Battleship of Equestria Chapter Twelve: Of News, Reinforcements, and Plans
May 12th, 1942 11:00 PM
Vanhoover…
All was quiet in the area around the besieged city. The same that it has been for the past week. At first the Royal Guard garrison, who were the only occupants of the half-destroyed city, were expecting a sneak attack. However, by the fifth night it was clear that the enemy was spent. Thus the guard was reduced and less vigilant. After all, who needs to guard the walls if no one is coming to attack anymore? That was the thought that virtually every earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn thought.
They were wrong.
Gu'klas once again checks the time using the moon. 'Soon,' His mental voice coos sickeningly. Within ten minutes, give or take, the city that has long been a thorn in the master's side shall finally burn. Once this Vanhoover has fallen, they will sweep north into the now-isolated Crystal Empire. Secret envoys to Yakistan had guaranteed the yaks neutrality. Once the Crystal Heart was captured, and hopefully the so-called love princess as well, the next step in his master's Grand Plan will soon be achieved.
Pulling out his scimitar, the Carolean general points to the area below the wall facing the sea. Silently, a third of his ground soldiers gather just within reach of the walls, but safely out of the way of being seen. Once again Gu'klas glances upwards. Henry's ten minutes are up. "Where is he?" The general mutters silently. This is what he gets for trusting a 'human': Nothing. Then his eyes widen slightly when a new sound registers in his brain as it rolls across the night, breaking the silence abruptly.
Suddenly just in front of his soldiers, the ground appears to erupt into fire and smoke. A large portion of the wall sags, most of the stone having been blown away. Thirty seconds or so later, a second volley destroys even more, forming a huge gap. Henry's battleship flagship had proven useful today. Gu'klas grunts before slamming on his helmet (which Henry calls a 'Hoplite Helmet' onto his hornless head, only his cruel tusks are exposed, poking out through two specially made holes. Turning to his soldiers, he points his scimitar at the new entrance into the pony's city-fortress.
"ONWARDS CAROLEANS! THE ENEMY IS INSIDE! LET'S CRUSH THEM! THROUGH THEM THROUGH HELL'S GATES!" He roars, echoed by thousands upon hundreds of thousands of voices. Warriors pour through the gaping hole, lusting for blood long denied by Vanhoover's formidable defenses. Now, there will be no stopping the storm.
Half-awake ponies stumble out of their barracks trying to defend their posts. Some have only their chest plate on. Some have only their helmets on. Most have no armor or helmets on. Bodies run into each other as confusion worsens the situation. The defenders try to put up a stout defense, but are quickly overrun. Within a few moments, the make-shift battle line that the ponies had thrown up in a feeble attempt to bottle in the enemy horde is overrun.
"KILL! KILL! KILL! COME ON MY FOE-KILLERS! TONIGHT WE SHALL GORGE OURSELVES!" A lustful Gu'klas continues to urge on his demonic warriors. With a gleeful howl, the Carolean jumps into the fight/rout. One brave (or to Gu'klas, idiotic) earth pony captain cuts down a Carolean. As the pony yanks his sword out, Gu'klas grabs the Royal Guard's shoulder with one hand and spins his target around. The general briefly savors the look of horror on the doomed captain's face as he pulls his other arm back. With a grunt of pain, the last thing the pony sees is the cross guard of Gu'klas's curved scimitar stopping just a half-inch from his chest, most of the sword buried in his flesh. As Gu'klas pushes the corpse away, a unicorn tries to charge up her horn, preparing to fire a bolt of magic at her captain's killer.
With lightning speed, the armored foe closes the gap between him and the defiant unicorn mare. The panicking pony fires her charged shot by accident, her fear disrupting her aim. With a causal, almost bored, flick of his free hand, the exposed throat of the mare is shredded by his crew dagger-like claws. As the pony falls to the ground, her hooves trying to stem the crimson tide pouring into the ground around her, staining the unicorn's pink flanks, Gu'klas ignores her as he continues walking. Gu'klas's only motion that acknowledges the dying Royal Guard is a brutal stomp on the torn throat, crushing her windpipe.
