist. How long has it been? Almost a year now, it must be. And almost every day it feels like its more destruction, more people hurt, more people dead, because of two stupid, selfish rulers wanted so much to control the world that they tried to wipe a nation that had not offended them under their appendages.

He took a breath, letting it out of his nose. This is what you wanted, James, he told himself. You wanted control of an army, you wanted to be all loved and famous. How does it feel? How does it feel now?

...If only I could have come at a time of peace... but I must fight. And I'd fight again if I had to, because surrender is not my forte... But...

WHAM! James felt himself slam painfully into the back of the hatch as the vehicle was rattled by the impact of an incoming projectile. "Agh!"

"Are you hurt, sir?" came a voice from inside the tank.

"Not permanently," James answered. Yeah, that'll do. "Where did that shot come from?"

"I think it came from that hedgerow up ahead," the driver answered.

James stared ahead, toward the supposedly offending foliage. Doesn't look like there's anything- wait, is that a gun?

A black muzzle moved out from the bush, and fired. The shot slammed into the tank again, but the shield once more ate the force that otherwise might have ripped the armored vehicle and its occupants to pieces.

"Blow that gun off the face of the earth!" James shouted.

"Yes, sir!" the gunner shouted back. "Eat this, you birds!"

BOOM! The smaller, but still potent, gun of the Gallop fired. in the distance, there was a loud Clang!, and the gun jerked slightly.

James' eyebrows narrowed. There shouldn't be any substantial metal in that bush to hit other than the gun itself, and personal body armor wouldn't make that loud a sound. That can't be good... Hold on, is the entire bush moving!?

It was. Suddenly, a blast of smoke had arisen, not from the gun, but from behind the bush, and then the whole thing started to advance toward the Equestrians.

"Tank!" the gunner shouted. "That thing's a camouflaged tank!"

"I see it!" James yelled back. "Just shoot the sorry so and so!"

The Gallop's gun fired again. There was another Clang! and this time James could see the shot bounce off. It wasn't a total loss; some of the camouflage began to fall off, revealing the bush to be the mechanical monstrosity it was.

James' first impression of the enemy vehicle was to ask himself whether or not Leonardo Da Vinci had visited this world at one time. The beast before him, or what he could make out of it from the junk the enemy had used to conceal it, resembled the Italian genius' armored car too closely for him to believe, here and in the moment, that it was a coincidence.

The rest of the hedgerow began to shudder as well. It's an entire line of these monsters! James exclaimed in his mind as the enemy armor began moving toward the Equestrian forces.

More Equestrian tanks began to fire as they woke up to the sudden threat before them. Pegasi also fired, for all the good it did them; their bullets, and most of the tanks' ordinance, bounced off the wide, upside-down cone-shaped armor that covered most of the enemy vehicles' bodies. One of the enemy contraptions must have been struck under the armor, for it suddenly exploded, with the numerous cannons inside it flying off like rockets.

"Aim underneath the steel plate," James ordered. "Aim for the place the guns are sticking out of!"

"We might hit the guns rather than the tank, sir."

"Fire regardless. We can't let these things stop us, or even delay us."

"Yes, sir."

The enemy began firing in earnest as well. They were only firing a few guns at a time, but then, that was the trouble these behemoths suffered. And even if they had only three guns in one vehicle firing, and not all eight or nine or ten or however many they held, they were still firing more guns per machine than the Equestrians.

As the enemy continued their reckless charge, James began to suspect that they weren't going to try to stop. Yes... If they get in our midst, they'll be able to fire almost liberally in any direction, and hit our armor where its weakest; in the side and the rear. And if their plan is to get into our rear and wreak havoc, we'd have to stop and engage them anyway. whether or not they stop us or just delay us using such tactics, they'd have succeeded in crimping our advance. Well, that's not going to happen.

"Smash 'em!" he yelled.

The Equestrian forces were doing their best. The Barrels were having the better luck, given that they had bigger guns. Two more enemy machines out of the ten or so that had begun the ambush were dead, one from another explosion and the other blasted into motionless metal by explosive shells, with the crew struggling to get out. The remainder of the enemy machines kept coming, though; since both sides were moving, it was difficult to aim properly. Both sides had their share of misses.

And hits. A Gallop suddenly blew apart; the operators were immediately gone, scattered to the four winds, and the ruined husk, no more than a heap of useless metal, ran into a ditch and there stuck, flames spewing out its every orifice. James winced; the only good news was that the crew would have almost certainly have perished instantaneously, before the flaming inferno that had once been a tank had consumed them. Even with shields, the Equestrian armor couldn't hold out forever, nor did it. He could see other shields flickering or else going out; that Gallop wouldn't be the last Equestrian casualty.

A Barrel shuddered from a hit, but it kept going. It returned fire. The enemy tank that had hit it had the muzzle of one of its guns ripped off. Another enemy tank fired, blowing off one of the four big wheels on the Barrel, which stopped, leaning to its right. The crew began to evacuate, a smart decision, given that their vehicle was now a sitting duck. Moments later another shell finished off the Barrel, but the crew had managed to get to safety in a small depression in the ground.

Both sides were closing. A Barrel and an enemy tank that had been firing away at one another without result crashed in a head-on collision; the metal of both vehicles crumpled around the point of impact. The bigger tank's ammunition must have ignited in the collision, because the griffon tank exploded, taking the smaller machine with it. Both units began to burn, as the few survivors struggled to escape.

James' Gallop shot at one of the enemy machines from the side. James could see, even as the gunner aimed for another shot, as the cannon of the opposing machine aimed squarely at his own. Instinctively, he pulled out his pistol and emptied the chambers into the enemy machine. It did nothing useful physically, but it made him feel like he had some measure of a say in his own possible demise. Fortunately, the shield on the Gallop held the deadly projectile out. He could hear the enemy gunners curse fiercely, and professionally he could understand why; a good shot wasted because of an advantage they did not themselves share. Unprofessionally, he was just glad to be alive for the time being.

BAM! A shot from the Gallop finally managed to hit under the armor; he heard screaming coming from the other vehicle, which suddenly stopped moving. It was still firing away, but there was a violent burst of smoke coming out of the funnel to the rear that was one of the relatively few diversions from Da Vinci's design that he could make out. Clearly, their engines were knocked out. More shells came in, blasting the crippled machine; wheels, guns, and pieces of metal and wood flew from the impacts. The enemy crew began to evacuate; several were cut down by rifle and cannon fire, but some managed to get into cover.

That's five of them out vs. three of ours. The energy shields are making a difference. That, and the fact that we outnumber them.

Nor was the contest one merely of titans. A rather brazen pegasi flew in, clutching a cannon shell, and shoved it into the barrel of an enemy cannon. The griffon crew must not have noticed, because they attempted to fire regardless. The resulting explosion blew up not only that particular gun, but also the crews and pieces next to it. A unicorn used his magic to shove a wrench into the drive mechanisms; a wheel on the left side fell off, and the behemoth collapsed on it's side, it's belly - facing away from James - vulnerable to Equestrian fire. Moments later, a couple of dull thuds sounded, and a dense cloud of black smoke poured from the mortally wounded beast, its remaining crew choking as they tried to escape.

The griffons in the remaining vehicles - now down to four - quickly noticed the bothersome pegasi who had begun to swoop in, attempting more sabotage. Here and there, rifles were fired; two of the brave pegasi crashed to the ground, one crying out and the other ominously silent.

"There's more of those rag-wearing guys up ahead, sir," the gunner shouted over the noise."

"What?" James exclaimed, though he'd heard perfectly well. Sure enough, a platoon of penal soldiers was moving forward, armed with what appeared at first glance to be gigantic clubs.

"What do they think they're going to do, club us to death?" the driver asked contemptuously.

"I'm not so sure that's what they are..." James looked harder. It was difficult to tell what the objects the enemy were holding; the tank was moving and running over bumps in the ground. "I don't like it, whatever they're doing. They wouldn't just send these guys on a mission without some chance of hurting us, even if these are their poor relations, so to speak." He motioned to a band of pegasi currently flying over the battlefield. One nodded toward him, indicating that he was paying attention. James motioned with his hand toward the griffon platoon. The pegasus nodded, and began shouting to others of his kind to follow.

The four enemy tanks still in operation continued to advance; now that they were in the midst of the Equestian armor, they were blasting away with every gun available to them, smoke and fire starting to obscure the field. Another Equestrian tank, another Barrel, finally had its shields stripped away and took a hit to its side, which apparently didn't penetrate. Another shell followed close behind the first, which unfortunately succeeded where its predecessor had not. The Barrel blew sky high, its cannon flying forward and upwards, and metal went flying in all directions. A second Gallop was also knocked out, but unlike its comrade had taken the hit to its engine compartment, allowing the crew to evacuate.

James took the moment to reload his revolver. While the pegasi were sniping off the club-wielding platoon, they weren't managing to hit all of them, and two were getting close.

The Gallop's main gun fired; instead of a shell, this time it was firing canister. What happened to one of the enemy soldiers was not worth speaking of, considering what was left of him. However, the large "club" on the end of his stick violently exploded upon being hit.

"Those are bombs!" James took quick aim and fired at the second one, who was still coming. The first bullet missed. James cursed viciously in French, and fired again, this time actually striking the oncoming foe in the leg. The griffon tripped and fell, one claw clutching his leg, the other attempting to feebly poke the tank with his weapon.

James shot again. This time, the enemy simply stopped moving. He wiped the sweat off his brow; that had been too close for comfort. "Don't run over another of the bombs," he yelled to the driver. "Drive over one of them, and you'll blow us to the moon!"

"Got it, sir!"

By now, the engagement had caught the attention of a battery of field guns on the Equestrian side. Looking back, James could see four guns firing at one of the four enemy tanks still left. one shell missed, two bounced of the metal plating, but one got in under the shielding. There was an explosion, though the tank didn't quite blow apart.

Seven down... three to go.

The last three hostile vehicles were almost through the Equestrian armor by now. They began taking aim at the battery. A limber was hit; a sudden, thunderous roar announced the complete obliteration of the limber, along with three soldiers who had been too close to it.

James cursed again. Obviously, some of the Equestrian armor would have to go back and take on the enemy. Without a radio to coordinate the tanks, he had no real ability, other than waving his hands in the mere hope the drivers would understand, to convey the message.

Fortunately, he didn't have to. Several Gallops turned around and began firing at the rear of the enemy vehicles. A couple Barrels also turned, which was less satisfying, considering the relatively slow speed of those peculiar tanks, but there was little he could do about that. One of the three tanks was blasted repeatedly from the rear and expired, flame bursting from it as it began to burn.

The remaining two kept going, though, as if nothing had happened. They shelled the battery with ferocity, knocking three guns and their crews out of the fight. The last gun crew, however, managed to damage the axle of one of their attackers before being blasted into oblivion; that hostile was targeted by the tanks that had turned back, and abruptly ceased to be in a colossal explosion.

The final tank continued, moving toward a regiment that had come up to help and had not realized, up until now, what they were getting themselves into. Shells began falling in their ranks as the outgunned soldiers returned fire uselessly, their bullets mostly bouncing off or getting stuck where they could do no harm.

Their agony did not last long. Three Gallops closed in, firing for all they were worth. The final enemy tank had its wheels blown off and was subsequently blasted from three sides at once. It began to burn, but it's guns continued to fire, nicking one of its attackers. However, it could not prolong its demise, and finally died with a roar as the ammunition caught. Fire and smoke flew into the air as the battle finally came to an end.

James let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected to get into a major engagement; he'd wanted to ride in one of the Gallops in order to know what it felt like. Well, now he knew.

The surviving penal platoon members meekly threw up their claws when they saw that their last tank had exploded. They carefully set their weapons down, indicating that the bombs were sensitive, something he'd have to take into account later. The pegasi who had been flying overhead landed and started taking them prisoner.

"How did our reconnaissance fail to see this?" he asked himself, though he knew the answer already; the enemy had camouflaged their vehicles and had waited in ambush. As for the platoon, they'd probably had an even easier time of hiding than the tanks had; put a bush or pile grass or hay on top of themselves, and they'd have been fairly well hidden. He decided to have a talk with the pegasi scouts, but he wasn't all that keen on haranguing them for the battle. The enemy had some say of what happened in the war, after all.

Already, the various tanks that had turned back had turned once again and were advancing. however, they were well behind the rest of the group. It would take a while for the Barrel in particular to catch up. He sighed again, this time in mild frustration. The enemy hadn't stopped the advance, but had inflicted casualties and proven that they weren't going to skimp on their productivity either; that had been a lot of cannons placed in the enemy tanks; assuming eight guns each for the ten tanks, that was eighty cannons thrown away along with the vehicles.

I really hope they didn't have a follow-up plan, because this would be the time to hit us with an artillery barrage, while our tanks are spread out.

The advance continued. After an hour without any interesting activity, James concluded that the enemy hadn't intended to follow up on their tank attack.

What did they do it for, then? he thought about that, wincing slightly as the tank drove over a pothole. There wasn't a practical reason to throw those tanks down the drain. They had to know it would eventually fail.

The more he thought about it, the more he kept coming to the same, grim conclusion. They wanted to show us that they, too, have a tank program going on. They wanted to hurt our morale and raise their own. And they probably want to boast to their own people of their own tank attack, conveniently forgetting to add in the defeat, of course. And, naturally, they wanted to prove to us that they won't just throw in the towel. James nodded. That seemed to fit the facts.

"Five of our own tanks, plus a battery of guns wiped out," he said out loud. "We have to beat them before their factories really start working, we really do. Hopefully, this mess doesn't last much longer..."

Grayfeather watched through a spyglass as the last of the griffon tanks blew up. He grunted; he wasn't pleased that the enemy hadn't been driven back, but he was satisfied that the enemy had had a difficult time with them.

His aide was less pleased. Slapping his knee in anger, he said, "That should have driven them back into the forests, curse them!"

"Hold your temper in check. We have more coming off the assembly lines, and how else would we know how to properly correct mistakes, other than testing our machines in battle? besides, now the enemy knows we have our own program designed to counter their own. Rest assured, with the Empire largely united, and with resources shared as they should be - For the Emperor's good - we'll soon out-produce them, and gain Equestrian soil again."

The aide didn't reply. Grayfeather watched quietly. They'd both taken shelter behind a large, wild bush that had grown in the grasslands. They'd both been shielded from the enemy patrols.

My army needs as much of a boost as it can, he thought as he prepared to bug out of the area. Morale is dying, and we need every soldier to be doing his best now more than ever. "We'll making stands every so often. If we can't stop them on the grasslands, though, I see little that will halt them short of Ragna Fortress, south of the Capital."

"In the mountains, sir?"

"Yes. In the Valley of Bones. If we need to. Considering that we have other machines on the way, and more griffons coming into the army, whether willingly or not, we should be able to stop them at some point before then."

Almost as if on cue, griffon anti-air cannons - copied from captured Equestrian designs - began firing at the pegasi who were over head. The two griffons took flight - making sure to stay low to the ground, of course - and began making their way northward, toward the griffon army that awaited further orders.

Chapter 69; Ragna Fortress

"Are you sure that's where they're headed?" James asked, his arms folded.

The scout nodded. "My father is a merchant. He used to travel on this road. I didn't see Ragna Fortress with my own eyes, not yet at least, but it's on the road that he needed to get to Gryphos. And their entire army is going there."

"This is the first time I've heard of this Ragna Fortress," James said. "Did your father ever tell you anything about it?"

"Not much. He liked to focus on his profession. But he did describe how big it was. It makes the things we built around Trottingham look like children's toys, if his description was right, and he kept on about how many guns were in it."

"Well." James shook his head. "Well, thank you. If you're right, and I suspect you are, they think they can stop us there. Alright, dismissed. And keep this knowledge to yourself for the time being; I don't want our army to get discouraged by the knowledge that we're going up against a gigantic military fortification."

"Yes, sir." The scout saluted and left.

"That'll be hard on us, if they're really going to protect the place," Barrel said, spitting out the piece of grass he'd been chewing on. "Our scout might not have seen the place, but I have. Once. It's located right in a pass in the mountains, completely blocking anyone from getting in or out if they shut the gates and defend. The cannons there might not be particularly modern by this war's standards, but they're huge; you could fit a pony, or two, in them with room to spare, maybe three. And from what I've heard of it's history, no one has ever succeeded in capturing it."

"Might want to be careful there, or I'll suspect you of being an enemy propagandist," James said, and everyone laughed. "Is that why the place is called the Valley of Bones? Because it brings to mind a desert, and not the grasslands we've been travelling through."

"No desert, in fact flowers and grass everywhere, even a few trees. And yes, the losses armies suffered trying to capture it is where the name comes from." Barrel took up another piece of grass and chewed hard as he thought. "The fortress itself is indeed enormous. Maybe not exactly to the extent our scout described, but that wasn't that big of an exaggeration, either. It completely blocks the pass. We'd either have to find a way to fly our entire army around it - I assume they'll concentrate their anti-air cannons in the fortress, so going directly over it would be expensive - or we'd have to try to get around another way, and the paths in those mountains aren't well marked on maps, which I suspect is deliberate. We could go around the mountains..."

"But that might allow for an enemy counterstrike against Equestria," Shining Armor said. "That's not an option, not with the whole army."

"We could try flying the pegasi around the fortress, but that's at least 33% of the pony portion of the army," James remarked. "We don't know what they'd be facing on the other side."

"We could try to outrun the griffons," Shining suggested. "Try to get there before they do. We could even fly the pegasi over their army - or around it - and just take it before they can."

"I doubt they would have just left it entirely unguarded," Barrel said. "Griffons can fly too; they wouldn't have left that out of their plans."

"Hmm... I'd hate to have to order a head on attack on a place like that," James noted. "Not unless we managed to wreck the place before doing it, and taking out their heaviest weapons at the least. Even then, we'd take heavy losses. I'm not going to do that unless we have no other option."

"We have to try something," Barrel replied. "We need to get a plan together. I doubt tanks alone can breach that place."

"We'll need precise plans of the fortress," Shining said. "We should also scout aggressively, and attempt to cut them off before they're able to fortify themselves there."

James looked at the map in the tent he was inhabiting. They would be upon the pass in a couple of days; the defenders had a lead on their pursuers. Cutting the griffons off would be tricky, if not impossible. All the same, assuming the others agreed, he would attempt to do so, in the off chance he was wrong. Even a failed effort might do something to the enemy and shake them up to some extent. "I agree," he answered, if belatedly. "We should do what we can to separate them from their great fortress. In that regard, I suggest we abandon the idea of a completely united frontage, and rely on less conventional tactics."

"What do you mean?" Barrel asked.

"We retrofit our Gallop tanks to allow them to carry earth ponies and unicorns on them, and try to block their way with a pegasi force to keep them back until our tanks, and the reinforcements they carry with them, arrive. If it all goes well, we'll catch them in a vise and squeeze them, and hopefully that will mostly be the end to this business."

"We could try that, but the refitting would take time. We need to try this now," Barrel said, stomping his hoof hard into the ground for emphasis. "Try to cut them off before they reach the fortress. I know the pegasi and the few tanks that will be able to make it will have a hard time trying to hold them away, but the entire army will have a much harder time trying to storm that fort. We need their army trapped."

"We'll need to give the orders to tell everyone to move as fast as they can if we're going to pull that off," Shining added. "We'll have to gallop as much of the way there as possible, which will exhaust the army."

"Better tired troops in a good position than fresh ones in a bad position," Barrel replied.

"In any case, I think we should definitely make the effort to cut them off before they can get to this Ragna place," James said. "If anyone's opposed to the attempt, now's the time to say it."

No one answered, though Barrel grunted softly and Shining looked at the map with great intensity.

James moved up the bricks on the map to encircle the enemy forces. "We'll try this. Even if we fail, we'll be no worse off having tried. And if the enemy do reach their destination... well, we'll come up with another plan at that time. Now let's go."

The pace was quick, and tiring even for ponies. James could see that easily. Pegasi could fly, of course; those regiments that had been formed entirely or almost entire of pegasi were even now flying as fast as they could to stop the enemy long enough for the rest of the allied forces to catch them.

Unfortunately, the enemy weren't idiots. They quickly deduced what the Equestrians and their armies were doing. They had increased their own pace, flying as often as possible. Reports of major aerial engagements between griffons and pegasi came quite often. James read the reports even as he was carried by artillery caissons or on the back of Crystal Clear.

"Urgh," James growled, crumpling another report and cramming it into a coat pocket. "How did they know what we were doing so quickly?"

"I don't know," Crystal answered, feathers ruffling slightly as James shifted his position on his back. "Maybe they caught somepony; here and there, they take prisoners of war, you know, and now that there's a tyrant on the throne, who know what methods they'd use to get information? You have to remember, the majority of the army isn't made of Royal Guards, and they don't have the kind of training required to resist... extreme measures."

"I don't even want to think about that," James replied, shivering as corkscrews and torture chambers came to his mind even as he tried to dismiss them. "I'd hoped this land had no knowledge of that sort of thing."

"A valiant hope, but in vain, I'm afraid. Equestria may have been at peace for over a thousand years, but the griffons have been tangling with each other for a long time. This war is the first time that they came together for any reason since about two hundred years ago; I think the issue had something to do with outrage over economic sanctions or something." Crystal kept quiet for a moment, then asked, "Sir, what have high command said about dealing with griffon rebels? The kind that are revolting against their Emperor, I mean, not against us."

"You mean what the Princesses have said about it? Nothing so far," James answered. "I don't have the authority to deal with them; Shining Armor, as the only Royal Prince present with the army, is the only one with the power to make any deals, and seeing as the rebel forces were part of a hostile force..."

"Are you saying we'll have to fight them at the same time as the King's troops, sir?"

"I'm saying that it's likely that the higher ups will probably want the rebels disarmed, and I highly doubt they'll agree to that, or to obey commands from an invading army. After all, some of them almost certainly had part in the atrocities played out on Equestrian soil, and I doubt Celestia is just going to let the griffons off with a warning, now, not after we've made progress and they forced us to invade their land and come so far just to end this whole mess. I don't want to have to fight the rebels at the same time as government troops, but we may have to, and that would kill our progress in this war entirely."

Crystal was silent as he processed this information. "Well, what do we do, then?"

"I've already wrote a message asking for freedom of diplomacy regarding rebel forces we encounter," James answered. "Obviously, I also added that that didn't extend to the King, who's now calling himself an Emperor. Hopefully, the answer gets here without delay."

"I don't know about that, sir; we've been going forward as fast as we can, and messengers can only fly or gallop so fast." Crystal bit down on his lip. "And, as much as I hate to mention it, there are guerillas who have been contesting our occupying forces. They may not have heard about the regime change, and they may intercept anything that the army or the capital sends."

"Oh, I know about them. Blast it," James added, wanting desperately to curse out the insurrectionists who were causing trouble. "We don't have enough troops to do everything at once. That's one of the reasons why this offensive has to keep going and take the enemy capital, so we can end this war and not have to worry about guerillas behind our lines any more."

Crystal didn't say anything for a moment. Instead, he just bent down as he walked and ripped up a few blades of grass with his teeth. When he'd swallowed, he said, "The pegasi of old were warriors, as our traditions hold. I wonder who it was they fought against, since as far as I can remember the three tribes weren't fighting each other."

His interest piqued, James said, "Probably anyone who wasn't a pegasus or a pony. To my knowledge, they dwelt in the sky, so logically they'd have been fighting enemies who could also fly."

"That makes sense. They may have also fought against dragons; one pegasus might be impotent against one, but dozens or hundreds might well have been enough to take one down. And some of our old fairy tales feature fights with dragons. They're not a very popular race, seeing how they don't give a... flame about anyone else."

"I can believe you, given the one we fought a couple months back," James answered. "Given their performance in this conflict, I can easily believe the idea of the pegasi being highly militarized. Rainbow Dash definitely seems... self confident enough to have been one, had she been born in those days."

"The Bearer of the Element of Loyalty? Yeah, certainly. I've seen her a few times, though we haven't been introduced. And she definitely has the spirit. All the same, I'm glad we don't do this every day. War and fighting, I mean."

"So am I. Let's hope our forces are able to get there before they do."

Silver Lining shook his wings; the joints at the base creaked. Bin flyin' so long n' fast... urgh! Hope I don't have ta do that again any time soon... or eva again, come ta tha.

Most of the pegasi in the army had been flying almost without let up for over two days, just to get a lead on the enemy. And they'd had to be careful to go around the enemy, to avoid horrific casualties from anti-air fire. Here and there, patrols of enemy soldiers had attempted to fight, so those had to be dealt with. And they'd been forced to go as fast as their wings could carry them.

To sum it all up, the pegasi were exhausted. They were armed, to be sure, and had rations, but they had only the lightest artillery, and no tanks whatsoever. They were positioned on a rise ten miles outside of Ragna Fortress.

Silver's shiver had nothing to do with pain or exhaustion. That fortress mounted huge, if ancient, cannons, and the anti-air they possessed had shredded a platoon sent ahead to check if the fortress could be captured quickly. The survivors had been shocked by the debacle. The enemy had produced a new type of anti-air shell; a sort of canister that didn't burst right away but would explode while in flight, flinging bullets in every direction. The results had been devastating, to say the least.

There hadn't been much more than a regiment or two or militia in the fortress, but that had been enough to halt a probing attack the pegasi had attempted. The artillery had made all the difference. There were numerous new craters in the ground before the fortress; the guns inside had started to inflict casualties, and the pegasi commanders had decided to call off the attack before it had escalated. The artillery the pegasi had brought - light guns meant for field work, not for siege purposes, and with a reduced range compared to bigger pieces - hadn't even been able to get close enough to fire.

A scout had brought word that the enemy army was approaching just eleven minutes after the attack had been scrubbed. Immediately, the army - about thirty thousand or so - had formed up on the rise of hills on which Silver and the rest of the pegasi were now occupying. Their limited artillery was now fixed facing the oncoming enemy, along with the rifles of all but two "reserve"' regiments that were watching the fortress to make sure that no sorties were launched.

Silver watched, lying prone on the ground, as a griffon regiment, accompanied by minotaurs and diamond dogs, approached his unit. It was clear that they hadn't expected to be intercepted; they continued in marching formation until the light shells the pegasi guns were firing began to land among them. Even then, they took a considerable amount of time getting lined up, allowing for more cannon shells to fall in their midst.

That was about the only good news there was. Silver forced himself not to look up from the enemies that he was targeting; the road behind the enemy line was crowded with distant, but quite real, enemy soldiers. Miles and miles of them, and this would be just... no, no, he had to resist such thoughts.

The enemy front line began to advance. Another line was being formed up not far behind them, as was a third behind that. They were going to try to brute force their way through. Some of those units would no doubt try to outflank the pegasi, which would be a major issue, to put it mildly.

Silver did his best to crush those thoughts. The pegasi had a job to do; delay the enemy until the rest of the army showed up to encircle them. It was what they were here for. And, as much as he and most pegasi loved flying, he didn't think he had much airtime that he could utilize, given his wings' exhaustion.

The griffon forces began to advance. They had a few artillery pieces covering their advance, but not many, and the shells, though they inflicted a number of casualties, were little more than an annoyance, and certainly not the destructive force they could have been in this situation. The Equestrians responded in kind; their fire wasn't that much more destructive than that of the enemy, but more of the griffons and their allies were falling to their fire than pegasi were to enemy fire.

Silver waited, aiming at a rather tall enemy soldier who was brandishing his bayoneted rifle threateningly as he advanced, like the rest of them.

"Fire!" an Equestrian officer ordered.

Silver fired; the entire line erupted in a deafening roar. Flames shot forth from muzzles and smoke enveloped the line. Even through it, Silver could see enemy soldiers falling in droves. He shifted the bolt on his gun, letting the spent shell fly loose and chambering another round.

"Fire!"

The pegasi fired again. More smoke, more enemy warriors and soldiers fell to the ground.

The enemy began to fire back as they advanced. Some briefly crouched, others simply pulled the trigger as they came on, bayonets still pointing toward the Equestrians. The majority missed, but here and there they struck targets; pegasi began to fall, some ominously silent and others crying out in pain.

"Fire at will!"

Silver began shooting his gun as fast as he could do so. Everyone else, or most of the pegasi anyway, were doing the same.

The pegasi artillery switched to canister; the sound of pellets and lead balls flying through the air made a horrible, eerie noise, as if death itself could be heard coming even if it could not be seen. Some of the enemy were merely grazed, and most of the minotaurs shrugged off the damage; others seemed to vanish from existence, obliterated.

"Shoot them down, boys!" an Equestrian officer yelled, no doubt carried away by the battle. "Keep on 'em!"

Silver and his comrades didn't need any extra encouragement. The enemy would have to break through them in order to get to the fortress, and they'd pay a price even if they succeeded. They were already paying the price, actually, as scores were falling.

That didn't mean that Equestria would win without loss. A pegasi nearby dropped his gun and began to raise his hoof to his face before falling over and lying motionless on the ground. Enemy artillery was starting to find the range as well; shells were falling more accurately, with more of them taking effect. Silver did his best to pay attention to the battle before him, and not the screams of pain and shock that were all around him.

The terrible crash of lightning smote the battlefield; Griffon soldiers and their minions fell to lethal shock from the sky. Some decided then and there to get out before they became fried chicken. Of these, some were shot by their own side, though Silver thought he could see a few that managed to escape... for the time being.

He chambered yet another round and fired. He attempted to do it again, but the gun didn't fire when he depressed the trigger. Outta ammunition. He released the magazine and slipped another in. This time, the rifle fired.

In spite of the losses they were taking, the enemy kept going. Even as a common soldier, Silver could understand why. The rest of the Equestrian army was on their heels, and if they didn't break through, the war was as good as lost for them, because they'd be surrounded; "In a cauldron," he'd heard an officer say recently. They'd either give up or be annihilated in a massive battle, or, if necessary, they'd be starved out. It was a matter of life and death for them. "So let's make sure it's them breakin' their necks, not us," he whispered to himself as he loaded another round.

But the pegasi weren't present in overwhelming force. Even though the whole army had more of just about everything - especially healthy, determined, fit soldiers - the pegasi here were outnumbered, and since the enemy were concentrating their entire strength against them...

Griffon soldiers fired away, still approaching. Those who hadn't been shot or blown up already were close enough to fire almost point blank. At such a range, both sides were hitting each other quite often, even without properly aiming. Many on both sides were firing form the hip and still scoring hits. A bullet whizzed past Silver's head; another grazed his coat and a third passed through his cap, knocking it off in so doing.

Not long now till it's us n' them clubbin' and stabbin' each other, and who knows where it'll end up?

He tried to keep his mind on the battle and not on the possibility of a clubbed rifle smashing him in the head, or of a bayonet through the gut. More lightning struck, zapping enemy soldiers and leaving some of them them twitching on the ground when their bodies initially refused to register them as dead.

By now, the first enemy attack force resembled a garment that had been chewed all to pieces by moths. Regiments had been chewed up by artillery and rifle fire, and what was still coming on was far less than what had started the assault. Granted, not all the losses had been casualties per se; a number (Silver wasn't sure exactly how many) had taken wing or to their heels. But most of those who were no longer fighting were dead or wounded. The enemy soldiers who were still advancing were either brave, stupid, or more scared of their superiors than their enemies.

However, the losses the front line had taken had allowed the second enemy line to advance with fewer losses. They still presented a serious threat, especially if the first line had the courage to press on to melee range, which it appeared they would. Not very many, but some.

The enemy cannon fire ceased as griffon soldiers and mercenary warriors closed the gap. Silver raised his gun as they approached. As he did, he noticed a large number of griffons in the distance - hundreds - take off and head for the sky.

Not as stupid as I sometimes wish ya were. If we can' get to and use tha clouds, we're weaker than we oughta be. If the enemy were going to interfere with the pegasi ability to rain lightning down on them, the fight would be much harder. The lightning was one thing the griffons, being non-magical, could not imitate. Take that out of the picture and leave the fight up to conventional arms and numbers, and the pegasi would not easily hold, even if they did leave the field strewn with dead and wounded enemies.

One of the enemy soldiers closed, screaming, rifle raised above his head for a downward stab.

"Yeah, I don' think so," Silver said quietly as he smashed the butt of his rifle into the enemy soldier's chin. The griffon fell backward; whether or not he was dead or merely stunned was hard to say, and as more were coming, it wasn't something he could afford to think about for long.

All across the battlefield, the two lines clashed. Swords were swung, bayonets were thrust toward enemies, and Royal Guards lashed out with spears. The clang of steel on steel and cries, some of pain, others of anger and adrenaline, rang out in the din.

Silver slammed his clubbed rifle into another enemy soldier, hitting him hard enough to send him flying backward several feet. An officer, thinking he'd have better luck, slashed at him with his sword; Silver stepped back and gave him a good old whack on the head, causing the officer to drop his sword. Another swipe, this one upward, sent the griffon tumbling back onto the bodies of his command.

Even through all this, the third line, the second having intermingled with the first, kept coming. Some lightning bolts were falling into their midst, but not many of them; the enemy detachments sent up to intercept the cloud-using pegasi were able to do that much, at least.

A fourth foe came, a griffon soldier with a bayonet extended. Silver didn't have time to bring the gun around for another pass, and he didn't have a bayonet, so he just shoved the barrel of the gun, hard, into the attacker's chest. The griffon coughed, dropping his gun and reaching for his stomach.

...Wait, do I have a round loaded? With the barrel still almost touching the enemy's chest, Silver depressed the trigger. BANG! Yep, he thought dully, as the griffon fell over backward.

The fighting continued. The Equestrian line buckled, but refused to break. The griffons kept coming; by now, they'd managed to keep the sky-borne pegasi so busy that hardly any lightning at all was coming down. With their artillery on the fighting line and in the process of being fought over, there was no real support to be had, and the pegasi were fighting fiercely with whatever they had; clubbed rifles, bayonets, swords, spears, even their bare hooves, which, being so hard, could inflict severe damage on an attacker without the pony in question suffering any pain or injury whatsoever. Both sides fought with desperation; the pegasi fought desperately to keep the enemy from breaking through and prolonging the war, the enemy just as desperate to get through to safety.

Through the din, Silver could almost swear that he could hear artillery on the distant horizon. His ears perked up. If that was the rest of the allied army coming, then the pegasi only had to hold on a bit longer before the enemy were completely encircled and reinforcements could reach them.

Migh' be able ta hold a mite longer, he thought to himself. Not sure how much longer we can stand, though...

"Come on!" James shouted as the army continued to advance. "We have to keep moving! I know you're tired, but when this war is over I promise that you'll be able to rest as much as you need!"

He didn't really need to encourage them; he could see that they were advancing as fast as they could. Nonetheless, the prospect of actually catching the enemy and crushing them was like a heady tonic, and he felt surges of excitement at the idea of the war ending in a few days.

The pegasi had actually managed to do it; get in front of the enemy and block them. Now he and his generals had to do their part, and reinforce them before they could be overwhelmed. The army was advancing at galloping speed. He'd rarely seen ponies run so fast in his life, and certainly not in the war thus far. Even the ponies pulling the artillery caissons were racing ahead at an almost breakneck speed.

"We might actually pull this off," he said out loud. "We might actually bag the whole blasted lot of them before they can escape us."

"I hope so, sir," Crystal said, carrying him on his back. "I also hope my legs can recover from this run."

"I'm sure they-"

A bullet clanged off the sword James was wielding, almost causing him to drop it in surprise. Another whizzed by his face, and more tore into his coat. A terrible Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat filled the battlefield.

At first, James wasn't sure what the noise was. He could see rifles firing at his command, and soldiers deploying - and falling - as they began to realize that they were in danger.

The words machine guns! had barely crossed his mind when he felt his left arm take a grazing hit. "Urgh!" he half groaned, half shouted as he began to fall backward, this time actually dropping his sword. He hit the ground flat on his back; his spine seemed to seethe with pain as the momentum carried him a few feet further, dragging him against the ground.

James coughed, groaning as he looked at the injury. It wasn't serious by any means - it wouldn't threaten the use of his limb in any way - but that didn't say anything about the pain of the wound. He moaned; even looking at it seemed to inflame it.

"Sir!" Crystal shouted, coming back around. "Sir, are you alright?"

"Get... down..."

"What?"

"Get down on your belly! Now! All of you, do the same!"

Some soldiers heard him and dropped to their stomachs on their own, while others just did so out of instinct. Of those who didn't, many were hit and fell. The remainder, seeing this happen, went down on their own.

James looked out as Crystal, now lying flat on his belly, began to bandage his injury. Still moaning, he tried to find where the suspected machine gun was firing.

Then he saw it.

It wasn't a true machine gun, not really, and there was only one. It more resembled the Gatling guns used in a limited capacity in the Civil War and to fight Native Americans out west, only with the crank located at the rear of the gun rather than the side, and the magazine was put in from the side. It was also mounted on smaller wheels, rather than on an artillery carriage, which allowed the crew to lie down, or at least crouch, rather than overly expose themselves to fire by standing; the crank handle was much shorter, so that the reduced height of the gun wouldn't cause the crank to get stuck in the ground.

Whatever it was, it was inflicting casualties on the soldiers under his command. "Bring up artillery," he got out as Crystal finished. "And get some pegasi to rain lightning down on that thing. The more melted a husk that gun is reduced to, the happier I'll be."

"Sir, with respect, you're injured."

"Don't tell me what I know. Now, as an officer, I am ordering you to give out my instructions."

"But sir-"

"I'll be fine. Just do it. It's not like the enemy are going to charge us; this is just a rear guard meant to slow us down. Now go," James growled, anger growing. "Or I'll court martial you."

Part of him could hardly believe he was threatening his trusted aide-de-camp, but between the pain of the his wound and his growing impatience, another part didn't care. Crystal's face twisted in surprise and shock, but he nodded, as if in understanding of what James was feeling. "Yes sir," he said, before getting up and taking wing. "Medics, see to the General," he shouted, pointing a hoof at James before leaving.

James heard someone answer Crystal, then turned his head to the right as a couple ponies, obviously medics, approached, both down on their bellies. "Sir, don't worry," one said. "We'll get that wound treated and get you out of here."

"Don't you dare move me until this contest is decided," James replied hastily and with another surge of anger. "I will see this engagement through to the end. And I doubt you could move me very far before being shot in any case."

"Well, that's probably true," the other medic said. "Still, I think it's best that we leave and make for the rear once that abominable gun and its crew are taken out. Band-Aid, I think the General's arm is as well treated as well as it can be for now, and there are other wounded out here, and many of those far worse." As the first medic left, the second turned back to James. "I think you've been lucky through out this war, sir."

"It seems I'm not able to move up to the firing line without remembering to forget my 'shoot me' sign," James joked, though this failed to elicit a laugh.

"You've suffered injuries that healed relatively quickly, and that have largely not interfered with your body's ability to operate."

"I don't think I believe in luck anymore," James said quietly, though he wasn't sure the medic heard.

Still under fire, the Equestrians gamely fired back at the griffon enemy. Most were clearly shooting at the big threat; the Gatling gun. A number of bullets clanged off the gun, others struck the crew manning it. before long, it's rate of fire sharply diminished, as crew were killed or wounded and others had to drop their own personal weapons in order to use it.

The pegasus lightning strikes weren't even necessary, though they did blast the gun and its crew. Nor was the artillery needed, though it shelled the gun and the area around it. Whatever the reason for its demise, the gun soon ceased fire completely, and enemy gunfire slackened off as Equestrian soldiers got back up and began to push forward.

"I think you'll be fine," the medic said to James as the gunfire died away. "Nothing much we can do for it other than keeping it bandaged for now. I'd still recommend a trip to the field hospital, though."

"That can wait. I need to see this thing for myself." Without waiting for the medic's permission, James pushed himself to his feet - it took a little longer than it would have otherwise - and began walking toward the gun.

Apparently, a bolt of lightning had fused some of the gears and barrels together; the gun was useless for anything other than a brief study and a trip to wherever scrapped items went. The ammunition must have been ignited by lightning as well, as the gun showed damage of such a sort and the corpses of the gunners showed a lot of bullet holes in numerous directions, and no doubt some were hit while down.

"Don't stop here, keep going," he said, raising his voice. "Don't let those who died here die in vain. Let's put an end to all of this, so that this doesn't happen again."

Already, Equestrian units were beginning to forge ahead. However, it wasn't at the reckless pace they'd been galloping at. He could understand; how many of these things did the enemy have, and how many more surprises did they have in store?

If we have anything to say about it, not enough, he quipped to himself. "Someone take this piece of junk to the rear," he said, pointing at the gun. "I think that Equestria's military scientists would like a look at it."

"Oughta just pound it into scrap right here," a soldier muttered. "Killed too many of us."

Again, James could understand his soldier's sentiments. He too felt like taking a sledgehammer to the ruined Gatling. However, if Equestria could get a gun like that, they should. "Just do it," he said urgently. "If we can make stuff like it, the balance shifts back toward us again. And those going forward, keep a sharp lookout."

The artillery began to fire at a much more distant target. clearly, this wasn't going to be the last such stand the enemy were going to make. James sighed. He'd known this wasn't going to be easy, but he'd had hopes for a quick end to the war. That might not happen if rear guard stands slowed down the army too much. The pegasi were no doubt giving their lives right now just trying to slow the enemy down, and were likely at great risk of being overrun.

"Keep going," he said again, even louder. "Let's end this!"

Silver smashed another enemy soldier with his gun. He'd lost count of how many he'd beaten down or killed outright. The enemy just kept coming, without let up or withdrawal. He and the rest of the pegasi had been fighting for almost two hours, and every bone and muscle in his body seemed to bellow exhaustion.

He punched an enemy with a forehoof; the enemy soldier fell down. He felt no pain from the blow directly, but he was getting tired, along with most of the pegasi present. They still had ammunition, to be sure, but that no longer mattered much; the fight was almost entirely a melee.

A shadow came from above; Silver was barely in time to duck and avoid a sword strike by an airborne enemy.

Can' we not even keep 'em from tha skies? he thought to himself, as he took a quick look, to see the skies full of griffons. Some pegasi were contesting them, but they were clearly on the verge of being overwhelmed.

"Retreat!" a pegasus officer shouted. "Fall back to the rally points as planned!"

This had been part of the plan as well; if the enemy were going to overrun the position, the orders were to disengage and then fall back to either side of the griffon army and hope they were either too exhausted or determined to reach safety to pursue.

Silver took a swipe at another attacker with his rifle. The words began to make sense in his mind even as he sent another attacker sprawling. Wait, we've lost?

It was something he wasn't accustomed to thinking. Sure, during the first month or two of the war there had been retreats, as well as during the spring of this very year, but since then the army had won every engagement. Defeat wasn't something that pegasi were used to contemplating.

"Oh, blast it," he said out loud, continuing to curse most vilely as he whacked yet another enemy. Disengaging the enemy wasn't going to be easy, not with the enemy so close. And yet, it was the only realistic option at this point.

"Where do you think you're going?" a griffon soldier said, approaching Silver as the pony began to step backward.

"Not ta hell, and that's where you're goin' if ya follow me," Silver retorted. He heard the hoofsteps of other ponies as they began to fall back as well.

"We'll see about that," the griffon smirked, raising a sword.

He never got to use it. Silver stuck him with an officer's sword that had been dropped by an inevitable pegasus casualty of the battle. "Aye, I think we have seen abou' it," he said calmly. He let go of the sword - which he had picked up with his right wing - and took to his heels. Now he had to try and make good his escape... assuming that was possible.

James got up and walked over to the gun his troops had captured. It was in no good condition; in fact, after the R&D department had had its way with it, it would likely end up as scrap. However, it was still good enough to be studied, and he was sure that someone could get something out of it.

Artillery was still firing, though the targets it was shooting at were even more distant now, as the enemy continued to withdraw. James could hear, if he strained his ears, the battle the pegasi were fighting to stop the enemy. However, the gunfire in the distance was starting to die off. He wasn't sure or not whether or not it was a good sign at all.

As hours began to tick by and the army continued its pursuit, he grew more and more worried. Now lying on an artillery caisson, James strained to hear any sound of battle ahead. All he heard were hoofbeats and the wheels and axles of the caisson creaking.

As dusk began to set in and the army began to slow down, a cream-colored pegasus came flying in from the northeast. James all but jumped off the caisson, only to come up short when he saw the soldier's face.

The pegasus in question could not have looked more mournful if he had played the part of ten years in a theater. "I'm s-sorry, sir," he said, tears falling down his face. "We... we weren't able to... to stop 'em... They got through us... and they're streamin' into that fort of theirs like a river breakin' a dam..."

James would have said something horribly pungent, but the sorrow on the soldier's face stopped him. "Well," he began, and stopped. There wasn't anything he could really think of to say. A lot of pegasi had given their lives for nothing. "Well, I guess that's that," he said finally. "We won't be bagging them this time, and the war is going to stretch on a bit longer." He sighed, knowing that he and his fellow generals were to blame for the hare-brained scheme that had apparently done no good at all, except maybe inflict casualties.

"Please, sir," the pony said. "My brother and I went into that battle together, and wh-when they called retreat, I don't... I don't think he got out... He's either captured or... or..." the pegasus broke up entirely, bawling.

Another life I'm responsible for. James knelt down and put a hand on the soldier's mane. "I'm sorry," he said at last.

He looked toward the northeast, in the presumed direction of Ragna Fortress. The enemy would soon be behind fortifications beyond those he'd yet seen in the war, safe from attack, as their insane Emperor gathered resources and soldiers with which to launch a counteroffensive.

He fingered the cross on his neck. What are we going to do...?

Chapter 70; Operation Petersburg

James eyed the walls of Ragna Fortress with a spyglass. The fortress looked every bit as intimidating and defended as he'd been told and had feared. The place was enormous; even the fort his army had taken from the griffons and expanded on during the winter couldn't truly compare to this.

A head-on charge was out of the question. It wasn't even a consideration. The artillery that the fortress had would rip any assault to shreds before it could do much of anything, and there were trenches out in front with those new Gatling guns positioned in them, along with thousands of griffon soldiers. Even if the attackers got past this, they'd still have the fortress itself to deal with, and the walls in particular; a little over two-thirds of the army didn't have wings, and carrying ladders would expose attacking soldiers to enemy troops firing on the walls, who would not only have the machine guns but gigantic cannons that no doubt had a terrifying version of grape shot and canister, never mind the shells they could bring to bear. Griffon anti air cannons - and the fact that the majority of their army could fly - would make air support almost impossible.

It's the position I would have wanted to defend, he thought enviously.

Shelling the place would also prove difficult. The army had already tried bombarding the fortress. The enemy's enormous cannons, however, out-ranged his own, forcing him and his fellow generals to move their artillery inside the enemy's firing range in order to be able to do any damage.

A thirty minute contest between the guns had left no one in doubt as to who had the superior position. The enemy guns had some measure of protection; the Equestrian guns had to move out into the open in order to be able to fire. Even though the Equestrians had managed to directly hit and destroy one of the giant guns, the rest had pulverized the Equestrian artillery. A single shell had wiped out three guns and their crews, as well as the ammunition their limbers carried. That had been enough to convince James that this method of attack wasn't going to get much of anywhere either, and he had ordered the gunners to pull back out of range.

If I ever have anything to answer for in the next life, he thought glumly, it'll be the pointless loss of soldiers in attacks like this.

He shook his head. Criticizing himself would not make the task any easier. Too bad there's no rail line cutting through it, he joked humorlessly. I could have loaded a train with explosives and sent it to blast us a path through the gates for us.

The fortress was going to provide a challenge, to say the least. A siege was out of the question, as the mountains nearby were jagged and provided no real way to get at the fortress, and trying to fly part of the army over the fortress would be risky as best. Given what had happened two days previously, when the enemy had broken through the pegasi - although only at an appalling cost to themselves - he was loath to try the same strategy again.

The valley they were in was a pleasant place, a place that belied the name it officially had. Except for the fortress guarding the road, as well as the mountains that anchored it, the Valley of Dry Bones was lively. Wild rodents - mainly rabbits - were running around, which reminded him to issue a warning regarding the protection of food and supplies. Grass grew and the trees were fully dressed with leaves and needles. It was a pretty place to be, or would be if there weren't a war on.

James lowered the spyglass and gave it to Crystal Clear, who was standing nearby. "No thanks," he said as he did so.

"I don't blame you, sir," the aide replied. "But the question stands; what do we do now?"

"I don't know," Shining Armor said, also looking ahead at the distant bastion. "We have to think of something, though. We're just giving them time to regroup by staying here."

"Hate to say it, but my tanks aren't going to do it," Rolling Barrel said reluctantly. "I doubt an airship assault could do it, either, assuming we had them, and we don't, not yet."

Abd al-Malik muttered something in his own language. "Curse them to their seventh grandfathers," his translator said. "if only those mountains did not exist, our task would be that much easier."

James found himself in agreement. The front and back of the fortress were anchored to either side by mountains; the mountains could easily be said to be part of the fortifications.

Chief Jelani also mumbled something to Furaha, his wife, who replied softly. "The honorable chief says that the task ahead may be impossible," the translator said. "His wife counters that we will get through it somehow."

James nodded. "I think the best idea would be to begin digging trenches in order to close with the fortress; it will give us cover from their fire, and allow us to close with the forward entrenchments of the enemy without suffering too high a penalty. If we dig at night, that will give us an edge, and I know we can conceal the trenches with magic; if Celestia and Luna can make an illusion for their manes, I know we can do it with this sort of project. Plus, it will give our guns some measure of protection and allow us to bring them in closer."

"I agree," Shining said. "But what do we do from then?"

"I... We'll figure it out. I refuse to believe that that thing," James said, pointing at the fortress, "is invincible. Every fortress in this world, in this life, has a weak spot. The trouble is in finding it."

"True," Barrel said, "but where do we begin looking?"

"Anywhere, so long as we can do it without sources of trouble," James replied. "I'm not going to just sit here and let this self-proclaimed Emperor marshal his forces and extend the war. It's gone on too long already, and it's about time it ended."

"Agreed," Shining, Crystal, and Barrel said together.

James looked back at the bastion, snuggled comfortably between the mountains. "We'll need to gather whatever intelligence we can," he thought out loud, less to the others than himself. "I'd suggest engaging in night raids, with the Lunar Guard being the primary assault forces in such cases. Our goal will be to capture prisoners, especially higher ranking ones, in order to get the information we need."

"And if they aren't cooperative?" Shining asked anxiously. "What then?"

"Then... I suppose we use any documents we capture to deduce their intentions. We are going to get through this fortress, and as fast as we can. I suggest we all get to work on this, double pronto."

Everyone else nodded. James took one more look at the fortress and frowned. I will find a way to break you, he silently promised.

Star Blaze watched the stars silently as he waited. The twinkling specks of light in the immeasurable distance were welcoming to thestrals, who loved the night and were accustomed to sleeping through the day, and even more so was the moon, which rose quietly but conspicuously in the night sky. Thestral legends claimed that their kind was fashioned from the night sky itself (similar to pegasi legends, which said that they had first been born from clouds), something that inspired the young and gave something for elders to talk about. He also recalled the caves in which his people had taken up residence when Nightmare Moon had been defeated over a thousand years previously; after that had happened, the pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies had shown an increased hostility toward their nighttime brethren, and, despite efforts by Celestia to reverse the damage, the thestrals had decided to take shelter wherever they could. Caves in forlorn areas and underground communities had become their homes, and had grown into secret settlements. After Princess Luna's return, the thestrals had joyously returned, knowing that they could now live in peace and under the protection of their chosen Princess.

There was still friction between thestrals and other ponies, of course; the fact that they had fangs, as well as wings like those of bats, scared many ponies, even those who believed in harmony, and their habit of sleeping during the day hadn't won them many favors among the Royal Guard. However, they were the energetic defenders of the royal palace during the night, and they kept watch over Princess Luna no matter what time of day it was.

Not all thestrals were Guards, of course; there were blacksmiths and tanners, and a few were even farmers. However, because the most visible thestrals were Guards, that was what most non-thestrals thought they all were. An earth pony Blaze had encountered had been surprised to learn that Star's job before joining the Lunar Guard had been baking, and that his family had a history in that profession.

He shook himself out of his thoughts as he caught sight of Colonel Nightshade approaching and stood at attention. "Alright, boys, I think you all know the drill, but in case anypony missed the memo, I'll recite what we're about to do. Our job is to infiltrate the enemy's forward defenses, capture high-ranking officers and other hostiles of note, capture all documents and maps, and destroy everything we can't take with us. Do not use lethal weaponry unless we're shot at or met with lethal force of arms, at which point you're to use only the required amount for force to subdue resistance and nothing more; we can't afford to have the entire camp waking up on us, even if we are the best fighters in all of Equestria. Am I understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the Guards chorused - quietly and in a whisper, but loud enough for the Colonel to hear.

"Outstanding. Now, move out, and remind the griffons and their puppet soldiers why they should fear the night, and us specifically."

Star's regiment began moving out, but with stealth being the key word, they weren't in formation long. They spread out across the plain.

There wasn't much to comment about over the next few hours as the Lunar Guard stealthily approached the enemy trenches. Star was careful to set each of his hooves down softly, in case they gave an incriminating clop as they hit. As the hours ticked away, the Lunar Guard continued their slow but silent and undetected crawl toward the enemy lines.

Eventually, Star was close enough to hear the enemy sentries talking to one another. Even from a distance, they sounded carefree, not on alert at all. Perhaps they thought that their guns and their army had given the Equestrians and their allies from breaking through their fortress and therefore they could afford to be a bit lax.

Well, if that was the case, the Lunar Guard was there to prove them wrong.

Star saw as a fellow thestral in the grass a few feet away pull out his crossbow. There only a few enemy soldiers in the trenches a short distance away. If they could be taken down without sounding an alarm, that would tear a hole in their lines that the Lunar Guard could swarm through.

There was a hooting noise from not far away. An untrained ear would have taken this as just a random owl at night. However, Star knew that it was a signal; do not engage yet. Wait.

"What was that?" One of the griffons ahead asked nervously, picking up his gun and pointing it around nervously.

"Ha, you griffons get all hot and bothered over some stupid night birds," a deep voice answered; Star knew without even seeing the speaker that it was a minotaur. "Leave the war to real warriors, and get back to your hen houses!"

"Remember who's paying your check," a ruffled officer countered. "That said, kid, you have a lot to learn. Stop getting choked up over some restless owl and keep your worries to yourself."

Star got out his own crossbow and waited, choosing a tall griffon; the target seemed bored and looking away from him, occasionally speaking to someone down in the trench.

There was another hoot, and then a second; attack immediately.

Several crossbow bolts lashed out of the darkness at unsuspecting enemies. Star's target was struck in the head; he died without so much as a grunt. Other weapons, mainly throwing knives, struck a half instant later. The minotaur gave a moan, and fell to the ground.

Star raised his head slightly and looked. There didn't appear to be any enemies in the locale who had survived.

A bat call came to his ears. Thestrals could hear sound at a slightly higher pitch than other ponies, so it was unlikely that the enemy, if any in the area had lived, were even capable of hearing. The meaning couldn't be simpler though; move on.

The Lunar Guard did just that; they also started hiding the bodies of the slain, in order to not alert any enemy soldiers who wandered through the area. The lack of sentries in the area might set something off, but the alarm would sound much sooner if dead bodies were just lying around.

Once that was done, Star and his comrades began to search beyond the trenches. A small camp was positioned not far off from the forward positions; he could smell the cooking as he approached. No doubt the griffons thought they were perfectly safe, assuming that their front line sentries would keep them safe.

It was almost hilarious to see how fast their expressions changed from relaxed to alarmed when Lunar knives were at their throats. "Make any noise, you die," a Lunar lieutenant said, still in that sort of loud whisper. "You're all coming with us. Put down those spoons and forks. Slowly," he added, as one of the griffons moved too fast for his liking. "And don't try anything, or we'll leave your bodies for the morning crows." He nodded to other soldiers. "Check their tents."

Lunar Guards went into tents, searching for anything of use. A few of them came back with maps and scrolls that looked important, but most shook their heads as they returned. "Found food and the usual belongings," one said. "Nothing very important to our cause and our mission."

"Keep searching. If you find anyone in bed, make them get up... but quietly."

Star watched as those assigned to look went off. After about five more minutes, there was a snarl from a nearby tent, followed by what sounded like a short struggle, then a couple Lunar Guards emerged, with five diamond dogs in tow, two of whom were armored.

"The two bruisers tried to resist," one of them said, butting one with the non-business end of his spear. "We convinced them this was a bad idea."

Star chuckled. He could easily believe that. Diamond dogs weren't fighters, at least, not ones motivated by anything other than gems and gold.

"These three tried to hide a couple necklaces that definitely didn't belong to them," the other Guard said.

"We didn't..."

"Shut it," the Guard said, tapping the dog with his spear. "Say anything until we get back to camp, and you'll have reason to regret it."

Colonel Nightshade suddenly appeared; the colonel wasn't one who slacked on the stealthy skills his soldiers used. "Anything?" he asked the lieutenant.

"Not much," the lieutenant replied. "A couple maps, all mostly detailing their positions, but nothing that seems to point out a weakness."

"That's for the higher ups to decide. Take them all with us. What about documents?"

"Largely letters written by common soldiers. Three seem to have some value, but I'm highly doubtful of the intelligence we've captured. IF you want my opinion, they have most of their officers inside the fort itself; we'd have to find a way inside in order to get a chance of nabbing anything of use."

"I know, but again, it's not up to us. Bring it all; maybe some of these letters and journals have codes hidden in invisible ink or something else." Nightshade turned to the prisoners. "You know the deal; stay quiet and you get out when the war is over, or try something stupid and end up food for the wild animals. Now get going."

Star watched as the unit began to move out. The number of prisoners wasn't the biggest ever, not at all like the number that would be taken in a battle, but it was better this than nothing. He wondered what James was going think when he got the chance to see them.

James went over the report of the interrogations of the prisoners taken in the recent raid. He frowned. None of the handful of officers captured, who were the most likely to know anything important, had talked; all had refused to discuss anything, all the while mocking and insulting their captors. They were lucky that Equestria, in spite of being an absolute monarchy, were not a dictatorship; James knew from the pages of history of the methods that authoritarian rulers used to torture prisoners and force them the divulge information. Not that he intended to ever use them - in fact, he tried not the think of such methods - but he wasn't happy.

The maps had been more forthcoming, though not that much more so. The positions of field artillery and gun positions, as well as regiment names and locations, were all well and good. He knew that the regiments in front of the fortress weren't the most enthusiastic soldiers; quite the contrary. The most reluctant recruits were there, along with the penal battalions and mercenaries, thrown out as a shield for the loyalist portion of the army, which was defending the actual walls. However, there was no real information about the fortress itself, or of the garrison inside, or of stores of ammunition or anything. As for most of the papers captured, most were letters; use of acid and fire to reveal any secret codes had proven entirely unnecessary, as there was nothing to decode. Even the two documents that were written by commanders on the front line had nothing useful on the fortress, only on morale and the positions of combat troops.

"I think you'll want to reconsider our offer," came a pony's voice from the next tent over. "We can give you better food and housing than other, less cooperative prisoners."

"Even if ya offered me half o' Celestia's castle, I'd never betray the Emperor," a griffon officer yelled back. "You'll get nothing from me, and when we win this war, I'll be a hero!"

"Delusional fool. Enjoy your ordinary bed and food when you get to the camp," the pony replied, frustrated. "Take him away, and make sure you add my report on his recalcitrance to their Majesties, along with my recommended course of action for him and other fools."

James sighed. That officer had been in the other tent for about an hour, and he'd given nothing away, And despite his fanatical loyalty to the Emperor, he'd been extremely careful, avoiding every trick the Equestrians had used. Celestia had forbidden her army in the field from using anything that resembled mind reading or control, though she'd implied that she or Luna might utilize these techniques during their inspections of POW camps, presumably because they believed they could do it without permanently damaging the subject. Offering better lodging and food had no effect on the interrogated officers.

He heard Crystal's hard hooves on the ground even before the pony entered the tent. "Sir, I suspect you heard everything, but just in case I must inform you that the latest questioning has gotten nowhere."

"So I've heard." James set down the report he'd been reading. "Might be time for one of the captured common soldiers; they're more likely to give us what we want. They aren't in the front line because they love the regime, they're there to die for it, and get rid of us and potential traitors to the griffon crown all at once."

"Maybe so, but I still don't think they'll have anything important to add." Crystal took out a piece of paper from one of his saddlebags and looked it over. "Which ones do you want me to send in?"

"Oh, any of them you think is interesting," James said off-handedly, picking up a captured map. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Yes, sir." Crystal turned around and left.

Again, James looked at the maps that detail the forward positions. A couple of the new guns - called "Five-barrel guns" by the enemy - had been placed in areas of the trenches, each positioned to support the other. Numerous lighter guns - including, he noted ruefully, a number captured from the pegasi - were behind the lines, ready to fire at a moment's notice at any attackers. The enemy trenches were also made in a sort of reversed half-moon shape, with the bend going toward the fortress; it was designed for the defenders to get the maximum amount of firepower on the battlefield at once. While there were a couple of angles at the ends of the half-moon that could be successfully assaulted, the attackers would be pinned down by the fortress cannons, which would make holding any captured position either excessively prohibitive or else force the Equestrians and their friends to retire. Clearly, the front liens and the fortress would need to be assaulted in one fell swoop.

Another tornado wasn't going to be enough; he doubted that the guns on the walls could be moved by even the strongest winds, and the enemy forward positions alone clearly marked stores of ammunition and underground bunkers where soldiers could take cover in case of such an assault. He didn't think that the soldiers in the fortress were stupid enough to leave anything where it could be so easily wrecked, either.

Sighing again, he set down the map and exited the tent. The camp was lively, though not as though any general action were about to take place, which it wasn't. At least food and ammunition were arriving daily; the guerillas plaguing the supply lines were themselves under attack. Princess Luna had given orders to send captured guerillas to prisoner of war camps. As she put it, "If civilians want to play soldier, they can share a soldier's fate, whether though death of injury on the battlefield or being imprisoned in a camp for the duration of the war." About three thousand Equestrian soldiers had been detached, those who had lived in thick woodland and knew something about what to do in such a situation, and were successfully copying the enemy's tactics and setting traps and ambushes of their own. The soldiers could eat what they needed to, and in the meantime, they drilled.

James went over to the tent right next to his, and entered. He stopped when he saw the three diamond dogs the troops had brought in. "What are they doing here?" he asked.

"Sir, you did say to bring in anyone who I thought was interesting," Crystal answered.

James took a moment to rethink what he'd said. "You're right," he said, "though I was, or thought I was, referring to griffon prisoners."

"My mistake, sir," Crystal said, looking slightly abashed. "Alright, I'll bring these guys back to the detention center."

As he prepared to do so, James recognized the three prisoners for who they were; the same three dogs who had once kidnapped Rarity. "Hold on," he said, raising a hand. An idea popped into his head... a delicious one.

"Yes?"

"Have these three taken to Ponyville prison, or the place closest to there that has a jail."

"What?" the leader shouted. Crystal also looked confused, but he said nothing.

"You three are under arrest; the charges are kidnapping and for attempted enslavement, of a Miss Rarity and her friends," James said. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

"You... how could you know that?" the leader said, staring at James.

"Never mind how I know. I know. And you've just incriminated yourself, so that's going into the testimony of this arrest."

"You can't do this!"

"Try me," James replied. "I'd advise not resisting. Ponies don't have a high opinion of slavers. I'd say you're looking at life in prison, if you're convicted. Guards, I'd suggest taking these criminals away."

"Wait! There must be something else we could do!"

"I'm not so sure. The law is the law," James answered. "Unless..." James put a hand under his chin, pretending to think hard.

"Please, please, no jail for us! Just send us as prisoners of war to the camps!"

"The other prisoners' criminal status is unknown. You, however, are known kidnappers, hence the arrest."

"No! We'd never survive in jail! Get your filthy hooves off me!" the leader shouted at the Guard that was trying to force him out.

"An inconvenience indeed. But..."

"But what?"

"I may be able to persuade the Princesses to let you go or deal you a lesser punishment... if you dig us a tunnel under the enemy trenches and fortress, to an area or areas to be designated, as a form of community service."

All three of them looks surprised... and more than a little scared. "But... but if the griffons catch us..."

"If you dig inconspicuously enough, and deep enough down that they don't detect you, then that shouldn't be a problem, should it? And don't think about trying to get away; you'll each be chained to a pair of Guards."

"But we didn't agree to it yet!"

James shrugged. "In that case, I have no alternative other than to give you over to the lawmakers."

"No, no, wait!" the leader yelled. "We'll do it! We'll do it, just promise to keep us safe when we're digging, and we'll do it!"

"I can make that promise," James answered. "As well as the Guards chained to you, there will be others down there to provide protection for you and the other diggers. However, you have to do exactly as you're told in order to win your freedom... or lesser incarceration."

"What do you have in mind, boss?" Crystal asked.

"Oh, I intend to have a talk with the other commanders... real soon..."

"Our main problem, I think," James said, audibly, though softly, "is that we've been thinking only of getting over or through the fortress. We've been ignoring a potential third dimension - underground. What I suggest is a digging program to tunnel under the enemy lines, to either blow entire sections of the fortress to pieces with explosives or to get a substantial number of troops behind their position and besiege the place properly. I prefer the former option personally, since the latter leaves part of the army exposed, and I think, given the results of a few days ago, that that's not the best idea, though it remains to us in case the first option fails."

"I like the idea," Shining said, "but to rely on diamond dogs that kidnapped my sister's friend and that have been in the employ of the enemy is not something I'm comfortable with. I'd almost say its crazy."

"It's this, or sit in front of that giant block of stone until the mountains crumble, or charge and get ourselves killed," Barrel countered. "We have to try something, or this war will take too long, and who knows where the next threat to Equestria is going to pop up? And in what form? The western army had success digging at Chrysalis' hive, and we can do the same here."

"The griffons tried to dig under us at Trottingham," Shining answered, "and, cruel as he is, Grayfeather isn't stupid. He might have thought we'd try this, as he tried it on us. They failed, and we might too."

"We keep a diversionary effort going on the surface, then," Barrel replied. "We bombard them, keep digging our trenches closer to theirs on the surface, and continue with raids like the Lunar Guards have been pulling. If necessary, we can spread word of a fake plan we have; that will throw them off the scent. I don't think the Emperor abandoned any village or town without leaving a spy or two in them. Or we can tell of a real, but minor, operation we have in the works that will keep them running around in circles while we dig under them."

"And how long can we afford to spend digging while the enemy gather their strength?" al-Malik asked, through his translator. "They'll have more metal monstrosities and conscript dregs to throw at us the longer we wait."

"And you'd rather run straight into their fire and get shot down?" James asked sarcastically. "Might be nice if you had, oh, I don't know, armor capable of holding out ten thousand bullets at once and could mount cannons on each of your forelegs that could be reloaded in two seconds. Look around; their defense is designed to stop just such an attack. We waste our strength here in worthless assaults, pretty soon its them who will be hitting us, and successfully."

"Better to act than just sit around doing nothing."

"We are acting," Shining pressed. "We won't just be doing nothing while the digging is taking place."

"Excuse me, but what is my role in all of this?" Jelani asked.

Whatever we decide it is. That wouldn't suffice, and so James kept it to himself. "We'll find something for your people's special talents, don't worry about that. If you can do something to hinder their defense, like that trick with the smoke you pulled off in that earlier battle, I'd be grateful."

Jelani nodded. "We will work on something of that nature."

"In the meantime, we need to get to work on this," James said. "If anyone objects to this course of action... now's the time to say it."

No one did so out loud, though al-Malik crossed his forelegs.

"Right then, I suggest we all get on it."

Artillery roared in Shining's ears as he inspected the front lines. The firing of the guns had gone on almost non-stop for three days now, ever since the meeting, only truly pausing for the crews - and the army - to get some sleep. Not all of the army's artillery was firing - that would have depleted the ammunition too much. Instead, just enough guns were firing to keep up with the new stocks of ordinance that were arriving. Along with the digging of trenches toward the enemy lines, it was designed to keep the enemy from thinking about any underground work.

It had gotten the enemy's attention, all right. They returned fire; the big guns remained silent this time, probably because they were slow to fire, and their shells might have been in short supply. Not so their smaller but still potent guns, which gamely shot back. While neither side was doing much damage, it was raising up a lot of dust... and here and there, casualties were inflicted. Screams rang out from both sides of no-pony's land, as the Equestrian troops called it. James called it no-man's land, though no one else did.

The battle front hadn't really changed. Lunar detachments went out raiding every night now. The enemy were getting more and more alert, but the thestrals knew all about operating in the dark. In retaliation, the enemy had attempted some raids of their own. In spite of the awareness of Equestrian sentries, they weren't without success. All of the allied commanders had expected something like this; James had even placed a number of supposedly sensitive documents in places the enemy were likely to raid, and a few of them had been taken, as he'd hoped. Unfortunately, Shining nor anyone else could see into the minds of the enemy generals, so they weren't sure if Grayfeather had taken the bait.

In the meantime, he took a glance at an Equestrian newspaper that had been left on a box. Far from the propaganda he'd expected - the usual claims of victory just around the corner, the enemy being doomed, etc., there were some truthful elements. First and foremost was the damage to the griffon economy that the blockade and loss of so much of their land was causing. If the Equestrians had had the luxury of time, they could have just waited for the griffon "empire" to fall apart from internal struggle. That wasn't the case, but clear signs of dissent had been visible in port cities that were being blockaded, as griffon protestors took to the streets and skies, and workers began to strike. Not that that immediately solved their problems of merchandise - and eventual hunger - but it was clear that the enemy's cause wasn't as united as it used to be.

More good news was that the guerilla activity was starting to subside. As news of the Emperor's betrayal of the clans spread, the determination to fight for him waned considerably. Some still persisted; mostly those who refused to take any sort of instruction from a different species or country. But alone, those weren't enough to seriously hinder the Equestrian cause for long, and Equestria was training special forces in order to take care of those who continued to resist. Passive resistance from the griffon population toward Equestrian occupying forces (mostly rude gestures, refusal to serve ponies in shops and restaurants, and bad mouthing, much of it obscene) had also declined, though there were still diehards who rejected the occupiers' efforts as often as they could. They were still more troublesome as a defeated populace than Chrysalis' hive had been, and likely would remain so.

Changeling soldiers, some disguised (many of them badly, and deliberately so), had their muzzles in black cans, eating some sort of green, gooey-looking material. It still made Shining uncomfortable knowing what it was - the gathered emotions of other species - but it was no longer particularly loathsome, especially since they had no other food source that provided permanent energy. And since they had ways to peacefully acquire it, a lot of allied soldiers were able to fight along side changelings, though few still felt comfortable with it.

James sat not too far away. He was quietly singing to himself; "Their time has come to an eeeennd. The end of an eeera is here. It's time... to attaaack!"

He wasn't the worst out there when it came to singing, if not the best. Most of the songs, though, Shining didn't recognize. The majority of the ditties he sang were clearly war-oriented. When he wasn't watching the front lines or humming to himself, James would be busy checking the maps and the progress of the diggers.

The work on the three tunnels were proceeding rather quickly. The diamond dogs were good diggers, even if their morals were in doubt, and the ponies and changelings digging along with them were all combining to make the work go faster - though not especially so - than anyone had expected. The drawback was that this was still time-consuming, and the enemy would gather that something was going on soon, if they didn't already.

He looked at the bastion, which, due to its size, looked a bit closer than it really was. The enemy commonly unfurled arrogant and insulting banners on the walls, as well as large posters claiming things outrageous. One showed two ponies, former soldiers, pulling a cart with a griffon sitting in the seat and waving a whip; the poster was labeled, "This is what will happen to the pony survivors of the coming battle!"

Princess, if you felt like abusing your powers over the sun after you saw that, nopony would blame you for it.

Another was especially cruel. It showed a (probably) dead changeling being roasted on a spit over a fire. This one had said, "We will eat the monsters that plague our land and that have taken control of our enemies!"

The changelings in the camp had not been amused. Aphid, the changeling commander, had vowed to personally set that offending article on fire himself... and then, depending on how he felt afterwards, he'd threatened to set fire to the artist as well. Shining and Crystal had had to restrain him, or he would have tried to fly over and do it right where and when the griffons had set that on their wall. Aphid had settled down when Shining had promised him a good artillery bombardment in compensation, which had at least fulfilled the changeling commander's desire to set the thing ablaze.

Even so, the enemy soldiers still made fun of the Equestrians as much as they could, and it was getting irksome. Their morale had clearly taken an upturn, and now, where a week ago they had virtually been a mob running for their lives. "Write note to the Lunar Guard," Shining said. "I want the guy who's making these offensive pieces of junk. That ought to shut them up a little."

"I suppose we could tell them that, but I doubt the, 'artist', per se, is anywhere outside of the walls," his aide, a gray unicorn named Spearhead (supposedly, Shining thought, because his horn was sharper than that of most, though this had no effect on his magical abilities). "Sick of seeing them, though, sir, the same as you."

Shining kept staring at the offending fortress. "We'll capture that fortress yet, Spear. We just need to get it without being slaughtered out on the open field."

"I hope the human general's plan succeeds, sir, otherwise we're left without even a bag to hold."

"Me too."

James felt the hot air filling his throat as he watched his troops carry barrel after barrel of explosives past him in the dark tunnel, which was illuminated only occasionally by lanterns. If it weren't for a makeshift ventilation system, no one would be able to breathe down here for long, and torches on the walls would only drain what air there was down here. Not that that air was particularly savory; he hated how it felt, as though he were on the verge of choking from the heat, and hoped the project would be done soon, undetected by the enemy.

"We're gathering all the spare gunpowder we have," Blue Fur noted, checking something off. "And the mining companies aren't particularly happy that we're appropriating their dynamite, even though they're being compensated."

"I don't care. If our troops suffer fewer losses and can get past this stinking fortress, I'm all for this. Plus, I like to break things, and I'm hoping this will break the fortress, or at least the front wall. The fireworks should make up for the temporary inconvenience of the mining corps."

"I hope so. The amount of explosives we're gathering here could easily tear Canterlot from it's mountain, with more than enough force to spare."

"I just need it to knock down those walls. Our artillery hasn't done the job, so we're going to have to uproot them."

"Some uprooting."

"Indeed. I want this to show the world, and the griffons in particular, how foolish it would be for the enemy to offer up any further resistance. I want this war over and done with, and if this works, it will go a long way towards doing that."

"The key word being 'if'. We've been disappointed in that regard, captured territory notwithstanding."

"I don't need reminding." James remembered the battle ten days or so ago. "I think this is a better option than just throwing wave after wave of troops at those walls and hoping they'll break."

"With respect, for all we know this might not have the desired effect either. It might make the whole place even more defensible, or maybe it will do some damage, but not enough to hinder the firepower. We won't know until we light the fuse and it all blows up."

James had a number of thoughts about what would happen. He kept quiet. "We've gone too far on this project to back out now," he said. "Might as well go through with it. And if something goes wrong, we'll deal with it."

General Grayfeather watched Equestrian army from his vantage point on top of the walls. While their efforts so far had not produced any success, the enemy were trying. Their entrenchments, dug every night, grew steadily closer, as did their artillery. Not that that last would aid them that much against the walls, which were extremely thick; it would take a hammer the size of a mountain to shatter them entirely.

Ultimately, the fortress was designed to force the enemy to attack from one direction, and pay the price. If the enemy had had four times the numbers they actually had, he'd have had some reason for discomfort. Even though the numbers game wasn't in the griffon favor at the moment, more recruits - whether reluctant or not - were being brought into the army.

Admittedly, the attackers were determined, and had almost block his way into the fortress itself; it was fortunate that the lead divisions had managed to break through, but the cost had been terrible. The only good news - though very, very good news - was that the army now held an almost impregnable position, and it wasn't going to be dislodged. Even a tornado wouldn't do anywhere near enough damage to allow the weak ponies and their pitiful allies in.

Hope had stirred again the general's heart. For a while, it had seemed as though the Griffon Kingdom - Empire, now - was doomed. But now, with the enemy stalled, new weapons were being researched. Some required the... aid of captured ponies. While the procedures were experimental, it was what was required. The beam rifles his troops had had were only the beginning.

"Oh, yes, we'll hold them here, easy," he muttered to himself.

"That's what we said last time, and look what happened."

Grayfeather turned to a nearby lieutenant, who suddenly appeared as though he'd bitten off more than he could chew... which he had. Not that the lad didn't have a point; up until now, the enemy had either managed to survive defeats or push their way past griffon defenses. "I assure you, lieutenant, they will not drive us out of here. No magic tricks they could conspire could break this fortress, which has stood for well over a thousand years, unconquered, and will stand for even longer... unconquered. Do I make myself clear?"

The lieutenant looked for something to say. Ultimately, what he found was, "Yes, sir."

"Good. Carry on, and stop worrying like a schoolgirl. We'll crush them here, and go on to win the war."

The lieutenant walked away, still sullen. Grayfeather shook his head. Some people weren't going to be persuaded. Even though the enemy had managed to beat the griffon army several times, it had by no means won the war.

He shook off a feeling of distress. "It'll come to nothing," he muttered, this time under his breath. "We'll throw them back when they attack and then they'll be sorry they ever fought us."

"General, sir," another griffon, this one a captain, landed in front of him and saluted.

"Report, captain."

"Sir, our supply lines have been raided."

"What? Don't tell me that the ponies have gotten behind our lines!"

"They haven't, sir. It's traitors. Rebels. They've been harassing us, stealing war material, and killing the troops trying to deliver it."

Grayfeather growled furiously. "Filthy traitors. Refusing to understand the Emperor and his reasons. Find them and wipe them out."

"We'll need more troops in order to do so, sir, and we'll need our soldiers here, where the battle is to be fought."

"That's my decision, not yours. And without supplies, we'll starve and the enemy will have an easier time advancing against these walls. Get General Firewing, and tell him to take five thousand troops - ten thousand, if he feels he needs them - an tell him to destroy - no, eradicate - the rebels, and destroy all their personal effects, so that nothing is left of them to loot off of. That will be a symbol to all potential traitors of the price of interfering with the war effort."

"By your leave, sir."

"Go." Grayfeather waved a claw, and the captain saluted again and flew away.

The rebels would be dealt with, one way or the other. Meanwhile, the supplies would continue to flow, which would be necessary for the army. Anyone who got in the way of the war effort would be punished. He was sure of it. And in the meantime, the Equestrians would finally suffer the defeat they deserved.

James watched as the last few troops got out of the tunnel. The diamond dogs followed soon after, still chained to Royal Guards. A soldier shouted, "We're done, sir!"

"Very good," he shouted back. "Get back to your units. We'll be starting soon, so don't be late!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Do you really think that this will work?" Shining asked.

"I think it will. At least, it better, or else this will all have been for nothing and the enemy will laugh at us."

"Again, Commander, the amount of explosives would easily blast Canterlot off it's mountain," Blue Fur put in. "I think it will have some impression on them. And Ragna Fortress itself isn't the only place that has enormous bombs under it."

"Yeah, the guys in the griffon trenches are going to have a blast," James duly noted. "Our artillery bombardment will make them think, once its over and done with, that nothing worse could befall them. I think we'll convince them easily that they're wrong."

"Hopefully, not enough of that wall will remain standing to keep my tanks out," Barrel added. "The trenches won't, and those blasted guns that could flatten them will soon be scrap metal."

"We'll find out whether all this was worth it, and soon," James said. "Will the fuses we have be able to remain lit down there?"

"They'll be lit by magic, not by flint or match," Blue Fur replied. "They'll burn, and the fires will get to the explosives."

"Good. They'll be set to blow up at the same time? I doubt it will help us is the trenches blow up twenty minutes before the fortress itself."

"Trust me, we've got it all sorted out." Blue Fur looked at him over the tops of his glasses. "You don't think I would have worked on a project this big and left out something that significant, do you?"

"My apologies. I guess I'm just as anxious as anyone concerning this whole plan."

"We'll make it work," Shining said. "Come on, let's get to our proper positions."

"I'll deal with the explosives," Blue Fur said. "We'll get the job done. I'll give you thirty minutes, starting at roughly 1 PM."

"Thanks, we'll be ready by then," James answered.

The walk back the forward trenches didn't take too long. Waiting took longer. Glad that Kiki the cat was back in his tent - or so he hoped, as she was as independent as the rest of her kind - he took out a small pocket watch he'd been allowed to borrow.

"Come on, come on," he muttered. Somehow, the waiting felt worse. Of course, once the battle started, combat would feel worse, but at least then things were happening.

The minutes counted down. Fifteen. Ten. Five.

"You really think this'll work?" he heard a soldier nearby ask.

"It has to, or we'll be going home in bodybags," another answered. "No way we can do this unless the big bombs do their job."

"That's if the enemy haven't discovered what we've been doing."

"Now there's a nasty thought!"

"What if it's true? What if right now, some blue-painted, sword wielding freak is cutting the fuses and waiting for us to go purple waiting for a boom that never comes?"

"They can't have found out. We've been too careful."

"We've been 'too careful' before. We'd have won by now if that was true."

James grunted, though neither of the soldiers noticed. None of these thoughts were things he wanted to think about, and yet they'd occurred to him too. They were valid concerns.

Four. Three. Two.

Blue Fur and his cohort of engineers came walking over. "How much longer, sir?"

"Thirty seconds."

"Ah, excellent."

"You fellas better get some cover," James advised. "We don't know exactly how far all the debris is gonna fly."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Blue Fur and his companions dove into the trench.

"Five, four, three, two, one..."

Nothing happened.

"What's going on?" James asked, panic rising.

"Hmm. I suppose the fuse might-"

The roar that ensued was louder than any noise James had heard in the war - in his life, in fact. The enemy trenches disappeared as a wave of earth rose skyward. James felt his mouth form curse words, but he couldn't hear himself. In fact, he couldn't even stand. The explosions - they all sounded as if they were but one giant detonation - caused the ground to shake so much that every nearby who had been standing was knocked down by the concussion. The Equestrian trenches almost collapsed as well, as part of the walls on either side of them fell in, covering soldiers with dirt. James tried to lift himself up to see what was going on, but the massive trembling wouldn't allow him to do so. His hand got to the top of what remained of the trench wall, only to lose its grip as he fell back down to the floor - or what had been the floor - again.

When the earthquake subsided - as did the noise - James brushed off the dirt that had fallen on him, coughed somewhat - the air was dusty - and stood.

The enemy lines were still obscured by smoke and dust, but not so badly that he couldn't see what had happened. The front line had been pulverized beyond any hope of recovery. And for the fortress itself...

Ragna Fortress - or the wall facing the Equestrians, at least - was ruined. Huge portions were gone altogether; one of the guns that had caused so much grief in the preceding weeks had been torn from its mount and smashed, and many others had suffered the same or a similar fate. Stones that had formed the wall were scattered everywhere; one had landed just a few feet in front of the Equestrian lines. Even as he watched, a remaining section of the wall crumbled, unable to bear the load it once had been able to. Enormous craters - some dozens of feet wide and hundreds long - were all that were left of many wall sections.

"Get the ladders ready," he shouted. At least he knew that he wasn't deaf, as he had been able to hear himself speak. And most of his soldiers could hear too, as they prepared, A number of platoons to the rear held ladders for getting through the craters the blasts had left.

James raised himself out of the trench, pointed his pistol skyward, and fired.

With yells, battle cries and screams of encouragement, the Equestrian army charged.

Chapter 71; Overrun

James ran forward, gun in hand and with an army surging behind him - actually, by now a substantial part was ahead of him, given that ponies ran much faster than humans. A number of unicorns were behind the front lines; Shining had had the idea of using them to cast defensive shields in case any of the enemy had survived.

Oh, some of them will have survived, alright, he thought. Probably more than we'd like. Probably a whole lot more than we'd like. We'll suffer some casualties from this fight, and that's the truth. But we've just given them a big surprise, and we're not going to give them a chance to recover from it.

The Equestrian army was advancing, with zebras on the right and Saddle Arabians on the left. Artillery was firing at the obliterated defenses, more to keep the survivors' heads down than to kill them. As the allied troops approached the first line, they stopped firing entirely.

The forward line was in shambles, like the fortress. However, the explosions hadn't killed all the griffons defending it. Admittedly, most of those still alive were lying around - and sometimes in - the craters that had so suddenly blossomed in their midst. A few, or more than a few, unfortunately, managed to maintain enough of their wits to start shooting at the allied soldiers. A pony assigned to carrying a ladder screamed and fell, followed by others.

James fired his own gun, less to actually hit anything than to make the enemy keep their heads down. To their credit, many pegasi soldiers took to the sky, unslung their rifles, and began to rain fire on those places where the griffon defenders were shooting from. Unicorns started to cast shielding spells; some were more effective than others, James noticed - some unicorns were more talented than others. Earth ponies, with no other alternative, kept going forward, though more and more of them were taking out their weapons and firing back.

However spunky a few of the defenders were - James actually admired them for maintaining enough of their senses to fight back at all - they were in the minority. Most of the enemy were either dead, lying unconscious, or were too stunned and shocked to make any sort of reply. Those who did fight back were overwhelmed in minutes. James hadn't even gotten to what remained of the trench line before the resistance was silenced. "Keep going," he shouted. "Don't give them any chance to recover! Hit them! Keep going, and let's take this stinking excuse for a fortress!"

A cheer went up as the allied army pushed its way through the trenches, or what remained of them. Long craters were mostly what was left; occasionally, ladders had to be used in order for the attackers to make their way through, but the momentum of the assault was hardly slowed.

A Gatling that would have wreaked havoc on the attacking force had been brutally thrown from its original mount and was now lying in a mangled mess in James' path. He leaped over it, feeling a brief yet intense feeling of joy that the weapon never had any chance to injure the advancing force.

Up ahead, Ragna Fortress, ruined, broken, damaged beyond repair, stood, walls smashed and crumbling, the giant guns that had been terrorizing the Equestrians and their allies silent and tossed aside like toys. In spite of where he was and the dangers, James laughed even as he continued running. It was a laugh that, like the joy he'd felt over seeing the ruined Gatling, was born more out of relief than anything else. Perhaps the war really was almost over.

Tears of relief and joy began to fall over his face. He knew the feeling wasn't going to last long, but he enjoyed it as long as he could.

Grayfeather got up from the ruined mess of a room that, until moments ago, had been a fully functional headquarters. Part of the walls surrounding the place had fallen in, and he had to move a couple of bricks before he could stand upright. His forehead throbbed mercilessly; he'd taken a glancing blow from flying masonry, and had a headache. He knew that if the blow hadn't been merely glancing, he would have been dead.

"Ugh... Get me a report, what in the name of the gods just happened?"

"General, I don't rightly know," a captain nearby said, trembling. "Could be the biggest earthquake that's ever rocked this world, or could be a volcano is emerging right under us."

"Calm yourself, boy, or I'll be getting a new aide." Grayfeather looked outside. When he did, he groaned. The rest of the fortress looked just as battered and smashed as his headquarters. He squawked in dismay to see that all the major guns on the walls had been destroyed or rendered inoperable. Whatever had happened, the fortress was far weaker than it had even been since the time of it's construction. Dead, wounded, and stunned soldiers lay everywhere, along with all sort of debris, up to and including personal weapons and effects.

"Call back the soldiers we sent to-"

The sound of gunfire reached his ears, along with a mighty cry from the south. A suspicion made its way into the general's mind.

The captain was the first to state that suspicion out loud; "Sir, the Equestrians went and did this. Don't know how they did it, but this can't be a coincidence."

"No, it can't." Grayfeather held a claw to his aching forehead. "Rally whatever troops we have. We need to repulse this assault!"

"Can we do it, though, sir?"

Grayfeather looked at the captain - no, glared was more accurate. "We can, and we will, because it must be done. Go about it!"

There was a gulping sound from the captain. "Yes sir."

He watched the aide leave. "We'll hold," he told himself. "This fortress has surely seen worse than this and survived. It's the one impregnable place in the Empire. We'll hold it, no matter what befalls us."

Shining Armor got a good look at what had once been a mighty fortress from up close. Most of the walls were down, and craters, much bigger than those replacing the forward trenches, were now what was left of them.

In spite of the damage and the concussion the defenders had suffered, some of them were still fighting back. Rifles went off from the walls and the far edges of the craters.

Pegasi continued to fire from above. Unicorns, including Shining himself, utilized shield spells in an effort to ward off enemy bullets. Shining knew, without false modesty, that he was very good at it; unfortunately, as he saw, not all unicorns were as talented. It was a very complex spell, and while certainly good in combat situations, it was not easy to cast, and most of the unicorns in the army weren't up to Royal Guard standards. Still, it was better to cast a bad shield than none at all, because even a bad one might deflect a few bullets.

Zebra warriors began to hurl smoldering objects into the craters. Moments after landing, the objects exploded, releasing clouds of dark - though harmless - smoke, obscuring the enemy's vision and allowing Equestrian soldiers to scramble through and place their ladders. Immediately, ponies began to climb up as fast as they could go. Some unicorns helped with the process, levitating earth ponies up to the surface.

Shining got onto a ladder himself and began to climb. It didn't take too long, but it felt like an eternity in a combat situation. The griffons hadn't quit firing just because the smoke blinded them. Their bullets came down, not hitting much but still reminding the attackers that the defenders were still in the game, even if barely.

He got to the top and was almost skewered by an eager griffon soldier who wielded a bayonetted rifle. He dodged, then blasted the griffon with a spell. The enemy soldier went down, shaking intensely as his body reacted to the spell. Shining wasted no time in getting onto solid ground again.

What he saw almost made him grin. Almost. While there were some defenders still active, griffons and mercenaries lay everywhere, senseless, wounded or dead. No artillery pieces were in any position to counter the breaches in the wall, or at least this particular breach. Pieces of stone that had once belonged to the walls were scattered everywhere. The enemy were in position to resist the assault.

"Amandla Ngawethu Pundamilia!" The zebras shouted as they climbed the wall. "Amandla Ngawethu Pundamilia!"

"Hurrah!" the Equestrian army, not to be outdone even by allies, replied. "Hurrah, Hurrah!"

From the defenders who had some measure of fight still left, responded, "For the Emperor and Empire!"

The zebras and the Equestrians shouted their battle cries as if nothing could stop them. The enemy's response was halfhearted. Shining did grin this time. It was obvious that both sides knew how this was going to go down.

Equestrian soldiers began to storm through, firing at anyone foolish enough to shoot at them and taking prisoner anyone who was still alive and breathing - anyone who wasn't fighting back, which was most of those who were, or had been, near the wall when the explosives went off.

Shining walked along, disarming as many defenders as possible and loosing stunning spells at anyone who still tried to put up a fight. It was hardly a battle, not one like those that had been fought before during this war.

"RAAAAAAAGH!"

Shining barely had time to duck as a minotaur, somehow still combat effective, rushed him with a battleaxe. As it was, he felt the tip of his horn brush against the axe as it went over his head.

He unleashed a stunning spell. It would have worked against almost any griffon. however, all it did was enrage the minotaur, who swung again. The shield spell that he was just able to bring up in time managed to blow the blow, but the shield shivered under the weight of the assault.

