//------------------------------//
// New Front part 1 
// Story: Of a German and American soldier in Equestria 
// by redspark 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 26
New front (Part 1)

The soft salty air filled Louis' nostrils as he breathed deeply beside the shore. He inhaled everything, smiling. The sweet smell of the ocean had always been something he appreciated doing when he was beside the sea. He closed his eyes and imagined he was back in Germany, looking at the cold shores of the north. He hadn't been there much, but he really missed it. When he thought of it, he missed most of the things in Germany. He liked Equestria, or so far all he had seen of it, but it wasn't like his country. Here he was fighting because he felt it was the right thing to do; in Germany he wanted to fight, to win honor and glory for his country... Or so the Nazi regime had led him to believe. 

He had discussed things with Davis at certain points regarding the war back home. He knew his point of view and Davis knew Louis'. The big problem was that he was feeling that Davis gave stronger arguments and, slowly, he was being convinced that he was wrong and Davis was right. He had once considered Hitler a hero, but now he was looking at him more like he was the ruin of his country.

He felt ashamed of what he had been fighting for, even though he wouldn't have had it any other way. He loved Germany, and he would fight even if it wasn't on the side he saw was right. Germany probably was doing wrong, but he was a German and he would have fought with Germany nevertheless. 

He slowly opened his eyes. The crystal blue water of the Equestrian east coast calmed him in more ways than one, helping him think in the future and the past. He knew he needed to forget for a time his past life on earth and concentrate in the present predicaments, them being war. 

He looked at his uniform. He wore in Germany a simple private uniform; here he was wearing one of the highest ranks on his person: Brigadier General. Not yet Major General like Davis, but he was a General still. That rank caused him to pale slightly. He had only helped win the battle of Green Lake, but it had been Ace's own command that had brought about victory. He might have defeated the enemy general, but the battle hadn't been won by himself. How could he, a simple German private, be given such a task? He didn't feel ready.

He remembered when he had been officially promoted. Princess Celestia had made it a big fuss, with a special ceremony and all. It hadn't been only him, but many other officials that were being promoted due to their actions in the last battles. He had been promoted to general, Davis had been promoted to Major General and superior commander of the Equestrian forces, right under the princesses. He had full control of all, only overruled by the rulers of Equestria. 

There had been more promotions, one of them making general ace a brigadier general as well and a few other officers lieutenant and major. He didn't know most of them, though he recognized some from the battle. 

After the ceremony there had been a large party, which he heard was celebrated in all of Equestria. Apparently ponies seemed to feel that the war was almost over thanks to these two victories. Louis knew that wasn't true and was going to tell Celestia and Luna about it, not to lower the spirits but to prevent  a false idea from hanging around. He hadn't needed to since they announced a day later that the war wasn't over and that Equestria still had a very long road ahead.

He had a meeting with the rulers and with Davis, who suggested that they start to call for recruitment in a more serious manner. He suggested something Louis knew would help: propaganda. That is when Louis had jumped in. He knew a lot about it. He had knowledge to a certain degree of it, and he gave out his ideas. He had read a few notes on propaganda and he had heard from superiors about a few strategies the Nazis had used. Apparently, they worked well since even he felt convinced after seeing the Nazi propaganda.

Now, he had a chance to help apply some of his knowledge of that for a good cause. He explained a few things and was immediately understood by the present ponies and Davis. By the end if the meeting they had decided to start a printing press for government issues, making it free for all and Celestia issued an order that newspapers needed to abide to state regulations that were going to be applied soon, one of which was that they needed to place recruitment propaganda in their issues.

After a week of this new development, the recruitment centers throughout Equestria were filling. The normal training camp population grew from fifteen thousand to fifty in just a week, and after that it did stop growing so much, but it seemed to be working. Davis had estimated that after five months they'd have the largest operational army after the changelings. The griffons had an army of sixty thousand, though with the war those numbers were probably outdated. Now they only needed to implement new weapons, which Davis had surprisingly agreed to. Louis was against it since giving ponies firearms wasn't something he considered noble, even if it could help them win a war. In the end, it could bring more problems than solutions.

