22-Out of the Swamp, into the Fire
Chapter 22
One month earlier...
“No...” Twilight warned.
Alan smiled.
“No, no, no.”
Alan’s smile widened.
“Alan, I swear—”
“What do you think, Pip?” Alan asked.
“Do it!” the colt answered.
“Pip!” Twilight cried, betrayed by her once-ally. “How could you?!”
“He offered me cookies!” the colt shouted, a hint of shame in his voice.
“Same here!” cried Applebloom.
“No fair gettin’ the young’uns on yer side, Al!” Applejack cried from beneath a small avalanche, on the top of which Scootaloo sat proudly.
Sweetie Belle had both her older sister, and Pinkie buried. Rainbow Dash, already on Alan’s team, hovered with a smirk on her face. Fluttershy was, of course, neutral.
Alan had the lavender unicorn pinned against a wall with a snowball in one hoof, and a wicked smile on his face.
“Everyone has a price, my dear Twilight,” Alan said, as the CMC and Pip all took their own snowballs. “You just need to know how to make the offer.”
“You slimy jerk!” Twilight answered, tossing powder into his face.
He just smiled and stepped closer.
“Don’t do it, Alan,” she warned, as the stallion and four foals got closer. “Don’t do it.”
He raised his hoof.
“I will lock you out of the library for a week!” she threatened.
And then suddenly a massive payload of snow dropped on her from above. She quickly dug her way out, sputtering snow as she did.
“And what’s a battle without a little misdirection?” Alan said, tossing his still unused snowball behind him.
Twilight looked up to see Rainbow Dash, hovering over her, grinning.
“Alright, kids,” Alan said, “Let’s go inside and get you some—”
Poomf!
“Sorry Alan, but Pinkie’s paying us double!” Scootaloo cried, before tossing more snowballs.
Alan took the hits, but was unable to keep his balance as four small bodies collided with his chest. He went down like a sack of potatoes, laughing as he held onto the foals in a massive hug.
“The hot chocolate's ready!” Daisy Chain yelled from the library door, their temporary residence until Alan got them a more permanent place to stay. At her call, the three fillies, as well as Pinkie ran to the door, nearly bowling the poor unicorn over.
Alan sat up, Pip in his lap, chuckling. “Go ahead and help Miss Rarity out, Pip, I’ll go get Miss Twilight.” The colt nodded before jumping off to help the trapped fashionista.
Alan stood, before walking over to Twilight, on four legs he would proudly point out. Once he reached the half buried mare, he held out his hoof, which Twilight gladly accepted. With a heave, he pulled her out of the snow, and she shook herself to release the powder the clung to her fur, before pulling Alan down into the snow pile.
“Revenge!” she cried, before stuffing a snowball in his face.
He sputtered, trying to keep the frozen water out of his nose and mouth, before pushing her away. “Alright, alright, you got your revenge, happy?”
“No,” she said, with a smirk, “but it’ll do for now.”
Alan laughed before he picked himself up. “How about we just get ourselves some hot cocoa?”
She nodded, and began to head inside.
“Hey, Pip!” Alan called. The young colt looked over at him, having just finished releasing Rarity. “Come here!”
The spotted earth pony dashed through the snow, popping up next to the unicorn, “Yes, Mr. Alan?”
“Did you have fun today?” Alan asked, draping his foreleg around the colt.
“Yeah, It was amazing!”
“Glad to hear it. Now, have you thought of any other fun things we can do once I get back?”
Pip’s smile faded. There was a short silence between them, before he said, “Do you really have to go?”
“Yeah. Yeah, Pip, I do. But I’ll come back.”
“How do I know you will?”
“Because if I don’t,” Alan deadpanned, “Twilight and your mom will kill me.” He then broke into a smile and ruffled the colt’s hair. “I’ll be back, Pip. I promise.”
“Hey, Pipsqueak!” Applebloom called from the front door. “You coming?”
“Yeah, I’m coming!” he answered before running inside.
Alan smirked. As he came up to the door, Daisy Chain handed him a mug, which he took in one hoof.
“Thank you, so much, Mr. Goldenhooves. For everything. Especially Pip, you’ve helped him so much.”
Alan nodded, before giving her a sad smile. “It’s the least I can do. After all, I know what it’s like to lose a father. I just can’t let him go through that alone...”
<<<|Ω|>>>
“Form ranks you miserable excuses for soldiers!” the griffon general roared as his forces slowly got out of the treeline. “Form ranks!”
On the other side of the battle field, Alan’s face went cold. He lost his smile, and his eyes narrowed as he beheld the incoming forces.
