//------------------------------//
// Rising and Falling 
// Story: Battleship of Equestria 
// by MorgothII 
//------------------------------//

Battleship of Equestria Chapter Fifteen: Rising and Falling

May 18th, 1942 8:00 PM

Crystal Courtyard…

"Protect the Heart!" Shining Armor orders as Henry and his twelve winged Caroleans spread out, ready to attack. "FOR THE MASTER! KILL THEM ALL, BUT LEAVE THE UNICORN FOR MYSELF!" The dark alicorn shouts, rearing up on his hind legs as he charges his horn with the purple-and-green colors of dark magic, taught to him by Cluny the Slaver himself. With demonic howls, the dozen Caroleans launch themselves forward. A pony lowers his spear in time to catch the throat of a Carolean, the leaf-shaped blade piercing the soft skin, slaying the winged fiend instantly. With a glow of magic, Shining blasts a decent-sized hole into the chest of a second Carolean. The air is quickly filled with the horrid stench of burning flesh but is thankfully carried away by the wind.

But the ferocity of the attack is overwhelming. Each of the earth pony guards is overwhelmed and sliced, stabbed, or beaten to death by the remaining ten warriors. In the meantime, the alicorn faces off against the valiant unicorn defender. "You will not take the Crystal Heart or the Empire," Shining declares, preparing an even larger blast. Suddenly the bolt of magic Henry had been charging up has been released. It flies straight and true, scorching Shining's breastplate. The stunned and distracted stallion barely notices the movement towards him as Henry slams the smaller unicorn into one of the crystal columns, both breaking one of the unicorn's legs and cracking the structure itself.

Henry presses a hoof down lightly onto Shining's head, pinning it down. "Normally I would have already killed you, but this time I have something different in mind. You will deliver a message for me." Henry suddenly picks up Shining with his magic and flings him like a rag doll into a second pillar, this time breaking a rib or two. The unicorn grunts in pain but to his credit, he doesn't scream. Henry calmly walks towards him as the ten winged Caroleans surround the now-vulnerable Crystal Heart. With the sound of flapping leathery wings, another dozen winged Caroleans land, armed with swords or short spears. Shining Armor can't help but feel despair, knowing he failed his tasks. "Tell my brother, Jacob, that Cluny will give him one month to prepare for a final battle near the area of where that pathetic town you called Ponyville used to be. The Slaver doesn't want to let Equestria simply fall one by one, but crushed and this land's alicorn leaders brought to their knees."

Shining Armor takes in a ragged breath of air, pain shooting throughout his body. "Go…buck yourself." He wheezes defiantly. Henry merely chuckles, a sound devoid of all compassion and composed solely of untamed cruelty. "Careful what you say. Now, I won't kill you. That doesn't mean I won't torture you. After all, we got some time to kill while Gu'klas and Jacob bloody each other's army," He retorts, advancing with an ever-growing smile of pure malice on the cruel alicorn's face.

Meanwhile

Second line of defenses…

(Jacob's POV)

Carolean bodies litter the ground in front of us. The once pristine snow has been darkened by the volume of blood spilled by both sides. A number of ponies lie still in the trench I am in, slain by enemy archers. Nearby one of the two 25mm twin-mounted anti-aircraft guns resumes firing at a new crowd of spear-armed Caroleans with small wooden shields advancing in something resembling a phalanx. The bullets designed to shred the fuselage of enemy aircraft easily penetrates flesh, thus the reason why I am using two of the mounts from my battleship, the Fuso, as super-heavy machine guns. Heads are blown clean off, and on occasions a good shot or two will tear throught the torsos of several Caroleans.

I rest my barrel on the piece of wood I had placed to support my Krag rifle as I use it as a sniper rifle. My normal emotions of rage and battle-lust are absent. The cause was the noble self-sacrifice of the Russian sailor Lev Troitskiy only a few hours ago. Instead, a cold feeling of vengeance forms in the pit of my stomach. Already I have killed at least fifty Caroleans since the battle began earlier in the evening. Now night has arrived and the main sources of illumination are the Aurora Borealis of the north and the tracers and flashes of guns and cannon blasts, and of course many, many lit torches.

