Chapter 23

Day 17

It was a weight he never thought he would ever feel. It pulled down on his shoulders like a mountain of responsibility that he struggled to keep up. Shining Armor dwelt over his position as he walked slowly through the tents of the Army of Eastern Equestria's camp along Rambling Rock Ridge. Ponies waved or saluted him but he scarcely gave them any heed. He entered a section of the camp and was momentarily surprised to see that instead of tents and campfires, trenches and breastworks were being constructed along the ridge. He noticed the commanding officer talking to a group of soldiers nearest to him and instantly realised why defensive precautions were being set up.

“General Oakleaf,” Shining Armor said, catching the attention of the pony in beat up royal guard armor. “You prove to me yet once again why I placed you and the First Brigade at my center.”

“Ah, hello sir,” Oakleaf limped over to the younger stallion. “Yes, the First is the best trained rable we got. They aren't going to let those invaders catch the army off guard.”

“So you’ve told me many times on the train ride here.” Shining sat down next to a small campfire and the other stallion joined him.

Oakleaf looked around at the rest of the Equestrian line and frowned. “Sir, may I ask as to why the other brigades have yet to dig in.”

Shining sighed and held his hooves over the fire. “They believe that digging in is not necessary. Seeing as how we are a long distance from the enemy army and our scouts will give us plenty of heads up if they do turn this way.”

“Do you really believe that?”

Shining Armor slowly shook his head.

Oakleaf stared intently at the young general. “I know you. Back at cadet school when I had you in my tactics class you were the brightest and most independent minded officer in that whole group of air brains. Don’t tell your friend Colonel Sprinter that though.”

“Don’t tell me what?”

“By Discords mouth look who it is,” Oakleaf chuckled. “Hello Sprinter. Tell me, how is the 7th Canterlot holding up?”

“Fairly well sir.” Sprinter lazily saluted his friend. “Good evening sir.”

“Hello Sprinter, always good to see you.” Shining Armor chuckled under his breath as memories from cadet school filled his mind. “Would you mind getting the other Colonels of the First Brigade?”

“No problem sir.”

Oakleaf quickly went back to their previous conversation. “You want to know what I think you should say to those thorn pricks that are questioning your decisions? Tell them to shut their mouths and dig in. Better to be safe and stupid looking than stupidly unsafe and dead!”

“I will, I will.”

Colonel Sprinter returned followed by two other ponies. They saluted Shining Armor and he returned one.

“My friends, I’m glad to see your regiments taking everything seriously and acting like better trained soldiers than they are,” Shining said. “Keep up the good work and I hope I can get the rest of the army to act more like your brigade before we see action.”

Shining armor looked up at the regimental flags of the 1st Brigade. The banners of the 3rd, 7th and 12th Canterlot Infantry and the pennant of the 1st Cloudsdale Lancers. He realised that he was missing the commanding officer of the latter regiment.

“Where is colonel Spitfire of the 1st?” he asked.

“Somewhere in the clouds,” Oakleaf said. “She went on a scouting mission with an element of the 1st. Sorry sir, I forgot to tell you.”

“It’s alright.” The young general waved a dismissive hoof. “We probably needed somepony to keep a patrol. Though, I doubt she will run into anything.”

Nopony ever guesses how cold it can get high above the clouds. That is until they actually get there. Spitfire had flown in higher altitudes many times before but for some reason the chill affected her in a deeper measure. Perhaps it was the looming battle she felt in her bones that let the cold in.

The bright yellow pony looked back at the twelve pegasi following her. Each one was once a wonderbolt but now they served her for a more terrifying purpose. Her second in command, Soarin, had stayed behind just in case she didn’t return.

“You smell that ma’am?” Hollered one of her lancers over the wind.

Spitfire took a deep breath and the slight scent of smoke and cooking food was noticeable on the air.

“Campfires!” She yelled back. “We need to check this out.”

The pegasi dived through the clouds and when they exited the masses of vapor the ground became visible. Dotting the land several miles outside the ruins of Dodge City was a field full of campfires. They landed on a rocky hill and looked at the mass of enemy soldiers milling about the area.

