“We are here,” Aabhavannan said, jabbing a hoof at the map. “At our current pace, we should be able to crest the Lone Dune and see Saraj’s walls in the coming days.”
“Two,” Elias grunted. “We’re close enough that going forward with a token force while our wounded move a touch slower won’t hurt anything. My scouts can move fast enough to summon reinforcements if either group is attacked. Once we can see that dune of yours we’ll divide the army in two. First Centurion Night Flash, you’ll be staying behind while I take Centurion Granite and a vanguard to start getting a more permanent castra set up near the city.” He glanced up from the map, meeting Night Flash’s eyes. “I want the entirety of First Cohort, along with Second Cohort’s auxiliaries. Make sure they have food and water for three days of quick marching. Weapons and building tools only. Extra gear can be left on the wounded wagons Scalpel freed up today.”
While Night Flash gave him a salute, Aabhavannan seemed to light up with delight, hopping up from his pillow with an excited shout.
“Yes!” he crowed.
Only a sharp look from Elias kept the stallion from leaping at the him. It didn’t stop him, however, from nearly bounding with energy. The motion looked odd on the tall stallion.
“With your permission, I can run ahead, find a proper place for your camp!” Aabhavannan said. “A place the minotaurs will not see until it is too late for them!”
Elias glanced down at the stallion’s hooves.
“Are you able to run again? My scouts already know where to start marking for a castra and they aren’t slowed by injuries.”
The Saddle Arabian stallion scoffed, waving a foreleg in dismissal.
“Your healers have done much, and while your scouts are no doubt brave ponies-” he flashed a grin “- none can keep pace on hoof with even the slowest Saddle Arabian.”
“My question stands,” Elias deadpanned.
A snort was his reply, and the stallion turned away from the human to bow for the trio of alicorns watching over the meeting.
“With your permission, I shall run ahead, to mark the ground and give hope to my people of your near-arrival.”
Elias rolled his eyes as Celestia gave the stallion a smile and a head bow.
“We would be most grateful for your service Aabhavannan. Do not put yourself in too much danger without us though.”
The pair both chuckled, and a glance around found even Cadence holding a touch of disgust in her expression. Elias made eye contact with Luna. Her wing was curled around a gagging Nightshade, who’s belly was now fully healed, if barren of all of it’s fur. She had attempted to steal her armor back from the supply wagons, but had been blocked by Granite, and when he had brought her before Elias, she had decided to rip into the both of them. While he could understand her perspective, would even act exactly the same in the same situation, Elias had still told her to take more time to rest, at least until she had enough fur back to resist chaffing on her underbelly. In reality, however, he still didn’t think she had properly addressed Chaser’s death. Though her fever was gone, she had been calling out for the pegasus in her sleep. In moments when she thought nobody was looking, she cried by herself, but as soon as he came near, she threw on either a big smile or a stern scowl, offering to help him with something or yelling at him for forcing her to stay in the carriage with Luna. There was also the issue with her trying to find Chaser’s body, but she had largely abandoned that search once her fever broke, choosing instead to curl up with what ever was handy at the time, usually Luna or himself.
She looked happy for the moment though, and that had to be enough. There was too much to get done, and he needed some time alone, as hypocritical as that was. His head was pounding, and even curled in Luna’s hooves, he still wasn’t sleeping well. Though nights started well, he kept waking hours early, chased from violent dreams to anxiety filled reality. He had hardly slept more than an hour the night previous. The rest of the time was spent staring at darkness, his mind pacing through a million stress-filled ‘what ifs’ while his cuddle buddies snorted and snuggled away atop him. If even they couldn’t get him to sleep…
“Then scout ahead,” Elias said, breaking the pandering stench that filled the air. “Mark out what you think is an ideal camp location and when we arrive, we’ll begin camp setup and scouting of the minotaur fortifications.”
Aabhavannan bowed his head and smiled.
“Thank you General Elias Bright. This news brightens my heart and will certainly brighten the hearts of everyone in Saraj. Surely the sight of the princesses' banners will lift their spirits until they are freed!” He turned, still bowing, toward the princesses. “Which is nothing to say of the hope that the princesses themselves will bring.”
“If it’s not one brown-noser it’s another,” Book Binder said under her breath.
“You have no idea,” Ice Blossom whispered in reply. “If you ever end up in the Royal Guard, just know that traveling to Manehattan is the worst for ponies like that. At least he has good intentions.”
“Of wiping out my credit,” Elias grumbled. Louder he said; “Aabhavannan, focus on the task of scouting out a good camp location. We don’t need to deliver false hope, and bad positioning will allow the bulls to drive us away. Celebrate once we’ve won, not before.”
The stallion whirled around again, head still low.
“Of course General.” His eyes twinkled as he glanced up with a bright smile. “But you must forgive my excitement, liberation comes! With it, all goals are achieved, and our peoples shall never be further away than a mere walk!”
He offered quick bows to just about everyone in the tent, then sprinted outside, his smile bright as he ran through the cloth flaps. Celestia was quick to let out a light burst of laughter.
“It is so good to see such a hopeful face. It truly reminds me why we are doing all of this,” she said, looking around with a beaming grin. “Just think, once we’ve freed Saraj and charged the portal, there will never be a risk of something like this happening again! No more risk of sieges, no more risk of hunger!” She popped to her feet, flaring her wings out and sticking a foreleg into the air. “Imagine! If Saddle Arabia or Equestria has a year of poor crops, the other can easily push food through the portal, keeping ponies fed until times are good again! There will be no delay in the aid we can offer one another!”