Louis turned and headed back to the docks. He had gone out for a walk before boarding a ship where he'd carry his troops by sea to support the griffons near the coasts. It had been part Davis' idea, though apparently the admiral had influenced much in the decision. An army attacking from the north and another one from the south would cause a lot of strain in the changelings’ attack plans. The changelings were currently attacking a few places at the same time, taking advantage of their superiority in numbers, the two most important being the griffon capital and the Griffonian shores which were vital for the survival of the griffons since it was from there that they received many resources from trading and Equestria itself after traveling by land became dangerous near the Griffonian-Equestrian border.

He saw the large masts before he finally spotted the large military port built only a month ago. It had been built for the very purpose of building and docking Equestrian Navy ships and was going to be used a center point for Equestrian naval warfare in the near future as soon as all the docks were finally opened. For now it held nine troop transport ships, three royal guard ships and two of the newest frigates. There were a few new types of ships being built based off from some rough sketches both Davis and Louis had given them, based mostly on old ships from the 1700s. There was one in particular that was the Equestrian Navy's biggest project; it was basically a man'o'war Equestrian style which Louis had gone to see as it as being built.

He was going there at the moment, in fact.

He reached the small recently-built port's walls. They were rather large, but it was pretty logical due to the need for protection. There was no real need for them, but after Davis agreed to give the Equestrians firearms, he had also warned them about the destructive power they had, especially if they were implemented into ships. For that the Equestrian architects had decided to plan all future military and defense building with defensive capabilities against such weapons, one of them being large ten meter tall walls around coastal forts and cities. Apparently there were some fairly big cities, like Manehattan, which were sadly too big to protect like that. Davis realized that the city was based off of the city in New York. He said that Manehattan looked far too advanced architecturally speaking to be from Equestria’s current technological period, but that didn't change the fact that such cities did exist in Equestria. 

Louis was greeted by the gatekeepers. The gate was a simple but big wooden door. For what he'd heard, they were planning on changing it for a metallic one, but that seemed a little far fetched, at least from Louis' point of view.

"Who goes!" came the guard's call. Louis waited for the old gate keeper pony to look through a little porthole in the door. It opened with a little screech. "Oh sir!" came the pony's voice. "I'll open at once." The porthole closed and soon the door opened, allowing Louis in.

Louis was slightly confused at first as to why they maintained the door closed, but he soon learned that it was for security reasons regarding changeling spies. So far there hadn't been any cases, but changelings could enter disguised as a normal pony, and having the door closed gave time for the guards to do a scan to make sure the pony in question isn't a changeling. That process was done for everypony, but Louis didn't have to since changelings, by all the ponies knew, couldn’t turn into humans.

"Bitte, Keeper," he said smiling. "How's your day been?" he asked the pony. The gatekeeper, an old pony named, without any joke, Gate Keeper. 

"Danke, mein General," he answered. "It's been boring so far. I hope someday something does happen. I don't have much time left to see things, you know?" Louis shook his head.

"Don't think like that Keeper. I'm sure there's plenty of time left for you," he said cheerfully, leaving a smiling pony behind. Gate Keeper had lived for some time in a nation to the north of Equestria called Germany. It seemed to be Equestria's equal to his own country, and what had surprised him was that the language was almost identical. He had promised himself that he'd go there someday, hopefully soon.

He walked past the army barracks, finding ponies around all saluting him, to which he answered as well. 

"Good day sir," one said.

"Indeed private," he'd answer. 

He had come to like his troops. They were a cheerful bunch, and being a general had made him to worry more about his troops knowing him and, if possible, liking him. So far he thought he was doing a fine job with that.

After a few turns around he reached the docks and, soon, the shipyards where they were building the new ship. 