There was the sound of a gunshot; the minotaur clutched at his shoulder. That did him no good; other bullets came in, ever more effective than matchlock balls had been, sweeping him off his feet and putting him on the ground. Breathing a sigh of relief, Shining released the shield spell.

All around him, allied soldiers were easily overwhelming the resistance facing them. Shining's heart swelled.

We'll win this. We'll win this, and then it's just plains all the way to Gryphos and the Emperor.

"Come on you worthless louts!" an officer shouted. "The ponies might think they've surprised us, but we'll hurl them back, curse me if we don't!

Roland clutched his gun tightly. He'd just barely survived the battles before now; whenever the top brass wanted anything done, penal battalions were the first in and the last out. The company he was part of was now down to about quarter strength, and even General Grayfeather had thought it useless for frontline defense; as a result, it had been posted to guard duty in the rear of Ragna Fortress to watch in case the rebels plaguing the countryside had any ideas about taking the fortress for themselves.

As it turned out, rebels were the last thing the griffon army had to worry about.

The explosions, when they came, had almost deafened him, even from as far back as the company - more accurate, understrength platoon - had been. Naturally, the garrison at the rear had been called in at once when the commanders who had survived had remembered them, which hadn't taken long.

"Get going!" the officer continued. "Faster! The Empire won't miss your stinking corpses when you've fallen, you bet your backsides it won't, so get moving or we'll just shoot you down here and have done with you!"

"Nice to know you care," Marley called back.

"Silence in the ranks!" The officer screamed. "Silence or get shot down where you stand!"

Naturally, no one dared to say anything in response. The unit continued it's march to the battle.

Roland groaned as he saw the damage the fortress had sustained. He also felt his heart plummet as he saw how many Equestrian soldiers and their allies had managed to get in.

"Ready, aim..."

Roland raised his matchlock. He paused for a brief moment to reflect on the fact that it was badly outdated.

"Fire!"

The penal battalion fired. The cloud of smoke that resulted blocked out the view of the oncoming enemy for a few moments, so it was difficult to tell just what effect the volley had had.

They found out, in short order. "Celestia and Luna! Hurrah!" came the cry from pony throats. Rifle came came through the cloud of smoke, striking the penal soldiers. Cries of pain rang out as some fell wounded; others just collapsed and moved no more.

The cloud of smoke lifted. While it was clear that the battalion had inflicted some casualties, they hadn't done that much damage. Why am I not surprised? Roland thought.

The Equestrians came on, some firing to cover their comrades, others pushing forward. They had the bit between their teeth, and they knew it. Roland laid down as he began to reload.

"Give these filthy scum what they deserve you pathetic lot!" the officer shouted. "Give them lead!"

Roland fired again. In the same time he had used to reload his own weapon, an Equestrian soldier could fire at least five shots. The weight of fire was telling. The penal soldiers were being picked off right and left, while their own fire was inaccurate and not inflicting enough damage to be anything worthwhile. Of course, the Emperor had already declared any soldier sent to a penal battalion deserved it, along with whatever fate they suffered. They weren't supposed to be well armed or elite units, they were sent to the front to die, and make the enemy do some dying before they fell.

Equestrians and zebras began to close on the position. The zebras shouted something in their unintelligible language that was undoubtedly a battle cry. Some of them threw objects that would explode and unleash black smoke that obscured griffon vision and allowed the enemy to approach without the defenders being able to aim properly.

Roland felt something crash into him from above; he rolled over and clawed at the attacker, who punched him in the face with a hoof. Roland jerked his head back, crying in pain. He also got a good look at his attacker; a pegasus from the regular Equestrian army, wearing a blue uniform and with a gun slung over his back. The pony tried to hit him again. Roland rolled again, avoiding the blow, and scratched his attacker in the face. The pegasus howled, and raised his front hooves to his face. Roland reached for his matchlock, hoping to get a good blow in.

He never got to it; another pegasus flew down, smashed the gun with a hoof, and kicked it away before bashing Roland in the head with his hind hooves. Stars began to fly before his eyes.

"Don't move!" the second pegasus shouted. "You'll be dead if you try anything!"

Roland thought briefly about defying him. Briefly. It wasn't a hard decision to reach; the Empire already treated him like garbage, and his own officers made it clear that they didn't care about his life. It wasn't as if he'd even wanted to be in the army anyway, and he'd been thrown into too many fights with the intention of being put there to die. "Alright, alright, just stop hitting me, you jerk."

"You deserve worse for scratching my buddy's face off like that," the attacker replied. "Just be grateful that you're still here. I'm going to tie you up, and you're not going to move a muscle unless I say so, or I wont have any hesitations about blowing your head off."

Roland lay there as the ponies went to work. He didn't try to move at all as the pegasi tied him up. He did get a look at what was going on; pegasi had come out of the sky and were overwhelming the company in close combat. He wasn't the only one who had given up; in fact, most of the survivors, including Marley, were surrendering.

The officer in charge of the unit was beside himself. "Filthy, worthless cowards and traitors!" he screamed. "You prove your uselessness to our great nation! The Emperor will execute you all!"

"Give up, you idiot!" a pony shouted.

"No surrender! I am no traitor! Death to the invaders!" The officer slashed at the pony who had yelled at him.

It was the last thing he ever did. Five other ponies fired all at once, and the petty tyrant crumpled, his sword and pistol falling from his claws as his body collapsed.

"Anyone else want to play stupid?" a pony officer asked. No one answered him. "Good, now follow your new guides to the rear. Don't try to pull anything, or you'll get what he did."

Roland and the rest of the survivors did what they were told. He breathed a sigh of relief. While he loved the Griffon Kingdom, it just wasn't what it used to be; it was now a dictatorship run by the Emperor and military. And with officers like the one commanding his company, he wasn't ashamed to be going into captivity. Maybe the ponies really were weak when it came to things and maybe they weren't, but they didn't have a reputation of mistreating prisoners.

Rolling Barrel tapped his hoof impatiently on the rim of the turret hatch as engineers brought large bridges forward to span the craters. "Come on, come on," he muttered.

Unicorns began to push the long structures into position using magic. Others brought up supports to place underneath the bridge in order to keep it from collapsing. The whole operation had been planned out carefully. Barrel wasn't sure if the bridges would hold, but the tanks would have to get across somehow, and he doubted that the engineers, especially those with Blue Fur, were idiots. And the unicorns would be helping to hold up the bridges through their magic in any case, so he wasn't very worried.

The Gallop he was in didn't have the firepower or the armor of the Barrel, but he liked the speed at which the smaller, though more nimble, tank provided. They were lined up, ready to go one by one across the three bridges. The central bridge would have Barrels going across; the right and left ones had Gallops crossing. The armored units would provide extra firepower and stability for the front line, and would help to overwhelm what was left of the enemy opposition, which was increasing as the defenders began to really wake up. Not enough to change the tide of the battle, though, Barrel thought, grinning savagely.

A unicorn shot a green beam up into the sky. Barrel nodded. "Get going," he said at once to his driver.

"Yes, sir." A moment later, the Gallop began moving, engine growling furiously.

Barrel grinned again. Here we come, he thought. You guys on the other side better run or give up, 'cause its your only hope...

"We have them!" James shouted. "Keep pushing them, boys, we have them!"

It was the truth, or close enough. The enemy were fighting back; more and more of those who hadn't been on the front line were coming up to contest the assault. But they weren't capable of the resistance that they would have been if the fortress had remained intact.

"Ha!" A changeling nearby said. "They were talking about eating us. Let's see how they like us having the chance to eat them."

James frowned. That wasn't going to happen if he had anything to say about it.

"I don't think the commanders would like that," another changeling said.

"I said, having the chance to eat them," the first one said. "I said nothing about actually eating them. Let them think we will, though. That'll show 'em!"

James would have replied to that, but the sound of a bullet passing above his head and ricocheting behind him refocused him on the task at hand. He had acquired a rifle by now, and was using it. He fired at the place where the enemy ordinance had been fired from. A griffon lifted his head and began to aim. James fired, and the griffon toppled.

Cannons began to fire from behind the Equestrian line. Shells smashed into the defenders, tossing bodies and debris in all directions. Tanks began to advance through the allied lines whenever possible, breaking down defenses with gun fire.

It was too much for the griffons. They'd suffered having the forward side of the fortress blown to shreds by a mine, and having to battle the Equestrians on the ponies' terms. The tanks were simply too much to bear, given that they had almost no artillery in the fight and had no way to halt them.

It happened gradually, at first. Single soldiers began to run or fly away to the north, then small groups, then larger; finally, almost the entire enemy line crumbled, as the defending soldiers fled en masse, throwing down their weapons to make their get away faster.

It was a rout that James had had yet to see in the war so far. He smiled in a giddy sort of way. Thousands upon thousand of enemy soldiers were just running, and now Equestria had an almost free pass forward. "Come on! After them!" he shouted, getting up from his cover and advancing.

The response was almost deafening; Equestrians, zebras, and Saddle Arabians gave a rippling shout that could be heard for miles as the enemy broke and ran for their lives. Still shouting battle cries and cheering, the allied army surged forward. The handful of enemies who continued to resist were overrun almost immediately; nothing the enemy had left even scratched the advancing forces.

Throughout the fortress, the scene remained the same; virtually all the enemy ran away, while a few - very few - resisted to the last. Tanks destroyed every building housing griffons and mercenaries who were inclined to fight back. The collapse of the griffon army was total.

The rear wall of Ragna Fortress was the last place where any enemies so inclined could make a stand. Some chose to do so. A hail of bullets greeted the Equestrians as they advanced. Screams of pain and anguish filled the air as enemy ordinance struck. James ducked behind a cluster of barrels and gamely returned fire. All along the line of advance, allied soldiers and warriors did the same.

The defiant griffons lasted for about fifteen minutes. As bold as they were, they weren't able to resist the tanks the Equestrians had brought forward. While there were large guns on the walls, the mounts on which they were fitted could only fire outward, toward anyone outside the walls; apparently, no one had thought that they might have to one day be used against threats from the inside. As the remaining defenders were shelled, they quickly began to realize that their situation was hopeless. More and more dropped their weapons and either surrendered or fled as fast as they could go.

James climbed a ladder on the rear wall as pegasi who had flown up there began to herd prisoners away. He walked to the opposite side - the one facing outward - and got his first look at the Griffon Kingdom - Empire, though he suspected it wouldn't remain so long, not now - beyond what had been Ragna Fortress. Plains and grasslands met his eyes. While there might be more mountains ahead, they were beyond the horizon... for the moment.

Praise be to God, we got it. He breathed a sigh of relief. Anything could have gone wrong with the plan, and instead it had gone better than he'd expected.

The clip-clop of hooves made him aware of Shining Armor's approach well before he arrived. The white stallion gazed out at the plains ahead. Both of them were silent for a few minutes.

"So, we did it," Shining finally said.

"We did," James said. "We got it. Or what's left of it."

"On to Gryphos, you think?"

"Oh, yes. We take that, we end the war, assuming we get the Emperor with it."

"We've come too far to let him get away now," Shining replied. "We'll get him, and his Empire will fall."

"Hmmm," James responded.

There was another period of silence between them, broken by the conspicuous opening of the rear gate of the Fortress; tanks and soldiers began to pour through.

"What happens when this is all over?" Shining asked.

James continued to look toward the north, deep in thought. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, the war goes on." The sound of marching hooves and the flapping of pegasi wings perpetuated the air, as if in sympathy with that statement.

The amount of wingbeats in the air disguised the sound of Crystal Clear's approach; James didn't know he was there until he heard the pegasus' hooves strike the stones of the wall. "Sir... Sirs, Generals," he said, sounding excited.

That alone told James that some good news was coming; Crystal wasn't easy to excite. "What is it?" he asked.

"Sir, we got him!"

"Out with it, got who?" Shining demanded.

"Sir, we've captured General Grayfeather."

Author's Note

I apologize If I don't immediately respond to your comments...

Chapter 72; Desperate measures

Chapter 72; Desperate measures

Tanks moved forward on the open plains, with earth ponies and unicorns galloping and cantering alongside them and pegasi flying above, guns at the ready. Pony-pulled artillery followed, lighter guns ready to be deployed on short notice.

General Rolling Barrel grinned. The war was almost as good as over. The plains beyond Ragna Fortress were excellent tank country, and nothing the griffons had left could slow him down much. Oh, they still had an army; what was left of the army that had been beaten at Ragna had reformed, but it was in full retreat; there wasn't much - actually, there wasn't anything - they could do to stop him, or even slow him down.

A village loomed up ahead. He saw it easily as his tank travelled over a hill. It had a wooden wall, as most griffon villages did; they fought amongst themselves, and each village and clan had some sort of grudge against its neighbor.

Their army better not try to fight us there, he thought. If Ragna Fortress couldn't stand up to a billion tons of TNT, what are the chances wood is going to keep out tank and artillery shells? He scoffed at the very idea. Send a few shells in, and we could just watch the defenses burn down.

The farmland around the village looked to be almost ripe for harvest. In a couple of weeks, it would be ready to be bundled up and brought to market, or else be used by farmers for their own meals. Of course, since Emperor Blackmoon had taken over, the wheat might have been destined for the army.

it's not gonna get there now, that's certain.

He remembered being on a farm himself; of pulling the heavy plow, almost always with horseshoes nailed to his hooves to give him an extra grip on the ground, of swinging sickles - with great care - to cut the wheat, and gathering vegetables from the gardens. His family weren't apple farmers and had no relations - biology-wise - with the Apple clan, but that didn't mean they didn't do business with them.

Where would I be if I weren't in the army right now? he thought to himself. Probably feeding pigs and making and repairing barrels, as well as tending to farm chores and things. Some farmers in foreign countries would brew a ton of alcohol for themselves and their family and drink their way through rough winters. He again scoffed at the idea. Being drunk all the time means not being in control, and I never liked that idea. Say what you will, but I have no intention of killing anypony because I decided to chug down beer to the point where I could cry the stuff. Actually, I don't have any interest in drinking at all. Drinking was - generally, and with some exceptions - not a pony vice.

There were no vineyards; most griffons lived too far north to even think of growing them. Barrel didn't miss them at all. He did approve of the occasional farm house he could see. Most of the houses, though, were constructed in the village itself. In some places, here probably included, provincial peoples would build houses in a village, usually around the market square, and go and tend fields that were outside the city walls, rather than living on a farm in the traditional way - or at least, traditional in Barrel's mind. They sometimes kept their livestock in their own houses. While some "livestock" - cows and sheep included - were just as intelligent and capable of speech as ponies, others - like pigs - were most decidedly not. Those houses had to be either really dirty or else needed constant cleaning. Barrel made a disgusted face. Not that he was a germophobe, but he wasn't the kind of person who liked being dirty for the sake of being dirty.

"General, sir," one of the crew said, causing him to jerk - he'd almost forgotten about them. "We're almost out of fuel. We'll need more once we get to that town."

Barrel sighed. "I hear ya. Let's get there first, though." How far could we go if fuel wasn't an issue! Regardless of what he wanted, though, if a tank ran out of fuel, it would stop and not go anywhere until it was refueled.

That got him thinking about how things might change regarding transportation after the war. Some civie would likely think that engines would allow for even greater transportability. That made him uneasy. Pegasi flew, and unicorns and earth ponies usually walked, unless they used trains, ships, or airships. To replace hoof work with wheels and steam or diesel... he shook his head. How long before everyone became fat and lazy from a lack of exercise? There are reasons we use ourselves to pull carts and cabs around instead of motors. We've done it since dirt. We shouldn't change that much. Okay, so we're had to upgrade the military - and upgrade it a lot. Doesn't mean Equestria should make any other big changes.

A loud crack split the air and shook the general out of his reverie. A bullet ricocheted off the tank to the left of Barrel's. He needed a moment to realize that the village wasn't going to be taken without a fight.

"Load the gun," he ordered the gunner. More bullets from the enemy lines whistled in, some bouncing off the turret. "Get this thing moving!"

"Yes, sir!" the gunner said, already loading a round.

"Sir!" the driver chorused, setting the tank into a faster gear.

More bullets coming in convinced Barrel that continuing to sit with his head outside the turret was a bad idea. Reluctantly - having your head outside the tank provided a much greater view than anything on the inside - he ducked down and closed the hatch.

The enemy line wasn't very strong; he could tell. If it had been a major attempt to block his advance, more gunfire would be coming in. He got a good look at the enemy fighting him...

'They're peasants from the village!" the gunner exclaimed.

Barrel had come to that conclusion himself. He shook his head. These weren't the guys he wanted to crush; he wanted to crush soldiers and officers who were truly loyal to the Emperor. Sometimes, life didn't go they way one expected.

The peasant defenders couldn't have known how good the attacking force was. No doubt, until the tanks had crested the hill, they'd though that a few brave kids and a dog would be able to run off the Equestrians... as if they could, when their entire army had failed. Still, they were shooting at Equestrian soldiers. A few screams here and there said that they weren't all missing, either.

With the greatest regret he'd ever known, he sighed and said, "Fire at will."

The tank's gun fired. The shell went wide, passing over the heads of the defenders and landing somewhere beyond them. Equestrian soldiers were already firing; rifle fire was pouring into the enemy position.

The peasants weren't drilled soldiers. They might have known how to fight the village or clan next door; they had probably been expecting that the fight would be something like that. They had no idea how to fight against a professional army. Some of the attackers suppressed the defenders while others enveloped their position. Cries of dismay came from the defenders as they began receiving fire from three directions - four, if one counted the pegasi firing from above.

The fight didn't last long. There may have been a hundred or so griffons who had thought they stood some chance against the allied juggernaut; the Equestrians easily had many times that in the area, with many, many more available to reinforce in case this fight had developed into anything worse than it had. It didn't. The Equestrians rolled over the defenders.

Soon enough, no more bullets were coming toward the allied soldiers. Barrel felt it was safe to come out of the turret. Ponies were already collecting prisoners and tending the wounded of both sides.

Barrel raised an eyebrow. Some of the peasant griffons were very old, some teenagers, and others in between. None of them could have had any idea what they were getting into by choosing to fight the Equestrian army.

One of them, an older fellow, shouted something in another language at Barrel. "What did that fellow just say?" he called to a regular trooper nearby.

The pony stiffened. "I'm sorry to tell you, sir, but he just used an archaic word in Germane to cuss you out."

"Oh, he did, did he?" Barrel hadn't expected anything better. "Do all of them speak that tongue?"

"Yep, all of 'em do," the soldier replied. "They might have surrendered faster if they could understand more of our lingo."

"They're one of those villages, then?" Barrel sighed. "Bring that old rooster over here and see if he speaks anything in Equestrian." English, James would have called it. And German for theirs.

When they had, he asked the griffon, "Why on earth did you try to play soldier with us?"

The old griffon - probably sixty or so - did prove to speak English... after a fashion. The first words he would have used would probably been bad words had he known them. he apparently didn't. "You not telling griffons what to do," he replied, fury in his voice. "Not without fight, you not. We not doing what ponies saying, only griffons."

"Your village doesn't have much of a choice now," Barrel responded. "And if you resist further, we'll tie you up before sending you to a prisoner of war camp. You should also know that the Emperor has done more to damage your autonomy than Equestria."

The griffon shrugged. "Not knowing much of that. We not obeying Celestia-" Here he used what had to be an insult. Numerous ponies growled angrily; they'd understood what the old griffon had meant, even if he hadn't said it in a language they could understand. "Them not ruling here. Not hearing moon witch either."

Barrel felt anger rising. "Listen to me. You just did a good job of smashing up your own town by choosing to shoot at us. The fact that we're not going to burn it down for this and that we'll allow you - or those of you not stupid enough to play games with us - to live your lives as normal is a mercy."

"My son and daughter spitting on you when you go through," the griffon retorted.

"They can do that. I don't care how much - or whether - you and yours dislike me. If your people try anything more to resist our advance, we'll do what we have to in order to crush their resistance. And we'll arrest anyone who tries playing games with us after we're on our way. Like it or not, your village is going to be occupied. How much suffering it has to endure depends on whether or not more of you pick up guns. You can insult - you can despise - us as much as you want, but anyone attacking allied troops is to be considered an enemy. We'll deal with them as we have to."

"We not living under you. We rebelling."

"We're not here to conquer you, you blundering fool!" Barrel thumped his hooves against the turret, in lieu of screaming that the Equestrian had it well within their power to raze the village and leave it a burning ruin behind them, as well as how foolish rebellion against the occupiers would be. "We're here to make your Emperor give up the blasted war. Your village is only occupied to keep resources and soldiers from aiding the Emperor in resisting us; it will be released after the war, and you get to keep all your money, property, and crops."

"You lying!"

Now it was Barrel's turn to shrug. "Think whatever you want." He jerked his head. "Take him and his buddies away. Deal with them gently, unless they try something."

Other ponies took away the rude elderly griffon and other defenders. Some of the surviving peasant warriors had to be carried on stretchers. Others were left on the ground. Barrel grimaced. They were surely dead. Looking behind him, he saw a few Equestrians lying ominously still in the dirt. The villagers had inflicted some casualties. What it had cost them, however... It would be about a generation before the losses were made up.

On the Equestrians moved toward the village. Some more villagers with weapons, most archaic and practically useless in this age of modern weaponry and tactics, were standing on the wall. None of them were firing as Barrel and his force moved toward them. As he got closer, he could see that most of them appeared to be in shock; they hadn't expected the Equestrians to defeat their fighting force. Barrel would have laughed had the situation not been so serious... and if many griffons and some ponies hadn't ended up dead already.

As the tank approached the wall, he raised a hoof, as well as motioning to the driver with a hind leg. His tank and all the others stopped in front of the town gate, as did the regular soldiers.

"Drop your weapons, open the gate, and you will not be harmed," Barrel shouted. "Don't make us do to you what we had to do to them," he added, jerking a hoof behind his head.

Some of the would-be defenders whispered among themselves. "How we knowing you telling truths?" one of them yelled.

"How? We just smashed the idiots who tried fighting us. If they hadn't, they'd still be alive right now. Even so, we've treated the captives we've taken well."

"You being invader," the same griffon shouted. "Not obeying invaders."

"Last chance, fool," Barrel said.

He would have gone further, but what happened next cut him off.

It went by too quickly to properly describe at the time. One of the tanks to the left revved its engine, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the gun on the machine tilt slightly upward. Half a second later, a round object was thrown from the wall and rolled under the tank in question. An explosion came a second later; the tank blew sky high; the crew must have died before they could have known it. Some of the defenders started shooting, as much in shock at what their own warrior had done as for any good it might have done.

Before Barrel could even say anything, three tanks and most of the soldiers were firing. Shells blew apart the wall; splinters of all sized flew everywhere. Rifle bullets and canister shells tore into what hadn't been blown apart. Immediately, what was left of the blasted portion of the wall caught fire.

Barrel's tank rolled right through what was left of the gate, smashing it down. Other tanks didn't bother to go through the official entrance; they smashed through the wooden wall as if it had been made of cardboard.

Defenders who had survived the barrage immediately threw their claws up. Given the circumstances, Barrel was surprised that none of them wound up shot.

"Who's next?" he shouted. "Anyone else stupid enough to fool around with us?"

No one answered. There were a few insults, but griffon words weren't going to blow up tanks and kill soldiers.

"Anyone speak Germane?" he asked a squad of regulars.

"I do, sir," a bespectacled private in the group answered.

"Order everyone out of their houses. Now! Arrest anyone who doesn't come to the market square and bring them outside the town."

"Yes, sir." The private began bawling in Germane immediately and fluently.

For once, the villagers obeyed. No one tried to remain indoors after watching the Equestrians destroy two attempts at resistance. The entire village poured out as Barrel drove his tank into the market square.

As soon as he was sure that the entire village was assembled, Barrel turned to the private who knew Germane - or German - so well. "Translate for me," he commanded.

"Yes, sir." The private saluted.

Barrel nodded in approval, then dragged himself out of the tank before shutting the hatch and standing on the turret. "We're occupying this village," he announced. "You'll be allowed to go about your daily business and lives as long as you do not resist us. Once we've dealt with the Emperor, we'll leave and release the captives we've taken, all of which will probably be within a couple months."

"You being liar!" someone in the crowd yelled.

"Shut it," Barrel said under his breath. This encounter had taken virtually all of his patience. "Other than the occupying soldiers, nothing will be different from before, expect for those now dead because they tried fighting us. We will not hold that foolishness against the rest of this village, unless an active attempt is made to rebel. Do not try it. Remember what happened today."

"You killing patriots!"

"You can view the dead however you wish. But I'd advise not trying to play the game they did. Now, we're leaving. More soldiers will be coming through here, and some will be living in and around the village. Other than that, life should go on as normal, assuming you don't play fool."

Barrel got back into the turret and tapped the driver with a hind hoof. "Take us out of here," he said.

"Yes, General."

The rear gate was opened by Equestrian soldiers. None of the griffons in the town lifted a claw to do it. Perhaps, having had enough death and destruction, they'd decided to lower their resistance to a passive level. Barrel nodded. That was acceptable, as long as passive didn't become active. With any fortune at all, the Equestrians wouldn't be here - or anywhere in the Griffon Kingdom - for very long.

He knew he would have nightmares about this, perhaps the rest of his life. Once the town began to fade in the distance behind him, he shivered. While he usually didn't have any qualms about battle - he'd been through much, much worse without so much as batting an eyelash - he felt sick fighting peasant folk who just wanted to protect their property and families. The only thing he could see that was at all positive about the situation was that no children - no one below the age of fifteen - had been killed or injured in the fighting or its aftermath. Even so, he despised what had happened more than anything he had done so far in the war.

May it end soon, before something like this happens again, or something worse.

James fired the rifle he had acquired at a defending griffon soldier. The bullet struck the ground near the enemy, but didn't hit his target. He growled with disappointment.

A pony, light blue with a yellow mane, threw himself down nearby. "A bit of hot work today," he said.

"Yeah." James fired again, but missed once more. "How is my aim so bad today?" he asked no one in particular.

"It happens," the pony replied. As a unicorn, he was able to fire beams of energy from his horn as well as bullets from his rifle. He elected the first option; a beam of energy lanced out toward the griffon soldiers. He grunted, apparently having hit his target.

"They're breaking," James said. And the enemy were. They were falling back; not panicking, as they had just a few days ago, but without the spirit they'd had through much of the war so far. "After them!" he yelled.

He got up and ran forward. The allied forces were making rapid progress. The enemy army hadn't made serious stands, but they kept trying a lot of littler ones in an effort to slow the attackers. It wasn't working very well; the army the enemy had been able to maintain wasn't organized enough - or numerous enough - to halt the allied forces.

The enemy didn't try to halt the Equestrians again, not until they came to a small town in the plain. It was larger than a village and had a taller wall than any he'd seen. It wouldn't make a difference; James might have been impressed with these walls if he'd been stuck with medieval weaponry. After having blown Ragna Fortress, or a good deal of it anyway, off the map, he wasn't afraid of them. Artillery alone could punch through these, of that he was certain.

Large numbers of guns behind the line began to pound the wall. It began to crumble as cannonballs - better for smashing things than blasting formations of soldiers - struck it.

One of the towers up ahead looked weird. James didn't like it; just looking at it made him feel worried.

That worry exploded into outright fear when the top of the tower suddenly fell apart.

The object that had been inside was round and transparent; a griffon in red uniform sat inside, clutching a couple of levers. A tube of some sort connected it to something behind the wall. Most ominous of all was a rod pointing outward... straight at the advancing Equestrian army.

James threw himself into the dirt; he'd had a lot of practice at it these past few months. The rod on the sphere began to glow as it rose, elevated by a lever-looking thing. It was clearly able to turn and angle in almost any direction, except, perhaps, straight down.

James shut his eyes as the beam lashed out at the incoming army. A sound - if it had been a voice, James would have described it as raspy - that might have come from a science-fiction movie laser came as the beam hit the ground; the sphere began turning, and the beam began to burn across the landscape. An explosion came from behind, and he winced.

He aimed at the sphere and fired. The bullet did no damage that he could discern, but he fired again and again until the magazine ran out. He reloaded quickly, even though none of the shots had penetrated the sphere; the glass, or whatever it was, had to be bulletproof.

The beam continued its destructive work; screams and exploding tanks announced the damage it was doing. James couldn't bring himself to turn his head and look. It was all he could do to keep shooting at the thing.

A second tower collapsed the same as the first, and another sphere rose and fired its beam, scorching the grasslands within James field of vision, crossing under the first beam. James couldn't help but see what it did to the soldiers and tanks ahead of him. He buried his face into the ground, horrified at the sudden slaughter and devastation.

A shell burst directly on the first sphere. The war machine was protected from common soldiers' bullets and unicorn beams. It had no such protection against artillery and tank shells. Two more struck in close succession as every soldier on the field concentrated on the spheres. The thing staggered; the gunner, pilot, or whatever he was surely had to be dead, but his machine reeled like a drunk who had been punched in the face. The beam began firing erratically, lancing out here and there. There was an explosion behind the wall; whatever generator had powered it couldn't sustain the weapon, which abruptly collapsed. James cheered as the thing expired, as did thousands of ponies and zebras on the battlefield.

The second device met its end with the second shell that hit it; the first hit the part of the tower below the weapon and did no harm, but the second struck right where the rod - the gun - connected to the sphere. There was a burst of light; and explosion brighter than any so far on this battlefield - louder, too - almost blinded James. he buried his face in the dirt again, rubbing his eyes with his hands.

When the light subsided, he looked up again. the second sphere had collapsed in on itself and melted; smoke and liquefied metal were all that remained of the device; James didn't want to think about what had happened to the operator in the last moments of his life.

Whatever the beams had done and however they had come into existence, they hadn't damaged the Equestrian army badly enough - anywhere near badly enough - to halt it. James got up and ran forward.

Many of the Equestrian soldiers - and zebras, too - were too shocked by what they had just seen to immediately advance. Belated, most of them began to move forward again, as did the tanks. Some, though, lay in the dirt or just stood.

Don't know how I'm not shell shocked, either, having seen what just happened, James thought to himself. He tried to shake it off, the but the memories remained burned into his mind.

Cries of terror arose from the griffon soldiers defending the town; they must have thought that the weapons they'd conceived were either invincible or wouldn't be broken this soon, nor that so many of their foes would survive the onslaught. Tank and artillery shells slammed into their positions, and soldiers advanced, some firing, others running forward in a leapfrog pattern, one platoon or company suppressing the enemy while another ran forward.

A griffon took aim and fired two shots at James. One went wild, the other tore at his left sleeve. James didn't waste time replying. His shot knocked the enemy soldier down, and left him lying in the grass.

All over the battlefield, the Equestrians were routing the enemy out. The griffons, having lost their terror weapons, had lost most of their morale with them. They began to flee again. Ponies and zebras took off after them. Cannons knocked the walls facing the attackers flat, throwing a considerable number of defenders to the ground while they were at it.

James ducked again under a large tree and sat behind it, clutching his rifle tightly. He got a good look at what had transpired with the first beam, and wished he hadn't. Melted slag and burning stretches of grassland were what remained of an unknown amount of the assault force.

Almost as bad and horrible as that 'battle' in the 1953 War of the Worlds he thought, shaking. Almost; we were able to destroy their machines here. But how many more do they have in store, and what else do they have?

That question, unfortunately, he couldn't answer, and he doubted any Equestrian soldier could tell him. He looked northward once again as Equestrian troops broke into the town against light resistance. He doubted the enemy could stop the Equestrian army entirely. But he didn't feel exultant over the victory, not here.

We have to get to Gryphos, and end this war before they come up with something bigger... and worse.

Chapter 73; End in sight

The Equestrian army was still advancing at a decent pace, but the enemy's new techno-magical advances had encouraged James to slow down and keep an eye out. The current griffon administration was getting desperate, and while they hadn't succeeded in stopping the allied advance, they had succeeded in inflicting casualties. James wanted as many soldiers as possible to get home. It was a conflicting dual goal; to reduce the dying, yet take down the Empire.

I have no idea how to accomplish both at once...

He watched as the army he led marched across the plains. The city he'd just taken, the one with the spheres that had hammered his army with beams of energy, was behind him, but the battle still played out in his mind. He wondered what other surprises were in store; at this point, he had few options. Scouting and raiding could only reveal so much.

For once he felt that Equestria was at a disadvantage at this stage of the war; unlike human societies, the inhabitants' bodies all (well, except disguised changelings, but they were on his side now) had differences that could be very easily discerned, o spying was much more difficult. Shining Armor had revealed that unicorn magic had its limits in transformation; in general, except in specific circumstances, transformations of one species into another was not allowed, and even those that were possible were generally limited by the characteristics of the subjects' bodies. While a pony could, in theory, be magically transformed into a zebra, given the similarities in the bodies involved, the chances of changing a pony into a griffon was beyond the realm of known magic; the organs, appetites and limbs were different, and the idea of transforming a hoof into a claw - for example - without obvious flaws - in particular, the placement of nerves where they hadn't existed before, and the removal of them during the hypothetical retransformation - was simply not something that a unicorn or even an alicorn could seriously be expected to accomplish. Even changelings were limited in their ability to copy something by the shape and size of their own bodies.

Any griffon, on the other hand, could be a spy, reporting for the Emperor. James eyed a farmhouse and the land around it, where a small family was taking care of the crops. The elderly father, cutting wheat at the moment, might have some way of getting information across the lines; spies like Rose O'Neal Greenhow had been able, by ingenious means, to sneak useful intelligence to their own side even while jailed, so it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that they had some way of communicating the details to the government that claimed their allegiance.

Innocent until proven guilty, he reminded himself. He had no proof of his suspicions. The griffons here might be neutral, or even anti-imperial. He couldn't be sure, not without something like a lie detector test, and that would likely drive this family into enemy arms if they weren't already. He didn't want more guerilla attacks to the rear; even though allied detachments were having some success in that fight, the truth was that if the rebels maintained the population's support, the allies were unlikely to kill off the resistance in occupied areas. Supplies were getting through, but enough of them were being stolen or destroyed to make a noticeable dent.

James sighed quietly as the army marched on, and he marched with it. That problem was going to be difficult to solve. Even so, if the army was able to win the war by taking the capital, then the problem would go away in the peace. Celestia and Luna had been quite firm on this point - there would be no territory claimed; the griffons would be allowed to govern themselves. She had made it clear, though, that a white peace was now behind them. It was too late for the current griffon government to make amends in order to stay in power; it was to be forcibly removed. As for reparations or any other demands, there had been a silence.

"Anything amiss, sir?" Crystal Clear asked, landing to James' left.

"Not really. What's up?"

"Scouts indicate a railroad station in the next town ahead of us. It's not very big, but in all likelihood, we'll have to fight for it."

James sighed again. "Another fight. Well, alright. We'll give it to them. Then we'll burn down the station and rip up the rails and ties, and we'll do that inside and outside the town as well, make the whole thing useless. I hate doing that - I love trains and railroads and all - but if they can't ship weapons and materials from one side of the country to another, they can't exactly hurt us as badly as they would if it remained intact."

"I doubt they'd try to move trains through an occupied-" Crystal cut off, then winced. "Actually, they would. Events in the past weeks should have convinced me otherwise by now."

"Fear of the dictator is, unfortunately, a powerful incentive." James said it without any particular venom. "We'll do what needs doing here. Gryphos should be the next settlement after that, if the maps are right."

"If they are. They aren't always."

"I know. I think that they're accurate this time around, though. We should get through here, and then their capital will be next - and, hopefully, last."

"I - and the rest of the army - hope so as well. We'd better make sure their emperor doesn't escape."

"He'd better not. I'll make sure to surround the place as quick as we can."

Crystal didn't reply to that. James wasn't surprised. He knew that all sorts of escape routes could be devised over the centuries by a monarchy. He couldn't be sure the emperor would be trapped. But he knew that he, and everyone else, would try.

Abruptly, flags - and the griffons holding them - arose from the grass in front of the advancing army. They had blue paint on their faces and wore kilts, though they carried guns.

Units in more archaic times had gone into battle to the fanfare of trumpets and bagpipes. What really caught James' eyes - and ears - was the fact that there was a violinist, guitar-shaped instrument in one claw and musical bow in the other, out in front.

"An army going into battle behind a violin? Now I've seen everything!" James muttered.

"I see it, but I don't believe it!" Crystal echoed.

James watched as the forward regiments spread out and began to form into a loose formation. Rifles on both sides began firing. An artillery unit began setting up not far away as additional regiments began to run toward the battle. "I'd say it time for us to get going," he said, taking his pistol out of its holster.

Crystal didn't answer. Instead, he took out the sword that was belted to his waist and held it in his teeth.

James got to the front lines more quickly than he'd expected. Pretty soon, he was shooting at the enemy... and being shot at. While the hostile force wasn't an elite unit, it was still obviously opposed to a further Equestrian advance. They would have to be moved.

The enemy weren't in the area in a big force, but there were still a few hundred of them, and they'd caught the Equestrians by surprise. The inflicted a number of losses on the allied force that met them due to that. But it was clear that they were undisciplined and disorganized compared to normal imperial troops. The Equestrians kept the enemy busy in front while more comrades pushed on the flanks of the enemy force. The decision to either continue fighting or flee was reached by a general consensus of the enemy warriors, who began to first fall back, then flee. The allied forces gave chase to them at once. James reloaded quickly, then went out in pursuit of the enemy as well.

Too easy. he thought to himself. He frowned. "Far too easy," he said out loud. Sure, the army had fought this kind of engagement several times before (and won them), but something just didn't feel right about this one... even without the violinist on the other side.

The allied units in the vicinity continued to pursue the enemy as they withdrew. The enemy unit didn't seem to be panicking; they retained their personal weapons, even though they'd turned their backs on their pursuers. That confirmed, in James' mind, that something was going on. "Careful," he shouted. "Something's up."

"What do you think is going on?" a soldier asked.

"Something. Maybe an ambush by more troops, or worse, one of their new weapons," James answered. "I want everyone to stop chasing and get back into formation, with the lead regiments to remain in skirmish formation and advance cautiously."

"We'll lose our advantage, sir."

"And more soldiers may lose their lives if we continue like this. Order a recall."

A few minutes later, a bugle called, and the soldiers sullenly withdrew from their pursuit and began to reform into their ranks. James knew what they were thinking, and he couldn't help but sympathize. Chasing down the escaping griffons would gain ground, and the enemy could not afford to lose any more. They also couldn't afford to lose any more fighters for their cause. However, ten months of war had given the Equestrian army a good respect for discipline, and the soldiers, however much they disagreed with the decision, at least obeyed the order he'd given. The regiments that had been in the rear returned; the ones that had been in front did as he'd instructed, and continued in loose formation.

"Sir, if I may," Crystal said, "why the recall?"

"An ambush, especially one with one of those new weapons or one we have yet to discover, would cost the lives of many soldiers, soldiers who could otherwise go home to celebrate their victory and survival and live out their days peacefully. I am not inclined to spend any more lives at this point than I absolutely have to. The conflict's almost over, and only the Emperor and his diehards seem not to know it."

"We had to tackle a few villages that made the decision to fight on their own," Crystal responded. "They don't seem to realize it either."

"They've been told that Equestria is selfish, and that the Princesses want to use this chance to annex them. I'd have a hard time making the decision not to fight, given that 'reality'."

Crystal spat. "They didn't help their cause one bit. If we wanted to keep them underhoof, we easily could. They ought to know that."

"And we're losing lives in the rear due to guerilla warfare. If we try that, they'll resort to that measure of fighting to free themselves. Can you see an end to the conflict if we tried a permanent occupation?"

Crystal muttered something, then said, "I guess not."

James continued to march with the army as it advanced once more. There was some grumbling, but not very much. The field guns were limbered again and pull with the rest of the force.

As the miles went by, there was no further effort to ambush the column. As the offensive continued without further resistance, James began to doubt his original assessment. The lack of resistance was something he hadn't expected, at least not for this long. Maybe I'm losing my nerve, he thought. Wouldn't be surprising, not after what happened...

A distant Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat shook him out of his thoughts. An enemy Gatling was firing at the forward regiments, but it was firing at long range, rather than waiting for the Equestrians to close in. Either the gunner was inexperienced, overeager, or else the griffons had judged that firing at long range was better than letting the Equestrian army come in closer where it could hit back. It wasn't a good idea in James' book, but if the enemy were trying to keep the allies at arms length, then maybe their plan wasn't the worst. Or maybe they'd intended to ambush the Equestrians, and, having failed, had fallen back on plan b.

Whatever the reason, more Gatlings opened fire as well, about five in total. Regular soldiers also opened up with rifles and older weapons, many of them the same kilted soldiers from earlier, others in the red that was increasingly becoming the most noted Imperial color.

The bad news for them was that the Equestrian forces were prepared. And skilled. Some of them exchanged long range fire with the enemy while more began to enfilade the opposing force. Pegasi rained bullets from the air while unicorns cast shields and fired off combat spells. Artillery pieces were unlimbered and their crews fired upon the enemy force, adding explosives to the enemy's list of woes.

The griffon force was clearly outmatched. The kilted soldiers clearly knew it. About fifteen minutes into the fight, some of them began to pull away, and not in a disciplined sort of way. They didn't just break and run en masse; they broke off from the fight in ones, twos and threes.

The Imperial troops, however, chose to stick it out to the end. James wasn't sure if they were brave or just blindly fanatical fools. Regardless of which one it was, they were willing to make the Equestrian army pay the price of killing them.

That was exactly what happened. Although the Imperial troops fought hard, they had too much to deal with. Pegasi continued shooting, some of them diving on the enemy in daring attacks, getting as close as possible to the enemy positions before firing and pulling away. Unicorns continued to shield friendly forces, and some of them unleashed beam attacks - weaker than those of the spheres defending the city a few days ago, but more numerous - against the enemy positions. Other soldiers, some of them earth ponies but also many of the other pony types, continued to fire while their comrades finished the flanking maneuver. Once the defiant enemy troops were surrounded, the Gatlings weren't such an issue any more as hostile troops went down, some of them shot from multiple directions at once.

James didn't even arrive to the battle fast enough to participate, at least not in the fighting itself. There weren't many griffon survivors; most of the enemy hadn't been in a mood to give up. However, here and there a red-coated soldier had been captured, mostly due to being knocked out or injured to the point where, no matter how much they may have wanted to, they were able to resist no longer.

He walked past the captured Royals; they wouldn't give him anything but curses and claims of glory. The ones he was interested in were the captured soldiers in kilts.

He walked up to one who was still able to stand. "Why are you fighting us?" he demanded.

"Wasn't too 'ard," came the answer. "They us guns an' tol' us 'ow ta use 'em, and we went where they tol' us to."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. Why are you fighting us? Why are you fighting for an insane king who has destroyed the system of clans as the Griffon Kingdom knows it?"

"Ah, weren't so 'ard ta decide. Our chief knew we couldn' withstand their armies. Once we gave in to 'e Empror, things weren't so bad fer us. They gave us gold ta fight, and so we went along wit 'em."

"And you gave up clan life for that?"

"'Ey, world's changin', et is. Ya don' change, ya die. 'Appened ta a few clans 'round us, and we weren't stupid 'nough ta follow in their footsteps."

"So you're willing traitors to the way things were before."

"Yeah, ya got it, kid."

"And we're winning the war anyway. You realize that if things go our way, your clan isn't going to be held in high regard by the new order."

"Betta than bein' ruled by 'nother species, 'specially weak, peace-lovin' ponies."

The soldiers guarding him growled. The warrior paid them no mind.

"A common misconception. Equestria has no wish to rule here."

"Says the foreigner," the other sneered.

James bristled. He knew personally that Celestia didn't want any Griffon land, and that her main intent was to replace the Emperor with a different government, and not one that was a puppet. That wasn't to say that the griffon didn't have a point. He was no pony (and had no desire to become one), and therefore wasn't privy to their way of thinking in regards to politics... or a lot of other things.

"Even so, this war will be over, very soon, no matter what gadgets the Imperials throw at us. Your neighbors are going to like your collaboration with the tyrant in Gryphos."

"So what? They try 'n come fer us, we'll give 'em what for."

"Take him away," James said, sighing.

He watched as they led the prisoners away. None of them were handled roughly, but the guards were firm, and with little wonder.

"Sir."

James turned around. "Yes?" he said to a pegasus scout.

"Sir, there's a big army of Griffons coming from the east."

"What?"

"Sir, there's a pretty big force coming from the east."

James cursed, then turned to the scout again. "Any details? Do they have any tanks or artillery?"

"No sir. It looks more like an army we faced early in the war; you know, all mish-mash. No tanks, none that I saw, at any rate."

"Sounds like they're scraping the bottom of the barrel," James noted. "How many Royals were among them?"

"That's the odd bit, sir; didn't see any."

"A counter attacking force without the fanatical troops that could be counted on to fight no matter what? Sounds strange," James put a hand to his chin, somewhat perplexed. "I need to convene the other generals. They have to know so that we can counter this move."

"Yes sir. I'll go and find them right away. Where do you want them to meet you?"

"How about that village a few miles back, the one after that town with the lasers? Seems as good a place as any."

"Yes, sir, right away." The pegasus took flight.

We'll need to do this quickly, he thought. No telling what the brains on the other side have planned.

James sat down on a barrel that served as a seat in what served as a tent. Shining simply sat down, as did Barrel, Abd al-Malik, and Jelani.

"You're certain of what you saw?" Shining questioned the scout.

"Yes, sir. Whole army, flags, arms, armor, and all."

"I find it strange that they still wear armor at all," al-Malik noted (through a translator). "I thought they'd abandoned blade and mail entirely and resorted to the firearms that they've been using as of late, along with red uniforms."

"Except for the ones in penal battalions, I agree," Shining agreed. "It seems weird. Unless the Griffons have all decided that we're the common threat and the Emperor made a deal with the clans."

"I doubt it," James said. "History shows that dictators are unwilling to give up power, except maybe to fool their enemies long enough to diddle them, and usually not even then."

"I concur," Jelani said in his native Swahili. "A deal wasn't made here. This is something else entirely."

"They might just have pulled a bunch of luckless conscripts and threw them in anything resembling a uniform for all I know," Barrel cut in. "What's important is how we deal with this threat. Currently, the right wing of the army is the only one in any sort of position to counter this new army, and it would take considerable amount of time and effort to bring our entire force into play. If this is part of a concerted effort between armies, we might be caught out of position and outflanked when it really matters. That's about the only thing I could envision that would halt our offensive."

"I'm not going to repeat what happened in front of Ragna Fortress with the pegasi," James said. "I think it's better that we delay this force in like manner as the enemy has been trying to do recently while we bring up units in the other wings of the army."

Shining opened his mouth again, but before he could say anything, there was a clip-clop of hooves outside the tent, and an earth pony with blue fur and a silver and black mane peeked his head in. "Sorry for interrupting, sirs," he said.

"What's going on?" Barrel demanded.

"A company of griffons with a white flag have come to our camp, and are requesting an audience with the army's commanders," the soldier said.

"If they're demanding our surrender, tell them that their stay is over before it began<" James answered. "Politely, of course."

"They've specifically said that they're not demanding our surrender, sir. That's what's so intriguing."

Everyone looked at one another. There was a moment of silence.

Barrel was the first to recover. "Well, bring them in. But if they mention surrender, we'll kick them out."

"Yes, sir." The soldier withdrew.

"What they playing at?" Shining asked.

"I don't know." Older uniforms, old weapons and equipment, not to mention armor... James sat up straight. "They might not be Royals."

"Pardon?" Barrel asked.

"They might be rebels, or an independent party of sorts."

"Even if they are," al-Malik replied, "We should not treat with them. We should demand their surrender and submission to our cause."

"That may not be wise," Jelani answered. "This is not the time for unneeded quarrels, and they would not have brought weapons unless they anticipated a response... one way or the other. If they join us, then that is good. If they strike out on their own, then it is less good, but even so, it is better than an unnecessary battle. Too many have died as it is."

'The enemy needs to know he is beaten! If they are to fight alongside us, they must fight as a subjugated foe, that treason against us does not enter their minds."

"Too late for that," James said, and everyone turned to him. "If these are rebels and seeking our help, then they are already traitors to the Empire." He stood up, putting a hand on the crate he'd been sitting on. "I know my enemy, at least to some extent. Telling this party to surrender and exchange one means of slavery for another will not end well, regardless of our intent. We're telling griffons that we're not here for their land for their allegiance. If we reject their good intentions, assuming they have them, then the griffons will fight us regardless of whether or not they're on the side of the Emperor, creating a common cause where none existed."

James turned to Shining Armor. "You're the only one with the authority to treat with them, and either demand their surrender or negotiate."

"I'm well aware of that," Shining said. "I'm already thinking about it."

"There's not much time to think," Barrel put in. "What if these are Imperials in disguise? We have to meet them with some presence of armed force available to make them realize that treachery isn't going to work."

"I don't have any disagreement with that," James said.

Al-Malik stomped his hoof. "I still say that we must press some measure of dominance over them! We cannot allow them to think that they can just end the war without consequences for the damages they have caused!"

"There will be consequences," Shining promised. "But they're not up for discussion now."

Everyone remained in a somewhat tense state, but there was some relaxation. James sat back down.

"We'll meet with them," Shining continued. "We'll see what they want, weigh their interests with ours, and if they match... then we'll see what happens from there."

James kept his eyes peeled as the griffon delegation, accompanied by their bodyguard of about a hundred soldiers, marched into the camp. They wore traditional clan uniforms, which mean that the average griffon warriors were a rainbow of colors and clothing. Their weapons were just as varied.

One thing that they all had, though, was a common look of determination.

Their leaders, who were as varied, were fewer but more impressive. Some wore medals, others were brightly dressed, a couple wore virtually nothing at all save for a few pieces of armor. One of the less prestigious warriors carried a white flag before them, but none of the griffon party had a face bearing surrender on it.

The three in the lead continued past the often hostile faces of the allied army without heeding them, instead making their way toward the place where James, Shining Armor, al-Malik, and Jelani stood.

Al-Malik muttered something under his breath, and stomp his hoof again. James didn't speak Arabic much, but he knew anger when he saw it. The Saddle Arabian commander was ticked that the enemy were not showing humility, respect, or deference of any kind toward the allies so far.

You might be holding your breath for the rest of your life. I have yet to see a griffon who was given to showing humility in the presence of enemies, or possible enemies. James thought it, but didn't say it.

The griffon leader just behind the flag bearer, who seemed to be leading the whole party, wore a kilt with a patchwork of red and green, as well as a green tunic;; he bore a sword on his belt and a rifle on his back, as well as a small circlet of gold on his head. Clearly, this one was held in respect by the rest of the group. He also looked older than most of them; if griffon head feathers were anything like human hairs, the gray he bore was a mark of his age.

The group stopped about ten feet in front of the allied commanders. The flag bearer stuck the flag into the dirt, then announced, in a loud voice, "The Noble Council of Clans has arrived to meet with your leaders for diplomatic discussion."

All the allied commanders looked at one another. Shining finally spoke; "We accept your request for a parley. If your officers would follow us-"

"No," the old griffon in charge rasped.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said, no. The false Emperor's officers lured all too many of our finest leaders into parleys and killed them when they were separated from their troops. We shall not allow you the same chance."

"If we wanted to kill you, your bodyguards wouldn't make much of a difference," Shining countered.

"We'll hold the parley here, or nowhere," the old griffon said.

"You have no right, as a defeated and hostile people, to make demands of us," al-Malik countered, eyes blazing. "The fact that we are meeting with you are all is a major concession."

"Enough," Shining said, raising a hoof to silence the Saddle Arabian. "I'm willing to meet with you here, provided that you give me your word of honor that you shall attempt no means of treachery at this meeting."

"We are willing to do that," the other said, "provided you make the same promise."

"I swear it," Shining replied.

"As do I," the old griffon said. "I would advise your friend" - here he glared at al-Malik - "not to request our submission, as that would not end well for either party, and we shall not give up the last hope for a free griffon state, or states, at the end of the war."

State, or states? James thought. Sounds like they don't all agree on the idea of being part of a united country.

"You wouldn't be here if you didn't need our help," Shining said.

The griffon grunted. "Why do we not get down to the reason we decided to come in the first place?"

"A good suggestion. Just what is it are you proposing?"

"An alliance," the old griffon said. "I am Graywing, leader of the Highwind Clan. I have been elected by my peers to represent our faction, and our army, at this parley."

"Excuse me," a very quiet voice at James' ear said. James almost started, but the voice, that of Crystal Clear in a whisper, continued speaking. "I've heard of him. Graywing used to be one of the other side's better commanders. We even heard enemy soldiers crying his name in the first of our battles with them."

"That's right, but now's not the time," James whispered back.

"Our army will stand, claw in hoof, with yours until victory over the vile, vicious usurper has been achieved," Graywing continued, acting as if the whispering hadn't taken place.

Al-Malik whispered something to his advisor. Given that the sentence wasn't translated, James figured he'd ordered the interpreter not to do so.

"Equestia is open to such a negotiation," Shining replied to Graywing. "An alliance is welcome, but I doubt its all you have in mind. What are you expecting in return?"

If Graywing was surprised, he didn't show it. "We expect that our people will not be made to give up any land once the war is over."

"That is easily arranged. Princesses Celestia and Luna have vowed that no land will be annexed."

"Right then. Next, we will form our own government after the war, not a puppet one to be run by Equestria."

"Equestria is not necessarily opposed to that, provided that the government does not attempt another war against us. We will be paying attention to your country for a long time to come, given what has transpired in the past year."

"I make no promises, Prince," Graywing answered. "I cannot even pledge that we will remain as one state after the war. But I will say this; we have suffered great bloodshed and loss in this war, and few will be eager to repeat it."

"But those few might be willing to cause trouble," Shining noted. "You engaged in an aggressive war against Equestria, a majority of your population being for such action, mistaking our peaceful ways for weakness, with the intent to conquer us and make us subjugated under you. You sought to remove our rightful rulers, while replacing them with your own. You abused the rights of Equestrian citizens and have disregarded the laws of war. Any who complain against the actions we undertake now have a poor case, especially considering that the Princesses do not wish to take the same courses of action that your armies did on our soil and against prisoners of war that were captured on the battlefield."

There was silence for a few moments while these words were digested.

"Now, what are your other concerns?"

"We wish that the clans currently in the alliance pay no tribute of any sort once the war is over."

Shining shook his head. "No. The Princesses don't want land, but they do want reparations for the damages done. Its only right that the guilty party pay for it."

"We will not allow our children to become beggars!"

"I did not suggest that. We do want the damages to be repaired, and while our government could pay for it out of its own pocket, it is only just that the harm done by an invading nation be paid by the same, otherwise this defeat will merely be a slap on the wrist and invite you to try again in five or ten years. We can come back to that in more private discussions, or I can summon the Princesses themselves to negotiate, but there will be a price."

"...I suppose we can agree to that, especially to negotiations with your leaders," Graywing said reluctantly. "However, we refuse under all circumstances for griffons to come and labor under you to pay back the damages."

"And what could you do to stop us if we decided on such a course of action?" As Graywing and his party spluttered, Shining continued, "Again, I did not say that we will do that. However, we intend to make sure that the native arrogance of the griffon people does not provoke another war. We won't use griffon laborers. But once more, Equestria demands enough of a price that future griffons - and any other potentially aggressive nation or party - will think twice about invading our kingdom. Again, a topic we can discuss at a later time."

"Fine. Last, we will not have pony commanders over our units and will retain our own command, to be equal with yours, and to not be a party to attacks designed to use us as cannon fodder."

"Out of the question!" "al-Malik screamed. "We will not allow you a chance to stab us in the back when it is most convenient for you!"

James frowned. It was true that the griffons in this party were asking for a lot, but it seemed like a bad idea to antagonize them further.

"Calm down," Shining said to the Saddle Arabian general. To the griffons, he said, "Equestria is willing to meet with you as equals in command. However, you can hardly claim to be members of an alliance if you refuse to take part in the war."

"That was not-"

"'Cannon fodder' can be used far too widely as a term. While I understand that you don't want us to free your land on your perforated backs, I question the integrity of your honor if you're going to use just any excuse to get out of any attacks we propose."

"We do not intend to hang back, Prince!" Graywing said, feathers ruffled. "We have been fighting the traitorous emperor, why do you think we've offered this alliance? Why do you doubt us?"

"Because part of your reasoning might be to escape the punishment afterward," James said, arms folded. "How many of you followed your then-king into the war with joy and thoughts of conquest? How many of you fought all too willingly until the war turned against you? And now you're asking us for a convenient alliance in part because, in your minds, that will make up for what you did and not have to pay for taking families prisoner, attempting to force ponies to fight for you, and threatening a city with starvation if we refused to cease our offensive against it, among other crimes committed."

"You cannot claim total innocence yourself, threatening to enslave prisoners and thinly veiling a threat to execute prisoners."

"No, I can't," James admitted. "I went overboard. But that was a counter - though an illegitimate one - to the atrocities committed by your side, which was all one and the same at that point. Now that you have established a resistance to your emperor, part of you - only part, but still a part that exists - hopes that you can take over governance without paying for what you were all too eager to do just months before."

"You do not believe in forgiveness?"

"I do. However, I believe that justice cannot be ignored, either. This is not a matter of vengeance, but of law, and making sure that law is upheld by future generations, and that they do not have to deal with evils such as the Griffon Kingdom committed against Equestria."

"James, let me handle this," Shining said, a firmness that he rarely used in his voice. James kept his arms folded, but said nothing more.

"As my associate said, the Griffon Kingdom will be made to pay a price, but not one that absolutely rubs your defeat in your faces. We want repayment for the damages done, nothing more, and that less out of vengeance than out of law and to ensure that you don't think that this was all a fluke and that you can just try again. We want a permanent and fair peace, not one that will lead to further conflict in the future."

"A future where you blame us for everything."

"No. A future where the crimes - of both sides, as I'm sure that some soldiers on our side have done terrible things as well - are brought out into the open, and are held as evil actions that are not to be repeated by others."

Graywing and his party were silent for a moment, then the griffon leader asked, "You ask much."

"What if we demanded - not asked, but demanded - a price that your grandchildren would have to pay off?" Shining asked in a sort of offhand - or, in his case, offhoof - sort of way, one that made the opposing party cringe. "What if we enforced annexation? What if we made a peace that did force griffons to come to Equestria to labor for us to pay off the debt your nation owes us? We could even force deportation of griffon populations near our border in order to create a buffer zone between us if we wanted to." Shining shook his head. "None of that is required of you. What is required is an acknowledgement of wrongs, public apologies, and payment enough to make griffons in the future disregard war against Equestria as a policy. That's it. We do not require any of the much harsher measures that even now ponies in Trottingham, and other towns overrun by your advance, are screaming their heads off for."

Graywing turned to the other leaders, speaking in a language that James didn't immediately recognize, though it sounded like Italian or something related to Italian. After recognizing one of the words, he realized it was Romanian, though it was Romanian oddly pronounced, at least to his ears. Not that he could really understand what was being said, but clearly, from the reactions of the others, they weren't happy.

Finally, Graywing sighed and said, "Can we at least agree that an alliance is preferable, and that fighting each other would be destructive to both our causes?"

"Yes. We can agree to that," Shining said. "We can accept your offer of an alliance, and we are willing to forgive your nation, but we do not want a future war. The current government will take much of the penalties, in any case, since we intend to overthrow and replace it." Shining paused. "And what are your plans when that is accomplished? To take power in their place?"

Graywing stiffened. "In some measure. We do need to have some semblance of government in place, or else anarchy will ensue, one that may bring a leader to the fore like that of the vile emperor, or worse."

Well, history has proven that to be true, James thought.

"And your... government, this council, is prepared for the task ahead?"

Again, the clan leader's feathers ruffled in clear anxiety. "I can promise no unity. There are many clans that are endorsing independence from any centralized government. Having experienced absolute rule in the past couple of months, and the treachery that came with it, their concerns have some validity. They do have that right to choose."

James said nothing, but he wondered, in the silence that followed, how exactly that should be taken. On the one hand, a divided griffon nation would mean less difficulty for Equestria in the future, as much of the striving the griffons would be doing would be aimed inward. On the other, though, the fact remained that the situation would always be an unstable one; the griffon clans would remember their former unity, and perhaps come again of their own accord to create trouble, while remembering - with exaggerations - what had happened during the war, as well as coming up with a will to avenge that defeat. Even if they didn't, all it would take was one regional leader to stir up strife, and the whole country would collapse in chaos, perhaps taking Equestria, or part of it, with it.

Shining chewed on what had been said, no doubt thinking about the situation. At last, he said, "I think this can also be brought up at a later date. I think the immediate matter before us is the alliance and the terms you've brought. I am willing to agree on no annexations, an independent Griffon government or governments, as well as griffon leaders having commands over their own troops, as well as their having a place in meetings when we discuss military plans, as well as assuring that there is no servitude to follow the end of the war. In return, Equestria wants the damages done to be repaid and those responsible for crimes on both sides of the war to be punished. Is this an acceptable arrangement, or do we go our separate ways?"

Graywing held a claw to his chin, then said, "I'll need some time to discuss with the others on the appropriate course of action."

"Take what time you need," Shining said. "but the war goes on as we speak."

As the griffon leaders came together, whispering some distance away, the allied leaders huddled together as well.

"I think these terms are the best we can get for their cooperation," James said quietly. "And having a griffon government to take power afterward that we can relate to is better than leaving it up in the air for grabs."

"But is it worth it?" al-Malik asked through his translator. "Can we trust them? The arrogance of their people is a binding trait amongst griffons. How do we know that they won't forget in a few years and begin again the dance of destruction?"

"Because they have been battling the Imperial forces," Shining said. "They don't want him left in power any more than we do. In fact, they want him gone more than we do."

"What I worry about," Jelani said, "is whether or not any reparations, just or not ,will leave behind a foul legacy. It sounded like vengeance back there, or something like it, however much it may be cloaked in justice."

"We can hardly let them off the hook, either," James said. "We need to show some backbone here, or they'll take it as another - false - sign of pony weakness. We're not suggesting replacing the emperor with ponies, or with a puppet, but with a responsible government that will take responsibility for what was done and will ensure that peace will reign."

"But will it?" al-Malik wondered. "Both Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom have been weakened by the war, as have the changeling realms. Are you saying that some leader somewhere won't think about that, and then take advantage of the situation? This war, by its very existence, has opened up the option of aggression to any tyrant or fool with a hint of power. The yaks were known, in ages past, to be warlike, the minotaurs remember their history as warriors fondly, and pegasi have a history for military exploits. How can we be sure that this peace you speak of lasts?"

It was a rational question, James reflected, one he hadn't expected from the Saddle Arabian. The age of peace in this world had been cracked, if not shattered, by the war. Any world leader here would take war into consideration when considering policy. Peacekeeping would be all the more difficult.

"If we have the chance to make any sort of peace and keep it, we can deal with future crises," Shining answered. "In the meantime, we need to bring this war to a close, and this alliance can help with that. With more troops and a potential governing body, the griffon clans that don't like the emperor will rally to our side, just as the changelings did against Chrysalis."

"Can we trust them, though?"

"Can we afford not to? And since I've been given the authority by the Princesses of Equestria to make bargains that do not conflict with national policy, I say go on this one."

"Fine, but don't try to stop me from saying 'I told you so' if this doesn't work out."

"If it does work out, you won't have to." The allied party broke up and returned to their positions.

The griffons didn't take much longer before doing so as well. "The Council accepts your proposal," Graywing said. "We are now equal and allied parties in the war." He turned toward his own troops. "Let us storm the royal keep," he shouted with passion, "topple the wretched tyrant from his throne, and ensure the peace and liberty of our families and friends!"

The griffon bodyguard shouted in response, raising weapons in the air and waving hats.

James watched them, quietly thinking about the decision that had been reached and the implications of it. Let's hope we're not making a big mistake, he thought.

Chapter 74; Interrogation and onwards

General Grayfeather sat in a chair with his arms tied behind his back. The pony Guards who had brought him in kept a close eye on him, as though he still had a decent chance of escape... with his arms tied not only together, but to the chair, with soldiers armed with guns too far away for him to hope to grab their weapons before they shot him.

He sneered at the closest pony. "Afraid of me, are you?" he jeered. "Even when you're winning, you're a pathetic people."

"You're the one tied up and in the chair," the officer in charge replied. "I'd say that argues against our being pathetic."

"The only way you got through Ragna Fortress was through a cowardly mine. If you had stood and fought with courage, we would have obliterated the pitiful excuse you call an army."

"But we're through. We didn't exactly want to waste too many lives, and we didn't. Plus, the commander in charge of the whole thing really loves a good explosion." The officer smiled for a moment before returning his face to neutral. "Be quiet."

"What are you going to do if I'm not?"

The officer stiffened. "Anything necessary, to include gagging."

"And that would surely please your Princesses to no end."

"They'd understand."

"You-"

The tent flap was pushed aside. The various commanders of the armies opposing the griffon war effort walked in, including the human foreigner... and a griffon, whom he recognized as Graywing. Grayfeather snarled. "Filthy traitor," he spat.

Graywing punched him him the face. "You have no right to call me any such thing, not after attempting to destroy the clans!" he shouted. "Not after murdering so many! How many did you pull the trigger on yourself?!"

Grayfeather righted himself, tasting blood in his mouth. "Enough to kill off a significant number who would oppose the Emperor. A pity I didn't get the chance with you."

Graywing screamed in rage and gathered himself for an all out attack. However, the human and the other allied commanders restrained him. "Not worth it," James said. "He's worth more to us alive, and if we win, he's going to regret what he ever did during the war so far."

"Also a pity I was never able to capture you, ape-spawn. I could have used a pet. Or someone to use as target practice for my soldiers."

The human looked furious for a moment, then regained control. "You didn't get the chance. You'd better remember where you are and what has happened. Your King hasn't gotten what he wanted, and we're on course for your capital, which will fall, as Ragna Fortress fell, as your forest defenses and your defense in front of Trottingham fell."

"Enough of this useless dialogue," Shining interrupted. "You know why you're here, General. And you know that we're going to get some answers."

"You won't."

"You'll give them if you like your chances of your punishment after the war being reduced at all."

Grayfeather said nothing.

"How long did you and the beast on the throne plan for the Great Betrayal?" Graywing demanded.

"I will not answer a traitor!"

Shining turned to a soldier. "You gave him the truth serum in his last drink?"

I thought that tea tasted funny.

"Yes, sir. It doesn't seem to be working properly."

The zebra commander cocked his head, then spoke through an interpreter of the same species. "I think the serum is working. He has not told a lie yet, or at least nothing he considers a lie. The problem lies with the fact that you were expecting him to sing like a lark after it was given. Apparently, the serum does not have an agent that forces truth from those to whom it is administered."

"Well, scratch that idea," Shining sighed. "I guess there's only one other option."

Despite a twinge of fear, Grayfeather made himself sneer again. "Are you going to torture me, Prince? Ah, dear dear dear. Your Princess with not like that."

"You're right... I would not."

The allied commanders stepped back as Princess Luna entered the room.

Grayfeather stared, trying to disguise the terror he was feeling. Remember; loyalty, courage, united nation...

"Princess?" Shining said, surprised. "I didn't realize..."

"I didn't want any information about my whereabouts leaking out, so I did not send out a dispatch. Those ruffians playing soldier in the bush near the border might have intercepted such a message, to the detriment of our cause."

"So chivalrous, Princess, to tell everyone you were afraid of mere bandits."

Luna didn't reply and acted, to Grayfeather's annoyance, as if he hadn't spoken. "When I heard you'd captured the griffon general, I made haste to your location. It took me a while to find you; the army is moving forward, after all."

"A clawful of fillies were able to defeat you, Nightmare Moon; why do you presume our Empire cannot?"

Again, Luna didn't reply, but one of her ears twitched, and the other flattened out toward her back. "I intend to inspect the prisoner personally, and see to it that he is brought back to Canterlot... and face due process in good time."

James turned to Luna and whispered in her pointed ear, "I don't see why you've had to come here to do that."

"The griffon rebels down south are one reason; he might be freed by them and create more havoc," Luna whispered back.

"Something tells me that's not the primary reason."

"You're right; it is not."

James looked back to the captured general, who was grinning unpleasantly. "Can we talk about this in private, away from him?"

Luna didn't protest. "Follow me," was her only reply to the gathered commanders, who did so and walked outside the tent, away from Grayfeather's hearing.

"What's the real reason for you to come up here?" James asked out loud, once they were far enough away. "If it's not to guard him, then what is it?"

"You were talking about how your efforts at gaining information from him were ineffective," Luna replied. "The truth serum did nothing to reveal anything of import, though apparently it had lead him to tell the truth on other matters, which have no bearing on the situation."

"I doubt you pointing a glowing horn at him is going to make him change his mind; he's one of those who would die rather than part with the knowledge we need," a griffon said.

"That much I could tell from a glance. I have no intention of using so crude a method."

James looked at Shining, who appeared as clueless as he did. "Then what are you going to do?"

"You remember that I have a responsibility to oversee the dreams of Equestria and banish nightmares, correct?"

"Well, yes, but how does protection from nightmares help us?"

"It does not. However, there are other things I can do in a dream, such as survey the dreamscape of a particular person even when there is no nightmare to combat. Through them, I might be able to learn something. If not... I could try forcing him to divulge information, though it is by no means certain. He could resist, and if his will is strong enough, he might cause me to burn out his brain from the effort involved in resisting me; fortunately, that has yet to happen in my experience, but it is possible, which is why I do not intend to use forceful methods unless there is no choice."

"Good riddance, if it does happen," Graywing said. "Burning out his brain is too good for him, and much too good for the monster he serves."

James frowned. He didn't like the spirit of unforgiveness here, even if it was understandable. "He could say the same about you," he answered. Before the griffon could answer, he turned to Luna and said, "Are you sure you can do this?"

She nodded. "Yes, I am sure. It may take some time, which is why I intend to wander his dreams on the way back to Canterlot; best to start as soon as possible, and it will take a few days to get back."

"Couldn't you have done this back in the capital?"

"Well, yes, technically. But that would take time; I'd have hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dreams to check before I could find him, and that would take time. If the subject is before me, it makes things much simpler."

"Let's just hope the guerillas don't catch you on the way back. You're worth a lot more to Equestria alive than dead."

"You've made that abundantly clear throughout the war, James. I don't need another reminding. However, one must take risks in order to win the war, and there is much information we stand to gain, like what their further magi-tech and conventional weapons they intend to make and where they might build and deploy them, as well as plans for troop deployment and efforts to crush the insurrection currently underway against the Imperials here in the north."

James sighed. Shining said, with a hint of resignation, "We're not going to convince you otherwise, are we?"

"No. My mind has been made up."

"Well, is there anything else you wish to do before leaving with him? It's a while before night falls, after all."

"Indeed. I wish to inspect the troops and learn how the war has been going myself. Reports do not do the front justice, or else not enough justice."

James nodded. "I guess I can't complain about that. However, our front line is, even now, moving forward. We'll have to return there at some point."

"I know. I won't take too much time. I do wish to see what I can, in order to bring back some proper knowledge of the front back to the public. There are many ponies who don't understand the struggles our soldiers face everyday, or the stress and pressures they are under in order to do what is necessary on a battlefield. All too many are calling for a peace without understanding the true nature of our enemy, and I want that nipped in the bud, as they say; the King, calling himself and emperor, isn't going to stop fighting until he is killed or, preferably, captured. We all know this, but the public does not, or not all of them."

The group of commanders nodded. That was all too true. The people back home didn't understand the real face of the war, nor believe the intent of the hostile monarch they were up against.

"Lead the way, Shining Armor," Luna said finally, and the allied commanders went with them.

The day was well spent before the tour - that was what James thought of it, though he deliberately neglected to mention that - was over. Luna had even been able to visit the front lines, though not for long, as the soldiers were in motion. She had also spoken to the army's quartermasters as well as a few veteran soldiers. Her final visit, to the field hospital, wasn't very eventful, except for the small speech the Lunar Princess made in an effort to keep spirits up.

At about 4:00 PM, Luna finally went back to the carriage that had brought her to the encampment, with General Grayfeather in tow. "I'm sorry to have to leave so soon," Luna said, as bat-winged thestral stallions hooked themselves up to the harnesses. "I would have been willing to stay longer than this. Unfortunately, duty calls, to all of us. I wish you all good fortune in the coming battles, which shall hopefully be the last of this war. Farewell to all of you."

She got in; the general was forced in, followed by two Lunar Guards, who took up some bladed weapons upon entering. Clearly, their intent was to protect Luna, although the general was bound, claw and foot, and was incapable of making any sort of attack.

Better safe than sorry, I suppose, though those Guards had better be careful with those blades, or they might harm the one they're here to protect.

The carriage started on it's way... along with about a hundred Lunar Guards marching along with it.

Grayfeather sneered. "You know you won't get anything from me. This whole expedition was a waste of time, Princess. You would have been better staying behind to finish your paperwork; I assume that's all you do... other than frighten your own subjects with nightmares."

Luna tried hard not to think of punishments for him. I shall not lose control here, she thought. That's what he wants. And if I'm able to gain access to him through the dreamscape, these insults will-

"Of course," the general continued obnoxiously, "that's all you've ever been good for; frightening others. It's not like you're even loved, even in your own kingdom."

"Silence!" The Guard to Luna's right shouted.

Grayfeather turned to him. "Oh, are you speaking for your Princess now?"

"I said, silence!"

"That's enough, both of you," Luna said. "I don't want to hear any more, General. I don't."

"So much for the high Equestrian morals."

"And so much for your armies and fortresses. We've beaten both. This is becoming, or has become, a mopping up operation. You're in no position to boast of anything. Nor to be taunting us. I'd advise you to watch what you say in the dungeons of Canterlot. While it is against the rules for prisoners to be beaten or roughed up, every so often a Guard, hearing enough insults, may snap, and given the circumstances, the incident might not be reported."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No. I'm warning you. That's what happens in prisons. Not because I want or sanction it, but because emotions, as great as they are, can be prickly. Your insults caused a former griffon commander to slap you, after all. A Guard in prison hearing your insults may do worse in rage, though he will be punished for his lack of control and for breaking the law if he is caught. I must impress on you that you have no power anymore, and neither will your emperor, very shortly. Your Empire didn't even last a few months, and regardless of what you say, there is no true way of denying that. Even your own people have taken up arms against your government, which proves it doesn't even have the popular support required to survive, or even wage a successful guerilla war. You've lost, and all your fancy new weapons are doing is slowing us down slightly. The tide has turned... and your cause is headed toward disaster. If you cooperated, you might spare your people further suffering."

'Suffering is what leads to greatness. If the nation suffers now, it is to build something greater than what it has been. All who obstruct it are fools and filthy traitors. As for betraying my liege, I refuse outright to do any such thing."

"Then you don't have any real grounds for complaining about what happens when you lose. And you will lose; it is merely a matter of time. Equestria has devoted it's vast industrial capacity to fighting this war, a capacity that in spite of your recent restructuring you are unable to meet. Ever more people stand behind us as word of what your emperor has done comes out, while your cause grows weaker by the day, and loses land it cannot afford to lose. Soon, we will reach Gryphos, and then-"

"We will repel you. No one has ever captured Gryphos, and never will."

"That was the old line used at Ragna Fortress; it fell, just the same. Your capital will fall to us, and then I expect that even the remaining diehards, assuming any remain at that time, will lose heart; that city means the world to your people, and it's fall will dispirit them greatly. Once that is done and the emperor captured, it will be a matter of reconfiguring the griffon state."

"Into your puppet."

"No," Luna replied, shaking her head. "An independent state, or states, without input from us... unless, of course, they decide to fight another war, for which we will be ready from now on."

Grayfeather sniffed in disbelief. "I doubt it. Your people are peace-mongers, and therefore weak when it comes to being a nation."

"And yet we're winning."

"Only because of the foreigner."

"James may be part of the reason, I will not deny it; he did give us ideas for our army, and introduce some inventions, tactics, and strategy. But in the end, it was ponies who fought and made those weapons, and ponies, and our allies, who are winning it. And he admits that those aren't his original ideas, but merely build offs or copies of what others in his word have done or thought of."

"So he's a nobody, then."

"No. He's not. And, quite frankly, I think we're done here."

With that, Luna took out a pair of earmuffs and placed them over her ears. They blocked out sound entirely, allowing nothing, even white noise, to penetrate. She offered a pair to each of the Guards as Grayfeather began to shout furiously at them. Luna raised an eyebrow as the former griffon commander yelled at the top of his lungs at her and her companions.

The ride still wasn't pleasant, but at least she no longer had to listen to the fanatic's insults. She sighed as he went through some theatrics - such as he could manage through his bonds, at any rate. She gave thanks to God that she had not given into the general's baiting, but it had been a close call, especially considering his references to her as Nightmare Moon.

At least I'm learning more about today's society, and a new way of life, she thought as Grayfeather screamed something at her with his bound claws brought up in front of his face. A thousand years ago, I might have seriously thought of beheading him. Not that his own people won't have that, and likely worse, in mind.

Night finally fell. Luna had had the carriage stopped briefly, so that she could raise the moon, then continued the journey. The general had finally given up on trying to insult her and had fallen asleep. Her own Guards were still awake, and remained alert, even though Grayfeather was now sleeping.

"Do not reveal anything of what I do to anypony else, except my sister," she said to the Guards.

Both of them in the carriage touched their chests briefly, then returned to their former stance.

Luna then began the process of entering the dreamscape. It was a lot like falling asleep, only different; it was difficult to explain just how. More concentrated, more precise. Regardless, it was something she had done countless times before, and she knew when she'd succeeded.

She found her way into the general's dream quite easily. However, navigating it - while also trying to remain undetected - was another problem entirely. The dream she'd entered was currently in the midst of a battle between Equestria and the Griffon Empire. Ponies and griffons exchanged fire, shells burst, and roars of cannon fire swept over the field.

Right, so where is he? In a dream, the dreamer had to be somewhere, for dreams naturally had a point of view.

She found him shortly; he was on a hill watching the entire battle as it unfolded. Luna felt a small, burning rage that he was just watching the fight unfold... sitting at a table, drinking tea. Of course, it was only a dream battle, but Luna had had plenty of experience in her field of expertise; he didn't really care about his soldiers as individuals, only as tools for accomplishing his cruel master's will.

She was at his side - without his notice - almost immediately. While the fight continued to rage in the distance, she began to create an image of Raniero as she had last seen him, or at least, a photograph of him. The image had no mind of it's own; it was merely her puppet. Nonetheless, if she could only imitate the griffon ruler's personality, accent, and other characteristics, she need not force the general to face his worst fears at all; he'd spill the beans, as police and soldiers were fond of saying, without even realizing anything was amiss.

Grayfeather took about thirty seconds to realize he was no longer alone - or, at least, what seemed to be thirty seconds in the dream. When he did, he jerked to attention, standing up and bumping the table in his haste. "Your Glorious Majesty," he said, bowing deeply. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"A visit," the image - Luna's dream puppet - replied, in the Italian accent the foreign king used. "To remind you of where your loyalties lie."

Grayfeather visibly withered a bit. "Your Majesty knows my loyalty to you has never wavered-"

"And yet, you have failed me in battle after battle," the image of the emperor was made to say. "I must know."

"Yes, of course, my liege. As you will."

"Of course it is as I will. Soon enough, the entire world shall be as I will it." Luna made her image stare at the general. "Tell me, what do you remember of our plans for the defense of our most noble city of Gryphos?"

"Of course, sire. As you know, we have more defensive spheres, of the same kind employed at the town of Firewing, as well as numerous surrounding forts, and as many soldiers and conscripts as we can scrape up, as well as armored units, artillery, and, as a last resort, the prisons in which we would - will - hold the Equestrian Princesses, once the conflict is won."

"Ah yes," Luna made her image say, although this was the first she'd heard of this part of the enemy's plan. "And how exactly would we employ these should the capital come under attack?"

"We would, of course, use a captured unicorn to power each of the devices and unleash, from the royal palace itself, energy of such vast quantity that even the enemy's vast numbers would be unable to withstand it." He raised a claw to his chin as Luna fought the urge to burn him on the spot. "Our scholars, last I heard, were looking to engage in long range targeting. If they find it possible, we may even be able to hit Canterlot, if our forces are unable to halt the enemy on the field."

That was new, as well as terrifying if true. Luna did her best to remain calm as she made the Raneiro image say, "I see. Can our armies buy us the time we need to defend the capital?"

"Not before the enemy get somewhere near the capital itself. And even then..." Grayfeather drew off.

"Yes?"

Grayfeather didn't answer immediately. "But wasn't I captured?" he asked himself. "Ragna Fortress..."

Oh dear. I should have anticipated this.

Sometimes, someone that was dreaming could remember events in the real world; that had happened before, and would happen again. The effects could be unpredictable, and Luna wasn't particularly happy that Grayfeather was remembering real world events. While it wasn't common knowledge that she guarded the dreams of Equestria, the general wasn't an idiot, and it was entirely possible that he might work it out in the end.

"Look at me! she made the Raneiro image shout. At the same time, she began guiding the dream, trying to make it more ominous and fearful in order to steer the general back on track; the table collapsed and the sky, which was an orange red color, turned dark, and a fierce wind began blowing.

Grayfeather shivered, but only for a moment. "if I was captured... then you can't be real. I have to be dreaming."

Luna wasn't sure what to say, although a number of things - most of them foul - popped into her mind. She wasn't given to telling untruths, and it was unlikely that Grayfeather would believe her, or the image she was projecting.

She did have the Raneiro image move closer to the general. "Are you certain you want to face my wrath, general?"

"I'm sorry, my liege, but-"

Luna made her puppet move forward and seize Grayfeather's arm. "I'm not asking you, I'm ordering you; tell me more about the defenses we have planned, or face my wrath!"

"I will not. Those plans are private, and this is merely a dream. I am not authorized-"

Luna made the dream shift to a prison cell; Grayfeather found himself chained and unable to move.

"Then we will remain here until you obey my commands. You were raised to be loyal to the royal line. You will obey, or else..."

"But you know everything I would tell you already; you speak with the generals in the capital all the time!"

"But I demand to hear them from you. And you are proving to be impertinent."

Grayfeather didn't answer.

"Alright. We will wait here until-"

"Celestia."

Luna raised an eyebrow, though not on her image.

"Or is it Luna? Only one of you would be seeking this knowledge so desperately."

"It does not matter," Luna said, allowing the image to fade. "You will give the answers here, or here we will stay, night after night, until you submit."

"I shall not. And you cannot punish me for loyalty to the Empire."

"Indeed. However, we can punish you for abusing our ponies and other races, as well as for robbing towns and for slaying your own kingdom's loyal soldiers and officers in a mass killing, orchestrated by your king. So I would not bother wasting time trying to dispute the legality of my actions here. We have more than enough evidence for you to rot in prison for the rest of your life, if your own people do not decide to deal even more harshly with you. You would do well to remember that."

"What is it like to always be second place, Luna?" Grayfeather asked mockingly. "How-"

That was as far as he got - the words suddenly stopped coming as Luna shrank him down to the size of a pebble.

"You noticed? Good. I am in control of your dream. I can make anything I want to happen, including using your worst fears. Remember that. You'd do well to not insult me or anyone else." She raised her front hoof and placed it inches above where Grayfeather's tiny head was. "You do not want to make me angry. Especially not here, where I can bring anything to bear against you." Luna had no intentions of truly harming the griffon general, but she hoped that what she was implying would sink in.

Grayfeather said something, but it was too low for her to hear. Given his size now, that wasn't surprising. Luna lowered her hoof, being careful not to crush the general as she brought it back toward herself.

"So, if we an skip the insults and barrage of foolishness, let's get down to the reason I am here. You are being interrogated, if you haven't realized it already. We know of the crimes your kingdom has committed against Equestria, and we know what part you had in them. If you answer my questions, we will remember it come the trial of you, your king, and his other officers., the same as with changelings who, in the coming trial of former Queen Chrysalis, provide us with information. If you refuse to cooperate, you will share the same consequences as your king shall when the trial is over."

It was rather funny to hear the tiny voice of the griffon commander trying to insult her at the top of his lungs. Luna, however, held her peace.

"Now," she said, making him grow slightly larger, so that she could hear him better, "let's get started..."

The sun rose over the plains of the Griffon Empire as the allied forces continued their advance. Tanks rolled forward; though there weren't swarms of them, there were enough of them to beat down any resistance that occurred, and the number of soldiers on the ground was immense. Not that the enemy were making any serious efforts at a stand; clearly, they intended to hold the line at Gryphos itself.

James watched from the caisson he was riding on. The advance had picked up the pace, not least because of the intelligence Luna had been able to get out of General Grayfeather (he still wasn't sure just how that had happened); the defenses in the city were just getting stronger the longer they waited. And he had no intention of giving the enemy scientists time to strengthen their superweapon in the palace.

The dimensions of the assault were staggering. Of course, starving the enemy out was an option this time; the allies could surround the city. However, he had to contend with the fact that hundreds of thousand of non-combatants called the place home. In addition, the prison-weapon could be used to attack the allied army, or worse, an allied city. James wasn't sure how the weapons could strike cities without having something to bounce the beam off of in orbit, but regardless, they were a threat and had to be taken into account. And, naturally, the enemy army would be taking in whoever and whatever it could to help it defend the city. Naturally, the defenses, to include forts and trenches, would have to be considered as well.

It felt like it would be a nightmare getting past all that without losing a massive portion of the army, or risking the destruction of an allied city, as the enemy would hardly hesitate to use their superweapons if the city was attacked.

Please, Lord God, grant us a plan for victory against the enemy, and please grant as many of the boys their lives as is possible, and that this war might end with as few losses to either side as possible as well.

James quietly made the sign of the Cross, then looked ahead once more. The town of Wilke was just before the advancing forces, and once they were beyond it, it would be a short march to Gryphos itself.

The end of the war is in sight. Either way, this final battle will decide the fate of nations for decades to come, if not longer. Hard to tell, given that we're in the thick of history rather than reading about it hundreds of years later.

The caisson, and a significant part of the army, began to skirt the town rather than go directly into it. Wilkes wasn't very big; it didn't even have much of a wall around it. From what the pegasi scouts had said, it didn't have many defenders, if any. Shining Armor was going ahead with the griffon leaders to receive the town's surrender (which would happen whether it wanted to or not; all parties agreed that leaving a garrisoned town behind them wouldn't be a good idea). After that had been done, it would have the honor, if it could so be called, of being the first town officially liberated under the Griffon Council. Of course, a number of towns, villages, and cities were already under their control, but the Council had wanted to take control of a town personally rather than just being granted them by the allied forces.

The army wing continued to swerve around the town rather than go into it. James raised a pair of binoculars once his sight had cleared the city wall. In the distance, a very large city was visible in his sights. He wasn't able to make out very much, but it was obvious even from here that the place ahead was very important. Spires and large towers and buildings could be made out.

"Gryphos itself," james said to himself. "We're here. Now the question is, what are you going to do about it... and how can we stop it?"

Chapter 75; Preparing for the final offensive

The city that sprawled in the distance was enormous, easily the largest city James had seen so far in this world. Though it was still far away, it was obvious that it has taken millennia to get to it's current population and physical size. This city, like Canterlot, had ben designed to be a great city, and while it was landlocked, it was hardly a problem, considering that its population could fly.

James sighed as he again viewed the forts that had been built in front of the walls; unlike the latter, these were much more recent, but ever more potent. Large guns could be made out on the forts quite easily, even from here. And while it would be harder to see from a horizontal standpoint, there would trench lines running between the forts and quite likely in front of them.

"Nope," he muttered, lowering the binoculars.

"I thought the same," Shining said, a spyglass still levitated in front of his eye. "They spent a long time on some of these, and even the more recent stuff will be tough."

Just then, Crystal Clear, along with three other pegasi, swooped down from the clouds and landed in front of them. "it's no go with another tunnel," Crystal said at once. "They've dug a big, deep trench around the city to prevent it, and it looks like they patrol daily to make sure that we don't try it."

"Well, whatever you say about them, they do learn from past mistakes," James said, in lieu of something much worse. "We'll just have to come up with something else. Just what, I'm not so sure."

"Whatever we do, we'd better come up with something, and fast," Shining noted. "I mean, we could try starving them out, but that would almost certainly result in the deaths of much of the civilian population. And if we attack head-on..." He let that ring in the silence that followed.

"We're not doing that," James replied.

"Seconded," Rolling Barrel answered. "Maybe head-on attacks have their place in warfare. If so, it's not here. We're not going to be able to use the tricks we've used before."

'How many soldiers do we have in the allied forces as a total?" James asked quietly, again raising the binoculars and taking another gander at the enemy defenses, such as he could see."

"About seventy thousand ponies, give or take a few hundred; twenty thousand Saddle Arabians, maybe seventeen thousand zebras, some ten thousand changelings... Add fifty thousand or more griffons who don't like the emperor, and that's maybe one hundred fifty-seven to one hundred sixty thousand soldiers on our side, with the logistics to match."

"And how many of them?"

"Some seventy to ninety thousand; hard to say exactly. Enough to hold us out. Hard to tell how many of them are enthusiastic, but they're there, they have weapons, and their defensive artillery is a big equalizer. Not to mention..." Barrel grunted discontentedly.

"Yes... those weapons, originally designed as prisons for the Princesses." James shook his head. "They did have a plan for afterwards. And, if..."

"Yes... if..." Barrel mumbled.

"Luckily, Blue Fur volunteered, and he's been working on a project to neutralize the problem. The only thing is, he's not telling me what, or how, he intends to go about it, or what the details are."

"He'd better work fast, or they'll turn this piece of the country into a landscape of burned scars," Shining replied.

James didn't answer. What Shining had said was too obvious. "At least the guerillas are quieting down a bit, now that word about the king's betrayal is spreading. Fewer people are willing to fight for him these days, and those that are-"

"Hate the very idea of taking orders from another species, however directly or indirectly," Barrel interrupted roughly. "They're not all going to just throw down their arms and go back to work."

James knew that; some people could never take the idea of being given orders by people from another country. He wasn't sure whether to admire the guerillas or not for their stance and will to resist.

"Some of them will," he said by way of reply. "And that means we get more things we need at the front line, and we'll need fewer troops in the rear to protect convoys. So we'll gain efficiency, and they certainly won't be getting more, even they lose none."

"This entire pathetic excuse for an empire is falling apart anyway," Barrel said, spitting on the ground. "It's already dead. The corpse is still twitching, that's all. What's left of their government is here. Everything else is in chaos."

"And yet the 'corpse' might still bite or kick us in it's death throes," James cautioned. "We have to remain vigilant, and eliminate their weapons before they can vaporize the army, or part of it anyway. We're remaining here until that happens."

"We can't just-"

"Oh, we won't be doing nothing, I promise you," Shining said. "We'll be splitting the army to encircle the city. When their super cannons are gone, we'll close in and begin to invest it properly. However, everything hinges on the first part of my last sentence; the destruction of their mega weapons."

"Right," James said. "I think I'll pay a visit to a friend on that matter..."

James entered a blue-and-white striped tent. His action quickly caught the eye of Blue Fur, who smiled. "Ah, hello, General."

"Morning, Blue," James replied.

"I'm guessing this isn't a social call, even if that would be nice."

"You're right. It's not."