“So how you going to handle them, huh?” a griffon from the cart cat-called. He was quickly silenced by the others, many of them fearing punishment for the taunt.
Alan said nothing.
Instead, he walked forward, standing right next to the cart. He watched the enemy in silence. They began to materialize in from the swamp, the mass of enemies getting bigger and bigger. Once it had reached a good size, Alan spoke. “Pinkie, get them a drink.”
“One Sprite, hold the lemon, extra lime!” Pinkie said over the communicator.
“Who’s he talkin’ to?” one of the griffons mumbled.
Suddenly, with the report of cannon fire, the army watched as a small, round ball flew through the air. It arched over the enemy ranks before exploding into a cloud of white.
“What’s that?” Another griffon asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
Screams of pain could suddenly be heard from across the way.
“That would be lime. As in the stone,” Alan explained. “Remember all of the oysters you’ve been eating? Well we’ve been burning the shells, giving us powdered lime. Interesting thing, lime. In a powder it burns and stings the throat, while drying out the eyes. With enough exposure, maybe ten seconds, it causes blindness. Sometimes it’s temporary.”
Alan turned to face the first griffon. “With a single sentence, I have permanently blinded over a hundred troops. The lucky ones will still have their vision after this, but they will be few. That’s how I will deal with them.”
Turning, he began to head down to the front of the army. “Be glad you are my prisoner, griffon, and not my enemy.”
The griffon stayed silent.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Thomas Aquilas coughed as the white powder burned his eyes. He forced them shut, but he could feel the small grains of stone underneath his lids, and it only burned worse. He rubbed his eyes, hoping to dislodge the grains. Instead, he only managed to grind them in further.
He roared in pain, opening his eyes for a brief moment.
A part of him realized that even with his eyes open, he could only see blackness.
He spread his wings, trying to take flight, and launched himself into the air. Almost instantly he slammed into a body of fur and feathers, and slammed back down into the soft earth.
Oh, Sweet Ancestors! He couldn’t see! His sight had been stolen from him! He would never fight again!
As the truth of the matter crushed him, another griffon, probably panicking from the same revelation, ran him over, claws extended, and talons sharp. Thomas felt his skin pierced by the runner, and he felt his blood begin to seep from his wounds.
So this was how he was going to die? Blind, bleeding out from wounds made by one of his Talon brothers?
He would die here, forgotten, amidst the frantic cries of blinded griffons and the calls of their commanders.
“Get out of the smoke! Keep your eyes shut! Get out of there!”
Thomas sighed.
He was going to die here.
He might as well catch up on some sleep.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Alan stood, now at the front of the army, and he stared down his enemy with every ounce of indifference he could muster.
Cold.
No raging fury, no burning hatred. Just cold indifference and the mental order to destroy those who attack his new home.
He would crush them.
His eyes scanned the battlefield, searching his enemies frenzied ranks as they ran about, trying to recover from the lime bomb.
“Left flank, third down from front,” he said.
“Roger,” Dashie responded via communicator, “I have visual.”
“Right flank, fifth row down, second column,” Pinkie said.
“Roger.”
“How many is that?” Alan asked.
“34.”
“Doesn’t seem to be enough,” Alan muttered. “Tell your troops to keep their eyes open for more.”
“Yes, sir!” Rainbow Dash answered.
“Wait for my signal...”
<<<|Ω|>>>
“They’re just standing there...” Ironclaw mumbled.
He had been on the very edge of the white cloud, and his eyes had been spared. Now, however, the lack of enemy movement scared him.
He would not underestimate his enemy.
His gaze wandered upwards, towards the airships. His eyes widened as a terrible revelation hit him.
They weren’t going to engage them. They were going to bombard them.
“Signal a charge!” he yelled. “Close the gap!”
The flag bearer next to him quickly lifted two red flags. As he did, 48 other griffons, each with a pair of flags stood.
Suddenly, with streak of rainbow, both flags from the first griffon were ripped from their poles.
A cyan pegasus with a multi-colored mane had both of them impaled on a set of fake claws. Turning she flapped them about before blowing a raspberry at the griffon general.
Ironclaw only really noticed her for a second, before his eyes turned to the side. Pegasi erupted from the tree line, snatching the flags from their poles.
Two things went through the General’s head.
First, without flags, he’d be unable to properly communicate with the troops, they would move slower, and be exponentially harder to command, if not impossibly hard to do so.
Second, the pegasi were still behind them.
The pegasi had the ground behind them, and the cloud of blinding smoke had been just enough to make him forget about their presence long enough to deal a major blow to the army’s internal workings.