The cruel Carolean general then walks through the burning city and piling pony corpses, his gait so calm and casual that one would think that he was at a park on a beautiful day of spring instead of a mini hell. He watches with pride as his 1.5 million soldiers pour into the fray, slaughtering and butchering any and all ponies, be they dead or alive. Gu'klas then hears several voices speaking in frantic whispers. A demented smile crosses his face as he turns to the door of one of the few remaining builds that are relatively intact. With a well-placed kick, he smashes down the door just as a unicorn officer sends his messenger, a teal pegasus mare, off into the sky. The doomed officer calmly turns around, gazing at his soon-to-be killer. "Now Canterlot will know you're here," The stallion says in a defiant voice.
To his horror, the nightmarish figure standing before him actually laughs. Still smiling, Gu'klas takes a few steps forward, his helmet removed. "Perfect," The Carolean says. "The princesses will stop you," The officer continues, though his lower lip trembles ever so slightly as he knows his death approaches. And perhaps it is payment for failing to keep the city in Equestrian hooves. Gu'klas stops just in front of the pony, both staring into the other's eyes. "Let them try to stop my master," Gu'klas smirks.
Then he strikes like a coiled viper. His open, fanged mouth sinks deeply into the area not protected by armor or helmet. With the motions indicating one skilled with this technique, the Carolean rips out the unicorn's windpipe. Along with a good amount of flesh. The good (if it can be seen as such) news for the officer is that the femoral artery was also severed. Gu'klas watches bored as his soon-to-be meal collapses and dies silently from blood loss.
"Quite a clean kill," A voice says from behind. Gu'klas instantly knows who the speaker is. "More than he probably deserved," Gu'klas says, not bothering to turn around. "Shouldn't you be on your battleship?" "Oh, maybe. Personally I wanted to see my handiwork. They may not be trained in how to use her like a crew back home would be able to, but they will do. Why did you let that pegasus escape? Now our cover is definitely blown." Despite the words said, Henry's tone shows the fact that the dark alicorn doesn't give a damn.
Gu'klas finally turns around. "I have a huge army. I want Equestria to try to stop it with their own feeble armies now that their precious Fuso can no longer prevent our advance on the ground. And I want this 'Captain Jacob' to watch his friends fall all around him and knowing that he can do nothing to stop the inevitable," The Carolean snarls. Henry smirks wickedly. "I think that this is the start of a truly beautiful campaign. Are you going to hunt down the survivors who escaped from the slaughter?"
The general shakes his head. "I'm going to let them get a mile or two towards the Crystal Empire. Then I'm unleashing my riders on them. Now, come my brother-in-arms! Let us feast on the flesh of our prey!" With that, the two war leaders depart, leaving only the unicorn body in a pool of blood, cruel laughter echoing in the smoke-filled city.
Cluny the Slaver has truly landed in Equestria.
May 13th 8:00 AM
Baltimare Naval Yard…
(Jacob's POV)
I stare at the faces of the two hundred and sixty-nine Russian sailors and Naval Infantry of the Soobrazitelnyy-classdestroyer Smyshlyonyi, which is Russian for clever. The destroyer's commanding officer, a Warrant Officer Rushenkov, just finished telling me of how they had arrived in Equestria. After having suffered some damage from a single mine off the coast of Odessa back in March, the destroyer was in danger of being blown up by more mines which ironically belonged to the Soviets. Before this could happen, two men were thrown overboard just before a bright light, similar to what I had seen, surrounded the ship and transported her to an isolated island where they made make-shift repairs and built a shanty of sorts.
The reason, Rushenkov had told me, for introducing themselves was the chance of one day happening upon one of our transmissions. Recognizing the codes, they set sail (so to speak) in the general direction of the radio waves until they arrived here. And of course I'm the one called in for this. Figures. Right now Luna is safe and sound back at Canterlot, so that is one less thing to worry about. Though I still need to finish my scolding of the Cutie Mark Crusaders later.