"That's as well," Blue fur replied, still grinning. "I like being useful. I think you'll find that we've already begun making progress."

James followed him a few feet to something that resembled a dismantled anti-tank gun. "As I can see. What do you have in mind?"

"Well..." Blue fur scratched the back of his head with a hoof. "The part about this project is that it essentially, er, borrows... concepts from... other sources."

"'Other sources'... you mean the enemy."

"Yes. I hope to be able to copy what they are doing while avoiding the moral downsides, which is to say that what we're making will be powered by alternative means."

"You won't be abusing civilians and P.O.W.s to get things done," James translated.

"Yes. What I have in mind, and what I'm instructing my colleagues to build, is essentially borrowed technological and magical advances. I'm frankly surprised that non-magic creatures like griffons were able to come up with such things where we were not; different attitudes toward war, I suppose, but we should have been able to at least foresee these ideas, if not actually use them first."

"Let's get back to the basics. What are you building, and what kind of projectile will it be using?"

"I'm trying to put together a sort of sniper cannon, if you understand what I'm trying to convey. Unfortunately, standard projectiles like those fired by our usual artillery pieces do not have the range to hit the king's palace from here, and to move within their known range would be suicidal. As it stands, we are barely able to see the city currently, and I'd advise not going into range."

"And? What's the solution?"

"A cannon that fires an energy-based ordinance, as opposed to physical shells. It's not unlike the rifles we captured during earlier campaigns, but the energy use will be different."

"How so?"

"Having the newly-constructed Crystal Empire on our side provides certain advantages. Namely, that of crystals that can magnify magical energy. The enemy's current versions use a more, er, brute force manner to dump energy into the weapon in order to use it. While they use a crystal ball to hold that energy, it is inefficient and wastes much of that same energy, though I do not deny that it's effects on our forces have been considerable, otherwise I might seek other ideas."

James felt a surge of uneasiness. He wanted to win the war, sure, but not at the cost of selling his or anyone else's soul. "But where would we get the energy to fire off? I'm not having unicorns drain themselves to death to power this thing."

"I would never ask you to, dear boy. While our version will still use a crystal ball" - he pointed at a transparent sphere nearby - "we intend for the energy to come from volunteers, some of whom are in on this very project. Some, indeed, have already transferred some magical energy to the object in question, as you can see by the lovely shades of color that are flittering about inside."

"Volunteers to transfer magical energy... I see..."

"Sir, we do know about other power sources. We could use them if the way we are powering this thing is immoral. Rest assured that we have many ways of powering this cannon if you require it."

"Okay. And I assume the barrel on the weapon is designed to keep the shot accurate?" When Blue Fur nodded, James went on, "How do you intend to keep the shot from melting the barrel?"

"Via spells placed on the barrel. They will channel the energy in one direction while simultaneously preventing a meltdown that would prove problematic for a second usage."

"Alright. Now, how do we aim this thing? I mean, that city is miles and miles away. I'm sure they'll notice something once we start blasting away."

"Indeed. Which is why we are also attempting to create a telescope that is second only to the royal observatory, in quality if not in size, and coordinate where that is aiming with the place the shot will actually hit; obviously, the sight we're building will be no good if we can't hit what we're aiming at."

"Yes, that would be unfortunate." James thought about it. The weapon would indeed b a copy of griffon design, but it would get its power from willing individuals, and would be more energy efficient, allowing the gunners to fire more shots with less ammunition, such as it was. "How many of these things are you building?"

"We intend to build two; if one fails, the other ought to make up for it, and if they both work, the enemy will be in for double the trouble, won't they?"

"They will. You sure you've got everything together?"

Blue Fur stared at him for a few seconds, but not out of hostility; James had come across this look before, and he knew that the blue pony before him was currently fitting the cannon he'd designed together in his mind and imagining how it would work when someone shot it. After a pause of about thirty seconds, Blue Fur said, "I believe so. The model we've got here should work with the magic of volunteering unicorns, and we can make the appropriate adjustments if another source of energy is required. It would take time to adjust, but we can manage."

"Good, because I doubt you've cleared this with Celestia or anyone else."

"I suppose the Princess would hardly be happy if she found out about our present means of powering these," Blue Fur replied reluctantly. I guess we'd better get to work on finding an alternate power source, in case this does not meet with Her Majesty's approval, though she might scrap the project altogether if she hears about it."

By that, you're warning me not to tell her or Luna. James could make that out well enough. What I know is, they'll hear about it anyway. I might as well tell them, and keep the whole thing rosy. If they decide to cancel the project just because of one of the possible energy sources - and I'll make sure to list all the ones Blue told me about - then... we'll see. He was having difficulty deciding if it was worth it to disobey such a command, or to pretend that the letter didn't reach him in time. He shook his head; doing something bad once made it easier to do it again. He'd have to check out multiple options, in case this one was scuttled.

"How soon will these be ready?"

"Three days, sir, given no delays. Of course, delays happen; unexpected problems-"

Both of them started; there had been a small explosion as the engineers tried to fit the crystal ball to the end of the gun barrel; the crystal ball had gone flying and had smacked someone in the stomach (though he appeared okay; the engineer, an earth pony, got up after only a couple seconds on the ground).

"And that would be an example of an unexpected problem," Blue Fur sighed. "I can only suppose that at least two spells repelled each other. We'll have to find and correct the problem before we can try that again."

"Keep me up to date. I want regular reports."

"Trust me, you'll get them... the triumphs as well as the failures."

James looked again at the map he had. The allied forces were moving in everything they could spare from guerilla hunting for the final onslaught. The war was about to end, and the reinforcements were necessary.

Enemy artillery and trenches were only two things the enemy would deploy. Sadly, what amounted to a minefield also stretched around the city; primitive, but no doubt effective; some were only single artillery shells, others were massive buried quantities of dynamite and gunpowder.

Night flights by thestral soldiers had produced a decent idea of the defenses with which the allies would have to deal with, as well as the scale of the city itself. It was big. And it was ready as it could be.

The defenders weren't idle. They were scouting the allied forces as well. They'd have some idea of what he could throw at them. At the same time, though, they were losing control of their country. While the first rebellions against the Imperial forces had been put down, those who had a will to resist it were making themselves known. Sometimes Imperial units could put down a town or village that refused to obey them; other times, they were swept away by the rebels. Given the general chaos, James doubted that a lot of necessary equipment, ammunition, and food were reaching the city, which wasn't surrounded yet. More and more disaffected villagers and townspeople were joining the Noble Council's forces every day; not a huge number, but still encouraging. Even a few deserters from the Imperial army were reaching them, though James, and most of his officers, believed that at least some of them were spies, and were thoroughly checking each and every new soldier.

A moth-eaten country and a well defended capital; this was what they were up against.

"Terms," James said, as though a griffon delegation were there to receive them. He wasn't sure the exact nature of the coming peace. It would, of course, be necessary to remind the defeated party that messing with Equestria again would be a mistake, but he'd never been one for rubbing someone's nose in the dirt. Something like what Chrysalis' successor had received would suffice; hard enough to make the other side regret fighting, but soft enough to preserve independence and offer a peaceful future without anger or hate.

"My very thoughts as I came."

James turned around. "Princess Celestia," he said, and so it was; the Princes was entering the tent.

"My sister will also be coming," the Princess went on. "Grayfeather has been proving difficult to gain information out of, but she should be bringing a decent report once she gets here, and Cadence will of course be joining us from the Crystal Empire."

"And why, might I ask, have you come?"

"To personally see this terrible conflict end, and to preside over the peace to follow. All this bleeding and dying is almost over."

"It's not entirely over," James said, shaking his head. "There's one more bout of dying to go through before this is over and done with."

"Another reason I've come; to try to persuade Raneiro to surrender without more useless loss."

"Won't work," James replied, again shaking his head. "Not the kind to give up, ever."

"All the same, it might do some good," Celestia said. "If the rank and file of the opposing army hear about what we have to offer, they might join us in greater droves than they are now."

"And some will be spies," James said. "We've already busted two that we know of. Others might be saboteurs."

"Perhaps." Celestia sighed. "I intend to try to talk with their king soon."

"I'd advise you wait until we blow the palace to pieces," James advised. "The very prisons in which they wished to encase you are now being redesigned to fire upon us as weapons of mass destruction. We're just outside of their known range. If you in particular try to approach, I have no idea how they won't just vaporize you. I assume Luna has told you what she has learned?"

"She has; some of what she has to tell you are things I already know about." Celestia frowned. "So those prisons are in the king's palace?"

"Yes, we've confirmed that. Blue Fur is working on a sort of artillery to snipe the palace. If successful, we'll be able to approach and besiege the city properly."

"I see. I don't think we have a cannon that can fire that far, so the ammunition it uses must be an alternative source." She frowned.

Oh boy. "Well, yes. But, before you reject it based on our previous encounters with the enemy, we have multiple means of utilizing energy for the thing, and any unicorns that wish to transfer magic to Blue Fur's preferred manner are volunteers, not enslaved prisoners."

"Be that as it may, I do wish to visit this project before we go forward." Celestia paused. "And I'm not sure how the enemy would respond if we happen to kill their ruler."

"Collapse, probably, or else squabble over who takes over, both of which are bad for them and assist our cause."

"Or they might unite out of sheer desperation and whoever replaces Raneiro might be even worse. I'll have to think about it before I decide to approve it."

"With all due respect," James said, trying to keep his temper down, "we're not going to be advancing on the city until those things are gone. You know that they're attempting to modify them to hit Canterlot even as we speak."

Celestia simply stood there for a moment, watching him quietly as she thought. "I realize that. But the death of their ruler may have unpredictable consequences. And Luna and I want Raneiro alive. He must stand trial, along with his accomplices, as Chrysalis shall." She raised a hoof to forestall him. "I know. Our peoples' lives matter much more. However, if it is at all possible to take him without killing him, and if it can be done without the loss of a city or suffering heavy casualties, I intend to."

James let air out of his nose. "I see."

"Don't worry, James. I don't intend to allow our enemy any leeway. If they refuse the peace, and I concur with you that that is extremely likely, then we will immediately - and I mean immediately - go forward with Blue Fur's plan - assuming the ordinance is not morally unacceptable."

"You mean, like right after they refuse and the parley is over."

"Yes. Now, please come with me. We all have much to discuss."

As it turned out, Celestia didn't ban the plan that James and Blue Fur had hatched. She had looked into the matter of volunteer unicorn magic, and, though she had insisted that Blue Fur use another type of ammunition, he did have numerous alternatives, most of which the monarch did approve, and the project was therefore not much changed. After a short lunch, Celestia called the commanders of the army to discuss options during the siege to come.

"Assuming all goes well," Barrel said, tracing a line on the map with a stick, "We should be able to surround the city and keep military necessities from entering. But that's only part of the job. Our ultimate goal is to capture and occupy Gryphos, and that won't happen until we push the guys on the other side out of the way."

"With the losses and disasters they'd suffered the past few months, will they have any will left?" Celestia asked.

"Some won't, in and of themselves, but their officers and the diehards who follow their orders will make them fight. I must point out that, in an attempt to force a battalion of ponies to fight us at Trottingham, they held families hostage, so the soldier himself might not be the only one at risk if the higher-ups think he's a defeatist. And the fanatics have a will as well, along with the nationalists that would rather die than let us rule them. When it comes to each of our lines coming against one another, some of them will fight, some will flee, others will surrender, but we won't know to how much of a degree they'll do any of those things until we begin our offensive."

"And that will take some major preparation," Shining said. "We still don't know everything there is to know about their defenses. It will take some time to dig trenches to keep their forces fenced in, and to dig more to allow our forces to close with their own defenses before we begin the final assault."

"Not to mention we'll need to smash those walls," James put in. "They're not as thick as those as those of Ragna Fortress, but they'll take some shelling to bring them down. Our tanks won't be as useful in the streets as they are in the open plains, as cities have plenty of hidey-holes for anyone who has any idea of what to do with an explosive, and make no mistake, they will fight street by street in Gryphos. If we don't manage to break through their lines, and keep going, this will be a costly fight."

"It's already going to be costly. At this point, almost anyone else on the other side would have given up," Barrel said. "But their king, who imagines himself an emperor, is going to fight to the last, rather than have the crown removed from his head. I can't promise you that when the battle starts that we'll take him alive."

"If there is a reason to take him alive besides justice, it's the need to keep him from becoming a martyr or symbol for the griffon people," Celestia said. "I want him alive, if at all possible."

"You may want him alive, Your Majesty," Barrel replied, "but I'm not convinced that we'll be able to take him out of his palace, or what will be left of it, that way. We can try, but we're not promising anything."

"I understand. Try not kill him if you can avoid it. That said, if he should die in defense of his own capital, it shall be a result of his own foolishness, and we'll proceed from there."

The commanders nodded, though James could tell that no one was enamored of the job Celestia wanted them to do.

"It is the will of my Sultan that I aid you in this attack," al-Malik said. "We shall be in the forefront of the fight."

"We shall be with you as well," Jelani confirmed.

"My thanks to the both you," Celestia said to them. "Fight well, and this war will soon be over."

"The Noble Council is with ya as well," Graywing said, "so long as ya remember that our destiny is ours to make aside from the outcome of the war."

"I have no intentions to take your territory or force an unfair peace upon you," Celestia said, turning to him. "I promise that your destiny shall yours... but let it stand that we will not tolerate invasions of our territory, by griffons or anyone. I hope I make myself clear; Luna and I - and Cadence as well - shall not sit back and allow our ponies to suffer because of the ambitions of world leaders, and we shall protect and defend our allies."

"Aye, I get it," Graywing said, nodding slowly. "So long as you keep yer word, ya got nothing ta fear."

We can engage in guerilla warfare and wreak havoc if you don't deliver on your promise, James translated in his mind. To her credit, Celestia understood that as a riposte, and nodded as well.

"Are we all agreed on the plan so far?" she asked.

There was a general murmur of consent.

"I know that circumstances will necessitate further planning and perhaps reshuffling of our ideas. But we shall end this war, make no mistake." That also met with approval, with a much more serious affirmation.

Chapter 76; A parley with predictable - and not so predictable - results

James stood, arms folded, Barrel standing next to him with Shining on his other side. Al-Malik and Jelani were not far away. Celestia and Luna were in the middle of the group.

And what are we standing for? To look like fools in a picturesque manner?

James was still convinced that trying to make the griffon emperor surrender was a waste of time. Raniero - or, as he'd renamed himself, Emperor Blackstar - was the kind to pull the world down around him in ruins rather than submit, and it looked like he was looking for the chance to do just that.

"Useless," he muttered.

Of course, there was the chance that he and the other generals were wrong... and if there was ever a time he'd hoped to be wrong, it was now. If the "Emperor" did surrender here and now, there wasn't much that would please him more at the moment. The feeling inside, though...

Did Celestia and Luna have similar misgivings? Luna seemed to; her face was anything but cheerful. Even Celestia nickered rather uncomfortably, though that might have been the morning chill. No one had their guard down; this wasn't a surrender ceremony, and it was unlikely to become one. The Solar Princess was wise, yes, but here James felt as if she'd allowed her hopes to run away with her a bit.

Am I disappointed that she wants peace here? No. No, after nearly eleven months of war, I'm not disappointed in the hope itself, but I just don't believe deep down that the king will throw in the towel.

He watched as the griffon delegation came closer. The king was all too easy to recognize; he was wearing a red cloak, with an edge of black, with a large crown on his head and a bejeweled sward on his waist, along with ceremonial armor on his chest. Other griffons, clearly of very high rank, were also with him. One who was noticeable was a griffon with black feathers, wearing a uniform with numerous medals. James briefly wondered how many he'd actually earned rather than given for loyalty. He looked familiar, but James couldn't quite place the face.

He kept a hand on his holster. It was unlikely that the Imperial party would start anything at this parley, but James didn't trust them. If they did do something untoward, he would do his best to make sure the allied party got the least of it.

The Imperials stopped a few feet in front of the allied leaders. No one spoke for a few seconds.

"I'm surprised you had the gall to come here yourselves, gutless sisters of the rotting Equestrian Diarchy."

"King Raniero," Celestia responded, not taking in the insults whatsoever, "we have come to-"

"I am not a king anymore; I am an Emperor, and will be addressed as such!"

"You think that'll matter if we shot you right now?" James asked casually. "Don't think it would matter any which way."

"Silence, mercenary! You are not fit to speak!"

"Oh yes I am!" James moved his hand in a backhanding motion.

"James," Celestia said in a warning tone.

James backed off, but refused to look away from the griffon king, who stared at and through him, until the latter finally turned back toward Celestia. The king's retainers were slower to do so; the griffon with black feathers glared at James, as though the glare could melt him where he stood. James kept staring back, hand on his holster as before.

While this was going on, Luna had spoken up; "Our nation continues to run smoothly and without any rot; yours is falling apart at the seams. Your defeat is inevitable at this point. Your so-called empire is finished. The only thing you'll do by continuing the war is dragging out the suffering of your own subjects. A rebellion - of your own making - has consumed much of your nation, and every day your kingdom falls farther into chaos. Surrender now, and something may be salvaged."

"All great empires are founded on sacrifice, and continued through further offerings of war. You have not captured Gryphos. No one has ever captured Gryphos. And we now have weapons that can vaporize Canterlot city... or perhaps that little blot in the land you call Ponyville..."

James tried not to look worried. Inside, though, besides the civilian lives lost, he knew that the enemy had picked out a target that made sense. Ponyville was home to the Element Bearers; without them...

Tyranny. Perhaps not from the griffons, but from some enemy on the lines of Nightmare Moon and Discord. I haven't been around long enough to see every threat ever hatched against this country...

"We have ways of defending our cities, even from such cowardly assaults," Celestia retorted. "Meanwhile, your people suffer and die to no purpose."

"Save your sensitivities; I am not moved by them." The King stood up to his tallest height. "We will soon be back on the offensive, and this war will be won by us. I propose that you surrender, Princess, or I'll blast every city you own off the map."

"You are a fool if you think us ill-prepared. Raniero, I must insist that you throw in the towel. You no longer have the arms or the army to carry out your conquests, and more of your people turn against your tyranny every day,"

"Filthy traitors, all of them. We'll execute every last one of them, and create a pure empire of service and conquest."

"Ya didn't get all o' us before," Graywing said. "What makes ya think you'll finish us off now, seeing you're in that gilded cage of a city?"

"We'll deal with you in time, idiot. The whole clan system prevented us from winning the war before now."

"We would have had much to say about that as well," Celestia said. "Our armies fared well in the field."

"Only because you hired a lucky mercenary to reform your armies." Raniero smirked at James. "Pity we didn't capture you early; I have a nice cage you would have fitted in."

"That's enough," Luna said, before James could respond. "Your armies are outnumbered, and dwindling every day. Your people reject your rule. The resources you expected and wanted from the great betrayal of the clans has come to little, if anything. The only threats you have against us are the modified prisons you expected to cage me and my sister in... which will not be happening. It is over."

"It is over when I say it is over. And it will be over when Canterlot and all the cities of Equestria are mine... to burn, or to enslave, as I wish."

"Open your eyes!" James yelled. "You've lost. Give up!"

"SILENCE! I will not be spoken to by a merc-"

James half-pulled out his revolver, making the movement obvious. "Want to finish that sentence?" he asked, temper flaring.

"You wouldn't dare," the false emperor said indignantly.

"He will not," Celestia said, glaring at James until he holstered the gun. "But it is clear that you've blinded yourself to reality beyond the point where we can talk with you reasonably. You will be allowed to return to Gryphos without hindrance. After that, you'll either share the fate of your soldiers on the battlefield, or be captured by our victorious armies, and be judged for everything you and your officials and army officers have committed, against us and your own people."

"As if. I'll see you imprisoned yet, Princess. And keep your dog on a leash."

"And where is the messenger who brought our offer of a parley to you?" Luna demanded.

"Grayfeather warned you, did he not, that any messenger you sent us would be taken prisoner?"

"That is against the laws of war!"

"Laws that block what needs to be done. I expect this lesson to sink down into your muddled excuses for brains."

"Leave now," Celestia said, eyes ablaze, almost as if they really were on fire. "We'll give you thirty minutes to return to Gryphos; you'll be allowed safe conduct during that time. Once that period is up, I shall not answer for the consequences you've brought upon yourself."

The King-Emperor sneered, and turned away in contempt.

"Blue Fur," James said quietly, "prepare to do what you've been itching to do all this time."

"Yes sir," the engineer responded.

James sighed loudly, then turned to his right... only to find Celestia face to face with him. "That was inappropriate behavior, especially for a commanding officer in the Equestrian Army," she said in a disappointed voice. "I can't say that I'm proud of your actions a few moments ago. I know that your anger was up; mine was as well. But threatening the opposing king with immediate death only lends his cause more strength, however little it may possess."

James sighed again. "You're right. I'm sick of being thought of as a mercenary or some tough, though, and he's just making more people die for a dead corpse of a dream."

"That's true. But if you ever do something like that again, I'll take action. It was unacceptable, regardless of the reasons. I thought you had more discipline than that, mentally as well as spiritually."

That hurt. James felt his hand fall to the cross that was in his pocket. "You have my word I won't threaten their king or his officials like that again."

"Good." Now Celestia sighed. "I suppose having him surrender here was too much to hope for."

"He might wish he had, in about five minutes."

"You're going to fire the sniper cannons now?" Celestia asked disapprovingly.

"You said that he would have immunity while going back. You said nothing about his palace."

"I can see your point, but I must forbid that strike until they get closer to the city."

"Aw, come on; I want him to see his prized super cannons blown to bits, or at least rendered useless, before his eyes."

Celestia actually smiled momentarily at that. "I know. But they need to be further away, or else they might claim we broke the agreement."

'You're the one who wants him alive; why not fire now, when he's not the target, or anywhere near it?"

"I see your point. But all the same, I need him to be further from us than he is. Bring me a spyglass, and I'll tell you when you may fire."

"Alright," James said. "I'll delay the countdown, but I hope not for long."

"I promise, it won't be. Get me a spyglass."

"You have no objection, to this course of action, Princess Luna?" Shining Armor asked.

"None," the Lunar Princess answered. "I admit, I worry that this may have consequences, or might be seen as dishonorable, but it is high time that justice was served, and that a threat was eliminated. Their government would have tried to force slavery down our throats, and I doubt Equestria would be their last target. Now their administration shall be subject to the rightful penalties for their evil actions, against us, others, and their own people."

James had a flashback to the Second Changeling Campaign, the one that had liberated the hives and saw the defeat of Chrysalis. Memories flashed; the rebellion he'd stirred, the battles, comrades lost. He thought of foreign friends made, and of the sense of justice and cause that had helped sustain him, and the army he'd helped lead.

He felt, as he had then, that things were coming full circle. But unlike then, once the enemy stronghold here was taken, the war would be completely over. There would be nothing left to do other than judge the now powerless former rulers and see them receive their just desserts.

Then what?

It was a question that had gotten into the back of his mind. The war had felt, in it's beginning and intermediate stages, like the fulfillment of his life's purpose of the knowledge he'd had, exterior cynicism not withstanding. What would he do once the struggle was over?

There's always another struggle, another battle, another opponent to build up in preparation to meet. And it will be like that until Judgment Day. And not all those struggles will necessarily be military in nature. He couldn't see what would happen. He could only ride the train, so to speak, and arrive at the destinations on the way as they came.

Fulfillment of purpose... yes, that seemed to be the proper way he felt about his participation in the war, even through his earlier criticisms and cynical remarks. Now though, that purpose felt like it would end. Not that that was a bad thing in most respects; the dying and destruction would stop. He wanted the war to end, and to be ended by his side, not that of the enemy.

But then what? What will I do without a war to fight? Am I to become a sword, to be hung up on the shelf for years, until another, probably lesser, threat comes along? Or would I sit there perpetually, not being called upon again?

He shook his head, and hard; those were thoughts that disturbed him, though one might consider them natural. Now, however, was not a time to be thinking about such things. Now was the time to act, so that there would be a chance to sort out those and other thoughts later.

Celestia continued to stand, watching the departing griffon party, which had taken to flight. "Almost where I want them. Have Blue Fur ready those guns."

"Right." James turned. "Blue Fur..."

"On it. You might want to come over here yourself."

James walked toward a rather innocent-looking bush. At least, it looked innocent, until it was lifted away to reveal the two cannons, both pre-aimed and ready to fire.

"Might have to readjust slightly," one of the gunners complained, but went about his work. All of them did. Not that either gun required a big crew; only two ponies were on each gun crew.

"Got that pole thing in sight, sir," one of the gunners said to Blue Fur.

"Let me see," James said, scrambling over to peer through the telescopic sights.

The palace was not only clear; it was as if he was jet-packing maybe a hundred or so feet away from it. When Blue Fur had said he was aiming to get a sight good enough to see their target, he hadn't realized just how good; James blinked, his eyes and body feeling disrupted briefly. There were indeed two poles, sticking out of bulges in the highest roofs of the palace.

"If you could please move, sir; you're obstructing us."

James didn't even complain; he just stood back up, confident the crews would hit what they were aiming at."

"What's the phrase again? You may fire when ready," Celestia said calmly.

"Fire," James repeated.

The two energy cannons made a noise, one that bespoke of the energy that was powering up within. It built up for a moment, the humming continuing to grow in intensity.

Then the energy was released.

The guns both fired, one seconds after the other. The multi-colored energy beams burst out of the cannon barrels, long spears of light that raced toward their targets faster than he could see.

It was all over in a matter of seconds, if that. The upper pieces of the palace that he'd seen through the scope exploded, the stone breaking apart, the metal melting.

"I think they've noticed," Celestia said. It was obvious she was struggling to hold back a chuckle.

James raised his binoculars, searching for the griffon party. They weren't hard to find; they were pointing in shock to the palace and squawking and shouting in rage and... fear, perhaps? The king - the self-styled emperor - had lost something like twenty feet in the air from where he'd been before the shots had been fired.

"Again," he said. "This time, I want the top of the place blown off. Leave them nothing of their weapon to rebuild."

The energy cannons fired a second time. This time, the part of the palace - the highest part, where the weapons had been stored - was leveled, the roof being blown apart.

"I think I can see some sort of sphere," Celestia said. "The prisons the griffon king wanted to jail us in."

"Aim for those, and the rough equivalent position on the other side of the tower," James relayed to the gunners. "Blow those things open!"

They did. The spheres were obliterated, the glass shattering and the other parts either breaking or melting.

"One more. Break that entire room off."

Again, the guns hummed. Again, they fired. And again, the results were spectacular. The top tower simply imploded, the bricks crumbling and flying in all directions. The highest part of the palace was no more.

The griffon leaders were horrified. Shocked, angered and outraged, they flew off toward their city as fast as possible.

"Blow 'advance'," James ordered. "Now we close in on what's left of their regime."

It wouldn't be an advance that would claim the city. Not today. But it would close in on it, surround it, and perhaps crush the spirits of the soldiers on the other side, enough so that another push another day - hopefully not far away - would succeed.

Chapter 77; Siege of Gryphos

Allied artillery fired on the griffon defenders, who retaliated in kind with their own. Explosions sounded almost constantly as the siege entered it's third day; dust and mud flew through the air at each detonation. The two armies, in their respective trenches, watched one another... though not too closely, as snipers on both sides waited for anyone to show themselves for even a moment. It was death to venture outside a trench, even for a moment. Screams from the occasional casualties sounded across the battlefield.

Much closer than he had been before, James looked once more at the city that was the home of the enemy ruler... from a safe distance, watching from the thin space between a tree and a rock, binoculars on his face. The palace - minus the pieces blown off by the sniper cannons - was still very much in play, as servants and guards, well out of range of the rifles and conventional artillery, continued to go about their business, as did the average griffon subject in the street. The square in the middle of the city still seemed to be in play, as the citizens continued to walk through it. Few, however, were flying, probably out of fear of anti-air fire... as if the allies would deliberately target civilians. Or perhaps there was some decree that forbade flying for whatever reason.

The enemy had fortified the city well. Trenches stretched between the forts, as well as in front of them. Ditches had been dug, including really deep ones that prevented any successful mining. Artillery was positioned in areas where they could do the most damage - heavy artillery in the rear, medium-sized ones in a central position, and light artillery in the forward trenches, well protected by bunkers. Gatling guns were also located in smaller bunkers. All the bunkers could be protected from sniping by planks or sheets of iron that could be placed against the openings when they were not in use.

James lowered the binoculars. He knew the city would fall, but the cost of a frontal assault, even if successful would be ruinous. While a long siege would also be useful, the victory would come at the cost to the civilian population, and it would also chew up countless amounts of money and supplies... not the mention the lives of the soldiers involved, however lower that might be than a major assault might be.

"This is going to be a challenge," he thought out loud.

He took another look. The Allied army encircled the city, preventing it's reinforcement or resupply. Allied numbers grew daily due to more griffons recognizing the situation for what it was and joining the fight to be rid of the tyrannical ruler now claiming to be an emperor. Still, while the Allies outnumbered the enemy as a whole, if the enemy really concentrated their strength on one piece of the line, they might succeed in doing some measure of damage. For now, the enemy were encaged in their capital. That didn't mean they wouldn't try to break out. While waiting for the plan to take the city to develop, the Allies would have to be cautious.

James lowered the binoculars, ducked behind the rock, and began writing ,on a small piece of paper; Walls need to come down. Mortars brought up to shell trench lines. Scouting to be done at night. Logis-

There was a mix of a metallic crumpling noise mixed with shattered glass. The binoculars, struck by a bullet, broke apart.

He cursed quietly. Naturally, snipers would be looking out for any movement, and particularly anyone trying to watch their lines. If he hadn't pulled back behind the rock when he had...

No need to think about that. What matters now is getting out of this silly situation.

It was too difficult. Since he was on a rise of ground, all he had to do was pull back slowly, in a sort of backwards crawl. The enemy sniper must have seen parts of him, though, because a couple more shots came his way. Neither bit, for which he thanked God, but which added to the tension, and he was glad to be out of the enemy's line of sight.

Have to warn our scouts not to go up there anymore, he thought as he scrambled to his feet, now safely behind the rise. Assuming that sniper's not stupid, he'll tell someone about that spot. Pity. I liked that location.

An obvious solution would be for a unicorn to cast a shield spell. While that might work in theory, a big bubble of magical energy was sure to be a target for guns much larger than those common soldiers could hope to carry, and since the griffons had yet to invent a shield device of their own, that meant that Equestrian scouts would be the victims of enemy artillery if they attempted such a thing.

He made his way back to the allied headquarters, quietly going over what he'd seen as he entered his tent.

"I thought you'd be gone a lot longer," Luna said, seated at a table with Shining Armor and Graywing.

"I would have, if a sniper hadn't succeeded in shooting my binoculars."

"Ah, yes. This is unlike most battlefields that I've been on or participated in. This siege is to no one's advantage. We consume supplies, money, and worst of all, soak up casualties sitting here waiting for them to starve."

"While griffon people suffer an' die in the streets waitin' fer tha' outcome," Graywing mused grimly.

"And a major assault would be much more costly," Shining said. "That said, I don't think anyone in this tent believes that the current regime is going to give up; we'll have to go in and remove them."

"Our sniper cannons should be able to reduce the walls, given enough time," James reasoned. "Waiting for a while and then striking seems the best idea. In the meantime, we keep going with the regular stuff; raiding, sniping of our own, and artillery bombardments to weaken their defenses and boost our morale, as well as gaining intelligence and trying to find weak spots in their positions."

"I concur," Luna said, "though I'd add that we are missing an advantage; magic. My sister and I might be at risk on a modern battlefield, but we can still cast spells, and one that we're not doing is casting shield spells to protect our army from enemy attack."

"I've been thinking about it," Shining said. "Actually," he added, with a look at James, "we've been thinking about it, and how best to use it. Unfortunately, during the battle at Sugar Cane, enemy artillery was able to break through our shields after a few minutes of concentrated fire."

"But the enemy are encircled in the city," Luna replied. "Even if they break through some of the shields, they can't hope to break them all, as their ammunition for all weapons must be limited."

"Agreed," James said. "Shining didn't say we weren't going to use them; we'll just use them where and when it is convenient for us." James walked to the rather detailed map on the table. "I intend to use shields here, to protect an assault against the city."

Luna looked. "You don't appear to have many units in position for that assault, though. What use will that attack have unless it is... Oh, I see," she said, nodding. "Clever. And, elsewhere...?"

"Another assault from the west, with a final assault from the south."

"Do you think they'll fall prey to this plan?"

"I think it will at least get us inside the city," James replied. "Then it'll be a whole 'nother story. I know a bit about urban fighting. If it comes to that, we can use the streets both as cover and to advance on the palace, and I don't think they can cover every last entrance. Get into a building, outflank an enemy position, and crush them or force their surrender; use explosives to blow the enemy out of cover if they try to hold us up inside the buildings themselves. Rinse and repeat as necessary."

"Not a bad plan, but what about the population inside?"

James scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see, I'm hoping for a rapid breach and breakthrough once we hit their lines, one that will carry us to the palace and keep civilian casualties at a minimum, if not non-existent. I don't want it to come to a long, drawn out street fight. And, with any good fortune, the civilians will try to hide themselves in the safest locations, those being places like basements and cellars."

"And if the plan... doesn't lead to victory right away?"

"If it doesn't..." James scratched his head again. "We could always open our lines - in a sense - and let the noncombatant population leave. That would solve the immediate issue and allow us to fight the rest of the war, such as it will be, completely on our terms. I doubt we could try letting them out now; we know they have guards at the city gates to keep people from leaving - deserting, they'd call it. And even if they got past the guards, they'd have their army to deal with. I hate the current risks to the population as it is, but I think they've been virtually unavoidable, given the need to surround and cut off the enemy leaders from escaping, as well as the need to capture the city whose loss would be the death blow to whatever remains of their morale."

"It would. I suppose that's the best we can hope for in the present situation." Luna sighed before going on. "And the sniper cannons? I don't think they'd need long to reduce any one section of the walls."

"Key words being 'any one section,' Your Highness," Shining said. "We'll move them clockwise as they knock down the city walls; it'll keep them busy trying to find out where our attack will come from, and it will get rid of defenses that would impede us."

"Just remind the gunners to be careful with their fire," Luna advised. "I authorize your battle plan. Now, make it happen."

"We will," Shining replied.

Large, heavy hooves pounding the ground as he walked, Shining Armor was carefully to stay beyond the range of enemy snipers as he approached the rearmost trenches. There were distant sounds, but for now, the artillery - and, for the most part, the rifles - of the two armies were silent.

One of the soldiers was trying to see over the trenches with a makeshift periscope. Me didn't notice Shining's approach until the latter was standing beside him. Only after he had backed his eyes off for a brief break did he realize he had company. "Oh, general!" he said, dropping to all fours and saluting.

"At ease. Mind if I borrow that?"

"Sure thing, sir!"

Shining took it with his magic and looked through it.

The view was hardly perfect; everything seemed distant, and whenever he moved, the periscope would too, forcing him to readjust it each time - it could take several seconds to get back to where he'd been before.

He thought about the events of the past year. His mind was particularly drawn to the siege of Trottingham and how things had gone then... what it had been like to struggle and live like a cockroach waiting for the shoe - or horseshoe - to drop.

And...

Cadence... I miss you.

"Brings up memories, don't it?"

"Oh, hey, James," Shining said, not bothering to turn around; he wasn't eager to try readjusting the periscope yet again.

"Mind if I borrow that once you're done?"

"Yep. Just give me a few minutes."

There wasn't much to view; mud and dirt mostly, and occasionally the business ends of guns sticking out of the trenches, too paltry a target for snipers to bother shooting at. Naturally, there was the city itself, but the enemy defenses would have to be mapped from above. He pitied the poor pegasi who were stuck with that job.

"Here," he said, giving it to James.

"Thanks." James frowned as he tried to look through the periscope. "Not made for my nose," he commented. "You guys have long faces."

"You have a flat one," Shining said, at the same time that the soldier nearby commented, "You need yours made longer."

James twitched at that last comment. Shining had little trouble guessing why, having known the human for much of the war. He hates the idea of being turned into another species, so of course it rubbed him the wrong way. James hadn't talked about it much, but when ponies had even joked to James about his turning into a pony, he'd gone rigid, and then made it clear he was adamant about remaining human. The lesson learned, nobody really talked about the subject anymore, but Shining knew that James feared such an outcome even so.

James tried for several minutes, then gave up. "Nothing much to see even when I can get this thing pointing where I want it to," he said, giving it to the soldier who'd made it. "Still, makes me think of the trenches of Trottingham. The enemy did try to run us out of there, didn't they?"

"I'd say they did," Shining replied. "Not without costing them an arm and a leg, though, I'll give you that. They shattered us at Fort Nightshade, and afterwards we had to break out."

"Which I'm glad to say we did successfully." James looked toward the enemy fortifications, even though all he could see was dirt and mud. "I don't think they can do that, not that their so-called emperor would let them try."

"Well, this city means everything to the griffons. If he ran out of here and just gave it to us, it would be almost the same as outright abdicating; he wouldn't have many supporters left."

"He doesn't have many even now, and a lot of those are doing it with a gun behind their heads. Of course, some people don't get the idea that we're after their king and not their independence; ironically, it's the patriots - the guys who really are fighting for home and country - we have to watch out for over the minions, the poor so and sos who have to unless they want a bullet through the head."

"It doesn't matter. We'll beat them. They could make it easier on themselves if they'd just quit-"

"Like we would, in their position?"

"It's a different story, or it feels like it, when the horseshoe is nailed to the other hoof."

"I can understand how it would feel that way." James let some air blow out of his mouth.

"Anyway, it would be easier if they'd just give up, but I acknowledge how unlikely that is. Therefore, we'll have to make them quit, by taking Gryphos and capturing the king."

"If only it were so easy," the soldier muttered, now fiddling with the periscope.

James observed the city as the sniper cannons fired for the first time since taking out the enemy superweapons. The section of wall they hit shuddered under the blows; large pieces of brick flew out from the damaged area.

"Gonna take a while with just two of these," one of the gunners said as the guns recharged.

"I figured as much," James replied. "Though I thought these things would do more damage."

"Figure it's the walls," the same gunner answered. "The walls came later, and they spent centuries working on it. The palace was probably one of the first buildings they built in the city, when the need for defense may not have been as much of an issue, and maybe they never thought that anyone would be able to come so far anyway."

"They did think they could whip anyone before the war began," James mused. "I think events since then have overtaken them. Continue blasting away at the same place until the wall falls down. Then, when the walls that you can reach are destroyed, switch positions as planned and resume firing."

"We have our orders, General; rest assured, we'll follow them."

The cannons fired again, one after the other. The hole that had been made was made even bigger and deeper.

"That'll wake 'em up if they aren't already. Keep at it; try hitting it even lower if you can."

The gunners did so. After a few more shots, a big part of the section of wall they'd been shooting fell; a few defenders scattered to avoid injury.

James used a spyglass - as his binoculars had been destroyed - to get a good view of what the city looked like behind the walls.

Not much different than I expected. You could almost think you were living in Victorian London, or somewhere English or Western European in that time period. Reminds me of A Christmas Carol in a way.

It also reminded him of something else. "Don't shoot that bit of wall anymore; aim somewhere else. The last thing we need is to hit and wreck civilian homes. Even if there aren't an casualties, it might stiffen their resolve."

"Got it, boss," another gunner said.

Technically you should refer to me by rank, but I'll let that slide. Boss is kind of accurate, anyway.

On and on the sniper cannons fired, as did the regular artillery, which aimed for the enemy fortifications. The roar and the humming quickly game James a headache, and he sat down on a rock nearby, rubbing his head.

The city wouldn't fall just because they knocked the walls over, though that might - no, it would - affect their morale. It would make an assault easier. And the sniper cannons, though definitely useful, couldn't be everywhere at once.

I wonder how the common people are holding out in there, James thought. As well as what they think of their king's war now.

Marina walked down the streets of Gryphos as cannon fire and exploding munitions sounded in the distance. A few griffons were flying, but most remained grounded, and for good reason.

"I'll give you three Imperials for a sack of flour," she told a vendor in the market.

"Hah! Three Imperials aren't enough for a sack of flour anymore, not with prices rising. Seven Imperials, no less!"

"What?! How dare you inflate the price so much!"

"Hey, if you want to complain, go and talk to the ponies... if the city guards don't arrest you for desertion first," the vendor said, twirling his moustache. "I'm just trying to stay afloat in these dark times. Either buy something or leave; someone will buy that flour if you don't, I promise you that."

"The only griffons who can pay that amount for items on a shopping list are the rich! I'm not buying from you if you're going to cheat me!"

"Very well. I hope your family is able to buy food... somewhere in this time of crisis. I'm not the only one who has had to... adjust the prices. I doubt you'll find any merchants who have not, in fact." the vender looked smug. "So you see, dearest, I'm not cheating anyone; I'm just going with the times."

"We'll see about that. Good bye." She turned away, determined to prove him wrong.

The upshot of it was, the vendor was right. Marina looked for two hours for a lower price to be had; there was an offer for six Imperials - formerly Royals - for a sack of flour, but it included a compulsory set of tablespoons and measuring cups... which cost an extra three. No, the merchants definitely weren't messing around.

Finally, she found one vendor who was willing to sell her a sack for five Imperials. "Sorry to hear you had trouble, lady," the merchant there said. "Since the ponies surrounded our holy city, food has grown scarcer, which has naturally inflated the price. This is about as low as you can get for flour, and I'm afraid that I won't be in business much longer."

"Why not?" she asked in honest puzzlement."

"Because I have lower prices than other vendors, I'll be out of stock faster, and without any more foodstuff coming in, I won't have anything left to sell, not unless I put up my furniture for sale... After that, I'll probably be drafted into the army." He looked bitter. "After they abducted my son, I've had no word from him at all. I hope he's not..."

"I'm sorry," Marina said, bowing her head for a moment. "But I really do need that flour, and if this is the lowest price I can get..."

"Of course." The older griffon reached under his stand and pulled out a sack of flour. "Here, and if you have anything else to ask for, you might as well do it now."

"A sack of grain would be nice."

"Heh. I've got one, but it's another five Imperials. Sorry, but I do need to have some money to stay in business... for however long that might be."

Marina hissed, but paid the price for both items. She put both of them in what a pony might have called saddlebags and walked away. Food was becoming harder to come by, not least because of the rising prices.

She sighed as she went. Her husband wasn't going to like hearing about the prices she'd had to pay, not that anyone would, come to that.

She passed a group of children playing in the streets. Well, "playing" might have been the wrong word to use; these chicks were not enjoying themselves, that much was obvious from the lack of joy on their faces. "Keeping busy" might have been more accurate. Ever since the palace had been struck by Equestrian weapons and the city cut off, the general mood was no longer joyful in any sense of the word.

She finally got to her house, which was located in the slums on the fringe of the city, near the walls - or rather, what had been the walls - and knocked.

Her husband came to the door. "Marina, that you?"

"Of course it is, you dummy. You going to open the door or what?"

Both of them chuckled, but it was a mirth badly tempered with impending doom. Marina entered the house and shut the door.

"How much did they cheat ya out of today?" Herbert asked.

"Ten Imperials, and that was the best deal I got."

"Oi! What are they thinking!?"

'They're thinking that they can make a profit while we starve." Marina touched a claw to her forehead. "Sooner or later the food will all run out, and how long will it take them to realize that you can't eat money?"

"It would probably take them awhile," Herbert said. "I don't know how long they'll wait before trying to take the city."

"They'll do it. They got invaded and now they're coming to make us, or our ruler, bow to them and remove him from power."

"The priests tell us they won't."

"The priests are... mistaken," Marina said carefully, in lieu of something more inflammatory. "And they're as susceptible to bribes - or threats - from the Ki - Emperor, as any griffon." She put the sacks she'd bought on the table. "How did accounting go today?"

"So far, so good. But... I doubt I'll be in that position much longer. I saw three officers - you know the kind I mean - walking - well strutting, really - around the bank today, and they gave me a good look over before moving on."

"That means trouble," Marina said, her voice calm even as her mind exploded in fear and outrage. "They'll drag you into the army and force you fight for their cause."

"That's pretty much what it comes down to," Herbert said, sounding upset. "And probably die for it."

Marina paused, thinking. "No, you won't. We've lived through this war until now, and I'll be... blasted if I see my husband get murdered for a cause that's deader than last week's chicken."

"If I try to hide, they won't dragoon me into the army - they'll kill me, and they won't think twice about offing you for helping me," Herbert protested. "Better I go and let you live. If push comes to shove, I'll just surrender to the ponies, they'll throw me in a camp for a few months, and then I come home."

"And if that doesn't happen? There are a lot of ways to die in war; I can see outside the walls, now, and I can hear the wails of wounded soldiers. No, I'd rather try hiding you somewhere and getting you back when the war end than risking your life on a battlefield where, odds are, you'd die before having the chance to desert or surrender."

"We have our future chicks to care for, you know," Herbert answered, pointing a claw to a nest in the middle of the house, where three large, white eggs rested.

That hurt. Marina had no doubt that the Empire would have no concern for her young if her plan failed. They would need someone to keep them warm until they hatched.

"They need a father as well as a mother," she said. "I can't raise them alone. If you die or get crippled in this stupid war, who's going to pay the bills and raise the money for food? I can't try raising them and work at the same time. Herb, please..."

Herbert thought about it... for several minutes. Silence reigned throughout the house, as though even the house was holding it's breath for the answer.

"Okay," Herbert conceded at last. "We'll go with your plan."

"Good," Marina replied, smiling slightly. "I hope you won't mind hiding every time someone comes to the house."

"I won't, but I don't know how we'll avoid me being fired, or being hunted."

"Let me deal with that problem," Marina said. "You just worry about helping us - all of us - live through this terrible war."

The siege continued. Although the walls of their great city were being systematically destroyed, the enemy showed no outward signs of collapsing. In fact, from what could be deduced by those brave enough to survey the enemy lines, there seemed to be more of them than before.

"Are you certain of that?" James asked a thestral captain.

"Positive. Our nightly surveillance might not be easy, given their aggressive use of anti-air cannons, but I'm absolutely sure that they're bolstering their numbers."

"Have you noticed anything about the quality of those troops?" Shining asked.

"Now that you mention it, they didn't look eager, though we've seen that before. If I had to guess, they're taking every griffon out of as many jobs as they can. And..." Now that captain lowered his head and scratched his neck with a hoof.

"What?"

"We think they might be recruiting griffon females, given the bonnets we saw a couple wearing as they received instructions from an officer."

"That's a surprise," James said. "I guess, seeing as some mares are currently in the Equestrian army, it shouldn't be, but it is." What would you even call a griffon female anyway? A hen, or something? Or would they look upon that word the same way a human woman would the term cow?

While he was digesting these useless thoughts, Shining said, "As much as I don't like it, we'll have to engage them if they do throw them into battle against us."

"I figured as much, sir," the thestral said. "I will say this; they looked a little more spirited than some of the males."

James decided to reply, "Even so, we have the advantage, and these forced conscripts aren't going to stop us. At best for the enemy, they'll slow us down; at worst, male and female, they'll skedaddle when hit with a serious assault. It's not like they believe that they'll win, not now."

"Maybe not, but it's still an inconvenience for us; they'll have a few more bullets in the air."

"Not enough to save them, I know that. It probably means a few more people die that otherwise wouldn't, though," James said. "I don't think anything apart from an artillery shell could get through the emperor's head and tell him the war is essentially over. People are going to needlessly die because he won't give up."

"You expect him to do anything else?"

"No." James flung his hands up in momentary dismay. "This whole battle is pointless."

"You'd be quick to point it out as a glorious last stand if it were us in there," Shining said.

"Yeah, but Equestria was - is - defending it's homes and people. This king is fighting for his own power and pride. There's a difference between a good cause and a bad one. But enough about that, or I'll be rambling. Our job is ending this fight and this war, and doing it as cheaply in lives as we can."

James watched quietly as the sun began it's slow decline into the west. What would happen once the war was over? The trials of the leaders responsible, Chrysalis and Raniero, would definitely happen - to the exact end, or punishment, he was unsure of. How the countries would change was something he was uncertain of; military technology had made leaps, certainly, and wars fought here wouldn't be the same again. The civil changes that would occur were less predictable.

Well, that would be in the future. He had a battle to win.

General Blackfeather watched from the wreckage of the topmost rooms of the palace and glared through his spyglass at the besiegers. The enemy forces had surrounded the city entirely, cutting off the Empire's capital from the rest of it and preventing supplies, food, weapons and ammunition from getting through. While no major assaults had struck the capital's defenses yet, it was only a matter of time. In the meanwhile, the enemy's new guns were destroying the historic walls, hundreds of years old, that had protected the city for ages, badly hurting the morale of the citizenry while clearing the way for the enemy assault when it came.

The citizenry... he sighed angrily. The population wasn't all too happy with the way the war was going... and there were all too many traitors to the Empire outside the city walls. Even though squads of conscription officials roamed the city, much of the male population had taken to trying to hide rather than risk being drafted. Some of them had been caught... and about one in ten of them were executed for attempting to avoid the draft while the rest were subject to poorly armed penal units lead by fanatics loyal to the Emperor, which would translate into those slackers dying in droves as punishment for their treason.

There was no way, however, to reverse the effects on morale. Even the best soldiers he commanded weren't fighting for victory - they were fighting to survive, their idealism from earlier in the war dying down to a grim fatalism, an attitude of, "Well, we're going to die anyway, so let's make the enemy pay for the win" rather than "We'll win or die trying".

Blackfeather hissed as he lowered the spyglass. The only solution he and the other generals could think of was to attack the enemy at one point on their line in an effort to punch through, and perhaps attempt to break the siege. The enemy were stretched out, to the result that the defending army could concentrate it's strength against any one part. A victory, however small, might also heal the morale of the troops. However, the enemy as a whole outnumbered the defending forces, and if they were to bring up reinforcements fast enough, they could make such an attack more costly than it was worth.

There was little else that could be done, though. And it was better than waiting to starve to death, if the enemy intended for such a thing to occur.

The orders regarding the assault were currently going out to units in the northeastern sector of the city - the location where the besiegers were believed to be at their weakest.

The enemy would be attacked along the old eastern road leading out of Gryphos. The instructions carried no plans for withdrawal - indeed, the emphasis would be put on success irrespective of cost. There was no margin for any outcome other than success.

No retreat, no excuses, no pity for the weak-hearted - those words were underlined in each copy of the orders.

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long. I'm hoping the next chapters come sooner, even if they are shorter.

May God go with you all, and Happy New Years (and belated Merry Christmas)!

Chapter 78; Counterattack

James carefully angled the makeshift periscope he'd managed to make - out of a few square pieces of glass, some duct tape, and a tall carton of orange juice - as he observed the enemy defenses. While the periscope wasn't perfect, it was better suited to his face than one made for a pony. The griffon and mercenary defenders were still there, obviously; sniping on both sides could be heard here and there. While artillery fired occasionally, both sides were largely conserving their firepower, making it safe - mostly - to observe the enemy defenders and their city. The walls had taken a beating, though sections of them were still standing, and those off the east remained largely intact.

"Anything, sir?"

"Nothing, Crystal." James lowered the periscope and shook his head, scratching the back of his neck. "Nothing new, at any rate. Doesn't look like they're foolish enough to try breaking out."

"About time some measure of logic got through to them, sir."

"I'd prefer they do the dumb thing, but it doesn't look like it's happening. Not yet, anyway."

"How does their morale looks, if that's visible?"

"It's not that good of a periscope, and morale isn't always something easily read anyway. I'd say they're suffering from hopelessness, but a determination to fight it out regardless, either out of fear of what the emperor will do to them if they don't or out of a determination to not go down without a fight."

James sat down in the dirt, scratching his head and thinking. It would be difficult to attack the city outright, but the war was continuing to drag on, costing lives, money, and labor. Sooner or later, the army would need to make its move, and sooner would be better.

Artillery fire began to the northeast. It didn't immediately catch his attention; both sides had been firing at one another, on and off, since the siege began.

"So, what's your plan for after the war?" Crystal asked.

"Assuming I survive - and I haven't died yet, so I think that's a decent probability - I honestly am not sure. I think the Royal Sisters are going to want me to be around during the peace accords and trials to follow, so that means additional work, though hopefully no more killing. After that, I think..."

The artillery fire had intensified. James stopped talking and looked up, over his left shoulder. "Hmm. Someone's laying it on a little thick. I thought we had ordered ammunition reserved where possible."

"You did; I remember sending out the orders." Crystal's ears turned toward the sound of the fighting. "I'm not sure it's ours, or ours alone."

More cannon fire sounded; if James could have put an emotion on it, it would have been "surprised." "I think that's ours. That means the griffons are shooting off more of their guns than they generally have been."

"Which means potential trouble."

"Hmm. I'd better see what this is about. Maybe it's nothing but a local commander getting edgy, or something. But..."

"Something tells me its more than that. In any case, you'd do best getting on my back; it seems like you and the other commanders may need to take charge."

"I'll wait until we're out of the trenches, and out of range of their snipers, to do that. Let's try to get out of here without our ticket's getting punched."

"I like my ticket right where it is - attached to my neck - sir, so I agree with you completely."

Both of them were careful to keep their heads low as they made their exit.

Shining Armor was inspecting the defenses in the northeast. They seemed adequate to stop any attack the enemy might make, not that they'd attacked yet; there were even a couple of captured Gatling guns, placed in bunkers of made of wood and sandbags.

Overall, everything here looked good. The troops were in relatively high spirits, though they seemed bored. A few were playing cards while others tossed dice; another two played marbles.

"Just stay alert, guys," Shining said, nodding to a group that was watching for enemy activity. "Don't want to become lazy."

"Ah, general you're worrying too much," a soldier from the group playing cards said. "We've got those birds in a cage, and they're not getting out."

Just then, artillery from the griffon lines began firing. That wasn't unexpected in and of itself, so for a moment Shining disregarded it. "Don't get comfortable, they're going to get desperate soon if they aren't now. Why..."

He trailed off. The enemy artillery wasn't slacking off, and it wasn't shooting in a half-hearted sort of way. This wasn't harassing fire.

"They mean it this time," he said., before throwing up a shield as more shells came in, more than in the first volley. "Everypony under the shield!"

Soldiers scrambled, picking up their weapons and rushing to the measure of temporary protection Shining was giving them. The shells began exploding, two of them against the shield. The magical barrier shuddered, but withstood the blasts, at least for the moment.

"Still think I'm worrying too much?" he asked the soldier who had questioned him.

"You know what, General? Maybe you weren't," the green pony replied, lying as prone as possible on the ground.

Shining would have replied, but more hostile ordinance fell on the shield, which began to crack, forcing him to devote more attention to it.

It soon became apparent that the enemy would be dropping more shells than his shield could hope to stop. "Get to good cover, NOW!" He shouted. Everyone nearby hurried to obey, ducking behind trench walls, rocks, and mounds of dirt, as well as the few trees standing.

A minute later, the beating was too much; Shining released the spell and the shield simply vanished. He ducked into the trench as well, hugging the dirt as shells blew up all around, shaking the ground and making it feel like an earthquake was taking place. He placed his hooves over his head in an effort to protect it, forgetting that he was wearing a helmet for the moment. Dirt flew around, as did timber that had been used to reinforce the trenches.

"Great, more wood gone to waste," another soldier moaned.

"Shut your mouth and keep alert!" a sergeant yelled.

The bombardment seemed to last ages. The shaking and detonations seemed almost unceasing. The world shook, the world rattled, and the very air seemed full of the terror of those helpless to influence their current situation in any meaningful way, as well as dirt, rock, and wood.

Shining soon realized that he was one of those screaming in terror. He wasn't even ashamed; who wouldn't be screaming from fear at a time like this?

At long, long last, the pounding, shaking and exploding ceased. Shining got up, as did everyone else, shaking their heads in bewilderment and looking to their weapons.

A long, sharp whistle sounded in the distance. There was no need to wonder about what that meant.

"Get ready! Here they come!" Shining called.

He looked over the trench wall. The enemy were indeed coming. Some were flying, though most stayed on the ground; anti-air guns had forced such prudence upon the flyers of both sides. The ones who were flying might have been raw recruits or conscripts.

He hadn't expected to fight a battle today. What he'd expected hadn't mattered; the battle was here.

He charged his horn, preparing a combat spell. He wasn't going to go down without a fight. And considering the other soldiers nearby already aiming their weapons at the approaching enemy, he wasn't alone.

James tried to remain seated on Crystal's back as the pegasus raced toward the tent that the commanders and Princesses shared when discussing plans for the battle. He was certain that they would be there, and if this was going to be a major engagement, he wanted to take action right away. He leaned over the Guard's neck as the pony ran at a breakneck pace.

It took longer than it would have if snipers hadn't been a worry, but they still reached the tent very quickly. He dismounted almost before Crystal has stopped moving and ran into the tent.

The Princesses and most of the other army commanders, minus Shining, were already there when he came in. "Ah, James," Celestia said. "Glad to see that you've made it through this so far."

"This isn't where they are launching their attack," he replied.

"They're trying to break through in the northeast, as we'd thought they would," Barrel said, moving some blocks on the map table. "Unfortunately, they have some chance of success, unless we move reinforcements there now. We have the numbers to reinforce the area, but I'm worried that this attack might be a diversion for another, less overt, attack elsewhere."

"They might do that," Luna said, "or they might have put what they have into this assault. They are outnumbered overall and must concentrate their strength."

"But they can outnumber a section, or multiple sections, of our line if they concentrate their strength," Barrel countered, forgetting for a moment who he was speaking to. "If we don't move quickly, they might break our line, outflank it, and endanger it, and perhaps allow for temporary relief of the capital, lengthening the siege and giving the enemy hope that they can win. I say we throw everything we can spare at that location and suppress the attack."

"I concur," James added. "I also suggest that we consider attacking them while this is going on, activating our attack plan that we devised earlier. Since they are weakening themselves in other places to conduct this attack, it makes sense to push them now."

"I suppose it may be possible," Al-Malik said through his interpreter. "But we must contain this attack. This is our first priority."

"We should take full advantage of this opportunity," Jelani responded. "Attack, and defend the northeast. We have the numbers and firepower to pursue both at the same time."

"I agree that it's an opportunity," Celestia agreed. "We should make an attempt to gain ground, as well as avoid losing it."

Al-Malik saw that he was being outvoted. "I propose that we at least wait until the enemy are fully engaged in their attack to the northeast before launching any offensive of our own."

That idea had merit. "I think that's a good idea," James said. "But we'll have to judge the proper moment regarding when to do that. If we wait too long, they might break through."

"I have no objections," Barrel said. "Assuming that we can halt their advance with reinforcements, an attack in the other direction should do something; they'll either have to pull troops off the attack to contain us, or they'll keep expending them and allow us to break their lines elsewhere."

"We should act on this right away," Luna urged. "The hour of action is upon us. I agree with James and Al-Malik. We should wait until the enemy have fully engaged our forces in the northeast, then strike them as soon as possible."

"I concur with my sister," Celestia said. "Now, let's put this decision into action."

"FIRE!"

A roar of gunfire reverberated through the air as the entire line of Equestrian soldiers opened up on the attackers. Smoke curled through the air. The captured Gatling guns opened fire as well, sending streams of bullets through the air.

Griffon soldiers and the mercenaries they'd employed stumbled and fell, but more took their place. Some of them shot back as they came; such fire wasn't accurate, but it did make some of the Equestrian troops keep their heads down.

The griffon soldiers who were flying soon learned the folly of their ways; anti air cannons, firing flak shells, brought a large number of them down. The survivors got the idea pretty quickly, and dove to the ground, where they remained.

The enemy continued to take heavy losses, but under officers who were more interested in pleasing their king than in their soldiers' survival, and who were authorized to do whatever they had to in order to keep the soldiers going, they continued to press forward.

Allied artillery continued to fire, though the griffon artillery had opened up again, this time targeting their counterparts, suppressing and distracting them from the griffon soldiers rushing toward the forward lines. Support fire was drastically reduced as a result.

For a while, it appeared as though this might not matter. The enemy forces continued to suffer badly from rifle fire alone; the Gatling guns seemed almost unnecessary. Griffon after griffon after minotaur and diamond dog fell, some dying immediately, others crying out in pain as comrades continued to go forward.

Shining didn't have a rifle, but with his magic he knocked down numerous enemy soldiers. He sent beam after beam of energy into the enemy lines. And he wasn't the only unicorn to eschew a rifle; others were fighting in the same way.

But their horns weren't the only weapons firing beams. Obviously, the new emperor had ignored Celestia's warnings, or else Grayfeather hadn't told him. Some of them were armed with beam rifles, which they fired as fast as they could.

Shouts of rage came from the Equestrian lines. Many unicorns, knowing exactly what had gone into the energizing of those weapons, focused their fire on those using them. More than one griffon clutching a beam rifle was torn by multiple lances of magic shot by unicorns, with terrible results.

The enemy had taken severe losses by now, but some of them were getting close. Some were going to ground.

Something round or oval-shaped went by Shining's head. He threw up a protective shield. Were the enemy out of ammunition already and reduced to throwing rocks?

He had his answer a moment later. An explosion occurred behind him, battering his new shield and shattering it, though the blast and shrapnel were kept from harming him.

What was that? It couldn't been their artillery...

Other explosions were occurring up and down the trench line. Shining saw one of the griffons throw one of the "rocks" he'd seen earlier... which exploded seconds later. The explosions weren't big, but they were inflicting a lot of damage on the defenders, who, until moments before, had been doing quite well.

Now the enemy charged again. Rifle and Gatling shots still claimed a number of them, but there was noticeably less of it. A relieved cheer arose from the griffons, who seemed surprised, but they still came forward.

One of the Gatling bunkers was still shooting as griffon soldiers came right up to the firing holes. What happened next was horrible. The ponies inside, surprised, tried to escape, but the enemy tore at the sandbags and wood, ripping the weak structure apart. They shot both gunners... and kept shooting them well after they were dead. One of their officers fired both of his pistols into one of the corpses, and two of his soldiers began tearing at the bodies themselves.

"Thought you could do that to us and walk away or give up?" one of the killers demanded.

Shining had no time to take this in. The enemy were attacking his section of the line as well. They continued coming. He fired three more bolts into the enemy, hitting two of them.

"It's Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire! Capture him!" an enemy officer yelled from atop the trench, pointing at Shining with his sword.

Griffon soldiers ran forward. Shining got off another two bolts before one of the enemy soldiers slugged him in the face with his rifle. Shining let out a cry of pain and fell on his side. A dozen or so griffons ran or flew up to bind him; a few others, still angry about being subjected to a storm of bullets that had cut their comrades down by the dozens, began to hit him with their fists.

Is this... "Ungh!" ...the end?

Suddenly, two of the griffons fell; one of them clutched at a spear in his throat, the other held a wounded arm in his claws, yelling in pain. The others looked up.

"Amandla Ngawethu Pundamilia!"

Zebra warriors scrambled over the trenches, engaging in sudden shock combat as their foes were hit by the counter-assault. Struck from an unexpected direction, the griffons were momentarily pushed back; the officer who had ordered Shining's capture was felled by a sharpened zebra hoof to the neck, and his command was ravaged by striped, frenzied warriors. Everywhere, clubs, spears, rifle butts, and swords flashed and whirled in a fierce clash of arms.

Shining, somewhat bruised and battered, slowly got up, careful to avoid getting into anyone's way while doing so. Allied reinforcements had arrived, then, and more would be on the way.

Not that that meant it would be an easy battle; the griffons began to recover from the shock of being hit in the side by zebras, and fought back with the desperation of people who wanted earnestly to live but were trapped by circumstance and unyielding superiors.

This would be a long battle.

Rolling Barrel had waited impatiently through the past couple of hours as he had raced to take charge of the troops who would engage in the assault on the hopefully weakened griffon lines to the west of Gryphos. His legs had ached at bit after the run, but it was imperative that the news and the change in plan got to the soldier who would be taking part in this action, as well as someone being there to take charge. He'd also had to run around the trench line perimeter, in order to avid being killed by snipers, which had taken time.

The fighting in the northeastern sector had been going on all this time; even across the distance, the fighting could be heard. Shouts of fury, clashes of weapons, cries of pain and of frustrated and angry combatants and the yipping bray of zebras came to his ears, and to those of the soldiers around him. There was a nervous silence going around.

The plan that had come up in the tent had been spread to the divisional and regimental commanders whose units would take part in the offensive. They, in turn, told the officers under them, and they had told the noncoms, who at last told the regular joes what was going on.

Unfortunately, other than runners, there was no immediate way for the other commanders to tell him, via runner, at least, when the time was ripe to launch the attack, simply given the limitations of time and space. The sniper cannons were currently located on the very front where he had taken command, and any pegasus who attempted to fly the gap would be shot down, or else attacked by flying griffons, and an earth pony or unicorn would have to run through the trenches or else take a long route around them, as he had. It was not an ideal situation. While the idea of using radio to communicate had been thought up as an idea by many, the labcoats had been slow to convert a civil technology into a military one, something Barrel swore he was going to do about when this battle was over.

There had, naturally, been a way around the problem. A normal flare would not suffice, and a pistol shot, as James had used at Ragna Fortress, would likely be lost amidst the sound of battle already raging. However, the royal sisters had said that they would send up a magical flare from behind the lines when the time was judged to be ripe for the Equestrian attack to commence.

Obviously, it would be a big and obvious signal, and the griffons could hardly miss it. There would be no time for an artillery barrage; the assault would have to be launched immediately after the signal was given.

Barrel and his tank corps were ready. So were the regular soldiers. Weapons were checked and ready for action, and the troops awaited the order to move out.

James watched the distant fighting from a perch just beyond sniper range. It was difficult, even with the powerful binoculars that Celestia had given him, to see the battle in great detail, but he could tell that the Allied forces were struggling. The enemy continued the fight, and were bringing in reinforcements to bolster their attack forces.

"Do you think they've committed enough to allow us to begin our assault now?" the Solar Princess asked.

James thought about it for a moment. After seeing another battalion of enemy troops going forward, he nodded. "I think it's time. The northeast will be broken if we wait any longer. If your Majesties will send up the flare, your armies will begin the attack."

Celestia and Luna nodded in their turn. "We're ready. if this goes well, perhaps the war could be ended today."

"I doubt it will end today in particular. Maybe within the next few days. But we'll take decent steps forward. But I urge you to take them now before our enemy has the chance to break through."

"Indeed," Luna replied. "Let us begin."

Both sisters began to charge their horns. It didn't take very long; within seconds, both were flashing with power.

They unleashed it skyward; the two beams coalesced into one, a mix of blue and yellow, easily visible for many miles.

Barrel watched the beacon of magical light reach up to the sky. "That's the signal! Go, go, go!"

Tank engines revved up, soldiers got up from their trenches, and the allied forces began their advance.

"Here we go," Barrel murmured to himself. "The battle that'll decide the fate of this city... and the war."

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait. Honestly, I don't have anyone else to blame for this other than myself; I got a bunch of Xbox One games for Christmas (including Xcom 2 and Battlefield 1), and my overuse of them has lead to this delay.

I originally intended to release the battle as one chapter, but considering precedent and the fact that this story has been quiet for a couple of months, I thought it might be nice to unleash this chapter immediately.

Thanks for your patience, and I hope the events in this chapter weren't terrible. May God go with you all :twilightsmile:

Chapter 79; Breaking point

General Barrel's tank lurched forward, followed by the rest of the armor. The regular soldiers waited for a moment to allow the tanks to get a little bit ahead, then leaped out of their trenches to follow them.

A large, multi-colored dome formed around the advancing forces. It wouldn't really affect aiming or firing from within, but would protect the attack force from munitions fired from without. The Guard unicorns casting the shields probably weren't as skilled or as powerful individually as Shining Armor, but collectively they were able to project a barrier stronger than that of their Captain.

It wouldn't last forever. Barrel knew that from previous experience. However, it would hold long enough to minimize danger to the allied strike force.

Artillery shells began to strike the shield. Currently, the only effect of this was to cause a sort of rippling ring to spread out from the areas where the shells exploded, but Barrel knew this would only last so long.

"Hurry up, come on," he murmured, knowing that, over the detonations, battle cries, and engine noise that no one could actually hear him.

The enemy in their trenches seemed panicked. Clearly, they hadn't really been expecting to be attacked while their comrades were attacking elsewhere. It may have been natural to think that.

Barrel could have smiled at their naiveté. He could have, but he didn't. Especially when he saw them ducking down as their officers regained control rather than firing at the shield.

It was obvious what they were attempting to do. In order for the shield to protect the allied forces, it would have to move forward with them. Eventually, it would run over the griffon trenches, after which they could fire at the advancing army without fear of wasting ammunition against the shield. It was a good plan, and if he'd been in their position, it was what Barrel would have done. While some shields would have been able to physically push aside anything in their way, assuming that the casters were moving, this one was a little less complicated, so as to be easier to create and coordinate among multiple unicorns, and was designed to halt fast-moving projectiles rather than bulldoze everything out of it's way.

It was less than ideal. Via plan, the northernmost attack was to be the weakest of the three assaults, and was intended to be relatively flashy in order to catch the enemy's attention, which was one reason for the big shield. The tanks would be able to take a lot of punishment for sure, but the common soldiers, though among the most experienced in the entire army, would still be vulnerable. The tankers were going to have to do their best today, in order to minimize allied casualties.

The Equestrian army entered enemy rifle range. A couple of soldiers fired, but their officers shouted them down, confirming what they were going to try to do.

Barrel looked down and nudged the gunner with a hind hoof. "Start shooting at them as soon as the shield crosses their lines," he shouted.

The gunner nodded to show he understood.

Barrel nodded as well, and looked back toward the enemy lines. The shield was approaching the enemy, and soon, the battle would begin in earnest.

It happened in an infinitesimal moment. The barrier's front edge glided over the enemy trench lines.

Mere seconds later, enemy soldiers began to get up, aim, and fire their weapons. Gatling guns spewed bullets, and, to the dismay and rage of the Equestrians, beam rifles also added to the ordinance in the air.

Through the noise of the engines - and cannon fire, as the tanks began opening up on the defenders - arose screams of pain. Barrel made noise that was somewhere between a growl and a sigh. He couldn't prevent every casualty, but...

Not all the Equestrian armor was equipped with cannons. Some of the Gallop tanks were armed with captured and reverse-engineered Gatling guns, and they fired these at the enemy lines. They did less damage, but might have done more to make the enemy keep their heads down, as the bullets, though inaccurate, were greater in quantity, and the gunners had a practice of sweeping their guns from one side to the other. Fortunately, the regular soldiers were behind or to the sides of the tanks, so this didn't endanger the Allies.

The enemy, unfortunately, did prove to have more than just small arms in the front ranks. A small shell slammed into the shield of Barrel's tank. It wasn't enough to break through, but the deafening noise and the vibration momentarily dazed him and made his ears ring.

The gunner in his tank didn't waste time. Although Barrel hadn't seen where the shell came from, apparently the other crew members had, as the driver turned slightly, as did the turret. A loud Boom! and a an explosion amongst the enemy lines a moment later, and the enemy gun had been knocked out.

Interesting design; small enough to fit on a trench wall, yet... If our vehicles didn't have magical shields, that might have been the end of us. I wonder if I can get my hooves on one after this battle's over.

The Gallop tanks didn't have as much armor as their Barrel counterparts, but their mobility made them faster, and they began reaching the enemy lines first. The ones armed with Gatlings began sweeping the trenches, with the result being a massacre of the defending forces, who realized this possibility only too late.

This was too much for the survivors. Griffons began to flee, some flying, others just running as fast as they could in any direction other than where Equestrian bullets were coming from. Some were shot dead by their own officers, but they were the next to fall, and the panicked flight continued.

Not everyone ran. One bunker must have been full of diehards or nationalists, because the soldiers inside continued to fight even as the Equestrian armies went around them. At least one of the soldiers inside must have been armed with a mini cannon, like the one Barrel's gunner had taken out not long before, because, after taking a hit from that bunker, a Gatling Gallop tank stopped moving and began to burn. The crew tried to get out, but were all shot down by the soldiers in the bunker.

But one bunker couldn't stop the allied advance. And, after smoking a tank, it was targeted by no less than nine vehicles. In a flurry of near-simultaneous explosions, the bunker was completely eradicated, with another Gatling tank spraying nearby positions, less to do damage than to warn the enemy to surrender now, before they shared their comrades' fate. It did it's job, as once the bunker went down, the enemy troops who hadn't been able to escape began to just drop their weapons and raise their foreclaws. They were taken into captivity, heads down and dispirited, yet clearly relieved to have gotten out alive.

An Equestrian regular began to gesture with his hoof, pointing toward the city beyond.

Barrel shook his head, and instead pointed at the ground. This attack was meant to be a diversionary assault, originally made to lure the enemy into a counterattack at this point in their line. He doubted that they would be able to do that, but they would send reinforcements from somewhere toward this location, which would weaken another section of their line.

Likewise, the attack from the west would largely be diversionary, though less so. The final attack from the south was the be the knockout punch.

Let's see how they deal with this, he thought as he took out a flare gun and fired a green flare into the sky.

Cannon and rifle fire was heard across the city. The battles taking place roared, the ground shook, the very air itself seemed loaded with angry sound. The griffon people, though they went about their daily business, did so with a feeling of terror that was felt everywhere. Griffons doing groceries in the martketplace made their deals hurriedly, and the merchants accepted the money just as quickly. Everyone's ears seemed tuned in toward the fighting that had broken out in the northeast, where new fighting had begun not long ago.

In the palace, the Emperor's generals had been in the war room since the beginning of the griffon counterattack. The commanders of the Empire's army had been waiting for - and receiving - reports all morning. Initially, they'd taken heavy losses, but finally, their troops had gotten into the Equestrian lines. Although the enemy had been reinforced and the attack had been halted, there were signs that a breakthrough had been close at hand.

Then fighting had begun elsewhere. The allied armies had begun an attack in the northwest.

The news, when it came, wasn't good. A messenger, out of breath, had come in, trembling, with a message from an officer on the frontlines, calling for reinforcements in the northwest. Since then, air in the war room had been heated.

"We can't spare any troops from our offensive," Blackfeather said, slamming a clenched claw onto the table. "The Emperor has given us his command to succeed there no matter what. It's not in the cards to spare anything."

"if we don't, we risk being overrun elsewhere, and the capital will be attacked directly," another general by the name of Flamewing growled. "We must protect His Majesty, and his capital."

"Our orders were clear," General Glenn put in. "But we cannot ignore this threat to our defenses. We should bring everything save for various skeleton forces to contain this attack. They couldn't possibly put all their effort into both defending against us and launching this assault of their own."

"I say we do nothing for now, and allow for events to develop further before reaching any decision," General Brenn said. "It's too early to for us to hurry to a conclusion."

"I am the chief of staff, I make the decisions on troop deployments," Blackfeather interrupted. "And my orders-"

"I am the Emperor, so the final decision is actually mine."

All of the officers in the room froze, having been caught by surprise. Slowly, they gathered themselves and bowed to their ruler. The Emperor did not make any recognition of these gestures, but merely walked to the table. It was easy to see that he was not happy. "What. happened?" he demanded. "You were supposed to have broken the enemy's lines by now and secured the supply route to this city. What did you idiots bungle now?"

"Y-your Majesty-"

"Answer me, damn you! How did you mess this simple operation up so badly!?"

"Our troops were making steady progress in the northeast," Blackfeather answered. Not exactly a lie, though not entirely true, either. "We were about to succeed in breaking their lines" - a lie direct - "but the enemy chose to attack us in the northwestern sector of our defenses. As such, the enemy has pushed back our defenses" - in fact, those defenses had been routed, more or less - "and I have been trying to persuade the rest of your staff to follow your orders to the letter, as you've given them."

"Obviously you haven't succeeded, otherwise the arguing would have been over with immediately and my orders kept. Instead, I have a gaggle of children bickering over the course of action I've given. My commands were clear, and made no room for debate. The attack shall continue as planned."

"My lord, we do not have the numbers to breakthrough, and if the enemy continues his advance, the city will be threatened!" Flamewing burst out.

"Willpower and harsh discipline will allow for both objectives to be pursued at once with the forces available to us," the Emperor stated flatly, glaring at Flamewing. "Our enemies are soft ponies who are unused to war, and should have been conquered months ago, and would have been if my suboridinates weren't idiots as stupid as the chick hatched yesterday. Their allies are even more pathetic; desert nomads and barbaric tribes that ought to have been destroyed easily. Our new weapons are more than enough to defeat these fools, and usher in our dominance of the world."

Flamewing didn't melt. Instead, he just folded his foreclaws and breathed heatedly through his nostrils. Glenn and Brenn looked at each other, lost as to how to respond. All three of them knew that the Empire's current resources, inventions aside, could not sustain both attack and defense. Furthermore, Flamewing knew - secretly, of course - that the Empire was doomed. The other two would never admit it, but it was becoming more clear by the day that the Emperor's dreams were just that; dreams, dreams that by now had no chance of coming true. Only Blackfeather seemed to think that victory was at all possible.

"Our attack will continue. If you need reinforcements, just send some of my police to collect griffons off the streets and send them to the frontlines with whatever can be provided. Fight with shovels and stones if you must, but stop their attack while our own offensive continues. I'll court martial anyone who authorizes a retreat, and you all know that that means."

Everyone gulped at once. A court martial was just another word for execution; it essentially meant that the griffon in question would be arrested, then harangued, mocked, and embarrassed by the Emperor, and then shot... if they were lucky.

"Flamewing, since you are so insistent that the enemy offensive be repelled, you will go and take charge of the defenses... from the front line."

Flamewing wasn't surprised. He was, however, both incensed and ice-cold frightened. Obviously, he couldn't refuse, and the Emperor clearly wasn't in a mood to listen to advice.

"Now, carry out my instructions... to the letter. And..."

The Emperor stopped. An artillery barrage had broken out to the west. The guns of both sides could be heard, but the sound was such that it was clear that most of the firing and explosions were caused by Equestrian guns and ordinance.

"I thought I saw a flare or something go up," Glenn said worriedly. "If this means another offensive against our defenses while we're fighting to the east-"

"Then you get to deal with it. All I said before, regarding the necessary conscriptions, is valid. I want no more delays and no more debate... from anyone. Is that clear?"

Again, there was nothing that could be said. Glenn was unpleasantly surprised, but could offer no rebuttal without some punishment coming his way. Both he and Flamewing took flight and left the war room.

"Blackfeather, go and oversee the offensive in the east. Keep it going, irrespective of cost and circumstance. Do whatever you must to pen the corridor we need, and use extreme punishments as needed."

"Of course, my lord." Blackfeather bowed, and then he too left.

"Brenn, if the enemy start attacking us anywhere else, you will take charge there. This will be the battle that breaks the enemy and turns the tide of this war." The Emperor clenched his fist in emphasis. "And then we shall be masters of the land."

James had made his way back to a bunker in the southern sector of the siege lines. The enemy snipers were still busy, but clearly the danger from them was less than it had been, as attention had swung from here to the three separate battles being waged.

Bang!

Key word; less, he thought, as a periscope he'd been using was hit by an enemy bullet. When he inspected it, he knew it to be damaged beyond repair, and swiftly discarded it.

Not that it would have been necessary much longer. The final offensive was going to start here in a few minutes. He could already picture what he could not see happening inside his head; heavy artillery zeroing in on their targets, ready for a short but intense barrage, soldiers checking their weapons and loading and reloading them over and over, a few writing quick letters to loved ones in case they died in action, officers giving their instructions for the battle to come.

It would be a difficult struggle, even if the enemy had been weakened. But it was one he knew could spell disaster for the enemy, and hopefully it would be the final fight in the war.

Well Silver Lining, Silver Shield, White Knight, Bright Light, Crystal Clear, everyone I've known... This is it.

He walked out of the bunker and into a cadre of officers, including Silver Shield, who had been promoted again for courage and leadership and was now a Major. All of them saluted. James saluted back.

"Alright, guys, this is the big one, and if all goes well, we'll crush the final resistance, take Gryphos, and end the war in short order. Our boys in the north and western sectors are already doing their part, now it's time for us to do ours. Lead your troops courageously, but with flexibility and discretion. Equestria, and more importantly your families and friends, need you to come home alive and rebuild."

"Do we go now, sir," Shield asked.

"Not at this second, but-"

Just then, a roar of thunder rolled over them; the Equestrian army's heavy artillery had begun it's bombardment.

"Actually, looks like this second is the time," James finished. "Get to your units, and may God go with us all."

"Sir!" Everyone saluted again before departing.

"And keep an eye out for those snipers!" James called out.

...and it'll be hot going in, but I have hopes that we'll make it out alive. In case we don't, I've already sent my mother a locket of me and Bright Heart in our uniforms by mail, so she'll have something to remember us by. I'll try and take care. Bright.

Bright Star set down the journal he'd been writing in and yawned. He wasn't tired, but the thought of the coming battle worried him greatly. It worried everybody. He wasn't alone; the rebel griffons not far away were making their own preparations, many writing final letters or practicing briefly with their weapons before the battle.

For the fifth time, he checked his rifle; fully loaded, with no hint that it would jam easily. he had plenty of ammunition, as did most everyone, and his personal affairs were essentially in order.

"Dear someone, why did Bright Heart have to join just as this final battle was beginning?" he whispered to no one in particular. "She's too young. And..."

"Oh stop worrying, big brother!!"

"Oh boy..."

"What're ya doing?" Bright Heart asked as she trotted over to him.

"Not gonna be nice if your sergeant finds you here and not with the rest of your unit."

"I know, but I just had to see you. It's my first battle."

"You'd better hope you live through this one, and that you never see another one again."

"That's what all the veterans are saying."

"You'd better believe them, sister. I've been in this from the beginning. I was one of the first guys to take a life in this war, and trust me, that knowledge isn't easy to deal with, especially when the killing just went on and on after that. It's almost destroyed me, and it's definitely changed me. You don't want to get into this, sis. When the shells start flying and the bullets are in the air and everyone is either dying all around you or killing the other side, you're never gonna be the same pony again."

"Do you really think I was so naïve as to think that this was just a soccer game from home? I know that it's going to be bad, Bright. But I think that's all the more reason to see you now, before this explodes, literally and figuratively. If either of us don't go home, at least we'll each have seen the other one last time."

"Please don't say such things," Bright Star begged. "I don't want to even think of you dying, let alone have it actually happen."

"Sorry, big bro. I just..."

"I know."

Both of them took a brief look toward the north. A short silence enveloped them.

"Better get back to your squad. I hear your sergeant's a manticore in disguise."

"Oh, he's mean enough to be one," Bright Heart giggled. "I can manage him. But I just wanted to see you before this all kicked off."

"...Yeah. Thanks, sis."

"No problem, big brother. I'll be off now. See you in the city for the finale to all this."

"See ya, sis."

As Bright Heart trotted away, Bright looked back at the city that, within a few hours, they would either take or fall attempting to do so.

At least I got to see you again, Heart. If we're more fortunate than we deserve to be, we'll both be going home soon.

Just then, the big guns began to fire.

The artillery fire began to increase as the time for the attack grew near. James could hear the shells bursting in the enemy lines. he wasn't deceived. Experience in this war had validated the fact that artillery was generally not enough to neutralize the defenders on its own. The common soldier would have to win the fight, as usual.

A sudden rumble of engines caught him by surprise; his shoulders jerked, but he was able to suppress the shock he'd felt. Calm down, it's just our tanks getting ready. Come on, the battle hasn't even started yet and my nerves are getting shot already. That wasn't a pleasant thought, but months of war must have finally begun to get to him, and considering that this battle was the climax of the conflict...

Lord, please give us all strength...

He didn't have a watch, but a soldier nearby did. It was only five minutes before the attack was to start. In five minutes, everyone would be moving forward, and lead, and various other metals, would be flying... along with much worse things. Even if the enemy had weakened themselves here, there would still be some defenders with some fight in them; there almost always were. Shots would be fired, and soldiers on both sides would die.

"No, no, don't think of dying," he told himself under his breath. "Remind yourself of what happens when we win."

Regardless of whether he survived, victory was pretty much certain at this point. Again, the question was the shape the allies would be in after they won. The cost of the war hadn't been enormous compared to modern conflicts back on Earth, but it was significant here. Of course, winning the war and removing a tyrant from power was better than losing it...

But there were always the questions; How could I have done it better? With fewer lives lost? Getting it over with faster and more decisively? And these were just the immediate ones.

Not to mention the emotional, spiritual, and mental costs the armies and people would suffer long after the end of the war. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Nightmares of battle haunting them for decades. The knowledge that a soldier had killed someone during his career. There was only so much that medicine and doctoral advice could accomplish.

And the physical costs; the homes and lives that had been disrupted and destroyed, livelihoods ruined, and festering hatred that was practically inevitable, and would continue for at least as long as the people and soldiers who had taken part in these events lived. Entire sections of forests had been destroyed by artillery, and many prisoners and griffons had suffered badly under the tyrannical king's reign. And the casualties...

He sighed quietly. He couldn't keep everyone from dying, but he could do what was possible in order to end the suffering in as short an order as possible.

The artillery ceased fire. The distant explosions died off. Almost as one, the soldiers up and down the line began to rise. It was time to fight, and end the war.

Whistles and voices broke out all along the line. "Forward!!!!!" came the call.

James shouted in echo, "Forward! Push on and take their trenches, and then the city!"

Cries of fear, anger, and raw adrenaline met his orders; everywhere, ponies and a few Saddle Arabians and zebras rose from their trenches and galloped forward, screaming and shouting as they ran.

"Need a lift, sir?" Crystal Clear asked. "it will be difficult for you to keep up with us otherwise."

"Alright, but when we get near the fighting, let me off," James said as he climbed onto the white pegasus's back. "You're a better writer and aide than a fighter; you say so all the time."

"Still all Guard, sir, even so," Crystal replied, shaking his mane. "I hope my buddies live through this."

"You and me both."

James unsheathed his sword and held it out in front of him. "Forward! And let none stop his advance until this war is finished!"

Marina heard no more artillery coming from the south. Given what had apparently happened elsewhere, that could only mean that the defenders there would soon be beset by the enemy, She wished most of them luck; the war wasn't their fault.

She had managed to successfully hide Herbert. it hadn't been easy. The Emperor's officers hadn't believed her when she claimed that he had been kidnapped by the local criminal gang, and had searched her house top to bottom, without caring for the furniture, baggage, or clothes ruined. Her first protests had been silenced by a lieutenant who had threated to break even more "garbage" than his troops already were.

She'd had the last laugh; they never found her husband, and her clutch of three eggs was unharmed.

No one ever bothers to look under the floorboards, she thought with contempt.

It wasn't as though this was a final victory, though. She was still under suspicion, and her house was being watched. Another officer had arrived a day ago, saying that her "neighbors" had given complaints that her drawn curtains were "anti-social," and suggesting - strongly - that she keep them open. It was an obvious farce; her neighbors were in the same boat as she was, and none of them would have complained if someone had chosen to keep the curtains and blinds shut. Moreover, there were inspectors and impressers constantly walking and flying up and down the street. Any male griffon was open game; first for a beating for hiding from conscription, execution if he put up resistance to the arrest and thrashing, and then the army if he didn't. And some of them weren't waiting for male griffons to show themselves; sometimes they grabbed any griffon, male or female, they could.

Marina wasn't dumb. The only reason they were sparing her at all was due to the fact that she had three potential children to raise, three kids to be raised to do whatever the maniac Emperor told them to do in his dream-nightmare of a state that he imagined he still ruled. It was all so stupid and pointless that she wanted to give the loudest eagle scream that she could. Of course, that was also foolish; defeatists were being arrested all the time for reckless comments, and none of them were coming out of jail... or the army, come to that.

So she sat on the eggs - carefully - as she waited for what was to come. She only hoped that the enemy would be able to pass by the house without wrecking it first.

James soon had to re-sheathe his sword as Crystal ran forward; the shot up, cratered terrain would have made holding it impractical. As it was, he had to hold on desperately in order to remain mounted at all; Crystal had to jump a lot, and sometimes brought out his wings to soften his landing and keep himself moving in a straight line whilst in the air, however briefly.

A few bullets were in the air, but nothing like an entire trench full of enemy soldiers firing everything they had. In fact, the number of shots in the air wasn't very significant whatsoever. Here and there an attacking soldier would fall, some silently crumpling, some crying for their mothers, but most continued on, some doing some shooting of their own. Their own lead in the air soon outnumbered - far outnumbered - that of the enemy.

Barrel tanks added to their fire. Shells blasted away at strongpoints and tore at positions where Gatlings were located. Bunkers began to take damage; some just collapsed outright, while others took multiple shells to put them out of commission. The griffon army was putting up a fight, but it was going to be anywhere near enough to stop the attack, or even slow it down significantly. There weren't enough of them in the front lines to make a sizable difference.

In a moment, James' fears seemed to fall away, and a small smile even dared to crest his face. It was obvious that the enemy could not stop this attack. And if they couldn't stop this attack, or the others that had been set in motion...

The defender hadn't quit; some sort of projectile lanced out from the enemy front lines and smashed into a tank. The shield held, but another two small shells of the same sort, along with a heavier shell from a cannon that had been positioned in a bunker, struck it, shattering the shield. A final mini-cannon shell slammed into the frontal armor; the tank stopped, and smoke bean to pour from inside it. The crew scrambled to escape through the various hatches; they managed to get out, but one was shot up by griffon soldiers, who continued to shoot his body for a few seconds after he was already dead. Obviously, the enemy hated tanks, and the soldiers who crewed them.

Whatever they'd meant by their abuse, it was a mistake. Other tank commanders had seen what had happened, as well as where the enemy had been shooting from, and focused their fire on those areas, pulverizing them; after the storm of shells had stopped, nobody was firing from those positions anymore.

By the time Crystal had made it to the enemy trench line, the allied army was already clearing it out. Close quarters, hoof-to-claw combat was taking place as James dismounted, sword in one hand, revolver in the other. Rifle butts were used as clubs and soldiers on both sides struggled as guns, bayonets, and steel met one another in the storm of battle.

James quickly came up against one of the defending soldiers. The griffon looked a bit old to be fighting, but he knew what to do with a sword, and slashed furiously at James' head. James ducked, then struck back, his counterstrike being blunted by his opponent's weapon.

The opposing soldier said something vile-sounding in Gaelic, then sliced at him again, this time with his sword-less arm striking as well. James again blocked the sword, instinctively kicking the griffon as the claws came down. The kick didn't knock the enemy soldier back much, but did disrupt the claw attack, which missed, though barely. Still blocking the enemy's sword, James reached under it with his other arm - the one holding the gun - and fired. The griffon fell with a wail. James cocked the pistol again, but found no one else within ten feet that he could shoot at without risking a hit against a friendly soldier as well.

The advantage was clearly visible; the Allies were overrunning the enemy line. Already, some enemy soldiers were surrendering; others were running or flying away as fast as they could.

An enemy officer shot one of the runners. "Anyone runs, they will die, and their families will suffer on their behalf!"

"Oh, shut up!" James yelled, climbing out of the trench and shooting him.

He hadn't had any idea how that would affect the defense. With their oppressive commander down, most of the defenders who were still fighting gave up right then and there.