What’s worse, with this new wrench in the machine of war, the fact that his army was caught between a hammer and anvil was made all the more deadly.
All of this passed through his mind in a second, but before he could say so much as a word, the two ships opened fire.
The whistle of rockets filled the air, screeching across the sky from the two massive flying galleons. Two exploded in the air above them, bursting into a display that would have reminded many a griffon of fireworks, if it weren’t for the fact that each piece of glowing shrapnel was bent on killing them.
Ironclaw took another quick look at the situation. He was on the defensive, and his forces were already being devastated, what with the blinding cloud and the rockets. If he stayed here, all of his efforts wouldn’t mean anything.
He needed to make a retreat.
His pride was quick to speak up. “Retreat? Retreat?! Retreat against ponies?! What are you? A Diamond Dog?!”
He hesitated for a moment. A part of him told him to stand and take it like the griffon he was. The other part told him not to risk it. A four-year plan was on the line here, he couldn’t risk it over a single battle.
Retreat it was then.
Grabbing his now-useless signaler, he brought him down beak-to-beak. “Get the carts out of here!” he yelled, pointing to the south.
The griffon blinked dumbly.
“I said get the carts out of here!”
The signaler nodded crazily, showing he understood before the general got nasty.
However before another move could be made, they both noticed the sound of thunder.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Alan drew Judgement, before standing on his hind legs. Now towering over all but the largest stallions, he turned to face his force.
“Equestrians!” he shouted. “Before us, is our enemy! Before us are the invaders!” A few of the larger ponies thumped their armored chests at the statement, as if their very existence was a challenge. “They have come here seeking to take our homes from us. They will take our friends and families if we let them. If we do not stop them, then they will not be stopped! They will burn our towns, sack our cities, defile our homes! But we will not let them!”
“Ya Ya Huley!”
“Equestrians! We will stop them!”
“Ya Ya Tarvisa!”
“Equestrians! Charge!”
Alan dropped to his hooves, holding his sword forward in one, and beginning to trot forward with the other three. It was awkward at first, but he quickly fell into a rhythm, and before long, he was charging ahead, leading the offensive with Sunbeam and Fire Drake divisions behind him.
The ground beneath them shook as their hooves thundered forward, unicorns preparing spells and earth ponies brandishing weapons.
The already broken ranks of the griffons could only look up in terror as ponies fell upon them.
For many, it was quick and painless.
Others weren’t so lucky.
<<<|Ω|>>>
“Shining!” Alan signaled, ducking under a vicious claw swipe. The captain of the guard answered with a flying shield bash across the attacker’s face.
"Silver!" Shining called, his side now open and currently a target of a lanky enemy soldier. Silver was quick to get between the two, smashing his hammer into the griffon's skull.
“Alan!” Silver warned, motioning towards the battle-cry-screaming griffon coming from behind. With the flutter of black fabric and the flash of rainbow-tinted silver, the griffon was silenced.
The trifecta of terror ripped through the griffon ranks like a wolverine through tissue paper.
Whether that’s the animal or the guy named Logan is a moot point.
They slashed, bashed, and pummeled their way forward, and anyone that even thought about standing before them was cut down.
Suddenly, two voices crackled over the intercom. “Al, hope ya’ don’t mind, but Ah could use some help over here!” Applejack shouted.
“Alan, sorry to interrupt you, but I’m getting surrounded,” Twilight said, rather calmly, now that Alan thought about it.
“I’ve got AJ!” Silver said, before smashing another griffon in an uppercut.
Alan opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped when Shining beat him to the punch. “I’ll get Twily!”
Alan turned to Shining, but the captain was already gone. “But...I wanted to help Twily...” he murmured.
And then he spotted something.
Amongst the panicked running griffons, there stood one. His wings were tattered, his face had an ugly scar, and around his wrist were two silver bands. His two yellow eyes shone with malice and hate. He had just picked up another griffon by the scruff of the neck, and began barking orders, inaudible to Alan, but it only put a single thought in his mind.
Him. Ironclaw. Duel to the death.
He was going to end this.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Twilight quickly transmuted the rock that was thrown at her head into a marshmallow. The puff of sugar bounced off of her armor, and lay forgotten on the battlefield as the war waged. A talon came down on her head, only to be caught by her magical grasp, and have its owner bodily flipped in the air.
Next to her, on her left, stood Trixie, sending blast after blast of blinding lights into the enemy ranks. And on her right was a turquoise mare with a fiery orange mane shooting fireballs and large jets of water.
Her name was Water Fire, and she had distinguished herself greatly in the siege, with 43 kills to her name.
