After a week of on the march, the Coalition (As it had come to be nicknamed), had set up shop, digging in on a small section of hills by a small town. The practical small town of tents and fortifications sat over the hill, having been set up in a few hours. Currently, a small meeting was going on in the Main Tent of the Pryhan Castrum.

All of them were gathered around the table, nine of them in total. Herself, Praefect Aeternam, Chief Thunderhooves, General Gallus, General Sandstorm, Princess Luna, Captain Spitfire, the Night Guard captain Stratosphere, and Captain Shining Armor. All of them stood around a table in her tent, studying a map of Equestria.

"I've had some of my subordinates come back", Spitfire said. "It's like what your Velites said. The Lings are burning the old farms, cutting down wild fruit trees, drying up rivers. Heck, Fleetfoot said that she saw some of them killing all the plants in a meadow just so we can't have flowers and hay."

"I learned about this at the Academy", the Griffonian General said. "It's called 'Scorched Earth'. They're trying to starve us out and keep us from supplies."

Shining said, "So we push them as fast as we can. Overwhelm them before we run out of supplies." All of them except him and Luna began laughing, which ranged from the light chuckling coming Sandstorm to the loud, somewhat bawling laughter coming from Rainbow herself. "What?", he asked.

"All due respect, Princess, but you really had terrible tactics classes before all of this", she said, her laughing dying down. After she overcame it, her expression hardened. "In all seriousness, that's stupid. We don't fly headfirst into this."

"Why not?", Princess Luna asked. "We have supplies already, don't we? And we do have a supply line."

Sandstorm said, "I have no idea how you stayed neutral and uninformed for so long. Yes, we have supplies on us and a supply line. But, we would have to cart all of it up from Appleousa and Dodge Junction, leaving it open to ambush from the Changelings."

"The Saddle Arabian speaks true", Vexillum said, his translation rune glowing on his neck. "Normally, we would get supplies by foraging, requisitions from the locals, or looting from the enemy. But, none of those are options. The Bugs have no use of natural food if intel is to be believed. And with the burning of both natural food and having no real source of requisitioning food as most of it is spoiled, these options are closed to us. We could ration supplies, but even that could only last a month and a half. And marching on an empty stomach is never fun."

"I will refer to your judgments", the alicorn said. "So, what do we do?"

"What we need is a Port. Preferably deep water, so we can bring in bigger ships. An alternative source of supplies, as to both shorten the lines and to have better quality supplies. That's always good for morale", Gallus said.

Rainbow traced a talon along the map, looking for one nearby. A few of the larger coastal towns appeared, but none of them were truly big enough for proper supply vessels. Finally, she found the perfect one; or, at least, the best option. "Baltimare."

All of them looked over at the map, following her talon to the indicated point. "It's the best target", she said. "A Port; check. A lot of ponies we can liberate; check. Plus, it's close enough we can head directly north to Manehattan, or head northwest to Canterlot. All in all, this is the best option."

Shining said, "It is a big city. Meaning it's likely gonna be well defended. And we can't rely on just your artillery."

Vexillum interrupted, saying with a smirk, "You're talking to one of the best commanders of the best regiment, of the most potent army on the planet. I think we can handle a few overgrown cockroaches."

"They're good", Shining warned. "Being prideful won't help you."

"The Praefect isn't", she said. "We are the best!"

He scowled. "Cut the ego. It'll cost you. Not everyone is that confident."

"Nope", Gallus said snidely. "The Prhyans are better than us, and are leagues ahead of you."

Sandstorm said, "Yep."

Spitfire said, "From what I've seen, yeah."

Luna said, "Their reputation does proceed them."

Vexillum grinned, saying, "Told ya, Battle Virgin."

The Royal Guard captain just snarled, gripping his head by the base of his horn. "I know. I know that my troops aren't the best, but this is what we were trained for. Like I said, don't be prideful. We don't exactly know all that much about them. Just... Arggh. Princess, permission to go lie down? I'm feeling a migraine coming on."

"Permission granted", Luna said. "We need as many people as possible ready to fight." Shining saluted, then trudged off towards where the Royal Guard's section of the camp. After he left, Luna turned to Rainbow. "You know he's right. About the artillery, and being overconfident."

Rainbow said, "I get we can't rely entirely on our artillery. But, I still have confidence that we can take the city. We have the Griffonains and the Wonderbolts. Our cannons can fire up at an angle and are perfect anti-personnel weapons. Plus, I still have confidence in my troop's capabilities."

"All due respect", Spitfire said. "But none of your dudes can fly. And the Bugs fight a lot from air, or at the very least dive-bomb into melee fights. How can they fight back?"

She grinned, and just said, "Follow me. I'll show you." She lead the group of officers out of her tent, toward one of the open spaces in the Pryhan fortifications. A century of the Pedes were drilling in the open area, the Centurion barking orders to the unit. As she got close, she said, "Ave, Centurion."

The Centurion turned to her, slinging his Vine Staff under the crook of his foreleg and saluted. "Ave, Praetor. Is there something I can help you with?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Show us the new formation I taught you."

Then Centurion smiled beneath his crested helmet. "By your command." He then turned to the Century and yelled out an order. "Century! Formation: Repel Flyers! At the ready!"

The Signifer sounded a new Cornu call, and the Pedes abandoned their lance drills instantly and began to squeeze in, close together. Those in the first rank braced their lances and shields while getting as close to the wooden oval as possible like a normal shield wall. The remaining Pedes, however, unclipped the locks on their own and placed them up over the fronts of the one in front of them. The lances were stuck up through the gaps in between the shields, forming a bristling hedgehog-like formation.

Rainbow smiled. "As you can see, this is NOT, something you want to fly into." Turning to the Prhyans, she yelled, "Slow, Advance! Take care, forward, March!" As one, the Pedes began a slow advance, shields locked firmly and lances bristling. "Take care! Halt!" As one, they came to a halt, still holding the hedgehog. "At ease." They lowered their shields and lances, coming to an easy attention. "Feel free to resume, Centurion. Vale."

As the Centurion returned the salutation and returned to his century, she returned to the officers and Princess Luna. "So, Baltimare it is?" All nodded. "Then we move out tomorrow morning. Like Vexillum said, the sooner we do this, the better."

Next Chapter: 91~Battle of Baltimare (PT.1) Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 33 Minutes