Fog of War

by Teal

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Newman didn’t know how to react in the current situation he found himself in. None of his training had prepared him for anything like it, since he doubted that anyone expected to be on a situation that was as unbelievable as this.

He was trained to lead and fight, to encourage men and win the day. Now he was sitting in a large room, with walls made out of a bright material and unknown stone, with two Princesses of a world that was completely foreign to him. He had left the regiment in the hands of Lt. Col. Warren, his second in command, when one of the Princesses invited him for tea. The one who invited him, was a tall white pony who introduced herself as Celestia, while the other, a purple pony, introduced herself as Twilight Sparkle.

Now the three were seated in a large room, inside Princess Twilight’s castle, as each of them a cup of tea, which was made by Princess Twilight’s assistant. At first, Newman found it strange to see that her assistant was a baby dragon, but he then reminded himself that this was a strange new world which could easily be comparable to the stories that filled the mind of young children.

Looking at the cup of tea that he held with his hands, he gave it a quick sip and savored the flavor. He had to admit that it was quite good and refreshing, although he would much have preferred a steaming cup of coffee over the warm tea.

Sitting there and trying to be comfortable and calm as possible, he noticed that Twilight was looking at him with great intent. In her eyes, he could see curiosity, as she observed his every movement. He felt slightly uncomfortable at her gaze at first, but after a while he began to realize how different he might have looked to them. In a world of equine creatures, someone who could walk on only two legs and stand high and tall must have been very strange for them.

Sitting there with nothing but the sound of sipping piercing through the silence, Newman began to wonder if they were every going to speak or just sit there and wait for time to pass. Luckily, deciding that they have been quiet long enough, Princess Celestia spoke as she began to address Newman.

“Twilight, I would like to introduce you to Colonel Newman, a human from another world and an officer of the United States Army.” She said, introducing him.

“You know him, Princess?” Twilight asked, looking towards the white pony.

Celestia rolled her eyes as she shook her head. “It’s just Celestia, where equals now remember?” She told Twilight, who blushed in embarrassment. “To answer your question, I have met him through observation, but never met him personally till now.”

“Observing?” Both Newman and Twilight said, in surprise.

“Well yes.” Celestia said, before taking a sip on her tea. She then put it down and faced the two. “I have been observing you world, Colonel Newman, and have seen you and your regiment’s achievments.”

“Please, just call me Lawrence.” Newman said, as he stated his first name. “There is no need for formality, Princess.”

Celestia smiled, one that would make anyone trust her immediately, and nodded. “Then I suggest that you just call me Celestia, so that all formality would be removed.”

“Very well then, Celestia.”

Celestia smiled once more, before returning to the topic. “As I was saying, I have been observing you world and have seen things that lit up my interest. You and your soldiers managed to catch my eye out of all the things I saw, as I decided to bring you here to my Kingdom.”

“Wait, I beg your pardon, Celestia, but how are you able to see my world?”

“Well, Lawrence, with magic of course.” Celestia stated.

“M…magic?” Newman said, said in disbelief as he felt his eyes twitch. He face left a baffled expression, which made Celestia giggle, on how ridiculous he looked. Newman just continued to stare at her, not sure if he should take this all seriously. Magic? But that was impossible, magic doesn’t exist. It was nothing more than a couple of tricks that was used for entertainment.

“Umm…Celestia, I think you might have broken him.” Twilight said with concern, as Newman continued to stare at them with a blank expression.

“Oh, don’t worry Twilight. He’s not broken; he’s just trying to process what he just heard.”

“About magic?” Twilight said, looking at Celestia.

“Yes…” Celestia said. But she soon saw the confused look on her face. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain later.”

As he tried to get his facts straight, Newman suddenly realized what Celestia just said. She told him that she was the one who brought him and his regiment to this strange new world. Did she really just admit to summoning them here did he just miss heard what she said. With his initial shock with the concept of magic, he could have just heard things and misinterpreted what she said.

