The town of Canterlot had taken a sudden shift in tone since the last time I had been there. While the children were out playing, it seems like all the adults watched from inside their homes. They had seen their princesses’ tire out, something that rarely happened. Instead of it being in the past, they now lived with the constant fear that their goddess is not infinite. What a shock that must be for them. No matter what, Celestia the almighty was always capable of protecting them.
I had never known such comforts. I quickly accepted the way life was: there was nothing looking out for you. Hell I never even really had parents. In a way, I could empathize. If they wanted freedom from this fear, they would have to learn to fight, or serve someone who can. That is the way war works.

Eyes watch me from every window. I do my best to seem friendly and wave, but I keep glancing at the back alleys. I hated being so exposed. I wanted my armor, but there was no way I was in any condition to walk around in it. The children running around with capes stop and stare at me. Every step feels like I’m navigating some ancient tomb full of traps. Would any of them blame me for their misery? Perhaps I could have tried harder, done better, I’m sure anypony would love a chance to voice their “concerns”.

The town is completely silent. Just like the towers, I can’t tell if it’s good or bad. None of them had ever seen me without my armor. Even when I had it on, I seldom had time to visit with the refugees. Did they even know who I was? A door opens to my left as I walk by. A silver mare with a red mane pokes her head out cautiously, eyeing me up and down. Her earrings suspend little pearls, and her purple eye shadow runs a bit. I guess they were discovering what it was like to make do. She swallows and her mouth trembles.

“Are...you’re one of...them right?” She has to force her voice above a whisper. Her white earrings almost seem like a distraction from her messy hair. I stop and look at her. She takes a single step back inside, leaving just enough room for her eye.
Cadence’s voice from behind throws me off a bit.
“This is General Raiden.” She says with a hint of admiration.
“And he is more than happy to protect you.”

More than happy. Perhaps this was some way of her trying to use my sense of honor against me. Such powerful creatures, why even keep me around. My arms start to shake as I scan the town and see what my true purpose is. They keep me here as a comfort to their civilians. Next thing I know, Celestia will keep me busy with meet and greets.

Jaws drop all over. The foals look at each other with bulging eyes. I back up a few steps. The alley way behind me is clear and devoid of any obstacles. Up the road, a few guards watch us but they’re too far to lend any immediate assistance. Down the road are more civilians, who watch the excitement from a distance. My best bet was to fall back, but after that there was no guarantee I’d be able to rendezvous with my soldiers.

Random campfires were set around the city. I could perhaps use one of them and light some debris on fire, and signal my people with that. Their magic was still an issue however. If I got far enough, I might be able to make it to The Tasty Treat and use various knives to hold them off. I go through the plan in my head one last time. Set a signal fire, make it to the restaurant, and hold off the civilians. With so much chaos, it may give me the cover I needed.

“Raiden…” Celestia’s calming voice makes me look over my shoulder. My eyes are narrowed as I eyed her cautiously. Had they already expelled my people from their territory? Celestia and Cadence glance at each other. Celestia takes a timid step towards me.
“Raiden...it’s alright. These people admire you. You don’t need to be on edge here. You are safe in our city.” Her voice is as quiet and soothing as she can make it. Even with their magic, was I so dangerous that they need me to drop my guard?

I slowly raise an eyebrow.
“I’m curious, was what Starswirl said true, or was it to dissuade me from trying to use my magic?” I back up a few more steps towards the alley. A cart to my left has hundreds of random items in it. A few horse shoes and plates are all it contains. There’s also a long metal rod in it. At least I had options, but what would I do once they figure out that I’m not falling for it? I doubted Celestia would ravage her own town to get to me; perhaps I could use the buildings to block her line of site and prevent her from using her telekinesis magic. If I lost her, I might be able to sneak up on her from behind and snap that long neck.

