Armor's Game

by OTCPony

To Know Thine Enemy

Flying in a V-of-Vs formation, three squadrons of Pegasi from the 1st Life Guards Regiment raced over the Lynx Territories. In their centre flew a small airship bearing the Coat of Arms of Equestria, but instead of the white-and-gold livery of Celestia or the dark blue and cyan of Luna, this one was painted purple and violet.

The Pegasi formation split into individual squadrons and peeled away as the airship slowly touched down on the grass, its door aligned perfectly with the red carpet leading towards the entrance to the Royal Army’s camp. The platoon of Royal Guards that flanked the carpet wheeled inwards.

“PARADE! GENERAL SALUTE!” barked the Guard commander. “PRESENT ARMS!”

Spear butts were driven into the ground and the points forced forward. Standing at the end of the red carpet, Shining Armor snapped to attention, brought his hoof up in salute and marched through the Guard to the door of the airship. The door swung open and out stepped, in full regalia, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Your Highness,” said Shining Armor formally, barely concealing a grin. He took her hoof and kissed it.

Twilight barely suppressed a giggle. “General Armor.”

“Welcome to the recently-liberated Lynx Territories. Let’s not keep these Guards waiting for too long.” He leaned forward and whispered. “You won’t believe how uncomfortable that position is.”

Twilight descended from the airship, followed by a small party of escorts. Shining recognised the Minister of War Rear Echelon, Spike, a handful of civil servants, and – his lip suddenly curled – Amber Spyglass, the Chief of Intelligence.

Shining would still despise Spyglass even if he did not know what he truly was. The profession of spycraft was an inherently ignoble one. He appreciated the value of intelligence in war as much as any soldier, but at least the ultimate injuries he inflicted on his enemies were done on the open field, not in dark corners with daggers or poisons.

With Ration Bag and Blackfire behind him, he escorted Twilight down the red carpet towards the Royal Army’s immaculately-assembled camp. As always, the supply wagons formed a defensive wall with a palisade of stakes thrown out in front to deter a cavalry attack. Pre-sighted artillery positions were dug outside the perimeter while every regiment had a pre-arranged fire position within the wall should the camp be attacked.

“Holy Guacamole, what’s that?” blurted Spike.

Shining grimaced. More likely to catch the eye than his own immaculate camp was the disorganised hodgepodge of tents, rubbish and unprotected cookfires to the north, jumbled beneath a pall of smoke. Unlike his own camp, that would resist a determined attack with the same resilience as a piece of parchment.

“Our camp followers,” he said grimly. “I’ll explain in the staff tent.”

The wind changed as they passed through the camp gate, and a wave of stench suddenly swept over them. Shining cursed mentally and made a note to find out which unit had decided to burn the contents of its latrines during the Royal Visit.

They passed through the palisade and trotted down the main path of the camp to the staff tent, sitting directly in the middle. A Guard with his spear presented in salute lined the path every few yards. Beyond that, Shining Armor had ordered the army to continue routine as normal. Shining kept his hoof raised in salute as Twilight smiled and waved, before finally passing through the canvas flaps of the staff tent.

The first thing that struck Twilight was the organisation. In all her years as a student and the librarian of Golden Oaks, she had rarely seen a workplace as organised as this. Rack upon rack of neatly-rolled scrolls and maps were carefully stacked around the walls. Trestle tables were positioned so that the commander, from his position in the centre, could look over the work of all the staff ponies around him. In the middle of the tent was the map table, dominated by a huge map of Froud Valley and the Changeling deployments therein.

A different pony (Rarity, Twilight thought at that moment) would have first noticed the staff themselves. Uniforms worn and faded by months in the field had been specially laundered and buffed for the visit. The Generals of the army’s divisions were there along with the staff, and a small galaxy of stars filled the tent, along with enough gold braid to decorate a New Horseleans carnival float.

Yet what struck Twilight most were the three figures standing over the map table. She had only ever seen them in the illustrations in her books before. Beneath their fur – black, gold, and striped – rippled sinewy muscles and they regarded her with golden eyes, the pupils slitted like cats’. So these are Lynxes.

