Iron Kingdom Equestria

by Bitt_Player

Machinations

Rarity knew Time Turner in passing, Ponyville being the kind of town where everypony knew everypony else. He was in charge if keeping the clock tower and the clocks in the town hall going, and making sure they all showed the correct time. The stallion also had a reputation as acting perfectly normal most of the time, then suddenly saying or doing things that made no sense. This was, to her knowledge, the first time he had entered her shop. Yet she'd come downstairs at the sound of the doorbell to find him there, wandering around as if he had no idea what he was doing but wanted to look like he did, staring at perfectly ordinary objects -such as curtains- as if he'd never seen anything like them before, and giving the dresses funny looks while mumbling analytically to himself.

"Can I help you, Time Turner?" Rarity asked, approaching the clock pony.

"Ah! Rarity! Just the pony I was looking for!" Time Turner said gleefully, "I heard you have a talent for finding gemstones, and was wondering if you'd be willing to enter into a sort of business venture with me."

"A business venture?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. She hadn't figured Time Turner as a businesspony, but then she had to admit to herself that she didn't know him very well.

"Ah, yes, well, what do you know about the Protectorate of Menoth?" The earth pony asked.

"Not much, just that they're rather fanatically devoted to their god," Rarity admitted. Victor Pendrake had mentioned the Protectorate, but had mostly discussed their violent dislike of non-Menites.

"Well, yes, they are. They sort of don't know what to make of us ponies, really," Time Turner replied. "Menoth is a human god, so he doesn't have anything to do with us. On the other hoof, they're mostly willing to believe we're from another world, and as such we weren't created by the Devourer Wurm, who they say created the trollkin, orgun, and so on. Anyway, some of their priests are willing to have us around, and the priests are the ones in charge. I managed to find some work maintaining steamjacks down there -I'm pretty good with clockwork, after all- and eventually I got access to one of their diamond mines."

The words 'diamond mines' caught Rarity's attention. "And you want my help in mining those diamonds?"

"Exactly!" Time Turner answered enthusiastically, "see, the Protectorate has no use for diamonds, but they know outsiders do, so they use them to barter for things they do need. But, see, they don't like having the faithful waste their time mining when they could be fighting, so I got them to let me at one of the mines. I split the diamonds that come out of my mine with Feora, who's in charge of the Protectorate while her bosses crusade in Llael."

"I believe I understand, but exactly what do we need a diamond mine for?" Rarity asked, although she thought she knew the answer already.

"Well, I'm sure you've noticed how much more money the Royal Guard has had to spend lately." Turner replied.

"And you think if the Protectorate can pay its debts in diamonds, Equestria can, as well." Rarity said, "and furthermore, you think my gem-finding magic can increase your mine's output, am I right?"

"Oh yes!" The earth pony confirmed.

"It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this," Rarity said, "just give me some time to pack. Might we detour to Caspia on our way? I think I'd better let Rainbow Dash know, or she'll wonder where I've gotten to."

---

Shining Armor had been concerned when Rarity decided to leave Ponyville, but he couldn't really do anything to stop her. She had been the only bearer of an Element of Harmony to be reliably found within Equestria's borders, up until just a few days previous, when she decided to go mining diamonds in the Bloodstone Marches, where the Protectorate of Menoth held sway. He was also worried because he had a feeling Twilight Sparkle would try to contact the other Element bearers before anypony else. Victor Pendrake had said that if Twilight had vanished in the Thornwood, she was likely dead or worse, but the Captain had refused to believe that. He was sure his little sister was alive, somewhere in that dread forest. He'd have marched his entire company into the woods in search of her if not for the dire need to protect Ponyville from what might emerge from that same forest. Cherry Cola's encounter with the Cryxian helljack had proven that Ponyville needed as much protection as it could get. Generating a barrier for Ponyville was easier than creating one for Canterlot, primarily because Ponyville was smaller. The addition of his new arcane turbine helped, as well. Despite these advantages, the unicorn was feeling the first hints of the headaches that came from magic exhaustion, and was looking forward to the completion of the town's physical defenses.

As for the town's physical defense, Shining Armor was standing atop it -a partially-built wall of cement slabs and mortar, separating the town from the forest. The wall would eventually surround Ponyville, with arches over the river and railroad, with its only entrance a reinforced wooden gate set into its northern section. The edges of the wall hadn't even reached the river yet, though, and the structure would present only a moderate inconvenience to an attacking force that decided to go around it instead of through.

Suddenly, the boom of a cannon firing echoed from the forest's shadows, and a large shell pounded Shining Armor's force field. The unicorn felt the impact at the base of his horn, as if he'd been hit instead of the dome of light he created. He intensified the spell, already mentally calculating how many such shots he could stop. He boosted the barrier's power again and turned to find his Royal Guard already assembling. The unicorn jumped down from the wall to address his lieutenants.

"They enemy is still in the trees, we won't be able to get a clear look at them," Shining Armor said. He noticed Cadance approaching with half a dozen heavy warjacks under her control,

"Airheart, get a squad of ponies in the air and keep watch. Whoever they are, they've got some long-range firepower, so stay in the force field. If you see anything, call it out". Airheart nodded, picked a squad of pegasus Guardsponies, and took wing.

"That explosion came from the forest? Shiny, what's out there?" Cadance asked, stopping in front of her husband while the warjacks spread out around the Guard ponies.

