Chapter 68: Machinations of the Damned
Part 1: Somber
TIME: 13:47 ERDT
DATE: War Day 618/14 Lunarius, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Canterback ruins, Arooster County, Maine
Evveryone had arrived. Wide Lens and Dusty weren't the only ones wounded, but the others had been easily found when the Wizard's magic was dispelled.
The wounded had all been evacuated to the Airships and were on their way to Agusty for treatment. Sombra, the Aero Marines, and I, were scouring the ruins for anything important.
Twilight: "I still can't believe Rarity managed to shatter a Sigil that powerful." She huffed.
K: "Hey, she's stronger than most people give her credit for." I nodded.
Twilight: "I'm glad no one died.." She sighed. "..is it bad that I'm okay with the people here, dying, rather than my own friends?"
K: "No. It's natural." I shrugged a bit, looking over the edge of a wall.
Toola: "K!" She came running up, a small bandage over her right foreleg. "We found where they dumped the bodies.." She looked at Twilight. "YOU need to see this - our other expert mages are already on the airships." She snorted. "I've never seen anything like this.."
We walked the half kilometer or so, to the stone quarry that had been the town's main source of income. The pony corpses were in there, alright. All of them. And every last one was shrivelled up, shrunken down, and absolutely monochromatic.
No color.
None.
Like the rainbow had been extracted from their very souls.
Twilight instantly threw up. Toola held on to my arm for support. Sacquet, Gorton and La Selle were there, with La Selle crying hard into Phillipe's chest. Gorton looked between angry, and sickened down to his soul. He came over.
Gorton: "..is this what they meant when they said 'extract the rainbow,' K?"
K: "I think so." I stared in shock, utter and complete disbelief. "God Damn it!" I said, bitterly, frustrated, angry..
La Selle: "Even ze Foals, Monseur K!" She cried. "What SAVAGES are we fighting!? SACRE DAMNE!"
Sacquet: "..I do not believe I will ever erase this memory.." He was sullen, and clung to Julienne like a storm-tossed soul clinging to a lifesaver ring.
Gorton: "I'm going to kill them. All of them." He snarled, like a lion. "This is beyond horror, K. This is.. disgusting.. on a level I've never dreamt of."
Sombra came up at about that time, took one look down into the pit, and instantly fell to his knees.
Sombra: "NO! NOT THIS! NOT THIS! THESE RUMORS WERE TRUE! IN THE WORST OF WAYS!" He looked up to the heavens. "TIREK, I SHALL BURN YOUR SOUL IN HELLFIRE FOR THIS.. THIS.. UNBELIEVEABLE CRIME! YOU WILL PAY! YOU WILL PAYYYYYYYYY!" He collapsed completely, and I moved over to him.
K: "Sombra." I rested a hand on his pauldron armor. "What do you know of this?"
Sombra: "This.. it destroys.."
Celestia: "K! There you are!" She was at a trot, coming up.
K: "NO, PRINCESS! DON'T COME UP HERE! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" I pointed at her. "GUARDS, RESTRAIN HER!" I ordered.
Ironhide: "Princess." He stood before her. "Look at them. Something up there is so terrible.." He looked back at us. "..K's trying to spare you from seeing it."
Celestia: "..... ..... ..... K?" She finally said.
K: "Yes, Celestia?" I raised my head to her gaze.
Celestia: "They're drained, aren't they?" She said, a quiver in her voice.
K: "Completely. All 1,224 ponies in the village. Even the children." I was streaming tears down my face, now.. I didn't want her to have this memory. "Please.. stay there. Don't look."
Celestia: "I don't think I could bear it, K." She lowered herself to the ground, her head down. "You don't realize what this means.. so.. I shall explain. They are gone. Not just their lives, their immortal souls have been completely destroyed. It was as if they never existed in the first place. When you extract the rainbow.. like how you described the bodies.. it destroys our essential inner selves. Our souls, K. There's.. nothing left.. of any of them.. they are well and truly gone."
As she finished speaking, Sombra was right next to her. He helped her up, and rubbed his head into her neck.
Sombra: "Celestia.. whatever hath happened before.. I care not. This.. grave crime.." He trailed off a bit.
Celestia: "It makes everything we thought about each other, everything we fought over, seem rather.. silly, doesn't it?" She was crying, but she had a maddened titter to her voice.
Sombra: "Indeed, Princess." He hugged her completely.
It struck me, this was the first time I'd seen Sombra hug someone like that. Like.. at all, actually. He really cared for her, on a level I'd never understand until I got to be a thousand years old, perhaps.
Sacquet: "What do we do, Princesse?" He looked right at her.
Celestia: "..I shall collapse the Quarry. When my magic has done its work, have a sign put here. Declare it hazardous, and that none are to ever dig here for any reason." She sniffed.
K: "I'll have a cordon put around this whole area.. then have the engineers come in and deconstruct whatever's left of the town. Put a marker there, saying everyone was killed by Tirek.." I twitched my head to the side. "Fake graveyard, too, for appearances sake."
Celestia: "Fine. Leave." She looked depressed, but determined.
TIME: 15:22 ERDT
We were assembling the last of the troops to be evacuated from the area. Soldiers from the Aero Marines and Crystal Kingdom army combed the woods for hours, making sure every orphan was rescued. Once we were certain of it, we left behind a platoon of Aero Marines to guard the ruins. Celestia and Sombra, working together, had collapsed the quarry and ensured no trace could be found.
We were leaving.
I sat next to Applejack, in one of the crew quarter spaces aboard Superb. She had some bandages from the cuts she'd sustained from the collapsing floor, but no serious injury.
K: "..and Celestia says it means even their souls were destroyed. There's nothing left of them, Jackie. Nothing."
Applejack: "I ain't gonna let that happen.. not no more, not to no one.." She was tearing up.
