Write Club! A Multi-Prompt Compilation

by HapHazred

History: Verbose Mode

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"Fascinating..." Flash Sentry ran a wing along the rack of crystalline helmets as he passed, craning his neck to peer at the lance on the rack above it. "Perfect condition. I almost don't believe it."

"Lieutenant Sentry?"

"Sup?" Flash glanced back over his shoulder, expecting one of the still-recovering crystal ponies he had just been placed in charge of. Instead, his ears plastered back against his skull and he whirled around, snapping to attention. "Prince Shining Armor, sir!"

"At ease, Lieutenant." The newly-crowned prince trotted into the armory, shaking his head. Flash knew what he was thinking. They sent this greenhorn to train my troops?

At least he didn't say as much. "How's it look? Can we be fit-to-fight?"

"Well, sir, the short answer is... no." He gestured around at the racks of weapons and mounted armor. "Enough spears for eight squads, lances and barding for two shock units, and enough longbows and arrows for a hell of a siege."

"So what's the problem?" Prince Shining Armor tilted his head.

Flash took a deep breath. "They're useless, sir. Crystalline weapons became obsolete nearly eight-hundred years ago, and worse, the Imperial Guard is trained to use them."

Shining shook his head. "Ok, now I'm seriously confused. Why is this a bad thing?"

"Sir, can you imagine any of your troops under Princess Celestia forming a phalanx?" Flash irreverently kicked at a large shield. "That's what these are for. Modern soldiers like us are trained differently. Ever since the advent of-"

"So what your saying is they all need a lesson in a thousand years of military history."

"Yessir."

Shining Armor scratched his chin with a hoof. "You have one afternoon with whatever our equivalent of a General is. Make it happen."

Flash's face fell. Well, shoot.

***

"H-hello, sirs." Flash winced as the assembled leadership all glared at him. "I'm, uh, I'm Second Lieutenant Flash Sentry. I'll be your military history instructor today."

"Correct me if I stray, Leftennant," Commandant Karat asked, the eyebrow not holding his monocle rising, "but are you not of—"

"—the lowest rank possible in the Royal Guard, yes sir. But I know military history, so I was sent here. The Crystal Empire is the perfect time capsule for many things, but I have a new job." Flash swallowed. "Class is now in session?"

With some annoyed huffing and at least two eye-rolls, the commander's sat down in the briefing room.

"Ok, so, here's our starting point. Sombra made into a pony-popsicle, and you all went poof. What kinda trouble might that have caused, fellas? Think military." Flash drew a line across the top of the board, and a small circle at the left end, spitting the chalk into the tray.

"Well, tis simple." Commander Quartz waved a hoof. "We nearly had a monopoly on the production of enchanted weapons. Ice arrows in particular."

"Bingo. And what were ice arrows primarily used for?" Flash asked.

"Dragons. Ice arrows are dragonslayers." Commandant Scintle said.

"On point, ma'am. So, what do you think hit the fan about a century after the Empire vanished, and the supply of existing arrows ran short, and nobody had access to the gems or craftponies needed to mass-produce more?" Flash drew an arrow, then circled it and crossed it out, attaching it to the timeline.

The commanders looked at each other, paling beneath their shimmering coats.

"Exactly." A crude dragon was added to the board. "The best part was that despite the fall of Discord, one of Equestria's most powerful warriors was... lost. I hope you all have heard the tale of Nightmare Moon by now? Good."

"Now imagine the futility of massed cavalry charges against a dragon. Princess Celestia could not be everywhere, and armies where getting devastated left and right. But then something crazy happened. Villages needed defenses, armies were not cutting it, and, long story short, heroes started popping up." Flash gave the chalkboard a kick, flipping it over to reveal posters for several classic movies. "Highwind, Noctiramius the Apocalypse, Highlander Appleseed... small groups of incredible ponies went and did incredible things, starting with running off dragons, but leading up to running off anything else! Now, it took a couple years and a few advances an metallurgy, a lot of which made weapons thinner and lighter, but armies steadily started to tend toward small, elite teams instead of huge platoons and formations. Why send a whole column of cavalry to knock down a gate when you could send a dozen agents to open it from the inside, or, better yet, just nab the villain and be done?"

Commandant Pyrria made a face, and Flash jumped on it. "Something to add, ma'am?"

"Indeed! Where has honor gone in this day and age? Hast thou none?" The ruby mare tossed her head.

"To the people, ma'am. What lacks more honor? Stopping evil with a swift, hard cut or letting it fester while recruits buck at it's walls?" Flash grinned. "And really, what's more heroic? An army charging, or a team of super-soldiers alone in enemy territory. That's why your here, today, to—"

"Too heavy." Commandant Quartz interjected.

Lieutenant Sentry blinked. "Sir?"

"Diamond armor. It's to heavy for a small team to use. Same for the lances, they only are good in large formations. A small team needs short-spears, crossbows and light armor to stay mobile." The commander trotted up to the board, flipping it over and marking a simple diagram in the middle. "A coordinated small team could cause massive damage to any size of unit, just by flanking and using bandit-tricks. It pains me to say it, but a fair fight is a foolish fight."

From the back of the room, the sound of applause came forward. Seeing the source, Flash snapped to attention. "Prince Shining Armor, sir!"

"At ease, at ease. Well." The prince looked at the assembled room and gave a chuckle.

"Heh. Glad to see time-travel's been treating ya' well."

---

Author's Note:

This story was written by Verbose Mode. If you liked his story, please check him out!

Comments

[survivor]

I'm a bit confused... about what their talking about XD.

[Malandy]

So, wait... Is this by Jmac?

He said it here:https://www.fimfiction.net/story/79894/quizzical-greystone-and-the-basements-of-doom#comment/6021866

But I'm not seeing anything on Indy or any other Indiana Jones references...

Interesting showing history! Also nice use of Flash Sentry!

Typos:

advances an metallurgy

it's walls

An army charging, or a team of super-soldiers alone in enemy territory.

Needs a question mark? A rhetorical question is still a question.

That's why your here

It's to heavy for a small team to use.