The candles had burned down to flickering stumps of wax.
“Pinkie, that doesn't even begin to make sense,” Rainbow Dash said, more exhausted than irritated. “Dressing up like a gryphon won't fool any of them. You need to take this seriously.”
“I am taking it seriously,” Pinkie muttered under her breath. “You don't need to be mean about it.”
“If that's serious, Pinkie, you're seriously in over your head here.” Dash shook her head. “We don't need any weird trick things. Luna always tried trick things and they never worked. We don't need you to be random. We just need some competent leadership.”
Pinkie glared. “Competent? Competent? Hm. Hey, Applejack, didn't you ever wonder why Luna's plans never worked,” she said, her voice icy. “Maybe somepony wasn't a competent leader.” She tossed her head in Dash's direction as she spoke.
“I was trying to save you! I tried--” Dash began to yell.
“--I was trying to tell 'em the truth, then I was tryin' to keep 'em calm!” Applejack shouted over everypony else.
Pinkie immediately put a hoof over her own mouth. “No, no, Applejack, I didn't mean you, I--”
“--and it ain't like you've been perfect yourself, for that matter. Heck no, you ain't been perfect. I made mistakes, but at least I kept my apples in one bushel the whole time. It's downright mean of you to go an' suggest that I'm the reason--”
“--No, no, Applejack, no, no, no, no, no, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean you, I was trying—hey! What's that with the apples in a--THAT'S NOT FAIR! I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT YOU AND YOU'RE GOING TO SAY I'M CRAZY? I--”
“Er, dears, I think perhaps we've lost sight of...” Rarity began, then trailed off as she realized nopony was listening.
Rainbow Dash shrank down, relieved that Applejack and Pinkie Pie were going at each other, yet dreading the possibility that once they'd resolved the misunderstanding they'd turn their cannons on her. She knew she deserved it. She knew she was being too harsh with her friends. Still, she couldn't stop.
“Didn't say nothin' 'bout me? You picked me out by name, outta nowhere, and said I ruined both battles? Why, if anyone's gone around ruinin' battles, it's--”
“QUIET!” A voice tore through the tent, its vocal cords straining. Every other pony snapped their attention to its source. “...um, please.”
“But, I--” Pinkie began to say. Fluttershy shook her head gently. Pinkie stopped immediately.
“I think we should work together a little bit better,” Fluttershy said. “You aren't acting like very good friends.”
Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack each looked embarrassed, though to differing extents.
“Thank you, Fluttershy,” Twilight sighed. “I'm glad to have you back. Dealing with this has just been awful at times.”
“Oh, has it now?” Rarity asked, her voice painfully sweet. “It's ever so sweet how you're always willing to tell us exactly how we aren't living up to the example of the great General Sparkle. But why has it been awful? I do find myself wondering about that. Hmm. Ah! Perhaps it has been awful because some ponies have had to deal with awful things other ponies haven't! Yes, that does seem quite like the case, wouldn't you all agree?”
Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack each glared at Rarity. There was silence. Twilight bit her lip. Fluttershy looked unnerved; she felt the sudden energy in the room but didn't quite understand where it was coming from.
“What...some ponies...have had to deal with,” Applejack said, slowly. “What some ponies have had to deal with. Some ponies like...you?”
Pinkie didn't say a word. Her eyes were narrow slits of anger.
Dash fought the temptation to speak. She knew she would regret it. She knew it wouldn't help anything. But...but she knew she had to say something. It would drive her mad to say nothing. It would—yes. She would say something. Something reserved. Something mature, that would express her feelings in a constructive way that would reflect well on her character. Something--
“The only 'awful' thing you--you unicorns have to deal with is papercuts on your lips when you're filling out your little forms,” Dash sneered, as her emotional core flooded with a sensation of triumphant victory—but as the back of her mind recoiled in horror. She continued: “Oh, huh, you don't even have to worry about that, because of your little horns. What an inspiration you are.” She smirked in satisfaction. Then, the cold joy washed away, and she remembered herself. Oh, what the buck did I just say, she winced.
“Oh—oh, no,” Fluttershy said softly, as Rarity's face contorted with rage.
“You're right,” Twilight suddenly interjected. “You're all right. Rarity, you're right that I haven't had to face the same things you all have had to. I have many responsibilities of my own, but I haven't dealt with what you have. And I know that you've had to see things and do things that hurt you.” She spoke hurriedly. “Rainbow Dash and Applejack, you're right. Front-line officers have had to watch and do things nopony can watch or do. We all know what you three have suffered through, and we can never know what it's like to suffer through it. And that goes double for you, Pinkie Pie.” She spoke quickly, turning to each pony in turn.
The tension in the room subsided a bit.
“But we can't get hung up on that,” Twilight continued, now speaking in a soothing-but-firm voice. “We can't. This isn't about who isn't respecting whom. This isn't about who's being hypocritical, or about who's to blame for what. We need to work together.”
“So now you're the Princess,” Rainbow Dash scoffed.