"Are you sure you are committing to the war? This is your final chance, for all of you, to back out," I warn in a grave tone. To my pleasure, not a single eye is batted. One Russian, wearing the distinctive uniform of the Naval Infantry (the Soviet Navy's equivalent to the Marine Corps or the Special Naval Landing Force) and a Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifle across his back, takes a half-step forward. "Comrade Captain, our countries were allies in the war back home. Comrade Stalin never said anything about not assisting such allies in any other war," The ivory pegasus states in a thick Russian accent. I nod my head, trotting over and gazing at the young soldier. "Well put. Name?" I ask politely. "Lev Troitskiy. Seaman." Again I nod. "I thank you, Seaman Troitskiy, for your thoughts. Are the rest of you lot also in the same mindset?" I call out as I step back.
"DA!" I smile at this answer, thankful to know enough basic Russian to understand that they had said yes. "Rushenkov, how many men can you spare to serve as infantry? I need my landing party stationed on my ship at its full complement while a Marine camp is being formed. The Russian officer ponders this briefly. Then he turns to Lev Troitskiy. "Comrade Lev, take one of the DShK machine guns and half the ammunition for it, along with the gun crew, seventeen PPSh-41 submachine guns, and eighty rifles. I'll take care of the rest." Troitskiy snaps to attention and delivers a salute that would make a drill sergeant proud before disappearing back into the docked destroyer.
Now that the situation has been defused, Froster and the others mingle with our new comrades, cautiously at first, but soon finding common ground in talking about the battles they had been. I can't help but smile. 'Damn, I need to try to maintain the façade of a detached commander for the new recruits,' I half-heartedly chide myself. Then I shake my head. Yeah, the hell I could do that. My next thought is a little less unrealistic. 'Man, I can't wait to see Luna's face when she sees this.' After receiving a scroll from Princess Celestia yesterday morning, we had left Los Pegasus by flight. As Luna needed to talk with her sister and fellow princesses in Canterlot (minus Princess Cadence who has returned with her husband Shining Armor to ready the Crystal Empire Army), we had sadly parted ways there, although only temporary.
"SIR!"
Of course I had to hear someone shout that out with a tone foretelling bad news. Then again, if I wanted to always hear good news, I would have joined the Navy. I turn to look at the unfortunate bearer of what is clearly becoming only bad news. "Why do I have the feeling you're not reporting the latest weather report?" I say half-heartedly, trying to make a joke and put the young officer at ease. Mann quickly salutes me, which I return. Then my fellow American speaks. "Sir, bad news." I roll my eyes slightly, unable to help myself. "Of course it is, Mann. Just like in the Pacific back home. What is it?" I sigh. Mann takes a shallow breath before continuing. "You're being recalled to Canterlot for an emergency war council. A situation has occurred of extreme nature." More wonderful news. Fuck. "Well? What is it?" I ask, unable to help my curiosity.
"Vanhoover has fallen."
Aw shit.
Immediately I start to snap out orders. "Get Froster. Tell him to send all our Marines and Naval Infantry to Canterlot, fully armed and supplied. Have them bring the DShK and one or two of the spare 25mm guns, the twin mount versions. Preferably by dawn tomorrow. I am leaving for Canterlot now. All Special Naval Landing Force members are to stay here and guard the ships. And have the Royal Guard double the guard shifts around the yard! Our greatest asset for the naval part of this war is here!" I shout as I take-off into the air, my speed probably capable of making even Rainbow Dash jealous.
