//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: The Very Model of a Modern Major General // Story: Persona: Innocent Wish // by Trismegistus //------------------------------//         Arata was on his way to talk to Penzance, although he didn’t have anything specific to say to him, Arata was sure that there would be something on the Major General’s mind. Arata hadn’t spoken to him since he introduced Camphor. Camphor seemed to be adapting to the new job more quickly than Arata had. He was also becoming very popular around camp; ponies appreciated his laid back and lethargic demeanor. On occasion he and Arata would venture into the swamps to gather plants that could be made into medicines. These trips had given them time to bond, and ever since his talk with Tonic, Camphor had seemed much more confident in his abilities.         While his bond with Camphor was growing stronger, Arata realized that he seemed to be in a rut with Penzance. The Major General seldom left his tent, leaving many of his duties as leader of the E.W.E.F. to Ivory Shield, whose E.U.P. guard training lent itself well to the position. Unlike Camphor she seemed to have difficulty fitting in, although everypony respected her positon, her style of life was still that of a guard instead of an explorer.         Most of her mornings began with intensive drills and exercise that most of the ponies around the main camp didn’t care to join in. Before he left for Canterlot, Blaze had convinced Arata to join in on one of these work outs; the two did surprisingly well, managing to impress Ivory Shield.  According to Blaze Bullwhip and his team were the ponies who would have really loved this kind of routine, but they were all stationed in the southern swamps.         While Arata was making his way to the command tent he ran into Ivory Shield, Compass Rose, and Vox, who all were heading out of camp.         “Hey Arata,” Vox waved to him as they got closer to him, “You’ve met Compass Rose right?”         Compass Rose smiled at Arata as he walked over, “Yeah, we met in Canterlot... Well I guess it was on the way to Canterlot. Where are you three headed off too?”         “Blaze will still be in Canterlot this week, so I thought it would be fun to get the girls of the E.W.E.F. together! There are so few of us after all.” Arata was surprised that Ivory Shield would go along with something like this; although he couldn’t say he knew her well. “We’re heading into town to find something to do, but we’re most likely going to end up at the diner.”         “I wish Sunburst could be here, too bad she’s headed south.” Compass Rose added.         “Really? I thought she was staying here with the rest of the mapping team.” Arata said.         “Well that was the plan, but she got bored and wanted to do something. We ended up sending her on a supply run to the southern camp. Once she gets there she’ll join up with the smaller mapping team and get the last part of the area charted.” Compass Rose informed him.         “Oh, okay.” Arata had a nagging feeling that he needed to move on and talk to Penaznce, “I have to go talk to Penzance; I’ll see you three around!”         Arata entered the tent to find Penzance at his desk reading a book. As usual the tent was cluttered, but something about it seemed off. Usually the clutter felt somewhat organized with every pile representing a different task Penzance had to work on, now there was no organization to it, as if Penzance stopped trying.         “Hello Sir, may I come in?”         Penzance looked up for a moment, “Of course, what can I help you with Arata?” Penzance’s response seemed forced, but Arata took the invitation.         “I wanted to talk to you about…” Arata paused for a moment trying to find the right word, “you.”         “About me? Why what’s the matter?” Penzance set his book down.         “You haven’t really been yourself since Autumn Tail passed.” Arata tried to be as blunt as possible. After all he had been through here he had found that it was always Blaze’s strait forward talks that helped the most. “I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”         “That’s kind of you Arata, Vox offered the same thing, but there isn’t much to say.” Penzance glanced at Arata and let out a sigh, “But I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to indulge you. Where would you like to begin?”         “Why do you blame yourself for what happened? If anypony is responsible for what happened to her it’s me.” Arata asked.         “Because I cannot let that kind of burden fall on you, or anypony on this team,” Penzance calmly replied.         “But that’s just it Sir, the burden should fall on all of us, as a team.” Arata wasn’t sure if what he was saying would help but he trusted himself to just let the words flow. “Sure, this would be enough to break any one pony, but if it’s split up between, Blaze, Vox, me, and you, it becomes something we can come to terms with.”         