She let out a squee and turned in an excited circle, then pounced on Luna, who momentarily shied away.
“It is so exciting!” Celestia crowed. “The first true action we’ve done as princesses united in a thousand years! I, I!” Her eyes were wild with delight, and she looked toward the tent flaps. “The injured! I must go visit them, to share this beautiful hope! Perhaps even spend some time helping organize supplies, or digging holes, or-”
“Staying right where you are and not exposing yourself to attack,” Elias cut in. “We beat one army, but are fast approaching another one, likely a larger one. I don’t need you getting kidnapped or killed by going outside.”
Celestia’s smile dimmed somewhat, but didn’t completely disappear.
“General, our opponents are minotaurs. They are hardly going to swoop from the sky and snatch me from the midst of the camp.”
“So you have absolute certainty that changelings aren’t willing to steal you away for money? Last I checked there were large mercenary companies of gryphons as well, and they even have some pegasi in their ranks. The bulls are sieging the capital city of Saddle Arabia. They have the funds to hire fliers for them.”
He glanced back toward the rough map Aabhavannan had drawn of the city walls. The tall white walls were clearly marked, with the city butting up against what he imagined was the very same river that ran quietly beside the road that carried them toward Saraj. Though it was quiet and small beside their marching path, the river supposedly widened, being fed by several smaller streams until was broad and roaring just outside the city walls. From there it began to wind to the south-west, thinning as it wound between forest and desert toward Zebrica.
What was important about the river was the fact that it was very easy to defend. Aabhavannan had reported minotaurs blocking the large bridge that linked Saraj with the desert on the other side, but walls blocked what little shore was available, and with such a narrow bottleneck to try and force an assault through, the bulls had resorted to merely blockading the rear exit of the city.
No, if what the Saddle Arabian stallion told him was true, he was going to have to focus his efforts on the Equestria-facing side of the city, where massive fortifications of timber were supposed to be keeping the city under siege. News from the stragglers of Scarlet’s Hill were sure to have spread news to their fellows, leading to more extensive works before they arrived. It was one of the reasons he wanted to move ahead; to reduce the amount of time the bulls had to build fortifications against him. He didn’t like the idea that he was the relief army for what could easily become an Equestrian Alesia, especially given that he was the one who was set to be outnumbered. If he could start picking at the minotaurs though, it was worth the risk to his own supply train.
“We don’t have enough information about the forces besieging Saraj,” he continued. “And there was no small amount of luck in our last battle with the minotaurs.” His eyes flicked up to Celestia. “I won’t throw my ponies headlong into a deathmatch on hope. The only reason I want to go forward is to start putting pressure on the enemy, and to gain some intelligence about him. I don’t need hope to win the battle, I need to be smart, and I need to reduce my risks.”
“That’s why you all will be staying back with the main body of the army,” he finished with a slight nod, feeling quite satisfied with his plan.
He could see it. Carry a couple days worth of food and forage the rest. It wasn’t supposed to rain, so they could travel with tarps just in case it did, but being so light, they could move, maybe even make a few probing attacks before beginning to fortify the castra site. Yeah, just an old fashioned tramp through the woods and some nice hit and run-
“And will I be joining you General?” Luna inquired sweetly, disrupting his thoughts.
He glanced up to find her bright smile, which only further sent his formerly collected thoughts into a spiral. His eyes narrowed just slightly. No, no that wouldn’t work. Luna was a princess, she was soft, and she was containing all her magic, making her basically helpless. He didn’t even know if she liked camping outside. Yeah, she had taken him to her old castle, but they had been well established and provisioned then. Then there was the fact about how much risk he’d be putting her in by taking her away from the army. The only reasonable answer in his mind was a clear and simple-
“No,” he said, looking down to his map again.
He internally smiled. There; simple, to the point, and unassailable. It wasn’t said in any kind of demeaning way, had been said with a complete evenness! No anger, yet no question about his resolve. All she had to do was accept that and say-
“And why, pray tell, not?”
There was irritation there, that he could detect easily. He would’ve winced if he didn’t know how right he was. He just needed to present a clear argument, and that would be that.
“You’ll be without protection and eating grass and berries with the rest of us. It’s too risky, especially with how many we’re supposed to be fighting. I won’t risk you getting captured or killed.”
There, again delivered with a calm evenness, and with such great points. Luna was perfectly rational, but just to make sure it didn’t blow into an argument, he looked up and added;
“Why do you want to come? It’s just scouting in force. You’ll only be a couple days behind us, at most three.”
Whatever irritation had built behind her eyes vanished as she gave him a surprised look. Thinking through his words, Elias realized he had violated their status quo. Usually he was firm, she countered, then they argued, with her winning every time by being more bullheaded. While that was a dynamic he found he enjoyed, he had shifted the balance, offering her a chance to argue before she could be stubborn. All eyes were on her, since he had offered the stand to express her side. This time he did flash a grin. He was starting to get better at normal conversation.