Rolfe was asleep on the cot behind her.
K: "Besides, we have a son, now." I smiled a bit, and put my arm around her.
He was wearing an apple red hoodie with green drawstrings, a bit too large for him. Likely given to him by one of the crew. He was curled up tightly, snoozing.
My family had grown, at the expense of over 1200 civilian deaths. It disgusted me that this had happened on my watch, right under my nose.
And worse? This was just one headquarters of the kidnapping ring - Gizmonk POW's told us pretty clearly that the ring was huge, and was operating all over NEIGHTO. We'd be spending months rooting them all out..
..which sat fine with me. Between them all, we had enough to go on, to find them, and exterminate any other bosses that had the ability to cause that kind of sickening destruction. And we knew how to deal with them.
[End of Part 1]
Part 2: Marvel
TIME: 09:00 ERDT
DATE: War Day 620/16 Lunarius, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: K's Barn, Ponyville, Erie, Equestria
K: "Welcome home, son." I gestured.
Jim and Ambrosia had just about finished converting the Barn into a sort-of house. They said something about having to add an over-structure to the outside so it could be properly insulated.
Rolfe: "Ooooo!" He paced in, smiling, eyes twinkling in wonderment.
K: "Upstairs is the bedrooms. We.. ah.. haven't actually assigned them, yet.. I did mention you have three sisters." I shrugged.
Applejack: "Ah'n y'all'll have two more siblings in less'n a week." She nodded.
Who.. were.. in Celestia's belly.
As pressing as the Cowrea situation was, we needed almost a week to gather more armaments, ammo, and other needed supplies to fill the transports, anyway.
Rolfe: "Man, this is sure something!" He was elated. "I been followin' yer campaigns and things.. uh.." He blinked at me. "What'cha want me to call ya?"
K: "Uh.. some variant of Dad would be fine?" I shrugged. "I won't for-"
Rolfe: "PAPA!" He hugged me.. TIGHT.
Applejack: "Aw..!" *GIGGLE!* "Ah think he likes ya!"
Rolfe: "Y-yeah.." He blushed a little. "Ever since.. y'know.. my folks.." He looked down.
K: "I know it probably hurts, but.." I shrugged. "..what happened?"
Rolfe: "They got killed out at sea." He shrugged, and sighed. "I was left with my great Aunt, but.. she passed almost a year ago."
K: "Carousel Island?" I tilted my head.
Rolfe: "Yeah." He nodded.
K: "I see." I nodded, and knelt down to him. "Well, you're here, now. You're a K---. And you're my son. You won't ever be without family, ever again, no matter what."
Applejack: "No kiddin'!" She laughed out loud. "Boy, howdy, Tirek'd hafta kill almost 8% of Equestria't'wipe out yer new family!" She hugged him, too.
Rolfe: "Yeah!" He beamed, then nodded a bit. "Pops, when ya got time.." He lowered his head. "..ah wanna learn how to do stuff like you."
K: "First, I want YOU to relax and enjoy being part of the family. Got me?" I smiled. "I want you to be happy.. really, really happy." I pet him around the ears. "Just like your sisters. Just to be a happy foal." I shook my head a bit.
Rolfe: "Awright!" He beamed.
Applejack: "How old are'ya, son?" She nodded. "An' when's yer birthday?"
Rolfe: "Ahh.. I'm 12. Mah birthday was Octavius 9th." He nodded.
K: "Nice." I smiled. "You know your Aunt Pinkie's gonna wanna throw a party."
Rolfe: "For me!?" His eyes went WIDE!
K: "Yeah, buddy!" I nodded.
Applejack: "Ah'm lookin' forwards to it." She smiled.
K: "Anyhow, why don't you go upstairs and pick out a room?" I nodded. "Except the center bedroom - that's mommy and daddy's, and it's.. sound proof." I cleared my throat.
Rolfe: "Oh, I heard!" He gave me a cheesy grin. "I heard lots of Mares are after my new Daddy.. and.. he.. needs sound proof rooms." He rolled his eyes a bit.
Applejack: "Yeah'n Ma'd be real happy you wait a few years 'fore you worry about tryin'a match yer Daddy on THAT front!" She pet his head.
Rolfe: "I.. yeah." He shook his head. "Not interested in that!"
That got the Birds and the Bees out of the way.. and reassured me. I knew Sweetie Belle was a bit.. ahead.. with her knowledge, but had no desire to follow in her sister's footsteps. And Rolfe, while aware of the concept, had no interest at all. Which meant I didn't need to worry about him dating anyone, any time, soon.
You think Dads are protective of Daughters? Dads are just as worried over their Sons finding the wrong girl, or getting "baby trapped."
K: "Go on and pick one. We'll go to town in a bit and get you some stuff to decorate and make it look better. Did Jim and Ambrosia get the beds in?" I nodded to Applejack.
Applejack: "Sure did. Got sheets on 'em and everything." She smiled.
Rolfe: "Yay!" He scooted off, up the stairs, and to the second floor (which was a balcony, actually). "THIS one!" He picked the one closest to the stairs.
K: "Looks great, buddy!" I smiled. "Come on, let's get you some stuff, huh?"
He came scampering down the stairs, beaming. And the three of us headed over to the Farmhouse.
Applejack: "GRANNY! GIRLS!" She announced, entering.
Granny Smith: "Ahh! Applejack! Back from Maine, eh?" She came over for a hug, as my daughters came down stairs with Applebloom.
Starlight Mint gave me a look, but put it away when she saw Rolfe.
Starlight Mint: "HI! I'm Starlight Mint! I think I'm your sister!" She giggled.
Rolfe: "Yeaup! I'm Rolfe!" He hugged her. "Never had sisters before!"
Koringo: "Me Koringo! You.. Oniichan!?" She bounced.
