The Virgin Company (currently editing)

by Pone_Heap

Obscurity and Clarity, Chapter 6: The Retreat to the Galloping Gorge

“One thing most ponies don’t know about is centaur culture… Why would they? There’s only one pony alive that’s ever even really dealt with them in ways that didn't involve killing them… Princess Celestia,” Sgt. Amethyst Flare watched the Centauri fleet approaching the city; she gave an aside to Zip. “I’ve seen one… but not alive; another agent got to him first… But I know a thing or ten about them.”

Zip and Amethyst sat out alone on the ridge; everypony else was in the woods.

Zip wasn’t sure if their questionable defenses would do much; the fleet took up the whole of the horizon, “What kind of resistance are they expecting?”

“They likely don’t know. I pray our sailors at least met a quick end… not that there’s much chance of that. Capture… drowning… burning… being adrift… Even if anypony was captured, they’d have no idea of our defenses other than what they were ‘officially’ told.”

Looking at the ships moving closer by the minute, Zip felt a shiver, “So it’s a gamble…”

She nodded, “As it is for us. It would be advantageous for them to land their engineers and supply lines… but they know whatever is up front first might get wiped out. Our guns can’t fire until we know what ships are likely priorities to knock out… and we definitely can’t hold fire once they open up on the city. If in numbers alone, they have more firepower, if less range and power. It’s also advantageous to wait until they’re in the shallows. The more wreckage in the shallows, the slower they can move in. And it better opens them up to our guns when they sit.

“It isn’t uncommon that they put weaker soldiers, skeleton crews, or even prisoners on the first ships. Even their best gunships would be used in such a way… Once it comes time to come ashore, their ships’ guns are nearly worthless, so they’d consider them expendable. I’ll wager that’s what’s gonna happen. The rest of them could hide their numbers by lying low on their ships. They’re not here to fuck up Equestria and go home; they’re staying if able.”

Zip was discouraged, “So… about all we can hope for is to put a small dent in that mess and blow up a hoofful as they move through the city…”

She said, “The topography will further funnel them through town. They’re not the most gainly creatures; they can’t move through the hills and forest around the city so easily. They could level the town with their guns, which they might do, but it would just slow them down. It would slow them down even more than our demolition of the city. They need the roads; their equipment and size are most detrimental.”

Zip felt childish asking, “Just how big are these things?”

She thought no less of him for asking, “About three times your height at the shoulder… their first shoulder, below the monkey carcass part. All in all, you’re looking at something four or five times your overall height. That creates another problem: big creatures need big ships, and they need thicker hulls… sometimes metal reinforced. Those charges in the bay might not do as much as division is hoping they will.”

“So…” Zip mulled. “Will they do anything?”

“Oh, my, yes. We’ll sink at least a few dozen of the ships… clog up the bay for a couple/three days. It might not kill many of those monsters, but everypony needs to remember… our best hope is to slow them down. And the treachery we left in town will really slow them down. Even once the city is ash and we’re fucking off to our next defensive position, they still have to get ashore the rest of their forces… they have to stage as they move inland.

“With all the trouble we’re giving them, it’s feasible we could largely contain them within the city for a week. But they came prepared: their food supply will be dispersed further back in the fleet. We probably won’t even lay eyes on their main supply ships; we’ll be well in the prairie by the time they come ashore. And even after we leave here, it might be another week before they’re all on land.

“Mind you, sir, they’ll try attacking us, ourselves, in less than a week. They’ll throw some ‘expendables’ at us… feel us out. And they’ll be firing on us the moment they have range… maybe tomorrow or the next day, depending on the toys they bring ashore.”

Zip knew centaurs had some magic, “How do we deal with their magic?”

“About all they can do—unless they have some pretty skilled mages, which is apparently rare—is shoot bolts of energy short distances. Numbers and strength: that’s what they have… and a baseless pride that will have them doing everything in their power to kill us. They think we’re insects… just like we think they’re monkey carcasses stuck where a horse’s head should be.”

Zip was suffering from information overload, “…”

Amethyst winked, “Anything else you want to know?”

“Nah,” he sat down. “You know a lot…”`

She simpered, “Knowing something about everything was once my business. I never thought I’d have to use this practically… not that they’re asking my advice.”

“I’m surprised you’re not being consulted for more,” Zip said.

She snorked, “Don’t be. They’re receiving orders from on high; they don’t need me for much, other than elbow grease and freezing half to death in the bay… Actually, pray they don’t need my actual expertise, ‘cause that means were up to our ears in our own dead.”

“Lovely picture, Amethyst,” Zip couldn’t help but chuckle at the morbidity.

“You may think it messed up… It is… But my old outfit, we’d sit up safe like we are now and drink beer while we watched this kind of thing… have some laughs. We were never hoof soldiers; we were the ones in the shadows… the ones that set up the show.”

“Speaking of the show,” Zip hoofed her a pair of binoculars. “Look.”

Taking the binoculars, she saw the city’s guns taking aim, “Oh, yeah… Here we go. A couple more hundred yards, and they’ll start hitting them. Their ships’ hulls may be sturdy as Hell, but everything else is nothing special.”

Zip didn’t mean to set up a joke, “Getting the 10-inch…”

Amethyst couldn’t resist, “That’s what she said!”

Zip did a take, decided it lacked good humor, and scowled as he took back the binoculars, “That’s disgusting.”

But she was giggling fit to bust, rolling in the grass beside him. Trying to suppress a smile, Zip looked to the bay.

Having had her laugh, she sat up, “You see, Lieutenant, a few unicorns were chosen to activate the charges. Only all of them working together can set off our explosives, so you can bet your ass they’re somewhere safe. We divided the charges into 25 sets of 200, and all the sets can go off individually. You can bet the pony watching the map of that is also somewhere safe. And they’re just about there… But first-!”

Amethyst grinned.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The 10-inch guns finally went off; Zip jumped as if somepony had goosed him. The shells whistled through the air and hit water. None of the first shots hit, from what he could see.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

But the next volley found a couple. Still too far off to perceive much, a few masts crumbled, and timber could be seen blasting in all directions. The firing continued, hitting a few more ships. One ship took two shots in the bow and blew wide open; it quickly began to sink.

Looking behind, Zip noted most of his platoon and the surrounding ponies at least looking at the pyrotechnics; only a few crept out, and most stayed at the edge of the forest.

Next to him, he saw Amethyst taking an active interest in the calamity they’d unleashed in the bay. Her eyes were excited, and the corners of her mouth twitched; if he didn’t know better, she was anticipating the concussions. That was about the most unsurprising thing imaginable, considering her. She looked positively elated, but at least she wasn’t bouncing around, crowing, Whoo-hoo-hoo! Look at that shit!

Zip was no head doctor, but he could tell Amethyst… at least a part of her… was enjoying this. He figured the doctors that Amethyst helped poke and prod him in his two "psychiatric vacations", as well as the shrink that taught in OCS, would have a few things to complain about, seeing the beautiful mare getting so wound up over the mayhem on the water. It would bother him, perhaps, but Amethyst was about as far from an ordinary mare as he’d ever known. It took a certain kind of pony, for better or worse, to become what she had.

Zip could waste time thinking about if she was born that way or if the first 20 years of her sad life had done it; the next 17 or so years hadn’t helped, either way.

Did it even matter? Not really, he found himself thinking. He knew her… so he thought… and he’d made peace with whatever lay behind her pretty eyes.

On the bay, despite the peppering the Centauri Navy was receiving, they pushed forward, undaunted. Zip knew the “line” where the charges began, several hundred yards off the shore.