Four hours later…
I massage my temple with one of my hoofs. In addition to the bad news, this damned little bird has been chirping periodically ever since it decided to land on the window chill fifteen minutes ago. Despite having closed the window, the only effect it has is a muffled chirp. It doesn't bother the others. Of course, the same can't be said for me. But at the moment I have bigger things to worry about. We had just finished listening to the shaken pegasus mare finish recounting what had happened for the second time since I arrived. I have a brief mental debate about asking her to repeat it once more. Just to make sure that I haven't missed anything. Like over a million Carolean soldiers waiting to attack. The last estimation of the besieging forces was in the ballpark of about five hundred thousand. But one doesn't need to be a shrink to see that the poor messenger is on the verge of collapse. Both of the physical and emotional level. Turning my head to Luna, Celestia, and Twilight, I subtly nod my head. As it is day light, Celestia is in charge of Canterlot.
"Thank you, Silver Stream. You may leave. I will discuss your situation later, but for now we need to go over this important news you have brought here," The white alicorn mare says with her normal soft voice. The grateful mare nods, straightening her hunched posture. On impulse I also stand and deliver a salute to the pony. Normally I am the one returning the salute, but after what she had gone through recently, this Silver Stream has more than earned my respect. I mark her down as a possible recruit as she exits. There is a brief pause in the room as we look at one another. Finally I let out my breath and take the plunge.
"They're going for the Crystal Empire," I state evenly. The three princesses nod in agreement. Twilight looks to be on the verge of a major panic attack. Quite understandable to be fair. Her sister-in-law and her older brother are there. "We have several days, three at least, before the enemy reaches the border by foot. Probably sooner of they were mounted, but even if that was the case, the border defenses generated by the Crystal Heart should hold for about a day or two. I'll take a hundred American Marines and another hundred Naval Infantry to assist. Has Cadence begun evacuation?" My lover nods. "In fact, ever since Los Pegasus she and Shining Armor have been sending all civilians and refugees to the eastern cities. Only a quarter of non-combatants are left there. We are mustering about three thousand Royal Guard reservists. Will you be accompanying them?" She asks, her tone barely showing that she is not happy that I am once again throwing myself into the heat of things. "If there is room, then yes. What are our forces in the Crystal Empire?"
Twilight takes a deep breath to try to calm down before speaking. "In our last correspondence, Cadence reported that Shining Armor has mobilized the entire Crystal Guard. That makes for a total of three hundred thousand. In addition, last week a detachment of about twenty-five thousand ponies of the Royal Guard militia and seven cannons had been sent," The princess of friendship tell me. 'Good. That means we should have enough soldiers to make any form of defense feasible,' I think to myself, slightly relived. If deployed correctly, our numerically inferior force can at least delay the invaders. Then a new thought hits me.
"Why the Crystal Empire?"
Celestia cocks her head slightly. "What do you mean?" The princess of the sun asks. Her younger sister and former student do the same. "We had a large number of skilled soldiers trapped in Vanhoover. With the number of soldiers present, and the fact that the canal is undefended, Cluny and his generals could have landed near Ponyville and advance through there. The only thing that is of worth up north besides a single princess is the Crystal Heart, and I think it is safe to say that the entire Crystal Guard would fight to the last before surrendering the Heart, and even then they would destroy it. There is something we're missing."
"We can't abandon our friends!" Twilight says fiercely. I almost chuckle, thankfully catching myself before the sound could be heard. "I didn't say that. My men will be here by dawn. Private First Class Burns will remain here to serve as an additional guard for the three of you. If that is ok with you," I say, standing up. Celestia, Twilight, and (a reluctant) Luna all nod in agreement. "I will have the Night Guard gather the rest of your force onto the train. I assume you plan to depart by noon?" Luna asks me. "Preferably earlier. Much earlier. Before the sun gets too high. I want to get as far as possible before we are forced to travel in broad daylight. The sooner and more secret the departure, the more distant any possible Carolean force that could intercept the train will be," I say. The flutter of wings causes all four of us to look at the window just in time to see the crimson tail feathers of the small bird.
