On the fifth morning after departing Equestria Scootaloo can finally see a faint dot on the horizon in front of the bright sun. She puts her hoof over her forehead, squints her eyes and looks closer. Their destination was in their sights. General Dark Night could see a beaming smile on the commander's face. He asked, "Scootaloo, is that what I think it is? Is that Braylin?"
Scootaloo replied, "Yes, it is. We should be there in thirty minutes. Now I want you to know that we may not be all that well received. While many ponies around the world know what Colgate looks like, very few know what I look like. Most of them probably don't even know who I am. I will discuss this further with everypony once we dock."
Thirty minutes later the three ships dock in the harbor. Scootaloo leads all of them onto the shore where she addresses them. She said, "Alright troops, I am not going to count on us being well received. The reason being is that while most ponies around the world know what Colgate looks like and who she is. Almost nopony knows who I am and very few if any know what I look like. Luckily for us, most of the ponies here are earth ponies and pegasus ponies, so we probably won't have energy fired at us."
Colonel Green Toxin asked, "If that is the case, why are you so worried?"
Scootaloo replied, "I am not so much worried as I am concerned. I am concerned that they may not take our warnings seriously and will still be around when the Saddle Arabian forces attack." She paused for a minute and then continued, "well let's get going. The sooner we get in there, the sooner we can get the city evacuated."
Scootaloo and her forces took flight and headed towards the center of the city. In Braylin everypony was on edge as they knew about the fall of Maredrid but did not know that enemy forces were heading up the coast. Soon Scootaloo and her forces were flying over the city. A pony in the crowd panicked and shouted, "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! EVERYPONY RUN!"
Scootaloo and her forces landed in the city square and just stood there watching the chaos. When the residents saw that Scootaloo and her forces were not attacking, the panic stopped and there was an odd silence. The mayor decided that he would find out who this orange Alicorn was and what her and her army wanted.
Green Hooves, the mare of Braylin, walked up to Scootaloo and asked, "Who are you and what is it you want with us?"
Scootaloo replied, "Well I am Commander Scootaloo of Equestria. I am Supreme Commander Colgate's second in command. She has sent us here to protect your city from an attack by Saddle Arabian forces."
The mayor glared at her. He growled, "Oh and how do I know you are not lying? How do I know you are not a spy for Lemon Hearts?"
Before Scootaloo could reply a pony out in the crowd, Sweet Pea interrupted, "Mr. Mayor, she tells the truth. I used to live in Ponyville when I was younger and she is indeed Supreme Commander Colgate's second in command."
The mayor looked at Sweet Pea and then looked back at Scootaloo and asked, "Ok, so maybe you aren't lying. Tell me though, how do you know that there are Saddle Arabian forces coming this way?"
Scootaloo replied, "Well you see, Colgate has this great eye at the top of her tower that scans the entire world. She can see everything and hear everything using this. It was because of things she saw and heard that I along with my forces were sent here. She sent us here to protect your city and hopefully cause Lemon Hearts' forces to retreat."
The mayor asked, "Wait a minute, are the legends of the jade Alicorn and the great green eye true?"
Scootaloo replied, "Yes, they are, but Colgate used a spell to change it to a blue eye after the fall of the dark goddess."
Green Hooves asked, "Commander Scootaloo, what do you think would be the best option for the citizens of this city?"
Scootaloo replied, "Head north. Perhaps go to Horsinki or St. Pintosburg. Those cities are far enough to the north that everypony should be safe."
There were an abnormally large number of trains at the depot that day, enough to carry every citizen to safety. Green Hooves said, "You heard the commander, let's get in the trains and head north. We don't want to be here when the enemy forces arrive."
Scootaloo added, "No, you don't. This will likely be a bloody battle. This is no place for civilians right now."
The mayor motioned for the citizens of the city to pile into the trains. Once every citizen was in the trains they took off to the north. Scootaloo and her forces stood in the now vacant city's square wondering when the enemy would arrive. Dark Night asked, "Commander, when do you think they will arrive?"