In a twisted way, the scene is beautiful. Of course, that is mainly from the illumination I just mentioned. Then I find my next target: A Carolean flying through the air, a barbed whip lashing at the backs of other Caroleans who appear to be wavering. I realize that this is not only an officer, but very likely a high-ranking officer. I raise my rifle with my magic and close my left eye, my tongue poking out slightly as I focus my right eye through the iron sights on the officer.

I take a deep breath as I move the rifle ever so slightly, leading the target at not where it is at the moment, but where the Carolean will be. Finally getting a lock, I take a deep breath as I gently begin to apply my magic on the trigger. Just before I pull it, I exhale half of the breath. I use my magic to finish pulling the trigger. Inside I know that the firing pin has just been released and that in a millisecond it will make contact with the primer at the bottom of each bullet and ignite the gunpowder used to propel the deadly lead projectile located at the opposite end spiraling outwards. Then the rifle jolts backwards slightly from the recoil as a loud crack is heard. I watch with grim satisfaction as the officer suddenly goes limp in the air. The dead body then plummets to the ground, leathery bat wings hanging limply. Several nearby Caroleans quickly recover and move towards me, eager to avenge their fallen officer, or just simply to gain yet another kill and another body for their morbid feast for their self-assured victory

I don't bother to reload just yet. I have a simple reason for this seemingly rash action. I know that the duo of sword-wielders will never even get within fifty feet of me.

Not alive, at least.

I simply tap on the green helmet of the Russian spotter for the trio of Naval Infantrymen who are the operators of the 12.7mm DShK heavy machine gun and gesture with my hoof to the two winged fiends bearing down on the trench. Earlier the gun had been set up on its wheeled carriage we had deployed it in but now it is set up in a gun pit that protrudes slightly as a bulge in the trench, now set on the tripod, the wooden wheels attached at the base of the tripod for this position. The Russian NCO nods and grips the shoulder of the unicorn private/seaman who is firing the machine gun. Once his new targets are given to him, the Russian uses his magic to move the gun upwards and to the right slightly. Once he looks through the gun sights and lines up with the airborne targets, he opens fire.

The heavy bullets zoom upwards, the tracers possibly being the last things either foe will see. I watch with a mixture of interest and unease as the bodies are ripped apart as the gun continues firing the rest of its previously half-spent ammunition belt of fifty rounds. Once the gun runs empty, the two bodies, or at least, what is left of them, land on the snow. Swiveling the DShK forwards once again, the third Russian gun crew member loads a fresh fifty-round belt and the gunner pulls the bolt back, the gun firing once again. I just hope the crew doesn't forget to keep the barrel from over-heating. If it does happen, the gun won't be able to be fired until it cools back down, and even then that is a maybe. I do have two Marines armed with Browning Automatic Rifles, or more commonly known as BAR, in the trench I am in.

I then shake my head and return to the battle in terms of thought. I yank the bolt backwards and once again perform the (increasingly annoying) process of letting the empty brass bullet chasing fly out of the gun chamber. Mechanically, I then slam the bolt forwards yet again, sending a fresh bullet into the firing chamber, the firing pin once again ready to start the cycle of death.

Suddenly another pair of Caroleans, these ones horned and armed with double-bladed axes, appear only a few feet from where I am. I instantly fire off a semi-well-aimed round at the one in the lead. The bullet hits the center of his head and shatters the bone underneath, traveling through the soft brain tissue before bursting out of the rear of the warrior's head. "Shit!" I curse as I try to reload before the fallen demonic figure's comrade closes in on me. I prepare to hold my bayonet out as a spear when I hear a new sound.