She was also a moonshiner. She specialized in “The best Firewater on this side of the Unicorn Range.”
The flame over water cutie mark only made it slightly funnier.
Water Fire compressed one of her jets of water into a thin stream before aiming it at the incoming griffons, turning it into a firehose-strength blast.
Trixie followed up with an illusionary firework, surprising the griffons with the sudden flash-bang.
Twilight followed up with a blast of wind, shoving the disoriented griffons backwards, and into their own ranks.
Of course, their forward attack wasn’t going to help them much against the six or so griffons that were begging to surround them.
Twilight spoke over the chatter on her communicator. “Alan, sorry to interrupt you, but I’m getting surrounded.” Her voice was calm and collected, the last thing she needed to do was panic.
“I’ll help Twily!” she heard her brother say.
“Alright, girls, we’re getting some reinforcements, we’ve just got to hold for a little bit longer!”
“Roger that!” Water Fire yelled, launching some fireballs to catch the wingtips of a few griffons on their left.
Another flash from Trixie to keep the griffons on the right blinded. “I hope they don’t take too long.”
“Did you just speak in the first person again?” Water asked.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie bids you to shut up!”
Twilight rolled her eyes, before taking a page out of Alan’s newly-discovered book and making a simple blade out of her fuschia magick for herself. She parried a strike from a lunging enemy, before slamming a hoof into its stomach as it flew overhead. Suddenly, another rock went flying, and Twilight only noticed after it smashed into her horn.
“General Twilight!” Water cried, watching her go down, disoriented. Her distraction, however, left her open as another griffon mimicked the attack, sending her down as well as he struck her horn, the fireball spurting out and the water falling to the ground.
“Oh, not good,” Trixie said, as the griffons began to draw in around her.
This was beyond her, there were too many. She wouldn’t be able to hold this many griffons with illusion alone. She’d falter somewhere. Her illusion would break, just like it had almost two years ago.
That failure.
It had nearly ruined her.
There were nights when she could do nothing but cower at the thought of where she would be. If it were not for this war, she could be destitute, living off the streets of Canterlot. No, not even Canterlot, she couldn’t afford to beg there in her darkest thoughts. No, she would be stuck in some one-horse town, working in a bar, performing...favors...for anypony with the bits to spend.
A part of her had told her she would be good at it. She’d always been good at lying.
She lied about a lot of things. Her talent, her background, heck even her name “The Great and Powerful Trixie” was a bit of a fabrication, a stage name that she would begrudgingly admit had gone to her head.
But she also had lied about her exploits.
But no one had caught on.
Until Ponyville.
Those two colts, Snips and Snails, they had unknowingly called her out. They pulled an Ursa Minor from its cave and brought it to her.
She had stared down a creature so massive, so deadly, so filled with magical energy that the stars imprinted themselves on its hide.
And for a moment, she believed her own lies and thought she could do it.
She thought she could put that monster under an illusion.
It failed utterly.
That single lie had nearly broken her, and once news got around, humiliation followed. Everyone who knew the truth had refused to give her a second chance.
Almost everyone.
She looked back down at the lavender unicorn, still trying to recover from the blow to her horn.
Twilight had.
She didn’t buy those lies, but she didn’t let them stop her from trying to give her a second chance.
With all of these thoughts going through her head in about a second, she squared her shoulders and prepared her horn. “I won’t lie anymore,” she whispered under her breath. The griffons began to get closer, tightening the ring around her and the two other disarmed unicorns. “I won’t have to.”
Forcing every ounce of her magical might to one point, she prepared her most powerful spell. She had promised herself never to do it again at Yonderhill.
But just this once.
There was a sudden burst of light, exploding into a column that reached into the heavens. There was the sound of a million thunder claps, and the light itself hummed with power. The griffons that had been circling the three unicorns suddenly backed up in fear.
And then, with a flash, it was gone.
And in its place was a fear they had not yet understood. The unicorn that had been standing before them had completely transformed. She stood, completely white, a ghost before those around her. She was taller, almost twice as tall as the almost pathetic looking pony she had been. Her mane flowed through the air, as ethereal as her body appeared. Her legs, rather than ending in hooves, seemed to end in tattered fabric, with holes and rips appearing in her spectral flesh.
Her eyes opened, and when they did, they burst with a white light. Behind her, two massive wings spread, making her seem even bigger as they unfurled. When she spoke, her voice sounded like an entire choir, speaking together in unison. “You have angered the Great and Powerful Trixie,” she said, her voice echoing over the battlefield. “Tartarus claim you!”
