Chapter 8
They were doing it again. Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetiebell could hear them as clear as day. The voices of the black armored creatures echoed across the town, a single chant coming from a thousand throats. All three of the cutiemark crusaders remembered the events of just a few hours previous as some of the most frightening of their lives. Riding through the streets of Ponyville, pulled along by Scootaloo and her scooter, they had seen the destruction of Sugercube Corner firsthoof.
The walls had exploded outward in a storm of wood, smoke, fire, and frosting strangely enough. They thought the Cakes weren’t in there, but they weren’t sure. After the first explosion almost a dozen other buildings had quickly followed suit. Their forces had flowed around the town like water and soon, there was no way out. The town had been rounded up and placed inside a large, ringed complex. Not long after that the black armored variant of the creatures had begun to chant:
We are the chosen of Magnus.
We carry his name on our shoulders as our fathers did before us.
Through the mists of time he speaks to us,
Tells us of the evil of the usurpers,
Of the reasons for exodus,
And the rights of the traveler.
This land is our destiny and our right! Enlightenment is our gift.
Magnus foretold us of this Eden with a promise of deliverance.
We shall defend her till our deaths.
Standing near the schoolhouse proper, the girls could just see the remains of Sweet Apple Acres over the massive stone walls surrounding them. While the trees were still there, the humans had picked them bare. Why wouldn’t they considering that it was a massive and ready-made supply of food? Applebloom felt a tear come to her eye as she remembered how Big Mac had tried to stop them from taking their prized crop. He had knocked two of them onto their backs before he had charged one of the black armored ones. Big Mac tried bucking the human as he had bucked the others, but the human just laughed as he caught one of Mac’s legs one-handed. He had then proceeded to knock Big Mac out before having one of his men throw him into the camp. Now the tears were flowing freely as she wondered: How could everything have gone so wrong?
----
“What have the scouts reported on their defenses? “ asked the Emperor. He and his war council had been in session for the past few hours, ironing out every last detail of the siege they were soon to undergo.
“They report that the city itself is very inaccessible with the only major entryway being through a single train track. The only other ways to enter the city would be through the skies or by scaling the mountainside itself. Their defenses are also lacking in that they have no walls or major fortifications from what we can tell and they sent the majority, if not all of their standing forces, against the Liberated.”
“Hmm,” mused Orrin. “While it would seem that we have victory in our grasp, the problem still remains of transporting our troops there. If the only way in is through the rail line then they are sure to have it well guarded.” Empiricus leaned forward and steepled his fingers.
“My Emperor, I would recommend that we send an elite strike force to secure a foothold in the city. I will personally lead it. We will take the train and seize the Canterlot station.” Orrin nodded in agreement.
“With the station under our control we can shuttle our main forces into the city at our leisure.”
Milos frowned at this.
“A good enough plan, but it will mean nothing without support to divert their forces away from the station.” Orrin nodded to this.
“Indeed Milos. And that is where your siege cannons come in. The mountain city is within their range, correct?” Milos closed his eyes in though.
“Yes,” he said slowly. “They should work. It might be a stretch for some of the older models, but the new cannons should be perfectly capable of reaching the city.”
“Good,” said the Emperor, finally adding his voice to the discussion. “Then reinforce the cannon line with as many as needed. I want a rain of steel to cover our advance. Nothing less will grant us victory Milos.” Milos bowed his head to the Emperor.
“Of course my lord. A rain of steel will fall over the city on your command.”
“Excellent,” said the Emperor. “Then there are only two more details to attend to before we adjourn this session of the council. Firstly: Have we received an update from Lord Admiral Ariana yet?”
“Yes lord,” replied Orrin. “Ariana reports that of the four towns east of Manehatten we have complete control of three. The fourth is slightly further from the coast than the others so it took longer to reach. She estimates that it should be fully ours within another day.”
“Good. Then we shall move on to the last point. Outside of this settlement lies a forest known to the locals as the “Everfree” according to our reports. The locals fear it because the “clouds move on their own and the animals care for themselves.” There was a slight snort of amusement from the assembled advisers.
“I want a detachment of soldiers to investigate this forest and determine what exactly resides within it. In addition I want an imperial surveyman to begin studying and recording their findings on the area. I will not have us threatened from an unknown source during our siege. Am I understood?”