A long burst of gunfire and the rattling of bullets in a seventy-one-round drum magazine echoes in my head. A spray of bullets slams into the left side of the Carolean and sends him spinning to the ground, still clutching his axe but heavily wounded. As the foe tries to stand up from the rapidly-forming pool of blood from his injuries, a Naval Infantryman appears to the left and slightly ahead of me. He aims the smoking barrel of his PPSh-41 submachine gun. Flicking the switch that allows the weapon to fire full-automatic or single rounds to the latter, the Russian earth pony fires a single round at the wounded form's skull, shattering it and sending gore further back.

I nod my thanks as I finally reload. Then my eyes widen as I look beyond the Russian. "Get down!" I hiss as I grab his hoof with my own and yank him back to the safety of the trench just as several arrows fly by where he had just been. His own green eyes widen, he gives an informal salute as a sign of thanks before moving back down the line. I pop back up and shoot one of the archers in the center of his heart, slaying the Carolean instantly. Once again repeating the rapidly mind-numbing process, I duck back down as the second archer fires a return shot. Quickly standing back up, I aim the rifle once more. Crack! The comforting sound of my Krag rifle firing is heard in my sound-battered ears as the horned Carolean drops his bow in shock before slumping forward in the snow, blood trickling from a smooth hole right below his right eye.

A bright flare of light further back around the entrance to the canyon catches me off guard. I rapidly blink my eyes several times to regain my vision. Once it has fully returned, I grin in a more sincere way. Once again the hundred or so pegasi Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust had trained prove their worth. I barely manage to spot the sonic rain-boom that is suddenly made in the canyon. I can't help but feel my grin widen even more. While I am a little frustrated at RD's display of recklessness, I am grateful for her actions nevertheless. In addition to a good amount of Caroleans becoming barbecue, the survivors and the follow-up units will be (at least momentarily) stunned by the loud noise and sudden rainbow appearing overhead.

As much as it pains me to admit the disheartening fact, the slaughter is far from being one-sided. Quite a few Caroleans, both on the ground and above, have managed to enter the trench. Not enough to overwhelm my men and ponies, but enough to make my life a bit more difficult than it already is. A member of the Royal Guard Militia gets thrown to the ground, stunned. The earth pony doesn't stand a chance as his attacker sits on his back and removes his protective helmet before grabbing his crimson mane. With a single movement, the Carolean slits the throat open of the poor soldier before tossing the dying pony to the side, already searching for even more opponents. With a hiss of pure hatred, I draw my pistol and fire three rounds in the center of his chest, multiple clouds of red mist erupting as he falls backwards with a stunned look on his hideous face. A second Carolean completes the climb up the snow embankment to the top of the trench and roars in his excitement to now begin killing. The roar is cut off into a gurgle as a Crystal Guard pegasus flies by, a glint of steel reflected in the light of the torches. I watch as the Carolean falls onto his back, blood oozing out of his slit throat.

A Marine suddenly drops his Springfield with a brief scream as a spear is thrown and impales his unicorn body to the opposite side of the trench. With a howl of rage, his fellow American nearby pops out of the trench, his M1928 Thompson submachine gun mounted with a hundred-round drum magazine. With a loud clatter of both the bolt moving back and forth, and the .45 ACP rounds moving around inside the drum, the Marine mows down five Caroleans including the killer of his comrade and friend. I fire my own weapon at a sixth Carolean about to take flight. He falls backwards with a stunned look on his limp face as the .30 caliber bullet catches the winged warrior in mid-leap, entering just underneath his left armpit and traveling slightly upwards, exiting at the right shoulder after ripping up everything inside the now-dead body to pieces.

A scream makes me look up. One of RD's pegasi falls to the ground while trying to return to our lines, felled by a dozen arrows to the underbelly. With a scream of fury, Rainbow Dash zooms into a trio of winged Caroleans. Spinning around before impact, the cyan mare kicks her rear legs into the jaw of one of the three fiends. With a sickening crack that even I can hear from the ground, the flying demon's neck is broken. Dash then delivers a quick series of hard punches and kicks. The two Caroleans are helpless against her fury, and soon two bodies plunge to the ground after their comrade. I don't know if either of them is dead or simply knocked out, but I do know that they will be dead once they hit the ground. And tonight, that is all that matters.

