Everyone's full attention was on me, they all saw what I did. They see me just like the marines saw every spartan, a walking legend. Can't blame them for thinking so, I held the equestrian army at bay as they evacuated. I held my head high and walked forward following Millipede. Never once did any conversation start up or did their eyes avert their attention.
Reverent silence is what they gave to me as I walked by. The soldier's eyes showed respect for what I have done while the civvies' showed hope, something they haven't had in a long time. Even as we exited the caboose to one of the of the other passenger cars.
This car wasn't much better in terms of conversations. They whispered among themselves, much like the marines did every time a spartan appeared on the battlefield. The marines knew something bad was about to happen, but they had us spartans to get them through. Funny how many of them died think we could save them. We were always too low in number to have that big of an impact on the war's outcome, no matter how hard we tried. The poor bastards.
Millipede lead me to an open spot on the wall, it seems they took out all the car's seats to cram as many as possible in here before they blew the tunnel. Everyone gave us space as we settle down against the wall. Taking my helmet off, I laid my head against the wall to get some shut eye. I heard whispers coming from the people around me, talks of phoenixes and heroes. What a bunch of rubbish, there is no such things as heroes just those who took their own lives into their hands.
"It might do you some good if you relaxed when trying to fall asleep, Arachnid knows you need it more than us," Millipede stated. Doesn't he know we were just in an engagement, even if all seems quiet doesn't mean we can let our guard down.
"It would help if everyone would pay attention to their surroundings instead of believing we are out of a combat situation," I responded.
"You must be fun at parties."
"Never been to one."
"What? How? Everyling has to have been to one in their lifetimes. It certainly helps with morale in this day and age."
"Never had the chance too. Even if I did, I wouldn't go. It would be a waste of my time, something that is growing more precious every day as we lose more of it."
I heard Millipede shuffle at that statement. He wanted to ask something. I opened my eyes to look at him and said, "Spit it out or forever hold your peace."
"It's really nothing. I just wanted to know what your how your home was like, you speak of it as if it's doomed but yet you want to go back. I lost my home at Baltimare, I don't know if my family survived. I was away when it crumbled due to riots and a surprise invasion from the Equestrians. I.." he trailed off from there.
"I never really had a home in the traditional sense, my home is classified. From what I know it still stands, hell some of my friends are still training there. I got deployed early to some small engagements before heading to Reach. I had a family once, they never made it out the first time, but I have a new family that I forged with my comrades back 'home'," I told him. I'm pretty sure ONI doesn't want me to talk about Onyx.
"You didn't say what it was like."
"I really couldn't tell you. I never got to see it, mostly because I was selected for training after forty-four," I started before I got cut off.
"After forty-four! You must have some of the best training if you had nearly sixty years of training!"
"What no! It's 2552 AD/CE."
"OH, well it is 1001 Common or 1 reunion if you go by Equestrian standards."
"Why are there two different names for the eras?"
"Well, there is three. You have Celestial Era, Common Era and then Reunion Era. The Celestial Era was when Celestia took full control of the Equestrian government after a hideous revolution. Reunion Era is when the sister of Celestia came back from being possessed by Nightmare Moon. The Common Era is just those two Eras thrown together to not confuse the foals. What does your eras mean?" Millipede asked.
"Depends on who you ask. AD is after death; this is for a religious figure who died long ago. CE is a more neutral title, meaning Common Era. But if you go to other places, they will have completely different years for them. The reason for it being 2552 CE is because the military needed to standardize so everyone knows what they are talking about," I told him.
"I guess that would be helpful, the Changelings have a completely messed up system of how dates are run. Officially it is 2293 FS, or Fallen Star, named after the star that fell from the sky and gave birth to the Obsidian Empire. It was called Enkindled Spring, the namesake of the capitol today. Noling actually uses it though as the Equestrian system bleed into ours. You only hear very old nobles even use it, like the ones nearing five hundred years old, any younger they refuse to use it," Millipede Stated. Did he just say nobles could live to near five hundred years old? Interesting, "Sorry I cut you off, I was confused for a second on dates. It is an interesting topic but not the one I asked for."
"I can't tell you much as even I don't know much about it. To me it felt like a staging ground for the upcoming conflict nothing more or less. It got me prepared for the hard journey ahead."
"Everyling should at least have a home to back too after any day is over. It is sad that you never had the chance to have that," Millipede said solemnly, "So why do you want to go back?"
