Equestria At War - The Austral Protectorate

Baltimare, a bedrock of communist, anarchist, syndicalist, and socialist mobilization, was always supposed to be the envy of many cities in Equestria. Even Manehattan would be envious of the port of Baltimare, but sadly, today it is a literal shell of what it used to be. Bombing, raiding, and the siege of it has withered it away to a mere shadow of what glory it had.

It was barely even a real city anymore, its shape was gutted, its population was mangled, and it's glorious port broken from the naval invasion. The sky was too cloudy now, it was always raining, making the rubble inside of it harder and harder to clean. It's dream to be the capital of the new revolution has been dashed aside. All it earned was damnation for its resistance.

Foolish Ponies. Thought Hanx, the changeling captain of the guard. They resisted too much. All they earned was a shattered home. He was buzzing over the heavy air, equipped with only his gun and uniform, he was only glad that he was near the operation building for his duties.

"Oh- Morning, Captain!" One of the guards said, a changeling with yellowish eyes, who seems to be giggling with every second he isn't talking. "Hope the emergency meeting with the Protector went well!" At the very least he gave a salute, showing some respect for the captain.

Hanx landed down, waving off the salute as he rolled his eyes. "It went better than expected since SHE got involved..." Hanx gave an accusatory side-glare to the yellow eyed changeling. "You didn't tell her about the meeting, Tarsus. Right?"

Tarsus looked to the side, covering his mouth with his holed-filled hoof. "I dunno, she sorta kinda threatened to cut me open if I didn't say anything..."

"For the love of- Get it together dude." Hanx demeanor and tone went from professional to downright brotherly. "If you keep letting her push you around, she's going to keep demanding more stuff. Remember, even if she isn't one of the Queen's Guards anymore, she is still as annoying as them"

The yellow eyed changeling looked around, trying to spot any of the Queen's Guards around, before sighing as he nodded. "Yes I know that. What I'm scared of is her actually committing to her threats. She's the type of person to get away with it." Tarsus kicked at the dirt, grumbling. "Though we should probably stop talking and lift the curfew... Pretty sure it's 5 AM now."

The sky was too damn cloudy to tell what time it was anymore, but Hanx trusted Tarsus more than enough to believe him. "Speaking of lifting the curfew, the Protector has a plan."

"And that'll be?" Tarsus asked, staring in curiosity.

"Collaboration." Hanx paused, only to be met with a confused Tarsus. "Not between us and the Queen's Guard, don't worry your head. He wants to see if any of the ponies want to... Help us get this manure-filled city back on the right road."

Tarsus squinted, before smiling as he had an idea. "Oh I may have somepony in miiiind.. Somepony who is loose with his politics, loose with his methods, and loose with who is allied with... That somepony is-"

"DEAD?! HOW'D SHE DIE?!" Tarsus shouted at one of the Queen's Guard, who was simply glancing at him with indifference. "She was literally one of the only ponies who was SUPPORTIVE of us when we were busy fighting the BATS! HOW'D SHE DIE!?"

"I don't know." The Queen's Guard answered as he stared up at a mare's corpse. "But she's a pony, so who cares?"

The mare swayed in the air by her neck, the rope was tightly gripping her throat, it was a clear struggle took place to have her hanged with all the scratching and bruises around her body. Tarsus looked livid, Hanx looked more professionally disgruntled. "I CARE!" Tarsus shouted, before Hanx placed a hoof on his mouth.

The Queen's Guard glared at Tarsus, before looking at Hanx. "Oh, Hauptmann, didn't notice you there. Why did you want a pony? Are you trying to get a supply of love for only yourself or something?"

"No, I was trying to do my job and control the population." Hanx stared up at the corpse as he said. "Not killing them for reasons that you don't even know. Take this body down and burn it."

"Bury it!" Tarsus tried to intervene with the body's fate, though all that earned was a roll of the eyes from Queen's Guard. "Next time don't interfere with our jobs! We're supposed to control the city, not you-"

"Enough, Tarsus." Hanx glared at him, before watching the Queen's Guard cut the body down, before dragging it through the street. Hanx grumbled to himself, What in the world am I going to do now? Fucking Queen's Guards...

Tarsus was not pleased either. "By Chrysalis, why are we even allowing them to 'help' us anyways?" He said with spite.

"Because they are the few that answered our call for help..." Hanx grumbled further. "And we lack the numbers to actually control the city by ourselves."

"...So what now?" The yellow eyed changeling said as he was staring down.

"Now we go for another try... A more... Indirect threat." Hanx said as he was figuring out a plan. "Tarsus, gather up all some of the ponies that you think are... Leaders, and make sure to grab their foals too."

The city hall, still with the revolutionary banners and propaganda plastered on it, was now filled with a ton of ponies, all looking unclean and grumpy. The old ones looked like they are barely staying awake, the young ones looked like they are filled with malice, and the really young ones barely knew what was going on.

The air was thick with anticipation, a sickening feeling in the stomach of everypony in the hall. Fears of a mass massacre, a purge, a vile execution of the masses was within everypony's head. That fear grew tenfold when the changeling soldiers fiddled with their guns, glancing with nonchalance at the terrified ponies.