"STAND FAST!" I shout, aiming at a slobbering, smirking Carolean standing above a member of the Crystal Guard, her sword nearby but just out of the reach of her hoof. Her blue eyes widen as she sees the sword begin to descend, and the earth pony mare shuts them tight, preparing for what she thinks is the inevitable. She splutters when she feels a warm liquid splattering onto her face and opens her eyes. My bullet had hit the front of the Carolean's face from the side, shattering it and creating the splatter of blood on the mare's face as the enemy warrior topples to the side lifelessly. I gallop over and help her up with my magic. The member of the Crystal Guard grabs her sword before looking at me. "Thank you, Captain Jacob," She says before re-joining the fray, leaping behind a spear-wielding opponent and sinking her sword between his ribcage, slaying him.

As I continue to fire my rifle, killing Carolean after Carolean, a different sensation enters the back of my mind. An unfortuantely familiar and most unwelcomed sensation of unease. One that I have felt quite recently: When we saw that the Carolean horde was attacking in a single mass instead of in waves. That thought causes my eyes to widen in shock, and I mutter to myself in thought aloud. "They could overwhelm us but as hard as it seems, it is as if they are trying to distract us. But from what? The only other thing is…" My voice trails off as everything suddenly falls into place.

They're after the Crystal Heart. And only Shining Armor and a dozen guard ponies are left to protect it. No matter how elite the ones Shining picked might be, if what I am dreading has happened, then we need to move. NOW!

'FUCK!' I mentally howl as I realize what the enemy is doing. I must be getting rusty. Twice in one fucking evening! I pray to the heavens that there won't be a 'third time's the charm'. Cause it sure as hell won't be charming for me or my men. And I personally don't want to let the enemy feel charmed. I grab the shoulder of the Russian machine gun spotter, spinning the surprised soldier around to face me. "We're pulling out! Get the damn gun back on the train! Spread the word! Spike the cannons and the 25mm guns! We're about to be cut-off! All riflemen are to help the wounded onto the train and then get aboard and protect the two princesses at all costs!" I shout over the din of combat.

Wide-eyed, he nods and the trio quickly starts to move the DShK after switching the mount back to the wheeled version. As the Russians pull the 12.7mm gun, they holler, mostly in Russian but also in some English, what I had just told the spotter. I flag down the six Americans and Russians operating the two Type 96 anti-aircraft guns and signal for them to destroy their equipment immediately. I had two blocks of explosives brought along just for this. With two small explosions, the now-abandoned guns are damaged to the point that they are worth more as scrap metal than the effort it would take Cluny, Gu'klas, and Henry to repair it.

Henry. 'Oh no,' I think to myself as I my stomach twist slightly in disgust. I bet he is leading the force that is going to try to take the Crystal Heart. Well, I must do my best to stop him! The city is probably going to fall even if we do succeed, but it sure a shell will collapse for a fact it the Heart is stolen. Not to mention Shining Armor. I point to a group of twelve American Marine riflemen and a single Russian, the same submachine gunner who helped me out earlier. "YOU MEN!" I shout, my voice having been magically amplified in order to be heard. The thirteen men salute me as I gallop towards the center of the city, ignoring the bodies of both friend and foe falling behind me as we are forced to retreat to the final lines of defenses and begin the preparations for what is increasingly appears to be an evacuation.

I slip the sling of my rifle over my back, drawing my Colt and academy sword with my magic. The bayonets of eight M1903 Springfield bolt-action rifles and four M1 Garand semi-automatic rifles glint from the dying light, and a fresh 71-round drum magazine is fitted onto the sole PPSh-41 submachine gun. 'Hold on Shining Armor! I'm coming!'

Fifteen minutes later…

(Jacob's POV)

'Aw, shit,' I think to myself, taking in the horrific scene before me.

The smell of blood and the screams of a pony in pain pounce upon the sense of my men and me as we skid to a stop at the edge of the Crystal Courtyard. All of Shining Armor's guards had been brutally killed. At least the enemy hadn't started to eat the bodies like they typically, nor did the dozen soldiers die in a completely one-sided battle, as proven by the bodies of two winged Caroleans present. That is not what grabs our attention, however.

