Chapter 14: Battle of the Ancient Castle
Part 1: War's Spite
LOCATION: Ponyville
DATE: War Day 37/11 Quintillius, 1002 C.S.
TIME: 14:47 ERST
I sat on the edge of a precipice, staring over the valley. Alone. The last few days, I'd been feeling uneasy about something I couldn't put my finger on. I asked Pinkie about it, but she didn't have an explanation. Twilight was fully recovered. So was Celestia. So was everyone we hadn't lost in that first battle. I had new units everywhere, training forces being sent out from trained units to train others. Right now, two Squads of the Ponyville Milita were out training units in Detrot and Baltimare. Ponyville's Militia was becoming the primary force of the Army, though we had worked with combined arms tactics with the Manehattan Cavalry and Gilda's Cloudriders just a few days ago.
I sat.. I waited.. I ate an apple as I did so. Suddenly, I heard the Air Raid Sirens going off. Picking up my own Zhukov, I scanned the skies - this wasn't a scheduled test. Sure enough, high altitude Raptorians carrying heavy ordnance appeared in the skies.. I was too far from town to make any difference - I only hoped my planning and training would pay off. I stood there, helpless, watching the scene unfold. Ponies from the 1st Air Defesne Squadron took to the skies, backed by Gilda's Cloudriders. The incoming bombers were hit just as they cleared the edge of the forest.
One down.. two.. three.. dozens.. my ponies were chewing them up - the bombers had no protection at all. No fighter cover. One pony went down - got too close to a bomber and took a claw, I suspected - but the rest of them continually engaged the enemy in zig-zag patterns, massing fire on the squad and squadron level. The bombers were falling alright.. but what disturbed me is that they were trying to glide for the town on the way down. As the bombers got closer to town, this started getting hairy. I could see some ground fire coming up - the machine guns on the Town Hall roof opened up at point targets as they could - but it was mostly ineffective, given the range.
Then, it happened. Instead of dropping their ordnance, the bombers broke into a shallow dive - they weren't going to DROP bombs on Ponyville, they were going to commit suicide! I watched as the dozen-or-so remaining bombers found marks all over town, exploding in great plumes of fire and magic smoke as they crashed...
K: "Ha!" Granted, it was more an expression of realization than a laugh, but I still found this morbidly hilarious.
They were truly.. Suicide Bombers.
I didn't run back to town, I walked at a liesurely pace. It wasn't for lack of a sense of urgency, but more that I had confidence in the ponies there, the ones I'd trained, to be able to handle the situation. That it would all be over by the time I got there, anyway. This reminded me of playing a strategy game on Easy Mode. I knew what was going to happen, to an extent, and what I'd do to correct it.
In this case, we were going to have to find the airfield they were using, and destroy it or occupy it. One of the two. As I arrived back in town, Golden Harvest was already running up to meet me.
K: "Report." I said, calmly.
Even though I was shaking inside, I could not show them I was afraid.
Golden Harvest: "It's not as bad as we first thought.. no one dead, but there's a lot of damage. Your Air Raid shelters proved effective." She said, walking up and keeping pace next to me.
K: "Get me Gilda. I need a Recon Mission. Get the Wonderbolts on the line, I want Air Support for this, and muster Derpy's Rangers and First Squad. Send a note to Celestia - I want any forces she can spare." I calmly issued my orders.
I knew how it felt for a leader to have to put on a face of confidence amist fear. And I'm not saying that to sound brave, no, I really understood. Each pony here had a story, a life, and it was my responsibility to allow them to live those lives in peace, using my terrible knoweldge of war. I absolutely could not let them think for a second that I was afraid - if I did, they'd lose confidence. And I could not allow that.
Golden Harvest: "On it, K." Off she galloped.
Twilight came up to me.
Twilight: "They got a near miss on the library. Poor Spike-"
K: "Is he hurt!?"
Twilight: "No! No, no.. but he belched on a whole pile of parchments, and a few books." *Giggle* "Pricness Celestia is going to get a paper shower." She looked at the burning Cafe as fire fighting ponies pulled the hand-drawn pumper engine up to it and began battling the flames. "Is it wrong that I laughed about that?"
K: "No, not at all. You must be able to laugh.." I put an arm around her. "..never lose that spark of laughter and joy. No matter how bad it gets, find a way to laugh about it. The day you lose your laughter, is the day evil wins."
Twilight: "Thanks." She made a releived sigh.
Gilda landed, with her wounded squadmate, Parasol. She had a nasty gash on her neck, but they'd bandaged it up. She handed her off to a response cart, headed by Dr. Allcome and Nurse Redheart. She walked over to me, and spit a pile of Raptorian feather/scales at my feet. Her face had blood spatter all over it.
K: "Your feathers are stained." I nodded to her.
Gilda: "I fired from very close." She said, flatly.
K: "Parasol okay?" I shrugged.
Gilda: "Doesn't look too deep." She said, again, flatly.
K: "You know what I want." I nodded, knowingly.
Gilda: "Scout back along the route they took, look for an airfield or something, and report back?" She smirked, confidently.
K: "Excellent." She'd taken to my lessons.. frighteningly easier than most ponies. She almost had my mind, in as far as her job was concerned. "Make it happen, Sergeant." I nodded. She pat my shoulder, and whistled for her team, before taking off. "Let's see how we can help out around here, Twilight. Get the girls, we have fires to knock down." I said, walking over to the pumper engine and grabbing hold of one of the hoses, helping hold it as they hosed Rose's cafe down.
Shame, it would be a total loss. We were only fighting the fire to keep it from spreading. I knew the cafe would be a charred hulk when this was all over. That was how war went - destruction on a massive scale. The best you can do, is try to keep the destruction from spreading. Dear God, I wished this war would end..
TIME: 17:32 ERST
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both arrived at dusk, in their respective carriages. Ceelstia looked peaked - I figured that initial huge bomb that hit Canterlot was designed to kill her with an overload of magical energy, and the only reason she survived at all was because she came to Joe's Donut Shop to see us. She paced over to me - just like I was, she was holding up her air of invincibility and immortality. Not showing fear or weakness around her subjects. Just like I had to, with the army..
Celestia: "K. Report." She said, trying hard to sound like her normal self.
K: "Enemy suicide bombers hit a few places around Ponyville. The Militia and the Air Defense Forces managed to knock most of them down before they got close, but a few managed to damage some buildings in town. We have 12 injured, no dead, including one Defense Force member, Scout Parasol. Nothing serious. Some burns, some explosion injuries.. all in all, this strike wasn't nearly as effective as the one on Canterlot. If they had a second wave planned, they cancelled it."
Celestia: *Sigh* "Good news, then."
K: "Far better than we could have hoped. If they'd struck without any warning system in place, or any defenders, the town might have been completely flattened." I shrugged, gesturing to one of the craters.
Celestia: "I'm authorizing you to take any measures necessary to end this war, K. Moreover, I'm giving you an official job." She nodded, very.. firmly.
K: "Pizza Maker? Please say Pizza Maker. I'm tired of being a General." I said, with a smirk.
Luna giggled.
Celestia: "Actually, that is exactly it - I'm making you Equestria's General." She smiled at the joke, though.
K: "General K.. hm." I sighed. I didn't want this..
Luna: "Yes, we decided it was time to make your position official. You are now in charge of every defense force our kingdom can raise. And you have our full blessing to end this war any way you see fit." She.. her tones were tender, but understanding.
K: "I'm still going to come to you with any major decision." I shrugged.
Luna: "Of course." She smiled at me.
Gilda landed just out of range, before pacing over and standing next to me. She bowed her head to Celestia and Luna.
K: "My first act is to request full Equestrian citizenship for Gilda." I said, without looking away from the two Royals.
Celestia: "Of course, K. Gilda? Is this what you want?" She looked to her.
Gilda: "I-I.." She rubbed her arm. "..I haven't had a place to call home since I was exiled."
Celestia: "Well, now you do. I here by declare you a full fledged citizen of Equestria. It's the least we can do."
She nodded at Gilda, and a little white spark materialized a her rank insigna, or, what I wanted it to look like. Celestia was up to doing some parlor tricks without signs of stress - that was a very good sign, as far as I was concerned.
K: "Pardon me, Your highness." I nodded to her, and turned to Gilda.
Gilda: "They've set up a small airfield by the ancient castle. The same one you were 'defeated' at, Pricness Luna." I'd told her how the girls got together. "They're trying to expand their operations.. there's someone there, though. He looked like a wizard of some kind - flowing robes, pointy hat.. about as tall as K, two-legged, but not like his legs, like yours, Princess."
Celestia: "I see..." She pondered this a moment.
Gilda: "It looked to me like they were more interested in the castle than construction of the airfield. But, still, it looks like they're gearing up for another attack. At least another ten or fifteen flying Raptorians arrived, along with some non-flyers, as we were watching them." She pointed towards the forest.