“No, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said deliberately. “We all are. All six of us. And we need to work together. My job isn't to command you like Celestia did. It's to coordinate and organize us. All of us. I'm reminding you, as a friend, how we've worked best together—when everypony listens.”
There was a brief pause. Twilight looked at the array of irritated faces, a hopeful smile on her own face.
“Shucks, Twi',” Applejack said. “You're right and we know it. I forgive y'all, and I ask ya to forgive me back.”
“Oh, Applejack!” Pinkie said. “I really didn't mean to hurt you! And Rainbow Dash, I did kinda mean to hurt you, and I'm really sorry about that. That was super mean of me and I shouldn't do that to my friends.”
Rainbow Dash bit her lip, her eyes flicking back and forth across the table. Everypony looked at her. She pursed her lips, then exhaled sharply. “Sorry,” she said at last. “To all of you. I'm a jerk sometimes. I know it. I shouldn't be. And I'm sorry.”
“Oh, wonderful,” Fluttershy said grinning. “I'm so glad to hear all of that!”
“Me too,” Twilight said. “I'm truly proud that all of us can put our differences behind us.” Five ponies looked at each other in relief. Pinkie limped over and hugged Applejack. So did Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy leapt into the hug. Twilight shrugged, and came over.
“Ex-cuse me,” Rarity shouted. “I believe that somepony here has neither apologized nor been forgiven!”
“Then apologize,” Applejack said from the middle of the group hug. “We ain't stoppin' ya.”
“All right, good. I apologize to everypony for everything. Now forgive me, please.”
“Nope,” Pinkie said.
A sudden icy silence gripped the room.
“Just kidding! Ha ha ha. I wish I had seen the look on your face.”
“Don't joke 'bout that,” Applejack said quietly.
---
The eastern sky was a slowly lightening purple as the the pre-dawn twilight crept across Equestria. Inside the tent, the six ponies looked over their map with bloodshot eyes.
“So,” Twilight said, “Let's recap. We don't have any artillery, and few line soldiers. We've managed to recover most of the surviving cuirassers and lancers survivors from the last battle, but few have their cuirasses, so we'll make them all lancers. So the plan is simple: a standard hammer-and-anvil. Rainbow Dash's lancers achieve control of the air while Applejack's infantry engage the lions. Then Dash circles around and hits the rear of the enemy lines before our line infantry break. Clean and simple.”
“Simple's good,” Applejack said.
“The sky'll be ours before you slowpokes are even in position,” Rainbow Dash winked.
“I don't like it,” Pinkie muttered. “I don't get to do anything.”
“You're our reserves, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “I'll need your mobility to respond to unforeseen threats.”
“See! You'll need. You'll decide! You just don't trust me, do you? You think I'm too crazy to make decisions! You never understand me, but that doesn't mean I don't know what to do!”
“It's not that, Pinkie, I—”
“—you think old Pinkie Pie's just nuts, don't you? Ha ha, can't trust her, she's a crazy pony!” She crossed her eyes and let her mouth hang open.
“Pinkie, please don't be resentful. It isn't personal. I need reserves and--”
“--well! I'll do exactly what you need me to do right now, and won't do anything crazy at all. Nope! NOTHING!” She spun around, and walked out of the tent, her head held high. Fluttershy squeaked, then followed Pinkie out.
Twilight shook her head, and then went back to drawing.
---
Fluttershy ran up alongside Pinkie Pie. “What are you going to do,” she asked breathlessly.
“I'm gonna surrender to the gryphons,” she said grimly.
“But—but you can't do that! You can't just--”
“--I know,” she said. "I'll need armor for all my soldiers first. Proper armor. Rarity has lots of extras. Can you help me get some? She likes you better than me. Go tell her you want five hundred sets of armor for your medics. Tell her that you're scared they'll get hurt or something.”
“Oh, um, Pinkie Pie, I don't even have two hundred medics, and armor isn't a good idea for a medic anyway.”
“C'mon, use your noodle, Flutters. Do you think she knows anything about anything that isn't all about her? Rarity has her head so far up her own flank you could tell her—tell her—oh, I don't know, that you need a thousand cannons to launch your medics at wounded soldiers or something dumb like that and she'd believe you. Now go. Go get me some armor. And tell her you're not too picky, okay? You have to do that.”
“But, um—you want to surrender? I can't—“
“—DO IT, FLUTTERSHY! TRUST ME!”
“Um. Um. Um. Um. Um.”
“I'm your friend. Good ol' Auntie Pinkie Pie. You gotta trust me, Flutters. I'm a pony who knows all the angles, remember? Trust me. I'm gonna surrender and it'll work out great and everyone'll say you did a great job helping me.”
“Oh, I--”
“Fluttershy. I know you know I'm trustworthy. So do the right thing. I gotta go prepare. Bring the armor to my camp in thirty minutes.” With that, the pink pony kicked off her little gray prosthetic leg, and limped off towards her camp, leaving the fake limb lying in the mud.
Fluttershy looked around nervously, seeing if there was anypony else who might have heard them.