For the first time in a few minutes, Amethyst spoke, “Oh, they’re gonna hate this!”

The ships had crossed the point where the charges began. Near the center of the bay, a muffled plorp could be heard, but it was better seen than heard.

200 charges had gone off. One ship straight up blew to pieces. Several more rocked violently in the water, enough to break a few masts. Two actually turned over from the blast, and would be unable to right themselves.

Amethyst couldn’t hold back anymore, “Hot damn! They mixed the charges strong!”

Now the navy fired back, smaller pops heard as their cannons went off. It did next to nothing, punching holes in a few buildings near the shore. The port’s guns were doing arguably more, punching holes in the ships and occasionally getting lucky, causing more damage.

“I can’t see a single centaur…” Zip was looking through the binoculars again.

“They’re below deck, most likely,” Amethyst’s eyes darted around, taking in the destruction.

Another couple sets of charges went off underwater, causing similar damage. The big guns continued firing.

And so, for several hours, the division watched from the treeline. Unable to evade much in the bay, the Centauri Navy took a wallop. Ships continued to rupture and sink, and they began to crash into one another, furthering the confusion. By late afternoon, the charges had run out and so had the city’s guns; the defense stopped. The ponies operating the guns made their way up to the hills.

The bay was a mess; it looked like a graveyard... with whole ships and pieces of ships clogging up the entire works. They’d finally seen what centaurs looked like; a number of them had fled their sinking ships to try to swim for shore, but the oil fires and treacherous conditions let none get far. Zip recalled Amethyst saying they were shit at swimming anyway.

Amethyst, sitting beside Zip for the entire show, even after most everypony else grew “bored” (or sickened) and went back into the woods, lay back on the hillside, “Well, that’s that. It’ll take them a few days to make their way around that, and then the rest of the fun can begin when they’re forced to move through town.”

“Won’t some go around?” Zip asked. “There’s not much to move on, but they could trickle their way around.”

“Some will,” Amethyst opined. “We’ll be on the lookout tonight for an attack; they may send a few into the hills looking for us, but we can sense them well enough… better than they can, at least. But the landscape is strange, and they’ll be wary of tricks… They may build numbers before venturing in.”

“Lieutenant! Sergeant!” somepony from behind called to them. “Officers’ meeting!”

They knew what this meant. SSgt. Jacinta Petals, Amethyst, Spc. Trip Wire, and Spc. Silver Duster would go along with Zip.

---

More than 80 officers or sergeants, all platoon commanders and up, and their chosen staff sat in a large clearing near the edge of the forest. The representatives from Zip’s 3^rd Platoon sat with the rest of their A Company; the young lieutenant had to keep reminding himself they weren’t the only A Company around anymore.

Zip had yet to meet Maj. Gen. Rocky Creek, sitting on a fallen log. Beside him, holding notes, was the colonel Zip remembered “congratulating” him for his supposed fatal strike on Cpt. Basket Weaver; Zip hadn’t learned his name and had no interest in knowing it.

The major general stood up, and the chattering subsided, “The first stage of our operation went about as well as could be hoped. My thanks to the ponies that staged the charges in the bay… That was quite an undertaking.”

Zip noticed a small smirk from Amethyst, only visible to him because he knew her tendencies; he was perhaps the only pony other than Amethyst in the division that knew how unprepared they’d been until most recently.

The general went on to explain that they’d wait to light up the city until they determined the best time to do it. Zip tried to listen to his explanation but was lost in thought thinking about Amethyst’s ideas on every topic brought up. It wasn’t that Zip distrusted the upper echelon (sarcasm) with his life and the lives of everypony, but when it came to dirty fighting, he trusted Amethyst; he’d likely trust some of his former combat veterans as well. Amethyst had explained they “knew what they were doing”, but they lacked the know-how for some of what they were dealing with.

As the general droned on, he explained they’d move into and north of the forest west of the Galloping Gorge once they’d blown up Port and then move south. For the time being, they’d keep quiet, grow eyes in the back of their heads, and watch for any activity suggesting the enemy moving in on them. Zip’s platoon was put into a rotation of keeping a lookout, and they weren’t needed that night.

Content to “rest easy”, Zip left with his staff upon dismissal. As they made their way back to the little patch of scrub in which their platoon had taken up, Silver was fretting.

“What’s wrong, Silver?” Jacinta wondered.

The petite specialist seemed really agitated, “It’s these woods, ma’am…”

Zip and Amethyst knew what she was getting at immediately, but Jacinta didn’t.

“What is it?” Jacinta asked.

“Linseed… he’s worried about how dry it is.”

The most surprising part of that statement to Jacinta was she called Pvt. Linseed Oil by his first name; though it was only slightly surprising to Zip and Amethyst. Silver and Pvt. Linseed Oil had become… close. Zip thought it to be… charming, while Amethyst just thought it was gross. She saw it as the two weirdest ponies in the company “hooking up”, though no such evidence existed. Zip was just happy each had found a friend as neither had many, despite being well-liked within the unit. He’d bet a week’s pay she didn’t know about his penchant for the dead, though.

The part about the whole northwestern part of Equestria being too dry—and hot—was about all Pvt. Linseed Oil and Pvt. Blood Sapphire had been dwelling on for a couple weeks. The idea of staying in the forest terrified them. The weather showed no sign of changing anytime soon, though it was halfway through autumn. Zip tired of their worrying but more than trusted them on the matter. All it would take is a careless spark and a little wind and poof! The thought had Zip’s skin crawling.

His two wackos weren’t the only ones concerned. Many questioned the use of explosives within the city due to the risk of fire, but they needed to use all means to slow the enemy. With a few exceptions, no fires were permitted until further notice. Also, heavily argued was how to go about blowing up the city. “Causing the enemy worry” by blowing up the city piece-by-piece in a strategic manner, hopefully causing pause, was one idea. Others just wanted to wait until the Centauri Army had occupied the city and kill an assload in one go, definitely causing chaos. They still argued about it, and Zip had no opinion… because his advisor didn’t have one, supposedly.

Amethyst had become his advisor; truly, she’d held the position since the beginning. He trusted or at least respected her judgement on just about everything, and even if he didn’t go along with all her ideas, he gave them careful consideration. Jacinta was great, but she lacked the… well, viciousness and cunning he knew Amethyst hid so well from most everypony. Her life experience had made her a formidable mare, though few would ever know.

Putting other thoughts aside, Zip looked forward to “cold something” for evening chow. It would at least be good and plentiful; they’d left very, very little behind as far as food went. A couple thousand ponies could haul a lot of food.

---

Zip would’ve loved to sleep with Jacinta, whether whoopie was involved or not, but they’d agreed to keep out of trouble, so he dozed under a blanket at the base of a large pine tree. He really missed having a decent bed, but he was tired enough to manage dozing.

He was awakened by a hoof to his shoulder. He saw it was Jacinta.

“Lieutenant… Amethyst’s gone.”

“Huh…?” he responded.

She nipped him on the shoulder, and that got his attention.

Remembering they were trying to keep quiet, he hissed, “You got me; I’m awake. What’s going on?”

“Amethyst said she was going off to relieve herself, and she’s been gone too long.”

Zip was very unworried about Amethyst being alone in the forest; whatever might’ve been out there needed to worry, “Just calm down. I’ll go looking for her. Keep this to yourself, and stay put. Orders.”

“But-!”

“Orders,” he repeated.

Zip picked up the short sword he’d been assigned and hung it on his shoulder. Without another word he left the clearing.

