Chapter 10
A cannon went off by the field, as a cannonball wheezed by towards it target. A few seconds later, a wooden wall was torn into pieces, sending splinters and bits of plank flying. The cannon ball ripped through the wall, penetrating through it as the wall collapsed onto the hot ground.
The ball then continued to bounce, before planting itself in the ground, a couple of yards away from its target.
Looking at it through his binoculars, Newman could see the shards and pieces fly to the air, as the shot gave a direct hit. Smiling, he brought the binoculars down and gazed towards the piece that had fired the accurate shot.
Examining the cannon, he couldn’t help but notice its similarity to their own Napoleon cannon, used by the Army of the Potomac. Like the Napoleon, the cannon had a bronze tube and was a smooth bore that had a twelve centimeter bore, allowing it to fire shot, shell, or canister rounds. With a range of at least one thousand four hundred yards and a decently accurate shot, it almost sounded like and fired like the Napoleon.
But this wasn’t the Napoleon, for this was the Equestrian designed Mk. 3 Long Range Field Artillery. Created by ponies as a support piece, to provide its forces with covering fire that could soften up enemy positions in a battlefield.
And now Newman a decent number of them in his hands
Assigned to their camp to give a little more firepower to the brigade, Newman decided to put the pieces into good use. With four cannons in his possession, he would be able to create a decent sized battery that he could attach to the brigade.
Having asked for volunteers, those who could hull the cannon and properly aimed it, Newman decided to test the pieces and find out the effectiveness of the equipment as well as finding out how good was the crew that he assigned for them.
Although the crew who loaded the piece proved to show the same slowness and clumsiness that he has always seen within the raw recruits, the aiming and firing of the weapon proved to have been a different story.
Having studied proper cannon loading, aiming, and firing back at West Point, Newman had enough knowledge on the proper use and deployment of such weapons. Remembering his lessons on proper elevation and trajectory, Newman knew that calculating the range and adjusting the angle was a difficult task, the required time in a moment of haste.
But the pony who did the aiming for this piece managed to do the calculation in only a couple of seconds. Without taking a paper to solve the trajectory problem, she looked through the sights, adjusted the elevation, before moving back and gave a nod towards the pony who held the firing line, signaling that the piece was now properly aimed at its target.
With the pony’s quick action and little time given to calculating the angle, Newman believed that the aim would be off and would miss. But when he watched the ball fly through the air and arch towards its target before hitting it squarely in the middle, he knew then and there that he found someone who could accurately aim the weapon with split second calculating and aiming.
“That was a fine shot you did there.” He said, complementing the pony who aimed the cannon.
“Yes, sir.” The pony said. “Thank you, sir.”
“Tell me…” Newman said, facing the pony. “…where did you learn to estimate and calculate do fast?”
“Well…uhh…nopony thought me, sir. To aim a cannon, I mean.” The pony said, shaking her head. “Although I was good in math, in fact, that was my major. I’m pretty good at physics too, sir.”
“A student?” Newman asked.
“No, sir. I’ve graduated a couple of years ago.” The pony said, shaking her head. “I’m a teacher now, at the local elementary school. Although, due to the fact they don’t teach elementary students subjects higher than algebra, I might have been a little rusty in my calculations.”
“Well the results say otherwise.” Newman said, gesturing towards the decimated wooden wall.
Turning his gaze towards the row of cannons that had been lined up, he watched as ponies began loading them and preparing each piece to fire. Once done, a pony for each piece began aiming the cannons till they were satisfied with their aim.
The burst of each cannon soon echoed throughout the field, as a cloud of thick smoke filled the air, covering the line of sight and filling the air with the smell of gunpowder. But once the breeze blew it away, the results of the small cannonade soon became clear to Newman, as he saw that each of the cannons targets were left undamaged, as none of the balls hit.
Shaking his head, he looked away from the distant cannons and returned his gaze towards the pony in front of him and cleared his throat.
“Listen, I need ponies like you.” He told her. “Ponies who can accurately determine the range of their target and calculate the firing solution in a blink of an eye. From what I’m seeing, you seem to be the only one here who can do it efficiently and effectively. With those abilities, I think it would be a waste if I keep you as a low ranking soldier. So, I’m going to promote you to Captain of volunteers and assign you to this here battery.”
Newman paused for a moment, letting it sink in for the pony in front of him. It was clear the she was surprised, but she was able to quickly recover from this news.
“Your first order of business would be to find ponies who are as good as you. We need better runners for those cannons and I think you can do the job. Is that clear?”
The pony stared at him, blinking, before giving a short yet firm nod.
“Why, yes, sir.” She said. “I will do it as soon as possible, sir.”
“Good.” Newman said, nodding. He then took out a small notepad and pencil and opened it. “Now, if you could just give me your name, I would do the needed paper work and make it official.”
“Cherilee, sir.”
Newman wrote the name down and nodded.
“Very well. Congratulations, Capt. Cherliee.”
“So let me get this straight…” Feather Wing said, as he looked towards the bat pony who was trotting beside him. “…they don’t train you how to use firearms in the Lunar Guard.”