Cadence giggles a bit before glancing at Celestia.
“Oh come on you two, what did I miss?” She lets out a hearty laugh as she casually trots over to me.
“Come on Raiden, the refugees would love to finally meet you-” I bolt down the alley and hang an immediate left, sprint down a few houses, and disappear into a backdoor. I close it behind me with as much hasty silence as I can. Voices around the town talk in surprise, but it doesn’t sound like anyone followed me. A few hoof steps on the second floor echo around the room. I slip into a small pantry to my right, and wait. A pony comes downstairs, pausing occasionally. They stand at what I presume is the last few steps.
“H...hello?” A colt calls out nervously. I hear them slowly walk to the backdoor that I just came through. I take in a few deep breaths to calm my heart. He has teal fur with a silver mane, he also wears a suit coat but it has stains from dirt. He’s a unicorn too, but he’s still just an animal. On my world, horses panicked easily. Hopefully they’re at least somewhat similar.

I grab a small pot holder on my left and toss it over his head and across the kitchen behind him as he eyes the backdoor suspiciously. I needed enough sound to draw his attention, but not enough to tip off anypony outside. His head turns towards the noise and jumps a bit. I quickly lunge forward from the pantry and wrap my arm around his neck. We roll a few feet from the impact before I wrap my legs around his midsection, ramming both my feet into his gut. I release my arm just enough so the air gets forced from his lungs. We’re on our backs, so he can’t try to buck me off or wrestle from my grip. His eyes bulge as I re-clench my arm across his neck. My right hand covers his eyes. His legs kick wildly in panic as he gags for air. His instincts tell him to run, not to use magic. Looks like they’re not as human as I thought. I make us roll a few times to keep him disoriented. His horn never lights up and he goes limp.

I lay the unconscious colt inside the pantry, drape a few bags across him, and close the door. Hopefully if any unexpected guests come knocking, they won’t find him for a bit. When he wakes up, hopefully he’ll forgive me, but I’m no one’s mule. I creep through the house, and quickly find he’s the only one here. After locking his windows and doors, I start browsing his house for what I need. Luck is on my side when I find out he’s a carpenter.

I find two pieces of wood, roughly a few feet in length. I use some of his tools to carve a nice groove along the length of one piece, so any makeshift arrows I build have a place to rest. Laying the second piece perpendicular to it, and draping it across the front, I secure it with some rope. It wasn’t pretty, but after I strung a nice stretchy piece of cord around the whole thing, it would have to do. I’d have to reset it after every use, but hopefully I’d only need one shot.

I rummage through their closet and find a nice black cloak. It’s probably a rain coat, but it should be enough. I walk carefully out the back door, hunching over so I don’t look human at first glance. Staying this low was murdering my back, but it wouldn’t have to be forever. I creep around the alley, occasionally slipping behind cover to conceal myself from random civilians.

They walk around in pairs, keeping their eyes peeled for me. There’s no way I’d make it to set off my signal fire, and The Tasty Treat without a distraction. What better distraction than a dead princess. I creep inside a house that was neighboring where I first bolted from. Naturally they had expanded their search past it. I keep my makeshift crossbow at eye level as I clear the house. No one on the first floor, no random pony in the pantry. I keep it aimed carefully, as I rapidly ascend the stairs. The house was too creaky to sneak, so I was better off rushing any opponent. To my luck, the house is clear.

I had chosen this location after hearing Celestia speak with Luna just up the road. I look out the window while staying hunched down. I made sure I only saw what I needed to see and no more. Occasionally I can see briefly just from using the reflection on the windows, but it's not aways reliable. I scann the area for the tips of their horns, doing everything I can to stay as low as possible. Celestia’s white horn dips and dives as she speaks with Cadence now. She sighs and shakes her head. I can’t hear their words, as I’m too focused on what I must do. No one can see where the shot comes from. I wait for the conversation to be over.

My hand gently reaches up and unhooks the latch at the bottom of the other window that's got a clear view of Celestia. Cadence trots back towards the palace, as Celestia stands there, eagerly glancing at every pony that comes within view. I begin to pull the window open when it creaks. I stop, unable to risk her seeing me. A few seconds go by before another pony begins speaking with her. As they talk, I peak over the edge of the windowsill. Her back is turned to me and her accomplice stands off to the right. I aim my rickety crossbow, having no idea if it will even fire correctly.