It was strange to Zip; he’d figured he’d be scared in the forest, but he felt calm, alert, and ready. He had a very nasty feeling he knew what Amethyst was up to, and something told him to follow his instincts. His platoon had bivouacked at the northernmost part of the formation, and he felt north was the way to move.

After a couple hundred yards he wasn't overly surprised to hear a familiar, yet quiet, girlish laugh, followed by a sultry purr, “Well, well, well, Lieutenant… we meet again. Did you get my invitation?”

Amethyst emerged from nowhere, a most suggestive expression pasted to her coy face; Zip got flustered a moment, “Wha- wha- wha-?”

She hoofed his shoulder, her face losing its blush, “Relax, sir… just funnin’ with you.”

He’d managed to get his mind out of the gutter, “I know you’re not out here for that… You’d better not be doing what I think you’re doing.”

She chuckled, “Well, you’d better give me a spanking, ‘cause I’ve been a bad girl.”

“Speak plainly.”

“Duck. And be quiet. Look ahead.”

Zip did as he was told. There were seven… eight… nine centaurs slowly prowling through the forest; even at a distance, he could tell they were enormous. And they were loud, carelessly lumbering through the brush.

“They got through our watchline?” Zip gasped.

“There wasn’t much to get through. The gap in our line’s so big, they never even encountered one another. I noticed them about 15 minutes ago and fed Jacinta some excuse about having to take a leak.”

“She’s worried, you know,” Zip chided.

“She worries too much, sir,” Amethyst replied.

“So, what are you doing? Hunting?”

“You’re damn skippy, I’m hunting. They’re alone, sir. I know that much.”

She began to creep closer. Zip floundered for a moment but found himself following her.

Within a short time, they were close enough to see the creatures in detail. They did look like monkey carcasses stuck where a horse’s head should be… and they were five times the height of most ponies. Upwind from them, they stunk like… well, any other hoofed animal.

There were indeed nine of them. Zip knew what was likely coming when Amethyst’s horn glowed, illuminating her expression, the likes of which had Zip’s balls rolling for the horizon. She looked positively bloodthirsty.

The first centaur buckled and collapsed. Amethyst had done her little trick, giving the centaur a massive brain-bleed. Zip heard the other centaurs laugh; they’d thought their comrade had just tripped and were about to give him a hard time of it.

But when the second and third dropped, they panicked. Grunting to each other in a language Zip couldn’t even begin to place, the remaining six formed a circle. Their fear was palpable; Zip could practically smell it and was horrified at the ease with which Amethyst was doing this.

Amethyst dropped another, leaving five.

Zip whispered, “Do in the rest except for one. Incapacitate it, and you can magic it in for questioning. We need to know what they’re doing out her.”

Instead, she drew her short swords; she kept two. Zip had seen her practice magic swordplay and was more than impressed, but now wasn’t for screwing around.

He didn’t think to order her to stop, but in retrospect she probably wouldn’t have listened, “Amethyst… stop. This isn’t the time.”

To Zip, Amethyst had always been a mother figure within the platoon. She had her moments of weakness and was just as pony as everypony else, but he now saw a new side to her; it was at least new to him.

Bloodlust evident in her strange eyes, “I think it is; I need to know something. I’ll leave one alive.”

Before Zip could further reprimand her, she moved low and as fast as anypony had moved in his eyes towards the centaurs. She seemed to disappear a few seconds, and then the throat of the closest centaur split open and sprayed blood an incredible distance. Shouting, the centaurs scattered. Another one fell, Zip unable to see what happened, but the noise the centaur was most unpleasant, like a bull facing castration with a butter knife.

Suddenly, Amethyst appeared next to him again; she was drenched in blood. Zip had to stop himself from yelling out in surprise.

He just managed to keep his cool, “Damn it, Amethyst! Stop fucking around, and do what I told you.”

Whether she felt affronted or not, she didn’t make it clear; she knew he was tired of her "recklessness", “Fine. But I need to physically drop the last one; I can’t be precise otherwise.”

So, Amethyst again took off. Zip could tell she'd selected her target because two of the last three centaurs dropped dead instantly. Deciding to go after her, Zip ran low and fast. He wanted very much to help but knew he’d get in the way; she was on another level than him, to say the least.

As large as the centaur was, its speed amounted to little in the forest; Amethyst caught up with it quickly. Zip could see her leap at her target when something unexpected happened.

By luck or design, the centaur received Amethyst with a back-fist; centaurs could make fists, of course. Amethyst went caroming through the trees, crashing through branches and tumbling in a heap at the foot of a pine.

Terrified, Zip watched as the centaur stalked towards her with caution. Amethyst was unconscious and helpless and would be giving no more brain-bleeds that night.

Somewhere in Zip’s conscious parts, he remembered Sgt. Razor Wire very recently telling him to value nopony above others, or something along those lines. His brain told him to keep away. Amethyst had become arrogant/unlucky and may have overextended herself; it wasn’t worth his life to go in and die in vain. But his heart, guts, and balls won out, and he barreled towards her. If he could take flight with her, he’d be able to escape… maybe.

Getting to Amethyst was easy; he scooped her up and flew like Hell. Roaring, the centaur sent a bolt his way. Zip didn’t even try to dodge, it was so far off-target, but the next bolt had him evading out of necessity. In the dark, he couldn’t see a thing and cracked his head on a branch invisible to his eyes.

Stunned, he could feel the blood flowing down his face from the wound in his scalp; he tasted sweet iron. By the light of the crescent moon, he could the see the centaur approaching, a grin on its face.

Zip stood up between Amethyst and their enemy. Dazed and hurting, every fiber of his being, other than the logical parts, told him to stand and fight. This was difficult when he didn’t know whether to shit or wind his watch, with how beaten up he was. He couldn’t even move, his legs were so rickety.

No, no, no, no, NO! You’re not getting her, you giant piece of shit…

I’ll FuCKin’ KiLl yOu!

I’lL eRasE You!

But Zip’s blackened thoughts could do nothing, of course; another back-fist sent him out of the way with ease. Having been sent sprawling, Zip’s world was upside down, watching the monster close in on his friend.

NOOOOOOOOooooooooo…

Struggling back to his hooves, Zip’s vision turned red—not from the blood—and he wouldn’t be remembering the rest of the night.

---

…

…

…

---

"Lieutenant 'Bird! I'm here!" Zip, shaking uncontrollably, tried to comfort his friend, but he couldn't tell what was what. "Stay still!"

"Zip...! Help...!" the stallion Zip admired so very much was begging him...

Zip's anchor... was begging for his help.

But what was there to do? Most of his hind-quarters was on the other side of the room, fried almost beyond recognition under the mess table, and his entrails were seeping from a split in his crisp-burnt belly that only expanded when he tried to move. The stink of burning hair and flesh was sickly sweet and strong in Zip's nostrils. He could taste it...

"Zip!" the faceless stallion sobbed, but he had no tears to cry; his ducts, along with everything else, were cooked through. "Help me..."

The third lieutenant felt a cry building in his throat; his tear-ducts were working.

No… No, Goddamn it...!

“Lieutenant…”

NO…

“Lieutenant?”

“Yeaarrrgh!” Zip roared, thrashing, tangled up in bed-sheets.

“Holy shit!” a nurse blurted, leaping backwards, quivering like a pile of pudding.

Zip staggered from the bed. He hurt everywhere, especially his head; his head hurt like a motherfucker. In a daze of confusion, he went tumbling through a wall of canvas. A few screams could be heard as he thrashed around on the ground.

