Chapter 9: Ponyville Preparations
DATE: 21 Secundus, 1002 C.S.
It was morning, on the fields near the town. Today, I was starting the Town's Militia. As with the Rangers, I started with one Squad.
Mac volunteered right away.
So did several others.
I selected Golden Harvest to be the Town's militia leader.
K: "Okay.. ah.. can I call you Harv?" I tilted my head at her.
Golden Harvest: "Oh! Uh.. sure." She shrugged.
K: "Alright. Well. Harv is close to a common human name - Harvey - so, you know.. it clicks in the ol' Monkey Brain." I smiled to her.
Lyra: "Mm.. trus' meh, Goldie. He knows what he's doin' well enough." She piped in with a vote of confidence.
Golden Harvest: "So, what exactly is my job?" She tilted her head.
K: "Well, I understand you're usually the co-ordinator for Winter Wrap-Up. So, you're the Unit's Commander. We'll call you a Captain for starters - in human tongue, Captain evolved from the word Centurion, or, Leader of 100.. which became the basis for a Company.. which is what we're going to train." I explained.
The Rangers were with me.. what ones I had. Derpy, Cheerilee, Sweetheart, Scratch, Lyra, and Bon-Bon. Berry had.. basically quit, and Octavia was injured.
Derpy: "We'll be helping, too, Goldie." She nodded. "We've trained a lot since K first taught us."
It's been about a month since my encounter with Lyra and the education about the past. In that time, I'd perfected a new weapon design based off of something I'd seen shotgun competitors from south-east asia use. A shotgun tube magazine that ejects from the receiver, to all but eliminate the time needed to reload the weapon. To make it fit for ponies, I had to reverse the normal method of operation, though, and put the tube on top. For ergonomic reasons, it had to be a semi-automatic.
I intended this to be used in close quarters, security situations, and the like. The caliber was 18.5mm or 12 Gauge, and the shells were 3-inch Magnum. Due to a lack of plastics, the shells had to be copper-washed brass. However, they did have something akin to Bakelite, so I was able to use something similar to a "Flite Control Wad" made by Federal Ammunition.
This gave my rendition of a Shot Shell load, about a 60 meter effective range. The shells were filled with #1 Buck Shot, or pellets of 0.30"/7.62mm diameter, and each brass shell held 24 40-grain/2.6-gram pellets. We also had Slugs, and Sabot Shells with 8-gram 9mm rifle projectiles in them. These could easily reach 120 meters.
K: "Harv, even though you're an Officer, you need to learn the same as the rest of the troops." I nodded to her. "That way, when you issue orders, you understand from their perspective, what they can and can't accomplish." I shrugged. "In the human world, someone being raised from Enlisted to Officer ranks, oddly enough, is called being a Mustang."
Golden Harvest: "Ooo!" She giggled. "That kinda sounds fun."
K: "Eh.. it means more hard work. Though, in the last year, I've learned you all don't mind hard work." I nodded. "Mac, Caramel, Cherry Coke, Noteworthy, Meadow Song, you'll all be Squad Leaders." I pointed to them. "For the time being, you're all one squad and Harv is your Squad Leader. When we're done training, you're going to take what I've taught you, recruit five others you know and trust for your own Squads, and teach them. Harv, same for you, but you need to pick people for your Command Staff. You'll need a Quartermaster in charge of equipment, a Messenger for Communications, a trained senior Company Medic, an Intelligence Clerk to assist with planning, and a Company Armorer to also assist the Quartermaster. But! If the need is there, they must also know how to function as a combat squad."
Noteworthy: "Alright. So.. how do we start?" He tilted his head.
K: "Rifle training and pistol training. Weapons safety and familiarity come first. You're all in good physical condition - most military training starts with that, and to be honest, you don't need it. After the weapons training, we will do a day of establishing phyiscal standards, so, if you DO find a pony that's worthy of being in the Militia, but needs a little extra help in the physical department, you know what to do. After that, some example obstacle courses. Then, weapons tactics - taking cover, moving, that sort of thing. Then, a couple days of example missions and objectives, so you understand what it's like to work under pressure." I nodded to each of them.
Meadow Song: "Sounds fine!" He nodded.