“They split their forces!” Spitfire laughed in a giddy voice. She bounced on her hooves in a small excited dance. “Oh this is ripe!”

“Ma’am?” one of the lancers asked. “You seem excited.”

“Of course I’m excited!” Spitfire rolled her eyes, perplexed as to why he didn’t feel the same. “They split their forces like the true idiots they are. Now we have a chance to hit part of their army and end this war!”

She looked at the enemy army with hungry eyes. She had always dreamed of being a soldier defending her country but had failed to get into the royal guards due to the fact that she wasn't’ of noble blood, far from it. Her father was an unsuccessful cloud salespony who ignored his family and especially her. So she settled on the next best thing, a wonderbolt.

“You six, stay here,” she spread her wings in preparation to take off back into the sky. “Keep tabs on their actions and see if you can find out if the other half of the enemy army has moved. But be careful. The rest of you come back with me. We have to tell the General about this.”

Day 18

The sun was rising when she arrived at Shining Armor’s tent. He seemed slightly surprised to see her and from the look on his face Spitfire guessed that he believed that she bore bad news.

“You have something to report Colonel Spitfire?” He asked in a forced, steady tone.

“I have some tactical information sir!” She smiled widely and Shining Armor started to feel better due to her charisma. “The enemy has split their army into two, if not more parts and is basically prone to attack!”

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying that we should attack?”

Spitfire suddenly felt confused. He wasn’t excited about her news. “Yes sir.”

“My orders were to hold this position and remain as a possible threat to the enemy army. Not to go chasing after fractions of enemy soldiers when the rest of them could slip away.” Shining didn’t mean to make his response sound so berating. “I trust you Colonel Spitfire, but I don't think an attack would be wise.”

“Sir, I understand that you think this might be a trap but the rest of the enemy are still sitting in the desert.” Spitfire didn’t know the last part for sure. She decided to add more positive information. “They didn’t have any dragons with them either.”

“From what you could tell at least.”

Spitfire bit her lip. “Yes, from what I could tell.”

Shining armor sighed and Spitfire noticed something change within his eyes. “I will give you one day to gather information about the enemy positions to change my mind fully. If you succeed in making me believe that it would be a better tactical option to attack then defend, I will.”

Spitfire raised her hoof and saluted him. “Yes sir.”

She flew out of the tent and Shining Armor sat in silence. His officers stood around him discussing amongst themselves the ridiculousness of going onto the attack. He listened to them for a while, deep in thought with his hooves resting under his chin. Across the tent sat General Oakleaf watching Shining with a curious expression.

The young general looked up at his old teacher and smiled. The older stallion noticed a glimmer in his eye.
Shining turned to his officers. “Prepare the army. We move out tonight. 1st Brigade leads the column.”

His officers stared at him, wide eyed and many with open mouths. Shining looked at them and raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Why are you all standing around for? Get moving!”

Oakleaf slowly stood as the others rushed around. He ambled over to Shining and chuckled.

“You decided quickly.”

The young general stood. “I sent a letter last night to the Princess for any additional advice and General Patton got back with me. That piece of paper there,” Shining pointed to a scroll on the desk corner. “Is what he sent me. Read it if you want to.”

Oakleaf obliged himself and started to read.

Dear General Shining Armor, Army of Eastern Equestria

Forgive my handwriting, I am currently on a train heading for the coast and the bumpy ride causes much difficulty. You asked how to better make a decision. Well I have learned that if you can’t decide on something within the time it takes you to shit then you probably need to step down. Even if you don’t have all of the information available to you, there still should not be any hesitation. It is better to act in some way instead of sitting on your ass twiddling your thumbs. Or in your case, hooves.

That said, try not to make irrational decisions. That’s the hard part. You will have to learn that on your own.

-General George S. Patton

“Written like a true philosopher,” Oakleaf chuckled. “But I agree with it.”

Shining Armor nodded. “Well, you better get the 1st Brigade ready. Long march ahead of us.”

