West of Manehattan. May, 1252.
The soldiers walked in near silence, the soft patter of hooves in damp dirt and the creak of wagon-wheels the only sounds the army made. A stiff night wind whipped around them, and the pre-dawn light was greeted only as a reminder that they had indeed been marching for an entire night. The pine trees made it impossible to see the rugged hills that surrounded them; the ever-worsening rise and fall of the road under their hooves was Derpy's only reassurance that the terrain would have the cliffs and ridges the map promised. That paltry reassurance didn't help much. The ground was only one of dozens of phantom terrors swirling in her exhausted mind, thoughts ricocheting off the walls of the golden helmet she might be wearing for the last time.
The plan was difficult for any army, let alone one as raw as hers. A night march to the west followed by a battle against a superior gryphon force. Then six hours to reorganize the army, count the losses, and prepare to march again. Then another night march westwards and another battle. Then a day of rest. Then another battle, most likely--and a march northeast if it was necessary to make it happen. Then a forced march westwards to the main highway leading to Gryphonia. And no sense planning beyond that.
If she was perfect, she would have demolished three armies, taken twenty thousand gryphons out of the war, and captured eighty cannon--including the entire New Equestrian Army artillery, which according to her spies would be arriving at the westmost gryphon army over the past three and next two days. And she'd have done it with her 800 veterans, 3000 reasonably trained ponies, and 7000 recruits--who would all be veterans by then.
And if she wasn't perfect, she would have lost the war in one throw of the dice. She would die. Her soldiers would die. Her friends would die. Her country would die. Her daughter would die.
She hadn't slept well in a week. She hadn't slept at all in two nights. She couldn't calm her mind down enough. She had been haunted by the thought of defeat--of helpless flight and massacre; of claws and teeth and ripping, tearing death. She had always been nervous before battles, but the fear had always vanished once she passed the point of no return. But now the die had been cast: the battle was perhaps an hour away, and given the quality of gryphon scouts, the enemy was almost certainly aware of their presence. The terrain would only allow her one effective deployment. The gryphons would certainly order an attack. And the only decision she would have to make would be which flank to reenforce and when. Everything else was out of her control at this point.
She and Equestria would live. Or she and Equestria would die. And either would be her fault entirely--but either outcome would grow entirely out of the decisions she had already made, with little room for decisions yet to be made. Her fate was her own doing. Her fate was entirely out of her hooves.
And that went for everypony else's fate, too. Everypony.
"Mac," she said quietly.
"Yup," Big Macintosh said after a brief hesitation. She turned her head to look at him; he was handsome as ever in his armor. He looked melancholy, as he usually did.
"I just want to let you know," she said, quiet enough that only he could hear. "That...I know I haven't always treated you well. But that I appreciate everything you've done for me. And I know I've done a lot of wrong things. But if I die today...well, at least I found a little bit of peace with myself in this hell before I died. And I did because of you. You've given me a lot. And...I know I took a lot you didn't want to give. But I appreciate it. And I'm sorry for all the times I hurt you."
He didn't respond at first. Then he spoke, his voice shaking. "I know. You're a good pony. I believe you are. And when you act bad, it's because you need to in order to win. And we all need you to win."
"I know. But...I'm still sorry, Mac."
"So am I."
"...I still love you."
"I know."
There was a pause.
"And I still love you too," he continued.
She walked on, then suddenly looked back at him.
"Kiss me. Please. Just a little one."
"We're in public. Everypony can see us."
"See us? If they don't already know about us then they're blind. So kiss me."
He did.
---
A narrow valley with two wide mouths, separated by 400 yards. High walls and curves in the valley providing plenty of cover from artillery. One thousand soldiers in front of fifteen hundred recruits in front of four hundred veterans in each mouth. Two thousand recruits as her reserves. And the rest--the pegasus ponies--in close formations directly above and behind the twin lines of battle to countercharge any gryphon attacks. She also had seven cannon, positioned back near her, which would have little impact beyond the inherent psychological effects of artillery.
They were deployed. They were ready. The chokepoints would ensure that the extra power of a lion would be nullified by their larger size; for every lion in combat there would be three or four ponies, given the body sizes involved and the close ranks her soldiers kept and the loose mob charges the lions often broke into. It would also make it near impossible for gryphons to maneuver; there would be exactly one possible angle of attack. Her soldiers were untested, for the most part--but they knew exactly what to expect. There was only one direction the enemy could come from. And retreat was nearly impossible in tight quarters with the veterans in the back.