K: "The last day is essentially a live fire exercise. We'll take the train out halfway to Manehattan, and you'll have an established objective to take as a Squad. Derpy and the Rangers will assist.. the last exercise will involve using live weapons against simulated targets. Probably fruit or something." I nodded and pointed to them as I spoke. "If there's something wrong, or we have an accident, we have Nurse Sweetheart. Something else comes up? Well, you'll be somewhat trained at that point.." I looked at Derpy. "..the Rangers' final exam was a rescue mission." Then back to them. "Once you're all taught the basics, you'll need to take your own squads, run them through the same thing, then practice each step. Say, three days in a row of Obstacle Courses, take a break, then three of field exercises in tactical movement. Make sure you go over all of these things I'm about to teach you, until your Militia can function and act almost without having to think. The more they can do by instinct, the faster they can accomplish their missions, the lower the chance of them getting hurt. Got it?"
Cherry Coke: "Makes sense, K." He nodded. "So, we can focus our training on the areas our squads need the most help, instead of one huge generalized training."
K: "Exactly!" I clapped once, and pointed at him. "Your Squad is your responsibility. As Squad Leaders, you need to make sure they have all the gear they need, their weapons are in good order, and they're as trained as they can be. If there's ever a conflict - two Squads wanting to do the same thing on the same day.. make it a competition! Sport!" I nodded to them.
Mac: "Mm.. good thinkin'." He nodded to me. "Lil' competition's a good thing."
K: "And don't forget, you DO get paid for this, as well. But, that pay is compensation for your time - don't feel you need to get things for your Squad with that. Alright. Now. Let's start." I gestured to the weapon table.
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: Field Days
DATE: 27 Secundus, 1002 C.S.
We were out in the training field, about half a day's march from Ponyville. We would be bivouacking in the field tonight, and catch the train tomorrow to our final objective. It's noon - we've just arrived.
K: "Alright.. now, it gets harder. Before we can eat lunch, we need to take those buildings over there." I pointed to the three.. well, they're not actually buildings.
What I'd constructed out here were knee-high frames of buildings, with tall pegs so slats could be slipped between them, allowing the houses to be reconfigured. It gave them the illusion of a structure, and gave the observer a clear view.
Golden Harvest: "Quick drink, everyone, and advance on me." She nodded, and hefted her (unloaded, magazine-less) Sherman.
I watched her work them out. She split into two fire teams, and each took one of the two front buildings. They made the motions of breaching and clearing each room in turn. As I observed, they were making good progress. They had the basics down, and they were being more attentive.
Excellent.
After clearing the two front houses, she had Mac's fire team go around to the rear of the third and final house, while her fire team went to the front. With enthuseasim, they breached both sides at once, and cleared each room like carving up a large pie.
Derpy: "She's good at this." She nodded.
K: "She knows how to maintain order." I smiled a bit. "Doing this in winter just adds to the realism, really.. adverse weather conditions? Yeah. They're all learning how hard it can be to do this in bad weather."
Derpy: "It makes me wonder.. since we can control weather like we do, should we intentionally train in really bad weather, so we're really good at it, and the enemy isn't?" She tilted her lazy eye towards me.
K: "Might be a good idea. Your Rangers are part of the Ponyville Militia, bring it up to her." I nodded. "Now, go make sure our surprise is set up, okay?" I patted her mane.
Twenty minutes later, the group was done with the 'raid' and were clearing a fire circle to have some hot chow. I was sitting off by myself with Cheerilee..
K: "You keep watching that red flank like that, your eyes are going to bug out." I said, idly, catching her staring at Big Mac like.. well.. a big mac.
Cheerilee: "OH!" She blushed. "Ah-ahh-ahh.. didn't think anyone'd notice?" She flopped to her haunches, and rubbed the back of her head.
K: "Couldn't be more obvious, Cheerilee." I shrugged. "Ehh.. maybe you should think about asking him out some time."
Cheerilee: "Eh.. ma-maybe during the summer.. ahh." She stammered.
K: "Cheerilee." I turned to face her. "Don't let perfect get in the way of good. And don't let a chance like this, escape you." I nodded to her. "I shot my shot with Applejack.. granted, she was doing the shooting at first, but.." I shook my head. "..I'm the one who took it from just one night to.. what we have, now."