Rolfe: "Sure am!" He picked her up and let her ride on his back.
K: "Granny. Brought you a great grand son." I smiled.
Granny: "Aaaww.. y'all brings the nicest gifts!" She even gave ME a hug.
Pomme: "Oui, Papa! We have a larger family, now!" She was giddy. "I am Pomme Florale!"
Rolfe: "Rolfe! Nice ta meetcha!" He beamed a grin.
K: "Come on, Kids. Aunt Ambrosia and Uncle Jim finished the barn enough we can move in. Let's go get some stuff in town to decorate your rooms." I nodded, and pulled out a Snowglobe from Augusty for Starlight. "Honey."
Starlight: "It's precious!" She grasped it carefully, and set it on the shelf next to her other ones.
With that, we headed to town. Despite the war, Ponyville was still mostly the same. Save, there were some empty houses these days.
Starlight: "It.. it was bad, wasn't it, Daddy?" She hung back.
K: "I don't ever want you to ask about Maine, honey." I said in a grim voice. "Maybe some day, I'll share it with you, but not today."
Starlight: "I.. understand." She sighed. "My.. soldier instinct.. just tells me something went bad, there."
K: "Dusty was injured, so was Wide Lens." I shrugged. "A few of Uncle Phillipe's Legionnaires, too, but not as seriously as Dusty and Wide."
Starlight: "I.. see." She nodded firmly. "You know I'm going to apply to be a Cadet in two years, right, Daddy?"
K: "...yeah." I sniffed, holding back my emotions. "You'll probably get some time in this war. I.. you know I don't want you to."
Starlight: "I know, Daddy. You want me to be safe. Like any Daddy would. But, you know what I am. What I have to be." She nodded.
K: "Yes, honey, I do." I pet her mane. "And I couldn't be prouder. But, you're not there, yet. I want you to enjoy the time you have to be a kid."
Starlight: "I am." She beamed.
We went to a few shops around town, collecting orders for things for the kids, and arranged to have most of it delivered. For dinner, we went to Roseluck's.
TIME: 18:22 ERDT
Roseluck: "K! Family! Haha! Come in, come in!" She cheered.
K: "Rose." I nodded to her. "We need pizza."
Rolfe: "Pizza! I've always wanted to try it." He slid into a seat as we picked a table.
K: "My son, Rolfe." I nodded.
Rose: "You're a lucky stallion, K." She beamed.
Applejack: "No kiddin'!" She beamed as well, and slid into a seat.
Pomme: "Oui! PaPa is the best!" She sat, and nodded.
Koringo: "Papa.. brave!" Her mastery of Equestrian was growing, but, again, she's only five.
Starlight: "Can we get Pepperoni, Daddy?" She blinked.
K: "Sure can!" I gestured. "Rose? Pepperoni, and a VeggieMaster." A nod.
Applejack: "Yeah, surely! An' a nice cider." She smiled.
K: "Coffee for me." I shrugged.
Rose: "Kids?" She nodded to them.
Starlight, Rolfe, Pomme: "APPLEJUICE, PLEASE!"
Koringo: "Milk?" She blinked her cute little eyes.
K: "Yes, definitely, milk for Koringo." I smiled.
Applejack: "Y'all're such a good dad." She smiled, warmly.
K: "I try."
Starlight: "Soo! Looks like we've got a proper home, now, huh?" She beamed.
Pomme: "Oui, sister! I cannot wait! Shall we share a room?" She tilted her head.
Koringo: "Share with Oneechan Pomme!" She cheered.
Pomme: "OH!" She blushed. "Of course, mes petits!" She gushed. "I suppose I am a big sister, for sure, oui?"
K: "You sure are." I nodded. "According to birthdays, you're also the oldest by two months."
Pomme: "Hmm!" She blushed a bit. "I shall be a good big sister, PaPa!"
K: "You already are, honey." I smiled, warmly.
After dinner, we got back home.. and we spent several hours decorating the kids' rooms. They were all so excited, I wondered if we'd be able to get them to sleep. Koringo and Pomme settled in, and when I came to read Koringo a bedtime story, I found her big sister already doing it.
I could feel my heart welling up with pride and love. Not related by blood, from two different countries, even.. and they were sisters down to the roots.
I got into OUR bedroom, seeing Applejack, laying in bed, propped up, reading a bit. With her half-moon glasses on. I slid in next to her, and stretched an arm across her belly.
K: "Well, Ma.. looks like we got a right proper family, huh?" I kissed her. "An old Mee-Maw already, and you're not even 25."
Applejack: "Hesh!" She pecked my forehead. "But.. I am happy.. y'all've made me the happiest mare in all've Equestria."
K: "You've made ME the happiest human in all of existence." I slid in a little closer, but with an angle so she could keep reading.
For me, sleep came quickly.
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Rain Bow
TIME: 07:00 ERDT
DATE: War Day 627/23 Lunarius, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Navy Headquarters, Fillydelphia Harbor, Docksylvania
We were gearing up to reinforce Cowrea. Communication from there took a long time to arrive, but we did get word that Forest Spirit and our friends, needed our help. I decided to leave Havoc and his Canidan Rangers behind, for now, just in case Tirek did something else unspeakable in Equestria.
Truth is, I felt spread thin. Most of my best officers were in Cowrea. I had the girls, and our Dragon trainees, but that was it. Dusty was laid up, Wide Lens was in a coma. Besides the girls, I had Spike, Sgt. Yanjiro, Jade, Katrina, and Teddy, plus Sacquet and his Legionnaires. I really wished Dusty was better, but she needed rest. Serious concussion, stab wound, magical injury.. yeah.
I was seated at the table with everyone, including Dex, and the Princesses.
