The War of 1002

by Fireheart 1945


Chapter 29; Battle of Sugar Cane River, part 1

Word of enemy mercenaries spread despite efforts by the three commanders (well, two of them anyway) to keep it quiet. Morale sagged, not so much as to prevent the Army of Northeastern Equestria from fighting but enough so that their spirits were dampened considerably.

At the war table, James, Shining Armor, and Prince Blueblood were at odds again; mostly it was the former two against the latter. What made it much worse this time was that various officers were present as well.

This was supposed to be a debriefing, James thought in exasperation, not a session of Congress! "Our best chance is to take possession of these heights," he said, pointing to a line of hills on the map. "If we can get there before the enemy, we will hold a significant advantage. Our artillery will be able to sweep the field of attackers, regardless of species or race with a view like that. Now-"

He got no further. "And how do you expect forty thousand ponies to march all that way in just a few days, let alone yourself, General?" asked a gray pegasus colonel with a ragged mane.

"We could march there easy enough," an officer with a southern accent said loudly. "In fact, you pegasi are gonna be the one fallin' behind."

"Even if our soldiers could keep up the pace, our supplies wouldn't keep up," worried a lieutenant from the quartermaster corps. "We may experience delays in our logistics system."

The argument in the tent rose to a high level.

Enough is enough. James took a matchlock that was lying next to the table and fired it into the air. The noise shut everyone up in short order.

"One at a time," he said, trying to calm himself as well as the others. "Colonel Gray Wing, I expect we'll manage well enough given the terrain and the weather from here on out. As for the supplies, we'll have them flown in by airship or on pegasi wings, with the balance being carried on the ground by hardy earth ponies. I expect everyone to do their part."

Turning back to the map, he went on, "Here's your orders for deployment, effective immediately. III Corps, under my command, will set up on the left, primarily on these two hills. II Corps, under General Armor, will be on the right, holding these heights. And I Corps, under... General Blueblood, will occupy the center."

Of course, the human knew the risk that this last bit entailed. But in his opinion it was better than having the Prince command a flank should it fail. If the enemy broke through the center, the idea was to crush them between II and III Corps. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that; the troops under Blueblood, though mostly raw, inexperienced soldiers, were as well trained as any, and they had plenty of artillery. If push came to shove, he depended on them to hold, whatever the idiocies of their commander.

"I'll deliver fresh orders when we get there," he finished, "but first we have to get there. Now get your boys to pack up their tents, pick up their crossbows and guns, and prepare to move out.

He glanced over at Blueblood. The Prince had been surprisingly quiet. To his further surprise, and more than a little disquiet, the Prince simply stared back at him without a sound.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a steady but grueling march. Every fiber of his being said that to have any chance, they needed those hills. James didn't have the energy that most ponies had, and was often tired. Mile after mile passed by, and gradually his eyes and mind began to wander from the road.

He was all to glad to rest for the night. His feet were exhausted, and his stomach screamed for food; he satisfied it by wolfing down some bread. He sat down with his back against a tree and quickly fell asleep.

His dreams were again full of ponies and war. Fluttershy cowered in a trench as German artillery shells rained down around her and Pinkie, who, true to her nature, found the whole thing more interesting than deadly, replying with her own party cannon. Rainbow and Applejack, in Union and Confederate uniform respectively, pressed muskets together in close combat, each trying to break the other with brute strength. Meanwhile Twilight fired spell after spell at Vietcong guerillas, fighting beside other ponies and American and South Vietnamese soldiers. It went on and on, every so often a scene he had witnessed on the battlefields of the war so far breaking in. He woke up more than once in a cold sweat, each time falling back to sleep with foreboding.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days later he was relieved to see that the Griffons and their hired troops had not yet reached the heights overlooking Sugar Cane River, a minor tributary that ran through these parts. It was vital that the Equestrian army hold this ground.

"Come on, boys!" he called, waving his sword, "just a little further and you can rest all you want for tonight!" He got cheers and a redoubled effort to reach the summit of the hill in front of them.

Fifteen minutes later, almost faint with exhaustion, he stood next to a tree on the summit, taking a few deep breaths before taking out his binoculars and scanning the horizon for any sign of the enemy.

We made it, he thought with relief. He could see troops coming up all around him; on distant hills, beams of unicorn magic arose to confirm the possession of those heights. It was a heartwarming sight.