“Lieutenant Jetscream! Stand down!” a stallion’s voice barked.

Zip’s attention was attained, and he finished waking up from his nightmare. Lying in a tangle of bedsheets and the canvas wall of the temporary division headquarters, he looked up and saw several faces staring down at him; among them was Maj. Gen. Rocky Creek. Considering the sun, Zip knew it to be early afternoon.

The general beamed down at Zip, “Try to calm down, son… you had quite a night.”

Corporal Lily Hawk appeared from behind him, “Lieutenant! You’re awake… Oh, I’m so relieved!”

Zip had always thought Lily was cool as a cucumber, but she looked quite frazzled as she went in for a hug.

Zip was still confused, “What… What’s going on?”

The general deftly hoofed his shoulder, paternal pride in his eyes, “You entered your berserker state last night, Lieutenant! Not only did you save your sergeant, you killed nine of those centaurs singlehoofed!”

…What…? I transformed again? Zip had enough sense to hide behind the obliviousness and go with it; he didn’t remember much beyond Amethyst-

“Where’s Amethyst?!” Zip hollered. “Where is she?!”

Lily put a comforting hoof on his shoulder, beaming at him, “She’s fine, sir… thanks to you.”

“What happened?!” Zip was still jumbled.

“You saved my life, Lieutenant,” the mare of concern appeared. “I went off last night for… some private time, and you found me when the centaurs got through the watchline. You fought them… and you beat them!”

I did? Zip wondered as Amethyst put on a show, telling of his heroics. She was a pretty good actress.

He immediately didn’t like it; something stunk. Amethyst was anything but a damsel in distress. Zip may have opened his mouth to say something, but he felt yet another hoof at his shoulder.

“I can’t say I ever expected to see you again, Lieutenant,” a stallion grinned at him.

“Doc…?” Zip couldn’t believe it. “Cpt. Cross?! What are you doing here?!”

The unicorn captain laughed, “I’m in the division, Lt. Jetscream… Where else would I be?”

Zip guessed he couldn’t answer that.

The captain turned to the other ponies, “Let’s get the tent wall back up. I’d like a little privacy with Lt. Jetscream.”

Then he turned to Zip, “I’m sure you have questions. We can talk for a bit.”

---

“Thanks, sir,” Zip gladly took the warm stew offered to him by Cpt. Cross. “I’m starving.”

“Don’t eat too quickly, Zip,” he chuckled. “You’ll just make yourself sick.”

Taking the sound advice, Zip sipped on the bowl. It tasted great… barley and vegetables.

After watching Zip a moment, Cpt. Cross inquired, “How are you feeling, Zip?”

All in all, he felt okay, having moved around, “Well, my head hurts like a bitch, but otherwise I don’t feel any worse than I did the last time.”

Zip shivered at the memory of dealing with Lt. Hoop, all those weeks ago.

“You’re quite fortunate you’re so resilient; the blow you took should’ve killed you. It’s a small miracle you were able to stay conscious long enough to fight.”

Zip couldn’t think to stop himself, “About last night… Something’s wrong.”

“If you’re thinking about the ‘fact’ you killed nine of those things, you’re correct in your thinking.”

“…What?” Zip was floored to hear this and what came next would shock him more.

“Amethyst and I actually have quite the ongoing thing between us; we’ve worked together for years. I know what she is as well as you do. She’d hate me for revealing this, but there’s no point in hiding it anymore. Your memory’s no doubt fuzzy, but she killed eight of them… mostly by stroke. Trying to capture the last one she was injured, but only slightly… enough to knock her out a few seconds. You did in the last one… and she told me it was quite a thing to see.”

Zip could imagine what he might’ve done and was in no hurry to hear about it, “I remember a little better; nine centaurs made it through our watchline and Amethyst went looking for them… Why? Why not get help?”

The captain tried to not put Zip down, but, “That’s a rather stupid question, Zip; you know better than just about anypony in the world what kind of mare Amethyst is…”

That could’ve meant a lot of things; Zip decided to put them out of mind, “How did they get through that easily?”

This really bothered Zip.

“A gap in the line; that’s all… It is quite the embarrassment… But rest assured we’re better defended and keeping a better eye on everything. It was just a scout party… maybe even deserters. As far as we can see, the bastards are still struggling in the bay.”

But about all Zip had on his mind was Amethyst, “I gotta go, Doc.”

“Before you leave, you should know this: Amethyst… made a mess of the centaur party… so it would look like you did it all when you went berserk. Everypony’s morale is through the roof, knowing there’s a pony like you on our side. Just go with it; it’s more than within your capabilities and we need everypony hopeful. There are only three that know the truth and it can stay that way.”

Zip felt nauseated, picturing the disaster Amethyst might’ve left behind, “I’m going.”

Looking concerned, he allowed Zip to leave, “Just don’t overexert yourself; I had to put 20 stitches in your scalp this morning.”

---

Zip had a general idea of where he’d found Amethyst the night before. He knew going off on his own was a bad idea, but he had to perceive what Amethyst had done; something drove him to see it. It turns out he wasn’t alone.

As he might’ve expected, some ponies too curious for their own good had come to check out the scene; Zip kept out of sight. Never having personally seen what was left of Lt. Hoop when he killed him, Zip had heard something about somepony using a snow shovel to scoop up what was left of him. That vision was bad, but what he was supposed to have done to the centaurs was the worst thing Zip had ever seen.

The stunned murmuring of the ponies present was difficult to hear over the buzzing of the flies; the smell, given more power in the unseasonable heat, was atrocious. The centaurs looked as if they’d been savaged by some creature even more ferocious than them. He didn’t even try guessing which one had been his kill. Upon spotting a slough of entrails—hardly the most offensive thing there—strewn haphazardly into a tree as if garland for Hearth’s Warming, Zip nearly lost his lunch.

Zip wasn’t an angry pony, really, but seeing that put him (understandably) on the warpath. He was furious with Amethyst for more than a few reasons and seeing the catastrophe to which she’d stuck his name put him over the edge. Storming back towards the encampment in the woods, he sought out a certain Equestrian belle.

---

Amethyst should’ve felt Zip coming, his being so upset, but she’d dropped her guard and relaxed her mind, some; there was a whole division worth of confused and scared minds bombarding her own. She didn’t know he was there until he caught her on the way back from a little trot of her own she’d been taking.

Noting his approach, she’d never seen him like this; receptive once again, she recognized his mind was running black. It could take quite a bit to throw her off her game, but his roughly hoofing her by the uniform and dragging her out further into the woods did the trick.

Zip had never struck a subordinate of his outside of hoof-to-hoof combat training, and he still didn’t, but he forcefully shoved her, causing her to lose her hooves. He knew if Amethyst wanted to, she could wring him out like a dishrag; he was just too fuming mad to care.

For a time, Zip forgot himself. His eyes boring into hers, Amethyst felt something she didn’t feel all that often, lying on the ground… at least in a long time: legitimate terror.

“You scared me! I was worried about you! What the fuck were you thinking?! Going off alone like that… You could sense them; that’s easy enough to explain away! Why not just alert everypony?!”

“…”

“And how would you have explained this if I hadn’t given you such a convenient cover?! You’re always going on about how important keeping your status secret is! It’d be pretty hard to explain something like that away!”

“Lieuten…” she breathed, her face became splotchy.

He became increasingly frustrated with her lack of response, “And that mess you made! Berserk or not, do you really think you needed to attach that to me?! You used their guts to decorate the trees! Tell me… do you really enjoy carnage that much?! What was going through your head?!”

