Horn and Hammer

by Lancer

Chapter Twenty Three- Setting the Stage

Chapter Twenty Three

Setting the Stage

Trottingham, Equestria Minor

The forecast over Trottingham was for heavy cloud cover, extremely heavy, the three layers of deep grey cloud kind of heavy. Of course this was orchestrated, the weather crew had a number of sympathetic ponies in there and for today of all days Sergeant Swift Wind called in a favour.

Reports had come, in after a squad was captured three days ago, that the region commander, Graff Talon had ordered the execution of the four ponies as spies. It marked an escalation in the insurgency war which Swift was determined to equal. The plaza where it was to be held was an obvious trap, security was heavy around there but the prisoners were in a nondescript postal wagon some ten minutes away travel from the square. Swift was nestled safely in one of the many Elm trees that flanked the main road, spaced around the ambush point. Alongside him was Bright Blossom in chainmail and a new open faced plate helmet. Armourers had spared no time in arming the resistance and had managed to sneak equipment out of the city to their base with impressive efficiency.

The other eight members of the ambush party were working in teams of two and hidden in their own elms, five guards and three militia. The rest were hidden in the cloud cover if things went bad. Posters had advertised the demonstration a mere two days before and organising the plan had required frantic work.

The change in tactics had been a sudden and dark twist. The orders had apparently come from the griffon king himself, a grim indication of what may be to come in Equestria major. Indeed the tactics on both sides had increased in scale and violence. Swift had been forced to abandon camp four times with increasing patrols on wider search patterns and with no way to eliminate them without giving away HQ. It had been hard. A full twenty ponies had fallen as casualties and the griffon losses had been severe in the beginning, although the numbers were less certain, insurgency tactics were taking their toll.

Reports stated the griffon army would stop in Trottingham overnight on their way to Equestria, their landing point was uncertain after that though. Swift had toyed with the idea of mounting some form of attack but security was likely to be at an all-time high and risking the lives of so many of his ponies was not worth the cost.

“Swift” whispered Bright Blossom from beside him, laying a hoof on his shoulder.

“Sergeant on mission Blossom. What is it?” he replied glancing down at the mare that had an urgent look in her eyes.

“I can hear it coming sergeant.” A flick of her ears and a hesitant smile flashed back in the low light.

A mere moment later he heard it too and the sensation of the tree vibrating beneath him reverberated up his legs. He had spent so long thinking over the worsening situation in Equestria Minor and not on the task at hoof, his senses were off. Now was not the time for such things. He was relaying messengers to Equestria at every possible opportunity, likewise he would after today but for now his ponies were in danger. Although the prospect of treatment for captive ponies was disturbing, he could spare time for that thought once safely back at camp.

He checked his gear one last time, sword and shield were ready, his armour deadened to a dull brown colour and padding to stop it clanging. He hated to mar the pristine gold glow it held before but necessity demanded so.

Through gaps in the foliage he could see the cart being pulled along, two stallions moving at a steady trot. Behind them, lazily prodding one with a stick sat a griffon hen in lamellar armour. Two more rode on the roof, both male and barely paying attention to their surroundings.

‘Lazy bastards’ thought Swift with a brief moment of relish. ‘They had no idea we learnt their route from a griffon captive three days ago.’

The wagon came closer, Swift’s heart rate rose slightly but there seemed little tension in the air. Bright Blossom seemed to be her usual eager self; her proficiency had been a surprise, but a welcome one. Swift definitely never expected to find a mare so eager to fight, she certainly set a standard for the other militiaponies.

Moments later the wagon flashed past his position and through unspoken command he powered out of the Elm tree with Blossom right behind. Swift raised his shield and held his sword at the ready.

Now that he was out of the tree he saw the other four teams closing in with speed. The terraced housing was cut from sight as he closed the split second gap, focused solely on the griffon on the carriage roof.

With a resounding crash the pegasi collided with the three griffons. Swift’s target was caught mid-squawk and looking directly ahead at two guardsponies as they swept in with hoof mounted long swords aimed at the hen, shields held before them. With a crack the iron bound shield slammed into the griffon’s head, knocking him unconscious and flinging the grey feathered soldier clean off the carriage. Around him his ponies smashed the griffons with a ferocity that cut short any cry for help. Shields and armoured bodies knocked the two guards flying, within moments all three were incapacitated.