---
Pinkie Pie limped through the woods, her battered and torn breastplate hanging loosely around her chest. Walking on three legs was tiring. She kept her head up. She occasionally felt the unsettling perception of her missing phantom “limb” passing through a rock or log she was climbing over. She tried to ignore that feeling. Repeating her little mantra helped.
Behind her, her soldiers marched along in their ill-fitting and dented armor. They had smeared their faces with dirt and spit, and most had dabbed their eyes with hot sauce. They looked awful, even in the dawn haze. They looked perfect.
A voice rang out. “Halt! You are surrounded!”
“We shurrender,” Pinkie said wearily, the lumps under her tongue making it hard to speak. “We've been out here for weeksh. Pleesh, let ush shurrender.”
“Disarm yourselves and prepare to be taken prisoner,” the voice demanded.
Pinkie paused a second. “All right, girlsh. Take off your armor. It'sh okay. They won't hurt ush. They jusht want to make sure we can't fight them.”
The pink pony shrugged off her own armor amid the sound of hundreds of breastplates and helmets hitting the ground. The woods rustled with gryphon wings. Pinkie smiled to herself.
---
The morning sun cast a fresh light across the tree-speckled field. The Gryphonic detachment was already well prepared for the arrival of the ponies: it was aggressively deployed, its gryphon cavalry ready to strike out at a moment's notice, its cannon in a tight, undefended grand battery, its infantry in mobile formations ready to advance.
“Keep it together,” Applejack called to her soldiers as they walked forward. “Everypony keep it together. We'll be in cannon range in a minute, so y'all need to keep loose ranks. Don't get too cozy with your neighbor or you'll be playin' catch with a cannonball. And don't close up 'till you hear the whistle, even if you see beaks comin' at us. The flygirls'll keep the birds off us. Now, the lions, they'll probably outflank us. Keep it together, because when they do that they'll be exposin' themselves to our cavalry.” She didn't know if anypony was listening to her speak. She didn't care. It was reassuring to tell the truth again.
Above them, the Equestrian lancers shot through the air, a tell-tale rainbow trail behind the lead pony. Applejack smiled. Like her, Rainbow Dash insisted on leading from the front. Atta gal. Don't send anypony to do anything you wouldn't do yourself.
Rainbow Dash squinted against the onrushing wind as her wings beat against the air. The cloud of Gryphonic cavalry wasn't any bigger than her own—and if she had proven anything in this war, it was that a pegasus trained and led by Rainbow Dash was better in a fight than any gryphon. She smiled, and the wind rushed into her mouth, puffing out her cheeks.
The gryphon cloud began to break into attack wedges, keeping tight formation to ward off Dash's massed lancer charges. Rainbow Dash blew her whistle, and her cavalry broke into diamonds of one hundred ponies each. This was a new trick she had come up with; a diamond should let them reorganize and change direction easily, while still providing most of the massed shock force of her customary cone formation. Well, she thought, time to see if this idea works. She extended her lance. The gryphon cavalry were less than a minute away.
Below, she heard the Gryphonic cannon erupt. Hope Applejack can keep her ponies in the fight long enough for me to—wait, what? A tearing, screeching noise filled her ears, before erupting in a crack that rattled her wings. She looked behind her in time to see a dozen ponies fall out of formation, ropes of blood falling out of their bodies.
Twilight Sparkle felt sick as she watched the bursting flowers of smoke in the sky. She recognized that smoke pattern. She knew that shell. She had designed it, months ago, as an anti-cavalry weapon—a shrapnel shell designed to go off at a certain altitude. It was a miracle of techno-magical design; she had been so proud when she told Celestia about them. The army had made hundreds of them, but had barely used them before they were captured with the rest of the Equestrian artillery. And, of course, the activator wasn't magical, so anypony could use them. That was the part she was proudest of.
And now her brainchildren were exploding above her, their shards of cruel metal ripping pegasus ponies apart. The Equestrian cavalry broke formations, spread out, and began retreating straight upwards. They did it all at once—clearly Dash had ordered it. A reasonable response, Twilight thought. Tight formations were suicide near those shells, and loose formations were suicide near gryphonic formations. But with the Equestrian cavalry out of the picture until the enemy artillery was neutralized, and with no Equestrian artillery, they could only field Applejack's infantry—Applejack's outnumbered infantry, which were about to be flanked on both sides. She had to think of something.
“Fluttershy,” she ordered, “Get out there and clear the field of fallen pegasus ponies. Get the ones who've fallen behind the infantry first; that should help keep your medics as safe as possible. Pinkie Pie, I'm going need you to wheel your soldiers left and prepare a--”
“Um,” Fluttershy said. “She...oh dear, oh dear...she isn't here.”
“I'm sorry,” Twilight said. “I didn't understand that.”
“Pinkie Pie, um, I really should have told you earlier, but I didn't want to get her in any trouble, but Pinkie Pie surrendered all of her soldiers to the gryphons two hours ago.”
“...you're not joking. Oh, Celestia, you aren't joking.”