He allowed himself to relax a bit. In the distance the sun began to set behind far away hills, giving the sky a yellow-orange glow as it began to disappear across the horizon.

In that glow, though, he thought he saw movement. He raided his binoculars again; sure enough, a few Griffons were flying toward the hill. There were perhaps a dozen of them, but if they were here, the rest of their army could not be far behind.

A gun boomed from a hill to his right, about half a mile or so away. An explosion flashed some distance away in the sky. The gunners of the anti-air battery had fired prematurely, not managing to score any hits. However, the roar of those guns did tell the enemy that the positions that they had hoped to take were now occupied by the Equestrian army; if the Griffons wanted these hills, they would have to take them the hard way. The enemy scouts reversed course and flew northward, certain to tell their commanders what they had witnessed.

Let's give them a warm welcome.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sir, our scouts have managed to find enemy troop movements here and here," a pegasus scout said, touching parts of the map with his hoof. "They'll be here in strength tomorrow."

"Hmmm. Good work soldier. Get some rest," James responded, moving red blocks around as necessary. "You're gonna need it." After the trooper left, he commented to his two fellow generals, "That means a battle within the next three days is inevitable."

"Building fortification and breastworks where we can would be prudent," Shining Armor added quietly.

"Yes, and as quickly as possible."

"Personally I fail to see the need," Blueblood interrupted from the couch he had had brought in. "Our troops are superior in every way; we even have magic at our disposal. Why we should cower behind logs and brambles is beyond me; we should attack as soon as we can."

I thought you were against advancing in the first place, James noted mentally. Why would you change your mind when our best strategy at this point is to let them come to us?

He got a look at Blueblood's eyes; they practically smoldered with ambition. You son of a bitch, he thought. You're doing all this for your own political ends. Soldiers' lives clearly didn't matter to the Prince, as long as he got what he wanted. "It's two to one," he said aggressively. "Two of us say it's best to stay up here."

"Not all of our troops occupy hills, you know. What shall be done for them?" the Prince objected, using the same kind of voice James had a few seconds ago.

"That's what the hills are for, artillery and troopers," James replied. "Our artillery on the hills can pour a crossfire down on any Griffons stupid enough to try hitting any of our units that are positioned in gaps in the heights. And most of that ground, like the hill we are... standing on, is full of trees and plant life, hardly easy for big, feathered Griffons to walk through, even without someone shooting at them... and we will be."

The Prince sniffed. "It would be a much more glorious victory if we swept them from the field through force of arms, destroying them in an all powerful blow."

"No army won because of what was written in the newspapers." In fact, he thought, quite the opposite, considering the Vietnam War. "The army does not have an assured victory even in a defensive struggle. Why suggest the very option that would see us destroyed?"

"Because it is the enemy who would be destroyed, not us, ignoramus."

"What did you just call me, kid?"

"What did you just call me, peasant?"

"Just something that a stuck up, no-good member of the royal family needs to hear."

"Just what I would expect from an uneducated, ignorant member of the lower class."

James picked up one of his gloves and picked up a brick, dropping it into the glove and raising said item above his head. Before he could swing, Shining Armor jumped between them. "This fighting isn't getting us anywhere, and we need to focus."

James sat down on a crate and folded his arms, but said nothing.

"I still say it's a good idea to fortify here," the brother of Twilight Sparkle went on. "There are more than enough trees we could cut down for this process."

"Its not just trees we need," James added, "we need as much earth as we can get to pile on those logs. That will make them significantly stronger against artillery fire."

"Ugh, dirty, nasty, filthy... er, dirt? Count me out," Blueblood said at once, turning up his nose.

"Big surprise," James muttered. The Prince stared back at him but did not respond.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The enemy did not attack the next day; if James had to guess, it was because they needed time for their trailing units to catch up with the ones already on the field opposite the river. He didn't have much time to dwell on it; he insisted on digging with his soldiers, making an embankment to be used for cover. Later he had to try his hand at the axe; he found out in short order that he wasn't destined to be a lumberjack, nearly getting crushed by a tree he helped to chop down. After that he just stuck to digging; at least dirt was more or less predictable.

Setting up camp was less of a chore. After he set up his tent, he felt much more at ease, even with the battle looming. He spent some time with Kiki, petting her and combing her fur. He was able to forget about the war for a little while as gentle purrs sending him to sleep...

Bang!