“Right, get our ponies out and cripple these three” ordered Swift Wind. He glided down to the two tethered stallions, both earth ponies, and helped unhitch them from the carriage. With a few careful words he sent the pair on their way, accepting their shocked thanks and wary glances.

Most of the citizenry had been told to attend the demonstration, as such only one or two ponies looked out on the scene from their grey stone houses. With a crash two of his guards tore the door from its frame, in lieu of the key for the lock, revealing the three militiaponies and guard within. The guard leapt out and seemed like he was very intent on hugging Swift but a stern look from the sergeant quelled his enthusiasm and the stallion settled for an emphatic thanks. Two mares and another stallion followed the guard out trembling with fear and relief.

“Sort yourselves out, we’re leaving in seconds.”

“But were cuffed sarge” replied a mare, for some reason feeling the need to rear up to present the heavy steel cuffs.

“You have wings” deadpanned Swift, “and it’s sergeant. Honestly I think this militia business has gone to everyone’s head. Pony up for Luna’s sake.”

With a dismissive snort he walked around the carriage where six of his ponies had the three griffons pinned. Two were unconscious; the third was very much awake and bleeding from a minor slash to her leg, her screams were muffled by a rag stuffed in her mouth, a terrified look set in her beady eyes.

“Why has no one knocked her out for this?” demanded Swift. The uncertain looks of the guards were all that answered him, until the hen spat the cloth out.

“Please don’t pony, you can’t clip my wings, it ain’t right!” she yelled, pleading with desperate eyes.

“You forget soldier, we do the legs too” snarled Swift. “But it’s better than killing you and with a year of effort and healing you’ll be right as rain,”

“Oh fuck you.”

Swift simply cracked her head in with the rim of his shield and she slumped to the ground, soundly unconscious.

“Right, get that finished up, stuff them in the cart and topple it on the door’s side, should buy some time.”

With that Swift turned away and made a few hoof gestures to the clouds above, a pegasus descended briefly to wave back. Satisfied, the sergeant yelled the ponies into order and they took off racing for the cloud cover.

---

Canterlot, Equestria (the following day)

With news from Trottingham reaching the mainland that morning the meeting of Equestria’s council of war was brought forward to the morning. In the plain council chamber, merely a barren room with a long oak table painted the usual Canterlot White. The two sisters had gathered what could be called the leaders of the Royal Equestrian Army together. The fact that there was only one pony who was not an alicorn was a worrying reminder of the army’s leadership problems.

Around the chamber the walls were barren, with the exception of a large map of the world on the wall opposite the entrance. This particular room had been set out with war in mind; obviously though it had not seen much use for the last thousand years or so, as such the customary paintings and windows were gone, leaving blank walls for documents and magic projections.

Of the six figures sat around the old oak table two were human. Markus and Willhelm sat in the respective robes of their orders, their individual weapons laid bare on the table as was customary. The golden hammer of Markus’ added its own magical shine to the simulated daylight in the chamber. Willhelm’s sword was also placed on the table, leaving his staff resting against it

The other bipedal figure was the hulking form of a minotaur dressed in heavy chainmail and ludicrously oversized spiked pauldrons. A helmet with holes allowed the bull’s horns to protrude from the top and he laid a hand over his two handed battle axe whenever his mind wondered as if second nature. Ferrus Animus appeared mighty happy to be attending a meeting of such importance with only three hundred warriors to call on, the fact he was a mercenary rankled with Markus something fierce. He detested sell-swords, he despised beastmen. In truth Markus was more than a match for his innate hatred of such things and his opinion of the giant figure was forcibly neutral.

Both princesses were present too in their usual regalia. Neither of them had laid their weapons on the table, their blades were conjured and as such were not physical weapons. That and Celestia’s old weapon would have melted through the table in moments. The other pony and final attendee was Captain Shining Armor. He was dressed in his officers armour, a vigilant expression etched on his face. The twin swords that accompanied any unicorn guard’s war barding were set before him as was his helm.

With a delicate cough Celestia signalled she was ready to speak. An orderly had left the room leaving a few jugs of water and glasses for the council and she was ready to start.