Before her army, the enemy marched in parade formations, preparing a joint attack. If they were smart, they would have refused battle until the ponies attacked. There was, after all, nothing forcing them to attack an enemy with so many advantages. Nothing, that is, but their hatred for apparent cowardice, their disdain for her mob of ponies, and their eagerness to be the one to capture the Grey Mare. Derpy had talked to many, many gryphons. She knew what a gryphon wanted. And she knew they would want to attack, even--especially--if the ponies had presented a strong defensive position.
And as the sound of foreign drums and horns rattled through the crevice, she knew that was exactly what was about to happen.
The attack began as expected. Gryphon cannonballs caromed harmlessly off the walls, as each impact against the soft rock bled off their once-deadly speed. High-angle shells exploded fruitlessly on the rock above, causing showers of dust and warm gravel but little worse. The gryphons made a few halfhearted charges, but each time were repulsed; the pegasus ponies were low enough that a proper charge was too dangerous. And still the ponies stood their ground.
They stood their ground though the lions came. And they stood their ground through the carnage. They stood their ground as they repulsed wave after wave of charging muscle and teeth. And they stood their ground though they died by the dozens.
Derpy watched it all, her stomach twisting. She needed to wait just a little longer. She needed to wait for the gryphons to commit to a larger lion charge--one designed to break her lines. She needed to wait until one side of the battle repelled it. And then she could order the charge. Her entire reserves would the successful defenders in a countercharge that would flank or even encircle the rest of the committed lions. And then the proper battle would be over, and it would just be a matter of hunting down the fleeing enemy.
But she needed to wait for the right moment. She needed to wait for the gryphons to launch an attack they thought might succeed. And so far, they were content to simply test her forces with little jabbing attacks. Perhaps they hoped to humiliate her by showing that ponies would break under light pressure. And perhaps they were right. But every minute the battle continued meant more losses she couldn't afford. She had to win cleanly. And that meant the enemy had to be rash.
She wasn't planning on them being rash the entire campaign, no. But it was a necessary part of the first ffffffseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEpingthunk. She looked up in startled surprise. It sounded like a shell. It was a shell: a round ball with a clear welding mark around the middle, now half-embedded in the ground. Her eyes went wide. She held her breath. She felt a sudden thrill. And then she felt nothing at all.
Bon Bon stood in the dust and noise and fury. She was still unable to kick, and was still unwilling to abandon the front lines. She now commanded the Ponyville Guard of veterans--the fifth pony to have held the honor, and as of this week the one to have held it the longest without dying. Before her, she could hear ponies and lions screaming in rage and shrieking in pain. Yet all she could see were vague shapes in the dust--the dust kicked up by the fighting and the dust blown around by the artillery fire, the dust that kept the bloody ground from becoming too slick to stand. There were five ranks of ponies in front of her. Beside her, Lyra stood, steadfast and composed. And behind her was the empty valley, and behind that were General Hooves and her reserves. The fight sounded brutal. She clopped her front hooves impatiently. She certainly didn't enjoy carnage, but she felt awful knowing that untested ponies were bearing the brunt of it. She remembered when the prospect of battle was nightmarish. It was still a horror, but it was a horror she knew she could face. The same couldn't be said of the ponies in front of her.
As Ponyville veterans, she and Lyra were held in high esteem. They had nearly died several times. They had nearly left the army many times. But they had stuck with the army. And they had stuck with the General. To be held out of battle while wide-eyed recruits were slaughtering and being slaughtered by trained lions? That wasn't fair to anypony.
A pegasus wearing a recruit's sash came fluttering up behind her. "We've lost," he shouted. "The General has been killed!"
Bon Bon and Lyra immediately turned to face him. "No," they said in unison.
"The General has been killed," he repeated. "Artillery strike. She's dead! Retreat!"
Without thinking, Lyra immediately tackled him. "No. Shut up. Shut up."
"She's dead," he shouted again, to nopony in particular.
Lyra began slapping him with a hoof. Her eyes began to sting. "Shut. The. Buck. Up."
Bon Bon stepped forward, shouting all the while. "If the General's dead, she died fightin'. So I'm not gonna die runnin'. And neither are you. Neither are any of us. Go back. Go back now. Get 'er whistle. And blow a full charge. I'm doin' the same right the buck now. And no, I'm not gonna wait for ya, so unless y' want to let us all die, you better do as you're ordered, mister. Lyra, gimme a Full House. I gotta say somethin'."
