//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: Fog of War 
// by Teal 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 9

Planning to meet the new regimental commander that has been voted by 1st regiment, Newman and Feather Wing walked through the camp, passing tents and soldiers, as they made their way towards a large tent, where a large red colored stallion stood. 

The stallion was young and had a build that was brimming with strong muscles. A tall frame made him tower over most ponies, as stood high and tall to the ponies that passed by. He watched as the two approached, keeping his gaze fixated on the two officers. Despite knowing little of him, the two could clearly see that he was a dominant and strong figure, in which you did not want to mess with.

“Big Macintosh, I presume?” Newman asked as they stood in front of him. After his initial scan on this stallion, Newman could tell that he lived up to his name.

“Eyup.” The pony said, with a nod.

“Well, then. Would you care to accompany us, Colonel?” He asked, as the stallion gave a silent nod as a reply.

Despite brandishing no insignia and wearing no uniform, the young stallion was an officer, a Lieutenant Colonel of Volunteers. Chosen by the ponies 1st Ponyville Regiment to be their leader, he was the pony that the they believed to be the one who could lead them. And Newman could clearly see why.

Tall, firm, and intimidating looking, Big Macintosh looked like a pony who could instill order to a rag tag group of ponies. This was a good thing too, as they needed every pony that could bear their leadership capabilities on the raw volunteers

Big Macintosh trailed behind the two officers as they headed towards the regiment that was temporarily under his command. As a temporary commander yet commander nonetheless, the stallion was given the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of Volunteers. This would give him enough power to control the regiment, as well as limiting his position to a second-in-command when the officers from the Royal Guard came.

“So, Colonel, I presume that you know these ponies well, seeing that they elected you as their leader throughout their training.” Newman said, as they made their way.


“Eyup.” Big Macintosh replied, giving a quick nod.

With the 1st Ponyville composed of ponies that lived mostly in the town, he was quite familiar with them all and them familiar with him. Known as a strong and cool headed pony, who was always hardworking and perseverant, the regiment had no second doubts on voting him.

“Do you think you can handle it?” Newman asked. “This is quite a bid role you’re in right now.”

“Eyup.”

Glancing towards the red stallion and noticing his lack of a wide vocabulary, Newman wondered why that was so.

“Not, much for words, aren’t you?”

“Enope.” Big Macintosh said, with a firm shake of the head.

Sighing, Newman shook his own head and forced a small smile. “Well, maybe you’re lack for words will make up for something else. Maybe an abundance in leadership?”

The three soon reached the parade ground, which was filled with companies from the 1st Ponyville, who were practicing formations and marching.

The large open field that was once barren and coated with grass, was now congested with ponies, who made their way from one end of the field before doing an about face and making their way to the others side. The grass that was once was flourishing was now flattened, while some area had them crushed to the point where there was nothing but the brown dirt left.

Newman watched as the companies marched in lines of battle, trying their best to stay coherent and firm. But it seems their best just wasn’t enough, as their lines look jagged and broken. With small gaps forming from one part, as some ponies got left behind, to unsynchronized hoof steps, the companies looked like a gigantic mess.

Sergeants tried their best to fix the gaps and keep the lines straight, but no matter how hard they tried, the gaps always appeared. Whenever a gap was fixed, another would just appear, as some ponies struggled to keep up with others.

Newman could hear Feather Wing give a frustrated sigh at this. The young officer still had doubts on the capabilities of this volunteer force, while Newman himself had cautious optimism about them.

With his black cavalry shading his gaze as he looked up, he saw that it was a hot cloudless day. From the information given to him by Twilight, he learned that the pegasi were the ones the controlled the weather. And after seeing the cloudless sky above them, he gave a guess that the area must have been scheduled for clear skies.

This meant that the entire countryside would be under the full wrath of the sun, as it brought down large rays of heat upon them all.

The rays of the sun were bearing down upon them, as the heat felt like a fire that was brought in front of anyone who fell under it. The sun burning gaze felt like thorns under the skin, whether one was shaded or covered with fur all over them. For human and ponies alike, the hot sunny day was a painful experience to go through, especially for the ones who had to march under its blaze.

Bringing his attention to a group of ponies who were about to begin their drill, he could see the unsure looks on their face. They must have been confused at what they were trying to achieve with the formation that they were forming, as they made a jumbled line on the edge of the grounds. Similar to the other lines that the companies on the parade ground were attempting to create.