Cheerilee: "Ah.. you're.. probably right." She nodded a bit.
K: "Eh. It's what I did with my human wife, too. I saw an opening, and I went for it." I shrugged.
Cheerilee: "You've spoken about her a lot.." She trailed off.
K: "We're soulmates. At least in that world." I shrugged. "Point is, if you don't make a play, you'll never get even a chance to find out if it's real.." I sighed.
Cheerilee: "Thanks, K." She nodded firmly. "You're a good friend."
K: "I try." I smiled.
After lunch, the practice squad went through several example problems that an infantry squad might encounter in the field. How to overrun a position. The best way to flank a fixed opponent. How to FIX an opponent into place. How to give volume fire by squad, to cover another squad's advance (the Rangers played the part of the other squad).
At the end of each of these, I gave them all distilled information about the lessons each problem should teach, and why they're important. What the function of Infantry is, versus Rangers. For the time being, these were the two elements to my Army.
I needed to make more, but first, I needed to learn while teaching. I needed to know their strengths and weaknesses. I was, originally, just going to train infantry units. Generalists that could do just abotu anything asked of them, and pick only the best and smartest from multiple units to engage in special operations.
No, Derpy and the girls in her team showed me that I could make Specialist units. I could raise a proper army with all of the little niche jobs. I just needed the technology, equipment, and talent to make that happen. And talent was easy to come by, here.
Golden Harvest was showing me that.
Despite not having Cutie Marks for it, her Squad was operating as a team already. They were better at this than human infantry, and seemed to have an instinct for cooperation. Given that they were a herd-based species, this made sense. I didn't have to instill a sense of family or togetherness into them, they had that already. They were all in good physical shape, too, so they didn't need much in THAT sense, either.
No, they just needed the educational tools to do the job and do it right. They then needed to internalize those tools, and teach them to others. They could do this, and adapt to the challenges of each soldier under them. Not like the U.S. Army and its constant issues with bureaucracy, no, this Army could train as it needed to, and excel, with constantly polished skills.
Professionalism. They had it.
Never mind the fact that we also had a Navy being built. Simple 1850's iron-reinforced-wood-hulled warships with naval cannon. The ships themselves weren't terribly different from what Equestria already built, save that they were intended for longer ranges, and had to have both steam and sail power...
..but, that was a matter for another time.
That evening, we were around the smallish fire circle together, both Squads, sharing a meal.
K: "I want to know something." I looked at them.
Caramel: "Sure, K." He nodded to me, handing me a bowl of oats with some berries in it.
K: "I want to know the reasons each one of you is ready to fight." I looked them over.
Derpy: "All of us..?" She tilted her head.
K: "All of you." I nodded. "Harv?" I voluntold her to go first.
Golden Harvest: "I.." She paused a long moment, chewed her hay, and thought. "..I'm here because of my friends." She nodded, finally. "If.. Tirek or whomever.. comes to Ponyville, I don't want to be powerless and afraid." She sighed a bit. "I'm not.. trying to insult your Marefriend or anything, K, but they're only one force. What if they're not around?" She nodded to me, with surety.
K: "Interesting." I looked to Mac. "Your turn."
Mac: "..Applebloom." He cleared his throat a bit. "I gotta protect my little sister. Can't let anyone hurt her." He wanted to glare at me, I could tell, but he shook his head. "Other sister's already got someone." He smiled, but just a little.
K: "Kinda expected that." I looked at Derpy. "And you?"
Derpy: "I.. I love being a mailpony." She sighed, happily. "It brings friends together over long distances. I'm vital to friends remaining friends. But.." She lowered her head a bit. "..when you came, I realized there might be those out there who want to end those friendships. Hurt ponies. Destroy." She frowned a little. "I can't let that happen. And.. I'm apparently pretty good at it." She smiled.
K: "Okay." I nodded to Caramel. "What about you?"
Caramel: "I'll be honest. I thought this was going to be just a fun nature hike sorta thing. But.. after the last few days.. I'm not so sure. I realize there's danger out there, now. And.. I can't stop myself from wanting to protect people from it." He nodded firmly.
K: "I see." I shrugged, and nodded to Vy.