K: "Were you spotted?" I up-nodded to her.
Gilda: "Not that I could tell - they didn't shoot at us." She shrugged.
K: "Good. Gilda, inform Golden. Tell her I want First Squad and Derpy's Rangers ready to move out as soon as I brief them. I want the Wonderbolts on standby." I wagged a finger.
Luna: "K. Please take some of my Guards with you. Night approaches, they will be invaluable to you." She bowed her head a bit, to me.
K: "Of course. And if we have to occupy the ruins..?" I tilted my head a tthem.
Luna: "I will arrange for guards to protect the site, around the clock." She nodded firmly.
K: "Excellent." I bowed. "By your leave, Your Highnesses."
And I moved away. Gilda was ahead of me. I was getting sick of simply reacting - I wanted to invade Tirek's territory, but I knew I didn't have the forces for that. But, some day. For now, I had a plan to create, and a battle to fight. I walked off to the Militia Headquarters. As I walked, I was silently joined by Applejack and the other girls. They were armed and in uniform - no rank insigia. They weren't part of the military officially, but the uniform shirts helped with camouflage. Especially Rarity - white wasn't a good color in the field. They didn't speak and neither did I.
LOCATION: Ponyville Militia Headquarters
TIME: 17:49 ERST
We arrived at Headquarters and I immediately pulled over the Sand Table that had an overhead view of the entire known area of the Everfree Forest. Twilight stood on one side of me, Applejack at the other, very close. I nonchalantly patted her head and ran my fingers through her mane a little. The other Team Leaders showed up. Written Script was busy assembling Flare Gun and Demolition Satchels. Turns out, they had low-velocity explosives here - not Nitro, but halfway decent stuff. I wasn't about to waste them in grenades at this point, but I did see the use in demo charges.
K: "Alright, everyone. Listen up. The enemy is dug in at the ruins - the girls have been there before, they'll be leading us. Derpy - your Rangers, mixed in with them, keep it tight. If we start taking fire, I want them under cover right away."
AJ: "Sugarcube, we're not exactly made of glass, yanno." She said, with a hint of insult.
K: "True, but, I don't want you to end up dead - you're needed. You're the Elements of Harmony, for all I know, your little Care Bear Stare thing might be needed to defeat Tirek. And if you die here.." I gestured. "..eh, another cartoon, sorry.." Like they'd know what Care Bears are.. for that matter, they might be carnivorous monsters in this world!
Dash: "Alright, I get it, no stupid chances." She huffed.
K: "Oh, I'm sure you'll disregard that as soon as you get the chance, but I want you to at least pretend to be careful." I smirked at her.
Dash: "Alright, already!" Exasperated in her statement, she still blushed just a tiny bit at my concern for her.
Rarity: "Darling, do you suppose we'll see the Sea Monster again?" She didn't know if I knew him by name, so...
K: "Maybe. I hope nothing bad has happened to him." I shrugged.
Rarity: *Squee* "OH! Give me a moment to get back to my shop, I have something for him!" She tapped her hooves on the ground.
K: *Sigh* "If I refuse, you'll do it anyway, so, go. And be quick about it." I waved her off.
Rarity: "Of course!" And off she galloped.
K: "As I was saying, once we get close to the Castle, there's a gorge and one bridge across it. That's why I had Ambrosia and Jim Beam put together those raiding bridges last week, just for situations like this. Jack?" I looked at Jack Hammer.
Jack Hammer: "Yo!" One of Ambrosia's work crew, he had a grizzled face, but a kind demeanor.
K: "You're in charge of them. Gilda?" She nodded. "Your team, in the rear, with the special gear. Once we get to the Gorge, your job is to lay the alternative bridges across the span, so we can cross in force. And be there as Rescue if the bridges are broken and anyone falls."
Gilda: "Got it." She nodded firmly.
K: "Mac?" I looked over to him.
Mac: "Eyup?" He smirked a bit.
K: "Your squad, base of fire unit. Draw two Pershings and as many belts as you and Ace can carry." I nodded to the former stable slots that were being used to store equipment.
Mac: "Got it." He nodded and moved to do just that.
Golden Harvest: "You're not taking anyone else?" She seemed concerned.
K: "No. This is going to be a fast and hard raid, I don't want the whole company following us, it'll increase our chances of being spotted early, or worse, slow us up. We only have four bridges. Once they all break, we'd be reduced to ferrying people across one at a time, possibly under fire." That and.. I did not have a very large force, just yet.. less than a full Earth Standard battalion, across the entire nation, really.
Golden Harvest: "I understand. Do you need anything else?" She puffed up, ready to offer any help.
K: "Yes, Spitfire, stay some distance back, but be ready. Six with bombs, six with Mitchells. If you see us send up a flare, we need Close Air Support." I looked to Spitfire, who nodded back.
Twilight: "And what about the ruins?" She was.. concerned, to put it lightly.
K: "We will try not to damage them, but we might not have a choice.. there was an important religious site on Earth that had stood for fourteen hundred years. In the middle of the greatest war our planet had fought, we had no choice but to destroy that site." Monte Cassino - the debate raged whether it was necessary or not, but the situation was very similar here. "Lives are more important than things. Things can be replaced, lives cannot. If the Ruins are being used by the enemy in such a way that an attack on it would cause the deaths of too many ponies, I will order its destruction by air bombardment." I said, grimly, as I watched the girls recoil in horror. "I'm sorry, but would you rather have your friends, or the ruins?"
Twilight: "My.. friends, of course." She had to think about that one for a moment, though..
K: "Exactly. I won't give the order unless I have no other choice." I looked at Twilight and Rarity (who had returned), then Spitfire. "You'll know the signal to bomb the ruins - a massive blue flare. Red is for Close Air Support."
Spitfire: "Got it." A firm nod.
K: "Alright, we leave in ten minutes. Everyone get ready, draw rations and water, we might be out all night." I shrugged.
I watched as they dispersed, examining the sand table intently, it being a few minutes before I felt a hoof on my shoulder.
AJ: "Honeybun?" She slid nearer me.
K: *Sigh* "Yes, my dear?" I turned to her, looking into her peachy, freckled face with nothing but adoration.
AJ: "T'aint nothin'.." She said, softly, looking slightly away and blushing.
K: "But?" I nodded to her.
AJ: "Well.. can we talk outside?" She nodded. We walked to the main house.
K: "What is it, my darling?" I said, smiling.
AJ: "Tell me the truth - Lyra, did-"
K: "I don't know how you got even a hint of that, but.." I bit my lip. "Yes, we ended up.. doing something. Her obsession with my hands and feet, mixed with her unicorn magic.. she aroused me to the point where I couldn't.." I hung my head. "I cheated on you. It was both our faults. I should have taken you with me, that was my biggest error. Even if she did provide us with information about ancient Equestria."
AJ: "I ain't upset about that, Honeybun!" She seemed giggly.
K: "What?!" I was shocked!
AJ: *Pssh* "You see how many Stallions there are around here?" She waved a hoof towards the town.
K: "Uh, yeah, the ratio of stallions to mares is something like one in six or one in eight. Or more, depending." I shrugged, uneasy.
AJ: "I't'ain't uncommon for a Mare to share a Stallion 'round these parts, but we do it with close friends, yanno?" She blushed, and slid up to me a bit.
K: "...like a herd of horses, on Earth. Makes sense." I bowed my head, considering the implications..
AJ: "Sounds 'bout right." She smirked a bit.
K: "But what about all the single-unit families I keep seeing? Like your aunt and uncle?" I gestured.
AJ: "Eh.. t'ain't as common.. happens, but t'ain't as common as a Stallion havin' two or three mares in his stable." She gave me a bit of a coy grin.
K: "So.. why..?" I was still confused.
AJ: "Jes' wonderin' if'n you think she's special or anythin'.." She flicked her tail a bit..
K: "But, your reaction to her.." Still confusion from the Monkey.
AJ: "We might share stallions, Honeybun, but we're particular about it." She nodded firmly.
K: "Alpha males and Alpha females. You thought she was going to replace you..?" I shook my head. "Never!"
AJ: *Blush* "I'm sorry fer doubtin' ya.."
K: "No, no, it's okay. Where I'm from, the reverse is the majority case. One male, one female, then, one family." I shrugged to her.
AJ: *Harder blush* "OH! I-I didn't even think.."
K: "That makes two of us. I didn't think sharing men was the way things worked around here." *Pause* "That being said, don't expect me to sleep with any of the other girls, just for some sake of social familiarity or herd-building or something. And I won't be sleeping with Lyra again."
I would later be correct about one of those things, but not the other.
AJ: "Just sayin' - if'n you did, it wouldn't be any skin off'n my apple.." She poked my nose gently.