Deciding to move towards them, he could see that the attention of these ponies turned to him. Their eyes tried to stay forward, but they couldn’t help but make a quick glance at the weird looking creatures.

With a large black cavalry hat on the top of his head, it was easy to distinguish him from the rest of the humans who worked in the camp, helping to train these ponies into a coherent fighting force.

Knowing all too well that he was the one in charge of the camp, they tried their best to straighten up and turn the line to a proper formation. The ponies shuffled left and right, inching to a proper position, as they tried to stand tall and orderly in front of him.

Turning his attention towards the sergeant in charge of them, a tall man from one of his companies, he complemented him on his job and asked how things were going.

“To be honest, sir, this group over here is a confused lot. I try my best to teach them, but they just don’t seem to get it. It might take a lot more work before we get them marching down the lane.” The sergeant explained.

“Well, armies aren’t overnight.” Newman said before facing the small group. “Let’s just see what they learned so far. Maybe a simple march by column?”

“Go ahead, sir, but I can assure you that you won’t like the sight.” The sergeant said, giving him the command of the company.

“Alright…” Newman said, before clearing his throat. 

“Company, right face!” He bellowed, as some of the ponies shuddered from his loud voice.

With a sloppy swing, most of the ponies n the company turned right. Some managed to achieve it with a slow turn, but other stumbled on their hooves, while some even faced the wrong direction. In sheer nervousness under his presence, some of the ponies managed to confuse their right from their left. This ended with the company having a mismatched look, with ponies on the ground after stumbling, while others facing left instead of right.

Newman could hear Feather Wing slam his hoof on his face, as he sighed and gave swore something about Celestia.

“I told you, Colonel. They’re a confused lot. Couldn’t even tell their left from their right.” The sergeant said, shaking his head.

“Yes, I see now, sergeant.” Newman said, before patting him in the back. “But, that’s you’re here, isn’t it?”

The sergeant just grinned and nodded. “Aye, sir.”

“Well then, I want you to drill them till they know what to do with only gestures by their commanders.” Newman ordered. “Alright, sergeant, continue your training.”

“Yes, sir.” The sergeant said with a sauté, before turning his attention back to the company.

“Aright, let’s do this again. Company…” The rest of the sergeants orders were drowned away by the noises of the grounds, as Newman and his party moved away.

“Still think you have what it takes to keep this regiment intact?” Newman asked Big Macintosh, who remained silent throughout the entire 
encounter, quietly observing it all.

“Eyup.”





Lyra’s legs felt sore, as result of an entire week of drilling under the sun. With fatigue and a weary body, she felt that she could close her eye and rest for one month strait. Her muscles were screaming from the pain and were practically telling her to lie down on her cot and rest. But instead of doing that, she had other plans in mind.

Despite body’s cry for rest, she decided to trot through the camp, wanting to fulfill another urge, hunger. 

Lyra’s stomach was beginning to complain as the urge to seek food called to her. Having tried to ignore it only moment earlier, she found it hard to resist and soon began to seek out anything that could fulfill the hunger she was feeling.

Although they were all being fed with ample supplies of food, to her, the amount of food she was given just didn’t seem enough for her. In the army, there were no seconds and the first serving was usually your last, since the cooks had to feed at least a thousand more soldiers in the camp. But for a pony like her, who had ate till she felt numb in the stomach, having one serving would just not do. 

With only a couple slices of bread, a salad, and a couple of apples, she didn’t feel satisfied with the evening meal she had. So she decided to solve the problem by inspecting the tent that stored the food stocks as well as helping herself to the vast stores of food that were inside. 

During inventory duty, which was her punishment for falling asleep in guard duty, she learned that the camp had a vast surplus of fruits and vegetables that were all stored in one tent. With this knowledge in mind, she decide to remember this simple fact, just in case she needed to give an unscheduled inspection, like what she was about to do right now.

So now she planned to sneak in the tent, making sure the guard didn’t notice her, and take as much as she could carry and get away without leaving a trace of this action. It sounded like a simple plan which she hoped she wouldn’t mess up. 

But knowing herself, she knew that something was bound to go wrong.

The only lights in the camp were the camp fires that dimly lit the surrounding area. Ponies gathered around these campfires, sharing stories and keeping themselves warm by the glowing flames of the fires.

With most ponies gathered there and distracted, she easily snuck through without drawing suspicion from anypony nearby. 

