A few hours after the Siege...

Two camps had been set up outside of the town among the shriveled remnants of the old apple orchards. One was the large fabricated camp of the Pryhan army, stakes along the walls made from the old wood. The other was a Prison camp for the captive changelings, who were under watch from the Night Guards. Other units of the Night Guard were in the town itself, cleaning up the debris and bodies, freeing the ponies from the pods, and otherwise cleaning up.

Rainbow herself met up with her officers, asking for a sitrep on the current standing of the unit. Vexillum said, "Well, I just got the report from the Centurions down in the town, helping the Equestrians with clean up. Total casualties from the Coalition, for lack of a better term, are incredibly light; one Griffon. And it was only because he wasn't paying attention too much while hunting one of the Lings who tried to run and hit his head on a sign. That's all. "

"And what about the bugs", she asked.

"Well, we're still pulling bodies out of the hive", Tarquinius said, gesturing over to the broken and smoldering remnants of the Changeling hive. "But, if the current census and intel from the prisoners is accurate, then we have a decent number. The total garrison number was, according to the prisoners, was about fifteen hundred. So far, we have three hundred prisoners, almost all of which are wounded. The rest are either confirmed dead or MIA."

"Good work, Gents. You have your tasks. Go and deal with them. Report back to the Castrum with your men at 1745 for dinner and evening muster. Long live the Empire."

"Long live the Empire", they all repeated and went off. She herself watched as her men picked through the burnt remnants of the chitinous hive, looking for bodies, any survivors, and other bits of intel. In town, the captive ponies had begun to be released, and a few were even now in the streets, watching the Changelings being escorted to the Prison Camp.

She could only imagine what that must've been like for them. One day, you get attacked by something that looks similar to a pony, yet alien and different enough to be scary. The next, or for what may seem to be a few hours, you wake up to soldiers and a bunch of, to you, weird-looking creatures in full armor pick through the corpses of those pony-like things. It would probably be quite disconcerting.

Shaking her head, she walked over to Princess Luna, who was standing talking to the sheriff of the town. She arrived just in time to get the tail end of the conversation between the two. "And that is about the gist of it, Sheriff Silver Star", Princess Luna said.

"Uh-huh", the sheriff said, a dumbfounded look on his face. "Well, yer highness. Ah gotta say, this is quite a lot ta take in. Still, Ah'd like to meet with this 'Praetor.'"

"Congrats, Sheriff", she said. "I just so happen to grant wishes for certain people. My son, mostly, but I can make exceptions sometimes."

He turned to her, a look of solemn joy on his face. "So, it's true." Before she could reply, he said, "On behalf of the ponies of Appleousa, Ah'd like to thank ya for helpin' us in our time of need."

"I'm just following orders", she said. "Any good I do on the way that isn't personal for me is purely coincidental."

His mustache quivering, he said, "Be that as it may, ah'm holding to what ah said. Thank ya. And if what the Princess has told us, yous plannin' to go and fight the queen of them bugs. In any way we could, we'd like to help."

"We don't have the time to properly train anyone else. But, if you want, we can find uses for you. Not glamorous jobs: Digging ditches, setting up the camps, gathering supplies, etc. It won't be easy, and if could be dangerous."

"We're Appleousans", he said. "We're used to hard work."

"That's a sentiment I can admire." She looked over at the low in the sky sun, and then back at the sheriff. "Go talk to your people. Tomorrow morning, at sunrise, assemble anyone willing to sign on as a Worker outside your office. We'll be moving out at least an hour afterward. Bring your own food, and we WILL leave you behind if you fall behind. My men can do that work themselves."

"Then we'll work for the Princess", he said. "They'll be there, and so will ah. This is our home, and we'll be fightin' for it."

She nodded. "And that's the attitude I like to see. See you tomorrow morning then." After the sheriff left, she said to Luna, "I've taken care of anything. We can move out as soon as you're ready."

She just looked over at the hive, then down by the orchard. A large pit had been dug, and her troops were throwing the Changeling corpses into it. She then said, slowly and carefully, "What was your first battle like?"

Confused somewhat by the question, she said, "As in my first battle with my Command, my first battle for the Empire, or the first time I killed-"

"The last one. How did you feel?" Rainbow nodded in understanding.

"I felt disgusted. I'd never even thought about it. It was an accident, actually."

"How did you get past it? I mean, I've done it before, back when Equestria wasn't so stable. But, it has been so long, I. I...." By now, tears began to flow down her face, even darker patches of wet fur forming down her face.

"I moved on. It's different for each person, at least according to my men. I did it by busying myself; I worked and wore myself to exhaustion to avoid thinking of it. I did drugs too, but that didn't work out and isn't healthy. But, one thing they all said, and I agree with, is following what I said. Have friends by your side. Let someone listen to your doubt. I know it works; I wouldn't have my Cocks-for-brains husband if I didn't."

She stood, looking over at her. "I see. Well, thank you." After walking down the hill, she said, "We'll move out in a few days after we secure the prisoners and the town's ponies. In the meantime, try to keep up drills with the Royals. I know it's frustrating, but we need all the help we could get."

Next Chapter: Interlude~Behind the Lines Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 45 Minutes