Chapter 21: Fire and Storm
Part 1: Tricks and Traps
TIME: 02:30 ERST
DATE: War Day 142
LOCATION: 1.2 km from the ruins of Dream Castle, at the River's Edge
Luna was pacing back and forth, behind Twilight, as Twilight was running through a gamut of spells. Luna and Twilight were switching off, with Luna instructing Twilight on how to hit certain energy frequencies or use certain types of magics. Really, Luna was a fantastic coach. Twilight had, of course, been extremely nervous at first, but, with Luna encouraging her, she'd done quite well - at least, so Luna said. I wouldn't know. Magic wasn't something I was familiar with.
I spent the hour going over the terrain with the Marines and Paratroopers, explaining to them the different pitfalls we knew to look out for. The entire offensive had come to a halt at the Barrier - and that gave me the luxury of picking what units would push into the deeper parts of the forest, towards Dream Castle itself. Gilda's unit with what was left of the Wonderbolts, two Marine squads under Forest Spirit's command, three Ranger squads under Lt. Dex and Big Mac, Lt. Weaver's Paratroopers, and two platoons of Detrot Infantry under Norfy. Detrot's Engineers and reserve units would be backing us up. I was having a little impromptu officer's meeting over near Steve's memorial.
Dex: "So.. what's the scuttlebutt I hear about this Trix-chick bein' an Alicorn?"
K: "Simple evaluation of her power level by Princess Luna." I shrugged.
Spirit: "That makes her very dangerous." He nodded.
Lt. Weaver: "What're we going to do, specifically, to take her down?"
K: "Princess Luna is strongest at night, and it's right around two thirty A-M. Her combined with our other expert mages will hit Trixie with everything they have." I looked at Norfy. "Meanwhile, Marine and Ranger snipers have full authority to take any shot on her they can get. If she IS an Alicorn, even she has limits to her power. She can't stop everything we can throw at her - especially if she's distracted actually trying to counter magic."
Norfy: "Do my best, sir, you know that." He nodded.
Gilda: "We'll get her, Norfy." She patted him on the back. "With all of us together, we can do anything."
I grinned. Months ago, she would have slapped him in the face and called him a flip-flop or something. Today, she was cheering him on. War made bonds, though it forged those bonds in the blood of innocents and soldiers alike. I nodded to all of them.
K: "Alright, you have your assignents. Be careful." I warned as I got up and went over to where Luna and Twilight were standing. "Report?"
Luna: "We are nearly through, My General. Twilight has found the correct counter for the type of energy used here - on a hunch, no less." She smiled happily. "My sister has a very intelligent student."
Twilight: "Th-thank you, Princess." She smiled happily, if nervously.
K: "Alright." I waved back to the officers to get the troops in position. "Blow it. We're ready for this."
I watched as the barrier was assailed by magical energy coming from both Luna and Twilight. It didn't take long, and the barrier was completely breached. Not just a hole, but the entire barrier came crashing down in shards of shattered energy. Like a waterfall of power.
K: "Everyone advance!" I called as I moved up to where Luna was. "Come on."
We marched the rest of the way, double-timing it. We weren't sure what would be ahead of us, but we were certain that Trixie would know we were on our way. And we wanted blood.
TIME: 01:30
We reached the crevace.. the old bridge was long gone, our assault bridges were gone, and the semi-permanent bridge we had put up to replace both, was also destroyed.
K: "Assault Bridges. Move 'em up." I gestured.
Corporal Campanula and the rest of the Engineer squad from Detrot moved up.
Norfy: "Careful, Campa.." He urged, as the Detrot and Ponyville infantry took cover positions at the edge of the foliage.
Cpl. Campanula: "Si. Always." She said, as she moved up with the rest of the Engineers.
K: "Spotters and Snipers, I want eyes on the ruins." I said. "Comms, be ready to call for Air Strike or Arty - Trixie might have anything here."
Spirit: "Aye-Aye." He went and passed the word while the Engineers worked.
Sgt. Sigmask: "Does anyone hear.. bubbling?" He looked at me, and then to the crevice..
Engineer Pony: "Hey! There's something down there!"
K: "Dex! Move your unit up!"
Dex: "Right, dude-sir!" He made a hand motion, and the Paddock County Rangers advanced from the foliage.
Engineer Pony #2: "It's.. green!"
Engineer Pony Officer: "No, it's blue.."
Before Dex's ponies reached the edge of the crevice, I watched as a wave of multi-colored goo surged out of the tear in the cliff side. Its speed was frightening - it instantly pounced on the edge we were on, and psuedopods of goo started grabbing Engineers off the cliff's edge. There was screaming..
K: "OPEN FIRE! WATCH YOUR SHOTS!" I called, uselessly.
I had to watch as the psuedopods engulfed their victims.. and dissolved them. Our rounds were useless.. the bullets would penetrate, make ripples, and dissolve inside the multicolored beast.
K: "FORGET IT! RETREAT! RETREAT NOW! DEX, GET THEM OUTTA THERE!"
Norfy: "CAMPA!"
Campanula: "IT'S GOT ME! SOMEONE HELP! AAAAAAHHH!! IT BURNS!!"
I had to grab Norfy by the tail to keep him from running out there.
K: "CAPTAIN, WITHDRAW YOUR UNIT, -NOW-." I ordered.
Norfy: "BUT, K!"
K: "NOW!!" I screamed in his face, hurling him back behind me, by his tail, with all my might.
Dex: "OUR GUNS ARE USELESS!" He screamed, grabbing for an Engineer's hoof, only to have it slip from his grasp. "NOOO!!"
Forest Spirit dashed out there with a Knox, and fired it right into the psudeopod holding Campanula by the back leg. The explosion was close, and sent spraying gooish acid everywhere. I watched him haul her over his shoulder and run back towards us.
I was the last to run.. only when I was absolutely sure we couldn't help anyone there, did I pull back. And even then..