Not all of them did. "Better to die under our own leaders than live under another species!" one of the diehards, apparently a nationalist, shouted, shooting an Equestrian soldier who had called upon him to surrender. He was immediately shot down himself, and the defiant griffons didn't last very long.

"Come on!" James yelled, sheathing his sword and waving his pistol. "Into the city!"

With a shout, the attackers surged ahead, tanks alongside them. The ruined walls stood before them. A few more defenders were upon them and firing, but a number of pegasi were flying to meet them, so they wouldn't be a problem for much longer. The way into the city was open, and the griffons couldn't stop them.

Bright continued to keep his rifle slung in one foreleg as the other three legs kept him moving forward. The enemy line had been penetrated, with less trouble than he'd anticipated, and now the entire Allied army was advancing. The griffons had fought hard, but they were busy on four sections of their line at once, and they were stretched beyond their ability to defend themselves everywhere.

Maybe I will get to see you in the city for the finale to all this, sis, he thought.

His company surged past the walls, which had been smashed by the two experimental sniper cannons weeks before, and entered the city proper. The earth was replaced by stone streets and houses made of various materials, though wood seemed to be the primary ingredient.

Bright and his comrades didn't have long to admire the scenery. A row of griffons, holding a variety of weapons, were coming down the street toward them. It was a little difficult to see, considering that the sun was over the city and shining in their eyes a bit, but it was clear that the enemy was not well armed. In fact, most of them had pitchforks and makeshift pikes and sword staffs. There was barely a gun among them, and those few being ancient at best.

The makeshift griffon militia stopped upon getting a good look at their enemies. Bright got up on his hind legs and aimed.

"Get going, lazy, cowardly slobs!" a hateful-sounding officer behind them shouted. "Charge them!"

No one moved.

"I said, CHARGE THEM, you treacherous idiots!"

"Throw down your weapons and disperse, and you will not be harmed," an Equestrian captain said loudly. "Your own king and his officials don't care about you and you've lost, not to mention that we could annihilate you easily if we so chose."

"Kill the invader! Silence him! NOW!"

"Why don't you go do it yourself then?" one of the militia asked.

The officer shot him with a pistol, and the griffon fell, clutching his chest. "You don't question my orders, scum! This is your last chance to attack, or I'll start killing you one by one until you worthless slime obey!"

"See? You're just cogs in the machine for them. Stop this fighting and end this war and all this useless suffering!"

"'E's right," a voice came from the right.

Bright shifted his aim toward a group of griffon soldiers, who looked tired, but were still armed; they had probably escaped from the trenches that had been set up to defend the city.

"We took the hemperor's coin, and got nothin' but bullets and lousy fools yellin' at us, we did. An' even after all this 'came hopeless, they still wan' us ta die for a kingdom that's deader n' my aunt's cat. No more dyin' is gonna give anyone the kingdom the stupid git on the throne wants now."

"Traitors! Slay them and leave their bodies for the-"

The soldier who had insulted the Emperor took aim and shot the officer through the head. The diehard commander crumpled, lifeless, to the ground.

No one responded. Bright hadn't expected this to happen, and given the shocked looks and urgent muttering between soldiers on both sides, it was unprecedented.

"Come on, 'en," the griffon soldier who'd shot the officer said, levering a new round into the chamber. "I want firs' dibs on that petty littl' fool what sits in the palace watchin' us die. You pony boys coming, or ain'tcha?"

The Equestrians gave a wordless shout in reply, some waving their hats and guns in the air. The griffon militia also gave a yell, and turned... toward the palace and the Emperor who had tried to march them out to die uselessly.

It's almost the end, Bright realized happily. If even their own troops are turning against them, it can't go on for much longer now...

"We're coming," said the captain who had called on the militia to surrender. "If you can show us a good and quick way to the palace, we'd be more than happy to have you with us."

The griffon mutineer who had started the whole thing grinned, beak and teeth black with gunpowder. "Will do," he said. "Assuming ya count us part o' that council or whatever what's fightin' alongside ya boys, dat is."

"I'm sure the council shall be willing to note that you've switched to their side. I'll personally vouch for you, if that's what it takes."

"Den follow us. Fer freedom an' peace."

Chapter 80; Gus am bris an latha

As the sun continued to rise over the embattled city, the fighting raged in the northwest, northeast, and west. The noise could be heard everywhere, and the gunfire and screams, while somewhat muffled, were still audible.

James found himself on edge. The battle was continuing on the other fronts, even if it had stopped momentarily in the south. Unlike in the battles he'd fought elsewhere during this war against the griffons, he and his troops were in an actual city, and any door or window could hold a defender with a loaded weapon.

He wasn't the only one. Some of the soldiers with him were attempting to walk on their hind hooves only (and, given the number of times he heard them fall down, they were largely not successful) so that they could use their rifles as necessary. Others held spears and swords in on hoof while the other three continued to pound the ground as they walked.

The only ones not troubled were the mutinous griffons who had had their fill of their officers and their Emperor's oppression. They were, for the most part, calm, and some were grinning as others told jokes and shared stories of their time in the army. It was almost as if they didn't expect a hostile reaction.

To his surprise, they had reason to remain calm. About fifteen minutes after the allied forces had entered the city and the initial mutinies had fired, a few griffon residents had begun to look outside. Upon realizing that some of the troops in the streets were their own, some of them began whispering. Finally, a citizen of the town came out of his house. "Who are you boys?" he asked one of the rebel leaders.

"Oh, we're just a few lads 'o decided that we weren' 'avin' it no more," the ex-soldier replied loudly.

"What do ya mean?"

"I mean, we're goin' straight to the fancy palace, we're gonna take that jumped up loony on tha throne, and we're gonna 'ang him 'igher n' tha walls round tha city used ta be."

There was a second or two of silence... followed by a cheer that broke out almost spontaneously all along the street, from windows and doors and other places. The sound temporarily drowned out the sounds of battle that echoed around the city; more griffons came out of their hiding places, and their shouts joined those who had known the news before they did. Numerous languages came to the ear, and the

James wasn't all that happy himself. Yes, it was great for the city to be liberated and the inhabitants must have been joyful, but at the same time, this was delaying the advance and the noise could bring Imperial attention, costing more lives.

"All this is nice," he stated loudly, "but can we finish the job first and celebrate later? You see, I'd rather live through the celebrations rather than be shot through the head because I was too busy partying to fight the guy in black and red."

"Quite righ', gov'ner," the lead mutineer said, and raised his voice; "Oi! Everyone, get indoors and stay there 'til ya hear tha shootin' stop, got it?"

Somehow, he was able to make himself heard, and within five minutes the streets were largely clear. James still wasn't satisfied; that was five minutes his force had been sitting there doing nothing and advancing hardly at all.

"Come on! Just one more fight, and this war's over for everyone!" James shouted. "Forward to the palace!"

That got a cheer out of allied troops and mutineers alike, as well as a continued advance.

I hope it's enough...

"Crystal? Are you nearby?"

"Yes sir," the albino pegasus replied.

"Good." James got out a scrap of paper and wrote, "Celestia Luna and all; send all forces advance immediately all fronts." He didn't really care that it wasn't perfect English. "I need this delivered, at once, to the Princesses, and copied and sent to all army commanders as quickly as they can."

Crystal frowned. "Sir, that takes me out of this. I can't protect you-"

"You're not here primarily to protect me," James interrupted. "You're my aide; a friend, certainly, but an aide, and I am giving you an order. We're squeezing them, and we need to maximize the pressure, and now. And I'll commend you for it rather than questioning your courage if you do."

"I've been with you for much of this. I want to be there when it ends."

"So does everyone. If you're quick, you'll be back in time to see it. I'm sorry, my loyal friend, but I must give this order. This will help end it faster."

Crystal still didn't look happy, but three seconds later, he reluctantly nodded. He took the message in his right front hoof - the fact that it was sticking to a flat surface was still something that caught part of James' attention. "I'll do it sir."

"Thank you."

Crystal saluted, then spread his wings and lifted off.

James turned around, rifle in hand, and marched off. Sorry, buddy. I just hope this all goes over well. And the more of us get in there now, the sooner this all ends.

The Emperor paced up and down his throne room. Fighting had begun in the south, and, from the sounds of battle drawing closer from that direction, the allies had made a concentrated attack there. Or at least, that was what had initially happened. The noise had, all of a sudden, lowered drastically. There was still gunfire, but not the continuous roar of a major attack.

So they've failed. Fools. I knew they'd run out of steam somewhere.

Abruptly, a loud noise again broke out in the south, much closer. What was rather puzzling was that it was not cannon or rifle fire...

It was the sound of cheering. Of applause.

What in blazes in going on?

An armored commander came in, thumping his chest and bowing in salute.

"Report! What is going on?"

"My Emperor..."

"WHAT, BOY!? DON'T WASTE MY TIME!"

"... Sire, the troops in the south have... revolted. It's mutiny!"

That took a moment to register. That hadn't happened before. Continuous retreat, yes, but...

"And the people are cheering the invaders. They march, and the people cheer for them and the traitors."

If the Emperor could have erupted like a volcano, he would have done so. As it was, he could only unleash the most unearthly scream a griffon was capable of.

"HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!? ANSWER ME, BOY!"

"I... I don't know. All I know is, some of your dignitaries rounded up peasants to fight, and upon meeting them, some of our retreating troops shot their commanders, and most of the peasant conscripts joined them."

The Emperor's face showed red through his feathers. He walked over to a window facing the south and stood there, panting in rage and hatred.

It was true; griffon troops, many of which wore red and black, were marching into the city, and wherever they went, in addition to the other Allied troops, met with ecstatic joy from the subjects of the city... of the Empire...

"Burn them," he ordered.

"My lord?"

"There are trebuchets on the walls of the palace, with fire munitions. Order their crews to fire inflammable projectiles toward the enemy and the locations they've entered to the south."

"...Sire, that will destroy civilian homes-"

"So be it. I am their leader, I ALONE command the griffon nation. If they cheer for traitors and enemies, then they are traitors themselves and will pay for undermining my rule. Burn them. All of them."

"Sire." The commander thumped his chest and bowed again before leaving.

"If I cannot rule this Empire, and this city, no one shall."

"Glad you've made this far, General!" Silver Shield called, as James and his unit came around a corner toward the crossroads just outside the market square.

"So far, they haven't killed me," James replied, shouting over the noise around them. "I reckon they just might not be able to bring it about."

"Maybe, but we still have a few unfriendly neighbors to clear out."

"We'll get 'em. They haven't dug in-"

A large, flaming something flew overhead, above the roofs of the nearby houses.

"What was that?" Shield asked as James, now running, came closer.

"I don't know-"

There was a distant crash to the south, along with screams of fear and a sudden outburst of griffons suddenly flying from the location the projectile had struck.

"I don't that's good news," Shield said glumly.

"There's smoke," James agreed in a flush of frustration, pointing. "That ain't good."

"Incoming!"

James and Shield, along with most of their troops, ducked; another projectile like the first flew overhead, coming down not far from the first one. There was another crash, followed by more smoke.

"They're comin' from the palace!" a soldier pointed with a hoof, as another two burning objects flew.

"They're trying to burn us out," James said.

"they need to brush up on their accuracy," Shield noted. "Those didn't come close."

"To our present positions, anyway... but they came down not far from where we were about five to ten minutes ago..."

"Maybe it's a result of delay communications. Either way, we need to get going."

"Quite right." James raised his voice; "Come on boys, we need to get going or else five minutes from now we'll be fried chicken!"

The idea of being burned alive was enough to get the soldiers moving once more. No one wanted to experience being burned alive. Shield briefly thought back to the day they'd faced the dragon...

"Those things they're shooting at us are on fire, right?"

"Yeah," James said. "I could see the flames."

"Then they'll burn whatever they hit... and most of what they'll hit is-

"The city itself. I know. They're going to burn their own city rather than let us have it. The faster we go, the faster the anti-air guns can be neutralized and the sooner the pegasi can use their expertise with clouds to knock out the fires."

"That means an advance at the gallop. Something you can't keep up with. Hop on."

James didn't argue. He got on Shield's back at once.

"Okay, boys, you heard us; we need to win here and now or this city will burn down around our ears, and none of us want that; advance at the gallop!" Shield yelled back at both units before obeying his own order with a brief rear and making for the palace. By the number of hooves sounding against the ground, everyone had heard.

James brandished his rifle, to which he'd fixed a bayonet. "Keep the palace in sight, and keep going toward it," he shouted. "Beeline for there, and keep going!"

A pegasus flew low nearby. "My apologies if this is untoward, General," he said, "but do you mind if we fly? Just lower than the roofs, mind you, not above them."

"You can try that," James allowed. "But if you take flak, get back on the ground at the double!"

"Roger that! All flyers, pony and griffon, take flight, but keep below the roofs!"

"You think they'll be alright?" Shield asked.

"I think so. If we're able to establish some forward outposts, however makeshift, we'll be set up to take on the palace itself. And even if they don't, we'll be able to scout beyond where legs alone can carry us."

"You think they can take out the trebuchets?"

"I think those are on the palace walls; higher than the heights I've permitted them to fly. I'm hoping for them to go in too close for the trebs to fire accurately on them."

It sounded good. Shield hoped it would hold up.

Barrel watched the city begin to burn. He thumped a hoof against the turret. "I knew their emperor was a complete nut, but I never thought he'd burn his own city down!" he growled.

"Should we advance, sir?" the driver asked.

"Our orders were specific," he replied regrettably. "I can't go farther without-"

Without warning, a scroll popped out of midair in front of him and landed on the tank. Barrel picked it up without hesitation. "'Celestia Luna and all; send all forces advance immediately all fronts.'"

"That doesn't sound specific," the shield operator said.

"it's Jim," Barrel responded. "I recognize the handwriting. And I think that was pretty obvious." He raised his voice; "Alright boys, change of plans; go for the city! Direct orders from our commanders; go, go, go!"

"HURRAH!" the troops shouted as they rose from the captured breastworks and ran ahead.

Barrel gestured to the tanks nearby. Their commanders mostly had their heads outside their turrets, and so most of them got the idea pretty quickly. The rest would soon enough.

The enemy, of course, was still there; the Equestrians came under fire. Soldiers began to fall. However, the tanks quickly began to assert themselves again. Their cannons and Gatling guns were something the enemy could not defeat with a common soldier's weaponry, and as that fact became more and more obvious, they began to stop fighting and flee rather than hold out in vain against superior firepower and numbers. Guns fell from the claws of the defenders as wings spread and legs took on a mind of their own.

Not all of the enemy fled, though. Here and there, Imperial and nationalist diehards made the Equestrians pay the butcher's bill to kill them. Rifle fire poured from these locations, knocking down ponies and, rather often, fleeing griffons as well. When called upon to surrender, one of these strongpoints simply shot the soldier who made the demand. After that, the demands for surrender came less, and cannon rounds hit home more. The holdouts didn't have the strength to hold up the advance for long, and simply got themselves and a few of their enemies killed without changing the ultimate outcome.

Barrel said something fierce under his breath. If the enemy made a stand in the city itself, that could be a lot more problematic. Other than those detachments that had gone west in the Second Changeling Campaign, the army didn't have much experience fighting within cities, let alone one above ground. Although the enemy was being routed outside the city, they were still very much in existence, and, given the lengths that their tyrannical leaders had already gone through, it was highly likely that they would rally, if for no other reason than to save their own skins (for however short a time that might be) along with those of their families, who, for all Barrel knew, might be held hostage for the troops' own behavior. It was not a situation he was happy with.

It was the one he had, though. "Keep going," he ordered. "Watch out for the buildings! Keep every window under surveillance! Don't let anyone sneak up on you!"

A colonel from the regulars came up to the tank. "Sir, do you want some of our platoons to split off and keep the enemy from cutting us off from the outside once we get inside the walls?"

Barrel thought about it briefly, then nodded. "Do that with your two platoons in your first company. I expect you to keep them off us as we advance on the palace. We'll be moving fast, so I want some platoons to split off every time we hit an intersection. Send runners to each regimental commander, so that some of them can take over after you run out of troops to do that job. I also want at least one company per regiment to be assigned to check out the houses on each street, to make sure there aren't any fighters hiding in them. I want you to keep our armored units safe, so that we can break the palace defenses and allow our troops to get inside. I want you to keep our tails from being shot off by any griffons who might try to hide and hit us from the rear while we advance."

The colonel saluted. "Understood, sir. We'll do what we can."

"Make sure you do. Dismissed, and make sure your targets have actual weapons before shooting."

"Got it." The colonel trotted away.

Barrel raised a hoof high and began to whirl it in the air, urging more troops forward. "Bring the artillery forward!" he called. A pegasus heard him, saluted, and flew away, though very low to the ground in order to avoid AA.

The artillery would be necessary later for the palace itself. Right now, though, the tanks and common soldiers needed to fight their way through the streets so the cannons could be used.

Of course, they might need the firepower even before getting there... He shook his head and hoped they wouldn't.

Silver Lining and the other pegasi in the attack force flew as low as they could without crashing into rubble on the street. Silver carefully kept an eye on the palace ahead; it was hard to miss, even this low, having been built up so high. Hundreds of pegasi were in the air, some at differing heights. A few were actually flying above the limits that James had allowed, blatantly flying above the roofs of the city. They'd get it from the sergeants when the battle was over, of that Silver was certain, but they must have either not thought it out or thought it to be worth it.

More fireballs flew from the palace and struck the city. Most of them were aimed at the allied units that had broken in... but not all of them. Some of them were so wildly off target that it could hardly be termed "missing". It was an expression of anger that the griffons of the city were joyful that the emperor was being overthrown.

It was a clear message; the emperor wasn't going to take being dethroned lightly, and those who despised his rule would pay the price.

Biggest spoiled brat that I'll ever have the misfortune to lay eyes on, he thought viciously.

Of course, in order to see the emperor, the Allied armies would have to overcome the remaining resistance. Imperial soldiers were on the walls; some of them were crewing the trebuchets that were continuing to burn the city, but most were now coming up from where ever they had been garrisoned before to the walls, clutching rifles in their claws.

"Take cover!" someone yelled.

Silver didn't need telling twice. He ducked behind a building on his right and landed as bullets began to sweep the street.

"Urgh! Blast it, now we need tha artillery ta get us outta this," Silver said furiously. "Can they eva show up where they're needed?"

"Not likely," another pegasus replied, landing near him and taking up position behind a trash can. "Can't see any other way to get in there right now other than flying up on those walls, and I'm not up for gettin' myself killed just when this is all over."

Silver pumped out a couple shots at the defenders - not really out of the hope of hitting anyone, more out of a sense of frustration. "Not all tha excited ta die now eitha, but what else we got?"

"Something... hopefully."

"Let's jus' hope they don' try ta burn us with them stinkin'-"

A crash nearby, and the sound of flames taking hold, put an end to that sentence.

"Drat."

James held on as Shield galloped ahead. The sound of heavy, unfeeling hooves striking the stone pavement resounded throughout the city streets as the forces from the south raced toward the palace, the end of the war finally in sight.

Unfortunately, not all resistance was gone. James could hear rifle fire behind them as Gryphos' inhabitants gradually realized that the city was being invaded. Many of the people here were glad that the emperor was going down, but others were understandably, though needlessly, concerned that the allied forces would annex their people, and they were beginning to make their opinion of the attack known. And a few would definitely be Imperial loyalists. This land had been under the rule of the royal family, after all, and pro-imperial propaganda need not necessarily await for the end of clan rule to arise.

"Sir, I suggest that we slow down and keep an eye out for any civy who thinks he knows how to play soldier," Shield suggested.

James thought about it for about fifteen seconds. Speed was essential, otherwise this would become a full blown urban battle, and the war would grind on, even if only for a few more days, and more would die. However, it was also necessary to not be ambushed, as this would also set back the advance. Having been hit with unexpected Gatling fire not long ago, James knew what an ambush could do, and even angry civilians armed with shotguns could do damage out of proportion to their numbers in an enclosed space, such as a city.

Of course, at the same time, there simply wasn't enough time to search each and every house on route to the palace...

He made his decision. "We can't stop, but we'll keep an eye out." James waved to a red unicorn.

"Yes, sir?" the pony said.

"Can you and your fellows make us a shield?"

"We'll give it our best, sir, if that is your order."

"Then do it!"

"I don't think that'll be enough if they hit the shield with the necessary firepower," Shield put in as the unicorn's horn began to glow.

"It'll buy us some time and prevent immediate casualties." James answered. "Besides, we need to keep going, or this will degenerate into an absolute mess. Then we'll have to really dig them out. You want that; you want to repeat the street fighting in the Changeling hives?"

Shield just grunted. He didn't disagree, then. Or not entirely.

A barrier arose around the column. However, It began to flicker almost immediately. It faded away after a few seconds.

"What the-?"

Shield slowed down and stopped, hooves scraping along the pavement and causing a few sparks as he did so. The rest of the force ground to a halt.

"What happened?" James asked, although this wasn't to anyone in particular.

"I think it's the shape and size the shield would have to be in order to protect us and simultaneously not damage the city," the unicorn he'd spoken to a few moments ago said. "It would be more complex than most unicorns would be capable of. Maybe General Armor would be able to do better, but we're twisting and turning through a city and it's blocks, and so a barrier would have to wind it's way through as well. Most shields are meant to be round and dome-like; it's not easy to make it do what you're asking."

"Well, then..." James felt his brain go blank for an answer. "Well then," he tried again a moment later, "we'll just have to do without it. Can you guys make a directional barrier, one directed toward our front? It would still have the same sort of shape, and I know that they're possible, since we used them at the start of the war."

"I think we can do that," the unicorn replied. "But I must point out that it would only provide protection from the front."

"Could you make multiple shields and simply point them in different directions? Wouldn't that work?"

The unicorn thought about it for a moment, head resting on a raised foreleg. "It could theoretically, but they'd be individually weaker than one shield supported by all the unicorns present. As in, the enemy could pierce them after a few shots, especially with one of those newfangled Gatlings. Also, if the shields came into contact with each other, and they could... I'm not sure I can describe it..."

"Short circuit?"

"Yeah, that'll work. And it's anybody's guess if that would hurt or even kill anypony, especially the ones involved in the shield-casting."

"Ugh..."

"Sir, we need a course of action," Shield reminded him.

"Alright. We'll go with the forward facing shield. But I want eyes on the windows. The instant you see a gun or anything suspicious, I want the unicorns to be ready to put up another shield in that direction. And I want eyes on every direction, including up. I especially want you to sing out if you see one of those fireballs coming our way."

He got nods and encouragement.

"Let's go; the pegasi are ahead of us trying to secure a foothold, and we can't let them down." Again, he added to himself. "Forward, double quick, now!"

Shining Armor fired spell after spell into enemy soldiers, mercenaries and griffons both, as the fighting went on. After the flare from the Celestial sisters had gone up, the pressure had eased immensely, as the offensive spirit began to leak out of the attackers.

That did not make this fight particularly easier. On the contrary, the griffon soldiers on the other side were being pushed to their limits. their commanders continued to force them forward, and lines of stern-looking guards stood behind them, ready to shoot anyone who tried to run or surrender or otherwise leave the fight. They'd already killed several of their own people without so much as batting an eye. they were more than willing to do it again.

It had been a rough day. Even after the allied reinforcements had come, the Imperial forces were not inclined to give up their attack. It was sheer insanity, but they continued their offensive, even though it now had little if any chance of success.

As he blasted a griffon who was still on his feet, a minotaur came up, roaring with anger and swinging his axe. Shining was barely able to duck in time; as it was, the top of his horn scraped the steel of the axehead.

"Why are you still fighting?" the white unicorn prince exclaimed. "The war's over; you've lost, and your employers-" here he had to duck again "-can't pay you if they're dead or prisoners."

"You show ignorance, pony," the enemy warrior yelled. "Once a pact is signed, it will be carried out to completion, regardless of circumstances. That is the code. That is the law. That is our way. And we will not betray the contracts we've signed."

"Fool!"

Shining finally got a moment to prepare a spell. However, it was never needed; another soldier shot the minotaur through the head. The mercenary fell to the ground, finally still and silent.

"Thanks," he called to the soldier who'd fired the shot. Then he returned to the fight.

Shouts broke out on either side of the battle line. Shining raised his head; for that, he almost got a bullet to his own noggin. Fortunately, the bullet missed, but in the two seconds he'd had to see what was going on, it looked as though the Allied units that had, up til now, been merely occupying their trenches had risen out of them and were closing in on the enemy on both sides.

"Our friends are here, and they're surrounding them! Keep up the pressure!" he shouted, blazing away with another spell.

Blackfeather watched from the eastern walls, distressed, as his offensive petered out and was surrounded on three sides by enemy troops. That wasn't supposed to happen, but now his army was being hit with bullets, arrows, and unicorn spells from numerous directions, not to mention that those in combat on the front line were being slowly overcome in melee. Not that he particularly cared for the soldiers per se, but seeing them melt away like this...

The situation was bad, and going steadily worse.

For another problem, the police he'd sent to compel conscripts into the fight hadn't returned yet, and the Allied forces were pounding the city's defenses on all sides. Reinforcements were unlikely.

He was so fixated on the battle going on, he was shocked out of his reverie only when an armored soldier fell out of the sky and crashed to the ground just behind him.

"What the-?" Blackfeather turned around.

The soldier was not a pretty sight. As he got up - sluggishly - blood poured from several wounds. It took a moment for Blackfeather to recognize him as one of the police he'd sent. "Sir... Reporting."

"Well, what happened!?"

"We... we tried, sir. To conscript people. But we got caught out... by an ambush. They were.. waiting for us. They shot n' hacked us to bits. I don't... know how many... made it out... sir."

That took a minute to fully hit Blackfeather. But then it did, with a vengeance. "You're telling me that our own people revolted against you!? Against us!?"

The griffon policeman didn't answer. Instead, he fell to the ground, dead. That was all the answer anyone needed.

"Uh, sir..."

"What!?!" Blackfeather screeched, turning furiously to his right.

"That." The other griffon pointed. Not at the battle going on, but down at the city. Some buildings were on fire to the south, but these did not draw the attention of the two griffons.

What did was a large number of peasant and middle-class peasants... most of them armed and clearly meaning business. And among them were soldiers wearing Imperial uniforms, occasionally with Imperial symbols hastily torn out.

"This cannot be," Blackfeather said, almost inaudibly. "This can't be happening!" he added, shouting this time.

"It is. General, if they catch you here-"

"If I go back to the Emperor, he'll hang me."

"If you don't, they'll hang you. Hang both of us," the aide replied, a claw going to his throat. "And that'll be if we're lucky. Someone must inform the Emperor."

Blackfeather stole a glance back at the battle that was going on outside the city - one that was deteriorating quickly - and then once more at the mob. "Then you go and tell him. I'm going onto the battlefield. Better to fall there than at the claws of a gang of traitors."

"I'll do so, sir. Good hunting." The aide saluted.

"Thank you. Go."

As the aide left, Blackfeather jumped down from the wall - using his wings to keep from becoming a splat on the ground, of course - and then, once he was safely on the ground, began to slowly march toward the battlefield.

Ken and his father, Daryl, took up position in the upper floor of their house, along with Imperial soldiers who were about to use it as a stronghold. So far, the invaders had swept through the city without much resistance past the old walls, but that was about to change.

"They'll be here in a minute," a soldier said. "Yeah, I can hear their hooves even now."

"You know, old fluff," another put in, "you and your son could just hide in the basement; you didn't need to help us."

"Forget it," Ken's father replied. "This is my house, and those ponies aren't taking my wealth, and my nation, without paying in blood for it first."

"We did invade them first," a third soldier admitted.

'Dangerous to say that, boy," a fourth warned.

"And now they want to extinguish our independence and our nationality, now that they've been given the chance," Daryl went on. "My father built up his commercial empire with blood, sweat, and tears, and as I said, if they try to take it, we'll make them pay the butcher's bill."

A fifth soldier positioned one of the new guns in a window on the other side of the room. "You'll get your chance, bub," he called.

"Be quiet," the squad sergeant said. "They're coming."

Ken looked out the window himself and got a glimpse for himself. The invaders, led by their bipedal mercenary general, were now fast marching down the street, protected by a magical shield directed to their front.

That was all he was able to see before the sergeant yanked him back in the room. "Blast it, boy, don't do that again!" the sergeant hissed in Ken's face as he shook him. "Everyone else, keep still. We'll put an end to this invasion real fast."

Ken took up the old family crossbow and loaded it. His father was armed with a newer rifle, though he seemed unacquainted with it. "A bit more up to date than what we used to have," the old griffon remarked.

"Alright, to the windows, but don't show yer faces until I give the word. Then we spray them with all we've got."

Ken went to the window and took aim. He decided not to fire himself until the Gatling gun brought down the shield. His father took to one knee and waited...

The palace was finally directly ahead of them. James could see the trebuchets that were launching fire and destruction into the city, and if he looked hard, he could see the pegasi fighting to dislodge them, though by what little he could make out, they were currently not having any success. That was about to change.

The column of Allied troops entered a large square, one lined with numerous houses built in the baroque style. Probably where the rich live. Makes sense that they'd live so close to the palace. The streets were also paved with more decor here, with simple stones being replaced by tiles of carved and painted stone.

James waved the spear he'd captured. "Come on, boys, our guys are right ahead and they need help NOW!"

He was met with a cheer as the Allies surged forward.

It was almost the last thing he ever heard.

Without warning, a Gatling in the uppermost floor of a house ahead to the right opened fire, spraying the directed shield with bullets. Others joined in from a house on the left side of the street, about parallel to the house from which the ambush had started.

By now, ponies and griffons were scattering. A few got up on their hind legs and returned fire on the spot; most, however, sought cover. They proved that that was the better idea by far as the shield was abruptly broken.

A couple of bullets tugged at James' sleeve. Another scraped his arm. Yet another bounced off the blade of the spear, almost ripping it out of James' hands.

Shield threw himself sideways, almost unseating James as he did so, and leaped into an alley to the right. "I think your easy ride has come to an end," the Guard announced.

"Just remember that you were the one to offer," James replied as he dismounted. "And thanks for not getting me killed."

"Don't mention it." Shield had already taken up his own rifle, gotten up on his hind hooves, and had his back to the wall while trying to view beyond it. A burst of fire that chipped the bricks near his muzzle and ricocheted around the alley warned that their position was being watched.

"Well, charging those houses won't do it, so we'll have to outflank them. Not hard to do that in a city."

"We don't know our way around, though." Shield blind-fired around the corner.

"Not as much of a problem as you might think." Other soldiers, including a few griffons, were taking cover in the same alley as they were. James looked at one of the latter. "Excuse me, you in the armor!"

"Who, me?" the griffon in question asked, pointing at himself.

"Yeah. You know any way we can get around that house through these alleys?"

The griffon frowned - not the angry kind, more the type that people unknowingly show when they're thinking. "I haven't been in these parts of the city, gov'ner, so I can't say for sure what leads where, but I think I do have some idea of where to go. I'll do it, and hopefully these fools give up soon."

"I hope the same, now lets go. Shield, keep some guys here at the front while we lead some troops around them and try to get at that house from some other direction."

"I'll do what I can. Hurry, though; the faster that strong point is gone, the fewer boys we lose."

James gave him a nod. "Got it, See you once this is all over." Then, gesturing to the group of ex-soldiers, and to some ponies who had taken cover, he set to work.

Jeb watched as the bullets from his Gatling sprayed the Equestrians and their allies, including griffons who had so treacherously taken the enemy's side. Several of them had fallen and were silent. Others cried loudly in terrible pain.

The griffon whose house it was let out an eagle screech. "That's another one down," he said.

"Keep shooting, we're melting the scum!" the sergeant yelled.

But they weren't, or not so much anymore; by this point, most of the survivors had taken cover. And the amount of fire striking the building was telling. All of a sudden, one of Jeb's comrades let out a half-cry and began to raise a claw to his face. The movement was never completed, and the soldier fell, hanging half in and half out of the house.

"Take this, you racist scumbags!" the father yelled again. "'Anypony,' my hindquarters!"

Almost as if in counter to this, unicorn spells began to strike the house, with more effect than regular bullets, as pieces of brick began to fly. One buzzed by Jeb's head.

The advantage remained, for the moment, with the defenders, who continued to rain bullets on the attacking forces. Allied soldiers continued to fall.

"What was that?" one of the griffon soldiers burst out, looking at the floor.

"What, boy?" the sergeant demanded.

"Thought I heard somethin' downstairs, sir. Some sort of distant crash."

"Could be some missed shots... but-"

Gunfire came from somewhere below. Shouts of pain arose from locations on lower floors where soldiers had been stationed.

"Right, then, we'll have to put a stop to them," the sergeant muttered angrily. "Jeb, keep shooting those fools, we'll go and sort them out."

"Aye," Jeb replied. He turned back to the enemy and continued to crank the gun. Bullets continued to fly down the street.

James waited as an earth pony turned around and bucked the wooden back door of the house, breaking the door in half and sending part of it flying throughout the house. "I think that'll let us in," the pony said, picking up his gun. "And we didn't even need a key."

"Thanks," James said, pistol in his right hand and spear in the other. "Alright, let's go, boys," he added as he rushed into the house, "before they... notice."

He stopped; a group of griffon soldiers had been firing out of the windows on the ground floor, and now they turned to look at the new intruders.

"Uhhhh..."

A pony raised his gun and shot a griffon who was going for his gun. That gunshot brought James out of it.

One of the griffons was on a Gatling. He started to continue firing it down the street. He might have been brave, but his action was foolish; numerous bullets killed the griffon soldier, leaving his corpse fallen over his gun, having only fired for a second or so.

The others tried to put up a fight, but they were badly out of position to resist the ponies who had barged in the back door, and who were now smashing through the windows as well.

"Give up or die where you stand!" James yelled. He aimed at another enemy soldier who was trying to draw a bead on an Equestrian trooper and fired. The enemy fell, and his intended target did not.

More enemy soldiers emerged. A couple were shot as they tried to come through a doorway, while one stood behind it and shot from there. He was hit with a large beam of magic and he collapsed, his left side in melted ruin, but not before he had hit a pony, who cried out and fell.

James looked around, Every enemy in the room was either dead or wounded, and those who had survived now had rifles pointed their way.

"Come on! Upstairs!" James ran to the stairway in the next room and climbed up; the sound of hooves on the decorated floor said he was being followed.

Ken shot his crossbow again; he wasn't sure whether or not he'd hit anyone. He did duck down as a storm of bullets came flying through the window.

Daryl fired once again. Then, with a loud cry, he dropped the rifle. "Oh those evil...!"

Ken turned around. His father was clutching his left arm, cursing vilely as he nursed it.

"Father!"

"Don't worry about me, son."

"Sergeant, they're coming upstairs!" a soldier shouted, coming from the stairway.

"Ken, listen to me; get somewhere safe," Daryl ordered his son.

"Those monsters just-"

"Just HIDE!"

There was an eruption of gunfire from the stairway. The griffons at the top who had been firing down crumpled, one silently, the other screaming in pain.

"Run, boy, hide!"

Ken flew behind a set of boxes as the invaders stomped up the stairs, terror building as the reality of the situation - that the enemy could hurt and even kill him as well as being hurt and killed themselves - fell upon him like a dark cloud on an already cold day.

James got to the top of the stairs first, running past the two griffons who had just been shot, and wheeled around as ponies and rebel griffons surged up behind him. Someone shot at him, but the bullet flew wide and hit the wall behind him. He threw himself on the floor, rolled over onto his right side, and began shooting into the room just to the south, where the defenders had first begun firing on the attack force. Rebel griffons began to fly over the railings and fire into the room.

James got to his feet and ran to the wall to the left of the doorway. He blind-fired into the room at the same time that a unicorn levitated his rifle into the room and began shooting, keeping himself safely out of the way. A pegasus who had not joined those who had gone ahead to the palace flew up to the right side of the doorway and fired into the room. Other soldiers simply fired from the stairs.

The Gatling that had been firing into the street fell silent quickly; the gunner was down, lying on his back silently. A rousing cheer came from outside as the gun ceased operation.

There was a surge as the firing coming from the room slackened. Allied troops burst into the room, James being the third person in. The surviving griffon soldiers had realized that they were outmatched and were surrendering. It wasn't surprising, given that the noncom giving them orders was down, bleeding from several wounds.

"Gather their weapons," James said. "And someone, get on that gun and turn it on the other house."

"You slime," came a voice from the corner.

James turned and saw a rather elderly griffon, a rifle lying nearby and cradling an injured arm.

"You haven't gotten my money, not without payin' for it with your lives, you haven't," the griffon went on, grinning in a sort of triumph.

"Sir, can I-" the pegasus from a moment ago began.

"No, do not blow his head off. Let him spout as much as he likes; he's lost. Bring the wounded, including the old guy, to the medics.

"We ought to steal the so-and-so's money and stuff, just for that stinking smile on his face," the pegasus muttered.

"No," James said again, before turning to the griffon. "Whatever you think, we aren't here to steal from you, and if you were resisting us, your wound is your own fault. You should have left this to the soldiers."

"Blasted merc. And pathetic, racist scumbag ponies. Always thinking you're better than anyone else."

"Shut up," a unicorn said, coming over and looking at his wounded arm. "You're fortunate to still be alive, let alone your fortune's safe. We're-"

"Hey, boss, we found another one!" an earth pony who had been walking on his hind hooves said, pointing behind a box. "A kid, hiding right here."

"Don't you bastards dare-" the old griffon started.

"Don't hurt the kid," James ordered. "Out of hiding, now."

The griffon who arose from behind the boxes was young. James wasn't sure why he was here, where the fighting had been taking place. He frowned. That likely meant that he had taken part in the fighting as well. James looked around the room, with his eyes stopping on an ornate crossbow. Every griffon who had been fighting had been using a more modern weapon. The crossbow confirmed his suspicions.

He clicked his tongue. Dealing with an underage prisoner of war and his apparent father or grandfather wasn't something he had wanted. It also brought up the question of what to do with them. Sending the old griffon to a prison camp was one thing, but throwing a 12 year old in with him...

"Bring our wounded in here. Turn it into a field hospital."

"You can't do that with my property! I won’t-"

"This is a hostile city under military occupation. Battlefield circumstances allow me to do it. We won't damage or destroy your property, but you are powerless to stop us from doing as necessity demands. Consider it punishment for you killing or wounding our own guys." James didn't like the tone he'd taken to say that, or the words themselves. He hated it, in fact. But sending all the wounded out of the city would be dangerous, as other pockets of soldiers and guerrillas were likely still fighting, and the wounded and those bringing them back would be under threat if he had to send them through the city. And it was likely that the wounded, without proper ambulances, would suffer badly on the way back to the main camp, all things considered. "And we'll turn the other house across the way into a hospital as well once it's captured."

"What about the boy?" a soldier asked.

"Let him and his father both stay here, under guard, along with the prisoners. We'll deal with the situation after the emperor is taken. A third of you will stay here and guard the place and hold it; the rest of you, follow me. We have an emperor to take down, you know."

The rebel griffons grinned in a predatory way. They were eager to bring down the very griffon who had made their lives a living hell for the past few months.

The Gatling opened fire again, this time with a pony crew firing it. The cheers in the street multiplied as bullets struck the other house that the enemy were using as a strong point.

Soon enough, that house would be captured, clearing the way... for now. But there was no guarantee that more houses in the city weren't being made into miniature forts of their own. The attackers had gotten as far as they had because the enemy had been stretched to the limit and some of their troops had mutinied. But as proven here, some griffons disliked the invaders more than their emperor. The city - and the palace in particular - would have to fall, and quickly.

"Urgh, don't these guys ever give up?" a green pegasus demanded, firing from behind a porch.

"Evidently not," Silver replied. He drew a bead on a defender on the wall and fired. The enemy fell... all the way down the the street below.

"We'll gonna need cannons if we want to make 'em say uncle," the other pegasus said back, firing. "Why haven't we seen any by now? It's obvious-"

Both he and Silver took to the air; a trebuchet had targetted their position and unleashed a fireball. They barely got out before it struck; the porch they'd taken cover behind was now ruined and burning. The projectile itself continued to roll, still on fire and still lethal.

"Glad we didn't get our tickets punched right then and there."

"It's not over yet. Find more cover before tha gits start shootin' at us again!"

The other pegasus (whose name Silver didn't know) took a look southward as they headed for the ground. "I think my eyes are deceiving me," he said, "otherwise I'd be sure I just saw a line of tanks coming."

"What?" Silver said as they landed.

"I saw bunch of our tanks coming in from the south and west. They sure got here in a hurry."

"Barrel's no fool, or he wouldn' be leadin' our tanks in tha field." Silver reached down and put his cap back on. "Ya wanted cannons, now ya get them an' more."

"Boy, if that's the kind of fortune I get from one wish-"

A bullet passed over Silver's head, burying itself in a house nearby. "Save it for when this is over, won't ya?"

"Sure, boss. Let's get it done."

"And how."

Barrel was glad that the fighting in the city hadn't taken a toll on his tanks. He'd faced fire from griffon civilians who had picked up whatever ranged weapon they could find and joined the fight, but a few shells into a house where local resistance was being offered was sometimes enough to bring about a surrender. The griffons may have prided themselves on being warriors, but from the looks of it, no citizen of this city had any real fighting experience, and frightened peasants often gave up after their resistance was so easily knocked down by machines that were virtually impenetrable to every weapon they had. Not that they hadn't given it a go; one of the braver ones had tried - and succeeded - in jamming a Gallop's treads before being riddled with bullets. Barrel regretted that that particular fighter wasn't on his side; for a former non-combatant, it was a display of courage that was deeply moving. Otherwise, that village some distance outside the city had offered more spirited, if more quickly defeated, resistance.

His armor hadn't stopped for a moment after the drive to the palace had begun. They'd shelled areas of resistance, from both guerrillas and soldiers alike, but they'd kept moving. He'd left it for the regulars to clean up any enemy positions that continued to exist after the shelling, not that there were many of those. Now that the Allied forces were actually in the city, it was clear to many that the fight could not be won. And some of the city's inhabitants were overjoyed that the emperor was about to be overthrown, especially when some of the liberators were griffons themselves.

Clang! A bullet bounced off the armor of the Gallop. Barrel sighed. Not everyone was getting the idea. One of the reasons for the fast, lightning advance was to keep civilian resistance from forming in time to stop or slow down the attack force. So far, the fighting hadn't been that bad inside the city, but Barrel knew what could happen, especially once the tanks' weaknesses were found. No doubt at least one griffon had seen the lad take on a tank by himself, and would probably spread the word around.

Now, though, he had a chance to stop this madness within the next few hours, before the self-declared patriots and nationalists could rally and properly form any working guerrilla action and the remaining Imperial troops could form a working defense. "Fire on those trebuchets," he commanded the gunner.

"Got it. Loading HE." There was the sound of the shell being lifted into the cannon, followed by the breach closing

"FIRE!"

The roar of the tank cannon was deafening. The shell flew into the wall and exploded, although the shell had fallen a bit low. It was probably to be expected; the tank was still moving.

Other explosions struck the wall as the rest of the column opened up; bricks and pieces of bricks went flying, as did any defenders unfortunate enough to be in a location where a shell exploded. A large section of the wall began to collapse; it didn't fall over, instead it just crumbled. Imperial soldiers fell; those whose wits remained were able to save themselves, while others... Barrel decided not to think of the others.

A Gatling tank opened fire on a section of the wall where defending griffons were still trying to resist. A few were knocked over, but most simply laid down or otherwise remained in cover, which severely reduced the amount of outgoing fire. A trebuchet was blown to fragments by a shell; it's ammunition was ignited, and smoke began arising from that location. A small explosion also took place as cans of whatever the flammable stuff was blew up. Barrel gave a whoop as enemy positions on the wall fell silent.

Pegasi began to take wing as the amount of hostile fire decreased; they had a chance now to take control of the walls, and they weren't going to waste it. The Gatling tank ceased fire, as did the other tanks, as the regulars advanced, still firing.

Barrel saw James passing by, advancing toward the palace. "Hey there!"

James stopped and turned. "Good to see you were able to join the party," the human said. He pointed to the palace. "Can you bring down those walls in their entirety?"

Barrel didn't take long to come up with an answer. "Eventually. But it will require some time. It would be faster to bring in artillery, but we can do it, just not very quickly."

Major Shield, balancing a bayoneted rifle on his right foreleg, stopped next to them. "We need to get in now; I doubt our artillery will be able to get in without some risk of being attacked. We have them on the run, but some of the people in this city are gonna wake up to the fact that we've invaded, and they'll respond."

"We'll still win even if they do," Barrel replied. "But you're right. We need to keep going. I guess we'll just have to find the main gates, which hopefully will be weaker than the walls we're facing."

"I don't think that's much of a difficulty," came the voice of Crystal Clear as the aide came flying down and landing beside them.

"Crystal! What are you doing here?"

"I followed your orders, sir. I went to the Royal Sister, got the message copied, and they sent the letters directly to the commanders involved. After that, I was of no further service there, so I returned to the city. I followed the sound of heaviest fighting, and so here I am."

"Here you are," James answered quietly. "And what's your plan? Have the pegasi carry us up there? They've already done plenty here, and they're still in the act of risking their lives."

"Well, yes, that was what I was going to say. We're soldiers here, sir, if you'll remember. We may not be as strong as earth ponies, but we're mostly strong enough to carry others up to the wall, and unicorns can help levitate others up there."

"How do we get the plan out in the middle of a battle? We're still shooting and being shot at, if you weren't aware," Barrel stated.

"Oh, I'm sure our boys will get the idea. It's pretty obvious. And as a pegasus, I think that the pegasi in the army won't be all that upset to lend a hoof, especially if it ends this war much faster."

James didn't look particularly happy. "And they'll be perfect targets for griffon snipers."

"It's a risk. We knew war is risk from the first battles." Crystal stomped a hoof against the pavement. "I think I know what's eating you. You remember the fighting just before we got to Ragna Fortress."

Barrel looked into James' eyes. He wondered why he hadn't noticed it before; the memory of past disasters that veterans, and many officers, sometimes had. James had it now, and hard. Before he could comment on it, the human answered, "I sent the pegasi to their deaths before Ragna, and now I might have done it here too. I think I've put enough on their shoulders."

"Sir, both were good ideas," Crystal went on. "The first just didn't work, and that happens in war. But we have a chance to succeed here and now, and it would be a dereliction of duty to not use every available soldier at our disposal. Since we don't have ladders, we'll need to do some heavy lifting, and unicorns can help."

James turned his head down and to the side for a moment. "You're right, of course. Send the necessary orders." He lifted his head. "And Barrel, I want the main gates broken and your tanks to get inside."

"Consider it done, sir."

"And Crystal, I want some artillery up here. Send someone to fly back and tell them to lift in some artillery if it's possible, and especially if the enemy's anti-air cover is broken."

"Yes, sir. I'll see to it." He turned to a pegasus who wasn't yet taking flight. "Hey, get back to camp and tell our guys to lift in some artillery to smash the palace walls!"

"You got it!" the soldier said, saluting before flying away.

"Let's get going," Barrel said. "Let's get over that wall. I'll go and find the gates, sir, and we'll get through them. Our unicorns and pegasi will help get our boys on the walls and into the palace itself. Now, let's go!"

James managed to mentally shake himself. He wasn't going to get anything done by freezing like he had. Now was the time for action.

He looked at the spear, a weapon he'd wanted for the entire war. It wasn't going to do him much good now, and a sword had served him well for most of the war. Trying to carry the spear in addition to the rifle, sword, and pistol would be cumbersome. With regret, he dropped it. It made a loud clang! as it struck the ground.

"Sir, if you're going in, you'll need a lift," Crystal said.

"You think you can...?"

"I can. If you'll just get on my back, I'll show you. I'm sorry you don't like heights, but either by pegasus wings or unicorn magic you'll just have to overcome that fear, and I'm sure you'd rather have something solid beneath you rather than magic, thin air, and not much else."

It was inescapable. He'd have to fly in. James let out a sigh of reluctance. "Alright, let's get this over with." He threw his right leg over Crystal's back and tried to brace himself.

"Not ready to fly just quite yet," Crystal told him. "I'll get us closer to the wall first, so they can't just shoot us out the air."

James looked up as Crystal began to run. The pegasi weren't doing all that bad now that the tanks had joined the fight. A few had been shot down, but most were landing on the wall without much fuss. there were still defenders on the walls who were fighting, but they weren't going to last very long.

There weren't any defenders on the ground before the wall, so Crystal was able to reach it easily; a single shot had come their way, and it had missed by a mile.

"Now you'll want to hold on," Crystal said as his wings spread. James leaned down and wrapped his arms around Crystal’s neck as the pegasus rose from the ground.

It was a hair-raising experience nonetheless. He was utterly aware the entire time that a single slip from Crystal’s back could end in his terrifying - if short-lived - fall to earth. It wasn’t like being in an enclosed space, so if he was jerked to one side or the other...

He closed his eyes tightly and held on, burying his face into Crystal’s mane. Lord, please don’t let me fall...

“Almost there, just a few seconds more.”

James didn’t reply. He continued to hold on.

Get a hold of yourself... you’re acting like a frightened child!

I know... but...

He almost fell off as Crystal’s hooves landed on the wall. “We’re here,” the pegasus said. “It’s...” He turned his head around.

James got up as quickly as he could and slid off Crystal’s back. He tried to say “thank you,” but the words wouldn’t come. He tried again; “Uh...” That wasn’t enough. “Well... we’re here,” he said, trying desperately to shake off the fear he’d felt and was still feeling.

“We are. Sorry I had to do that, sir, but it was necessary. Now, we can get on with the business of ending this war.”

James took his rifle off his shoulder. Somehow, it’s weight in his hands was comforting. It also got his mind on the fight and off the flight. “Right.”

The palace loomed before them, and everyone on the wall. It was ridiculously big, even for a city this large; it was easily as high as the Kremlin, if not bigger. Around them, on the walls, griffon soldiers were being overcome by numbers. Here and there, some ponies were already being levitated onto the wall. The allied armies needed just one more short push, and the war would be over.

James had barely sighted some stairs when a griffon soldier came running up them. Almost without thinking, James went to one knee and fired. The griffon fell without a sound. However, more were coming; some didn’t even bother to use the stairs.

Crystal picked up a rifle from the ground. Since his hoof couldn’t fit in the griffon-made trigger guard, he had picked up a piece of rubble, stuck it through the guard, and used it to pull the trigger. The gun fired, and an enemy fell from the sky.

The next thirty seconds was intense. The enemy were determined, no doubt about that. They continued to push forward in their counterattack. Some had rifles, and James was quick to target them and fire on them. But others were armed with claymore swords and spears. These would run or fly in; it wasn’t as if they had any other choice.

James ducked as one flew at him, attempting to slice at his head. The enemy sword missed, and James quickly turned around and shot the enemy soldier before immediately going back to shooting at the other foes.

A couple of them got within a few feet before he was able to shoot them. The same was true with Crystal, who barely managed to blaze down one griffon who was about to spear him in the face. Another threw his spear, but hit neither of them, and was sent sprawling by bullets.

James pulled the trigger yet again. This time, he was met with a click.

The griffon attacking him knew what that meant, and grinned for a split second. He came in, running hard, sword in claws.

James brought the butt of the rifle down on the griffon’s sword arm, then bayoneted him in the stomach. The enemy soldier fell with an outraged screech.

He surveyed the area, but no further enemies were making their way toward them. James took a magazine, ejected the one currently in the gun, and fed the fresh clip into the rifle before standing up straight and taking a second look around.

What happened next appeared to occur as if in slow motion. A bullet struck Crystal Clear in the right shoulder and exited just short of the left hindquarters. The white pegasus pony let out a half normal, half horse-like scream and spread his wings reactively as he fell on his side.

James saw where the gunshot had come from. Even as he cried, “NOOOOOO!” he had the rifle up and aimed at the final griffon still in the air, one they hadn’t noticed, and he fired immediately, as did several other soldiers who were nearby and had witnessed the shooting. The griffon dropped like a stone.

He dropped the rifle and knelt down by Crystal’s side. The aide was bleeding badly from both holes, and he was utterly still.

“MEDIC!” he yelled. “GET A MEDIC OVER HERE!”

“I’m here, sir, stand back,” a green unicorn with a red cross cutie mark said, holding a med kit in his magical grasp. He lowered his head to Crystal’s chest. “Barely breathing,” the medic stated flatly. He set his fetlock - the lowest place on his leg that was able to feel anything - on Crystal’s neck. “Got a pulse,” he added. “He went into shock immediately. I’ll have to act fast if I’m going to have any hope of stabilizing him before he bleeds out.”

“Do what you have to,” James said, in a voice that he barely recognized as his own.

“Oh, bloody...” He turned to see Silver Lining nearby; the silver pegasus had taken his cap off. “Sorry, sir. Ah know he was a good friend if eva there was one.”

“He’s not dead yet,” James replied.

“But morewill die, if we don’t get a movin’ righ’ now,” Silver went on. “We have ta keep goin’.”

“You’re right, of course,” James said after about forty seconds, blinking back tears. He picked up his rifle. As hard as it was, he’d have to go on.

I swear, Crystal; I won’t let you suffer in vain. This war will end today, and I’ll do my best to make sure as many of us come home as possible. He ran forward, down the stairs, rifle pointed forward, bayonet at the ready. It was time to bring an end to this battle.

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long to get out. I hadn’t intended to release this on the anniversary of D-Day, but, well... :twilightblush:

Hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner, but I do have a few other stories. My Robotech and Gilligan stories have need some TLC.

Chapter 81; Fall of the Empire

Allied armies battered their way into Gryphos. Under a barrage of shell and shot and unicorn spells, Equestrian, Saddle Arabian, and Zebra troops were in the griffon capital. Fires had broken out in the south, and smoke arose above the embattled city.

Shining Armor could see it for himself; he was no longer in a battle for his own life at the moment, and since the griffon forces had been driven back, he could now survey the battlefield without an immediate fear of being killed. His own force, combined with those of the new arrivals, was crumpling up the enemy attack force, which, assailed from three sides and receiving no support from the fourth, was in an unenviable position. Minute by minute, it was being squeezed to death. Sometimes, griffon soldiers simply gave up rather than continue a futile struggle. All too many continued fighting, however.

That makes no sense. They can see that they're losing. Why not give up?

Of course, that was the enemy's position regarding Equestrian resistance at Trottingham not too long ago. Then, Equestria's cause didn't look like it would inevitably prevail. The griffons had been demanding Equestria's surrender. Of course,they were still calling for it, not that that would happen now, but at that point, many ponies had questioned whether victory was possible.

That was different. We still had an entire country behind us. Losing Trottingham temporarily was bad, but it wasn't an unmitigated disaster. Equestria could, and did, fight on, and now look where we are. The Griffon king has nothing but bodies now to fight with, and his city's almost gone, as are it's defenders. So why do they keep up the fight when it is so clearly beyond rescue?

There were certainly concerns of the population of the griffon people that they would be annexed after the war was over. Griffons who might have sat on the sidelines or even helped the Allies instead took up arms, whether or not they loved their sovereign. Fighting had broken out in the city itself as the denizens there woke up to the fact that they were being invaded. However, Celestia and Luna had already decided that griffon independence would remain untouched, though the current regime would, of course, be overthrown. And the Noble Council had spread the word that, at least for the moment, they were the recognized government of the Griffon Kingdom.

Obviously, too few of their own people believed them.

Of course, the soldiers doing the fighting had probably been told that they, and their families, would be killed if they gave up, so their resistance might not be all nationalism or loyalty to the Emperor.

The pocket of resistors continued to fight, even though the fight was a forgone conclusion. "I want the pocket isolated and contained," he said aloud to his aide. "I want everyone else to go around them. If they want to go on fighting, they can, but the majority of our forces need to get in the city. Bring whatever ladders you can round up, and have our boys brought onto those walls by any means necessary."

"Yes, sir. I'll see to it that the necessary field commanders are told."

The order wasn't particularly needed. Already, some of the attacking troops were pulling away and turning toward the walls. But Shining wanted organization, or as much as could be brought to bear, in this assault, and this wasn't a particularly organized result.

He pointed toward the city walls. There would be no retreat this day. The soldiers around him gave a cheer that would have raised the roof if they had been in a building, and they surged forward.

James ran toward a window, raised the butt of his rifle, and smashed the window open with a furious hit. He wasn't the only one; others smashed in windows, some not even bothering with bashing in the glass first, instead throwing themselves through.

They were met, not by soldiers, but by palace staff, who, until then, had been going about their jobs. Most of them stopped and stared. One, a female griffon (whatever they were called) dropped the platter she had been carrying and screamed; the china tea cups and kettle shattered loudly as they hit the floor.

He looked around; no enemy soldiers so far.

"Sir, where do we go?" an earth pony asked.

That was an interesting question. If I were an evil emperor bent on world conquest, where would I have my throne room? "Probably on a higher floor," he replied. "I think we'll find him there. Someone else, get out a flag. After we take him, wave it from the highest place you can safely get to and wave it as hard as you can."

"I've got one here," a soldier said, holding a banner.

"Alright then, stay close. Come on!"

"What about them?" a unicorn asked, pointing toward the shocked griffon stewards.

"Oh. Right." James turned toward them. "Uh, go hide. Until all the shooting stops. And tell all your friends to do the same."

The palace servants skedaddled, some of them climbing over one another in the rush to get away.

"Um, okaaaaay..."

"You could have been more tactful, sir."

"Well, you don't tend to think so clear when you're in the middle of a battle." And when one of your best friends is... He pushed that thought away as best as he could. "Anyway, let's go!"

He turned to the left and toward a set of stairs leading to a twin door. The soldier's who had broken their way into the palace followed.

The Emperor's claws dug into the balcony as he watched the city fall. Some southern districts were on fire, true, but there had been no secondary defensive line in the city itself; the plan was to ruin the invaders on the front lines before any penetration had been made, and knowledge of a second line would have just encouraged the conscripts to retreat. Now, enemy tanks and troops were roving the city almost freely, and while some of the populace were putting up a fight, none of it was stopping them. Now the palace itself was under assault.

It was obvious the city could not be held. And, despite everything that had been done, there was no way to reverse the situation.

"Captain, I want you to go to the dungeons," he said, turning around. "All the unicorns and others we were using to better our country... eliminate them, along with the fools who protested my rule."

"I'll see to it, your Highness. Anything else?"

"Yes. Destroy all records of our research. Our enemies shall not have access to it. Finally, set fire to the palace. I will not be taken as a prize."

"Understood, sire."

"Go, then."

As the captain was leaving, another griffon, this one of the palace staff, ran in. "Sire, sire!"

"What is it?"

"Enemy troops, in the palace! I saw them, they just jumped through the first floor windows!"

"So they've done it," said the Captain, who had stopped just beyond the doorway.

"My orders have not changed, other than this; gather what remains of my Royal Guards in my throne room. And tell the squires to ready my armor."

"It shall be done, sire." The captain finally left.

The Emperor drew himself away from the window. The Empire might fall, but it would not die without one last fight.

The halls were quiet as James and the Equestrian soldiers walked through them. The only sound were his own footfalls and hundreds of hooves thundering slowly through the palace.

"Too quiet." Shield had caught up in the aftermath of the wall fight, and was right beside him.

"I agree." James raised his voice a little; "Watch those doors as well as the windows. If we get ambushed, I don't want us caught napping."

"Wasn't like this in Chrysalis' palace," Shield went on. "We had to fight room by room for that place, and it was half ruined by the time we were done."

"True. Then again, her hive had no choice other than to obey her commands. Griffons have a bit more freedom of action, in case you haven't noticed."

"Oh yes, the spineless cowards who cheered while their armies were advancing, but don't have the guts to defend their own capital now that it's under attack," Shield snorted contemptuously. James knew him enough to know that he didn't mean that; the pressure of the moment was rather intense, and the veteran was probably trying to boost his own confidence.

"How do we figure out where the throne room is exactly, other than just up?" the Guard stallion asked.

"Hmm. I suppose we could check rooms as we go by." James stopped, walked to the right side of the hallway, and opened a door there.

A group of chefs looked up from the meals they were making. For a moment, they just stood there, stunned.

Then one of them chucked a knife.

"Whoa!!!"

James shut the door just in time; the knife buried itself in the other side of the door - right where his head would have been - with a loud thud.

"Nope, definitely not in there," he said quickly. "Let's keep looking."

"Right. I'll post a guard here; those guys are under lockdown, they just don't know it." Shield turned his head around, pointed to two ponies with a hoof, and then pointed at the door. They nodded, and took up position there. "Well, that's one down."

"I'd expect the throne room to be a bit more obvious than that anyway," James said. "An entire hallway leading to massive doors, then probably something like the Royal Sisters have in Canterlot."

"I guess so. We should have asked one of the servants instead of just having them flee like frightened chickens."

"Problem being, how do we know they'd tell the truth?"

"I guess we don't. We could threaten them with punishment, I guess."

"You have to remember, the thought of punishment by their own ruler has been the norm since he came to power, and even more so after he purged the clans. That's not an easy legacy to throw off."

"I suppose that's true." Shield stomped a hoof, hard, on the floor. "We'll have to find it ourselves, then."

Just then, there was a loud explosion outside. The crash of wood breaking apart sounded through the windows.

"What was that?"

James ran to the window, Shield in close pursuit. The main gate was visible for this particular location... well ,that wasn't entirely accurate. What had been the main gate was visible from here. The ornately crafted wood had been reduced to rubble.

"I'd say that Barrel is gate crashing the party."

"Well, we wouldn't want to disappoint our new guests, now would we?" Shield asked mischievously.

"No, I guess not. Let's-"

At that moment, a gunshot ran out; a bullet hit the marble just next to James' head and ricocheted. Turning to look, they saw a squad of heavily armed and armored griffons aiming at the advancing column.

"I think our free walkover has just ended."

"Where did you think it began!?" Shield asked, less benevolently as he ducked, got out a gun, and fired back.

Barrel smiled as he raised a hoof in the air in triumph. His tanks had blown the gates to pieces. Now...

He pointed the same hoof forward after a moment. There was no need for anyone to ask what that meant. The general's own tank, in the lead, lurched forward, and the ones behind it followed.

As Barrel's tank passed through the gates, some stunned griffon soldiers stood some distance behind the ruined doors. A number were down from splinters and other injuries, but a few brought up their guns and began firing. It was not a good decision; the bullets simply sparked off shields, or else off the armor of tanks that had lost their shields.

It almost wasn't worth it to fire on them, but Barrel knew that if the tanks just passed through these guys, then the regulars would take the fire, and they were vulnerable to bullets, whereas the tanks were not.

A Gatling tank began firing. The enemy went down, one after another, as the gun swept the courtyard. One of them dropped the ground, pulled out some sort of stick with a round object on the end, and tossed it at a tank. The object exploded on contact with the tank's shield.

It was one of the biggest surprises of Barrel's life when the shield simply flashed and vanished.

"Shoot him down! Any of them with those things, shoot 'em down!"

The griffon who had thrown the projectile was blown to pieces by cannon fire; tow others who had begun to do the same thing were gunned down by a combination of tank guns and rifles fired by regulars.

It didn't take more than thirty seconds for the survivors to decide to surrender; they threw down their guns and raised their front claws to the sky.

"Took you long enough," Barrel said as the tank passed by the new prisoners. "Round up the ones with the new bombs and question them," he ordered the soldiers nearby. "I want to know how they did that, so we can negate it's affect on future designs."

The soldiers nodded, saluted, and went off to obey orders.

Good thing they didn't develop those things until now. It might have changed the course of the war some if they'd come out three months ago. Not that these little bombs could do as much damage as their users might hope; the thrower had to come close enough to actually toss them with some chance of success, which left them vulnerable. However, it was only a taste of what the other side was dreaming up. No doubt, when the city was captured and this madness ended, more examples of griffon magitech would appear. And there was next to no doubt that that knowledge had come at the expense of Equestrian citizens.

Barrel forced himself out of his thoughts. A battery of anti air guns wasn't far away. Apparently, they hadn't noticed the break in and were busy trying to shoot down pegasi who were coming over the walls.

The battery didn't last long either. By the time any of the crews realized the tanks were approaching, it was too late. One of the gun crews tried to turn their piece on the advancing vehicles.

"Fire!"

The Gallop's gun thundered. The shell blew up the limber behind the gun; the gunners were tossed in all directions as flame and smoke enveloped their former posts.

The other guns stood no chance. They were utterly out of position to resist. The best option the crews had was to try to get away. Some of them did. Others tried to turn their pieces around. Shells and Gatling fire wrecked the guns and slew or wounded the crews.

Within a minute, the battery was nothing but bodies and ruined limbers and cannons. There were cheers from the sky as the pegasi realized that the menace had been crushed, and they dived on the palace and it's defenders.

"I think we've got all the air support we'll need to win this day," the driver commented.

"I think so too. And they'll start landing on various floors. That'll mess up any defense they were planning."

"With all due respect, sir, don't you think we should find a way in? Now that we're in, it would probably be just as rude to simply leave."

"Yup. We find the doors into the actual palace building, do the same thing we did to the gates, and invite ourselves in. Shouldn't be too hard."

"Hopefully, they don't have any more of those shield draining bombs."

"Or anything else that's especially dangerous. Let's get moving again!"

The fighting in the palace was hardly what anyone could call sane. James was taking cover behind a doorway as rifle fire on both sides went through. He leaned over, fired a couple of shots - more for suppression than anything else - and was greeted with two bullet ricocheting off his cover.

Shield was also firing. "Ugh, can't they just give up?" the Guard stallion asked, reloading. "I don't want me or anypony else to die with the end of the war so close."

"Me neither." James raised his rifle and blind-fired around the corner. "But it looks that way."

Suddenly, several of the griffon soldiers fell, all shot in the side.

"What the?"

"The pegasi, sir. They've finally made it through the anti air. Look, they're flying through the window right now!"

Shield had pointed with his hoof, but it was hardly necessary. Pegasus ponies were flying through the hallway that the earth ponies, unicorn, and lone human had been trying to advance through. In an instant, the griffon defenders, who had at least stalled the advancing Equestrians if not stopped them, were in dire straits. they were being attacking from the front, from their right, and from the air all at once. The pegasi, flying fast, weren't as accurate as they might have been on the ground, but they were many, and their guns continued to spit lead.

James took the chance to target a griffon who had been, until a few moments ago, a rather annoying sniper and pulled the trigger. The enemy soldier fell from multiple wounds, and James wasn't sure whether his shot had brought the enemy soldier down. Not that it mattered all that much; the defenders had been outnumbered even before the pegasi had entered the picture. Now it was less of a fight and more of a shooting gallery.

The fight was over pretty quickly. James emptied a clip during the attack, but by the time he reloaded, the enemy were all down, dead or wounded. None had bothered to surrender. Considering that they were probably the emperor's personal guard, and taking into account the ruler they served, that wasn't surprising.

James, Shield, and the rest of the Equestrian troops filed through the doorway where they'd been stalled. The location the emperor's guards had been defending was full of bullet holes, and discarded weapons and armored bodies lay in various poses.

As Shield walked by one of the fallen bodies, the griffon, who had been playing dead, reached over and tried to stab him. however, the attack was badly aimed, and bounced off the keratin of Shield's right front hoof without hurting it or doing more than denting it. Shield responded by stomping the same hoof on his attacker's face. The block of keratin smashed into the griffon's face, and he howled. Shield then took his attacker and put a hoof on his neck. The griffon struggled, but between being both shot and stomped on, he was in poor condition to fight back as his neck was squeezed.

"Submit," Shield demanded. "Or I'll stay here like this till you either do or die."

"Curse... you... Equest... rian!" the guard choked out. "I... submit..."

Shield slowly removed his hoof. "Remember that. We've won this war. Now it's time for peace."

"The Emperor... matters more than the individual..."

Shield ignored that and turned toward a pegasus captain who had flown in. "Have you located the throne room? We haven't found it yet."

"I think I might have seen something... yeah, now that you mention it, my boys flew past a window about four or five stories up from here. There were something like fifty guys in there, and one of them looked pretty important. We didn't get a close look, but..."

"Good. Think you could-"

"We could try, sir, but they have a bunch of rifles pointed out the windows now from that room. It's not as bad as flak, but we'd get hurt going in."

"We have the numbers. I'd like you to try, but don't be heroes."

"Understood, Major. We'll do what we can."

"Meanwhile, we have to find our own way up," Shield went on. "Let's get going."

"You sure you don't-"

"Yes. It's one thing to ferry us up a wall we've all but taken. It's another to try flying us around the rest of the place. It slows you down, and if they get you, they take us down too. I don't intend to give the enemy a two for one deal. We'll just go up the stairs. Have your guys take as much of the palace as possible."

"Yes, sir." The pegasus saluted. "You heard him," he added, raising his voice so the others could hear. "Secure the palace, on the double!"

As some of the pegasi flew out, James marching into the hallway proper. To the right, not far from the doorway they had just walked through, another set of twin doors stood. "We might try checking this way."

"Hopefully, another band of cooks with knives ready to throw aren't just behind it." Shield stepped forward.

James tried turning the knob. It wouldn't open. "Ugh. Locked."

"No problem." With that, Shield spun and bucked the door, which was no match for his hooves, or those of most ponies, for that matter. The doors crashed to the floor, ripped off their hinges.

"Nice."

"Might have done more if my hooves were properly shod, but not bad even so." Shield stretched a little, then noted, "Huh, leads to another, even bigger inner hallway. Why am I not surprised."

"Probably because your job before the war was mostly guarding the palace in Canterlot."

"Good point. Now-"

Off to the left in the new hallway, unfamiliar voices could be heard.

"Alright, guys," James said, "if these new boys are soldiers, we ambush them. If not, we let them go."

He ran through the new hallway all the way to the other side, taking cover behind a rather Gothic-style rust-colored pillar, just moments before griffon soldiers came through yet another door far to the left of the one Shield had just bucked down.

"-en't sit right with me. Killing them-" one of the soldiers was saying.

"The Emperor gave me, and therefore you, direct orders," an officer with numerous medals said. "It is inescapable. The enemy may have won the war, but they will not have access to our special projects. That means all evidence, including the prisoners, must not be recovered."

"Killing unarmed-"

"They are living, breathing, walking evidence of our research. Their deaths will mean that the enemy cannot recover anything from their memories. They must be destroyed, along with the political prisoners. At least we can deny a complete victory to His Majesty's foes. That is final."

The first soldier sighed.

James had heard enough. He took aim just as the griffons were about to pass them by. "Don't move," he said loudly.

The griffons halted, shocked, as Equestrian soldier surrounded them. "Where did you come from?" one of them asked.

"That doesn't matter so much as the fact that you've been caught like rats in a trap. Rats about to go and commit murder. Arrest Mr. Medals. He'll be going to a dungeon, just not the one he planned to go."

"How's that different from prisoner of war status?" a pony soldier asked.

"He'll be staying there. After everyone else has been released."

"You can't do that!" the officer yelled. "I received direct orders from the Emperor himself! I can't be treated as-"

"You were casually talking about killing pony prisoners, along with your own people," James interrupted. "Are you sure it's wise to protest, given who you were about to wrong?"

"You wouldn't dare..."

"You're right. I wouldn't. They might, though, when I'm not there to save you."

That settled that. The griffon officer shut up as a unicorn levitated a rope and tied his front claws behind his back.

"Sir, this is all well and good," Shield quipped, "but don't you think we should send a detachment to the dungeons to make absolutely sure that..."

"We will. Send a platoon to secure the dungeons, which will probably be on the lowest floor possible."

"Right, then. First platoon, second company, front and center!"

About thirty-five stallions came forward. "Sir," the lieutenant in charge of them said.

"There are prisoners down in the dungeons here who need to be freed; ponies and griffon prisoners in for political reasons. Free them."

"What about the real criminals, sir? How do we differentiate the real crooks from the false ones?"

"Don't you think we're already fighting the actual bad guys? Anyway, it should be obvious. You have a couple of Guards in your company, and we've all done time in the Canterlot dungeons. They should be able to sniff out who's in for stealing and who's in for just disagreeing with the emperor. Now, go; we don't know if they have other units on the way to kill our people down there!"

"Yes, sir!" The lieutenant saluted briefly and and then gathered the platoon. "We ought to ask just where the dungeons are. We have no idea where to look, sir."

"And we need to know... yes..." Shield turned to the prisoners. "Tell us the locations of the throne room and the dungeons."

"No," the griffon Royal Guard captain replied.

"I wasn't asking you." Shield turned to the griffon who had been unwilling to kill the prisoners down in the dungeons. "I'm asking you," he went on, pointing a hoof at the griffon soldier.

"Don't answer him," the enemy captain said. "Remember your duty-"

"Quiet!" Shield snarled. "Well, son, where are the dungeons?"

The soldier turned his head away and said nothing.

"Soon, are you going to just stand there and say nothing? You know that what you were going to do is wrong! You have a chance to help us end this. We wouldn't be here now if you people still had any chance of beating us."

"... I cannot aid you in annexing us."

"You won't. I swear, cross my heart," Shield said, using his right hoof to do so, "we're not here to annex you. We want peace, and your emperor won't allow us to have it. You know it's over. Please help us to do the right thing and bring an end to all this, and free your people and our own before they're killed in cold blood."

"Do this, boy, and you'll be executed."

Shield turned toward the enemy captain. "Get him out of here."

"I'll see you-"

"You have no authority anymore, prisoner. Your former rank and privilege are gone, as of now. Like I said, get him out of here."

"I..." the other griffon said as the others were led away.

Shield turned once more back to him. "You won't be helping us to take over your country. You'll be saving it. I've been a Guard for years; I'm no changeling, but I'm pretty sure that you're someone who disapproves of the way the fake emperor on the throne has been ruling since he tried wiping out the clans. If we take him down, you'll have freedom again, and the right to disagree with whatever sovereign comes next without being murdered for it. Safe for your family and thousands of other families, not just in this city, but around the kingdom. No more pointless deaths."

Shield pointed his hoof toward the left wall, towards the door the Equestrians had come through. "Your own ruler has given orders for trebuchets to fling flaming death into his own city to keep it out of our hooves, hands, and claws. He'd rather destroy his nation rather than accept this defeat. Can't you understand, son?" the grizzled Royal Guard went on, voice rising. "He doesn't care about this kingdom, only himself. And he'd see it destroyed. He'd see you, your family, all griffons dead before yielding the throne, after starting an entirely unjust war for world domination against us. How much longer does this stupidity have to go on!? It's over. And any refusal to lay down arms from here on out is just delaying the inevitable, and getting more people killed for no good reason."

Shield turned away from the griffon. "But," he went on, closing his eyes, "if you don't wish to help us, that's your choice. Watch the city burn. Let friends and family die. I'm sure your emperor would approve."

"...Wait," the griffon said, as Shield began to walk away.

"Yes?" Shield asked, head turning and right front hoof raised.

"...The main staircase is three doors to the south and to your left. Once you are at the bottom, the dungeons are just past the wine cellars."

"...I see. And the throne room?"

"...We just came from there. But if I take you, you have to promise that the Emperor does not see me, nor his officials."

"You're going with the group that's going to the dungeons. That said, if we find out you've lied to us, we'll be very unhappy with you. Got it?"

"I've told the truth."

"Hopefully. Now, where exactly is the throne room?"

"Go through the door we just came through, turn left, and go up the big cylindrical stairs at the end. You'll come to a gigantic antechamber to your left facing the west, with the throne room at the very end."

"Good boy. Lieutenant, take him with you. Rescue our people down there, and set free the politicals."

"Yes, sir. Come along." The lieutenant motioned with his rifle. The griffon went.

"Let's go and see if the Emperor's accepting visitors," James said, as the platoon left.

"Wouldn't it be just too bad if he isn't?" Shield asked sarcastically.

"Yes, wouldn't it?" James asked, as they got going, the rest of the unit at their backs. "I'm sure the secretary might let us in, though."

"Secretary?"

James pulled out one of the grenades the enemy soldiers had been carrying, tossed it into the air, and caught it. "Got us a good one right here. She might, er, re-schedule whatever else the Emperor might have going on."

Shield laughed, but sobered up quickly. "Let's get this over with. Too many have died as it is."

"...Yeah," James answered about ten seconds later. "Too many..." His mind focused briefly on the past year, of flashes of battles past. "Too many," he repeated. "Faster. The sooner this ends, the fewer die."

A few minutes later, James and Shield, and the soldiers they were leading had made it to the top of the staircase that the interrogated griffon had mentioned.

"Wow, pretty big," Shield said as he eyed the antechamber, which was indeed rather large, not to mention long, with numerous white pillars made in ancient Greek style on either side. Suits of armor, some also Greek-looking, others with a more medieval side to them, decorated the walls, along with archaic swords and portraits of griffon kings.

"That one had quite a belly on him," Shield said, as they passed a painting of a particularly wide griffon.

"And that one looks like he was barely tall enough to fit in the picture frame," James noted. "I kid you not, in the medieval kingdom of Poland, there was a ruler nicknamed Wladyslaw the Elbow-high."

"How many people did he punish for calling him that?"

"As far as I'm aware, no one; it was a sort of affectionate teasing, and he seems to have been a relatively decent monarch, unlike the one we're about to deal with."

As they passed through the antechamber, a halberd suddenly came down from one of the pillars, missing James by inches. James reacted by rolling to the right, pulling out his revolver, and firing a triplet of rounds into his attacker, who fell; three large holes in his armor.

Five other griffon Royal Guards came from behind pillars and rushed toward the Equestrian troops, shouting as they did so.

Most of them didn't get far. Four of them were quickly shot down as they came on. One of them, however, a rather large griffon, continued to charge despite his numerous wounds; he brought down his sword-staff on a beige-yellow earth pony, who screamed as the blade bit. James shot the attacker in the head, finally bringing him down, but it was too late. The injured pony held a hoof to his wound, screaming wildly as two medics tried to calm him down enough to patch him up.

"I'm going to have a talk with that kid when we get out of this," Shield said, as one of the medics forced the earth pony to lie on his back while the other, a unicorn, attempted to use his magic to bind up the big cut.

"Let's go, everyone," James said, forcing himself to look at the door at the end of the hallway. "Rifles out, and shoot anything with a weapon!"

They charged forward. James was easily outpaced by the ponies he was supposed to be leading. In response, Shield thrust his head under James' legs and then quickly bumped him onto his back.

"Can you give me a little more warning next time?" James asked, trying to balance out.

"Sorry, but we need to move."

"Point taken, I guess."

They reached the end of the hallway without any more ambushes. Unfortunately, that didn't stop some soldiers from shooting paintings and armor on the walls. "He said to shoot anything with a weapon," one of the soldiers protested to a noncom who had caught him vandalizing a portrait with bullets.

"Remind me to court martial him when this is over," Shield said, letting James off.

"I will, if I remember to do so," James replied. "Now, for the doors..."

"If you leave it at the base of the doors, sir, I can blow it up with a spell," a unicorn said.

"Alright." James planted the grenade. "Get back a safe distance, all of you, and I want the other unicorns to be ready with shield spells if this goes wrong."

The various ponies nearby ran for cover as the volunteering unicorn began to aim. James ducked behind the nearest pillar as the soldier fired off the spell.

The explosion was disappointingly small; when James looked around, he saw that while it had damaged the bottom of the doors, it had not broken them open.

"Oh, come on!" the unicorn shouted. He began shooting other spells, more destructive ones. Other unicorns began following suit, along with other soldiers who fired rifles at the door. The door bent and was badly dented from all the attacks, but did not give way.

"Great," James muttered. "Anyone have something that can cut through metal?"

"We didn't exactly bring a cannon with us," Shield noted. "Wish we'd thought to bring more explosives." He stared at the door. "How was it able to hold against that onslaught anyway? Our combat spells should have done it in."

"Maybe they have a ton of stuff piled against it," James murmured. "It's what I'd do."

"Regardless, we need to get through. What now?"

The sound of galloping hooves met their ears. James turned around. An earth pony was running up. He stopped in front of them and saluted. "General Barrel's compliments, and he's trying to bring some Gallops up a big staircase. They're encountering difficulties, but Barrel at least should be here soon."

"How soon?"

"Well..."

The sound of a light rumbling came from the other end of the antechamber. It got louder and louder, until a blue Gallop tank with a familiar earth pony stallion's head and torso sticking out of the turret came around the corner.

"Hope I'm not too late to the party," Barrel shouted over the noise of the engine. Ponies scrambled to get out of the way. "Sorry fellas."

"You're just in time, actually," James said. He pointed to the doors. "We're having a bit of trouble here."

"I think my tank's cannon can put paid to them," Barrel replied. "Get out of the way, everypony. This could result in a lot of shrapnel, and I don't want more guys hurt than necessary."

There was another short scramble, this time to get out of reach of the incoming shell's explosive range.

"Load HE."

There was the sound of metal screeching and of the breach closing as the tank crew went to work.

"Aim for the center."

The gun jostled slightly.

"FIRE!"

The gun let loose with a roar that made the ears of everyone ring, with an almost simultaneous detonation just following it.

Looking up from behind the pillar he'd taken cover behind, James saw to his delight that the shell had succeeded in badly buckling the doors. They hadn't broken yet, but it was unlikely that they would stand for much longer. Shouts came from inside the room, though given the hammer James had taken to his eardrums, he wasn't quite able to make it out.

The tank fired twice more; the second shot hammered the doors even more. The third shot broke through, actually slamming the doors - and the junk piled behind them - open with it's impact and explosion.

"Come on!" James yelled, running toward the busted doors.

The ponies behind him let out a yell of "Hurrah!" as the galloped forward; the sound of thundering hooves shook the air.

As James entered the room (which was mainly white, except for the throne, which was mostly red with a bit of black lining), he saw that the griffons behind it were still trying to recover; some were on their backs on the floor, others were just now peeking from behind cover...

...and the Emperor was sitting on his red throne, watching the invaders flood in.

James had taken this in at a glance; he quickly took cover behind a ruined couch and took aim at the Emperor as the griffons took up their weapons. "Put 'em down!" he shouted at the defenders. "We've won!"

The Emperor simply stared. The Imperial Royal Guard picked up their weapons and brandished them at the Equestrian troops.

No one really moved. Both sides continued to stare at one another as more ponies flooded in.

"So, puppet of Celestia," the Emperor said, pointing a claw at James. "You've made it this far."

"That's right. Now tell your minions to stand down and surrender yourself." He cocked the pistol. "I'm not going to say it again." He jerked his left thumb back toward the tank just behind them. "We have more than enough insurance to finish this on our terms."

Still, no one moved.

Then, a cackling laugh arose, from the Emperor himself.

"Fools. It does not matter what you've brought. I will not be a toy in a cage for you to play with." With his left, claw, he motioned to someone out of sight.

Two large objects that had been covered by sheets were uncovered, one on either end of the room. Two big cylinders, full of some substance that kept changing color, though the one James saw most was green.

"If my empire dies, I shall not survive it's demise," the Emperor stated. "Nor shall you."

"Bombs!" Shield said, quietly but audibly. "Magic bombs!"

"Correct, pony. These bombs, or so I've been told by my scientists, have enough force to blow this room and the remaining upper half of my palace apart, and rain down the ruins upon this city. Many traitors and fools who challenge me shall perish as a result."

Didn't count on this, James thought. Come on, what to do...?

James put his fist to his mouth... which gave him an idea of how to communicate without the enemy noticing. Another idea came up a second afterward.

"Can you tell a unicorn to discreetly pull the wires on those bombs?" he whispered into his fist.

Shield turned his right eye toward him, but apparently he hadn't heard properly. James repeated himself, again whispering. This time, Shield got it and gave a ghost of a wink in reply.

"Then what's the whole point in this standoff?" James asked out loud. "You know this can only end one way." I've got to stall here...

"Oh, I think not. Celestia, that soft-hearted fool, would not think to risk the lives of the subjects of my empire, not to mention her own, just to see me dead. As a result, she will be willing to negotiate. My empire will live on, under my rule. Perhaps I won't have Equestria, but at least I shall have united a divided nation and crush the traitors who have dared to resist the necessary restructuring of my empire."

"You're crazy. We're on the verge of beating you into the dust. You think we'd give up just like that?"

"You don't know the weak-hearted Celestia as I do, boy. She'll go to any lengths to stop that destruction. She's too soft."

"Then... why are we here in Gryphos, and not in Canterlot with Celestia and Luna being forced to sign a surrender document?"

"Because they couldn't bear to take up the mantle themselves, and gave it to you entirely to bear. The same with the weak race that you've led so far."

"No. It's true that I helped train, organize, and lead an army, but Celestia and Luna gave us the needed support to undertake our campaigns. And if Equestrian ponies were as weak and peace-abiding as you claim, then no amount of training or discipline could have enabled us to come this far, and subdue two threats to peace."

"Fool. You seem determined to view your actions as correct and righteous. I have moved beyond such sensitivities in order to do the work that must be done. Has peace allowed the Griffon Kingdom, divided and squabling with itself, with clans alternatively at war and with a series of differing laws and customs, into one Empire? No, it was I who did that."

"By slaughtering everyone who refused to go along with you. Your orders caused a civil war that have brought you down."

"Wrong. It was traitors and fools who refused to accept a new age who caused the internal conflict. If they had been willing to submit, they would not have suffered, they and their families. It is only these traitors that are blocking the rise to Empire. I will do what I must to crush them and erase their very identities, so that no one will remember them."

"Not going to happen." James cocked the revolver. "You're done. One way or the other, you're done. And the only place you'll be going is prison. Same as Chrysalis."

All the while, James had been watching a Griffon Guard, who had come running into the room from the right on all fours. He had approached the bomb to the right (that is, to James' right, on the Emperor's left) without being noticed. His claws seemed incapable of leaving an almost hoof-like shape, and as the guard approached the bomb, James could have sworn he'd seen fangs poking out. At once, the whole thing became clear.

There must be changelings in this detachment, or among the pegasi outside, and somehow Shield slipped them a message. But I have to keep stalling in order for this to work.

"Bah ha ha ha ha! I'll blow this room, and this palace, to pieces before such a thing happens, or have you not forgotten? You and yours will die and the city will suffer for it's betrayal of me, and the best Celestia and her pathetic sister will gain is an empty victory. But that won't happen. You're not stupid enough to shoot me and thereby trigger my guards into blowing up the bombs."

"So you die without a chance at redemption."

"I need no such thing," the Emperor declared, waving his claw in disdain. "All the wrongs and atrocities you accuse me of are only wrongs and atrocities in your idiotic eyes. I did what I needed to make the throne worthy of sitting on, not just a loose authority, relying on underlings to vote the right way. If it weren't for you, we would be in Canterlot now, forcing the Royal Sisters and their race into submission to our Empire. The world needs a guiding hand to keep it in check, one custom, and one law."

"There already is a Guiding Hand," James replied. "And you certainly aren't fulfilling His goals."

"So, the account of your blasphemy against our gods is true. That will prove useful propaganda in the coming months. But regardless, your words and efforts are in vain. All the griffons and our allies that you have killed, all the soldiers on your side who have died under your orders, have died to no purpose."

James felt a sinking feeling in his chest. He lowered the revolver an inch and turned his head down and to the right.

"Altruistic fool. As I said before, I am no bound by such silly customs as good and honor. I am free of any restraint. And I will do what I must, no matter how many must pay the price. These small lives are of no concern to me. All that matters is my will. And my will is that your victory is nullified."

James raised his eyes slightly; the false guard had bitten through a set of four big wires without anyone else noticing. That was good, but it wouldn't last long; he'd have to disable the other bomb too. Even only one went off, it would likely set off the other as well.

"Perhaps more soldiers under me have died than should have, because of my decisions," James said, raising his head back to it's former position. "I could have done better, and I could have done more. But I accept the responsibility of my actions. And your actions have led your nation to ruin. We will not be giving up what we've fought died for so long to achieve. Those deaths were not in vain. And we have won this war, like it or not. You are going to be tried and punished for your crimes, you and your surviving officials. Nothing," he said fiercely, as the fake guard's horn became visible, along with a green glow around it, "can stop that now."

The Emperor must have noticed the green light, because his eyes turned to his left.

But it was too late. Before he could even say anything, the disguised changeling had grabbed onto the other bomb's wires, all the way across the room, and had pulled. The wires came out, sparking wildly.

"NO!"

"Anyone moves, he's dead!" James yelled, pointing the gun at the Emperor. "Throw down your arms! NOW!"

The griffon guards hesitated.

"Kill them!" the Emperor yelled, pointing at the Equestrians.

The guards began to surge forward....

...only to be shot down. Others were tackled as pegasi came flying through the windows. The changeling who had disguised himself as a griffon dropped his troublesome disguise and fired a number of spells at the legitimate Imperial Guards.

A half-minute later, all resistance had been subdued. James walked up to the throne and pointed the gun at the Emperor's head. "It's over."

The Emperor's eyes glazed over with hatred. Out of the peripheral view of his left eye he saw something in the tyrant's right claw.

BAM!

Something grazed James' left side. He pulled the trigger on reflex. The bullet sliced the side of the Emperor's face, but James barely noticed, dropping the gun a second later and falling to the ground, clutching his injury. At the same time, a pained eagle cry came from the throne.

"Sh-should have known-"

Silver Shield saw it all, as if time had slowed down; the Emperor pulling a gun out of his cloak, the shot hitting James, James' own shot clipping the side of the Emperor's face, and James falling down as the Emperor clutched his face.

He snapped out of it and lunged at the Emperor, striking him with such force that the entire throne fell onto it's back, with Shield standing over it and it's occupant. He slapped the gun away and punched the Emperor in the face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH! Damned pony! DAMN YOU ALL!"

"Shut your putrid mouth!" Shield screamed in his face. "I have half a mind to kill you, here and now!"

"You...!"

Shield lifted his head and nodded toward three soldiers, two of them pegasi and an earth pony. "Tie him up."

"You can't do this to me! I am Emp-mrmrmpphrhrmp!"

One of the pegasi assigned to tie him up had broken off a leg of the throne and shoved it in the Emperor's mouth. The other pegasus and the earth pony tied up the former ruler.

"Where's the standard bearer?" Shield demanded.

"Here, sir," said the soldier, a sea-green earth pony, holding the flag depicting the Royal Sisters.

"I want the rest of your squad to go with you; got to the highest place you can and wave that thing like crazy over the palace. It should tell everyone that the war is over."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier and his squadmates, a yellow pegasus, two earth ponies, and a red unicorn, saluted before leaving."

Shield turned back to the captive ruler. "Take him to the Princesses, courtesy of the Equestrian Army. He'll make a fine gift for them, I imagine."

The ex-Emperor screamed from inside his makeshift gag (which his guard had improved on with duct tape while Shield had been preoccupied with the flag bearer), but it was no use. They lifted him up and carried him back through the blown up doors.

"Thanks for coming when you did," Shield said to the leader of the pegasi who had flown in. "We might have taken some losses otherwise."

"All in a day's work," the pegasus replied.

With business seen to, Shield turned back to James, who was lying on the ground, a hand over the wound he'd just taken. There wasn't as much blood coming out as he had feared, but it still wasn't good.

"James? Jim, can you hear me?"