“Please…” Amethyst’s eyes began to twitch.

“There’s no telling how else things would’ve gone last night, but if I hadn’t been able to go berserk… You almost died! We both could’ve died! And other ponies still would’ve been in danger!”

“No… Stop…” she visibly shrank, even further than she already had.

This offended his senses, “STOP?! Fuck that! Stop your sniveling and say something! Use your big girl words! Did you even think about what you were doing?! All the trouble you could cause?!”

“Lead…” her eyes streamed, and she ultimately wet herself; Zip didn’t notice.

“Answer me, Sergeant!” Zip bellowed, feeling a vein pop out on his neck, looming over her.

“Please, don’t hit me!” Amethyst bleated, recoiling into herself.

Zip surely hadn’t seen this out of her. She cowered, holding up a hoof towards him; she was frightened, unable to do anything else.

It was shocking to Zip, “Amethyst…”

Creeping further away from him, she began to weep, both eyes and nose running, “No more… Please, no more. It hurts… I don’t know why it’s not working! But it hurts! I don’t wanna tonight! I can’t tonight… It’s bleeding… and I can’t get wet…”

What…? Zip was aghast.

Appearing to be out of her mind, she cried, “I don’t wanna have another baby…! Why do you hate me so much?!”

Zip watched her pull further into herself, a quivering mess, murmuring and sobbing. He stood back, trying to figure out what to do.

Coming up blank, he simply attempted to reach her, “Amethyst? What’s going-?”

With desperation in her eyes, she lashed out, “NO!”

Zip barely managed to dodge her bolt of energy; without even thinking, he went for a certain pressure point he knew very well. Her magic stopped, and she was merely able to struggle. Continuing to shriek, she tried to escape Zip’s grasp.

“Don’t hit me again!” she cried.

Holding on for dear life, Zip heard a most welcome voice call out.

“Lieutenant! What’s going on?!” Jacinta cried.

“I don’t know!” Zip barely managed to hold on.

Not missing a beat, Jacinta bolted in and put a hoof across Amethyst’s throat. Applying a little pressure, Amethyst dropped like a stone with her air cut, unconscious.

Zip scrambled away, gasping; he didn’t know Jacinta had that kind of trick up her sleeve.

Jacinta barked at Zip, “What did you do?!”

Practically bawling, Zip barked right back, “I dunno!”

Eying him angrily, she released Amethyst, “Carry her back, sir.”

Continuing to scowl at him, she helped heave Amethyst on to his back and prodded him towards camp.

---

Lily had finished checking over Amethyst in headquarters, where Zip himself had just woken up a short time before, “She’ll be fine; she’s just exhausted… but I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“What happened?” Zip wondered. “What did she do to tire herself out so much? We’ve been on rest.”

Lily scoffed at him, not hatefully, “She’s not been sleeping well lately, sir… Also… she refused to leave your side since she brought you in; I don’t think she’s slept since the operation began… She’ll be fine; she just needs rest.”

It was a relief to Zip, but he was still weirded out; Amethyst had really dropped off on him. But before he could mull over much of anything, Jacinta hauled him outside and away from camp.

Out of sight of anypony else, she sunk a hoof into his gut; Zip gasped, having expected yet still not expecting some form of violence out of his friend. Before he was able to recover, she threw him across the clearing; he sprawled out where he landed, trying to cough his wind back.

“You…” she glared at him once he managed to raise his face.

Zip had never heard such contempt in her voice. The familiar feeling of his nuts retiring into the relative safety of his trunk gave him an awful feeling; Zip was good and scared.

So angry her eyes were watering, she uttered, “I know you’re frustrated sir, but to raise a hoof against Amethyst! I’m disgusted you’d do such a thing, hitting her!”

He managed to wheeze, “I never hit her! How dare you?”

“What did you say to me?!” she rumbled.

“I never did such a thing! You know me better than that!” he said painfully.

She didn’t go for that immediately, but his fervor gave her pause, “Do I? Then what happened?”

“I don’t know! I was angry, sure, but all I did was yell!"

“What did you do, sir? Your life’s in no immediate danger now, so you’ve had time to think! What. Did. You. Do?”

Wheezing in air, Zip croaked, “I was just… scolding her for… going off last night… And then she freaked out…”

Unable to finish his sentence, he did so quietly, I think she was having a flashback… How could he just flat-out tell the truth?

Thankfully, Zip was spared Jacinta demanding more and/or putting his ass further through the mill.

“Staff Sergeant! That’s enough!” like a gift falling from Heaven, Cpt. Cross appeared. “There’s an explanation for this.”

Zip exhaled in his relief; he’d never been so glad to hear a superior officer yell.

But Jacinta wasn’t even cowed. Zip recalled, already seemingly far in the past, how she stood down upon his order and he didn’t even have to bark at her.

“Captain, I’m discussing something with my platoon commander. Step off.”

A mixture of admiration and horror crossed Cpt. Cross’s face; she’d changed quite a bit since he’d met her, “Now, now, SSgt. Petals… Please let me explain. Go back to headquarters. I’ll be with you soon. Orders.”

Giving him the famous “Jacinta glare”, the little mare turned and left without another word.

With her gone, the captain hauled Zip to his hooves, hooting with laughter, “Man, Zip… You’ve really got some interesting ponies under you. Are you okay?”

Feeling like he’d fallen 20 ft. out of a tree, he’d been better, “I think so… nothing broken, at least. I hope the stitches didn’t pop; it hurts even worse now…”

“Ah, you’re fine. Stop your bitching,” he chortled, checking Zip’s bandaged cranium.

Zip winced.

“Is this normal? Getting worked over by your non-com mares?” the captain was highly amused by the relationships he’d seen in Zip’s outfit.

“I dunno anymore…” Zip’s hooves were unsteady.

Laughing openly, he offered Zip a shoulder, “I’ll chat with your platoon sergeant, Zip. Let’s get you back to camp.

Captain Cross gave Zip a little something for the pain and saw he got extra early evening chow. He suggested he go sleep it off; feeling like he’d been hit by a train, Zip didn’t argue and gladly went back to his platoon.

His platoon was obviously awed, watching him come back to them but they gave him his space. A couple of his ponies had put together a nice bedroll under a nice, dark tarp. Most thankful for their thoughtfulness, he crawled inside; he wasn’t needed until the next day, so everypony was more than content to let him sleep. The humble bedroll felt about as good as any bed he’d ever slept on and he slept well.

---

The bedroll may have been comfy, but he felt like stiff Hell upon waking up again; at least he felt rested and his head hurt much less. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but it was dark out. Passing the members of his 3^rd Squad, they looked at him with pride and admiration. Zip tried to acknowledge their feelings with a stiff nod. They knew he was in rough shape and wouldn’t bother him further.

Trip and Silver were going around to everypony, giving them bread, cheese, and a few nice vegetables. Delighted to see their lieutenant, they made sure he had a nice portion.

“Thank you, girls; I’m famished…”

Both of them beamed back; Trip hoofed his shoulder, “We’re just glad to see you up and about, sir. We were pretty worried about you and Sgt. Flare.”

Zip stretched himself, eliciting numerous cracks in his body, causing his young mares to wince; he himself didn’t feel so great either, listening to everything pop, “Oh, I’ll feel better tomorrow. Make sure you don’t miss anypony; I’m sure they’re hungry, too. Thanks again for the chow.”

Silver nodded, “Yessir.”

Zip decided to ask rather than look around, “Have either of you seen Jacinta?”