Luna: "K! MOVE!" She had to jam her head under my arms and, with Applejack's help, DRAG me off the field.
K: "MAC! GET ME AN AIR STRIKE! NAPALM! BURN THAT PILE OF SLIME! BURN IT BACK TO HELL!" I screamed, as I was being pulled off the front.
We pulled back.. no, we were routed. This wasn't the orderly retreat of a disciplined army, this was a pell-mell run-for-your-life by a gang of similar-shirted rabble. We ran all the way back to the river.. we didn't stop until the 1st and 2nd CAS flew over our heads, carrying full racks of Napalm bombs.
Once we were at the river, I staggered over to a rock and sat down.
K: "Casualties!" I called to no one in particular.
Fluttershy: "Uhm.." She sheepishly stepped forwards. "..the Detrot Engineer Company has been destroyed. F-Five survivors." She looked at the ground. "All of them are seriously wounded. And the Paddock County Rangers lost three ponies trying to save them, with four wounded. Three Marines are injured, one seriously. It's Captain Spirit." She paced away, likely afraid I'd fly off the handle.
K: "..fuck." Was all I could say.
I got up and went over to where the Medics had set up a triage area. Forest Spirit wasn't hard to find.
K: "Redheart, how is he?" I asked, grimly.
Nurse Redheart: "His right eye is seriosuly damaged from acid slime and shrapnel from his own grenade." She said, having finished flushing the wound with water, and now hurredly bandaging it. "He needs a hospital. Now."
K: "MAC! Tell 1st and 2nd to land here after they Salvo, for Medevac."
Mac: "Eeyup!" He moved off to the nearest commspony.
Corporal Campanula was the next person I found. My heart hit my throat when I saw Nurse Sweetheart bandaging her leg.. or, what was left of it.
K: "How bad?" I asked.
Nurse Sweetheart: "Bad. Burn amputation above the right rear fetlock. Better than being eaten alive, I suppose." She said, grimly.
Norfy ran into the Triage area, and collapsed next to Campanula.
Norfy: "Campa..?"
Nurse Sweetheart: "I gave her something to knock her out. Let her be, Captain. She needs to be Medevac'd."
Norfy: "Campa..!" The tears in his eyes fell to her chest. He stood up, though, and staggered over to Captain Forest Spirit. "Forest.. Spirit.. I.. I can't thank you enough. I don't know if you can hear me.. but.. you saved the woman I love.. thank you.. thank you." I saw him gently hug Spirit's foreleg.
K: "Come on, Captain. We have a war to fight. We cry after the battle's over." I reminded him as I staggered away from the triage area.
Norfy: "First my best friend, now my Mare.." He stood up. "..I'm going to kill her." He punched the nearest rock.
K: "Clear head, Captain. Anger gets men killed." I reminded him.
Norfy: "Yeah, I know.. give me a minute."
K: "Alright." I said as I paced over to where Luna was. "Luna.. what the hell was that thing?"
Luna: "I have no idea. I've never seen anything like it before. That wasn't Smooze, Necrooze or anything of the sort. It was something very different. A single entity.. a slime monster?" She shrugged. "I have no other definition for it."
I watched as Major Swift Sure landed with his Wing and started grabbing Ponies in litters. Over to him, now.
K: "Major, did the Napalm destroy the monster?"
Maj. Swift Sure: "No, General. The Naplam had almost no effect on it." He shrugged. "We may as well have been throwing rocks. But it retreated into the crevice, sir. It's not advancing."
K: "FUCK!" I cursed in frustration. "We need that thing dead!" I paced and waved a hand to dismiss him. He grabbed a litter with another Pony and took off.
Pacing back and forth, I started to think about.. well, how do you defeat a monster made of goo, if you can't burn it?
K: "AHA!" I slapped my leg. "LUNA!" I ran over to her.
Luna: "Yes, My General?"
K: "Does this world have liquid nitrogen?" The Blob.. the T-1000.. they reminded me of this thing.
Luna: "I.. think so.." She paused and scratched her chin. "I believe hospitals use it to remove warts."
K: "GILDA!" I yelled, running.. somewhere.. until I ran into her.
Gilda: "Yes, K?!"
K: "Get back to the Clinic. Grab all the Liquid Nitrogen they have in storage..." I looked over. "MAC!"
Mac: "Eeyup?"
K: "Call Manehattan General Hospital, I need all the Liquid Nitro they have in storage! Every drop! Have them send it by the fastest-"
Dash: "Right here!" She marched up.
K: "Have them get it ready for transport, tell them I'm sending a messenger to get it." I nodded to Dash. "Go, girl!" She zoomed off. Spitfire and Soarin' took off after her.
This was crazy.. I didn't even know if they had enough Liquid Nitrogen to get the job done, but it was probably our only chance.. that slime beast must be destroyed, or we're not getting anywhere.
The question was, would Trixie or even Grogar be waiting for us, or was this merely an exercise in futility?
{End of Part 1}
Part 2: Cold Shoulder
TIME: 03:12 ERST
DATE: War Day 142
LOCATION: 900m from Dream Castle, north side of the River
I paced around our little forward position - I'd moved everyone with Knox Grenade Launchers up front, and everyone without them, to the rear. My units were scattered because of this, and I was assigning new Squads based on fire power, not unit designation. It was a mess, but it was a working mess. Despite being all from different places, the Militia inter-operated like professionals.
K: "Sigmask!"
Sgt. Sigmask: "Yes, General?"
K: "You're senior in the Marines. I'm making you Staff Sergeant. You're senior NCO now." I nodded to him.
SSGT Sigmask: "Aye-Aye, General." He nodded, but didn't salute.
K: "MAC!" I pointed to him
Mac: "Eeeyup?" He puffed up.
K: "I want you out front. Use caution." I pointed back to the line.