Colgate replied, "Well that I am not sure of. I have a feeling it will be any time. My intuition is telling me it will be shortly after dawn tomorrow but I can't be 100% sure. Early tomorrow morning though, I want us to lay low. In the event they do arrive, we can ambush them and instead of both sides losing many soldiers, this will be a rout."
General Lightning Storm, Scootaloo's changeling general asked, "Scootaloo, do you want us to cover them in ooze?"
This question frustrated Scootaloo. It was one of those facehoof moments. She shouted, "What do you think I would want you to do, have a friendly chit chat with them? Of course I want you to cover them in ooze. It will make them easier to kill. However, DO NOT kill their dark Alicorn general. I believe he will have a great amount of knowledge that will aid us in our offensive in taking this country back."
Captain Green Storm, the changeling captain asked, "Commander, what if he won't tell us anything?"
Scootaloo replied, "Trust me, I will make him sing like a canary. I know exactly what to do. Don't question me, just do as you are told."
Her troops could tell that she did not like them questioning her, but then again no commander likes their troops questioning their plans so the figured that they better just do as they are told.
Out at sea Lemon Hearts' forces continued to sail north. They had killed many, destroyed many cities and were now less than a day's voyage away from Braylin. General Black Feet said to his troops, "Well guys, so far we have done very well. I am sure that if Lemon Hearts were here she would be damn proud of us. We have done exactly what she has asked us to do. Tomorrow we will destroy Braylin and then head off to Marescow to take the final prize!"
That night was a rather uneventful night as Black Feet's troops took turns sleeping in shifts. Finally dawn arrived and Braylin was in their sights. Black Feet said to his troops, "Alright guys, Braylin is on the horizon. This isn't going to be easy. While the civilians there won't cause us any problems, I am sure that the Equine Empire has stationed troops there. Just remember, be alert, show no mercy and be as mobile as possible."
Twenty minutes later Black Feet's ships dock and the troops head into the city. The city appeared to be abandoned. This both pleased and irritated Black Feet. While he was happy that they were able to take the city without a fight, he was unhappy about not being able to spill any blood.
They landed in the center of the city where Black Feet said, "Well guys, it looks like Braylin is ours. We will rest here for a day and then we will head towards Marescow."
One of the changeling drones asked, "General, you don't think that they have members of their military hiding in the buildings here do you? I could seriously see Luna setting us up for an ambush."
Black Feet was greatly irritated with this question. He snapped, "Listen, you are a lowly drone, I am the general. If Luna had troops stationed here to ambush us they would have attacked us the moment we got here." He rolled his eyes and continued, "GOOD GRIEF, HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE?"
Iron Hooves, Lemon Hearts' dark Alicorn colonel said, "Well guys, let's go raise our flag! This city is ours now and everypony needs to know it."
Black Feet and Iron Hooves headed to the top of city hall to lower the Equine Empire flag and raise the Saddle Arabian flag. Scootaloo saw this from inside a building and shouted, "CHARGE! KILL THEM BOYS!"
Scootaloo and her forces swarmed out of every building in town and began to massacre the enemy forces. After a few seconds of confusion Lemon Hearts' forces finally took to the sky and started taking out their enemies. The battle, while many soldiers perished, was fairly short lived as only ten percent of Scootaloo's forces lost their lives and all of Lemon Hearts' forces were killed, except for one, General Black Feet, who had been covered in ooze and fell from the sky.
He was laying there on the ground in fear as an orange Alicorn approached him. He had no clue who Scootaloo was. His voice trembling he asked, "Wh-who are you? Y-you aren't L-Luna, I know that much."
Scootaloo planted her hoof on the general's side and replied, "I am Commander Scootaloo of Equestria. I know you and your forces have caused much death and destruction. Well that stops here. All your precious troops are dead so there is nothing stopping us from retaking the Equine Empire."
Black Feet sneered, "Oh, and does Luna know about your invasion of HER country? I doubt she will be thrilled that Equestria is trying to take over her nation."