Suddenly, behind her, a portal opened. From it sounded the screams of lost souls, fire leapt from the doorway, and skeletal ponies, ligers, minotaurs, and griffons began to clamber out, walking underneath the ghostly magician.
The griffons ran.
Twilight had finally recovered and pushed herself up next to Trixie, who to her eyes appeared very much alive as well as solid.
The illusionist stood, her horn glowing brightly even in the noonday sun, sweat trickling down her brow.
“Trixie?”
The magician ignored her, focusing on her spell. More sweat began to fall, and her legs were shaking as she focused.
“Trixie?”
The glow around her horn flickered, and she suddenly dropped to her knees.
“Trixie!”
She just had to buy some time. She just had to keep it going. She had to keep pushing. She had to...she had...had to...
Trixie could feel consciousness leave her as the last of her magical stores emptied. The ground met her as she fell onto her side, and her greatest illusion dropped.
And then everything faded to black.
<<<|Ω|>>>
“Al, hope ya’ don’t mind, but Ah could use some help over here!” Applejack shouted into her communicator.
A griffon charged her, making an arbitrary guess that she was important, and eager to get some glory from the kill. His charge was halted by a sudden thrust of a spear from a light purple ice cream-mare who had signed herself up.
Applejack’s chain flicked forward, taking out a pair of forelegs, and sending the griffon ploughing into the ground.
She felt sick watching it. All that blood, all that pain he must be feeling.
She pulled her chain back, throwing it around another griffon’s wrist as he tried to slash at another one of her soldiers. The razor sharp blades were quick to remove his claw.
His scream of pain was suddenly cut off by a hammer smashing into his head.
“Good to see you again, AJ!” Silver said, vaulting over the griffon he just crushed.
“And just what are you doing here?” she asked, her chain snaking through the enemy ranks. She was secretly glad to see him, he could keep her mind off all of the death around her.
“Last I checked, you asked for help,” Silver answered, spinning to connect his hammer with another griffon’s jaw. “I’m just answering your call.”
Suddenly, a massive roar caught their attention. They both turned to see a massive griffon, twice as big as the others surrounding.
Silver sighed. “By the Hydra’s Hideous Heads, another one?”
The beast charged, tossing its allies to the side as it rushed them.
As they approached, Applejack stepped forward. “Remember when Ah taught ya how to rope a calf?”
“You gonna give him a hooves-on demonstration?” Silver aked.
“My thoughts exactly.”
The massive griffon thundered forward, his targets picked.
Applejack stared him down, last time she had met such a beast, she had tried to dissuade it with pain. That didn’t work, so this time, she only had one option.
She had to make so he couldn’t come closer.
Her chain flew forward, thrown with expert ease before wrapping themselves around the beast’s forelegs.
Applejack took a second to close her eyes, and then gave a slight tug. Both of his forelegs were ripped off, and the beast fell forward, face first into the dirt. Skidding to a halt, he came to rest inches from the two ponies’ hooves.
Silver dropped his hammer on the brute’s head, knocking him unconscious.
“Well, that was easy,” he said.
Applejack nodded, and turned to the aspiring farmer, and just caught the sight of another griffon pouncing on him.
The two bodies, Silver and the griffon rolled passed her. Silver’s hammer still where it sat, fallen from his hoof onto the monster’s head, and Applejack was knocked off balance.
Silver and the griffon tumbled over and over, until the griffon pinned him against the ground. “You and your buddies were quite the annoyance,” the griffon hissed into Silver’s face. “Killed a couple of friends of mine, too.” The griffon stuck his beak into Silver’s face. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
Suddenly the bladed chain wrapped itself around the griffon’s neck, arm, and chest.
Both the griffon and Silver looked down along the length of the chain to see Applejack. “You let him go, right now.”
The griffon smirked. “Make me.”
“Don’t make me do this,” she warned, a tear forming in her eye.
The griffon raised his claw higher, the chain already biting into flesh as he moved.
And then, he literally fell to pieces.
Applejack had literally pulled him apart with a simple tug.
She hated doing that.
That kind of brutality wasn’t in her. It made her sick thinking about being able to do that.
And it was such a gentle tug.
Silver walked back up to her, his coat painted red after the griffon sort of exploded over him. “Come on, AJ. Let’s just keep going.”
And then there was a massive burst of light from the left.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Alan ran through the lines, his odd way of standing throwing off the griffons as they tried to comprehend how he was fighting like that, much less—
That’s about as far as they would get before Judgement sent them to Paradise.
Alan, however, was slowly making his way to the enemy General. His eyes were glued on him, and he was not going to be distracted by the ocean of bodies around him.