Of all the land occupied by the military port and fort, the shipyard occupied more than half of it. There were three large ships under construction, one of them being the man'o'war and the others two smaller frigates. Based on what he'd heard from the builders, the frigates were called a 'Griffon class ship', which apparently had its name attributed to its resistance and durability combined with its agility which, considering its rather large size, was pretty good. They had one deck, though not including the poop deck or the forecastle, which were higher, not the lower deck. The two looked exactly like twins, with three masts and a very similar design. The other they said had no name and was based completely on Davis' and Louis' sketches. It was more of a test ship to see how it fared once it was launched. They said the class of ship wasn't defined as well, not having a name to fit with the size and power of it. With three very large masts, it dwarfed the other two frigates by a huge size. It had a poop deck and a quarter deck, the main deck being the same length of those two combined. The stern galleries were very decorated, which Louis thought was due to the model Davis had drawn depicting a famous British ship, the HMS Victory. It had two lines of gun ports below deck and spaces in the main deck for cannons. The ship would be a little useless unless the cannons were finished for it though, which was something Louis had considered rushed; maybe they should have waited for the cannons to be ready before starting to build ships for them? The other frigates had the same hikes below deck and the spaces in the main deck. He could very well imagine those ships in action once they were launched and the cannons installed.

He could see pegasi, earth ponies and unicorns working to build it, which was something amazing to watch. He saw the shipmaster making sure the construction went as planned. He waved and was greeted by him in the same manner, though the pony soon returned to do his job.

He stared for a few minutes as the ponies built, lost in thought. What if the war didn't expand into the ocean? Maybe changelings were not going to focus much and would simply be defeated at sea fast? They had never used boats, which meant they had no experience; that gave them a larger advantage, even if the changelings managed to get their hooves on the entire griffon fleet. Just with the sight of the new ships, and the very thought of guns with them, made the entire prospect of a war at seas almost laughable. The changelings had no chance, not after the Equestrians were done.

He was still looking when he heard someone call his rank.

"General, sir. Message from General Davis." Louis turned and saw a messenger pegasus in front of him saluting. "He said to proceed with the mission tomorrow at first light." Louis sighed. That meant they were leaving the port soon. He saw a little envelope in the pony's hoof, which he took.

"Very well, thank you." The pony saluted again and left. Louis looked around and sighed. It had been great to rest while it lasted.

Slowly, pressure started to return to the young general's mind...

Two thousand troops. Two thousand ponies under his full command, with a mission he was supposed to lead them on. Two thousand souls that depended on his decisions alone...

That was certainly not reassuring,

He felt his breath quicken, but immediately calmed down. He needed to focus, not get lost inside his own thoughts.

He breathed a few times and walked forward, searching for Iroh.

"Iroh!" he called once he found his friend. The pony looked at him.

"Good evening general. When did you return from your walk?"

Louis smiled. "About an hour ago." He looked around. "I just received confirmation to proceed." 

Iroh nodded. "Very well. I'll get to it sir. I'll let you know once it is all arranged. When do you need us all to be boarding?" 

"I would say that before tomorrow morning I want the ships ready to set sail. I need everything packed and ready inside the ships," he said. "I'll go and notify the Admiral."

Iroh nodded. "Sure sir." He saluted and walked away. Louis then started off to the officers' barracks. It was indeed a nicer building than the troops’, for which he was slightly unhappy since he disliked being treated better than the troops. 

He entered and found the Admiral talking with one of the ship captains. The Admiral was an older earth pony with a light blue coat and a simple black, short mane. His cutie mark was a ship steering wheel and his eyes were the same color as his coat.

"...the ships sir. With only three frigates it will be impossible to defend ten transport ships, or at least most of them. If what we've heard is true, then the enemy started using ships after taking the griffons’ military port." The captain talked with a worried voice. The Admiral closed his eyes, and then turned to Louis.

"Ah, general. I hadn't expected you to return so soon from your walk." The Admiral had come to like Louis, and so had Louis to the Admiral. "And in good time," he said, looking for a second at his captain. "I was going to send for you since we've encountered a problem which, I guess, you already overheard."

Louis crossed his arms. "You can't guarantee the protection of all the transport vessels?"