The bat pony in question shook her head and gave a proud reply. “Nope, because we didn’t need them. Our training focused on stealth, hiding in the shadow. Using those noisy weapons would just give away your position, so Princess Luna never thought to employ them in our training.
Instead, we were thought to sneak up on our targets, get close, and use a blade.”
“But what I you find yourself pinned down by your enemy, who is using rifles?” Feather Wing asked. “What would you do then?”
Dawn just shrugged. “Don’t know, really. We were never trained for that. We were always thought the tactic of keeping to the shadow and never exposing ourselves. They told us that if we stick to that strategy, then we’ll never find ourselves in a situation where the enemy had the advantage. Follow, gather information, then strike, that’s our motto.”
“Sounds like the Lunar Guard is more like a spy organization than a Guard unit, is that what you’re implying?” Feather Wing pointed out.
“Do you have some kind of recording device hidden under you’re armor, recording this very situation. You know, I bet the Lunar Guard has files on all of us here, including me.” He said jokingly, before putting some distance away from her. “Please don’t stalk me.” He said, acting as if he were cowering in fear.
Dawn giggled as she rolled her eyes. “We’re not a spy organization silly; we’re just a force that likes to stick to the shadows. Like, do you never wonder why you never see us patrol the castle?”
“Well, now that you mention it…” He said, remembering his night patrols in Canterlot Castle during his short deployment there. Throughout those patrols, he never once saw a member of the Lunar Guard, but when he asked his commanding officer about it, he was told that they were there, doing their job.
“See, that’s how good we are at hiding. We stick to the ceilings and dark areas, as we keep an eye in important places. If we do find an intruder, we just quietly follow them, before waiting for the perfect moment to strike.” She then paused before looking at him. “Although, we do have the abilities to follow ponies like you, without you even noticing it.”
“Stalker ponies.” Feather Wing grunted, as the sound of musketry filled their ears, while a thick fog of gunpowder was blown down from the firing range.
Turning their gaze towards the field, both Feather Wing and Dawn could the company who had just fired the volley. The company was formed in a line of battle and were wielding their Equis Mk. 4 rifles. Looking sharp and organized in their uniforms, the company stood by the field, as they withdrew their pieces
Due to the fact that it was easier to supply cloth uniforms instead of metal armored suits for the thousands of volunteers, the Eqestrian government supplied all of its units with the standard uniform of white woolen coats.
The white color of the uniforms gave a nice sense of uniformity throughout each unit, as well as making it easier to identify friend from foe. With all the ponies in the Volunteers Army wearing this uniform, the small brigade inside the camp now looked more like proper soldiers rather than a ragtag group of civilians with guns.
Trotting towards the company, their eyes glanced towards a tall human officer who was in charge of the training of the small company’s marksmanship and reloading drills.
Wearing a green cladded coat and holding a breach loading rifle within his grasp, the human observed the volley fired and gave a small nod of satisfaction towards the company. After having trained this company over and over, the man was satisfied at the outcome of the recent volley.
Despite it not being perfect, it was still a definite improvement.
“Wilson!” Dawn called out, as the two ponies stood behind him.
The tall man looked behind him and smiled when he caught sight of the energetic bat pony. Wilson was always amazed at how hyper the young bat pony was and always thought that she had swallowed an entire cup of sugar before starting her day. But despite her energetic nature, Wilson had grown fond of the fun loving and care free pony.
After their first encounter two weeks before, the two had gotten close to one another. A bond that was easily comparable to close friends who had known each other for years, instead of a pony and human who had only known each other for two weeks.
“Dawn.” He said, turning his attention towards them. “Well, it’s good to see you nice and peppy this morning.” He then turned his gaze towards the pegasus beside her and gave a small nod of acknowledgement. “Feather Wing.”
“Sir.” Feather Wing, replied, with a short salute.
“So…” Wilson said. “…what brings you two here? Now, it’s not that I don’t appreciate your presence, but when Feather Wing is here, it usually means important business.”
“Well…” Dawn said, moving closer to him. “…Feather Wing here was doing rounds around camp, so I decided to accompany him to give him some company. Right now, we’re here under the Colonel’s orders, in which we are supposed to inspect the progress of the shooting exercises as well as the drilling for proper firing procedures.”
“In other words, you were bored to death inside the command camp and decided to tag along?” Wilson colluded, knowing all too well that the bat pony couldn’t stay still in one place for a minute.
“Well…yeah…” Dawn admitted. “…but it isn’t my fault that there isn’t much for me to do. Besides, Feather awing here is hogging all the duties, like sending messages and inspecting companies. All I have to do there is sit down and arrange papers.”
Wilson chuckled, amused at the bat pony’s boredom towards paperwork.
“Well…” He said, facing the company. “…you two can tell the Colonel that the training over here is going well. With each drill, the company is improving and is able to do it faster than before. This here company over here…” He said, gesturing to the ponies in front of him. “…most of the ponies there can shoot two times a minute. Not as good as a well-trained company, who can fire three shots a minute but they’re getting there.”