Vinyl Scratch: "I came because of Octavia.." She lowered her head, and actually took off her shades. "..and I'm staying because of her, too. She's wounded. She can't do this any more. I.. I gotta be there for her." She kinda hugged herself. "Never really been close to my family.. she's the first one I've felt really cose TO." She shook her head, and smiled with a laugh. "If I don't..!? Tirek will have us DJ'ing from a dungeon or something!"
K: "Hahh.. yeah." I nodded a bit, and looked at Lyra. "What about you?"
Lyra Heartstrings: "Ah'll be honest. Ah'm here because this's an a'venture. Ah've a feelin' ah'm gonna get a lotta questions an'ser'd. Questions ah've had since I were a Filly." She looked at everyone. "Aye, an' if that means savin' yer flanks tae do it, I'll do it." She smiled.
K: "Yeah, you showed me some of those questions." I nodded. "Bon-Bon?"
Bon-Bon: "..I'm here to keep Lyra safe." She blushed. "We're.. ah.. kinda.." And cleared her throat. "..I'm not going to let anything happen to her or anyone else." She said, fiercely.
K: "Cherry?" I nodded to him.
Cherry Coke: "I'm here because Caramel's my friend." He shrugged. "If he's coming out here to help protect everyone, I should be here, too." He patted Caramel on the shoulder. "We've been buds since school." He shook his head. "I won't let him get hurt and be all alone out here."
K: "Noble." I nodded a bit. "Noteworthy?"
Noteworthy: "I've just started a family." He smiled. "I want my babies to grow up in a world at peace. I love music, I love making music, but I won't.. can't.. imagine a world without it. And if I don't do my part, I'm afraid I'll have neither." He nodded slowly. "I could lose everything important to me."
K: "Ah, yes. Family." I nodded with a smile. "Cheerilee?" I nodded to her.
Cheerilee: "Well.. my students." She blushed a bit. "I'm a teacher, ya know? So.. someone has to keep them safe." She sighed happily. "And I've done that once already, and I felt so GOOD about it!" She looked at the new soldiers. "You'll feel it too.. I mean, I hope you don't have to.. but if it happens, you're going to feel better than you ever have before." She nodded.
K: "Ahh.. yes." I nodded. "Meadow?"
Meadow Song: "I have a lot of jobs." He shrugged. "Hay delivery, hauling gear for the Orchestra.. singing." He nodded with a small smile. "I'm mainly with the Orchestra, you know." A shrug. "Octavia showed us what it means to have courage. And that there's danger out there. I can't.. I can't just do my jobs and not think about it. Like Golden said, I don't want to feel powerless. I want to be able to do something."
K: "I see." I turned to Sweetheart last.
Nurse Sweetheart: "...I...." She trailed off. "I know everyone expects me to say 'because I'm a nurse and you will need my help' but.." She looked right at me. "It's you, K." She nodded firmly. "Something inside me says I need to be near you. I.. I don't understand what it is, either, but.. I will be in your orbit. I have to be." She looked at Cheerilee. "You can't tell me you don't kinda feel the same thing!"
Cheerilee: "Ah.." She trailed off, then shrugged.
K: "Huh." I nodded. "Well, let's hope the answers can be had without too much blood paid as the price, eh?" I tilted my head.
Caramel: "That's why we're here, K." He nodded. "To learn."
They had all the makings of excellent soliders. Just one more set of lessons to learn..
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Surprise
DATE: 27 Secundus, 1002 C.S.
Early in the morning. I was awoken by Derpy.. the plan was in place. A full day's exercises, simulating a warfare scenario against a near-peer opponent.
The opening?
Derpy and Cheerilee moved off to the woods, and after a moment, fired off a magazine each into the dirt (facing away from the encampment).
K: "UNDER FIRE! UNDER FIRE! GET UP! GET UP!" I called to Golden's squad. "RETURN FIRE, TO THE WOODS! ONE MAGAZINE, AND BREAK CONTACT!"
Noteworthy: "OVER THERE!" He pointed at two of my fake targets, with yellow flags on them.
Then, the firecrackers went off, simulating those targets firing back at them.
Cherry Coke: "COVERING! GET TO YOUR RIFLES!" He drew his Lee and fired carefully at each of the yellow flags.