She turned to face the soldiers in front of her, nearly all still focused on the battle going on right in front of them. She felt Lyra's magical aura embrace her and tingle her throat. And she spoke, her voice ringing over the din of the battlefield:
"Listen up you guys. This is Bon Bon of the Ponyville Guard. Word is the General's been killed by a shell. I ain't got any idea if it's true, but ponies ain't liars so I'm thinkin' it's real. But if she died, she died doin' her job. She died fightin'. She died so we could win this battle and win this war. And it's up to us to make sure she didn't die for nothin'. So we're gonna win this now. Full charge. All ponies. Don't stop till there ain't a single feathery bastard in front of ya. And don't worry none 'bout dyin', 'cause the General sure as buck didn't. On my mark. Now."
She then grabbed her whistle between her teeth and blew: a sharp, amplified, piercing wail that carried across the entire field.
And then, to Bon Bon's satisfaction and Lyra's wonder, the entire army charged.
---
The first thing she noticed was a stabbing pain in her eye. The second thing she noticed was a headache that she could somehow feel even in her hooves. The third thing she noticed was a swimming, dizzy sensation. And then she opened her eyes.
Or her eye. Her vision didn't seem right. She tried the right eye. She saw a white light drowning out all shape and form. She closed it again. She tried the left eye. It didn't even feel like there was an eyelid to open. She lifted a hoof to her face. It was wrapped in bandages. She let the hoof rest on her chest. That was wrapped in bandages, too.
She was thirsty. By Celestia, she was thirsty. She tried to ask for water. She felt a dull rasp came out. A blurry pony immediately came trotting up to her, smiling eagerly. Nurse Redheart, maybe. She couldn't make out a word the other pony was saying. All she could hear was a deafening ringing: a thousand pure tones blending at once in a symphonic roar that replaced everything else.
Derpy closed her eye again. And she slept again.
---
She woke with a start. The tent ceiling was brightly lit--and shockingly clear. She immediately tried to sit up, then regretted the attempt: moving at all felt like a hammer to the chest. "Mac," she said, her voice dry and quiet. "Mac, where are you?"
"I'm here, Derpy," a dim and distant voice said. She rolled her head to the right, despite feeling like her neck might snap in half from the effort. She saw him there, smiling weakly. "Welcome back. We all missed you. And you came back just in time, too."
"No," she muttered, "we need to charge now. Left side."
"Bit late for that, Derpy. We did that. Once everypony heard you had died, they all charged. It took the gryphons a bit by surprise, 'specially since it sounded like Bon Bon announced it to everypony in a ten-mile radius. First they heard of your death, and I imagine they thought they had wrapped up the war. They sure didn't expect that killin' you would turn a bunch of farmponies into bloodthirsty warriors. 'Course, you didn't die. Kinda had our pie and ate it too, if'n you ask me." He chuckled.
"We...did we win?"
"Five thousand taken prisoner and three thousand dead, most of 'em cut down as they tried to flee. The rest scattered like dandelion seeds. And that's their losses, mind you. We lost about seven hundred all told. You didn't win, Derpy, you demolished them. Like you said."
"So we won this morning. Good. We can move out tonight, then, right? Meet the westmost army tomorrow morning?"
"Derpy, you've been awake about twenty minutes over the past day and a half."
She sat up suddenly, disregarding the crushing pain it caused. "What?! I told you we had to move! That the plan meant we had to go fast!"
"You're the plan, Derpy. We can't do much anything with a KO'd General. And we had plenty of wounded and prisoners to take care of."
She fell back on the bed, sending another wave of pain through her body. She grunted involuntarily. "I told you we'd have to leave most of the wounded, and we'd have to cripple the prisoners and leave them too."
"Like I said, you were out of it. We figured there wasn't any point in leavin' a bunch of hurt folks lyin' 'round a bloody crack in the ground if you weren't even awake. We recovered 400 wounded who we were able to at least get back on their feet, not to mention the soldiers got plenty of sleep last night. They're ponies, Derpy. It's not a bad thing to treat 'em like ponies now and again."
She raised a hoof to her forehead. "Mac, I've been doing almost nothing but keeping them alive and fed and healthy for half a year. Now I need them to fight. And you're telling me you didn't let them fight. Don't you care about me?"
"Derpy," he said sternly. "You were unconscious, you're the only pony who can lead us, and the gryphon armies were days away. We weren't going to wander blindly at them in the hopes we'd stumble into doing what you'd have done."
"Okay," she said placidly. "Okay. My head really hurts and I'm dizzy."
"I know. That shell hit pretty close."
She did nothing but breathe for a minute.
"Why are there bandages all over me?" She asked calmly, as if she were asking the time.
"You got shards of metal all over your body. Redheart pulled out most of them and then sterilized the wounds with a hot iron, but that'll leave scars. You're lucky none of 'em cut open anythin' important."
"Did I get one in my eye?" She asked the question as calmly as the other.
"Yup."
"...Did I lose the eye?"