The sight that gains our full attention is that of a bloodied and bruised Shining Armor, and his tormentor. I inhale deeply. Despite having never seen him face-to-face since the attack on Pearl Harbor, and especially not as the alicorn standing before me, the posture and the look aimed at me is unmistakable, as is the voice that follows. "Oh, pity. I didn't expect to get to see you face-to-face yet. Oh well," Henry Holman, my fallen younger brother, sneers cruelly at me. I raise my sword, pointing the tip at him.

"What do you want, Henry?" I demand, ready to strike him down here and now if I must. Henry merely snorts. "If you had been here earlier I would have enjoyed telling your broken body this. So I will leave you with a 'gift'. Shining here will tell you everything I wanted to have told you earlier. Now, if you excuse me," The former Marine officer says causally as he trots up to the glowing Crystal Heart. I realize what he is about to do and take a single step forward, a shout ready to come out of my mouth.

It shall never leave my lips, however.

With a cruel glint in his eyes, Henry rears up on his front legs and activates his dark magic. His hind hooves glow in a sickly greenish-blackish-purple as he slams them into the one thing protecting the Crystal Empire from the frozen north. The heart-shaped crystal emits a bright white light for a second before it slowly shatters into tiny pieces, forming a pile. And this time, Sunburst isn't here to stop what will happen like what Princess Twilight Sparkle, her student Starlight Glimmer, and the rest of the Mane 6 told me had happened when Flurry Heart accidently broke the Heart.

"Hahahahaha! The cold snow and ice of the north shall reclaim this land! Cluny the Slaver helped create the Crystal Empire, and now he shall permanently END IT! You have about twenty to thirty minutes to escape the city on your precious train before you all become icicles! I would say that the same would happen to my own army, but the master had casted a spell to protect us from even the freezing temperatures of Yakistan! Better enjoy the city one last time, brother. Caroleans, kill the others! Leave only my brother and this pathetic unicorn guard alive. For the master!" Henry commands the thirty-two winged Caroleans who immediately began to advance on us. "COWARD! FACE ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I snarl at the retreating form of my brother. He briefly pauses and looks over his shoulder at me.

"Don't worry Jacob. We will meet again. I sincerely hope that it will be at sea, with my flagship versus your precious Fuso. Until next time, 'brother'," He replies before using his dark magic to teleport away. I turn to two of the Marines armed with Springfield rifles, both of whom are pegasi. "Get Shining Armor out of here and to the train! All ponies and men who are not wounded must fly, save for the two princesses, should fly south towards Canterlot and provide the train with an aerial escort. Any earth pony or unicorn unable to get onboard the coaches or flatbeds must run as fast as hell immediately! Get as many of our firearms onboard at once! Now go!" I shout, firing my entire seven-round magazine plus the eighth bullet I had already chambered into the approaching crowd, killing three and wounding a fourth Carolean.

"Urra!" The Naval Infantryman screams as he fires his PPSh-41 from his hip in the full-automatic mode. The cloud of seventy-one lead bullets produces lethal results, killing about a quarter of the Caroleans. Several spears are then thrown by the winged fiends. One barely misses the Russian as he reloads his submachine gun. Another Marine to the left of me is not as lucky as it goes through the fabric of his uniform and straight through his chest to his heart, his body falling forward. His M1903 falls to his side with a clatter. With a howl at seeing another one of my brave friends and soldiers die, I leap into the air slam my sword down with all my strength. The Carolean never even gets a chance to raise his own saber to attempt to parry my own blade, or even scream.

The well-used steel goes clean through the bone and flesh of his hornless scalp and continues to his chin. The body offers little resistance as I withdraw the bloodied sword from the shattered skull. With a hollow thud, it lands backwards on the stone floor. Not even bothering to look back at it, I gallop to another unengaged Carolean. Sneaking up on him, I firmly place my right hoof on his shoulder. As I feel his body jolt with shock from the sudden contact, I whirl him around and thrust my sword forward into his exposed stomach. I then push downwards, causing his inner organs to poke out. I step backwards and gazes as the Carolean falls forward, his limp body hiding the grizzly mess I have just created.