“I beg your pardon, Celestia, but did you just say that you were the one who brought me and my regiment here?” He asked, wanting to make sure what he heard was correct.

“Yes, Lawrence, that is correct. I am the one who brought you here.” She said nodding.

He nodded, accepting the reply as another question popped up in his thoughts.

“Alright…but why?” There must have been a reason for her bringing them here or else she would not have gone through the trouble of transporting at least four hundred men to her nation on a world that was most likely far off from theirs

Looking towards him, her face remained unchanged, although the tone of her voice turned into a more serious one, emphasizing the importance of this conversation.

“Like I said, I have been observing you and your regiment for a while now. Through my observations, I found that you would be the perfect choice for the task that we would soon need to conduct.”

“That is?” Newman said, a questioning look plastered on his face.

“To train soldiers, to train them how to fight a threat that has not plagued this nation for decades.”

A shocked expression bore on Twilight’s face as she heard this, as she looked to Celestia.

“A new threat to Equestria?” Twilight said, letting the words sink in. “But couldn’t me and the girls just solve this problem? We have done it before and I’m sure we can do it again, so why ask for help now? Not that I don't appreciate help or anything, but couldn’t the power of friendship solve this like always?”

“I’m afraid not, Twiligh. This is one threat that friendship could not stop.” Celestia said. “For you see, the new threat to us, is the possibility of war.

“War!” Twilight exclaimed in shock, not knowing that Equestria was looming closer to war. Having read hundreds of history books, she knew that war was something that brought destruction and death. She had read on the past wars of Equestria and saw nothing but the pain of suffering of those who took part of it.

“Yes…war.” Celestia said nodding. “You may not know it, Twilight, but Equestria has a secret network of agents hidden in the Griffon Empire. We always like to keep a watchful eye upon them, so our agents bribe some Griffons to gather information for us, to help see what their Empire is planning. Recently, one of those Griffons came to our Embassy in the Griffon capital and brought us a small piece of document. It was smuggled out from their Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it states their local embassy at Canterlot should make haste and start burning documents, as war would be imminent between our nation. The document also says that they should begin packing and leave as soon as war has been declared.”

“So, you mean they’re going to declare war on us?” Twilgiht asked.

“Yes, yes they will.” Celestia simply stated. “On when that would happen, I do not know yet. But from what our agents are telling me, their move would come soon.”

“But…” Twilight said, thinking out loud. “…if they declare on war on us, then that would also mean an iminenet invasion.”

“That is correct.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, as she realized one fault in Equstria’s peaceful existence. Knowing all too well that Equestria hadn’t been at war for hundreds of years, the fact that war was about to hit them was a scary prospect.

“But…we haven’t been at war for five hundred years! How are we going to end off an invasion if the nation doesn’t even have the skill and experience to fight one? We were barely able to fight off the Changeling invasion and we only got lucky there because of the Elements. But now…”

“I know Twilight, I know.” Celestia said, knowing that the young Princess had the same idea of hopelessness she felt when she first heard the news.

“Excuse me…” Newman said, reminding them of his presence. He had listen to the conversation intently and found something intriguing throughout it all. “…but did you say you’re nation hasn’t been at war for five hundred years?”

“Yes, you heard that correctly. Five hundred years. Five hundred years of peace throughout our nation.” Celestia said, cherishing the fact that she managed to keep her country quiet and away from war for such a long time. “You see, Lawrence, Equestria is a peaceful nation, while our ponies are kind creatures who just want to live and enjoy life. War and other acts similar to that had been routed away after years of struggling. By now, the generation who are living don’t know what war feels like. They don’t know its fear and horrors. On one side, this is a good thing, as they won’t suffer by its pains.” Newman nodded as he listened to that part, knowing all too well what a war has done to his nation. With their own Civil War going on, his country had been torn apart as well as the people and land that was once united.