The airship Storm of Vengeance ploughed through the clouds like a sea born vessel through ocean waves. The triple steam engines were at the edge of their limit, pushing the heavy gunship against the wind. Silky Wind once again found herself transporting a letter but this time it felt much more urgent.

Although the enemy fleet was most likely still sitting where she last saw it, the mare didn’t want to waste time. She was taking the letter herself due to some magical presence preventing their letters from being sent any other way. Something out there didn’t want them crying for help. Though, when she made a run for it none of their airships made pursuit and Silky Wind couldn’t help but feel uneasy about that..

Still she didn’t slow, they entrusted her with bringing the information to any high ranking individual and the young mare had no intention to fail. Apparently the Storm of Vengeance had different plans. Silky's hair stood on end as the guttural sound of engine one loosing pressure filled the already noisy air. She jumped into action without hesitation.

“Lower altitude!” She jumped off the deck and circled around the hull of her ship to get her voice to the whole crew. “We need to find someplace to land! Don’t overheat the other engine!”

She looped upward and landed on top of the massive balloon holding up the ship. Silky checked for leaks, an activity that she performed on a regular basis since she acquired the brand new but hastily built vessel. After a quick look that showed no fault in the balloon, Silky returned to the deck. The singular put-put-put of the remaining engine was like a hammer pounding on her consciousness. Constantly reminding Silky Wiind of the sensitive situation she found herself in.

“I see you’re experiencing some problems,” a voice chuckled from behind her.

Silky spun around and came face to face with a yellow pegasi who was never part of her crew. She wore the blue, lightly armored and aerodynamic uniform of a lancer. A lance hung lazily on the movable bolt and it pointed skyward at the balloon. The captain bit her lip momentarily, hoping that the lancer won't accidentally stab the air filled object.

“Who are...” The moment the words left her mouth, Silky instantly knew. The words spilled out in a flat monotone. “Oh, hello Spitfire. Long time no see. Yes, I’m having some problems and I would very much appreciate your help.”

“Sheesh, if I would have known that you were still angry about the time when I stole Soarin from you back when we were still in school together I would have sent him here instead.” Spitfire rolled her eyes. “Well, follow me and I will have you sky-tub safe and sound. Oh, and If it makes you feel any better. We stopped dating before joining the wonderbolts. I decided that it would be best if I didn’t date a subordinate.”

Before Silky could tell the lancer the the true reason she was mad, Spitfire was already flying ahead of the ship. She huffed loudly then turned to the pony steering the vessel.

“Pilot, follow that pegasi!”

“You brought me a boat?” Shining Armor glanced over at Spitfire before returning his attention to the airship landing besides his marching army. “How kind of you.”

“Thats me, the considerate gift giver.” Spitfire smiled widely. “But I must warn you. The captain of that boat can be a little fiery and short tempered. So be carefull.”

“And you aren't the same way?”

Spitfire chuckled and walked away. Shining made his way to the ship, admiring the impressive firepower it could add to his army. He noticed directing the landing process and he guessed that she was the captain. He walked over to her.

“Excuse me are you the captain of this ship?”

The mare didn’t answer, all she did was hold up a hoof. Shining was about to ask again when a rope hit him square in the face.

“Shimmer Breeze! You can’t throw a rope to save your life!” Silky Wind noticed the stallion rubbing his forehead beside her. “Sorry. Hey, I recognize you! You're Shining Armor! I’m so sorry sir!”

“It’s alright,” he wanted to get straight to business. “I was wondering if you could offer your firepower in the upcoming battle.”

“Of course sir,” Silky quickly replied as she pulled an envelope from a pack on her side. “But I have a more pressing mission to complete.”

She gave him the letter, and he read over it. His already white color seemed to pale slightly.

“I will send a detail to bring this information to the Princesses and other leaders.” He waved over a group of curious that followed him around and gave the letter to them. “Take this to Van Hoover. The Princess should already be there. Hurry!”

They darted up into the sky and Shining Armor returned his attention to the Captain of the airship. She stood there with an expression that made it seem that a great weight had been removed from her.