The sound of guns being fired dies off as a Marine fires three rounds into the chest of the final Carolean, slaying the bastard. I take a quick look around. In addition to the Marine killed by the spear, I notice the headless body of a unicorn Marine, his M1 Garand nearby. I turn to the Marine who fired the last shot. "Grab their dog tags. We don't have time to retrieve the bodies. At least the Caroleans will be hard-pressed to find them. Is anyone wounded?" I ask, wanting to know the situation in regards to the health of the remaining members of my impromptu squad. After a quick sound off, I am able to confirm that everyone is able to move in safety.

"Well, let's go! When we get to Canterlot drinks will be on me, by the way. I think we're all going to need something nice and warm after this," I say dryly, already shivering slightly from the bone-chilling winds that indicate the arrival of the northern winds desiring to reclaim what they once owned once more. With one last sad look at the once-mighty Crystal Heart, I follow my men as we gallop towards the temporary safety of the train station. Already I can see the black smoke that is produced by the burning of coal that the steam engine uses as fuel.

Upon arriving I am slightly relieved to see that the evacuation is mostly complete. Captain Blazing Mane of the Crystal Guard has informed me that for some reason the enemy advance has stopped right where the border of the Empire used to be. The retreat was heavy, however. The heaviest piece of weaponry that we were able to save was the DShK that has once again been placed on its special train car. Everything else was spiked to deny the enemy the ability to use it against us. We lost somewhere around the third of the army already, over a hundred thousand Crystal Guard-ponies dead, and another twenty-five hundred critically wounded and thus on the train.

I take stock quickly of my men. Once I finish counting I swear in the back of my mind. I lost forty Marines, including the two killed just five minutes earlier, and twenty of the Russian Naval Infantry. This doesn't include the single American and two Russians killed days earlier in the failed attempt by Henry to ambush our train as we had been heading towards the same city we are now leaving. And Lev Troitskiy. My heart tightens in my chest as I think of the ginger-haired sailor-turned-Naval Infantryman and his heroic sacrifice to buy my men and I time to retreat to the second trench line. I wonder how Franklin will take the loss of his Russian friend. Despite having known each other for less than a week they two had become fast friends, a bond of brotherhood forged in the fires of war.

Suddenly the sound of clawed feet running and the subtle shaking of the ground beneath our hooves grabs my attention. "We move now! I see at least several thousand Caroleans running this way! Men, to the window! Present arms and fire when in range! Pegasi, get as many earth ponies and unicorns on the roof of the train cars as you can! Get on the fucking train if there is room! We gotta go now!" I shout, holstering my .45 Colt and sheathing my sword. Grabbing my Krag I start to open fire at the lead elements of the enemy column.

Crack! A flash of light from my muzzle is briefly seen in the night sky and a Carolean falls to a shot to the gut from my Krag. Reloading with such speed that it would have made a veteran of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fighting the Germans at Mons proud, I fire again. The soothing sound of my Krag rifle eases my extremely tense nerves, as does the sight of a second Carolean, this one winged, plummeting to the stone ground. However, time is running out quickly. Already, faint traces of frost forms on the surface of the now-empty buildings of the once-peaceful city. "Archers, volley!" Captain Blazing Mane shouts from the second flatbed car, having formed up a small group of archers among the crowded soldiers. The wounded have priority to be inside, so the only ponies outside are the ones able to fight.

The upwards streak of red-feathered arrows zooms by like a formation of fighters. Then the arrows begin to plummet onto the unaware horde of advancing Caroleans. Like the blizzard of snow that is rapidly approaching, the Caroleans are pelted by the razor-sharp iron tips. Large numbers of Caroleans fall forward onto the ground, and the enemy warriors hesitate and stop their advance. I continue to step backwards towards the train, refusing to turn my back to the enemy.