He was going to stop the monster that started this. He was going to kill the one responsible. He was going to remove that griffon’s head. For Equestria. For the Princesses. For Pipsqueak.
Pipsqueak, who had lost his dad to that monster.
This was for Pipsqueak.
He hadn’t really noticed, but the world had seemed to slow down as he moved forward. Rusted talons and pony blades glided through the air as Alan moved, his hind legs pumping as he stood upright, his hooves holding onto his blade.
Any griffon that had gotten into his way was ended quickly by Alan’s instinctive motion. The battlefield pulsed around him and subconsciously, he could feel it.
He moved, for any other word would not have done it justice. He ducked under attacks as though dodging a branch on an afternoon walk through the forest. He slipped between strikes as though they the automatic sliding doors of the store he used to work at. He simply was there, but he wasn’t there.
Ironclaw was in his sights. The distance was closing.
With one quick swipe of his sword he would end him.
Judgement would be passed. Justice would be served. Thundersight would be avenged!
He raised his hoof, Judgement gleaming, ready to end the griffon that had brought war to Equestria.
For the briefest moment, the General looked up, and their eyes met. In that moment, Alan saw his fear, the General’s fear of death that was about to meet him.
And then, just as Alan’s hoof came down, a third griffon, pushed backwards by the powerful buck of another stallion, fell into the strike, saving the General’s life, by a mere inches as Judgement clove through the dead soldier.
Ironclaw kicked at the griffon, sending them both onto their back, Judgement slipping from Alan’s fingerless grasp.
His focus broken, his mind exited the Third Stage, and he wildly grabbed for his sword.
He stood, his sword coming up, his eyes searching frantically for his prey.
But he was gone, vanishing into the fray.
Alan cursed under his breath, swinging Judge—
Wait a second.
He took a quick hoof count.
Four hooves. All on the ground.
He looked up.
Judgement hovered in the air, it’s handle gripped by a silver, three-fingered, mana hand.
Alan blinked, before conjuring another three-fingered hand.
He blinked again.
And then, using his newly conjured hand, facepalmed. “Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”
Before he could explore that thought further, a sudden column of light erupted to his right,
Alan froze as he saw the light.
That was where Twilight was.
<<<|Ω|>>>
“Retreat!” Ironclaw yelled over the din, before blowing a horn that he had managed to pull from the carts.
The horns had been reserved for night attacks, when the flags could not be seen as clearly.
However things had changed.
“Retreat!” he cried before blowing on the horn again.
He had already sent the carts ahead, being pulled as fast as they could towards the badlands. Ever since then he was trying to buy time for the slowest moving part of his army, the carts. By sending them ahead, and waiting to sound the retreat, he was hoping to get a head start over the ground-bound ponies.
After that column of light, though, his soldiers had lost enough morale that a few of them were beginning to give up.
He would learn their names and end them later.
But now, they had to retreat.
He blew the signal once again, and was pleased to see at least a few of them following orders.
Good, less griffons he had to punish.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Trixie groaned.
Now she remembered why she swore to never use that spell again.
Migraines hurt.
“Trixie?” a voice called nearby. “Trixie are you awake?”
She took a moment to answer, “The Great and Powerful Trixie wishes to sleep.”
The voice beside her sighed, “Oh, thank Celestia, you’re okay.”
Trixie couldn’t help but smile at the thought that someone was worried about her.
“Next time, please, please don’t use such a magic intensive spell.”
“Yes, General Twilight,” she answered before rolling over.
“Report to your station Thursday,” Twilight said. “Until then, take some time off. I’ll see you on the battlefield, Captain.”
Trixie gave a grunt of acknowledgement before turning over in her bed.
Wait. Captain?
<<<|Ω|>>>
Thomas Aquilas woke to the sound of a rather incessant beeping.
Odd, he thought. Paradise was never described as being filled with beeping. Neither were the Nine Hells if he remembered right.
He opened his eyes, but was met only with darkness.
Panic rose in his chest; he still couldn’t see. He tried to move, but suddenly became aware of thick leather bands across his wrists and ankles. He strained against them, but no matter how hard he pulled or pushed, he couldn’t budge.
A voice spoke which caused him to freeze. “General, this one’s awake.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” a softer, female voice answered.
He heard the soft flutter of wings as well as the creaking of giving wood. The muffled howl of wind sounded from around as him as he lay in this borrowed bed.
“Hello there, Mister Griffon. My name is Fluttershy,” the soft voice spoke. “We’ve done our best to keep healthy, but if you could tell us your blood type that would be good, if that’s okay with you, of course.”
