I woke to the feeling of a dry dirt, and a warm fire.

"Gah!" I jumped, certain that something wasn't right.

"Luna! You're ok! You're with friends!" came a voice.

I looked around.

Clover was standing nearby. She was illuminated by the orange light of the fire. The room I found myself in was earthen. With the only exception being the ceiling, where wooden boards could be seen holding up more dirt. A hole was positioned above the fire, providing a chimney.

"Where... Are we?" I asked, rubbing my eyes as I tried to wake up.

"We're still underneath Pegasopolis." Clover nodded. "You've only been out for a few hours."

"Oh..." I trailed off. "Have they surrendered?"

"No. But you damaged the city pretty bad."

"How bad?"

"They were winning the battle pretty well... But whatever you hit made them pull back." she smiled.

"Pretty badly then..."

"Right." she nodded.

"H-How much did we lose?"

"Supplies or Ponies?"

"Both."

"Uh... They made off with a few crates. We're still trying to figure out what's missing. You stopped them from getting away with more. Casualty wise, last I heard we're still getting a count. But I'd wager on at least a thousand."

Buck.

"I'll ask around later..." I said standing up. I had another job to tend to. "What time is it? Is it still morning?"

"Uh... About six I think..." she volunteered.

"Alright... I got time."

On the far side of the fire, there were two holes in the walls on either side of the dugout.

I rounded the fire.

"Time? Time for what?" Clover asked, joining me.

"To invite the Pegasi to breakfast."

"You're still doing that? After yesterday?"

"Especially after yesterday. They know they're not untouchable now, and they can never accuse me of never offering a chance to surrender."

Clover's mouth hung open slightly as she registered what I had said.

I came between both openings. On either side I could see essentially the same thing.

The walls were simple dirt and mud. The ceiling was covered, but grey morning light shined downward, illuminating a long hall. The floor was covered with various boards and logs, fixed in place by crossbeams.

I had a feeling I wasn't in a 'building' at all.

I arbitarily chose the right side hall.

"Wait! Are you sure you're alright to be moving? You spent a lot of mana yesterday..." Clover protested.

"I'm fine." I insisted. "Was just tired."

The floorboards creaked underneath.

Occasionally a crack in the floor revealed a space below the floor, dark and mysterious.

I was right. This wasn't a building at all.

I was in the trench.

I passed by an alcove in the dirt wall, inside was several steps of head sized rocks, carved and embedded into the dirt.

A wooden door formed the ceiling.

I walked up the stone steps and pushed the ceiling up.

The world was bright, grey, water logged, and slightly dusted with a layer of snow. Ponies bustled around, busy building and digging. A firebrigade passed rocks between each other. There wasn't a totally dry Pony in sight.

Around the trench's bend, I recognized the tree I had told my War Council the strategy under.

As I looked up further, similar scenes were taking place all around the lake shore. Ponies busy building and digging.

I even saw a trebuchet arm, sticking out half way out of the far shoreline.

Pegasopolis loomed above, its arms once more held close.

One side of the cloud ring however, didn't sit as closely to the city as it had yesterday.

"You don't have to talk to them again." Clover said, pushing the cellar door up and joining me.

Stars above... She was pretty...

I pushed the feeling away.

I had too much to do.

"Please Clover, it's important."

"But... Ugh. Fine." Clover relented.

"Thank you Clover."

Perhaps it was selfish of me... But I couldn't help but lean in and give her a hug.

She froze underneath my touch.

Oh... She didn't like that...

I pulled away.

"Sorry, don't know what came over me..." I excused.

She didn't respond.

"So uh..." I nervously continued. "I'm going to... Go..."

She still didn't move.

"Ok um... Bye?"

Was it possible to kill a Pony with a hug? No, she looked like she was breathing, and she hadn't fallen down...

"I'm just going to go now."

I left the comatose mare behind and started to look for one of my Captains.

Stupid! Stupid stupid stupid! Why did you do that?! How would you like it if somepony you barely knew hugged you?! She probably hates you now! Stupid!

I walked past a team of working Ponies.

First order of business; Enforce mandatory drying shifts. We're going to freeze if the fight causes snow to fall while we're waterlogged from Pegasopolis' downpour.

"General!" called a voice.

I turned to see Captain Comet approaching.

Shit. Why'd it have to be the one I trusted the least right now?

"Captain!" I greeted. "Any news?"

"Work all around the lake is almost done!" he cheered. "All that remains are a few irrigation ditches and covering up some rooms!"

Why was he... Cheerful?

"What about casualties?" I asked.

"840 dead, 1,265 wounded." he stated.

Assuming I could trust his information... With five thousand Ponies... Every two in five now gone...

With three thousand Ponies... Could we keep this siege going? If the fortifications are as complete as he says they are, and if Pegasopolis will be more cautious in their assaults...

Yeah... I think it's possible.

"Any prisoners?" I asked, continuing my walk forward.

"A few. But I've been too busy to hear the proper count." he shook his head, falling in at my side.

Doing what?

"I see... Do you know where they're being kept?"

"They're with Captain Bright Shine. She's over on the South side." he replied.

"Thank you. Dis- Oh! Before I forget, I want mandatory drying shifts. If it's going to be cold while we're waterlogged we'll all freeze before the week is done."

"A few of us raised that point, but we wanted the trenches dug and finished as quickly as we could get."

"Hm... While I can understand the need for urgency, especially since they can try again at any time, I don't want to be frivolous with the lives of Ponies."

"I understand." he nodded.

"Good. Dismissed."

Comet nodded, and veered off.

I'll have to verify his information... He could easily lie and downplay the amount of casualties we have. And for that matter, I'll have to relay that mandatory drying period order myself, in the event that he 'forgets'.

Of course, that was assuming he was indeed a spy or saboteur. Other than the circumstantial evidence of him being 'cheerful' when he greeted me, he hadn't given me a reason to distrust him.

I'll let him be... For the time being at least. But I'll keep my eye open.

In the meantime... I had a prisoner situation to deal with.

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