"If I leave, who won't? If the best of the best quits who is there to carry the torch for the others behind them. I must lead by example if others are to take my place. Even if dying is the outcome," I stated. Millipede pondered on my answer for a moment. It seems he got his answer. My gaze wandered to everyone around me, seeing smiling faces of those who survived.
"You know we could use to torch wielder right now," Millipede stated.
"I do not know enough about this conflict to get involved."
"Aren't you already involved?"
"In a way yes, but it won't stay that way," I stated as I looked around. The faces of those who survived burning into my brain.
"You saw what they had, they don't care enough about changeling life even if they preach that all life is a virtue. They broke an agreement that outlawed some weapons of war to be used. One of them is flamethrowers as in 992 CLE under the Trottingham agreement J.A.L 132, it outlaws the use of flamethrowers as weapons of war. This agreement was signed by Celestia herself. Yet you saw them use them back in Las Pegasus. They act in bad faith," Millipede stated.
"Weren't you the one who said to me that this war was started because you invaded this Canterlot," I countered. That pissed him off.
"Then why in Tartarus did you get involved? You know Equestria will now hunt you down till the end of your days as you not only killed dozens if not hundreds of them but one their beloved 'heroes' of the Republican Wars. They are herd creatures by heart, this is what makes them dangerous. Even if the entire country is at war with itself, they somehow find a way to unite against the world and not only stop the threat but destroy any chance that it will ever become a threat again," Millipede was now fuming, "Do you not know what happened to the Minotaurs. When they rose up to challenge Equestria they were attacked first and devastated. Magically salting the earth so that just enough food for ten million Minotaurs to live off of. You want to know how many Minotaurs there were. Thirty-three million."
"I'm not even done; the Golden Wars were fought with Saddle Arabia for vast amount of gold and then annexed them; no trade agreement just war to fill their insatiable need for comfort. The worst one of all is those damn Solar bombs dropped on Griffinstone and Featherburg. These bombs were so large that they engulf the entire city in what seemed to be a second sun," he stated. I looked into his eyes, his blue compound eyes for a hint of deception. He believes everything he has said. The question is he a reliable source of information.
"I would keep your voice down Millipede. We aren't the only ones on this train," I stated. Those who weren't staring were now.
"You didn't answer my question silver eyes. Why did you get involved? Why do you even care?" He demanded. Do I have silver eyes? That's new. I stood up and stared down at him. He shivered as I stood over him, at least he has enough back bone to stand up against a spartan. He gulped as I stood their staring him down.
"I've seen my fair share of civilians running in terror from an overwhelming threat, many of them didn't survive. If you want to know why I did it, just know I did it because that is exactly what it looked like was happening. I did it for them and no one else. Because I was saved by a spartan just like me as I escaped my first home. You could say I returned the favor," I stated flatly. "Now where are we going?"
He backed down after that and sat down. He looked dejected by my answer, "We are heading to Vanhoover where we will meet up with Commander Pharynx. After that I guess is when we head our separate ways."
I stood there for a moment before I sat back down to get some rest, "I do believe that will be the case."
The Old Guard
General Dragonfly
Damn that young whippersnapper, doesn't he know I'm in the middle of something? I was forcibly retired from the Equestrian Military, I don't need to be dragged back in. This damn train ride isn't helping, I remember eighty years ago when we had to walk on hoof to go where we wanted to go not sit in comfort. I miss the good old days where the pony express was the best way to messages across the damn country, those days were simpler. Now all these young ones complain about how hard their lives are, well back in my day...
"Arriving at Canterlot station!"
Turn that damn thing down, with all these loud noises they'll make the next generation defter than they already are.
"Sir, our stop is coming up soon," the damn nurse Celestia assigned me said. Doesn't she know I can take care of myself. I don't need help at home, and I don't need it to get to the damn train station. Why did she even assign a nurse to accompany me for this trip, she isn't my mother.
"I know, I know hold your teats," the look she gave me was priceless, "I would have flown here if you didn't make me sit in this damn murder box."
"Sir, you can't fly because of your condition, your wings are not as young as they once were, and a train is not a murder box it is a convenient mode of transportation."
"Then why does it tend to be attacked or derailed so often? You foals see something new and shiny at adopt it without a second thought on how much harm it can do to you. Just like the terrible noise you make called 'music.'"