“Oh, no. I wouldn't joke about that. Um. Anyway. I better go tell my medics to do...the things they have to do. General. Ma'am. Sir.” She smiled awkwardly, then took a few steps backwards and flew off.
Applejack looked around, calm despite the horrifying straits she was in. Dash's cavalry were in a defensive formation high in the sky, hovering nearly out of sight. The lion line of battle was wrapped around her in an enormous letter-C. Her ponies were in tight formation, preparing for a lion charge that wasn't coming. Gryphonic cannonballs ripped through her lines, tearing off limbs and heads and tearing open torsos in the helpless pony lines. The lions licked their chops, waiting for the ponies to make a move. Gryphonic cavalry floated above the lion lines, the morning sun glinting off their armor and their sabers.
Well, she thought. Retreat and we get pursued and probably routed. Charge and we get shredded. Stay and we get torn to pieces. Dash won't be able to screen the retreat in time. But she might be able to join an attack. Attack it is, then. She lifted her whistle to her mouth, and prepared to blow an order.
Suddenly, she heard an Equestrian whistle blow a charge. She looked around. She heard it again. Hundreds of ponies began shrieking—an otherworldly, bizarre, unnerving noise. And it was coming from behind the Gryphonic lines.
“Come on, girls!” Pinkie shouted. “To the cannon!” She blew her whistle again, then spat it on the ground; she hadn't bothered with its lanyard. Around her, her shrieking ponies charged forward, easily overpowering the shocked lion guards. The light infantry had been bound after they had surrendered, of course, but each soldier had carried a small blade in her mouth. Cutting the ropes was simple—and they knew how to fight unarmored.
Reaching the Gryphonic cannon was easy. Capturing it was even easier; the shocked gryphons flew off rather than standing and fighting. Within five minutes of blowing her whistle, Pinkie Pie commanded the Gryphonic artillery.
Her soldiers rushed to load the cannon as she watched the skies. She saw the Gryphonic cavalry moving into formation for a countercharge. “All right, gals. Canister shot, and aim low. Let's tear the tails off some lions. And don't worry about those birdies. Auntie Pinkie Pie's got a friend who specializes in saving her alfalfa.”
Rainbow Dash laughed. She didn't know what else to do. Hundreds of prisoners had suddenly overpowered their guards, and the Gryphonic artillery was now tearing gaping holes in the Gryphonic infantry lines. It was Pinkie. Of course it was Pinkie. Who else could it be? But...now Pinkie was exposed to Gryphonic cavalry. Cavalry, she thought, who now have their backs to us.
Oh, poor brave Pinkie. If only there were a pony who knew how to tear apart gryphons. If only that pony had thousands of expertly trained cavalry in close formations. If only her ponies had half a kilometer of altitude on the gryphons. If only that pony had nothing standing between her and a devastating diving charge. And if only doing that would also put her in perfect position to hammer the back of the lion lines.
If only, Dash thought, and laughed again. She pulled her whistle into her mouth, and blew.
---
The sounds of celebration rang through the field. Anti-cavalry shells exploded midair: ersatz fireworks with more than a hint of mockery.
“You did it,” Twilight shouted excitedly. “You did it, Pinkie. I can't believe it. I can't believe you! You should be locked up, you crazy, crazy, insane, nuts, wonderful, genius pony!”
“I did do it, didn't I?!” Pinkie laughed, as she bounced back and forth between her front legs and hind leg. “I told you I knew what to do!”
“You did! You did! Ha ha, I can't believe it, you did! I'll never doubt you again, oh, I promise I'll never doubt you again. Oh, but how did you know? How did you know we'd need you to do that?!”
“I didn't,” she shrugged. “I just figured the gryphons might have something up their sleeve, so I had better put something up ours too. And if there's one thing Miss Pinkie Pie is good at, it's playing tricks! And ol' Flutters here sure helped.” Pinkie nudged Fluttershy in the ribs. Fluttershy winced, though her blushing face still wore a smile.
“I can't believe it,” Twilight bubbled. “I can't believe you, Pinkie. Oh, wow, I can't believe it.” She sighed happily.
They heard hooves running up behind them. “Land sakes, Pinkie Pie, I never thought I'd live to see any of y'all again! You are the craziest, craftiest pony I ever laid eyes on! How in tarnation did you pull that one off?” Applejack laughed, and punched Pinkie playfully. “You oughta be ashamed of yourself, makin' us all look stupid like that!”
Above them, they heard a raspy voice shout, “PINKIE!” A rainbow bolt crashed into the pink pony, and the two tumbled giddily through the mud.
A good distance away, Rarity watched, her face impassive.
All right....we have Pinkie Patton proving that crazy works and Rarity not liking it one bit. If she hates Pinkie's improvisation, she's bound to despise the tactics of someone she'll always think of as an idiot who gets her precious letters muddy. (Hint. I don't much like Miss Fabulous and don't mind saying it.)
110072 Was about to go to bed...saw new chapter #firstworldproblems. And go crazy!!!!
Wow, that was surprising...