Finally the shrill whistle of the train is heard and the mighty wheels groan as the steam locomotive begins to journey back to Canterlot. Billy Franklin pokes his head out of the door of the final coach train car. "Captain Jacob! The evacuation has been completed! You got to get on now, sir!" My fellow American shouts at me. I take one last look at the city. The snow is coming down much, much faster. Already the far opposite side of the city is half-buried. The temperature is nearing way below freezing, for I can feel myself shivering in my winter coat Cadence and Shining Armor had given my men and I when we arrived, despite also wearing my white naval officer uniform as well.

I turn and gallop towards the now-rapidly moving train, panting slightly from my running around so much today. As the gap closes between Billy's extended hoof that is reaching out of the door to grab mine and my own hooves pounding on the wooden planks and gravel between them. With one last burst of energy, I will my tired legs to move faster and leap into the air, spreading my wings to fly towards the train car. Billy catches my hoof with his own, and several other hooves of both ponies and my men assist the Marine in hauling me aboard. Once everyone is inside, Billy slams the door closed against the force of the strong northern winds pressing against the wooded door that will protect us from the harsh elements that the north will now produce until we reach the milder climate farther south towards Luna and Canterlot.

I flinch at that thought. I am not looking forward to delivering my report. Not one bit. I wonder what will be received the worst: The fact that I have a brother that is also serving Cluny and that I have known this for some time but didn't tell anyone but my lover, Princess Luna, or that we have been defeated in the Northern Theater. I hope that Luna will not be angry at me for this failure. In fact, I just realize that this is the first major defeat I have suffered in a battle that I had personally commanded since arriving. Well, at least most of the army I had led is still intact.

As much as my heart aches over the loss of the ponies that my men and I fight alongside with great pride, tonight there is an even greater pain in my heart. I lost roughly sixty-four brave Americans and Russians. I worry that before this war ends there will be every few of my crew who have become my friends no, family, will be left alive. Already a sixth of the men I had first arrived with aboard my battleship USS Fuso when we had first arrived in our new home of Equestria, roughly a month ago. I fight back tears. 'Not now. The men and the rest will be looking to you for strength right now. There will be time to cry when you get back to Canterlot,' I gently chide myself.

I gaze out the window of the rear door, still in the same coach car that I had entered only a few minutes ago. I eye the fading figure of the half-buried city, only the upper half of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor's castle sticking up out of the snow like a spike reaching towards the sky. 'I swear on my life that I will not rest until Henry, Gu'klas, and Cluny the Slaver are fucking dead and only a barely-remembered memory. Even if it kills me, I will not allow my men nor Luna and the others to sacrifice their lives for myself. It stops here! As soon as Fuso is completely repaired, I shall lead our counter-attack. The next battle will be for all the marbles. One shall stand, one shall fall. That I promise you, Henry.'

May 19th 12:38 AM

Carolean encampment…

"The master will be pleased that the accursed Crystal Empire that mocks his legacy has finally been buried by the long-awaited storm. Did you deliver the message?" Gu'klas asks his fellow commander, drunk on their latest victory. Henry nods, his lip curled in mild satisfaction. Inside, however, he enjoys the thrill of further humiliating his older brother, bringing Jacob one step closer to his inevitable death and doom. "I did, and a message of my own in the form of my own physical prowess. Tell me, what are our losses?" The fallen American alicorn inquires the Carolean.

The wind continues to howl outside, but neither of Cluny's commanders are bothered by the outside cold thanks to the protective spell Cluny had casted to protect their mighty army from the elements. Gu'klas runs the numbers through his head. "We lost roughly a third of our army as of midnight. But we still have one million warriors including the rear guard stationed at Vanhoover. In addition, another two hundred thousand warriors are inbound with the master. He shall greet us with great praise for our victories that have allowed him to finally return to finish his righteous cause!"

Henry nods eagerly with anticipation for the upcoming final battle. Soon all of Equestria will fall into eternal darkness and death with the final defeat of their so-called greatest commander, Jacob. 'Beware, brother dear. Your time is drawing to an end.'