I hear Celestia’s words from long ago.
“I now pronounce you, General Raiden of Equestria.” With that, the mantle flies onto my back, the clasp connects on its own around the front of my chest. More applause, even from her subjects this time who either stomp or bang their front hooves together.
“General Raiden, please rise.” I get to my feet, I’m almost on the brink of tears, but I somehow manage to hold myself together. I was grateful I was still in my full battle armor to hide my emotions. Celestia trots up to me, eyes full of fear and desperation. She gently places a hoof on my chest.
"Please...save our kingdom...."

I stare ahead. My mouth hangs open. I stop aiming the weapon, letting it hang at my side. What in the hell was I doing?! I turn around and rest my back against the wall. The sun heats my neck as I begin to question who I even was anymore. Was I actually evil? Was I so accustomed to evil that I saw it everywhere, or was it actually everywhere and I was just being naive? Could I ever stop being a soldier? Would I always need something to fight?

I look across the room and see Luna standing there quietly at the top of the stairs with a blank stare. As she glances at my makeshift weapon, she purses her lips. Those gorgeous eyes dance angrily. Her cheeks flinch and shake as she’s torn between her feelings for me, and what I was about to do. I want to assure her I would never have pulled the trigger, but I don’t really know that. I have nothing to say; no explanation for what the hell is wrong with me.

The silence is punishment enough. I can hear her deep, rapid breathing despite the commotion outside. Her eyes travel around the room awkwardly. She impulsively stomps on the floor a few times, still avoiding looking at me. I let my mouth hang open; hoping something useful will come to mind. I take in a quick breath.

“I...I don’t know what I was-” I stop when she gives me a sharp glare. She was on the verge of snapping. Her jaw flinches a few times before she whirls around.

“L...Luna I’m so sorry I don’t know-” my weapon takes on a purple glow, and gets slammed across my face, causing me to fall over to the floor with a painful grunt. I lay there staring at the wood beneath me, unwilling to look up at her. She stands at the stairs, still keeping her back to me. Every part of me begs her to say something; anything. Did she know just how messed up I was? Does she even care? All I wanted was to know how she felt.

She does the worst thing she can; she walks down the stairs quietly and leaves the house. My shoulders almost give out as I sob violently in silence. I hear Celestia call out repeatedly to her sister but she gets no response. I lay on the floor of the house, having no idea or care of where the occupants are. I couldn’t face them. Any of them. I wasn’t worth keeping around.

My ears perk up when I hear Emeris’ voice. I don’t bother to pay attention to the conversation. I wanted to die. Why can’t I stop being a burden? The endless hell of hurting the ones you care about, I’d honestly prefer to be Hurrand’s punching bag again. My right leg flinches at the thought. Clanking armor and footsteps fill the house. A pair of boots makes its way over to me. I tremble, almost feeling renewed at the sight of familiar armor. At the same time, it only helped me realized I had just betrayed the only family I had ever known. I’m picked up and hoisted onto the shoulders of a soldier and carried downstairs.

My eyes don’t move as I’m carried down the road through town. Great, now all my former fans know just how insane I am. Sorry to be such a disappointment. I hear the whispers of ponies as we walk. My people say nothing. This isn’t the first time I’ve snapped for them. We’ve all done it. We never talk about it. You do what you can: care for them until it passes. In a weird way, I was glad to be back in their care. It was a mix of bittersweet memories. I had literally no choice but to trust them. Unable to do or think for myself, I had to rely on the bond I had built with them. They didn't care how I am at my worst, they love me for my best.

I’m set in a house near the end of the path leading out of Canterlot. My soldiers hang around the room casually, waiting for something. A short time later, Emeris arrives with my coat, shirt and shoes. He sets them next to me without saying a word. The room is quiet except for the sounds of miscellaneous shuffling. We sit there for at least an hour; a combination of humiliation and peace washes over me. I hated breaking in front of my people, but I knew they had my back no matter what.