That combined with the constant wishes in my head for some B-1 lancers with cluster bombs combine to make this one of the best stori\es on here!
110143
She's not so much crazy-insane as crazy-willing-to-bend-the-rules; that doesn't sit well with the Platonic ideal of rear echelon dam inseminators Rarity.
110162
Oh Pinkie's still totally nuts. Pinkie took a crazy risk not telling anyone specifically the other commanding officers, and lied to the quartermaster to get supplies. Had she failed or been slowed in anyway she would have left the army down a massive number of soldiers with no reserves without telling their tactician. That is not how you win a war.
As for Rarity, I dunno...everyone else just got kinda twisted up in the winter, Dash never had to betray anyone, and AJ never had to lie, but Rarity was forced to take from ponies she knew had nothing to give. That combined with the MASSIVE amounts of disrespect she gets for being a non-combat officer seems harsh. Whether she is worse off than loosing a limb or getting lots of people killed I can't say but she gets a lot of shit for performing a job that I'm not sure anyone else would've had the conviction to do. Think Pinkie could have gotten that food from those ponies in the winter? We know Twilight couldn't, and now her friend lies to her for supplies, granted Pinkie lied to everyone but Fluttershy got the stuff for her "medics".
And now there's this great victory that teetered on the edge of perfect harmony and total disaster, somepony has to say the things no one wants to hear and it looks like it's going to be Rarity, again.
This is of course, 90% devils advocate and 10% Rarity is best pony.
110280
And one hundred percent of her being the only one not thinking like a civilian all the time. Seems to me that when she does finally hook up with kid sister, she might just end up being the only one of the six who can get what the deal is with "Derpy".
amazing
In response to a feedback message I received elsewhere, and because others might be interested: Twilight's anti-cavalry shell first appeared in chapter X.
110280
Pinkie was certainly irresponsible in launching a dangerous, foolhardy plan like that, and was doubly irresponsible for not telling anyone about it beforehand. I'd probably ascribe some of that to the fact that she's still very much dealing with emotional trauma. But while I don't think normal Pinkie would do exactly what Pinkie did in this chapter, I don't think there's a particularly large difference. In the show Pinkie Pie is quite impulsive, quite fanciful, and often decides on her own to do weird shit that no sane person would attempt. And, of course, in the show Pinkie Pie is almost completely oblivious to the necessity of explaining to others the odd things that she does (this chapter echoes Swarm of the Century in a couple ways).
Also I agree that Rarity is Best Pony. <3 Rarity 5evr.
110427
I am very, very eager to write the scene when Derpy and Rarity get some alone time. They're kindred spirits in a sense, and yet they're opposites in a sense. Trying to do justice to the possibilities will be a fun challenge.
110485
It seems to me that most, if not all, of the problem Rarity has with the idea of Derpy being anything other than the weird, harmless, helpless little pony who drops letters is that she never really stopped to consider what was behind those crossed eyes. Doesn't make her a bad person, just makes her a sort of oblivious one. There's also the fact that Rarity is starting to remind me of Starscream trying to make sense of the rise of Mining Unit D-17/Megatron.
110427
"Deal with Derpy" ?!? Outrage good sir! Derpy is friggen' awesome. Celestia and Luna need to appoint her Prime Minister when this is all over. She does what needs to be done but is smart enough to hold on to her humanity...or ponyity or whatever, as best as she can. I just so hope Big Mac and her manage to work everything out between them.
"Then I'll say I love you, Derpy"
"And I'll say I believe you" ~Soooo great. Wonderful undercurrent to the dialog there. You are a good mare Derpy, you are!! Now crush that shithead griffon king!
Ahhh, I've blathered on so much. But one last thing, while I do like the story as a whole the whole Equestrian Army of Free Ponies, or Equestrian Northern Army I guess they are now, really sold it for me. I just literally read through the whole thing just reading the Derpy parts in a marathon run the first time before I went back and read the rest. I still for the past 3 days have been going back and reading my fav parts over and over again.
Kudos sir, kudos. I can't wait to read the next chapter, which I really hope is back to the Northern army.
Once more into the breach ponies, once more!!
110583
I said "deal IS", not "with"......that's because Rarity is the only one possibly capable of understanding how she became what she is.
Oh no!!! Im sensing that rartiy will be detonatin C6 on pinkie!!!
Pinkie you magnificent bastard! As soon as I heard she was going to surrender to the Gryphons I knew what her plan was. Not totally of course, just that she was going to go Partisan on them. The battle was a little shorter then I would have liked, but that's okay! Magnificent as always, although i have a baaaaad feeling about what Rarity is going to do I eagerly await the next chapter.
And now for something completely different!
I must admit that this story sparked my interest in Napoleonic warfare. I consider myself an amateur military historian, although not a very good one mostly as a hobby. Now, normally my interests lie in the modern battlefield, WW1 and on, but focus mostly on WW2. This story surprised me and pointed out how little I actually know about that era. If you had asked me what the difference between a Lancer and a Hussar was before this, I wouldn't have known. This story is a wonderful read, even if the opening was a bit slow. Now that the pace has picked up I can not wait to see where its headed. Bravo good Sir, and I salute you.
