//------------------------------// // Conflict and Resolution // Story: To liberate a land // by Ponelover //------------------------------// They called it the Stormlands for a good reason. The lands of Southern Zebrica are famed for Its turbulent waters. The cold antarctic waters from the south collides with the warmer waters coming in from Storm bay, as if the clash of temperatures aren’t enough. Warm winds coming in from the Equator are carried southwards, picking up sand particles from central Zebrican lands, before finally reaching the bays of the south. This confluence of energy creates a land where storms are regular, and rains an almost daily occurrence. Fortunately enough. I’m currently inside a submarine that officially doesn’t exist. A submarine that frankly makes me feel like a ghost, everything’s so silent, with only the hum of the nuclear reactor and the occasional orders from the sub captain filling the air with sound. It’s been some further 2 weeks since I’ve left Mareidian. The sub leaving port already submerged, a necessity to maintain operational security. I’ve met my squad, a brave group of mares, veterans of both major wars. They know their way around their weapons, very motivated, and more than willing to give their lives in support of Equestria. That’s all I needed for the moment. As I trot past the various hallways of the submarine. I eventually came across a mare standing right next to a plaque. It reads ‘ERNS Guiding Light’ on the top, while at the center of the plaque, a simplified image of a white earth pony looking upwards towards the sun. Finally ending with the letters ‘Defending Equestria at all costs’ at the bottom. “Magnificent isn’t it?” The mare right next to the plaque said to me. “A ship designed at the end of a war, equipped with the most advanced equipment and weaponry that has ever existed. Named after one of the most important figures in Equestrian history, and yet, this is the ship’s first combat mission in a decade.” I took a glance at the mare that’s talking to me. Much younger than I am, probably somewhere in her mid 20s, Her mane styled like Rainbow Dash and shone a bright green, while her coat shone a brilliant yellow. Her face says it all. Tough, as if she can take the entire world right here and now, looks like someone with something to prove. A definite mare I shouldn’t mess with. She’s… similar to me in that regard. When I was much younger anyway. “Yeah, well, what can you do. It’s a time of peace ms?” “Wave Breaker.” She introduced herself. “Chief Petty Officer Wave Breaker.” “Oh, sweet! Nice to meet you, I guess you already know my name.” “Obviously. You’re Tempest Shadow. Hero of Vanhoover, Liberator of Skyfall. You spearheaded Swift Wing’s southern thrust. It’s an honour to meet you ma’am.” I only brushed off the compliment given to me. “It’s nothing special Wave Breaker. I just did what was ordered of me to do. If you’re in my boots, and have the same knowledge as me. I don’t think much would change really.” The yellow mare blushed at my response. “Aww shucks. You’re too humble Tempest.” I laughed a bit at her response. Filling some joy to what would be otherwise a dead ship. It seems wonderful to be able to talk to somepony, particularly somepony that understands you. Even in this age of magi-nuclear weapons and rapid advancements in technology, you can’t replace just having a good talk with somepony. “Anyways, Wave Breaker. You mentioned that this is the first combat mission of the ship. It seems that you’re framing it on a negative manner, why so?” “Isn’t it obvious? with the weapons this ship possesses, we can enforce harmony wherever we go! no tyrant ruling from distant lands can possibly oppose us at this point, so why even bother with decorum! we’ve seen what this form of tyranny can lead. Millions of lives are paying for it! perhaps, with these weapons, we can prevent millions of lives more from unnecessary death.” That last word struck me. ‘millions of lives more from unnecessary death.’ Is that what she thinks? is this what the Harmony is in this new age? somehow, her tone strikes me in the wrong way. A voice inside of me screams to immediately refute her, I’ve probably seen more deaths in my life than she has years on her belt. And I fear what this mindset can lead to. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to respond, as I was about to open my mouth, a Stallion walked right in front of both of us. “Tempest Shadow?” He called. “Come with me, we’re approaching the bay.” The waters of this particular bay we’re inserting isn’t particularly tumultuous, nonetheless. My group and I still inserted with full diving gear, accompanied with diving propulsion devices just because the waters are still very turbulent. I remember as we approached the SOF insertion berth of the submarine, full diving gear in tow. Crewponies making sure our equipment works, a couple minutes of waiting before the berth was suddenly filled with water, my training kicked in, I activated my diving propulsion device, and off we went, the magical compass guiding our insertion team into the beach. My crew and I dislodged our diving gear, putting it all safely into a compartment within the diving devices. Alright, first things first, I grabbed a radio from my saddlebags. “Check radio check radio.” I called. “Thunder Wind. Check.” “Purple Caramel. Check.” “Blue Carapace. Check.” “Teal Ocean. Check.” “Windflow. Check.” “Tempest Shadow. Check.” “Good. Comms are all working. Check weapons.” I further commanded. Unfurling my saddlebags and revealing the assault rifle, battle saddle already on tow. It’s a black object with extensive modifications made into it. Grenade launchers, advanced optics, laser sights, ponytinny railings, the whole 9 yards. The official documents say that this is the Starlight SOPMOD assault rifle, whatever that means, for me, it’s just another tool to get the job done. “Tempest Shadow. Weapons Clear.” “Windflow. Weapons Clear.” “Blue Carapace. Weapons Clear.” “Thunder Wing. Weapons Clear.” “Purple Caramel. Weapons Clear.” “Teal Ocean. Weapons Clear.” I nodded towards the team, “we move to the jungle, and we brief there. I will discuss our objectives once we’ve reached our objective. Get night vision equipment out, it’s dark, don’t want anyone to get lost.” The rest of the team nodded, and we moved from the beach and straight into the jungles ahead of us. The fact that this area has a tropical rainforest is part of the reason we inserted here, very hard to find just about anything once they’re in that rainforest. My team perused through the jungles like phantoms. Barely making any noise despite the heavy equipment we’re all carrying. Eventually, we came across a clearing in the forest, checking for any hostiles, and finding none. I motioned the group to form up. “As you’ve seen in the briefings. We are here to, 1. Meet Stormland Resistance Leaders, their leader is called Black Garnet, a Stormland pony and a former friend of mine. 2. Convince/ Terminate high ranking Stormleucid government officials. Most of them will be my friends, so I highly advise that we convince them to join our cause before terminating them. Our targets for the 2nd objective would be Minister Ali Bin Neighmad, minister of the interior, a former friend of mine, and former Saddle Arabian, General Thunderclaw, Stormland native, commander of the 1st Storm Army, another friend of mine, and finally General Dark Forest, another Stormland native and commander of the 2nd Storm Army. If we convince these three figures to switch to our side, we would have the most important ministry of the stormlands and their two major armies in chaos.” “I must stress, we MUST put high importance on convincing them. Not only are they my friends, but if they resist, there will be a much more significant amount of bloodshed once Equestrian forces cross that border. We’ve already spilled enough blood, we don’t need any more. Is that understood?” “Ma’am yes ma’am.” Was the response I got, much more subdued than usual due to the situation. But that’s all I need. “The Stormland Resistance is located 2 kilometers to the north. If recon is good, we should be able to meet them in two and a half hours. We move, now.” It has been 2 and a half hours. We’re still trudging through the jungle with nopony in sight. This isn’t right, we should be reaching the resistance camp at this point, catch our breaths, and get some rest. Where are they? trudging through the rainforest is no easy task. With the resistance camp still nowhere in sight, my mind is racing with possibilities, did Garnet abandon us, has something else happened that we don’t know of? We continued trudging through the forest until the foliage opened up and we came upon a road, Huh? what? this… isn’t supposed to be here. Reconnaissance didn’t inform us of any roads in this jungle. “Tempest, incoming convoy!” I heard Teal Ocean whisper on the radio. We all dispersed off the road, crouching down. Waiting for the convoy to pass through. “Permission to fire ma’am?” Blue Carapace whispered. “Negative negative. Just observe, we don’t have the ponypower to really destroy a convoy this big.” I saw trucks, half-tracks, and infantry carriers roll past us. Their bright lights illuminating what would otherwise be a very dark forest. I noticed