Mac: "Eeyup." A firm nod.
K: "DEX!" I pointed to him, now
Dex: "Yes, General Dude?" He was a bit broken up, but he held a brave front.
K: "You're now a Captain. Take command of all Paratroopers, Rangers and Marines as Senior Officer." I nodded to him.
Dex: "You got it, General." He nodded sharply, all business.
K: "Norfy!" I pointed to him.
Norfy: "Yes, K." He stood forwards, calmer.
K: "You're leading the Militia. All of it." I nodded to him, now.
Norfy: "Yes, General." He, too, stood proud with determination.
K: "Weaver!" I called out to her.
Lt. Weaver: "Yes, General?" She paced up.
K: "Keep your Paratroopers back. You don't have heavy weapons. Hold our rear, guard our six." I nodded to her.
Lt. Weaver: "Yes, General." She nodded back.
K: "Luna? ETA on that Nitro." I moved back over to her.
Luna: "Dash and Gilda are inbound, My General. What's your plan?" She pawed the ground.
K: "Simple. We bait it out into the open, and freeze it in place." I nodded.
Luna: "Then what?" She shrugged her wings.
K: "We blow it up and hope it isn't like one giant bacteria that can operate all of its blown-off parts independently. ETA on the reserve Engineer Squad?" I nodded in the direction of Ponyville.
Luna: "They'll be here. They're advancing now." She nodded to me.
K: "Good. I want those bridges up and over as soon as that thing is dead." I pointed towards the direction of the crevasse.
Luna: "Understood, My General." She nodded firmly.
I paced.. orders issued, I paced like an expectant father. I'd already lost an entire company of Engineers to a monster. I wasn't about to let that happen again. Trixie really got us this time.. this was our bloodiest battle so far. It wasn't going to be a clean victory like all the others. This was bordering on phyrric, and I knew it. Engineers weren't easy to replace, for one, and we lost all that combat and training experience.
And from a personal standpoint, we just lost a lot of friends.
I watched as Gilda's crew, with Dash, Spitfire and Soarin' came streaking over the forest.
K: "Friendlies on our six - here comes the special deliv-"
Lt. Weaver: "ENEMY FLIERS, FIVE O'CLOCK!"
Sure enough.. Raptorians. Flying Raptorians - looked like a full Wing or better.
K: "OPEN FIRE! OPEN FIRE! GIVE OUR PONIES COVER!" I raised my Zhukov and let it spray into the night sky.
Lt. Weaver: "GIVE ME FIRE ON THOSE TARGETS! TAKE THEM DOWN!" She ordered, directing the fire of her paratroopers.
Bullets stitched across the sky, hitting Raptorians as they came into range. It wasn't easy, they weren't exactly wearing neon yellow, but the combined fire of our ground units either knocked them down, or chased them off. Gilda led the air unit to land right in the river, and get down below our firing arc.
K: "Status?"
Lt. Weaver: "I don't see any more, General."
K: "Good." I ran over to Gilda, who was hefting two very large tanks. "How much did we get?"
Gilda: "About a hundred litres." She shrugged. "I hope its enough. Spitfire and Dash rigged up some fuses for the tanks. Small charges, should cut them open along a nice seam."
K: "Excellent. Alright. Hopefully, that was the last of the Raptorians." I motioned to the troops. "Alright, advance to the crevasse. Watch your corners, heads on swivels."
Luna: "You know, My General.."
K: "Yeah, I know. Where did the Raptorians come from?" I shrugged. "And did they know what Gilda was carrying?" I shook my head. "We'll worry about that later. For now, we need to end this battle."
Luna: "Agreed."
We advanced again. And just like last time, we encountered no resistance until we reached the crevasse. The slime monster was just sitting there.. right at the edge. Sure, we could blow the rocks and send him to the canyon floor below, but he'd be back, and at our six, cutting us off.
K: "Alright.. we have one shot at this. Our only other alternative would be to smother this place in Artillery and hope for the best - and I don't think that'll work very well. It'd probably just cause an ecological disaster." I shrugged. "Gilda. Go to it. You have the lead."
Gilda: "Understood." She took off, with the rest of the Wonderbolts plus Dash right along side her.
K: "Knoxes, out front, load with HE, get ready to fire."
Dex: "Got it." He moved ahead with Mac and spread everyone with a Knox out across a small arc facing the monster.
I waved my hand, and Gilda and the ponies with her made their bombing run. Two canisters per Pony, fourteen ponies. They threw them at the monster, and I watched the canisters be absorbed by the beast.. one after the other. I was a bit unnerved when the detonators failed - I thought for sure it was all over, but the acidic properties of the slime beast itself worked better than any detonator we could have rigged up. The acid ate through the metal, and released muffled clouds of rapidly decompressing liquid nitrogen inside of the huge multi-colored beast, until it froze... completely froze.
K: "Fuckn' NICE!" I looked at Dex. "Dexy, do me a favor?"
Dex: "Yo, General-Dude."
K: *Ahem* "Blow that piece of crap to itty bitty pieces." I thumbed in its direction.
Dex: "Roger that, General-Dude. OPEN FIRE!"
The Knoxes thumped their deep bass fire, and the shells arced and hit the beast, blowing chunks off and shattering it like glass. It took several salvoes of grenade fire, but the beast was reduced to almost nothing.
I advanced alone, grabbing a large tree branch, and shoving it under the base of the beast, heaving it over the edge of the crevasse.. I watched it tumble, shatter, and finally explode like frail glass at the bottom of the canyon.
K: "ASSAULT BRIDGES!" I called, still looking at what remained of the monster, the thing that had killed an entire company of my ponies.
Jim Beam: "You heard the man! Move it!" Jim, of course.. I cast a side glance to him as they brought up the Assault Bridges, and laid them across the crevasse.
The bridges in place, I was the first one across. I changed magazines, not sure how many rounds I'd expended agaisnt the Flyers.