"Hee hee... It's only a flesh wound," James said, so fast that it was difficult to tell one word apart from the other.

The odd laugh and the pace of James' voice convinced Shield that something was wrong. "Medic! Get a medic over here!"

A grass-green earth pony with a red cross cutie mark galloped up, medical saddlebags on his back. "Come on, let's get a look at that wound, son."

James barely moved. Shield and another Guard flipped him over - gently - so that his back was on the floor. James was still conscious, but clearly out of it. The injury had punched a nasty hole in James' side, and blood was flowing out; while not inherently fatal, he needed to be bound up and patched up fast.

"Can you get him to the camp?" Shield asked.

"Not sure he'd make it that far, and until the anti air guns stop firing entirely, we can't be sure of flying him there safely," a pegasus medic who had just arrived answered.

Shield thought quickly. "I think we took over some civilian houses a little while ago. They're not far from the second wall that's just outside the palace. Could you take him there?"

A couple of pegasi, including the medic, thought about it. "Probably. We'd have to dive right away and fly real low, but it's possible."

Sorry, James. I know you hate flying, but you'll die if we don't do this, and I'm too much of a friend of yours to allow that to happen. "Do it, and do it fast."

James didn't really respond, but his right hand began moving, searching for something. It found the handle of his gun and gripped it tightly... or most precisely, gripped it as tightly as he could, which wasn't very tightly at this point.

Shield took the gun and easily wrenched it away. "I'll hold on to it for you," he promised as the medic pegasus lifted James onto his back. "Keep a couple of guys on either side of you," Shield added to the medic.

"Don't worry, Major, we'll get him there safe," a pegasus regular vowed.

The medic spread his wings, James slumped on his back; he had already been tied there, to make falling off less likely, but Shield still felt uneasy as the pegasi took off, leaving the throne room.

Shield lifted the gun in his right hoof. It was probably supposed to be heavy, but it weighed very little to an earth pony who had been in the Royal Guard for years and had gone through rigorous training and exercises. Shield couldn't use it, since the trigger guard blocked his hoof from being able to reliably fire it.

However light it might have been, and however difficult it might be for anypony other than a unicorn or alicorn to use, it had been James' signature weapon throughout most of the war. As a friend, and as a soldier, Shield felt a responsibility to take care of it until James was well again.

Please, please, Lord, grant that he does become well again...

Minutes later, Private Spear Mint, Sergeant Blue Skies, and Corporal Bright Beam raised the Equestrian banner over the Griffon Palace and waved the flag for all around the city to see.

At first, it wasn't noticed very easily. However, eventually, the attacking troops saw it, and from various areas around the city they let loose a cheer that some later historians would claim shook the stars; others, more sensibly, noted that it shook the hearts - not to mention eardrums - of those who heard it.

The war was won. Besides a few pockets of resistance, what remained was to make a lasting peace, and bind up the wounded.

The sounds of battle became less as Celestia and Luna watched the fighting. Each of them were levitating a pair of binoculars to their eyes to that they could see.

"I suppose that settles that," The Solar sister said as the Equestrian flag flew from the palace.

"Hmmm," Luna replied, less at ease. "Let's just hope this assault cost us as little as it possibly could."

"May it be so."

Just then, a pegasus flew in from the city, landed in front of them, and bowed.

"Speak," Luna commanded.

"Your Highnesses, we have taken the palace and captured the Emperor."

"Ah, so this business is wrapped up," Celestia commented, smiling a little.

"Major Silver Shield sends his compliments, and says that your gift in regards to the Emperor will arrive soon."

"Very good," Luna replied, but then noticed something. "'Major Silver Shield'? What of General Lavigne?"

"I'm very sorry to report, my lady, that the general was wounded in the final fight for the throne room," the pegasus answered, using his left front hoof to nervously rub the opposite leg. "He has been brought to a field hospital established inside the city. Our medics and doctors are doing their best for all the wounded as we speak."

The sisters shared a nervous look. "We will be coming as soon as we can," Celestia stated anxiously. "We must do what we can for our people, and our allies."

"I'm... not sure that's advisable," the pegasus said. "There's still pockets of resistance."

"Could you lead us around them?" Luna inquired. "Obviously, you've come through alright."

"Well," the pegasus said, rubbing the back of his head, "I guess, but just in case, it would be beneficial if both of you used shield spells on the way."

"A good precaution. Fill us in on the details of the battle as we go," Luna said, spreading her wings in preparation to fly.

"Yes, Your Highness," the pegasus said, getting ready to fly as well.

Too many have already given their lives in this war. Please, whatever God is out there, please, keep James, and all of the surviving soldiers and people safe and strong, Celestia thought as she cast a shield over herself, spread her own wings, and lifted off to fly into the city.

Author's Note

Sorry for how long this took to come out. No, the story is not over yet, as there are some chapters left, with a bit more drama.

May God go with you all :twilightsmile:

Chapter 82; Glory, Glory Hallelujah

Flashing lights. Explosions in the dark. Shadows without a source that sliced, hacked, shot, and stabbed one another. Screams and neighs, the rending of armor, and charge after charge over land dotted with craters.

"Ugnh..."

Shaking his head, he tried to get these things out of his sight, but they remained just as clear as they had been before.

He grabbed at his head and rolled, trying to keep it out...

Everything suddenly ceased. The noise and vision of battle were simply wiped out by a white light that raced from left to right across his vision, completely blotting out everything else.

The fighting was replaced...

...with a sense of peace. Quiet.

Looking down, he saw flower bursting out of the white floor, a little grass around it. The grass expanded; within half a minute, it had covered what had been a battlefield, and a blue sky with a few clouds and a bright sun overhead had replaced what was left of the white that had come in so quickly.

All around, many ponies suddenly appeared. They gathered around.

He recognized them. One had fallen in the first battle against the changelings, which felt so long ago. Another had been killed taking the ruins of Ragna Fortress. Yet another had died during the desperate fighting in the Siege of Trottingham.

There were hundreds of them. Possibly thousands. All different colors and shades of colors. Various sizes and shapes.

They lined up in so many ranks and files. Their hooves made a soft pounding as they aligned.

Then, all at once, they saluted him.

His heart seemed to stop, but not in a way to cause alarm. As he looked up, he saw a cross made of fire in the sky.

All at once, he felt cleansed. Washed.

Forgiven.

"Unnnnh..."

"He's coming around!" a female voice seemed to shout from far away.

James rolled his head; his body wouldn't follow suit. He opened his eyes, and thought for a second that the white that had erased the battle had come back.

Then his mind began to catch up with his body.

He was strapped to a bed in a camp hospital, and the white he'd seen when he had awoken was merely the roof of the tent, brightly illuminated by a lamp.

"Don't start moving," a nearby medic said. "You might open up the wound, and we just managed to keep you from bleeding out four hours ago."

James dimly remembered the shot that the emperor had fired into his side, followed by pain and then... he must have passed out, for, except for the - dream, was that what it was? - he'd just been in, he'd been completely unaware of what was going on.

He found a question; "Did we do it?"

"If you mean that the war's over," the female voice from earlier, this one from a nurse, replied, "then yes. We've won."

"About time," a wounded soldier grumbled. "They had no business fighting as long as they did."

"Just be glad we're still alive," another said. "We might not be, and we still have a chance to live our lives with our families and friends." He sighed. "Too many..." He didn't need to continue. The sentiment was all too obvious.

There was a moment of silence following these words. James felt the old feeling of guilt coming up, as an officer who was responsible for the lives of the soldiers under him. However, this time, it felt... curtailed. It wasn't soul-crushing, and it felt like a much lighter burden to bear. It was still there, of course, but the great dark mass on his heart suddenly seemed to have been reduced to something manageable.

It's over. Finally, it's over. After all that... it's over.

No more children of any of the races fighting in the war would suffer being torn away from their fathers, nor fathers and mothers from sons and daughters. No more killing. The guns had fallen silent at last, after nearly a year at war.

James sighed, something between relief and a measure of grief.

"Does anyone know my aide, a pegasus by the name of Crystal Clear? Can any of you tell me how he is?"

One of the nurses looked around. "I don't remember them bringing in a fellow by that name."

"Royal Guard. Pure white, except for mane and tail. Wearing Guard armor."

"There are a lot of pegasi in the Guard that meet those or similar descriptions."

"Shot in the right shoulder, came out the left buttocks."

"Ugh." The nurse, and several soldiers nearby, shuddered, perhaps in sympathy, perhaps out of the ghost pain that one might feel upon hearing such a thing, maybe both. "No, I haven't seen anyone like that, glory be."

"He might have been in a couple o' houses where we set up makeshift hospitals," a wounded orange pegasus suggested. "I reckon they took him there. In that case, not much any of us can do."

James sighed again, this time in worry. "I suppose you're right. I'll just have to wait."

"What else are we supposed to do?" the pegasus answered, to a general laugh around the tent. The soldier sighed. "I'm glad I'll be able to go home to my foals and wife. My home in Cloudsdale is calling me."

"Until your wings are healed, you're staying here," a doctor replied firmly. "As is every patient present, until their wounds are sufficiently healed."

James realized that that meant him, too. Given that his side would probably half kill him if he tried to get up, he wasn't all that enthusiastic about getting up in any case.

"What's been going on since the emperor went down?" he asked.

"I think I can answer that," another soldier, a blue earth pony, answered. "Most of the conscripts just gave up when they saw the flag waving from the palace, sometimes killing their insane officers, who kept trying to urge them to fight. That knocked out most of their remaining strength right then and there. There were still so-called patriots as well as royal troops who kept fighting, but without help from their unwilling comrades, they got pocketed." He looked a little sheepish. "That's how I got here. I was in front of a block of houses where some diehards walled themselves up. I told them to surrender, and one of them shot me. Just glad it wasn't something worse than it turned out to be, but it feels embarrassing to have been shot just as the war was ending."

"Nothing to be ashamed about; it's not like you could mind control them," James reasoned.

"And mind control magic is illegal in any sense," the doctor added.

"Yeah, well, it's a hard feeling to shake. At least this hit just gives me a souvenir, instead of forcing an amputation of my front leg."

James looked around for a moment, his eyes scanning the tent. "What happens now?"

"Well, lots, actually," the nurse said, preparing a batch of medicine. "The griffons need a new government, or sets of governments, the former king needs to be judged, as does Chrysalis, we're going to have to establish formal relations with the changelings, and somehow we have to deal with the diehards and nationalists that are still fighting."

"Those last two groups aren't going to last long," the pegasus said. "We just kill them or capture them, and keep them in prison for not giving up after the king was dethroned. We can put it up to treason or a breach of ceasefire or something if we want to."

"The Royal Sisters will probably hoof them over to the Council of Nobles, which, until further notice, basically is the griffon government," the nurse answered.

"They probably won't punish the nationalists all that much," James said. "They're concerned with not being under pony rule, something that the Princesses have never intended anyway. It's the former king's soldiers and officials and officers who are going to be in big trouble. After all, without them, the king couldn't carry out his tyrannical policies. Most of the people are probably just going to be glad it's over."

"Okay, so what about whether or not the griffons are going to fracture into half a dozen countries or more?"

"Hmmm," James hummed, thinking about it. "I can't be sure. They have the liberty of choosing their own fate, though they'd be much weaker as balkanized states."

"Good," the blue earth pony said. "Let 'em break up. Keeps them from bothering us again."

"I doubt they'd be foolish enough to try," the nurse replied, sticking a bag of morphine onto one of the beds. "We have better tech than they do, not to mention that with the fall of Gryphos, their magitech program is gone, so we'll have magic and they won't. Add to that, they've been hurt much more than we have. I doubt the many widows and orphans in the griffon kingdom want a second round, not after so any sons and husbands died to no purpose."

"There's probably going to be bad blood between Equestria and the griffons for a while," the doctor put in, checking the pegasus' bandages. "We've lost too many on both sides, no matter who won. I'd say there will still be a faction of royalists no matter what we do, though I think they'll remain a minor faction, isolated. They probably won't last very long as a political force. Most of the commoners... well, we can't be sure what they'd support regarding the unity or break up of the kingdom. We'll have to see. As was said before, they're probably focusing more on the fact that they lived through the war than thinking about the future, at least, not yet."

"The world has changed," the nurse went on. "I'm not sure... but I think the world's a slightly better place now."

"How do you figure, with so many guys dead?" a soldier demanded.

"Well, the changelings aren't hostile to us anymore, and most of their queens are actually not all that bad. Not to mention we dethroned a major tyrant and destroyed his war machine. Perhaps better wasn't the right word; safer might be more accurate. But that was still worth doing. Now future generations don't have to worry about Chrysalis and Raneiro and their plans to rule the world."

"Maybe, but I still say we took too long and lost too many."

"Regardless, it's over now," the doctor said, not bothering to look away from his current patient. "Time to think about healing and rebuilding."

No one bothered to argue with that.

Author's Note

Sorry for this taking so long, it was originally part of the next chapter, but I've decided to split them up. The 83rd chapter will be out within the next couple of days.

Chapter 83; The Treaty of Gryphos

James allowed his right arm to rest on his belly as the bed was wheeled into another tent. While this wasn't exactly how he'd wanted this meeting to go, the doctor had refused to let him leave otherwise, and his presence was requested. Luckily, the other tent wasn't all that far, but the bumps the bed had to go over were rather jarring, and his injured side flared with pain whenever it happened.

"Sorry, General," the orderly pushing the bed apologized. "This thing wasn't made for the great outdoors."

"As long as I'm not torn to shreds getting to the tent, I think I'll get through it," James replied.

The soldier wheeled the bed into the big, green tent where the meeting was taking place. He pushed it so that the side with the pillow - and James' head - were up near the wall, so that he would be facing the others. The soldier saluted, and left.

James sat up and pushed himself back against the pillows. Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadence, along with Shining Armor and Graywing of the griffon clans were present, along with Chief Jelani and Abd al-Malik, the Saddle Arabian general. Other griffons, presumably members of the Noble Council of Clans, were present as well. All were seated around a large table.

"Hello, James," Celestia greeted him warmly. "It's a pleasure to see that you're healing."

"Hopefully, this is the last one I have to recover from. I don't think I expected to get shot as often as I did. You can thank God for me still being here."

"Alright, alright," an impatient griffon - not Graywing - interrupted. "The boy's here. Now let's get down to the point of this meeting, shall we?"

"I'm not obeying some mad old king again," one older griffon said at once. "We've had a king, and look at what happened!"

"Most of 'em, 'cept this one, weren't too bad," another, one James recognized as a lord or lowborn commander (he was uncertain which) named Raymond, said. "We just got a bad roll fer a king on this one."

"And I'm not having my clan take the risk of another tyrant fool gain power," the griffon from before snarled.

Al-Malik said something. His interpreter said, "You seem to be forgetting that it is we, the victors, who hold the fate of you and your kingdom. You would be wise to remember it, and remember it quickly."

"I never took orders from some gold-wearing horse ninny, and I'm not about to start now. You want another war to crush me and my clan, go ahead and try."

"Insanity," James muttered. An entire empire had been crushed by the Allied Forces, and this griffon thought that his one clan could stand up to their combined might? He shook his head.

Before the griffon could respond to James, al-Malik screamed, "You are mad! We'd crush you in days, if not hours, fool!"

"We wouldn't stick ta fightin' ya in the open, like the dimwit king did. We'd hit ya like them irregulars down south, and we'd do it hard."

That gave James a moment's pause. Guerillas could indeed do serious damage, especially against armies entirely used to fighting as they had during the recent conflict. But compared to a major army, a couple thousand or so guerillas could not do the damage necessary to kill an occupying army that was still over seventy-five thousand effectives strong.

"Don' be blowin' steam out yer ears, Nor," Raymond insisted, waving a claw downwards. "We came here ta end tha fightin, not start another war."

"This arguing is not conductive to that end," Luna put in.

"Aye," Graywing said, raising a claw to halt any further protests from his fellow griffons. "Well, first off, what're you ponies hitting us with, and how much of our kingdom are you taking away from us?"

"As Shining Armor stated at the first meeting between us and your Council," Celestia said, "no land will be taken. We do, however, demand a monetary price, to pay for the damages done to Equestria and for atrocities committed by your armies while you were still under one command."

Graywing flinched, but it was barely noticeable. "How much?"

"Hmm," Luna hummed to herself, levitating a piece of paper in from of her muzzle. "There are something like 69, 70 clans, are there not? And that being so, my sister and I have talked long and hard over how much is to be demanded, on average, for each clan to pay."

"We have decided that, on average, each clan would pay the equivalent of between 200,000 and 300,000 bits for reparations," Celestia stated.

"How is my clan supposed to pay that?" One leader - a leader wearing leather armor as opposed to steel - shouted. "We can't, that's how!"

"We said, on average," Celestia said. "Each clan will pay according to their ability to do so, with richer ones paying more. Overall, we expect 13,900,000 bits to be paid by the end of five to ten years, which can be adjusted if necessary to meet with the demand."

Graywing and the members of the Council looked at one another. Graywing began whispering to the other griffons in attendance in Romanian, and they began a rather heated discussion between each other; German, French, Italian, and other languages were also present. If noise could ever be said to have a look, James would have called this one a mess. Celestia just looked on patiently. James, having known her for a while, could see that she was actually somewhat amused, though a thousand or so years on the throne gave her the experience needed to keep it from showing too obviously. Luna simply appeared as if she wanted the group of squabbling children (that was what James imagined she was thinking at any rate) to stop messing around and agree on something.

Finally, they ceased - slowly, and almost reluctantly - and Graywing turned to them, sighing. "The amount you've set is accepted, though the vote is not unanimous."

"it does not matter if it there is a vote or not," Luna said in a nigh cold voice. "The price shall be paid; any clan refusing will be occupied until it pays. Even if you were to have a comparable military to ours, Equestria has enough political strings to pull to ensure an economic blockade, of everything sans food and drink and medicine, until the reparations are paid."

James frowned. That kind of hard-line talk wasn't a good idea, in his opinion. Walking, or talking, softly while carrying a big stick worked better. Luna's left eye turned toward him and gave him a long stare; it simply said, I know what I'm doing. I've been at this longer than you have.

"Are you betraying us, as the mad king did?" Graywing asked - demanded, really.

"No," Celestia replied. "But you never denied that you were eager for an invasion of Equestria. As a result, while we are glad that you've aided us in dethroning the king, we know that some of you aren't sorry for invading us. A price must be paid for the invasion, and the griffon people were solidly behind Raneiro when the war began; that much we know. Do not mistake us; we don't want to cause further suffering. But we demand justice, and letting you off the hook would lead future griffons to mistake us to be weak, which is the same mistake you made in preparing and carrying out the unprovoked assault on our people. Rest assured, that will not be allowed to happen again."

"It is worth considering," Luna added, "that we had originally planned to demand, before the king betrayed the clans and tried to become an emperor, a hundred million bits. Do you think, had he assented to that demand, that he would have spared you and your clans? He would have pumped you for every last cent he could."

There was much shivering among the griffons present.

"However," Luna went on, "we desire to be merciful. Although we are requiring payment, we will also help to rebuild the cities and towns destroyed or damaged in our counter-invasion of your territory, in order to help soothe the poor relations between our respective species. And we are giving you a maximum of ten years to pay the debt you owe Equestria."

"In addition to what we owe yer allies," Raymond muttered in a very distrusting voice.

"No," Celestia said again. "Saddle Arabia and the Zebras will be reimbursed by Equestria in a completely separate deal from this one, one that will not be up for discussion here, but which I assure you all will be entirely separate from this. Your payment will only be paid to Equestria."

Raymond murmured something to another griffon, but it wasn't loud enough to be heard. None of the Princesses, however, bothered to comment on it, though Luna raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, curse it," Graywing grumbled. "We'll pay your forsaken price."

"Good." Celestia nodded. "Now, on to the matter of succession, and the unity or secession of the clans."

"My clan is goin' it alone," the elderly griffon from before stated right off the bat. "No more kings fer us, except one of our own, if we decide to put one up, and given what happened the past few months, that ain't likely."

"Aye," another, kilted leader said. "We don't need a government ta steal our money and call it taxation."

"And where did you get the money for your kilt and sword?" James asked casually. The griffon glared at him.

"It's not just taxes at stake," Graywing said. "it's protection. We're stronger together than we are apart, and we have neighbors who don't like us so much."

"And whose fault is that?" Shining inquired.

Graywing ignored him entirely. "We need to remain united. If we don't, we're vulnerable. And who knows when the next threat to the world will arise? We griffons need to face it as one."

"No, we don't need a king to tell us what's what," a third leader said. "We'll have another tyrant upon us in a generation or two,"

"We need to do something!" Graywing insisted. "If go it alone, we'll become cat's paws, if not conquered altogether. No more kings, I agree with the rest of you. But we need some central leader."

"But who or what are they supposed to be?" a fourth demanded.

James had been thinking throughout the discussion. The griffon clans, even under the king - before the betrayal, of course - didn't function as a unified nation, or not entirely. Would... only one way to find out for sure, I suppose.

"If I may make a suggestion?" he asked. Everyone turned toward him.

Is it a good idea? he wondered again. A little too late to wonder about that, though.

"Right now, I think the griffon people need a system of government that allows each clan the local autonomy they're used to, while still having the authority to do what is necessary for the people. A kingdom is out, so we'll need an alternative. I also see a problem with the griffon clans remaining divided, which the griffons themselves seemed to have missed."

"And what, pray tell, might that be?" Graywing asked in an oily voice.

"That of infighting between clans. There are ancient rivalries between some of them, if I'm not mistaken. Without a central government, the griffon people won't just be vulnerable to outside interference; they'll be vulnerable to each other."

That struck a chord. Some of the leaders looked at one another, clearly wondering which of the others would attack whom, and when. One of the leaders, the third one to speak up, looked alarmed, though not, James thought, at the idea of being attacked.

Ah, yes. At least one of you wanted to slip a metaphorical knife in someone's ribs, and probably more; I wonder how many want a divided land simply to create a winner take all situation. It wouldn't take long for various wars between clans to start; in fact, it was easy to believe that some clan leaders had planned to stab others in the back, or else to just attack them, whether or not they were expected to do so.

"I propose that the Griffon Kingdom be abolished, and replaced with a government of representative leaders to take the place of the old nobility. An election would be held every few years to determine a national leader, to be called by whatever title to Griffon people accept, along with representative leaders from each clan to form a Congress or Parliament. There would be checks and balances between the legislative and executive bodies - the Congress and President or Prime Minister - to keep either one from having any overt power over the other."

The Griffon leaders muttered among themselves. Some looked uncertain, others appeared reluctant to give up the power they'd have if they were independent. Some, though, looked as if they were intrigued by the idea.

"Go on," Graywing said, waving a claw. To James' relief, he was one of those who was interested.

"The President or whatever he might be called would hold limited power, and likewise the Congress or Parliament. the various clans would have local autonomy, as they did before, though certainly not enough to declare war on one another, or on a foreign power. The government would still have the right to issue one currency for everyone, so separate currencies within the nation's borders would not occur, and it would have the sole right to declare war, though only if the Parliament votes to allow it, so the President would not have the absolute power to fight another country on a whim. The clans would have the right to develop their territory as they see fit - railroads, roads, mines, that sort of thing - with a tax to go to the government, a small one at a fixed percentage, in order for the government to function in it's goal of protecting and serving the people, not the other way around. Each clan would have it's own militia to assist the national army in defending the borders and maintaining law and order, along with various police and fire stations to provide assistance with crime and disaster, natural or otherwise."

James paused for a moment to catch his breath.

"I propose the founding of the Griffon Confederacy."

There was some silence as this was processed. The Princesses looked pleasantly surprised, though not all of the ponies looked as if they agreed with the proposed system of government. Al-Malik plainly disapproved; he sniffed, pawed the ground in an indignant way, and lifted his muzzle into the air. Clearly a monarchist to the last. Well, the republican model didn't please every one.

I can't really copy and paste the United States onto the Griffon model. Clans aren't exactly states, and if we can't promise them greater autonomy than in our own Constitution, then they probably won't buy it. It might take some political muscle to get them to agree to the plan as it is. And the details are definitely going to be different. Still, this will create a balance of power if it works. Maybe a lasting peace as well.

"We'll discuss it," Graywing said finally. "There's a lot of things that still need to be ironed out in that plan, but it's workable."

James allowed himself a sigh of relief.

"But what about that murderer's heir?" one griffon demanded. "What do we do with the ex-royal family and their palace?"

"Get rid of them all," one replied in voice filled with rage. "Send the entire royal family and their officers and their servants to the chopping block, and tear the palace down. Only reason we don't tear the entire city down is for religious reasons, but we make it clear that no more treason comes from them."

"No," several voices replied at once; James, Celestia, Cadence, Luna, Shining, Graywing, and several griffons as well. Graywing continued, "How would be be any better than the king we threw out if we did that?"

"I don't care," the other leader said. "They hanged my son and murdered my wife. I will have someone's head as compensation!"

"You will not," Luna said in a voice of ice. "And if you insist on it, Equestria will make an exception to keeping prisoners of war just for you."

"I will have someone punished, see someone die, for what they did-"

"I know it hurts," Celestia said. "But murder in response to murder just leaves more people dead and fosters ongoing hatred. As the victors, we can have you removed from power if you remain belligerent." Her face and voice softened. "I assure you, the instigators of this conflict will not go unpunished, and we will require a price for the murder of your family from the former royal family and the king, along with their officials who committed the acts. But we will not kill anyone without a fair trial."

"We'll have to make it clear that the former royal family is out of power," Luna said, before anyone could continue the prior line of thought. "They are stripped of all imperial and royal titles, as well as any title higher than that of duke. They may rule their lands, but the capital city of Gryphos is no longer under their control."

"Then who gets it?" someone asked.

"No one," James answered. "At least, it shall belong to no clan. Or, perhaps it belongs to all of them. It's central location makes it the best place for a capital. As for the palace... it's design, from the great pillars and art down to the stained-glass windows, were made to inspire fear in all comers. I say we do away with that, and re-create it in an inspirational and welcoming form of architecture. It was hammered during the battle, so tearing down some stuff shouldn't be all that difficult."

The griffon leaders, almost as one, nodded.

"As for the scientists who perpetrated the experiments upon our subjects, we demand their immediate incarceration and the confiscation of their work," Luna said in an iron tone. "We shall have all their papers and research notes, and they will be required to cooperate with us if they ever expect to see their families again."

"And if they decide to not cooperate?" a bespectacled griffon asked.

"Then they shall regret their refusal. The world shall come to know that performing experimentation on any sentient species - that is to say, any species not classified as animals - will not be tolerated, either now or in the future."

"You can have 'em," Graywing replied. "No complaints here."

"Might I again state that it would not matter whether or not-"

Celestia leaned toward her younger sister and muttered something. Luna simply stopped talking, but retained that face of iron.

"It seems we've covered most of the basics in the treaty," the Solar Princess said. "I think there are a few things we didn't touch on yet, though. First and foremost, there will be a trial, as stated before. The former king, along with his officers, officials, scientists, and other high level functionaries, will be indicted for tyranny, crimes against sentient species, experimentation on sentient species, murder, false imprisonment, and other charges as may come up.

"As well, the changeling queens allied with us have noted a disturbing trend," Luna put in. "That is to say, their drones are murdered without trial when they are seen in griffon lands. This happened before the war and it's happened during it's duration, though less so, given that the changelings in question were unable to assume effective pony disguises."

"Yeah, and? You expect us to allow those monsters to suck us dry?" the griffon who had threatened to fight a guerilla war said defiantly.

"No," said a new voice.

Everyone looked toward the tent flaps; Queen Metamorphosis had just come through it. A number of the griffons were in shock, but from the lack of surprise on the Princesses' faces, they'd expected this.

"No, we don't expect you to let us 'suck you dry,'" Metamorphosis went on, "but we expect the killings to stop. Most of our emotional gathering is passive, and is not harmful; you aren't going to become emaciated from that kind of harvesting."

"One of the beasts themselves," a griffon remarked.

Metamorphosis didn't even bother to respond. she simply continued, "If a drone were caught in an aggressive act of gathering emotional energy, we'd have no complaints if you locked him up. But these killings need to stop. Period. Especially now that the world knows that drones are beings who can think for themselves and aren't organic machines."

"And if we don't?"

The queen's eyes flared. "Then you'll have a second war on your claws, with us. Imagine an army of soldiers who are all masters of disguise. We could pretend to be any pony or zebra, and you wouldn't even know we knew what you were planning. We could go through the bogs, marshes, and mountains virtually undetected. We wouldn't harm civilians, but you wouldn't even have an inkling we were upon you until it was much too late. And we have a lot of acquired Equestrian and griffon technology; guns aplenty, cannons, and even designs for armored vehicles. You'd have a lot to worry about to say the least."

"Witch, you don't even have access through Equestrian lands. They wouldn't let you."

"Perhaps, if it were up to us," Luna replied. "But the changelings largely live within Equestrian borders anyway. And they are very good at concealment. Even if we wanted to stop them from harming you, we probably could not. For the cause she and her fellow queens would be standing for, we wouldn't even try. So you have a choice; changeling killings stop, or else."

The griffon tried one more time; "We won't let spies and causers of mischief-"

"We're more concerned with feeding our larvae than we are with spying on you," Metamorphosis interrupted. "We're here for our hives, not for spying. We've had enough of war and living under a tyrant of our own; we don't want another war. As for causing mischief, I'm assuming you're talking about espionage. We also have no intention of that; we want to feed ourselves and our children, and build up our civilization peacefully from here on out."

"You expect us to just let you swarm, uninhibited, throughout our lands?"

"No. We're open to negotiation, as well as to forgiving you for killing changelings prior to this treaty. We're also willing to enter your country through legal checkpoints and registration. However, the killings will be made illegal, and anyone who kills a changeling without provocation will he handed over to the hive the drone belonged to for punishment. No other outcome is acceptable."

"Alright, alright!" Graywing said irritably. "We'll stop killing changelings we catch. Happy?"

He sounded as if he wanted to add offensive epithets to end of that last sentence. James could tell that easily. "So long as changelings are treated as equals, we are content with that," the queen replied. "We're also willing to negotiate in a separate deal what changelings are and aren't allowed to do in griffon lands."

The griffons didn't look happy, but they mostly just muttered among themselves.

"So," Luna said, levitating the copy of the treaty before her muzzle. "The griffon clans will pay a total of 13,900,000 bits to the Equestrian crown as reparations for damages, the former king Raneiro is dethroned and the monarchy abolished, with a new government or governments to be discussed and decided upon separately, the former royal family will have the city of Gryphos taken from it's holdings, all scientists who committed war crimes against Equestrian subjects handed over and the former king and his officials charged with the various crimes we touched upon earlier, and changeling killings are abolished. Equestria will help to rebuild griffon roads and towns damaged during our counter-invasion. Clan leaders who supported the king will be forced to abdicate in favor of their heirs. Oh, yes..." Luna looked up from it. "Prior to the Great Betrayal, we were determined to occupy the griffon kingdom for some time, and to send inspectors during and after the occupation to ensure that the treaty would be enforced. Seeing that the king has been deposed and the monarchy is no longer in power, we are willing to drop occupation, but given that some of your number have shown belligerence and ambition..."

"No!" shouted the one who had threatened to continue fighting, slamming his claw onto the table. "You send them in, we'll ship them out, or chuck 'em into dungeons."

Celestia was about to reply, but Graywing walked behind his compatriot and cuffed him in the back of the head. "Idiot. We're here to end the war, not extend it. You want to be stupid, you go right ahead, but most of the rest of us want this over and done with, and now. You want to refuse the treaty and keep fighting, get out of this tent and don't come back."

The griffon stared at him angrily, but Graywing had already turned his back on him and headed back to the position where he'd been standing.

"As I was saying," Luna continued, "we've noticed that there are some griffons, even among those we've been allied to for a couple months, who are all too eager to try and avoid the stipulations laid down in this treaty. We're willing to waive the occupation, but I'm afraid we must insist on sending inspectors. Anyone refusing will be considered an enemy."

"You're not occupying us, but you're sending inspectors?" yet another griffon yelled. "Why not just take our lands for yourselves? We won't be able to do anything without some worthless scumbag's approval."

"No, that would not be the case," Luna said, shaking her head. "We're not sending them to change customs, only to search and check to make sure no one is building up an army to disturb the new state of affairs. Whether or not a united government is agreed upon, I think it reasonable to send inspectors to keep an eye on the clans. They will not be invasive and they will not enter any house, including that of a clan leader, unless they have conclusive evidence that some suspicious act is taking place."

"And what will that entail?" one griffon said mockingly. "Spittin' at their hooves?"

"No, though we'd prefer you didn't. Suspicious as in, our inspectors believe that there are military preparations going on beyond that required for self-defense. Gathering a lot of artillery or heavy weaponry, drilling militia for aggressive actions, and acts of espionage that are intended to gather information on another clan. Note that this is just an example list and that these are not the only things we'd be looking for. Insults or mockery will not be enough to bring Equestrian wrath upon a clan, but preventing an inspector from doing his work, whether the stoppage is from a mob of common people or instructions from a clan leader, will incur the notice of Equestria and there will be consequences."

"The inspectors will not be there forever," Celestia stated. "We're thinking that six months of intense scrutiny and another six of lesser scrutiny will suffice. Long enough for a government to form and for order to be restored. We aren't looking for tribute, and any inspector that tries anything corrupt will be given to the clan he or she offended for punishment. However, we must insist on this stipulation being agreed to. I might remind all of you, we've just been through a war lasting not far off from a full year, and we're determined that another one will not arise anytime soon."

"Might I add," Luna put in, "that anyone who refuses will face renewed war, and may lose their lands and titles as a result, depending on the damages done to the Allied Forces and how perfidious they may have been in trying to resist us, and even if they retain their lands, they will face consequences, and be forced to agree to even tighter inspection with less restrictions on those inspectors than we've set here."

The griffon began arguing among themselves yet again, but not for long. "Fine," Graywing said. "But if they try taking money, stealing from or abusing us, or if they do anything other than inspect, they're out. Period."

"That is acceptable to us," Celestia said before her younger sister could object, not that she'd tried. "Our inspectors will be strictly forbidden to take any money or items; their job is to look for evidence of warmongering, not take or tax or steal. Anyone who does this will, as said before, given to the clan they wronged for a trial there. You have my word that they will not be invasive beyond what their job honestly calls for."

"Good."

"Hmm, all the items of the treaty have been discussed and effectively agreed to," Luna noted. "All that remains is for us to sign it, under solemn oath to keep it. If anyone objects, you may do so here and now, but anyone refusing will, I remind you, be treated as an enemy of Equestria, as will anyone who signs and breaks the terms set down here."

"It is hardly the lightest thing ever," one griffon complained.

"It is not as heavy as a lot of our soldiers and many of our people would want it," Shining said, speaking up for the first time in a while. "I've been among our wounded; a lot of them wouldn't mind in the slightest if we occupied you and held you down for however long it took to make sure you'd never even get the idea of invading Equestria again. And those among our common citizens, especially those from Trottingham and villages and towns occupied during the invasion, want the harshest possible settlement we could bring upon you. You should be grateful that we're not asking for more. I've never heard of a treaty where the winners agreed to help the losers, as we've promised to do. I think you're getting off lightly. You might moan and complain that you weren't the ones to instigate the war, but none of you have even bothered to deny that you wanted your part in it. I believe it's in your best interest to sign it."

Graywing uttered something under his breath. So did several of the other clan leaders in attendance; one insulted Luna in a not-so-low voice, uttering a foul word and cursing her by the griffon gods. Luna, to her credit, didn't respond in the slightest.

"Will you sign or not?" Cadence asked impatiently, saying something significant for the first time. "How many have died already, and how many more will die if you refuse? How many more widows and orphans do you want to make? You getting a good deal here."

There was a long moment of silence.

Graywing sighed. "I suppose it'll do. And it's not so bad as it might have been. We're not subjugated whatsoever."

Celestia passed the treaty over to him. Sighing again, he picked up a quill, dunked it in the ink, and signed his name.

One by one, each of the clan leaders signed. Some looked relatively relieved, others were out and out angry that they had to agree, still others remained impassive as they wrote their own names (or, for those who couldn't read, drew a brief drawing of their clan symbol).

One of the latter said, "I wish we'd marched down Canterlot's streets and hung you two from the highest rafters we could find," glaring at the royal sisters.

Luna glared right back.

"Do we arrest him?" James heard Shining whisper to Celestia.

"No, not unless he actually tries to harm us," she whispered back. "Or he tries to break the terms of the treaty. Mere hate and disgust are not grounds for an arrest."

The embittered leader signed regardless of his feelings. The rest followed without much fuss.

When it came to Abd al-Malik to sign, he too sighed. "If only this paper punished your people more, and made defiance punishable," the translator said, "we could be sure you would cause no further trouble." But he too signed.

Jelani signed using a drawing of a zebra. Shining, Cadence, Celestia, and Luna affixed their names to the treaty as well, as did Rolling Barrel; Metamorphosis, signing for the combined changeling hives, wrote something in her people's own script that might or might not have been her name.

Luna passed the treaty to James. "Who, me?" he asked.

"Yes, you," the midnight blue alicorn replied. "You've been with us from the start, therefore your name shall be on it"

"Okay, if you say so," James said. "Probably the highest document I'll have the fortune to sign." He did so.

Luna took the treaty back. "With this, the war is now officially over."

"Let us hope we never fight another one," Celestia added.

"No arguments here," Cadence said. Shining nodded.

Most of the griffon leaders nodded as well, but James noted that a number looked displeased.

If they break the treaty, we crush them, he thought to himself. Celestia and Luna may not have fought wars much, but they had iron in them. They weren't going to let any of the defeated party weasel their way out of the terms presented to them.

"Now, with the treaty signed and in effect, it might be a good idea for the various clan leaders here to decide how their nation will be run from now on," Celestia said.

"We'll discuss it in private," Graywing said. "Away from prying eyes."

"Fair enough."

The various clan leaders slowly strolled out of the tent, most just looking glad the meeting - and the war - was over. James felt... actually, he didn't know what to feel. The fact that the war was over was difficult to comprehend.

Shining looked over at him. "I know, right?" he said. "Hard to believe it's over."

"Yeah." James looked at his side, which was still covered in bandages. It wasn't hurting much, which had allowed him to think clearly during the meeting, but it still throbbed now and then with pain.

"Do you think it was a good idea to let the griffons discuss anything on their own, your Highnesses?" Shining then asked the Princesses.

"It is probably for the best," Luna replied. "I do not believe they will betray us. Most of them signed the treaty without all that much fuss. The few who complained about it didn't bother to refuse signing. We can hold them to their word, and Graywing seems to hold a high level of opinion among them, and they've all followed his lead. He also seems to be relatively honorable, and I think he will stay true to his word; given his behavior here, he'll try holding the other leaders accountable for their actions."

"And Equestria has promised to help them rebuild," Celestia added. "That will help take the sting out of the reparations we've made them pay."

James yawned. "I guess it's back to staring at the ceiling of a tent for me now."

"Sorry," Celestia and Luna chorused, before looking at each other and chuckling slightly. "It is for your own good," the Solar Princess went on. "We wouldn't want to lose you now that the war is done."

"Yeah, but you're not the ones who have to deal with the boredom."

"Trust me, dear, if you had to spend half the day filing through paperwork, you wouldn't be complaining about boredom," Celestia replied, but she was still smiling and she winked at him.

"Oh joy," James muttered, but he wasn't really upset. It was official; the war was over. Equestrian and her allies had won, and peace had returned.

Chapter 84; Final twitching of the Empire

James spent much of his time either sleeping or trying to sleep. In the field hospital, there wasn't much else to do. He wanted to get up and do something. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable; far from it. But boredom was present, and while he didn't mind a few extra hours of sleep here and there, having nothing to do other than sleep was utterly... infuriating came close.

Unfortunately, with a hole in his side, he didn't have many options, and the medics, doctors, and medics weren't budging; he had to stay until it was sufficiently healed. No exceptions. His rank meant nothing here, and none of the Princesses had been willing to give him a reprieve.

Oh yes, there was one other thing the ponies, zebras, griffons, and Saddle Arabians could do; talk.

A pair of zebras were chatting eagerly in Swahili, while three SAs were discussing something in Arabic. James wasn't sure what they were talking about; other than "infidel," "inshallah," "Salaam," and a handful of military terms, he knew next to nothing of the language. His knowledge of Swahili was even worse; "Pengwini", or penguin, was about all he could remember, and since the word wasn't used, the only thing James could deduce from speech alone was that the discourse had little to nothing to do with flightless, Antarctic birds.

A couple of ponies were talking in excited English, though. He could understand them perfectly; "-got around them and gave them a volley that they won't ever forget... those that lived through it, anyway."

"Yeah," the other said, in a cockney accent that probably came - if James had any proper understanding of how things worked - from the lower classes in Trottingham. "They weren't gonna recovah from that, way you said it. Nevah let 'em get round ya sides, drilled tha inta us from day one, they did."

"For good reason. They ran as if a whole horde of manticores were chasin' them. Sadly, one of them must not have been so scared; turned right around and shot me through the left foreleg, and I was down, just like that. Went rolling head over hooves for a second or two; not surprised if it made it worse."

"Me, I was fightin' with Shinin' Armah an' 'is boys. Got hit by griffs at sunrise. We was almost overrun when'na rest o' the army started hittin' tha city. The griffs were gettin' pushed back when one o' 'em hit me wing wiv a sword."

"Ow."

"Was more 'n 'ow' fer me, right then."

"Will it recover?"

"Bah, them docs won' say yes n' they won' say no. Bloody well won' tell me anythin'."

"And there's a reason for that," a medic said, coming up to inspect him. "We simply don't know whether we'll have to cut it off or mend it. We're doing our best to make sure its the latter. As it is, we're hoping its in good enough condition for us to continue operating on it."

The cockney pegasus grimaced.

"Afternoon, General," a stallion doctor said. "Time to change your bandages again, and to check your wound."

James did what he could to keep his face straight. "Let's get to it, then."

He had to carefully take his shirt off, then the doctor had to unravel the bandages with painstaking slowness. The earth pony examined the injury for about a minute before coming to a decision. "Sir, I think your wound has healed just enough to allow you to get out of bed, though I'd advise doing so only as necessary at the moment. You'll still need bandages, though."

"Well, at least it's getting there," James replied, somewhat relieved. "I'll be able to get out of bed, and that's an improvement."

"Like I said, please do so only when necessary."

James nodded, but his thoughts were hardly in agreement with those of the doctor. He intended to get out of bed as soon as possible.

"Any word on my aide? Crystal Clear?"

"Hmm, I think I've heard of him..." The doctor thought for a moment. "Ah, yes, the white pegasus. I think he is in one of the patients in a commandeered house in the city."

"Yes, yes?" James said impatiently.

"He seems... well," the doctor said, rubbing the back of his head with a brown hoof. "I think he's been stabilized. However, he's still in critical condition. He requires constant monitoring, and the staff on hoof just managed to save him from dying twice as of now. Overall, it looks like he will make it, but I doubt he will heal entirely for at least a year, if not more, given the specific injury he took. He's fortunate to be alive."

"Thank... God," James breathed out slowly.

"As I said, he's still in critical condition. It's probably best not to get hopes up too soon."

It wasn't the best news James had gotten all day, at least regarding someone's condition, but it was better than nothing.

"Anyone know what else is going on?" he asked.

"We've basically crushed the little resistance that remained after the palace fell," another medic said, checking a patient's belly wound without looking up. "The little bands that were continuing the fight have either been forced to surrender or else deserted. We're looking over the city house by house for any military-grade weapons." He paused for a moment as he re-bandaged the injury. "The Princesses and the leaders of the coalition will be making a public appearance in the city square to announce the end of the war in two days. Assuming you're well enough by then, they would like for you to attend as well, General."

"I guess I can hardly refuse an offer like that," James chuckled. "But given the fact that there's been resistance in the city since the palace was captured, I'd postpone it or make the victory speech somewhere else."

"Why so? There is no enemy left. The treaty has been signed. In areas where there were Imperial units outside Gryphos, units have been turning their guns on their commanders or just surrendering and letting us deal with the crazies. Their cause is completely dead, no one's willing to fight to try and get the king back."

"Maybe, but you can't be certain."

"We'll have plenty of troops in the city; we're actually going to parade the coalition's best regiments down the main streets to the city square. Once there, Princess Celestia will give a speech to signify the end of the war and the return of peace."

"That sounds... bold. And I'm not sure it will be appreciated by the defeated party."

"Doesn't really matter what they think," the medic answered. "They have to do whatever we tell them. They've lost."

James shook his head. "People back home thought - and think - like that a lot. Sometimes, for the loser, the war is never over."

"If they make trouble, we'll crush them, and force them to pay more," the medic said, shrugging. "They can't stop this, and they won't."

"For your sake and for all of us, I hope you're right, but I have my doubts regardless."

A day later, James was finally out of bed and back in uniform, weapons, cap, and all. He fidgeted a little; his side was still fairly painful when he moved too fast in the wrong way, and he was consistently running a hand to the injury whenever it flared up.

Beats being stuck in a bed, he kept thinking to himself. It worked... most of the time... when his side wasn't practically screaming in pain.

He was once again gazing at Gryphos. The Griffon capital had sustained a lot of damage during the siege and final battle. Most of the outer wall, from the south to northwest, had been virtually obliterated. Along the routes where Allied soldiers had marched, many houses were damage or lay in ruins, with the worst such damage coming from the sector where Barrel and his tanks had penetrated the city. Along those streets, houses weren't simply battered; they had been utterly destroyed by the tanks' guns. The wall around the palace had taken a severe beating, and the palace itself had big chunks missing from it in addition to the top tower, which had formerly housed the prisons and superweapons the king had meant for Celestia and Luna to be trapped in. Trenches had fallen into disrepair, and mud as well as water filled at least part of many sections of it. Shattered gun carriages and ruined artillery pieces lay, silent at last. Here and there, destroyed, burned out husks that had once been working tanks stood, blackened and blasted; some, though not many, were blocking parts of the streets where Barrel had advanced. Many houses to the south, though still standing, had been burned by the king's final, hate-filled act of defiance and could no longer safely house anyone. The people living there had been evacuated for their own safety.

Most of the bodies, or so he'd been told, had been gathered up and prepared for burial. Needless to say, there were a lot of them. The casualty count for the Allies had been less than he'd feared, but they were still bad; 3,101 had died, 8,504 had been wounded. The griffons had lost much more; early estimates of their losses, including civilians and militia who had taken up arms as the army entered the city, had been calculated at around 37,500 total. That didn't even count the defections; most of the soldiers not directly killed had either deserted and hid, or had joined the Allies. About seven thousand had turned their guns on their own officers and fellow soldiers. Most of those officers were now dead; if they hadn't been killed by their own commands, they'd died vain attempting to stem the Allied advance.

Estimates of the war's total casualties were not yet ready, but he'd glanced at a few early counts; 35,000 ponies, 5,000 Zebras, and 10,000 Saddle Arabians had fallen in the east, and the wounded were believed to be 100,000. In the west, between 5,000-7,500 ponies had died, with thousand more injured in the line of duty. Losses among civilians (mostly due to the former emperor's cruelty in putting down rebellions and dissent) and the Griffon council's forces were still in dispute, but it was believed to be within the tens of thousands. Changeling losses were extremely difficult to estimate, given that Chrysalis had forced other hives to work under her, and it was hard to say which changeling body had belong to which hive and side. A flat 50,000 had been written on a piece of paper by some experts, but James believed the total number to be something closer to 75,000, accounting for all changeling hives on all fronts for both sides. Chrysalis and ex-king Raneiro had much to answer for.

"So much death. And for what purpose?" he asked under his breath to no one in particular.

He sat down on a rock nearby and rubbed his forehead with his right hand. The war had been fought to protect Equestria from the two powers menacing it. It hadn't had to come to war. If either dictator had chosen differently... But they hadn't. The loss of life had been small compared to some major wars on Earth, but for nations used to relative peace, it had been shocking. He sighed, glancing down at the ground.

He noticed something growing out of the crack between the bottom of the rock and the ground. Bending down further, he recognized the plant to be some sort of flower; lovely white petals were beginning to form, and, though small, the flower would clearly mature given enough rainfall and sunlight.

Life... growing where there was death before.

He was tempted to pick it up, but ultimately withdrew his hand; it would be a shame to cut off the plant from its growth just as its life was beginning. Feeling slightly reassured, he knelt down for a moment and offered a silent prayer before standing and heading for the city.

James had to admit, the four Equestrian regiments about to march to the city square were impressive. The Fifth Brigade of Trottingham fame was decked out in their blue uniforms, weapons on one shoulder and in their rows. It was one of the best units of the entire war in James' opinion; it's combat record was just about as good as it could get in a war lasting a little over ten months. It had earned numerous unit medals as well as personal medals, which shone on the uniforms of those who had earned them. Naturally, the unit had suffered losses; 35% of the unit had been killed, wounded, captured, or missing during the conflict out of the original 4,000 soldiers. Insofar as anyone deserved anything, the Fifth deserved to parade down the streets of the former enemy capital.

It would not be alone in the march.; some of the more prestigious units of the Griffon council, along with the Allan Rifles from Saddle Arabia and the so-called Hoofguards (at least, such was the translation from Swahili) of the Zebras, which were heavy, elite melee units that were the best fighters of their respective tribes and were commonly employed as chiefs' bodyguards. A changeling detachment was also present, entirely undisguised. The Allies would be presenting their previous enemies of the full evidence of their might, and the city's inhabitants would be able to know the determination and discipline of the victors. Hopefully, it would leave the right impression.

Crystal Clear was still in the commandeered house, and wouldn't be out for a while yet. The aide was, at least, showing signs of recovery, though he had yet to awake. Generals Barrel, Shining Armor, and Queen Metamorphosis and her head commanders would be present. Chief Jelani and Abd al-Malik would be here as well.

It wasn't as if they were the only ones. Pegasi would be flying in slow, straight ranks over the streets. Their role wasn't strictly for show; they had orders to watch for any suspicious activity, and a few out in front would be trying to keep both streets and skies clear.

The city's residents weren't required to come out and see, but James had no doubt that at least some of the griffons would be curious. In a city of hundreds of thousands, it was likely that at least a few thousand would come out and see what the Princesses and their allies had to say.

James was leading the Fifth, with Shining Armor to his right and Rolling Barrel to his left. The Saddle Arabians and Zebras (who had nearly come to blows over the issue of who went first) would be following behind them, with the griffon council and their best troops following. The changelings would cover the rear. Each unit was led by their respective commanding officers.

A lot of things might go wrong from here on out, but even so, the Princesses had learned. Each unit had their weapons and ammunition, and the Fifth hauled a couple batteries of breech-loading cannons with them. Two Gallop tanks split each of the Fifth's four regiments, and would be driving between them.

Despite the firepower and numbers, James still felt uneasy. Many reports of the griffon populace's hostility had come through over the four days he'd been out of action; insults and mud had been hurled at the victorious armies. Of course, not all were hostile; about two thirds of the griffon people in the city were just relieved that it was all over and they could rebuild. But that left another disgruntled third. They no doubt considered themselves nationalists and patriots. Those claims might be true. It was also true, however, that they might cause trouble of some sort. He didn't know exactly what they might do. And, naturally, a few diehard royalists might still be among their numbers, hiding and waiting, fanatical.

James would have preferred that the whole thing take place within Equestria, where the security would have been tighter than it ever could be in a city with a high number of hostile citizens. Make no mistake, he thought to himself. While the Royal Guard may be ensconced within the griffon palace, many of the people aren't in a mood for them to stay. It was a good thing that Equestria wasn't going to be here long; if this had been a conquest, and not a liberation, this war would not have ended, but would have merely shifted into a different phase, and James wasn't sure he had the means to wage a successful counter-insurgency campaign. Guerrillas were, by nature, difficult to find, cut off, and destroy. It was easier to fight as a guerrilla among a supportive populace than it would be for a foreign army in a hostile country.

It won't come to that, he reminded himself. Equestria is, by and large, leaving after this parade, with the exception of the inspectors to make sure the griffons hold up their end of the bargain.

For now, the parade would go on.

A pony nearby blew on a whistle. That was the signal for the parade to begin. Everyone, from all the nations present, started marching into the city from the ruined south gate.

James kept an eye on the windows and alleyways as the cavalcade made its way into the city. Any spot could be a place of ambush. The ones he could see were closed, per orders of the occupying powers, but it didn't decrease his unease.

As might be expected, griffons were on the streets. Some tried to pretend that nothing was going on. They turned their backs to the armies and attempted to continue whatever they were doing. When that something was a conversation, it was particularly difficult; the sound of hooves, some of them shod with nailed-on horseshoes, as well as griffon claws, was hard to ignore entirely.

Refreshingly, some actually waved, especially when they saw fellow griffons in the procession. A large number of these bore injuries and looked to have been starving recently. these, then, must have been those who had opposed the emperor's rule, and they had paid the price for it. They naturally welcomed anyone other than a tyrant into their city. He suspected that the council would have no trouble from these, or their offspring. James found his fears easing somewhat. A considerable number of the populace wanted peace, and might help to not only rebuild, but to heal the deeper scars left by the war.

One female griffon, clutching three baby griffons in her front claws, was unable to wave, but her children, though extremely young, did it for her.

Like the flower. new life, even in the aftermath of war. He took off his cap and briefly doffed it toward her and the infants before replacing it.

Unfortunately, not all either ignored or welcomed the victors. Quite a few were clearly unhappy. Some shouted catcalls and jeers; "Horses ain't welcome 'ere!" "You'll go out faster than you're comin' in, you will!" "Care to pull a wagon for me? Ha ha!"

The dissenters were no less antagonistic toward their own; though James wasn't able to look over his shoulder effectively, he could hear shouts of "Traitors!" from the disgruntled onlookers, as well as curses and calls for the griffon gods to damn the council and their soldiers. The vast majority, though, were content to just shout insults and cuss words; they knew that the Allies had firepower on their side, and could turn it against them if attacked.

That didn't stop a relative few; bottles flew from some of them, though none, thankfully, were filled with explosives or anything more harmful than drops of alcohol. Some threw mud. One or two went beyond even this and threw cobblestones and pieces of broken buildings at the parade.

The pegasi reacted at once to the throwers; large squads promptly arrested the tossers, and escorted them away, presumably out of the city. Other pegasi took the places of the ones who had taken the dissidents out of the picture.

Not all such encounters ended as fast or as painlessly. James could hear fights break out between members of the crowd and the griffon council's troops, who had had it with being called traitors and other non-endearments. Each time, though, the trouble was put right soon after it had started, with the brawlers on either side being arrested and taken away. The roars of angry sergeants soon squelched the complaints of the soldiers.

These events were certainly not something that made James feel any more relaxed. But by and large, after seeing the more violent onlookers being arrested, most of the crowd were content to either ignore, cheer, or taunt the soldiers in the parade. Fewer and fewer projectiles came from the watchers, and after a time, it almost stopped entirely. Apparently, even patriots didn't want to be jailed, and the fact that there were more griffons cheering the Allied forces than insulting them must have discouraged at least some from doing any more than they did.

Other than the occasional bottle thrower, James found some measure of encouragement. The ones trying to ignore the procession, though not friendly toward the Allies, at least weren't disrupting it, and the number of those cheering was greater by far than those attacking it, whether with words or with objects. The people of Gryphos largely wanted peace, food, home, and drink, and if the transfer of power went over well, all the various factions - well, except for the royalists - would get what they wanted.

As they began to enter the city square, James remembered the ambush coming from the two houses nearest the palace, as well as the fight for one of them. They both had large cloths with red crosses hanging from their roofs in prominent locations, and he could see various ponies, Saddle Arabians, and zebras coming from each of them; here and there in the windows, he could, if he squinted, see doctors and medics trying to help patients. He wished them well.

Lord Jesus, please speed their recovery.

Making the sign of the cross, he looked again toward the square. A big wooden platform had been constructed; it wasn't fancy or anything, and it could be deconstructed quickly. It obviously wasn't here to stay; the Allies wanted to make their closing remarks on the war, and then return home and rebuild.

The troops spread out; the Equestrian regiments each took up position at one corner of the platform, and the soldiers of the other species involved formed up between each of them. It formed a nice, basic checkerboard pattern, with the platform as the central square. Too bad we didn't bring a giant chess set, James thought as the troops set themselves up. A good game might help defuse the remaining tensions.

At this point, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence flew over the square in a rough triangle; Celestia in the center, slightly ahead of the others, with Luna to her right and Cadence to her left. They looped up and over, stopped completely, then landed, directly in the middle of the platform.

Shining Armor walked up to the platform and walked up the small steps set up for that purpose. James followed, with Rolling Barrel just behind him. Chief Jelani and Al-Malik came after barrel, with Queen Metamorphosis and a couple of changelings that James couldn't identify walking up as well. Graywing and several members of the Noble Council came up last, taking up their places on the platform.

James realized just how big the square was; even with the thousands of soldiers in their places, it was still big enough for a large crowd of griffons to gather around; their numbers were easy over a thousand, and probably many more.

Celestia lit her horn. In a second, a podium appeared right before her. She walked up to it, coughed slightly, then looked toward the crowd in front of her. "Greetings, citizens of the Griffon lands," she said in loud, ringing tones. "I am Princess Celestia, Diarch of Equestria. Joining me today are my sister, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence of the restored Crystal Empire along with her husband, Shining Armor. In addition, the advisor to the Equestrian military, James Lavigne; General Barrel, of our Tank Corps; Abd al-Malik, of th Saddle Arabian army and Chief Jelani of the Zebra Tribes; Queen Metamorphosis, today representing the combined changeling hives; and last but not least, members of the Council of Nobles, to include Graywing the Wise."

That last got the attention of the crowd; whispering intensified. Apparently, Graywing was respected among the griffon peoples, even those of opposing clans. Graywing had been the head of the griffon resistance to the king, and as such would have been slandered and vilified to no end. A lot of the words James could hear sounded positive, so it seemed like a good sign. If anyone could lead the Griffon Confederacy, assuming it was founded in the near future, it would be him. He couldn't see any other candidate that could lead the nation in the aftermath of the war.

Celestia backed away, and gestured with a hoof to Princess Luna, who accordingly walked up to the podium. "A little over a year ago, the land of Equestria was attacked, without provocation, by the empire ruled by the now former Queen Chrysalis. Shortly thereafter, as our land was battling this foe, we were stabbed in the back by the ex-king Raneiro, who sent his armies against us, dreaming to capture Our person and that of Our sister and use us to control out respective celestial bodies, and to use us as weapons. We did what any responsible leaders could; we resisted. In short, we repulsed the attack. After Raneiro refused to end the war short of our surrender, we initiated a counter-invasion, not to control, but to overthrow. He then, in order to further orchestrate the war against us and to usurp power, began a massive purge against you, his people, and against anyone who refused to acquiesce to this illegal and immoral act, and set himself up as an emperor. You have all experienced the results of his tyranny. Hundreds of thousands have died or been permanently scarred; none of them had to suffer this. The whole war was unnecessary. And if he had been satisfied with what he had been given, he would still reign and enjoy the fruits of a peaceful rule. The Council of Nobles was formed to resist this evil, and joined forces with us. The rest you know... unfortunately all too well."

Luna coughed. "Many of our ponies, especially those in locations occupied by the griffon armies and that suffered the most under their claw, as well as many of our soldiers, call for revenge. They desire nothing less than to turn the griffon kingdom into another province of Equestria and force the griffon people to taste what their armies have dished out, as well as reducing it so that it can never rise to threaten Equestria again."

There were different murmurings this time. James didn't like the sound of them. Before he had so much as five seconds to really think about it, Cadence stepped up, Luna having withdrawn. "But that is not who we are. That is not Equestria, nor is it the Crystal Empire that I have the honor of leading. Revenge has no place. While we have imposed minor demands upon the soon-to-be Griffon Confederacy, it is nothing compared to what we could have done. We desire peace, and a lasting peace at that. We forgive those who have wronged us. We are not naive; the process of forging a permanent peace and dousing the high level of negative emotions caused by the war will take time, and the mental and emotional scars will take years if not entire lifetimes to heal entirely, if ever."

Cadence paused, drawing breath. "But I believe that the dream of peace and future prosperity, of hearts and minds as well as of wealth, is possible. Stand with us as we rebuild our world. Together, we can make a future for ourselves and our children."

As she backed away, a few in the audience applauded. Not many. James glanced at the nearest faces. Most of them looked blank or uncertain. Not that unnatural, given the recent war and the destruction of much of the ancient city. Maybe they were in disbelief at what was being said. Also not unexpected, though disappointing if it was true.

So far, nothing had gone all that wrong. Oh, there had been the dissidents who had thrown objects at the marchers, but no one had been badly injured or killed.

Don't get over-confident. Someone could still be out there with hostile intentions. Still, it feels promising.

Celestia stepped forward again. "As of now, the war is over. Equestria's armies will withdraw into our sovereign borders. The Griffon Confederacy will be fully independent and recognized as a nation among nations. We will-"

BANG!

James instinctively ducked. The motion was useless; a bullet would have hit him long before he could have dodged it. Nonetheless, it felt like the right thing to do.

He looked back at Celestia, who was staring at a hole in the platform several feet to her right. But even as she looked, another shot slammed into her tiara, utterly shattering it.

This time, James had seen where the shot had come from; a window on the left side of the square. A griffon's head stuck through it, and he was already aiming for a third shot at Celestia's head.

"Get down!" James threw himself down so that he was lying prone, and fired on the assassin. Unfortunately, at this distance, the revolver was almost useless, but it was enough to make the enemy duck.

As if that shot had been a signal, more gunfire erupted from high-story windows around the square.

Chaos erupted. Griffon civilians flew in every direction as the Allied soldiers tried to aim at the incoming attackers and fire upon the windows where the gunfire was coming from. While most of the Allied forces hesitated to fire, given the mass panic and the fact that civilians were in their line of fire, the royalists had no compunctions about killing their own; several griffons, of both genders, fell simply trying to flee the scene.

James saw Cadence form a shield around her, and he was encouraging others, soldiers and griffon citizens alike, to take cover under it. Luna gave a wordless bellow that shook the square and shot straight at the griffon who had just tried to kill her sister. She dodged a bullet he fired at her and ran straight into him. Blue flashes of light came from the window, so great in intensity that James found it hard to look in that direction. He had his doubts that the griffon was going to survive.

By now, the pegasi among the Fifth had taken flight and we either shooting at or rushing the windows where the firing was coming from. James could understand the reasons of those taking the latter approach; their rulers were under threat, and that threat had to be put out of action before it succeeded in killing those rulers.

As for Celestia herself... the Solar Princess had also made a shield, but her face betrayed the great horror she felt. She had clearly never witnessed something like this.

James crawled until he was near the edge of the platform and rolled off, catching himself on the ground and standing back up. Feathers of various sizes and colors fell as the griffons tried desperately to escape. However, as he raised his pistol again, James noticed that not all of them were fleeing the attackers. These carried weapons as well, but they weren't aiming at the figures on the platform; they were fighting the insurrectionists. The members of the Griffon council had their weapons, and rather than taking cover, most either fired from their present positions or ran toward the buildings where the assassins lurked.

He grabbed a nearby pegasus by the coat. The soldier whirled, then stiffened. "Go bring word of what's happening to the main camp. Tell them to send reinforcements, now!"

The pegasus saluted, and then zipped away into the sky.

Despite the efforts of the Allied forces, there were many dead and wounded. The screams of the latter, from the various species present, resonated through the air.

That made James think about the field hospitals, which were right on the edge of the square... and were vulnerable. He glanced at a nearby captain among the Equestrian Royal Guard detachment that was part of the Fifth Brigade. "Captain!"

The soldier turned toward him. "Yes, general?" he shouted, trying to be heard above all the noise.

"Send your company to protect our field hospitals!" James replied, pointing to the two houses.

The Captain nodded, and began issuing orders. Armored pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies began to rush, such as they could through the chaos, toward the temporary hospitals.

A soldier nearby crumpled, dropping his rifle as he did so. James scurried over and grabbed the weapon; it was better at long range than his own. He took aim at one of the window where the firing was coming from and pulled the trigger. The gun bucked against his shoulder. A griffon dropped onto the window sill, sticking half in and half out of the window.

Already, the firing from the buildings was slackening. The reason was obvious in hindsight; there were so many soldiers firing at each window that it was practically inevitable that the killers would be hit. Meanwhile, zebras were rushing toward a house next to the one where the first shots had come from, and the regiments of the Fifth were breaking into houses where some of the enemy were still firing.

James reached toward the soldier from whom he had taken the rifle. The pony was still alive, but unconscious and clearly in need of medical attention. hating the necessity, he took the soldier's bayonet and ammunition, then waved toward a medic who was nearby. There were sadly only a few medics, and they were clearly overwhelmed given the number of injured.

I thought they might try to disrupt or kill someone, but I didn't think they'd do... this.

He ran toward a building to the south, one where there weren't as many attacking soldiers. Those Allied troops who were there were trying to break down the door, which was proving to be a surprisingly difficult task, given than three earth ponies and a couple Saddle Arabians were bucking it.

Just before he got there, a soldier smashed a first story window with a rifle and leaped inside. James scrambled through the new entry.

All at once, the reason for the delayed entry became clear. A ton of furniture had been piled up on the inside of the house, and numerous griffons, all in either Imperial or clan uniform, were trying to keep the barricade from being breached.

James and the pony with him raised their rifles. Two of the griffons fell before they were able to even try to grab their weapons, and the remainder were gun down as they reached for them. As they fell, so did the barricade they'd set up, and Equestrian and Saddle Arabian troops poured into the building.

James opened a closet to his left. Instead of insurgents, he found several griffon chicks hiding, terrified, along with a mother who was trying to silently comfort them. James waved the other troops away from the closet. "Keep a couple guys down here," he said to a sergeant. The sergeant nodded and pointed his hoof at two soldiers, who took up positions near the staircase at the far end of the house.

Followed by several Allied soldiers, James ran up the stairs to the second floor and kicked open a door of a room that faced toward the square. A couple of griffons, each in different uniforms, were huddled against the wall, taking cover from fire coming from the outside.

As the griffon in Imperial uniform poked his rifle outside, James raised his own.

"I wouldn't do that," came a voice from behind; it was one of the soldiers that had followed him.

Both griffons turned. They both stared for a moment.

Then, the one wearing a clan uniform dropped his gun. The Imperial tried to aim at James, but a couple of soldiers shot him; one shot hit the griffon in the leg, the other somewhere in the chest. The griffon fell backwards against the wall.

"Take them," James said, in a hoarse voice that surprised himself.

Ponies and Saddle Arabians entered the room. The Imperial, Royalist griffon tried to physically struggle with the captors, but was overpowered and turned onto his belly as the victors tied his wrists together behind his back. The other griffon just let the Allies do the same, without trying any funny business.

"I say we just shoot them," an Equestrian corporal said. "They're terrorists. We're well in our rights to execute them."

"It may be so, but we need answers to our questions. Like who else is involved, and what are they up to? And we won't get those answers if we just kill them here and now."

"Fine. We make them tell us what we need to know, and them shoot 'em."

"No. No one is being executed without orders."

James turned back toward the griffon prisoners. And the war was - or should have been... over. Filled with anger and frustration, he shouted, "Why? Why do this, and with most of the dead being your own people of all things?"

"We aren't going to let you people rule us," the clan griffon said, though without much conviction. "We will not suffer any Equestrian ruler or official set over us."

"We are going to set our Emperor back in his rightful place," the Imperial gritted out; unlike the order, despite his injuries, he was fiercely defiant and determined. "We will set up the Empire to be a world power, and it begins with the death of the traitors and fools who oppose us!"

James snorted. The Imperials would never have gotten their wish, even if they succeeded today. And given the fact that the gunfire outside was slackening, that last was unlikely. He turned toward the other. "You realize that, if you succeed, that your independence would be forfeit? That this treachery undermines the treaty your leaders signed? After this, I think that you can expect worse than if you'd done nothing."

"That treaty was signed by traitors! It means nothing!" The Imperial cried out, while his companion replied, "We did not sign it, and we will not allow Equestria or anyone else to tell us what to do."

"I don't think you'll have any choice now," James answered him. "Now, is this assassination it, or is there more to it?"

"I will not answer my liege's enemies. I will not betray His Majesty!" the Royalist bitterly refused.

"I will tell my country's enemies anything," the other griffon said, but his words lacked strength.

"One way or another, we'll get our answers out of you, and any of your fellow criminals who survive this." James jerked his head. "Take them to the main camp. DO NOT execute them or allow anything 'unfortunate' to happen along the way; I'll come down on you hard if you do. Keep them chained up until someone in authority can question them."

Several soldiers moved forward and took the griffons into custody. The Royalist spat at his captors and struggled, even wounded as he was, to get away, but it was all in vain. The clan griffon went peaceably and without further struggle.

"There'll be a reckoning for this," an Equestrian soldier said, quiet fury in his eyes and menace in his voice.

"Perhaps, but in the meantime lets crush this insurrection and help all those people in the square."

By the time James stepped outside, most of the firing had ceased. Most of the attackers were dead or otherwise incapacitated, and the few places where the rebels were still shooting from were being smashed by rifle fire. Within two minutes, the firing had stopped entirely.

The noise of fighting had given way to the sound of wounded ponies, zebras, Saddle Arabians, and griffons; screams of pain, moans, groans, and curses in various languages pierced the air.

From their vantage points, the shooters had almost surrounded the entire square. It had been all too easy to hit someone. Hundreds were down; quite a few were griffons who had come to see the ceremony. Husbands, mothers, and children were already crowding around the many casualties; here and there a loud cry announced that some unfortunate soul had found a loved one among the dead and dying.

The rest of the casualties were mostly soldiers. Spears, swords, rifles, bows and arrows, and rifled jezails littered the ground. James stepped carefully as he made his way toward the platform in the middle of the square.

As he slowly climbed the stairs, his eyes scanned the carnage. About half of the Griffon Council members who were present were down; some had died quickly, others were clutching at wounds, and more were crying out in pain.

James saw with some measure of relief that Celestia and Cadence seemed unscathed, though the latter was currently crouching over an injured pony. With a shock, he realized it was Shining Armor.

He ran over. Cadence saw him and looked alarmed, but relaxed quickly.

James looked his friend over. The white stallion was kneeling, his right leg out in front of him. James saw, with an inside lurch, that his leg had been shot through by one of the attackers' bullets.

"It came out of nowhere," Cadence said, as if trying to explain, but it sounded like she was talking to someone who wasn't present.

Shining opened his left eye, which was facing his wife and James. "Ugh," the stallion said. "Can you believe it? Through the whole thing, without a scratch, only for this..."

"This may not be the last of the murderers," James said. "There could be more out there, converging on the square even as we speak. We need to get you and all the wounded out of the city, now, before more violence can erupt."

Shining nodded, still in pain. "You didn't think I'd die now, did you?" he asked faintly.

James could appreciate the attempt at humor, but for now... "Get everyone who can be moved out of here," he said to a group of soldiers present. "Before the criminals can try again."

He looked around as those soldiers began moving. The Fifth Brigade was starting to reform; some dragged prisoners out of buildings, some of which appeared to have been very roughly handled. Most that emerged from the buildings, however, didn't carry prisoners. Either the enemy had fought to the death, or had been killed under that excuse.

One good thing he could see was that a large flock of pegasi from the Allied camp was approaching, with unicorns and earth ponies coming on hoof into the city. Hopefully, the wounded could be evacuated.

He glimpsed something flying just to his left, and turned in time to see Princess Luna land on the platform next to him. Other than some singed fur, which he suspected was more a result of the spells she'd been throwing around, she didn't look worse for wear after her encounter with the assassin. She shook her head when he met her eyes. It was all he needed to see to know of the griffon's fate.

Celestia still had a golden shield cast around herself and several ponies and griffons. As he approached, he saw that her head was near the floor and her face was frozen in a state of shock; her eyes were wide open, her teeth ground together, and her ears pointed toward her back. Her horn was still lit and glowing gold, and her body seemed motionless. Those around her simply gazed outside the shield, not making much of an effort to escape.

James came close and raised his hand. Celestia didn't respond whatsoever. Worried, her moved to check her side; it was heaving somewhat, so she was still breathing, but other than that she was not moving. Meanwhile, some of those inside the shield were looking outward and pushing claws or hooves up against it, stunned and horrified by the devastation and death around them.

"Celestia, please lower the shield. We need to get all these people out of here."

The Solar Princess didn't respond.

Luna walked over. "Let me handle this," she said. She took a deep breath, then shouted, in the Royal Canterlot Voice,
"SISTER, SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Most of those present covered their ears; the shield dissipated as Celestia was rocked by the blast of sound coming her way. She raised her head, shook it, and looked around. "Ohhhh... Please, Luna tell me this is all just a nightmare."

"I only wish it was, so I could dispel it," the Lunar Princess replied sadly. "We must leave, before they get a second chance at us. If there are any more dastardly criminals in the shadows, we'll give them too great a chance of accomplishing our goal if we remain. The victory ceremony is over."

Celestia simply stood there for a moment, taking in the terrible sights before her.

"It was a gang of griffon Nationalists and Royalists," James said, hoping the explanation might do something. "Most of those attacking us are gone. We need to leave before any second assault can happen, and evac the wounded."

"General!"

James turned to see the Royal Guard Captain that he had sent to guard the houses. "What's going on?"

"Sir, they hit the hospitals. We did our best to stop them..." The Guard pulled his helmet off and stared at the ground. "But a few patients were... were..."

"Murdered," James finished for him.

The Captain nodded sadly.

James turned to the Princesses. "For the last time, everyone needs to leave while our soldiers settle the remaining rebels."

Celestia slowly nodded. "We'll leave," she said. "For now. But those who perpetrated this cowardly act will pay the price."

"Count on it," James said. "Now, with all do respect, can we please get going?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Curse the butchers," Graywing said in a furious voice. "The treaty goes right down the drain because of them." He uttered a word that should never be used in polite conversation.

"No," Luna said. "Not unless our investigation discovers a conspiracy among you. Otherwise, you have nothing to worry about." She rose into the air. "Well, what are you all standing around for?" she asked in a loud voice. "Gather the wounded and fallen, and bring them to the army's main camp. Now!"

"That goes for us, too," Graywing yelled. "Have our dead and injured brought to safety. The monsters who did this will pay for it, and dear, but for now, do as I and the Princess have commanded." He turned toward the detachment of warriors and soldiers who followed the Council. "Spread out; anyone ya find with a weapon or uniform that's not one o' ours, ya tie them up and bring em to the camp fer interrogation. Go!"

"Likewise for the third and fourth regiments of the Fifth," Luna added. "The first and second will transport the casualties of this atrocity." She seemed to burn with anger. "Find the perpetrators. Bring them to Us. We will pass sentence upon them."

As the various soldiers and members of the crowd began to move, James surveyed the carnage. Again, he was struck by how senseless the attack had been. Even had they succeeded, wouldn't have changed the result of the war; the Allies would still have won, and the rebels would be hunted down. They would only have brought more punishment for themselves and their fellow griffons.

"We'll clean them out," he said to himself.

At least some of the people in the crowd, as well as the Council, had fought back. That was a reason to... be slightly less unhappy. Most of the population wanted peace, not more war. That was reason enough for hope. If the griffon people had had any support for rebels, that support was now dead. Without a population to swim and hide in, the insurgents could be hunted down and defeated.

"The time has come for peace," he murmured. "And it will come no matter what these rebels do."

Author's Note

I'd been thinking of this scene for years, and it was based off of the attempt to assassinate President Lee in Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove. I apologize if anyone thought I was trying to make this resemble a recent tragedy, it was NOT intended that way. I doubt the Royalists and Nationalists would have given up without one last struggle.

Chapter 85; End of an era

As the army spread out across the city, it entered every house it came across. It didn't rampage and plunder, but it was thorough in its search. Any military grade weapon was confiscated at once, and any adults in the house were questioned.

James kept his pistol in hand. He found that he kept checking whether it was loaded, even though he knew that he had made sure of it hours ago. It was difficult to help it. And he wasn't the only one; most of the soldiers he could see were on edge.

It would take days to sweep the entire city. It had been estimated to take weeks, but the city's population had rallied behind the new government; mobs of enraged peasants accompanied the Allied soldiers, holding pitchforks, torches, knives, and clubs of various kinds, including, but not limited to, baseball bats and pieces of piping, and roving bands of furious griffons wandered the streets and skies, conducting searches of their own. James had feared that the people of the city might try to hide the rebels, but that fear had proved almost groundless; virtually no one wanted to hide murderers who would fire on their own people. Of the few who did... James had seen a number of griffons lying beaten in the streets, with signs tied around their necks telling of their crimes, purported or otherwise. Two rebels had been found by peasants and had been lynched on streetlamps before the Confederate authorities could get to them.

Silver Shield stopped in front of him and gave a salute. James returned it. "What did you find?" he asked.

"Sir," the major began, "We found a house that looked innocent, but when we entered it, every opening we found, from closets to kitchen cabinets, was filled to the brim with powder, guns, and bullets. We also found three Gatling guns that they managed to squirrel away after the major fighting in the city was done."

"Sounds like we found a big storage dump for the insurrectionists. You secured it, right?"

"Of course. A full two companies are guarding it, fully armed and ready for business."

"Good. Did you find any hints that the building was occupied prior to searching it?"

"Yes, sir. It seemed abandoned, though."

"You searched everywhere? Loose floorboards and attic and all?"

"Yes, sir. No one."

"Well, keep your eyes open. They might have found a way to hide or sneak into the house."

"Understood, sir."

"Any other sign of the criminals?"

"Not as of yet, sir. Either they're keeping a low profile, or-"

A gunshot rang out not far away.

Shield stiffened. "Sounds like that came from the house... but it couldn't have. We checked it from top to bottom, and no one was inside!"

"Apparently, our enemies found a way to hide," James replied. "If they did break in or hide, we need to get over there quickly."

"You won't get there fast enough on your own legs. Hop on," Shield said, gesturing to his back with a hoof.

James did need to be asked twice; he jumped on, and Shield took off at full speed.

"By the way, how's the...?"

"It's fine for now," James answered. "Let's focus on clearing out the rebels."

It didn't take long for them to arrive. James winced to see several soldiers sprawled on the streets outside the house. James got off Shield's back and took the rifle of his own shoulder.

The gun battle was well underway. Allied soldiers, mostly Equestrians, had taken over in nearby houses and were firing out of windows and doors. Opposite them, apparently in the house that Shield had been talking about. Hundreds of soldiers were firing into the house; griffons of fewer numbers were shooting. Although they were badly outnumbered, that disadvantage was greatly compensated for by the fact they were using the Gatling guns that Shield had mentioned earlier. Bullets were striking houses as though each individual round was part of a chain; every time an Equestrian rose to fire, he had to duck down fast.

"Captain, what happened?" Shield demanded of a nearby soldier as he and James scrambled into a house for cover.

"Sir," the Captain said, saluting.

"Don't waste my time with protocol, answer the question! Where did they come from, and how did they get to the point of shooting at us!?!"

"Sir, it turns out the weapons in the house weren't just there to arm a rebellion; they were being used to conceal the rebels. We found one of the insurgents when we removed the stacks of guns that were hiding him. He shot one of us and we shot him, which must have triggered everyone else in the house to come out of their hiding spots; the other caches in the house all came apart to reveal griffon fighters."

James shook his head. "Wish we'd thought of that," he said, turning to Shield.

"Me too. Their plan was all too clever. New question is, why are they fighting us here?"

James ducked as a chain of bullets flew through the window. "Beats me. They have to know they can't hold out. Not forever. If we have to, we can bring up tanks and cannons to blow the house to smithereens."

"This gun fight can only delay the inevitable, in other words," Shield said, joining James in lying prone for a moment.

"Delay..." James crawled over the the window, raised his rifle, above his head, and fired blindly at the house. A string of Gatling bullets answered, tearing the wall and further smashing up the inside of the room. "Or maybe a distraction? For something else?"

"But what?" Shield copied James and received the same treatment from the enemy gunner.

James found himself thinking of the refugees who had fled the city in the wake of the massacre in the square. Many griffons had left the city and were encamped outside it, within the former griffon defensive lines. "I'm worried that some rebels might have joined the temporary exodus outside the city."

"But we searched 'em all!" Shield raised his rifle above the window sill and fired twice before lowering it and turning toward James. "How could they have slipped past us? Any seeming civilian with weapons had them confiscated and was interrogated!"

"We were just in the middle of a war." James took quick aim and fired at an upper window on the enemy stronghold, ducking back down quickly. "Weapons might not be as hard to find as you think. And they're encamped between the walls and where the enemy trenches used to be. There may be small weapons boxes and caches that we didn't account for. If push comes to shove, insurgents hiding among the refugees could ambush and kill or kidnap legitimate Confederate soldiers and steal their weapons and uniforms."

"But what would they be able to do?" Shield fired again, and this time was met by a cry from across the street.

James reloaded. "Anything, really. Destroy supply dumps, ambush soldiers, raid our supply lines... or..."

"Attempt to murder the Princesses, again," Shield finished. He fired his rifle again, then began to reload as well.

"I don't think they expected to be found this fast," James said. "If this engagement had started the way they wanted, they would have engaged us before we got to the house, the plan would be underway, and they'd be all over the streets instead of being confined to just one building. That said, if there are assassins out there, they've probably been triggered by the sounds of this fight."

"They'll probably try and carry out their plan, if they have one, now that we found out their little hideout." Shield swore under his breath. "And here we are, stuck fighting these guys."

"Maybe, but we can get some messengers out to the main camp and warn them," James said.

"How do we get out of this mess alive in order to do that? I'm still half surprised we didn't get our tickets punched as we came into this fight!"

"We have to try and disengage somehow. No doubt other soldiers have heard and can tell the Princesses about the fighting, but not about a plan against them directly." James took aim again, this time at one of the Gatling gunners. He fired. The gunner fell backwards, dead before he hit the ground. It didn't do much good; another griffon just got on the gun and continued spraying bullets everywhere.

"Ugh. We aren't going to get anywhere just shooting these guys," Shield muttered angrily, firing again. "We need bigger guns."

Just then, an explosion rocked the house. James thought for a moment that the griffon had shot one of their anti-tank rockets at him and Shield, but a moment later, he realized that the explosion had been too big for that, and the building he and Shield and a number of other soldiers were in wasn't the one that had taken the damage. He took a cautious look outside.

A Barrel-class tank had just shown up and fired its cannon at the window he'd just shot at. There was nothing left of that room now but utter ruin.

Allied soldiers cheered as the tank adjusted its cannon. It fired again, this time at a lower window. The entire wall around the window was blasted apart; griffon bodies were thrown hither and yon or struck with various kind of debris. A few seconds later, another shell struck the house from a different direction. A Gallop tank had joined the fight as well.

"Do we rush them now, sir?" Shield asked.

"No, but this is the perfect time to send a messenger, while the enemy is getting hammered. Find three pegasi and have them fly to the main camp."

"Right."

As Shield galloped away, James raised himself to the window and brought his rifle up. The rebel-held house was being blown to bits by the two tanks, and nothing the enemy had was making a dent in the tanks' shields. As the minutes went on, fewer bullets came from the house, until there were only a few rifles being fired here and there.

"Come on!" James ditched the rifle and pulled his revolver out of the holster before vaulting out of the window. He regretted this almost immediately, as the bullets had sadly not gotten rid of all the glass, and his left hand was cut. Wincing, he waved his hand, and Equestrians began to run or fly out of the buildings where they had taken refuge. Yelling as they ran or flew, they rushed the enemy house.

James ran through a door that had been reduced to splinters. At once he saw five griffons, two of whom were clearly dead and three wounded, including one writhing in pain. He decided that they didn't constitute a threat; none of them was holding a weapon, and they were either motionless or too distracted by pain to do anything. To be safe, he motioned toward them as ponies followed him in.

The inside of the house - or much more accurately, what was left of the house - was beyond repair. This heap of a building would have to be torn down and rebuilt entirely. The tanks had done their job well. Perhaps too well, he thought as plaster sprinkled off the ceiling.

He passed by a griffon body that was lying against the wall as he inspected the house for any nasty surprises. The place was full of rubble and dust now, and he couldn't help coughing.

Just then, someone tackled him from behind. James fell on his face; he jammed his elbow into where he assumed the attacker's face would be and was met with an angry squawk as the limb connected. Taking advantage, James rolled to his left, though not before the griffon managed to bite his arm using his beak. Hissing, James turned onto his left side to face the enemy, who he now recognized as the "corpse" he'd just passed.

The griffon got up and moved to attack again. James pulled the trigger. The griffon fell back a couple steps, but remained upright, and took a step forward.

For whatever reason, James had forgotten to let go of the trigger before firing again, and in a panic he pulled back the hammer with his other hand and fired one shot after the other into the enemy, who was struck again and again and finally fell, now truly a casualty.

James breathed heavily as he got to his feet. Several Equestrian soldiers entered the room, guns up and ready for a fight. He waved them away, and they eased up slightly.

It had been a mistake to pass an enemy without checking to see if he was really gone. "Check the bodies and make sure they're really out for the count," he said. "Capture anyone who is still alive."

The soldiers nodded. "Yes, sir," one of them said, and continued searching.

James reloaded his pistol, then made his way toward the stairs. "Someone keep searching all the closets and cabinets; we don't know where they're hiding, or what they're hiding."

A soldier opened a closet door and jerked back in surprise; as he had chosen to walk on his hind hooves, the motion almost caused him to fall onto his back. "Sir, you might want to see this."

James walked over as the soldier got down to all fours again and shouldered his rifle. A large door, like that of a safe, was inside, behind a dead griffon and scattered Imperial rifles. He tried to turn the large circular wheel, but it wouldn't turn.

"Le me," the soldier said. The stallion put his hooves - shod with nailed- on horseshoes - to the wheel and put his back into it. The wheel slowly turned, and the door swung open.

"A basement," James remarked.

"Looks like it was a wine cellar of some sort, sir."

It looked that way to James, too. As he descended the stairs into the cellar, he noted the casks and barrels that were all over the place. Some goblets and beer mugs were scattered about, an indication that when the first shots were fired, the rebels had been enjoying themselves in their hideout.

Gunfire broke out from upstairs. A couple of pained griffon squawks came to his ears.

James and the soldier rushed back up to the ground floor, and up the stairs that James had initially been walking towards. The stairs were littered with debris, but they weren't impassible, so both of them managed to arrive on the scene pretty quick.

Two griffons in clan uniforms had been found in an upper room where a tank shot had landed. Seeing James and their fellow trooper coming into what was left of the room, another soldier said, "Sir, we found them alive. They tried to attack us."

James was suspicious for a moment, thinking that the soldiers might have killed the griffons in cold blood, but decided, after looking at the bodies, that their story check out; each was holding a weapon, and it was highly unlikely that the soldiers could have set up something like this in the ten or so seconds it had taken him to get here.

Another three griffons were lying wounded in the room, two in clan uniforms and one in Imperial red and black. The Royalist and one of the Nationalists were unconscious, while the third had managed to drag himself up so that he was lying against the left side of the room.

"We take them prisoner, sir?"

"Yes. They will go to court and stand trial with their fellow insurgents. Get some medics up here, and check the building for mines and anything else. And send some more messengers to the Princesses; if the first ones didn't make it for whatever reason, I want to make sure they're warned in case of a possible second assassination attempt."

"Yes, sir." The soldier who had spoken ran off.

James looked out the shattered window, where a ruined Gatling gun still stood. "Godspeed, all of you."

Celestia sat quietly in front of a table with Generals Rolling Barrel and Shining Armor, Cadence, and Luna. She was sipping tea and seemed on the outside to be calm and collected, but that was an act on her part, and one she was having trouble maintaining.

She had never witnessed a massacre such as the one seen a few days ago. It was utterly horrifying to see not only soldiers, but civilians, cut down by the terrorists. She had fought many villains in her time, but the slaughter she had just seen put every other battle she had witnessed in the shade. In short, she had been rocked to her very core, and she wasn't sure if she'd recover from the internal horror.

Furthermore, she felt a deep shame in not having done more... in having frozen in a moment of terrible crisis. She was co-ruler of Equestria! She shouldn't be letting this awful event affect her duty to her people...

"We're scouring the city," Shining was saying. "Hopefully, we can find the killers and either crush them or capture them. It'll take some time, but the griffons in the city are helping us to look for them. With their help we should find or defeat them all within the week." He was sitting in a wheeled chair; the nurses and doctors had insisted on it.

"We will not stop until all of the conspirators are brought to justice," Luna replied, "whether by the rifle or the gavel."

Luna had been galvanized by the events in the square, and now she desired one thing; to crush the killers into dust for their actions. She was still determined to be just, even after what had transpired, but she was, without a doubt, infuriated. If she was still afraid or otherwise put off, she wasn't showing it in the least. Then again, she had always been the better of the two sisters of keeping her emotions in check. She had also begun to use the royal plural once more.

"Continue to sweep the city," the Lunar Princess continued. "And check those who fled the city in the wake of the butchery we've seen; they might not all be as innocuous as they appear to be."

"We're already checking them, Princess. We haven't found much yet, or at least not that I've been told of."

"Good. Continue to do so. I want no stone unturned, no floorboard unchecked, no box or door left unopened. Are We clear?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. We expect results."

"You'll have them, Your Highness," Barrel promised, nodding. "Good thing the griffons are largely helping us. Most of them are sick of war and dictatorship."

"Why aren't all of them, though?" Cadence asked.

"Because some of them are loyal to the ex-king, even though he was a monster by our standards. Before we invaded, the royal demesne received favor from him, and apparently he had a secret school of officers in his palace, all trained to obey him. The rest are just against our occupation, and don't believe us when we say we'll withdraw. Hard to argue with them, especially if they've been taught that ponies are bigoted, self-loving, selfish people who care nothing for the outside world, a teaching that has all too many followers."

"And untrue," Celestia noted. "We've helped others in need and offered foreign aid to other nations, as well as maintaining good relations with them."

"Nevertheless, the griffon people believe, or believed, it, Your Majesty, and it's difficult for an occupying army to convince the native population, who want them out, otherwise."

"Their motivations do not matter," Luna said. "What matters are their actions."

"But if we can't deal with the root of the problem," Cadence reasoned, "we're just suppressing a symptom, one that will rise again to trouble us, unless we can turn that thinking around."

"I'm afraid-"

Barrel was interrupted by a distant gunshot. All heads turned toward the northern side of the tent, as if they could see through the wall.

"Did that come from the town?" Shining asked.

Moments later, more gunfire rang out. It was undeniably coming from Gryphos.

Celestia's mind flew back to the killings, the blood...

No.

A sudden surge of resolve began to settle over her. Now was not the time to lose control.

Not again. Now is the time to take up the reins as ruler.

"Send some of our soldiers to find out what is happening," she instructed. "Send reinforcements to the city at once."

"We will do so," Barrel promised. He saluted, then left the tent; once outside, Celestia could hear him barking orders.

She looked at Shining. "What do you think has happened?"

"A fight of some sort, if I had to guess," the white unicorn stallion replied, "as opposed to another act of murder. We probably found a hideout and they chose to fight rather than accept a lifetime of prison, or..."

