By late January, the war had turned badly for Equestria. Canterlot fell to the Gryphonian 2nd Army under General Rodes of Tribe Goldenbeak after a long three month siege. With garrison of up to 1,000 Royal Guardsponies, the civilian population, and the Royal Sisters were currently unaccounted for, morale in the Army of Equestria and its attached militia units plummeted. With Canterlot firmly secured and confident in the low spirits of the Army of Equestria, Gryphonian 1st Army under General Ferik of Tribe Cloudbreaker advanced southwest towards the major port of Los Pegasus. Despite the loss of Canterlot and other earlier disasters at Baltimare, Canterbury Junction, and Ponyville, the Army of Equestria met Gryphonian 1st Army and held them at bay at a river crossing east of the White Tail Woods. General Ferik, surprised at the ferocious resistance of the Equestrians, proceeded to entrench himself firmly on one side of the river. The Army of Equestria, under the de facto command of Major General Twilight Sparkle, also entrenched themselves on their side of the river.
Both sides at this point were perfectly willing and waiting for the other to come to them.
This was the status quo for over a week since the two armies met. By now, the artillery on both sides had remained quiet for over three days. Neither side wanted to fire first lest they be forced to attack across the river and throw themselves at a well prepared defensive line. Thus, the two armies were locked in an intense staring contest. Though General Ferik relished fighting and being at the forefront of it, the failure of his initial attack spooked him into his loss of initiative. In contrast, Twilight Sparkle was quite at a loss of what to do, as commanding the Army of Equestria was her largest command yet in comparison to the simple Division she commanded at Ponyville. She quite literally didn't know what she was doing. The tension was quite thick between them and they both stressed over when the other would make a mistake.
The soldiers they commanded however were quite bored out of their minds. They both knew the enemy was there on the other side of the river, but both had explicit orders not to engage without orders. Thus, they simply sat around their campfires, rested in their tents, drilled under the lesser officers, ate what food they had, rested some more, occasionally shot at bottles with their shootsticks or muskets, slid around on frozen puddles, sang their respective national anthems, gambled in Liar's Dice, pluck the feathers from chickens, read what reading material they had, rested some more, told wild stories about their commanders, reminisce about things before the war, make plans for after the war, tend to their uniforms, clean their weapons, write letters home, and most importantly, rested.
One pony had a different idea. Her name was Junebug and she was part of the Ponyville Earth Pony Volunteers. Her once curly orange mane was flattened and worn and her tan coat mottled with grime and dirt, her hooves especially. She was carrying a bag of apples, freshly supplied from Los Pegasus. Junebug had seen some of the worst the war had to offer. She was there at Canterbury Junction and watched thousands of her fellow ponies be gunned down in many futile charges against a unit of griffons entrenched behind a three foot high stone wall. She was there at the three day long campaign in Ponyville in which their successive attacks proved pointless against the flexible maneuvering of Gryphonian 2nd Army. The Slush March back to Los Pegasus was the most recent one, without trains or airships, the ponies were reduced to marching as fast as they could back to nearest city to resupply. The winter snow however, combined with a week of unseasonably mild weather, reduced the ground to a slushy and muddy mass. The Army of Equestria's movements were slowed considerably, not helped by the constant harassment from far-advancing griffon skirmishers which only slowed them even further.
Junebug thought on the Slush March often, and found it a little sad that every time someone in the rear reported to Major General Sparkle about a skirmisher attack, she would halt the army and prepare it for a fierce battle which never came. The skirmishers would always retreat back to the safety of their own lines, then when the Army of Equestria packed up and began moving again, the skirmishers would come back and repeat the process. The Army of Equestria's division of pegasi were powerless to stop this due to the skirmishers often simply staying on the ground where their green cloaks and dull colored feathers allowed them to blend in with the foliage. The pegasi, in contrast, were made to fight their enemies in the air in close combat, being equipped with hoofswords and armored wings and thus stood out prominently against the sky. This leads into skirmishers managing to spot pegasi fighters nearly instantly and thus beating a hasty retreat. The Pegasi could not follow because they would picked to pieces by the skirmisher's incredibly accurate rifle fire and wouldn't be able to follow because in the sky they would not spot the skirmishers.
All in all, the strength of the Army of Equestria and attached militia units totaled over 78,000 at present, with a few hundred being lost in the Mud March and nearly half its strength lost at Canterbury and Ponyville. In contrast, many of the ponies estimated the Gryphonian 1st Army's strength at 100,000 to 200,000 griffon soldiers, excluding foreign auxiliaries. Indeed, many wonder why General Ferik hasn't simply swarmed the Army of Equestria with this superior numbers. The idealists, wherever they were and there were few, speculated that General Ferik simply cared deeply for his men and would not waste them on a bloody frontal attack. The cynics, which made up the majority of the army, told the idealists that General Ferik is just simply biding his time for a better opportunity that would allow him a better victory that would look good on the papers back home and wouldn't ruin his army completely.