“But there is also a side effect to having no war. You may or may not know this, but over time, a nation who doesn’t go to war would soon forget how to fight. Well, I can tell you right now, that is what happened to us. With years of peace and no possible use for an army, the Equestrian Army was disbanded and down sized. Right now, we only have the Royal Guard to rely on for defense, but they can only do so much. With their numbers, estimates say that they would only be able to defend the Royal Palace and nothing more. Their numbers are too small to mount a sizable defense of the country.”

She paused for a moment to let him take it all in before continuing.

“Now, there is a second option for defense, which is the Volunteer Army. Once at war, the government is allowed to raise an army of volunteers, to help defend the country. But the problem is, we don’t have any experienced ponies to help them train, as well as well the fact that we don’t have a doctrine to advice our possible commanders. With nothing but a couple of skirmishes on the southern borders, against the buffalos, our ponies are practically clueless to the ways of war. That’s why I brought you here, to help train and advise us.”

“You want us to be advisors?”

“In a way yes.” She said, nodding. “Listen, Lawrence, the task I will be giving you won’t be too hard. All you have to do is help train one brigade. Through my observations, I have seen how you and your soldiers fight and I am greatly impressed at your skills. Although your battles get to be graphic, I saw that your regiment is well knowledgeable in the art of war. So I want you to pass it on to us. You’ll have drill sergeants, from the Royal Guards, who will help you in this endeavor and observe the training as well as help in the training of volunteers. They will also learn as much as they can and pass it on to the volunteers that you will train and the volunteers that will come. Once you managed to train one brigade or once the first battle looms over us, I will have you as an advisor to our future commanders, to assist them in their tactics. The training of the brigade would be helpful, but you’re main task would be to advice our leaders, to teach them what and what not to do. This is all I ask you to do, nothing more than that. We will supply you, feed, you, and provide you anything that you need, in return, I ask you to help us in our time of need. Do you accept?”

Newman stared at her as he thought about the offer that was given to him. This was a big task she was asking him and his men to do and he didn’t know if one regiment acting as advisors would be any help to them at all. She wanted him to train a brigade and advise them in their fights, but would that be enough? He knew that one well trained brigade and a couple doses of advice wouldn’t turn the tide of battle, as it takes more than that to win. Although she didn’t say it, both he and Celestia knew that his regiment would have to fight in one of those battles. Despite trying his best to stray away from the idea, he knew that no matter how hard he would try, he and his regiment would get suck into the battle that await. One does not simply march into battle and walk away unharmed.

In normal circumstances, he would refuse the request, seeing that he was in no position to negotiate with other nations. Knowing that his men had already suffered through one war, he would do all he could to stop them from getting involved in another.
But this was not normal circumstance, since they were trap in another world and the only key to go back was through her. There was also a thought of pity for them that was drawing him to accept the offer, knowing that they would just be rolled over without help. Like his country in the War of 1812, the chance of being crushed because of a lack of an army was a great possibility.

Looking back towards her, he noticed that they were both looking at him intently, waiting for the reply that he was about to announce. Clearing his throat once more, he looked at them and gave his desicion.

“Well…I accept your offer. Besides, you’re probably not going to bring us back till I say yes.” He said the last part as a joke, but when he saw the troubled look on Celestia’s face, he knew that there was more to this than he knew.

“Twilight…” She said, facing the purple pony. “…would you please leave us two in this room? We need to talk about something in private.”

“Well…uhhh…of course, Princess.” Twilight said, stepping out of the room, closing the door behind her and leaving the two alone.
Celestia looked at Newman with a plain facial expression plastered on her face. Her earlier look was not replaced by a stoic and expressionless one, as she let the words out of her mouth in a diplomatic and calm manner.

“I am sorry to tell you this, Colonel…” She said, addressing him with his rank. “…but I fear that I cannot bring you and your soldiers back to you world.”