'Thank goodness! If only our other problems would be resolved so easily,' I think, sighing in relief of being free from this nuisance. "Well, I think it is safe to say this meeting is adjourned. Jacob, a moment if you please? Sister, after I finish speaking with him, I will be heading to bed. Good night," Luna says, gently nuzzling Celestia in a display of sisterly affection. After briefly returning the gesture, the taller of the two alicorns nods. "Very well. Come Twilight. We better leave the two lovebirds alone for a bit," Celestia says teasingly, causing both me and Luna to blush. Then the oldest and youngest alicorns depart, leaving us in silence for a moment.
Finally Luna sighs. "Why is it that whenever there is some major battle in this war you must throw yourself into the thick of it?" She asks me, despite both of us knowing that she knows at least somewhat why. "Believe me, my love, I've been asking myself that ever since Pearl Harbor." The alicorn princess nods at this. Of all the natural ponies in Equestria, only Luna knows the whole story of what had been known as the Second World War and my involvement with it. From December 7th, 1941 to when I lead the operation back in April to steal what would become my battleship, the Fuso. She already knows that I rarely back down from a fight, especially if the safeties of those I care about are at stake. "You're hoping to face Henry in this battle, aren't you?" My lover guess. "Yes. It is bad enough that it appears he might have something with bigger guns than that fucking cruiser, the SMS Blütcher, which my crew and I only managed to sink after suffering a fair amount of damage. Right now, our best hope is that he is ashore with the army and not at sea, however unlikely this will be. Otherwise, we can do nothing with only a single destroyer, even with torpedoes, until my battleship is repaired."
Suddenly Luna lunges forward and embraces me, fighting back tears. "I know how badly you want to stop your little brother. I won't stop you from leading the reinforcements. But please come home alive. Promise me, my love," My mare-friend (or should it be girlfriend? I'm really finding the proper use of the lingo from earth and here so confusing) says, nuzzling her head against mine. I understand her fears. This is the first time she experienced love and dated. After all, from what the other princesses had told me, virtually the entire time that she was a princess to the incident with Nightmare Moon and her thousand-year banishment was spent working. In fact, most of the time when she wasn't all business was spent with her sister and not with others.
I kiss the top of her head gently, while one hoof strokes her back. My brain is screaming at me to not make promises that might not be kept. War only keeps the promise of death. Promises to loved ones are kept only by chance, no matter how skilled or intelligent one is. But my heart vehemently disagrees. Besides, a promise works both ways. The giver of the promise a goal to keep in sight and a drive. For the receiver, something to hope for and anticipate. "I promise my love. I would fight to break out of hell before abandoning you. I will not die. I will return on all four legs."
8:25 PM
Vanhoover ruins…
"…before the sun gets too high. I want to get as far as possible before we are forced to travel in broad daylight. The sooner and more secret the departure, the more distant any possible Carolean force that could intercept the train will be." Henry Holman sneers at the now-frozen image of his older brother. Thanks to a spell Cluny had made for his disposal, the American can know cause hell to Jacob's plans. The spell he had requested from his fallen unicorn 'master' was a form of an enchanted recorder posing as a small and innocuous bird. With a small pulse of magic, the dark alicorn sends his 'spy' back to watch the railroad.
Alone in his command tent Gu'klas had ordered built for him, Henry hums to himself in thought. 'So you decided to go by rail. Smart plan. Too bad I'm going to have to fuck it up. Actually, it will only be bad for you,' the former Marine thinks to himself as he exits. He walks across the street towards his counterpart's quarters. "Good evening, Gu'klas," Henry says curtly. "Henry," The general replies. The Carolean is sitting down, his clawed feet resting on a table as he drinks a mug containing the foul-smelling grog that is popular in Cluny's army. Henry waits as Gu'klas takes a bite out of a severed pony leg that was barely cooked, blood staining his teeth and mouth. Once he has finished chewing and takes another gulp of grog, Gu'klas finally speaks. "What is it?"