K: "Everyone use caution. We have no idea what Trixie's laid out for us."
Then, I found them.
K: "EVERYONE FREEZE RIGHT NOW!"
Kneeling down, I gently used the barrel of my Zhukov to test what I'd seen. A string.. laying across a bush. It was attached to one of those mortar shells we'd seen ages ago.
Trixie had rigged up tripwires.
K: "Jim! Tripwires!" I called out. Looking at Dream Castle, it was just a few meters ahead.. "Jim, clear these tripwires. Gilda! Give me a lift!" I held my arms out.
Gilda: "Gotcha!" She fluttered over and grabbed me with her talon-hands. "Come on, everyone! OVER the traps!"
K: "Weaver! Get up here!" I called to her. We'd need every gun we could get.
Lt. Weaver: "I can.." She just GRABBED Norfy - he was closest to her - and carried him over the mine field.
Norfy: "Whoa-Hey! Careful!" He said, as he was lifted, grabbing extra hold of his Sherman as he was lifted off the ground.
K: "Right to the gates, Gilda." I instructed.
I could see all the craters from the air strike I'd called in, ages ago. Why here? Why this place? Convenience? Something more? Gilda set me down, and I pushed what was left of the front door open.
K: "Alright, sweep and clear mode. Grab a partner, move carefully. Gilda, go with Weaver. Norfy, Dash, there's an odd number, you two with me."
Dash: "Yeah, and don't call me Firefly again." She playfully tousled his hair, and gave Gilda a quick peck on the cheek. She wasn't so shy about her feelings towards her any more.
Norfy: "Hey, no promises." He smirked. "After all, we WERE in LOVE.." He made googly eyes.. even he was more comfortable with his rememberances, his own touch of darkness.. to the point he felt comfortable enough to joke about it.
And other officers wonder why I turn to these guys first?
We advanced through the ruins.. the second floor was gone, now, but we advanced past the rotting corpse of the blue Raptorian I'd killed ages ago. The materials he had been studying, we'd simply left there. Now, they were gone - and we could tell they'd only been removed recently.
K: "We should've pulled this place apart for intel, instead of just calling it a day. I'm going to take an expedition to Hydia's first thing. And we're pulling her place apart, right down to the bricks. I'm sick of not knowing anything and reacting to theories." I huffed as I found stairs leading down. "I've got point. Cover me."
Norfy: "Right. I've got rear."
We stepped down the stairs carefully, watching our corners and being aware of more possible traps.
Then, we heard voices. I held my hand up for them both to stop.
Trixie: "..and if we DON'T find it, we're DONE, you understand, cud-breath!?"
Grogar?: "Yees, Mistress Trixie.." *Sound of licking chops* "..and we get our rewards, yes?"
Trixie: "The only thing you get, if you fail me, is a slow, painful death.." *Short sniff* "..I happen to love grilled goat." *Pause* "And that goes double for Donkey!"
*Braying noise*
Brey?: "Yes! Yes! We will find it! We have our sources..."
Trixie: "You'd better. This castle was a bust after all.."
K: *Very silent murmur* "Move in, take Trixie down first."
We crept to the bottom of the stairs..
Trixie: "..AH! WE HAVE COMPANY!" *Magic noise*
Norfy: "GENERAL!"
I felt myself shoved forwards. Without missing a beat, I rolled to my right, and opened fire as soon as my sights cleared the edge of the stair well.
I didn't hit anything but air and walls. Then again, it's not easy to align sights on targets when those targets are floating in mid air, and you expect them to be on the ground.
Trixie: "IT'S YOU AGAIN!" She screeched.
Norfy: "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, HAG!"
Trixie: "F'ahahaha! DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH, ICE FIZZLE!"
She was an Alicorn alright. Her astral mane was a pale pastel of colors close to her own hair color. But something was different about her.. for one thing, her face was completely repaired. For another, her eyes were sparkling. Like cut gems..
K: "NORFY! BE CAREFUL!" I said as I rolled up behind a barrel and relaoded my Zhukov. "DASH! GET GROGAR!"
Grogar dashed off to the left. Brey opened fire with a Sherman, peppering my position with rounds. I felt one of them cut into my upper left shoudler.
Norfy: "My name is Norfy Loconsole, Trixie.." He said, advancing on her, his horn glowing. "..and I'm going to splatter you all over the wall!"
I watched as a bolt of energy fired from her EYES, and hit Norfy square in the chest. But I couldn't worry about that right now. Brey was busy reloading, so I popped my head up over the barrels.
K: "You've had your ten. Now take my thirty!" I opened fire on full automatic, hosing Brey down - but, much to my dismay, I found he was wearing brown armor of some kind. My rounds seemed to bounce clear off of him.
Brey: "EEHHAHA!"
He threw something, and I knew better than to stay put. I dove for the nearest thing I could find - a hole. And I fell down to the sub-basement level, just as the sound of erupting flame hit the barrels I had been taking cover by.
Rolling to a stop, I reloaded, watching the stairs that led down here. Sure enough, here he came. Meanwhile, I could hear magic being fired off up above me. Shots blasting the walls - blasting fleshy things. I hoped Norfy was okay. I couldn't hear what was happening to Dash. But I opened fire on Brey's legs, just as he jumped to the floor above. I hear him run across the floor, towards the rear area of the basement. So, I followed him from below.
In this rear area - some kind of store room - there were all kinds of barrels and crates. Looked like food. I felt my shoulder, my hand coming away with blood. My left arm was a bit numb, but it was working well enough. I pulled out my handkerchief and gave the grazing wound a quick tie-off. Nice and tight.
Rounds pierced the wooden catwalk that stitched the room overhead, landing all around me. Little pockmarks hit the ground, and I went scrambling. Up behind a set of shelves, and I returned fire in the general direction of the catwalk where the shots originated from. I couldn't SEE him, and that was my biggest problem.