Mac: "HERE!" He passed them out quickly.
Golden Harvest: "NO! ADVANCE AND BREAK THEM! MAC! NOTE! FLANK RIGHT! CHERRY! MEADOW! LEFT!" She pulled Caramel next to her. "YOU AND ME! COVERING FIRE!"
I watched them flank the targets, then one pony from each of the flanking elements scored a hit on the 'kill targets' - Watermelons placed behind pine boards.
K: "ENEMY DOWN!" I called out.
Golden Harvest: "REGROUP ON ME!" She called.
Derpy: "Goldie! Enemy troops are advancing through the wooded patch, here! They've got an outpost at the base of the rocky hill, two kilometers east!" She reported in, her 'scouting report' to Golden Harvest.
K: "Very good, Harv. We'll hold the base camp, advance and eliminate the enemy force." I called to Golden Harvest.
Golden Harvest: "Yes, sir!" She nodded. "Alright, Squad, let's move! Check your ammo, prepare to counter attack!"
I sat down by Derpy, who offered me a hunk of melon.
K: "I dare say, she might just have it." I nodded.
Derpy: "Mmm. We'll see." She narrowed her eyes with a grin.
K: "She saw an advantage.. and she took it instead of blindly following orders. She can think." I smiled a bit, and tossed the rind after I was done eating.
I observed them as they moved through the woods, always remaining in their back quarter, observing each order given, each movement. I could see they were doing well. They took down each placed target one at a time, advanced, took ground, and held it.
Even against my "surprise counter attack" in a couple of places, with firecrackers and pop-up cantaloupe targets.
When they got to the "enemy base camp" at the foot of the hill, they elected to engage from long range, and cleansed the target area as best they could before advancing. By the time they got there, they were moving fluidly, like a single cohesive organism.
Ponies being quick studies.. it helped.
I came up behind them after they secured the Base Camp, and noted that every "Fruit Soldier" had been eliminated. It was.. strangely gratefying to know they could pull this off.
K: "Nicely done, Squad Leader." I nodded to her. "Now, then. What have you found?"
Golden Harvest: "The enemy team here is part of a larger force. They have some facilities in the hills, here, and are planning an attack on the town." She shrugged. "To be honest, I don't think we can take all of them."
K: "Buuut..?" I leaned into her.
Golden Harvest: "If the Rangers can take some of these objectives, we can take the rest. Deprive the enemy of supplies, destroy the bridges, and cut off their reinforcements." She nodded. "That.. that would buy time for the Royal Guard to get here, wouldn't it?"
K: "Gonna have to gamble on that one.. Captain." I said, finally paying her, her due, as Derpy and her team came up.
She got the message.
Golden Harvest: "Derpy." She called her over. "I need your team to hit the bridge and destroy it. Cut off the enemy reinforcement column. My team will hit the supply dump. Then, we'll come together.. here..." She indicated on the map. "..and ambush the reinforcement column, cause some damage, and fall back. That should buy time."
Derpy: "Yes, Captain!" She nodded officially.
Golden Harvest: "Once we break contact, we'll meet up here on the road to Ponyville. There's a nice gulley and a small foot bridge here.." She indicated on the map. "..we can dig in and try to hold them off until the Guards arrive."
Derpy: "Understood." She nodded, and looked at me. "Time for some Joint Operations, huh?"
K: "That's the plan. Get to it." I nodded to them.
That.. was MY surprise. The fact that the Rangers would actually be doing some real work today.
Cheerilee: "Ahh.. you mean we're actually doing this?" She tilted her head.
Derpy tossed her a bandolier of four live magazines.
Nurse Sweetheart: "Seems we are." She nodded, took one herself, and loaded her rifle.
K: "You'll have a Referee of your own, too." I nodded to Derpy. "Don't worry." I said, as Spitfire arrived with the rest of the Wonderbolts.. and Rainbow Dash. "Ah, Dash, there you are." I nodded.
Rainbow Dash: "I.. don't get why you asked ME.. but.." She shrugged.