Emeris plops down next to me and reclines against the wall. He has his full set of armor on. As usual, neither of us have anything to say. I’ve stopped panting and he notices.

“If you’d like, you can see what we’ve done with Ponyville. I think it would be good for moral if you’re up for it.” He awkwardly avoids eye contact with me. I’m silent as I slip on my formal wear. It takes a bit with my muscles still tender, but no one dares to help me. We exit the house without looking anywhere but our destination.

Emeris and I walk towards Ponyville. I still occasionally look back at Canterlot, wondering if things between Luna and I will ever be the same. Emeris notices my anxiety and tries to distract me.

“So there’s been an issue Lucretia and I have been discussing. From what we’ve seen, Cadence has only a few minutes to resurrect a creature before they go completely brain dead. We’re still not sure exactly what happens, but it means that unless she’s actually nearby in combat, our units may stay dead.” Emeris stops and faces me.

“No one has wanted to admit it, but you taught us never to run from the truth. Our numbers since the beginning of this war have steadily been dropping. We haven’t lost anyone in the first three battalions, but the fourth battalion took about five losses during our last defensive. Not surprising since they’re not required to practice, but considering there’s only around two hundred of us total, it will add up.” I put my hands on my hips and nod a few times.

We would have been in a completely different situation if Cadence hadn’t shown up during our first skirmish defense of Canterlot when we had to intercept the Og Nag heading for a group of civilians. We had no way to go home and no reinforcements coming. We had begun training ponies to fight, but what we could teach them had been limited since they couldn’t really hold weapons.

Emeris repeats what I already know about our difficulties with the volunteer civilians. My jaw hits the ground when we finally arrive and I see what Lucretia has been working on this entire time. Hundreds of ponies had their own armor with attached weapons. Some had what appeared to be lancers welded onto their side.

Emeris chuckles as he crosses his arms.

“So Lucretia determined rather quickly that the ponies can’t fight like we can. Their lack of dexterity means they have to fulfill specific roles. She took the larger ponies, and had special armor crafted. You’ll notice the large axe on the top of their helmet. They use it as their main weapon but they have a few more tricks up their sleeves.” Emeris lets out a loud whistle. A large pony, who stands in front of a group of thirty, turns around and looks at us. Emeris motions for them to come over.

They get to a full gallop immediately, despite what had to be pounds of metal for armor. They skid to a stop, standing at full attention. I was shocked how well they could run with a massive four inch wide lancer attached at their side that stuck out about two feet in front. The whole thing had to be about a few yards long.

“Let’s give Captai- General Raiden here a demonstration yeah?” The colt nods and stomps a hoof on the ground eagerly. Emeris folds his hands behind his back and stands up straight.

“As you’ll notice, when he stands at attention, his armor relaxes a bit. This lets his armor breath. They can’t simply take off armor to cool off with their hooves like we can, so it’s more breathable. I know what you’re thinking, vulnerable spots for arrows to get through right?” Emeris faces the colt again.

“Dezgo!” Emeris roars. The colt hunches over, and tenses his legs. His armor clanks as it folds on itself, creating a solid metal face. Every slit that was exposed is now covered, making him arrow proof at least on the front. I walk around and inspect his suit. The only open parts were behind him on his hind legs.

As I’m looking him over, Emeris wheels over a cart that has five wooden shields on it. Each shield is roughly three inches thick. Emeris looks at the colt.

“Gai.” he says casually. The colt leans back on his hind legs and throws his body to the left, using the weight of his lancer to help him spin around. He gallops several paces away.

“Nehora!” Emeris yells. The colt repeats the same spinning motion, probably having to incorporate the weight of the spear as part of his normal movements. He goes back to standing at attention, his body facing the wooden shields. Emeris tugs on my arm and leads me over about twenty feet from the shields. I watch eagerly, as I start to notice there are some mechanical parts with the lancer as well. Emeris chuckles a bit.