The Admiral nodded slowly. "I'm afraid so, general. We have three frigates stationed on this port. The rest of my fleet is protecting Equestrian trade routes since changelings started using boats from the griffon navy. We've never had a big navy and now we don't have enough ships to use. I requested the princess to build more, which you can see is being carried out but, if you want to leave soon, it won't help for much."

Louis nodded. "And what about the Saddle Arabian ambassador? I thought you and the rindless had arranged that their navy would help us."

The Admiral nodded. "Aye, we did, but they are protecting their own trade routes at the moment. They reduced their navy considerably after they managed to eradicate the pirates that haunted their seas. That was the only reason after all that caused them to have the largest navy; pirates were a really big problem in their coasts. Now, with them gone, they decommissioned most of their fleet. They are trying to bring their boats back to action, but it will take them some time too. Not as much as we in building new ships, but they won't send us vessels in at least another month."

The German sighed. "Then three ships will have to do." The captain immediately perked his ears up, rushing to argue what Louis had just said. 

"Will have to do?" he repeated. "I'm sorry sir, but have you heard what you just said? We are talking here in the protection of two thousand souls, only in three frigates? If we had at least griffon class frigates I'd say we have a chance, but not unless we had those miraculous fire-spitting metal tubes of yours will we manage this mission."

Louis looked at the captain. "Then, bitte, what is it that you recommend?"

The captain looked at the Admiral. "I recommend to wait until we receive the Saddle Arabian reinforcements or our own ships, preferably the two griffon class ones on this very facility, are finished."

Shaking his head, Louis almost shouted, "We don't have time!" That made both Admiral and captain to pull their ears up. Louis turned and looked outside. The sun was setting down, causing long shadows to enter the barracks. "The enemy is out there, and is not going to wait for our ships to be ready. They're going to attack, and I'm sure they are getting ready for that this very second in which we are wasting our time! Now, can this be done, Admiral? Can we take my troops safely to griffon lands or will this prove to be an impossible journey? Will this be how we are remembered? As the ones that waited while the enemy fortified and prepared to attack themselves?" He looked at both. "I don't want to be remembered like that. So, will this be possible, or do we need to tell the princesses that this plan won't work and that we need a new one?"

The captain looked at the Admiral slowly as Louis crossed his arms. The Admiral slowly cleared his throat. "Well, I don't say it'll be impossible, only that it will be hard and not all might make it there alive..." He returned the look to the captain. "But I believe I can take your ponies safely there, you can count on that." The captain snorted angrily.

"I'll be outside." He walked outside and, before leaving the barracks, he turned. "General, Admiral." He turned again and left. The Admiral sighed.

"I only want you to know that it is a very difficult task with only three ships. Not only because of changelings, but because of pirates as well. I will, though, make my best efforts to keep your troops safe for the duration of the journey, which will hopefully take no more than a week." The general finished with a short bow, to which Louis answered. 

"Bitteschön, Admiral. I'll make sure not to give you more trouble." He turned and headed to his room, but was stopped by a pony hoof. The Admiral walked in front of him.

"General, you sure you want to try this? Once we leave port, there will be no turning back." Louis sighed. 

"Look Admiral, the problem is that we need to help the griffons as fast as possible, and any delays bring their demise closer, and with their defeat would soon come ours."

The pony looked down. "I understand that. I only want to know that you are hundred percent sure this will work; I'd rather not sacrifice the lives of my men with an endless enterprise."

"This won't be an endless enterprise, Admiral. You can count on that," the German answered. "I'll go and catch some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day." He moved around the pony and stopped in front of his room. "And Admiral, you can be certain that I'll do anything within my power to protect your men just as I will with my own." He opened the door and entered his room, leaving the lone pony Admiral in the hall. The Admiral turned and walked out, going to prepare everything for the departure...

***   ***   ***

"Pull!" came the captain’s voice as the ropes that had the ships anchored to the port were brought on the boat. The faint light of the rising sun gave them light as they worked the small fleet out of the port. Louis stood in the prow of the Solar, one of the frigates and the head of the expedition. He was looking at the port, his uniform covered in a large cloak due to the cold weather of the morning. His eyes scanned the crowd of ponies saluting and cheering for the troops leaving to war, the Admiral being one of them. Louis saluted and the Admiral saluted back.