Fluttershy, that was a pony name. He was a prisoner. “Where am I?” he asked. He almost winced at the obvious fear in his voice.
“You’re on the H.M.S. Vindicta Lunaris, medical deck. You’re here with a bunch of other patients, both pony and griffon, and we’re going to do our best to make sure that you’ll be perfectly healthy when you leave.”
Perfectly healthy my blind eye.
The sound of wood sliding into hooves and the rustle of paper gave him the image that the pegasus in the room was flipping through a clipboard.
She mumbled to herself, flipping through the pages a few more times before doing something with the clipboard, Thomas wasn’t sure what.
“Well, it seems all of your cuts are going to be healed up in a few days, you had two major punctures that luckily missed any major arteries. Your major injury seems to be—”
“My eyes,” Thomas interrupted.
Silence.
“Um...”
“I’m blind forever, aren’t I?”
There was silence for a moment. “We-we have our best doctors trying to figure out how to get it back...”
“I’m blind!” the soldier shouted.
Silence.
“How am I ever going to function ever again? How am I going to work?!”
More silence.
“What am I going to do with my life after this!? How am I going to provide for my family!? What will my wife think!? Am I going to be forced to starve for the rest of my life?! Or will I be stuck living off of charity!? Huh?! Huh?!”
Silence.
Thomas sat there, pinned to his bed, not entirely sure if he wanted a response or not. The quiet dragged on, and Thomas became aware of a humming sound that filled his whole room.
He wondered if she was still there.
Then there was the soft clop of hooves against wood, and a warm hoof lay across his arm.
He heard her sob.
“I’m sorry. I’m...I’m sorry. I know that won’t make any of this better, but...but I never wanted this war in the first place.”
Thomas became aware of the sounds of pained moans from what he assumed was down the hall.
“My...my friends...” continued the pegasus. “They seem to take it so well, but...but I’m just a vet. I’m not a doctor. A little bit of it translates, but—” She sobbed.
Thomas slowly became aware of the fact that he was a prisoner and his enemies were doing him an amazing kindness simply treating him.
“But-but ponies and griffons are so much bigger, they have so much more blood...” more of her sobs interrupted her as she spoke.
Thomas stayed quiet.
“I-This is all I can do...I’m sorry.”
Thomas opened his mouth to say something, but his voice faltered.
And then the warm hoof left his arm, and a door slammed.
And then there was silence. “Miss?” Thomas called out. “Miss?”
Nothing.
Thomas sighed. “Well crap.”
<<<|Ω|>>>
“Twilight! Twilight!” Alan called as the army was on the move again. “Where is that mare?”
“Alan?” he heard her answer, and it took him a moment to find the armored librarian a few ranks in front of him.
“Ah! there you are! I’ve been looking for you.”
“Why? What’s the matter?”
Alan gave a nervous smile, “Well...uh...I...uh...I think I found a way around telekinesis!”
“Really?” Twilight asked, intrigued.
“Yeah. Yeah, and well, I was wondering if you could stick close to me for a few battles, you know, just in case something goes wrong.”
Twilight gave him a look.
Alan kept up the slightly lopsided smile.
“Sure...” she said, uncertainty obvious in her voice. “How exactly did you find a way around telekinesis?”
“Oh, well you see...”
--------------------------------
And that’s another chapter!
“Really? That’s a chapter? The one before last was like 12000 words.”
An anomaly. Anyways, so Alan has finally figured out how to walk on four legs and still use his sword. If you’re worried that makes him OP, look at the chapter where I go into depth about the hard-mana constructs. I got this, alright?
“Hey, DM...quick question, that Lime thing, is that real?”
Yes, yes it is“*”. Alan and I both learned it from the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, namely Sharpe’s Siege. The Sharpe series is a historical fiction series set during the napoleonic wars, and get my recommendation“**” as some good books to read.
“*Warning: Do not attempt to burn oyster shells for lime, doing so is dangerous without proper equipment and can lead to permanent blindness.
**Warning: the Sharpe series contains army living, and therefore scenes that may not be appropriate for anyone under 16.”
Pinkie, did you just say speak the symbol for an asterisk?
“Yuppers!”
That’s not even a sound...I...how?
“Don’t question the pink one bro, it will make you insane. Just hug her instead! Like so!”
“Hehe~Thanks!”
Anyway...Some quick news. With the last chapter, I broke another milestone, and now have over 100 watchers!
“Woot! Party!”
“Hooray for big numbers that are divisible by ten!”
To make matters more awesome, I am as of Jan 22, the posting date of this Chapter, 21! Bring on the cider!
So thanks, guys. I hope you enjoyed this one, and see you next chapter!