Oh I am so glad that worked.
Demote her to private for insubordination,
Promote her to Captain for tactical genius.
Also medals. Cupcake-with-a-knife medals.
So awesome!!
110601
Meant no offense bud. Just playing around. And once again,
HAIL GENERAL DERPY!! I will follow you to the border of the griffon empire, to the Halls of the Griffon Kings castle, to the very Gates of Hell itself! Again All Hail The Grey Mare!!
Rarity is really being a jerk at this point.
dude this chapter was epic but i forgot to tell you this in another chapter. the one where pinkie loses her leg and applejacks gets hers crushed. there was one thing bothering me. i so happen to remember that when the elements were used something happened. more to speaking of season 1; episode 2
where rarity grew her tail back by using the elements of harmony. that got me thinking what if that also happened but it should have cause its so powerful it returns them to there normal state of being.
but anyways nice chapter.
Interesting chapter.
I thought it was game over but Pinkie saves the day (Sort of) :D That is why she is my second favorite pony after Flutters :D Very entertaining and a different take on the ponies, a more human-like state but still ponies (If you understand that).
111422
Hm! I hadn't considered that. Well, the Elements are a bit unpredictable, as the precise way in which they work hasn't been explained in the show, and the fanon explanation I've presented in this story isn't complete either. So here's three possible ways out of that problem.
1. The special situation of Rarity's 'wound.' Since Rarity's tail-lopping was the act of generosity that linked her to her Element, so the activation of the EoH may have purified that action by nullifying the negative consequence it bore--or some similar thing having to do with the fact that her ass haircut was her Elemental showcase.
2. The nature of the injury. A shorn tail is a cosmetic defect, while a shattered or amputated limb is a drastic change to the pony's body. Perhaps that makes a difference.
3. The nature of the pony. Rarity was fully aligned with her Element when it was activated in S1E2. When the Elements were activated in Ch. 23, the ponies weren't aligned with their element in the same way. Rather, they had simultaneously ceased being disaligned in such a manner and under such circumstances that each pony could temporarily commune with her respective Element. Pinkie wasn't completely the avatar of Laughter when the Elements were activated, and perhaps that makes a difference as well.
I'd probably guess a combination of 1 and 3 are in play. Maybe I'll address it in-story later on, if I find a natural opening.
110280 Well...Rainbow Dash did a similar thing. She went over everyone else's head and made her own gambit and it....
...both backfired and payed off. She kept her unit and revolutionized lancer formations early in the war, but cost the army in general (and AJ and Pinkie Pie in particular) dearly. She could have NOT been quite as awesome fail to take out the gryphons while she was out there, ruining the ambush, therefore making her actions a complete disaster. But, what she did do right has ramifications that haven't yet died out.
And speaking of ramifications, Twilight's little invention has been adapted by the gryphons and now she gets to kill as many pegasi as RD killed earth ponies at Dash's hill. Maybe more. The impact wasn't as great as Dash' hill (yet). But, I suspect that Derpy is going to be reaping that particular whirlwind.
Actually, we have Pinkie to thank for saving a lot of ponies in this battle. Her action is the craziest of all, and yet it paid off the most. Rainbow Dash at least was caught between her orders and the needs of her own lancers. Was she given these girls just to throw them away? There was actual pressure on her to protect her girls. Pinkie, if anything, put her soldiers at more risk.
If nothing else, they could've been systematically maimed if the Gryphons took a page from Derpy's book. In fact, between Derpy and Pinkie, the Gryphons just MIGHT start re-evaluating their ethics.
And speaking of consequentialism (and self-reflective consequentialist mirrors directed back at consequentialism), let's talk Rarity.
To date, perhaps the worse thing Rarity did (that she hasn't acknowledged as a bad thing) was seizing the food from that village. Rarity had an important job to do, especially since Celestia's logistical ponies fucked up the food supply. But, the villagers were also scrapped for food, and just letting them keep the food is obviously the choice that would isolate her from her own Element the least.
One might wonder if she couldn't pick a third option. Instead of taking all their remaining food, only take in half. Certainly, the village would still have to forage, but it would give them some surplus they could fall back on, and Rarity wouldn't have to return empty-hooved. Such a solution might even be called "fair." Since the villagers promised that grain but they were unable to deliver.
Ah, but. One must consider the worse case scenario. The odds that there will be nothing to forage, at all. With only one wagon of food, the villagers might die before the end of winter anyway, and every "koku" worth of food they did eat was another valuable soldier that could've been saved instead dying just one day before the spring grasses could've saved him or her.
Hence, it really might've been as cruel as her saving the soldiers OR saving the village, and this one act of pitilessness might well have saved Equestria. Or maybe the army will still get mowed down somewhere and sacrificing the villagers will have been just as wasteful as not giving those children one little healing salve.