Great, good job, GREAT JOB CIDER BREW, LOOK AT WHAT RUNNING FROM THE WAR GOT YOU IN! Cider Brew thought to himself. He was a green unicorn, he was cleaner than most of the other ponies around... And sadly he was still amongst them in the hall. They are going to shoot us, I JUST KNOW IT! I need to get out- Come on, think of a plan!

Before the pony can panic himself out of the hall, the changelings soldiers started to salute, shouting something strange in Griffon-Tongue, before all eyes were aimed towards one place.

A changeling with a military officer's hat stared down at the ponies, hissing a tiny bit as he seemed disgusted with them. The yellow eyed changeling stood next to him, speaking in Griffon-Tongue right next to him, before the changeling finally spoke to the crowd.

"So. Politicians." He spat that word, glaring downward at the ponies. "Or anarchists, or communists, or whatever made up fantasy you worthless friendship loving snacks want to call yourself. I am captain of the guard, you shall call me Hanx." He adjusted his hat a bit, as he leaned back to appear more imperial-like. "I have come to inform you of a new policy."

"More food?" One of the children said, as the speaking changeling looked a bit baffled.

"Oh! Are we going to have a pizza party?"

"Can we have pies?"

"We'd love pies!"

Hanx stomped downward as he shushed the room with a hiss. Soon he regained his composure as he stared at the children. "The new policy is three fold. Every foal in this city will be placed in education camps." the changeling said, though he was soon interrupted by protests from the ponies, which was only silenced as some of the changelings aimed their guns at them.

"Better now? Shut up and let me continue, or I'll have one of you shoot the other one." Hanx hissed some more. "The schooling will be provided to the foals to keep them away from the work camps. Unless you wish for them to be shackled far away from you."

Silence was in the air, it earned a smile from Hanx, even if he can smell the misery. "I have not only gathered you here for this news. I have gathered you hear to inform you of something else. About the weather. It's fucking shit."

The parents in the crowds covered their children's ears, glaring at the changeling, as if saying swears was more problematic than being forced into a group via gun point. Hanx didn't care, pointing his hoof at one of the pegasi.

Cider Brew was listening very quietly, but soon enough he was slowly inching his way out of the crowd, sweating bullets with every word coming from the changeling's mouth. Soon enough he was glancing around, noticing something.

One of the doors was left open. Perhaps to let in air? Sure it does have two changeling around it, but they looked dreadfully bored, one of them was literally chewing at their gun's barrel for no reason! This was his chance to escape! HE NEEDS TO TAKE IT!

He started whistling as he started to take a step, before taking another, and another, before finally finding himself between the changelings, and then-

"HEY!" Hanx interrupted his own speech as he pointed at the unicorn, as suddenly all the changeling stumbled to turn and face them. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"

Cider Brew did what he did best. Hoof it out of there as fast as his legs can let him. He didn't slow down as a barrage of bullets barely missed him, using the rubble around as he was nearly out and then... Bumping into somepony... Or someling. He slammed into the floor, coughing a bit.

What he heard was something said in Griffon-Tongue, as he stared up to see a short changeling, with a horrible looking wound on her hoof, looking like a claw. "What? Don't know Herzlander? I said what are you doing? Rebuilding efforts are NOT in this side of the city yet." She spoke down at him.

Before he can make any excused, and just as he was standing up, he was pushed right back down into the rubble, groaning as he scratched his body on the rocks. The two changelings kept him on the floor, as he prayed to anyone that listened. "Oh great, another prisoner. Bring him along, I'm going to the prison anyways."

"WAIT WAIT! I WAS JUST GOING FOR A LEAK!" Cider Brew tried to make his excuses, but he had no more chances, he couldn't escape this fate. He couldn't run away from the prison. I should have just left for MARELAND! He kicked himself as he was dragged off.

"That was a fucking big mess." Hanx complained to Tarsus, "The plan to keep their children hostage with a school seemed fine, but thinking about it now, what the fuck was I thinking?"

Tarsus stared awkwardly at Hanx, never hearing him curse this much. "Atleast the three tribe strategy seemed well. The weather should be more clear, and we should have food supply for the ponies." Tarsus tried to cheer Hanx up, but he can see that's a losing battle.

"I don't trust the unicorns, Tarsus." Hanx cleared himself a bit, trying to calm down. "One of them tried to run away, and what did the people under my authority do? LET HIM WALK OUT THE FUCKING DOOR!"

"I mean, we didn't really give our guards much of a chance to... Sleep." Tarsus tried to explain.

"I... Get that." Hanx relented, sighing. "Fine. It has been a month since the war, and fighting a war to get a city is much difference than holding the city..." He looked at the tattered communists propaganda posters, as he ripped some of them down. He stared down at them. "But we're going to hold this city even if we die from it."

"Sure. Just let's leave the dying part for someling else, okay?" Tarsus patted at Hanx back, as he stared down at the posters. "Wouldn't want our comrades to die now."

Hanx squinted at Tarsus, before chuckling. "Yeah yeah, shut up." He rolled his eyes as he started to buzz his wings, hovering a bit. "I should head back to the Protector and explain the new plan we came up with. Hope he can get the Queen's Guard to atleast agree with half of it. Keep up the work, Tarsus, don't be afraid to be harsh on the ponies."

Soon enough Hanx flew off, as Tarsus smiled, before slowly sighing, his eyes staring at the tattered posters again. "We're going to die in this city, aren't we?"