"I'm not sure. There's someone out there with either a warjack or a field artillery piece," Shining Armor answered, "either way, it's got the longest range I've ever seen on a cannon, it hit my force field from far enough into the trees that I couldn't even see it." Another cannon report cut off the conversation, and Shining Armor felt the shell slam into his barrier.

"Captain!" One of the pegasus ponies called, "I'm seeing smoke from where that shot came from!"

"Then it is a warjack!" Shining Armor said, "hopefully its master will decide to come in closer. Cadance, let me take those Nomads off your hooves, and hide those Mules behind the wall. If they decide to close in, we can surprise them".

"Got it," Cadance released control of the three Nomads, letting Shining Armor sink his mind into their cortexes. The trio of Mules she stood behind the wall, where they waited close to the sections that were too low to hide them. The Captain hoped his mysterious aggressors wouldn't spot the smoke from their furnaces, but he had no choice. The Mules couldn't match his enemy's warjack for range, but the power of their steam cannons was undeniable, and ponies had trouble causing serious damage to heavy warjacks -he was sure that the enemy's cannon-wielding 'jack was a heavy.

"Captain! They're coming out!" Airheart shouted from above. "I think- I think they're Cygnar! What the-?" A third cannon shot interrupted her, and Shining Armor clenched his teeth at the impact.

"Cygnar? Why would Cygnar attack us?" Cherry Cola called out the question his superior wanted to ask.

"No clue, but those're definitely trenchers!" Airheart replied, "Four heavies, one with that cannon, one with -I think those're chainguns- and two with hammers! Two squads of trenchers-" Shining Armor felt a hail of smaller bullets pepper his magical shield. "-A squad of long gunners," Airheart continued, "and I think that's a warcaster! Yeah, I see his turbine!"

"All right, everypony behind the wall!" Shining Armor ordered, "Cadance, trenchers can throw together earthwork fortifications that'll protect them from your Mules' explosives pretty well, so I want you to start taking shots at the long gunners and the 'jacks. I'll get everypony else in position -if I do this right we'll be able to mash anyone you leave standing." Cadance nodded silently, her Mules already moving into firing positions. Within moments, they were raining steam-launched shells on the attackers, their accuracy and fire rate augmented by the Princess's magic.

Shining Armor considered the situation grimly as he ordered pony squads to their positions and moved his Mules into place. This was only his second combat engagement in the Iron Kingdoms, and his first encounter with heavy warjacks and a hostile warcaster. The Iosan 'jacks had been lightweights, and had been marshaled by the elven soldiers instead of having a warcaster controlling them. He watched through his Nomads' eyes as Cadance's Mules pounded the warjacks, having already eliminated most of the long gunners. The Captain was certain that his best option was to send his 'jacks in a full-throttle charge at the Cygnaran warcaster, but the four enemy warjacks were a problem. Nomads used to be Cygnar's heavy 'jack of choice before newer designs rendered them obsolete, and those newer designs made up his enemy's battlegroup. He recognized two Ironclads, a Defender, and a Cyclone. The Defender seemed intent on shooting at the physical wall despite Shining Armor's force field, while the Cyclone used its chainguns in a futile effort to shoot down the pegasus ponies who were still airborne. Shining Armor felt that if Cadance could take two of the warjacks out of the fight, his Nomads could pound through the trenchers using their sheer mass, disable the remaining 'jacks, and assail the Cygnaran warcaster all at once.

The Captain grinned with satisfaction as a well-placed shot from one of Cadance's warjacks destroyed the knee of one Ironclad, while the Defender lost its arm to another Mule's attack. At this, the opposing warcaster suddenly stopped his march forward. The trenchers stopped as well. A concentrated Mule barrage crippled the other Ironclad, and apparently changed the enemy warcaster's mind about the whole thing. Turning back to the forest, he called a retreat to his trenchers, who followed behind him as his Cyclone moved to block him from the ponies' view, still firing bursts at the pegasus ponies.

The Royal Guard ponies and their Princess all watched as the surviving Cygnaran forces faded into the forest. Then, they went about the grim business of clearing the battlefield. Shining Armor used his magic to tear the patches off of a fallen long gunner's uniform, then began to lead his Nomads back to Ponyville.

"Shining Armor? Where are you going?" Cadance asked, falling into step beside him, her Mules doing the same.

"To the library," her husband replied, raising the patches, "I'm going to write a report to Princess Celestia, but I don't think it'll be about friendship."

Comments

[Bitt_Player]

He's hiding it pretty well, but I bet Shining Armor is feeling some Canterlot Rage right about now.

[Thethirteenth]

Wait, what? Aren't Cygnar supposed to be the stereotypical good guys? I blame Cryxian shenanigans.

[Obsidian]

No description of the Warcaster? Could be a Vinter Loyalist, or Magus with some purloined Cygnaran jacks.

[Bitt_Player]

1800720
For the most part, Cygnar are the good guys, but they have some bad seeds, as it were. Their current king rose to power by overthrowing his paranoid, tyrannical older brother, and oddly enough some Cygnarans miss big bro.
1800745
Our pony gang didn't get too good a look at him, which in retrospect is a bit of an oversight on their part. "Vinter Loyalist" and "Asheth Magnus" are both likely theories, and I'm being intentionally ambiguous because that hopefully makes it more interesting.
Anyway, I think next we'll check in on Fluttershy. She's in this story, I swear!

[Doomunicron]

I love me the smell of treachery in the morning; really gets my necrotight furnace burnin'

[Rakaziel]

Really well written.