“Yes my lord.”
“Excellent. Then I declare this meeting of the council adjourned. Our attack will commence tomorrow at dawn.”
----
Princess Cadence stood on the balcony of Canterlot Castle, enjoying the last few moments of the sunset. As the sun slipped past the horizon, a feeling of peace and contentment settled over her unlike anything she had felt since returning to the city. With the announcement of foreign invaders attacking Manehatten, her aunts had departed with the Royal Guard and Cadence had been left to oversee the administration of Canterlot in their absence. Shining Armor had already left to train the new recruits in Fillydelphia. She sighed as she saw a squad of pegasi guards patrolling the skies. How had everything gone so wrong?
She and her husband had just fought off an invasion and were supposed to be enjoying their honeymoon right now. But now, the two of them were right back in the thick of another invasion. And she had to wonder: Were her aunts really up to the task? During the invasion, her aunt had not been able to realize Cadence had been replaced and when the time had come to fight the Changeling Queen, Celestia had failed. And now they were facing an attack that she felt was threat enough to warrant both her and Luna leading their forces. Shaking the disturbing thoughts from her head Cadence began the long trek back to her bedroom, hoping to get some sleep before resuming her new duties.
----
Preparations began a few hours before dawn. Gunnery crews awoke and started preparing their massive siege cannons, army crews gathering ammunition and stockpiling it near the cannon line. A priest led morning services for the soldiers soon to fight:
“Blessed Magnus, we beseech thee to grant your protection unto your chosen warriors as they storm the walls of the Daemon Queens’ stronghold. Mighty are their arms and fierce their devotion to your holy word. In your name they march, in your name they fight, and in your name they will conquer. Blessed be your chosen sons and daughters for they are the shield of Humanity and the embodiment of your Justice. Blessed be the Emperor that guides us forward unto victory and the High Priest who shows us how to walk in your light. Strength through Unity, Unity through Strength.”
“Strength through Unity, Unity through Strength,” returned the kneeling soldiers. Grandmaster Empiricus strode through the town and towards the prison camp. While he may not have liked the vile creatures, that did not mean he could not see how they could be used. Approaching the guards at the main gates, Empiricus watched passively as the two guards immediately knelt before him.
“How can we serve, Grandmaster?”
“Bring two dozen of the prisoners to the train station.” The guards looked confused for only a moment before snapping off quick salutes and entering the camp to fulfill the Grandmaster’s order. Confident that they would obey, Empiricus walked to the station to find 500 of his Blessed waiting for him with the Emperor and two squads of riflemen standing on the platform.
“Empiricus, I will be joining you in the attack.” Empiricus could not keep the surprise from his face as he took in the Emperor’s words.
“My Emperor I must object. We know not what kind of resistance we will actually face when we arrive and I can barely begin to imagine the negative effect your death could have on the people’s morale.” The Emperor simply smiled at him, completely unfazed by the Grandmaster’s doubts.
“Empiricus, old friend, you wound me. You make it sound as if I cannot hold my own in a fight. I can assure you that I have not grown soft since the last war.” Empiricus repressed the urge to face palm. Sometimes the Emperor, as effective a leader as he was, could infuriate him like no other.
“Aurelian,” he said, dropping the honorific in his frustration, “I do not mean that you have grown weak, nor do I wish to keep you from the battlefield, but I would prefer that we not throw you into battle without at least proper knowledge of the composition of our enemy’s forces.”
“Don’t worry Empiricus, I understand your concerns. However I will be joining this attack.” Empiricus sighed, knowing that he had lost.
“Of course my Emperor.”
“Excellent. Are our “guests” on their way?” Empiricus nodded.
“I have assigned a contingent of guards to escort them here. It should not be much longer.” As he said this, a large group of guards approached the station, escorting a group of two dozen ponies; all of whom were terrified as they tried to figure out just what these beings wanted from them. Empiricus walked over to the group and paced in front of the gathered ponies, never looking away from their faces.
“Listen and listen well “ponies.” You will sit near the windows, you will not talk, you will not move, and you will not use magic of any kind. You will also obey any and all commands we give you. If you do all of these things, then I give you my word that you will not be harmed. However, disobey any of these conditions and your punishment will be swift and brutal. Am I understood?”