Brey: "Come out, human! Your death will be quick!"
K: "Yeah.. sure.. why don't you come out? All I want to do is talk." I said, coyly.
I fired at the sound of the voice. Only to take fire from another direction. He was throwing his voice..
I rolled to another position. A burst of light fired through the wall on the floor above me, cutting a line of burnt brick on the opposite wall. I heard Brey shout, and fired at that position before moving again.
I had to get closer.
I ran for the stairs, throwing myself up them, boots pounding on the wood as I slammed my feet down one after another. Once I was up on the catwalk, I had no cover. I fired at Brey until my magazine ran dry, tossed the Zhukov to the side, and pulled my Custer with one hand, and that sword with the other. I fired as I charged across the catwalk, expending all six rounds as Brey let loose all ten of his.
I kept my arm cocked back, and once I got close, and saw his bolt lock back as empty, I threw the Custer at his face. It impacted, and made him drop the Sherman. I swung my sword, missing him as he rolled back and ran as fast as he could, away from me.
He ran back to the room where Trixie and Norfy were fighting.
Norfy: "SURPRISE!" And right into Norfy.
Norfy gut-checked Brey, and sent him flying forwards, tumbling towards the center of the room.
K: "Where's Trixie!?"
Norfy: "RAN!" He jumped on Brey, just as Brey pulled another vial and flung it.
The vial missed Norfy, but it didn't miss me. I barely had time to duck, and the concussion of the bursting charge sent me sprawling on my ass.
Norfy recovered, and got up on his hind legs.
Norfy: "BRING IT, DONKEY!"
Brey: "I'll KILL you!" Brey advanced for hoof-to-hoof, and I watched as Norfy danced with him.
Norfy swung, Brey ducked, and just missed hitting him in the ribs. Norfy head-butted him in the face, sending Brey back a bit, then followed up with a one-two combo to Brey's jaw. Brey staggered back, and tried to pull another vial from his belt, only to have Norfy jump-kick him in the balls. I even winced as Brey let out a *HHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEE-HAWWWWWWWW!!!* of pain. Norfy socked him in the snout, sent another hoof to Brey's bread basket, roundhouse kicked him in the teeth, and when he landed, Brey slammed into the wall, a bloody mess.
Brey staggered forwards from the wall, just as Norfy got on all fours, his horn glowing.
K: "FINISH HIM!"
One super-charged bolt of ice later, and Brey was frozen in place, a perfect statue of ice. Norfy charged and horn-rammed the ice statue, shattering it. Skidding to a stop, he turned to face me, with a little smirk on his face.
Norfy: "Flawless Victory."
I pulled myself up off the ground, and grabbed my sword. Shaking my head, I saw Rainbow Dash come up from the side room, a bit beaten up and very frustrated.
Dash: "Grogar escaped! Trixie pulled him out.." She spat blood from her mouth, to the ground. "And he messed me up pretty bad, too." She looked at Norfy, and back to me. "What happened here?"
K: "Mortal combat." I said, staggering over to Norfy and patting him on the head. "Good job, Captain."
Norfy: "Thank you, General." He brushed himself off. "But it seems we've lost both enemy commanders." A shrug.
At least this battle was over with. Now, we could focus on cleaning up.. and preparing for the next one.
Now we knew that Trixie was out there - that she was learning from us, and what we did. Worse, she had managed to escape with another problem - Grogar. He could pull a repeat of this again, and we'd be back to square one. We needed to know.. ANYTHING. What were they looking for here? What was the strength of their forces? Where were they going now?
They were questions we'd have to answer another time.
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Cleaning Up
TIME: 07:27 ERST
DATE: War Day 142
LOCATION: Ponyville
We got back to town in short order. Once the commanders were gone, and Bray was dead, there was nothing more to do. I walked all the way to the Ponyville Hospital, and just went into Well's office, and sat down.
He came in about thirty minutes later.. and saw me just sitting there.
Well Wishes: "..you look terrible." He nodded to me.
K: "We lost fifty-five Engineers." I said, with a sound like pebbles in my throat. "They're gone, Doctor. Gone. An acidic ooze dissolved them. There's not even anything left to bury."
Well Wishes: "And what do you expect from me?" He tilted his head, sitting down at his desk.
K: "A stern talking-to. Something along the lines of how I'm a horrible butcher-"
Well Wishes: "Stop." He leaned over his desk. "Stop right now, General."
K: "..Well?" I blinked.
Well Wishes: "Major Field showed me that you're not the monster I thought you were. He.. he was far worse. I said before, last night, I should be the first one defending your actions. You know far more about this war stuff than I ever care to.. and you approach it with a.. a fragility that I approach medicine." He nodded, and started his tea kettle. "A reverence. A care. For each life you are responsible for."
K: "I try.." I trailed off.
Well Wishes: "The very fact that you came here, wanting punishment, for what you see as failure.. that tells me.. I was right. You CARE." He tapped his hoof on his desk. "You care more than a lot of others might. You care enough that this brings you pain."
K: "It.. it does." I nodded. "I can still hear the screams."
Well Wishes: "I'm writing you a prescription, General." He did, in fact, whip out his scrip pad, write on it, and hand it to me. "I expect it followed. To. The. Letter." He was firm, but he smiled.. warmly.
The prescription said, simply, "REST AND FOOD."
K: "Thank you.. Doctor.." I was tearing up.
Well Wishes: "I want this war over with, General. But, that won't happen with you frizzled to a fine thread. We can't win this without you." He gave me a short nod. "Go on, now. I'm sure Miss Apple would love to help you with this prescription."
I shakily rose from my seat, and nodded respectfully to him.. and exited without another word.
I really was exhausted. But, I needed to see what was going on, first. I got back over to City Hall, our fallback headquarters, and found the Senior Officers were assembling to compare notes.