“Your Highness,” said Shining Armor. “Allow me to introduce Chieftain Slashclaw of the Blackfur Lair, Chieftain Bright Streak of Strikefang Lair, and Chieftain Strong Blow of the hill fort of Afleasia.”

Twilight and Amber Spyglass exchanged quick glances. They had rehearsed this moment carefully. There was bad blood between all three of them, Spyglass had said. The war between Blackfur and Strikefang was less than a year concluded, and both lairs considered Strong Blow to be the effeminate leader to Lynxes gone soft from city life.

“Chieftain Slashclaw,” she said formally. “We have heard much of your heroism at Tailwald Wood, and of your resistance at the Siege of Afleasia, Chieftain Strong Blow, and of your relief of the siege, Chieftain Bright Streak.”

Yeah, while I had fifty thousand ponies standing behind him, thought Shining Armor. It would do his heart good to throw these barbarians against the Changelings and then have his army clean up whatever was left. The Lynxes knew nothing of peace, harmony or tolerance. They respected only force.

Yet Shining Armor had the biggest force in the Lynx Territories, so whatever their differences, the Lynxes respected him above all else, and he could use that.

“We are at Prince Shining Armor’s service, My Princess,” Slashclaw was saying unctuously. “It will be our pleasure to destroy the Changelings and their tyrant queen!”

Twilight saw the other two Lynxes throw scowls at him. “I’m, uh, sure you will, Chieftain. General Armor, shall we begin?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Chief Spyglass, I understand you have some information for us?”

“Always a pleasure to be of service, General,” said Amber Spyglass, his voice syrupy. His horn glowed light yellow and a cloud of red unit markers rose from one of the boxes on the map table. They shot across the tent, barely missing a shocked Colonel Clear Dunes, before settling on to the table.

“I have acquired information on Changeling troop movements,” he said, smiling.

“Our hussars have been making flights over Froud Valley for the past week and found nothing,” said Colonel Crystal Thought. “The Changeling positions are too well camouflaged.”

“Then my sources would seem to have more, ah, efficacious methods,” said Amber Spyglass, still smiling.

“Get to the point, Amber,” growled Twilight.

“As you wish, Your Highness. As you know already, the Changelings have one legion positioned at the base of the Recinante Cliffs, covering the Great Trunk Road. They also have fifty thousand deployed in various states of readiness along the Kelpie Creek, being retrained in improved variants of the tactics the late Lord Cocoon employed at Maneden. There are also twenty thousand Changelings along the Bitissippi River guarding some three thousand captives taken from the Lynx Territories. These troops have not been retrained and are still making use of melee tactics.”

“These Changelings along the Bitissippi,” demanded Bright Streak. “Are they the same that we just forced from our territories?”

“All evidence points to that, chieftain.”

“These Changelings must be ours to destroy!” barked Slashclaw before either of the other two Chieftains could speak. “General Armor, it is intolerable that these invaders still hold Lynxes captive! Let the lairs fight there!”

A heavy silence descended over the tent. Twilight watched her brother. If he endorsed Slashclaw’s demand, it would appear that he had put the young Lynx into a leadership position over the other two, which in a society like the Lynxes’ would inevitably lead to struggle.

“Strategically it makes the best sense,” said Shining Armor, his tone measured. “We prevent four legions from being trained in the new tactics, and if the Equestrian Army marches down the Kelpie Creek, there’s the possibility of either enemy force being encircled once the other is defeated.”

“But this still leaves us with our problem, sir,” said Crystal Thought. “How do we break into the Changeling Kingdom?”

“Yes...” said Shining Armor grimly. “If you’ll look at the map, Your Highness?”

Twilight looked down at the map table and spotted the problem immediately. Dividing the Lynx Territories from the Changeling Kingdom in Froud Valley were the Recinante Cliffs, a sheer drop one hundred and seventy feet high with only once point of descent: the Great Trunk Road descended the cliffs on a switchback path a mile south of the army’s camp, but less than half a mile from the base of the cliffs, covering the road, was a Changeling camp.