K: "You didn't get any combat experience at Lone Hoof Ridge." I nodded to her. "And the girls told you all the things they did. You need to see it in person. Plus, you can fly and observe, and if something goes badly wrong, you can get to me faster than the others. Spitfire? Your team is going to simulate some air-ground maneuvers." I looked to the Rangers. "Derpy, you have the smoke flares?"
Derpy: "Yeah." She nodded.
K: "Red for Air Strike. Purple for a gun run." I looked at Spitfire. "Luna told me you've all been practicing since Lone Hoof Ridge. It's time to practice with an actual ground element."
Spitfire: "Okay.." She nodded. "..simulated bombs?"
K: "That's why I told you to grab rotten fruit." I nodded. "Economical and biodegradeable."
Spitfire: "Makes sense. Soooo... which group do we follow?" She tilted her head.
K: "Ask Captain Harvest. This is her operation." I smiled.
Golden Harvest: "..wow." She blinked. "Okay.. well.. based on what we've seen from the Fruit Army so far, most of the opposition will likely be at the Supply Dump. Spitfire, you, Blaze and Fleet Foot come with my unit. Blaze and Fleet, arm for gun runs - get extra magazines. Spitfire, bombs. Soarin, High Winds, Misty Fly, reverse that - Soarin and Fly, I want you two loaded with bombs, High, gun run." She pointed to the map. "Derpy, if you can, have them air strike the bridge to destroy it, instead of getting close. If the bridge is too well guarded by an advance team, it might be easier, but I'll leave that to you."
I grinned, watching Harv make these plans. I'd picked well.
After a bit more intruction, the teams took off. Dash followed Derpy's team, I followed Harv's.
About an hour later, Harv's infantry team came up to the Supply Dump. I watched her deploy. She moved to the objective carefully, in two fire teams of three. I saw her pop purple smoke, and watched Blaze and Fleet Foot get in and start shooting enemy targets further back from the edge of the Supply Dump. Her team picked off the defenders along the edges. Once they were done, they all moved in, and the three Wonderbolts landed and assisted on hoof.
I followed them in, watching them all sweep and clear the area. Harv had Spitfire, Blaze, and Fleet coming up the rear, and covering them as they advanced. She cleared the outer area, and assaulted the command tent. Coming out, she ran over to Spitfire.
Spitfire: "What is it, Goldie?" She tilted her head.
Golden Harvest: "The enemy force headed this way.. it's at least a battalion." She shrugged. "We need to get to the Pass as fast as possible, so we can be ready to ambush them." She looked over at me. "Okay, Mister Referee.. when is the Royal Guard expected to arrive?"
I looked at my watch.
K: "Steelhoof should be ready to depart Ponyville, now. At a fast pace? Five hours." I nodded. "Now, what does the captured intel tell you?"
Golden Harvest: "Oh.. gosh.. they'll be here in less than four." She blinked. "I need to send a messenger back to get him, too, don't I?"
K: "Well, yeah, we don't have any other form of communication." I nodded.
Golden Harvest: "Spitfire, you're fastest, get back there and have Steelhoof and the Guard meet us at the entrenchment I pointed out. The rest of you, on us. And, Spitfire, dump your bombs so you can move faster. Let's go! Derpy should be done with her mission by now. That should hold them up.." She looked down. "I hope."
I gave no answers, but I was taking notes.
Another hour and a half later, they made it to the rendezvous point with Derpy's team, who were already in place.
Golden Harvest: "Derpy, this enemy force is larger than we thought - there's at least a battalion headed this way." She sighed. "They'll be at the pass in about thirty minutes. Is the bridge destroyed."
Derpy: "Yep, took it out with an air strike. Funny thing.. there weren't any guards." She blinked and looked at me. "Waaaiitt.."
Golden Harvest: "OH NO! They never planned to use the birdge! They're coming the other way around! We're in the wrong place!" She looked at me.
K: "Now what, Captain?" I tilted my head.
Golden Harvest: "The other route is a road out in the open.. there's an old barn near it, and two hills on either side of the road. The two farmers that used to own the land there, built them out of jealousy to each other.." She rubbed her chin with her fetlock. "..we can use those for an ambush, but we have to hurry. They should be there in about forty five minutes." She nodded. "This way!" She motioned to Soarin. "I need you to fly ahead and get eyes on the enemy column. If you can, do a few runs at the back of the column, not the front."