K: "Reinforcing Cowrea is our next task. Sending technical experts to Neighpon to help them rebuild, as promised, and since I've cleared up what needed doing here, in time for the ships to be maintenanced.." I shrugged. "..another couple days before they're ready." I looked at Dex. "I know it's kinda against the militia charter, but I'm short on options. Can I borrow your rangers?"
Dex Runner: "Like, you only had to ask, K-Dude." He smirked. "What'cha need us for?"
K: "Cowrea. All your troops are hardened veterans - some serving for over two years. I need that experience." I nodded slowly at him.
Dex Runner: "You got it, dude-sir." He gave me a cheesy grin, and flipped his shades.
Celestia: "What is our goal, there?" She leaned in.
K: "The report we received from Cowrea was written three days after Forest Spirit and the international battalions arrived. They're stuck in a small pocket around a city on the south-east side of the peninsula. The city they've made their headquarters is Fusan. The Neighponese are in no position to offer anything more than token support." I shrugged. "We need to get to Cowrea as fast as possible." I gave a short nod. "Our goal in this conflict will be the reconquest of South Cowrea - I'm not going to pick a fight with North Cowrea, they're backed by the Khyangese. We advance up to the North Cowrean border, making sure our intentions to stop are clearly communicated, and eradicate Tirek's forces there. He seems to have two divisions or better on the peninsula, but I have no idea if he has any special surprises."
Luna: "Which sounds reasonable. And if the North Cowreans are in league with Tirek?" She mused.
K: "I'd have to evaluate the situation when we get there. If North Cowrea is openly supporting Tirek, I would have to ask for full NEIGHTO intervention, AND get the Khyangese and the Herdiet Union to agree not to intervene on their behalf, despite being part of the Herdintern Pact." I looked over.. at Starlight.
Starlight: "..who, me?" She blinked.
K: "You're an expert at negotiations. This is right up your alley." I gave a small nod.
Starlight: "You know we don't have formal diplomatic arrangements with either of them, right? And you've kinda pissed both of them off - if I recall, you wiped out an airbase with an atom bomb, eradicated almost a full division of Herdiet troops and took in several defectors." She frowned. "And humiliated the Khyangese. Twice."
K: "Use it to your advantage. Brush up on their cultures." I shrugged. "I can do spitball diplomacy, but I don't have the patience for the long game. You? You can get them talking. A true non-aggression pact would be fantastic.. even if they don't care what happens between us and Tirek, I don't want to have to worry about an invasion on our homeland while I'm trying to fight Tirek in his homeland." I tapped the table.
Bright Eyes: "Well, on the negatively-good side.." She lowered her eyes, then met my gaze. "Give me thirty days, and I can have ten implosion atomic devices.. and one Hydrogen Bomb here, tomorrow. Roughly fourteen megatons."
Everyone seemed very upset.. Toola and Twilight both made small gasps.
Celestia: "I know how K feels about those things. I pray we never have to use them." She stared straight at Bright Eyes. "But, I want them constructed. If for no other reason than, if, when we are preapred to invade Tirek's homelands, we lack the Rainbow of Light. Should that be the case, we may need them to kill him once and for all."
K: "Celestia is right. I hate them - I hate that they exist. But, we may need them if we can't get the Rainbow." I shrugged hard. "We'll see about Nuclear Disarmament after the war."
Cadence: "Tirek is such an exceptional circumstance.." She sighed.
Escargot: "How.. much would zees fourteen megatons.. be?" She looked at me.
K: "It could vaporize the entire city of Paris. From border to border. And a bit besides." I looked back, dead in the eyes. "Now you know why I don't like them? We have them in my world. While there's always a fear of them being used, they never have been on a large scale. The fact that they exist has disrupted the necessary flow of conflict, and left us culturally poorer as a result." Shrugged. "Humans thrive on conflict - atomic weapons prevent them, for fear of mutual destruction. But it's a double-edged sword. You get someone crazy enough to want to roll the dice, you could end up with hundreds of millions, dead."
Margaret: "My word." She blinked a few times. "Is there any real defense..?"
K: "From a direct hit? No. From being outside the initial blast range? Yes. Six feet of earth, and a slab of concrete-with-rebar over your head, six to ten inches thick." I nodded slowly. "You can make thinner shelters, the further out you go from the blast radius, but the problem is, that kind of thinking relies on the enemy being sniper-accurate - gravity freefall bombs are anything but. Even gyro-stabilized long range surface-to-surface missiles have a probability of error of up to half a kilometer." I gestured. "And that's even assuming they aim for the geographic center of a city - they may aim at something else."
Escargot: "And ze Herdiets had zese.." She seemed shook.
Sacquet: "Worse things exist, mon Princesse." He nodded slowly. "I have seen them."
K: "Indeed. Which is why your remaining naval forces, not providing direct protection to your shores, should initiate long range scouting missions - I want to find that Rainbow Factory and destroy it as soon as possible, before more souls are totally destroyed. You all know what happened at Canterback. I ordered no photos taken, and no paintings made, so to spare everyone the horror. Sacquet saw it." I nodded to him. "He has nightmares every night."
La Selle: "Oui.. my.." She looked at everyone. "..newly betrothed-"
There was hoof-tapping on the table at this news, and I leaned over to give my friend a half-hug.
La Selle: "-awakens screaming, as I awaken crying, and we hold each other until the fear and dread subsides." She sighed slow, and long. "Ze Rainbow Factory must be destroyed. Or we may all suffer."
K: "After Cowrea, that becomes our number-one target." I nodded slowly. "We're going to finish this war by the numbers. A target goes up, a target is knocked down. On and on until we run out, then we take out Tirek, after weakening him as much as possible. During the invasion phase, you're all going to have to trust me completely to lead NEIGHTO forces to the best of my judgment. Your senior-most officers' advice will be important to me, but.." I looked at each of them. "..you've all seen what happens when one of them decides I'm unworthy."