K: "Well.." I got an overly comedic look on my face, and melodramatically tapped my chin. "I might want to take a run at Fluttershy.. you know, everyone back home kinda thinks she's some kind of beast in bed. Then there's Twilight - she's supposedly so uptight she wouldn't know what to do-" *OOF*
AJ: "You big galoot!" She tackled me, and kissed me. It went from a friendly kiss, to an emotional one. We held it until Gilda paced up.
Gilda: "AHEM! General K." She stood at attention as I looked up from my embrace.
K: "Oh, Sergeant." *Koff* "Just.. ahh.. helping Applejack up off the ground.. yah, that's it.." I looked around, making shifty eye motions.
Gilda: "And why are you on the bottom, then, General?" She was smirking.
K: "I.. fell?" I made a very unconvincing grin that Applejack copied.
Gilda: "Sure, you did, General!" She giggled to herself, and Applejack joined in. "We're ready to go when you are."
K: "Alright, let's get this show on the road." I smiled.
I got up and fetched my backpack and cane. I didn't need it as much any more, but it might be handy. Instead of a Sherman, I had a Zhukov. Easier to handle. As we headed into the Everfree Forest, I wondered how much of war's spite we would incur, intruding in enemy-held lands, in this magical forest, at night..
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: Operation: Royal Oak
TIME: 18:22 ERST
DATE: War Day 37
LOCATION: Everfree Forest, 1km from the Ancient Castle
I was in the near lead, with Twilight at my side. My Zhukov hung from its strap. I was outfitted properly for once - a proper uniform (cotton duck pants and shirt in dark OD green, with khaki rigging), proper boots, and a proper helmet (a simple variant of the US M1 helmet). We didn't simply walk into Everfree Forest, we crept. Once we were 200 meters in, we switched to a broader formation, with people at least 5 meters apart, in a scattered pattern to minimize the risk of one shot going through more than one person.
Big Mac and Ace had the Machine Guns over their backs, with Lemon Hearts and Graphite acting as Assistant Machine-Gunners, lugging the tripods and spare ammo. I deliberately picked Unicorn ponies to act as AMG's, since their unicorn magic could be used to rapidly assemble and mount the weapons on their tripods (faster than even human hands). Colgate and Nurse Redheart were acting as riflemen. Between the four Gunners, they had 1920 rounds of ammunition (eight 240-round belts). The Pershings fired at a tame 480 rounds per minute, or, one round every eighth second. It was something like a Pony version of the M1917 Browning, in a sense.
Each one of Derpy's Rangers had an assigned Element of Harmony they were supposed to keep track of. Derpy was left independent, so she could move around and direct her unit as needed. Gilda's Cloudriders were at our rear flanks in two teams, watching for enemy sentries and observation posts. Despite her previous severe injury, Octavia was keeping up with us, with no sign of undue fatigue. I hoped she had recovered fully, it'd been nine months, but I wasn't certain about it. Either way, she knew the risks.
Along with us was a squad from Luna's Guards. Six Pegasus stallions that had never seen combat, but had exceptional night vision, granted to them by their princess. I had them completely spread out - one with First Squad, one by me, one on each of Gilda's teams, and the last two spread out across our front. I was hoping this wide formation through the dense wood would afford us some camouflage, as we were far apart enough to (hopefully) only be spotted as small groups of two and three, with First Squad trailing behind us.
Twilight: "I hope this works." She said quietly.
K: "You and me, both. See anything, Sunshine?" I nodded to the Stallion with me.
Sunshine: "Not a thing, General." His delivery was on-point.
K: "Odd name for one of Luna's guards.." I trailed off.
Sunshine: "My mother sang that song to me as a young'un, sir." He was all business. I liked that.
K: "Keep your Sherman ready. We're about at the river." I nodded.
Rarity moved past us with Cheerilee, her assigned Ranger, and started digging in her bag.
Rarity: "Oh, I hope Magnus is still living here! This River Serpent-sized collar I made for him would look simply divine.." She started in as she walked towards the river. She'd spent time on it, I could tell. I reflected on how her generosity was really understated by some, and-
Rarity: *Piercing shriek* "NO!"
K: "COME ON!" I charged through the last bit of brush to the riverbed.. and I saw what she'd screamed at.
Magnus, impaled through a stripped-down tree, his arms cut off, and his mane completely removed. There was river serpent hair all over the place, and the river ran purple with his blood. I could feel my face screw up at this.. senseless act of brutality. I grabbed Rarity around the neck and hugged her, her face still fixed with shock.
K: "Sunshine, give me a scan of the shore. Look for footprints." I ordered, nodding to him.
Sunshine: "Got it." Off he went.
K: "Twi, tell the rest of the team to hold up." I nodded back to her, not taking my hands off of Rarity.
Twilight: "I-I understand.." She moved off as Rarity started sobbing into my shoulder.
K: "It's okay, Rarity.. we'll get the bastards that did this, I promise you." I stroked her mane.. normally highly off-limits, but it seemed to put her at ease. "I can't... why?"
Even I was taken aback by this kind of.. this level of brutal murder. It was pretty clear that poor Magnus lost his arms before he died, so, his death was neither pleasant nor quick. Whoever did this, had a sick mind for savagery that rivaled a Human's.
Sunshine: "GENERAL!" Authoritative and no hint of panic.
He motioned me over, and I stood, letting Rarity hug on Twilight as she returned from passing along the word. Pacing over to where he was floating, I could see what he was talking about - there were hoof-prints all over the mud of the shoreline. Deep ones. From something heavy, and judging by the distance between paces, something two-legged. The mystery Wizard? It wasn't Tirek, and it didn't seem like Scorpan's.
K: "Go back to Gilda, have her send a team across to scout for enemies. On your way, tell First Squad to have everyone move up and provide cover positions at the edge of the bush line. Go." I nodded, and off he went.
Walking back over to Rarity, she was, mind-numbingly, affixing the collar to Magnus' neck, her hooves shaking, whispering to him in a desperate sob. I knelt next to her, and patted her on the neck.
K: "I think he looks handsome with that. I-I'm sure he would have appreciated it." My face screwed up again, but I bit the back of my tongue to make it go away. I had to appear stoic.. "When you're done, get in position at the tree line. We.. we'll come back for him when this is all over, give him the send-off he deserves."
Rarity merely nodded and after a moment, murmured a good bye to him and got to her position as Gilda came up. Her, Parasol, Papermoon, Brolly, and Dust Devil. I pointed to her, then across the river, and splayed my hand out to indicate a wide formation. They were going to probe for enemy fire. I wasn't taking any chances - Tirek managed to create mortars, I wouldn't put it past him to mass produce my Shermans somehow, fit for Raptorians. If that was the case, we could easily be walking into an ambush. Gilda's team made it across the river in no time, and after a few minutes probing, hurriedly flew back. Gilda landed by me and pulled me into the bush from where I'd been taking cover behind a rock at the shoreline.
Gilda: "Two full platoons, headed this way. They look like they're foraging for food - they've got some animals on sticks. About a quarter have rifles. They don't look like they're aware we're here." She shook her head.
K: "Got it. Get word to Ace and Mac, I want a swath of fire covering this river bank - no one opens up until I do, but I want this over in one short, fast burst of fire. Get everyone spread in singles along the bush line." I pointed.
Gilda: "Understood." Off she went, and her Scouts took cover as well.
I waited behind a tree. A nice, thick one. I wanted to dig a really deep hole and hide in it, but that wasn't an option. Laying my Zhukov on a rock, I sighted down the sights and waited for movement.
I didn't have to wait long.
The platoons of Raptorians made it through the bush on the other side of the river, the ones with rifles were foolishly out front. They all moved to the riverbank and started drinking the blood-soaked water with fervor. I sighted in on what looked like a leader.. and..
K: "OPEN FIRE!"
The noise of two machine guns and 25 rifles opening up all at once took the Raptorians by surprise. The ones with the rifles went down almost right away, and their backup lancers barely had time to stand up. Once I saw all targets go down, I stood.
K: "RANGERS! AHEAD AS SKIRMISHERS! SWEEP AND CLEAR!" I called out, reloading my empty weapon.
Derpy and her team were across the river in a flash. I heard only two more gun shots.
K: "GUARDS! ON ME!" I held up my hand.
I moved across the river to secure the enemy weapons. Grabbing one rifle from where it fell in the mud, I examined it. It wasn't made in Appleloosa, and it wasn't one of the ones I made myself. It was a copy.. a damned good copy, but a copy none the less. I ejected the magazine and proceeded to field strip the weapon. Ammunition was identical, though I noted that none of the armed Raptorians had a fully loaded magazine, and no reserves.
Derpy's Rangers came back from the woods, and nodded to me. All was clear.