“The Twentieth Legion,” said Crystal Thought. “Our reconnaissance flights spotted them drilling in linear tactics, and they have at least five cannon trained on the Great Trunk Road.”

“Which means if we try to descend the cliffs they’ll blast the road to rubble and take the army with it,” growled Shining Armor.

“Could you not send the cavalry down either side of the cliffs and encircle them?” asked Rear Echelon.

“Alone the cavalry lack the firepower to take a fortified position like that camp,” said Colonel Warning Order. “And if they try to attack from above, they’ll be flying down a corridor that exposes them to fire from every single Changeling on the ground below.”

“Isn't there another way down?” asked Spike. “What about Hatchaway Falls?”

“Too far a march,” said Shining Armor. “Every day we spend outside the Changeling Kingdom is another day for them to train more legions.”

“So we’re stuck then?” asked Twilight, disbelieving.

“Not quite. Our best bet is a descent of the cliffs by night, but owing to how short the hours of darkness are, we could get maybe five thousand ponies and six guns at best down the cliffs without being spotted.”

“We’d have numerical parity,” said Warning Order. “But...”

“If they’re defeated, they’ll be pinned against the cliffs with no support and nowhere to run,” completed Twilight.

“So you understand, Your Highness, we run the risk of suffering our greatest defeat since the beginning of this war,” said Warning Order.

Twilight took a deep breath. “Do you need my permission to proceed?”

“No, Your Highness,” said Shining Armor.

Thank the Spirits. “Then carry on at your discretion, General Armor.”

She stepped away from the map table. “But perhaps now we can turn to a happier matter. War Minister Echelon, if you will?”

Rear Echelon stepped forwards, nosed open his saddlebag, and retrieved from inside a polished mahogany case. Twilight took the case in her magic and floated it before Shining Armor.

His jaw dropped as it opened and gasps went around the tent. Inside resting on a bed of green baize cloth were a baton wrapped in red velvet, decorated with golden suns, and two shoulder marks – crossed batons wreathed in gold oak leaves.

“In recognition of his victories over the Changelings at Valneigh and Maneden,” said Twilight, smiling. “It is Princess Celestia’s pleasure to promote Prince Shining Armor to the rank of Field Marshal, with all the privileges and responsibilities that come with it.”

A wave of applause swept round the tent as Shining Armor stood awkwardly while Twilight and Rear Echelon pinned the insignia to his epaulettes. “Congratulations, BBBFF,” she whispered.

“Thank you, everypony,” said Shining Armor as the applause faded. “We’ll reconvene over dinner after Her Highness has completed the camp tour. Before that, I’d like a moment alone with my sister.”

The staff obligingly filed out until only Twilight, Spike and Shining Armor remained. The two Unicorns grinned and crossed horns. “It’s wonderful to see you, Twily!” Shining looked down and bumped his hoof against Spike’s claw. “Good to see you, Spike.”

“You too, Prince-General-Field-Marshal-Guy.” Spike blew flames that resolved into a scroll bound with a silver seal bearing the Imperial Snowflake. “Cadance sends her love.”

Shining Armor took the scroll. “So do I have my wife or my sister to thank for the promotion?”

“Oh no, that was all Princess Luna’s idea,” said Twilight happily. “I insisted on coming down here to give it to you though.”

“Yeah, about that,” Shining Armor muttered.

Twilight’s smile faded. “What is it?”

“I... I don’t deserve a Marshal’s baton, Twily. You know as well as I do that we won those battles by accident.”

“That’s hardly true!”

“Yeah? I let an entire legion escape at Valneigh and it nearly cost us the whole campaign! Maneden was nearly a disaster and we basically won it by luck!”

“All the reports I’ve read make it clear that the division commanders were at fault. And what about Tailwald? You destroyed six legions!”