Newman heard those words and took them in. At first, he didn’t believe what she just said and refused to acknowledge it. She must have been playing a trick on him, trying to fool around with him. But once he saw the serious expression on her face, it became that there were no jokes in what she was saying.

“Why can’t you? Didn’t you say you brought us here?” He asked, as she nodded. “Then it means that you can bring us back once we’re done here.”

“Its not that simple, Colonel. There are more things that are hindering me from bringing you home. Things that you might not want to learn about. I could tell you about this things, but as somepony who is concerned about this, I advise you not to ask about it.”

Newman stared at her and saw that the expressionless look was still plastered on her face. Now he knew that she was hiding and wondered what it was. With the option to learn it or not, he decided upon whether to heed her warning or not.

But like any human created on Earth, he was born with the curse of curiosity. To learn the unkown, even if it hurts them. Wanting to learn what prevented her from binging them all home, he decided to ask her about the reasons. The reasons that were separating them and home.

“Try me.” Newman said, trying to copy her expressionless look.

“Very well then…” She said with a slight nod.

Sighing, she donned a sad expressing before closing her eyes and looked down. Lifting her head up to face him, the sad expression disappeared as she bore once more the expressionless look on her face.

“Listen…it isn’t that I can’t bring you all back, rather, I won’t bring you back.”

Newman raised an eyebrow, as he wondered what she meant. Won’t want to bring them back? What was she planning, keep them here for eternity? Those were the thoughts that circled in his mind, but he decided that it would be best if he kept it to himself and let her continue.

“The reason being is quite complex, but I‘ll try to explain it to you.” She said, as she cleared her throat. “You see, trans-dimensional spell casting works in funny ways. It’s because the universe dosen’t like the idea of somepony interfering with another universe, so it kind of gets messy. I will not bore you with the technical terms, so I’ll cut to the chase. The teleportation spell that I cast upon you is said to have some side effects, some of which being not too pleasant. I don’t exactly know why or how, but the only way for you and your men to return home is to die in this world. Once your sole dies here, it will automatically return to your world. On whether your body would come with it, I do not know. Neither do I want to test it to figure out. Now do you see why I can’t simply just bring you back?”

Shaking his head, he stared at her with a dumbstruck expression. What she revealed to him was not only shocking, but down right enraging. She had brought them here to fight a war they weren’t even supposed to be involved in, only to be rewarded by being trapped here for eternity. Not only was that unfair, it was practically a kidnapping.

He felt anger rise up within him, as he looked at her with a sharp killing gaze. He felt rage inside and wanted to let it all out. They didn’t deserve any of this and wanted to return. But the only way to return is through death. To him, it was starting to look like a sick joke. Clutching his fist, he wanted to vent out his anger upon her and seek revenge on this trouble that she had brought upon them. But if there was one thing he learned at the Point, it was, not to let your emotions get the best of you.

Taking a deep breath before letting it all out, he did his best to calm himself as he gazed at her, directly in the eyes.

“Look…” He began. “…I know you said you can’t bring us back without practically killing us, but is there another way to return?”

“There could be…” Celestia replied. “…but nopony had discovered any spells before. Reversing the spell I used to bring you here wouldn’t work, but there are countless of untested spells, as well as spells that could be discorvered in the future.”

A small glimpse of hope appeared when he heard the possibility, no matter how small, of getting them back home.

“Well, if there is a possibility, can I get your reassurance that you would do your best to find that spell? I don’t care how long it would take, as long as you can bring us all home. I promised all of my men that they would see their homes once their service is over and I’m not going to let magic, or whatever it is, to get in my way. So here’s the deal, we will help you in your war, as long as you help us get back. Deal?”

Celestia looked at him and nodded. Accepting it would have been the least of the things that she could do to help them. She was the one who brought them here and it would be unkind if she didn’t accept it.

Although she still knew that finding the spell was an unlikely thing and that most of her effort would not go to finding a way to create a spell to bring them home, as her priorities lie to preparing her nation for war, she did know somepony who could fulfill the task. A certain lavender pony who, so far, has not failed her yet.