“Now then, I believe you all had time to become acquainted outside so I shall begin proceedings. A few hours ago messengers from Trottingham arrived with new information that changes the invasion plans. Under orders from the king civil disobedience in Trottingham is being treated as insurgency as the reinstated Sergeant Swift Wind can attest to. He managed to save four of his ponies from execution yesterday and they revealed the griffons were planning a dramatic and violent crack-down on the populace.”

Celestia lit up her horn and the map across from her shifted under her influence. The beachheads that were outlined last time the council had met were marked once more. Manehattan and Fillydelphia were outlined in a fine white light.

“We believe Manehattan is the ideal target for landing, excellent port, closest point to Equestria Minor and to the Khanine route. Fillydelphia is possible but they don’t have any reason to expect us to try and stop them, not that we’re in any shape to. My point is if the ponies of these cities can expect that sort of treatment then it may be best to evacuate them. We were originally expecting them to bypass population centres but if this is a policy then they may be looking to hold ground rather than march on Canterlot.”

“They certainly have the numbers for population control” agreed Markus.

“Precisely, as much as I would prefer to give the REA as much time as possible I cannot allow my subjects to be exposed to that kind of brutality.”

“But their sacrifice could buy your troops time!” boomed Ferrus, his voice was loud and brash almost as if he spoke in a permanent state of shouting. “As my people say; no victory without sacrifice, be prepared before you roll the dice!”

“Ferrus, while I see your point I am not willing to allow this to happen to my ponies” responded Celestia sternly, a single look portraying her distaste.

“That and the effect on morale and the perception of the leadership could suffer” added Willhelm.

“I agree magistrate” added Luna. In turn she lit up her own horn and a wealth of information appeared. Little blue blocks appeared in rows across the table, ten by six. The first three and a half rows were marked with horns crossed with swords. Another two rows were a mixture of wings and other symbols; lance, sword and shield, Guard helms. There were a few other symbols mixed in amongst the blocks too.

“Remarkable!” commented Ferrus. “I’d have killed for something like this in past campaigns!”

“The current disposition of our forces stands at this. Using the legion system the 62,000 ponies are separated into blocks of a thousand each. The horn and sword mark mixed units of earth ponies and unicorns, thirty six legions in total. The two crystal markings are the Shining Phalanx obviously. The single block with the horned helm is the unicorn section of the Royal Guard; the two with wings and helm are the pegasus sections. The rest are pegasi legions split between eight light lancers and eleven heavy legions. Oh I forgot two blocks . . .” Two more blue stacks appeared at the rear marked with a gold crown and a gem. “These are the nobles. They have taken up their old titles as knights and will functions as heavy Infantry.”

“An impressive force Luna” complimented Markus. “In the Empire states typically struggle to raise and arm 30,000 at short notice, although a nationwide call to arms can understandably raise much more.”

“Thank you Markus, I believe my sister was right when she said that our ponies may surprise you in their resolve” replied Luna with a smirk touching on smug.

“Indeed she was. I am always happy to be proven wrong in such cases.”

“Anyway” continued Luna, standing on her four hooves and pacing around the table, “those with numbers too few to function as legions are here.” Luna’s magic materialised three more blocks. “We have here the Human contingent as one block under the symbol of your hammer; thirty four Greatswords, twenty two of your retinue, fifty four Halberdiers, thirty two Crossbowmen and five Pistoliers. The next is yours Ferrus, three hundred in the stack with your axe on it. The final group are my personal retinue of four hundred thestrals drawn from the Tartarus Guard.” Luna finished by marking a blue spot beside Canterlot, the army’s position.

“Thank you sister.” Celestia spared her sibling a nod before taking control of the situation. “Regarding the evacuation I plan to use the pegasus Royal Guard to oversee as their reputation and training will overcome any obstacles with the local populace. Any comments?” she offered looking around at the assembled group.

“Yes,” replied Markus, “I am given to understand that crops along the Manehattan/Fillydelphia region are ripe for harvesting. That being the case I suggest a Scorched Earth policy, forcing them to rely on their own provisions and stretched supply lines.”

Celestia stroked her muzzle with a pinion thoughtfully although a hint of a frown crossed her elegant features. “That’s a lot of land Markus, the resources required would be vast, the damage great and public opinion in those areas may suffer, which may in turn inhibit the evacuation process.”