Soarin: "You got it!" He nodded.
I followed, of course. Rainbow Dash knew the plan, kinda. She went with Soarin's team to Referee. For the Wonderbolts, the exercise was convoy assault - I had some fruit barrels and crates stacked up at a specific area. Some of them had rocks in them. Others did not. Some of them were on their sides, and if they managed to roll to a safety zone after being shot, they were considered to have escaped.
By the time we got to the Ambush Site, Dash got back to me.
Dash: "The Wonderbolts did okay. They got 20 out of 30 barrels, 6 boxes, and 10 crates." She nodded to me. "They used up all their ammo, and went back to the Base Camp to resupply."
K: "Okay." I went to Golden Harvest. "You're in luck. The Wonderbolts managed to destroy a full company and change. However, there's still the rest of the battalion headed this way. For the purposes of the exercise, they won't deviate from the path they've chosen, but understand, with a force this large, they might opt to chase you to ground after the Ambush."
Golden Harvest: "Alright." She nodded. "Derpy, I want you to get on the other side of the road and set up there. Fire two magazines, then withdraw to the Entrenchment. My team will fire one and do the same."
K: "Dash, go get the targets ready." I nodded to her.
Dash: "On it!" She smiled wickedly, and took off.
I started moving over to my little exercise area...
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Ambush
I got to the "convoy" area, and prepared my moving targets. Old apple and fruit barrels. They'd be rolled down the road at varying speeds. Again, if they reached a safety point, they'd be considered to have escaped.
I started with just two barrels.. rolling them along, and letting them go. Gravity did the rest for me. I watched the teams engage them. Good.
Now I did six.
Then eight.
Then Dash helped me do twelve.
The number increased to our limit, but Golden Harvest stuck to the plan. Once she withdrew, I went and counted up the casualties. We rolled 60 barrels. They shot 44 of them. That left 16.
Once Golden Harvest had been gone a few minutes, I called Dash over.
K: "Okay, fly to them and let them know there's a change of plans - another surprise - that, now, I'm simulating a pursuing enemy force. If I manage to catch up to them and hit them with a rotten apple, they've been shot and are out." I nodded.
Dash: "Heh.. this is kinda fun." She smiled, then it faded. "Real fighting isn't fun, huh?"
K: "No, it's not. But what we pay in sweat today, is saved blood tomorrow. If it's fun, it'll be remembered." I nodded. "Off you go."
I waited another couple minutes, then picked up my bag of apples, and set off at a good pace. I was sure Harv wouldn't let them slack off in the retreat, but just in case, I tried to move at about a military "double time" pace. They, being horses, should move faster than me.
I got about halfway to the Entrenchment, and realized they were WAY away from me. Good. No chance I'd catch-
Derpy: "Bang!" She popped up from a bush.
K: "Oh, VERY good!" I pointed at her.
Derpy: "Hee-hee.. Goldie and I thought we should ambush our pursuers." She giddily bopped her head back and forth. "I volunteered!"
K: "Excellent. Go ahead and rejoin the rest of the unit and proceed. When I arrive, I'll set up the last encounter." I nodded and off she took.
It took me about an hour of walking fast to get there, but I did it in about the time I wanted to. The sun was almost totally down, and my BIG surpise should be arriving shortly. I paced over to the Entrenchment.
K: "Harv, congrats. You managed to destroy the pursuit team. In addition, you killed another company and a half of troops between you." I nodded to her. "Assume the enemy has taken 180 casualties out of a possible 1080 enemy troops, leaving 900."
Golden Harvest: "Ahh.. the Royal Guard.. won't be here for another half hour at least.." She blinked. "And.. where's the enemy?"
K: "They'll be here in ten minutes. Get ready to defend." I nodded to her. "If too many enemy troops manage to make it to the safety zone, you'll be routed. If someone gets hit, they're out."
Golden Harvest: "...K, you know we don't have nearly enough ammo. Even at one shot per enemy." She blinked at me.
K: "Did you resupply?" I nodded to her.
Golden Harvest: "Soarin brought the rest of the ammo we brought on the exercise. That's only about 680 rounds, though." She frowned.
K: "Alright. Dig in." I nodded.
