Para bellum

Warfighters

Change.  Change was in the air.  The changing of the guard, the changing of the tides, the changing of the reins of state.  The world had changed and Canterlot with it.

The bright gold and purple ceremonial garb of the Royal Equestrian Army had been replaced by cold steel and matte green.  Pegasi and airships patrolled the skies and gun batteries embedded in the mountainside kept their sights elevated and their radios tuned, waiting for the calls for fire that would surely be coming.  Canterlot itself was safe for now.  But off in the distance, plumes of black smoke rose into the sky, marking the locations of downed airships and freshly-razed villages.  The war would be upon them soon enough.

The distant thunder of gunfire faded into the sound of hoofsteps on marbled stone.  Unlike the gentle, spritely steps of Celestia, these hoof falls were measured, martial, and commanding.  Gone were the soft metallic clicks of gilded horseshoes, replaced by the hard, resonating clacks of anodized steel.  The dark metal horseshoes and mantle glittered in the aetheric starlight emanating from the flowing mane of the Princess of the Night.

Princess Luna bothered little with the view from the southwest colonnade.  The casualty reports that landed on her desk daily were more than enough to draw her ire.  The smoke from burning villages and the glow of fires on the horizon were additional unwelcome reminders of the true gravity of the situation.  Ignoring the guards that saluted her at the entrance of the boardroom, Luna threw open the massive oak doors with her magic, immediately making her presence known to those at work there.

The southwest colonnade boardroom had been converted into a war room, complete with radio operators, uniformed adjutants, maps of every size and sort, and corkboards set up on stands at workstations scattered throughout the chamber.  At its core was a massive map of the Equestrian continent around which several serious-looking ponies clad in combat tunics gathered.  Those at the table looked up, immediately snapping to attention and saluting as Luna entered the room.

"As you were," Luna spoke curtly.  The other stallions immediately went back to their stations, with only one remaining at the head of the table.

The pegasus stallion had a coat of ruddy brown, accented by white feathered fetlocks and a tuft of a beard that had been allowed to grow in spite of standard REA regulations.  He was heavily built, his shoulders looking like they were cast from bronze and his facial features chiseled from solid granite.  In spite of the wrinkles on his face, the old warhorse looked as though he could still throw down with the rest of the soldiers he commanded.  The rank stars on his uniform were arranged in a pentagon, marking him as General of the Royal Equestrian Army, chieftan of the warriors that defended Equestria.

"General Ironwing," Luna said, nodding in acknowledgement as she took her place at the opposite side of the map table.

"Your Majesty," the General replied, promptly returning the nod.

The map marked the positions of REA fortifications and formations, a thin smattering of them guarding major cities across the Heartland.  Red boxes with wings were clearly marked as having bypassed the first ring of Equestrian hardpoints.  griffon airborne elements were forming the point of a spear — a spear aimed right at Canterlot.

"I trust you've reviewed the reports," the General said.

"More than I care to, General," Luna spat.  "There is only so much slaughter I can read about before I wish to visit the same upon my enemy.  If there was a way to end this war with one singular act of violence, I would do it in a heartbeat."

"Were it so easy."

Luna sniffed at the remark.  If only one singular act of violence could end this war.  But violence had started this conflict and violence would continue it.  Someone had visited violence upon Aiden Razorclaw.  The Griffons knew it and Luna knew it.  There was foul play at work in the Aquellian parliament, but she could not prove it.  That vexed Luna to no end.

"How is my sister?" she spoke instead.

"We should honestly be glad she's alive," the general replied.  "The medics say stasis is the only thing left between her and the poison."

Violence had been visited upon Princess Celestia.  Luna still seethed when she thought of it.  Who would have the audacity to strike down an Equestrian monarch?  Who would have the means to sneak something like that into the castle's food and drink supply?  Why would anyone want to strike down a leader as well-liked and well-respected as Celestia?  Luna could only guess, but her guesses all seemed to come up as griffons.

"Noted," Luna lamented.  "Things have changed a lot since Ironhoof."

Violence had been visited upon Ironhoof.  The northern town had been a bustling seaside trade hub for Equestria and a popular stopover for  along the Talonopolis-Stalliongrad trade spine.  One day, not long after the Fall of Celestia, Ironhoof had vanished.  No mail, no couriers, no radiotelephone transmissions.  The REA platoon deployed to investigate found nothing but ashes.  The entire town had been burned to the ground.  Again, blame had fallen upon Aquellia and the new captain of the ship of state Valerian Titanclaw.

"That's putting it lightly," the General chuckled ironically.  "The world has gone to Tartarus in a saddlebag.  Ironhoof was just the beginning.  We all knew that.  But even I wasn't expecting Stalliongrad."

Luna visibly bristled.  Violence had been visited upon Stalliongrad, along with a healthy dose of deception.  "The Stalliongrad Accords were supposed to restore peace between Equestria and Aquellia.  We all know how that went..."