“Bye!”
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Well, that's new... and quite...
*puts on glasses*
...handy!
You make Lyra proud!
Geez, next they'll be making Thermite. . . and considering how easy that particular substance is to make. . .
They won the battle, but will they win the war?
What next is in the chemical arsenal?
I wonder what Alan will weaponize next?
Congratulations!
Victory is at hand...and so is retribution.
Awaiting further releases.
That lime thing sounds like something the Geneva Convention was made to prevent
After the start of the war the romance part seems to have dropped out completely. Well at least for out main character.
One small mistake but i've got to... hand it to you, you did a good job... handling this chapter. I know, that was horrible, but it had to be done.
asterisk, not asterix.
All these griffons getting what they deserve and watching Commander IronTurd nearly get his too made me want some chicken!!! Me and Leeroy Jenkins are off to KFC to go get some, anyone want anything from there while I'm over there?
Another great chapter as per usual. Keep up the awesomeness!
>>>“That would be lime. As in the stone,” Alan explained. “Remember all of the oysters you’ve been eating? Well we’ve been burning the shells, giving us powdered lime. Interesting thing, lime. >>>
*Alondro the scientist interjects with a fact!* Actually, burning mollusc shells yields quicklime which is calcium oxide and is much more alkaline and hygroscopic than rock lime, which is calcium carbonate. Burning limestone will also produce quicklime.
I burn shells atop a wood fire in my charcoal grill to make a mixture of quicklime shell fragments (I don't powder it, so it lasts longer), potash, and charcoal for my garden. I live in the NJ Pine Barrens and we have very nutrient-poor, highly acidic quartz-grain sandy soil.
2003728 Some world-famous mashed potatoes will do! How much will it cost me?
2003123 The ingredients are easy to procure but actually making it is the hard part, considering one wrong step and you could accidentally burn stuff you'd rather didn't.
2006027
True.
2006044radiotimes.com/rt-service/image/render/Thermite_v_Ice.jpg?imageUrl=http://static.radiotimes.com.edgesuite.net/pa/55/42/webMythbustersgen.jpg&width=580&height=327&quality=85&specialisation=tv&mode=crop
2006073
Ohh lord, Mythbusters!
So many good memories. . .
Ahhh duct tape. ..
2006509
Good episodes, those.
Duct tape is an awesome thing.
2006585
You can make a boat out of enough of it.
A BOAT!
holy shit. back on earth, was alan doing nothing but reading sun tzu or something? jesus.
Alan learned how to face palm again! Hurray!
2008038
Thank you, I'm glad I could make a good impression.
God I'm loving this fic!
Also, am I the only one who thinks of this song in the battle scenes?
2015515
Lauren Faust received feedback form the Fausticorn
I wondr if he will have the idea of forming hard mana construct wings, of course he would have to study wings for a bit, and yes if they broke he would just writhe around on the ground for a whil, but it would allow for different fight scenes and some hilarious flight lessons... Just a thought
Well I'm late!
Anyways, nice work really only one thing stood out to me so excellent work!
And actually that one thing was rather minor. Like really small, but something that (I think/hope) will help you become a better writer over all.
Just watch your descriptions. Sometimes you repeat a some descriptor words such as "cold" and "suddenly" a few times. And not like you used it and then half a mile away you used it again but I mean like within a paragraph of one another. Be sure to mix 'em up. It didn't happen that often but I did notice it... that's it.
Nice work! Keep it up!
And nice use of your literary knowledge!
Reading Sharpe is a great way to get ideas for military stuff!! 
Also nice use of the Alan and Pipe bit with the kids and all that.
2003444 Oh CRAP! My fault, sorry.
2003271 Deffffffinitely muffins.
2036685
No worries. Figured i'd point it out is all.
2036731 Yeah, thanks!
I found just one teensy-weensy tiny-winy mistake:
On, not one. Other than that, UN PERFECTO!
Water Fire? Seriously? You couldn't call her Aqua Blaze or something? This story has turned into one of the biggest dissapointments I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Everything went downhill after he turned into a pony. He really has no pride?! At all?! I regret ever reading this.
Fixed it for you.
And suddenly I'm reminded of Psychonauts...
You've mentioned ligers many times before. Are we gonna see any, or are they gonna be one of those things that's heard of but never seen?
Was making his enemy general what? asandwitch.
you shold probably go over your chapters again
nice read though, I like how it is proceeding so far.
4496005 Not sure if he's joking or just being a twat?
Mage hand..... disarming problem fixed!
I. CAST. FIST!
2003055
PUUUUNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!
9933735
Take my like, you wonderful person.