K: "RESUME FORMATION! LET'S MOVE!" I held up one hand, and pointed forwards.
With that brief encounter, we were back on our way.
LOCATION: 50m from the Ancient Castle
TIME: 21:36 ERST
The rest of the trip getting there, wasn't as eventful as I'd thought it would be. We avoided a couple of positions - camps, really - and moved up all the way to the edge of the wood, near the old bridge. All of us got to cover as I analyzed the situation as careful as I could. They'd cleared out a large area to the "right" of the castle from our position, and they had some stores set up here. There were quite a few Raptorians out and about here, but they'd not bothered setting guards, and they didn't have prepared positions. They were vulnerable.. TOO vulnerable.
K: "Something's fishy.. Sunshine." I motioned to himt o move up next to me.
Sunshine: "Yes." He slid in place and nodded.
K: "See anything?" I up-nodded to the enemy camp.
Sunshine: "If you see a bunch of Raptorians begging to be slain, then I see what you see. Nothing in the woods behind them, nothing anywhere near them. I don't see an ambush.. if it's set up, they're better at it than we are." He scowled a tad.
K: "No guards, nothing, they look fast asleep." I frowned. Was it going to be THIS easy? "Gilda.." She moved up to my position.
Gilda: "Yes." She kept her voice low.
K: "You strong enough to fly me across?" I did likewise.
Gilda: "I.. think so, why?" She cocked a brow at me and tilted her head in bird-like inquisitiveness.
K: "See those lights in the ancient castle? I think the castle was their goal all along - the bombers were a distraction, something intended to keep us on the defensive. Discourage us from doing exactly this." I pointed.
Gilda: "What purpose?" She looked to the lights.
K: "I have no idea. You and I are going to sweep the Castle. Derpy?" I called back to her.
Derpy: "Yes?" She slid up.
K: "You have command of the battle. Once we're across, assault with bridges. Move fast and quiet, don't open fire until the last possible second. Once you do start shooting, kill everything. They've demonstrated a willingness to suicide to kill us, don't give them a chance here." I pointed.
I remembered stories of Japanese soldiers doing the same thing with grenades - just to kill a few Americans. It was usually the wounded that did that, to avoid the dishonor of capture, but some feigned injury just to pull the same trick. Fanatical devotion did that to people. I handed off my Zhukov and magazines to Lemon Hearts. She'd put on some grease makeup to hide her neon yellow hide - smart girl. With that, I held my arms up for Gilda to grab me. With a few strained thrusts of her wings, we were airborne.
I wasn't enjoying the ride, even though it was one of my dreams to do something like this.
We landed on the other side of the gorge, and I pulled out my PA-63. Safety off, cane sword in my other hand, we moved into the ruins completely undetected. At the doorway, I waved for Derpy to commence her attack. I wouldn't be there to direct strategy, but I trusted her to make this happen. Meanwhile, Gilda and I paced into the ruins. I reholstered, and switched to the Cane Sword's blade, holding the cane part in my other hand, to parry with. Quiet kills. Gilda got the message, and pulled out her bayonet.
Our first kill was a Raptorian with spectacles and a blue feather coat, hunched over some tomes. I came up behind him, grabbed around his scrawny neck, and impaled him on my cane sword blade, pulling his weight back against the cold steel. He didn't even make a sound. Pushing him off, I looked briefly at the documents - some mystical stuff, and worryingly, it looked like it had to do with the Elements of Harmony. Quickly, Gilda and I paced in deeper. She stayed on her padded hind legs, bracing herself against the wall as she did so. Another Raptorian came from a side room, and her tail wrapped around its neck and gave it a sharp jerk. A dull crack told me it was dead.
Then we found the stairwell leading up to what used to be the throne room.
Just as we got to the edge of the stairs, I heard a Sherman go off. Followed quickly by another, then the Pershings.. they'd engaged the enemy. No time, we ran up the stairs, just in time to see a VERY tall Wizard.. thing.. standing over a huge circle drawn in the floor, complete with more runes than I could identify, reading from a magic book of some kind (I call it a "magic book" because it was floating).
K: "YOU THERE! STOP!" I made a lunge for him with my sword out.
Wizard: "INTERLOPERS!" Why do they always say shit like that? He dodged me easily, and I heard his 'feet' go *CLOP-CLOP* on the stone. As I rolled over to get a look at him, I looked into the face of a Satyr.
K: "The Jewel Wizard!" But.. he... Generation 1.. nooooo...
Wizard: "You know of me!" He fired a bolt of energy that hit Gilda square in the chest as she tried to tackle him. She slumped to the floor.
K: "Thousands of years ago, you enslaved Ponies to dig up jewels for you.. but you should have died!!" I pointed to him.
Wizard: "I nearly did, Human! But I transmogrified my damaged body with the nearest life form I could find!" He cackled at me.
K: "Great. Insane wizard. Right. HAVE AT YOU!" I held up my Cane Sword.
Why the HELL did I think of Symphony of the Night at that point? No matter, I charged at him, and every time he dodged, I came in as close as I could, trying to keep him off balance enough to prevent him from casting magic.
Gilda pulled herself up, dusted herself off, and tried to make a lunge at him. He dodged her, produced a cudgel and bashed her over the head as she passed to his right. I saw blood seep through her feathers.
K: "GILDA!" I looked to her.
I was distracted a moment by that. Enough time for him to fire a magic beam, and catch me along the right side. I felt myself fly towards the wall, hit it, and slide down. I had lost my sword. Rolling over on my ass, I was dazed, double vision.. I grabbed my helmet and pulled it off, finding a huge crease in it. It'd saved my life, at least. Tossing it aside, I saw him turn back to his book a moment as I pulled myself to my feet.. pain was everywhere. My brain was screaming to me about injuries I couldn't tell I had.
Wizard: "STAY DOWN, PUNY MORTAL!" Seriously, what's up with bad guys and cheesy lines?
Another beam, and I had no way of dodging it. He got me square in the chest, and instead of launching me across the room, it felt like it was ripping the very fiber of my muscles apart. All I could do was drop to my knees and emit a primal roar of absolute agony. My vision went red, then started to darken..
NO!
I would NOT LET HIM KILL ME..
I fought to stay awake.. roaring in pain.. was I bleeding? I couldn't tell.
Then, all of a sudden, the pain stopped, and I saw the Wizard hit the ground.
Applejack was standing over at the doorway, aiming her Sherman into the room.
AJ: "HONEYBUN!" She looked VERY alarmed.
Wizard: "YOU'RE TOO.. TOO LATE! I-"
Pain does something else to humans - it makes them very angry. Grabbing his own cudgel from the floor, I leaped on him, and started pummeling him with it. My strength enhanced by adrenaline, I could see the cudgel's impacts draw abraised blood from each impact wound on his face. I was roaring, I wasn't even making any sense.. I just kept pounding that smug face of his, until I was sure he had no life left in him. I fell back on my ankles, heaving and coughing. I looked at Applejack..
K: "How bad is it?" I felt so weak..
AJ: "Honeybun.. you look-"
Wizard: "YOU WILL NOT KILL ME!" He cut her off.
He started to rise, but I was straddling his waist.. as he started to come up, I pulled my PA-63 free of its holster with effort, and the moment he had partially sat up, the barrel was against his head.
K: *Pant*Gasp* "SCREW YOUR MAGIC, SCIENCE WILL FUCK YOU!"
*PLAM!*
I watched his brains spray all over the floor.
Dragging myself to my feet, I could barely see anything. I wiped my face off, seeing blood on my hands. Applejack handed me my cane. Looking down, there was blood all over my uniform. I opened my shirt, expecting wounds.. I saw that blood was evenly coating my entire torso - he had been PULLING THE BLOOD OUT OF MY SWEAT PORES.
K: *Haggard breath* "Sweet Fuck..!" How many pints short WAS I? Staggering over to the book, I looked at it, wiping my hands off on my pants. "Check Gilda, he clocked her good on the head." I couldn't seem to catch my breath.. did I have internal injuries? "This book.." I looked at the open pages.. it was some kind of incantation to.. "HOLY SHIT!"
AJ: "What is it, Honeybun!?"
K: "HE'S GOING TO TURN YOU ALL TO STONE! GRAB HER, CLEAR OUT! RUN! GO!" I ordered, desperately.
Adrenaline is fun stuff, I suddenly had the speed of an Olympian. Fumbling for my Flare Pistol, I loaded a red flare and fired it out the broken window. Applejack, I could hear, was running, with Gilda, down the stairs. I saw the Wonderbolts come over the edge of the trees.. and all I could do was pitch myself out the window.
I felt the glass shatter around me, and I felt the soft earth accept me, just as I saw Spitfire fly right over my head and release her ordnance.. I could feel the explosions through the ground.. and I could feel someone grab my collar in their teeth and drag me away. My vision blurred.. darkened.. but I shook it off, as I was propped up on the edge of a rock and Nurse Redheart came over to me.