“W-well I... I-” Luna stuttered, her muzzle touched with crimson as her eyes met his smile. Her wings shifted in a nervous twitch, then with one great cooling breath, she straightened and gave him an even look. “I wish to accompany you, General, because, like ‘Tia said, the ponies of Saraj will need hope, and while your ponies will do much to secure that hope, the sight of a princess will guarantee a stiffer resistance. We want the minotaurs to remain pinned to their siege, do we not?” She waved her hoof. “As for concerns of my health and safety, I will take the absorbed contingent of Royal Guards as personal bodyguards, and I will have the armor we brought along just in case we lost the carriage. I have also have ample experience eating foraged foods, and I always did like Saddle Arabian Sweet Grass.” She smiled wolfishly at him. “I also trust you will remain close, my dear General.”
While his cheeks burned red, he recognized the truth of her words. His ponies looked to him for guidance, but the Saddle Arabians wouldn’t really know him on sight. An alicorn, however, would be easily seen from miles. Put one in armor…
He realized that everyone was staring at him, including a very nervous look Luna, who was clearly wondering if she had crossed a line. Maybe she had, but then again, Kind Heart had made it clear that everyone already knew of their ‘secret’ relationship and were at least somewhat happy about it, so why should he care?
His eyes dropped to the table for a few more thoughtful seconds, then he nodded.
“Fine. Granite, get Storm Chaser to gather the Royal Guards, make sure they stay in legion colors. Get some spare clothes for Princess Luna too. She’ll travel in disguise.”
He straightened, his arms crossed as he continued to stare at the map.
“We go at first light. Double time, light packs. Rest of the army moves at normal pace.” He glanced up. “Any objections?”
What few responses he got from his ponies were head-shakes. He gave them a nod.
“Then let’s get this done. No more delays.”
*****
Aabhavannan steadily gulped water from the stream. It was clear and crisp, more than likely some of the last snow-melt from the mountains to the north before winter truly set in. It was the first stop of his run, but he was already likely a day ahead of the Equestrian army. In truth, that made certain parts of him very glad. He, like most of his Saddle Arabian kin, did not like waiting around or walking. They were built for running, and urges to run were strong. Staying with the slow moving column of ponies, all while his city and his friends remained under siege, slowly wasting away, jut made his urge to run even fiercer, but now there was momentum. Elias Bright, a frustrating creature, was moving forward, and despite his eagerness to see Saraj saved, he could understand the wisdom in the human’s words. The ponies couldn’t save anyone if they arrived exhausted, and he decidedly did not want them to lose whatever battles were to come. Many runners had been sent, yet none returned. Most were likely with the minotaurs, and he was clearly the first to reach the Equestrians, so there was some mild hope that the other runners had called on the armies spread across the territory, but Saraj couldn’t rely on that. They were simply taking too long to arrive, if they had been called at all. No, the ponies and their strange “human” were the best hope for Saraj. He would just have to do his part to make sure they arrived as quickly, and as prepared as possible.
He stood up and wiped his muzzle, then adjusted the undersized saddlebags on his hips. He couldn’t fault ponies for being smaller, and yet, they could stand to make broader saddlebags. At least he was only carrying a few balls of twine, with which he would mark out the area for the ‘castra’ to be built. One of the human’s guards had tried to explain what the word meant, but all Aabhavannan had taken from it was that the ponies intended to build a rather large fort, from which they could attack the minotaurs without risking the princesses. It wasn’t the boldest plan, but he could understand the human’s protectiveness of his adoptive princesses. He too would given anything if he had been taken in so.
He kicked out his legs one at a time, limbering up to begin his sprint again, when the brush before him erupted into motion, spitting out a stumbling form that quickly met the dirt with her muzzle. Aabhavannan hopped back, his nerves ready to send him flying through the forest as he eyed the newcomer up and down. His ears flicked at more approaching bodies just as the mare looked up from her place in the dirt. With beautiful, desperate emerald eyes, she silently pleaded for help. True to his nature, his decision was made with all speed, and he helped the mare to her hooves, pushing her before him in the direction of Saraj.
*****
Lionheart resisted the urge to scratch at the bit in his teeth. Despite the so called “need to move quickly” he had overheard from the ape and his associates, he and the other captives had been brought along, if for no other reason than to torture them. Currently, they stood tied to a tree, like errant dogs. While he held his head high enough to banish that illusion of subservience, his fellows weren’t so stalwart. Shattered Shield looked much akin to a beaten dog these days, his muzzle perpetually facing the dirt and his eyes perpetually crowned with either exhausted bags, or tears. Lionheart hated how often the pitiful stallion cried, especially at night, but there was no comforting him with thoughts of greater victory, of the righteousness of their cause, so he left the lout to stew in his self-induced misery.
Dragon-Eye, unfortunately, wasn’t much better. He wasn’t a worthless weeping weakling, but he wasn’t as sure of his words any more, almost like he thought that all of the promises of saving Equestria from the ape’s influence were mere fantasy, and perhaps it was, coming from such a lowly place of despair. It certainly seemed like all hope was lost, but neither of his two ‘fellows’ had the knowledge he did, and though he detested working with the insect queen, there were some uses for a bug, other than being squished rather nicely beneath a hoof. As a temporary ally, Chrysalis would serve her purpose, then he could be rid of her, wiping her from the face of the earth as yet another method of keeping Equestria and her princesses safe.