Celestia sighed. "As much as I want to believe that all criminals can be redeemed, justice demands that any of them we capture pay for their crimes. At their trial, any of those found to be involved in the square shootings will face the death penalty. Any other rebels, such as those our troops are engaging, will be sentenced to life imprisonment."

"Auntie..."

"I know, Cadence. I recognize that the death penalty has been off the table in Equestria for a very, very long time. However, the severity of the crimes they committed call for more than a stint in Tartarus or a normal prison. And on another note, they did not commit their crime in Equestia, but on griffon land, and the laws are different here."

The tent flap opened. Two griffons in armor came through.

"What's happened?" Shining asked. "Have you found more of murderers?"

"Murderers?" one of them asked, sounding angry. "Is it murder to rid our land of you scum?"

Each of them pulled out a pistol.

Time seemed to slow. Celestia didn't have time for any complex spells. She simply gathered as much energy she could in the half-second she had and directed it at the griffon on the left.

The yellow beam blasted the griffon, He seemed to become a shadow for a couple seconds, then faded from her sight.

The second one had opened fire. Luna, however, had cast a shield over the party, so the bullets bounced off harmlessly. The griffon cursed, threw down the gun, and pulled out a knife instead.

He never got the chance to even try it against Luna's shield. Shining was on his hooves and had punched the griffon in the chin with all the strength he could muster in his good foreleg. The griffon flew several feet, and was thrown back through the flaps.

Luna didn't hesitate, and leaped over the table and out the door. Celestia followed seconds later.

The griffon was lying on the ground; he had dropped his knife, and was trying to reach inside his armor, no doubt for another weapon.

Luna put her right forehoof on his neck and pressed. The griffon made a choking sound, and now attempted to lift the midnight blue alicorn's hoof. This only resulted in Luna pressing harder, and she used her magic to arrest the griffon's arms.

Celestia looked up as the sound of running feet approached. Five more griffons were coming, all clutching weapons. Three of them raised rifles, two others rushed forward with swords.

Shining put up a shield to block the incoming fire, but the sword griffons had already passed the point where the shield was, and they closed in.

Celestia ducked, and then blocked the back-swing with her horn as Luna first punched the captured assassin in the face and them blasted the second melee fighter. The griffon facing Celestia grunted, trying to free himself without leaving himself vulnerable. He raised his left claws and swiped downward. All the while, bullets slammed into the shield, battering it.

A blue jet of light struck the griffon, pushing him back. Several more blue spells struck him, and he twitched as they hit.

Celestia took the opportunity to use her magic to seize the sword he was carrying, and slammed the hilt of the weapon into his face, causing him to fall to the ground.

Several more rifle shots rang out. Bullets ceased hitting the shield. Celestia looked; a squad of soldiers had come and shot the would-be assassins; all three of the gun-totting griffons were down.

The soldiers outside waved and nodded, confirming that the coast was clear. More began to arrive, hundreds of them. Shining lowered the shield. "How did they get past our guards?" he asked turning his head to look back at the tent. He flinched, and when Celestia looked, she saw why. Both had been hit in the neck with daggers that had been thrown.

"Poor children," Celestia murmured. "I'm sorry."

"The griffons are all in Confederate uniforms," Shining noted. "The Guards probably didn't try and challenge them until it was too late."

"Our loyal protectors will be missed," Luna said, bowing her head for a moment. "But are these all the killers?"

A cannon in the city fired, followed by more gunfire. More cannons fired.

"Soldier," Luna said to one of the pegasi who had rescued them, "take this spyglass, fly up high, and tell us what you see." She levitated a spyglass out of the war tent and gave it to the soldier in question.

"Yes, Princess." The pegasus flew up several hundred feet. In the meantime, the sound of cannon fire continued to come from the city for a few minutes before ceasing entirely.

The pegasus came back down. "Looks like a couple of our tanks were pounding a house," he reported.

"So, they must have found our foes' lair," Luna mused.

"Looks like it. There was firing coming from the house, but most of the window positions got destroyed as I was watching. Our guys were beginning to charge the house when I came down."

"Good. Soon, the conspirators will be neutralized." Luna looked toward Gryphos. "And this insurrection will be over."

"It's been a dark year," Cadence said. "but I think we're finally about to see the light. And maybe it will be brighter than ever before."

"We still have some clean up to do," Celestia said. "Trying the criminals involved in this attack, as well as the rulers responsible for the war, will take up our time in the very near future, and the rebuilding process will be long and arduous."

"Not to mention the anger and perhaps hatred both sides will feel for a considerable time to come," her sister said. "That will take a very long time to dissipate."

The gunfire finally stopped altogether. They all waited, watching the city for several minutes, wondering if the fighting would reignite.

After a while, Cadence said,"Nonetheless, the fighting's over. We can begin again."

No one disagreed with her.

Author's Note

This was originally part of the previous chapter, but I decided to separate them.

My apologies for the wait. Sorry, guys. :ajsleepy:

May God go with you all. Please stay safe out there. :twilightsmile::raritystarry::rainbowdetermined2:

Chapter 86; Peace at last

The sun continued to rise over the city of Gryphos as the rebels were marched out of the house where they had held up. The insurgents were completely covered by the guns carried by the soldiers; if they tried to make trouble, they would pay for it.

That didn't stop some Royalists from struggling against their bonds; one griffon managed to shake the ropes tying him and clawed his captor in the face. The soldier guarding him, a Royal Guard, turned around, raised a hoof bearing a nailed-on horseshoe, and punched the griffon in the face. The rebel collapsed, unconscious. The Guard then tied the griffon up more securely and began to drag him away.

If the soldiers weren't happy with the insurgents, that was nothing compared to the crowd of everyday griffons who had gathered. They hurled every manner of abuse at the captives; bad language, threats of violence, and curses of all kinds flew. Some where clearly on the edge of rushing the captured rebels, and only the efforts of concerned family members and the presence of the Allied soldiers, including those of the Confederate government, kept them from mobbing the captives.

"May this be the end of it," James whispered.

A male griffon sprang from the crowd with a bottle, still full of beer or rum or some other beverage. He broke it over the head of one of the insurgents, who howled in pain. The rioter then prepared to stab the prisoner with what was left of the handle of the bottle.

James stepped forward, as did two Confederate soldiers. "No, none of that," he said, his left hand on the pommel of his sword and right hand upraised.

"Those scum murdered my son three days ago. Get out of my way, I'll kill 'em all myself!" the attacker screamed as the soldiers got a hold of him.

"No, you won't," James replied. "The courts will handle them. Make no mistake, they aren't getting out out. And they will be tried by a jury of-"

"ITS NOT ENOUGH! NOTHING COULD BE ENOUGH FOR THOSE BEASTS!"

James sighed. "Desist or face arrest."

"NEVER!"

The griffon troopers didn't hesitate. "Jailhouse for ya, then," one of them said. "Ya can cool off in there." Their captive still screaming, they lead him away.

The crowd cooled down slightly, but their anger continued.

When will this hatred end? he thought quietly, feeling a small sense of despair kicking in. It was true that the insurgents had committed a terrible war crime, and many griffons had died, along with Allied soldiers. However, with the fight against the rebels won, it was up to the courts to decide their fate. Mob violence was a break down of order and law. The people in the crowd were hurt by the loss of relatives, friends, and neighbors, but tearing the offenders limb from limb wouldn't bring back the dead, nor would it be conductive to truly healing the wounds suffered.

Given the near-death of their colleague, most of the rebels were now visibly scared of the mob. Not surprising, James thought to himself. Napoleon was virtually fearless on the battlefield, and yet he was absolutely terrified by mobs. Only a couple Royalists made any further efforts to continue resisting their captors; both were dealt with by being tied up and dragged along.

James breathed in and out heavily as the crowd continued to follow, still at a distance but continuing to shout all manner of angry, hateful, and vile things. Fortunately, the mob didn't break out in violence, but the soldiers and their captives continued to watch them nervously. James held his rifle tightly, not knowing if or when this situation would break out in further violence.

Fortunately, other than the continued screams and jeers from the crowd, there were no further incidents of note, other than continual bombardment of the prisoners with garbage, and the procession made outside of the city without any real trouble. James felt a sense of relief as he passed the ruined walls of Gryphos.

After the procession left the city, the crowds fell away, and only a few angry townspeople continued their distant assault on the prisoners. Eventually, even they left, and the group reached the main camp in safety.

James didn't waste time. As soon as he was inside the camp, he demanded, "Where are the Princesses?" of a nearby soldier.

The pony saluted. "In the tent where you guys plan strategy. I'll take you there."

"Thank you. Did our messengers get through?"

"I don't know, sir," the pony said as they began walking together. "I know there was shooting in the direction of the strategy tent." As James braced himself to run, the soldier quickly said, "calm down, calm down. The Princesses are fine. The assassin did get a couple of Guards, but our guys stopped them."

James still felt a sense of anxiety. "Are you sure we got all of them?"

"We're checking all the people who fled the city as we speak, sir. If we didn't get all of them when they tried to assassinate our leaders, we will soon. We went into the refugee camp with guns loaded."

That eased, but did not eliminate, James' nervousness. He kept his right hand on the handle of his revolver as he went forward.

He wasn't the only one; almost all the soldiers he passed, regardless of species, were on edge. Zebras were sharpening spears and arrows, Saddle Arabians were carefully cleaning out their jezails with rags and ramrods, and Equestrian soldiers were holding their weapons, fidgeting, eyes darting toward the slightest movement.

James breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the Princesses were safe. "Ah, James. I'm so glad to see that you're okay," Celestia said.

"They didn't quite get me this time," he replied. "Not sure if I'll ever get used to this."

"Hopefully, you won't have to," the Solar Princess said. "I believe we will crush this conspiracy, if it still exists after today's events."

"I brought in some prisoners from the house where they were hiding in," James said. "You can talk to them at any time if you need to."

"We will," Luna promised. "We will root out those who aided and abetted in the murders of a few days ago."

"If these are all of them, and I pray it is, then this cruel war really is over," Cadence put in. "Our husbands and children will no longer face death in unfamiliar lands."

"If this is all of them," James murmured, but all in all he agreed.

James wrote quietly at his desk the day after the insurrection. He was busy writing a a report on the action for the sake of the upcoming trial, and as he was close to finishing, he thought briefly about the events of the past day.

He had been wary over the next few days, but there was no further fighting. A number of rebels and their supporters were captured, including several who were hiding in the refugee camp. Other griffons can been detained; all of these had been hostile, to one degree or another, to the Allied soldiers. These, however, were found to have played no role in the massacre and were eventually released, though only after a most thorough investigation of the individuals in question and their houses and lands.

The common people in the city wanted no further conflict, and, as the Allies began to withdrawn from occupation duty and be replaced by the Confederate authorities, the hostility that still existed waned. Life was already starting to return to normal, though large sections of the city needed to be rebuilt.

It was a different story for the nobles who lived on the former king's demesne. Most of them had been Royalists, whether out of a desire to serve themselves or real loyalty, and as such they were highly suspected. Grayfeather and Blackfeather, the Griffon generals, had been among their ranks, as had General Hawkfrost. The former two, along with several others, had been captured on the battlefield, and more than one had arrested for having a part in the massacre; apparently, fearing for their power, they had urged a resistance. While others had not played a part in the uprising, most of them refused to respect the Confederate authorities as the rightful governing body, and defied them as much as possible, as well as making their disdain for the Allies obvious. They weren't resisting militarily, but the interim Confederate government, made up of various clan leaders, were already stating that this defiance was intolerable, and making it clear that they weren't going to allow these dissident nobles to be part of the government unless they completely abandoned their former loyalties and agreed that the current governing body was legitimate.

Given that these people had been loyal to the ex-king, Celestia and Luna had issued a short speech on the subject, re-addressing the ex-king's crimes, as well as those of his supporters and of the insurgents. They also said that while anyone had a right to believe what they wanted politically, they were still bound by the Griffon Confederacy to obey its laws, and if they defied them, then they could be prosecuted like anyone else. The message, given in support of the new government and with Confederate troops backing it up, was clear, and the massive public support from the largely griffon audience silenced most, though not all, of the nobility's protests.

James had been afraid that this attitude might provoke another revolt, but this time, his fears were unfounded; the response of the griffon people to the insurgents, as well as their support for the government and distrust of the Royalist nobility, effectively made another rebellion self-destructive. It was all too obvious that if the nobles tried to rebel, the authorities wouldn't have time to strip them of their lands and titles before the commoners got to them. The most the nobility could really do was complain. Graywing and his cabinet, though as of yet only an interim government, made it clear that former Royalists were not going to dictate policy, and overtly hinted that anything further than protests by the nobility would result in a very high price being paid.

While the Griffon Confederacy was just starting out, there were good signs, at least in the capital city. The people were eager for anything other than the ex-king's form of monarchy. Elections would take some time to set up, but the people seemed to pick up the concept rather quickly as the Griffon Council explained it to them in a campaign. Leaflets and posters were set up, further educating the populace as to how the elections would be run as well as the workings of the new regime.

Things seem to be looking up, praised be God.

He finished the report and looked it over quickly before setting it back on the desk.

"Mind if I come in?"

"Hmm? Oh, not at all, Princess."

"Just Celestia."

"Okay, Just Celestia."

The Solar Princess giggled. "I guess I walked right into that one."

"What's up?"

"I thought that it would be nice for you to know that we'll soon be going back to Equestria."

"'We'll be going back?'"

"All of us. You, me, my sister and niece and her husband, and the army. We'll be going home."

"You think it's wise to just up and leave, all at once?"

"Well, no. I intend to pull back the army a bit at a time, to allow the newly-founded Confederacy some time and stability as it developed. I've talked to the council, and they've agreed, given the recent events."

James nodded. "I think that's wise. Anyone still looking to cause trouble will have to keep his head down until the new government is fully established, by which time it will be too little, too late to do much. And it keeps any uprising against the establishment until it is capable of defending itself against internal foes, not that I think it will have all that many."

"Not among the common people, to be certain. And with the Royalist nobility being... cut down to size, they won't have the power to immediately do anything, other than merely complaining and trying to turn public opinion against the government, which I'm glad to say is not succeeding."

James tapped his chin with the tip of his pencil. "As for the prisoners..."

Celestia's smile faltered. "Yes. Plans for the trial are already underway. We have documents and testimonies, as well as witnesses from various peoples and countries. Raneiro and Chrysalis, along with the captured insurgents, will face a trial by jury, also made of various species. It will be fair, but I have no doubt, given everything we have on them, that there will be a guilty verdict for all of them."

James nodded again. "What about demobilization? And how much of the army are you going to keep?"

"We will begin demobilizing once the army is on its home soil. We'll make sure that their pay is up to date, and discharge anyone who desires to go home. Volunteers, however, may stay in the military, which will retain the arms we have used and continue to try to improve them." She looked at him carefully. "I know what you're thinking, and I have no intention of letting Equestria suffer such a situation again. We'll keep a professional army, along with the Royal Guard, both of which will be made to undergo much more practical training, as well as preparing a draft system."

James nodded a third time. "Very good. I did have fears that you would-

"Just try to make everything like it was before this all started?" Celestia shook her head. "No. The world has changed. The time of peace during my reign was a time of great prosperity, but it also lulled me. We had the concept of guns and tanks and cannons even before the conflict, but discarded them as unnecessary. We had to discover them all over again. I make, and have made, many mistakes, but this is one I hope never to make again. We will maintain a modernized military, and improve upon it."

"Good to hear." James sighed. "Feels like my job as a foreign advisor is almost done."

"Almost, but not quite. You will be required as a witness for the upcoming trials, and I'd like for you to give one last speech to the army before the demobilization."

"I can do that," he replied.

"Good. I'd pack your bags if I were you; we're leaving within the next two days."

"Who will be in command after we leave?"

"Rolling Barrel. He's shown a willingness to remain in the army. As it is, I'm strongly thinking about making him Commander in chief."

"He'd be a good choice," James said. "He knows what he's doing. And he'd push for further research and development, as well as benefits for veterans."

"My thoughts exactly. We won't be leaving the army without a competent head. I think he'll do just fine."

"Good to see that we've all learned."

Celestia shook her head. "They are lessons I did not want to learn. I think you can understand."

James patted her mane. "I know. But what could any of us do once the opposing sides decided upon war?"

"I don't know. I didn't want my ponies to suffer under two tyrants... so we decided on self defense. I... feel like perhaps I should have done more in the political field before the war. Maybe..."

"Maybe, but it's too late to worry about that now. Closing on a year now after the war began. Not like we had much choice. By all account, Chrysalis would never have stopped her invasion, and we now know the griffons weren't negotiating in good faith. You did what you could to avoid the war."

"I know. I just wish this hadn't happened," Celestia sighed.

James continued to pat her. "What happened... happened. Now we deal with the aftermath. And if we handle it right, maybe we can make the immediate future a bright one."

Celestia stood there, her head down, and off to her right, deep in sorrow. Finally, she raised her head and looked at him. "I certainly hope so."

She paused for a moment.

"I wish I could just tell you to not stop," she said at last, nudging the hand that James was using to pet her. "But we both have things to do."

James quickly withdrew his hand.

"Not that I'm opposed to such a massage," Celestia chuckled. "I doubt I'll be able to get such good treatment at a spa."

James watched as rebel and former imperial weapons were stacked. There were a lot of them; personnel weapons had not been lacking during the final days of the siege and the insurgency. There was also some artillery, though the quantity was nowhere near as impressive; much of it had been wrecked during the big battle that had officially ended the war.

In a discussion reached after the Treaty of Gryphos had been signed, the council leadership had agreed, in a a sign of good faith, to surrender many, though not all, imperial weaponry, along with all that had belonged to the rebels. The clans could keep all weapons that they had owned during the conflict. In return, Equestria and Saddle Arabia would speed up the repatriation of prisoners of war, and would begin providing assistance to the ruined economy.

"A lot of them, aren't there?" Shining Armor remarked.

"Yep," James replied, sucking on a large, round lollipop he'd managed to acquire. He would occasionally hold it by the end of the handle as he did so.

"Scrap metal and firewood is what I ultimately see," Rolling Barrel said, not wasting words.

"Hmm." James didn't particularly like the idea of weapons being melted down, but he agreed in this case that the symbols of the king who had presumed to be emperor, as well as all arms belonging to the murderers in the uprising, had to be destroyed. The Griffon Confederacy would maintain many weapons of its own, and Equestria and her allies would keep theirs.

"Hopefully, it'll get the idea of peace through to them," Shining said hopefully.

"You're an optimist." Barrel simply continued to stare at the gathering stock of weapons. After a long pause, he added, "I envy you for that."

"You think they won't?"

"They'll remember this war. Future generations will remember that they actually took some of our land, forget the details, and desire to repeat history. The idiots we rooted out a few days ago testify to that. Some will choose to view themselves as the oppressed, fighting so that the Griffon people could have their day in the sun." Barrel spat on the ground. "It's all... garbage, of course, but that's what they'll believe, or be told in schools in future days, and definitely told by parents and other relatives. They'll see Equestria, a land that loves peace, as an oppressor holding sole control of the sun and moon, manipulating magic, while they have nothing to compare. That's what they'll choose to believe, not the fact that they went in, unprovoked, and committed some of the worst crimes in the history of both nations."

"I doubt anyone in Gryphos, or relatives of the recently slain, or those opposed to the usurpations by the king, will agree with any one who teaches that," James put in.

"Not immediately, are you daft? Of course they'll remember stuff now, while its fresh. But as the years go by and more griffon chicks are born, they'll do what all societies do; they'll forget the truth."

"Maybe." James spat some blue stuff onto the ground. "But that's one reason why Celestia and Luna are keeping a professional army. As for forgetting and remembering, they won't be the only ones."

"Yeah. I'll do my best to try to make ponies remember the cost we had to pay, and why to keep the bird-lions from trying to do this again."

"You won't be alone in that," Shining promised. "Our veterans and soldiers won't soon forget what we've all experienced."

"Don't be so hopeful, Prince. You'll make me grow soft, and neither of you lunkheads want that, do ya?"

All three of them laughed freely.

"Given the responsibility that the Princesses are going to bestow upon you, I hope not," James said at last.

"Oh yeah, thanks for the support on that one."

"Not much of a choice to make," Shining responded. "You're the best pony for the job, and the best soldier I can think of to leave in command."

"Not to mention that my career as a military advisor is fulfilled," James added. "I doubt we'll be seeing another big war anytime soon. You're the most talented, you get the position."

"I promise you both that I'll do what I can. I also hope that at the end of my life, I can say that Equestria didn't fight a second war in my lifetime."

"I think we all hope that," Shining said.

"We might get it, too," James went on. "Saddle Arabia and the Zebras are allies, the griffons are out for the count and are going to be watched for a long time, and I don't think there are any other powers out immediately out there that can hope to match the technological, industrial, or population edge that Equestria enjoys." He thought for a few seconds. "Maybe some raids from diamond dogs, but that's about it."

"I still have worries," Barrel stated. "Like I said, the griffons will try to forget what really happened."

"I doubt Equestria will, though, and maybe that will be enough if there ever is another griffon threat," James said. He bit down on the last of the lollipop, which went out with a satisfying crunch, and began to chew on the stick it had been on.

"It might. So long as the Princesses rule, I think we'll remember. Whether the new generations will be up to the challenge, though... I doubt I'll still be here hundreds of years in the future."

"All we can do is try to guide our generation, and the next, and teach them what we learned," Shining put in.

"Yep. I'll be doing that for the rest of my life. And if my kids, and their kids, can live in an Equestria that has the peace that the current one knew before the war and knows now, I'll die content."

James and Shining didn't answer, not in words. James grunted with approval; Shining simply nodded. They continued to gaze out over the countryside as the sun reached its highest point in the day.

The three armies of the Allied troops began to gather outside Gryphos for a final speech before going their separate ways. As the ruins of the old city walls and the apartments and houses of the city loomed in the distance, James folded his arms, his back to the rest of the crowd that had gathered, gazing at the city that, not too long ago, he had had the job of capturing.

Gryphos was still damaged, and would be for a long time, but the citizenry were gathering strength and rebuilding. He was also pleased to see that they seemed to be in a pleasant mood about it; at the very least, they seemed to have an attitude that very much reminded him of the stereo-typical Britons he'd read about when studying the Battle of Britain. The main difference was, they were doing this in a time of peace, not war. Despite his prior thoughts on the city, it now seemed less... malevolent, all of a sudden.

The was to be one final, short speech by the leaders. This time, every precaution had been taken, up to and including pegasi flying everywhere, constantly scanning the crowd and any objects that were large enough to hide a body. And everyone who came in was searched thoroughly for a weapon. But James was sure that this time things were going to go well.

"Samahani kukusababisha, lakini nimekutumwa kukuleta kwa viongozi wetu."

"Hmm?" James turned around. A zebra stallion was standing there, a small, but pleasant, smile on his face. "What's going on?"

"Samahani, lakini sielewi."

"I'm sorry, but I don't speak Swahili," James replied. "Can you understand me? Can you speak English?"

"Samahani, sielewi. Tafadhali, hebu tupate haraka."

"...Apparently not."

The zebra looked slightly worried and perplexed, but recovered quickly. "Tu kupata nyuma yangu na nitakuchukua huko," he said, using a hoof to point to his back.

James understood, but remembered a fact from earth; most zebras there either couldn't - or wouldn't - support a human's weight. Furthermore, to his knowledge, zebras didn't have magic, as ponies did. He motioned to his chest with both hands.

The zebra, for once, understood him. He simply stood on two legs for a moment while flexing his foreleg muscles.

"Well, alright, if you think you can do it."

He got on the zebra's back. He was worried for a moment that the white and black stallion would collapse, but to his surprise, the zebra held him with no sign of discomfort.

The stripped equine turned his head so that his left eye was on James. "Natumaini wewe ni vizuri. Hebu tuende." The zebra turned around and began to trot.

"Jina langu ni Zuberi," the zebra went on. "Nzuri kukutana nawe."

James wasn't sure just how to respond, so he patted the zebra's mane.

The zebra stallion carried him near four other zebras who were speaking Swahili to one another. Three were speaking excitedly to the fourth, who looked and sounded strangely familiar...

"Je unakuja, mzee Zecora? one of them said, forming up, along with his buddies, with the zebra carrying James.

The female zebra answered - James noticed that her response seemed to rhyme as well. Then she noticed him.

"You must be well regarded by my folk. To ride on a zebra's back is no joke!" she said.

"Zecora?"

"Indeed it is I. I wonder if you'll speak with me before we must say good bye."

"I've heard of you," James said; he wasn't sure if he could explain just how he knew of her to the zebra mare. Furthermore, he was unsure of how to speak to a zebra that was commonly considered a shaman.

"Do not think that I am ignorant. Princess Celestia has told me where you're from, though to say I know all, I can't."

I hope that means what I think it does. He breathed a sign of relief. "What brings you to the Griffon Confederacy?"

"I had heard of many of my folk coming here, and for them I had fear. To heal and relieve is why I am here."

James nodded. It made sense for Zecora to have concern for her people, and to try and use her abilities to help them and anyone else in need. "How long have you been here?"

"For months, I do believe. Perhaps we did not cross because we before we could, one would leave."

"You've been with us for months, and we just happened to not meet until now?"

Zecora just nodded. "Do not think yourself as not smart. For one who cannot know, it is hard to tell us apart."

James looked around at the zebras around him. They did seem to blend in with one another when they were in a crowd and not a battle line. He turned his head away from the sight. "Yeah, all the stripes can make it confusing."

Zecora nodded again, but did not otherwise answer.

"It must be a relief for you to actually speak Swahili again."

"It is indeed. At least among my own people I can with ease practice my creed."

"Do you rhyme in Swahili as you do in English?"

"The answer to that question is yes. It is tradition among zebra healers to address with a rhyme, as centuries of use attests."

Okay, healer. Not shaman. Or maybe that's just the zebra word, literally translated. Out loud, he asked, "Does it ever get hard to find words to rhyme with?"

Zecora walked for a moment on three hooves as the fourth, a foreleg, was used in a negative gesture. "Not with decades of practice. It is easy to do when one's mind develops tactics."

She looked up. "Ah, forgive me, but it seems you've reached your destination. Perhaps we'll next meet at the railway station?"

"Perhaps," James echoed, carefully getting off the zebra stallion. Looking up at the improved stage, he gulped. "I don't fancy making another speech," he whispered to himself as Zecora trotted away.

Come off it; you faced bullets.

Yeah, but that requires another kind of bravery. Plus, I don't know what to say.

He walked up to the stage, where the national and military leaders were already gathering. "Good morning, James," Celestia said as he approached.

"Morning, Princess." He looked around. Shining, Barrel, al-Malik, and Jelani were present, along with the griffon leaders. "You sure we have enough-"

"I will be casting a very powerful shield spell once we begin. It will be almost invisible, but nothing short of an artillery barrage would be able to break it, and a battery of guns would be rather conspicuous for our patrolling pegasi."

"They would indeed. I still advise caution, though I doubt anything will go wrong today, at least in the sense of further assassinations. The griffon people would literally tear them apart, and any would-be troublemakers out there know it."

Celestia's face seemed to go slighter paler than it normally was for a moment, but she recovered quickly. "I hope that in time we can mend the inner fences as well as the outer ones," she said quietly.

"So do I," James replied. "So do I."

A Guard nearby looked at a pocket watch he was carrying. "Five minutes, Your Majesty."

"Thank you. James, don't be nervous. It's essentially a farewell speech."

James breathed in and out deeply for a moment. "I know, but it's... hard to let go of them. After all this time and after all we've gone through... It's not something anyone who didn't go through the war can understand. I... helped to build at least some of this army, I've seen the consequences - lethal consequences - of my mistakes. I've seen the most terrible, painful things. I've seen a few go insane, and occasionally wonder how on earth more don't. I've had to read in the papers about civilians who don't understand the risks of war acting as armchair generals, safe in their living rooms, while we suffered, once in a while starved, bled, and died on scattered battlefields. I don't know what I could say that could do my men - soldiers, I mean - justice."

"I'd say that that phrase goes a long way toward doing it," came a voice just behind him. He turned around to see a red mare with paper and quill.

"Quick Quill," Celestia said, nodding. "I suppose CT sent you to write a report here?"

"Yep. Big story, the end of the war. The Canterlot Times wanted the first scoop. I was here a week or so ago." Her face fell. "I was there when the shooting started, and... let's just say I don't envy the jobs of the soldiers, if they had to go through that and worse every day."

"Were you hurt?"

"No, thanks to your shield. Can't say the same for Yellow Jacket, though. He got hit. He'll live, but it will be a while before the poor dear is back up."

"What questions-?" James started.

"Oh, not here to ask questions this time," Quick Quill said, shaking her head. "Just need to copy down the stuff said, word for word."

James folded his arms. Quick Quill was clearly eager for a scoop, but she was honest about what she printed; her columns did not distort or twist anything. As far as a reporter went, he felt he could trust her. Not that he had much of a choice; she was here legally and the people had a right to know what was going on. He could only pray and hope that any other reporters present had the same kind of moral fiber.

"Wishing you well," Quick Quill said. "It's not easy being up there on the podium. Best of fortune." She trotted away to take up residence amongst those nearest the small platform.

"You know her?" James asked Celestia.

"Not as the closest of close friends, but yes. I've met her numerous times. CT, or the Canterlot Times, does reasonably well in hiring journalists who at least try to tell the truth, at least as they've personally heard it."

"I didn't ask to be interviewed," James said.

"Then again, most ponies and other people don't."

The Guard from before turned to Celestia. "It's time, Your Highness."

"Thank you." She turned to James. "Shall we?"

"I suppose we must," he replied, and followed her up onto the platform.

The crowd, which had been busy with discussion and whispering, abruptly fell silent. It was a cautious but respectful sort of silence, and James felt his fears fade. Celestia's horn lit up, and an almost invisible shield arose over the platform. It was so transparent that he and the others could virtually ignore it.

"Greetings," Celestia began. "We meet in the aftermath of the recent insurrection, and the signing of the Treaty of Gryphos. This war has been long and hard, and so many have made the ultimate sacrifice. Families have been torn apart by the conflict and by the terrible atrocity that we saw mere days ago. The loss to both sides has been immense, in both lives and livelihood."

"However, it is not too late to repair the damage done. We, the living, must go forth and rebuild. It is for us to remember those who have fallen, and live in their memory. We must press on. We must not harbor hatred, and we must tame our anger. All sides have suffered loss, regard of the verdict of history. The recovery begins now."

"Today, armies begin to fall away. Prisoners will be returned to their respective peoples. Fathers, brothers, mothers, and sisters who have lived through the conflict will be able to return to their loved ones. And we can give the dead a proper sendoff."

Celestia paused for a moment. "It is now our duty to continue, even in the remaining weight of the misery the war has produced, to live the lives we have been given to live, to honor those who fell to give us freedom, to have families, to make friends, to try to avoid the mistakes we've made in the past and to do what we can to better ourselves and to help others. It is the least we can do to honor their actions."

Luna stepped up. "It is time for us to go home. Our work - our war - is finished. Let us push forward, remembering what has happened, but without hatred tearing us, and all that we know, apart. Let us return to our people and families, and know that we have a future to look forward to. Two tyrants have been overthrown, and the world will, I believe, be at peace, at least for some time. Let us continue to strive to be the best we can be, while combating the worst."

As Luna backed away, Cadence came forward, with Shining Armor at her side. "We must move forward in a spirit of love," Cadence said. "We must forgive, and move on. We have to remember our families and neighbors. When we part, let us part in the right spirit, that our efforts might, from here on out, be focused on doing good for the right reasons."

Graywing stepped up for a moment. "We, of the new Confederacy, are indebted to those who gave their lives that we might live in peace and liberty. We must not continue to hold hatred, but move on and construct an enduring nation that will mend the flaws of the kingdom and empire that were in place before and during the war. We can rebuild, protect our people and sovereignty (here Graywing's left eye focused on Celestia for a split second), and have a government where the common people are not tools for the aristocracy. Our nation will be one for its people. All of us will have a say. It will be a land of fairness. It will be a land of justice. And it will be a land of liberty for all."

Graywing bowed, but remained standing alongside the other leaders.

The crowd broke into applause, cheering wildly; hats flew, and cheers and eagle screeches rang through the air.

The Solar Princess gestured with her hoof for James to come forward. She and the other national leaders backed away as he walked up.

Lord, please help me, he thought to himself, fingering the cross in his coat pocket for a moment.

"It's been, or feels like its been, a long war," he began, taking his hand out of his coat. "It's closing on a year since the crisis started. Most of the civilian populace on either side cannot fathom the daily terrors, so I'm going to reiterate them here. I hope the non-military population here will at least try to understand what I am about to say next."

He paused, sighing heavily as he pulled off his kepi and holding it in front of him. "Every day, there was a risk of enemy bullets and energy and cannon balls and shells landing on or around us, either killing us or maiming us, and canister shot tearing us to pieces. We've held wounded and dying comrades, our hearts going out for them. We've had to endure sleepless nights on guard, knowing that if one sentry failed his duty, it could mean our friends' deaths. We've gone for days in the field, often without adequate food or water, and sometimes wondering if our ammunition could hold out. We've been separated from our families, and seen those we've come to know and care about killed in the line of duty. It is impossible, unless you've gone through the event, to describe how it feels when someone you were talking to just minutes or even seconds ago is killed in front of you, now a lifeless corpse."

James sighed, even more deeply than before. "For those of us as non-coms and officers, we've all gone through the pain of making plans, knowing that, no matter what we did, some of those we sent out would not return. We've had to see the final and fatal consequences of our mistakes. Those of us who felt responsibility could barely stomach it, but we had to do it, and over and over again..."

"For those of us who are still here, many have been permanently injured. I remember seeing those who had wings staring insanely at nurses and medics who told them that these would have to be removed. I've seen the same with those informed that their legs or other pieces of their bodies would need to be amputated for the sake of their injuries. I've seen veterans, now honorably discharged, with wooden legs and eye patches where eyes should be, walking the streets. I've been there as injured soldiers expired, as comrades and family witnessed it. Even those of us who did not face this will have scars and injuries that will, though not physically hindering us, mark us."

"Even those who escaped physical injury have all, or mostly, suffered permanent mental and emotional trauma. Nightmares will haunt us for the rest of our lives, as we relive, right where we have the least control over it, the terrible things we've seen and suffered, and noises, statements, and activities we would have taken as innocent and non-threatening will evoke misunderstood reactions, emotions, and memories. That is our continuing burden."

He scratched his head, trying to think of something to add. "The question that will be asked, when we tell of our experiences, will be, 'Why? Why did you keep doing it? Why did you keep doing this and suffering so much?' It is very much a question that only those innocent of war can ask. It cannot be answered in full by our mere spoken words; it is beyond full explanation, and I wonder if any language has words with enough description to explain it."

"As such, our answer to this query can only be in part. Because, we will say, others kept going, and we couldn't let them down. To do less than our comrades would have stained our hearts and consciences for the rest of our lives. Because, for those of us protecting our homes, we had families and livelihoods to defend. Because our leaders told us to do so. For those of us who took to the battlefield, these answers cannot fully describe our feelings, or tell of the life-or-death decisions and struggles, not only with the enemy, but within ourselves."

"Nonetheless, I hold out hope. I may be naive in doing so, or so others will say. But without that hope, the only option is to sink into despair, and that is a trench that is may be more difficult to rise up out of than any we've dug during the war. We now leave the battlefields of this war, and begin fighting the new war, the one in our hearts and minds. It will be a lifelong struggle, one in which I pray you might all prevail."

James paused again in order to catch his breath. "We must support one another in this new war as we did in the previous one. I urge you to fight together; march and fight united in this aspect. Form groups where veterans can openly discuss their sufferings. Make the public aware of what you've gone through, and remain strong, despite what you'll go through. Don't give in to the urge to... destroy yourselves in battling this menace, and support one another. Keep fighting. You've survived this war. You can, and for your families, friends, and fellow soldiers, must survive this one."

"For those who were not involved in the fighting, know this; your friends and families and fellow citizens who were out there risking their lives for you need your love, care and support now more than ever. You need to help them to reintegrate, to find jobs, to be with them when they undergo particularly difficult moments in their lives, and most importantly, to let them know that someone out there cares for them and what they're going through."

"This is the future we all face. If those who have fought and those who did not unite now and remain united in this cause, maybe, just maybe, we may come out of this war with a society that remembers and honors those who made the sacrifice, with one that may learn from the past, that these honored dead and those who must, physically and otherwise, bear scars, may not have suffered these things in vain."

He dabbed at an eye with his finger briefly before going on. "Let us return to our homes. Be as good citizens, fathers mothers, brothers and sisters as you can. Remember the fallen and live in their memory, and, as in the war, never, ever give up. Take care, and may God go with you all."

James bowed his head slightly for a couple seconds and backed away, his mind full of many thoughts. The crowd remained silent. He wasn't sure if he had reached them or not. His speech had hardly scraped the surface of what he had been trying to say.

Barrel walked up to his right, and gave a small nod. James felt a bit of his worry fall away.

"Our work here is done," Barrel whispered to him. "Time to go back home. To Equestria. A land now at peace."

Author's Note

Sorry for how long this took. :ajsleepy:

Dealing with the aftermath of the rebellion and a final speech at Gryphos. Zecora's rhyming was a little difficult, but still kinda fun to look up stuff to rhyme with. As for the swahili, i just googled "English to Swahili" for the translator. Googling it backwards (i.e., "Swahili to English" should get the translation.

I apologize if James' speech was... inadequate. I meant no disrespect and was trying to tell the truth about the matter.

May God go with you all.

Chapter 87; Memories

The Allied Armies began to rally at various assembly points outside the city of Gryphos, with ponies, Saddle Arabians, zebras, and changelings all marshaling under their own commanders and leaders as they prepared for the journey home. Artillery and wagons were gathered by each army; Imperial weapons to be scrapped had been collected and distributed among the Allied forces.

Half of the Equestrian forces were going to stay in the country, near the capital, for the moment. Of the army's 100 regiments, 50 were staying. Most of them were the ones that had been late to the conflict, though backed by a few elite units, such as the Fifth Brigade.

Losses during the war had reduced most regiments from their nominal strength of 1,000 down to somewhere between 500 - 700; one regiment from the Fifth, the 2nd Canterlot, had only 200 active soldiers. Another regiment from a different division, the 4th Trottingham, was down to 50 troops fit for duty. While it was rare for units to have lost so much of their strength, Equestria had paid a big price for it's continued liberty.

James watched as soldiers began to pass by. Many of the passing soldiers saluted him as they passed, though he wasn't standing at attention nor asking any of them to do so. He waved politely, but his focus wasn't on them.

He remembered the first battles and how confident he'd been when he'd first arrived. How much he'd loved his new uniform from Rarity and how much he had enjoyed the spar with Shining before a group of raw recruits. How he'd been confident that the technologically deficient changelings would be easy foes. How he had thought discipline unimportant compared to morale.

It seemed like forever since then. A lifetime seemed to have passed.

Now the uniforms and old ideas were both worn down.

James sat down under the tree and continued thinking. It had seemed like forever since his original arrival in what he'd thought was an almost perfect world. He had thought almost nothing of the dangers and how things would end. It had been easy to think that, with someone who knew something about war, Equestria would be invincible.

"I was arrogant, and a fool," he whispered to himself.

He turned his eyes to the troops, who continued to march past. They were in as good condition as they could be. The journey home would be relatively quick and painless one. The flame and fire of the advance, from the Equestrian border to Gryphos, was what he remembered from the journey to that city. A city he would probably never lay eyes on again once they were done here.

The eruption of Ragna Fortress, the tank battle, and the final battle for the city... These events swirled in his mind, and he simply sat there, either unable or unwilling to push the thoughts away.

"Hey!"

James turned around; he'd been so focused on his own thoughts that he hadn't heard Shining Armor's heavy hoofsteps.

"Oh. Hi. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. We're set to board a train for the border."

"There are tracks that lead that far?"

"Well, no. But close enough. We leave in two hours."

"I wasn't notified."

"You just were." Shining's smile faded. "You've been here all morning?"

"After getting something to eat, yeah." James didn't mention that he'd just snagged an apple.

Shining seemed to know. "Come on," he said. "I'll give you a lift."

James walked over and threw his right leg over the white stallion and set himself firmly upon his back.

"Not too heavy for you, am I?"

"Nope. You're lighter than you'd think. Come on, I'm Captain of the Royal Guard; even unicorns had to undergo physical exercises."

"Well, okay."

Shining began walking. James simply sat, thoughts and images of battle still flowing in his mind.

"Are you alright?" Shining asked, turning his head so that his left eye was on James. "You've been quiet lately."

"I just can't stop thinking about the early days. Before the war. How I was so... presumptuous. How I thought that merely possessing knowledge of strategy and tactics might be enough. How I made mistakes even back then. And I think of how things could have been if I'd come without the war."

"I can't say anything about that last one. And I think none of us knew what we were in for. We all made mistakes."

"I've... come to terms with making mistakes. I just wish I'd... done better at the start. And had more time with Twilight and her friends and... well, everyone."

"Life doesn't always go how we'd want it." Shining sighed. "I don't remember if I've done this, but... I'm sorry for how I acted when you arrived. I..."

"Forget it. I've long since forgiven it. Same with the fight we had at Trottingham. Long forgiven, long gone."

"I still feel guilty about it, though. I mean, I judged you before I even saw you." Shining let his head droop a bit closer to the ground. "I couldn't help but think of anything unfamiliar as a possible enemy at this point. Given that you saw the... events at my wedding with Cadence, I think you understand why I felt that way."

"I understand and have forgiven you for that that. Just be a great guy for Cadence, eh?"

"Thanks." Shining raised his head back to its normal height and his smile reappeared. "She's a wonderful wife. I hope we're able to spend more time together now that the war's over. I've seen enough for a lifetime out in the field."

"I think most of us have. As for your wish, I hope it's granted."

"It wasn't quite love at first sight," Shining said; his eyes focused on the distance. "I saw her as a great foalsitter for Twily, and I certainly liked her, but it wasn't until that night... When we were alone on the balcony... I saw into her eyes for what was really the first time- whoa!"

He had stepped into a hole in the road; James found himself clutching the stallion's neck involuntarily as Shining rebalanced.

"Heh... sorry. Wasn't paying attention."

"I noticed," James replied with an amused voice, sitting up straight again. "So, there was something about a balcony...?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Ahem. Right. I'll try to keep a better eye on the road this time. Anyway... It was the first time I really believed that there was magic out there. Beyond the kind that unicorns and alicorns use, I mean. When... when you love someone... really, really love them, not just a brash feeling, but an underlying, true... Ugh... I don't think I'm explaining it properly. But I think we both knew, deep down, that there was no way we weren't going to be spending the rest of our lives together. Does that make sense?"

"It does." James patted Shining's neck. "It's wonderful that something so innocent as true love has survived the war."

"I won't argue. It's all too easy to fall into negative thinking. I know; I was in that state of mind while chasing Chrysalis and her renegades through the deserts near Appleloosa. I don't think I went into it too deeply before."

"I remember you telling me that they kept avoiding contact and refusing to fight no matter what."

"That's only part of it."

"Hmmm?"

"I don't think I've told you or anypony... anyone, for that matter. I think I fell into depression at that stage of the war. I couldn't... I felt that until we caught her, the war could have no end, but we spent months pursuing her and... nothing. Just more and more of my soldiers falling sick and becoming dehydrated and hungry. Our logistics were a mess. We could end up miles from where we started at the beginning of the day, and the ponies bringing us more food and water often wound up at some campsite we'd abandoned hours or even days ago."

"I hadn't heard of that. Just the overall picture."

"I was... not in my best state of mind. I remember... going to the bottle once or twice. I... was ashamed of it afterwards, but at the time it was so... easy."

"Well, that's new."

"It was the last time, but... Oh, the next morning was terrible, and the problems hadn't gone away. I fell very deeply to negative thoughts. I started yelling, swearing, at subordinates, even for minor things. I got into a really dark place."

"Sorry, man," James replied. "Stallion, I mean. For what it's worth, I felt that inward darkness too. During times when we were in retreat mostly. The first weeks of the war... after the first victories, everything seemed to fall apart. We got pushed back further and further, and, even though we received replacements and reinforcements, little by little, we lost ground. It felt like we were alone in the world, just us against an all-conquering horde. I felt helpless after my first defeat, like we were all going to die and it would be all my fault. It didn't fully go away until we'd won the Battle of Appleloosa. Only then did the tide of war within start to shift."

"Did it ever come back? The depression and helplessness, I mean?"

"It did. Whenever we got stalled fro a really long time. And during the Siege of Trottingham. However, it was never stronger than in those first days of the war. How did you conquer yours?"

"Well, it wasn't a right away fix. I found myself thinking of Cadence when I fell into those times. At first it just made me home-and-heartsick. I cried a few times. And we weren't even fighting."

Shining's hoof kicked aside a rock. "I couldn't stop myself from thinking it, though. And gradually, I began to realize that I had someone to come home to after all of this was done. It took a long time, but eventually I was able to rise up out of the pit I'd fallen into, and come back to something like normal. As normal as a guy could be in a war, anyway. What about you?"

"It's fading. I think I'll be hit with bouts of it from here on out, though. I think most of us will."

"We got through the actual killing. We'll survive this, too. We have to."

"I'm glad that someone is certain of that. I've... had reports of soldiers waking up in the middle of the night, shrieking and acting like they were under fire or being attacked. In some cases, the reports claimed that they attacked anyone nearby."

"I've gotten those too. But Equestria isn't going to leave them to fight that battle alone. Me and Barrel will see to that."

"As will I. I intend to help them when they return to society."

"It will take some time to collect all the evidence for the trials," Shining replied. "I think we'll have some time to begin work on it. It'll be something that we'll work on with Barrel. We'll make sure to have veterans in charge of the organization we set up to help them. I've already made a plan for it. I haven't come up with a name, but I think it's the start of something good."

"I hope so."

Shining continued to walk for a while in silence. Finally, he said, "How do you think the trials will go?"

"What do you mean? It's basically tallying what the leaders and their associates did and then giving them a punishment."

"Well, yeah. But what do you think they'll try to say in their own defense?"

James thought about it, interested. "I think that at least some of the underlings are going to try to get out of trouble by claiming that they did what they did because they were ordered to do so by the leaders. The former king will try to make himself into a national hero or martyr, and Chrysalis... I don't know. I have my doubts that she will dodge. Maybe she'll claim that she was doing the 'natural' thing for changelings, and will try to discredit the other queens."

"I don't doubt the first for a minute. What do you think about that line of defense?"

"I think that a lot of Chrysalis' changelings may have had no choice about it, but they still wanted to perform their cruelties. Chrysalis just gave them the chance to do so. As for the griffon commanders, they'll try and say that they'd be executed or imprisoned if they had tried saying no to the 'emperor.' I don't think it'll fly, any more than it will for the changelings, though. It's obvious that the reasons for the great betrayal were political; the clan leaders and their people were killed because they refused to hand their authority over to the king. It was clearly wrong, I think, given that they weren't engaged in rebellion, to kill them, but the Imperial commanders still did so. Murder to escape one's own demise is still murder."

"Thought you'd say so. I don't see most of them getting off without at least a permanent prison sentence." Shining stopped for a moment and raised a hoof to his chin. "Maybe one or two might get off on lighter punishments if we find they didn't do anything particularly onerous. You know, things like just jailing non-compliant griffons instead of killing them."

"I doubt there will be many of those," James replied as Shining continued walking. "From what I saw, just about all Imperialists were diehards."

"Like I said, not likely for most of them. We're still rounding up suspects in these crimes. Over a hundred generals and other officers, and lots of others, including civil authorities."

"How many people are we trying at once?" James asked, concerned.

"Mostly for you and me and the leaders of the nations and armies involved in the war, just the leadership and their immediate generals. I've heard that lesser trials are already underway for civil servants of Chrysalis in the Changeling Lands."

"Under whose authority?! Not by that of mobs, I hope!"

"No, no, no. It's under the authority of the Queens and their servants, or so I've heard from a changeling officer in one of their armies."

"Oh, good." James felt and old question arise. "Did you originally... question my decision to meet with Metamorphosis?"

Shining turned his head, this time with his right eye facing James. "I think a lot of ponies - and changelings - want to know that. And to be completely honest, given the limited information at the time, I did question it. In fact, 'question' isn't the word for it. I was wondering if you had been successfully replaced by a changeling, or had just gone plain crazy from the Badlands heat and sun."

Shining turned his head back to the path as he kept walking. "I wasn't sure what to think. I just knew that I had to see for myself."

James thought back to the first meeting between himself and Queen Metamorphosis. "I didn't just throw caution to the wind. I was suspicious about her and her motives. The first meetings with her were... eventful, to say the least."

"Helping to overthrow foreign rule is definitely eventful."

"I didn't have time to tell you. And they were going to starve Metamorphosis' hive, as well as conscript half of them into their army. We had to act right then and there."

"I know. I'm not blaming you for making that decision. It helped us. But at the time. I thought you'd gone nuts, or at least halfway nuts. I was expecting a big trap."

"And then you met Metamorphosis for yourself."

"I did. I didn't know what to make of her. Kind, peaceful, actually friendly... the exact opposite of of Chrysalis. I still suspected her, but that went away little by little as the campaign progressed and I watched her as a leader. And that other one... what was her name?"

"Camilla."

"Yeah. I didn't know to make of her."

"Her own people probably don't, but they love her all the same, and vice versa."

"I could see that. And my anger eventually melted away entirely. But it took some time. It was eye opening, though. I've never seen cities that orderly, and underground too."

"Yeah. It was impressive. I was glad to know that they could get emotional energy without doing the harmful things that Chrysalis did."

"All the same, I was glad to get out of there. The changeling cities were great places to visit, but the Badlands themselves..."

"I hear ya."

Shining looked up from the road. "About halfway there. Anyway, glad to be going back home."

"I expect everyone is."

"Do you think this peace will last?"

James thought about the situation. "I think it will. The griffons went through a costly war, in which they were betrayed by their ruler and his subordinates, and were fighting a civil war among themselves while we were invading them. They got a peace where they largely maintained their independence and got a government that adheres to to clan autonomy. The public, as last that in Gryphos, was sick of the war and wanted peace, and they probably wanted it before we started besieging them. I think that Barrel might have a point in that some griffons will try to justify the war, but I doubt they will turn up soon, and history, I believe, will make things clear."

"For those who read it, that is."

"Well, yeah."

"What about the changelings? What do you guess their future could be like?"

"They need ponies a lot more than ponies need them. Also, the hackles of the Equestrian people have been raised, so I doubt that ponies will stop being wary. Not that I think the changeling rulers are going to try anything, not when they get more emotional energy from peace than in war. I don't know about them forming a united country, though; their Queens have different agendas, and, unlike the griffons, their only experience with a central authority over them all has been abject tyranny. I think they will remain independent, underground cities for the moment, but they'll probably maintain peaceful diplomatic relations with Equestria. But who knows, I could be wrong. Maybe there's something I haven't seen or remembered or heard about that could change things."

"Maybe. But I think the near future at least will be peaceful, baring unseen threats."

For a few minutes, the ride was quiet as both of them were busy thinking about the recent past and the possible future, the only noise being the sound of Shining's hooves hitting the ground and a few birds singing.

"What are you going to do after the trials are over, and you can go home?" James finally asked.

"Me? Well, I guess me and Cady will try to rule the Crystal Empire the best we can, and I'm hoping we can start a family."

"What position will you be in? I mean, you're Captain of the Royal Guard in Equestria, but you're also Prince of the Crystal Empire now. Is it an independent state, or not?"

"That's... a good question. I don't know." Shining said, looking hard at the road for a minute as he thought. "I think that Princess Celestia's intentions on that score is to make the Empire independent eventually, but they've been in limbo for a thousand years, and there's a millennium's worth of history, magical, technological process that they've missed. They need to catch up, so at the moment, we're in some sort of in-between place."

"I see... I think."

"I know, it's a little... complicated. I'm sure that in the future, I'll have to give up my position as Captain and give it over to somepony else, but not quite yet."

"Got a good idea for a candidate?"

"I've been looking for one. I've got a small list, but it will be a while before I'm sure."

"Think they'd do a good job?"

"Honestly, yes, provided they shape up a little more between then and now."

"Is Silver Shield one of them?"

"Yep. He's a veteran, and a dedicated Guard. But I can't put him in just because we both like him. I need to make sure there aren't better candidates out there. Personally, I think he'll win the nomination for Captain once I'm out, but I need to be fair about it."

"I guess that makes sense. I could imagine few who would be better, though."

"Me neither." Shining walked for a few minutes in silence. "Ah, the station... or, rather, what we're using as one."

Labeling it as a "station" was surely going too far. There was a single wooden platform, rather too low in James' opinion, alongside a large collection of various crates and equipment.

"Not exactly Canterlot, is it?" James joked.

"No, but it will do."

James couldn't argue there. He got off Shining's back and walked toward the nearest car. It was full of soldiers and their weapons, and the cars behind them were being loaded with all sorts of things, most prominently - to James eyes, at least - artillery.

"Might as well find a seat and get comfy," Shining said, striding forward.

"What about my bag and stuff?"

"They've been packed already. We'll be ready to leave once the train is full."

As James stepped into the car, he watched as the sun continued its arc across the sky, above the battered fields and filled-in trenches. For a moment, he felt hope rising, then tried to find somewhere to sit.

Author's Note

Hey guys. Sorry that this chapter is so short, after a month's time to write. The History of the Great Changeling War has reignited my desire to write, though it has also taken most of my writing time. I apologize. :ajsleepy:

Chapter 88; Canterlot again

A couple hours later, James was sitting on the left side of one of the cars (facing away from the sun), waiting quietly for the train to start. His bag had been retrieved and he had one of his old books out. But he wasn't reading it. He was sitting with his head resting on his hand, staring out the window.

He remembered the first train ride he'd taken in Equestria... the one to the west, to the war. He remembered the changeling ambush, and his first skirmish in an actual war.

Almost a year ago, we were using crossbows. Compared with what we have now... and we had no idea what our enemy was truly like, and didn't until the Second Changeling Campaign.

He sat up straighter and leaned against the side of the car. I was able to recover from the guilt, or at least I think I have, but why am I going through these memories? I'm feeling a little... bummed out, if I dare say it.

"Are you doing alright?"

James turned to see a tall, cream-coated unicorn mare standing there. "Yes, just... having thoughts."

"Be careful, those have been known to be dangerous," she replied in a cheeky way.

"Maybe. I'll take my chances."

She laughed. "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Emmm..."

"Oh, it's not like that."

"Well, okay, then."

The white unicorn took up her seat next to him.

"Why aren't you in uniform, anyway?" James asked, noticing for the first time.

"Hmmm? Oh, I'm not a soldier."

"Then... what are you doing here? You a reporter?"

"Oh, no. I'm not reporting for any newspaper. Not when I'm able to get my news first hoof anyway from my employees."

"Oh really? What line of work are you in?" he inquired, suspicious.

"...Corporate management."

"Uh huh."

"Look, I'm not from any media source. I had business here."

"Had?"

"Yes, had. My work at Gryphos is done. I did what I came here for."

"And what might that be?"

"A bit of negotiation and... making sure that things worked out."

"Sounds.. criminal."

"Not really. Not when-" There was a flash of green light, and Queen Metamorphosis was sitting next to him. "-you're a ruler."

James stared for a moment.

"It's my first time on one of these things," the Queen said, settling down. "I'm relieved the war is finally over." She gave a relaxed sigh, then looked at him. "Sorry, I couldn't resist having a little fun."

"Well, you did get me. Now, what's up?"

"The roof. The sky. Birds. Random changelings and pegasi." She winked. "I just saw you sitting here by yourself, and you looked like you needed a friend. That's what Equestria stands for, isn't it?"

"I guess so." James leaned back and glanced out the window.

"Wow, you're really out of it."

"Yeah. Just... felt like the war was never going to be over. Feels like years have passed, not twelve months. Can't help remembering things at the moment."

"I understand," the Queen replied sympathetically.

"You do?"

"Perhaps more than you do. My hive was occupied by Chrysalis for about seven years. I still have nightmares about it, and I probably will for the rest of my life, along nightmares about the war itself." She shuddered. "I'm glad you didn't get to see us bullied for long. Some of the things they made us do, to ourselves and to others... it isn't something I want to really talk about. But needless to say, it felt like a lifetime between the conquest and when we outed Chrysalis."

"I... I suppose a single year or so of training and battles isn't much compared to that."

"I wouldn't pretend to know what you've gone through during the war. It's been bad for both sides."

"Not sure what we accomplished, though. Chrysalis and the griffon king weren't exactly masterminds. This war didn't have to happen, especially on the griffon side. And General Barrel has what I think are reasonable fears of a future forgetful population." He sighed. "It was so unnecessary."

"You - meaning everyone on your side - liberated peoples who were enslaved. That's worth it in an of itself. And we threw two cruel, expansionist rulers in prison. Two less rulers who will be urging war in the near future. I'd say Equestria, and most of the world, have a decent future to look forward to."

"Unless some other threats are lurking. There's always somebody that wants to upset the status quo."

"Well, that's to be expected. But when they do come, we won't have the former griffon king or Chrysalis to worry about."

James thought about it, then nodded. "What are your people going to do now?"

"Continue living. Free. We'll still have to send out harvesters to collect emotional energy; it's basically what our civilization is based on. At least if their cover is blown now, they won't get lynched by an angry mob, not legally anyway, and the authorities have to let them do their job, which is entirely necessary to allow our society to live, grow, and function. And we don't have to worry so much about having to live in hiding, though we're going to continue trying to keep some secrets in case of a future conflict. It's difficult to tell when the next evil queen or some devouring scourge is going to happen." Metamorphosis put a hoof to her chin as she thought. "I suppose I'll try to open up an embassy in Canterlot and begin a cultural exchange between our two peoples in order to foster peaceful relations, and try to gain some decent luxuries. A good couch would make the house of a normal drone much more comfortable."

James smiled as he thought of a pair of changelings, a male and female couple, resting on a sofa, watching TV together. "I don't doubt it. Just don't become decadent."

"What, do you think we're fools? Of course we're going to be careful as to what we take in. I doubt that we'll ever become slothful as a whole, and the queen is needed too much to allow herself to become all play and no work."

"Okay, sorry. I just wanted to make sure."

"It's fine."

"Just thought of something. Has there ever been a changeling king?"

The queen's face went red very briefly. "No. At least, not officially, and no male drone has ever had the power of a queen."

"I see. Sorry."

"You didn't know. Don't worry about it."

"How often have queen been absolutists? I don't mean like Chrysalis, but-"

"Oh, through most of our history, we've had queens with absolute power. Actually, all queens technically have absolute power within their hives, but there are some, like myself, who like to give their drones rights. However, that's been a recent trend, within the last one hundred years. Perhaps our history of secrecy and disguise had something to do with it, but anyway, most queens have held tight rein over their drones. Chrysalis simply brought it to another level. They ruled as though drones should not have rights or be treated as well as they should be; these queens treated drones more like self-conscious livestock than equals. Only other queens were held up as equals, and the meetings tended to be rare."

"Why? Were there wars?"

"Occasionally; the rivalry between hives was intense. Usually, though, it was a mindset of survival of the fittest. Not to the extent where war was common; the loss of too many drones would hinder a hive's ability to sustain itself. But we would generally remain aloof from one another."

"What changed?"

"Ironically, the very ponies that we were impersonating. As new ideas of government and society emerged and the medieval society slowly became the one it is today, it infected - and I say that word for the lack of a better term - our drones, who would come back from missions with these radical new ideals. Naturally, most queens tried to snuff it out, but a few - including my grandmother - tried testing them out. While some of these new concepts failed, others thrived. Our system of lighting and power would probably not have emerged if not for the information our harvesters were bringing back. Once they realized that they were being outdone, even the more... traditional queens adopted, with resignation, these inventions."

"How long did it take for the crystal lights to be invented?"

"About five years of experiments... sadly, including several failures. One experimental light exploded, killing the would-be inventor and two of his assistants and wounding the other five. Another burned out - don't ask me how crystal can get burned, it just happened and I'm no technical expert. Eventually, one inventor got it right, and boom, a city that could be lit night and day. Made things much easier."

"And of course increased work shifts for drones of more traditional queens."

"That goes without saying. But gradually, as drones and queens grew up in a world that was becoming more enlightened, most adopted the changes and gave more liberties to their drones. Chrysalis and her family, as you might expect, did not."

"You could strip those right away by just pretending they don't exist, though. You admitted that moments ago."

"Essentially I could, yes. But I choose not to."

"You successor might."

"My daughter might, yes. Which is why I'm trying to raise her in thee same way that my mother raised me; among the common drones of the hive."

"Why didn't you introduce us back then?"

"I had gotten into the habit of keeping her isolated, away from Chrysalis' officials and soldiers. By the time I was ready to introduce her to anyone, we were leaving to liberate Camilla's hive, and she had to stay to keep the place running. I must add that princess changelings are capable of forcing a level of obedience on their subjects, as the queen would, but their power to do so is significantly less than that of a full queen."

James' head suddenly and painfully banged into the side of the car; the entire car had given an unexpected lurch. "Ow!" he cried, bringing his right hand up to his face.

Similar cries told him that he wasn't the only one to to have suffered from the bump. Metamorphosis hit her head on the back of the seat in front of her, and rubbed her head. "What happened?"

James did his best to think given the circumstances. "If I had to guess, I'd say that that particular rail wasn't perfectly aligned or something. The enemy did their best to wreck their railroads as we advanced, and they were probably reconstructed poorly. I'd reckon that we ought to be ready for more bumps like that."

"Ugh. I hope you're wrong. If the seats were made out of wood or something hard like that, I think my horn might have cracked, which would have been bad."

James let out a moan of pain, then settled back into the seat - a little further away from the wall. "At least we're on the ground. If something goes wrong with a machine or natural flight, you're out, unless someone can save you."

"I wouldn't be getting shoved around in a steel box, and my fate could still be in my own hooves," the queen countered.

"I'd prefer getting killed on the ground."

"I'd prefer not getting killed at all."

James shrugged, not seeing a way to immediately argue with that. He tested the bumped area of his face; it was still in pain, but there was no blood. Eager to learn a bit more, he asked, "How has your hive fared since we left?"

"I've been away with the army, of course, but reports seem to indicate that repairs are going well and the hive is fed. As long as that's true, we can survive."

"What jobs do drones normally do again? Harvesting, fighting, nursing, and construction, right?

"Yes, those are perhaps the most noticeable jobs, and the four that they have traditionally fulfilled. In more recent times, though, my mother, and Camilla's, tried to pick out some drones who were more architecturally skilled and commission them to try and make things like art and learn to cook food. As you might expect, early results, like those with the crystals, were rather disastrous, though fortunately not fatally so. Eventually, some, like Aphid and Fix, gained enough experience for their respective trades."

"And Fix..."

"Fixes things. Mechanical stuff. When he's not needed for other things, his job is to repair damaged conduits, tools, and other items. Cica is great on a harmonica; it's a shame you didn't get to visit in peacetime, before Chrysalis' takeover, I would have loved for you to see it."

"I'm sure it'll be worth visiting now. You've probably be getting visitors from all walks of life pretty soon. My advice; set up a tourist industry."

Metamorphosis broke out laughing. "I definitely will," she replied when she was able to regain a bit of self-control. "But later, once we've recovered more. It's only been a few months."

"Feels more like years."

"After witnessing the war myself, I can't disagree."

Both were silent for a moment.

"Have you heard where Chrysalis is being tried?" James finally asked.

"In Canterlot, as agreed. We'll be trying her alongside the ex-king."

"What about Raneiro's trial? You guys taking part in it?"

"Oh, we are, but our main concern is Chrysalis." Metamorphosis sighed. "Just getting them to agree to a trial instead of literally tearing her apart limb by limb has been hard. Most ordinary drones of the formerly subjugated tribes would like nothing better, and some of the Queens - particularly Nocturnal - want her dead. In a big, public execution that's as humiliating as possible, I might add."

"Well, that's pretty harsh."

"It's not like I can easily fault them; I've had feelings like that, even after our private talk the night before the liberation."

James sighed. "Not like I'm perfect in that regard, either. It's easy to get angry, especially in a war or if you're under occupation, and hatred is possibly the easiest trap to fall into under the circumstances. But hate towards another person doesn't solve anything; it keeps you in prison, and you don't even realize it."

"I know. Or I know now, to be more precise. It's been easier to put those... feelings, aside as I watch my hive rebuild." The queen bowed her head. "I hope to God I can forgive and put all hostility away." She took several deep breaths before going on. "We seem to have recovered so much, but nothing more than our spirit, or morale, I suppose you might say. But we have far to go. At least we have friends now."

"True. I agree with what you said earlier; it looks like the immediate future is bright. But let's not let our guard down."

"Naturally."

"Come on, get up."

"Unngh... wha?" James asked in sleepy confusion, trying to get a hold of things after being awoken.

"We're almost there. Canterlot," the - male - voice said.

James rubbed his eyes with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand and looked up from the floor where he had been sleeping. He made out, after a couple of seconds, a white stallion with a blue and cyan mane.

"Morning, Shining," James said, groaning as he slowly lifted himself up into a sitting position. He almost bumped Metamorphosis, who was sleeping on the seat, as he did so. The nighttime arrangements had been decided on the flip of a borrowed bit; heads for the queen, tails for James. The coin had landed heads up. Fortunately, he had managed to retrieve his bag before everyone started falling asleep, though it wasn't the best pillow.

"Same to you. Might as well get ourselves ready."

Metamorphosis' eyes opened, and she let out a massive yawn that reminded James of that of a cat. "Are we there yet?" she asked in a voice filled with morning exhaustion.

"Almost, apparently."

"Ugh. Five more minutes, please."

Shining shook his head. "We're not even five minutes from the station now."

"Drat," the queen said, yawning again. "Well, here we go, I guess."

James got to his feet and stepped out of the way, into the center of the car, taking his bag with him. The queen followed a few moments later, stretching as she went.

As Shining had said, it wasn't long before the train stopped at Canterlot Station. James hopped off, his bag briefly clattering down the steps, with the rest of the car's inhabitants following. The sun shone brightly on the station and the city as he accompanied Shining and Metamorphosis.

The capital looked much the same as it always had. It had never once fallen under attack during the war. Then again, most Equestrian cities hadn't; Trottingham and a few other eastern cities and villages had been captured, but the griffon army had failed to go any further. Most ponies continued their lives, almost as though the war hadn't happened. James squelched the feeling of jealousy he had; if not for the performance of the army, these ponies would have suffered the same fate as had those at Trottingham, the very thought of which made him sorry for feeling that jealousy.

Lord, please forgive me.

"General Armor! General Lavigne! This way!"

James turned his head a bit to the left. A white Guard stallion was waving his right front hoof at them.

"Greetings," the Guard said, when they approached him. He stuck out his hoof, which each of them shook in turn. "I'm here to guide you both to the palace."

"What about me?" Metamorphosis asked.

"Oh, of course. You too, Your Majesty..."

"Just 'Metamorphosis," or 'Meta' will do. And thank you."

"Are the Princesses already here?" James asked.

"I think so. I'm not sure, but I think so. They prefer to fly by chariot, which is faster," the Guard replied.

"Less safe," James murmured, though the Guard either didn't hear or affected not to.

"Or they might have come in on the train. I don't know for sure."

"I would say the latter," came a light, motherly voice.

Everyone turned around; Princess Celestia had come up behind them. James wondered how that was possible, but then realized that the sound of hooves, some shod and some not, would naturally have kept him from identifying those of any one pony.

"Please, don't worry about walking to the palace. I'd be happy to lend us all transport."

As if on cue, several chariots flown by Royal Guard pegasi landed just a few feet away.

I really hope we don't have to fly.

As it turned out, they didn't. Or at least, the stallions pulling the chariot James was in didn't. It was easy enough to guess why; it wasn't as if he did his best to hide the fact that he feared flying, and Twilight might have told the Princess after he had lost the bronco buck with Rainbow Dash. Furthermore, he had made it abundantly obvious to fellow soldiers, like Crystal Clear, who, thankfully, was on the road to recovery. The fact that the Princess knew that he was scared of heights should not have been surprising.

In any case, the trip to the palace didn't last long, and once there, he was swiftly reunited with the others, now joined by Princess Luna, in the throne room.

"Please feel free to sit down," the Lunar Princess said, doing just that herself upon her throne, beside her sister.

James sat down in the armchair on the right; Shining took the central one, and Metamorphosis took the one on the left.

"They talk about armchair generals," James joked, "but I didn't think I was one until now."

A chorus of chuckles briefly rang throughout the room.

"The war is over at last," Luna went on. "Now, we need to know what to do with the perpetrators and ensure peace for the future."

"I don't think it's so simple as that," James said, at the same time that Shining replied, "I'm not so sure, Your Majesty."

"Please, one at a time." Luna nodded in James' direction.

"I think we have to be prepared for future conflicts," James noted in a resigned voice. "We've opened a big genie's lamp here, and I'm not so sure we can control it. Furthermore, this world has seen war in the past; the ancient pegasi were warriors, after all. It's going to be almost impossible to prevent the spread of military technology across the globe, as there's always going to be someone willing to sneak or steal either the weapons themselves or the plans for them. To put it bluntly, even if we see peace in the immediate future - in my mind, maybe twenty years - that won't stop it. Equestria needs to build and maintain a competent military that is constantly trying to improve."

"Why would you assume that war would become common after what has happened over the past year?" Luna asked. "The world has seen the horrors of armed conflict; surely, they'll see that friendship is better than slaughtering each other over disagreements?"

"That didn't work in my world, and it won't in this one," James answered. "As I said, there's always going to be some villain who will be willing to go to war. Furthermore, in nations where poverty and famine are common, war can look a whole lot better than maintaining the status quo, which may well promise only more poverty and famine."

"I have to agree," Shining said a moment later. "Don't get me wrong, I love friendship, and I love peace - the latter even more nowadays. But there's always somebody out there, and the Elements of Harmony have only been used against very powerful, singular entities, like Discord or Nightmare Moon; I don't know how they would affect an army, especially one that is willing to fight for their cause and is fighting for their families and livelihoods. Would the Elements imprison them? Sentence them to a terrible fate? Twist their minds to make them think their reasons for war were illegitimate? We know that many griffons felt that way, even though we now know the real reason for the conflict."

"In addition," Metamorphosis added, "the world now knows that Equestria can be invaded and militarily challenged, where few would have dared before. Although it has beaten off two attackers, potential enemies smelled blood for a while. They know Equestria can bleed. They know they could destroy it."

"Do you think that friendship is useless?" Celestia asked.

"I do not," James said, raising a hand. "Being friends is no less desirable now than it was before. Even war can see bonds formed between two or more people; most of my friends in this world are, or were, in the military. Nevertheless, if there is a peaceful and good way to settle a dispute, then it ought to be pursued. I agree with you there. I just don't think burying your head in the sand is the right way to deal with the post war period."

Luna and Celestia looked at one another for a moment, then nodded in unison. "We're convinced," Luna stated. "We thought you might take that view."

"Good." James relaxed in his chair. "But we can't be sure that a long lasting peace is inevitable. We'll have the trial, and then the ex-king and all the murderers will hang, and that'll discourage some - key word, some - would be tyrants. But until the Second Coming, there's always going to be someone who will rise and try to seize as much as they can. I'm glad we've won, but we can't afford to just rest on our laurels. A thousand years of peace isn't the rule; it's an anomaly."

"I pray you're wrong about that," Luna returned. "Though I've been given little reason to doubt it, given our experiences compared before and after the times of peace."

"In the meantime, the preparations for the trial are, except for the gathering of evidence, complete," Celestia announced. "We should be ready by this time next week, perhaps sooner."

"What's taking so long?" Shining asked. "I thought we had more than sufficient evidence already!"

"We do," Luna responded. "We're making sure to jot things down on paper and to make our case airtight, so none of the defendants will be able to get off. Chrysalis and the former griffon king, along with their confederates and underlings, will receive justice, for the world to see, which is just what the world needs to see. Newspaper reporters will be present, along with the best lawyers Equestria can bring to bear."

"I suppose we'll be called as witnesses?" Shining asked, ears facing forward.

"Of course."

"Will I be called for the ex-king's trial, or just that of Chrysalis?" Metamorphosis asked.

Luna turned to her. "We would understand if you would prefer to just stick with evidence against Chrysalis. You didn't see the terrible things that other, more direct witnesses did during the campaigns of the east."

"I saw enough. I'll testify, and willingly, of what I personally saw. Also, numerous harvesters were killed as supposed spies; we changelings have a stake in this case as well as the other races."

"I suppose you do," Celestia noted, raising a glass of tea to her lips and sipping it.

"Anyway, we should handle all this with care," James said. "I know you two" - he meant Celestia and Luna - "trust that the defendants won't get away or that this won't turn ugly. We thought that a little while ago outside Gryphos, and the theory didn't turn out as sound as advertised."

Celestia winced, and Luna's face turned stern, though not angry. "We'll have three entire brigades surrounding the court in question," the Solar Princess said a few moments later, "as well as many squads of soldiers inside. Security will be as tight as we can possibly make it. Lunar Guards will be keeping watch on the prison and the court by night, and the Royal Guard by day. Nevertheless, we'll take whatever extra precautions you might advise."

"Not sure what else I could come up with, and three brigades is probably overkill," James replied, satisfied. "So long as your lawyers are up for it, I think there's as much chance for the culprits of the late war to get out of being punished as there is of the Imperial cause being revived... which is to say, none."

"I concur," Luna said, smiling slightly for a few seconds. "But now the war has shifted from rifle and cannon to gavel and lawyer."

"Indeed," Celestia agreed, taking another sip of tea. "Let's make sure our soldiers and weapons for this fight are better prepared than they were for the previous one." She finished her cup and set it down and smiled. "At least it's a war with pen and ink rather than bullets and shells. That, I know how to handle."

"I think we all prefer that kind of battle," Shining answered. Everyone nodded immediately, though James was a bit behind the rest.

"Now, on to arrangements for our guests," Luna said, smiling and levitating a long piece of paper up to her face. "James, you'll have the same room as you had before, and Shining will have his quarters. Queen Metamorphosis, we will offer you the best room in the palace-"

"Thank you for the honor, but that's not necessary," the Queen interrupted, raising a hoof. "I'd prefer to bunk near the quarters of my subjects within the castle."

"That is more than acceptable," Luna said, rolling up the scroll.

Just then, several ponies carrying cups, glasses, and some cake walked in.

"My friends and guests, please feel free," Celestia said, getting up out of her throne and approaching the small table that one of the servants had placed.

"I agree on the condition that similar treats are given to the soldiers," James noted. "I don't feel comfortable accepting otherwise."

"Second!" Shining spoke up.

"That's a condition I'll grant gladly," the Solar Princess said, nodding in agreement. "Now," she went on, levitating another cup and a plate in front of her, "tea and cake, anyone?"

Author's Note

Sorry this was so late. Procrastination and school are partly at fault, but it's mostly me at this point. Juggling several stories at once is... difficult (and a mistake in the first place), and finding time for them all is troublesome, especially with school pressures and stuff making me want to play video games even more than normal.

Furthermore, I admit this is kind of a filler chapter. I see at least some filler for the next chapter as well.

Chapter 89; Trial preparations

James looked up the military preparations for the trial as Luna raised the moon. Snipers would be placed in and around the building, with orders to fire on anyone trying to rescue the prisoners or attack the proceedings. Three Guards, fully armed with the best rifles, would be guarding each prisoner, with orders to shoot escapees on sight. Pegasi Guards would fly around the courthouse as the evidence was laid out and questions asked. Lawyers would be forbidden to contact third parties, with a lifetime jail sentence for doing so. No unsupervised visits would be allowed, and the dungeons where the leading culprits - Chrysalis and Raneiro, along with their highest officials and generals - would be searched five times every day, with each cell being entirely overhauled and scanned.

Meanwhile, in prisoner of war camps, most prisoners were in the process of being released, except for the perpetrators of the Gryphos Massacre, who had been chained in their barracks and denied contact, and whose facilities were also being searched daily. Shining Armor would be overseeing the first major release of prisoners the next day.

So far, everything looked alright, security-wise, and it appeared as though it were watertight. Naturally, though, he wondered what else could be done.

He set down the paper he had been reading, yawning as he did so. The preparations would take a few days. In the meantime, when he wasn't busy with the military protection for the trial, he would free to explore the palace.

James walked over to the door in the side of the room and walked onto the small balcony beyond it. The cool night air was refreshing, as was the sight of the moon in the night sky, which was clear of clouds. The distant stars twinkled as he leaned on the stone railing.

He looked down and to the right at the northern districts of the city on the side of a mountain. The occasional pegasus flew over the buildings, but most inhabitants were either in bed or going to or from local taverns or pubs or other places where nighttime entertainment occurred. It was, or so it seemed, peaceful.

He heard, or thought he heard, the sound of bat wings. He looked up and got a glimpse of a thestral flying behind a pillar, after which the presumably Lunar Guard was out of sight.

"They're good, aren't they?"

James turned to his left, where Princess Luna was lowering herself from the air. "You got a rare glimpse of one of my Guards at work," the Lunar Princess continued. "Most never see them at all."

"I guess I'm fortunate, then," James replied, budging over to the right to make more room for her.

"They're very devoted," Luna said, turning her head so that both eyes rested on him.

"I noticed during the war," James said. "They always did go at the enemy with a certain elan. I hope you appreciate their duty and sacrifice."

Luna's face became sorrowful for a moment. "Don't think that I don't know what they've done," she said. "I've had to deliver letters to distraught fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. I've been to burials and I've seen, and in some case personally given, medals given to veterans who will be physically crippled for the rest of their lives, and pray that that does not stretch into emotional and mental crippling as well. The thestrals gave it their all, as did the entire kingdom." She sighed.

"Sorry to bring it up."

"No, it's alright. My sister and I do appreciate the work of our Guards. My sister sees them as her children, and I do not leave them out of my plans. I just hope they don't have to fight anymore wars, though I have my doubts that that will be."

"Yeah."

They both looked off the the balcony for a few minutes, saying nothing.

"Is our military ready to do it's part for the trial?" Luna asked at last.

"It is. I suppose in normal times they'd be considered 'extreme,' but..."

"The past year hasn't been 'normal times.' I'm willing to accept whatever proposals you have, provided they do not feature torture or anything else expressly forbidden by law."

"Alright. Well then, let's go inside and I'll show you the list."

They did just that. Luna inspected it for several minutes. "Do you really believe that three whole brigades - twelve thousand ponies, at full strength - is necessary?"

"For one thing, please remember that your sister came up with that."

"Ah, yes, thank you for the reminder. And 'one thing' implies another."

"The other being that these brigades are combat veterans of the late war. They've been depleted, so that's probably something more like six thousand, but they're made up of the best. They know the security measures and the risks. Excepting something unseen, no one will get through them while they live."

"I believe you. As for the idea of shooting anyone who trespasses-"

"For one thing, if they are trying to get inside, they'll have to fight fully armed and veteran soldiers, meaning they will probably be armed themselves and trying to harm those same soldiers. I'm not saying that we should shoot everyone who tries to get in. I'm making sure that the orders include restraints. But we both know what diehards for the griffon cause were willing to do back in Gryphos. We need to be prepared for that eventuality here."

Luna flinched at the memory. "I suppose you have a point. And I agree that any prisoner who tries to escape will be doing so at their own peril. However, I'm worried that these measures will be harmful to any innocents caught in the crossfire."

"I think there's a simple solution for that; block off the streets near the courthouse and make sure that the streets we'll be using are clear when transporting the prisoners to and from the dungeons."

"That will take considerable time and effort," Luna answered, "and it would likely cause traffic to become congested. We could try flying the prisoners to their destination instead, though that could be risky, as they could potentially attempt to fly away or be freed by diehards."

"Could you teleport them there?"

Luna thought about it, then shook her head. "Teleportation is not as easy as Twilight may make it seem. It requires knowing where your destination is, otherwise one could end up inside a wall or in an immeasurably small space, both cases being, needless to say, fatal. Hence why Twilight usually only teleports very short distances. Most unicorns don't bother with it, and it's easy to see why. Trying to transport the prisoners across the city would be very difficult, not to mention exhausting and dangerous."

"Okay, so teleportation is out." James sat back down and rested his head on his hand. "I suppose we'll have to transport them down the streets... and hope that there is no plan by diehards."

"We haven't been idle, you know; my sister and I have approved a proposal by Shining Armor to check incoming trains and airships, and to patrol the edges and streets of the city, with an aerial patrol of pegasi Guards, with pegasi from the regulars who are either staying on permanently or haven't yet been demobilized. As of tomorrow, those patrols will be enforced by the Royal Guard during the day, and my Guards are already on patrol tonight, not only protecting the palace, but the streets as well."

"Good. At least we're doing something pro-active." James sighed. "Let's hope its enough."

"Hope and pray," Luna said, and James nodded enthusiastically.

Shining stood inside the gate of the prisoner of war camp outside of Canterlot, situated at the bottom of the mountain. Today, the griffon troops who had either been captured or surrendered would be released, along with the many diamond dogs and the few minotaurs that had been taken alive after being too badly wounded to continue fighting.

"They deserve to rot in there," one soldier nearby muttered. "They wanted our land, and for our wives and foals to be their slaves. They can stuff it."

"We're trying to end the conflict," Shining replied. "Keeping them all imprisoned isn't exactly cheap, and it will only make things worse. I don't want a camp revolt, which would happen sooner or later if we did what you're suggesting."

"If they try it, they'll be sorry," the soldier answered. "I say we let them-"

"No," Shining interrupted. "We have our orders. And I personally agree with those orders. We're releasing all who were not complicit in war crimes. If you want to complain, I suggest you talk to Princess Celestia, but I wouldn't waste your time trying. She's set on this."

The soldier - a brown earth pony stallion - sighed and said something foul under his breath. Shining pretended not to notice.

A file of griffon soldiers began to march past them Shining eyed them with caution.

The griffons and their former allies bore many different expressions. Some, especially soldiers previously from penal battalions, looked happy to be alive and free at last. Others looked warily at the ponies, all armed with bolt actions rifles, as they trudged past. The diamond dogs all looked submissive, though much like the penal soldiers were all too happy to be getting out. The few minotaurs marched with their heads down in utmost shame.

But not all of the griffon soldiers looked happy. Several cursed their pony captors as they walked, and other spat at the hooves of the pony troopers. Others just glared in furious defiance. Shining had anticipated this response, and per his orders, none of the Equestrian soldiers responded with gunfire or with words, but many stared angrily back at the defiant former captives.

One griffon looked particularly contemptuous. Shining felt some sense of having seen this griffon before, but couldn't remember.

Suddenly, a memory came flooding back in a flash;

One of the Gatling bunkers was still shooting as griffon soldiers came right up to the firing holes. What happened next was horrible. The ponies inside, surprised, tried to escape, but the enemy tore at the sandbags and wood, ripping the weak structure apart. They shot both gunners... and kept shooting them well after they were dead. One of their officers fired both of his pistols into one of the corpses, and two of his soldiers began tearing at the bodies themselves.

"Thought you could do that to us and walk away or give up?" one of the killers demanded.

This griffon had shot one of those Gatling gunners, whom Shining now remembered had tried to surrender.

"Seize him!" he shouted, pointing a hoof at the offender.

Four soldiers converged on the griffon he'd pointed to. The other ex-prisoners gave them a wide birth.

"What do you think you're doing?" the griffon yelled as he was tied up and brought in front of Shining.

"You're under arrest for the murder of an Equestrian soldier after his surrender."

"I don't-"

"Don't lie!" Shining yelled in his face. "I saw you! You were in that counterattack, and you helped butcher a bunch of Equestrian soldiers in Gatling bunker!"

"Oh, those guys. They had it coming to them, thinking they could give up after shooting down hundreds of us-"

One of the soldiers smacked the griffon in the face as hard as he could using his hoof. The griffon howled and fell over, with the soldier standing over him, furious and ready to continue.

"That's not acceptable," Shining said, waving off the soldier and staring at the griffon. "You don't get to choose to kill surrendering soldiers."

"Don't be a hypocrite, horse," the griffon said defiantly. "Your people would have done the same thing. They probably did, and didn't bother mentioning it. Clean out your own house before-"

Shining used his magic to force the griffon's beak closed. "Take him away. And investigate for any others who did the same as he did."

"Yes, sir," the four soldiers chorused; the one who had whacked the griffon dragged the prisoner away.

"I do wonder though," one of them said as the others left. "Maybe he's right and some of ours... I wouldn't be surprised."

Shining opened his mouth to disagree, but then thought about it. The enemy had had many nasty surprises, including beam rifles and their Gatling guns. Chances were, at least one Equestrian soldier had done something just as bad. It really would be hypocrisy if that was let go, and Shining, as Captain of the Royal Guard and an enemy of criminals, couldn't let one guilty party go free and jail the other.

"Alright, we'll investigate both sides, though I doubt anypony on our side is going to willingly speak up."

"We'll do our best, sir."

James made the small number of changes Luna had wanted him to make after getting up that morning. He looked it over once more before sitting back down on his bed.

While the transport of the prisoners - James could hardly bring himself to describe them as "defendants," as that would imply that they might be innocent - would be far from risk-free, the soldiers would be taking the best care possible to both prevent escapes as well as civilian casualties. Hopefully, weapons fire would not be necessary.

Luna had added a particularly harsh line; "In the event that a prisoner should break free of their bounds, and be on the verge of escape, their guards are to consider their sentence at once to be 'execution' and carry out that sentence immediately."

Not so soft as I would have expected a year ago, he thought to himself as he re-read the orders.

He yawned anxiously. The prisoners would have a hard time escaping on their own, and the multitude of military pegasi would be able to intercept the even if they were able to run from their guards. Not that that was likely, given how Celestia had given instructions that all of the prisoners were to be chained to very heavy iron balls to keep them from doing any such thing, with the keys to them being held by a random Guard within the guard detail.

Everything seemed to be airtight. It was just that that was keeping James from being able to rest on it. Quite a few things had seemed "airtight" before - the massacre in the Gryphos Square came to mind - and had turned out to be less than so.

Regardless, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to make everything perfect, so he set the orders back on the desk where he had picked them up, and walked out the door.

The palace, as always, was brightly lit, and Royal Guards were everywhere; security was being tightened everywhere until the trial was over. James made his way - gradually, as the palace was quite big and it was easy to get lost - to the dining hall and entered.

All three Princesses were calmly eating breakfast at the table, chatting, as he came in. Celestia was sipping tea while reading a newspaper. Luna held a donut to her mouth with her magic while holding a piece of paper with a hoof. Cadence was munching on an eclair and looked as if she were in a personal heaven, at least for the moment.

Celestia turned toward the door as James closed it behind him. "Ah, good morning, James. I was just finishing a delightful article in the Canterlot Times."

"Is it about donuts or eclairs?"

The Princess laughed. "That would be nice as well, but no. Anyway, how go the preparations?"

"They go well." James folded his arms across his chest. "We've got good security, and the prisoners aren't going to be bale to fly the coop, outside interference or not. In the meantime, I assume the gathering of evidence and the non-military related stuff is going well?"

"It is. We have most of what we want already, but we're mostly waiting for griffon and changeling witnesses to arrive. Then the trial will begin in earnest." Celestia's smile faded. "It's an ugly business. The ex-rulers' former subjects mostly want them dead, and this will be a greater display of hatred than I know what to do with."

"It's bad, Auntie, that's for sure," Cadence said, finishing her eclair. "I'd prefer to just send them to prison and be done with it. No need for all the jeers and disgust."

Luna sighed. "I know. And if their crimes had only been against Equestria... Yet that is not the case, and we must obey the law ourselves, or else prove ourselves to be walking in their hoof - or claw - steps. In order for us not to usurp power as tyrants do, we must needs be loyal to the principles of law and order."

James sat down in one of the chairs. "I'd prefer to keep the crowds away from the prisoners as we transport them. Regular ponies, changelings, and griffons will be there, and no doubt all sorts of stuff is going to be thrown at them... and, incidentally if accidentally, at us who are guarding them."

Luna made a disgusted face. "Undoubtedly. I'll be making a decree that that's banned under pain of arrest for the pony, griffon, or changeling responsible. As much as I would like to, though, the catcalling and jeering and whatever other verbal slurs the crowd might throw at the defendants is not so easily stopped. There is such a thing as freedom of speech, however foolishly some might choose to wield such freedom."

"The war is over," James said, taking his gun out of his holster and examining it, "and yet the only thing that's changed is the type of fighting."

"We ask just one more offensive from you, against the defendants in this trial," Luna replied, softening. "One more campaign. A legal one. It'll be over eventually."

"Will it?" James asked, putting the pistol back. "Just about every nation in the world has noticed the war; how long do you think it'll be until another eruption, with even greater caches of weapons?"

"Don't think that has escaped our notice," Celestia answered, looking and sounding worried. "I have fears for the future. At least we have one where Equestria is free to pursue its own course, and not that of a foreign tyranny. We'll be keeping an eye out, and trying to stop any future wars. Our recent victory, and our allies, old and new, will probably be enough, for the near future, to hinder further military actions, though I'm not going to lean on that, and we will be watching the world for the rest of our reign in case similar tyrants arise."

"Good." James shut his eyes and breathed in and out. "It seems the epilogue to this war is about to begin," he murmured picking up a chocolate-frosted glazed donut. "Let us pray and hope it ends well."

"With Providence and justice and fairness, it will be," Luna replied earnestly.

Author's Note

Sorry again for the delay. Writers block, multiple stories, procrastination...

Sigh...

It's all old hat by now. I hope I regain the old drive to write that I had when I first launched this story.

But anyway, hope you all enjoyed. Trial begins next chapter.

Chapter 90; The trial begins

"Well, this will be an interesting escort," Shining Armor murmured, as the cavalcade of prisoners were hiked out of the palace.

"Yep. Protecting our old enemies from the very civilians they wanted to enslave," James replied, a hand resting on the butt of his revolver. "Irony. One of the oddest, funniest, and most tragic of concepts, sometimes all at once."

"Heh. No kidding," the albino unicorn said, putting on a brave face. "I hope this doesn't go too far."

"Celestia and Luna did send out a decree that no violence would be tolerated," James said, trying to reassure him.

"And ordinarily, I'd trust that that decree would do its job and that would be the end of it. But ponies from all over, including those who suffered occupation, have come, along with griffons and changelings who suffered under the criminals we're going to be escorting."

"Hmmm..." James didn't see how to argue with that.

"Maybe..." Shining shook his head.

The long trail of prisoners was largely made up of captured terrorists from the massacre in Gryphos Square, but at the head of the train were a number of changelings and griffons. The former king was among them; he had been stripped of all royal garments and looked both tired and worse for wear, but he still managed to sneer at the ponies and other species around him. James had heard that he'd continued to make demands as though he were still ruler of the Griffon nation, and when the guards had refused to play along, he'd gotten violent.

Explains the horseshoe imprint around one eye, he thought. And his attitude doesn't surprise me.