K: "I want to thank everyone for their efforts, today." I said, pacing in, and leaning on the sand table. "This whole.. the last two days have been total insanity. The Militia that showed up.. Detrot, I know you guys traveled the furthest.." I looked at them. "..everything. You've been a massive help. Without you, we would have been destroyed. And even then, we very nearly were." I nodded to each of them in turn. "We lost.. a lot of good friends today." I looked over at an acid-melted Engineer helmet. "Big losses." I nodded. "But.. we won." I looked up. "Go back to your homes.. and do the one thing no commander wants to. Find replacements for your lost friends. Make new friends. Train them. Teach them. Every battle we survive is more experience, and the more experience we have, the less friends we lose in the future."
Major Golden Harvest: "General.. we couldn't have done this without your leadership.." She started.
Major Scarlet Heart: "General K is right." She nodded. "We had probably the worst fight we've ever had, here, today." She nodded to Golden Harvest. "General, the Militia Commanders have been talking, and we all recommend Golden Harvest be promoted to Senior Officer of the entire Equestrian Militia, at least for the North-East Department. We.. we've come to trust her judgment."
K: "Harv." I nodded to her, and motioned her over. "Our military hasn't anyone above the rank of Major, yet. You're the first. I appoint you Colonel of Militia, Commander of the North-Eastern District." I patted her shoulder.
Colonel Golden Harvest: "I.." She looked at the other commanders. "I.. don't know what to say."
Major Shire Stallion: "Golden, you were the one that held things together when K wasn't here. You organized us, pulled us back, set us up.." He shook his head. "..I can't imagine anyone else leading us like that, but you."
Major Barnstormer: "Agreed. The North-East Department should come up to be about a Division's worth of troops, right?" He looked at me. "And according to the provisional formation chart you drew up, a Colonel would be in command of that, at the very least? Yeah." He nodded.
Cosmic: "We trust you, ma'am." He nodded as well, with a small smile. "We know now that if K isn't around, YOU can command us just as well."
Golden Harvest: "I..!" She was crying tears of joy. "..I never thought ponies would ever look up to me like this before!"
Written Script: "That's not all. Colonel." He pulled a box from his saddle bags. "Goldie.."
Golden Harvest: "AHH!" She turned absolutely red.
Written Script: "When you first picked me for the Militia as your senior NCO and later kept me as your Executive Officer, you showed a trust in me. Beyond that.. you were the first to actually see me as a pony, see who I really was, and.. made our time together magical. I've fallen madly in love with you. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He knelt down, and opened the box, revealing a forearm bracelt.
Ahhh.. so THAT'S how they did it!
Golden Harvest: "Script.." She hid her face in her hooves. "..YES! By Celestia, YES!" She tackled and hugged him.
Everyone cheered.
K: "Congratulations, Harv. If anyone's earned all this, it's you." I nodded to her.
Golden Harvest: "I.. I'll never think I deserve all this." She hugged Script tightly, then came over and gave me a friendly hug. "This is all your doing, K."
K: "I just set things up. You ponies did all the work." I looked at Written Script. "If I'm around for the wedding and not off being a General-"
Written Script: "My best man, if you would, sir?" He nodded to me.
K: "I was going to say, I just wanted to go to the bachelor party!" I chuckled. "If I'm around. Yes." I nodded.
Even at the tail end of a great tragedy like this one, these ponies found a reason to be happy.
There was a lesson in this, but I was entirely too tired to think of what that might be.
[End of Part 3]
Part 4: Reflection
TIME: 17:27 ERST
DATE: War Day 142
LOCATION: Sweet Apple Acres
I woke up in the barn, on my bed. Winona was curled up on my chest. Apple Bloom was in a sleeping bag next to the bed. Mac was passed out on a pile of hay not far away, with a blanket over him.
And my fiancee was under my right arm.
I didn't remember getting into bed with all these ponies or this dog. But, I smiled. I refused to move. For about.. oh.. half an hour. After that, though, my bladder refused to sit in silent protest any longer and SCREAMED at me that it had to be let out.
K: "Honey." I gently rubbed her ass.
Applejack: "Mm.." She opened her eyes, and looked at me with the softest smile. "Fi' mo' minnits?"
K: "Can't. Dragon needs out." I nodded to her, and to Winona.
She just slipped Winona off of me, into her arms, letting me exit to the left. I slipped my feet into my boots and got to the outhouse.
Yes, while the house has indoor plumbing, I use an outhouse outside. Hey, it's got a proper toilet in there and everything, and it's connected to the sewer line.. it just happens to be outside.
Only thing is.. it's kinda sized for horses, and its seat was a bit small for me, until Mac made me a custom seat cover. I don't have a big butt, but it's larger than his, just because I'm a larger creature.
So, I had a sit-down conference.. and I started thinking about a lot of things. Everything that'd happened over the last two days. The wounded. The dead. It frustrated me that I'd been so thoroughly tricked, and lost so much as a result.
I'd called the retreat far too late.
Finishing my business, I cleaned up and got back in the barn. A shower stall replaced one of the.. actual stalls in here. It even had a door on it, to keep the steam in. The barn was now equipped with a boiler, as well, so I could have nice, hot showers whenever.
Or, you know, Applejack and I could have them together.
Cleaned up, I dressed in my spare summer uniform - same black cotton duck shirt and cargo pants, boots, boxers, A-Frame, but no necktie. Pistol belt was put on.. and I looked at my PA-63. I really didn't have much ammo left for it - three full magazines and two bullets spare (26 rounds), and I knew I couldn't get any more.
It was time to retire, old friend.
I set it on my pistol rack, and took a Lee. They were the same size, and this Lee was my personal one, so it had a trigger and trigger guard fit for fingers.
I also grabbed a large case, carefully, and exited the barn.
I managed to get out with everyone still asleep. I made my way to the Militia Training Grounds. No one was around. So, I set my case on the table, and opened it.