The ponies all nodded shakily.
“Good. Then board the train. Now.” The assembled ponies hurried to obey, not wanting to give the massive, armored man any reason to hurt them. Once the equines had boarded the train the 500 Blessed boarded the train with riflemen backing them up. With all of the troops on-board, the train began its journey toward Canterlot.
----
The guards of Canterlot were on high alert. Moments ago, their lookouts had reported that a train was coming from Ponyville and a large contingent of guards had responded to screen the train’s occupants. Standing on the train platform, the mainly earth pony and unicorn contingent watched as the train pulled into the station. In the train’s windows were ponies that looked tense and scared, but of what the guards had no idea.
Moving forward to secure the train one of the guards thought he saw a strange, metallic glint behind one of the ponies.
“What the hay?” he said. Moving closer to investigate that window, he heard a powerful voice cry out:
“Down!” Every pony at the windows threw themselves down just in time for the voice to roar out “Fire!” The last thing the guards saw were strange creatures bearing stranger arms before, with one thunderous volley, their lives were snuffed out. With the death of the guards, the human forces stormed out of the train and fanned out to seize the station. Ponies at ticket counters and others cowered as the strange creatures stormed the station, seizing the offices and wresting control of the rail lines from Canterlot. Empiricus looked over at the Emperor.
“We have the station, Aurelian.” The Emperor nodded in affirmation before turning toward the single mortar crew brought with the vanguard.
“Launch the starburst rounds. It is time.” Nodding, the mortar crew got clear of the station and launched the round straight up into the air above the city. The shell exploded into a ball of bright, actinic light that could be seen for miles. And with that, the Siege of Canterlot truly began.
Back in Ponyville the signal was received and the gunnery crews began to work their deadly art upon the distant city. With a single thundering volley, the cannons unleashed a hail of shells that arced up and over the land, casting a shadow upon the ground; the shrieking of the falling shells sounding like the winds of a hurricane. And when they came down, they struck the city like the fist of Magnus Himself. Explosions rained across the city, entire blocks obliterated in an instant. Empiricus and Aurelian stood shoulder to shoulder watching as a rain of steel fell over the capital.
“Blood and fire, brother,” said Aurelian. Empiricus gave a small smile at his words.
“Blood and fire.”
----
It was the screams that woke her. Cadence had been asleep, but had bolted awake as she heard frightened screams and thundering explosions echoing across the city. With a single, concerted effort she threw herself from the bed and flung open the windows leading to the balcony. What greeted her was a scene from her nightmares. Blazes of fire burned over ruined blocks that had once been houses and businesses. Choking, black smoke hung overhead diluting the light of the sun and causing the scene to take on a sickly, yellow pall. Guards were flocking everywhere, trying desperately to restore even a modicum of order to the panicking citizens choking up the streets.
Another thunderous cacophony echoed over the land, ponies clapping their hooves to their ears in an attempt to block out the noise. Just the like the first wave, the shrieking maelstrom of shells descended on the city, a line of craters etching themselves across the once pristine cityscape. Cadence took flight and flew towards one of the larger masses of frightened citizens. She knew, knew that her aunts had not been able to stop the invaders. Somehow, they had found Canterlot and were launching their attack. While she couldn’t see any armed force marching up the streets, she knew that it could not be much longer before they tired of attacking from a distance. She had to do something to protect the ponies of Canterlot.
Alighting in the center of the huddled mass, she called out to the ponies to calm down but they didn’t react. She tried again to calm them down with the same effect. Finally she knew there was only one other way to get their attention, not that she liked using it:
“SILENCE!” Instantly, the citizens were silenced, shock and slight fear present in their eyes. Cadence hated using the voice, but it was obviously the only way to cut through the haze of fear that had overtaken the citizens.
“I know that you are all frightened, but now is not the time to panic.” Turning to the nearest guard she contemplated how best to deal with this situation.
“Captain,” she said. He saluted her sharply in response. “Regardless of how this battle ends, the civilians are not safe in the city. I am tasking you with evacuating as many as you can through the caverns. Celestia has informed me of a route that will bring you out to the base of the mountain. Take a small guard contingent and begin the evacuation.”
“Yes princess!” he replied saluting her again. “You five with me! All civilians follow us.” As the guards took the crowd with them, Cadence flew into the air and took in a deep breath.