And I watched as I committed the same sins that happened at Monte Cassino.. I watched the ancient castle that Luna and Celestia had once called home, explode and burn..
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Royal Sovereign
LOCATION: Ruins of the Ancient Castle
DATE: War Day 38
TIME: 00:14 ERST
I woke up with Cherilee and Mac guarding me, and Nurse Sweetheart and Redheart both tending to me. Was I really that badly injured? My body felt heavy - like I weighed a ton and a half. I was exhausted, but terrified, not at my own wounds, but at the fear that we'd lost. That my Red Flare - which was supposed to call in an emergency air strike - hadn't worked. I could barely lift my arm to reach out to Mac, but I managed to gently tug his tail.
Mac: "You awake?" He nudged me.
I could barely nod.
Mac: "He bucked you up pretty good.. but.. you saved my sister." He conceeded.
K: "Mmh?" It was hard to form words.
Mac: "Twilight said you were right - he was making some kind of incantation circle to turn the Elements back into stone. And the bearers with them." He looked away, almost ashamed of himself.
K: "Mmh.." So.. so weak.
Mac: "APPLEJACK! He's awake!" He finally announced.
She came galloping over, a bandage on her forehead. Gilda came up next to her, her fur singed and a much larger bandage covering most of her head.
AJ: "You did it, Honeybun." She kissed and hugged on me - it HURT. The weight HURT..
I just let out a pained moan.
AJ: "OH! I'm sorry, Honeybun. You're bucked up really good, you know." She very tenderly caressed my face.
K: "C-Casualty.. report.."
AJ: "Lost one'a Luna's guards. Lyra, Grpahite, and Parasol are wounded. Lyra's the worst off, but not near as bad as you. Gilda and I are alright." She nodded.
K: "T-Tell.." *Grunt* What was that Stallion's name? Brain.. foggy.. "..Gaze. Captain Gaze.."
AJ: "I will, Honeybun. But we gotta git you back home, first." She whined a bit.
K: "O-objectives..? Met..?" No strength.. no strength...
AJ: "We won, we won real good. Don't you worry, none, you jus' rest, okay?" She had tears in her eyes.
I made a groaning sigh and just dozed off, even though I wanted to stay awake. My wounds, my blood loss, was bad enough that all I wanted to do was sleep.
LOCATION: Ponyville Hospital
TIME: 04:43 ERST
I woke up with Doctor Allcome standing over me, and Nurse Redheart giving Dr. Well Wishes an ear full about his attitude and actions. Doctor Allcome looked concerned, a bit more than normal.
Dr. Allcome: "Listen carefully, K. You've lost almost a quarter of your blood volume as near as I can tell. And there's no way I could give you our blood. You don't have any injuries as far as I can tell. You're in some danger of shock, so I've treated for that, and I've administered something to help boost your fluid volume. Doctor Well Wishes wanted to give you an anesthetic.. obviously, that would be a very bad idea. Other than having your blood pulled directly out of your pores, and being a few pints low, you're fine. My prescription is rest and food. You'll need Vitamin Beta 12, Beta 9, Beta 6, and Iron.. and lots of them." He went on as he wrote on a note pad with one hoof, looking right at me the whole time.
K: "Uh.. wh-how.." My words dribbled.
Dr. Allcome: "How are you going to consume those vitamins? Well, Beta 12 only occurs in animal protein, so obviously, I ordered you something special. It should be here soon enough." He nodded. "Meat, my boy, meat. And legumes, and green leafy vegetables. It's going to take you some time to make up for the volume you lost - roughly four units or so. I'd say.. four weeks, minimum, before you return to your former saturation levels. More like six to eight, to be perfectly honest."
K: "Can't.. be out that long.." I was so woozy.
Dr. Allcome: "Well, don't come crying to me when you're so tired after a short walk that you fall asleep in the bath room. You're lucky he didn't pull more blood out of you - you'd be in shock already, and then where would you be? Out for five months, at least, instead of one or two. No field duty for you, General. You're too weak." He nodded firmly.
K: "Hmpf.." But I couldn't deny how exhausted I felt. Two months? This was going to suck.
After a short while, Applejack came in with a large brown bag.. I could smell the contents from here - BEEF. I hadn't had a goddamn STEAK since I GOT HERE.. but it brought to mind, where did she get it from? There was only one cow herd I could recall..
AJ: "Here you go, Honeybun." She set the tray on the edge of the bed's table stand, and opened the bag. There were three large steaks in there alright.. and one hunk of pan fried beef liver.
K: "Where..?" I trailed off.
AJ: "One of the suicide bombers got one of the barns. Real mess in there - and with the cafe gone, they didn't have anything else to do with them, so we ended up with 'em." She smirked at me. "I think they'd understand."
K: *Chortle*Cough* "Vegans.. on Earth.. always talked 'bout.. meat having a face. 'Round here..? Meat's.. got a voice, too." I made a painful smile.
Not that I let it bother me that my food - some of it - could actually beg for its life like a proper victim, here. I was, after all, an omnivore, even if my diet for the last few months started leaning far more heavily towards vegetables, fruits and grains. I still found ways to get meat - the cafe usually had a small cache of chicken or ham around for visiting predator species like Griffons, and some up-scale Manehattan restaurants did list things like ham steak on the menu (and I'm pretty sure at least one sold venison), but I avoided those for the most part. That and we had Turkey at the Apple Family Dinner Table about once a week or so (they used to only have it about three or four times a year, before). Doctor Allcome was right - Vitamin B12 can only be found in animal products, though Milk and Eggs (i.e. a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet) are an acceptable substitute in normal situations.
Dr. Allcome: "Try to eat as much as you ca-"
Gaze: "LYRA!"
I watched him gallop past the doors. In uniform. Captain Norfy was right behind him, but not running.. he actually stopped at the door, pushed it open, and looked at me.
Capt. Norfy: "General." He nodded.. rather.. unemotionally to me.
K: "Captain." I addressed him as best I could.
He saluted me, I saluted back.
Capt. Norfy: "Are your injuries serious?" Analytical.. almost cold, but there was concern there.
K: "Couple.. couple pints short. We won, though." I grunted.
Capt. Norfy: "Good to hear. Now, if you'll excuse me, my fellow Captain should be watched carefully, to make certain he's not more hinderance than help to Ranger Lyra's condition." He nodded and paced off.
Dr. Allcome: "Oh, yes, your team. Nothing major, except the guard that perished. Ranger Lyra took a spear to the flank, but no major damage. Miss Parasol was knocked on the head rather hard - slight concussion, no duty for a few weeks. And Mr. Graphite suffered from a burn while trying to pull the machine gun manually into a new position. He put his fetlocks over the barrel - nasty burn, he'll be out a couple weeks, too. And Luna's other guard.. Waxing Moonlight. He was wounded in the same explosion that claimed the life of his teammate-"
K: "Who..?" Not Sunshine! As greedy as it was, I begged -whatever- that it wasn't Sunshine.
Dr. Allcome: "Oh.. uhm.. Night Panther. Yes, that was his name." He looked at the floor, and shook his head, just as Dr. Well Wishes pushed the swinging door open.
Dr. Well Wishes: "And what's the butcher's bill going to be NEXT time you lead an operation-" *Spitefully* "-General?!" He pointed at me.
K: "GET. OUT." I was..suddenly quite angry.
Dr. Allcome: "Doctor, you're disturbing my patient, please leave." He was flat with his delivery.
Dr. Well Wishes: "And if I don't?" He was mocking with his.. but only for a moment did he bear such bold confidence.
Applejack whipped her Custer out and jammed it underneath his chin.
AJ: *Darkly* "Then you-all better b'thankful yer in a hospital! Maybe they'll b'able ta stuff enough'a yer brain back in fer you ta be a vegetable th' rest o' yer life! Naw git the buck outta here, 'fore I find out if yer head's as hollow as it sounds!" She SNEERED into his ear.
She held her other foreleg over his neck as she did this.. and for his part, he looked smug. Like he didn't think she had it in her to actually kill another pony.
Dr. Well Wishes: "Fine. I'll leave. But you just wait, you'll see. He doesn't care about us! All he wants is this damned war - it's all his fault." He spit the words spitefully at all of us.
He huffed and trotted away. Yep - a preachy Alan Alda. I felt like I was on the set of M*A*S*H with him around. I never did like that show.. sure, some of the episodes were okay, but.. eh. It just left a bad taste in my mouth for a lot of it.
AJ: "Why that no-good, low-down, varm'it suckin' son'u'va snake!" Her face was flushed with rage (AND IT WAS CUTE!).
K: "Please.. hun.. don't insult the snakes." I smiled weakly.