The nurse rolled her eyes in response, ha one more point towards me. My wife would be impressed with how much I got these foals to roll their eyes. At least this one respects her elders, not just blowing past our struggles and lessons like its old history. This one would make a good citizen one day. I got up to follow the young nurse out of the train. The station was full of potential assassins waiting to kill me, if they even knew who I was to begin with, which is a high possibility on one front.
I found the ponies who called me here. Ponies I really didn't want to see right now. The rookie who took my place, a golden furred and dark purple maned unicorn, and the Princess who fired me, a white and rainbow maned Alicorn. It seems that the rookie isn't wearing his golden armor with bright yellow lines flowing through it almost like lava today. He loved showing it off.
"I hope the trip was adequate for somepony of your position, my dear general Dragonfly," Celestia stated. I gave a short snort at her. She fired me and she wants decency, good luck trying. I'm too stubborn to back down until I get my apology.
"Why did you call me here rookie, I had more important things to do than be an advisor to a rookie who can't do his job right," I stated bluntly. Made them both mad in one fell swoop, I should get bonus points for that.
"General Dragonfly, as you know from my letter I gave you, there has been a dramatic change in the current situation. Not only are there reports of republican activity coming from major city center the war has taken on a new dimension, one we couldn't predict. This is not for the pubic to hear, if you would follow us to the carriage," Sword Strike said. Fine, I didn't want to be here in the first place. I have family relying on me back home, so I got to get back to them as soon as possible. I gave a quick nod of confirmation, "Okay, right this way General."
Celestia turned to the nurse and said, "We got him from here, thank you. You are dismissed."
With that the nurse gave a short bow and walked away. Damn it Celestia. Again? I turned to Celestia and flatly said, "You know sending smile agents to spy on me won't raise my opinion of you any higher than it already is."
Celestia pause for a second as she probably didn't expect me to notice the signals they were giving off. Amateurs.
"How did you know?" She asked, clearly confused.
"I didn't until you paused," I lied straight through my teeth. I won't tell them how just to piss her off more. She deserves it for forcibly retiring me.
"I know you're lying. I've known you long enough to tell when you do. You tend to lie to much for your own benefit though," Celestia stated as we walked. Well, she got me on that one, "You've still yet to tell me most of the hidden secrets you've kept hidden from me all these years. Ever since yelling at me in the training grounds all those years ago."
"You know it was your fault for going into an active exercise disguised as a pegasus out of uniform. You broke protocol," I stated. I remember this, one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life once she revealed herself.
"Even after I revealed myself, you yelled at me for breaking the rule of conduct laws for royalty laws, you were dumb and brave enough to quote my own laws back at me. Never had I seen a captain so stubborn and scared out of his mind at the same time," Celestia stated with a smirk on her face.
"A captain can't back down under any circumstances, especially in front of other enlisted," I said. It seems the rookie is chuckling. I was tempted to wipe that smirk right off his face, but the rook quickly changes his composer when he saw my stare and walks us down the street. Canterlot was still as beautiful as the last time I saw it. The white and golden walls of the streets and houses were always breathtaking even after seeing for dozens of years. Pity that it was attacked again.
"General, Princess. We arrived," the rookie said as we approached a gold and white carriage. Celestia never knew how to keep a low profile, one day this will bite her in the flank. The Rookie help me up first, damn these old legs, and then Celestia came in after showing off her flank with her bright sun on it. The rookie followed soon after showing a tiny bit of his cutiemark, it was a large hollow circle with an oval in-between with two lines above and below the oval. it also had two orbiting circles on opposites sides of each other on the outside of the hollowed circle.
"You know my dear Dragonfly, if you stared at my flank any longer, I would think you were unfaithful to your wife. though I can't blame you, every foal dreams of it," Celestia teased. You won't get me this time.
"Nah you have the fifth best flank in Equestria right now. Cadance has a better-rounded flank, even Luna after her thousand years fast has a good, rounded plot; they come in at fourth and third respectively. My wife has the second best but nocreature can beat the royale from my youth, you know her," I said coolly. I shocked the rookie with this statement, it seems he wasn't ready for this talk.
"Blueblood's great grandmother, Silverblood? I guess I could see it, she did have quite the flank, but I still don't think it rivals mine," Celestia stated defensively. Sure, she can think that if she wants, "Your wife might not like you saying there is a royal with a better flank than her though, she might get jealous."
"Don't worry too much about that, remember the day I got sent to the hospital for all those splinters, that was the day she found out, she threw a chair at me so hard it shattered," I said gloomily. I got a chuckle out of both of them. If only they knew the power of my wife, they wouldn't be chuckling, "Now enough talk, let's get down to business. I'm quite busy right now."
