Baltimare was one of the three major ports on the Equestrian east coast, Fillydelphia and Manehatten being the other two. Both it and Fillydelphia were under control of the Gryphonian Army. Both cities were under the jurisdiction of the Gryphonian 7th Corps under command of Major General Bernn of Tribe Dauntless, whom now holds the title Governor General of Equestria. It was simple to move around 7th Corps' infantry and other personnel between the city due to their relative proximity to each other. Manehatten was still a contested area between Gryphonian 3rd Army and a large element of Equestrian Regular Army and Militia.
Fillydelphia cooperated with the griffons quite easily, they helped map areas unknown to the griffons, they prepared food and homes for the soldiers, and quite a few even joined the Gryphonian Foreign Auxiliary. Their collaboration was rewarded with being able to nominally govern themselves while under the jurisdiction of the Governor General and also with modernization of the city. Their firefly-lit streetlights were being replaced with electric lights, their gravel roads were being paved over with concrete and asphalt, and their old locomotives replaced by faster and more fuel efficient ones. It made for an interesting, but incredibly friendly relationship between the invaders and the invaded.
In stark contrast, Baltimare was a saw's edge from becoming a battlefield everyday. From day one since the invasion, Baltimare resisted Gryphonian influence by force of arms, and by today, through disobedience and sabotage. Whenever a team of griffons tried to repave the roads, ponies would lie down in the street until forcefully removed. Whenever an electric streetlight was placed, a pony would replace it with a firefly streetlight by the next morning. When the new locomotives arrived, they bombed the warehouses, scattered the coal into the sea, and tore up the railroad while killing many griffon soldiers in the chaos that ensued.
It was in Baltimare that the vast majority of 7th Corps was garrisoned, with only a division of griffons under the command of Brigadier General Verna stationed in Fillydelphia. Griffon soldiers were encouraged to travel in groups of 6, and any suspicious activity was to be reported to the police, for all the good it did. It was also here that Governor General Bernn was based. The Baltimare City Hall allowed him full access of an office so he may govern the occupied cities effectively. In this office was a simple wooden desk of, a shelf for books, and three chairs excepting the Governor General's own. He did not need much else and in fact he resented anything that reminded him of the fact that he essentially was out for the rest of the war. No griffon, however old or young, wanted the desk job. It was a necessary job however, one that couldn't just simply be contracted to civilians, but the Governor General felt completely wasted in this department. Fighting terrorists and saboteurs in the rear echelon just wasn't the same. At least he had gotten the proper paperwork out of the way for repairs to the Baltimare rail network and the various warehouses damaged, but his usual time to himself was occupied with another duty he familiarized himself all too well.
To the mother of Corporal Udesky of Tribe Valiant
I write to you with the unfortunate news that your son, Udesky of the 17th Infantry Regiment, has been killed in the line of duty. He gave his life proudly and bravely for King and Country. Due to the extreme differences in rank between ourselves, I did not know Corporal Udesky properly, and I am ashamed to have only learned his name now through the reports of his death in the casualty listings. However, I picture that Udesky was a fine griffon, one that is one of sound mind and of selfless courage. The same kind of courage that allows one to lay down his life in service to Gryphonia as others have before him and as others have now. I wish to offer you my sincerest condolences and I am proud to serve along such as brave soldiers such as Udesky. He will be remembered as long as you and your family live.
Yours most humbly,
Major General Bernn of Tribe Dauntless, Commander of 7th Corps, Governor General of Occupied Equestria
He placed the quill back into the nearly empty inkwell. He signed the letter below, folded it and placed into an envelope with the right address, then placed the letter in the stack of other letters he had written today. He took of his half-moon reading glasses and rubbed his eyes. Then he ran his talon smoothly up the stack and counted 34 letters. He had another 205 to write by this evening, including the letters to the families of ponies killed in the chaos. On the battlefield, this was how Bernn passed the time. As a leader of soldiers relying on him to make sure they all got home safely, he felt responsible for each and every death. The other generals regarded Bernn as somewhat mad for writing letters for every fallen soldier, and indeed Bernn nearly shot himself after a particularly grisly battle in Zebrica a decade ago. Still however, he continued writing the letters, if only because it was simple habit.