Trip wasn’t sure, but, “Earlier, she paid a visit to Sgt. Flare in the division headquarters tent. She might be there… and if she isn’t, you might run into her on the way there.”

“Thanks, Trip. You two have a pleasant evening, if I don’t see you again tonight. Rest well… we have a job to do tomorrow.”

Both saluted, “Yessir. Good night.”

He smiled, wincing at his bandages, and saluted in return. Parting ways with them, he headed to headquarters, munching on his late-night snack.

Upon reaching the tent, he realized it was 23:00. It was quiet, other than a couple officers snoring around a table. Zip went past them, knowing he’d likely find his two friends past the sheets separating the business side from the medical side.

Unsurprisingly, he found Jacinta sitting on a stool at Amethyst’s bedside. Amethyst was resting peacefully. But Jacinta was looking out of sorts. Upon seeing her commander, she fell to pieces.

Blubbering, she began quietly babbling, “I’m sorry- I’m sorry- I’m so sorry!”

Zip might’ve laughed if his head didn’t hurt so badly, “Outside. Let’s not wake Amethyst.”

At odds with what she should do, she decided on going with him. Kissing Amethyst’s brow, she hurried outside with Zip.

The two sat on a fallen log a short distance away. Zip eased himself down, even stiffer than he’d been upon waking up.

Jacinta felt just awful, “How could I do that to you? I really let you have it!”

He wanted to say to not worry, so he tried, “If I thought I saw somepony roughing up a friend of mine, I’d probably sling their ass, too.”

She grimaced as he chuckled.

“Captain Cross, he… told me what was going on… Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Other than the fact he hadn’t had the time or the wits to do so, “Amethyst… told me in confidence… about Lead Brick. I didn’t want to break that.”

“She told me, too… some weeks back,” Jacinta admitted. “I just didn’t think it still bothered her so much. I suppose some things just don’t heal up.”

Zip was now wishing he’d been better able to explain himself, but it was in the past, “You’re right about that, Jacinta… But try not to let it bother you… not Amethyst or the fact you made sport of me.”

She didn’t want to, given the subject matter, but she snorked, “I shouldn’t have done that to you, Lieutenant. Just seeing you unload on her… it made it worse to see her like that. I had no idea she was that way.”

For the thousandth time, Zip had to tell himself he was one of the few ponies to know Amethyst; he would keep reminding himself of this fact until the day came everypony else would know. And he prayed the day would never come; Amethyst had said something about being up to their ears in death if they needed her.

“She’s just a pony, Jacinta… like you, me, or anypony else.”

Taking on a wistful look, she sighed, “I don’t think you’re just some pony, sir.”

Rolling his neck, he was gratified to get a few cracks out of it, “Don’t give me too much credit, Jacinta.”

For a moment, neither spoke; the cloudless night showed them plenty of stars, despite the crescent moon lighting up the sky.

“Did… Amethyst wake up?” Zip asked.

“Only once for a drink of water… She didn’t say anything to me,” Jacinta tucked up her legs, tucking her muzzle between them. “Otherwise, she’s been sleeping well; she needed it.”

Another moment of silence ensued.

Zip tried another tactic, “Jacinta… do you remember the first time you kicked my ass?”

He’d asked with such nonchalance it stunned her; she gaped, “…What…?”

He snickered, “It wasn’t even two weeks after I came here. You were showing everypony a throw… You were looking to get even with me when I made fun of you on the trot that morning.”

Recalling this, she had a giggle fit, “Yeah, I remember. You got the jump on me, so I gave you the doe eyes. You fell for it hook, line, and sinker.”

“I think that might’ve been the first time I looked at you as… more than just my friend.”

Caught completely off-guard, Jacinta gawped, “You… the first… what…?”

He moved in a little closer, “I didn’t realize it at the time, but… that was pretty special. You shoulda seen just how cute you were.”

Flushing so brightly she practically glowed, she shoved him, mortified, “Oh, stop!”

Zip was still laughing, when he lost his balance and when tumbling off his perch on the log, “Ah-OW!”

She went after him, “Zip!”

Finding him flat on his back, she scampered up; before she could help him, he laughed and snatched her up. Receptive to his playfulness, she tittered and allowed him to pull her onto himself.

She rested her head on his chest-floof, allowing herself to relax, “Oh, Zip… I wish I could just keep calling you that.”

“I do like it when you call me by my name.”

She took the hint; she whispered, “Ziiiii-ip…”

He felt a tingle run down his whole body; he squirmed uncomfortably, a stupid grin lighting up his face.

Again, “Ziiiii-ip…”

And again, Zip felt the sensation; he was losing his composure.

She breathed right into his ear, “Ziiii-ip…”

He’d had all he could take; rolling over on top of her, he kissed her. She more than reciprocated. Now, unfortunately, wasn’t the time to toss the nonexistent hay. They were kind of on alert and Zip’s head still motherfucking hurt, so they were content to explore the other’s oral mucosa for a time.

Under the clear sky, they lay beneath the pines.

“Zip…”

“Mm-hmm?”

“That song you made up… the day I trounced you so badly… how’d the rest go?”

Zip was bemused she remembered that at all, “I… dunno. I don’t even remember it myself; like you said, I just made it up—on the spot.”

Nestling in, she crooned, “That was so funny. If I hadn’t had such a stick up my ass, I might’ve let you finish it.”

“I would now, but I don’t remember…” Zip lamented.

Jacinta giggled, “I do…”

“What?”

“Listen.”

She began.

----------

Sergeant, Sergeant, she’s so mean

Somepony pissed in her canteen

When she found out it was Trip

Sarge pulled out her horsey whip

Then she tied Trip to a bed

----------

Zip was astonished, and not just because she remembered, “You let me get that far?!”

She cuffed him, trying to not hit him anywhere too tender, “You seem to forget, Zip… you can fly.”

Mystified, he fluffed his wings a little, “Oh… right.”

She broke down laughing, “Do you think you could finish it?”

“Now?”

Nibbling his ear, causing him to squirm, “Holy Hell, yes, now…”

Trying to escape her nipping at him, “Uh…”

----------

She said, “Hey, let’s use this instead!”

----------

“Yeah?”

----------

Sarge pulled out… a ball-and-chain

----------

“What…?” she giggled.

----------

“Let’s see the color of horsey brains!”?

----------

Looking aghast, she cackled, slugging his shoulder, “Nasty!”

Zip smiled, having no more to say.

“That’s all?” she looked disappointed.

“Hey, it’s eight lines, now,” he protested. “That’s plenty… nice and short.”

“I suppose,” she kissed his neck and sighed contentedly; they remained like this a little while longer.

But their fun had to reach an end; they sat up.

Zip sat with her another moment, enjoying the pleasant night very much.

“Well, Jacinta… I think you need to turn in. We’re assigned to watch the line tomorrow.”

She nuzzled him, “I know… Will you come along?”

He shook his head, “No… I slept all afternoon. I’ll get back soon enough, but…”

“I understand, Zip… and I’ll only call you that… when it’s just us. Good night.”

Standing up, she paddled back to camp; she knew where he was going next as well as he did.

Upon reentering the medical side of the tent, Amethyst was facing the canvas. It was obvious she was awake; perhaps she had been awake a while.

Zip sat down on the seat Jacinta had occupied earlier, “How are you feeling, Amethyst?”

His voice had no malice, no accusatory tone, no anything, really.

She turned her head, just enough he could see her eyes; snuggling further into her pillow, she murmured, “I’m feeling much better, Lieutenant.”

Turning her eyes back to the wall of the tent, she was again silent.

Zip exhaled, “I’m… really sorry, Amethyst. I didn’t mean for… that to happen.”