"...yup. 'Fraid you did."
"Heh."
"What?"
"Do you know what that means?"
He was silent. She grinned impishly.
"I'm not cross-eyed any more! Isn't that great?"
He chuckled nervously. She laughed until the laughs devolved into chest-wracking, rib-cracking coughs.
---
She looked at herself in the mirror. There were fine scar lines all over her face, but the fur would grow back over them. The wide gouges all along the left side of her body were pretty awful looking, and the fur could never cover those completely, but armor could cover those. But her eye. Her eye. Her eye. It was a pit of charred flesh. She shuddered and slipped the eyepatch back over it.
And as she looked in the mirror, she was amazed at what she saw and how she saw it. She saw a mare like any other--a mare without ridiculous crossed eyes that made her happiness look moronic and made her anger look laughable. She didn't see an awkward mailpony. She saw a veteran who had long since surrendered her beauty to war. She didn't see Derpy Hooves. She saw the General. No. She saw the Grey Mare.
And she saw her reflection clearly and effortlessly, for perhaps the first time in her life. Her eyes had always pointed in different directions, except through exceptional force of will. And that meant her vision was always blurred. She could choose to see mostly through one eye or the other, but she'd always get hints of the other eye's field of vision, and if she saw something surprising she'd always have to spent a heartbeat wondering whether she really saw it or whether it was a trick played by something drifting into her other eye's line of sight. But now...everything was clear. It was clear like she had closed one eye, but she didn't have to spend energy holding either eye shut. It was effortlessly clear and perfect. She saw one world now. Only one. And yes, that world was maybe a bit smaller than the world she saw with two eyes. But it was sharp and stark and it made sense. Everything was clear now.
"They charged because they thought I was dead," she said to the mirror. "A pony who dies fearlessly inspires others to not fear death."
She blinked.
"The gryphons ran because they were surprised that we didn't run away when faced with my supposed death. No. Not surprised. They were terrified that my ponies did not fear my death. An enemy who does not fear death is terrifying."
She blinked.
"There are now two gryphon armies within a day's march of us. One has fifty artillery pieces capable of flinging 9-pound shells. And we have almost no artillery. One has thousands of Gryphon hussars. And we have few competent fliers. They will join up. We cannot stop it. And we will be outnumbered."
She blinked.
"We have little artillery. We have few cavalry. But we have hundreds of wounded ponies dying of infection. And a pegasus in nearly any condition can fly. And a pegasus who can fly can carry a hundred pounds of explosives."
She blinked.
"A few pounds of explosive and a few pounds of iron, a good distance away, did this to me. A hundred pounds of explosives and metal shards could destroy entire formations."
She blinked.
"We have hundreds of ponies who will die anyway."
She blinked.
"A pony who dies fearlessly inspires others."
She blinked.
"An enemy who does not fear death is terrifying."
Suicide bombers, eh? Interesting. Great work as per usual.
~Dayum Derpy, you scary
It would be effective use of dying pegasi.
Nevertheless Big Mac would be horrified.
See the suicide charges didn't worry me back with rainbowdash and such but suicide bombing is just wrong man
Great. She's turning into another grey-coloured character created by Hasbro: Megatron. Simply put, she's turning Pegasus ponies into the Seekers.
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I've always wondered about that perception. Volunteering for a suicide mission is often considered an honorable death. A suicide bombing is considered a horrifying stain on human conscience. Part of the difference is the fact that the suicide bombers we're familiar with are religious radicals who target civilians and that tends to make the concept appear to be inherently evil, but that's not the whole story; suicide attacks have certainly predated the modern era. I'm guessing it's because of the person who is most directly responsible for killing the suicide attacker. A guy hangs back to hold off 30 troops with just his rifle? It's the enemy that fires the shot that kills him. A guy flies a bombing mission he knows is going to be a one-way trip? It's the enemy that fires that shot that kills him. A guy straps a bomb to his chest and detonates it? It's him who pulls the trigger.
It's such a minor distinction. It doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things: a person volunteers to die in order to accomplish a military objective, and they do so. But that distinction means so much to us.
What are their other options? She can't fight a war of heroism forever. Sometimes 'cold calculations' are what is needed. Russians used dogs, Japanese used planes, the English used fireships, and it was used in the Napoleonic War. Derpy uses self-guided flak rounds.
They're outnumbered 3 to 1 in this battle. They need to level the field, literally.
Big Mac is NOT going to be happy about that.
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I think in your example the distiction has more to do with the target of the attack. In addition I think the idea of a suicide bomber (regardless of the situation) is so against our own survival instincts that the very idea is repulsive to us. Defendering others to your last breath is something that many people with loved ones can at least conceptuilize, but the idea of taking your own life is a hard thing to wrap your mind around.
