Brigadier Hammer’s briefing had been… brief. We were going to mobilize and march right across the border into Rindaire. Intelligence had let us know that the Sudramoar were not well entrenched beyond it and there was further opportunity to move fast. That is where all the grassland was. Tactically speaking, that was a horrible spot to hold your ground.
The area we’d be attacking soon wasn’t much better for them but, for whatever reason, they’d decided to try and delay us at the border. It was likely just due to the emotional and political significance. It is hard to claim ownership of a territory you don’t fully control.
With any luck, King Ranald and King Kronson would agree to just call it quits and split the place. Of course, that was about as likely as me turning into an alicorn. I wasn’t willing to lose an important part of myself and I suspected King Ranald felt the same.
Captain Brynja poked her head into my tent. “Zir, it iz time.”
“Yeah, alright.”
I got up and started to pull my uniform jacket back on. It caught on the wing brace and my temper flared. I ripped the jacket free and threw it onto the bed. “Stupid,” I hissed before taking a deep breath. Keep it together, Silent.
After regaining my composure, I trotted out of the tent to find over a hundred pegasi and gryphons waiting for me. The moment I appeared, they all fell deathly silent and stood to attention.
“Major Knight, these are the ones that wish to try,” Clement Knight said from off to the side.
“Very good, Sergeant Major.” I turned to the crowd and looked them over. There was a wide range of soldiers. All different armor, too: Equestrian Army, Nordanver Army, Royal Guards, and even some others that I didn’t recognize. Sellswords, most likely.
It didn’t matter where they’d come from; we had to shake out the best. They would be needed soon. I fixed my gaze past them and hardened it. “You are here because you’re under the impression that you can be a Black Dragoon. Perhaps you can. We are in the unenviable position of needing nine.
“This will be the largest bout of recruitment we’ve done since our inception. We don’t have much time to do it, either. We’ll be skipping the pleasantries and getting right into the hardest parts. Consider that a moment.
“Nine dragoons gone. Even we bleed but we will not shy away from our duty. We are the tip of the lance. This is not a company for the foolish, the easily terrified, or the glory seeker. Soon we’ll fly into the talons of our enemy once more and I need to know whoever I pick will be ready.”
I held up a small leather pouch. “Contained within this is what is most sacred to us. Rings from the chainmail of the dragoons who’s positions you dare to take. If you succeed here, you will receive one. Sergeant Major.”
“Yes, sir! Listen up! As the major said, we don’t have time for any foolishness. Get harnessed up. If you can’t use a lance kit, you can’t be a lancer. The first test is simple. Get the kit on by yourself, load your lance, and skewer three moving targets. If you miss even a single one, you’re out. You have sixty seconds to get in the air. GO!”
The scramble began immediately. Some of those that were in attendance were ready for it. Others were taken by total surprise. Being ambushed was part of the game, though. Captain Brynja and I stood there watching, trying to figure out who was the fastest and most collected.
We’d also deployed some of our dragoons to do similar snooping. They knew what it took to wear our armor. The others were hiding above with the targets. An assortment of large, medium, and small rings. You could learn a lot about someone by what they went after. Did I want someone that went after three large rings and got them or someone that hit two smalls but missed a third?
Missing one target wasn’t actually the end but they needed to think it was. We also had another surprise for them. One that tickled my sense of humor.
“Five seconds!” Clement Knight shouted.
Pegasi and gryphon alike fumbled with their harnesses and lances. A few were already strapped in and flying. Those would be worth watching. Although you could never tell until all of the results were in.
“Time!” Clement called.
On cue, rings started falling from the heavens. There was no warning, no instruction; just a sky full of targets. In addition to the rings, my chosen surprise also arrived: melons. Hitting a melon was a lot easier than hitting a ring but they exploded and made the situation a bit stickier.
“We muzt find nine like thiz?” Captain Brynja whispered to me.
The sky above us was a scene of pandemonium. Ponies and gryphons were colliding into each other and there were a few extremely near misses with lances. Thankfully, these were capped. A few were actually hitting the rings and there were exploding melons everywhere.
“It isn’t ideal, but we can’t go into this next operation short. We’ll just put them in the back so they can learn the role.”
“Agreed. We bez—” Directly above us, a melon was obliterated, showering us in juice, flesh, and rind. Brynja’s feathers ruffled and then bristled. “Thiz iz chaoz.”
Idly, I wiped melon off of my face. “Yup.”
The last ring fell and Clement Knight shouted, “That’s time! Everyone fall in, lances high.”
The group did so. Some of them had never even gotten off the ground. They just couldn’t work the lance kit under pressure or at all. There would be no place for them.
“At your leisure, sir.”
Captain Brynja and I started at the right of the formation and started working our way down. We reached one pegasus that was still struggling with his harness kit. I patted him on the shoulder. “No shame, son. Maybe next time. Fall out.”
His head hung but he did as I’d asked. There were a few more to dismiss like that. Plus others with completely empty lances.
Towards the end of the line, I came across a big, gray pegasus. His lance had two medium and one large ring on it. “You look familiar…” I said.