Satyr soldiers, wearing their typical stormlander armour, carrying weapons either smuggled or stolen, and I see hundreds of them. Us 6 ponies and changeling ain’t going to make a dent on such a force. “Alright.” I whispered on the radio. “Just keep a low profile until-” A rush of air and heat suddenly hit my face. I turned my head, and saw the top three lead vehicles in the convoy suddenly ablaze, blocking the rest of the convoy. Stormlander soldiers disembarked from their vehicles, intent on investigating the issue, for a while, there was silence, the Satyrs confused why the lead vehicles exploded like that. What followed next was absolute chaos, a wall of lead greeted the soldiers, dropping them like flies. Cries of ‘For Harmony!’ or ‘For the Resistance!’ was shouted, as Ponies, Griffons, Birds, Satyrs and Zebras unveiled themselves and unloaded on the Stormlanders. “Keep your head down!!” I ordered the group. “We don’t know if this is the resistance we know, stay down!!” We all watched as chaos was unleashed in the jungle. More Satyr soldiers disembarking from their vehicles, only to be met with lead and magic bullets. Resistance members were being shot, but so are the other soldiers as well. I suddenly heard a cry from one of the resistance members, just as the battle reached a fever pitch. “Tempest Shadow! we know you’re there! come out and help us! please!!” Yep, that’s Black Garnet’s voice alright. I suppose there’s no better way to respond than to help a former friend of mine. “All units, target Stormlander soldiers. Weapons free, weapons free!” On command, fire and fury was unleashed. Stormlander soldiers were confused that other parts of the forest were unleashing bullets, concentrated and precise rifle fire started decimating the rest of the Satyr soldiers, with the combination of our team’s and the resistance’s attacks. It wasn’t long before remaining Stormlander soldiers either flee, was killed, or surrendered. “Cease fire cease fire!!” I ordered. FInally coming out from our cover. Our black and segmented body armour almost bringing disaster since one of the resistance members was about to aim a gun at us. But that was averted once the leader noticed our faces. “You’re with the resistance?” I asked the group, and they all nodded. “Good, I am-” “You’re Tempest Shadow.” A voice rang out, I felt the fur on my coat straighten up as I heard that voice. “Former second in command of the Storm King, and currently one of the most famous and capable military generals in the Equestrian military.” A black coated pony with a green and white mane walked out of the group. Her eyes baggy, probably due to fatigue, but she seems to be holding it together. She approached me, her face tired as tartarus, and did something unexpected. I felt her reach her outer hooves and grabbed me by the neck, she nuzzled my neck and tightened her grip on me. I felt tears flowing through my neck, quiet sobs from her followed suit. “You idiot!” She said, still sobbing. “Leaving me for some no good Equestrian ponies! don’t you care about us or anything?!?!?” She continued. “Dammit. Now I’m getting all sappy from all this, the damn hero of the central campaign, reduced to some crying wreck of a mare.” I only responded by hugging her in kind. It’s been so long, such a very long time since the gang are back together, with her back. Perhaps… perhaps the rest can be convinced to join. Perhaps… “It’s nice meeting you again Garnet, but I don’t think this place is safe right now. Shouldn’t we go to the camp?” “Yes, we shall go.” Garnet responded. Leading us away from the jungle, to temporary safety so that we can plan our next move. The camp itself was quite spacious, definitely hidden within the trees, and would definitely be seen as just part of the jungle from up high, nonetheless. The base is quite extensive, with armoured cars and even some IFV’s being maintained and looked for, multiple large weapon depots, a mess hall, and some tanks?!? this is definitely Black Garnet’s resistance. She’s practically mad when it comes to logistics, always ensuring her troops would get all the supplies needed for her campaigns, I remember her butting heads with the Storm King over the provision of rifles one time. Ah, the good old days. How I miss them and not miss them at the same time. “So, how’re you doing?” I heard Black Garnet ask me. “How’s life in Equestria treating ya? is all that stuff about Ponies there true? and like, how did they managed to defeat the Changelings AND Griffons?!?” I only giggled at Garnet’s comment. They don’t get a lot of news from Equestria down here. “Lots of things happened Garnet. But yes, most of It’s