“Yes, but in my experience, of which I have much in fighting defensive battles against an enemy who has to cover large areas of ground with minimal provisions may I add, the effect on the enemy is well worth it. It is also a show of resolve to friend and foe alike.” Markus rose from his seat and strode over to the map still lit up by the sister’s spells. “According to the scale of this map we’re looking at 100,000 hectares of farmland or so?” asked Markus with a look at Celestia.

“Across their advance route, assuming they don’t try to cross Neighagara Falls or the marshland to the north for some insane reason, then 120,000 hectares for the region. I should say I am still not sold on this idea Markus.”

“Look Celestia, this strategy has worked before countless times. Deny your enemy resources and at the cost of a day or two of training for say, four legions of pegasi, and we could buy more time for the army as the griffons and dogs are forced to remain with their supply columns. The effect on morale among the common soldier should help if we are to fight them in pitched battle, although such a thing is unadvisable.”

At this Luna spoke up following on from Markus’ advice. “I must say sister he makes a compelling argument and his advice has not been wrong before in such things.” She had retaken her seat beside her sister and began writing in a neat slanted script on some paper.

“Do the rest of you feel that way?” asked Celestia.

“Yes!”

“My friend is rarely wrong in such things Celestia.”

“Yes princess.”

“Then so be it” conceded Celestia. “Although with evacuation we will have to divert troops to help build camps to cater for the refugees.”

“I would suggest drafting in workers but I know your opinion on that” added Markus with a smile.

“Of course Markus, however I think we will find volunteers easily enough if I ask the newspaper agencies to make a request” she answered, matching his smile. “With that decided then it is best to act sooner than later.”

With a spurt of magic, she rang a bell on the other side of the door and a stallion in Royal Guard armour walked inside. Despite wearing war barding it was easy to make out this stallion had golden fur.

“At your service princess” he said, sinking to a bow.

“For the sun’s sake Flash get your armour enchanted, you stick out like a sore hoof” chastened Shining Armor practically glowing with anger at the poor discipline.

“Guardspony” addressed Luna brandishing a paper with her writing on it. “Here is a list of orders,” with a quick flash of her quill she added a note to the bottom. “That note is for you, go see the armourer. You’re a Royal Guard; uniform is not a matter of personal preference.”

With that the humbled stallion saluted and marched swiftly from the room.

“Right” began Luna, “Our next order of business is a matter of some urgency. Following Captain Nightshade’s death and the burial of him and his wife yesterday we are left with the unenviable task of finding his replacement.” Solemn expressions reigned as the princess of the moon looked around. “Today we were going to congratulate Nightshade and Shining on their appointment as generals, but nonetheless captain congratulations.”

Her comment was echoed around the room with the same reserved approval, even by Ferrus.

“Typically in the past a general’s armour was forged by Celestia upon his appointment. I’m afraid that there is no time for that but when there is time I am sure she will be happy to oblige. Anyway with Nightshade’s passing I am in need of a second general. The issue is that apart from Shining we have no real stand out replacement. Nightshade was the only captain with any real combat command experience, the only other pony being Sergeant Swift Wind but as we are all aware he’s commanding the resistance in Trottingham, I doubt he would abandon them.” Luna once more utilised her magic creating a profile of three ponies

The first of the three was a unicorn with a dark green coat and brown mane. He looked to be an older stallion with the odd strand of grey in his mane and the preliminary wrinkles under his violet eyes.

The second was Forlorn Wind. He had his distinctive Equestria Minor/Major coat. A navy blue patch over his right eye contrasted against his royal blue coat. His appearance was alike to his actual physical form in every way. The movements mimicked those of when Luna first met the stallion, wide eyed with a mixture of surprise and anger engraved in the pupils. The image taken from the first time Luna met Forlorn in the skies over Canterlot.

The third and final pony was another stallion albeit of a radically different variety. This one was a thestral like Nightshade before. He had the same sickly yellow eyes and deep midnight blue coat. His left fang was chipped and his mane was heavily cut into leaving it short to the point of balding. He had a hungry look in his eyes, the fuel of which was undiscernible.