Hoffnungsteher: "Ja, Herr K." He nodded. "Jou heff my blessing. I know you vill do your best to ensure ast many of my ponies come home alive, ast possible." He nodded solemnly.
Escargot: "Oui, same." She looked at Sacquet. "And my congratulations. Colonel-en-Chef." She smirked a bit.
Sacquet: "Chief Colonel?!" He whinnied. "Thank you, Mon Princesse!"
Escargot: "A wedding gift. For the future Marechal de Prance." She gave a small nod.
Margaret: "Mmm.. even with this war so horrible, at least we know we have talented ponies.. and friends.. to help make it less so." She looked at me. "Despite my own reservations, I am pleased that you've been brought to us, K. No matter how." She looked at Applejack. "I'm sure she is, too." A small grin.
Applejack: "Boy, howdy!" She beamed.
Escargot: "We must take heart in this, at the very least." She nodded. "K, whatever you need, is at your disposal. We shall pray you can end this war.. without having to use them." She nodded a bit.
Ember: "I had no idea such things existed in the human world." She blinked, and shook her head a little. "If you decide to stay here, despite an option otherwise, I would understand." She gave me a small smile.
K: "I have my human life to get back to." I shrugged a bit. "If I have the option. I don't know, yet." I gestured with one hand. "I do know that my human wife would be very upset with me if I left this war unfinished, and my pony family at risk." I made a small finger wave. "So, no matter what, I will finish this war. Even if it means I can't return home. My human wife.. would be upset, but I know her - she would not want so many to suffer and die, even if it meant us being forever apart."
Margaret: "Your human wife seems to be as exceptional as you are, K." She gave me a warm smile.
K: "Alright. Reinforcements should be ready for each nation, soon. Queen Ember, once your Dragons are properly trained, I will be taking them on operations. I'm sorry the little adventure in Maine ended up being so confusing, and I wasn't able to teach the three you handed me, hardly anything."
Wick: "I wouldn't say that, K. I learned by watching the Canidan Rangers." He shook his head. "Maybe not much, we didn't see any action, but I know now to be very cautious."
Filament: "And I learned how to keep low and conceal myself, despite my size." A grin.
Opalfire: "I learned that ponies, canids, and dragons can get along.. but we eat very different things." She shrugged a bit.
K: "Okay, take it back, we did learn something.." I gestured.
Applejack: "Yah. Rarity?" She looked across the table.
Rarity: "..already making the notes, Applejack, darling." She smiled a bit. "K, I'll let you know when we're ready to depart."
Another conference concluded. I was glad that I was dealing with nations that didn't seek the glory of war for their own egos, or to justify this conflict to their people - the ponies being amateurs at war, made them cautious, risk-adverse to a degree, and willing to listen to someone that knew more than they did, while providing constructive alternative ideas.
Cowrea was next.
[End of Part 2]
Part 3: Paddock County
TIME: 09:37 ERDT
DATE: War Day 627/23 Lunarius, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Paddock County Training Grounds, Bristol, Docksylvania
Another quirk of Equus not being quite the same as Earth - Paddock County covered Bucks, Delaware, Chester, and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania, its analogue. Bristol had been chosen as the Militia Headquarters over Fillydelphia because of how obvious a target the larger city was, and Bristol sported river access as well as wonderful terrain.
Dex, now a Major and second in command of the Paddock County Militia, was in the training field with Colonel Honeysuckle, the commander of Paddock County's militia. Teddy and AJ were both with me.
Honeysuckle: "Oh, General!" She trotted up, and nodded to us. "Pleasure. First time I've seen you since Ponyville." She shrugged, slightly. "Not that we spoke."
K: "Sorry. War doesn't usually give you time to get to know people like you'd want to." I gestured. "I have to borrow your rangers."
Honeysuckle: "I've been thinking on that. You did give Militia Commanders the authority to refuse such requests.." She looked aside, then back to me. "..and I've decided you can't have Paddock County's Ranger Company."
K: "Okay. I understand. May I ask why?" I gestured to Dex.
Honeysuckle: "Because I want them to become the 2nd Royal Rangers." She nodded with determination, and reflexively tapped the ground with her right hoof.
Dex: "If you don't mind, General-Dude." He smirked.
Honeysuckle: "If you say yes - which I hope you do - I've already started training their replacements." She gave a small grin.
K: "Done." I nodded. "Dex?"
Dex: "Already got new uniforms and everything, K-Dude." He smirked hard. "Besides, at least now me and my wife are in the Royal Army together."
K: "Hey, yeah, that's right, huh?" I grinned. "At least you'll catch up with her when we get to Cowrea."
Dex: "Yep." If he had fingers, he'd have given me finger-guns, instead he just cocked his hoof forwards and clicked his tongue. "We're also all ready to go."
K: "You just take your whole Ranger company?" I asked.
Dex: "Nah, got a few out-of-state'ers. I wanted to leave an officer and some NCO's behind to train the new ponies." He nodded up the field. "TY!"
Lt. Typhoon Surge: "Aye, sir?" He trotted up, and just shook hand-hoof with me, eagerly. "It's good ta see ya, suh."
Dex: "My second." He nodded.
K: "Works for me." I pointed casually at Surge. "Be good to have you along." I looked back at Dex. "You heard Blinda was wounded in Miaco, right? And we took more casualties in Maine."
Surge: "Yes, suh. I'll do my best, suh, you know that." He gave a small grin. "This war has been tough on us all - I was hoping to get a front line assignment. Do my part, as best I can."
K: "You did well in Canterlot. You'll need that every single day for the rest of the war, Surge." I patted AJ's neck.
Applejack: "Boy, howdy." She shook her head. "You're gonna see things you never thought you'd see. Tirek likes to use magic users against us - it's somethin' he's got lots of, an' we don't. Leastways, not as many or as skilled as he's got. Maine was all up about magic - massive mirage spell, lotta murdered civilians, it was a real mess, lemme tell ya." She looked at Teddy. "This is Teddy."