“We’ve never served together, sir.”
“I’m not so sure…” Large, grey coat, long brown mane. Then it hit me. “You were on the Happiness. You helped me pull ponies out of the smoke.”
The stallion shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t blame him. I tried not to think about that day, either. “Yes, sir.”
“Name?”
“Gaea Shield.”
“You’re moving on to the next round. Don’t let me down.”
“Yes, sir!”
Out of the original hundred-plus, only about thirty had managed to do enough in the first round to impress us. The rest had been dismissed.
“Sergeant Major, go ahead and get the endurance test started. I’ll be in my tent.”
“Yes, sir! Congratulations on making it this far, soldiers. Do you see that hill over there?” He was pointing way in the distance. “We’re going to bind your wings and you’re going to gallop there. When you arrive, you’ll find bags of sand. You’re going to pick up as many as you think you can handle and fly them back here.”
Clement was a devious pony. I just shook my head and ducked back into the tent. It was awfully quiet without Tumble or Reggie. Both had been sent home for wounds. Nothing fatal or debilitating. Just enough for us to make excuses. Reggie was struggling with the loss of his soldiers too much.
To quote him, he just couldn’t be as cold as me. That one still stung. I sat at my wobbly desk and pulled out a stack of letters and a couple of small packages I hadn’t addressed yet. Crystal was always my priority.
I had three from my mother, the last of which arrived when I was in the hospital. Then there were two from Winterspear. The packages were interesting and contained the usual stuff. A little candy, some magazines, and other things of that nature. I just gave those to my dragoons.
The latest one was from Runic, though. I pulled it open. It was a vial of blue liquid and white liquid that didn’t mix. There was a note.
Silent Knight
I heard you were injured again. Don’t do that. Nopony else likes Airship Armada as much as you and it isn’t as fun without you. I’m working hard to make things safer for you and Val. The Ministry seems to like my work. I’ve kept it all defensive. Hope the new helmet was right. Be sure to shake the potion up and drink it. I’ll send more. It is tough to make but I made it for you the last time.
Runic
I turned the potion over a bit and studied it. This was the mending mix he’d developed because of the last time I was here. I wasn’t sure if it actually worked, but it made us both feel better.
“Alright, Runic, just don’t turn me into something weird.” I shook the potion up and then drank it. It tasted like blueberries and… vinegar? Yuck!
After an hour I wasn’t dead, so I considered that a victory. All of my responses to letters seemed to be coherent so I trotted back out.
“Anyone back yet?”
“No, sir,” Clement replied.
“Do I look normal?”
The old stallion’s ear flicked and he peered at me as if I were daft. “Other than asking that question, yes, sir.”
“Aces,” I said before falling silent.
Then we stood there. Side by side in awkward silence. Minutes just crept by at a snail’s pace.
“So… do you think you’ll remain in the Army once this is over?” Clement asked out of nowhere.
Was that his version of small talk? I shook my head. “No chance of that. I’m going to finish this job, finish it right, and then give it to somepony else.”
“Ah…” He shifted. “How about the Guard?”
I blinked. What was this about? “I guess… maybe. It isn’t like Stratus prepared me to do anything else. Although, my wife is pretty successful. Maybe I’ll just lounge by a pool and let her take care of me.”
Clement snorted.
“What? You don’t approve?”
“Listen, son—sir. If you can do that and be happy, more power to you. But you’re not the lounging type. You’re not the killing type either… but you’re not the lounging type. I just want you to start thinking about what you’re going to do after this is all. Be prepared.”
“Sergeant Major, we’ve got a long way to go before we start thinking about home.”
He shook his head. “No, sir. I believe thinking about home and what you’re going to do when you get there is exactly what you should be doing. Look, I’ve never been in a war like this. No pony before us has in modern history. Those last two were nothing by comparison. Add them together and multiply by two and we still fall short.”
That certainly seemed true. We’d studied Stratus’s war in the academy. Less ponies were killed in the whole of it than in the first month of fighting here.
Clement went on, “This… this is something new. Something atrocious. Something that will probably never happen again. At least not to ponies. So you need to think about how you come out of it, alright? You can’t let yourself believe that this is what was expected of us.”
I shifted to face him. He was being earnest. He was actually trying to help? “Us?” Was all I could manage.
“Knights! Ponies! Pegasi! Even gryphons. There is something wrong here, son. Call it instinct, call it an old pony being crazy, but this is not normal. Not that war is, but I guess, having been here, we’ve never actually been to war before. Just bloody squabbles.”
“I see. So… it was never this bad for you and Stratus?”
The old stallion practically growled, “Dad. Just say Dad! Or at least Father.”
“What?”
Clement grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and pulled me in close. “He was your father. It is disrespectful for you to refer to him by name as if he is some pony not of our blood. You only call him Stratus. Not Stratus Knight, not Dad, not Father. Just like you don’t call me Grandfather.”
What was going on? Clement was all over the map. First helpful, now angry. I wanted to be angry too but I couldn’t. I set a forehoof on his and said softly, “I’m sorry. He was a terrible father. That isn’t going to change, but you were a terrible grandfather… were. I’m starting to see ponies can change, though, Grandpa.”