He remembered then what the Admiral told him right before climbing aboard.

"Remember it will no longer be Equestria, general. The griffons may be happy at first that you came to help, but once it's over they'll be resentful. The griffon empire is a wild place, even if they say the contrary. Strength is important for them. Show you are strong and you'll be respected, even admired."

Davis kept those words very close now. He knew they were different from ponies, that was obvious; he needed to act differently, probably even tough. He hoped he wouldn't need to appear someone he was not, but if getting their respect meant that, he would.

The land slowly started to move away, farther and farther by the second. Soon, he could only see the ponies as faint ants and, not much later, only the buildings and the Equestrian flag that hung tall and proud from the main dock. His gaze shifted to the part where the ships were being built. The biggest ship was taller than any of the buildings in the port, and he could even think it was already finished. He hoped those ships would be available soon, they were going to help much if the war got longer.

He really hoped that the war wouldn't last as long as the war back home, on earth, was going so far. Five years... Or was it six? A war that long was horrible, and so far the Equestrians had been only for a month or two. The griffons had been longer though. For what he'd heard, they had been fighting changelings for a long time, even before the famous Canterlot attack. Apparently, changeling guerrillas had always been hitting the griffon frontiers, but never in such a large force or such well-coordinated attacks. This time they had declared open war against the griffons, and there had been an entire year of fighting even before either Louis or Davis got to Equestria. The ponies joining seemed to weaken the changelings a little now, or at least that was what the griffon ambassadors had told the princesses. The griffons were preparing a large offensive to which Davis had not agreed to help due to problems with the planning and now the Equestrians were moving into griffon territory by both land and sea. Davis was at that same moment, or so Louis had agreed with Davis and the other generals, crossing the border between both lands, taking with himself a much larger force of ten thousand. Louis was going to cause a few disturbances against the changelings in contrast with what Davis was going to do.

He returned to the world from once he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He turned and saw the captain of the ship. He was the one that had been with the Admiral discussing the other night.

"Yes?" he asked. The pony looked around. 

"Sir, we should be reaching the griffon port of Aedia in a week. We expect a good climate but you never know in the sea. I just wanted to notify." He seemed slightly stressed. Louis couldn't blame him, he had far too many souls under his care and not enough to keep them safe. It was understandable. 

Louis nodded. "Thank you captain. I suppose now we only need to wait.

"And hope we don't meet pirates, or some of those changelings ships. They are still griffon-made, which makes them the most powerful ships in the sea," the captain said, grinning slightly. "I will check around now. You should try to familiarize yourself with the ship sir, ten days at sea for a new one can be taxing." The pony saluted and walked away. Louis smiled.

"I will adapt, captain..." he whispered, looking back at the sea. Behind them was the rest if the convoy; seven transport ships and three frigates protecting them. It looked pretty magnificent, though he knew the transport ships were very vulnerable to attacks. The main concern was keeping them safe, nothing could happen to those...

He felt the salty breeze cover his face as a splash of water suddenly made him sample test wet. He grunted as he realized he was now soaking wet. The waves had seemed to grow larger now, which made the German walk away from the side. 

He decided to go to his deck and sleep, or try to at least. The rocking of the ship proved to be a little too much and he feared he wouldn't be able to do so.

He walked down to the deck below and found a small room he had for himself. He hadn't entered before, instead his luggage and personal things had been taken there as he arranged things with the captain. He looked around.

It was small, but considering he was in a ship it was a lot. The bed had been obviously adjusted for a human, since it seemed to have been changed recently. There was a small wardrobe where he found his uniforms arranged and ready. That was more than he had thought the ponies would do. He found a case that had been made for his rifle. It had been done after he asked it to the princesses to help him carry it when he wasn't in an engagement, mostly because he liked to have it close to himself just as Davis did.

He slowly walked to the bed and lay down, closing his eyes and falling asleep almost immediately thanks to the rocking of the ship…