“You’re gonna love this...Dez Nah!” he yells. The colt bolts towards the shields, almost hitting top speed immediately. He closes the distance to his target in a few seconds. As soon as he’s five feet out, he tilts his head back and hits some odd trigger behind his head. The lancer springs forward, slamming into the wooden shields and sending shards everywhere. A few shields get caught and dragged on the lancer. He casually trots around and stands at attention. He looks at his handiwork and gives a small satisfied head nod, completely ignoring the hanging bits of wood.

Emeris looks over at me. I can see a sick grin on his face through his helmet. He walks over to the lancer housing and begins pointing at various parts as he speaks.

“So first off, they can launch it forward for extra power when they charge, but they can just gore units normally if they want. He can keep it launched forward to get some range, and then bring it back with that rear lever if he needs to kick something off.” There’s a lever hanging down behind the lancer. The colt casually gives it a tremendous kick with his left hind leg. The spear snaps back into its housing with a loud mechanical click. As it slides back, he head butts the wood off his spear.

“They have to train hard, as the sudden weight on the left side makes them run awkwardly. We’ve had to attach some counterweights for the other ponies but this big guy right here doesn’t seem to mind.” The colt looks at me and lets out a loud, fearsome snort in response.

“You see these clamps right here at the front and rear of the spear? We can undo them to take out the lancer if it’s damaged. But here’s my favorite part. You see this cable that runs the length of the housing? If it’s pulled at the front by its handle, it completely lets the spear sit freely. While it’s still snug, it gives them a devastating move.” Emeris steps back and gives the colt a nod. The soldier yanks on the handle on his chest using his teeth. The metal cord flies out, making the clamps holding onto the spear spring open just a few inches.

The colt looks at a distant tree about a hundred feet away and adjusts his hooves carefully to face it. The tree is a foot wide and reaches towards the sky majestically. He rears up on his hind legs. As he begins his fall, he snaps his head back, hitting the lever behind his helmet. The spear flies through the air, letting out a fearsome whistle. It slams into the tree, letting out a glorious crack. The tree splits vertically, as half of it falls off to the side with a loud creak.

A fierce roar erupts from what I presume is his unit. They stomp their hooves and cheer furiously.

“The idea is if their spear gets stuck and they have to ditch it, or use it nailing a Garge at a distance, they run back to our reloading team. They get a new spear, and then rush back out again. However, we’ve had to give each lancer a buddy. Their lack of maneuverability sometimes makes them vulnerable.” Another pony walks up. Her eyes are green and a small braid of her brown mane hangs behind her eye. Her fur is a dull purple, but she walks with a youthful spring in her step. She stops and stands proudly in respect. The colt walks up next to her.

He sits on his haunches briefly and takes off his helmet. A pair of green eyes stare up at me, looking overly gentle despite the aggressive display I just saw. He has a golden mane that hangs to one side. His red fur is a complete mess. He probably hasn’t stopped training in days. His muscles are much more pronounced than your average pony. I can see why he handles his spear so well.

“This is Big Mac, and his partner Umbra.” Emeris motions with his head for the pair to head back to the training grounds.

“Basically the partner’s job is to kick off anything the lancer can’t. So if they got a dead Og Nag on their spear that’s stuck, they’re not screwed.” As we approach the middle of Ponyville, I can see they’ve turned it into a massive training yard. There’s extra weapons, endless racks of extra spears for the lancer group, tons and tons of rocks as well as rows of pony armor.

Emeris walks over and drags another test dummy out. It’s a large sack full of either grain or sand. The two take their mark several paces away, and stand at the ready. Big Mac puts his helmet back on. The air is tense as Emeris brings two other dummies out. They’re different colors, which I assume means they have different things in them. The idea was that each dummy could be any number of issues. Emeris looks at me.