He awoke with a start. The rays of sunlight running through the windows was growing fainter as the sun slid over the horizon. James stood up and stretched, then, being careful not to wake the kitten, he stepped outside to see that a earth pony had accidentally dropped a barrel of water; luckily little of the water had been lost, but the barrel had taken damage. It would need repairs.

I hope our army doesn't end up like that barrel, he thought to himself as he went about his rounds, checking up on the troops and seeing to it that officers were checking up on them. For a while, it was just business as usual, almost boring despite it's necessity.

Then, as the final rays of the sun began to fade, a commotion came to his ears. He ran toward the noise to see a young, gray pegasus angrily quarreling with a captain, a proud earth pony from the Guard. The soldiers fell silent as the general approached.

"What's going on here?" he asked menacingly; a disorderly army was one on the brink of disaster.

"Sir," the pegasus said at last, "our captain..."

"Silence, scum!" the captain said, but he reckoned without James.

"Captain, you will let him speak," he said in a no-nonsense voice, "and then I will hear your side of the story." If there is one.

Miffed, but unwilling to go against his superior, the captain reluctantly bowed and remained quiet.

"Now, soldier," James said to the pegasus private, "what do you got to say about this rowdy disturbance?"

"Sir, I was doing my job, delivering food to the boys," the private said with a slight southern accent, "and the captain, he comes up out of nowhere and starts telling me to give him half of what I got on my wagon, and he don't even tell me why. When I said no, he said he'd court martial me."

James nodded in acknowledgement. "And you?" he asked, turning to the captain.

"Sir, I..."

"Was getting food for me."

Sighing angrily, James turned to his right to see Blueblood walking (goose-stepping was probably the more appropriate word) toward the site of the fight. "The private had his orders to deliver food to the front lines, not to you in person," he reasoned. "You'll get your own food when the boys have orders to do so. Until then, you'll have to wait, like everybody else."

"Ha, a royal prince, wait? I think not." Blueblood ran a hoof through his mane. "You really need that thing you call a brain fixed."

"My brain's working just fine; the rule is, everyone gets food when it's their turn. That's the system that was at work here until this captain interrupted it."

"He did so at my orders; royalty deserves unquestioning obedience."

"And yet here I am, questioning it. This soldier was delivering food to my corps, to my boys, in our own camp. You don't like it, bitch to the Princess, I'm sure she'll love to hear about how her nephew is behaving."

"Y... Do you dare threaten me with blackmail!?!" the Prince demanded, with a face like that of an angry fire.

"Is it blackmail if everything in it is true?" James countered. "And I will send a letter if I hear of something like this again."

For a moment, the Blueblood looked like he was going to run James through with the bejeweled sword the Prince wore on his waist. Then, huffing and putting his nose in the air, he turned around and went back the way he came, the captain following close behind. James watched them go in silence, arms folded.

"Th... Thanks for sticking up for me," the pegasus said.

"Wasn't just for you; everyone in this camp needs the food you and others are bringing to them. All the same, you're very welcome."

The soldier nodded, then offered a hoof. "Private Gray Wing, Fifth Baltimare."

James shook it. "Brigadier General James Lavigne, Army of Northeastern Equestria, Third Corps."

They broke off. "Sir, that captain was a noble back in Baltimare," Gray Wing explained. "He had to bluster and beg Blueblood to get his current position."

James frowned. "And how do you know this?"

"Because my brother works as a servant at his house; he overheard him planning to do bribe Blueblood for a captaincy, then wrote me a letter. Got unlucky enough to have him as my captain."

"Oh dear. And you didn't bother writing a letter to either Celestia or Luna about this?"

Gray Wing looked shy, scuffling his hooves in the dirt. "I wanted to, but they have more important things to deal with than the misery of one soldier. And who am I to address royalty, anyway? I'm just a dirt poor pegasus from Baltimare, I don't have the leverage even if I had the courage to do it."

"She'll listen to me," James said confidently. "I'll write to them about what happened."

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't want to get in more trouble; that captain ain't going to be happy for awhile, and I have the, er, fortune, to be in First Corps."

Damn. That has to suck. "And if they listen, the captain and the Prince will have no choice but to behave. I seriously doubt he wants to get his arse spanked by his aunt in front of everyone at the palace."

Gray Wing laughed, loud and hard. James joined in, as well as anyone nearby who had heard. Finally, as the laughter subsided, the pegasus said, still giggling, "I guess I can leave it up to you, then, General. Just don't forget us who are in... separate corps."