“You wouldn't happen to be Flight Admiral Windy Wings’ daughter, would you?”

“Yes sir, I am.”

Shining smiled. “I have heard quite a bit about your bravery at the Battle of Appleloosa. I hope you will prove to be a valuable asset once again. I’m happy to have you here”

“Oh, just admit it.” She laughed. The stress of possessing the letter completely gone. “You just want me around because I’m so pretty.”

Day 19

There is a feeling that grows in the pit of your stomach the closer you are to the enemy and battle. Shining Armor realized this as the sun rose on the last day of their march. He could help remembering the conversation he had with Celestia right after he was promoted to General.

“Why me?” he had asked her. “I have no combat experience. Wouldn’t somepony else be better suited for the position?”

Her reply was short but meant a great deal. “The soldiers love you and you care for them like family. For that I wouldn’t choose anyone other than you.”

And although he still believed somepony else would have been a better choice, Shining Armor agreed with the fact that he did care for his troops and he wanted the best strategy to ensure not only their victory, but their survival. Now he stood with his commanders on a sandy hill as the sun was rising to figure out such a strategy.

Shining preferred to listen to his subordinates ideas first before coming to a conclusion so he stood amongst them silently as they argued with themselves. He took in the shape of the land and the training of his soldiers, added it all together and realised what needed to be done.

The ridge they stood on curved around like a horseshoe with a flat valley below it. A perfect place for a trap.

“My friends,” he said loudly to gain their attention. “Here is where we will make our stand. We will trap the enemy in that valley and crush them from all sides.”

“Yes sir, but how do you expect to draw them in there?” one of them chimed up.

“With bait,” Shining turned to General Oakleaf and smiled. “A bait that can bite back for that matter. The enemy doesn’t know the size of our army so a single brigade will be an irresistible target for them.”

“The first brigade will gladly take this upon themselves.” Oakleaf saluted Shining Armor. “What do you want me to do?”

“Take your brigade and fight a retreating battle towards this valley where we can encircle them with our superior numbers.” Shining Armor waved his hoof over the countryside like an orchestral composer directing a symphony. “But don’t get into a pitched battle. Just draw them here without making it seem like a trap.”

“Naturally sir.” Oakleaf looked at his younger superior with critical eyes. “I have been in this business longer than you.”

“True, but like me this is still your first war.”

Oakleaf smiled widely. “Fair enough.”

The 1st Brigade had left around midday and the rest of the army had stationed themselves behind the full curve of the ridge, ready to rise up and down onto the enemy forces that they hoped would be too surprised to fight back. Shining armor looked uneasily at the distant hills and rocky spires then at the slowly setting sun.

Then he heard it. The faint clashing of metal and the screams of battle growing closer and closer. The first to arrive at their lines was the 7th Regiment who took up a defensive position on the valley’s left. Soon the other regiments of the 1st came pouring into the vale. The last ones to take their position behind the line was Spitfire’s 1st Cloudsdale. Shining Armor could see that they were beat up pretty badly and some of the regiments had lost a few ponies but he didn’t dare dwell on it because the enemy was rapidly approaching.

The foe drove forward with a zealous lust for battle and what they believed was to be an easy victory. Their demeanor quickly changed when the full force of the pony’s artillery, including Silky Wind’s naval guns, let loose from their concealed positions behind the hill. The enemy force disappeared momentarily in a swarm of fire and smoke before reappearing again on the other side of the tempest. Their momentum only slightly abated.

That was when Shining Armor sprung the trap. The entirety of his army, save for the 1st Brigade that had fallen back to regroup, rushed down the hill and encircled the opposing force. There was little time for the enemy to react as the valley became a pit of bodies seeking the quickest way to kill each other. Griffons leaped into the sky just as his lancers arrived and the air was filled with writhing warriors that would occasionally plummet back to the earth. Shining watched from the crest of the hill, sure of his victory when suddenly he noticed masses of his poorly trained ponies retreating from the field.