I didn't say another word, and just went to my prep area. Mind you, it took me two weeks to set this all up. This one big practice. I had everything ready.. automated chutes rolling smaller barrels and empty wine casks, as well as large wooden balls. I didn't have 900 of these, but I had enough.
Dash went over to the far side, and prepared to do the same.
Luna.. flew in right behind me, out of their sight.
K: "I see you made it." I nodded to her.
Luna: "You wanted me to see the army in action.." She nodded. "..we.. I.. want to know if we're really ready for something like this."
K: "I've set up a no-win scenario. I want to see how Golden Harvest responds. She has no formal military training, only her experience in organizing work parties and things. Steelhoof won't be here in time to reinforce her. I want to see what she plans to do." I said, gesturing to the Entrenchment.
I started by pouring water into the water-weighted mechanisms and letting the drops of water drip into the cups - like the "phantom rifles" the British used in Turkey in World War I, these water automated devices would automatically roll most of the barrels down the hill.
The automated devices set up, I brought Luna over to the fruit crates.
K: "You're going to represent artillery. These are Honeydews.. they're soft enough, slightly rotten. Even if they hit a pony, it shouldn't actually hurt them much. When I give the signal, I want you to fling some towards the trench blindly." I nodded to her.
Luna: "Alright." She got a small smile on her face. "War Games."
K: "Yes." I nodded. "I'm making this one big game."
The barrels started rolling, and I lit the firecrackers I had prepared and threw them in a few different directions. In the dim light of the last rays of the day, the firecrackers would illuminate the oncoming enemy force.
I heard them start to open fire. I could see the barrels getting hit cleanly, and diverted from their path easily. She was doing well - these ponies were all good shots.
Then, Dash started her attack. I heard Harv call out to her team to split their fire, and they did. After a bit more, I signalled to the Princess.
I then lit off several large Roaman Candles that sounded like mortars. Again, Harv was on it - she surmised this was something else, and had them take cover and keep firing. I didn't hear anyone getting hit, even after 12 Honeydew were fired at them.
Then... the barrels came full force. More and more and more of them.. they couldn't keep up with the torrent, despite their careful fire. I could see well enough in the dimness that the barrels were stacking up in the Safety Zone.
K: "CEASE FIRE!" I called out, and checked. "SAFETY ALL WEAPONS!"
I got up, and moved.. oh, I got about ten feet.
Cheerilee, Lyra, and Bon-Bon had Rainbow Dash "prisoner" and had their rifles pointed at me, magazines out and bolts locked back.
K: "..oh, you didn't!" I smiled.
Cheerilee: "We almost had him!" She called out.
I got back over to where Golden Harvest and the team was.
K: "Well. Harv, you sustained 14 out of 17 casualties, some enemy forces broke through to Ponyville... but..." I nodded as Spitfire, Steelhoof, and two trained Royal Guard squads came running over the hill. "STAND DOWN, STEELHOOF!" I called out. "You managed to delay and disrupt the enemy force, and kill their Commander, and a Company Officer. With the arrival of the Royal Guard, they should have the numbers, discipline, and firepower to eliminate the remaining enemies or rout them. Congratulations, you saved Ponyville.. however, you and everyone else here are dead."
Golden Harvest: "I suppose we are." She shrugged. "But, I still won."
K: "You shouldn't have." I nodded to her.
Golden Harvest: "You made it pretty clear you were going to simulate us being destroyed. That I was going to lose and I had no choice." She snorted, defiantly. "I don't believe in a no-win scenario, K."
Steelhoof: "Respectable!" He nodded. "Maybe you should have joined the Royal Guard, Miss Harvest."
Luna: "Indeed. You sacrificed yourselves to save the town and damage our fictional enemy as much as you possibly could." She smiled broadly.. even if the others were a bit intimidated by her. "We are proud that our Kingdom has such bravery in it."
K: "So am I. And smarts, too." I nodded. "You did way more than I thought you would. Ponyville, at least, is in good hands."
And it was, too.. little did I realize just how important this exercise was, or how the lessons they took would play into things later. Golden Harvest had not just met, but vastly exceeded my expectations.
If everyone was half as good as her, Tirek stood little chance.
Or, so I thought.
{End of Chapter 9}