Thinking of the bug, Lionheart noticed a shadow flitting between the trees, and his eyes narrowed. He could almost hear that wretched two-toned laughter in the air, but he ignored it, instead turning toward the silver-clad earth pony keeping guard of them. Lionheart cleared his throat as best he could, then mumbled out;
“Ah neef t’ uuf th’ refoom.”
The guardspony glanced back at him with a scowl on his muzzle.
“What?”
Lionheart snorted and stomped a hoof.
“I neef t’ pee!”
The guard sighed and held his head with a hoof.
“I really need to ask Centurion Granite when I can get off this duty. If I wanted to babysit, I would have stayed home.”
With another sigh, the guard untied him from the tree and cave his makeshift collar a yank.
“Come on then, even traitors get a little privacy.”
Lionheart followed the pony without protest. He would need to do something to pretty up his image with the common soldiery when this business with the ape was finished. While he didn’t care about their opinions of him, having the muscle on his side was a good thing, especially if he intended to be worthy of marrying Princess Luna. She seemed the martial sort, and most of the ape’s ponies had come from the Lunar Guard. He didn’t precisely need their support when he asked for her hoof in marriage, but having it wouldn’t hurt his standing either.
The earth pony stopped and slackened his lead.
“Go, and hurry up. This was supposed to be a quick lunch break, not your personal beauty time.”
Lionheart huffed and rolled his eyes, turning away to begin his business. The pony likewise turned around, giving him a few precious moments of un-watched peace.
He heard a muffled grunt, then looked back to find the earth pony again under the spell of three changelings. The fourth grinned at him with slitted blue eyes.
“Well go on Duke Lionheart,” the changeling hissed. “So far as ponies are concerned, nobody is watching, save for this treat here.”
She stroked the earth pony’s cheek. He gave a shiver, but his eyes never shifted with awareness, fully wrapped in shining green light as the pony mumbled to himself. Lionheart suppressed a shudder and stood up straight, motioning to the bit in his mouth. The changeling let out a chuckle.
“Aw, but I quite like you nice and quiet,” she said with a fake pout. “Are you sure we can’t just take you home like this? I promise, you’ll be much deeper under our control.”
Lionheart pointedly did not look at the earth pony, and instead narrowed his eyes, trying to appear threatening. The changeling chuckled again, then moved forward, roughly yanking the bit from his muzzle.
“There. Now, what do you know?”
Lionheart scowled and rubbed his jaw.
“Does your queen have nothing to say? I don’t deal with lackeys.”
The changeling tilted her head, her smile anything but kind.
“You’ll deal with whoever Queen Chrysalis tells you to, and today, that’s me. Do keep the attitude to a minimum. She says we can’t leave any visible damage on you. That won’t stop me from making you a dumb-brained little snack, got it?”
Lionheart rolled his eyes.
“This is a waste of time. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t have information, so spit it out before I get caught.”
The changeling winked.
“Good deflect snack-time. Queen Chrysalis is mobilizing her contacts to attack Elias Bright on this little forward run of his, but she was waiting for the best moment to order an attack. She’s hoping you’ve done something other than be a pack-mule, and that you have some good intel for us.”
“What does she know?” Lionheart asked. “I don’t want to repeat useless information.”
The changeling shrugged.
“We just know that Elias Bright is going forward to scout and set up a base, and that some Saddle Arabian is supposed to mark the best spot. He will, of course, it would be suspicious if we snatched him, but the stallion didn’t know much.” She licked her lips. “His excitement was tasty though. He should be nursing a little headache for today, but tomorrow he should have that site marked as Elias Bright will be expecting.”
“Why do you keep using that ape’s full name?” Lionheart asked with a frown. “He’s a brute. I doubt even he knows what his full name is sometimes.”
The changeling’s eyes glowed with something approaching defensiveness.
“You’re an idiot if you think that, but regardless, my Queen has declared that Elias Bright shall always be referred to by his full name, as a sign that she will not underestimate him again. He was instrumental in preventing our capture of Princess Luna during the invasion, and he did it largely alone. That is no small feat, especially given that he slaughtered dozens of my hivemates.”
She advanced on him a step.
“So instead of asking me questions that only make me want to rip out your throat more, I suggest you start talking about what you know, or suddenly Elias Bright will have one less spy watching his every move.”
Lionheart tried to maintain a scowl, even as he inched a step back.
“I’m not a spy. Your queen is the spy that is helping me get rid of that wretched ape for the good of Equestria and beyond.”
“The ape that is favored by the princesses and that led their army to victory?” the changeling said. “Oh yes Duke Lionheart, you’re right, you’re not a spy, you’re a traitor. Very positive distinction for you.”
“The only thing I’m betraying is the ape, and he is a threat to the princesses, even if they don’t yet understand it,” Lionheart snarled. “Even your idiot queen should know that-”
A chitinous hoof met his muzzle, and Lionheart collapsed to the ground with a whimper. He touched his nose, but found no blood. He shied away as the female changeling towered over him, her hoof again raised.
“I- I thought you said no physical-”
“Visible damage little unicorn,” the changeling growled. “Say another bad word against Queen Chrysalis and I’ll reveal myself to Elias Bright so that he’ll rip the wretched head from your treacherous shoulders.”
She stomped the ground on either side of his head and leaned down, baring her teeth at him.