"With what my dear, bingo?" Celestia teased. I want to slap that mare right now.
"I'm not that senile yet you over bloated swan," I shot back. The rookie cleared his throat loudly to catch both of our attention.
"We now know Sunset Shimmer is alive. We manage to study her corpse and find out that it was a changeling that was buried. This changeling was different though from the ones we are currently facing. This one while have a mainly black carapace, it had hints of what believe to be a deep purple instead of the blueish green ones we are used too. We don't know what this currently means but speculation is at an all-time high," The rookie told me.
"I thought you didn't need my help anymore?" I questioned.
"My dear, we have a traitor amongst us. They go by the name BB; we needed an outside force to expose this threat and get rid of them. We believe they have high level access, but we aren't sure on this subject. There are too many candidates to safely have an audit without any corruption, this is where your skills come in my dear," Celestia said, "Your skills with anti-insurgency will be key in taking out this republican traitor."
"If I do this, you better give me an apology for firing me," I said.
"You were getting too old for the battlefield, you needed to step down so others can take your place," Celestia said.
"That is not why you did it blockhead; you did so I won't be killed. For a being as old as you are, you still fear death," I responded.
"If an apology is what you want then fine, I won't ruin our friendship anymore. Deal?" Celestia asked sheepishly.
"Deal."
Hive Commander
Commander Pharynx
There has been an increase of Equestria forces in the north-east near Manehatten and the griffin border. Recommend additional forces deploy to Manehatten because they could be attempting to set siege to our hive in the city.
Captain Pupa
Response
Captain Pupa
You are to hold Manehatten for as long as possible, we have redeployed forces your way so you should expect them to come through the underground railroad. We can't lose Manehatten, it is our industrial heartland. If we lose it, we have no chance for victory.
I have Informed the General of Manehatten's predicament, and he has agreed with my assessment. He has declared we commence a second operation to pull forces off the Manehatten front, to help with the defense.
I just got information that General Sword Strike has pulled his colonels back to Canterlot, this is a great boon to us as they will likely not to commence their Manehatten offensive until they are back on the field. It seems one of the six heroes of the republican wars has died, colonel Firestorm. Shore up your defenses and prepare for a long siege.
May Arachnid guide you,
Commander Pharynx
The Earth Villa
The beginning of what is known as republicanism started around two thousand years ago in what is considered to be the tribal era with the Earth Pony Republic after the Grogarian Era. This Structure of system was quite inefficient and bloated, only rich landowners and those of prominent status were able to become senators. The Chanceler was just a figurehead that could generally get nothing done on their own without the senate's approval.
In the beginning it is said that it was efficient enough to run a few settlements but by the time of the first Hearth's Warming it was horribly outdated and gridlocked. Some problems would never be fixed, and those problems would grow to devastate the population.
They never had good relations with the other tribes, calling their natural abilities an afront to Gaia, nature itself. Funny that they named themselves after their god with ponies strapped to the end of it, Gaia Ponies. Though this was changed when the ponies changed their language to distance themselves from the occupying pegasi, now the name is Earth Ponies.
Out of all the tribal governments, theirs was the most inefficient and corrupt, nothing could get done and those who had money bought themselves positions of power. But out of this system brought ingenuity, problems that couldn't be solved by the government was solved by the people. These ponies could find you fifty-one ways to crack a nut and will probably find more. This helped offset the power of the Unicorns and Pegasi to an extent. They became the first merchants establishing what would be the first hints of modern-day trade and mercantilism.
Those who got rich through trade, bought their children a seat at their senate. They abused their power over government to make the first corporation state. They abused their power over the growth of the food supply to make the Armada and the 'Kingdom' of Unicornia pay high taxes and there was nothing they could truly do about it.
While the state got rich it is widely considered a failed state with how much corruption was created, causing problems today with Earth Ponies not trusting any government official even after a thousand years of stable governance. It was thought to be the first true republic to ever exist, an example of why republicanism is ultimately a failure of a system.
The Earth Ponies are distrustful towards their own government but have the ingenuity to potential form their own state if need be. I wouldn't expect them to break away from Celestia's grip so soon though, as while they don't trust the government, they trust Celestia with almost religious ferocity. With them being the largest tribe in Equestria they could be a formidable enemy. The stubborn Ponies would be a hard nut to crack but if they did the entire system would go down with it.
G.D