Teddy: "I'm from over eight thousand years ago.. s'why I look different." He shook hooves with Surge, and seeing two similarly-coated males shake, I could see the differences in Teddy's hooves compared to Surge's.
Surge: "Well! Hope'ta be able to keep up with you, suh." He smirked at me. "Tis good we're gaining so many friends."
K: "Friendship is magic, Surge. It's what's gotten us where we are." I shrugged.
Cpl. Mountain March: "Sirs!" She came running up - a brown-coated mare with a shocking black-on-pink mane, covered by a pony equivalent of a Boonie Hat.
Honeysuckle: "Corporal?" She nodded to her.
Cpl. March: "We have a problem, sirs." She noticed me, and nodded to me especially. "General." Then back to her commander. "Colonel, there's a report that a military arms convoy heading to Fillydelphia Harbor was raided, ma'am. They took our.." She chuckled slightly. "Our trucks, ma'am."
K: "We finally get them, and now they're stolen. Lovely." I sighed, exasperated. "We need to get those back. They have the new artillery pieces."
Surge: "Suh?" He looked back to me.
K: "I designed superheavy ground-based 155mm guns and had them produced for defending Canterlot and a few other places. Enough for three batteries - I wanted them sent to Cowrea, now that we had vehicles and fuel for them." I grimaced.
Surge: "Those're.. more than twice as big as our 76's, suh. I can't imagine how they nabbed them. Or where they took'em." He shrugged.
Dex: "There's only a few ways they can get away from here. Surge, get the company together. General?" He looked at us.
K: "We better go - if they damaged them or took them apart, I'm probably the only one that knows how to put them back together enough to get them to Fillydelphia." I shrugged wide. "Get us some rifles."
Honeysuckle: "Certainly, General! What'll you have?" She looked at us.
K: "Bradley for me, Sniper Sherman for Teddy, and a Chaffee for my wife." I patted AJ again.
Applejack: "Y'all know what I like, honeybun." A sweet smile, and Corporal March brought our weapons. "Hope my Mastersons're okay.." She was dressed country style, but without her hat. Pony denim pants, boots, bare front hooves, country-style denim shouldered, linen blouse with tiny apples stitched in it, and a leather vest.
I was in my black field uniform. Teddy was in slacks, a pony polo, and had a ballcap on.
We met up with the.. now 2nd Royal Rangers. Still in Militia uniforms, of course. Everyone else present from Paddock County, including the Ranger trainees, was filing in. I accepted a musette bag with magazines in it - pony tactical rigs don't fit me, of course, and I wasn't wearing mine.
Honeysuckle: "Orders, General?" She gave me a side glance.
K: "Okay, you know the terrain, Militia." I nodded to them. "Dex?"
Dex: "There's some large barns in the north, K-Dude, those could hide the artillery and the trucks." He nodded, thinking. "And there's a large coal mine south of here, close to the Delawide River. The entrance is really big.. they might be able to get the trucks in there." He tapped his right hoof to his chin.
Honeysuckle: "And if they wanted to escape, the only route is west, if they planned on avoiding any of the towns." She shrugged.
K: "Okay, Cavalry heads west, cut them off - or try to - and send a messenger to York's County Militia and the Naval Yards to get us some help. Infantry goes south to the mines - I know that's rough country, but if they're going slow, too, it shouldn't be a problem. Rangers, we'll go north. If they're in those barns, on farms, we'll have to sneak up on them real careful like." I nodded slowly. "Whomever gets them first, send a messenger back, but try the radios - they might have enough range, but I'm not sure about the hills to the south, they might block the signal. Everyone converges, and we'll get our stuff back."
Honeysuckle: "Sounds good. Infantry, on me. Cavalry, Captain Penwright." She nodded. "Let's go!"
With that, we were off.
TIME: 11:34 ERDT
Marching with the Rangers was something I was getting used to. Three years of being on foot, or train on occasion, my legs were used to it. I think someone from the movie "Gettysburg" said after the first thousand miles, you don't notice, any more. It struck me how right they were.
The farms in northern Paddock County were mostly wheat and barley, with a few growing oats. This being late fall, the fields were cleared. The temperatures were cold - about 1 C/34 F. This made marching easier, as the troops wouldn't overheat, but the danger of frostbite was present. I was glad for the wollen collared leather jacket Rarity had insisted I wear instead of my thinner black coat.
The roads were cobblestone, so finding tracks wasn't easy. We got to the target farms just past 11:30, and dispersed to the scant concealment available.
Dex: "Wish this was spring, sir.. more cover." He shrugged. "Spread out GOOD, Rangers!" He ordered.
I was having a look at the first barn with my binoculars. I could see nothing. So, they were either holed up inside, or not here at all.
K: "Bring up first squad." I ordered.
Dex: "First Squad!" He waved his hoof.
K: "Everyone else, train weapons on those barns - but keep your eyes open, they might have observers or something out on the far side of the farms." I nodded. "Come on, Rangers."
First Squad was Dex, Sergeant Musty Marsh, Corporal Lovestruck Dearheart, and Privates Gorge Jumper, Dee Dovely, and Feather Olivebranch. All of them were veterans from the inception of the Militia Rangers, except Dee, who was relatively new.
Dee: "I hope I do okay as a Ranger." He shrugged. "I was a Cavalry trooper before this."
K: "First firefight?" I asked.
Dee: "Yes, sir." He nodded slowly.
K: "You'll be fine. Just stick with us, and remember your training." I said, giving the grape-coated pony a short pat on the back of the head.
Moving slowly, with rifles up, we approached the first barn..