"I won't, I promise you that." He meant every word.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

James awoke to an explosion not far off. He ran out of his tent to see a shell fly over the camp and explode in the woods beyond. Scattered thuds could be heard from the front line.

A couple of pegasi flew up to him and landed. "Sir, our entire front line is being bombarded," one of them reported urgently.

"Did you see any of their regiments preparing for an attack?"

"No sir. If I had to say, they're still waiting for the rest of their units to arrive before launching a general assault."

"How accurate has their fire been?"

"Not sure what it's going to be, sir; it just started. I can tell you, though, that it's not just cannons, were getting hit by ballistae, catapults, trebuchets, anything they can use to fling ordinance; they're throwing everything at us but the kitchen sink."

James nodded. "Have some of our batteries return fire."

The same pegasus protested, "Sir, we'll use up all our own ammunition if we respond with the same vigor as they do."

"I said some of our batteries, not all of them. I want some to remain silent. In the meantime, tell the boys in logistics to speed up delivery."

'Yes sir." The pegasi saluted, then flew away.

James went back to his tent and retrieved his sword and matchlock, with enough ammunition in case the enemy did decide to attack, then went to the front line. The occasional shell or rock that flew by or landed close by was enough to rattle him, but he kept going.

He saw Silver Lining taking cover behind one of the barricades he had helped build, and rushed in, ducking behind it himself. A shell exploded next to where he had been standing a few seconds ago.

"Good ta see ya, sir," the gray pegasus said, almost cheerfully. A rock slammed into the ground in front of the barricade, breaking into pieces as it hit. The earthen wall pressed against his back momentarily before it ceased shaking.

"I'd say the same," James shouted back, "if not for all the shells falling all around us." A massive javelin flew in and stuck in a tree some twenty yards away.

"Aw, those buzzards couldna hit a barn door at two yards in front o' their wee beaks, sir." Silver sat down, uniform tussled a bit as he did so. "Are they comin, ya think?"

James shook his head as he replied, "Not from what our scouts say, no," still shouting as rounds continued to land nearby.

"Tha's too bad; wouldna mind an open fight if all these blasted shots stopped."

A dull Boom! came from the direction of the Equestrian camp. More sounded, and a shell raced over their heads, on course for the enemy.

"Good ta know our own boys can shoot back, I was feelin' almost lonesome."

"I just hope they hit the enemy, not us," James shouted, "a couple of those rounds were too low for comfort." A shell from one of their own guns blew up just beyond the barricade, illustrating his point. For once Silver Lining didn't have a comeback ready. Instead, the pegasus just took a look over the top, then got back down, clutching his crossbow close to his body.

James took a risk and peeked at the ground beyond; a distant matchlock fired, and a small round lead ball fell to the ground twenty feet in front of the palisade. Someone had, obviously, tried to snipe him. Ducking back down, he sneered; the would-be sharpshooter hadn't taken a couple of things into consideration; one, that his weapon didn't have the reach to hit him from that distance, and two, his firearm was a smoothbore, so it wouldn't have had the accuracy to hit him except by luck even if he'd been in range.

"I recommend ya keep yer head down sir," Silver said quickly, "or else ya might be short a head."

James shook his head. "Didn't even come close. Way out of range, and with a weapon as inaccurate as you could imagine. Would have been more worried if he had been shooting at someone next to me."

"Getting a bullet in tha head is no joke, sir; neither is a Changeling horn much of a deal, I still got tha scar ta prove it."

"I can remember." It seemed to have happened a long time ago, not just a few months.

A fluttering of wings managed to make itself heard above the cannonade. Looking up, James saw a gray pegasus Guard coming down to land in front of him. The Guard saluted. "Sir, General Armor sends his compliments, and wishes to know what should be done about this bombardment."

"I'd suggest ordering every third or fourth battery to return fire; that way we can conserve our ammunition for the main engagement."

"I'll take your suggestion back to General Armor sir."

"You do that, and be careful on the way back."

"Yes sir." The Guard flew away.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shining Armor was trying to use the same spell that had shielded Canterlot (sort of) during the wedding; what he hadn't taken into account was that the shield in this case was under constant pressure by hostile ordinance; within minutes the shield broke, with shells, rocks, and javelins falling everywhere. He was unable to successfully reconstruct the shield.