The grey stallion let me go and pushed my hoof aside. “Don’t patronize me.”
“I’m not. I’m genuinely grateful that you’re here. I’m not going to call you Grandfather, though. It is Grandpa or nothing.”
“Grandpa makes me sound old. It isn’t dignified.”
I draped my good wing over his back and nodded. “It makes you sound approachable. Just think, with a little luck, I’ll have some foals and they can call you Great-Grandpa. Or Great-Grampy. Who knows! My wife is a unicorn. Perhaps they have even softer, fluffier terms for their elders. Like Gamgam.”
“Boy, you’re just trying to upset me now.”
“I am… but only because I’m starting to warm to you. So… thanks for being here.”
Clement looked over at me and glared. When he saw I was serious, he blinked and then just nodded. “Alright. Well… I… Just think about getting home. I need to go do stuff.” He pulled away and trotted off.
Knight family emotions. At least that part hadn’t changed much. Still, there was a lot to think about. I took soldier’s instincts very seriously and Clem had been around a long time. Perhaps I should start taking his advice.
☾
“Would you quit squirming,” Clement Knight said to me as he tried to buckle my wing armor on.
“I’m sorry, but it doesn’t feel right.”
“Of course it doesn’t! Your wing is broken. You’ve got a brace on it. Now, sir, with all due respect, stop moving or I’m going to render you unconscious, dress you, and revive you.”
“You have an awfully inflated sense of your combat abilities.”
Clement tugged one of the straps tight, forcing the wind out of my belly. “Wisdom and experience trumps brawn. Don’t ever forget that. You’re big, Silent, bigger than me, bigger than your father, but you still have a lot of years to learn things.”
He went back to fussing over my wing before finally getting it right. “Alright, you’re done, sir. Let’s go stand in the rear and feel like cowards while Captain Brynja does all of the work.”
“Right,” I replied before slipping my helmet on and snapping it in place.
We walked out of my tent to where the unit waited in formation. Our nine new recruits were scattered throughout so that they could learn. I’d never met any of them prior other than Gaea Shield. That was alright. It was probably easier that way.
“Alright, everyone, today is the big day, we’re going back into Rindaire. This mission is about sending a message to King Kronson: you’re not getting your way anymore. We took everything you could throw at us and you failed. We’re coming for you!”
My dragoons cheered at that sentiment. Life was easier when you were moving forwards. We’d backslid far too much. I paused a moment for dramatic effect before pushing on.
“For this battle, Brigadier Hammer expects us to maintain flight superiority. He wants us to keep our sisters and brothers on the ground safe. Stay with our line, do not chase beyond it, but if some Sudramoar skirmisher crosses over, usher her over to the next life. Make yourself big, make yourself obvious, and make yourself visible. Why do we do that?”
“Because we’re the black dragoons!” they shouted.
“And what does that mean?”
“We are to be feared!”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself. Terrify our enemy. Captain Brynja, they’re all yours.”
“Yez, zir!” she replied before flapping her wings and taking off with ease. A twinge of jealously ran through me. “Come, dragoonz, let uz zhow our enemy zee way home.”
As my dragoons flew off my wings quivered. I could fly with the brace. Slowly… low… without armor. No, I could fly! I was Dread Knight! My wings flared but I found a hoof on my shoulder.
It was Clement. He just shook his head.
Carefully, I tucked my wings back in. We trotted together towards where Brigadier Hammer would be with his staff. Today, we had to watch the battle from a distance. Unless the enemy broke through. That could always happen.
It wasn’t too long before we were with the command group, perched on a knoll. Brigadier Hammer nodded at me but quickly went back to issuing commands.
“So… what do we do exactly?” I whispered to Clement.
He whispered back, “Stand here and look inspiring. Stay out of the way. If the enemy gets close, secure the brigadier’s retreat. Otherwise, watch in horror while wishing you were down there.”
“Great, thanks, Grandpa.”
“I regret talking to you,” he said flatly. He didn’t mean it. I could see it in his eyes. They were worn and tired, but there was some pride or similar positive emotion there. Clem, at this point of his life, would have made a decent father. Shame it took that long.
“Start the drums and sound the attack,” Brigadier Hammer ordered and his staff obeyed.
In front of us, the brigade started moving forwards, unicorn barriers sprang up sporadically, and flying units spread out overhead. I wanted to be out there with them, but at least this would help me keep my promise to Crystal. That was my silver lining.
Clement Knight pointed. “Engagement in the middle.”
My eyes found what he saw. “I see it. What is that they’re hiding behind?”
“Woven barriers. Not much good. What are they thinking? This is a terrible place to make a stand.”
I nodded. “Agreed. I guess it is all about the sho—”
All along the woven barriers, just as our first rank of troops crossed past them, the ground erupted in fire. Sudden, bright red fire that seemed to have sprung upwards. There were cries of pain and surprise that reached even us.
“By Celestia, what fresh abomination is this?!” Brigadier Hammer shouted.