I didn't have the barrage happen right away.

Oh no.

I waited for the Sun to set before I first exclaimed.

"Fire at will!"

And once more, timber creaked, rope groaned, sparks and rays emanated from the Unicorns in the trench. And some Pegasi had even found a small rainstorm that they were utilizing.

Zzrack!

FREEEEEEEEEM!

BOOOOOOOM!

The night lit up with the flash of lightning and spellfire, causing the distant city wide shield to ripple and flex.

I smiled maliciously.

Sleep tight Emerald Gleam and Sapphire Shine.

"Keep it up." I stated to the foremare watching me, crawling off the crate I had climbed to get a better look at the city. "Keep them on the defensive but remember to pace yourselves! I want them tired but I don't want you killing yourselves to make that happen."

"Yes General." the foremare nodded.

"Excellent." I turned to leave. "If you need me then, I'll be in my tent."

"Very good Ma'am."

I cantered away, leaving the mare to her devices.

As I walked towards the tent Clover had assigned me, I couldn't help but admire the light show of spell fire flicking across the grassy plain between us.

Perhaps it was morbid of me. Maybe even cruel. But I couldn't help but feel... Happy. I had no doubt in my mind that Emerald and Sapphire wouldn't be getting sleep tonight.

Zzrack!

BOOOOOOOM!

As evidenced by all the ripples running across Unicornia's shield. Any bit of misery I could inflict on them felt like I was avenging a long gone filly that could do nothing against those two.

I reached the nondescript tent that Clover had shown me earlier in the day, while I was taking a brief rest. It was close to a large tent, which I assumed was going to be a command tent.

I guess I'd no longer have the luxury of having my own space where I could have private conversations in...

Oh well.

I closed the tent flap behind me and flopped down into the cot that I had used at Pegasopolis. There was even the same crate I had come to think of as 'the table'.

I fell asleep to the thought of Emerald and Sapphire running all over their city, trying to keep their soldiers from breaking.

And failing.

All things considered, the next week passed rather uneventfully. True to my predication, Unicornia did not attack directly. Oh sure, there were a few times the Unicorns could squeeze off a spell or two, whenever they could squeeze a shot through their own defensive needs. But they take to the field.

I suppose they expected me to stop the barrage at some point, which would give them the opportunity to properly return fire.

They were wrong.

With as many Ponies as we had, I figured we outnumbered those inside the city perhaps three to one, we had plenty of freshly rested Ponies to take the place of Ponies who were asleep on their hooves. The only issue on that front was the lack of experienced crew for the trebuchets. But it was easily remedied by spreading the experienced crew around to teach those who had never operated the engines before.

The line of Unicorns on our side was comparatively easy to manage. Those experienced with spells were being fed mana by those who didn't know how to cast. While granted, it was harder to teach those spells when you were focusing on casting them yourself. They also tired more slowly because they weren't relying on their own mana.

So the pressure never abated.

On the storm front, pun not intended, I had the Pegasi start saving their stormclouds the morning of the fourth day, when the shield began to wobble dangerously. My thought process was, they only rarely could contribute to the barrage due to the scarcity of decent clouds that the Pegasi could get lightning out of. So while they were very effective, overall they contributed little. So I decided to save what shots I could for when the shield broke, and then use what lightning that had been saved more effectively. Namely, I was going to use all the lightning that the Pegasi could muster on a single portion of the wall to break through.

Unlike Casúrdomhain and Pegasopolis, Unicornia didn't have the ability to effectively repair their walls. No, the stone that had made up Unicornia's walls had all been stolen from Earth Pony mines. While yes, there were Unicorn stone masons in Unicornia, they lacked the expertise of Earth Ponies to adequately do more than passively maintain what undamaged stone they had.

So when Unicornia's shield finally broke - Not if, when - I was going to use the lightning to blow a hole clean through the wall and compromise the whole city.

I even had the spot I'd focus on picked out already.

I had a few Pegasi fly high above the city, and draw maps on some parchment. Giving me the inner layout of Unicornia beyond the walls.

The gate itself would've buckled under the lightning, but it was also the most heavily defended place if the outer wall was breached. Instead, I opted for a place in the wall that one could almost miss noticing. It wasn't out in front, but tucked off to the side next to the mountain Unicornia sat next to. Additionally, the city on the other side of that portion of the wall was much less busy than the others. I suspected they were either the slums or warehouses that stored goods useless to the war effort.

My only concern about that portion of the wall, was that I wasn't sure if the lightning would be enough to blow through and make the opening I needed.

During the fifth night, I sent out a team of Earth Pony miners to examine the site.

"Move slow, and stay low." I had told them before sending them forward. "With luck, if you're seen they'll mistake you for a boulder."

They then returned to me just before Sunrise.

"Th' w'll is sturdy alr'ght. But ya kin git through ifya t'ke oout th' bottom. It'll coll'pse kw'cker th'n ma ma's casserole fr'sh outta th' oven."

The stallion's thick accent aside, I was very happy with his report.

I had a chisel, a hammer, and a rock with a weak point.

All I needed to do was wait for the right time to swing.

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