Scootaloo replied, "Yes, she knows. Now you are going to tell me everything you know. You are going to tell me all of Lemon Hearts' plans, what other invasions you have planned and what you know about Lyra's plans because I'm sure you know."
Black Feet growled, "Oh and what if I refuse to say anything? I do have a right to not incriminate myself or Lemon Hearts."
Scootaloo's eyes began to shine white and she fired a powerful bolt of energy at him, burning him badly. She shouted, "Hey idiot, this is war! All the rules have been thrown out of the window. Fess up or you will wish you were dead!"
Black Feet shouted, "Never!"
Scootaloo smiled and replied, "Ok, you asked for it!"
Scootaloo began to whip Black Feet with chains violently. He was screaming in pain but continued to shout that he would not say a thing about Lemon Hearts' plans. After a while Scootaloo got tired with beating him with chains. She decided to pick him up with her magic and began slamming him into the side of a building with full force. Still, he was shouting that he would never say a word. Finally Scootaloo had enough. She looked at General Dark Night and said, "General, go get me that gurney. Colonel, see that rope over there? Go get it and tie this idiot to the gurney. Major, go get me some bottles of water. I know how to get this canary to sing."
Being covered in ooze all Black Feet could do was scream and shout as he was tied to the gurney. Scootaloo used her magic to hold Black Feet's mouth open and began to pour the water into his mouth, giving him the sensation that he was drowning. She went through many, many bottles of water and after three hours of non-stop water boarding, he began to groan so Scootaloo stopped the torture. After clearing his mouth of all water, he looked up at Scootaloo and said, "Stop, please stop! I can't take it anymore! I will tell you everything."
Scootaloo replied, "Alright my little canary, sing!"
Black Feet started, "Well alright, Lemon Hearts and Lyra have formed a military alliance. As you know, Lemon Hearts sent us to go up the coast and massacre as many as possible and level the cities, which we have done. Had we taken Braylin, she ordered us to fly to the northeast to Marescow and wanted us to kill Luna. Also, she has an army of dark unicorns marching towards Stalliongrad."
Scootaloo stared straight into his eyes and sneered, "And?"
Black Feet continued, "Well, she did not want them to simply go there and attack the city. She ordered them to surround the city, cutting off all supply lines taking food into the city. She said that after a while the residents of the city will begin to starve and they can then go in and take the city, which would crush the morale of the Equine Empire since so many ancient artifacts of the founding of the empire are there."
Scootaloo asked, "What of the defenses of Ridead, how well defended is that city?"
Black Feet shouted, "I will not give you information regarding Ridead. You and your thugs will not conquer Saddle Arabia."
Scootaloo replied, "Oh well, it's your choice. It is either you tell me or I will water board the hell out of you."
Black Feet cried, "Please no! Ok, there are a few thousand troops down there that Lemon Hearts had stay there in the event of an attack. She has roughly 2,000 dark Alicorns and 2,000 changeling soldiers. So if I were you I would think twice before being so arrogant as to think you can go conquer Ridead!"
Scootaloo began to beat him with chains over that comment. He was screaming and crying in agony as she did this. Finally after ten minutes of being beat he said he would tell her the rest. Scootaloo asked, "What about the cities that you and your forces destroyed on the way up here? How many forces do you have protecting them?"
Black Feet replied, "Well since we pretty much destroyed every single one of them, we left nopony behind. Everypony continued up here so we would have maximum numbers in our attacks."
Scootaloo laughed, "Wow, it looks like getting back down to the border is going to be a cakewalk. Thank you so much for making our trip to the border so easy!"
Black Feet sneered, "Oh, and is there anything else you want to know commander?"
Scootaloo replied, "Yes, I want to know about Lyra's plans."
Black Feet did not care one bit about Lyra, he loathed her actually so he had no problems telling Scootaloo about her plans. He continued, "As far as Lyra goes, she plans on sending part of her fleet up to the eastern coast of the Equine Empire and having her forces invade. Since the eastern part of the Equine Empire is largely uninhabited, it will be no problem for her to take."
Scootaloo looked into his eyes and asked, "I know you are hiding something regarding Lyra. What else?"