Although there was nothing wrong on taking a stroll around camp, she still didn’t want to take the risk of somepony ratting her out. She feared the possibility of sompony watching her entering the food stores and informing an officer. So with this paranoia in mind, she kept to the shadow and avoided the ponies by the fires. 

Reaching the tent, she sprinted towards the back, making sure that the pony guarding the entrance didn’t notice her. 

But what she didn’t know was that the pony was too tired and bored to pay any attention, as the earth pony who stood guard had his eyes half closed, as sleep started to enter his mind.

“Alright, let’s see…” Lyra quietly murmured to herself, as she thought of a plan to get in. “…I could knock the guard out of consciousness…” She pondered. “…but I don’t know on which is a greater offence. Stealing or assaulting a fellow soldier. Well I am doing both if I knock him out, but it’s too much of a risk. Oh, I know! I’ll just find a way to distract him, but how?”

Suddenly, the sound of snoring filled her ears, making her raise an eyebrow n curiosity. Looking back towards the guard, she was surprised the see that the guard was now slouching as he sat, eyes closed, while he drifted off to sleep, into the realm of Princess Luna. 

She didn’t know if she should be happy to know that most guards in the regiment fall asleep easily, including herself, or scared, because they could easily fall asleep, even if they were guarding against the enemy. But she shrugged the thought off, things like that were problems of commanders and not ordinary soldiers like her, or was it?

“Well, then…” She said, grinning as she moved towards the tent’s entrance. “…that was easier than I thought.”

Closing the flap behind her, she was greeted with the sight of the vast food stores that were stocked inside the tent. Dozens upon dozens of crates, filled with different kind of fruits and vegetables, all available to her. 

Stored in wooden crates and marked with the symbol of the Equestrian Military, they were placed one on top of another to ensure the usage of every inch of space. From the text written on it, she could see that they were brought from all over Equestria, some even coming from 
Dodge Junction. It just goes to show how much economic power this country has. 

The amount of food in this one tent was enough to feed the entire camp for half a month, and combined with the other tents that contained food supplies, it could supply them with nutrients for at least three to four months.

“Well time to dig in.” She said happily as she looked around and tried to choose which one of the crates to open first.

But as she moved through the tent, she failed to notice the presence of another pony inside. The other pony was leaning against an open crate, with its contents sprawled out on the ground. 

That pony was happily indulging herself with some fruits, unaware of Lyra, who was coming around the corner. They were both clueless about each other’s presences, even though they were only a few feet apart.

So it came to Lyra’s total surprise when she turned around a corner of boxes and found herself a weird looking creature sitting on the ground, sucking on fruits, before looking up towards her. 

The creature looked like any other pony, a pegasi to be exact, but there were a couple of differences. Instead of having normal pegasi wings, which were feathery and fluffy, the creature had silky sharp wings, ones that looked similar to bat wings. The creatures ears also looked different, for they were furrier and sharper looking. But what really caught her attention was the tool the creature used to suck on the fruit. 

Fangs! It had fangs!

Lyra jumped back at the sight of them, as fear gripped her. She kept her eyes fixated on the fangs, as the creature stared at her with curiosity.
Remembering the events that happens every Nightmare Nigh, when Princess Luna visits their small town, she began to realize what that pony was. It was a bat pony!

A pony that had a bat like shape and abilities, known for their service in Princess Luna’s Guard. She had heard rumors that ponies spread about them, on how they such you’re blood and kidnap you to act as a source of their food. She knew that those rumors were ridiculous, but after standing here and getting an up-close view of those sharp fangs, she started to fear that it might be true.

Feeling her body quiver in fear, she tried to suppress a scream that was inching its way out. Despite the fear that was inside her, she knew that any scream would wake up the guard outside. And she didn’t know what was worst, being trapped in a tent with a bat pony or being reprimanded for sneaking in the stores and attempting to steal food.

But the fear that gripped her was too much, as the scream built within her.

“B…bat pon…” He scream was cutoff short, as the bat pony jumped and tackled her, putting her hoof to block her scream.

“Hey, calm down…” Trying to keep her hoof in place to fight off Lyra, who was trying to break free from the grasp. “…we don’t want to attract any attention here, do we?” 

Lyra tried to respond with another scream, but her voice was muffled by the hoof that was covering it. Her eyes dilated as she stared at the bat pony in the eyes, her body shivered in fear, seeing the fangs up close now, waiting to strike.