Junebug continued her trek down to the river. The river was called the Canterlot River, owing to it leading directly from Canterlot and out into the sea. This river crossing was shallow enough that a foal could remain dry if he walked through. Both sides generally kept their distance from the crossing itself, lest there be a conflict. The river itself however was partially frozen over, with the occasional block of ice floating down river. Thankfully, despite overcast skies, there hasn't been any rain recently. It was strange to Junebug though, the weather taking care of itself without the pegasi, and she was sure that it was a foreign sight to anypony.
Junebug stopped at the edge of the crossing and shouldered her shootstick. Her armor of scale mail and plate was back at her tent and for now she simply wore her brown cloak. Useful as it was, moving around in that armor was a nightmare, she couldn't imagine how the regular soldiers did it. She was incredibly envious of the griffon soldiers who wore simple leathers underneath their cloaks and a iron helmet, but didn't know if it was any better. She'd have to ask.
"Hey!" she called out. The griffon soldier on the other side of the river turned to look. As Junebug thought, he was wearing a leather jerkin underneath his blue cloak, signifying him as regular line infantry. Junebug held up a hoof and continued yelling. "What's it like wearing that armor!?"
The griffon responded. "It's very warm! I can do cartwheels in this thing too!" He pointed at his leather jerkin with a slight smile on his face. It had obvious signs of wear and tear and what appeared to be a scorch mark. His iron helmet fared a little better, only bearing a single scratch. "It's not exactly a full suit of armor, but it's way cheaper and miles more comfortable than yours!"
"I'm jealous!" Junebug chuckled, then immediately remembered why she had gone down to the river. She pulled out an apple from her bag then held it up in the air. "I got some apples! Wanna share!?"
The griffon's posture perked up. He shouted back, "Sure!" He grabbed his musket and swept his cloak back then made his way to the center of the river crossing. Junebug smiled as she did the same.
This was the routine for Junebug ever since it became clear that neither side was going to move. One day, she had quietly, and illegally, snuck away from her tent and went down river simply to break the monotony. She was simply tossing rocks in the river, watching them skip across before sinking, when she realized there was a griffon right across the river. However, he was not trying to kill her, and indeed he didn't even notice her. He was simply sitting down, sketching something in a worn down book. Junebug stood there, not knowing what to do, and her nervousness was replaced with fright when the griffon had looked up and noticed her. Without hesitation, she smiled and waved. The griffon, in return, smiled and waved back. Junebug immediately legged it back to her own lines. The next day however, she came back, and the griffon was there. They had soon got to tossing each other things from their sides of the river. Junebug would throw apples and oranges. The griffon would toss bread and tea packets. The next few days, they shouted to each other. She learned the griffon's name was Theo, of the Tribe Tempest, and that he was a botanist back in Gryphonia who studied mountain flowers. Theo learned that Junebug was a gardener in Ponyville. The two had hit it off quite smoothly. Today was the second time they would meet in the center of the river crossing.
As Theo approached, Junebug tossed him a shiny red apple. Theo caught it with good speed and immediately began biting into it. Apples were an excellent change of pace for him, especially with 1st Army being so far from established supply lines. His thin build obviously wasn't voluntary. He sat down on a dry rock, still chewing into the apple, and Junebug sat down on another rock across from him. He held in a burp then tossed the apple core away into the river. Junebug took out two more apples.
Theo took one of the apples and bit into it. As he chewed, he tipped his helmet upwards and looked at Junebug. "So, how's your day been?"
"Boring as usual. Drill, eating the grass." Junebug shuddered. She bit into her apple and immediately relaxed. "All that good stuff. What about you?"
Theo shrugged. "Same, really wish it'll be spring soon."
"You and me both. It's too cold." Junebug shivered briefly to prove her point. "Is it cold like this up in Gryphonia?"
Theo nodded and threw his spent apple into the river. Junebug took out another apple which he gratefully began eating. He talked as he chewed. "Only up in the mountains. I only really go up there to catalog Edelweiss."
As a botanist, Theo often described the mundane adventures he had traveling in order to catalog various plants and classify species. Yesterday, Theo regaled Junebug of how he discovered a very fast growing vine in the forests of Southern Gryphonia. He had made camp in next to a couple of trees bearing this vine. The next morning, his tent and the entire campsite was covered in it. He later flew back into a city, while leaving behind his belongings, to write a dissertation on this strange vine. Junebug found the story quite thrilling despite Theo's modesty about it. He wasn't too proud of the fact that the vine had to face an extermination team upon his Tribe leader's hearing of how fast it grew.