Is this the point where Derpy starts going down the same path as the Mane 6 did prior to their battle here? Of course, the Prologue would attest that they survive, but whether or not they'll live is another matter entirely.
Pretty btw did you saw the ep (They made airship! canon!) it be interesting to see a airship deploy to help derpy forces against one of the gryphon army.
Kamikaze ponies? Bloody brilliant. Literally. My hat tips to you, emkajii. Another fine addition to a wonderful story. Keep up the good work, I expect great things from later chapters. Also, are all OC's in the story created by you?
I think I've reached the point where I'm rooting for the gryphons now.
Lousy tacticians and generals, but at least they fight with honour, not strapping bombs to their wounded. I hope we get to see some cool antagonist gryphon general who will become Derpy's bane.
And when are we finally going to get other races joining the war? I want to see some Diamond Dog mercenaries :E
suicide squads thats some chilling shit... but they might die anyway so i see the logic but who's going to volunteer for that I'm interested to find out
"Ponies don't have honor" was covered by Gilda in one of the earlier chapters. They're 'a miserable pile of friendship' instead.
I'm not sure why other races would join in the war, unless it was an opportunistic invasion like Celestia mentioned. It sounds like neither the gryphons (as aggressive expansionists) nor the ponies (as unnatural religious nuts) are well-liked abroad.
There goes her last piece of "humanity". Fuck.
I do see why she chose to go for the last-ditch effort. The situation is dire, it is desperate. The Japanese in WWII would not have gone for the Kamikaze-option had the situation not been desperate.
It will work out in the end, but she will leave behind everything that made her "Derpy". She will be nothing but the Grey Mare. This is incredibly sad.
Ooohhh and to those yapping on about honour and now routing for the Gryphons... You do remember how this whole mess started, yes?
Hmm now your talkin my style....
Gravity cat is amused
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The worst of it is that aside from Big Macintosh, nopony is going to care especially that what made her sympathetic has slowly ebbed away. He's not only the last link to that weird, harmless, helpless little grey pony, he's about the only one who still minds that she didn't survive the winter any more than the Mane Six did. Her body will live on for years but the young mother who only wanted to keep her beloved foal safe is as dead as Cheerilee or Spitfire.
Err... Why suicide bombers? I mean why suicide? Bomber need to get above formation, drop bombs and then try to get back. However suicide bombing could be only option when fighting against gryphons. Also I have suspicion that pony dying from infection will have trouble carrying himself but well I'm no expert in pony physiology.
This also makes me wonder why there is no bomber force. Dropping thing on the heads of enemy for fun and profit is very obvious idea and 45kg bomb is very serious thing to infantry in tight formation.
The airship is canon, the canon is canon, and finally we get a bad-ass Derpoleon. I'm hoping so hard for airships... Steampink Pie? You could get away with it. Although with the situation they're in right now I can see that's a bit of a problem.
Anyway, Great work as usual!
... I was rather hoping it wouldn't come to this. Logically, I understand that it is better to have a soldier die, and in doing so kill/wound/demnoralize the enemy, than to have the same soldiers leech time and resources from medical ponies who could use it to save others, and have them die in a bed somewhere. Logically, this is fine. Tactically, it's brilliant (provided, of course, your followers are fanatical enough to not mind their fellows killing themselves, but I think they proved that just now). Emotionally, however... Well, congratulations - you found a new low to sink to. Are there any more? Perhaps you can look over the Geneva convention for a few pointers as to what you can do to destroy Derpy as a pony.
I have to wonder - will Dinky even recognise the mare who comes back as her mother? 'Cause the problem with burying your emotions this deep, for this long, is eventually you forget where you hid them.
Enough of that, though for all that your story forces us to consider ethics and morality in ways none of us are ever likely to (and hopefully never will have to), it is a damn good read (even if I feel slightly guilty for saying that). I especially love the fact that her plan actually ends with her army attaining the road to Gryphonia (I know she has to get there somehow, but I was expecting, at the very least, official orders from the Princess sanctioning the invasion... Although, if Gryphonia has declared the annexation of Equestria, it wouldn't be an invasion, just a... counterattack? Sounds about right...).
I would ask for haste with the next chapter, but I understand that plots of ponycide, regicide, deicide and leocide take time to formulate, accumulate, and culminate - so I will instead ask that you avoid delaying it.
Another great chapter. Derpy is now the most compelling character I've read about in a fanfic.