"Canterlot is sending a train with reinforcements in the morning. Jacob will be leading them." Gu'klas barely manages to suppress a sigh when he hears the name of his master's greatest source of annoyance. "How many men do you want?" He cuts to the chase, knowing the alicorn's desire to destroy his brother. "Have the riders returned?" A cruel twinkle is seen in Henry's eyes. The corners of Gu'klas's mouth twitch upward to form a smile that would give the Tantabus nightmares. "Yes. Their mounts are barely winded and well-feed from their hunt. I assume you wish to use them?"
Henry nods. "I highly doubt we can stop the train completely if my brother and his men are among the passengers. That doesn't mean we can't delay them and, hopefully, bleed them slightly. Do we have any prisoners?" Gu'klas thinks for a bit. "Yes, three dozen. Why?" Henry's cruel mind never fails to astound Gu'klas when he hears why. 'Thank the master that Henry is on our side,' the Carolean reflects briefly.
For a moment, Gu'klas almost feels the slightest twinge of pity for the three prisoners that the alicorn wants to take with him. Almost.
"Very well. You may have the riders. You may also select three captives. But only three! The rest will be used as rations once the fresh meet runs out." Henry bows his head slightly. "Thank you, general." With that, he departs into the night, summoning the Caroleans desired. Gu'klas stares out absent-mindedly as he takes yet another bite out of his dinner. Letting out a disgusting burp, yet another thought crosses his perverted mind. 'Never in my entire existence, with the exception of the master, have I ever seen a creature capable of being more cruel than us Caroleans, and I have been around since Cluny's first army was created. I hope the master has a firm control over Henry. Otherwise, that alicorn will become a liability, a loose cannon.'
Twenty-five minutes later…
At the edge of the Carolean encampment…
Standing on a large piece of debris from the once-formidable walls of Vanhoover, Henry gazes in giddy anticipation at the sight before him. Four hundred and fifty of the largest and strongest Caroleans available, well-armed and carrying scraps of armor. Cluny had enchanted them with additional strength, making it harder to kill them at close range. Most are armed with small shields and either a sword or a spear, and in some cases both. A few, about twenty, are armed with the deadly composite bow typical of the Carolean Army. But as impressive as these are to behold, it is not what makes them truly impressive. It is what they ride on.
Each Carolean sits atop a snarling timberwolf, as savage, possibly more-so, then their counterparts found in the Everfree Forest. It wasn't recorded in the history books, but the Caroleans were not Cluny's only creation when he was first exiled and was creating his army. The fallen unicorn magician had made a potion that would turn wood into savage beast. When he was defeated, none of the first timberwolves had survived to join the remnants of his army when he was defeated by Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, and his hated younger brother, Starswirl the Bearded. Quite a few, however, had managed to escape their master either before or during the battle. From there they had somehow managed to increase their number (very slowly thankfully. About one to three every two centuries) in the Everfree Forest. Upon discovering this, Cluny had ordered for several of the offspring of his creation to be captured and sent to his citadel, which had been done before the second battle in the Ponyville area. Once reunited with his timberwolves, the Slaver had used his knowledge of magic to clone them, once more creating a small but elite section of mounted warriors in his new army. These timberwolves had lost none of their infamous savagery and only trained to accept basic commands of control and to not eat their assigned Carolean riders. Roughly half had been sent to Vanhoover.
Behind Henry is the leader of the detachment of riders. The towering horned Carolean had pony blood placed on his face as war paint, the reddish liquid applied in such a manner to make cryptic designs for causing fear in his foes and possibly other arcane purposes. His mount is kept muzzled to the side, two of the Caroleans that normally serve Henry aboard his flagship guarding the three terrified Royal Guard captives tied up in chains in a make-shift wagon attached to the timberwolf. The riders talk amongst themselves in their crude manner, trading insults and war stories.
All this noise dies down almost instantly when Henry steps forward, his wings spread as a signal for absolute silence. Already his reputation for executing any warrior under his command who fails to follow his orders in a most gruesome manner is known even amongst the nearly-fearless riders. Henry smirks on the inside, briefly enjoying the faint sense of fear generated by his simple gesture. Then the alicorn speaks.