Luna would be the first to admit that her reception of Valerian Titanclaw was lukewarm at best, but she tried her hardest to keep the accords at the forefront of the discussion.  She had a country to run and Equestria was counting on her not to let her emotions get the better of her.  But Valerian was as shrewd as he was zealous.  The griffon could talk in circles, something that infuriated Luna to no end.  The first day's talks had been fruitless and both parties had retired that night to rest and prepare for another round of discussions.

"Of course, I would be lying if I said I never wished it upon him," the princess scowled as she recounted the events in her head.

In the wee hours of morning, shortly before the next set of talks were scheduled to begin, an attempt was made on Valerian's life.  Though he managed to escape with his life, the incident sparked a scandal that even now reverberated throughout Equestria and Aquellia.  Every bit of evidence seemed to implicate Equestria and the Luna administration.  Obviously, no such order had been given, but the damage was already done.  The assassination attempt made the Aquellian Prime Minister out to be the victim and the Princess of the Night an incompetent autocrat.  Valerian had returned to Aquellia that afternoon, leaving a harsh warning of retaliation should the "Lunar Tyrant" decide to press her luck.

"Nopony was expecting Stalliongrad, Princess," Ironwing replied.  "Just like nopony was expecting the Aquellian Blitz."

Luna had decried the initial incursion into Equestrian territory, calling for emergency meetings to halt hostilities.  But by then it was too late.  The radiotelephone channels had fallen silent and the fleets were already in motion.  Equestria was at war.

"What happened?  How did all of this get so far out of control?" Luna wondered out loud.

"I can't answer that question right now, your majesty," Ironwing said flatly.  "There was a lot that went wrong."

Valerian was responsible for this, somehow.  Luna was sure of it.  Remove Valerian from the equation and the scales of power would fall back into balance.  Luna shook her head and sighed.  Though not as versed in statecraft as her sister, Luna still knew enough to understand that killing Valerian would neither stop the war nor bring Celestia back.  She would have to find another way.

"What of the Elements of Harmony?"  Luna asked.

"The element bearers and the elements themselves have been relocated to Canterlot Castle in an effort to keep them out of griffon claws," the General replied.

Luna nodded, sighing softly in relief.  Earlier that week there had been some uncertainty as to the status and location of the Element Bearers.  Knowing that Twilight Sparkle and her friends were safely sequestered in Canterlot was the first good news Luna had heard in a while.  Letting them fall into griffon claws would have been a costly blow to the Equestrian war effort in both morale and materiel.

"Could we not use them to destroy the Aquellian Armada?"  Though Luna knew what the answer would be, she had to ask nonetheless.

"I understand that you want to end this conflict quickly, Princess, but the Element Bearers are normal ponies, not soldiers.  You cannot expect them to perform like soldiers when confronted with actual combat," the General replied promptly.  "In addition, it ruins our prospects for future diplomacy if we decide to use what will surely be percieved as a weapon of mass destruction against the griffons."

The General's reply gave Luna pause.  Even with a war on his hooves, General Ironwing still thought of peace?  Despite her long lifetime, Luna had always been the more hardheaded of the two sisters, resorting to force and intimidation in stark contrast to Celestia's patience and diplomacy.  Luna bowed her head and closed her eyes.

"You believe there is still hope for peace, General?" Luna muttered quietly.

The General's tone softened, causing Luna to look up from her personal lamentation.  "I always have hope for peace, princess..."

With a deep breath, Luna forced composure upon herself.  As much as she appreciated the General's undying support, losing her head, especially in wartime, was unbecoming of a princess.  There was still hope.  There was still an Equestria worth fighting for and Luna had to put her all into it if she hoped to lead her people to victory.

"... but I don't delude myself with how fast or how easily it can be obtained.  This will get much worse before it gets better," the General finished.

Luna managed a wan smile.  Celestia had often spoken of General Ironwing, particularly of his frankness.  Honesty was a quality that Luna appreciated, even if sometimes the truth was ugly.  She could work with this.

"I understand, General.  Now I'm sure you called me here for more than just a chat.  What needs done?"

"We don't have the numbers or the firepower to win a stand up fight, not right now, at least.  We'll need to be clever, unconventional.  But in order to do that, we'll need some very unconventional warfighters."

"I'm listening."

The general reached for his folio, sliding it along the edge of the table.  The folder came to rest immediately in front of Luna, conveniently opening up to reveal a set of dossiers for six ponies in particular.  Picking up the dossiers with her magic, Luna quickly leafed through them.  Officer, soldier, spy, aviator, mage, knight.  All the cream of the crop of their respective units.

"I call it Task Force Tacitus," Ironwing added.  "They will be my premier unconventional warfare unit."

"You'll have your ponies, General," Luna assured.  "I'll have them transferred to your command, effective immediately."

"We won't disappoint you, Princess."  Ironwing clicked his hooves together, raising his front right hoof in salute.

"Good," Luna said, returning the salute.  "I'll leave you to it, General.  You have a war to win."