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I was wondering that myself. Why not have a flight of lancers carry an artillery cannon ball like that 'carcass shot' and have them fly over the enemy formations, drop the bombs, activate their lances and wheel around to charge the survivors? Because the survivors are going to be dazed and disorientated and probably not expecting a follow up charge. And morally it will be devastating, watching the guys in front of you get bombed, then impaled in quick succession, and knowing all the Pegasi have to do is quickly fly back to an ammo dump, grab another cannon ball, and repeat the process. Kinda like a modern fighter/bomber aircraft.
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They simply haven't thought of it yet; they're unfamiliar with war and their tactics lag behind the possibilities, and the ponies who have studied war the most know the least about it. There's no reason they couldn't have guns or drop bombs. They just haven't thought of either idea yet (the ponies likely weren't the ones to invent cannons, for that matter--they aren't intrinsically likely to sit around thinking up new ways to kill). The gryphons, for their part, prefer to get in close to fight--flying above helpless grounded opponents and dropping bombs doesn't jibe with the way they think of war.
Derpy's close to the idea of bombing, now that she's come up with the idea of suicide bombers. She's thought of them as a shock psychological weapon--the suicide part is just as important as the explosives--but if they're effective from a strictly destructive viewpoint the idea may become obvious. It depends.
56498
Derpy does seem to think unconventionally, from forming the militia to reforming them into a conventional army. And now psychological warfare? She seems to be a military revolutionary. Might explain why shes chosen to lead the raid in the prologue eh? Oh, I have an idea! Feel free to ignore it of course. Not gonna tell you how to write your own story, but why not keep with the suicide bomber idea, have her have some mental anguish over it, say big mac and her get in a fight or something, then she comes up with the bombing idea as a compromise to keep the shock value while saving her soldiers? I must say I'm enjoying this story a lot, might even venture to say its high on my list of favorites. Keep up the good work! <salutes>
She won! Excellent! She lost an eye and now has an eye patch, also excellent(Gosh thats so morbid to think like that)!
The idea of suicide bombers certainly is chilling, but then again I guess thats the point. Both you and other readers have already discussed this to some bit already, and most have made excellent points. Your points in particular ring especially true, one just has to remember the difference in era. In such a time as our own with nearly all the worlds most powerful forces fighting on the same team such a tactic should never (and likely will never) be necessary, so thusly the concept is with good reason utterly alien and distasteful to us. But since the parties fighting here are on more even footing (sorta kinda notreally) it makes a lot more sense.
Of course there are certain lines that should not be crossed. The real question to me is whether she asks ponies to do this, or ORDERS ponies to do this. I like to think she'll ask them; she's good with words and could dress it up real nice. If she orders them a lot of them with just drop their bombs and bolt but still most likely die anyway since they're dying of infection already. Either way though, at least some are going to try run, before or during. Its one thing to agree to it thinking your going to die anyway, but when the time actually comes theirs no way nobodies going to be having second thoughts about deliberately killing themselves. I mean if I was going to die anyway I'd like to think I would do it if I thought that perhaps that I could help, that perhaps my death could mean something and perhaps save many more of my own. But thats that kind of choice a person can never be sure of how they'd respond until they actually had to make it, and since most of us will very likely never have to make that choice we can never be truly be certain of how we'd react when the time came.
Of course who knows, Derpy could just ask as all the readers are asking. Just ask the ponies to drop their bombs, and try to come back for more and do it again while she knows fully well that they will most likely die in the process. But then she herself is surprised that they are intentionally doing blatant suicide tactics of their own volition. That has the potential to be even more emotionally traumatizing then outright asking them to do it(Delicious angst!).
On an unrelated note, I've been meaning to ask about the almost stark lack of magic in combat here. Not that I expected powerful unicorns like Twilight conjuring up firestorms all the time(though it would still be awesome to see that sometime!), since most unicorns magic is always related to their special talent and I'd imagine magic in general being a pretty rare talent to have. But surely the unicorns have the good sense to use their 'telekinesis' to pick up something sharp or pointy here! They could fight at considerably safer distance while covering their earth ponies fellows, even if they could only reach 4 or 5 meters or so it would still be immeasurably useful. Hell Twilight herself should be able to use dozens of weapons well over a hundred meters away from herself if she wanted, but then again her magic could still be pretty wonky from the whole emotional trauma thing. But yeah, baseline: I just can't really seem to see whats getting of the way of more significant involvement of magic here.
Well, I can't wait for the next chapter my friend! This story has a permanent place as one of my tabs!
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Long story short, Derpy has a keen innate ability to understand crowd psychology (the only 'non-fanon' addition to her mental makeup I've given her), she's becoming increasingly able to disregard her moral reservations as a response to the accumulating weight of her decisions, and she hasn't been indoctrinated in the "right way" to do things. She has a fertile mind for military innovation.