“Now tell me what you know and stop wasting my time or I let Trax play with his new toy.”
The smallest changeling on the earth pony’s back seemed to light up with excitement and he quickly hopped down and trotted over.
“Really?” he asked with a happy tail flick. “May I tell him the history?” He looked to Lionheart and immediately began to ramble without the other changeling’s permission. “My Queen, while searching for new avenues into Canterlot since the crystal mines are under watch, decided to send several scouts on expeditions across the world! I was luckily trusted with a solo mission, and I found these abandoned catacombs deep in the deserts of-”
“The only reason her Majesty sent you alone is so that you wouldn’t ruin another scouting mission!” the female changeling snarled, snapping her teeth at the smaller bug. “Now shut up Trax! I don’t need two wastes of time.”
The small changeling seemed to grow smaller, but he didn’t fully back down, his eyes flicking to Lionheart momentarily before drawing a small black object seemingly from beneath his chitin. He held it out, and Lionheart gagged as strange thin tendrils began to creep and crawl. For some reason, his ear twitched, and the small, buglike… thing seemed to detect the motion and all three began to squirm in his direction. His ear twitched again, and he couldn’t help but whine, knowing that that thing was meant to burrow deep into his head. Luckily, the changeling pinning him was of a similar thought.
“Put that disgusting thing away,” she snarled. “I don’t even know why our Queen let you keep it.”
“I-it’s a useful artifact,” the small bug said. “T-they allow for non-verbal communication for non-changelings over a fairly substantial dis-”
“Trax, put that disgusting thing away this second or it’s going down your throat.” She huffed and turned back to Lionheart, but glanced over her shoulder as she spat out one last barb. “Why you are allowed to do anything but infiltration jobs as a beggar, I will never know. Of all that changelings that survived Canterlot, somehow you made the cut. Probably by crawling under a rock.”
The small changeling shrank further and let out a whimper before slinking back toward the earth pony. Both of his fellows began snickering, causing him to sink further into the dirt. It was a truly pathetic display that deserved ridicule, and even Lionheart couldn’t help but snort with contempt at the wretched little bug. As the changeling began to absently play with his bug-thing, Lionheart’s attention was drawn upward. The female changeling bared her fangs in his face.
“Enough wasting time unicorn. What do you know?”
Lionheart gulped, but began to speak, with his voice growing more confident as he spoke.
“You can’t trust the two unicorns I am jailed with. They falsely believe that they are guilty of a crime-”
“Something relevant to killing Elias Bright,” the changeling growled. “My Queen has already claimed those two for food. She just waits the right moment to take them.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal, she was to take the injured-”
“That Elias Bright slowed the march to return to health,” the changeling said. “There are pitiful few left, and too many still guard them. I’d think less with how the deal you aren’t keeping to is working out, and instead give me information my Queen can use, or I’ll let Trax use his little toy.”
Lionheart’s eyes flicked to the little changeling, who looked back like a beaten, pawing at the tendril-ed thing that continued to writhe. He shuddered and looked back up to his assailant.
“I know precious little more than you do,” he started, earning him an additional growl. “But I do know this; the ape takes walks alone at night. I think he is having difficulties sleeping.”
The changeling’s eyes narrowed, but her fangs also drew back, her eyes glazing slightly in thought.
“There’s ambush potential there… do you know why he can’t sleep?”
Lionheart shook his head.
“Rumors in Canterlot were that he lost his friends and family on his ape world, but that’s a ridiculous notion. The fact that anyone could think that monster has a trace of an emotion like love in that shrunken, stupid little head is-”
The next thing he knew, he was being tied to the wagon by the earth pony. His mouth tasted of dirt, iron, and wood, though that last part was likely due to the bit again stretching his jaw. The earth pony finished tying him in and stepped back with a smile.
“I don’t know what got into you, but if you just got your business done like that more often, you might not be a traitor everypony wants dead.” Lionheart jerked away as the pony patted his cheeks. “Keep being a good little pack mule, and maybe you’ll get a cookie, yeah?”
A few nearby ponies clad in silver all snickered as the earth pony let out a loud laugh. Lionheart snorted at him, causing him to jump, but ultimately only drawing more laughter. Part of him wanted to go wild, to try to rip free and teach the stallion a lesson, but he was better than that base instinct. He instead looked forward, ignoring his soon-to-be-vanished compatriots. A stray thought crossed his mind, briefly pondering how he had gotten from speaking with changelings to walking forward, but for some reason, it fled quickly. He didn’t really know why.
*****
Elias squinted, watching the timber fortifications through his broken binoculars. To one side was Gray Granite, and on the other was Storm Chaser, both of whom had spyglasses. A feather brushed Elias’ back, and Storm Chaser nodded toward a different part of the timber wall.
“There. Small gap, looks like they use it to get to the river for water.”
Elias scowled, wiping at the dirt caked to the uncracked lens of his binoculars before bringing the set to his eyes, staring out across the trampled farm land at the small door Storm Chaser had pointed out. As they watched, a trio of lithe, for minotaurs at least, cows opened the door and stepped cautiously onto the open field before making their way toward the river, buckets clutched beneath their bulky arms. The door quickly shut behind them, earning a comment from him.
“Likely heavily guarded. They’ll know it’s a weak point and keep it under watch like the main gate. If they’re smart, they’ve built a kill zone inside.”