“I’m the Commander-in-Chief,” growled Shining Armor. “If my subordinates don’t know my intent then it’s my fault. The Lynxes won Tailwald. Them and the Crystal Hussars. We wouldn’t even have Slashclaw with us right now if it weren’t for Flash Sentry.”

Twilight’s face went red. “Flash Sentry’s here?”

“The Imperial Crystal Hussars are on cavalry picket at the top of the cliffs,” said Shining Armor decisively. “I’m afraid they will have to miss the royal visit.”

“Oh, right...” Twilight said sadly. Then she straightened up. “Well, are you really going to tell me that your ponies won those battles by accident?”

“I...”

“Even if it didn’t all go according to plan, the Army still won those battles. Your Army. The army you trained and have held together ever since it stepped off from Canterlot! We haven’t experienced a war in a thousand years, and yet you’ve managed to hold a whole army together through three battles hundreds of miles from home! That’s far more important than every single battle going perfectly!”

“I still made mistakes,” said Shining Armor glumly.

“Have you learned from them, though?” asked Spike.

“Well... yes, I suppose so.”

“Then that’s all that matters!” said the baby dragon happily, and he crossed his arms decisively. “I know because I have to tell Twilight that all the time!”

“Yeah, thanks Spike,” muttered Twilight. Her face suddenly hardened. “Now, tell me. What strategy do you plan to pursue when you break into the Changeling Kingdom?”

“We discussed this in the meeting,” Shining Armor said stiffly. “The Army and the Lynxes will advance in parallel columns to push back the Changelings on both fronts and keep them from reinforcing each other.”

“And then? How do you plan to bring them to battle? Are you just going to keep going until they’re pinned against the sea? What then?”

Shining Armor didn’t answer.

“Shining,” Twilight said quietly. “The Princesses need to know. Amber told me months ago what strategy we’d have to carry out when it came to it, so tell me, what will you do?”

Shining Armor didn’t look at her. “I’m going to target what sustains Chrysalis and the Changeling Hives: their captives and... and...”

“Their hatcheries,” completed Spike grimly.

“Yes,” growled Shining Armor. “Do you know how Azure Blueblood described it a thousand years ago, when he was unifying Equestria in the Princesses’ name?”

“‘In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him’,” quoted Twilight.

“Yeah. If nothing else, Chrysalis will protect the safety of her Hive at all costs. When the very survival of the entire Hive is threatened, Chrysalis will have no choice to commit to battle. I can’t fault her for that. I admire it. And you know what? I hate her even more for it. Not just for what she did to me and Cadance, but what she’s still doing to me. I’m going to destroy her, Twilight, and make it impossible for her to ever hurt me again. I’ll grind them and grind them until they’re just ink on the page of a history book.”

Twilight took a step backwards and exchanged glances with Spike. “The Princesses won’t agree to that. I doubt the Army will either.”

“No, they won’t, which is why after I’ve broken Chrysalis’ army, I’ll cut the Lynxes loose.” Shining Armor stepped forward, fire in his eyes. “I’ll not tell Slashclaw and the other chiefs to do it, but we both know they will. And I won’t order them to stop, either.”

“Is there nothing I can say to stop you?”

“No. If nothing else, it fits the strategic logic.”

“Then I shall inspect the camp now, Field Marshal,” said Twilight coldly.

Comments

[OTCPony]

I named this fic after Ender's Game, so I thought it was time for a reference. See if you can spot it.

This chapter was originally going to end rather differently with Shining and Twily happily going off to inspect the camp after Twilight tells him how everything isn't his fault. As it turned out, reconciling that with Shining Armor going proved somewhat difficult, so I dropped it.

[Word Bearer]

blood for the blood god

[Inquisitor-Awesome]

Loving this fic. Keep up the good work my friend

[Etimmu]

Found this fic today. "Hmm, looks interesting, I'll give it a read."
Having gotten up to here, I can safely say it kept my attention.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Twilight, the Changelings have to go. They will always be a threat and no eay to reform.