true, Equestria is the land of peace and harmony and friendship and all the nice things you can say about it. But… a lot has changed Garnet, frankly speaking. Equestria is quite terrifying now. Their armies are probably the most powerful in the world, especially with both the Changelings and Imperials smashed to pieces. I should know, I commanded one of their armies right now.” Black Garnet only smiled at that comment. “And I would assume you’re planning to bring the cavalry down here right?” “Eventually. But there are some loose ends. Loose ends that are better discussed in a more private setting.” I motioned the team to be on standby, and asked Black Garnet to bring me to her office. “Alright, so what’s on your mind?” She said, sitting on an office chair. “I’m sure your formations can smash the Stormlander armies without any issue. The jungle wouldn’t be an issue since I’m pretty sure Southern Equestria is jungle territory and you’d probably train them there.” “True, all Equestrian soldiers must go through mandatory winter, desert, and tropical climate acclimatization training. But that’s not why I’m here. I’m actually here to talk about these three.” I lifted something from my saddlebags and sprawled it into the table. Black Garnet’s eyes widened at the three figures shown there. “Are… are you going to kill them?” She asked. “If I have to. Yes. But I don’t plan to do it initially, I think you know why.” The black coated pony nodded. “I still remember it like it was yesterday. Us 5, the battles we fought, the camaraderie we shared, when we were all in the field, armies would flee in our wake. The exile from Saddle Arabia could tear armies apart with his rapid maneuvers, my army would just blast them to oblivion, Dark Forest and Thunderclaw would unleash unstoppable waves of troops to enemy lines, overwhelming them and overrunning them at the same time. While you. Well, I guess you know what you did.” I nodded. “Wait until the enemy comes to my lines, unleash my troops upon them, pin them into killzones, before eventually mopping up the rest. Yeah, those were the days. You remember the time when Neighmad would offer us to try some of his Saddle Arabian tea? gods, those downtimes were always the best.” “I remember those tea parties we used to have, well, we wouldn’t call them tea parties, but It’s effectively that. Neighmad would pour over tea as we chat about things, plan our monthly outings, build bonds. Have fun. It’s a shame those all had to go.” For a moment, all was silent, as both of us closed our eyes, remembering our accomplishments the past gone by. Those were indeed the times, but times does change, and that change is staring at me in the face right at this moment. “What… happened to you Tempest? It’s not like I don’t detest your change of heart, but really, what happened?” I sighed, closing my eyes at her question. “To be honest. I don’t know, maybe It’s just Princess Twilight opening up my heart, maybe It’s the betrayal of the Storm King, but really, I have no idea. I’m probably the last of the five that would turn Harmonic, if you want my opinion on the issue.” “Tempest. When news reached the Stormlands of his death, things began to unravel, fast. We couldn’t believe that the Storm King’s expedition would end up in such a disaster. When news of your betrayal hit though, everything went belly up. Prominent leadership officials began to question the wisdom of the Storm King, riots commenced in the streets, and, one way or another, the Stormlands descended into civil war. That’s when I began to read into Harmonic Philosophy, to truly understand what these Equestrian Princesses are thinking when they created such an ideology, turned me to a Harmonic just like that.” “I know that if my three colleagues realized what happened to me, I’d be a dead mare. So I ordered my troops to seize all equipment in my bases, and ran into the jungles, we’ve been here since. Mounting a resistance as the Stormleucids slowly emerged victorious in the civil war. I thought that I’d die alone in this jungle, Equestria is at war, the Griffons are in total chaos at best, and the Riverland Ponies are too far away, but we endured. The principles of Equestrian Harmony and Friendship guiding us through these times. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever imagine that Equestria would lend a hand, and they would send you out of all ponies to lead that project.” She hugged me after that. “It’s good to see you again Tempest, will you stay here just for a little bit longer?” “Of course.” I wasn’t there when Garnet was fighting in the jungles alone, now that I’m here, and with this power. I will make things right. It’s the least I can do for her. It’s been a further two weeks since we entered the Stormlands, communications with the forces in Maregypt was established, Royal Equestrian Navy ships have departed from Hippogriffia and are now steaming towards the Stormlands, ready to assist whenever necessary, not to mention the contingent of Royal Marines that are on their way as well. Everything is proceeding as planned. Now we just need one more piece of the puzzle. Black Garnet’s spies have gathered a particularly interesting piece of information. The upper leadership of the Stormleucids aren’t idiots, and they know about the amassing of troops at the border as well as the Naval task force south. They are about to meet in a supposedly secret government compound to further discuss matters, so many high ranking officials (my friends included) in a single place… The ERNS Celestia and ERNS Harmony Carrier Group will be deploying a strike force to blast through the outer defenses, 24 Buccaneer Strike Planes will be assigned, with a further 50 Sea-Hunter fighters providing air cover in case something goes wrong. Once through, my team and Black Garnet’s resistance will storm the compound, capture/ kill anyone that resists, and hopefully secure the 3 individuals of interest. Hopefully, the airstrike will be significant enough to cause chaos, and we’ll utilize the chaos to storm the compound, keeping casualties at a minimum. That was the planned outcome, but nobody will really know once we storm in. Thank goodness this compound’s located in the jungle, enough room for me and my resistance to just hide out and recon the compound. “And that’s the last of the ministers.” I whispered on the radio. “Can the squad confirm insertion of all prominent leaders?” “Confirmed. Counted some 24 government ministers and generals entering the compound.” Teal Ocean responded. “Confirmation for strike mission ma’am?” “Confirmed, lase the target, I’ll talk.” Getting my radio out, I adjusted the frequency, frequency tuning is very important when you’re coordinating a strike like this. Make sure no one gets misinformed. Once I was tuned however, I started speaking. “Blackbuck lead, Harmony lead, Applesauce lead, Big Mac lead. This is Crimson 1. Confirm strike mission on grid Bravo 7, I repeat, confirm strike mission on grid Bravo 7, target is already lazed. Good luck.” There was a minute of silence before I heard a response. “Crimson 1, Blackbuck lead. Strike Mission is a go, ETA 30 Seconds, keep your heads down and laser pointers up.” 30 seconds pass, 30 seconds where I saw the soldiers standing guard visibly panic as the sound of jets was heard, eventually culminating in an explosion in the main compound. A visible hole was blown in. Through the fire and destruction, I ordered. “Crimson 1 to Blackbuck lead, good hit. I only need one more run and we’re good to go.” “Copy that. laze the targets and we’ll blow it up.” Another 30 seconds pass, with me ordering my soldiers to lase the heavy vehicles, now rolling out and ready. The same noise, the same shriek of the jets, and the same explosions as tanks and anti aircraft pieces were systematically destroyed. “Blackbuck lead to Crimson 1, we’re bingo fuel. Switch comms to Harmony lead. Good luck girls.” “Thanks Blackbuck flight.” I responded. Switching the radio frequency towards Harmony flight, but, seeing the damage to the outer building, I ordered all flights to loiter around the area. What happened next is what you’d expect. We all unveiled ourselves from the jungle, stormed through the visible hole in the walls of the compound, with myself and my team gunning for the main building itself. Firefights blazed through the compound as my team and I systematically gunned down anyone trying to oppose us, it wasn’t even that hard, the enemy is disoriented and confused, while we were trained to handle this exact kind of controlled chaos. “Find the ministers!” I screamed. “I want them alive and taken care of. Search all of the buildings if you have to!” “Ma’am yes ma’am!” We ransacked the building, opening doors and turning over tables before, finally, we hit the jackpot. A veritable meeting room filled with all the big shots. Some of them shocked, some of them, realizing who I was, tried to tackle me, something I either responded with a nice shot, or a sweep through the leg, hurting but not killing them. Quite convenient timing too, since members of Black Garnet’s resistance eventually came streaming through the door. Shouting for all of them to get down. “Take all of them.” I ordered. “All of them except Neighmad, Thunderclaw and Dark Forest. Leave them here, Crimson