“Deal.”

---

Newman stood in front of his regiment, as all of his men sat down on the grass and looked up at him. Standing on a large bump on the ground, to give him some elevation, he made sure that everyone could see him, even the ones who were sitting at the back of the group. Surrounded by his officers, they made sure not to block him as they flanked him on both sides.

Every man in the regiment was quiet, wanting to know what the Colonel was about to say. A tall and commanding figure, it was not hard to identify Newman from the crowd, as all their faces were gazing towards him.

“Men, as you know…” Newman begun. “…I recently had a conversation with the rulers of this land. They have proven to be friendly folks and we have nothing to fear about them. They told me that we would be treated as guess here, under their Princesses gratitude, which we should be thankful off.”

“But that is not the reason I have gathered you all here. Because I have sad news to share. One of their rulers, Princess Celestia, has told me that their nation is about to go to war. Currently, they are at a state of peace. But war is imminent and is just over the horizon”

There were a few murmurs as he said that, but those few were immediately settled when Newman began to speak again.

“In need of aid, she had asked me for help, help in the form of our experience in warfare. Now you see, these here ponies aren’t good at soldiering and would need help if they want to win this war that would soon engulf their land.” He told them. “All of you know what it feels like to be a young soldier, lost in the chaos of a battle. In our first fight, a lot of you were lost, even with the training given to you. Now imagine their situation, in which there in no one who can teach them the basics. Imagine one of their recruits, struggling in a battle, with little to no knowledge of what going on and on what he is to do, while their leaders encounter the same problem Their country has been at peace for a long time, which consequently made them forget how to fight, as well as remove the need of an army. Our nation has been though this state before, back in 1812, and it would a great shame to our pride if we just let them suffer through the disgrace of defeat. So I accepted the offer, in which we would train their recruits, while they ask for advice in tactics of warfare. In return for our actions, they would treat us as one of their own, as part of their nation.”

Most of the men nodded, seeing nothing wrong with the prospect. To them, the idea made them looked like heroes, as saviors to this forsaken nation who had forgotten how to fight. It made them proud knowing that they were doing something to help the underdog in a war for what seemed like liberty.

But there were those who were concerned of one thing and one thing alone. They murmured to themselves, talking to one another, before raising their hands, which caught Newman’s attention.

“Uh, Colonel, sir. Me and some of the boys were wondering…when are we going to go home?” One of them asked when Newman brought his attention upon him.

Newman paused for a moment, wondering how he should address this. Should he tell them the truth and bring down moral? Or should he lie to them and give them something to work for. If he told them that they would go home as soon as the war is finished, then they would work twice if not trice as hard to make sure that this war was over as soon as possible.

Thinking over the decision he wanted to make, there was a pause for a couple of seconds before he made his final thought. Giving a short nod, he looked at them men and gave them a small smile.. Sometimes, lying was for the good of everyone.

“After the war, son…” He told him and all of them. “…once the war is done, the Princess herself would graciously bring us home. So wait till this is all over.”

“Once this is all over…”

Author's Note:

Edited: 4/18/15

Comments

[Fireheart 1945]

... Okay. I would not have just let that LITTLE fact go so easily, but I suppose...

[Admiral_Gravleos]

I hate the fact that most of the military stories I read celestia brings them to their world to train he soldiers instead of bringing them to fight. Seems over used to me.

[Tali_The_Lamia]

Ok maybe its just me, but logic would dictate that, even though their regiment ARE Experienced soldiers, at least ONE soldier would complain bout this.

[Tali_The_Lamia]

7059172
You should read Equestrian Warfare. It has Sgt. Jackson and his team get sent into Equestria just plainly fighting enemys.

[Grimthe18]

I don't think humans would be okay with talking horses also they were in a war themselves couldn't celeastia see that why couldn't she just train the troops herself