All your actions, both good and evil, kind and cruel, might end up amounting to jack shit due to some disater nobody could've predicted. Rainbow Dash could've just as easily made a clever plan that didn't totally ruin Luna's ambush. Pinkie could've NOT saved the day and killed even more ponies than Dash's hill. Heck, Rainbow Dash could've still been in "Cog in the machine" mode, and been to busy waiting for orders to notice that all of her goals (Save Pinkie, crush enemy Calvary, Support AJ vs. Lions, not get blown to pieces by Twilight's brainchildren) lined up perfectly and were just waiting for her to take the initiative and seize them all.
I’ve been keeping track of this story since it came out, and I must say I am thoroughly entertained by it. It has certainly been depressing for much of the story. With there not being much hope for a long stretch there (seeming to border on hopelessness after that one disastrous battle). So it is nice to see things getting on track for our protagonists.
I’m somewhat knowledgeable about the period of warfare you have adapted to MLP, and I would say you have done a good job of it while keeping the story entertaining. It can certainly be easy to get bogged down with infodumping, and trying to bring your readers up to speed on exactly what is going on while neglecting the story. But I think you have done a good job of not falling into that trap. Granted, I would like to know more about certain aspects of this world I’m one of those readers who likes to learn about the backstory of a world), but you have to wise in what you do with your word count with a story like this to appeal to your wider reader base.
It seems Twilight is going to be caught between being forced to either slap Pinkie with a medal for playing a huge part in winning the battle, or court marshaling her for insubordination. Something I believe Rarity is going to be pointing out all too soon. Pinkie did just up and take her troops on a very high risk mission that could have easily gotten all her troops killed or captured if anything had gone wrong without telling her commanding officer. Leaving Twilight without a tactical reserve for a battle where they already had a decisive inferiority in infantry. It turned out great this time, but this can spell disaster for an army in the long run. Especially if more officers take after Pinkie’s example, and get it in their heads that going off to do their own thing is the right thing to do. The only saving grace there being that the army at large probably doesn’t know that Pinkie was not acting according to her orders.
Also Twilight went with a much simpler strategy for this battle then the complicated, multistage plans Luna cooked up for the last two battles. Probably the better way to go given the relatively inexperienced nature of the army, and the lack of confidence it was probably suffering before the battle. Plus now she will be able to add artillery to her options now that they have recaptured at least some of their artillery pieces with this battle, and her army should have considerably better morale now that they have beaten the gryphon’s decisively in a strait up battle.
I have to wonder how well the gryphons military’s morale is holding up at this point. They have been now been decisively beaten in three straight battles now. With all the gryphon armies involved likely reduced to being ineffective as fighting forces. Now the Grey Mare is striking out for gryphon territory, and Twilight’s army has probably now won itself some tactical flexibility and will reach Canterlot. The only saving grace being that Equestria’s forces are probably still overall smaller, and any new forces they raise are going to be very green. Though it really hasn’t been discussed, the gryphon’s much more militaristic society may also help them weather the recent disasters. But there are still the facts they have not done well on the field of battle for a war that was likely billed as a cakewalk over a bunch of virtually defenseless candy colored equines. The longer the war goes the more likely things are going to get worse as Equestria starts drawing more on its superior pony power, and becomes more proficient at warfare in general.
So now the gryphon’s are caught between their king’s (potentially obsessive given his behavior) goal of on trying to kill the royal sisters, and trying to fight off a very capable general threatening to invade their territory and cut off their supply lines. The gryphon king seems to be basing a lot of his strategy on the hope that Screwball will get to and kill the princesses, and that in turn will eliminate Equestria’s will to continue resistance. That and his personal hatred bordering on religious fanaticism seems to be driving this strategy (at least that is my guess, we can only guess what exactly he is thinking based on his words and actions). It would probably be wiser to first concentrate their forces on either Derpy or Twilight to achieve one of their goals, and then work on the other. But that is unlikely to happen in my opinion, and if I’m gauging the situation right. Derpy actions simply cannot be ignored, and she knows it, and failing to put pressure on Twilight will give her more time to rebuild Equestria’s military (allowing her to solve issues such as her deficiency in infantry and getting her officers on the same page) and let her operate as she pleases. Plus the gryphon’s king isn’t likely to let them stop trying to do what they can to help Screwball kill Celestia and Luna. Though strategic necessities might force the gryphon’s to focus on Derpy, but as readers we will just have to wait and see how the gryphon’s respond to their most recent disasters. Now won’t we?
This is truly an awesome story. I just have one question: What happened to Spike? I can't remember if his fate was ever mentioned or not.
111318she is a supply officer she going to be a asshole
good so far is this the start of a counter offensive?
After the last few chapters, I can honestly say I would not follow The Grey Mare. At all.
I'd follow Pinkie Pie's lead to the eighth continent, and Twilight Sparkle's if she lets it happen more often.
And cheer up Rarity. I've done stock and supply before....not for a lot of ponies, but two hundred or so people in JROTC. It's not all bad!