Panic gripped his mind and he rushed along the ridge trying to halt the rout himself but to little avail. More and more Equestrian soldiers ran until even whole brigades were falling back. Then the enemy pushed, intending to cut down the fleeing ponies. They now had nearly the entirety of the Equestrian army in full retreat. The horde reached the base of the hill, directly under Shining Armor’s position. The General felt arrows fly over his head from several minotaur archers and he too dropped back.

Then a voice pierced the sound of battle and Shining Armor realised that it was Oakleaf speaking to his brigade.

“Rally on the enemy 1st Brigade! For your friends, families and Equestria! Charge!”

The 1st Brigade charged down the hill as fast as their hooves could take them screaming bloody vengeance as they went. Time seemed to slow as the mass of ponies rushed the enemy. Above the galiantly rushing unicorns and earth ponies flew the 1st Lancers with Spitfire at their front. Her blood covered lance gleaming wickedly in the fading sunlight. They collided with the enemy and a great moan went up along side the cheering 1st Brigade.

Shining Armor took this moment to rally his army. “See the 1st Brigade charge to victory! Be fearless like them and victory will be ours! For Equestria, Charge!”

Shining Armor didn’t care if anypony heard him as he dove headlong towards the enemy. But right before he joined the fray he looked back and was ecstatic to see his ponies following him down the hill. Then he hit the mass of hell bent warriors and joined the struggle.

-

Brigadier General Oakleaf’s motionless body lay next to the dead of the 1st Brigade. The Charger Brigade, as the Army of Eastern Equestria now called them, had lost the most casualties but had stood strong the entire time. Now the brigade found itself being led by newly promoted General Sprinter.
Shining Armor stood over his teacher’s body and fought the tears.

“More than 800 dead and 500 wounded, to the enemy’s 400 killed and 200 captured.” He sighed silently and looked up at the desert sky. The stars twinkled back at him. “I thought there was going to be less.”

“We won the battle sir,” Spitfire chimed up. “And less than a dozen of the enemy escaped. The army knows what to expect now. We know what to expect. We won’t do so poorly again.”

Shining couldn't bring himself to agree so he just nodded his head slowly. The rest of the army didn't know it yet but there would be no shortage of chances for them to prove themselves. No shortages at all.

The fleets had stood off from each other for a few days. Admiral Turbulent Waters spent most of that time thinking of a plan to get the ships filled with refugees and supplies out of the harbor. But for that he would need wind and for the entire time there was none. That evening a wind blew up but to his dismay it came from behind the enemy sails.

But instead of bearing down on them in a wave of battle ready warships a single vessel floated lazily towards them. A line of signal flags went up the mast and Turbulent Waters read them with ease.

“They want to speak to us?” He turned to his advisor and she shrugged. “They don’t mean us any harm?”

“That’s what they signaled,” the mare replied.

“Fine, I shall indulge them,” he turned to a crewmember nearby. “Signal to our ships to run out the guns and be ready while we go chat.”

Their ship edged up slowly, the steam engines struggling to fight the wind. As they neared the opposing ship Turbulent Waters could make out a wide assortment of creatures moving along its deck. The two vessels pulled up alongside each other and a gangplank was set between the two. Waters stood on the deck of his ship and waited for his presumed enemy to cross.

His jaw slightly dropped when he finally did. A dark-violet stallion with dull gold mane crossed onto his ship with a young dark-yellow filly in tow. It didn’t take long for the Admiral to realise that the stallion was an alicorn. But unlike the princesses, he was barely taller than Turbulent Waters and was not an imposing creature like they were.

“Who are you,” Turbulent demanded in a stern but soft voice. Something about the alicorn made him not want to talk loudly.

The alicorn smiled warmly and he spoke with a sweet voice that made Turbulent instantly want to trust him.

“My name is Blandire," the mysterios pony said, holding out his hoof for the Admiral to shake. "And I offer you your freedom.”

_________________________________________________________
Before you all start to panic, no, the alicorn is not an overpowered Mary Sue. As you will find out he is quite the opposite. If you see any mistakes please tell me. Sorry it took me so long to get this out and sorry for a lack of Patton and the other humans but this is a pony story after all.