Inside was my latest invention, something that went into production the very day the attack happened. The Patton Assault Rifle.
This was me trying to take the weapon technology we currently had, and making it better. The round was 6.5 grams, 6.5mm diameter, in a bottlenecked case 30mm's in length. I knew that just making a bottlenecked case would focus the energy of the detonated powder better, resulting in higher velocity.
What I got was a round that had a velocity of 655 m/s, and hit at 1400 joules of muzzle energy so far. This wasn't a HUGE improvement over 570 m/s, and nothing compared to 5.56mm NATO, at over 990 m/s. Still, it was.. close to .25-20 Winchester. Not a terribly great manstopper, but an improvement.
The problem was, I needed this thing to go faster.
I thought about this as I set up my prototype rifle, and loaded the (smaller, front-to-back) magazine into the magazine well. One immediate benefit was that the round was smaller and lighter, and the magazines could hold more rounds for similar dimensions as the Sherman.
The first magazine I made for it, held 15 rounds. Shermans were now issued with 20-round magazines, with 30-rounders coming in the next few days (but would take at least a month or two to reach all the units that would need them). The 15-round magazine was smaller than a Sherman 10-rounder. The 30-round magazine was still shorter than a Sherman 30-rounder, but lighter.
This was another struggle.. while the round was better, it wasn't better enough. I needed this thing going at LEAST 100 meters per second FASTER than the 9x35mm Sherman. Problem is, again, I'm still technically working with pistol powders.
I racked the bolt, and focused the (new peep type) iron sights on the target down range. It was an old target with holes already in it, but..
K: "CLEAR RANGE!" I called out, out of habit.
Sweetie Belle: "IT'S NOT CLEAR!" Came a shout from behind the target next to the one I was sighted in on.
And out came Sweetie Belle and Scoots.
K: "What..!?" I set the rifle down. "What are you two doing out here!?" I stood up.
Scootaloo: "Ahh.." She lowered her head. "..my pet chicken died in the battle. We went and buried her."
K: "Ohhh.." I got in a Slav Squat (Heels Touch Ground When Slavs Squat Around) and opened my arms. "..come here, you two." They came over for hugs, big hugs. Tight little hugs. "I'm so sorry, Scoots."
Scootaloo: "Yeahh." She sighed. "She was a great Layer, too." She looked up at me.
I just caressed her face. Poor thing. She's had so much shit happen to her. Not unlike Fluttershy, but not nearly so traumatic, more of a.. 'life sucks' sort of thing.
K: "I'll find you a new chicken. I promise." I pet her mane. "Now, either of you want to get some Range Time? Uncle K needs to clear his head."
Sweetie Belle: "BOY! Would we!" She beamed a grin.
Scootaloo: "YEAH!" THAT cheered her up.
K: "Good! You girls can help me test the NEEEWW rifle..!" I wiggled my brows, making this sound exciting.
They were all over it.
Sweetie Belle went first. I collapsed the stock all the way, and attached the "trigger tester" bar to the human-like trigger, so she could pull it.
K: "There's three rounds in there. See if you can hit the target." I nodded.
She fired one round off of the sandbag I had set up, looked up a bit, then got back down, aimed, and fired twice more, quickly.
Sweetie Belle: "It's a bit shaper than a Sherman, but lighter. That make sense? I feel like I can control it better." She nodded.
K: "Lighter round going faster." I shrugged. "The weapon is lighter, too."
I got Scoots set up with another three rounds, and she did even better.
Scootaloo: "HEY! I'm pretty good at this!" She beamed. "Maybe Rifle Marksponyship'll be my Cutie Mark!" She sqee'd.
She was, actually, pretty good. Better and more natural than Sweetie Belle.
I let them range shoot for me, and I just observed hits. Five rounds at a time, from then on, over the course of an hour.. until Rarity showed up.
Rarity: "K! Darling!" She trotted over, all cleaned up and in uniform. "Ahh.. THERE you are!" She nodded to the fillies. "Goldie's been looking for you, Scootaloo."
Scootaloo: "Oh. Oops! I forgot to tell her.." She blinked.
K: "They've been a big help." I shrugged. "Rarity, this is the Patton Assault Rifle. It's supposed to be an upgrade over the Shermans, but it's not quite where I want it to be. None the less, I ordered 5,000 of them. I'm trying to get better powder.." I sighed.
Rarity: "You always worry about this sort of thing, K." She patted my back. "Come on, girls, it's getting dark. Time to go home." She looked at me. "You, too, K. It's getting entirely too dark out here to see what you're shooting."
K: "Point, point.." I nodded, and got everything in the case before closing it up. "Rarity.." I started.
Rarity: "Yes, darling?" She tilted her head at me.
K: "I think.. we need to go on an expedition and learn more about what's going on and has GONE on in this world." I stared at the case. "When you get a chance, I want some names. Ponies that could help with something like this. I want to go to Dream Castle, for sure, and probably.. see what else is out there." I looked up to her.
Rarity: "Of course, Darling. BUT! YOU need to rest." She nodded firmly. "Now, can I trust you to go back home, or do I need to find someone to escort you?" She tilted her head.
K: "I'm going, I'm going." I gave her surrender hands, and picked up my case, departing with her.
She could be a very caring and thoughtful pony when she wanted to be.
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Planning an Expedition
TIME: 11:33 ERST
DATE: War Day 146/30 Octavius, 1002 C.S.
LOCATION: Royal Palace, Canterlot
I was in Celestia's private quarters. We.. needed to talk.