Dr. Allcome: "I apologise for my colleague.. I use that term lightly.." He lowered his head, getting all shy and introspective again.
K: "No.. s'okay.. he.. he just doesn't understand.. but in a way, he's right.." I tried to shake my head.
AJ: "Naw, he ain't. It's all Discord's fault - if'n he hadn't brought you here.." She trailed off.
K: "..and Tirek attacked anyway?" I pointed out.
AJ: "Yeah.. kinda.. I guess. Still!" She snorted.
Dr. Allcome: "Enough politics, it's bad for the digestion. Please, Miss Applejack, I think the patient could use some dinner now. If you'd be so kind as to help him? I have other patients to attend to." He nodded to us.
AJ: "Sho'nuff, Doc!" She smiled and nodded.
And I spent the next hour and a half eating beef liver and steak. Now, I'm not ordinarily a fan of liver, but right then, it was the tastiest thing I'd ever had. I wondered idly if it was Moorelia that I was eating? Or one of her friends? Cycle of life and all that. I couldn't - wouldn't - let myself feel bad about it. I was human, we ate meat, end of story. And right now, meat was exactly what I needed.
DATE: War Day 40
TIME: 13:32 ERST
LOCATION: Ruins of Canterlot, near the Royal Palace
Two days later, with me in a wheelchair constructed by Big Mac, I was in front of the Royal Palace with the princesses and their guards. A small ceremony - after over a month of work, enough of the palace had been restored for the Royal Sovereign, Princess Celestia, to once again rule from her home. Additions were being added to the palace as well - a proper martial training ground, a war room, and more. Even though I was confined to the wheel chair, we held a small ceremony to mark the occasion. Militia representatives from all the cities, dignitaries and debutant ponies, heroes of our previous battles..
..the real special event was the unveiling of The Heroes' Wall. Constructed from a large slab of smooth stone that had been part of the palace, this edifice would be engraved with the name of every pony that fell during the war. Right at the top was Steelhoof. Not that far below was Berry Punch. I got an odd feeling when I touched the stone, and I don't ordinarily get such feelings. I attributed it to body stress. Pain from my injuries and lack of blood volume playing tricks on my mind and soul.
The lot of us said our goodbyes to our fallen friends one last time. I knew that slab would have a lot more names before this was all over. We had killed two of Tirek's most important commanders, but it didn't mean that he was lacking for talent. I wondered how long the war would last, or where our next threat would come from. Either way I looked at it, this was going to bring a lot of destruction to Equestria.. in lives and property. Princess Celestia snapped me out of my internal debate.
Celestia: "So, General, what's the verdict?" She nudged me gently.
K: "On?" I came out of my internal reflection, looking at her.
Celestia: "Your condition, of course." She had a very.. motherly.. tone to her voice.
K: "I'll be out for a few weeks. But I can direct strategy in the meantime, easily." I shrugged.
Celestia: "What do you think about Tirek using so many Raptorians?" She tilted her head, more asking like a teacher might a student.
K: "He's afraid of the combined power of the Elements of Harmony, that's what. They must be able to defeat his Shadow creatures, and they must be able to do it effortlessly, or he'd use them as cannon fodder instead. That's the only conclusion I can come to - that, for as powerful as they are, they're simply too vulnerable to risk using. And that means he either has a limited supply, or, the Elements might somehow be able to seal off his ability to use them - either that the Shadow Demons can be erased up to the source by just getting a few, or that he has some totem that allows them to be called that would be lost or destroyed if the Elements themselves are used to banish the Demons." I nodded.
Celestia: "Interesting thought." She nodded to the side a bit, like she was trying to remember something.
K: "It also explains why he uses living creatures - they can think and adapt, and they can be taught and trained. A Shadow Demon, from what Chief Strongheart said, merely seems to copy the form of whatever it uses as a source. Not the mind, any more than the mind's basic knowledge. A twisted, dumber copy of one's own self, with no capacity for independent thought. So, while a Shadow Demon might know what tactics its original might use, it seems unable to adapt that knowledge into abstract action - Applejack and Pinkie's fight with Shadow clones of themselves." I pointed, gently.
Celestia: "This seems likely. We will look into these Shadow Demons more, as we have time. I've honestly never heard of anything like this before." She shook her head.
K: "Neither have I. Not exactly, anyway." I shrugged.
Celestia: "You should go home and rest, you look exhausted." Same mother-tone..
K: "I am exhausted, Your Highness. But this war waits for no one. I have to do whatever I can - that's what you entrusted me with." I nodded to her.
Celestia: "I understand your feelings, but, you can't do very much if you push yourself too hard to be any good to anypony." She pointed out, again, with the motherly tone.. and a slight touch of insistence.
K: "True." I sighed in defeat.
Applejack and I went home early. The others stayed behind to take part in a photo shoot for promotional reasons. Applejack put me to bed early, after a huge dinner that I was barely able to finish. She slept by me, too, to keep me warm.
As I lay awake that afternoon and early evening, before I drifted off to sleep, I wondered how Tirek was going to react to the loss of the Jewel Wizard, and what his next attempt would be.
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Repulse
DATE: War Day 47/21 Quintillius, 1002 C.S.
TIME: 12:33 ERST
LOCATION: Ponyville, Rose's Cafe
Rose had set up new cafe digs on the outside of what used to be her cafe. Lily and Daisy were there as well. The three were doing the cooking from a hastily-erected field kitchen sort of thing off to the side. I was no longer bound to a wheelchair, but short walks exhausted me. It was a workout just getting here without assistance, and I'd become very reliant on my cane. The girls - despite their position in the Militia - were still doing their jobs. I was alone, in as much as I hadn't brought anyone with me. There were a few ponies around, eating and donating to Rose's "Rebuild the Cafe" fund. I promised matching funds from the defence coffers. Though it confused me when both Princesses donated 1,000B each. Was that 500/500 or 1000/1000? I thought it best to just count it as the latter.
Of all people, The Time Lord himself decided to grace me with his company. His seventh incarnation, of all things. He called himself, simply, 'Smith.' He.. knew me, in a way. He was odd like that. I could tell he was Smith, and not one of the others, as he had a res paisley scarf around his neck at all times. From what little I knew about the series, he was the one who did the "talk to death" bit, and hated firearms.
And he chose me to sit next to?
Smith: "Hello, K----" He also used my full name.
K: "Hello.. Smith." I stated it, it wasn't an open invitation. "Mad at me?" I asked with a hint of apology.
Smith: "Oh, not at all." He was lying, but whatever.
K: "I figured you would be. I brought violence to this place.." I said, staring at my beef liver sandwich.
Smith: "Actually, it isn't your fault." He shrugged.
K: "Discord's..?" I asked as I nibbled at the sandwich.
Smith: "Uhm.. if it makes you feel better to accept that, then, yes, I suppose we can direct the cause at him." He shrugged.
K: *Sigh* "Look, if you're going to talk me-"
Smith: "Let's be clear about something. I only use my skills against those I consider a threat." He looked me right in the eye, more or less dropping his pretenses.
K: "Am I a threat?" I cocked a brow..
Smith: "You're still here, are you not?" His tone was even.
K: *Pregnant Pause* "I would say 'you're not that good' but I've never pretended to have an insanely resilient will, and you are exceptionally skilled. You could probably get me to hang myself with one sentence." I conceeded.
Smith: *Chortle* "Oh, such credit you give me." He smirked.
K: "Uh-huh. I don't buy the bumbling fool act. I've seen it too often. Can I help you, Smith?" I shook my head.
Smith: "Just wondering how the war is doing.." He trailed off.
K: "We lost another man in Operation: Royal Oak. One of Luna's guardsmen. He left behind a younger brother, and his mother." Again, I looked at the sandwich. I did wonder if this was how he 'did it' - one of his little hooks. "We accomplished our mission, however."
Smith: "So, you still think of your troops as individuals..?" He pressed me.
K: "Of course. How can I not? They're the one fighting this war.." I stared at the sandwich.. but my thoughts were on the dead.
Smith: "Yet you're the one who's been wounded so often." He pointed out.
K: "So? I'd die right now if I thought it would end this war and spare these.. all of these.. people.. ponies.. whatever, even one minute's suffering." I nodded solemnly.
Smith: "And you're sincere in this, I can see that." He nodded and sipped his tea. When did he get a teapot and tea?
K: "I am. I know it would break Applejack's heart, never mind J--'s.. but..." I shook my head. I was thinking of Applebloom.
Smith: "And that's why you're still alive." He nodded firmly.
K: "Pardon?" Ohh. He GOT me!
Smith: "You're not a heartless, warmongering monster. You fight because you have no choice. Because you seek to protect lives you consider valuable. Drawing a line in the sand between you and paradise." He shrugged a little.
K: "And why haven't you and the other Doctors ended this?" I dropped the pretense, too.