He wasn't the only griffon to look smug and confident. General Grayfeather appeared haughty and dignified, trying to stand upright with one claw on his chest and the other behind his back, as though he were still a commander looking over a battlefield. Blackfeather, on the other hand (or claw), appeared sullen. Word had gotten through to James that the few times he'd spoken, he'd muttered about how he'd failed his king.

The captured insurrectionists displayed a myriad of behaviors. Those who had been motivated by nationalism as opposed to loyalty to the deposed emperor mainly looked nervous, outright afraid, or shameful. Imperialists held their heads high, and few of them held any other pose.

Already, crowds were gathering. Loud hisses and boos came from griffons of all colors, and expletives were hurled at the captives. James, who had plenty of experience in swearing, turned red at some of the epithets that the audience was screeching at the accused.

"Back up, back up," a Guard shouted. "Make way, make way immediately, by decree of the Diarchs of Equestria!"

More slurs and insults came the way of the prisoners. Most griffon insults were aimed at the ex-king, though most ponies focused on Chrysalis, who was chained up and could not move.

"Murderer!"

"Scum!"

"Tyrant!"

A tomato came flying from out of the crowd and slammed into the ex-king's face. The former ruler looked surprised for a moment, then used a wing to scrape the remains and the juice of the vegetable away.

"Hey! No throwing objects!" one of the Guards yelled, and started toward the pony who had thrown the tomato.

That was only the beginning, however. A glob of green slime struck Chrysalis on the muzzle, with substances going splat against her body. More Guards and soldiers broke ranks to arrest the throwers, most of whom were changelings. They did not attempt to resist, and went quietly.

This was followed by a barrage of missiles; vegetables and gooey objects flew into the prisoners, most aimed at the highest offenders - the ex-queen and ex-king - but several struck the line of other captives. Cries of pain and fear came from those hit by them, and there were also cries of outrage from those less inclined to take the attack lying down.

"STOP!" came a loud voice.

James looked up to see Princess Luna flying down from the direction of the palace. Her face bore a look of anger and sternness as she landed in front of the procession.

"You are in violation of a decree issued from myself and my sister," Luna said immediately upon landing. "We of the Royal Family have determined that such behavior will not be tolerated. Any further offenders will themselves spending months in prison. We will not allow the streets of our fair city of Canterlot to become a hooligans' playground."

Most ponies had the decency to show a fair amount of shame at the Princess' words. That, or they were intimidated by her. Most changelings also backed down.

Some of the griffons among the crowd, however, showed signs of belligerence. "This scum saw to the murder of half my village!" one tall male among them yelled. "I want them to pay! At my own claws!"

"If you attempt to harm these prisoners, you will be imprisoned," Luna sternly replied, glaring at him. "And you will not be getting out for a long time. I repeat, Canterlot will not be allowed to become a hooligans' playground."

A pegasus guard let out a long tweet on a whistle. Almost at once, Royal Guards came flying and galloping into the area, armed and ready for a confrontation.

By now, most of the griffons were backing down, and those who weren't were easily identified.

"Not to mention that your missiles are striking the soldiers escorting the prisoners," Luna continued. "The decree will be enforced. Leave the soldiers and captives alone, or you will be punished, each and every one of you who breaks the decree from this point forward."

Except for the one griffon who had expressed called for personal revenge, the crowd, though not departing, was now backing away.

"I want to see punishment!"

"And you will. These criminals will not escape justice."

"Blast justice! Kill 'em now!"

"We will not. Sorry to rain on your parade of vengeance, but your demands for their instant slaughter are denied."

The griffon spat on the ground at Luna's hooves and began to walk away, snarling an offensive remark about Luna's personal hygiene. Then, without warning, he threw a knife at ex-king Raneiro and attempted to flee.

The knife never reached it's target; Luna grasped it with her magic and stopped it a few inches from the prisoner's head, and then proceeded to bend and crush it into a harmless metallic ball. In the meantime, three pegasi Guards tackled the griffon before he could get far.

"Lock him in the palace dungeon," Luna commanded. "I will visit him later. For now, we have more important matters." She turned to James and Shining Armor. "I will be flying just above the column. Continue escorting the prisoners to the courthouse."

"Of course."

"At your orders, princess."

"Good. I expect there shall be no more rioting," Luna said, with a calculated glance toward the crowds, who again drew back.

James found himself blinking as the procession entered the courtroom. He well remembered the inquiry he and Shining had had to go through, His memories weren't pleasant ones.

"I remember when we were in here," Shining said, pointing to a table and chairs. "Glad we're not on the receiving end today."

"Perhaps not, but it's ugly no matter which side you're on."

"Yeah..."

An audience had already gathered, sitting behind the defendant's own desk and chairs. To James' surprise, a changeling queen sat in the judge's seat.

"What's up with that?" James asked curiously.

"Ah," came the voice of Luna, who landed to his right. "In the interest of fairness between the species, we decided to appoint multiple judges, these to swap out day by day with myself, my sister, other queens, and clan leaders for the griffons, along with the Saddle Arabian general who served with us."

Luna pointed with her muzzle at the jury box, which was full of ponies, changelings, griffons, and a few Saddle Arabians. "Likewise, the jury is comprised of different species."

"Quite a lot of them... Dozens."

"We have seventy, for this particular trial."

"How are we going to convict the hundreds of captured insurgents?" James asked pointedly. "One by one?"

"We will, one after the other, though each one will be given much less time than the main offenders on trial, and in a separate room of the court. We expect it will take some time for the main defendants, namely the two ex-monarchs and their associates, to be fully convicted of their crimes, whilst each terrorist, having been captured in arms against us after the griffon surrender, is more or less already condemned. The only issue is how far to punish them. That will be decided for individual terrorists by griffon judges once they're convicted."

Luna paused for a moment. "We'll also be alternating the trial each day, so that either the ex-king or ex-queen will be on trial, and their lackeys will be accused the appropriate days as well."

"So... The big guys. The Queen, King... nice hand of cards we have to play with. We're just lacking a Joker."

"And a prize. We only have a deficit to fulfill, not a stack of bits to gain."

There wasn't much to be said for that, so James didn't reply.

"None of them will be getting away. We have enough evidence from witnesses alone to lock them up permanently, or..." Luna trailed off.

"Or execute them."

"...Yes. While we can convict them, it will be their own people who will decide the punishment."

"If we're doing that, we might as well build the gallows and guillotine right here and now. Chrysalis' people hate her, and the griffon people loathe their former king even more."

Luna flinched. "I'd prefer to not assume... In any case, we're here to do a job. Let us get started."

James and the rest of the day's witnesses took their seats, along with the audience. Several pegasi, holding cameras, hovered above the crowd, snapping pictures, and reporters stood ready to take notes. One, he noticed, was the red earth pony Quick Quill, who was busy writing something he couldn't see.

Big crowd today. I suppose when history is being made, people rush to gaze upon it.

The courtroom was full of whispering and murmurs; despite the efforts by the speakers to remain quiet, the entire courthouse was echoing with their voices.

"Call to order!" A pegasus Guard said loudly, cutting through the chatter. "The Honorable Judge Queen Cocoon presiding."

James looked up. He distantly remembered that name...

Ah, yes, he thought, after fumbling for a few seconds. She's the one who greeted us before the combined Allied armies stormed Chrysalis' hive.

Cocoon still wore her armor and crown, but she seemed nervous; perhaps she wasn't used to pony customs, or to sitting down in so public a space. "Order, order," she called. "The proceedings will now begin." She turned toward Celestia and audibly whispered, "Is that how I'm supposed to start?"

"You're doing just fine," the alabaster pony monarch answered reassuringly. "Let's continue."

"Bring in the accused," the pegasus hollered.

The main doors opened. James turned around in his seat to watch.

Raneiro was made to march in first, a unicorn Guard levitating the iron ball the captive was chained to. There was no shouting as he was brought in, but the silence held malevolence of a different sort, as glares from his own people met him. He responded by continuing to smirk, something that did nothing to put his enemies at ease.

Not a great start for him, James thought with a sigh. It was easier to desire continued resistance than to really repent. I should know. I'd be more or less indignant when in a court of law or as a prisoner. It's wrong... but sadly, so easy an evil to fall into.

Chrysalis was brought in next. Unlike Raneiro, she didn't pull any punches, and glared back at her enemies. If looks could have killed, everyone she stared at would have long since died. Fortunately, even in Equestria a mere gaze couldn't injure, much less kill. She was blatantly angry, as opposed the to ex-king's smugness. The changelings in the audience had to remain audibly quiet, like everyone else. However, with the exception of drones from Chrysalis' hive, in addition to angry, even hate-filled, stares, they gave vent to their feelings by moving their wings intermittently, filling the hall with the sound of angry buzzing.

"That's enough," Cocoon said, after about a minute of noise. "Order."

The changelings went completely silent.

Several drones, each with a placard around their necks to let others know who they were and what they'd done, were brought in next. Finally, the former king's generals and officials were brought in. They still bore military uniforms, but these had been shorn of any decorations and were largely bare. They did not bare signs around their necks, but then again, they didn't look identical to one another, so there war perhaps no need.

"This court has been assembled," Queen Cocoon began solemnly, "to judge crimes against civilized species so heinous that they must surely stink to high heaven. Those who stand before you today are the arbitrators of the bloodiest war to occur in over a thousand years and of the conquest and brutal subjugation of the changeling hives. It is with the accord of the victorious Allied powers that the evidence be presented and witnesses brought forward, that none may doubt the existence nor the severity of these evils, and that justice may be served, especially for those no longer here to see the victory of our arms and the liberation of their respective peoples."

James began to remember, as if by a sped up montage, those ponies, changelings, griffons, diamond dogs, minotaurs, Saddle Arabians, and zebras lying dead in many fields, in changeling hives, in forests, in craters, by a river. He also recalled the tyranny of Chrysalis' councilors, of the stern and harsh rule of the royalist griffons, of the ponies they had made, and tried to make, slaves, and of the crimes they had committed against their own people. His right fist almost instinctively curled up in anger as a rage began to fill him.

Calm down. Don't let that anger become hatred.

He forced himself to breathe deeply.

"It has been decided by the leaders of the Allied nations that the the defendants who will be tried for the first half of today's session will be the one who has brought death and destruction to not only her own, but to Equestria as well. This trial will open with the prosecution of ex-Queen Chrysalis after the initial statements by the prosecuting and defending attorneys."

"Death to traitors!" one of Chrysalis' drones yelled. "This trial is illegal!"

"Your death will be a long and painful one, traitor!" another screeched.

"Order in the court!" Cocoon shouted back, using her magic to hammer her gavel against the podium. "This is your one and only warning. If you don't stop interrupting the proceedings, you will be muzzled and kept from speaking except in your own personal defense."

"Silence, traitor!"

"Filth!

"Dirty little-"

"I warned you," Cocoon said severely. "Guards..."

Several Royal Guards moved on the mouthy drones; as the latter had all four legs chained to the floor and their horns were sheathed with iron cones that prevented them from using magic, they could do nothing to physically resist, though they verbally abused the Guards before each of them were silenced with a muzzle affixed to their faces.

"Now, with that out of the way, we shall call our first witness."

Celestia reached up and whispered something in the Queen's ear. Cocoon flinched.

"Er, I mean, the prosecuting attorney may now make his beginning statements."

James wasn't so surprised this time to see the lawyer-turned-warrior Rusty emerge. The old leader of the formerly Unauthorized Regiment nodded toward James and Shining, who both nodded in their turn. Then, in a polished voice, he began to speak. "Your Honor, esteemed members of the jury, our noble audience, and rulers and representatives of distant lands, let me say that it has been an honor to serve my country in both military and judicial form in this hour.

"As all gathered here know, our land of Equestria was invaded, just over a year ago, with an attempted invasion of Canterlot thwarted less than a year before that. The perpetrator sits before you, the former Changeling Queen Chrysalis. What many of you may not know is that she was a brutal tyrant over her fellow Queens and their hives, subjugating them and annihilating dissent with a terrible efficiency. She has invaded sovereign states and toppled and murdered their leaders, who offered her nothing we may justly call offense. Upon each conquest, she would set up drones of her own hive, some of whom have appeared with her this day in this courtroom, with the intention of driving home that subjugation. These drones were the real power in each conquered hive, and each Queen was denied her rights to rule her own people. In addition, drones of these hives were forcibly drafted in order to inflate Chrysalis' own numbers for her invasions of Equestrian territory.

"Furthermore, these hives were forced to surrender their emotional energy in order to give strength to Chrysalis' own armies, even to the detriment of those hives that were deprived of their only source of food and energy. We do not know the casualty lists for these hives that were forced into servitude via starvation or loss from warfare. Perhaps we shall never know, and many a drone may lie somewhere on or near western battlefields in some forgotten place, never to be returned to their people in order to be given a final farewell. Perhaps ink and paper are not necessary; the crimes our captured enemy has committed speak for themselves, as does the blood of all slain in her lust for power and dominion."

Rusty turned to regard Chrysalis briefly. "As if all this was not enough, we know that Chrysalis and her associates mistreated prisoners of war; ponies were drained of love and stuffed into cocoons to live in a demented half-sleep, powerless to escape, while changelings from rebel hives captured late in the final campaign were murdered outright, some in ways that would forever tarnish the minds of those who would hear of it." Turning toward the audience, the lawyer continued, "For your sakes, I will not recite the methods of these murders now, but in the course of these proceedings, we shall of course need to discuss them. I warn that all of you with weak constitutions ought to leave the courtroom after today."

Rusty bowed to Cocoon, who got understood the gesture. "We shall proceed," the Queen said, motioning with her levitated gavel.

A changeling drone stepped forward. He looked toward the crowd, toward a white pony sitting there. James shook with surprise when he saw that it was not a pony but Queen Amalda.

Chrysalis' heir looked nervous; her mane, or what counted among changelings for one, was ragged and ruffled. It made some tragic sense why she looked and felt this way; she was surrounded by other Changeling Queens, and it was her mother who was on trial, after all. She gave a small bow to the changeling, who then turned back to Queen Cocoon.

I suppose Amalda is the only one of her hive who could appoint a defense attorney. It must suck, being a kid and watching her mom get the axe.

"Your Honor, esteemed members of the jury, our noble audience, and rulers and representatives of distant lands," the drone said, copying Rusty word for word, "I have the honor" - his face was rather neutral as he said this - "of defending Queen Chrysalis, who until recently was the ruler of our hive. I shall defend her before this court and before this jury to the best of my ability, as my duty to my present Queen, Her Majesty Queen Amalda, dictates."

He sat back down where he'd originally been seated and did not continue speaking. It's not like he really can, James thought. The trial outcome is decided; Chrysalis is going to get it in the neck. The only question is whether or not she hangs or is given a firing squad, or, if she's fortunate, a lifelong stint in a prison belonging to an enemy hive. Given that changeling Queens have long lives, like alicorns, she'd probably consider that a fate worse than death.

""Now do we...?" Cocoon whispered, a bit too loudly, to Celestia. The alabaster alicorn nodded. "Call in the first witness."

"Please state your name and status."

"I am known as Drone 3457."

"Do you have a more personal name?" Rusty asked.

"I have been called 'Rand' by friends."

"Do you might if I refer to you by that name?"

"No, not at all. I am still a bit new to it, though."

That does make sense, James thought to himself. He's been called by his drone designation all his life. A name takes time to get used to when you've only had it a few months.

"What was your role in the war?"

"I was assigned as a carrier, later a warrior. I served in several of the earliest battles under Queen Chrysalis. I was captured after the battle for Appleloosa, and spent the rest of the war in captivity."

"I notice that your record is entirely clean of hostile incidents. Other changelings from Chrysalis' hive acted aggressively every change they got."

"They didn't really have any choice. Each drone is bound to their Queen."

"But..."

"I have a disorder that disconnects me from the 'hivemind,' as ponies call it. As such, I can choose to be disobedient. Until my capture, it was much more prudent to go along with whatever the Queen said."

"Might I ask why?"

"Because any drones who were found to have that kind of... condition, were killed on sight. No exceptions. No one capable of resisting or disobeying the Queen was allowed to live."

"You must have been a good actor."

"It's all too easy, when you've lived in her hive your whole life."

"I'm sorry. Now, how was life in the hive before the war? As in, how did the city conduct itself?"

"Nothing in Chrysalis' hive did anything without her approval. All orders were to be obeyed immediately and without even the slightest questioning look. Everything... it was like a city inhabited by robots, not actual people, if you understand me."

"I see. Was any knowledge of other hives available?"

"No. If they were referenced at all, it was as 'outposts' and 'bases,' not as separate underground cities. We all assumed that there had only ever been one Changeling Queen, and she never said or acted otherwise."

"Why do you think that was?"

"Namely, now that I think about it, to still whatever dissent changelings are capable of."

"She was that determined to remain upon her throne?"

"Yes. I don't know if you've seen her since the trial began, but..."

"Rest assured I have. One more question; what is your opinion of living under Queen Amalda?"

"I haven't had the chance. From the little I've heard, she'd much nicer. Not that we knew of her existence. Again, Chrysalis withheld as much information on everything as she could."

"Thank you. No further questions."

"I would like to cross-examine the witness," Amalda's changeling attorney said, sounding as if he was merely going through the motions.

He's fighting a lost cause, and he knows it. You can hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes... not that they have pupils, but still...

"You may do so," Cocoon said, surveying him for a moment.

"Thank you." The changeling walked up and turned to face the stand. "Did you actually see Queen Chrysalis give orders to the effect that you have described? In person?"

"No."

"Is it possible that the hive misunderstood the orders they received?"

Nice try, but that won't work.

"No. We got our orders, and had to fulfill them. I remember the Queen's officers giving us direct instructions. They were certain of what they had been instructed to tell the rest of the hive, and Chrysalis wasn't the kind to leave any room for doubt in her instructions. I should know, I've seen her do so."

"How were you captured, exactly? Were you subdued while fighting, or did you submit without so much as a protest?"

"Objection," Rusty said calmly. "Not a relevant question."

"It is necessary to establish how trustworthy the witness is," the changeling replied.

"The defense is overruled," Cocoon judged, banging her gavel. "The defense will stick to relevant subjects."

The changeling serving for the defense sighed. "Might I ask why you are so willing to speak out against the previous Queen?"

"Simple. I had more freedom in pony imprisonment - with some certain exceptions - than as a member of my own hive. Chrysalis was a tyrant, and there was no room for the liberties the other hives enjoyed."

"Then you are disloyal to the hive you were hatched into?"

Rusty moved to speak, but before he could, Rand answered, "No. I want a better life for my own people. A better ruler. One who can tap into their potential without making them slaves in all but name. If it is true that I am disloyal, I am disloyal to Chrysalis, not my hive, and not to Queen Amalda."

"Did you take up arms against Chrysalis?"

"No. I remained imprisoned until the war in the west was over."

"Did you think, at anytime during that imprisonment, of taking up arms against Chrysalis, and thus your own people?"

"Objection! Leading!"

"It's a legitimate question!" the questioning changeling argued.

"The objection raised by the prosecution is sustained."

"...Fine."

"Don't get snippy with Her Honor!" a changeling from the crowd yelled.

"Order in the court!" Cocoon banged the gavel three times. "387, I will have you removed from this court if you speak out of turn again. Now," she continued, turning back to the defending changeling, "proceed."

"No further questions."

"Alright. Rand," Cocoon said, turning to the changeling on the stand. "you may go back to your initial seat."

"Yes, your Highness." Rand got up and walked back into the audience and sat down.

"Call in the next witness!"

"Right." Rusty got up from his seat and looked at a list on his desk. "The prosecution calls... Cicka... no, Cicada... Um, Cicedelade?"

"Close enough," a female drone replied.

Cicadellidae is what poor Rusty was trying to say, James noted in his mind. Kind of a difficult word if you've never heard it before. He crossed his arms. The defense was going to get it now.Rusty had begun with a member of Chrysalis' hive on purpose, so that one of her own, perhaps the only one able to cross the former Queen, could condemn her. Now Rusty was moving on to changeling hives that had been under her hoof for years. It was going to get ugly for her.

"Name?"

"Cicadellidae, but please call me Cica."

"Right then. Miss Cica, please describe the reign of Queen Chrysalis as an ordinary changeling from another hive would have seen it."

"Simple; tyranny at it's worst."

"Could you please be more specific?"

"Oh, certainly. For starters, our Queen was surrounded by 'councilors' whose job was essentially to rule the hive and keep her in line. They were all bullies, and they enjoyed their bullying. We were slaves to them; we were dirt under their hooves. Their soldiers treated us like living garbage. They enjoyed treating us like living garbage. Anyone even accused of saying anything against Chrysalis was murdered, right on the spot; sometimes, they would gather us in the center of town and take their time murdering a changeling who had done nothing worse than complain about the unbearable labors we'd been given, or who had said that we ought to have more liberty. In addition, to prevent us from rebelling, a group of guards was always posted outside the hive nursery, where all changeling larva within the hive are raised and cared for. The intent was obvious; we could easily overpower the garrison they left in our city, but they would butcher our young before we could win. Thanks be that our larvae came out safely during the fighting."

"Indeed. What kind of burdens did the councilors give you?"

"They worked us to the bone collecting and harvesting emotional energy. We would go into pony cities, always with a quota to fulfill, and about twenty-five percent of what we collected, if not more, was always shipped to Chryssy's hive. We would endeavor to construct new buildings within the hive, and we would not be allowed to rest until the building was complete for the day; no breaks, except for short feedings and drinks. If we were slow or did anything that displeased the guards and the councilors, they would beat us, right then and there, and then scream at us even more, until we finally got back up to a speed that pleased - or rather, did not displease - them, they were never happy. Furthermore, any changeling larvae that hatched anywhere, whether they were of our Queen or from individual parents, were immediately taken to the nursery; the parents would be beaten if they tried to object, verbally or otherwise. We were always reminded of how worthless we were, of how little any of us mattered, and that our job was to slave for Chryssi forever and always, never expecting relief or enjoyment."

"Enjoyment?"

"Yes. Changeling lives weren't always about labor prior to the takeover. We would still practice old dances and games in secret, and if it was possible, we would hide eggs from the guards and councilors, to prevent their discovery and confiscation. That didn't happen often, but we managed it."

"It strikes me that they didn't just annex your hive and get rid of your Queen."

"Hive rulership doesn't work like that. You can't just force drones from another hive to be part of your own, or add them to your own 'hivemind.' They had to work within the framework that existed. If they could have annexed us like that, they would have, and they wouldn't have had to be as cruel, though I don't doubt for a minute that they would have upped and stopped entirely."

"Back to the topic. Your hivemates were forced to fight for Chrysalis' cause?"

"Tragically, yes." Cica sighed. "We've lost brothers and sisters to the previous war. A friend of mine lost her brother at Appleloosa, and... I lost a sister in the defense of the advance fortress that Chryssi set up on pony soil." Cica's eyes seemed to gloss over at the memory of the loss.

"You have my condolences," Rusty said in all honesty. "That would be the base Equestria captured after the fighting at Appleloosa, correct?"

"Yes."

"The war in the west seemed to calm down after that, until the liberation of various hives began. What was the reason for the lack of progress then?"

"I apologize, but I really don't know. I'm not a soldier, and I never had the misfortune to be conscripted. I do know that after that battle, we were required to give more of the harvested emotional energy to our friends who had conquered us and treated us like slaves. In addition, forced recruitment was stepped up, though a little less than I had thought."

"Hmm. So, you were forced to fight. Do you remember any drones from your hive returning?"

"...No. They had to fight until they died or were victorious. I don't know what they did with the wounded, but I suspect it was nothing good."

"Objection; speculation," Amalda's attorney interrupted. "The last statement by the witness has not been proven, nor did the prosecution ask her about it."

"Sustained," Cocoon stated, though she maintained a rather impassive face. "Strike the last comment from the record."

"Right," Rusty said, not so much as blinking, "No further questions."

"The defense may now cross-examine the witness."

The changeling from Amalda's hive came forward again as Rusty withdrew to his seat. "How do you know your sister was killed in battle if none of your hivemates came back from battle, as you claim?"

Not sure that was a good idea, James thought, as Cica visibly got angry. Perhaps its the only opening he could see.

"A couple of drones ran away and informed us in secret. They were supposedly 'missing,' but told us what they - and the rest of our hivemates - had gone through."

"Rather convenient."

"Why you...!" Cica's wings beat angrily and she clunked her front hooves together.

"Enough," Cocoon said. "Both of you will remain respectful," she added, though James noticed she was looking mainly at the changeling attorney.

A little bit biased, aren't you? Then again, he did say something provocative.

"Right. How can we trust in the reliability of drones who ran away from combat duty? Especially when they pretended they were dead? How do we know they exist?"

"They were plenty brave in the uprising," Cica furiously replied. "One of them almost lost his leg, and I'm sure that Queen Metamorphosis could give you their names and deeds."

"Might I have their names?"

"5576 and 7890, better known as Felicity and Honorus."

The changeling grilling her looked taken aback, but rallied quickly. "Are they available for the court to question if necessary?"

"Yes, they are!" Cica all but screamed.

BANG! "Please calm down," Cocoon called. "Questions are to be asked respectfully, and responses are to be respectful."

"Understood, Your Honor," Cica said, still glaring at Amalda's lawyer.

"Could you name any of the soldiers and occupiers and councilors in your hive who supposedly oppressed you?"

"Supposedly!?"

"Please answer the question."

"They were oppressing us, and no, I don't know their names; it's not like they answered our questions. We were supposed to do what they told us to, not to think for ourselves and ask them stuff."

"So you have no names we could call upon, nor evidence?"

"Most of them were killed in the uprising, so you couldn't exactly call upon them even if I knew their names," Cica replied, in a voice as cold as ice.

Perhaps wary of Queen Cocoon's glare, the changeling attorney then said, "No further questions."

James watched as another couple of witnesses - both from Camilla's hive - gave their testimony before the court. It went about as well as expected; the prosecution made easy process, as the two witnesses simply added to what Cica had said. The defending attorney, called 4589, or Fox, as Amalda called him, had attempted to cross examine them. It had gone about as well as every cross-examination he'd made; he had little if any ground to stand on, and that which he could made him seem loathsome.

It'll be a miracle if he isn't assassinated during or after this trial, James thought after one of Camilla's drone responded with pure rage at an offensive question that Fox had asked him, much like the ones with Cica. Fox would have to learn some measure of tact, or else he would catch it from his own species and the judge; Cocoon had given him warning after warning, and even as she now shouted for order, her anger (or most of it) was aimed at Amalda's lawyer.

"If you ask another deliberately offensive question-"

"I need to get to the bottom of this! How do you expect me to do my job if I don't probe for the truth!?"

Shining turned to James. "I wouldn't want to be in his horseshoes... or be the farrier to nail them on."

"Yeah. He's got his job cut out for him. And it's probably not going to get any easier."

Of course, he could wind up being kicked out, then Amalda will have to come up with someone else. This guy doesn't have much to stand on; none of the defending attorneys do. But they're gonna try.

"The prosecution calls General James Lavigne to the stand."

"Ah. I was wondering when that would happen," James murmured. He rose from his seat, walked over to the stand, and sat down.

"Greetings, general," Rusty said, with a respect that one veteran had for another. "What did you see when you first entered Queen Metamorphosis' hive?"

"Mainly the inside of her palace; the entrance into the hive was built into it."

Rusty shook his head politely. "Not exactly what I meant; what kind of things did you see in their society?"

"Leading!"

"Overruled."

James out his right hand to his chin as he tried to plunge back into the memories of the first underground city he'd entered. "Mainly, anger at the occupying forces, as well as a great deal of pessimism. In addition, there was a great sense of hopelessness in the air, something that thankfully did not last."

"I assume you mean that hope rose when knowledge of the Equestrian Army's arrival spread around."

"Yes, at least regarding the changelings in the palace. It remained a secret for a little while. I suppose Metamorphosis spread the word around at night, because apparently the entire hive - minus the obvious exception of the occupiers - seemed to know the plan by morning."

"What was the condition of the hive?"

"It was more than I had expected. It was an entire city, with it's own lighting and with more up-to-date - though rather... unconventional - methods of building construction."

"Not exactly what I meant, sir. What we conditions regarding the relations between the occupiers and the occupied? How was the existence of the latter affecting the things you mentioned?"

James scratched his chin. Stubble; I need to start shaving again. "I think that the occupiers were non-conductive to the process. In a meeting with Queen Metamorphosis, she had to leave to talk to the councilors. When she came back, she said that they were ordering that the hive give up a ridiculous amount of emotional energy - that's what the changelings call emotions that they collect - in order to meet Chrysalis' demands. It would have left them with the choice between starving and trying to find their way around in the dark, because emotional energy is what powers their lighting and other things that the changelings don't do themselves." He closed his eyes and remembered for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths as he did so. "From what I heard from the Queen's own mouth, the councilors didn't give a counterfeit penny for the fact that this would have grievously impaired the hive."

"Objection; the last statement is hearsay."

Cocoon looked at Metamorphosis, who nodded. "Overruled."

"In any case, the occupation was overly negative?"

"Overly? More like entirely. I didn't see one act of good Chrysalis' councilors or soldiers did in our brief stay; they didn't even display a desire to do good for the population. Everything was about treating them like dirt, if not worse."

"How inclined were the enemy to fight, with an entire city against them?"

"Very. They fought as if they outnumbered us eighty to one, not the other way around. And they showed no mercy, not that a lot was shown to them until after the battle. If a detachment of friendly changelings hadn't managed to secure the nursery, they would have butchered all the hatchlings there."

"Objection! Speculation, again!"

"Overruled; it's a proven fact," Cocoon replied. "Continue."

"Fortunately, they failed to do that. And they didn't get the Queen, though they tried to. She was wounded early on, and spent most of the fighting trying to recuperate in the palace. They came close to doing her in, and to making her suffer before she died."

"Did any of the captured show any remorse?"

"Nope. They remained loyal to their Queen - and what she had taught them - to the end. The last I saw, they were being bundled down either to the palace dungeons or to Canterlot. None of them looked at all ashamed or regretful, or, if they did, it was over their defeat and not over their actions." James sighed. "I wish they had. As far as I'm aware, none showed any sort of remorse or regret over what they did until Chrysalis was dethroned and Amalda came to power. Some of her hive showed some measure or guilt after that, I'll give them that."

"Not enough, by the Queenlords!" a changeling bellowed from the audience.

"Remove him," Cocoon ordered. A group of changeling guards did just that. "Now, if there are no further objections..." She looked around the chamber before looking back at the proceedings. "Please continue."

"No further questions, Your Honor."

"I would like to cross-examine the witness."

"Proceed," the Queen said.

Fox stepped up toward the podium. James couldn't help but remember being here before, with another lawyer, at another time. He forced the memory down. It wouldn't help, and would he felt it would be poisonous to hold onto.

"How much did you actually see on your first visit?"

"Mainly the palace. We entered there, stayed there, away from enemy eyes. I did see the city through the windows and I saw the big gathering the councilors held in front of the palace, where they basically laid out their demands and threatened the hive. I also fought In a building until I was wounded. I also saw the city after the victory. The people there were quite hap-"

"Are you certain of what you saw?"

James felt the old anger come up again. "Yes. I was there. I saw the misery and the fighting."

"How can you be sure of what you saw given the natural chaos of combat?"

"I. Saw, It. The changelings in that hive were miserable. Even before the fighting began in the hive. Not to mention the fanaticism I saw from Chrysalis' own warriors on the battlefield."

"Do you know the identities of these supposed 'councilors?'"

"No. But they were known by the changelings in the hives they lived in. Ask Metamorphosis or Camilla and you'll get names, or numbers."

"No further questions."

"General, you may return to your seat," Cocoon said, looking concerned. "I wish you would have asked for an objection once or twice," she added in a whisper. "I could feel your anger."

Oh, right. They can sense emotions. Should have remembered that. That was certainly a scary thought; a lawyer involved in a case could easily manipulate their opponents by triggering their emotions. An unscrupulous changeling attorney could trick a witness into being held in contempt of court or into otherwise saying or doing something they would regret.

If laws aren't enacted to prevent such injustice, the legal system of quite a few countries could be messed up just by hiring a less than moral changeling lawyer.

He didn't think that Fox was trying to be immoral, or at least not on purpose. That didn't mean it was easy to let go of the way he tried to insinuate that every witness against Chrysalis was either lying or mistaken.

It's all he's got to go on, he reminded himself. Chrysalis' crimes can't be hidden, and everyone knows she did it. Fox has little to no ground to stand on, but he has to act like he does; it's what he's here for. The prosecuted get the right to a trial and to have a skilled defense, so Fox has to defend her the best he can. The only way he can do that is to cast doubt upon the prosecution; I only wish I was sure he was doing it in a morally right way. It's not going to make him friends, and he will probably be hated in changeling history from here on out, but he's doing what he can with what he has, or what he thinks he has or can grasp. James sighed. It was not going to be an easy or popular job that the defending attorneys had to fill.

All too easy to be recognized and assassinated for an unpopular job. They'll have to be careful. Hopefully, the defending lawyers get some measure of protection from those who are after their lives.

James took his seat again. Shining turned toward him. "This is really unpleasant. In a different way from the inquiry some time back, I mean," the Captain of the Guard said.

"...I won't argue with you. It's necessary, though. Can't allow atrocities and crime go."

"I know. It's just..."

"Yep. And it's going to be a while before it ends."

Shining gave that some thought, then said, "You think... any of them are gonna..." He swiped the tip of his hoof across his neck for emphasis.

"Yeah. Even if Chrysalis isn't executed - and I have my doubts about her survival - the ex-king turned on his own subjects without warning and slaughtered any who opposed him. In the middle of a war, no less. I feel like the changelings may be content with jugging Chrysalis for the rest of her life, such as she has one. But there's no way Raneiro is escaping the headsman; I don't think the griffon culture will let him, and his actions against his own people are even more recent than those of Chrysalis."

"...I wish the death penalty... wasn't..."

"It's ugly," James agreed, and left it at that.

The next couple of witnesses, both from Camilla's hive, got through their questioning without any real incident. Both were workers in the hive's nursery and were questioned about the task of Chrysalis' soldiers to kill the hive's young in the case of a revolt, and Fox was unable to get anywhere against them. However, the next witness, being questioned about the stealing of emotional energy, totally lost it when Fox insinuated that it was incorrect.

"How dare you accuse me of lying!" one member of Metamorphosis' hive screamed, leaping up from the witness stand; if looks could have killed, Fox would have been a melted puddle of goo on the courthouse floor.

"Order! The witness is instructed to hold to the rules of the court!"

"I am merely trying to get to the bottom of the accusations thrown at our old queen. If you think I'm calling you a liar, that's your problem."

"Objection; that last statement was insulting and irrelevant to the case at hoof."

"Sustained; the defense is not to make snide comments. Nor," Cocoon added, upon seeing the glee upon the face of the changeling in the box, "is the the witness allowed to do so. There will be order, or else."

"Ugh, this is ugly, alright," Shining muttered. "Maybe we should have just judged them without a trial and got it over with; I don't even know how many days of this we'll have to go through."

"We'll get through them," James assured him, sighing a moment afterwards. "I'm just hoping we get through it with our sanity and morals intact. I question whether the judges - not to even mention the jury - can remain just. Cocoon seems a little biased against Fox there."

"I've noticed it, too. She still remembers what happened... She's not happy someone's trying to tear at the truth."

"Or keep Chrysalis from punishment."

"That too. But it's really Fox trying to say, 'Well, you're a less-than-reliable witness' or 'You're deluded' or 'You just thought you saw that' that's really getting at her, and changelings from other hives."

"Yeah, the guy will probably have to go into protective custody to avoid getting assassinated. I was just thinking about that earlier."

Shining turned his head so that both eyes were looking at James. "You don't really think...?"

"He's really unpopular now, if you haven't noticed," James remarked, as Fox continued to question the witness; the former had just asked the latter whether or not it was true that he'd seen three of Chrysalis' soldiers beat a helpless elder to death in the streets, and the witness was stammering with utter rage. "I don't know what other tools he has to use, though. He can hardly agree with what the prosecution is saying; there would be no point in this whole thing. His job is... I can't even think of a word, but 'superfluous' comes close. Chrysalis is gonna get it, and he and everyone else here knows it."

"And so is the ex-king."

"Yeah, but if you think this is ugly... I'm sure the defense will actually be a royalist or imperialist, and will actively break the rules of court conduct a number of times. They'll probably be even more flamboyant, and even more in need of protection from their own people after this is all over; perhaps even before this is all over. Fox is... his need to obey Chrysalis was shattered the moment she 'died.' I'm not sure if he supported her, or if he's just doing his duty to his current queen. I don't think it'll be like that with the griffon defense attorney."

"I agree. That guy - or... what do they call female griffons again?"

"I don't know. I forgot to learn it."

"Anyway, that's going to be even more ugly, if anything."

"We'll get through it." James remembered the siege of Trottingham. "Not like we're being shot at."

"Not with bullets, no. With bad feelings, anger, and hate..."

James made a discomforted noise. That was all too true. "Yeah... hopefully, this trial isn't one where hatred, malice, and prejudice are mistaken for justice."

Author's Note

Note;

I am not trying to incite hate with this chapter, nor do I intend to incite wrath beyond the boundaries of this story.

Chapter 91; The trial continues (part 1)

James and Shining made their way out of the courtroom as the proceedings for the day finally came to an end. "Haven't seen such a trial since... well, ever," the latter said as they walked through the hallway.

"Nope. And it's not over yet. Tomorrow, the griffons get their turn." James frowned. "It's ugly, and it's not getting any prettier."

Shining stopped, and James stopped with him. "Do you really think that?"

"Cocoon was a bit too biased in my opinion. Okay, she allowed Fox a few breaks, but not a whole lot of 'em. Whoever's next up as judge needs to tone it down and be more fair, or else this whole trial is just a kangaroo court."

"Which is why we're changing things up a bit," came a voice from behind them.

James turned to see Princess Luna.

"My sister and I have talked with Queen Cocoon, and she agreed that she was out of line, and she has agreed to make a statement as such," the Lunar Princess continued. "As such, we'll be making sure that no such repeat performance occurs."

"Well, that's good. It was miserable watching Fox try and defend with no leg to stand on."

"He has no leg to stand on, not that you're wrong about it being rather dismal," Luna replied.

"...this needs to be done right, otherwise, what's the point?"

"I agree with you," Luna said, still looking somber though calm, "so we're fixing things. We'll have non-changelings judging and making the calls for changelings, and non-griffons judging griffons. We'll also make sure there are no embittered individual among the judges.."

"I guess that's a good start. We'll need to be careful; if a relevant question is asked, the defense - and the prosecution - need to have their say."

"Indeed. In the meantime, you two look tired," she said, looking concerned.

"Just not thrilled with coming back to all this," Shining answered.

"Neither are We... er, am I. It will be a painful process, but law and order must prevail over darkness and lawlessness."

"I agree, but it should be a fair law and order," James replied.

"No argument there. I shall see you both at the palace later."

James and Shining looked at each other as Luna walked away, hoofsteps ringing loud on the floor.

"I hope this ends soon," Shining said, shaking his head.

"I do, too." James leaned against the wall. "We'll make it through, though."

"That's not so certain for us, outlander."

James turned to see Fox and Amalda right behind them. "Please pardon us," the young changeling Queen said, looking shy at the moment.

"It might be easy for you, the victors," Fox said, looking flustered. "It is much different for the defeated. My hive has to pay reparations and will be hated for years, perhaps centuries, to come."

"To be fair, your old queen did enslave other hives, and tried to conquer Equestria," Shining pointed out.

"And because of our old Queen policies, which we had no control over, we are despised for that."

"Why do you even bother to defend her, then? Why make everyone hate you more, and make yourself look like one of her supporters?"

"Because my current Queen has given me the task, and the Queen's word is law in the hive," Fox replied angrily. "And no one else would willingly take the job. Someone has to take it, in order for this justice system of yours to work. Or, more appropriately, from what I saw today, a kangaroo court."

"And you looked all too happy to take it, too," Shining said; James had rarely seen him get so angry. "You are defending the monster that impersonated my wife, and tried to feed on us. And you're up there, making us out to be liars, when we all saw what really happened."

Fox raised his head, his own eyes narrowed. "And what would you have me do? Roll over and play dead? I have a job to do, and a Queen, former and present, to serve. I will do it, in order to perform my duty to my Queen and hive. You have no right to criticize me for the job I must undertake."

"I'm not angry at you for doing it; I'm furious at you for how you're doing it."

"If casting doubts upon witnesses and and their testimony and the evidence is all I can do to defend my charge, then I will, be cursed to you and your justice system otherwise."

Shining looked like he would explode.

"That's about enough of that," James said quickly. "Far too much, in fact. Let's call it a day, and go home."

"Again, easy enough for an outlander to say. We have days uncounted before we can rest upon our laurels again." Fox walked away, fuming.

"Please do not be angry with him," Queen Amalda asked, concerned. "He is one of my most loyal servants, and even when my mother ruled the hive, we were very close."

Shining sniffed, then walked away as well.

"It must be hard," James sighed. "I'm sorry. This is quite the mess you've inherited."

"It is indeed," the teenage changeling Queen said, sighing as well. "My mother is one of the worst monsters to walk this Earth... but she's still my mother, and I still love her. I want..." she shook her head. "What I want isn't really relevant, given the attitude of the other Queens."

"They don't have the authority from the treaty-"

"It doesn't really matter, you know. The treaty only ended one war. Another hive could easily start another one if they decided to. My hive must walk carefully, and so far, I've received several demands from Queen Nocturnal to give over more and more emotional energy and an increased number of workers to rebuild her hive."

"That's not legal."

"Like I said, if Nocturnal wants to start another war, she can, and we don't exactly have the army to keep her out. None of the other Queens would rise to our defense, and I suspect that many would take the chance to jump right in with her. They would win easily and quickly, even if we broke the stipulations limiting our armed forces. Many of them still possess Allied military technology that they scrounged from the battlefields, after all."

James paused to reflect upon that. Changelings had scavenged matchlocks and rifles of several combatants, which would make them into a formidable force, especially against a hive that didn't have access to that technology. "I see your point," he reluctantly said at last.

"And since it would be a new conflict, the old treaty would be effectively dead, and they would be able to impose whatever they wanted." She sighed again. "It feels like... I'm going to be a ping pong ball for the other hives no matter what course of action I take."

"It doesn't have to be like that. My Lord provides for those who love Him and call upon Him in their hour of need."

"And what Lord is that?"

James felt a small smile cross his face as he began to speak. "A Lord willing to give His very life for us, and rise again in victory over death..."

The next day began much as the one before it. The crowds were kept in check this time, but the shouting, if anything, increased as the prisoners were led into the courtroom.

"Call to order!" the same Guard as yesterday shouted. "The Honorable Judge Queen Metamorphosis presiding."

Metamorphosis was in the judge's seat this time. "Order in the court," she said, more confident than Cocoon had been. "Today, we shall begin the prosecution of the former king, who falsely wore the title of emperor and slaughtered untold numbers of his own people."

"Bring in the accused!"

The former griffon king was dragged in, looking bruised; his feathers were badly ruffled, and his clothes were torn.

Shining leaned in to whisper in James' ear. "Another night where he tried to refuse to do what the guards told him."

"I figured as much. And another horseshoe print in his chest."

"Yeah. He tried to claw the guard's eye out, so..."

"I see."

"The guard almost didn't. That's what earned him the new bruises."

"Whatever was needed for self defense."

The former king didn't look regretful, unless he regretted his victim fighting back. He glared at the Princesses, the Confederate Griffons, and the Queens. Hate filled his eyes, and he seemed to be trying to will his enemies to burst into flame. If that was so, it wasn't working.

It was, however, catching the ire of the audience. Shouts began to ring out.

"Traitor!"

"MURDERER!"

"SCUM!"

"You killed my son in your war!"

James drew back as if stung. That call was much too like the letters he'd received during the war.

"Order!" Metamorphosis called, but the crowd was riled up.

"KILL HIM!"

"OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"

"DEATH TO THE TYRANT!"

"SILENCE!"

Everyone turned to look at Luna, who had been the one to shout.

"This court will have order," she went on. "Anyone not mature enough to behave themselves will be removed and not allowed back inside. You have all been warned." She sat back down.

"Right," the Queen said, motioning with her gavel. "Raneiro, formerly the king-"

"Emperor."

Metamorphosis paused and lifted an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"I am the rightful Emperor of the Griffon Empire, and I denounce this trial as illegitimate and unlawful."

The audience began to heat up again.

"Regardless of whether you personally accept it as legal," Luna said, speaking up again, "it is legal. You will not interrupt the judge again."

"You do not have any authority over me!"

"I have more than enough to have you forcibly muzzled and gagged, if you keep going on in contempt of court."

"I agree with His Majesty," Blackfeather said. "This trial is unlawful; how dare any of you traitors accuse my lord of treason?!"

"We can do it for you as well, former general," Luna warned. "For all the defendants today. You will accept our rules, or at least act as if you do. Failure to abide by them will lead to the punishment I've mentioned." Luna turned to Metamorphosis, whispered to her for a moment, then sat back down again.

"The chief defendant is warned not to speak unless spoken to again."

"Tyrant," the ex-king said.

"How dare you, the tyrant, accuse others of tyranny!?!" a griffon in the crowd shouted.

BANG! "Order!" the Queen shouted. "Enough of this. Guards..."

Two Royal Guards came up. One of them, a tawny unicorn, levitated a muzzle in front of the former king. The other, an earth pony, held up a thick cloth, obviously for use as a gag. The ex-king's claws had been tied together, so he would be unable to stop them from doing what they threatened. Meanwhile, more Guards, a couple of pegasi, flew up to the griffon who had been yelling and forcibly removed him from the room.

"This is your only warning," the Queen continued. "As I was saying, Raneiro, former king of the Griffon Kingdom, you stand accused of crimes against sapient species, of murder, of conspiracy, of planning and attempting to enslave ponies, of conspiracy against your feudal subjects, of abusing ponies, specifically unicorns, in order to use their powers for your weaponry, and of destroying entire clans in order to bolster your crumbling state, as well as tyranny over your race and those you unfortunately conquered, however briefly. How do you plead?"

The former king looked around, at the angry audience and at the new leaders of the Griffon Confederacy who had taken their place in the front seats of the circular chamber, at the newspaper reporters - including Quick Quill - and at the Royal Sisters whom he had planned to usurp. He looked at them all... then grinned in a nasty way at the Queen.

"Innocent by reason of being Emperor."

That one sentence might as well have set off a bomb; the entire chamber exploded in outrage. If the screaming and yelling had been loud before, now James was surprised that the roof hadn't been blown to the moon with all the noise. Even Luna's shout of, "SILENCE!" wasn't enough to overcome the reaction of the crowd.

Metamorphosis banged her gavel, not that that did any good for about a minute and a half. When the crowd finally got quiet enough for her to be heard, she fairly yelled, "Order! Order in the court! Silence, all of you!"

Finally, the roar of the crowd subsided.

"The chief griffon defendant has chosen the not guilty plea," the Queen continued. "We will act like adults and not children in response to this. Can we PLEASE keep this a trial and not turn it into a three ring circus?"

"Who says it wasn't already?" Shining muttered, and James nodded, irritated that the trial wasn't proceeding.

"Now, the attorney for the prosecution will make his opening statements."

"You bet yer wings I will," a griffon wearing a kilt and shirt said, standing up and walking toward the judge. "This beast, this tyrant," he said, pointing to the ex-king, "is a monster who slew thousands upon thousands 'o 'is own people, tried to destroy our way 'o life, and sent dissenters to tha front lines in orda ta be rid 'o 'em. Meanwhile, 'e purged the army, killin' our officers an' wipin' out entire hitherto loyal regiments, all fer more power; I meself was lucky ta escape with me life. An' all that was fer 'is 'empire'. Not ta mention, 'e enslaved ponies and used 'em ta make weapons 'o war and had designs on tha Princesses 'o Equestria.

"I say, and my fellow griffons wiv me, say that these crimes warrant tha death penalty. We shall have justice fer all tha dead, even if it takes a hundred years."

He turned to the Queen. "Tha's all, yer Honor."

"I see," she replied. "Don't make any more threats. Now the defending attorney may make his opening statements."

A griffon in military clothing stepped forward. While his uniform was much more elaborate than those of the Equestrian soldiers present, it was stripped of any military decor.

"I'm surprised they let this guy in," Shining said. "He's one of the old king's supporters."

"Well... you can't say that he'd get a good lawyer from anywhere else, would you? Any other griffon lawyer would help destroy him."

"Yeah, there's that..."

"Did he participate in anything? The terror attack after the surrender? Administration in the government?"

"No, he's clean... so far as we were able to see. And, like you said, he was the only one who wanted the job."

"I will now make my opening statements," the royalist attorney said, speaking in an impeccable British accent and unfazed by a number of jeers and boos sent his way by the anti-royalist party. "Our honorable emperor has been badly slandered by the parties opposing him. His efforts to build the griffon nation have been wildly misunderstood, and the late war is mis-characterized-"

"It was a power grab!" Shining hissed furiously. He wasn't the only one; ponies, zebras, and horses were angrily whispering, some glaring with rage.

"His Majesty did what was necessary to build a functioning state, and to right the historical wrongs done to us and the contempt shown us by other races, all of which sought, and still seek, to hold us down."

"Yeah, I wonder why!" a pony from the audience yelled.

"Order!" Metamorphosis countered. "The defending attorney may proceed. And no more interruptions."

"As I was saying, before I was interrupted by an uncouth pony, His Majesty sought to right these ancient wrongs, by claiming it through what necessary means as were there. When Equestria refused to share the duties of the sun and the moon, by refusing to accept that others have as much right to control such bodies as they, we had no recourse but war."

Luna continued to sit, and was attempting to maintain a neutral face, but the latter accusation made her eyebrows narrow and her teeth appear for a moment before she managed to regain control. Celestia frowned, and Cadence was just as angry as her husband. That was nothing to say of the rising tensions in the audience, and if it wasn't for Metamorphosis raising a hoof for continued silence on their part, the ponies present might have started shouting again.

"Sadly, we lost that war for justice, and now our just ruler has been imprisoned and shamed by the victors of the conflict. If not for the interference of other powers in a war not concerning them, history might well have been different-"

The noise started up again from the audience.

"-but as it stands now, His Majesty must be defended, and he shall be." The loyalist attorney folded his arms.

A rumbling arose from the assembled griffons, who looked daggers at the attorney, who merely smiled in a malevolent way in return.

The rumbling rose to shouts, and one griffon began to rise in pure anger.

All of a sudden, a transparent blue curtain descended upon the audience. The griffon who had apparently been about to attack banged his fist against the shield, followed by the rest of the audience, but they failed to break through. In fact, one couldn't even hear their obvious yells and attacks upon the shield.

"Let this be a warning," Luna said loudly. "This shield will prevent the audience from physically attacking the defendants, and will prevent their calls from being heard. This shield will remain in effect until we next have a break. If we have further outbreaks, the shield will be used again."

At least that quiets the crowd, James thought. Though I'm not sure if doing this is the right way to go...

"Objection," Rusty said as things calmed down. "I object to the history lesson of the opposing attorney. This is a court, not an alternate history novel."

"I object as well," the Griffon Confederate added.

"I only told the truth," the royalist said haughtily, clearly offended. "After all, my opponents have given their presentations of recent history. Why should I be limited?"

"Ahem," Metamorphosis coughed, trying to contain herself. "Let's get back to the proceedings. The prosecution may call in their first witness. And don't give us an altered version of history; stick to known facts."

"Please state your name and profession," Rusty said.

"Raymond, formerly of his majesty's army," the griffon on the stand replied, with undisguised disgust. "Now of the ruling council of the Griffon Confederacy."

"What happened on the day the chief defendant usurped the clan leaders?"

"I can't tell ya what happened everywhere; only saw what happened with my own two eyes. However, just ta sum it up, the army went completely nuts."

"Could you elaborate on that?"

"Simple; one of them royalists came into mah tent and said ah either pledge loyalty to his majesty, or I could die. Had a bolt in mah mini-bow, and he went down 'fore he could pull his gun on me."

"And you were not the only one? That is to say, did you see this happen to others?"

"Did I... The entire camp was full 'o shootin' an fire, and all them royalist scum running around, saying they was gonna kill griffons if they didn't pledge loyalty... Ah think ah can say, cursed yes ah saw it happen. Me and a few others were fortunate ta get out alive!"

"What did you do then?"

"Did the only thing we could think of; high-tailed it outta there, with as many griffons we could bring with us. Found out in the next few days that it wasn't just us; they were doin' it ta all the clans, all over what was the kingdom."

"Did the royalists claim to be working for the king?"

"Claim?" Raymond said, as if stunned. "They was boasting about it! Glorifyin' in it. You'd have thought the king - their emperor - was one of the gods!"

Griffon members of the audience - now behind the shield - seemed to start talking to one another.

"Were there other atrocities that you witnessed?"

"Too many. One would be too many."

"Do you have any specific examples?"

Raymond's eyes suddenly seemed to gloss over. When he next spoke, it was as though something had drained out of him. "We came across a village as we were withdrawin'. It belonged to the White Wings Clan, and apparently, they hadn't accepted his new authority. Everyone... everyone we found there was dead. Fighters, on the ruined and burned walls... females, in their houses... even some dead children, an' a couple smashed eggs. Entire place was burned. Only clue why was a note on the gate. It said, "Death to all enemies of the crown."

There was dead silence.

"We found tracks leadin' away from the town... seems they dragged off whatever kids they didn't kill. To where, we didn't know. We could only continue our withdrawal, and hope they didn't find us before we found enough fighter ta resist 'em."

Raymond shook his head, as if trying to exorcise the memory. "We allied with Equestria not long after that," he said, the life returning to his voice. "We were mostly glad to. Mostly."

Rusty had been standing there, mouth slightly agape, as Raymond had told his tale. Now, he tried to recover. "T-thanks for your testimony. No further questions."

"I wish to cross examine the witness," the royalist attorney said.

"Go on, then," Metamorphosis replied.

The royalist griffon strode up to the podium with the characteristic swagger that had marked so many Imperials; James found himself struggling not to hate him by extension as he stopped and turned toward Raymond.

"Brigadier, you claim that an entire town was burned and slaughtered. How do we know it was by Imperial troops? In fact, how do we know that this village existed?"

Raymond's eyes flashed. "Oh, so royal tax returns don't reveal its existence? The tax collectors wanted ta suck every last drop before the war started, and they wouldn't have missed it."

"Not an answer to my question. What evidence exists in the here and now that proves this village existed in reality and not your treacherous mind?"

"Objection!" Rusty bellowed. "Insult and provocation!"

"Sustained."

"How-"

"How do we know that town existed?" Raymond said threateningly, claws tearing up the podium as he spoke. "Ask the White Wings. They'll tell ya. Ask their clan leader, if he's still kicking. That is, if ya didn't burn him alive too."

"Contempt of court," the royalist lawyer said haughtily. "You will respect the rule of law."

"Like you people did?"

"Your Honor, I ask that the witness be censored for disrespect of court and for, what was the phrase? 'Insult and provocation,'" the royalist said, turning to the Queen.

Metamorphosis looked at him, her face looking both annoyed and puzzled. Clearly, she was thinking of how to respond. Obviously, she didn't want to side with the royalist, and yet law was law.

"Your Honor?"

"I won't censure him," she replied at last, looking peeved that her thought process had been interrupted. "But consider him - both of you, actually - to be warned. For the very last time."

"Right then." The royalist turned back toward Raymond. "Where was this village? Could you pinpoint it on a map?"

"Ah doubt it," the other griffon said, biting back fury. "But ah know where we met the ponies not long afterward. Could lead ya to it from there."

"Which is an action that is conveniently unlikely for this court to do," the royalist said, looking as if he'd just bit down on something juicy.

"Uh oh," James muttered. Shining said nothing, but covered his face with his hooves.

"You callin' me a liar?"

"Objection!" Rusty yelled as Raymond got up from the podium, clearly on the edge of violence.

"Enough," Metamorphosis said loudly. "This is not a circus or a fighting arena. Everyone will behave like adults, or you'll be found guilty of contempt of court."

"No further questions," the royalist said, looking chafed at being called out. Raymond got up and flew back to the seat he had been sitting in before being called to the stand.

"At least that's over," shining said, sighing. "Too bad there's more to come."

"I wish we could leave; I came take part in a court of justice, not a hate fest," James replied, leaning his head on his right hand.

"State your name and occupation," Rusty said.

"I am General Grayfeather, servant of His Majesty."

"Objection," the Confederate attorney said. "He ain't no general. He's a criminal, an' no more a commander than me own nephew."

"Your Honor-"

"Sustained," Metamorphosis said decisively. "Your defendants are prisoners, and are not in power."

"They were illegally-"

"You are entitled to your opinions. However, the facts stand; your former - and I mean former king and former general are now prisoners, indicted for horrendous crimes. They are not in power and do not hold their previous titles."

"As her honor wills it," the royalist replied, without any respect in his voice.

Rusty turned back to Grayfeather. "What was your profession?"

"General to His Majesty."

"Objection; the tyrant is not a king!"

"Sustained."

"I am General to His Majesty," Grayfeather angrily repeated. "I refuse to recognize this court as legal, nor its petty rules."

BANG! "The defendant is warned for contempt of court," Metamorphosis said flatly. "He might remain king in your opinion, but you'll either obey the rules or be penalized. You are a defendant in a court of law, whether you recognize it as legal or not."

The former griffon general raised himself in an arrogant pose in response. Metamorphosis ignored this, and gestured to Rusty to continue.

"How long did the former king take to plan his invasion of Equestria?"

"You will answer the question," Metamorphosis said forcefully, after Grayfeather remained silent for about five seconds.

"Over a year. Perhaps two, if one counts the ideas discussed and dismissed before the final plan was in place."

"What was his plan for the defeated, had the war gone the other way?"

"For them to be made citizens, if they behaved themselves and accepted our rule. If not, they would be, and were in fact, punished for their resistance."

"'Punished for their resistance...' So it's fine for griffons to rise in defiance of Allied troops, but a crime against civilized species for ponies to defend themselves, their culture, values, traditions, and rights?"

"Indeed."

Many of the ponies in the audience began angrily whispering to one another.

"His Majesty-"

BANG! "Warned again."

"My lord, then, had no other choice; the ponies resisted the invasion, and had to be treated in such a way as to be shown the futility of their resistance. Furthermore, ponies are a weak race; they rely on their Princesses, and fear and run from threats instead of fighting them, or they wait for the magic of friendship to save them. They are a physically strong, but psychologically weak species. As such, they had no right to resist the invasion of a stronger race; in a proper setting, the strong rule the weak. And furthermore, ponies who continued defiance against us would make a very good, strong workforce, especially when threatened or coerced."

"So having ponies slave for you, forcing unicorns to drain their magic into energy rifles, and starving Trottingham - in effect, holding the city hostage - was acceptable to the administration?"

"Yes, as I said, to break the resistance and punish the ponies for fighting us. In due course, after they had stopped resisting, we would have loosened our grip."

"In due course... and how long would that have been?"

Grayfeather shrugged. "However long it took for common ponies to stop defying us in any manner and for pony armies to stop fighting."

"You realize that these are atrocities?"

"They were necessities. The need to build a strong, centralized state demanded sacrifice, and the heeding of petty little rules would have hindered its foundation."

"So you and your liege deliberately disregarded the rule of law," Rusty said contemptuously.

"In your impaired view, yes."

BANG! "The defendant is warned; insult and provocation."

"It may be that we had to abrogate the old laws," the general went on, "but the results, if allowed to continue, would have lead to better results than staying with the old, flawed, weak system."

"And you consulted no one? Clan leaders, economic giants, such as may have existed at any rate, and commoners?"

"Why would we? A true ruler does not ask common folk or inferiors for their opinions of their actions. It is the duty of the subject to obey, regardless of personal feelings."

"So, even assuming such a draconian change could take place, not only were the rights of subjects not considered, but economic troubles that might appear weren't even discussed?"

"No."

"So if the economy crashed from your little ploy, it wouldn't have mattered?"

"Such matters were up to the Imperial treasurer."

"Hunger, starvation, killing off all who are even remotely threatening to your plan... none of that mattered?"

"No," Grayfeather said, looking somewhat irritated. "Only His Majesty matters."

Rusty looked to be barely holding in his anger as he said, "No further Questions."

"I would like to cross-examine the defendant!" the royalist lawyer shouted at once.

"Do it, then," Metamorphosis said. "Just be mindful of the rules. And no more bending history to suit your narrative."

The lawyer didn't even bother to acknowledge her comment. Instead, he simply strolled up to the podium. "General-"

BANG!

"Excellency-"

BANG!

"Mr. Grayfeather, then," the royalist said, shooting a dirty look at Metamorphosis, "The old king was without the power necessary, bound by the old ways that have held us back for so long."

"Watch it," Metamorphosis warned.

"Your Honor, you really must learn to differentiate between what others truly believe and what you want to be true."

Gasps rang out across the courtroom. James, who had been slouching in his seat, sat up. Shining was shocked, as were so many others in the room.

Metamorphosis looked like she had been slapped across the face, but she quickly rallied. "That's it; I've warned you time and again. You are now charged with contempt of court."

The royalist cocked his eyebrow at her. "And here you decry us as tyrants."

The Queen motioned to two Royal Guards. "Remove him."

The Guards came up on either side of the now former attorney, who offered no resistance, other than keeping his beak high in the air, as he was led from the courtroom.

"We'll have to find a new defense attorney," Luna said, not looking at all pleased at the prospect. "Someone neutral. And the trial must go on; it's not even noon, and it would be a waste of time to adjourn for the day."

"And yet it must be, by law," Metamorphosis said. "Or at least, until someone is found as the defense attorney. I must, therefore, call an adjournment despite how distasteful it is, until a defense attorney is found."

James chewed on a piece of buttered bread in a side room. Sitting opposite him was Shining, who was eating a sandwich with flowers sticking out between the pieces of bread.

"Didn't think he'd get fired so fast," the stallion remarked.

"It was going to happen; he bent history too much."

"He did." Shining frowned, pausing before chewing on his sandwich. "All that... garbage about ponies being a slave race..."

James couldn't help but think of the status of horses and ponies and all domesticated animals back home. He shoved it down. It's different, he told himself. The ones back home are animals. These ponies and other... people are, well, people. They have laws and speech and writing. It would be wrong to use them like we would our own horses and ponies and cows and what have you. It is wrong, which is one of the reasons we're here.

"...I mean we're friendly and help one another, and yeah we sometimes pull carts and carriages, but we do that because it's the most convenient way for us to bring stuff and other ponies from one place to another. We're not inferior because of that! And we won the war. Who's that general think he's fooling?"

James, who felt a little embarrassed after his previous thoughts, tried to recover. "We won, yeah."

"Yeah, and he still thinks griffons are superior!?"

"Defeat sometimes isn't enough to make someone lose thoughts of superiority," James replied. "In fact, given the animosity that he's facing, he's going to cling harder to it and take his treatment as proof of his people's supremacy."

Shining sighed furiously. "He's not getting away."

"No, he's not." James sighed too. "And this trial is becoming a festival of hate. I wonder why the changeling's present aren't throwing up from all the hostility."

"I actually talked to one earlier," Shining said. "He said that hate tastes terrible, and many of the changelings are in a bad mood recently - even outside the courtroom - because so many of the emotions they've been eating are negative."

"That makes sense. Here's hoping they don't choke on all that stuff before its over."

"I... I hope they don't either."

"...the Honorable Judge Fire Fox presiding."

Fire Fox was a crystal pony. He was clearly a member of the Crystal Empire's nobility; he wore a white and blue robe, one adorned with symbols of the smaller pony nation, and on his head rested a set of laurel leaves. The Empire, as of now ruled, more or less, by Shining and Cadence, had seen relatively little of the war, and as a result, the various rulers and former commanders had agreed to Fire Fox's appointment as a judge.

Another crystal pony, named Farsight, looked as if he might have belonged to the Crystal Guard prior to Sombra's attempt to take over. He had a scar that came down across his right eye, and while he was wearing a merchant's clothing at the moment, he clearly looked like military material. He would serve as the defense for the former griffon king.

"Didn't think we'd find a pony to represent their enemies, at least one from the actual country of Equestria," James noted.

"I didn't either," Shining replied. "I think even those of us willing to accept the job would be worried about being seen as traitors."

James gave a soft grunt in response; the trial was about to recommence.

"The prosecution calls the prime defendant, the former king of the griffons, Raneiro of Gryphos, to the stand," Rusty said.

James sat up in his chair.

The former king hadn't moved. His head was still high and his beak was in the air.

"Raneiro of Gryphos has been called to the stand," Judge Fire Fox said, loud enough for all to hear.

Raneiro didn't budge.

"The defendant is ordered to come to the stand at once."

"I am Emperor; I will NOT be called to the stand by an inferior."

Bang! "The defendant is hereby held in contempt of court. Guards, bring him to the stand, and keep him there during questioning."

The prisoner struggled, but, being tightly bound, wasn't able to do much as the two Royal Guards handled him onto the stand. He attempted to bite the ear of one of the Guards, who managed to avoid it and responded by holding his spear to Raneiro's neck.

"Additional charge added," Fire Fox said. "Attempted assault within the courtroom."

"Now then," Rusty said, "state your name."

Raneiro remained silent.

"State your name, please."

The former king did not budge his beak; he only glared at Rusty, as if the latter were a disgusting piece of gunk left on a dinner plate.

Bang! "The defendant will answer the question!"

"I am the Emperor of the griffons! I will not answer to a worthless peasant of an inferior race in an illegal trial!"

The courtroom all but exploded. Ponies rose from their seats and screamed at the ex-king, and even Rusty was unable to hide a look of disgust on his face, though to his credit it didn't last for more than a second or two. Between the shouting and the noise of the gavel and everything else, James could hear nothing coherent.

"SIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEENNCCE!!!!!!"

Only Luna's shout was able to cut through the noise.

"WE DID NOT CONVENE THIS TRIAL SO THAT A MOCKERY WOULD BE MADE OF JUSTICE!" she screamed. Then, gathering herself, she added, much more quietly but just as forcefully, "The defendant will answer the prosecution's questions, or there will be consequences."

"Like what?" the former griffon king said, not even looking at Luna but still staring in disgust at Rusty.

"You will be held in contempt of court, and not allowed to defend yourself whatsoever. If that's what you want, it can be arranged... along with being bound and gagged so you don't cause any more problems."

The former king did not respond with words, but a bitter sort of frown set itself upon his face.

"Now, for the last time, state your name, please."

"Raneiro, Emp-"

"What was-"

"You did not let me finish, you worthless, uncouth peasant."

Bang! "Insult and provocation!"

"Oh, so now you hold to your so-called laws, so long as its against me?"

Fire Fox was about to bang the gavel again, but Luna raised a hoof, and he desisted. "We already know your opinion of yourself; you are not emperor, whatever you may think. Hence why he continued. We don't need to hear your false claims about being a ruler when you in reality are a prisoner who was dethroned by the winning side of a war."

"Hypocrite."

"Says the tyrant with no power anymore, and yet who acts as if - and perhaps believes - that he still does." Luna turned her head to Rusty. "Continue."

"Thank you, Princess. Ahem..." Rusty turned back to the chastened prisoner. "Now, what was the purpose of the war you started?"

"To conquer an unworthy species that thought it had exclusive right to control the sun and moon, and to bring the new empire to stage as the greatest world power. Too long have we been in the shadow of ponies, who are unworthy of such an honor, and it is long past time that another species take the stand."

"I see."

James looked at Farsight. The defending lawyer looked embarrassed, knowing that his client was incriminating himself. James felt sympathy for him; he probably hadn't wanted this job, and now his reputation would likely suffer due not only to defending a hated tyrant, but also from the failure of the ex-king to recognize reality and engage in a meaningful defense.

At least he's being honest. Not that that's going to make him any more loved.

"When did you decide upon this course of action?"

"Upon my father's death."

"Might I ask why you chose to purge the clans, in the middle of a war no less?"

"That is simple. The clan system was in the way of our nation attaining true greatness. Their leaders were not giving the Crown the power that rightly belonged to it, and as such, griffons who ought to have been on the front lines from the beginning were idling in the fields, useless. The clan system should have died long before I inherited my father's realm."

"So that excuses slaughtering those who disagreed?"

"Objection!" Farsight called out. "Leading."

"Sustained."

"Allow me to rephrase the question; why did you take the actions against the clans that you did?"

"Objection; the question is obscure."

"Then why did you choose to attack the clans and kill their leaders?"

"Also simple; they refused to accept my authority. In so doing, they proved themselves traitors."

A great rumbling began in the areas of the audience where griffons were watching. The various clan leaders looked at their former ruler with pure rage in their eyes.

"Traitors? I'm afraid I don't understand. They don't seem to have done anything differently than they did under your father."

"That's because my father, and his predecessors, were weaklings who did not bother doing what needed to be done. I saw that a united griffon empire was necessary for our supremacy, and these traitors blocked the way, at the price of their lives and the lives of those stupid enough to follow them. It is they who brought their clans to ruin; I was merely the sword who punished them."

"This is absurd!" one of the clan leaders shouted.

BANG! "Order in the court!" Fire Fox yelled. "No further interruptions will be tolerated. The beliefs of the audience are not the subject of this trial. Either obey the rules of the court, or leave."

"I notice that not all clan leaders and their followers were killed. Might I ask why?"

"They were wiser than their idiotic companions, and chose to accept the new terms offered them. Thus, they had a place in my administration. Again, we needed unity, and by that time, the war going poorly, we needed every soldier and resource we could obtain. If I had not acted, we would have suffered defeat."

"Which you did anyway," Shining muttered. James nodded in agreement, and given the muttering in the courtroom, the same thought was bouncing around in the minds of just about everyone else.

"Why did you order trebuchets from the castle to hurl fiery ammunition at your own capital after the Allies had entered?"

"You've answered your own question; the enemy were in my city, and as such we needed to throw them out."

"Were there not civilians in the city?"

"Perhaps, but their lives were worth expending for the sake of empire. In addition, many of those 'civilians' took up arms against me in the final battle, committing treason, and thus were made to suffer the punishment. They were no loss to the state."

"So the lives of the innocent were the same as those you term traitors?"

"If necessary for the state, yes."

"And the state is you?"

"Objection; leading!"

"Sustained."

"No further questions."

L'etat c'est moi, James thought. "The state is me." That would sum up what he thinks of himself.
Further muttering continued as he thought.

"I wish to cross-examine my client," Farsight said.

"You may."

Farsight walked up until he was standing in from of the podium. "Sir, I wish to ask-"

"I neither answer to ponies, nor allow them to defend me."

There was a shocked silence. Fire Fox ended it by banging his gavel.

"The defendant is out of line. We've already allowed for one of your loyalists to defend you, and he refused to stop breaking the rules. Presumably, all the other Imperialists - even those not guilty of war crimes - would 'defend' you in the same manner. We've selected a defendant for you, one whose nation has not been overly involved in the war and that was not ravaged by your forces. He is your defending attorney, like it or not. You can either accept Farsight as your defending lawyer, or you can defend yourself without a lawyer. Your choice."

Raneiro continued to regard the Queen with disgust. "Fine. I'll allow one of an inferior race to 'defend' me."

Fire Fox banged the gavel again, hard, as ponies around the room began shouting. "Order! As for you, former king, you will not engage in insults and provocation again. Is that clear?"

No answer.

BANG! "I said, 'Is that clear?'"

"Transparently."

"Good." Fire Fox turned to Farsight. "Continue."

Farsight looked outwardly calm as he began again, but James had seen his lips quiver during the ex-king's most recent outburst. Hard to defend someone who thinks of you as an inferior species, James thought.

"I wish to ask," Farsight said, "whether or not a significant threat existed prior to the events alluded to by my colleague."

"Prior to the elimination of the clan system?"

"Yes."

The former king seemed to think before responding. "The clan system itself was a threat. It fractured our nation, keeping us divided. It had to end, or we would remain a backwater state."

"Were any of the clan leaders aspiring to overthrow you?"

"Not as far as I was aware. But they easily could have resorted to such things at any time."

"And the... centralization of power... was a necessary step?"

"Utterly so."

James watched as Farsight paused. It was easy to see that defending this client was not an easy job, not when he had already thrown away any conceivable defense.

"Was there a specific threat? Besides the clan system, I mean."

"There was; that of our country not being all that it was meant to be."

That's the same thing, James thought, wondering why Farsight didn't just give into despair. Your whole defense is that the evil things you did were necessary for building a country, which is the defense every tyrant, from the most ancient kings to Stalin and Pol Pot, made! It doesn't work! You did these things! You! And you expect us to let you get off because you claim its all for the greater good?

"...No further questions, Your Honor."

"I see." Fire Fox looked outside a window to his left. "I think that's enough for today. Court is adjourned until tomorrow." Fire Fox banged his gavel again - more softly, this time - and got up to leave. The audience, whispering and muttering to one another, got up as well.

This is hardly a court, James thought, sighing. It's a madhouse of hate. And I fear I'm getting caught up in it. I fear we all are. It's going to be hard, but we have to find a way to bring justice without bringing hate with it.

Author's Note

I am SO sorry that this is over a year late. I could try to blame this on college, but the fact is that major procrastination has taken place. Part of it is that in March, I got a brand-new, super-fast computer with awesome graphics that could take the games that my laptop simply couldn't. I've been all too busy with it. Some of my time has been taken up by college, and by anxiety related in some way to college. But that does not excuse the lack of work done. I apologize, and ask that the audience forgive me.

I hope that the audience does not take the views in this court case outside of context. Hating enemies and wanting revenge are wrong in and of themselves, but I had told readers (and myself) that there would be a trial when the war was over, and the... anger of the ponies and others watching the proceedings seem like realistic reactions to me, so I feel kind of stuck portraying it. Admittedly, things like those in the story have been designed to evoke an angry response simply by the sheer evil of the bad guys; perhaps I've done that too much, along with black and white portrayals of each side.

Fire Fox's name is based on the title of the movie Firefox, a film where an American pilot has to steal a Russian superfighter that operates by the power of thought.

Chapter 92; The trial continues (part 2)

The next day, Chrysalis was wheeled into the room, chained to a flat wooden platform, along with her cohorts. The former Queen of all Changelings definitely looked worse for wear; her mane was a mess, her teeth were bared, and she would glare at Celestia and Luna every so often, given them looks that would have killed if it were possible. The Diarchs of Equestria stared back, without any emotion on their faces. Chrysalis would try to move every so often, only to be held to the floor by her bindings. Royal Guards stood on either side of the platform, ready to act if the queen should burst her bounds in any manner; several had rifles.

Changelings who were part of the audience booed - but not many. Most had been banned on the order of their Queens from doing anything to disrupt the trial. By now, the audience was mainly full of quiet members of the species that had taken part in the war.

At this point, most of the raucous crowd had been removed, and only those known to have great patience were allowed in. The message was clear; no more disruption would be allowed.

"All rise; the Honorable Judge Fire Fox presiding," A Royal Guard - one still holding a spear - announced.

"Be seated," Fire Fox said almost immediately. "Today we continue the case of the former Queen Chrysalis and her confederates."

Several of the changelings on trial hissed at him in unison, even through the muzzles that had been placed upon them, and their wings beat in what James knew to be an unfriendly way.

Fox ignored them. "The prosecution may begin."

"The prosecution calls..." Rusty looked down at a list. "Drone 1394, the former counselor Draconis, sent to keep the hive of Queen Nocturnal under Chrysalis' rule."

One of the muzzled changelings was dragged forward by two Guards, each clearly in no mood for any trouble. The changeling, his hooves tied together, wings tied down, horn covered with both an anti-magical ring as well as having a tennis ball shoved on top to keep the horn from being used as a physical weapon, did what he could to resist anyway, to no avail, and was slammed in the head by a spear. This stopped his resistance until he was up on the podium.

Draconis was shoved onto the podium, his restraints being adjusted so he could do no more than just stand. The muzzle remained upon his face for a moment before a unicorn Guard removed it. At once, the drone began to shout profanities and insults at all those gathered in the courthouse.

"Queen Amalda, would you mind helping us with your aberrant subject?" Nocturnal said in a voice full of contempt. "It would be such a shame if he did not cooperate..."

The albino changeling queen exchanged a glare toward Nocturnal for a moment before walking forward. "As your queen," she said to Draconis, "I command you to speak the truth in this trial in all areas, and not to try and use any loopholes to escape from either your own punishment nor that of my mother. In addition, I charge you to not try and disrupt this trial by any means."

Draconis stopped shouting at once. His face seemed to bulge and contract for a moment as he apparently attempted to disobey. At last, sighing furiously, he said, "As you command, my queen."

Despite the contempt of the last two words, Amalda nodded. "And that goes for the rest of you!" she said to the other captive drones in attendance, who abruptly stood stock still.

"Draconis, you stand accused of heinous crimes against changeling-kind," Fire Fox said. "Among the charges are threats to slay changeling nymphs, mistreatment of drones of Nocturnal's hive - not to mention the queen herself - and the taking of excessive amounts of emotional energy to feed your own hive despite the needs of the hive you were the overseer of. How do you plead?"

Draconis struggled again, but ultimately hissed the word, "Guilty, but only because I was obeying the words of my queen, who gave these orders."

"That excuse is not allowed. The prosecution may proceed with the questioning."

"Objection," Amalda's attorney, Fox, interjected. "A changeling must obey the will of his or her queen. There is literally no other thing they can do when presented with an order."

"But surely there is some leeway between the giving and following of those orders?" Rusty demanded.

"Only as much as the queen allows or insofar a she leave it up to the drone. As such, if the former queen gave him an order, Draconis could only ever obey it."

"But cannot mercy or ruthlessness in obedience be a free choice by a drone?"

"To an extent."

"Enough of this," Fire Fox interrupted. "The objection is dismissed; it has been established previously that changelings have a certain amount of free will in following their orders. As such, Draconis' crimes, if established, will be shaded by his actions and personal choices."

"Right then," Rusty said, walking up to the podium. "Many of the witnesses we've interviewed for Nocturnal's hive have asserted that beatings and acts of torture and cruelty were committed. They have also testified that you ordered or allowed these things to happen. How true are these allegations?"

Draconis again seemed to struggle, but quickly growled, "Very true."

"Could you not have done less cruelty?"

"If my Queen had allowed it, yes. But her commands were to keep the other hives in subjection. That meant crushing any free will among them. I had specific orders to make sure that any disobedience or defiance were punished. I did what I had been told to do; keep the hive under control at any cost, and to do so as brutally as necessary to force respect."

"And you had no leeway? I doubt this."

"I had almost none. As such, any chance for mercy would be slight. And mercy is just another term for weakness; if those hives were given the slightest mercy, we would be weakened in their sight, which would have loosened our grip on them."

"So the queen gave you orders for cruelty, and you obeyed them?"

"Objection!"

"Overruled."

"Of course she gave me orders to keep the hive down, and I did my job."

"With any choice, though? Without using any of your limited freedom to-"

"I already said no. Either chop my head off already, or bring in a lawyer who knows how to do his job."

Bang! "This constitutes insult and slander toward the prosecution, as well as contempt of court," Fire Fox said, "and will not be tolerated. The previous two sentences will be stricken from the record."

"What's the matter, judge?" Draconis hissed in a sadistic tone. "Too given up to your mercy and harmony to listen to those more intelligent than you?"

Bang! "The defendant is hereby charged with contempt of court. The prosecution may proceed. Any further unlawful outbursts by the defendant will lead to his being gagged."

Draconis didn't reply, but stared viciously. This wasn't against the law, though, so the judge ignored it.

"No further questions."

"Defense?"

"No questions."

Chrysalis herself, after the questioning of several of her drones, was brought onto the stand for questioning, still laden with chains. Her muzzle was removed, though the rifles and spears of the soldiers were a warning to her in case she tried anything.

"Chrysalis, former queen, you stand accused of crimes against sapient species. Among the charges are murder, including that of your own subjects to fuel your own power, conspiracy to wage aggressive war, and conspiracy to enslave the pony race and use them as mere food. How do you plead?"

The muzzle was removed via magic as the prosecuting attorney spoke. Chrysalis bared her fangs and hissed angrily.

"How do you plead?"

Chrysalis spat at the pony; a unicorn guard blocked the spit with a small shield spell.

The gavel banged again ,and the judge shouted, "The defendant is warned that her actions are in contempt of court."

"Which is accurate," the former queen hissed, "as I hold this entire court and all here in contempt."

"Well, that was predictable," James said, sighing and leaning his chair back and turning to look at Shining.

Shining wasn't paying him any attention. His eyes glared at Chrysalis.

If looks could kill, Chrysalis would be a puddle of black goo right now. Fortunately for the ex-queen, physics didn't work like that.

But Shining wasn't the only one to be staring at the queen as if that was indeed how physics worked. James sighed again.

Anger is such a crazy emotion. It can be good or evil, depending upon the intent and circumstances. But eventually, only forgiveness and moving on can lead to a lasting peace. I didn't fight this war just so that another could be fought five or ten years later.

In the meantime, Chrysalis had been slapped with a contempt of court charge, and Fox, the changeling lawyer defending the previous queen, was speaking. "Our Queen desired to unite our race, to face the challenges of the world united instead of divided. And by anyone's definition, the conqueror can impose their will upon the conquered. If that were not so, this trial would not exist, and the griffons would still be under a king rather than a loose organization of autonomous states. Of course our Queen dealt with dissidence; what society tolerates militant rebellion? I know that Equestria would not; should any of the three tribes - four if one counts thestrals - try to secede, I doubt that the benevolent Princesses ruling them would stand for it. A state exists because order is maintained, and if that were to change, then farewell to order, law, and sovereignty."

"Objection! Insult to our rulers!"

"Oh sure, you can insult our queen, but we can't even question your princesses," Fox retaliated, rolling his eyes.

"Objection sustained, but the point of the defendant is taken. Neither side is to insult the other." Turning to Fox, the judge asked, "Have you anything more to say?"

"Sir-"

"Your Honor."

"Your Honor, as of this moment I have nothing more to say."

"The prosecution may proceed."

"Then this prosecution has something to say of she who was formerly Queen of all the changelings," a new lawyer said. James looked and was surprised to see that he was a changeling himself; clearly, he was from another hive. His voice sounded like a mix of Scottish-English accent. "She who was formerly queen over all the hives has rejected their individuality and sovereignty, rejecting the basic rights even of the queens wherein. She has sought to reduce our society to one dedicated purely to one of destructive war, conquest, and unquestioning obedience to a foreign queen, namely, Chrysalis herself. She has reduced her own hive to a dependency and autocracy that not even the queens of old, as aristocratic as they were, even dreamed. Indeed, they are still recovering from decades or more of this mismanagement and cruelty. Furthermore, she has robbed us of the fairly and peaceably-gained produce of emotional energy, leaving thousands of drones to either seek more on their own, or else perish. She has sought to rule with an iron tyranny, with a yoke of cold iron to our necks and a whip of threats and wickedness upon us, to which she has not even spared nymphs, our beloved children, from the freezing and painful lash. She had brought a destruction of our society, with many thousand dead in the late war, sacrificed for the sake of her own hive, which itself was merely a pawn of her ambitions. This prosecution, Desert Cook, contends that the said Chrysalis, no longer queen but mere prisoner, ought to be thoroughly prosecuted and that the sentence be executed with the speed that the blood of untold thousands, from the conquest to the late war, calls to account." The changeling - Desert Cook? - then backed off.

"The court, for the last time," the judge said to Chrysalis, "demands your affirmative answer to the charges."

Chrysalis laughed. "All you weaklings demand an answer from me? You only beat me through cowardly-"

Bang! "The defendant has refused to answer the charge of innocence or guilt." The judge sighed and looked to the Princesses. "What is the law for a defendant who refuses to enter a plea again, Your Highnesses?"

Luna stood up. "The laws of some kingdoms, such as Saddle Arabia, would allow for a defendant who refuses to enter a plea to be tortured until they answered innocent or guilty. Equestria has rarely needed coercion to gain a plea. However, a law does exist; that namely, the defendant can be taken away and not contribute to their defense whatsoever. It is similar to a result as if they had pleaded innocent, but they are not present for their own defense, since they refused to give a plea. Likewise, the penalties for being found guilty after refusing to enter a plea are the same as those imposed on one who plead not guilty and was found to be so. So, unless the former queen desires to be bound and placed in prison until her sentencing, the Crown suggests that she enter a plea."

Chrysalis spat at her, but the spit fell far short of its target. "Fine, I'll play your game. I plead not guilty because I am rightfully and by conquest Queen of all changelings."

"Except for the plea, the rest of the previous statement is to be stricken from the record," the judge said. "Another strike for contempt of court is added."

Chrysalis laughed.

Ignoring her, the judge went on, "Witnesses may now be called. Prosecution first."

There weren't many witnesses from Chrysalis' own hive called against her. Those few who were weren't, in James' mind, the best defense for their ex-queen. They were mainly her chief ministers, to whom she dictated orders. They said little different from Draconis.

Those from outside her hive... those were largely firebrands. It was clear that years of slavery to a foreign queen had left those under it with a seething rage and suppressed hatred that was coming to the surface all at once.

"Our hive was desolated!" a changeling witness was saying now. "We were but tools for their interest and amusement, and we had no one we could complain to about their mistreatment; to even suggest it was to invite even more brutal and disgusting behavior by our so-called 'benefactors.' I was an architect for my hive, and we constantly had materials taken away from us to build up Chrysalis' own hive. They made themselves wealthy - by changeling standards - off of our backs, off of our labor, off of our blood, sweat, and tears. They never thanked us, and those wags who asked them to got a free beating and more hard labor the next day. We couldn't wait to throw off their shackles, and thanks be to whatever powers that be that we were made free at last!"

Changelings around the chamber buzzed their wings, though the buzzing didn't sound angry to James; it sound more... sympathetic. More like the crowd approved of the witness' speech. Indeed, some clapped their hooves in response, with loud clop sounds echoing around the room. There was little in the way of speech; they obeyed the orders of their queens. But it was clear what they thought of the witness' testimony.

I don't know how much the defense will be able to do, James thought. Not that any of the defendants are going to escape punishment, but... even for a doomed defense, this is hopeless.

He was right. Fox - the defender for Chrysalis - attempted to question the most recent witness. "You just accused my client of unjustly oppressing your hive. Do you have any conclusive evidence for that statement?"

The witness proceeded to light his horn

"Solenopsis, no!" one of the Queens in attendance shouted. "Use your words, not your magic."

The drone, who had clearly been about to assault Fox, desisted, though with reluctance. He then proceeded to use some of the most foul language James had heard in Equestria to curse Fox; the faces of much of the audience went red, as did that of the judge, and even Chrysalis lifted her head in some sort of mild amusement.

BANG! "The witness will only use language appropriate for public speech, and will only respond to the questions of the defense."

"Your Honor, given the unreliability of the witness, given his lack of proof and clear insanity, I move that he be removed and put in an asylum," Fox said.

That brought an angry silence from... everybody.

I get that the witness was comparing him to a hybrid of an ant and a caterpillar when the judge interrupted, but was that necessary?

"I object to that, Your Honor," Rusty said, sounding calm but clearly furious. "I move that that... request be denied, and a new defense attorney be brought in who will actually respect the rule of law."

"Quiet, both of you," the judge replied, clearly frazzled. "The request for the removal of the witness is denied, as is the demand for a new attorney. However, I will warn the defense that this court will tolerate no attacks on any individuals."

"Odd, sir, since you were fine to let him abuse my client without proof of his absurd claims," Fox responded.

The gavel fell, not a bang this time but a thump. "No more of that, sir. Just do your job as a lawyer."

Fox sighed and muttered something incendiary and offensive under his breath. "Yes, Your Honor." Solenopsis crossed his forelegs, still angry.

The judge sighed. "Given the circumstances, there will be a fifteen minute recess. I trust that all may return in a more mature mood after that?"

Some twenty minutes later, James and Shining were again sitting in the courtroom. Solenopsis and Fox were facing each other again, neither being very pleased to see the other.

"Let us continue where we left off," the judge said. "And any further offenses will lead to the offender being monetarily penalized."

Both changelings reluctantly nodded.

"Right then. Defense, you may proceed."

Fox walked toward the box. "Now, as I was saying, what evidence can you provide for your allegations?"

"There. Are. Records," Solenopsis growled out. "Plenty of evidence. And unless there's a magic that lets me project my thoughts to everyone, there is no way I can immediately provide you non-violent satisfaction."

"Rather convenient."

"Actually," Princess Luna said, "a variation of my normal dream magic may allow for just such a projection for the judge, jury, and audience to witness."

The judge looked surprised, but managed to recover his composure quickly. "If you insist, Princess."

"I do, if the witness allows it."

"I will," Solenopsis said.

"Then by means..."

Luna got up and walked over to Solenopsis. "This may be a bit surprising," she warned. "It is rare that I use my dream magic on someone who is awake."

"I will do whatever it takes to make sure justice is done."

"Then prepare thyself, such as thy may."

The grooves in Luna's horn lit up, and a white light raced to the drone's head. The latter shuddered for a moment, but then steadied. As this happened, a second band of light flew from Solenopsis' head to form a screen for the entire courtroom to see.

Pictures flowed from the screen; changelings being beaten as they labored; emotional energy being taken from the hive by laughing and grinning drones of Chrysalis' army. A drone backtalked a guard for being rude and was savagely beaten. Even the Queen was shown being slapped in the face for questioning the amount of energy Chrysalis' hive was taking for itself.

"What do you have say to that?" Solenopsis said when the montage of memories was done and the screen faded away.

Fox rallied. "I say that you have quite the imagination. How do we know these aren't fabrications? Memories mean nothing without an indication that they're true."

"I made sure that his memories were unable to convey falsehoods when I undertook this spell," Luna replied sternly.

Fox was silent.

"Does the defense have any further questions?" the judge asked.

Shaking his head, Fox said solemnly, "No further questions, Your Honor."

"Well, if their case wasn't hopeless before this whole thing, it is now," Shining said, as they walked out of the courtroom.

"Personally, I'm tired of this drama. I'd almost - almost - prefer fighting the war again."

"It is terrible," Shining agreed. "Not so much I want bullets flying again, though."

"Something to that, I guess." James stopped and leaned on the wall. "I'd prefer this mess of a trial to be over with. We have everything we need to bury all of the main criminals six feet under, and to put everyone else in prison for how ever long the law says they deserve. If nobody rose to the baiting, this would probably be over already."

"I doubt that. And how about I take you to Pony Joe's for some donuts? Maybe that'll cheer us up."

Author's Note

Sorry for how long it took this to come out, and for how little was made in that time. But this whole trial section feels forced and really, really boring; I've been struggling on how to continue.

Chapter 93; Interval

James dipped his chocolate-frosted glazed donut into his cup of milk before taking a bite out of it. As Equestrian sweets usually were, this one was delicious.

"How'r things goin' fellas?" Pony Joe asked.

"Pretty well, given that the trial is the absolute center of peace and harmony," James said sarcastically.

"That bad, huh?"

"Ugh, buddy, you've got no idea," Shining said, biting into a chocolate donut.