He shifted his attention back to the wooden gatehouse.
“Shift changed yet?”
“No General,” Granite said. “Either their shifts are random, or they change after three hours.”
“Keep watching then.”
The minotaurs guarding the main gate had switched out just after they had arrived, and now the sun was starting to dip below the horizon. They’d have to go back to camp soon, and he didn’t feel like he had enough information, not yet. He wanted the minotaurs’ habits down pat so that he could pick a good moment to strike, and that moment needed to be perfect. At a glance, Elias knew his army was vastly outnumbered, even if they had the full force to bring to bear.
Aabhavannan’s map had been woefully undescriptive of the full size of the city and it’s massive white walls. Frankly, the city made Canterlot look like a hamlet in size, but both Aabhavannan and Luna had explained that by justifying that Saraj was the city in Saddle Arabia, so much so that many of the farmers that fed it simply called the city itself Saddle Arabia. While sizeable towns and several fortresses were scattered across her frontiers and borders, the desert consumed much of Saddle Arabia’s territory, and Saraj was the last civilized bastion before the immense sands.
Said sands could even be seen from the river. He’d noticed the white hot sands when he had taken a walk to find a good scouting position. Saraj sat in an arc before the same river they had been traveling along since they had left Equestria, but it was at the city where the river was at it’s widest. It was from all the snow melt, so Aabhavannan had said. The result was rushing waters that carried down gradually narrowing canyons deeper and deeper until it hit the sea far to the south at a trickle. Until it reached that point, however, Saddle Arabians were able to push rafts and small boats along with trade goods brought in from all over their nation.
A long bridge crossed the river, and from his walk, he had noticed the bridge had been burned to its stone foundations. By which side, he didn’t know, but he certainly wouldn’t be leading any night time raids across the water. Though it was a far smaller force, the minotaurs still existed in large enough numbers to make a lightly armored river assault impossible. No, the way in was through the front gate, the only obstacle was the miles of fortifications. Saddle Arbia’s white stone walls were massive, dwarfing the minotaur fortifications, but the city gates were fall smaller, and were fully entrapped.
A saving grace with all of the walls was that they were made from timber. The minotaurs had felled acres of trees to build their walls, but given that he had several spell casters who knew how to cast fireballs, he had a way to at least damage the walls. Even if the bulls had fire patrols or spellcasters to counter his flames, they could still cause damage. If nothing else, it would keep the bulls on their toes, and remaining constantly alert would make them tired. The only problem was that the forest was far from the city, over a mile of desolate farm land. It was a lot of empty ground that gave heavy advantage to the minotaurs camped around the city, and there were thousands of them. Far more than his paltry force could hope to beat in an open fight.
Elias squinted and rubbed at the lens of his binoculars with his thumb. Dust had a nasty way of working it’s way into the cracked lenses, making it hard to see. As he rubbed at the lens, Granite perked up.
“Guards are leaving General. Starting count.”
Elias grimaced and kept scrubbing.
“Storm Chaser, match his count. Stupid dirt is everywhere.”
The pegasus glanced his way before looking toward the walls. As Elias set to work on a particularly dirt-filled crack, Storm Chaser looked his way again.
“Would you like a fresh spyglass General? They’re super easy to make, and just about everypony has-”
“Watch the wall,” Elias snapped. “My binoculars work fine, they’re just…. dirty….”
He huffed as he failed to scrape all the dirt free, then nearly snapped again when the large pegasus nudged an extra spyglass his way. He let his binoculars hang from his neck and snatched up the spyglass, yanking it open and setting it over his good eye. He immediately noticed how much better he could see everything, and he couldn’t help but sigh. His binoculars were just another old piece of junk, a remnant of a world he was suddenly starting to forget. He barely ever thought about his old legion these days, aside from the lessons he had learned with them. Barely thought about Bevin, and Sarah. Certainly never mentioned them. He hadn’t even touched one of his old journals in months. There was some positivity to that; he had new friends, and new experiences, a new legion, and new… interests.
Elias shook the brief blush from his cheeks. New distractions. He had to focus on the task at hand. If abandoning some old equipment brought him closer to taking his legion home safe and sound, then so be it. He could come to terms with that later.
“New guards are climbing up,” Granite said. I counted six minutes of hang time in the shift.”
“Four minutes,” Storm Chaser corrected. “I see a pair of horns peaking over the wall that disappeared for a few minutes then got replaced by a taller set. I think there’s a post there to make sure nobody scales the walls while the shift changes.”
“Four minutes,” Elias mumbled. “You two know anyone that can cross a mile of field in four minutes?” Both ponies shook their heads. “Yeah, me either. Let’s head back. We need a planning session for drawing the cows out.”
He crawled backward, and the ponies swiftly followed. They all crawled until they were deep enough in the woods to stand and jog back to camp.
Aabhavannan had chosen a good spot. Unlike usual, the castra was not constructed away from the river, but right onto the shoreline. Since they’d likely be staying longer, Elias had ordered that the timber pillars that made up the castra walls be fortified at their bases with concrete and large stones. The paths of the castra were similarly covered with gravel that Granite had primarily created from the growing pile of ammunition being stockpiled for the remaining siege weapons the rest of the army carried. Spots for tents were prepared, and Wood Chop had set to making a few more permanent shelters for the medical tent and the cooking area. Trenches were dug and topped with wooden stakes, and even further from the castra a moat was beginning to form at Pyrelight’s order, adding just one more hazard to protect the camp.