Theo reached under his cloak, revealing his satchel. He pulled out of this satchel the same book Junebug saw him sketch in when she first saw him. He flipped through the dusty pulpy pages, revealing many detailed pencil sketches of various flowers, their respective taxonomy, their habitats, and any special details. Junebug looked curiously as Theo stopped on one page. Theo held the book out for Junebug, and she scooted up closer. It was a page on Edelweiss.
Edelweiss was a flower that grew in the mountains of Northern Gryphonia. As Theo began explaining to her, Edelweiss is one of Gryphonia's most beloved flowers. For centuries, it served as a folk medicine when ground down properly. For symbolism, it was generally considered to be one of the most wonderful gifts a male could give to a female. A noble of excellent blood descended from the lines of conquerers, heroes, and warmasters could shower the female of his choice with gold, jewelry, beautiful castles in the mountains, and tales of his own bravery, but the female could always be won over by a poor commoner who picked a single Edelweiss. This was because of the flower's great rarity in the ancient times and its starry and rugged white appearance. It is still considered a great gift even in the present due in no small part to the fact that, while more common, it is nearly always found within Timberwolf territories and only blooms for a small part of the summer.
Junebug rubbed her hoof on the meticulously detailed drawing of the flower wistfully. "Do you own any?"
Theo shook his head, somewhat regretfully. He tossed his third apple into the drink. "I've had chances to pluck them myself, but there's not really a point without someone to give it to."
Junebug poked Theo. He turned his head at her and saw her smile. "I'd love to have one in a garden." Theo rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling.
"What kinds of gardens do you grow anyway?" he said. Junebug tapped her chin with her hoof.
"Well, I mostly grew stuff like lilies, anemones, daisies were incredibly popular too." Junebug began remembering some aspects of Ponyville she really didn't want to remember. That charge up Sweet Apple Acres orchard, the fight in the town, the loss of many of the finer officers and soldiers she served with. She could remember the choking of the smoke, the heat of the shootsticks and muskets, and the blood curdling screams of the wounded. She grimaced, but before Theo noticed, she saved face and said, "I absolutely love daffodils!"
Theo smiled slightly, still chuckling. "Daffodils are indeed beautiful flowers."
"Do you have a garden?"
"I do, a large one actually. Wouldn't be a good botanist if I didn't." Theo looked at his book and began flipping through. "I grow all kinds of things, flowers, fruits, vegetables, even have a cherry blossom tree straight from the far east. A colleague of mine is taking care of it for me while I'm out here."
Junebug snickered. She could imagine his colleague panicking as to whether which plant needed how much water or which fruit needed a certain kind of fertilizer. "It must have been hard, just leaving like that."
Theo frowned, halting his page turning. "Was, indeed it was." He closed the book with a sigh. "I can only hope to return to it now."
Junebug frowned along with him. "Well, I do hope you make it home back to your plants."
Theo quietly said, "Yep." If there was anything he felt he shouldn't tell Junebug other than the movements of the 1st Army, it was his opinion on making it back home. Everyday it felt as if he wouldn't survive the next battle. He had already seen people like Junebug, people with hopes, dreams, and friendliness, die horrible and pointless deaths. He gently felt the trim of his book. He turned to Junebug, held up the book, and said, "I plan on getting this published one day. It's already got quite the list of plants and flowers cataloged."
Junebug felt her smile creeping back. "Well, good luck with that." She briefly reflected on what she would do when the war ended. She sighed and said, "As for me, I guess I'll just go back to gardening. Not much else to do."
Theo shrugged. "Well, won't argue with that. Gardening is a very fine profession." Junebug blushed, taking a bite out of her apple to hide it. In truth, Junebug didn't think of herself as much of a gardener. The flower trio, Daisy, Lily, and Rose, were always much better at growing flowers than she was.
She looked up at the dreary sky. Although she wanted to simply sit and talk with Theo more on flowers more, she recognized it had to end for today. She held out her hoof and said, "I think we should leave for now, Theo. Same time tomorrow?"
Theo nodded and shook her hoof with his talons. He placed his book back into the satchel and said, "Indeed. Same time tomorrow, Junebug. Have a nice day."
They nodded to each other, then picked up their weapons and left the river crossing for their respective lines. Junebug for Equestria, Theo for Gryphonia. The next day would just be another day in the seven months of the Griffon-Equestrian War.