“The three best I have to offer are Malachite Night, Forlorn Wind and Bella Noctis. Forlorn Wind has proven himself a number of times, notably at the Battle of the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters, forgoing orders to remain by the Elements of Harmony’s side he engaged in the battle and kept the changeling forces off of the humans until the Elements could transfigure the bulk of the enemy. His latest achievement is the pacifying of a particularly militant diamond dog group outside Ponyville without a single casualty; although with the use of human Greatswords who I must admit are the best regiment on this planet by far.”

“I wouldn’t go that far!” exclaimed Ferrus with evident disapproval.

“I would” Markus responded plainly. “I’ve seen them defeat minotaurs in the Old World, Deamons, Warriors of Chaos and the elite of the elves of Naggaroth. When your troops can stand against soldiers with literally millennia of experience, then, then you can claim otherwise.”

“Please, this is not the time. As I was saying he has proven himself and has exceptional strength of will. However he is prone to losing himself in his emotions to the point of counteracting orders, these examples are as numerous as his merits. As much as he is his father’s son Forlorn is still a way away from a command such as this.

“The thestral nominee, Bella Noctis, is a sergeant from my personal guard. He does not have the command experience of a captain as such but during the Tartarus uprising two years ago Nightshade was forced to split the guard between him and Noctis. Noctis acquitted himself admirably both strategically and physically and was a natural shoe in for captaincy. He’s ambitious but level headed, I would add that his lifestyle is on the more amorous side which had affected his reputation in the past and saw him passed over for promotion before in favour of Nightshade who was a more respectable and older candidate.

"The third and final nominee is Malachite Night. He has served as Captain of the Fillydelphia region for fifteen years. His work in law enforcement for the region has resulted in a crime rate of almost zero. That said while he has excelled in this the talent does not directly translate to a more militaristic approach. He has very little physical experience in conflict meaning he has the least experience of the three candidates where warfare is concerned, but his ability in law enforcement strategy does compensate for this somewhat. As such what do you all think? Each has their strengths and weaknesses.”

The six beings present went over the finer aspects of the three nominees for quite some time. Shining had a clear preference for Malachite, Luna for Noctis and Ferrus for Forlorn with the two humans and Celestia uncertain or silent. In the end it came down to Markus to offer a definitive answer.

“Right” he began placing the palms of his hands on the table and looking around. “To my understanding there is a clear solution here. I know Forlorn personally, I fought beside him at the castle in Everfree. He is a good soldier and my captain can attest to Forlorn’s skills. However, though it pains me to say it, he is too young and hot tempered to command on a general level. At the Everfree he abandoned the Elements of Harmony after seeing just three of his command fall. When he is responsible for ten legions on the left flank and rushes off to engage in any battle that is not progressing adequately though?

“I consider myself a fighting commander however in any engagement of large enough scale I will only join the battle once all regiments have been planned for or committed, to do otherwise is to court defeat. As such the other candidates are proven to keep a level head. Furthermore Malachite’s complete lack of military scale experience rules him out. Permit me to speak of yourself General Armor, but your experience is limited to the marshalling of the defence of Canterlot, which failed although through no fault of your own. We cannot afford to have two generals with limited experience when there is an alternative.”

“Your deduction is sound Arch Lector” replied Shining Armor sharply, even if the allusion to his failure during the Canterlot wedding evidently grated on him.

“Thank you general. Noctis may not be an officer but he has all the qualities and though his personal life is to his detriment, I am of the belief it is of little importance, after all Pieter shares the reputation Noctis apparently has and I can guarantee Pieter is much more prolific. More than that he may not be an officer but the REA’s command structure is sorely lacking in that regard anyway, one more compromise for a candidate of proven worth should not prove damning.”

His statement was met with a contemplative silence but slowly the others gave their approval. With the matter of command and structure sorted, the meeting came to an end. The assembled leaders got up from their chairs to depart, waiting only on Celestia to officially call an end.

“Thank you all for your contribution today” she said with a grateful expression and soft smile. “We only have two days now and still so much work to do before the alliance makes its way onto Equestrian lands. But I know we have hope and although the other races may think our cause lost, just as those among us doubted Equestria’s resolve, so too will they be shown their misguidance.”

Comments

[The dead Pixel Brony]

I prefer Warhammer 40K, but have always enjoyed listening to tales of my friends campaigns in the fantasy area. I'm enjoying this intensly, and look foreword to the next installment.

[FleetlordAvatar]

And so, we shall go to war!