“So, they’re good enough for a fight?” Feather Wing asked, impressed that a group of civilians managed to memorize and decently perform the drill in such a short amount of time.
“Hmm…” Wilson said, thinking it over. He rubbed his chin as he lanced towards the company, recounting their training and recent performance. “…I don’t know if they can win a fight. But I’m a hundred percent sure that they can at least hold their ground in one.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.” Feather Wing said nodding.
“Yup.” Dawn chirped. “In fact, that’s more than good, it amazing. Equestria is finally shaping up and starting to have an army. Those Griffons better think twice before landing their forces here, because we’re going to bite.”
She then looked towards the company as a small smile krept on her face.
“Now…if we can only teach them stealth tactics.”
Feather Wing rolled his eyes as he tried to brush off her intentions. “Oh, please. The last thing we need is an army of stalker ponies. So don’t get any ideas.”
B Company of the 1st Baltimare Volunteers was camped at the northern tip of the entrance to Horseshoe Bay. With their tents and entrenchments deployed on top of a high hill that overlooked the surrounding area, the company and its force guarded the entrance to the bay, protecting it from any threats that came from the ocean.
With a battery of four canons to support them, the small force can stall any threat that attacks the area, long enough for reinforcements from the nearby city to arrive. But that was only in theory. And that theory would only work if the soldiers in charge of defending the area could do their job properly, which was not the case here.
Despite the menacing look of the weapons and fortification that were dug upon the hill, the ponies who were in charge of its defense were raw and barely trained. After having just undergone two weeks of training, the ponies inside the camp barely knew how to accurately aim the canon, while the loaders fumbled around with the shot and ammunition.
The rest of the soldiers were just as bad, as they took time to reload their pieces, while having the slightest knowledge on the proper techniques in using their short swords.
But despite these facts, the officers and soldiers in the camp did not worry. In their quiet place in Equestria, with the cool ocean breeze blowing, they didn’t expect to see action any time soon. So they just enjoyed their time there, pretending that it was a camping trip, filled with itchy uniforms and strict discipline.
They sweat and worked under Celestia’s blazing sun, as they trained and practiced, while they slept under Luna’s cool nights, knowing tomorrow would be the same.
Little did they know, they’re monotonous life here was about to change.
During the early dawn hours of one cool and windy morning, the camp was at its usual state. The campfires dead and were smoldering ashes, as the ponies of the company still lay in their cots, slumbering inside their tents.
The camp’s four cannons pointed towards the ocean and the bay’s entrance, looking out towards the water, as it gave a dominant presence despite its silent state. While the deep trenches and barricades, which were dug up around the camp, lay empty and clean.
On top of the wooden watchtower, two ponies lay fast asleep, the smell of heavy cider emitting from their fur and coats. After having their fun with the drink, the two ponies were knocked out, fast asleep despite being on sentry duty. Tired by the effects of the drink, their eyes closed and mind faltered, as they rest their heads on the plank floors of the watchtower.
As they and the rest of the camp slept through the last hours of the night sky, everypony in the garrison failed to notice the silhouette of a ship of war, that was slowly making its way to the entrance of Horseshoe bay.
With its sails at full mast, it gracefully glided through the water, cutting through like a hot knife through butter. Keeping silent and stealthy, the ship positioned itself by the entrance, as the crew hastily prepared it.
After a couple more minutes of silence, a loud explosion ripped through the early dawn air, which was followed by another and another.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of explosions echoed and pierced the silent sate of the area, as everypony jolted awake from the noise it was created. They jumped out of their cots and looked out their tents, trying to figure out what was going on.
Some of the quick thinking ponies raced out of their tents and galloped towards the small cabin that was used as an armory, hoping to pick up their rifles or roll our barrels of gunpowder.
But this action was cut short, as an explosive shot hit the wooden shed, causing the earth to shake and bringing out a loud explosion. The gunpowder stored inside blew up, causing a chain reaction to the other combustible materials inside. The flames from the explosion lit up the dark skies, as pieces of debris flew everywhere, sprinkling the camp with splinters and chunks of wood.
The company commander, an old shopkeeper from Baltimare, stepped out of his tent to look up at the devastating and menacing ball of flame. He could feel the heat emit from it and couldn’t help but feel fear build up within him.
Throughout his life, he had never seen anything like it. None of the fireworks he had ever witnessed could compare to this sight, as the amount of powder that fed those flames equaled to nothing he has ever seen before.
Gulping, he looked towards his company to see a mob of ponies who were running around, worried and panicking. With their gun powder supply and all of their weapons blown up, there was no way to defend the camp from the attackers who were bombarding them. He knew that, unless they wanted to fight off cannons with blades, they must get away from this place and seek a better place to hold.
More shots fell as they rained all around him. All over the camp, ponies stumbled, while others became victims of the shells that fell from the sky.
His body quivered in fear as he let out a frustrated grunt. Knowing nothing better to do and feeling his own panic build inside him, he shouted to the top of his lungs.
“Fall back!” He cried to them. “Retreat to the city!”