Smith: "We can't, obviously. Or we would have. We all deplore warfare. But you knew that already - you merely wanted to hear it." He smirked at me.
K: "Perhaps subconsciously, I did. So, you can't do anything?" I shook my head.
Smith: "I didn't say that." He looked over at the Tenth Doctor, blushing while he nuzzled Derpy, as they enjoyed a salad for two. "He intends on joining the militia as a quartermaster."
K: "That's not breaking any rules, is it?" I cocked a brow.
Smith: "Not at all. Perhaps I learn, later, to be more accepting of violence.. or I just find some reason to actually get violent." He shrugged.
K: "So.. are you all..?" I was curious about..
Smith: "Seperate entities. Here, at least. Not that the information is much value to you - you suspected this already." He nodded.
K: "Do all of you know what I'm thinking? What, do you discuss it over a game of Bridge on Wednesdays?" I chuckled a bit.
Smith: "Tuesdays, and you're the most fascinating thing to happen here in ages." He grinned mischeviously.
K: "I see." I cocked a brow with a smirk on my face.
Smith: "I can't tell you what might happen, or what could happen, I don't have that ability. What I can do is share with you some conversation, and assure you that this will end. Sooner or later." He seemed.. unusually nonplussed by this statement.
K: "I think I understand.." I finished my sandwich, and stood, walking over to the collection cauldron, to pay and donate. Walking back near him, I gave him a nod. "Until we meet again, Smith."
TIME: 14:24 ERST
LOCATION: Sweet Apple Acres, K's Barn
It took me much longer to get home than I would have liked. But, I got there and lay down to take a nap, only to have Applebloom come into the Barn and pace quietly over to me, and rub her head against my hand. Without realising it, I started petting her mane. When I did realise what I was doing, I looked down to see her shining little eyes looking up at me.
Applebloom: "S'yer gettin' better, right?" She asked, hopefully.
K: "Trying to. The Wizard took a lot out of me." My entire torso, from neck to waist, looked like a giant grape from the bruising the spell caused.
Applebloom: "Yer gonna git the monsters, right?" She asked, lowering her head a little.
K: "Not just me, but your big sister, too. All of us, sweetheart." I smiled at her.
Applebloom: "I.. uh.. I made you this." She blushed just a bit.
She walked over to my blueprint board, under my weapon rack, and tacked up a "Get Well Soon" picture of me and her standing together, with Applejack and Big Mac standing on the other side of me, with Granny on the other side of her.
Applebloom: "I hope.. it helps." Those little shining eyes were almost ready to drop tears.
K: "It does.. more than I can say. C'mere, gimme a hug. Be gentle, though.." Like she would. She was pretty strong in her own right.
Applebloom: "I'm gunna watch over for you, while you nap!" She said, picking up one of the carved, solid wood, rifle models I'd discarded and marching outside with it. "We all are!" Sweetie Belle and Scoots were outside, too.
The innocence of babes.. I decided I could leave my PA-63 uncocked, at least. My sleep wasn't as long as I wanted it to be, though.
TIME: 17:12 ERST
AJ: "K! WAKE UP!" She was running up to the barn, with her full gear on.
K: "What is it!?" I bolted up to a seated position, though I wished I hadn't.
AJ: "We gotta problem.." She stopped at the door.
Applebloom: "Advance an' give the counter-sign!" She stood fast at the door.
AJ: "I'M YOUR SISTER! MOVE!" She jumped the line of Crusaders easily. "This ain't no jokin' matter, Applebloom! Now git to the cellar with Granny!"
K: "What's going on?" I was already up, getting my shirt on, and sticking the PA-63 in its holster.
AJ: "You wouldn't believe it if I just told you, so come on, Honeybun, we got to get there!" She insisted, almost freaked out.
K: "Where!?" I was ready. Adrenaline was making my tired and depleted body hurt and burn, but I would deal with it.
AJ: "The road between here an' Canterlot. Come on, Mac's got a wagon hitched up for you." She nodded to the barn doors.
K: "Oka-Wait, what?" Confuse!
AJ: "JES' COME ON!" She dragged me out the door, and to a two-wheel cart. First Squad was all there.
K: "What's this, then?" I was pushed into the cart, and they started galloping. Odd sensation - a cart that drives itself (given that the horse is sentient).
AJ: "Don't worry about it." She snorted.
K: "Ace, give me Mac's Pershing." I nodded.
Mac: "Eyup." He let Ace put it in the cart with me.
I loaded a belt and ran the bolt. Whatever it was, disabled or not, I was going to chop it up. We rode out of Ponyville, and were joined by Rarity, Derpy, Cheerilee, and Second Squad, led by Golden Harvest herself. We galloped out of town, getting about a kilometer more before we were joined by Manehattan's 2nd Troop of Cavalry, and Valencio Orange. By the time we got to the trouble, we had three squads and then some. Granted, I wasn't anywhere near "field duty" condition, but I could, at least, man a gun.
What I saw about made me sick.. and made me want to cry at the same time.
Necromancy.
Revenants, ghouls, zombies, whatever you want to call them, I was looking at a small force of.. what used to be our friends. Steelhoof was in the lead. They were building some kind of blockade over the one river that separated Ponyville from Canterlot. They'd already demolished the wooden bridge, and were using its materials to build a road block.
K: *Ghh* "Lord, Have Mercy.." I crossed myself without thinking.
It's one thing to play Resident Evil, it's QUITE another to actually SEE someone's work of desecrating the dead with magical reanimation. It is MORE than enough to make even someone as 'casually' Catholic like myself not only look to God, but question the natural order of life.
Ace: "Dear Celestia.." He profaned.
Mac: "I.." He was just in shock.
Rarity: "Ohhh.." She was disgusted.
AJ: *Grimly* "What do we do?" She said, looking to me for answers.
K: "I.. I don't know! I don't think guns are going to work on them!" I shook my head.
Valencio looked at me like he'd been stabbed right in the confidence, and all the air just deflated from his ego sac.
Valencio: "You're the genius at war, General-"
K: "NATURAL war. REGULAR war. This isn't natural, this isn't regular, and this isn't right. It's Necromancy." I tried to think.. my brain was swimming, though - the blood loss had detracted from my ordinarily sharp mind. "Rarity, Applejack, go back to Ponyville and get the girls. We need the Elements of Harmony - it might be our only option." That was all I could come up with, and off they galloped.
Golden Harvest: "What do we do in the meantime?" She was afraid, I could hear it in her voice.
K: *Pause* "Build a fire." I said, with determination.
Mac: "A fire?" He looked a bit confused.
K: "Yes, Mac, a fire. A big one. One of the old zombie legends from Earth says.. they don't react too well to fire. Or salt. Mac? You and Ace take the cart and First Squad, and go get bags of salt. Lots of it. And bring Father Waddle." I nodded to them.
Mac: "But he's not-"
K: "He's a Priest. I'm going to at least try to fight this like we would have on Earth.. and hope it works. Now, go! Quickly!" I rolled out of the cart, and rocked to my feet, taking cover behind a tree along the road.
Golden Harvest: "And us?" She looked at the assembled troops.
K: "Gather firewood, hay, anything burnable. This tree is going to become a huge torch.." The tree was far enough away from any other stands of trees, or shrubbery, that it should be safe enough. "Derpy, Cheerilee, start digging a fire break around the tree, about ten meters from the base. Just in case."
I sat back and waited to be brought materials, and carefully stacked them around the base of the tree, so it would form the centerpiece of a bonfire. And, at the same time, hopefully, the bonfire wouldn't just burn the lower half of the tree and send it crashing over. All I could do was wait. Twilight and the girls got back first, with their little Power Morpher Pendant Thingies (my 'ever-so-technical' term for them).
Twilight: "We're ready!" She paced up.
K: "I don't know if this is going to work, but we have to try. Just wait, though, I don't want to get them riled up until we've got all our possible methods to resist them, in place." I was back from the tree, sitting by a rock. All this, and I was quite exhausted already.
Mac and First Squad arrived next with the Salt and Father Waddle. I thought he was going to have a coronary when he saw the undead.
Father Waddle: "OH! DEAR CELESTIA!" He bowed his head.
K: "Father? Got any Exorcism procedures?" I ased, casual but serious.
Father Waddle: "We haven't done Exorcisms in centuries! We're far more socially evolved than to abuse people like that." He nodded.
K: "You mean to say, no one has been legitemately possessed in centuries, so you stopped teaching the practice." I stated, simply.
Father Waddle: "Uh-well-yes, but we also found that most of those 'possessions' were actually just spells or other tricks..." *Ahem* "But, I can try something." He pondered, but nodded.
K: "Bless the river?" I guessed.
Father Waddle: "Yes, I can try that." He nodded firmly.