If Cadence were here, this would be no problem. For a few seconds he almost lost himself in fondness for his wife.

An exploding shell snapped him out of those pleasant thoughts. What am I doing? I can't be distracted now; my troops are depending on me and I can't afford to get sidetracked.

Large rocks landed in the midst of the camp, shattering on impact with the ground and sending splinters flying everywhere. Screams of pain arose above the din. Here and there, javelins from ballistae would land; they rarely hit anypony, unsurprising given the fact that their targets were not in direct sight. Nonetheless, they were intimidating. Soldiers ducked for whatever cover they could find. Some of the tents began to burn, set afire by bursting shells.

I wonder how the front line is doing. He wished he hadn't thought of that. They were probably getting hammered much, much harder than the main camp.

He heard the sound of feathered wingbeats, and looked up to see one of the Guards from his old gang landing. "Light Heart, reporting, General," the trooper saluted.

Shining smiled slightly. Light Heart was often nicknamed "Rebel Heart" for his independent spirit when he was off duty. He was popular within the Guard. "What did he say?"

"General Lavigne send his compliments, and suggests having every third or fourth battery return fire for morale's sake."

The Captain of the Royal Guard nodded. "That makes sense," he shouted above the noise. "Have every third battery return fire; aim for the enemy's own artillery."

"Yes sir, right away." Light Heart jumped into the sky to comply.

I hope he makes it through this.

Hugging the ground, under bombardment, with the ground shaking and the occasional dirt and other particles flying over him, it seemed more like forever than the fifteen minutes it took for his corps' artillery to get into action and fire back. It was unmistakable, though, when friendly rounds began flying toward the enemy.

Let's see how they like it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A red-coated Griffon halted in front of General Grayfeather and saluted. "General, sir," he said in clipped tones.

"Well?" the General prompted. "What is the status of the enemy?"

"They do not seem to be fleeing from our bombardment, sir; I would hazard a guess that they will fight when we launch our main assault."

"Hmmmm." Grayfeather nodded. "And what have our scouts found out about the opposing commanders?"

"If I may use the map, sir."

"Permission granted."

"Right." The soldier walked to the map in the center of the room. "General Armor is stationed on their right, our left. Prince Blueblood is in the center, with their I Corps."

The General nodded again. "And what of the human?"

"He is on their left, on our right. I would say that his force will fight hard, given the winter campaign."

Grayfeather frowned. "That bastard cost us a lot of good Griffons, far more than we would have lost if Celestia hadn't called in that mercenary. He has yet to lose a battle against us. I intend to make this his first and last defeat."

"We are using mercenaries of our own, sir."

"And they will serve us well. They wanted gems and a slice of territory; once the conquest is complete, there will be plenty of both to go around."

"Our officers report that the Minotaurs in particular are eager for battle, and that's putting it mildly."

Grayfeather grinned. "And that's just what we'll give them. When the bombardment is over, we will begin our assault. Send the word for all units to be ready."

There was an explosion, and part of the roof fell in; debris crashed to the floor.

"Sir, considering the enemy had begun a counter-bombardment, we'll likely lose some of our troops to their fire if we have them line up immediately."

The General waved his claw. "Have them form line of battle regardless. Put our best troops, those of the King, in the center, and have Diamond dogs and Minotaurs on their flanks. See to it at once."

"Yes sir."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took a minute for James' brain to register that the rounds had stopped falling. The sound of his own batteries firing had thrown him off. By now, most of the combat troops were on the front line, having braved the artillery fire to get themselves into position for the battle ahead.

Turning to a corporal nearby, he ordered, "Bring all our guns to the front line, into the positions designated for them."

"Yes sir."

As the pony galloped away, he got out his binoculars, trying to see through the dense forest. After a minute, he gave up and turned to Silver Lining. "Take these," he said, passing the binoculars to the pegasus, "and fly above the trees to see what they're up to."

"Aye sir, I'm on it."

"Everyone else, bring up your guns and crossbows, I think they're coming!" he called to the rest of the troops.

"Indeed sir," Silver shouted from the treetops, "here they come! Griffons n' Minotaurs an' Diamond dogs like ya've never seen!"

A few seconds later, James could hear battle cries in the distance. Howls, roars, and eagle screeches came to his ears.

Lord, I hope we're ready for this, he thought and prayed as he caught sight of moving bodies, because this battle could decide the fate of Equestria and the world itself.