“CITIZENS OF CANTERLOT! WE ARE EVACUATING THE CITY! THE ROYAL GUARDS WILL DIRECT TO THE EVACUATION POINT! MAKE YOUR WAY THERE WITH ALL HASTE AND OBEY THEIR INSTRUCTIONS!”
Flying back down to the ground, Cadence saw a group of guards rushing towards her.
“Princess! We heard your announcement. What are your orders?” Cadence sighed as she looked towards where the thundering concussions were coming from.
“I have no doubt that our enemies will soon arrive. We must ensure that the citizens have as much time as possible to escape. Gather all remaining guards in the center of Canterlot, we will hold them there.” The guards ran off after giving her a quick salute, and Cadence took to the air winging towards the city center.
----
Aurelian and Empiricus watched the monumental destruction that their cannonade was wreaking on the city. While some would have liked to continue the bombardment until all was dust, Aurelian wanted to conquer the city. The effect on their morale would only succeed if he could occupy the city and exert total power over its inhabitants. If he simply took a ruin, his plan would fall apart. After another moment he decided that enough was enough.
“Gunners! Fire the second starburst round. The time has come for a more personal approach.” The mortar crew readied their weapon and dropped a second shell into the tube. With a thump of displaced air, the shell shot into the air and a second sun seemed to shine over Canterlot. They waited another minute to ensure that the last of the shells had fallen and then Aurelian strode to the front of the vanguard.
“Brothers and Sisters! Today we break the spirit of these creatures and carve our names into history! Forward crusaders: Blood and Fire!”
“BLOOD AND FIRE!”
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the ponies are getting beaten badder then the orcs in warhammer
a race with magical gods are falling to mere mortals too easy and they don't even think of going to the other races and saying "we have a problem that will escalate into your borders." I question your logic
1478144 also First and second post
1478144
Remember that the events of the past few chapters are not very far apart time wise. Also, humanity simply has better tactics and weapons. Up till now Equestria has been focused on stopping the problem without understanding its full extent. The story will be quite a bit longer I can assure you so there is plenty of time for asking for help, formulating counter-attacks, etc. etc. Thank you for your comments and I hope that you enjoy the rest of the story.
Thought for the day: "No battle was ever won that was poorly planned. No plan ever succeeded that was poorly conceived."
1478166 counter thought "All warfare is based on deception all deception was made through war it's not about letting your enemy lose its about making them scared to attack you in any future encounters."
1478174
Well played sir, well played indeed. I like it when my readers can respond to my comments well and with counter points. It makes this all the more worthwhile.
1478174 also another thought " The problem when seizing towns is the town is better defended and worse to navigate then any other terrain be sure to take a town quickly or you will use up all your supplies in getting nothing then few supplies getting everything"
nice, and i really liked that sneak attack from the humans. really like how it looks so far.
1478185 one last thought " any info outdated is the worst for traps always change and warriors grow old and die or grow old and become strategists a civilian today may be a hero tomorrow yet a hero today may be dead tomorrow always know what your fighting against for if you don't victory is most definitely on your apposition's side.
1478144
The magical gods are out of the picture so far, because they tricked.
And really it looks like somewhere between Napoleonic and ww1 weaponry vs a medieval army, where 1/3 of the troops can wield a weapon like an extra couple feet away from themselves, and 1/3 can fly. But more importantly is the fact that warfare evolves even as technology does. And the humans have some way of countering magic, as seen with Twilight in the temple, likely having to do with the Blessed. And since the blessed are something to do with Magnus, humans probably have as much claim on having a god as the ponies. So the real thing to say is not whether you can justify someone winning or not, but whether it makes for a good story. Humans giving out beatdowns 24/7 isn't interesting except as the backdrop for some other story, like Celestia repenting for her deeds or something.
1478203
Impressive thoughts.
1478204 I would rather see both armies fighting smart not strong also its more like the Muslims and the Crusaders only the Muslims can fly and the Crusaders have guns i mean the ponies and the Muslims were both "peace" loving civilizations before hand.
1478204
Well said. I can't give away specific details for obvious reasons, but I don't plan on humanity just crushing ponies every chapter. I have ideas that will be put in place later, but for now, possibly as backdrop and possibly because it will play part later: Humanity for the win.