"Infernal trial," James said once the unicorn patron of the bar had walked off. "I almost want to be back on the field being shot at again."

"And being shot?"

James felt his previous wounds pinch slightly. "I suppose not, but I'd rather this mess be over."

"Hey, it will be. Just a couple more days, maybe three."

"And those will be... fire on earth to get through. Chrysalis and the ex-king aren't sorry for what they did, and aren't denying it. They're going out of their way to cause trouble. We have the evidence. Jug 'em already."

"I thought you once told me you were someone who supported the law?"

"I do, don't get me wrong. It's good overall that this is being done." James downed the rest of his glass of milk. "I just hate feeling mentally like a piece of wood being given the sandpaper treatment."

"I've had that same thought myself."

"Why? You were aiming for the Royal Guard from the start."

"Trust me, I had several interests before I came to that decision." The stallion levitated his own glass to his lips and sipped from it. "I was, well, a nerd before joining the Guard. I loved comic books, playing role-playing and tabletop games, reading about the lore of the games, I played... all I was missing were a pair of glasses."

James chuckled. "So what else did you consider?"

"Honestly, it probably would have still involved the Guard; not sure just what. Blacksmithing was always a possibility. What would your second choice for a job be?"

"When I was a kid, it was a steam loco engineer. My dream job. Trains were my idol at that stage of my life. Glad I grew out of the idol phase, but I still love trains, especially model railroads."

"So why the interest in the military?"

"After the War on Terror started, my interest in the military began. I guess that's when my patriotism began to really emerge as well. I became interested in history, especially the history of America's wars. I swear, I thought the South would win the Civil War if I failed to read a book on the topic all the way through. In any case, that's that story in a nutshell."

"I... see. Maybe... Actually, not very much. You lost me."

"Don't be embarrassed; you don't know a whole lot about my world." James downed his glass. "Another donut would be nice."

"I think Pony Joe's still checking his stock."

"Well, bother."

There came the sound of the door to the shop opening. Both of them turned around.

"Oh, don't get up on my account," Princess Celestia said, laughing slightly as both of them moved to do just that. "I'm just here on break, as you are."

Both relaxed. "What's going on, Your Highness?" Shining asked.

"Mainly, I want to escape the trial, same as you. And the burden of ruling."

"No plans to retire, I hope?"

Celestia chuckled. "Oh, it's not that burdensome. Yes, the bureaucracy and law-making and paperwork are annoying, but keeping my subjects safe, free, fed, and well educated gives me more joy than the problems of office take away. In any case, ever since Twilight and her friends visited this shop, I've come down every now and again; the donuts are delicious."

"Glad ta hear ya say so, Ya Highness," Pony Joe said, returning from his store. "Always a pleasure."

"The pleasure is all mine. Especially the pleasure of my taste buds and stomach."

"Heh. Don't eat so much that ya get fat; wouldn't want that."

"Oh, you know me, Pony Joe; I'm careful."

"So, what'll it be?"

"A couple chocolate crullers and a strawberry-covered glazed donut, if you will. Oh, and a small bottle of milk to go with it."

"Coming right up."

Celestia conjured up several bits and left them on the counter. "Keep the change." Turning to James and Shining, she asked, "Would you mind accompanying me to the booth in the corner?"

"No problem, Your Highness," Shining answered swiftly.

"Yep," James replied, nibbling a bit of donut as he got up.

All three went to the booth Celestia had talked about, and sat down.

"Now," the Princess said, levitating a donut near her mouth, "I would like to discuss military affairs a bit with you."

"So long as it's not the trial," James muttered.

"It's not, or not directly. I've gotten reports from the new Confederacy, and our occupying forces."

"Ah," James said. "What's up?"

Celestia's mouth moved downward. "Unfortunately, a few royalists are willing to continue to protest for their former sovereign. They haven't done anything criminal, at least not yet, but as I said, there have been protests, and there haven been incidents of individuals walking off their jobs when their bosses or co-workers were too revolutionary. Since you, James, know about the aftermath of wars, how do you think we should solve the problem."

"You know, given that that's within the military scope of things, I'm almost happy to be at work again." James sighed even so. "I think that a careful watch should be put on them. Make sure they aren't committing crimes. At the same time, given that these holdouts are the last handful of loyalists to the former crown, I'm tempted to say that their protests mean nothing, as with striking or leaving their jobs. I feel I would be lax in my duty to say that, though; many 'insignificant' rebellions, whether fought for good or evil causes, became rather significant, sometimes quickly. I wouldn't want to encroach on the liberties of monarchists. I would hope they come to recognize that the liberty they now have is at odds with the very one they claim loyalty to. At the same time, we would be fools to dismiss the danger entirely."

"I see nothing much to add, Princess," Shining put in. "We should not break the law ourselves in keeping them from causing trouble, but not shy away from using force if they do attempt an active, rather than passive, revolt."

"I agree," the Princess said, taking a minute to eat her donut. "However, there is an argument to be made that arresting them immediately would prevent crime, or revolt, later."

"Doing so would forfeit the moral high ground," James replied. "You can't just arrest someone because they might cause trouble."

Shining gave him a nudge, but James pretended not to notice.

"And what if they do?"

"Then we take them down. But to arrest someone for their political views alone? That's off the table."

"James!" Shining whispered loudly. "You can't say that to a Princess!"

"I can. An earthly ruler, ruling over other people in this life, should not be above the law."

Celestia chuckled. "I'm not offended, Shining. And frankly, I prefer ponies - and other species - to say what they mean rather than try and duck the issue. I'm over twelve hundred years old; I can take some lese majesty and be absolutely fine."

"Is there anything more significant? Perhaps actual resistance?"

Celestia's face fell again. "Yes, some. A lot of griffons who living in the paths of our advancing armies still hold a grudge, enough to verbally - and sometimes physically - assault ponies they encounter. I'm glad to say that most of the time our soldiers manage to brush off the verbal insults they receive. And in some clans - ones whose territory we didn't occupy before the surrender - some of the griffons there have been arrogant, thinking that the king gave up too easily and that if only they had been there that they could have made a difference."

"Folly," Shining said, looking disgusted.

"Foolhardy, yes... and it could be classified purely as such if a number of our soldiers weren't found dead or wounded in the streets of some villages."

"Uh oh," James muttered. "Well, we did consider that some clans may resist."

"That's the problem; the clan leadership have all denounced the attacks and disavowed anything to do with them. As far as we can tell, they didn't, but individual villages and villagers are still defiant, even to the point of violence."

"We need to make a show of force," James said. "Make it clear who won. Have tanks roll through a village if necessary. And bring in our intelligence services to find who the killers are and arrest them. And, as with the royalists, keep an eye on the defiant guys while not infringing upon their liberties, unless they actually attempt to engage in a hostile, violent manner. Words from teenagers who don't know any better aren't going to kill fresh troops; bullets and knives can."

"Again, I agree. However, how do we stop revolts before they can happen?"

"One way is to make it clear the Confederacy is its own government, not a puppet state. The fewer ponies and coalition soldiers doing the policing, the better. I think that, after the Empire's murderous attempt to gain power, most clan leaders will be willing to police their own towns."

"But those same soldiers could sympathize with the rebellious villagers."

"That's a risk, but as I said, I think that most leaders will, for the time being, see that attacking Allied troops will lead to disaster, and will pick soldiers who obey orders to maintain the law. I'm not saying we should give up the occupation entirely; we said we'd occupy them partially, and we have to stick to that promise. And we would be opening ourselves up to... unexpected surprises, if we don't keep an eye on things. However, we need to trust that the Griffon Confederacy will be able to take care of itself. And we can engage in ways to counter the insurgents by offering a carrot approach. By improving infrastructure, agriculture, and healthcare, and by... pressuring... clans into choosing good leaders and administrators, we can undercut the rebels' reason for resisting. Given that our troops will be gone within a year or so, and reminding them of these facts as well as doing the things I've suggested, we can both minimize our footprint while making sure the population gets behind the current government."

"What if we do all this, and this insurgent warfare goes on anyway?"

"Then the rebels will undermine themselves. If they're killing their own clansmen - I mean, griffons, then their own people will be against them. Insurgents need the people's support if they hope to thrive. Otherwise, without anyone to supply and hide them, they really will just be reduced to banditry, and that's a manageable problem." He paused. "Frankly, the only other route is to go all in on occupation, with checkpoints and intrusive searches and doing other things that will only make us look like the bad guys to more and more griffons, giving the insurgents greater support among the populace. We did promise in the peace treaty to aid them in reconstruction efforts and to rebuild parts of their country that we damaged during our counter-invasion."

"We did; I remember that meeting well." Celestia paused as well, looking at the ceiling for a moment as she finished off the donut. "I think that the carrot approach you've suggested will be our best way forward. If we promote harmony, we can't be harsh on the defeated. That said, we need to continue to appear strong in this situation."

"No doubt," James agreed. "We can't give up on occupation, nor make it look like we've gone soft. We simply let the griffons slide slowly into the position of self governance under the new system while still making our presence felt, enough so to make it clear we won't tolerate any return to the previous system of Imperial government. Not that most of them are eager for it, but we do need to make that clear to the radicals."

Celestia was silent for a few minutes. She sipped from her bottle a couple of times. Shining continued eating as well, though James could see at a glance that he was slightly nervous.

At last, the Princess nodded. "I think that policy has some wisdom behind it. My sister, Cadence, and I will keep our own council on this, but we should try at least some of these things you've advised."

"It's part of what you've hired me to do."

"Indeed."

The door to the bar opened again.

"Well, two Princesses in one day," Pony Joe said from behind the counter. "Whaddya want, Princess Luna? Cherry-filled? Honey-covered? Haydonut?"

"Thank you for the kind greeting and offering, but We have matters of importance to discuss with Our Sister and Our generals."

"Well, then, I'll leave ya to it."

Luna walked over to the table and sat down. "We, er, I, have worries."

"We all have them," Celestia said, gesturing patiently with a hoof. "What's particularly on your mind?"

"We believe that the trial is going to result in a guilty verdict, and soon. We know so much of what each of the main defendants did that it's hardly surprising. And people want blood. Especially the griffons. Not to mention Our own ponies want Chrysalis' head. Of course, the other changeling Queens may want it more. I've heard some of the jury say they want to conclude immediately, feeling that they have all the evidence necessary to, in the modern phrasing, 'book 'em.'"

"A verdict after less than a week?"

"Yes. We are worried; this could be said to be hasty, and We do not want history to claim that the trial was rigged from the start."

"They'll say it anyway," James said.

"Yes, most likely, but a verdict this soon will reek to an outside world of a farce."

Celestia frowned. "What about the secondary trials? The ones for lesser criminals and common soldiers caught breaking the laws of war?"

"Each so far has been short, with several miniature trials every day. Most defendants thus far have been found guilty, including one who shot surrendering pony Gatling gunners. Yet there are at least a hundred more to judge, and the speed of the verdicts leaves me uncomfortable."

"We won't be leaving any unturned stones, Luna. That I promise you."

"Such has been the case thus far. In Our - my - opinion, we should continue for at least another week after this week is over with."

Celestia turned toward James.

James closed his eyes and allowed his head to rest upon his hand for a moment. "I think it is a valid concern. We need to maintain the trial's legitimacy. As much as I feel this trial is a grind, I think we need to do more, and make this last long enough for all the evidence to be presented. Though I'd prefer to be able to know on what specific days I'll be called as a witness and not have to attend every moment."

"I don't blame you for feeling that way, and I don't see the latter as an impossibility. And I think both you and Luna are right, we need this trial to not only be legitimate, but also have the appearance of legitimacy."

"I would also like the inspect the army and the research and development for it," James requested. "I want to know how it may fare in coming years."

"That's reasonable, and again part of your job. I'll have some of our military R&D ponies give you a tour of their facility here."

"Thank you."

"And I think I can have Twilight find you whenever you're needed in court, assuming you're called up as a witness, provided you tell us where you're going to be at the time."

"I can do that, thanks again."

"It's no problem. I feel that grind too, believe it or not. After ruling for twelve hundred years, you tend to be able to hide your emotions easily, but they're still there, boiling below."

"Nothing I can say to that."

"We think we should all take tomorrow off anyway," Luna suggested. "The immature folly of these grown-up children is getting absurd, as is the lack of control others ought to have."

"And I thought you were to one pushing for justice, dear Sister."

"We are. But a good recess might clear our minds somewhat."

"Why have you started using the Royal We again, if I may ask?"

"We decided it is part of what makes Us unique. Though I might be willing to lay it down occasionally in a less formal setting."

"This is a less formal setting."

"Hmm."

"What do you expect Chrysalis to say in her own defense?" Shining asked.

Celestia's mouth again wavered. "Given her subject's - forced - testimony, I would wager she'll answer in the same vein as Raneiro. She'll defend her brutal actions and orders, though as Queen she obviously had much more freedom in her own decisions."

"Not much we can do about that," James sighed. "One thing that makes this easier is that these deposed rulers are making our job easy for us; they seem to revel in their actions, instead of trying to lie and obscure the truth."

"Indeed," Luna agreed. "They show no remorse or repentance, though, which I think we'd all prefer."

"Not me," Shining replied, voice and face grim. "I hope Chrysalis burns."

"And how does that exemplify friendship and harmony, dear Shining Armor?" the Lunar Princess asked. "While I am all for justice myself, it is unbefitting our national values and honor to wish for the death of the wicked. It is preferable by far that they be sorrowful and show signs of reform."

Shining sighed. "I know, Princess. I just... can't... easily forgive her for imprisoning my wife and trying to marry me while trying to take over the whole kingdom."

"We know. But for Our sakes and that of the kingdom, please try."

"I... make no promises I'll succeed, but I'll try."

"That's something that's bothered me," James said, sipping his glass. "Why are you Princesses, and not Queens, if this is a kingdom?"

Celestia and Luna both looked down at the table for a moment.

"I suppose that is a good question, and an understandable one," Celestia finally answered. "Our mother was killed in an accident while we were still teenagers, and our father died as we were coming of age, struck down by illness. I know you'll ask about the alicorn agelessness we display, and why we weren't born sooner, but the answer to that lies with them, I'm afraid."

"After Father died," Luna continued, "We were obviously next in line to inherit the crown. We were still grief stricken, and resented being called 'Queen' out of respect for our beloved mother. As a result, We preferred to retain the title of 'Princess.' Simply put, after Our coronation We simply never updated our titles, and since We've been Princesses for 1,200 years now, We have no desire to change Our titles."

"I'm sorry," James and Shining said almost simultaneously.

"Don't be," Celestia said, looking up. "Neither of you were born at that time and could have done nothing to stop our parents from dying. We've come to terms with our loss, or at least we convince ourselves of that the vast majority of the time."

"Not to mention We had friends, both then and now, to help Us in those times when Our grief over their loss comes back to Us," Luna went on. "We may lose friends over the ages, and that is a terrible thing, but We make new friends, and try to promote the values of friendship and harmony so that others may know joy."

"No joy comes from this trial," James said, finishing his glass.

"Perhaps not, but at least those responsible for inflicting evil upon Our land and their own will receive their just desserts, and hopefully others will learn from the example made to not do these evils in the future."

James raised a donut in lieu of his empty glass. "May it be so."

The others all followed suit.

Author's Note

Thank you all for your patience and for putting up with my slothfulness in getting a new chapter out. video gaming, procrastination, college....

You know what? Ugh. I just don't feel the same fervor for this story that I once did. I hate that, and the slow going (not to mention having eight other new story chapters constantly tabbed up next to this one, all awaiting an update). I would like to re-invigorate my love of writing (namely for this story), but I'm not sure how to go about it. I am undertaking an English class currently that goes over literature/film/media and the various aspects of stories and storymaking, so hopefully that helps the quality improve over time. My main focus regarding writing lately (as in, over the past year or so) has been one-shots that mirror historical events, though other types may arise soon.

May the Lord Jesus Christ save you all, and may He watch over you.

Chapter 94; R&D

"We've managed to streamline the production of artillery and rifles," the gray stallion was saying. "We're having some problems in getting the numerous smiths to agree on what a part should look like and how decorated it should be."

"Decoration? Really?" James asked, frustrated.

"Yes, sadly. Some believe the weapons we produce should be unique, so that each pony feels that their rifle is special to them, like custom-made swords in the past."

"That might be nice if Equestria had a universal policy of the right to bear arms and every citizen could by their own firearm for self defense, but not in regards to military endeavors. The rifles should be exactly alike, so that ammunition and spare parts can be used interchangeably without problem. That streamlines logistics and maintenance."

"It does, but the Diarchs have had to contract many different smiths in order to meet the demands for the war."

"Why not just build factories with assembly lines, with molds for metallic parts all being standardized so that they all come out alike?"

"We've been doing that, or some of it. Unfortunately, we've had to scale it back to a single factory here in Canterlot."

"Why on Earth would anyone do that?"

"Because we still need the smiths, and they aren't happy about factories potentially taking their jobs away."

James sighed heavily. "I'm guessing they threatened to go on strike?"

"In essence, yes."

James sighed again, and covered his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry, sir, but the smithies of the kingdom far outnumber factories and manufactories. We've had to compromise."

"Well, I hope that nonsense stops soon."

"I agree in principle. However, the smiths do have a legitimate point about wanting to stay in business, and nopony wants - or at least, nopony should want - others to become unemployed."

"Surely some previous jobs became redundant or out of date before?"

"Yes. For example, the advent of airships has meant that the old manner of having pegasi pull floating wagons full of goods from one high place, such as Cloudsdale, to another is becoming obsolete. And I know what you're going to ask; why isn't the same true for the weapons industry, especially during the war? I'm afraid it all goes back to needing smiths and their expertise to keep up with the demands for the conflict. And they haven't been alone; many tailors, both in small towns and large cities, have voiced protest to any major effort to introduce large scale industrialization of textiles. As with the smiths, we had to compromise in order to keep up the supply of uniforms."

"Ugh, I hope the shipyards-"

"They did. Dockyard workers don't want to lose their jobs either, so again, only small scale industrialization of the shipyards took place. Several turreted ironclads were built, and used successfully at sea, but they were few in number. If the enemy fleets had been made of iron instead of wood, we would likely have been badly outgunned in the naval department."

"How was Equestria able to keep our armies supplied? It sounds like a miracle that our logistics were as good as they were."

"Hard work, clever calculation, and considerable compromise."

"I don't envy you."

The stallion - whose name was Steel Lobby - smiled. "I appreciate that compliment. And yes, it hasn't been easy. However, we've had considerable success in coming up with new designs for our armaments. Admittedly, the lab coats are much more to thank - and blame - than us in industry in that regard."

"Blame?"

"Well, yes," Steel said, frowning a little. "There have been... accidents. And several times, we caught ourselves with a faulty design just in time, as in, right before we were about to test it. An example would have been a bolt-action design that would have been weak behind the barrel; too much chance of the bolt being shoved to far and fast into the shooter's face, or worse, the breech could have blown, potentially burning and slicing, or even killing, the soldier using it."

"Glad you caught that one."

"Us too. However, the science department didn't give us all duds. In fact, they're responsible for improving the design of the breech-loading cannon you sent us; a much heavier, but more powerful, cannon was made, still capable of quick-firing."

"In so far as that pertains to keeping our guys alive, good."

"Yes. Sadly, the magazine-loaded design for heavy artillery... failed."

"How bad?"

"When we went to fire it on the test range, the magazine jammed. It also wasn't a good sign that one of the dummy shells got it's tip bumped in a way that surely would have set it off had it been a real one. The labs tried to fix the magazine, but it kept jamming or misfiring in such a way as to have been fatal if the shells had real charges in them."

"Sounds like you guys dodged a few metaphorical bullets."

"We did. But the tanks were even worse."

"What happened?"

"Hmm, lets see; engine too big or too small, gun too big, tracks too weak to traverse off road, tank too heavy and got stuck in light mud, and... oh, yes, a version where the track was too heavy for the engine to move. We've had to build and re-build. Of course, some of us engineers like a challenge, but this was like trying to fit jigsaw puzzle pieces in places they didn't want to go, if you get my meaning."

"I think I do. And it's a shame things like that happened."

"Oh, it wasn't all bad. In fact, even those things that went wrong taught us valuable lessons."

"Oh?"

"Yes. The design errors taught us what not to do. It also stimulated innovation, as we had to come up with solutions for the designers' mistakes."

"Probably not easy."

"No, but nonetheless rewarding. We've continued to streamline production; we can now produce a Gallop tank between two and two and a half times faster than we did when we first started out. While rifle and melee weapons largely continue to be produced by individual smiths, our tanks are produced by factories and their owners."

"I hope safety standards and pay for the workers are good."

"They are. Some of the factory owners wanted to skimp on safety, others on pay, still more on both, but the Princess managed to... convince them otherwise."

"Good."

"Indeed. And we've continued to streamline production where possible. I expect weapon production to rise even higher in the next few months, provided we stick to schedule and nothing goes wrong. Hopefully I didn't just jinx us by saying that."

"Any new weapons or equipment in the works? Something I could examine today?"

"Oh, yes sir. Right this way."

James was led into a very large room within the factory/lab complex. Within the room was a very large, rectangular body with caterpillars on either side.

"What's this?"

" A project we had in mind. The current tanks we have do have their limitations, despite their usefulness. Gallop tanks lack sufficient punch against an enemy on the scale of the Barrel, and the latter are relatively slow, with a gun pointing in just one direction. We got inspiration from the navy; if they could build ironclad monsters to stop the Griffons at sea, why could we not build a travelling iron fortress of our own? One with numerous guns and with armor considerable enough to stop most projectiles."

"You were trying to build, in essence, a battleship on caterpillars."

"Indeed." Steel's mouth turned down. "Unfortunately, the idea proved... difficult. Between the size of the steam-powered engines, the size of the coal bunkers, the need to keep the ammunition bunkers both well armored as well as away from any significant source of heat, among other problems... well, let's just say we're still not sure just where the guns will go."

"So you've given up?"

"Oh, no sir. We are still trying to make sure this will work. But with the war over, we expect our funding to be cut, and..."

"You're worried that this land ironclad project will fail."

"That's... accurate."

"Would the completed model have anti-aircraft capabilities?"

"There would be anti-flight weapons, yes, though these would be limited. It's more likely we would fit captured Gatling guns to the finished product than to put anti-air cannons everywhere. This giant tank is designed to win land battles, after all."

"I know, but it would be slow and thus vulnerable to air attack."

"I understand, general. However, we do have a few other projects that would complement the giant's defenses. If you'll follow me..."

James did, to what looked to be a Barrel chassis. The guns had been removed, and a twin-barrel version of the anti-air gun he'd seen used during the war were housed in a casemate in the center if the vehicle.

"I see. So these, assuming they were completed, would accompany the beast."

"It would be one such project; we have two more to see, one of which is just off to the right."

James looked, and saw a Gallop with an odd-looking turret; the gun had been replaced by a rocket.

"So, you've modified it to shoot rockets?"

"Not just rockets, sir. These rockets would fly to a target using magical tracking methods. They are in testing; we've fired them at large, unmanned gliders, with some success. I say 'some' because there seems to be a bug in one of the spells that can cause the missile to retarget something other than its intended target."

"I hope no one was killed because of that."

"No, thank heavens. We do clear the skies before testing these and other such weapons, you know. But when we've had multiple gliders in the air, and one comes near the target glider, the rocket often seems to... reconsider what it should be aiming at."

"Sounds like quite a problem. Can it be fixed?"

"Yes, though the unicorns who have made up the spell are facing difficulties in figuring out just how to go about it."

"What's the third weapon you were going to show me?"

"Not far off, sir."

James again followed Steel to a sort of harness.

"This is, we hope, something that will give us total control of the sky in any future combat."

"What is it, and what does it do?"

"It's a battle harness for pegasi. We're planning to put either the guided rockets from the previous project on it or, failing that, to fix Gatling guns to it."

"Looks pretty heavy. Will a pegasus even be able to lift that thing off the ground?"

"Try lifting it yourself, general, if you don't believe me."

James did, putting both hands to work. To his shock, the harness weighed barely anything; he took one hand away and lifted it with just one, pumping his arm up and down.

"We've used a combination of light but strong metals and anti-gravity spells to vastly lighten the load on the pegasus using the device. As such, they'll be able to fly and engage targets from a distance. They won't need swords or spears, and they certainly won't have to worry about trying to awkwardly fire a rifle in flight. They just have to press that forward lever - the one to the front - and the harness will discharge its ordinance."

James put the harness back in its place. "The harness is most impressive. Honestly, I'm more impressed with it than the other two, if you'll forgive me."

"Nothing to forgive, sir. Given how the other projects have gone, and seeing where the land ironclad in particular is heading, its the most likely project to be approved and see service. Though, I hope we never do see another war."

"Not the worst hope anyone has had. I hope this next generation has peace. But we need to provide them security in case another war does happen. And these will definitely help. Good work so far."

"Thank you, sir," Steel said, bowing.

"However, engineering is one thing; doctrine is another. I hope you take that into account when building these things."

"We do cooperate with the military theorists, as well as those who have spectated the war with the explicit hope of making up future tank doctrines."

"They better not spread out tanks in penny packets. I hope that's not what these were designed for; to be static or slow-moving fortresses complemented by only a few armored vehicles."

"No sir. The 'fist' or 'hoof' doctrine of concentrating armored units will be in effect, at least so far as I'm aware."

"Good. However, if you'll forgive me, I must point out that an armored behemoth would be a massive target upon a battlefield, no matter what support one may give it. Additionally, I can think of numerous ways it could get stuck, especially on uneven terrain, and I doubt it could move through forests. What answers do you have for that?"

"I admit it would be a major target, but the theorists believe that the pegasi, in these new harnesses, could potentially eliminate hostile artillery before it became a serious problem. And the land ironclad would not be travelling alone, as I just said; it would be in the midst of a swarm of smaller armored vehicles, along with hoof soldiers and artillery support of its own."

"That being said, how many Gallops of Barrels could you make out of all the materials being used on this one unit?"

"Admittedly, several of either; I don't have the precise calculations with me, so please pardon me for not giving an exact number."

"You also mentioned it would be steam powered; that means a lot of internal heat to dissipate."

"Our designers have labored on that problem; between science and magic, they believe they've found a solution to construct boilers that keep the heat inside - except for the pipes through which the steam would travel - while not letting it out. It would be very efficient, at least compared to steam engines that have existed previously."

"Why not use oil and petrol?"

"Because we need to find the stuff and pump it first, and there aren't many in Equestria that want to risk damage to the environment or invest in oil production. The risks are believed to be too great."

"Sounds like a half-measure kind of thing. Honestly, oil is better in the long run."

"Perhaps, but our engines run primarily on steam power at this time, so we need to take what we can get. Perhaps in the future, we can switch to petrol and oil."

"...I suppose I'll have to be content with that."

"We have considered aerial combat regarding airships," Steel was saying as they continued outside to a runway.

"But airships are big, fat, juicy targets," James objected. "And the balloon on top is an easy target. If you're looking to keep the airship in the air, then normal armor for it is out of the question."

"That's all true. And, I might add, so far the process of making metal that light - while not draining its strength - is a slow one."

"So why airships? Why not just pegasi?"

"Because pegasi cannot carry heavy weapons, even with the harness prototype I showed you earlier; trying to have a pegasi hold a cannon that is about to fire would be... trouble, to say the least. Airships can carry entire batteries of artillery. In addition, they can drop bombs from the bottom of the hull, so they're versatile when it comes to using heavy weapons in the air. I could also add that we could fit numerous Gatling Guns, anti-air cannons, and rockets on a hull, making it difficult to attack. It could also fly high enough to avoid anti-air artillery."

"If other nations come up with something like aerial combat harnesses of their own, the airship could still be in trouble, especially if it gets swarmed."

"True. However, doctrine would call for heavy escort by pegasi on whatever missions they were sent upon. That's another thing I should mention; they would act as mobile bases for pegasi in combat missions."

"That still doesn't solve the armor issue. One good shot from somebody, and the balloon is going down."

"We are testing new spells and metallurgy methods in order to produce a light but strong armor for the balloon, like the metal for the harnesses. As I said, that process is slow, but if there were enough smiths or factories working on the project, Equestria could produce at least eight fully functional aerial battleships of the type I've described per year, provided funding remained steady. Furthermore, we could make different types, one perhaps for carrying pegasi to the battlefield, another for heavy weapons, et cetera."

"Okay, so the airship can have an armored balloon. That still leaves the hull; wood won't cut it."

"You'd be surprised; there are magical woodworking techniques that can strengthen and even shape wood. But in general, yes; iron, or preferably very light steel, would do much better. And yes, the air ship could technically carry it."

"I hope hydrogen wouldn't be necessary. We had a rather... famous, or infamous, incident with a dirigible that floated using hydrogen gas."

"Indeed. Hydrogen would be a dangerous gas to use. Helium, though, doesn't lift as much."

They stopped in front of an airship hull. There was no balloon attached, and workers were all over it.

"This is a prototype hull that we've constructed. As you can see, lightweight metal has been applied to the hull, however thinly. We are going to add a balloon soon, and we plan, assuming all goes well, to add weaponry."

"Pretty small. Not much bigger than a carrack from olden days."

"True, but this is a prototype, not a full fledged aerial battleship. Besides, it is a natural conclusion that having smaller vessels, in addition to pegasi escorts, will help protect larger ships and add additional firepower. The enemy will be forced to choose between focusing on the escorts, and thus exposing themselves to the fire of the larger ships, or they'll concentrate on the heavier behemoths and be swarmed by smaller ships."

"That sounds ambitious, given how slow you've implied the construction will be for armored airships."

"True. However, this is the near future we're talking about. No doubt we'll streamline the process in due course."

"Can't you also use the lightweight metal for building tanks as well?"

Steel sighed. "Would that it were that easy. However, I doubt the process will become streamlined to the point where we could split it between one and the other. It's best to concentrate it on a single branch of the military, the one that needs it most, and airships and pegasus harnesses are the ones we're focusing on."

"Alright." James didn't push the matter. "How long until some of these prototypes see... if not action, then service?"

Steel was silent for a moment. "It will be at the very least half a year, more likely two, before we have tanks and airships like they ones you've seen here. The harness is almost done and merely needs weaponry to be properly attached. As for the building of other factories and mass production of small arms and various parts for things... we really do need to get the smiths dealt with, either by getting them to enter factories so that they can put their expertise there, or, as much as I hate to say it, by ignoring their protests and building factories regardless of their complaints. Given their hissy fits during the war, it's hard to say that they wouldn't deserve the latter, but there are plenty of other things - horseshoe and horseshoe nail production for two - that they can construct while being left out of the construction of modern weapons entirely. Given we are no longer at war, we can certainly do the latter, though I wouldn't want anypony to be out of a job and have their families go hungry because of it."

"I can see the problem. Nonetheless, if only they had left off their petty squabbles, the war might have gone more smoothly in the logistics department. I don't want anyone fired if it can be rightly helped either, but this... ugh."

"I agree it's a muddle. If it helps, justice has been partially done."

"How so?"

"Princess Luna had them fined a number of times. She used the fact that Equestria was at war to punish them for threatening to not work, with additional threats to take away their licenses for smith work if they continued to obstruct the war effort. Not quite a slap on the fetlock, not quite what they perhaps deserved, but it was something."

"I doubt they were pleased."

"So be it. We were at war."

James nodded. "I should have asked this earlier, but the whole thing with the smith derailed my train of thought; how long until new rifles begin production?"

"Probably soon. Still bolt-action or similar, though energy rifles that would shoot magical beams have been contemplated."

"'Contemplated?'"

"Well... yes. Given the griffon atrocities in making their version, we've been reluctant to commit to such a project. The Princesses were furious when they learned what the griffons had done in that regard."

"No kidding. Making unicorns pour energy into something until they were almost dry of energy and starving? That's not war, it's near-murder. I have hopes all the victims survived, but I have... doubts."

"As do I," Steel sighed. "Ought to hang all of their 'scientists' who were involved in the project, along with those who helped them and the soldiers who took their weapons. But I'll fall into a whirlwind of rage if I stay on the subject any longer. Energy rifles are on the blueprints, and they will likely be implemented in the near future, though I suppose we'll have to be careful on how we introduce the concept. Not that they'll be powered by unicorns, or not directly; we intend for them to be given batteries or clips of magical energy to serve as ammunition."

"Are these batteries... safe? Will they explode if hit by enemy fire?"

"That's a good question, though as we haven't made them yet, we can't test it." Steel paused. "I don't think they would necessarily do so; stored magic isn't the same as gunpowder. I do think that the magic in them would break out and be lost, but - and I could be wrong - a soldier suffering this kind of hit to an energy clip would not be in any danger... well, beyond the normal dangers of the battlefield. That is only my take on it without further testing, though, so take it with a grain of salt."

"So long as this isn't occultic..."

"Occult? As in, magic from demons and witchcraft and spirits?"

"That's what I meant by the word."

"Sir," Steel said, his face twisting in disgust, "that brand of 'magic' has been illegal in Equestria from the beginning, and there is no reason it should change, now or forever. Except for the most foolish or most insane and villainous ponies, none would use that kind of garbage in their magic."

"Alright," James said. "I didn't mean to offend, I merely wanted to eliminate the possibility."

"Possibility eliminated. Since long before Equestria's founding into eternity. And no offense taken. I understand why those not versed in magic might be drawn to such conclusions. Trust me when I say, none of these weapons are occultic in nature. No demons, spirits, witchcraft, or using animal parts and sacrifices to achieve any of it."

"That's good news."

"Yes, indeed. In any case, has your visit to our facility been satisfactory?"

"It has. Good to see you preparing for the next war instead of the last one."

"Has that been a problem back home?"

"Yes. Get a military genius, and more often than not you stick with his stuff even when new technology makes it outdated. Even after breech-loading artillery and bolt-action rifles became common, we had countries fighting in line of battle formations. That works with matchlock and flintlock weapons; they're so inaccurate anyway, you need to have everybody shooting at the same body of guys. But with any of this stuff, it would be suicidal."

"It most certainly would be. As you said, we've been trying to prepare for the next war, so our enemies will be facing a new array of weapons. I do hope another war is not necessary, but if it is, I think we'll be ready for it."

James looked back at the prototype being constructed, and thought of all the other weapons he'd seen under construction. "Yeah, I think you will be."

Chapter 95; Exercise

"What is this?"

"It was supposed to be a battleship, or near enough, that could also move on land. Sadly, the engine wasn't powerful enough for the vessel to function on land, with the treads also slowing it down in the water."

James continued looking at the dismembered hulk of the attempted tank-battleship combination. "I would advocate that this concept be scrapped."

Steel Lobby sighed. "I concur. We've already decided that the vehicle will be dismantled and its parts will be used for other projects. I had hoped it would be a useful hybrid machine, but, alas. And it would have had anti-air rockets and guns and a shield, too. A pity. A real pity."

"I'm not against the idea. But Equestrian technology will have to advance quite a ways before its ready for this."

"True. While our advances in magic are impressive, our mechanical arts require much more attention. Magic can't solve all problems. Of course, as I said earlier, our various industries are reluctant to change for fear of going out of business or for the money it would cost to change."

"But change has happened before."

"Yes, like the railroads forcing wagoneers out of work and forcing them into other persuasions. It's very discomforting in those first few years... or decades, as it were. It's true there was an improvement, but you can see why most ponies are conservative regarding technology and traditional modes of work." Steel looked at James. "You've certainly made a lot of changes to Equestria's military apparatus."

"Huh?"

"The Royal Guard used to be all that the Equestrian military was; a small military force designed primarily to protect the Princesses and maintain order. But then, under your recommendation and the acceptance of the Princesses, we've had the Regulars formed, unarmored but far, far greater in number and sometimes better armed. By and large, the Royal Guard, though prestigious, were nearly made obsolete by the reorganization of our military structure."

"The Guard took up numerous necessary engagements during the war, especially the early period. And several of my best commanders were Guards."

"Even so, there was a change." Steel sighed. "Not that I am against change; the renaissance of industry in Equestria is desperately needed, even without considering military needs. Our economy can't rely on gold, gems, and silver mines alone; there has to be a bigger effort to make more things so we can feed, clothe, and in general take care of our growing population. And given that part of the reason we won the war was the result of alliances with other countries and peoples, we need to expand our trade networks instead of retreating into isolation. But that said, I still sympathize with those who will be discomforted or put out of business by the necessary changes to our society, economy, military, and more."

"I sympathize as well, but stagnation isn't healthy. Numerous states in my world were brought down or humiliated because they refused to change when needed. If a country wants to retain it's position, it needs to adapt or be destroyed, whether due to military or economic pressure."

"And given how many of the griffon tribes and clans had better technology than we did, or at least equal technology, I can see your point. Their combination of technology and magic late in the conflict was especially frightening. I shudder to think what would have happened if the enemy had waited a year to attack... or if their campaign was coordinated with the changelings." Steel shuddered. "Our forces were notoriously small. As much as harmony and friendship are good things for us to treasure, we need to be prepared in case there are nations or entities who cannot be persuaded to a peaceful co-existence."

"True, and you've done some good work here, I won't deny that. But as much as I hate to say this to someone who has worked so hard, more needs doing."

"Unfortunately you are correct, and not to worry, I take no offense from that statement. A good, live-exercise with dummy ordinance might be just what the doctor ordered. In particular, it might be good to wage an entire dummy campaign in order to find out what works and what doesn't."

"Not the worst idea... provided that all safety precautions are taken into account. It's not like these weapons are toys by any means; they can and will hurt or kill you if you're not careful with them."

"Again, true. I intend to replace all ammunition with dummy rounds made of paint. They'll pack a sting into whatever they hit - minus the hoof wall - but they'll do just fine."

"That can account for personal firearms, but I fail to see how you can pull that off with artillery and bombs."

"With careful infusion of magic into the rounds, we might be able to pull it off. I already have some designs for such rounds ready so that they will blow up prematurely if living beings are detected on the ground... and of course still cover them in paint. Provided I can get the cooperation needed, and I think I can, it should go well. however, it will be up to the military itself to actually approve the project and go through with such an exercise. I can make the proposal to the Princesses, but they and those who advise them will have the final say."

"Yeah. I'll probably have to bring them around to the idea, but I think a good exercise with these paintballs will be useful."

"Ah, a good name for such ammunition. I shall make the necessary armaments; we can easily adjust, given the war's barely over and our industry is still well above average production."

Over the next week, the exercise took shape. A panel of judges would decide who won the three-day mock campaign and settle on what would be allowed and disallowed. A number of judges would personally oversee the armies in conflict, noting their decisions, asking questions, and deciding, based upon the rules, what commanders could and could not do.

One thing that everyone had to accept was that goggles were to be worn at all times, even during nighttime hours and mealtimes, as combat could occur at any time, night or day; the exercise would be as realistic as reasonably possible.

The two forces would be made up of rookie soldiers who had volunteered for the army. The goal of one side was to defend a supply depot from the other; if the attackers succeeded in taking the depot, the defenders would have to defend a "city" (hastily but firmly constructed out of wood) until the time for the exercise ran out. If the attackers took both objectives, it would be a major victory for them. If they took the depot, but failed to take the city, the campaign would be seen as a partial success for the attacking faction. The defenders would win a major victory if they held onto both, or completely defeated the other side. The paintballs would all be some shade of red (blood red for the defenders, bright red for the attackers) to simulate real wounds. Of course, a pony (or the solitary human among them) hit by them would not be killed or even hurt that much; James had been hit in the leg, and it didn't hurt any more than a normal paintball would. However, the rifles - the cartridges - being used had realistic ranges, so the fighting would not just be at relatively close quarters; one could easily be hit by a paintball rifle from over a mile away. The entire operation would be conducted over a period of three days.

Celestia and Luna would each command a division of 8,000 soldiers, each division split into two brigades of 4000, with regiments of 1000, and companies of 100. In total, they'd have 16,000 troops. James and Shining would have two brigades between the two of them, or about 8,000.

Both Princesses would be commanders on the attacking side. Both had read up on the war and were relearning lessons from older ones. Their force would be larger, but split between two equally-sized armies. The defense would be led by James and Shining Armor. As some Crystal troops were taking part in the defense (not many; between three to four hundred were participating in order to gain some experience), some began joking it would be the Crystal Army's finest hour.

While the whole thing had a bit of the ridiculous about it - the fact that it was being conducted with munitions guaranteed to be non-lethal, and that the areas being attacked would be obvious stand-ins for the real thing - once in the "combat zone," everyone would have to be serious. Orders were to be obeyed as if they had been given in an actual field battle, and in everything soldiers were expected to maintain a military bearing no matter the circumstances.

James had the opportunity to test one of the rifles to be used in the contest. It was much less bulky than the weapons used by Equestria later in the war, though it had a longer barrel and stock, and it kicked a bit less when fired, though he wondered how much of that was due to the rounds being fired being paintballs. He got his answer when testing a live magazine - one that held five shots as opposed to four - and found out. The new rifle didn't kick - quite - so much as it might otherwise have. Furthermore, it was accurate; all five rounds landed on the target each time he fired the weapon, albeit on different areas. Admittedly, that pattern may have been due to his own struggle to keep the weapon steady when shooting it; it was a bit heavier than previous rifles.

It wasn't the only new weapon, though; a type of submachine gun had been invented, having improved upon the Gatling guns used in the late war. Rather than using multiple barrels, there was only one, into which bullets would be levered up and fired off. The trigger could be pulled back and held to give a burst of fire. It didn't fire particularly fast, however; when fired, it sounded more like the gunshots were being fired from a revolver than from an actual automatic weapon, and James could easily feel the time between firings; the thing fired maybe one shot every half second or so. It was still useful, but not quite the devastating weapon he'd hoped for. It was light and was generally accurate, though at shorter ranges than the new rifle.

The artillery being used would also differ from those models used in the war; they were breechloaders, but were of smaller caliber, the barrels being about 77 millimeters in diameter. They were designed to fire a lot of rounds very quickly, though, which was the whole point. There was a larger gun, with a 140 millimeter barrel, that would serve as heavy artillery. The rounds being heavier, of course, meant it would be very slow to fire compared to its smaller cousin. A final gun, a massive 280 millimeter, would not be used in the field exercise; it was designed primarily for coastal and city defense, and as such had been designed as a stationary (though heavily shielded) weapon.

Lastly, there would be grenades and flares. James had nothing to criticize or commend regarding them; they would work as they were supposed to, which would be enough.

News from the trial leaked out. It was clear that the ex-emperor and the former Queen refused to cooperate with the courts, continuing to create drama and hold the court itself in contempt. By now, audiences had been banned from the trial entirely as the defendants had essentially been trolling them in order to mess with the proceedings. Given how badly things had become, James wasn't surprised that the two Princesses were eager for a break from it.

James continued to look at the map, pondering what he could realistically do. None of the big machines he had reviewed would be used in this "campaign" so they could be safely disregarded. It really would be a push been soldiers armed with rifles, some artillery, and pegasi and thestrals flying during parts of the battle.

Attaque! Toujours l'attaque! came the quote from Napoleon to his mind.

And why would I do that - we do that - outnumbered two to one? he thought back.

He looked over suitable sites for defense. There would be some hills the attackers would have to go over or between during their advance, but they would lack forests from which to hide an ambush or counterattack. Indeed, most of the forests in the campaign area were behind the crossroads where Celestia and Luna would link up; after that, they could march through open land.

There was the option to meet the enemy before they got to the crossroads; both defending brigades could quick march up one of the roads to try to defeat either Luna or Celestia before marching back. However, at best they would be meeting the enemy in equal numbers; additionally, attacking down one road would leave the other open, and getting surrounded at the start of the campaign would not go well.

Another option would be for one brigade to hold one road each, skirmishing with the attackers before meeting at the crossroads for a battle there. However, that would assume that neither brigade was surrounded or just overwhelmed before the crossroads; it would also require that the casualties of the attacking army be considerably higher than the defenders, and that wasn't guaranteed whatsoever. Both sides would have a mix of rookies and vets in them, so the numerical imbalance between the two armies couldn't be compensated for by higher experience within the rank and file.

There was the possibility that the Princesses' lack of personal experience in the late conflict would pay off for the defending side, and James hoped it was a brush he could tar both of them with. Yet they were learning the military arts, however distasteful it may have been for them. Well, distasteful for Celestia; Luna was eager to learn anything she could, eager to protect Equestria from future threats. Furthermore, they would be advised by veteran soldiers, and as such would benefit from their advice.

How far that would go when the whole thing went down, James couldn't say for sure. But the field exercise - and hopefully others like it down the line - would help the Equestrian military maintain its readiness in case of a future conflict.

The future is the part of a book that is as yet unknown by man, filled in one page at a time to the impatience of those who are reading it. I hope this all goes well, God willing.

Author's Note

...

Again, procrastination and writer's block. Like a lot of chapters thus far, I intended this one to be longer, only to - eventually - come up with the idea of shortening it.

Yeah, I'm not happy it takes me this long to write this much. Sorry, guys.

Chapter 96; The Three-Day War, part 1

Soldiers, their mockup weaponry upon their shoulders, marched past James and Luna as the preparation for the field exercise neared their completion. A few, Royal Guards, wore armor; most just wore the blue they'd worn during the war.

"Do you think this once field exercise will be effective?" Luna asked, turning an eye to James. "We - I - doubt this one mock battle will permanently improve the Equestrian military."

"I do not... if it's just kept to one such exercise over the coming years, decades, and centuries. If it's just the first in a string of regular tests, on the other hand, it may prove effective indeed."

"We suppose that makes sense. But still, warfare changes; indeed, the recent war has seen greater changes from previous centuries than We could have anticipated. From spears and the occasional bow and arrow to widespread use of firearms and mechanical monsters..."

"Yeah, that kind of radical change is fast even for my world. Not even a full year and this is the kind of change that has been wrought."

Luna sighed. "Perhaps it has gone by much too fast. The new Griffon Confederacy is still in turmoil from the rapidity of the changes brought about. Radicals, monarchists, imperialists, and other factions seem to be at one another's' throats within the new nation. We wonder if republics are meant to survive."

"I believe they are. The right of the people to elect their leaders and hold them accountable for any breach of law and of their election promises is vital to a free people and world."

Luna turned her head fully toward him, now looking at him with both eyes. "But is the chaos worth it? Is it worth splitting societies into blocks of factions that strive against one another? What of the common good of the nation? Surely an autocrat would be able to streamline the effectiveness of the state and..." She trailed off. "Hmm."

"Given we've fought two autocrats, both of whom in their own ways tried to 'streamline the effectiveness of the state,' as you put it, and were tyrants of the worst kind - at least in worldly terms - I don't see unlimited autocracy as a good thing. I don't even see limited autocracy as a necessarily good thing. Yes, there may be good monarchs out there - you, your sister and Cadence being examples of that - but who will succeed them? Another good monarch, or an incompetent one, or a tyrant? That concerns me. And... as much as I don't want to make you remember it, even a good ruler can be turned to evil."

"No offense taken; it's something that needs to be remembered so that future alicorns may avoid the pitfalls We fell into. And We see your point." Luna sighed again. "Some griffons don't seem to recognize the war is over."

"Guerillas again? Wouldn't they know by now that the emperor is dethroned and that a treaty has been signed?"

"We aren't talking about the bandits that plagued us during the invasion of the Empire. We are speaking of a clan that has refused to make the reparation payments."

"Already?"

"Yes; the Blackwing Clan, already defiant towards us, refused to make a payment. We sent troops, and they responded with thrown spears and gunfire. We defeated this resistance easily enough, but the clan leader and much of his people took to the forests and have been assassinating the soldiers occupying his towns and villages. In fact, many of the villagers themselves take it upon themselves to put a knife in the back of any Equestrian soldier who has his or her back turned."

"Uh-oh."

"How foolish must one be to want more war?" Luna said loudly, as though repressing a scream. "And what can we do to contain these treacherous fools?"

James thought quickly. "Off the top of my head, the only way to stop the murders in the towns would be to send the population there to prison camps - not uncomfortable hellholes, mind you, but safe places for them to be kept until the Blackwing resistance is broken. And then send kill squads into the forests to hunt down the rebels while cleaning out the towns to find caches of weapons and ammunition they might have there. Your thestrals were invaluable during the war in night actions and tracking enemies; I suggest you use them again to hunt the insurgents. Meanwhile have the other clans close their borders with the Blackwings, letting no one in or out of their territory until the rebellion is crushed. I would also... lean on the Confederacy to send any willing troops to quell the insurrection."

"Admittedly a harsh stance."

"It's guerilla war; of course countermeasures are going to be, or will seem, harsh. I didn't say to work those in the camps to death; allowing them to maintain normal comforts and employment as much as possible while there will be vital in healing divisions once the fight is won. And I would suggest not destroying any more of the settlements in that land than is necessary in battle. But anyone caught with a weapon is fair game to be killed or captured as the situation requires."

Luna thought for a moment. "It seems like a winning strategy, though perhaps more costly than the payment we intended to receive from that backwoods clan."

"It's not about the money; it's about sending a message that Equestria isn't going to let its peaceful ways be mistaken for weakness. If you pull back your troops from the clan now, it will embolden them and nearby clans, perhaps encourage the entire griffon nation to pull off another war twenty years down the road. I'm all for making friends, but as the saying goes, it takes two to tango, and you can't force friendship and harmony upon an unwilling populace. Assuming the insurrection is crushed and its leaders punished, you will have sent a message that Equestria is willing to take necessary steps for its own security and discouraging another war. That means less bloodshed in the end."

"What of punishment of individuals who, passively or actively, take part in this rebellion?"

"A minimum of six months labor - with more depending upon what a particular individual did - on projects to help the griffon economy recover; rebuilding roads, towns, various infrastructure, and other things damaged or destroyed in the war."

"And if they refuse to work?"

"Then keep them imprisoned, and only have their sentence begin once they capitulate. If they refuse to ever work, then they are jailed indefinitely unless or until they finally do work. Again, no refusal of necessary food rations or abuse, but make it clear that they aren't going to be free, or have access to luxuries, again until they'd worked off their sentence."

"We will look into those proposals. Thank you, James. And We wish you good fortune in the 'war' we are about to wage." Luna offer a hoof to him.

He took and shook it. "And the same to you as well. God bless, and may both of us do our best.."

Having been transported to the place where the defending army was to begin the exercise, James looked at the map, doing his best to listen to the judges assigned to his side as they continued talking.

"All participants are to remember that this is a war game, not the real thing. No trying to kill the other side for real. That means those of you with shoes, don't use them to physically bash the other side's soldiers; don't break body parts or cause real bleeding."

As the judges continued, James continued to think of attack. He'd tried to dismiss it - his side was supposed to defend - but he couldn't help but think of battles and situations in history where a smaller attack force had managed to surprise an enemy force. Not all of them resulted in victory, of course. But they had often had caused chaos and inflicted losses on the larger enemy.

There's no guarantee it won't end up like the Rebels at Shiloh, or Lyon at Wilson's Creek. Not even Napoleon won all his battles; just look at Leipzig or Waterloo.

On the other hand, risk was an inherent part of warfare. There was always a chance that whatever you did wouldn't work. Remaining on the defensive carried its own risks, namely, that of being outflanked out of each defensive position, which was something he was afraid of. He had no intention of having to play as Johnston vs. Sherman in 1864.

Naturally, being one of the two commanders in charge, he'd need Shining's help in anything he proposed. The latter was technically in charge, having become a Field Marshall, and James still a Major General. However, remembering how they had cooperated in the recent war, James knew that Shining Armor wasn't going to do anything without consulting him about it, and he'd take James' suggestions onboard.

"That's all, fillies and gentlecolts," the judge said, finishing his speech. "The field exercise will begin in ten minutes. Everypony to their units; for your sakes you'd better be where you need to be when the clock strikes 9."

Shining walked over. "What's on your mind?"

"I want to hold-"

"BBBFF! James!"

A purple pony that James easily recognized as Twilight Sparkle galloped up to and hugged Shining.

"Sis! It's great to see you!" the large stallion said happily. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," the violet unicorn began, "since Princess Celestia wants to make sure Equestria and its ponies are safe, my friends and I are taking part in this mock war too!"

"Even Fluttershy?" James asked, nocking an eyebrow.

"...except Fluttershy." Twilight said, looking embarrassed and holding a hoof to her face. "She's going to sit this one out as an observer."

"Alright, who is on what team?"

"Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack will be fighting on the Princess' side. Rarity and I will be on your side."

"What are you going to be doing?"

"Well, Rarity will be among the common soldiers; I've been sent to be a commander on your side."

"Not sure how that'll work, sis," Shining said. "We only have two brigades to command between me and James."

"Princess Celestia didn't say I had to be in command of a unit, just in the command structure. If I am to be her student, I need to learn how to defend Equestria."

"That seems a bit out of place for a student. You're more scientist and bookworm than a fighter, Twilight," James noted.

"True," the lavender unicorn replied, nodding. "But the Princess said she wanted me to be part of this anyway. I feel like it's part of something she's... preparing me for, though I don't know just what yet."

James looked at Shining, who shrugged and gave a grunt that sounded like, "uhduhno."

"Whatever the reason, it's my responsibility to my teacher and mentor to give my all to this endeavor."

"Even if it means you shoot a paintball at her?"

Twilight gave a slight shiver, but replied calmly enough, "Yes, I could. And she did say she wouldn't blame me for it."

"Okay, then." James looked at Shining. "I think we remain in charge of our respective brigades, but give Twilight a voice on the decision making."

Shining put a hoof to his chin as he looked at the clouds. Finally, he said, "I have to agree. Sorry if you were looking for something more interactive, sis, but our side is outnumbered two to one, and we're going to have to reach into our bag of experience to come through this victorious."

"That's alright. I'm here to learn, not usurp you guys. And if this works out, there'll be other battles like this where I can have a command."

"Well, then, that's settled. Let's go to the map before this all kicks off."

They all walked over to the map James had been studying before.

"Okay, what's our strategy?" Shining asked. "I'm in overall command, but you've had quite a bit of experience, James. I want to know what you think."

James pint at the crossroads. "We should take this, before they can get to it. If we quick march, we should be able to take it before they can unite their forces. Then we'll have the chance to take on one force before it can unite with the other."

"Wow, aggressive right out of the gate, huh? I always took you for a defensive kind of guy."

"You're right. But the war taught me that expecting the enemy to just impale himself on your defenses is foolish. Plus, many military thinkers in my world promote aggressive action. The crossroads is a perfect chance to split them."

"But we'd need to split our own force, to either guard the crossroads or to guard the path we're not attacking on, to at least slow them down."

"I know; that was my thought, too. One force ambushes the other as it comes down the crossroads, keeping them busy while the other makes its assault on the second enemy force."

"Why not just try to defend the hills behind the crossroads?" Twilight asked, a curious though confused look on her face.

"Because there's no foliage to camouflage our position. The enemy would know right where we are just by sending pegasi to scout us. They could outflank us at will, or attack us in a weak spot and break through. They have the numbers to do that; in the short term, they might be willing to take higher casualties if it means we get destroyed or forced to withdraw with losses of our own. Furthermore, just about everywhere after those hills is open land where they could just outflank us again. So we should do the unexpected and take the fight to them. If we fight passively, I believe we will lose. We need to be pro-active and gain an advantageous position before the enemy can."

"What about just pulling back and fortifying the depot? Like, fortifying in a circle around it?"

"That would give up any mobility we had. In fact, they could just besiege us with the majority of their force while sending a detachment to take the city that would have been our fallback position. In that case, they'd essentially have a victory, as the judges aren't going to look kindly on such an outcome."

"I was thinking we should meet up before the hills, then skirmish until we're near the depot," Shining said. "Then we would make a big fight out of it, giving ground gradually. We could offer up a small unit as bait and try to ambush them that way."

"I agree that that plan has some merit, especially on the latter point. However, where exactly would we do that? Our objective is to hold the depot first, so we would have to fight between there and the crossroads. And like I said, we won't have coverage from above. The enemy could sight us pretty easily."

"We can send pegasi as aerial pickets, or as screening forces to keep their scouts away."

"Yeah, we could. But their very presence would reveal we were relatively close."

"We can have them do their screening from way out in front. That would make them think we're closer than we are."

"I admit that has merit. Deception in war is key. But I still think we should try and make a fight prior to their reaching the fork in the road."

"What exactly do you plan on doing?"

"I intend to use my brigade to hit them while they're eating breakfast; a surprise attack at sunrise."

"That would cause a lot of 'casualties' initially, but what about when they regroup?"

"My objective wouldn't be to win outright, but to inflict losses and then withdraw before they can respond with force. And before Luna can send forces to reinforce her sister."

"So you're planning on striking Princess Celestia first? Why her?"

"I think she's the least experienced fighter between the two. And I think the need for a wake up call regarding national security is called for; you can't ward off everyone by using the Elements of harmony or with rainbow lasers. While it would be nice if every villain or threat could be redeemed, it would be a happy day for the world, to put it likely. But that's not going to happen. And Celestia needs to learn that the enemy isn't always going to play nice. Sometimes you'll get the baddie who is all too willing to impale himself on your spear, but much more likely he's going to skewer you when you aren't looking and when you're least prepared. That lesson has to be learned, especially with the ongoing insurgency in the Blackwing Clan, where the rebels aren't standing out in the open like our armies did, but are using hit and run tactics."

"I had enough of the latter when you were out east. I hated facing it. I see your point, but I'd like it if we stayed with what we were instructed to do; to defend our objectives."

"Well, look at it this way; we're defending the objective by doing damage to them. If its a surprise attack and we can inflict much more damage than we suffer ourselves, then we help our later defense when it comes to holding the depot."

"They'll know enough to have sentries and other ways of detecting you coming."

"True, but if we hit first, and hit hard, we can do some damage before they can really muster. And again, this action is meant to whittle down numbers on their side, not win outright. I intend to withdraw before they can hit back in any appreciable way."

"But what if they can hit you back before you can withdraw?" Shining asked, looking concerned. "I'd hate to lose this campaign at the very beginning."

"Hmm." James thought for a moment. "That's a possibility, but I don't think it'll happen. For one thing, nothing beats experience; for all the Princesses have read and been instructed on modern war, that's not going to prepare them enough for a real fight. I think the risk is well worth the gamble we take on it."

"I still think we should play this more defensively, being outnumbered by a third. But I think your plan has merit. I'll give it the go ahead, but I'll tell everypony whose idea it was to do this after the battle if it goes wrong."

"I suppose we'll see."

Luna looked up from viewing her map towards her two sub-commanders. "Our plan is that Our division shall take the road straight ahead. Before We arrive at the crossroads, We shall order a night sally by Our Lunar Guard. They shall scout ahead for Our force. If We find the enemy and the conditions are right, and should the scouts arrive back in time, We shall hit the defenders with a nighttime assault. We shall grind them down as much as possible before Our main force can awake and arrive at the crossroads by tomorrow morning, where we shall meet up with Our Sister's contingent and move toward the depot."

She put a hoof on the map as she finished. "Any objections?"

One of the commanders, a thestral stallion named Yellow Star, raised a hoof.

"Yes?"

"Your Highness, for the most part I support this plan. I mean no disrespect in what I am about to say."

"Then say it. We do not judge others for merely speaking their minds."

Yellow Star bowed. "Your Majesty, we may be forgetting that your sister will be forming her own plan, and that it might not align with yours. Furthermore, the enemy will be making his own plans, even outnumbered as he is, and we need to be on the alert in case he should do something like we're about to do."

Luna nodded. "Such council is not wasted; We have every intention of remaining prepared. We know Our opponents are skilled; else the recent war would not have gone so well for Us."

The other commander, a tall and brawny pegasus stallion appropriately named Big Cloud, spoke up. "Highness, I would advise waiting until we unite with the division under your sister. That way, we will outnumber them two to one and will be able to flank them out of every position they take. I don't like remaining divided from your sister's force any longer than we absolutely have to."

Luna nodded to him as well. "That thought has struck Us too. We doubt that James and Prince Armor will simply wait to be destroyed. We do not think a full-on assault likely, but We will be prepared should such an attack take place."

"What about communications with Princess Celestia? If we're going to make any plans, we should do them in concert with her," Yellow Star insisted.

"Indeed. We shall be sending correspondence throughout this exercise, via letters, fast-flying pegasi, and through these newfangled radio devices. Does that suit you?"

"Yes, Princess."

"Then to your brigades. Make ready to fulfill Our will."

"We will march as far as we safely can today and then, in the morning on the second day, link up with Luna's force coming from the North," Princess Celestia was saying. "Once that is achieved, we will have the numbers to face James and Shining Armor. We'll outflank them out of whatever positions they take, capture the depot, and move to the city. There, we'll fight the decisive battle to end the campaign." She paused. "Your thoughts?"

One of her own Royal Guard, a unicorn stallion named Rising Sun, spoke up. "I doubt it will be that easy, Your Majesty. Forgive my insolence, but I fought under James during the war. He's not a passive commander, at least not any more, and he'll do what he can to slow us down."

"I do expect we'll fight some skirmishes," Celestia admitted. "But they'll likely be nuisances, nothing that will really slow us down much."

"I must respectfully disagree, Your Highness," rasped the seal-lynx-colored earth pony to her right, a stallion named Husky. "With all due respect, the late war showed me never to discount what the enemy might do. Our defeat at Sugar Cane River was a result of negligence, and we can't allow our numbers advantage to fog our judgement."

"It's not even a numbers advantage, not until we meet up with Princess Luna," Rising Sun put in.

"Are you suggesting that James and Shining are that aggressive?" Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe not, Princess, but I'll feel safer when were a united force. Even if they aren't aggressive, they won't just wait to be destroyed."

"It would take most of a day to move from their starting location to the crossroads, and they'll likely be too exhausted for a night assault, if that's what you're thinking."

Rising Sun and Husky gave each other a glance.

"If James and Shining Armor use their full force to assault one wing of our army, the other wing can simply wrap around the crossroads and surround them. They'll have to know that possibility as well as we do," Celestia stated.

"True," Husky said. "True, but we won't know what they intend to do until contact is made. Then all plans are going to fly out the window."

"We can send pegasus scouts ahead to keep watch as our army moves forward. Will that suffice to calm your fears?"

"It would, if pegasi could see through tree leaves and branches from the air."

"Then we'll have ground scouts as well."

"Alright, but I'm still convinced that the other side is going to pull something unexpected."

"That's possible... for them and for us."

"Oh, this will be so much fun!" Pinkie Pie said, giggling as she fiddled with her gun. "There'll be paint everywhere! Even on us!"

"That's bad, Pinks," Applejack replied. "If ya get paint on ya, yer out."

"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud. It'll be fun!"

"But this whole thing is fer a very important reason, Pinkie; the defense of Equestria. This is a test, not a party."

"Oh, come on, AJ!" Rainbow Dash replied, chomping on the last bite of a hay sandwich. "We'll have ourselves a great time. It's not like these guns can kill anypony. And I for one am eager to get huntin'!"

"Just hold on, Sugarcube. We're just soldiers, under officers and such that we gotta obey; the Princesses are in command here, ya can't just do what'cha want, when ya want."

"Whatever."

"Good thing Fluttershy isn't here," Pinkie said. "She's... well, she's... delicate."

"Yeah," Applejack agreed. "Can't say ah'd be happy ta have ta shoot at her."

A whistle went up. All at once, corporals and sergeants began shouting for the troops to form up.

"Welp, that's our cue, gals," Applejack said, lifting her rifle to her withers. "Ah guess we'd better git a goin'."

"Just wait," Rainbow said, beginning to boast. "I'll bag a ton of the enemy!"

Applejack rolled her eyes, but with a slight smile.

James again rode on a caisson as it was being towed forward. The defending army was in motion, and the exercise had truly begun.

Having selected the aggressive strategy, the army was moving as fast as it could towards the crossroads. It would be there by dusk, maybe before then if the road was good.

A sudden jolt nearly unseated him.

Scratch the hope for good roads.

He began to go over the plan for the day; scouts would be sent ahead of the army. Most were pegasi, but earth ponies and unicorns with considerable stamina were also out looking for the enemy. With good scouting, the army wouldn't be caught by surprise.

A troop of unicorns was trotting by. They were all Royal Guards, strong and well-armored, rifles on their withers.

His gaze was drawn to the horns on their heads, and he asked himself a question out loud that he hadn't thought much about;

"Why haven't unicorns used their horns to charge their enemies instead of spears?"

"There are reasons why," Shining's voice came from his other side, to which James turned. "Our horns are primarily the tools in which we use magic, so physically ramming it into somepony's chest or side would jeopardize that. Even when ancient unicorns armored their horns, they found that goring somepony else with it could still cause damage. Plus, it's just icky to have to clean the blood off your head, you know."

"I see, I suppose. I just thought it natural, given that a lowered head and a charge might be more obvious than crafting something else to do it for you."

"It is obvious in hindsight, but throughout most of history unicorns have used their horns in combat to cast spells, not to spear an enemy's belly." Shining shivered. "I've seen what happens when a unicorn horn suffers damage or gets broken. The unicorn in question generally either can't cast magic at all, or suffers massive problems when doing so. Even the levitation spell, which is easy and pretty much universal among unicorns, becomes tough or impossible to cast right and ends up with some kind of uncontrollable effect, like magical electricity burning the object targeted by the spell, or it ends up zapping nearby ponies, or even the unicorn in question."

"I hope they don't have to spend all their days in some asylum just because their magic's screwed up."

"No, no, no," Shining said, shaking one hoof as he continued walking. "But for their safety they usually have to wear a metal headband over their horn that prevents magic casting."

"Is there any way to regrow or replace a damaged or destroyed horn?"

"No. Sadly, most damage to the horn is permanent. I've seen more than a few cases when unicorns tried to cast battle magic in the war with their horn busted. You don't want to know what happened." He shivered again. "I wish I didn't know, for that matter."

"Well, to change the subject, I think we have a reliable army formed out of all four pony tribes."

"Including thestrals? Yes, I'd say so. Say what you will about Lunar Guards and how spooky they can look - especially with those fangs - but they're loyal to a fault and would gladly die for Princess Luna... which doesn't happen often, given how skilled they are and how seriously they take their job."

"Some of them are going to be... tested in that devotion, namely those on our side."

"Yes, but Princess Luna ordered them to treat her as an enemy for this exercise. Nothing else was required for them to obey."

"They really love her, don't they?"

"Love in the sense of seeing her as their goddess and savior, yes. She was one of the few ponies back before her banishment who appreciated them, and one of the even fewer today who still cares for them, besides Princess Celestia of course."

"History aside, what about the rest of the army?"

"I think they're ready and eager. At least it's not a real battle with real weapons."

"Yeah, but that's the point of this; to prepare for such a battle." James looked down the road. "And we've got a ways to go before we even begin."

The wagon - and the army - continued to march toward its fate.

Author's Note

Again, my apologies on how long it takes to produce a single chapter. :twilightangry2:

I end up procrastinating or playing too many video games and get caught up in those stories that I waste time. I also often fail to know just what to write, or how to begin. This episode was originally going to be a continuation of the previous one, of James and Steel Lobby looking into war machines and designs for them before cutting back to the trial verdict. However, eventually I accepted a long thought-of idea I had been contemplating for a future story, and began it here.

Chapter 6; Negotiations and a new uniform

Chapter 6; Negotiations and a new uniform

When they came to the door, James stepped aside to let Applejack open it, which she did. They went inside.

James remembered much of the house from the show, and was glad he at least had somewhere to rest before having to do the job for which... Well, he was sure he would end up paid, even if that hadn't been discussed yet. He sat down at the table in the dining/kitchen area, taking a moment to familiarize himself with the house.

Everyone else began to disperse, as they all had things they had to attend to. Shining Armor had to go back to canterlot, as the letter had stated, while Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight al had jobs and necessities to attend to.

James continued to sit as Granny Smith came into the room, led by Applejack and Big Mac. She didn't panic at the sight of him, as he'd feared, but instead asked, "And who'r you, lil' fella?"

"Lil' fella? I'm several inches taller than you, at least. He glanced at Applejack and Big Mac, both of whom were trying to keep their faces from cracking up, and failing badly. He looked back at the elderly pony and said, "Colonel James Lavigne, Equestrian Army."

"Oh, a soldier is ya?" She asked, perking up a little. "Ah met a soldier back when ah was a little filly. Didn't get his name, mind ya, but he wasn' a bad sort." Then her face looked a bit more serious. "Cain't say much for tha uni-forms they use nowadays though."

James looked down at his clothing; it was the same he had been wearing for the past two days. "I'll have a better one soon, hopefully sometime tomorrow."

She wasn't listening to him. She had started on a long story of the "Way back when" sort about how back in her day Royal Guards had had to do this, that, and the other thing. James pretended to listen, but began to grow bored and found his head on the table with his arms folded under them as a pillow of sorts.

Finally, noticing the darkening sky outside the window, he sat up and said, "Well, look at the time, it seems like dinner may be a great idea."

That was phrased stupidly, he thought, but it had the intended effect, snapping Granny Smith out of her story and rousing Applejack (who had fallen asleep standing up) and Big Mac (who had not fallen asleep, but seemed grateful that the lecture was over).

James was going to go back to Twilight's to get his bag and gun, but a loud magic-teleportation noise interrupted his thoughts and he found his stuff waiting in the living room as though it had been there all along. He found a note saying that Twilight had teleported his stuff to the house for him; it also asked if she could come and borrow some tomorrow.

He lifted the bag and noticed that it felt lighter than he had remembered.

Ah, I had told Rarity she could borrow some of my books, that's why.

A loud bell sound told him that dinner was ready. As if my nose wasn't enough to confirm that.

It was, again, a dinner primarily made of apple products. It wasn't the best James had ever had, but it was nourishment, and Equestrian apples seemed to taste better than any in his own world. It was also a quiet dinner compared to the one before. He used the opportunity to try to think further about his training strategies, though he wasn't able to think of much. Eventually, the meal was eaten in it's entirety.

"Here, let me lead y'all to yer room," Applejack offered.

"'Thank you."

She led him upstairs as he dragged his bag behind him. They came to a small room, which the orange pony opened. "Here ya are."

"Thanks." He went to the bed and sat down. He realized he had no other clothing than that he wore as of yet, so again he would have to do without pajamas.

"Anything ah can get for ya?"

"No, but thank you. I think I'm alright with this room."

"Okay, but just holler if ya need sumthin', ya hear?"

"Yes." He opened his bag as she went back downstairs and got out one of his Civil War books and read for awhile, as he had little else to do. He slowly became tired and put the book away as sleep came as inexorably as a glacier, and laid down for a good night's rest.

James awoke to bird-song. He looked out the window and saw what appeared to be a chickadee just outside.

What a coinicidence, a Mainer and Maine's state bird meet in this foreign land...

He got up and headed downstairs. The Apple family was getting ready for the day. Apple Bloom was getting ready for school, while Applejack and Big Macintosh were preparing for work.

"Well hi-ya James! Ya hungry?" asked Applejack.

"Yes, a little."

She tossed him an apple. He ate it quickly.

"Hey, mind if ah bring ya in for show n' tell?" asked Apple Bloom eagerly.

James smiled at that. "Sorry, I've got things to do today. However, I'm sure everyone's going to hear about me soon enough."

She seemed a bit sad to hear this. "Ok..."

"Hey, chin up. I'm sure you'll think of something good to bring in for show and tell."

"She perked up a little. "Thanks James."

"No problem." No sooner had he said this than a flash of purple light appeared right before him. He jumped and fell right on his rear end as a letter took shape in front of him. He picked it up and read;

Dear James,

The engineers have arrived. Please come and meet them, so that work on the camp may begin.

Sincerely,

Twilight Sparkle.

He looked up. Already he had to get to business. He headed for the door and went outside to start the job he had been asked to do.

Shining Armor sat down at the table. So did the Princesses, and the Griffon ambassadors. They were looking rather arrogant, as always, but that alone was nothing new.

What was new was the fact that they also seemed to be almost bored, as if they thought the negotiations were a needless sideshow. One of them finally deigned to notice the Equestrian delegation. "Come on lads, let's get it over with," he said in what a human would have called a British accent.

His compatriots sat down on either side of him. The lead ambassador began by saying, "I must say, I fail to see the necessity for further talks, as it is clear that Equestria..."

He got no further before being interrupted by a French-accented companion; "I must agree. We all watch as Equestria gets all ze wealth, and all ze power, and does not give eet freely to the rest of ze nations of ze world."

The third griffon went on (with a German accent) where his companion had stopped. "Equestria has control of the sun and the moon, and the current rulers of Equestria see only fit to use that control for their own benefit, and not the world at large."

Shining snarled like a dog. However, Princess Celestia took the complaints in stride, and replied calmly. "I have had control of the sun for over a thousand years, and I have not heard of any problems as big as the ones you have sated, until now. Also, Equestria does not have 'all the wealth,' that would make trade useless. And when have we not given aid to those who need it?"

The head ambassador waved that all away, as if of no account. "The facts are there; you control the sun and the moon, and on YOUR time, not ours or anyone elses. And anyone can claim to have helped others, but the truth can be quite different. And we can see that you hold all this power, and nothing except a small number of Royal Guards to protect it, not to mention that a few months ago your capital was nearly destroyed by Changlings, who even now prepare to attack your country. Clearly this country would be better protected and administered under our rule."

Why you pigheaded... Before Shining could give his opinions for the world to hear (or at least this room), Celestia again answered her opponents calmly. "If those Changelings cross our border, they will become your problem as well. And who can say if they would stop at Equestria?"

The Griffon ambassadors looked slightly taken aback; they had not thought of this. Then the lead ambassador recovered. "That's easy enough to answer. We have an army, strong and proud. We can stop them easily enough if we have to. Equestria has only Royal Guards, and has not seen war for eons. You cannot even stop an invasion of Canterlot, which was stopped only by a lucky instance of magic which I doubt will be seen again." Clearly that "again" refered to an upcoming Griffon invasion.

"We have the power of magic, which you have considerably less of," answered Celestia. "Furthermore, I ask again; why do you complain now, and why have you not done so at any time since me and my sister accended the throne?"

The British-accented ambassador kept pace. "We have not seen either the need or the opportunity to bring it up until now. According to eyewitnesses, you, for all your power, could not defeat a mere bug, if I recall the testimony correctly."

Hey, that was uncalled for! Even as Shining thought this, he felt slightly guilty. It was my love for Cadence that lead to the Princess' defeat. And I never saw it coming. I failed in my duty.

He looked up as Princess Celestia went on, "They fooled everyone, and if we fail to stop them now, they will try to do the same to you. They managed to sneak past our Royal Guards. They may well sneak through your armies and attack your towns and cities."

Frenchy let out a squawk. "Zat ees impossible! Zey cannot fool a brave Griffon warrior! You are, ow do you say, making castles in ze midair.'

"They can, as their name implies, change shape. They could make themselves resemble any one of your warriors. They could cause all kind of havoc. Why does it seem impossible to you, noble ambassador?"

She must have a lot of self control, to compliment him while they make fun of and belittle us.

All three ambassadors loked somewhat concerned at this, but recovered quickly. "We have the example made by your, er, citizens and capital to go by, and can sniff them out if they try," the lead ambassador said. "Furthermore, our king is protected by competant guards, who are trained to defend him to the last and will kill intruders on sight. I see no major problem that could arise from a Changeling invasion, other than that a few Griffons might die and trade temporarily disrupted. Besides, Equestria has no major allies to help protect it from an invasion, from Changelings or anyone."

At the word "competent" came and went, Shining Armor grew furious. How dare they insult the Royal Guard!?! They protect the Princesses and the Country as best they can! Through his rage, Princess Celestia responded to the Griffon. "Many of the Zebra tribes feel they owe us their lives for the aid we've sent them."

This time, the French and German-accented ambassadors laughed, not bothering to hold their laughter in check. The lead ambassador did not laugh, but did appear amused. "Barbarians and nomads, no match for any civilized peoples." Again doing that annoying wave, he continued. "Certainly no match for us, or the Changelings either. And they are dirt poor, as anyone with a proper brain can see."

Princess Luna spoke for the first time, angrily; "They have more manners than you do right now."

Her sister waved a hoof, gesturing for calm. "They may not be rich in money, but in herbs they have no match, and they are culturally rich as well."

"Oh, pooh." The lead ambassador, again with the wave, brushed the Princesses comment aside. He had looked glad to hear Luna's angry statement, and Shining realized that that had been bad for relations (if any still remained as of now) and might give the Griffons a further reason for declaring war, which, although they had not done so yet, it was clear they were gearing up for it. "You waste compliments on fools and tradition-riddled shamans. Not that you have much more than that yourselves, in so far as military strength goes."

The Princess again took this calmly, although Shining Armor felt like launching himself at the lead ambassador and talking sense into him from mere inches away from his face. "If we did not have strength, we could not have kept Equestria unified, protected, and relatively strife free for over a thousand years. I fail to see the strength in your arguement, Mr. Ambassador. And we have strength enough to defend ourselves if we are attacked."

"Your performance at the Royal Wedding indicates otherwise."

The negotiations went on like this for an hour, with neither side backing down; The Equestrians kept trying to defend their arguements while attempting to indirectly attack those of their opponents, while the Griffons kept trying to bull through the Equestrians' arguements and continued to state how superior their positions were. At last, with an agreement to meet next week, both sides departed. Shining could feel a massive headache coming on.

If this is what I have to go through until the war starts, I'd rather... be somewhere else. Yes, it was a bad statement, but through his throbbing headache he could hardly think of anything better. He envied James and his training job. What I wouldn't give to be in his position right now...

James tried to remember the way to the library as he walked into Ponyville. Fortunately, the ponies in town seemed less afraid of him, though still cautious. He was still trying to come up with ideas for army training when he found himself in front of the library; for whatever reason the trip hadn't seemed to take very long.

He noticed the door was already open; he went inside and found Twilight talking to three ponies, all male. They seemed to be discussing engineering ideas when one of them heard him and turned around; one of them, a white unicorn stallion with a picture of a hacksaw and boards on his flank, cried out, "Who and what are you!?"

"Your boss, James Lavigne. I'm a human." He said it firmly; he had to establish who was in charge. "I take it you were not told exactly who I was?"

They all took a step back. A brown pony (a pegasus with a hammer and three nails for a cutie mark) then recovered his wits and said, "Forgive us sir, we did not know who you were. The Princess did not elaborate about you, she only said you would be, er, different."

She wouldn't want knowledge of my existence to spread to our enemies. He understood the reason, alright, but it was still discomforting to know that he would have to introduce himself several more times in a similar manner.

"...In any case, the camp still needs to be built. Where were you planning for it to be done, sir?" The third, blue-gray pony (earth, with a ruler and pencil cutie mark) had finally spoken up, with a slightly British accent.

Loyal to their jobs, that's good. "I have spoken to General Armor about this situation; we have decided that the clearing to the north of Ponyville will be the location of the camp."

The blue-gray pony spoke again; "Ah, good. We had discussed this possibility with Miss Sparkle, and it seems the most logical place for the construction."

Then why did you ask me about it? He realized that the question had probably been to relieve the tension as much as it had been to confirm the camp's future location. "What are we waiting for then? We have recruits coming in less than a week, and we need a fully functioning camp up and running. I'm guessing you're the assigned leaders for the engineers who are doing the construction?"

"We are indeed", said the blue-ish pony. "I am Blue Fur, and these are my companions, Mallet (here he gestured towards the pegasus) and White Streak. We, and our subordinates, are at your command. What are your orders, sir?"

James stood silent for a minute, then said "Get everyone and all the materials to the clearing, we start immediately."

"Yes sir." Blue Fur lead his companions out, and looked back. "Are you coming, sir?"

Boy, that whole "sir" business is gonna kill me. "Yeah, I'm coming." He started to follow them.

"You look like you've got a lot of work to do," Twilight said as he left.

"Yeah, I figured."

He walked out to where he and Shining Armor had chosen to set up the camp. It looked decent; there were some woods to either side, but plenty of room for a working camp and training fields. Yes, this will do nicely.

"Sir, our company has arrived with the materials."

Blue Fur's statement snapped James out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh, good. Begin setting up a barracks and a mess hall," he said, pointing out where he wanted these to be built. "We'll need them. And maybe we should set up an archery or shooting range of sorts over there," he continue, again pointing to where he wanted the construction.

Blue Fur studied the pointed-out areas, then started drawing on a sheet of paper. "Yes sir, we'll start construction immediately."

"Excellent." James looked around, his head turning slowly from left to right as he surveyed the area. Equestria really was a beautiful land. It was a shame that a war had to be fought to retain it.

He continued to stare at the countryside and the mountains in the distance for some time before a red-brown stallion came up to his side. James was startled when he started speaking; "Sir, a Miss Rarity said she would like to speak with you."

"Hmm? Ah, yes." I'd almost forgetten about the uniform I asked her to make for me. He turned his head to the stallion and said, "Please lead me to her."

'Yes sir." They went back towards the perimeter of the clearing, where, sure enough, Rarity was standing there, waiting for them.

"Ah, James, excellent. I'm happy to report that your uniform is done. If you'd follow me..." She turned and began walking away. With no other option, James followed her to Carosel Boutique.

The first thing he noticed was a curtain across one part of the boutique. He could guess what that was. Sure enough, Rarity walked over to the curtain, and using her magic, lifted it. "Voila!"

James stared. Wow, it looks just like Joshua Chamberlain's uniform. Well, almost; I lack a beard or a moustache of any kind. He stepped toward it. "May I...?"

"Of course. It's yours, darling."

James took the fancy clothing, then went into the changing room. He undressed and then put on his new clothing, and buckled on his holster. He then stepped out.

"Oh my word, darling, you look spectacular!" Rarity cried out.

"Thank you. It's your work, after all."

"Oh, you're too kind," she said, blushing slightly.

James walked in front of a mirror and studied his new look. Wow, I really do look like Chamberlain, though again, no moustache or beard whatsoever. And it fits so well, and it's comfortable. I could get used to wearing this!

As he continued to study himself, Rarity spoke up again, though she sounded much more serious than before. "'I hope you don't mind, but I read one of your books that I used to model for that uniform."

He turned his head in her direction. "That's what books are there for, to be read."

"Oh, alright. Well, I was reading the, er, Bloodiest Day, I think it was. And... I read about those horrible battles. Did... did your people really have to fight that terrible war?"

So that's why she's so upset. I should of known I would have to explain this kind of thing to someone.

He looked down, thought for a moment, then raised his head again. "I don't like it, but I believe that it was indeed necessary. Allow one state to secede at will, and they all feel that they have a right to do so whenever some little thing doesn't go their way, therefore leading to more troubles and even more bloodshed. And remember, the other side was fighting for slavery, even though that wasn't the primary reason most Northern soldiers fought."

She shivered. "Then why did the other side fight? I thought you, er, Americans were all for freedom."

"We are. Unfortunately, the beliefs of many at that time were that anyone with a black skin was inferior. To the South, it was acceptable, and part of the reason the war started was because the South thought Abraham Lincoln was going to free all the blacks and put them in positions of power over southern whites, which was a nightmarish idea for them. Other southerners fought for other reasons, such as states rights." Then sighing, he went on. "I cannot help but admire the South for holding out so long against such odds as they faced, although I detest the cause they fought for. But that war is almost 150 years past now, and we've more or less made our peace with each other. Now blacks are free to do as they please within the confines of the law, and we all salute the same flag."

She looked a little happier at that last. "That last does make me feel better about the whole thing, but it still seems a horrible ordeal to go through. And it lasted four years..." she shivered again.

James sighed. "And as much as I hate to say it, we are facing the same situation here. The Griffons want war, and they'll get it, for the purpose of conquering Equestria and oppressing it's people. And I doubt the Changlings are too happy about their defeat at the wedding. They're gonna want revenge. I don't even want to think what will happen if we fail against them. In order to protect this country's future, and that of its children, the war must be fought, and won, by us."

She shivered again. "So it's going to happen, then?"

Hey, that's my line! "Yes. I fail to see how we can avoid it." Then, tilting his hat dramatically, he continued; "We'll do our best; I can promise you that."

Rarity gave a weak smile. "I know you will."

After leaving the boutique, James would have returned to the training field, but before he could make it there, a blue/cyan blur flew infront of him, making him fall on his behind. "Hey..!"

Rainbow Dash flew right on up to him. "Hey, I thought you said you'd be up for a bronco buck today."

"Thats right, I did." Damn it, did you have to bring it up now? However, after thinking about it for a few minutes, he realized that he had little to do; Blue Fur was doing much of the designing for the camp, and the recruits would not be coming for a few days. Sighing, he said, "I suppose I'll have a go."

"Good, it's about time." She sounded annoyed that he hadn't remembered. She's such a tomboy. Without waiting for him, she flew off towards Sweet Apple Acres. He followed as best as he could.

He arrived there maybe twenty minutes later. the Apple family was already there and waiting, with Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy there standing by the corral from yesterday... along with an impatient Rainbow Dash.

"Lets go already!" she shouted as he walked up to the corral. They both walked inside. Rainbow stopped and waited as James got on her back. She didn't seem to be uncomfortable with his weight any more than Applejack had.

"Are you ready?" asked Twilight.

"Yes", they both chorused.

"Alright... 3... 2... 1... Go!"

Rainbow Dash didn't pause at the start like Applejack had; as soon as she heard the word "Go!" she sprang into action, galloping at full speed. James was barely able to hold on.

Rainbow had different tactics in her arsenal, and used them; she ran without fear of crashing into anything and would jump very high to throw him off. He managed to hold on with his legs when she tried to get him to fly over her head, but it was too close; to make matters worse, she recovered quickly from this small setback and continued her efforts. It wasn't long before he was already discombobulated, and he could feel his strength failing.

Suddenly, she gave a little jump, which caused his legs to loosen their grip on her belly; she then bucked forward, as she had before, and before he could act to stop it he was flying forward. Sheer terror gripped him; he had been afraid of heights even before this, and now he heard himself scream as he flew through the air. He could see the red side of the barn growing ever larger, and he shut his eyes...

He suddenly felt himself stop; he opened his eyes, and found to his shock that a massive red, wooden wall was in front of him. He closed his eyes again in a hurry, lowered his head and brought up his hands to cover it, as though his abrupt halt was only temporary and he would slam into the wood.

When that didn't happen, he again opened his eyes to find himself surrounded in a purple glow. Twilight's magic, he thought, and he began to calm down. He felt himself being lowered to the ground; at a few inches distance from the dirt, the magic dispursed and he fell, releasing an "oof!" as he hit. He picked himself up into a sitting position, and checked himself. To his relief nothing seemed broken, but he again felt as though his brain had been shaken around inside his skull. He again felt tired, though not nearly so much as he had after yesterday; apparently this bronco buck had been much shorter.

He looked up and saw the ponies coming toward him. Rainbow Dash was hovering with her left hoof over her mouth, while Fluttershy flew at full speed, a look of sincere worry over her face.

"Oh, are you ok?" she asked as she flew forward. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No I'm not." He got to his feet and stood up. He looked around. How on Earth did she throw me that far!?! It didn't seem all that possible; Rainbow Dash wasn't an earth pony, or a farmer for that matter, and his weight should have effectively stopped him from going anywhere near that far. "I seem to have taken quite a flight." That was mostly to confort himself, not to show off; he had been terrified during those few seconds and was glad to have gotten out of it unhurt.

He didn't seemed to have convinced everyone else. They were all looking at him intensely.

Fluttershy broke the silence. "You were afraid, weren't you?"

James looked down at the ground and released some air through his nose. After several seconds, he answered; "Yes, more than I've been in a long time." Lying wasn't in his nature, and Applejack, whose element was that of Honesty, would almost certainly detect a lie instantly.

Rainbow Dash sounded puzzled; "How are you supposed to be a good soldier if your can feel fear?"

That's the question, isn't it? He looked up. "Because courage has never been a lack of fear, but of suppressing and conquering it. Without fear, there can be no courage." He hoped he was telling th truth there; it seemed to be, to him. "If you think I wasn't afraid facing the timberwolves, you've got another thing coming. I was afraid, I admit it, but it was a matter of life and death. To freeze up would lead to my death. I had to suppress the fear, crush it while simulaneously battling the external foe. Any combat soldier who cannot be scared in a battle has something wrong with him."

Everyone seemed thoughtful as he looked around. Then James began walking away,

"Where ya goin' sugarcube?" asked Applejack.

"To prepare for war." He continued walking towards the place where the camp would be built. "I'm sorry for the quick farewell, but I must begin making preparations. I don't know how much time I'll have left to do so." As he replaced his uniform's cap upon his head, he kept thinking of all the things he had to do; make up battle strategies, discuss possible enemy invasion plans, and... logistics. He sighed in resignation as he walked to the camp; That last one would be a problem.

Chapter 18; Ice heart

Chapter 18; Ice heart

The noise of the workings inside the Changeling hive was loud even at night. The hive never truly slept, not with it's need for love and emotions was never fully satisfied. The buzz of insectile wings cut into almost everything.

Everything... except for one mind.

She got to her hooves. She walked to one of the windows, occasionally giving a groan as her damaged left wing and left hind leg made themselves known.

She looked outside, in the direction of the town that had so narrowly escaped her grasp. If not for the buffalo, the inhabitants there would have been harvested for their emotions in order to feed her starving masses.

They'll pay. They'll all pay. She gave a hungry smile. Yes, they'll all pay. Celestia, Cadence, Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle... That last thought was almost delicious. The buffalo too. Then her wing jerked in pain.

Oh yes, there was one she wanted badly, the one who had defied her and lead the forces that had played her the fool. Yes, she thought. She had a special treatment in mind for the monkey thing that had so far eluded her, that had defeated her and her subjects more than once... and who was responsible for her injuries.

Oh, yes, I have a special punishment in mind for you. She licked her lips. She hoped it wouldn't be long.

Side Chapter 3; Letter

Side Chapter 3; Letter

Dear Mom and Dad,

The war has taken a better turn since I last wrote. We now have enough soldiers and machines to fight the enemy. Unfortunately, the foe isn't keen on leaving. It's not going to be easy. The enemy has more veterans than we do, and despite their previous losses, they're well dug in. Hopefully, if all goes well, the war will be over soon, but I dare not go into detail with mail that can be intercepted.

I miss home, more than I thought I could. Don't get me wrong, I love being here, but it's not home. And I never thought that, if I ever did manage to come here, that much of my time would be spent killing and thinking up ways to kill other beings. This land was depicted as so peaceful in the show. Things are a bit different, or more than a bit. War isn't entire extinct here, as so many would believe. I've been enthusiastic about beating the snot out of people who invade other countries. In a way, I still am. But taking the life of any sapient being, even if they aren't human, isn't easy, physically, mentally, or spiritually. At the time, I brush off the feeling; it's that or die. But afterward, it hits me. Thank the Lord I am not a drinking man, or else after every battle I'd be a wreck, and risk making other people wrecks, too.

I hate this stupid war. Don't get me wrong; as I said before, I love being here, and I love this place and all the ponies... but I hate the war, and the stupid wretch who started it. Curse the Griffon King and his evil officers. But I have a war to fight. I promised I'd help, and may I be cursed before all men if I do not fulfill my oath to the fullest that I can. Too many have died to quit now.

I love you both, and I hope you both remain safe, at least until I return.

Love,

your son,

James.