Per his orders, however, all of the trees needed for the castra’s construction were brought from the opposite side of the river. He had pegasi lighting campfires in other parts of the forest to obscure the smoke from the camp, and he had unicorns maintaining an invisibility bubble over the camp, but the trees themselves were the best cover, while also providing one last weapon for the camp’s defense. If they became overrun, Elias could order his ponies to the river, then order the trees and their undergrowth burned. Nothing would survive a firestorm.
He, Storm Chaser, and Grey Granite walked into camp, joining the bustling activity as ponies worked continually to fortify the spot. Storm Chaser took to flight to gather the officers, while Granite was asked to stomp out more gravel to cover the trail to the river. Elias went undisturbed as he walked toward the center of camp, where one tree still temporarily stood tall. He felt his throat tighten as he grew closer to the blue alicorn resting beneath the shade tree, decked out in silver and blue tinged steel.
His motion apparently drew her from her rest, because a pair of glistening emeralds met him as he walked forward, nearly causing him to stumble. Swallowing dryly, Elias kept his footing even. Luna’s smile was bright as he stopped beneath the shade tree, feeling slightly stiff as he spoke.
“The minotaurs are firmly entrenched, but once I consult with my officers, I think we’ll start a harassment campaign, try to burn some of their fortifications.” Elias mentally cursed himself. He was in charge wasn’t he? Why did he feel like he was delivering a report to his superior officer instead of just informing a weakened princess of his intent, and why was her smile so much more beautiful from beneath a helmet?
“I think that is a marvelous plan General,” Luna said. “Have you seen any sign from the Saddle Arabians that they remain strong?”
“No,” Elias admitted. “But they also don’t know we’re here, at least that was my plan. I want that first fireball to be an announcement. Fear for the bulls as much as hope for the Saddle Arabians.”
He felt his heart flutter as Luna’s smile seemed to brighten. Her eyes closed as she beamed up at him.
“An excellent idea! ‘Tia and I used to use such tactics in the early days before the proper unification of Equestria. An entire besieging army once capitulated in fact! ‘Twas a wonderful day with no slaughter needed.”
“Wish that would happen again,” Elias mumbled, trying to keep his inner child at bay. It begged for him to ask her for a history lesson, especially given that he hadn’t read much about the pre-unification Equestria.
“Perhaps it will,” Luna said. “But I would like to do more to try and guarantee such a result, if you don’t mind my input.”
Elias gave her a deadpan look.
“I only hate ideas from alicorns when they’re based on sunflowers and pink hearts. If you have an addition to a plan on intimidation, I’m all ears. I’m sure everyone can tell how inept I am at utilizing magic.”
Luna scoffed and waved a hoof.
“Nonsense General, you make fine use of both the pegasi and the unicorns in protecting camp. You just lack centuries of experience living with easy access to the arcane, and regardless, my plan requires very little genuine magic. I merely want to use a simple illusion to, as you say, intimidate our enemies.”
Just as Elias began to ask her what her plan was, Pyrelight seemed to appear in an out-of-breath bundle of dust and sweat. Elias looked down at the fiery-maned unicorn.
“Yes Auxiliary Centurion?”
The unicorn’s eyes flicked about, and sweat seemed to bead on her forehead in spite of her fur.
“Could we please talk for a minute General?”
“By all means,” Elias said, motioning for her to begin. “Princess Luna doesn’t bite.”
“I wouldn’t rule that out General,” Luna said with a suddenly sharp smile. “A certain stallion could tempt me to do all sorts of things.”
She and Elias locked eyes, and her smile quickly fell as they stared blankly at one another. The silence that suddenly filled the air seemed to grow a bubble around them, shutting out all sound as neither said a word. Elias blinked once, his jaw turning slightly as he tried to think of something to say. He was sure there was some innuendo at play, but… how was he supposed to respond? Was he supposed to respond. Was he just supposed to compliment her? Make a pun about how sharp she looked in armor? No part of his brain understood what to do, but every part was panicking, unsure of how to act.
Luna began to blush furiously, and her tail flicked with obvious nervousness.
Elias tried to mentally kick himself into gear. Why was he still just staring at her like an idiot?
‘Say something idiot!’ He mentally shouted at himself. ‘Say anything!’
“Right, we’ll be back in in a few minutes,” Pyrelight said as they continued their awkward staring contest. “Then you can do… whatever this is.”
As Elias was pushed away by his subordinate, Luna mentally cursed herself. Cadence had warned about being too forward when they had started their lessons, and as he had proven, Elias was not ready for such open behavior!
‘You’ll want to be subtle,’ the alicorn of love had said, ‘and you’ll want to do in the middle of something else. A good flirt will just flow with conversation, and a really one could be passed off as a joke if it isn’t well received. Just remember, if he freezes-’
“Gah!” Luna moaned, her hoof quickly smacking into her forehead. “Don’t freeze! How could I forget such a simple rule?”
She rifled through her saddlebags and drew out the enchanted paper she kept on hoof to keep in contact with her fellow princesses.