Before he could start a new letter, there was a knock at his door. He frowned, he wasn't expecting anybody. He figured he might as well be polite though. "Door's open."
The door opened and in walked Bernn's Reconnaissance Commander, Colonel Cutter of Tribe Balmoral. He wore his simple brown officer fatigues, faded after great use, and he kept his hat under his arm. He saluted crisply, and Bernn simply gestured him to a seat. Manners would have dictated Bernn stand up and return the salute, but he had letters to write at the moment. Cutter paid this no mind, he knew of Bernn's habits, and simply pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Bernn's desk.
Bernn clasped his hands together and rested them on the desk. "Is there something you need, Colonel Cutter?"
Cutter nodded, remaining stiff in his chair and firmly at attention. "Sir, I am here to ask of you to authorize a reprisal against the terrorists behind the warehouse bombing yesterday."
Bernn cocked his head. "Reprisal? How do you intend to retaliate against these terrorists, Colonel?" Cutter was a bit young for his rank, but he made a decent recon commander. He was also incredibly good at Liar's Dice for some reason. Bernn ascribed this to his upbringing in a tavern frequented by travelers where gambling was as common as the fights.
"Simple, Sir," said Cutter as he shifted forward in his seat. "You see, these terrorists claim to represent the good ponies of Equestria, when all they've done is hinder the progress of our good work in civilizing this country. They've murdered and robbed us poor griffons and I feel a retaliatory action would be necessary." Cutter ended with a smile, confident in his explanation. There was a full minute of contemplation from Governor General Bernn.
"I'd like to know how, Colonel."
Cutter cleared his throat, pausing a bit to find the right words. "Well, sir. Basically we publicly execute ponies in plain view of all, in view of the terrorists who hide among their numbers and among those who would think of joining them. Get them to understand what happens to terrorists and saboteurs when they mess with Gryphonia."
Bernn nodded in contemplation. He picked up his reading glasses and fiddled about with them in his hands. Cutter twiddled his talons, awaiting Bernn's authorization.
Cutter added, "It'd also possibly draw out any of the terrorists who feel guilty for the uh..." he coughed then continued on, "The sort of deaths of ponies who were not involved in any way."
Bernn leaned back in his chair. Unlike most griffons who found themselves sometimes overstating their point, Bernn was incredibly understated. He was never happy nor sad nor amused nor even annoyed by anything. His men often called him Stoneface, often times to his face as he bore the inevitable stonefaced look. Thus, it was incredibly hard for Cutter to tell whether Bernn approved or not.
Cutter continued on. "I know you view the ponies as savages. We all know it's our divine duty to civilize them. Plus, they started it with the explosion of the Monoceros. No one in Gryphonia is going to miss a couple of ponies anyway."
Bernn nodded. Then he leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk. "Colonel, I want you to bear with me for a minute." Colonel Cutter nodded, going back to his stiff posture. "Now, Colonel, say you're a farmer. You breed chickens, pigs, cows, all kinds of animals. You're proud of these animals, purebred they are, these pigs are the heaviest, these cows give the sweetest milk, and these chickens lay eggs of gold. Now, in the middle of the night, wolves jump your defenses and steal several of your chickens in the middle of the night. The pigs and the cows saw this but were powerless to stop it. By your logic, in order to solve this problem, you would slaughter your pigs and cows because they saw the wolves steal the chickens."
Cutter briefly glanced away, then slowly nodded. "Well, Sir... the-"
"I don't mean to interrupt you Colonel, but I don't think much can defend your argument."
"Well, something has to be done, Sir!"