TIME: 11:39 ERDT
LOCATION: Northern Paddock County, Docksylvania
Moving up to the barn, I was in the lead, with AJ behind me, and Dex's squad behind him. Having fingers, I could point more effectively, and I indicated where they should position themselves. A hay bale, a cart, and a small stone wall were our only cover.
I got to the barn door, reached over, and grasped the rope that served as a handle. I noted.. it was wet. I gave Dex a nod, and their rifles were up. I grabbed firmly, and didn't just pull, I turned and drag-dashed the door open, all the way.
As soon as I did, I heard a Raptoriana squawk, and then gunfire. I spun on my heel, and raised my Bradley, having to remind myself to squeeze with my whole hand, as this was a Pony rifle, not a Canidan C-7 that I'd started to become accustomed to. I hit one Raptorian higher than I would have liked, but he went down.
Then, we all did.
I didn't hear the shot, I was too close to the source, but I felt the concussion - one of the Raptorians had loaded the 155mm gun, and then fired it at us, even though we were less than ten feet away. The blast knocked us all down, but was confined enough in the barn, that the barn itself partially collapsed, on the Raptorians.
My ears rung. My head rung. I rolled on to my feet, shaky, wobbly, and by some miracle, not completely concussed and deaf. I just aimed at the rubble and hosed it down with the rest of my magazine. I couldn't yell - I couldn't hear myself speak. Surge came up with 2nd and 3rd Squad, and all I could do was point at the next barn.
I dragged myself over to Dex, as 2nd Squad helped us up. AJ was dazed, having been behind me, I was pretty sure I knocked her over when I fell. Dex got up, and shook his head, pulling off his headphones.
Dex: "SURGE! TAKE THE OTHER BARN!" He pointed. "GO!" He was all business. "GENERAL!" He came over to me, and I could barely make out his words. "HERE!" He put his (very poorly fitting) headphones on my head, and used his own magic on it - and just like that, my hearing was restored.
I wondered if Vy could do something like that?
K: "Whoa.." I took them off and hended them back. "..GOOD magic! Good magic. SQUAD! REPORT IN! HEAD COUNT!"
I did one manually, and realized we were short one pony - Dee.
K: "DEE!? DEE!" I yelled. "WHAT WAS DEE'S POSITION!?"
Sgt. Marsh: "Over here, General!" He pointed to a carved-out chunk of stone wall.
I moved over to it, expecting to see a blood smear - I got something a bit worse. A drag trail at high velocity leading away from the stone wall. I followed it. Dearheart came up behind me.
K: "Don't bother - I'm pretty sure he's dead." I said grimly, following the score in the earth. "It looks like the shell hit him without detonating.." Then, I saw his body crumpled in a heap, amidst the wreckage of a small harvester left in the field. "..aaahh! FUCK!"
I moved over to him, and verified. He was dead, stone dead. By my guess? The shell crushed his skull into his torso, and sent it flying, into the harvester, and crushed the whole thing. I just stood up, and looked to Dex, shaking my head.
Dex: "AW, DUDE! NO!" He growled.
K: "If it matters, I don't think he felt anything. Hell, I'm not sure he even realized what happened.. don't look. Closed casket." I shook my head and paced away.
Third squad breached the second barn, this time heaving grenades in, and shooting the place up. I could hear Raptorians screaming. There would be no quarter.
Dex: "Damnit.." He shook his head firmly. "..that's the first time I lost anyone since Ponyville, man.. MAN!"
K: "Don't let it eat you." I patted his shoulder. "It's not going to be the last, you save the ones you can, by being a good leader. Hey, he died under my command, too - it's as much on me as anyone."
Applejack: "He's raight." She put her foreleg over Dex. "You keep on movin' - these're your Rangers."
Dex: "It don't get easier, does it, man?" He asked, looking down.
K: "I'm afraid not." I shrugged. "I remember them all, you know." I looked back at Dee's corpse. "I always will." I started pacing towards the third barn. "Come on, Dex. We have a job to finish."
Dex: "You got it, Dude." He snarled a bit.
All three squads formed up by the third barn. Dex ordered Surge to infiltrate to the left, while we took the front corner. The 7mm NEIGHTO round had enough punch to go through some wood, so, the barn walls were only concealment to the bird brains.
K: "I want one alive, if we can. I want to know how this happened."
Dex: "You got it, Dude." He nodded firmly. "First squad, get ready. Second squad, cover us."
Dex and first squad got into position, with Teddy hastily filling in for Dee Dovely. I stayed back, with Second Squad. AJ was still shook from the concussion. They peeked the barn door open a bit, tossed in two grenades, shut the door, and after the bangs, opened the doors all the way (these slid, rather than swung), so Second Squad could hose them down.
This done, First Squad went in, and dragged me out two Raptorians and another Gizmonk.
Time for answers.
[End of Part 4]
Part 5: Convoy Curtail
TIME: 12:02 ERDT
DATE: War Day 627/23 Lunarius, 1003 C.S.
LOCATION: Northern Paddock County, Docksylvania
As soon as they brought me the prisoners, I walked over to the first Raptorian in line and gently grabbed his beak and neck.. and pulled him close to me.
K: "Hello, friend.. would you like to live, or become my dinner?" I relaxed my grip on his beak.
Raptorian: "Brawk! Pony no eats meats!"
K: "I'm not a pony, though. I'm human." I looked at AJ as she was walking up. "Honey, get me a huge pot and start boiling some water. Easiest way to get these feathers off.." I shrugged.
Applejack: "Hot dang! Been a while since this girl's eaten so good!" She set to it with such chipper sincerety, it seemed to be the truth. "Y'all still want his liver nice'n fresh? Ah k'n pluck it 'fore I finish 'em off." She slipped out a large knife.
K: "Mmm. And you're so skilled at that.." I smirked. "..you know I love watching you work."