“Dearest Cadence,” she began. “I believe I have damaged my romance irreparably…”
Just outside of camp, Pyrelight finally stopped dragging Elias along. She looked out from the tree they had stopped behind, checking for anyone that may have followed them, but Elias wasn’t really paying attention to her antics. He was more focused on Luna’s words. He wasn’t really familiar with the concept of ‘flirting’ but he had observed a bit of it in his old life. The alicorn’s words were clearly that, and how had he responded? By standing around like an idiot. He could only imagine how she was taking it. He had rejected her once, now he was just staring at her when she was trying to re-initate? Was it too early? She’d understand if he told her that he welcomed her advances, but it still wasn’t the right time. But did he welcome her advances? He had promised to give their relationship another shot once the march was over, but it was far from over and he was far from being sure if he wanted that kind of relationship with the alicorn.
A rather large voice in his head protested that last thought. Had he not just felt a touch more excited when she had smiled at him? There was no doubt in his mind that he liked the alicorn, but love was a different word that… Elias quickly realized that this was all a distraction. He was in an active war zone. One of his officers had dragged him off to speak in private and here he was thinking about romancing his- an alicorn. Elias shook himself and looked down at Pyrelight, resting one hand on his gladius hilt. He needed to focus on getting everyone out alive first, then he could worry about flirting and his reaction to it.
“I don’t know if I should thank you for your interruption, or whip you for causing Princess Luna to distract me.”
Pyrelight’s tail flicked at him as she continued scanning the forest leading back to camp.
“Do both if you want, I just really needed to talk to you before I do something stupid and dangerous and-”
“Then let’s talk instead of ramble,” Elias said, frowning. “Is there a problem among the troops? Did a Royal Guardspony notice you’re not who you say you are, because as promised, I already had Luna sign-”
“It’s not any of that,” Pyrelight said. She whirled around and tugged at a chain on her neck. When it didn’t come off immediately, the unicorn let out a growl and her horn glowed with fiery energy, ripping it from her neck.
“You’re not wearing a horn ring,” Elias said, his words a statement of fact.
Pyrelight shook her head, her eyes fixated on a small orange gem dangling from the end of the neck chain.
“Haven’t been since Scarlet’s Hill. Remember when I you were questioning Lionheart and I had soot on my face?”
“That was from the artillery, other ponies were supposed to light those,” Elias said. “I thought you said you couldn’t control that destroyer spell of yours.”
“I can’t,” Pyrelight whimpered. She finally stopped staring at the gem and looked to him with teary, pleading eyes. “I- I had it removed just before the march so that I could help more, and I’ve been keeping it safe, but it’s been talking to me General. I can’t-”
She pushed the necklace toward him.
“Please, you have to take it. I can’t hold it anymore. It’s eating me up inside, and during the battle I nearly threw it, and ever since we left Princess Celestia behind, it’s like it’s getting bolder, like it knows I’m the only pony who can learn it, and I-” She stepped forward, again pushing the gem on him. “Please just take it. I know you won’t use it!”
Elias took a step back from the unicorn. Spending significant amounts of time around ponies had not made him less suceptible to their teary eyes, and Pyrelight, even filthy and decked out in full armor, offering him the magical equivalent of a bomb, was impossible not to give into. Still, he was able to muster enough fortitude to protest.
“Centurion, this doesn’t seem like a good plan. Put your horn ring back on, and we can talk with Luna about-”
“No!” Pyrelight shouted. “That’ll ruin the entire march! I was waiting until it was over to just give it to one of the princesses, then I would throw myself at their mercy, but if we give it to her now, it’ll throw off the magic calibration. So many ponies would have died for nothing, and I won’t allow that.”
This time she leaped at him, her hooves clinging to his armor, the gem right in his face.
“Please General, it’s just until the portal is made,” Pyrelight pleaded. “Just listen, you don’t hear anything, do you?”
She put the gem near his ear, and other than her short gasps and their armor scrapping against each other, Elias heard… nothing. Nothing but natural sounds. The voices in his head were even quiet, confused as a united whole. As his confusion became plain on his face, a wild, yet happy look entered Pyrelight’s eyes.
“See? It’s just a little longer, and you’ll keep everyone safe from this! It’ll even speed up the process of Princess Celestia or Princess Luna recovering their magic once the portal is made! Take it, you won’t even remember it’s on your neck.”
Without waiting for his permission, the unicorn clasped the chain around his neck then hopped back, looking him up and down with a nervous, yet hopeful smile. Elias pinched the gem in his fingertips, edging away from it just in case. Though it was warm to the touch, and it glowed a little when he looked at it… there was still nothing. Certainly not the “talking” Pyrelight had ranted about. He slipped the gem beneath his armor, then regarded the unicorn with an appraising eye, briefly wondering if she had just gone insane. Juding by the slow look of relief spreading across her body, he could only hope she was telling the truth, that he would almost entirely forget about the gem sitting on his neck.
“Alright, just make sure to remind me when the portal is opened, that way-”
The unicorn again slammed into him, trapping him in a tight hug as her tears of joy crept down his armor.
“Thank you General, I can barely hear it now,” she said. “If you can carry the spell for me, I’ll do everything I can to get us into Saraj, burn me out for all I care!”
Elias gingerly stroked an exposed portion of her mane, but the motion grew more confident as he thought on her words and his sights from the minotaurs’ wooden fortifications.
“Be careful what you wish for-” he muttered “-because I just might.”