Closing her eye, she gave a short whimper as she brought all her strength in an attempt to get out. If she managed to break free, then she might be able to get away before the bat pony could take a bite on her.

But as she struggled and tried to break free from the pony holding her down, she began to notice that no strike was coming upon her.

Opening her eyes and turning her attention back towards the pony in front of her, she noticed that instead of attacking and preparing for a bite, the pony was waiting patiently for her to calm down. Keeping the hoof on her mouth, the pony tried to keep Lyra quiet so that the guard outside wouldn’t check inside the tent.

Noticing that Lyra wasn’t struggling anymore, the bat pony gave her a looked and tried to make sure that she won’t scream anymore.

“You good yet?” The bat pony asked, in a hushed voice. “Because I don’t know how long we can keep up in this position.”

With a little less fear and a slightly calmed soul, Lyra gave a slow nod as she relaxed her tensed body.

“Alright, I’m going to slowly bring my hood down. No screaming now, alright.”

Lyra nodded again and soon, the hoof covering her mouth was moved away, allowing her to speak freely once more.

Looking back towards the bat pony, Lyra noticed the grin the formed on her face and the sharp fangs that protruded from them. Despite 
learning that the bat pony wasn’t planning to suck her blood any time soon, she was still curious on why this was so.

“So…” She slowly said. “…you aren’t going to suck my blood?”

“Suck your blood?” The bat pony asked, tilting her head and giving her a curious look. “Why would I ever do that?”

“Well you’re a bat pony…and I thought…” Her sentence began to drift, as she feared the possibility of aggravating the bat pony, who so far seemed friendly.

Bat the bat pony didn’t seem to be angered by the stereotypical thought, though she did seemed slightly annoyed. Rolling her eyes, she moved towards Lyra and debunked the rumor of bat ponies sucking blood.

“Listen, I can assure you that we bat ponies do not drink blood. Why would you ponies even spread rumors like that? Besides…” She said, moving towards a crate and pulling out two apples. “…we suck fruits, not apples.”

She then proved it by sticking her fangs into the apple, penetrating it, and sucking the sweet juices till the fruit was as dry as a desert. After having done this, she took the other apple and offered it to Lyra.

“Want one?” She asked, with a small smile on her face.
Lyra gave it a cautious look, but decided to accept it.

As she grabbed the apples with her magic, her gaze fell towards the pile of dried apples that were littered on the corner. Seeing so many apples sucked by the bat pony, she concluded that she must have had to eat a lot of apples to fulfill her nutritional needs. That or she just really liked apples.

As her gaze moved away from the pile, she began to notice the pieces of dark blue armor that was placed on top of one of the crates. Inspecting it, she noticed that it had a crescent moon mark on it, the symbol of Princess Luna’s Lunar Guard.

“So…uhhh…” Lyra said, as she held the apples within her magical grasp. “…you’re one of Princess Luna’s Guards?”

The bat pony seemed to gleam in pride as she heard that, as she gave a broad smile and nodded. ‘Yup. Princess Luna’s own. I was assigned here to act as a liaison officer for your camp’s human commander.”

“Wait…” Lyra said, after taking a bite from the apple. “…did you say officer?”

“Uhh…yes, why?”

Lyra gave a loud gulp as fear soon returned to her body.

Officer! She was an officer! Oh, now she’s done it, she going to be caught!

These thoughts circulated in her head, as she knew that it would only be a matter of time before she realized that Lyra wasn’t supposed to be there. She began to panic, mentally trying to figure a way out of here, without getting caught. But all of her battle plans ended up as a fail, as she found it impossible not to get caught now.

Noticing the tension on the unicorn in front of her, the bat pony stared in wonder, on why the pony suddenly changed in mood. But when she finally caught up with the situation, she realized that the pony was afraid and intimidated in the fact that she was an officer.

Knowing that the unicorn in front of her wasn’t a guard, seeing that guards weren’ really supposed to roam and admire the stores, the possibility that she too snuck in to get a snack was high.

Deciding that they would achieve nothing if they just stood there staring at each other, she put a hoof on Lyra’s shoulder and tried to calm the petrified pony.

“Oh come on now, lighten up.” She said. “I’m not going to arrest you or anything.”

“Y…you’re not?” Lyra asked, weary at what she said, fearing that it was just a trick.

“Of course not.” She reassured. “Besides, both of us aren’t really supposed to be here.” She then gave her a sheepish smile. “I might have snuck in here, just like you.”