I noted the other Rangers were having a bit of a tough time stomaching this. Well, they were new to my tactics, and they were trying to keep a straight face..
..Dex flipped his shades down and put on his headphones.
Dex: "Fine by me, Dude - but you know I hate hearing them scream." He started bobbing his head to the music.
Teddy came up, and looked the Raptorian up and down.
Teddy: "This one's awfully scrawny, General! That other one looks plumper!" He pointed. "Don't want my General eating anything but the best, sir." He grinned a bit. A part of him was enjoying this at perhaps too human a level.
Gizmonk: "You're dead serious, aren't you?!" He objected.
K: "Sure am. Raptorians are just overgrown turkeys." I shrugged, sill glad-palling the first Raptorian in that headlock.
Gizmonk: "You barbarian! How could you!?" He was genuinely shocked.
K: "Oh, don't worry - in the human world, Monkey Brain Soup is considered a delicacy." I looked him right in the eye and licked my chops. "I may have agreed not to exterminate your race, but that doesn't mean I won't.. help myself to the prisoners." I shrugged. "We know you're extracting the souls of ponies. How is this any worse? I'm finally putting you to some GOOD use!" I struck the most wicked grin I could muster.
He peed himself.
Gizmonk: "I HAVE NO PART OF THAT!!" He screamed. "NONE! NO! NO! I'M NOT ENDING UP LIKE THAT!"
I literally tossed the Raptorian to Sergeant Marsh, who pinned his neck and stuck her rifle to his head, as I paced over to the Gizmonk.
K: "They're extracting more than ponies, then, aren't they?" I patted his head. "Ooo.. you look juicy.."
Gizmonk: "YES! AND.. Gods.. I-I don't want to be eaten!" He was desperate.
K: "Am I right in assuming that.. should you be consumed in death.. you can't buy your way into The Great Vault?" I smirked.
Gizmonk: "HOW DID..! Ah... ahhhh.. FINE! I'll tell you ANYTHING you want to know!" He pleaded.
K: "Start with a name." I pulled out a sack of loose tobacco, and rolling papers.. I had discovered the value of this bribe. I set it in front of him. "Surge, if he twitches wrong, put the round through his heart - I want that delicious brain preserved." I stared at him with zero emotion.
Surge: "Aye, suh." He gently pressed the Bradley to the Gizmonk's back, over his heart.
Gizmonk/Zorch: "..okay.." He took the tobacco, and rolled a cigarette nervously, constantly flicking his eyes at me. "Zorch. Name's Zorch. From Lothfoam Village." He tapped it on his wristwatch and lit it from a match - I noted the wristwatch was nice, but fairly cheap, and mechanical, and set to the correct time. "We got our orders from Porkarious. He's leading the special mission cells that're all over NEIGHTO." He puffed. "..hey, this is Griffon tobacco.." He 'ahemed' and continued. "He heard what you did in Maine, and that you killed Yuros, the Soul Wizard." He shook his head. "He's not happy. He didn't think you'd be easy, but he thought he'd get more out of that operation than he did." He rubbed his face with his free hand. "I was there, but I escaped - I took a shot at you, actually, and I missed." He scowled a bit.
Applejack: "Aw, yew was the one? Heh." She sauntered up to him, with a cruel look on her face. "I oughtta thank'ya.."
K: "Bet'cha wish you hadn't, now." I shrugged. "Continue."
Zorch: "The artillery guns.. they're bound for Cowrea. That.. you're to be kept away from there at all costs." He looked at the second Raptorian. "He's the big boss, actually." He shrugged. "There weren't many of us, and not all of us had guns, so he figured the best thing we could do was steal the artillery guns and try to set them up in range to shoot the supply ships.." He trailed off. "I don't think he planned for us to live."
K: "Raptorians don't really care if they die, do they?" I asked.
Zorch: "No. They think they're going to an afterlife where they serve Tirek eternally, fighting his spiritual enemies.." He looked disgusted.
K: "You don't agree." I nodded to him.
Zorch: "Man, if I didn't have.." He looked down, then back up. "Do you have any idea what it's like to have a family?"
K: "...release him." I ordered.
Surge: "SUH!?" He looked shocked.
K: "You swear to me, right now, on your wealth, your ancestors, and The Great Vault that you want to destroy Tirek and free your people.. and I'll accept you." I flicked a look to Surge.
Zorch: "On my children." He snuffed the cigarette. "All ten of them."
Applejack: "Holy hay bales!" She was surprised, now.
Surge: "..naew, pahdon me fer sayin' so, suh.. but how'd'ya know this ain't a load of wet hay?" His accent came out a tad thick, probably because he was looking for the right way to say it.
Dex: "Simple, Dude." He patted Surge on the shoulder. "He has a family."
K: "Rules of the world, Surge." I looked at Zorch. "He has something he'd die to protect. And he'll do anything to fulfill that promise. Right?" I patted him on the shoulder.
Zorch: "You bet." He looked down. "I've had to do things.. terrible things.."
K: "That's what's the difference between a good guy and a bad guy, Surge. A bad guy will sacrifice the one they love to save themselves or rule the world. A good guy will sacrifice the world, to save the one they love." I gestured. "You have any idea what I had to do with Trixie to get away from her, when I was taken captive?"
Surge: "Nevah thought about it, suh.. s'pose it makes sense." He shrugged.
K: "When you find someone you love with all your heart, you'll understand." I nodded slowly. "Zorch, what's the next target?"
Zorch: "I don't know." He looked at the head Raptorian. "He does." And he looked at me. "They really are afraid of you. And of getting eaten. They get fed to Porcines if we're low on rations."
K: "That confirms something." I shrugged, and flapped my arms, handing off my rifle to Dex, and grabbing the head Raptorian by the leg, drawing my Bowie Knife. "I'll be back." I said, dragging him off behind the barn.
{End of Chapter 68}