Black Feet replied, "Well, I overheard her talking to one of her generals saying she had plans on taking part of her fleet over towards the west coast of Equestria and launching attacks on coastal cities. I don't like Lyra but I think Equestria would deserve for some of their own to die. Ugh I hate that Supreme Commander Colgate. I would love it if she were to wind up dying in a battle! She thinks she is the greatest thing in the world. She needs to be knocked down a notch or two."
This infuriated Scootaloo. She began to beat him more mercilessly than before with chains again. He was crying out in agony for her to stop but this time she continued the beating for almost an hour. Finally in some areas his skin was tore open, his armor had been long ago shattered and he was whimpering like a puppy. Scootaloo growled, "So Black Feet, what is that you want to see happen to Supreme Commander Colgate again?"
Black Feet whimpered, "Nothing Commander Scootaloo."
Scootaloo puffed her chest out and replied, "That's what I thought. Thank you for all the information general. Now there is just one more thing I need to do and then you are free to go."
Black Feet knew it would probably be horrible but he figured that if he could be free it would be worth it. He asked, "What is that?"
Scootaloo began to laugh hysterically. She levitated a sword she saw leaning up against the armory over to where Black Feet lay. He saw this and shouted, "You filthy wretch! You lied to me, you're not letting me go, you're killing me."
Scootaloo laughed, "Of course. After I kill you we will just leave your corpse here to rot, so you will be free in a way!"
Before the general could say anything else Scootaloo lopped Black Feet's head off. As it fell to the ground, blood began to squirt everywhere. Scootaloo smiled at her troops and said, "Alright soldiers, we now know what we need to do. We will have no issues getting to the border. At that point, I will duplicate us so we will have more than sufficient numbers when we invade Ridead."
Dark Night asked, "Do you think that Lemon Hearts will be there when we attack them?"
Scootaloo replied, "Yes. I want us to go in, kill their troops from the remaining officers down to the very last drone. We will then storm the palace and I, along with a few changelings, will capture Lemon Hearts."
Dark Night said, "Well what are we waiting for? Let's do it!"
Scootaloo replied, "Let's just rest for the day. This city was not damaged, all our foes are dead so we have nothing to worry about. Tomorrow after breakfast we will sail down to what is left of Maredrid and take things from there. For now let's get some rest and clear our minds."
One of the dark Alicorn soldiers asked, "I like your idea of resting here, but being among all these corpses is kind of unnerving and what are we going to eat?"
Scootaloo growled, "Look, you are a soldier. Corpses should not bother you. As far as what we are going to eat, we shall raid the houses here and we will have plenty to eat."
The soldier backed down and realized that questioning his commander was not a great idea so he did his best to just avoid looking at the corpses that cluttered the city's streets.
In Ponyville Colgate has been watching all of this and she has a beaming smile on her face. She thought to herself, "Holy moly Scootaloo, you are brutal! Even I wouldn't have thought to torture an enemy combatant the way you did!"
She stood there for a minute and that smile quickly turned into a scowl as she remembered Black Feet telling Scootaloo about how Lyra plans on attacking Equestria's coastal cities. She stormed down to the base and decided to tell her whole army about what she had seen and heard, both the good and the bad. She told them about the massacre of Lemon Hearts' forces, the enemy forces marching on Ridead and Lyra's plans on attacking the west coast.
General Dark Night asked, "Colgate, I am assuming we are going to increase our numbers along the coast given the information you have?"
Colgate replied, "Yes, that is what we are going to do. First though, now that I know Lyra is going to attack us, I need to test this new spell I have come up with. Let's just say that if it works, Neigh Zealand will be transformed from a beautiful, scenic vacation spot into an uninhabitable wasteland!"
Colgate flew back up to her tower leaving her suddenly speechless troops at the base. They began to talk among themselves wondering how their commander could have gone from a great commander who wanted to win wars but spare non-combatants to one who didn't care who she killed. To them it seemed like she WANTED to kill them solely to crush the morale of enemy leaders.