“Don’t worry; she does more than just kick things...Dez Nah!”
The two take off. Umbra stays glued to Big Mac’s right flank. Probably so she doesn’t collide into the spear when he stops. Her eyes stay glued to the target. Various soldiers swing at them with wooden sticks. Big Mac easily ignores them as they smash harmlessly against his armor. Umbra on the other hand has to dodge. She has basic armor made from leather and a few pieces of wood wrapped in more leather. She has to stay agile.

Big Mac rams his spear into the first light brown target. It gets torn to shreds at its mid-section. It falls to pieces and gets trampled. Umbra changes her pace perfectly to match Mac’s, before and after he hits the bag. Her timing was impressive but she trots along almost carelessly. As she runs along, I see some type of mechanism on both sides of her chest plate. It’s covered with her black cloak, but whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll see it soon.

The second dark brown target gets nailed cleanly, but the fabric doesn’t tear as easily as the former. It slides towards Big Mac on his spear. Umbra darts behind him to his left side. Mac skids to a stop. As soon as the forward momentum makes the bag start moving away again, Umbra follows up with a rapid drop kick to the target, sending it flying off. It rolls a few times ahead of Big Mac, who gives it a vicious stomp with both his front legs as he sails by. If that target had been living at any point, it sure wasn’t any more.

The third target is solid black. I raise an eyebrow and already see a flaw in their tactics. Big Mac lowers his head and closes his eyes as he gores the target. It sprays his helmet with what I assume is flour. Umbra immediately drop kicks the target again but does an impressive follow up. I look ahead and see several Taraskans holding up wooden shields with targets painted on them.

As she drop kicks the bag away from Big Mac, she does some crazy cartwheel as she spins around. The moment all four of her hooves hit the ground, she jumps in the air, and brushes back her cloak with her forelegs. She slams her front hooves into her belly against two levers. Knives come springing out, flying through the air and nailing their intended targets. As she lands again, she leaps back over Big Mac, and sends another two knives sailing over his head, hitting their targets as well.

They come to a skidding halt, with Umbra staying behind Big Mac again; they made a good team. Their plan was terrible though and I unfortunately had to interrupt the howls of excitement filling the base with my hands held up. I look at the pair who watch me proudly. Emeris walks over.

“Big Mac here was the best with a lancer, and Umbra was the most accurate and agile. I figured they’d make a good team.” I sigh and shake my head. Their eyes were so full of pride and ferocity; I hated to break the bad news to them.

“Gai.” I mutter. The pair trots back eagerly. I hold up a wooden shield and give them a head nod to charge, staying on Big Mac's left side. Big Mac rakes dirt back a few times with his front hoof before taking off. Umbra looks a bit more determined, but still has a dash of lazy to her. I stand there, holding the shield in front of me. I wait for the same conditioned response that could get them killed and see it at the last second. Big Mac closes his eyes a few seconds before reaching me. I immediately side step to his right side and sweep at his front legs with the shield.

He lets out a surprised yelp as he tumbles forward. As I swipe his front legs, I use the momentum to spin around and shield bash Umbra who tries in vain to skid to a shocked stop. She goes flying back as all I have to do is hold my shield firmly, and her forward energy does the rest. I pull out my sword and tap the back of Big Mac’s exposed legs. Before Umbra can recover, I dash over and point my sword at her. She stares at the tip with wide eyes.

“Dead and dead. Do not blind charge. Keep your eyes open as long as you can. What would you do if your opponent gets killed and falls over? That’s a corpse for you to trip on. You hit the ground like that, and you’re gone. You’ll get swarmed and stabbed everywhere. Let’s try another lesson. Gai.” Big Mac gets up and grumbles. He shakes his armor to remove some loose dirt. As he walks back, he shoots me a glare. They can hate me if they want, but I was saving their lives. As soon as they stand back in their ready position, I motion with my finger for them to turn around. They do it but with a bit of a grudge. I motion for Emeris to bring up another three targets. This time, I rearrange them, and put a light brown sack over all three.