Lyra’s eyes lighten up as she gave a sigh of relief. She was lucky to have, not only learn that bat ponies are friendly, but also ran into an officers who wasn’t going to reprimand her. She knew that she had gotten away for now, thanks to a whole lot of luck.

“Anyways…” The bat pony said, sucking another apple before offering her hoof. “…my name’s Dawn.”

Lyra stared, as a smile grew on her face. Taking a bite on the apple that she was till levitating, she accepted the hoof and nodded.

“Well, I’m Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings.”





Newman sat inside his tent, reading the reports that were littered all over his desk.

From the reports, he was learning that the camp and its soldiers were progressing, but they were doing so slowly. Despite having great discipline, the ponies were just too slow on figuring the maneuvers and formations, as they found it difficult to follow.

But this was expected off from volunteers and Newman knew that. These were civilians who had no prior military training and never actually expected themselves to be a part of the military until now. It would take them some time to figure it out, but after the endless amount of drills, they would soon have it all in the back of their minds.

But the important question was, when?

With every passing day, the possible threat of an invasion draws closer, as the Griffons muster their forces for an attack on Equestria. And with Equestria having no proper army to defend itself, all hoped rested on the volunteers army, which a part of it he was helping to train.

If the volunteer army is not ready and trained by the time the Griffons arrived, the future of Equestria, and his men, would be on the edge.

Sighing, he shook his head and pushed away the papers. The past week had been busy and, despite being slow, was still productive. The volunteer brigade was learning, and one day, like the 220th, would be able to apply everything they learned in the field.

The sound of his tent’s flap opening attracted his attention, as he turned around to see Johnson holding two mugs as he stood inside his tent.

“Tea?” Newman asked, knowing that Equestria had a great abundance of the drink. Despite not being a great fan of it, he had grown quite accustomed to the drink, after having being offered it time and time again.

“No, sir, something else.” Johnson said, a huge grin plastered on his face.

The thick and bitter smell that was emitting from the mugs soon flowed towards Newman, as the man’s face suddenly lit up. Looking towards Johnson, he gave the sergeant a questioning look before standing up to accept one of the mugs.

As he took it, he looked down to see a dark and warm liquid that he never imagined to find here. Coffee! It was coffee. The energizing drink that fueled any officer and soldier in any campaign, giving them the needed boost to c=keep them alive and wide eyed in the moment they needed the most.

Gladly taking a sip, he let out a relieved and satisfied smile.

“Do I have to ask were you found this, sergeant?” Newman asked, after having savored the taste in his tongue.

“Oh, don’t worry, sir. It was quite easy.” Johnson assured him. “You see, this here camp has sacks of them. Apparently ponies drink them too, although not as much as they drink tea. So, when I saw the sacks, I asked the quarter master if I could scoop some up, which he gladly complied. Now, seeing how tired you look after a hard day’s work, I decided to give you a little something to help you out.”

“Oh, you truly are a gift from the Almighty, Johnson, yes you are.” Newman said, beckoning the man to take as seat, as he gave him a huge grin. “You do not know how much I needed this.”

“With that amount of paper work…” Johnson said, pointing towards the desk. “…I think I understand how much you need it, sir.”

Newman sighed as he nodded. “Well, it won’t be so bad now.” He said, gesturing to the mug.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that, sir.” Johnson said.

Nodding, Newman silently went back to his seat and looked back towards his desk.

“So, Johnoson, how’s the regiment? Getting any problems so far?” Nerwman asked, without turning his head.

“Nope, no problems with the boys, sir.” Johnson responded, shaking his head. “They’re taking things pretty well and doing their best to train these here ponies.”

“Good, good.” Newman said, before turning and facing Johnson. “God knows that we’ll be nedded as much effort in our men to train them.”

“Oh, it can’t really be that bad.” Johnson said. “To me, this here brigade seems a little too similar to our own regiment when they were first mustered a clustered mess who can’t even form a straight line.”

Newman smiled when he heard this and nodded. 

“Yes, yes, they were a rowdy bunch back then. Can’t believe that they’re now the ones training a brigade to do the exact formations they found difficulty in achieving all those months before.”

“War tends to do that, turning young boys into men.” Johnson stated. “I think the same would happen to this here brigade, when the time comes.”

“Yes…when the time comes, it will happen.” Newman said, taking another sip of his coffee.