team, stay with me, you’ll be my security detail.” After some time patting down the officials for potential weapons, cuffing them before escorting them out. I was eventually left with them. They all took their seats, with myself still standing, weapon on hoof in case anyone tried to do something weird. My brain is screaming this won’t work, but my heart screams the exact opposite. Guess It’s time to find out who’s right. “Neighmad, Thunderclaw, Dark Forest.” I greeted them. The Saddle Arabian spitted on the table, with the other two just scowling at me. Understandable considering the circumstances. “So the traitor decided to rear her ugly head again.” Neighmad started. “I assume this isn’t some friendly conjugal visit? the airstrike certainly didn’t indicate such.” “I’ll get right to the point. I highly suggest that you order your troops to stand down. My task force is already on the border and awaiting my command, I know that even if you’d kill me, they’d still go through and attack, and we all know who’s going to win.” “As IF some simple speech from a traitor is going to do that.” Dark Forest replied. “You’re dead Tempest. DEAD I tell you!” I sighed. “Listen, either way, you’re defeated, all your government officials have been taken, I can practically call on my army and they’d mop up your forces like It’s nothing. Spare your soldiers, I implore you.” The three figures are still stalwart in their stance, muttering insults and mockery in front of my face. The brain in my body is winning this argument, but I’m not through yet. Time to bring out the big guns. “I’m sorry for abandoning all of you, I know that I am a bad comrade to you, killing your only hope to regain some form of national glory, destroying the Storm King’s first expedition into another continent, and perhaps so much more. I know of the humiliation your species suffered for a long time, how much you yearned to be respected, to be seen as an equal. I am here because I have not lost sight of it. I want to see the Satyrs prosper, and I’m here because of that. Neighmad, Thunderclaw, Dark Forest. I am sorry for abandoning you, and I am here to right that wrong.” “By attacking and bombing our government offices. Is that what you call righting a wrong?” The Saddle Arabian mocked. “Tempest, you have done more to torpedo the war effort than any other traitor I’ve ever known, if you think, just for a millisecond, that your actions here will make us your friends?!? then you are sorely mistaken. We’ve taken an oath to make sure that Tempest Shadow will be brought to justice one way or another, and I’d rather die than see the very traitor that brought down the Storm Empire walk on top of us!!” Something stung my heart after that last sentence, something very deep inside of me hurt when those words were uttered. It feels almost like I have just… lost something very dear to me. If only…. if only things were different. I thought to myself. The brain won, and my horn crackled. “I’m… sorry, I am very sorry, all three of you.” I said, before my spell activated, instantly, all my former friend’s eyes has a visible purple tint on it. All their rage just a while ago were gone. Replaced with a face devoid of emotion. “Here’s what you all three are going to do. Neighmad, you’re going to announce that the Stormlander government is no more, Equestrian forces have arrived in the area to assist in the rebuilding of the Stormlands, and announce that all government officials who resist are traitors. Dark Forest and Thunderclaw, you are going to announce to your respective armies to stand down to any incoming Equestrian forces, do not engage under any circumstances, You are free to interpret my orders as you see fit, so long as you maintain the spirit of the order intact.” Once I finished my sentence, the Saddle Arabian minister immediately trotted into a table, one with an unusual looking microphone setup, with a plaque on top of it reading ’For Public Announcements Only.’ As for Dark Forest and Thunderclaw, they whipped up their radio sets and did exactly as I told. It was a tense couple of minutes, but what’s done is done, the army is either in chaos or surrendering, and the civilian government has been thrown for a loop by that announcement. I grabbed a radio set inside my saddlebag, pressed the button, the silence giving way to a voice slightly distorted by the crackling of the radio. “Yes?” “This is General Fizzlepop Berrytwist, It’s done. Move into the Stormlands immediately, inform the Royal Marines and Pegasus Forces the same thing. The order has been given, I repeat, the order has been given.” “Understood General, commencing operation southern thrust.”