Bernn nodded. He pulled a blank piece of paper out of the large stack of them and dipped his quill in the inkwell. "Well, what do you do when wolves steal your chickens, Colonel?"
Cutter knew the answer, he'd gone hunting with friends before. "Hunt the wolves."
"Exactly." Bernn put his glasses back on and continued. "You're not going to get anywhere by slaughtering your other animals. They did nothing wrong. The only people who've done wrong are the ones who commit the crime. Besides, this isn't a Gryphonian colony yet, this is barely occupied territory. For all intents and purposes, this is still their ground, which means they won't respect us. We have to learn to with that until they learn to live with us."
Cutter nodded and said, "So you want me to hunt the terrorists then."
Bernn shrugged. He began a new letter for the mother of Private Kilrain of Tribe Fleetwood and focused his attention on it rather than Cutter. "To the best of your ability. Obviously it will be difficult, but it'll be easier if the general populace is on your side."
Cutter nodded violent, flush faced and somewhat embarrassed. "I see, Sir. I apologize for considering such a thing."
"It's understandable, Colonel, we're all on edge here." Bernn paused in writing this letter and looked back up at Cutter. "For all we know, the ponies could have smuggled a bomb in here that could explode and kill us both." Cutter's eyes went wide and he stiffened in his seat. "That was a joke."
Cutter cleared his throat, relaxing. Bernn normally wasn't one for jokes, which highlighted how much he hated being Governor General. "Well, I should take my leave then, Sir. If I am dismissed."
"You are, Colonel." Cutter stood up and made his way to the door. However, he stopped and turned back.
"Sir, I can see you definitely resent your post here." Bernn resisted the temptation to roll his eyes at the obvious. However, he gave Cutter the benefit of his attention and allowed him to continue. "Have you made Marshal Argus aware of that?"
Bernn nodded and went back to his letter. "Of course. They don't, however, call him Stonewall for nothing." Marshal Argus of Tribe Firewind was an incredibly controversial figure in the Equestrian Invasion. As the head of Gryphonian Army Group Equestria, he was essentially the head of the occupation of Equestria. He was actually quite on good terms with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, before the war at least, and he respected the ponies as much as he loved his men. Neither pony or griffon liked him all that much however. Ponies for incredibly obvious reasons, and griffons because they never get to see pitched battle under his command. The long siege of Canterlot and the ongoing siege of Manehatten were all of his orchestration rather than the General whom was actually at those locations. This created a large amount of friction between him and his Generals. Argus saw the Generals as mindless sheep leading lions and the Generals saw him as an immobile Stonewall.
"Right, Sir." Cutter opened the door and made his way out. Bernn dipped his quill in the inkwell and went back to writing. However, the quill only scratched the surface of the paper with no ink. Before he could get a new inkwell, Cutter poked his head through the door. "Also, will you be attending the Ball held in honor for the hero tonight? I hear the ponies have a lovely cellist named Octavia who will be performing with quite the troop of instruments."
Bernn shrugged. "I'll see, I have a lot of work to do." Cutter nodded and shut the door behind him. Bernn pulled open a drawer on his desk and pulled out another inkwell. He uncapped it then dipped the quill into the fresh ink. He resumed the writing the letter.
To the mother of Private Kilrain of Tribe Fleetwood
I regretfully inform you that your son, Kilrain, has been killed in the line of duty. He died a heroic death for his King and his Country. As Major General of his Corps, I did not know Private Kilrain personally and indeed I am saddened when I look upon the casualty listings and see names that I do not know. Kilrain was no different from any of them, all of them have families, lives, reasons for why they would give their lives in service to Gryphonia. I am sure he acted with honor and respect to his family and his country and I am proud that I may lead such noble griffons into combat. I wish to offer you my sincerest condolences and I only ask that you remember him as a proud son of yours, of Tribe Fleetwood, and of Gryphonia.
Yours most humbly,
Major General Bernn of Tribe Dauntless, Commander of 7th Corps, Governor General of Occupied Equestria