Maybe you can come up with the next plan! I hear The Grey Mare likes unconventional (and outright dishonorable) tactics, and Smallpox Blankets are always a hit in war. Or perhaps camoflague some ponies and equip'em with handcanons? Somepony has to invent sniping, why not you? Or maybe supply warfare! 'Accidentally' let the enemy aquire some supplies that compromise them somehow? Let them aquire false supply reports that make them think the armies are weakening.
There are tons of ways to do cool things like that, Rarity! Cheer up!
Also I hereby nominate Fluttershy to be Supreme Prankster of the Week for her role in Pinkie's epic ruse.
116574
Okay, whut? javascript:smilie('');You would follow a pony that broke down on the field, literally went nuts. And even after she recovers some, she breaks command goes off on her own with out letting any other commander know. What if the griffons had thought to check her for weapons? Her plan would have blown up in everyponies faces. And Twilight is not a frontline commander. She's a strategist not a fighter. javascript:smilie('');When has Derpy been dishonorable? The closest I can think is when she executed the prisoners that surrendered. And what would you have had her do? Release them so that they can be reshuffled into the griffon war machine? You'll probably thinking of the suicide bombers also, There is nothing dishonorable about giving your life to destroy a purely military target. And in the long run the strategy saved lives by forcing the griffons to surrender. She never stole or took from the needy or starving, She refused to use more intense methods of interrogation. Despite its effectiveness. And she went out of her way to help other ponies when a more logical military mind wouldn't have.
Sorry for the rant. I love your Derpy, Emkajii. She is an awesome view of the character.
116574
Doing stock and supply in JROTC doesnt really mean that much, i mean your dealing with highschool students who only really need a Class A uniform and the stuff that goes with it.
I don't want to lose Tia.
Wow.... This is amazing and now I am in your thrall.... dammit.
Hm, seems like Twilight needs a few more battles to be as good as the Grey Mare. But somehow i´m sure that from a strategial/tactical point she´s able to be as good as her. Problem is she´s not as uhm, *efficent* in using cruel or *evil* ways to win a battle like Derpy Hooves does/did.
I´d like to see more battles of her though, mostly to see how those two generals lead their army, their officiers and themselves everyday in this war.
Though to do so, Twilight might need someone like Derpy has, a Big Mac.
Her friends are all changed, even Fluttershy though she´s still mostly herself like she used to be.
But an OC is ugh, so no. XD
To be honest, the one i see taking a Big Mac position for General Twilight Sparkle is actually Rainbow Dash. Both stood/stand out the most in the past battles/chapters, both had, compared to the rest of the Mane6, the most outspoken and closest scenes together with the confession of RD, the hug as well as her most harsh reaction to Twilights offer before the beginning of the battle they lost. Also it would fit, as the smart brains in leadership and the brash brawn in the frontlinie, AJ can´t fill this position because with those wounds on her legs as well as her kinda limited mobility with her earth poyn troops, compared to RD and their lancers.
And given this is a war, i think it would make kinda sense that the Loyal element is the closest one to the Magical element bearer in those harsh and cruel times. Not meaning that the others won´t be important to Twilight and/or Dash, but i think its cause RD knows how it feels like to live with the knowledge to life and accept the results of the decisions you took as an officier, though now Twilight is resonsible for a whole army and she will have to make much harder decision from now on than back then when she commanded the artillery.
Having someone like RD to talk to, to relax, to complain like Derpy does to Big Mac in the times when she´s not the Grey Mare might help her not to lose herself or be close to losing herself liek Derpy is right now. Same for RD, it would help her to grow, to get away from her fear to be jugded by her friends, to react as a jerk to keep away accusations and accepting her past faults. Cause i still get the feeling that outta the Mane 6, RD´s the one who´s still struggling with her past decisions as officer. Twilight who now will see and probably have to make similar decisions or even worse, can understand RD better and might be the pony to help RD ease the pain of her nightmares in her mind.
Oh well, but that´s jut me ramblinb.^g^
I know, you have this planned out and will continue to do an excellent job. Just saying my feelings i get reading your fic. :)
Hello, chapter that just made my favorite canon character and favorite character in this fic one and the same. Handshakes and cookies for all!
Huh. Never had to grab an emoticon before now, not to my recollection. Worth it. SO worth it.
110145 Meh. I was thinking more along the lines of several A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthogs" doing strafing runs with their world-famous 30mm GAU-8 Avenger cannons. The overall casualties would be about the same. However, nothing scares the living shit out of the enemy like being dive-bombed and torn apart by 30mm shells at 3,900 rpm. I leave you with this:
verydemotivational.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/129143038520010067.jpg
Jesus, Pinkie Pie you could have fucked up so much stuff ith that gamble, goddamn. Well, I think its safe to say the most competent leader so far is Derpy.
"Above them, they heard a raspy voice shout, “PINKIE!” A rainbow bolt crashed into the pink pony, and the two tumbled giddily through the mud."
AAWW! That's cute! Even though they have been turned into commissioned officers and seen the horrors of war they can still be friends.
Silver out!
Gotta love them prisoner riots
But what is Rarity up too???