POV: Mystic Gem
General Pillbox sent us out after only a week of rest for our wounded and yes, I know, going by my conclusion on the last one, I should have been happy to finally get to move again, but in that moment, I certainly wasn’t. And rightfully so, as only a few of the ‘lightly’ wounded could actually be called ‘combat ready’ by then, not to speak of those eight ponies, who were heavily wounded.
The captain didn’t like the idea either and he made this unmistakeably clear towards the General. Honestly we all thought he would be demoted from this, but all he ever got was a stubborn ‘no’ from the General. Albeit that his formulation was quite a bit more colourful.
The reason for his stubbornness seemed to be that he wanted to move his command post further towards the front, namely into the village of Hoovesville, and he couldn’t do that while we were still assigned to the old post. Honestly, to this day I don’t know what our assignment had to do with the command post, but going by my experience with the General, it probably isn’t even worth asking.
Anyways, the captain reluctantly adhered to the general’s orders and gave order to sally out towards Hoovesville – again. The reaction of our poor soldiers was about as positive as the captain’s was, but orders are orders and so we made ready.
The new command post was set up in a small hut a short trot away from the actual village, inside a small patch of forestry. The General seemed pleased when we finished setting things up, so we were in high hopes that he wouldn’t come up with something else.
However, the seemingly unreasonable relocation of us wouldn’t stay the only idiotic order the general gave that day. In fact, he gave another one that was far more idiotic than anything I had ever heard before and the captain seemed to think likewise.
It seemed like there was a large encampment of the Gryphons toward the north-west, behind a forest. This encampment was to be our target. I probably won’t have to explain that attacking an encampment that we would call ‘large’ with a force, consisting of only 60 ponies, even if we were trained by the captain, was absolutely horseapples! Not to mention the fact that out of these 60, eight were still unable to fight.
Again, the general was stubborn and didn’t even try to see reason within our complaints. It honestly felt like he didn’t care about his subordinates at all!
The captain, again, reluctantly followed his orders and came up with a plan that would at least give us a chance of success. His plan was to have two platoons create a distraction, while the other would use the forest as cover and attack them from the rear.
Now, of course the captain was no idiot. He knew that our chances of victory were slim and that a simple plan wouldn’t be enough to make up for all our disadvantages. Thus, he asked for volunteers to go ahead and scout out the enemy beforehoof.
Overdrive basically jumped into his face as soon as he said that and his begs and pleas reminded me of a hyperactive filly or even Pinkie Pie. So, Overdrive was the one to carry out the mission. Though, the captain insisted that he take at least four of his soldiers with him and so the five brave ponies went off onto their mission.
They returned a few hours later with detailed information about their numbers and positions and so, we attacked the following night.
At first, everything seemed to go just as planned. The number of patrols was small and the camp seemed mostly empty as well. The sentries didn’t see us just yet and there was no sign that the flanking platoon has been spotted either. At this point be noted that the flankers were led by Overdrive, while Bulkhead, the captain and I were going in from the front.
Suddenly, we heard shots coming from the forest behind the camp and at once, the whole camp was swarmed with Gryphons that didn’t seem like they were sleeping just a second ago. Quite the opposite, they seemed like they had been lying in wait this whole time.
I didn’t have time to think about that, though, as suddenly, we found ourselves almost completely encircled by Gryphons and arrows started to rain down on us. Our Unicorns quickly put up shields, but it was a little too late, as we could already hear our comrades scream that they’ve been hit.
The Gryphons closed the distance while we tried to keep them away with everything we had, but it was no use. They were too many and I could see in everyponies eyes that either the captain would lead an orderly retreat or we would soon fall into chaos.
Luckily, he did just that. He quickly let us form an arrow shape and we broke through the enemy formation, making a beeline towards the forest and back towards Hoovesville, where we re-grouped with Alpha.
“Alright, casualty reports from every platoon, ASAP.” The captain ordered and we quickly obeyed.
In total, we now had 24 lightly wounded, 20 heavily wounded and 4 MIA. The 4 missing were all from platoon Alpha.
“Ok, can you tell me who exactly is missing?” The captain inquired.
“Dashlane, Speedy Arrows, Blueblossom and Lightning Rod, sir.” Overdrive replied almost immediately.
“Hey, aren’t those the ones that came with you on that scouting trip?” One of his soldiers remarked.
Overdrive turned around and gave a short look towards the stallion who pointed it out, before gazing out into nothingness in a short moment of concentrated thinking – something that didn’t occur often.
“Huh, yeah, they were. Well, maybe the Gryphons recognized them or something? Could be coincidence all the same.”
“Wait, how would the Gryphons recognize them? Come to think of it, why did you even fire so early? I thought the plan was to attack while we were distracting them?!” I asked confused.
Overdrive’s ears flattened backwards and he looked towards the ground in only the second display of shame I had ever seen from him.
“They were already lying in wait for us when we got there and… I can’t deny that this might be because we may have been spotted while scouting…” He trailed off.
We all stood in silence for a while after that. I didn’t really blame Overdrive for what happened, though. It was just dumb luck as far as I knew and that could happen to the best of us.
“Very well then… I think this concludes this night’s operation. See to it that our wounded are being cared for and tell the others to get some rest. Bulkhead, you are in charge of the night watch. I don’t think I need to tell you that you should pick those who are still in good shape.” The captain ordered and Bulkhead answered with a salute and a quick ‘yes sir’ before he went off.