"Caroleans! I have summoned you here because of one simple reason! That reason is that you are the best of the best, the most fearsome and ruthless of all Caroleans in this whole fucking army! Or at least, that is what is claimed. We have finally arrived to wage war and death on the lands that the master has long promised! While the main army moves north to crush his enemies, you have been selected to perform a mission of the utmost importance! A train of reinforcements will be leaving the capital of these pathetic ponies tomorrow morning! That train is containing their greatest general and a fair number of this shithole's most elite and deadly soldiers! They cannot be allowed to arrive north! Your task is thus simple: Stop that train and kill the reinforcements at any cost!" At this moment Henry briefly pauses to catch his breath. When he resumes speaking, he uses his alicorn magic to amplify his voice for the next part. The part to encourage and whip the riders into a killing frenzy.
"HUNT THEIR TRAIN DOWN! DO NOT STOP UNTIL THEY ARE DEAD! YOU DO NOT KNOW PAIN, YOU DO NOT KNOW FEAR! YOU WILL TASTE PONY FLESH!"
At this, all the Caroleans in front of him start roaring and howling, bashing swords and spear shafts against their shields. In that moment, each and every one of the warriors is blinded by the desire to kill and feast on the flesh of their enemies. Letting the Caroleans have their moment of battle-lust, Henry turns to the unit's captain. "The leader of the reinforcements will be an alicorn of great importance to me. Bring him to me alive and unspoiled," The younger brother says. The captain instinctively curls his lip at the mention of the order to bring something alive. Henry allows this slight slip-up before finishing his directives. He knows this will at least slightly pacify the lead rider. "Kill the others."
He nods and jumps off the rock, running to his mount. One of the two guards swiftly removes the muzzle from the beast, allowing it to snap its fierce jaws in the air. With a press of its master's ankles, the alpha timberwolf runs ahead, the wagon with the three prisoners bumping and clattering behind. More howls follow as the other fearsome pack members are also urged on by their equally monstrous riders, the sound of paws echoing for some time before fading away in the deepening darkness.
Henry gazes at the starless sky. 'You may have beaten my first challenge, but let's see if that was more than luck, brother.'
May 14th, 5:00 AM
Canterlot rail yard…
(Jacob's POV)
I watch as my men wrap up the finishing touches to the train we will be using as a transport. My men had arrived around midnight, much earlier than I had expected. Along with small arms and the DShK machine gun, one of the motorized boats that the Fuso and Smyshlyonyi both carried had two Japanese Type 96 25mm twin mount anti-aircraft guns. I had quickly gathered up the train engineers who worked at the Canterlot rail yard to modify the train and its cars. The windows have been armored with firing slits for my men, and the train has several slits that will block arrows but still allow sight. I had the pilot plow attached to the front removed and a small cart attached to the front. On it I had the DShK heavy machine gun mounted to give it a 180 degree field of fire. In addition, there was room for the three operators of the gun. I had sandbags piled up to give ample protection to the otherwise exposed Russian crew.
I also had two other cars added. Between the tender and the first passenger car was one of two flat-bed cars. In the center I had two metal smith ponies weld the base of one of the two 25mm guns for a 360 degree movement. Solid wooden planks had been put up all the way to the barrel on either sides of the open car to provide cover for the Marines riding with the gun crew. The second car carrying the other 25mm is in the middle. The grand total of cars carrying passengers is twenty. Each has been modified to allow for the entire force to fit in.
Already most of my men have already boarded along with the entire Royal Guard detachment. In an hour we will begin our run. We will be moving fast, a non-stop trip. Hopefully it will go by without a hitch. I glance at the castle behind me, where my lover is. Tonight Luna is taking care of matters in the dream world, and so will be unable to send me off. Thankfully we already gave good-bye kisses earlier. As I wait for the minutes to go by, I check my own gear. 'I promise you Luna, I will bring peace back to this wonderful land. And we will be well and alive together to see it done.'