K: "Bless their bayonets and hatchets first, Father. My cane-sword, too." Hopefully, Celestia's Blessings can, indeed, be conferred by Earth Pony Priests.. and that they're effective.
Father Waddle went about saying blessings over everyone's bayonets and hatchets, he even anointed them with holy water that he'd brought with him. My cane-sword received the same treatment. I was usually null to.. really any feelings of "the supernatural" and even my wife said I wouldn't know a ghost if he up and pulled my chair out. But I could feel... *something* different about the cane-sword.
Mac: "The Salt?" He nodded to it.
K: "Everyone grab a bag and get in a line flanking the Elements. They'll go first, and if they don't kill the zombies again, wait for them to charge and start throwing hoof-fulls of salt on them until they get too close.. then go hand-to-hand. Father? If the Elements fail, Golden Harvest will escort you up a bit to the river's edge off on our left flank. Bless the water there, so the blessings will go down stream. Mac? After the.. action starts, light the bonfire. I want to trap them between us and the river." I nodded, forming a plan against the unplannable.
AJ: "You sure this is gonna work?" She tilted her head at me.
K: "I have absolutely no idea. Oh, and, try to decapitate them. If it doesn't kill them, hopefully it will at least cripple them." I nodded to Twilight to power up..
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Furious
TIME: 17:45 ERST
DATE: War Day 47
LOCATION: 1.5 km NNE of Ponyville, at the Shetland River Crossing
The Elements pulled off their Magic Blast attack. The massive bolt of rainbow-striped magical energy washed over the undead in a great tidal wave of mysticism and force. Now, given that I'd seen this dispel Nightmare Moon from Luna (though she did retain the Nightmare Power), and turn Discord to stone in the TV series, I EXPECTED this to either turn the undead into very unfortunate corpses for us to clean up, or perhaps even restore them to life. Something. This was supposed to work.
I was dead wrong, though I should have expected that from the start.
Nothing happened. I mean nothing. Not even a twitch. Like we weren't even there.
Twilight: "Wh-what do we do, now!?" She looked at me.
K: "They're just.. building the roadblock.. it's like we're not even here." I shrugged.
Golden Harvest: "Orders, General?" She looked at me, as well.
Painfully, I got up from my position and walked closer. I didn't bear my sword - I knew that was a mistake, though, I wasn't in the kind of condition to draw it quickly anyway - I just walked closer to them. And stopped about five feet from the walking corpse that used to be Berry Punch.
K: "Berry Punch!" I called to her.
Revenant: "..." It made a small sound, but I wouldn't call it a word.
K: "BERRY PUNCH!" I called louder.
Revenant: "..." It turned and looked at me.
The stare was haunting. She was... as though whatever spark of life that had animated her body, was a thousand miles away from me, though not five feet separated us. He skin was taut over her bones, the decomposition a minimum. The holes in her sewn-up corpse were there, and one could see right through them. I could see her internal organs, and the maggots that were feeding on them. These were indeed corpses. Mobile corpses of our old friends, not just machinations or illusions..
But what was inside them?
K: "Berry.. can you hear me?" I begged the mobile corpse.
Revenant: "..." Another non-word sound..
K: "BERRY! IT'S K! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?" I just about screamed.
Revenant: "..." She seemed to be looking at me.. or was it that she was looking THROUGH me?
K: "BERRY! CONCERTO LOVES YOU! HE STILL LOVES YOU!" Can she hear..?
Revenant: "..." She blinked. Something was getting through.
Then I saw the magic.. a single tear slid down her muzzle.
This would not call for a military solution. I backed off and returned to my comrades.
K: "Get Concerto. And Ironhide. And everyone that ever loved any of these ponies while they were alive!" I waved my weakened hand.
Twilight: "Wh-what do you mean?" She shook her head rapidly, not quite getting it.
K: "These aren't zombies, these are Revenants. A Revenant is a deceased person that returns as an animated corpse specifically to haunt one or more people they knew when they were alive. Basically, according to the old legends from earth, the only people they'll respond to, are people they were especially close to when they were alive." I looked at Harv. "This isn't something that calls for a military solution.." I blinked, realising what I was about to say. "This is something that can only be solved with the magic of friendship. And love."
Golden Harvest: "Are you serious?" She cocked a brow, but she kinda.. kinda understood.
K: "One hundred percent. Only the living can convince them to return to their graves peacefully. I.. I won't take a life that I don't have to, and there's still something left in those Ponies that could be considered 'them' - I won't kill them. Not unless I have absolutely no other choice. Pinkie?" I nodded to her.
Pinkie: "Yeah?" She seemed especially disturbed by this.
K: "You know everyone - get them. Get everyone they ever loved. If you have to cross the river, do it down stream - Fluttershy, Dash, you'll have to carry her across. Now go! Quickly! We might not have much time." I gestured to her.
They left in a hurry. I sat on a rock near Big Mac and put my arm over his neck.
K: "Buddy.. I don't know what to say. This is the most twisted, most corrputed way to use friendship and love that I've ever seen.." I let out a sigh. This whole experience was emotionally draining me.
Mac: "It's alright.. brother.." He looked down a bit.
K: "Did you just call me..?" I was taken aback.
Mac: "Gonna marry my sister.. makes you my brother." He nodded and stuck a piece of wheat in his mouth, chewing on the stem.
K: *Blush* "Thanks.. I.. I really mean that." I hugged him.
Mac: "Eyup." All he did was smile a little.
TIME: 18:33 ERST
It took Pinkie less than an hour to round up every pony she could that was related to, friends with, or loved one of the Revenant Ponies. They weren't happy. I assembled them about 500 meters back, behind a small stand of trees. It was quite a crowd we had here - considering every Pony that had died in the war up to this point had been reanimated and brought here, and in some cases, they had three or four people there to talk to them.
K: "Everyone quiet down!"
They hushed.
K: "What we have here.. are Revenats. In my world, this means 'those that return.' They have been reanimated by necromancy.. and as I understand, this magic is entirely forbidden in this world, yet we face it. Now, listen carefully to my instructions. It is you, and only you, that can convice your loved ones to return to their eternal rest. You must do so with love in your heart, and friendship in your soul. You must tell them exactly the following: 'Dear X. I love you a great deal, and I will always think of you, but you have died. You are being used by evil to cause us harm - something I know you would never do. We never got to say goodbye properly before, but we can say it now. You must rest now, and know that I will always think of you.' We will march over to the Bridge, and you will split into groups and find your loved ones. You must tell them goodbye."
I was leaning on my cane. Exhaustion was creeping up the back of my spine, making me want to sit down. To sleep. But I couldn't - these ponies trusted me, I had to explain this to them. I had to be there for them. I had to.. just to prove to myself, if anyone, that violence wasn't always necessary - even in war, there were times when words carried more weight than bullets.
Perhaps some of my neigh-sayers (Yes, I did it) would see this, too.
Concerto: "And how do we know this will work?" He shrugged.
K: "Because Berry Punch responded to me when I called YOUR name, sir!" I pointed at him. "There's still something left of them in there - some fragment of their soul, they recognise your names, they still feel love!"
Concerto: "How do you know that for sure!?" He demanded.
K: "Because Berry Punch shed a single tear when I told her you still loved her." I lowered my head.
*Crowd murmuring*
K: "I've learned something over the last two years I've been here - in this world, friendship really IS magic. And so is love. It's the most powerful magic this realm has. That's why you have the Elements of Harmony, not elements of nature. The love in your hearts is what's going to send them back to their eternal rest! Not bullets! This isn't a battle of bombs and spears, this is a confrontation of our hearts." I was on the verge of tears.
*Crowd murmuring again*
Concerto: "I'll do it." He stood to the front.
Ironhide: "Me, too." He moved ahead of him, not wanting to be upstaged.
Pina Colada: "I wanna help my sister!" She jumped.
*Crowd chiming in, in agreement*
K: "Alright, it's settled. Everyone stick close to First and Second Squad. If something bad happens, they will get you out of the way. Whatever is controlling them, or whomever reanimated them, might come back. Now, let's go." I nodded to them, despite my near-exhaustion.
I led them - how could I not? - over to their deceased-but-animated loved ones. I watched as they spoke to them, I saw tears fall from dead eyes, their souls being reached.. and I saw them slowly, but surely, stop what they were doing..
...and march towards the graveyard north of Ponyville where all the dead from the war had been buried.
One at a time.
In a single file line.
The dead returned to their graves.
My emotions were all over the place as I watched this. I hugged Fluttershy, of all ponies, as I watched this emotional scene of love twisted around, and I let her cry into my shoulder. She was crying for both of us. At this point, I was too exhausted for tears. All I could do was sit there, and stroke her mane, and tell her.. promise her.. that we would stop whoever did this, from doing anything like this, ever again.
{End of Chapter 14}