Penzance was silent for a long while before he responded. “Blaze is starting to rub off on you.” Penzance stood up and walked to a chest of his belongings. “What you said is the truth, and it is something that I haven’t wanted to accept. It has been my goal since I took command of the guard to ensure nopony had to know the pain that I have been through. Sometimes I feel I take that a bit too far.” Penzance pulled out an old journal and set it on the table. “This is the journal I kept in my younger days in the guard. What you said to me reminded me of a story I would like to share with you, although I will warn you, it isn’t for the faint of heart.”         “I think I’ll be able to handle it with all I’ve seen here.” Arata smiled. “What is it about?”         “How I got my cutie mark…” …         The sun beat down on the ponies of the E.U.P. Guard’s fifth regiment.  With each step they took, they could feel the sand shifting beneath their hooves, the hot air being pulled into their lungs, and the building fatigue in their muscles. The thirty ponies marching through the desert were but a fraction of the fifth, but the mix of new recruits and seasoned officers had been deemed suitable for the mission at hoof.         Recently the newly founded settlement of Dodge had seen civil unrest and small clashes between the native buffalo, and the settling ponies. The guard was dispatched to both protect the settlers and the town. Many of the officers resented the trudge through the nearly endless desert, all for a simple policing action. The younger stallions of the group had a different take on the mission; this was their chance to prove themselves.           After a six day march through the desert the weary guard stallions reached the town. There were only three or four buildings established so far, most of the settlers were still living in tents, or out of their wagons.  Upon their arrival a camp was set up and ponies were posted on guard duty around the town. According to the mayor there hadn’t been much sign of the buffalo over the past few weeks, but the commanding officer, Colonel Mustang, had insisted that the guards’ presence should be clear.           The western edge of town was silent. Five ponies sat huddled around a fire. They all wore the beige desert uniform, in place of their armor, and tried their best to share two blankets. The hot day had quickly turned into a cold night.         “I didn’t expect to be cold on this mission,” one of the ponies mumbled.         “Did you read the briefing?” Another one asked.         “No, guess I earned this.” The first responded. “Thanks for the blanket Penzance. You sure you don’t want it?”         Penzance was standing a few hooves away from the others looking over the horizon to the west. “Yes, I’m fine. You can keep it for now.” He turned and returned to the rest of his team.         “Looks like blank-flank over here is nervous on his first command,” one of the ponies teased.           “That’s Sir Blank-flank to you,” Penzance smiled, “and no, I have no problems taking command. I have a problem with the lack of buffalo. The reports said that tensions had been growing, and a few fights had broken out. I doubt that they would have given up this quickly.”         “Eh, I prefer to leave that kind of thinking to Mustang,” the pony next to Penzance said. “We’re just on guard duty.”         “Izzy, it doesn’t hurt to go above and beyond the call of duty,” Penzance mocked his friend’s complaints.         “Yeah yeah, for Princess and country, I’ve heard your speeches before,” Izzy chuckled, “I don’t know who hit you with the patriotism branch but they did a good job.”         “Are we being relieved tonight?” Asked another pony.         “No, were the only shift until dawn, Dum Dum,” Penzance responded.         “Are you really calling me that?” Dum Dum asked frowning slightly.         “Hey, you earned it back in basic. You were the one who earned us the most pushups,” Izzy responded.         “Penzance, I don’t know how you managed to get through all of basic without any nickname…” the third pony around the fire added. Under the dim light of the fire his pink faces stood out against the darkness.         “Get over it Pinky,” the pony next to him laughed.         “Oh, like you’re one to talk Rebel. Dum Dum and I got the worst names in the group,” Pinkie lightly punched Rebel in the shoulder and turned to the last pony. “I guess you got it pretty bad too Junior.”         “I honestly don’t know why anypony calls me that…” he sighed.         “And you never will,” Penzance smiled. “Now, that’s enough sitting around. We’re supposed to be patrolling. We’ll take turns in pairs. Junior, you and I will go first. Grab your spear.”         Penzance and Junior walked out into the desert in silence. Penzance kept his eyes forward constantly scanning the surroundings. Junior on the other hoof was practically falling asleep, still tired from the hike into town.         The land around Dodge was flat except for several mesas that popped up in the distance.         “Junior, look at the first Mesa on the right,” Penzance whispered.         “What I don’t see anything,” He yawned.         “Look closer; there are puffs of smoke rising from it. They’re too spaced out to draw attention to it.” The two watched closely for a few minutes and sure enough two puffs of smoke rose from the mesa.         “Look at the other mesas there’s some smoke coming from them too. Do you think they’re readying an attack?” Junior replied.         “No, I doubt it. Things seemed to have settled down recently.” Penzance considered what to do with this information, “Still this is worth passing on to mustang.         The next morning Penzance’s team took their shift to rest, he was on his way to speak to the colonel about his findings. Mustang had set up command in the small building serving as a town hall. Penzance entered to find that Mustang was alone with some documents that Penzance assumed the locals had given him.         “Sir, Lieutenant Penzance reporting,” Penzance snapped to a salute and waited for the colonel’s response.           “At ease Lieutenant, what brings you here today?” Mustang was a unicorn, with a light brown coat, and blue eyes. His most striking feature was his mane, which shifted from red to orange and back seamlessly.         “I have found, what I believe to be, our missing buffalo,” Penzance approached the colonel and produced a map. “These four mesas are where I believe they are hiding. Last night on patrol we saw smoke signals rising from each of them.”         “I was already aware of their location Penzance,” Mustang said dismissing Penzance.         “Oh, my apologies Sir, it was not listed in any of the briefs,” Penzance began to dismiss himself, but was stopped by Mustang.  “A few if the locals followed the buffalo as they were heading out of dodge. The mayor gave me the report when we got here. However I am not allowed to do anything about this. The orders are clear; this is only a defensive mission, no violence unless it’s unavoidable.”           “So we do nothing then, Sir?” Penzance asked.         “Penzance, close the door.” Penzance did as his superior ordered. “Officially I can do nothing unless they attack first, and there is no guarantee that will happen. I’ve seen how you preform Penzance, I have no doubts that you are eager for commendation. This could be your chance to earn it.”         “Sir?” Penzance asked, slightly uncomfortable with the tone his commander was taking.         “We take control of one of their camps; send a smoke signal to the others ordering an attack. The buffalo don’t stand a chance against the E.U.P. guard regardless of experience. We win, the threat on Dodge is eliminated, commendations all around.” Mustang paused, “However for this to work, I will need a small, but competent, team of ponies to covertly attack one of the mesas. You wouldn’t happen to be interested in such a task, would you?”         “That would be… illegal, Sir…” Penzance took a deep breath, “I cannot imagine the Princess’ reaction to such an action would be favorable.”         “Penzance, in time you will learn that the Princess’ decisions are not always what is best for Equestria.” Mustang stared deeply into Penzance’s eyes, “Sometimes she can be very focused on the ideals of harmony, and I can’t blame her, it has gotten Equestria through many times of strife, but this isn’t one of those times. If we don’t act now the Buffalo will always be a threat to the ponies settling these parts. As much as Celestia likes to believe that everything can live together in harmony, it isn’t true.”                  Penzance felt as if everything he believed in had just been fractured. On one hoof Celestia had never led Equestria astray, on the other he had no idea if actions like this were more common than he would like to believe. If he didn’t act with Mustang than the lives of future settlers would be at risk, if he did than he could be a criminal for the rest of his life for betraying the morals of Equestria.         “What do you say Penzance?” Mustang asked.         “I…. I will help you. I can’t take the chance that ponies may be in danger,” Penzance sighed. The idea that one action like this could possibly save hundreds of lives was enough to drive him to act.         “And your team?” added Mustang.         “They will follow me. I know each one of them believes in protecting Princess and Country as much as I do,” Penzance assured him.         “Good, you will make your assault on the southern mesa tonight. Dismissed Penzance,” Mustang turned his back and Penzance left to inform his men of the choice he had just made. …         Penzance made his way back to his stallions and once they were all awake asked if anyone had any objections.         “I understand that what I am asking will be unethical for some of you, and I will not force any of you to follow me.” Penzance somberly addressed the five members of his team. Pinkie and Dum Dum seemed eager to take action against the buffalo; the other three were less willing.         “Do we really need to kill them?” Izzy asked. “It just doesn’t seem like the way Equestria should act.”         “I believe this is the best option we have, and you are correct it is not the Equestrian way. That is why it will be kept a secret, between the six of us and Mustang.” Penzance stood up and walked away from the group. “I have some business to attend to before the operation. If you choose to join me please meet at the same point as last night, if not I shall see you tomorrow morning.” …         Penzance was waiting around the camp fire after relieving the previous guard for the night. As he stood alone in the desert he began to question his choice. Even if the ponies on his team refused to join him now, they would inevitably be forced to fight when the buffalo attacked dodge. The situation was rapidly getting out of hoof. Penzance assured himself time and time again that this was the right choice, and soon enough he would see if his men agreed.         Shortly after, all five of his team mates joined him at the fire.         “Before we start this,” Rebel began, “I’m only doing this because I trust your judgment, not Mustang’s, not Celestia’s. Got it?”         “Yes,” Penzance acknowledged, “and thank you. I was beginning to doubt myself.”         “For better or worse we’re with you to the end sir Blank-flank,” Izzy smiled.         “And you Junior?” Penzance asked.         “There isn’t anything to say that hasn’t already been said. I’m with you,” Junior nodded.         The five headed out in silence each one worried about what they were about to do and began to realize that there was no turning back.         When they arrived at the target they found two guards standing at a small ramp leading up the mesa. There was a considerable amount of noise coming from the top, from what Penzance could tell the voices were mostly male.         “This is it,” Penzance whispered readying his spear, “Do I have a volunteer to go with me?”           “I’ll go,” Pinkie whispered readying his in kind.         “Let’s loop around and see if we can catch them off guard,” Penaznce and Pinkie moved away from the rest of the group.         There was enough grass cover to allow the pair to sneak up behind the guards. Penzance dearly hoped he was ready for what had to be done next. Penzance felt fear and doubt starting to cripple him, he knew if he didn’t act now he would be unable to.         Without a warning he lunged forward, dispatching the first buffalo with his spear. The second buffalo turned to witness his partner fall. Penzance drew his spear and noticed Pinkie frozen in place, without a second thought Penzance leapt for the second buffalo, quickly dispatching it.         The rest of the team silently joined Penzance, who cleaned off the tip of his spear and let out a deep breath. His hooves were beginning to tremble and nothing he did could stop it.         “Sir, your flank…” Izzy pointed out as he approached.         Penzance turned to examine his flank. “So this is my talent…” …         “I will spare you the details of what happened next. We completed the mission, the buffalo attacked, and they were put down.” Penzance frowned and examined his hoof that was beginning to shake.         “That’s… horrible…” Arata gasped.         “Yes, it took the combined strength of my team to overcome the pain we all felt.” Penzance looked at Arata, “That is what you reminded me of.”         “Did Mustang’s plan work?” Arata asked with a hint of anger, “There’s no way Celestia would be okay with this, or reward you for it.”         “You’re right, she didn’t approve. After the events that transpired the team and I agreed that we needed to confess what we did to Celestia. When we approached Mustang about this he refused. Needless to say, we did inform her without Mustang’s blessing.”         “What did she do? I can’t imagine her making you guard captain after doing something like that.” Arata followed.         “She was surprisingly understanding, but nowhere near pleased, she felt that given the situation we were doing what we thought was best to protect Equestria.” Penzance sighed, and put the journal away. “Because of this she decided we would have a more lenient punishment. My team and I were sent north past Vanhoover to explore and map the region. That assignment was what gave me the inspiration for the E.W.E.F. The time in the frozen north also gave me and my team a chance to reflect on what we had done. It gave me the strength that I needed to truly take command, and work my way up to captain of the guard.”         Arata felt that his bond with Penzance had grown significantly stronger.           “What happened to Mustang?” Arata asked.         “He was court martialed for his actions. We do not know what happened to him after that,” Penzance paused. “You should go Arata. I know I must have given you a lot to think about.” Penzance signaled for Arata to leave before returning to his work.