1478210 you too just remember war never changes tech may change strategies may change but as a whole war never does.
1478232 pppfff even if humanity "wins" like the Muslims they will f*** up and the ponies will massacre the entire human civilization for it is impossible to kill all the diplomats is a civilization like the pony civilization that and it would be more interesting to see them both beaten to a stand still then have a third group come in and do something
1478166 Human are in for a rude awakening when Celestia and Luna get back I think.
I imagine the humans will manage to infuriate Celestia to the point she starts using the blasted sun against them.
Like bringing the sun close enough to fry the side of the planet the humans home country is on.
1478144
Magical goddess' whose beam attacks could be overpowered by a beam that could only destroy hats. And bombardments can level a town full of warehouses of hats.
qarlosjo.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/new-trollface1.jpeg
1487098 as a wise man once said "no" as a wiser man once said
1487223
1487695
1487720
Dem captions.
"Our exhibit."
1487761 I don't use captions... why do you my good sir?
There really needs to be more of the human side shown. I mean, there's not really much going for them... although given the Warhammeresque flavour that you've given them that's somewhat understandable.
*Sigh* Never was much of a WH 40K fan
. Always too grimdark for my unmanly tastes.
What humanity needs is a story. The priest speaking of the horrors that happened in the past as if it had happened yesterday. Speak of the women that died at Luna's hooves as if he was speaking about his own daughter. To see them stop Trixie's caravan, and then let her go when they realise that she, like their ancestors is travelling, cast out from her own home.
Blind faith only does so much. It is love. Love of family, of nation and heritage that brings out the best in people. The best... and the worst.
I'm also not feeling the scale of things. I know that war's horrible, but I've not felt how large the forces are.
1500020
You're right. But as I said before, I am writing a long story hopefully. I want to get to a certain point before bringing other aspects into play. Your ideas are, as per usual in your comments, quite good. I could see putting those in among other ideas I've had. Hopefully after the siege of Canterlot comes to a close I can start bringing some of those other elements in. Thanks again for the good comments, keep em coming.
Though for the day: "The Known is but a shadow of the Knowable."
Bravo sir! you've captured my attention on this story. I just hope that Celestia and Luna get their just punishment seeing how they pretty much just pushed humanity aside abruptly for land that they didn't live on for so long. I take it that their attitude in the past events were to show them in a much immature state? I find it hard to believe Celestia and Luna would just declare war like that so abruptly after seeing her make Twilight learn about friendship and whatnot. It would have been better to build up relations with the humans slowly and make them friends and show them over time that magic is not an evil force.
Then again that wouldn't provide much of a story now would it? I'm glad that you made the humans better prepared for fighting the ponies, though I hope it doesn't wind up into complete genocide to either race. And could you explain why Big Mac was overpowered so easily? I take it it has to do with the blessed warriors? A few things I would like explained later on,
1. Explain in detail how the humans were able to counter the magic Twilight used.
2. Give Twilight a bigger role, preferably having her do something to redeem pony kind, and put to use the lessons she learned.
3. Make the Princesses' pay for their sins, or at least have them redeem themselves for peace.
4. Don't make Cadence pay like the other Princesses. She's completely innocent of the past and she is the Princess of Love correct?
5. Don't hurt Apple Bloom!
Good story so far, I look for more later on.
1556911
In order:
1. Next chapter.
2. Maybe, still debating that point myself.
3. Of course.
4. Next chapter. (well, what happens for now anyway).
5. Of course.
6. The thing with Big Mac may not be specifically explained, but it should be easy to tell what happened after the next few chapters.
7. Last thing: the past events with Celestia and Luna will be explored more in later chapter to make events back then and since then make more sense. Hopefully. I just hope you can understand my ramblings. If you can, then everything will eventually make sense. Forever.
Thought for the day: "The Known is but a shadow of the Knowable."
1557146 Cool.
1210151 Author: She's being studied by top men.
Me: Who
Author: 'Top'...'Men'.
Cue the warehouse theme for Indiana Jones.
1-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/tg/image/1333/68/1333689535699.jpg
1843277 Bitch please. Orks. Dakka. Flashy bitz. And the good ol' WAAAGH!
1478257
Race traitor scum.