“Dez Nah.” The pair turn around and dash at the first target, just as they’ve done a hundred times. Big Mac spears the target dead center, and gets a nice dose of flour in his eyes, which he's used to being in the final target, not the first. He cries out in surprise and stops, while shaking his head. Umbra skids to a stop, while keeping her eyes on Big Mac. She runs over to him. I hurl another shield at the back of her head. She screams as it knocks her to the ground. She covers her head with her front hooves and rolls on the ground next to him.

“Sloppy. You’re so conditioned to doing the same thing over and over, that you don’t actually analyze what’s going on around you. You need to change things up. React, don’t predict. Making assumptions is a mistake you’ll only get to make once. Umbra I know you want to help Big Mac, but while you’re watching him, you can get stabbed from behind. You can’t stand around like that.”

The pair gets up, except Big Mac is shaking with rage. He roars angrily and stomps his front hooves. I cock an eyebrow. Why was he getting so frustrated? Then it hits me, the same look I’ve seen a thousand times. He’s lost something and now he wants to fight to get it back. We lock eyes when he suddenly charges at me. I’m about to take a defensive pose when Lucretia comes running from behind him. Big Mac gets several feet before Lucretia jumps on his back. She straddles him and leans to the side with the lancer. The weight of both the spear and her body make him cry out before falling over again. Lucretia slides off his back as he goes tumbling forward.

Umbra rushes her with a loud roar. Lucretia side steps and grabs her cloak as she sails past. She uses it to swing Umbra into a rack of spears. She knocks the entire pile over and lays there panting.

“Enough!” Lucretia yells.
“General Raiden has a point. We need to step up your training; your lives depend on it! Take it as a wakeup call, not a scratch on your fragile egos! You can learn now, or you can learn the hard way as your life flashes before your eyes; pick one!” The two slowly get to their feet and avoid eye contact with anyonee. Big Mac stomps off. Umbra shoots me a glare before trotting after him. She knew I was right, but getting your high ruined is never fun. I guess I could have been nicer about the whole thing though. It was vital to teach them right away to let go of their pride and do what they had to do. War is not going to be nice. Best to teach them that as soon as possible. Lucretia crosses her arms and walks up to me.

“Go easy on Big Mac...he lost his farm from what I’ve heard.” A quiet groan escapes my throat. I never really gave my lessons much forethought, but I didn’t claim to be perfect. I give the rest of our units a look over. They still needed a lot of work. They couldn’t think about what they were doing, they had to do it out of reaction. Still too new to combat, I could see most of them panicking. There was no denying that all the extra forces helped turn the tides in our favor if Zaran ever returned.

Lucretia leads me over to the unicorns.

“There are two jobs for the unicorns: building walls out of rocks and clearing bodies, or being on the reloading team. Our more skittish ponies are back out of harm’s way. Initially we had the building unicorns set down every rock, but we found out it’s easier to have two unicorns make a barrier on either side, then drop the rocks in. Bam, instant wall. Also we started off having ballista teams, but having the lancers do it ended up being more efficient. That way we could move them with ease. We actually have specific lancers who are amazingly accurate at range like Big Mac that we call on. The ponies who don’t want to be directly in combat make up Tactical. They build, clear, reload, whatever non-combat stuff we need. Lancercore is looking good, but we have more ponies who want to be flankguards than lancers. We might take half the ponies who want to be flankguard and find other uses for them, but for now we’re a tad unbalanced, and we can’t just make them be lancers. The last thing you want is reluctant ponies charging in first.”

Emeris, Lucretia and I, take the next few hours to toss around ideas for training and improvements. Big Mac still gives me glares when he catches my eye, but always listens when I have instructions for him. Perhaps his desire for revenge outweighs his anger for me. Perfect, that’s exactly what he’ll need. We decided that in the event we have to cut training short, we’ll focus on having the ponies support our people instead of going in first. Being frontlines and having your plan fall to pieces, isn’t something for novices to deal with.

Zaran is going to have his hands full.