She curled up, pulling her back legs to her chest, “I know…”

“I can sit and say anything I want, really, but I want you to know this: you really scared me. Why’d you do it?” he asked as evenly as he could manage.

After a moment, she answered, “I’m not a young mare, sir; I’ve been feeling my age for a few years. It wasn’t just… my colossal fuck-up that saw me sent here… My work… they told me… had gotten sloppy across the board. And they’re right; I’ve lost that freshness I used to have. It’s messed up, sir… By the time you come to terms… or should come to terms with the things you’ve done… just when you can finally process all the awful shit they make you do… your body’s falling apart on you.”

Zip thought he understood what she meant, “To prove yourself?! You did that to prove yourself?!”

She glanced towards him, her eyes unreadable, “…”

Zip was, in a way, relieved, “That’s all?! Amethyst… you don’t have to prove yourself… not to me and not to anypony else. I thought you knew better than that…”

Turning over and looking right at him, he saw her pale eyes streaming; she looked 50-years-old to him, rather than the plausible 30-something, “What about myself, Lieutenant?”

This stopped him cold; he was dumb enough to give her an answer and it wasn’t even a good one, “What about you, Amethyst?”

Turning surly, her expression soured in a hurry, “You child…”

Zip had never kept track of who scared away his balls more, Jacinta or Amethyst, but they hid away now.

“Get out,” Amethyst demanded.

He was floored, never hearing this tone of voice from her, “What…?”

Her face contorted; it would’ve been comical if it wasn’t so terrifying, “Get out!”

Zip felt his hooves scrape the ground as he was propelled from the tent. Outside, he realized Amethyst had never used magic on him in such a way. But at least she didn’t kill him or anything; Jacinta would’ve tossed him. He decided to count his blessings and F.O. for the evening; he figured he could try to talk to her again later when she wasn’t in a killing mood.

Perhaps he finally had learned a few things about mares.

Satisfied with that, he returned to camp. Maybe he’d check to see if Trip and Silver had any food left.

---

Zip’s aches and pains didn’t subside in the least after a night of sleep, but he sure wasn’t tired anymore. After an acceptable breakfast, 3^rd Platoon was briefed by Cpt. Jalapeño Jelly, now in command of A Company, on their assignment.

Zip tried to bury his feelings, but he loathed this captain; he’d hated Cpt. Basket Weaver for no other reason than Cpt. Basket Weaver was given command over him. Cpt. Jalapeño Jelly had been the one to encourage beating Cpt. Basket Weaver within an inch of his life, which circumstances dictated Zip had to take part in. Only a hoofful of ponies knew why Cpt. Basket Weaver had blown up their equipment, but Zip had begun to hate many of the officers for their cruelty… even though they were ignorant.

But Zip kept his mouth shut. They were to patrol the northeastern area of division’s camp. Other ponies were keeping tabs on the Centauri Army’s progress as they began coming ashore but others were needed to keep an eye on their lines. Given eight small crystal balls for communicating, Zip divided his platoon up by team, assigning himself and his sergeants to one of the eight. With an area of two miles to cover they were spread thin but would still be able to see each other where the trees thinned out.

Zip wound up with Cpl. Little Song, a mare he’d come to know just recently despite his being around. Before he and Jacinta tossed up the squads, the corporal had been leading the engineers in the platoon.

He recalled the first time meeting her. The debacle with Pvt. Mill had caused quite a stir; he’d been in her squad and Sgt. Treasure Trove barked at her for letting the wayward private out of her sight. Much water under the bridge since then.

Zip was amazed at watching Little Song and Trip work together. Little Song seemed able to find a way to make anything work and Trip could usually carry it out. He was glad they were still in the same squad, despite their teams changing.

“Lieutenant,” Little Song smiled. “We’re here; you can stop.”

“Oh…” he hadn’t realized they’d reached the designated line; he'd just kept walking.

She giggled at his absentmindedness. He’d tolerate that out of her; she was one of the gentlest souls he’d met… and she was cute-as-pie to boot. When she dimpled, she was almost as cute as Trip… and that was no booby prize.

“Okay, everypony,” Zip called out. “Keep low and keep your eyes open. The magical sensors set up should alert us to anything moving that has more than four appendages, but they’re not foolproof. We still need our eyes; the breakthrough the other night is proof enough. Rotate position every 30 minutes. Every couple hours, two can rotate out and rest. Conserve water and food; we’re out here until dusk.”

The day went swimmingly, if it could be called that, and the balminess continued. Zip finally took his turn to sit out in the late afternoon. Not by invention, Little Song wound up with him.

He really enjoyed chatting with her and wished he’d done so much earlier; she had a way of seeing the bigger picture, which he found unusual considering she was an engineer. And that’s not to say an engineer can’t consider all things involved in a given system; what he meant was she had no problem getting to the heart of a problem.

She was just who he needed; he didn’t mean to burden her with his troubles, but he could think of no better pony.

“Little Song… I need some advice.”

She gave him a “gentle” sneer, if that makes any sense, “Right out of the gate, eh? Not gonna talk about the freakishly nice weather or how bad the oatmeal was this morning?”

He’d also take some of her chiding; he didn’t feel much like a stallion, so confused with things, “Yes…”

“Is it the big little sergeant or the little big sergeant this time?” she tapped her hooves on the ground.

They’d mostly stopped doing it, but the platoon had taken to calling Jacinta the “big sergeant” and the rest of the sergeants “little sergeants”. Jacinta was called the little big sergeant for her stature, naturally. And Amethyst was the big little sergeant, the de facto leader among the four squad leaders.

Zip didn’t like the game, “It’s Amethyst…”

“I figured,” she poked a hoof at a tuft of grass. “She’s been acting like some love-sick, goofy, miserable teenager stuck in a grandma’s body the last couple days…”

The amusing visual aside, Zip wouldn’t put it past Little Song that she might know of his relationship with Jacinta… or his difficulties with Amethyst; he’d asked her about things more than he cared to.

“Hmm…” she mused, “I don’t know much, sir, but I’m sure you know more. There’s a lot more to Amethyst than meets the eye, I know… Anypony that doesn’t realize that by now is pretty dumb… or can’t see the bigger picture.”

Zip knew she was alluding to Jacinta, saying that; she could be downright clueless…

“So, Lieutenant, try to see things from her perspective,” Little Song concluded.

“Hers?”

“Yes. Try.”

Looking perplexed, Zip sat on his haunches.

His confusion elicited another string of “kind” giggles out of her, “That’s all you get, sir. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m catching a nap. You and I are on duty again after evening chow.”

She paddled to the shade and curled up on a blanket, leaving Zip with his own thoughts.

See things from her horseshoes, huh? Zip decided it wasn’t bad advice.

---

The day after, Zip realized he wouldn’t be able to see Amethyst for a couple days, as she had been called aside by the higher-ups for consultation. It worried him slightly, but it could’ve been anything.

That morning the division was treated to the sound of the first trap in the city. The unicorns watching over the demolitions had waited until the centaurs made use of an empty warehouse to light off a section; it caused one Hell of a mess and threw the Centauri Army supply unit into disarray. The monkey carcasses would be more careful about shacking up, knowing a few dozen of their comrades were buried alive along with a lot of their own food, which had become scarce since the division cleaned out.

Sooner than expected, the division would begin moving towards the Galloping Gorge the next day. They’d send out one of the brigades and maintain a supply line for a few days while the other brigade oversaw demolition of the city and inched their way to the east.