56843
Magic is basically noncombat. As far as object manipulation goes, no pegasus but Twilight has been shown doing anything but levitate objects rather slowly. It's possible they could swing them around with great force. I think it's equally possible they couldn't. We don't know what magic can and can't do in MLP...and really, looking at the show, if Rarity could swing a log like a baseball bat, she could have battered the Manticore or the Diamond Dogs to death--and if Twilight could swing a tree like a baseball bat, she could have easily murdered more or less every monster they've ever faced, from Steven Magnet to the sleeping dragon to the Ursa Minor. Regardless, I think it's easier to simply let the reader assume that magic isn't appropriate for combat use than throw some early exposition that would require taking a particular stance on how magic works that might well be rendered noncanon by any given future episode.
( Aside: Some unicorns probably do have abilities that would have particular use in war. Twilight could probably lead a pretty badass commando team. But those are the exceptions, and the armies are more concerned with achieving basic competence than creating supersoldiers. )
So I've got two reasons to put unicorns in the rear. First, their horns are *incredibly* useful in support roles--far more than they are on the front line. An earth pony cannot be as effective of a combat surgeon, nor can he be as effective of a tailor, nor can he load and unload wagons and erect tents and dig trenches and even fill out forms as quickly as a unicorn can. Given that I believe that unicorns are a minority, it maximizes the effectiveness of the army to put them in support roles (and support has always been a major component of an army's manpower). Second, I see them as being the traditional choice for officers--and making it so they don't fight makes that situation frustrating for the ponies who have to fight. That's a source of some early conflict between the Mane 6, and sparks the first signs of disunity between them--and plays a major role in Dash's motivation to disobey orders.
As an aside, you'll notice Derpy makes no such distinctions; unicorns fight on the front line and Earth Ponies dig trenches and heal ponies.
Another excellent chapter in a truly magnificent fic. Can't wait to see how Mac reacts to the kamiponies. (Ponikazes?) Watching how everypony's character withstands (or succumbs to) the crucible of war is by far my favorite part of your stories. The way it's played on the individual weaknesses of the Mane 6 so plausibly was really heartbreaking and made the activation of the Elements a wonderful catharsis. Very excited to see where they go from here.
56148
Why no pony bombers?
Griffin can also fly. So dropping bombs on the Griffin-lion army is not easy. And while it is possible that pegasi are faster than Griffins in the air, Griffins have far superior combat ability as they have a beak and claws. A pegasus in flight can't actually fight unless they a fix a lance on themselves. (and that is a ramming weapon, which is depending on speed)
While the Griffin-lion army retains air coverage, I think any bombing campaign by the ponies has to be handle with great care and imagination. A bomb laden pony, would have its speed advantage negated and become easy pickings for Griffins. Gilda could nearly equal Rainbow Dash in speed, thus ponies may not be any faster than Griffins.
It should also be noted that bombing without the aid of GPS is very inefficient. At best only 1% of the bombs will hit their target.
This is why carpet bombing was invented, and hundreds to thousands of bombers planes would attack together, so that some of the bombs would hit their target.
The other alternative to give bombing precision, is dive bombing. In reality the pilot and plane would experience G forces up to 7-8 Gee during the dive. The best dive bomber planes actually had automatic recovery controls as pilots were in constant danger of passing out. Given RD example, G forces may not be so much a problem for ponies, but still pulling out of a dive and escaping griffins in the air is not all that simple.
Oh, the story isn't finished... But holy crap it's excellent so far. Somehow, all this personality works for Derpy, who, by the way, is the best pony. And now an eye patch? Eye patches are frickin' awesome. This is overloaded with awesome!
By the way, I don't think the fur would actually regrow over the scars. From personal experience, I have a scar on my eyebrow from several years ago that still has no hair on it. When scar tissue forms over a cut/scrape/gash/what have you where hair grow, it doesn't reconstruct the hair follicles. The cells are simply 'told', in a sense, "There should be skin here, there isn't any skin anymore, put skin there," and that's it. It's impossible for hair to grow on a scar.
Also, you're missing a quotation mark near the beginning of the chapter when she first starts talking to Big Mac.
59789
You're right that fur doesn't grow on scars. I picture MLP fur being roughly like thick dog fur, and dog fur can cover up thin scars--and the ones on her face happen to be thin. The fur doesn't grow on those scars, but it can still make it hard to see them. The scars that are on her body are fairly large, so they will create noticeable bald spots with noticeable scars beneath.