K: "We sustained 253 killed, and 312 wounded, 57 of them seriously. The 1st Regiment of the 1st Royal Army Battalion and the Ponyville Militia took the worst of it. Ponyville lost 78 dead, 54 wounded, 12 seriously. 1st Regiment lost 112 dead, 61 wounded, 18 seriously." I shrugged. "1st Regiment, 2nd Company was destroyed almost completely, two survivors - Radiant and Dawn." I sat down across from her. "Ponyville lost its entire 3rd Infantry Company, most of them died trying to hold the line in the initial assault." I sighed. "I knew them, Celestia. I helped train them. That was Caramel's company.." I trailed off. "..he said he wanted to protect everyone."
Celestia: "This is why I trust you." She slid over and put her wing around me. "You know each soldier's story. You remember them. And, so do we. And you take that into account when you make a plan." She nodded.. and gently nuzzed me.
K: "And I was the one that approved him being promoted to Company Commander when we expanded Ponyville to a Regiment. He had talent. Cherry Coke is his best friend.. he's seriously injured, along with most of 1st Squad, 4th Company." I looked up at her. "Ponyville is down 144 soldiers, right now. That's 40% ponypower."
Celestia: "Yes.. and there will be those wanting to replace them." She hugged me a bit closer. "Inspired by their courage."
K: "Yeah." I nodded. "And I'll be responsible for them, too."
Celestia: "You will. And what have you learned from this?" She encouraged me.
K: "Large Force Tactics suck without a command staff. Your sister and Golden Harvest did amazing.. but, I need talented Colonels as well as individual unit commanders. Officers that can command groups of units. That can't be invented out of wholecloth." I shook my head. "Steelhoof understood the concept.. I don't know about Ironhide. He was in charge of your safety, the entire time." I sighed, and leaned into her. "This battle was a taste, Celestia. A taste of what it's going to be like, later. Whenever we invade. It'll be ten times worse."
Celestia: "And you will lead us, as you have so far, and we will win. The ponies that fall, will buy us peace. For a very, very long time." She reassured me. "We will take your lessons, and we will remain on guard, no matter how far into the future. We don't forget."
K: "..forget.." I trailed off. "..that reminds me, Celestia. We HAVE forgotten some things." I looked up at her. "Trixie wanted something at the ruins. And what's going on over at Hydia's old place? Something is there.. some things.. are at those places. And we need to discover what that is before it's too late." I nodded.
Celestia: "What are you proposing?" She tilted her head at me.
K: "An expedition. Of investigation and discovery. I want to take the girls and a few others.. and I want to go to those places and find out whatever we can. Tirek seems to have a HUGE lead on us with this.. he always seems to be a step ahead when it comes to mystical stuff." I nodded firmly.
Celestia: "That makes a lot of sense. Yes, I agree." She sighed. "Where will you go, first?"
K: "Dream Castle, it's closer." I nodded. "And while I'm gone, we can start issuing the new rifles as they come online."
Celestia: "Again, logical thinking." She nodded.
K: "Start with 1st Battalion. They had it the worst, they need the most replacements, may as well get as many new rifles into their hands as we can.. have them ALL re-train." I nodded.
Celestia: "Of course." She nodded again, and.. started rocking me back and forth gently.
K: "Princess Celestia.." I started.
Celestia: "Shhh." She.. started humming.
I didn't say anything more. Before long, I.. started to feel a bit drowsy.. I fell asleep against her. Relaxed.
I awoke several hours later, to a large lunch on the table, and me.. kinda cuddling Celestia, on the floor. She was awake the whole time, and had been reading a book.
K: "AH! Oh, Princesss." I untanlged myself, and got up, slipping into the chair at the table.
Celestia: "Feel better?" She got up and stretched.
K: "I'm sorry, I-"
Celestia: "I did that on purpose." She sat across from me. "You were very high strung, very.. much in pain." She lowered her head a bit.
K: "I see." I nodded. "Thank you." I lowered my head.. and paused. "I mean that. I needed that."
The lunch had a roast bird of some kind.. smaller than a Turkey, larger than a Chicken. I cut off the leg, and pulled up a salad from the disassembled greens. It was something like a buffet, but as these were primarly herbivores, the selection of pieces was broken down salad parts. To be plain, you could assemble three or four different salad types from these parts. I picked something like a butterhead lettuce, Mesclun, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and mushrooms. I put a nice, warm bun/biscuit (UK EN: savory/non-sweet scone) with some real butter on the plate as well, and poured some coffee.
Luna, clearly, had sent it - the coffee pot had her moon symbol on it.
K: "Nice spread." I nodded. "Be honest.. we eat a lot of highly processed food where I'm from." I shook my head. "Fresh, healthy food is more expensive and perishable.. so.. it's oddly so that the poorest in Human society eat the least healthy, more processed foods, instead of.. literally what they could grow in the dirt, if they could. And the more wealthy eat the freshest, least processed." I shrugged. "I don't think I ever mentioned that."
Celestia: "You hadn't." She shrugged her wings. "You did say that human society is more technically advanced."
K: "That's the problem. Right after that major war I told you about, there was this huge explosion of technological advancement, and a headlong rush to be at the forefront of it, a blind trust that this.. better living through chemistry.. was well thought out by the brightest minds, and not a rush for advancement for advacement's sake.. or profit." I shrugged, and ate.
Celestia: "And what ended up once being expensive and coveted - food that lasts much longer - became cheaper and cheaper, and watered down to be cheaper still.." She nodded. "..ignoring the simplicity of nature, and using that chemistry instead."
K: "Something we must not repeat." I said 'we' here, for probably the first time, in this context.
Celestia: "'We'?" She smiled at me.
K: "We." I smiled back, and nodded. "When the war is over, my effect on the world will be similar to that war. I promise you, no matter what advancements I'm able to help make, I won't repeat THAT mistake."
Celestia: "I trust you." She smiled warmly. "Because you care."
It was around this time that I stopped thinking of myself as a stranger in a strange land, and someone who'd MOVED here. BEEN moved here against my will, but I was now here.. really here. This was my home, now.
For better or worse.
{End of Chapter 21}