Being in the 2^nd Brigade, Zip’s platoon was one of many that would be going first. Since the platoon didn’t have duty for a couple days, their assignment to be determined, they packed up their gear for the move to the next stage and were able to relax.

Zip and Jacinta, getting along with the greatest of ease, went to division headquarters for their staging orders. Along with them they brought Trip and Silver. They’d be among the first ponies to reach the gorge, they’d heard.

Upon arriving they were greeted by a tremendous racket in the big tent. A sour feeling rising in Zip’s stomach, they went to see what all the hullabaloo was about.

To Zip’s disgust and extreme disappointment, Pvt. Linseed Oil was brawling with the staff of somepony much higher up than Zip.

Silver gasped, “Linseed!”

Jacinta tried to hold him back, but Zip ran in, “Hey! Private Oil! Stop! Get out of there, now!”

But the private continued to fight; Zip was surprised at how well he was holding out, fighting three sergeants and two corporals at once. Zip’s specialists cowered behind Jacinta, knowing better than to get involved.

Zip appealed to one of the colonels there, “Colonel! Please, call them off!”

He scoffed, “Lt. Jetscream?! This is one of yours?”

Zip reluctantly claimed him, “Yessir.”

“He’s out of line, son… He came here demanding to see the general, without cause… we’re just seeing he gets his lumps before we decide what to do with him…”

Zip persisted, “Please, sir. Call them off.”

The colonel laughed as they finally managed to ground the private; they began to beat him mercilessly.

Zip, seeing one of his own in trouble, cast aside his rank and his cool; despite Jacinta’s further protesting he jumped into the fray with a bellow to shake the forest.

He tackled one of the sergeants off Pvt. Linseed Oil and threw him against a tree. Another leapt at him and he helped him on his way, sending him onto the roof of the tent; it collapsed completely and much yelling was heard from within.

One of the corporals had Zip in a headlock, while Zip had the other two noncoms in headlocks, when the fight was stopped.

“What in the blue fuck is going on out here?!” a voice roared.

Everypony dropped what they were doing. Zip dropped his unconscious sufferers and he himself was released. Maj. Gen. Rocky Creek looked mad as Hell, emerging from the ruins of the tent.

Before anypony could explain, Pvt. Linseed Oil scrambled towards the general.

“General! We can’t go towards the gorge! We’ll all be in danger!”

Seeing the private’s insignia, his manner, and appearance, the general scowled, “What?”

“Fire! It’s so dry! It’s just a matter of time before the wind comes back, but we don’t know when the rain’s coming! We’ve already had a few close calls! If we go to the gorge, we’ll be boxed in by the forest to the south! It’s too dangerous! A spark will be the end of us all!”

“…Who is this?” the general frowned.

The colonel Zip had spoken to, looking excited, explained, “He’s just some crazy private that Lt. Jetscream can’t seem to keep a leash on… Seems there’s a lot of that going on with him-”

“Shut up, Colonel!” the general cut him off; he stared down to Pvt. Linseed Oil. “Now… who are you?”

Covered in his own blood and the blood of others, Pvt. Linseed Oil coughed, “Sir! Private Linseed Oil! 1^st Team, 3^rd Squad, 3^rd Platoon, A Company, “Wild Rice” Bat-”

“That’s enough, Private… Now… what seems to be the issue?”

Zip wished very much this wasn’t going on; he knew no good would come of it.

“Sir…,” Pvt. Linseed Oil cooled his guns. “We cannot risk getting trapped north of the forest. It’s too dry. If a fire breaks out, we’ll all be done for. The weather’s not on our side, General… Please think about this.”

Surprising even himself, Zip came to his private’s defense, “General! Please listen to him. Before coming out here, he was a forest biologist! He understands meteorology better than anypony I’ve ever met! I trust his judgment on the matter. Please at least listen to him.”

The mares that went along with Zip were both impressed and terrified their commander had spoken in such a way, as much as they'd been with their private’s outburst.

About to share some unwelcome news, Maj. Gen. Rocky Creek burst out laughing; the noise was shocking as he stared down at Pvt. Linseed Oil, “I know who you are, Private… And I’m not about to take the word of a stallion who got caught balls deep in some dead filly!”

Zip could see his mares out of the corner of his eye.

Jacinta and Trip’s jaws dropped, looking positively revolted.

Silver looked stricken, as if she’d had a rug pulled out from under her, “…What…?”

The other officers and their staff were stunned, and then laughed as well.

Great… Zip bemoaned to himself.

If Pvt. Linseed Oil was deterred by the awful truth being revealed to all present, he didn’t show it, “Please! Please listen to me, General! We can’t do this!”

Zip once again came to his aid; he tried to speak calmly, “Please, sir… I’ve been trying to put it out of my mind for days, but… he’s right. I trust him. Please do the same.”

This was met by another peal of laughter from everypony other than the five from 3^rd Platoon. Zip realized any credibility he’d had with the higher officers, whether from his reputation or his “centaur killing skills”, was fast disappearing.

The general kicked Pvt. Linseed Oil, knocking him out and sending him sprawling towards Zip; he fumed, “You’d better be fucking grateful we need you! If we had the time and could stand a little hit to morale, I’d string you both up to a post and see you beaten. You’re out of line!”

Zip, stunned at the action but not in kill-mode, cradled his fallen private as his mares tried to look inconspicuous nearby.

Using an over-solicitous tone, the general finished with, “But don’t worry! I have a special assignment for your platoon, dear Zip. I was going to give you something easy, but since you’ve proven yourself this irritating, you’re getting the shit end of the stick.”

Zip made no attempt to hide the hatred in his face; he glared at them all, fire in his eyes. It unsettled them just a bit.

“You little cocksucker,” the general spat, all his fondness for the young lieutenant evaporating. “You’ll regret all of this. When it’s all said and done, I can’t guarantee you won’t face a rope… you and your corpse-fucker!”

With that, the general, the rest of the officers, and their staff left. Zip’s sour stomach threatened revolt as he watched them go.

He sat there, holding his unconscious private, while the troubled mares looked on.

The Retreat to the Galloping Gorge, the second of many stages of their progressive defense of Equestria, would begin later that day.

Author's Note:

Check out the Appendix for The Virgin Company, updated as the story moves along. Includes character designs and platoon arrangement. Contains spoilers.

---

Had work to do over the weekend so there wasn't time to finish editing, so the chapter's a day late.

As quickly as Zip became a hero to the division, he's become an eyesore. Shamed, he will lead his platoon into uncertainty as the retreat commences.

And he still has to deal with Amethyst, whenever she gets back from whatever she wound up doing.

If you haven't, please take a look at Larkspur Blossom, my first story. Lt. Screamer is a hero of the main character. And please look at my adventure story, Princess Essenta. A princess goes on a "fool's errand" to prove to her worth, picking up interesting friends along the way.

Thanks for reading, and take care.

Comments

[Bjarnulf]

Hmmm somehow I have the feeling a certain maj gen is going to die...soon.
And Lt. Screamer will have no fun at all from now on.
I like it.

[Pone_Heap]

9010661
Something not good will happen soon.

[Fudgebrownie]

Why did you make Amethyst the punching bag for your story?!

[Pone_Heap]

9077299
Dunno; it just happened that way. It probably is because I wanted a dual nature in her. She's so powerful she's a force of nature but she came from something sad and fragile that never truly left her. She hasn't had a happy life and it helped make her what she is. She wouldn't have become the monster she thinks she is and yet wouldn't have the "humanity" to keep herself from falling in too deep. Extremes are something I don't move far from most of the time.