The next morning the Captain, Bulkhead and I were looking around at the outer edges of the town to make a detailed defence plan. The reason for that was that the Gryphons didn’t seem to have followed us, which led to the conclusion that they had either given up chasing such a small force or, which was more likely, that they were preparing a larger offensive, now that they knew which position was only held by a smaller and heavily wounded force.
Somewhere along our inspection, Bulkhead and I got into an argument about our tactical approach when defending the town.
“Shouldn’t we try to ambush them in the forest? Like, make use of our camouflage ‘n stuff?” I asked and was immediately met with an answer from Bulkhead.
“That way we would leave the town undefended. What if they just went around us? They could just go into the town and claim it their own!”
“Yeah, maybe, but if we were to set up defences right here, we would pull them into the fight yet again! Remember their reaction the last time we were here? I don’t really want another hoofmark on my flank, you know?” I said back.
“The fifth is still here! They could take the civilians out and protect them while we defend the town!” He argued.
“Yeah, the fifth is still here! They could defend the town while we ambushed the Gryphons in the forest!” I argued back.
“Enough!” The Captain stepped in. “If you would fight the Gryphons with the same energy you fight each other with, we would have won this war by now. As for our plan: both of your proposals have their advantages and disadvantages. If we were to stay here, we would have a secured position where we definitely knew that the Gryphons would come here, while on the other hand, we wouldn’t be able to play out all our strengths. Meanwhile, if we were to ambush them, we would have a vast tactical advantage and would be able to play our strengths, though it would require the enemy to attack from the forest. I will make my decision based on the situation when the time comes. For now, let’s head back into town.”
We walked back along the western road towards the town centre, where we had set up camp for now. However, as we reached it, we were in for a somewhat nasty surprise.
The local townspeople were so kind to lend us medical aid and supplies, probably as thanks and as reparation for what they did the last time. The Guardsponies of the fifth meanwhile had taken over watch and were standing at key positions to watch over the town and the surrounding area.
The problem didn’t lie with them, though, but with our own ponies. They moved sluggishly, their heads hanging low and their faces downcast. Clear sings of low morale and I knew why.
Before then, we had only had victories, so suffering a defeat for the first time certainly put a damper on their mood. I can’t claim to be an entertainer or something either, so I didn’t know how to heighten their mood again.
That was when the captain surprised me yet again. He ran into the town hall and, after a short while, came out, pushing a piano. He then seated himself in front of it and started playing a short prelude, after which he continued to play and sing.
I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above.
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love.
The love that asks no question,
The love that stands the test.
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best.
His playing and singing suddenly increased in intensity as he played/sung the next few lines.
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
the love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
He played a short interlude after that. By now a large crowd had gathered, consisting of our own soldiers, as well as the ponies of the 5th and civilians as well and we all prepared to join in, as the music of harmony finally kicked in and signalled the second verse.
And there’s another country I’ve heard of long ago.
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know.
We may not count her armies, we may not see her king.
Her fortress is our faithful heart, her pride is suffering.
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase
And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.
The effect of the song was visible almost immediately and directly after we’d finished singing, the captain changed to another song. It sounded almost like… a waltz?
Yep, the Captain had decided that it was the right time to dance a little, but nopony seemed to get the message. Either that or they were just too shy to be the first ones.
That was when I saw a hoof stretch out towards me. I looked to the side and saw Bulkhead hold out his hoof.
“May I ask for this dance, my lady?” He said, true to his nature.
I can’t deny that I felt flattered and maybe I even blushed a little. Nevertheless, I took his hoof and we set out towards the middle of the crowd.
When the first few ponies noticed what we were up to, they immediately made room for us and I could even see Pvt. ‘Broom’ give cheers as we started to dance in time with the music. The next ponies to join were Pvt. ‘Nambs’ and ‘Squeak’ and after them, the majority of the crowd joined in and we all shared a peaceful dance together.
At least for a few minutes. Sadly, just when the captain prepared to play a second piece, we heard the unmistakable yell of a wild, angry Pillbox.
“What in Equestria are you doing here?!” He screamed as he pushed his way through the crowd towards the captain, who stood up and saluted before him.
“Sir, I came to notice that the morale was low, so I took action against it.”
“So, just to heighten your troop’s morale, you start a party in the middle of a war?” The general fumed at him.
“Yes sir.” The captain replied.
Pillbox seemed not amused at all by this answer. His anger was firmly imprinted in his face and he started to scream at the captain. “Listen here, you incompetent bucker:…”
“Incompetent? Well, you’re one to talk…” I thought.
“We are on the front lines, the enemy could attack at any second, so you better get your ponies in position this instant or I’ll demote you right here! I don’t care if you’re the princess’s favourite, if you don’t obey my orders then you don’t have a place in my regiment, ARE WE CLEAR?!”
“Yes sir.” The captain replied, seemingly completely unfazed.
The General huffed and walked away while the Captain played a few last notes before he pushed the piano back into the town hall.
Now, one might think that the Captain remained completely neutral towards this whole thing or even the general by himself, however, those who paid attention found a very clear message of what he thought within those last few notes he played.
‘fac de g’