Thanks for letting me know about the typo.
i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee405/EvilBrony/There-is-a-dinosaur-riding-on-a-sharks-back-with-a-laser-Your-argument-is-invalid.jpg
That is how awesome this is.
58640
First argument could be turned around. Bombers should be awfully effective against infantry if it's not protected by griffins. So mere presence of bombers on the battlefield means that griffins could not be deployed freely and have to guard infantry and artillery. And of course bomber must act together with cavalry.
As for bombing precision there are two facts: first pony could hover which means that bomb will fall down vertically so it's very easy to aim. And even if bombs are not dropped in hovering position heights and speed will not be very large in general which helps with precision.
Also I have to note that ground attack planes existed and continue to exist despite the fact that opposite side has fighter planes and AA guns.
P.S. emkajii, sorry. I'm turning comments into amateur tactical flames.
60002 hey this is a lot like total war (from the name) so is there going to be naval battles like a sir naison (the pony version of sir horatio nelson) that will be epic!
60896
Nope! Naval combat would require way too much exposition, unfortunately, we're in the thick of the final third of the story, and I haven't established a Royal Equestrian Navy. There would perhaps be room for a fun little high-seas-adventure side-story with pony privateers if I return to this universe after finishing this story, but I've got a few other stories I'd like to work on after finishing Equestria: Total War.
Random little thing, I was bored and started screwing around with the Love Calculator, and decided to enter in Derpy Hooves and Big Mac Apple. There was a 91% match.
you sir have made me sad
so you now must post MOAR
well it has taken me 3 days to read from chapter 1 to 28 but I did it HOO-RAY FOR ME!!!! ( congrat. self pat on the back )
well I like the way the story is progressing. And, I also like the subtle war references like "valley foal"
But I have to ask a question, just wave it off if you think its stupid or have already been asked. But, why are they fighting with spears and swords in hand-to-hand combat, while they have had enough ideas to come up this mid-air explosives that burst in to flames like napalm or white phosphorus?
But, i'm not going to ask about the idea of bombers because someone (or somepony more like) would of had that idea soon enough since they had the tools for it.
I am curious, did Celestia instigate a winter over the land or did it occur naturally?
i knew it. from the prologue derpy was wearing a eye patch.
She blinked.
She blinked.
She blinked.
She blinked.
She blinked.
She blinked.
She blinked.
She blinked.
and on that day, derpy hooves died and only The Grey Mare remained. time for her game face
ive been holding out on commenting on this story becouse its old but realy kamakzis realy derpy there is poetic justice in there somewhere
Yes! An eye patch!
You fight war to win....
fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/069/a/a/derpy_by_gsphere-d4satbs.jpg
The object of all war is to defeat your enemy. A soldier is typically indoctrinated with a strong sense of duty and patriotism from the start ( this isn't always the case ), so, it stands to reason that heroes would exist. Now, a hero who blows himself up or gives his life to save fellow soldiers and even civilians is natural in the theatre of war, an example of this would be a grunt jumping onto a hand grenade to save his squad. However I must say that I agree ith most people in this comment section who believe that dropping bombs would be more efficient and less demoralizing ( for ponies ) than a suicide attack, also a unicorn is indeed well suited for support roles, but that dosn't neccessarily mean they should all be suited to be officers. There is long standing tradition in most armies; officers first, the officers lead charges and lead units, having officers who are generaly always going to spend time in the back can be extremely demoralizing to an army. There are many factors in theatre of war, it can quickly become confusing, especially if the army has no prior warefare expierences. Even though I find myself disagreeing with some methods of war, it must be noted that if the job gets done, it gets done, sometimes the metod dosn't need to be so horrible thoug there isnt always an alternative, but sometimes there is.
Suicide bombers huh?
Silver out!
Er... No, not really. As someone with Strabismus, this is not my experience. Then again, I don't usually have things flying at my head. Now, I, specifically, have Exotropia (my eyes are aligned outwards), where Derpy has... Heck if I know. I'd say it's Exotropia, but I'm not sure what the heck she's even looking at, but it's clearly pretty extreme. Her vision would not always be blurred - that would mean that she needs glasses, in addition to being cross-eyed. You can choose to see through one eye or the other - and would naturally do so, anyway, if it's that bad, since you wouldn't be able to look at it with more than one eye - but you're not going to be confused over which eye you're seeing it with, just like you know if something on the edge of your vision is on the left or the right side. You don't need to see something in both eyes to know that. Furthermore, even if you're choosing to look through "one" eye, you don't lose the ability to see through the other, you're just focusing on part of your vision - that is, you're just paying more attention to one eye, and less to the other.
The ponies are going WWII on us. SOUND THE RETREAT!!!