Fallout Equestria : Black And White

by Philweasel

Chapter 5.8 - Between Loved Home and War's Desolation

The Bastion was the last remnant of Junction R-7, where Gawdyna Grimfeathers first met Littlepip and the NCR was born. Admittedly that was a rather false statement as all the original buildings were long gone, still with its heavy metal fences, sheet metal construction and dusty parade grounds Regina always felt like she was stepping into the past whenever she visited. The bastion itself rose above, white washed like the rest of the city but still clearly standing apart, a tower of steel bristling with weapon emplacements and sensor equipment.

The building was rarely used, the normal garrison forces for the city only needing less than half the capacity it supplied. Now it buzzed with activity, the gates thrown open for the militia forces of the city… both professional and volunteer.

Regina took the executive elevator up to the command centre, stepping out into a beautifully appointed and rather overdone room, still looking so new that it might well have been a shop display piece. To Regina’s knowledge it had last been used during the Enclave invasion four years ago, the only time since its construction that New Canterlot had been threatened by an invading force.

A statue of Blackwing, the first general of the NCR, dominated the rear of the room, wings proudly extended. Below stood her replacement, the now most senior general in the country. Regina privately had her doubts. It wasn't that Steel Edge was incompetent. In fact his career was almost entirely free of demerits and major disasters. General Brigadine had called him one of his most reliable, and in his youth Steel Edge had been a mighty warrior.

His officer career however was also entirely free of distinction. The elements of harmony had met him several times during their adventures, and without fail they would end up having to do everything themselves. Steel Edge was loath to act without a three month consultation as to the pros and cons. It made him great at waging a long term operation to rid a large area of bandit activity, when thoroughness and cost effectiveness were more important than haste.

Defending a city on the other claw... “How are the preparations going?”

“Defensive lines are all in place, in several layers should the walls fall. Field hospitals and ammo dumps have been set up in positions shielded from bombardment, and protocols have been set up for destroying them when being overrun becomes a possibility.” He nodded proudly, “I have also draw up plans for our final defence, should it come to that. The palace and bastion are both built well, and will prove challenging for our foes to take.”

Regina wasn't so sure of that. Unfortunately the palace in particular was a martyr to its aesthetic qualities, it was taller than all the other buildings around it so it could be seen throughout the city. She had no doubt it would be the first place the zebra guns would target. And speaking of which, “How is the evacuation going?”

Steel Edge nodded, “Well underway. The museums of the city have all been cleared, and the majority of the civilian population have left the city.”

That left a few notable exceptions, “What about Canterlot university, and the palace?”

“Canterlot University has been... simply abandoned Lady Arbiter.” Steel Edge gingerly explained, “Due to it's design, it's useless as a defensive structure. As it also sits on the edge of the city, beyond the reach of our secondary defensive lines further on.”

Regina raised an eyebrow. Canterlot university was a icon of the NCR, “The libraries?”

“Have been shielded magically.”

“That won't stop an artillery shell!”

“I've been told the books should survive, even if the building itself does not.” He explained. His shoulders lifted in a sad shrug, “The books are hard to transport Lady Arbiter, as is much of the other equipment there. The staff decided that we would simply do our best to make sure it is outside of the scope of the invasion.”

Regina felt that belief had holes in it, “What about looters?”

“If they want to delay their advance in order to loot the largest complex in the city, from a military perspective I would not complain.”

It made her feathers itch to think of invaders in the corridors of the university where two of her children had been educated. Still... “What about the palace?”

“Underway.”

“Underway?!”

Steel Edge shrugged, “Your husband is in charge of those efforts. I suggest you ask him.”

¬

Sebastian winced as the stone cracked, a tiny fracture running through Littlepip's face as the statue of the Lightbringers was slowly pulled away from the wall. The labourers all worked with the greatest of care, still as the iconic statue was loaded on a palate it felt the most gross vandalism. The huge hole now left in the wall of the palace entrance hall didn't help, for twelve years it had been the first thing every visitor had seen coming in.

He had made the mistake of wandering the corridors. This was the heart of the NCR, and the bare walls were portraits had hung, the bare brickwork where statues had stood, the empty display cases... it felt like they had carved it up for jerky, “I had wondered what the zebra would have thought, if they had walked through this place and saw how beautiful it was.”

His father chuckled, “I thought you hated this place.”

“I did?”

“A pretty shell, hiding criminals and liars.”

Sebastian admitted those words were his. Still... “I think I've become a little more idealistic. Or a little less.”

His father simply shrugged, “I leave politics to your mother. But art, that's my field, and it would be a sad thing to see all this destroyed. Hmm...” He turned, smiling softly as he looked across the hall, “Speak of the devil.”

“Percival!” His mother shouted as she moved across the hall, looking furious, “What are you still doing here?”

“Still got quite a bit of work to do yet.” His father explained, waving at the statue behind, “All the paintings have already been sent out of the city, but the statues were a little more difficult. None of them were ever meant to be moved, some of them were outright part of the structure.”

His mother did not look happy, hiding her face in her claw, “The city is surrounded Percival! How do you expect to get out?”

“I might be a fat old griffon now, but I'm still a Talon.” He explained proudly, “We take our spoils and we break for the skies, just like the old days.”

“That's not going to work Percival.” She protested, her voice pained, “They'll send out their anti air robots and cut you apart. I've heard what they can do to an unencumbered griffon, let alone one carrying a half ton statue.”

“Still...”

His mother threw a light punch, bouncing off his arm and quickly quieting his protests. Her voice was filled with both affection and worry, “And stop puffing out your chest you dumb turkey, you were a data analyst.”

“And tactician.” He pointed out, nodding in confidence, “We're got Rain Fall's sixth, a whole unit of pegasi. They've promised to watch our backs as we fly out of here.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Pegasi?”

“Reggie, I'm surprised at you.” His father answered, frowning at her suspicious tone, “What would Calamity think?”

“They're not Dashites Percival, they're from the Rainbow Cloudsfields. They only joined the NCR because they knew we were the winning side.” She dropped her head, pausing in thought for several long seconds before her expression firmed and she looked up at him once more, “The Enclave have invaded again.”

“What?”

“It's not common knowledge yet, and we're trying to keep it that way.” She sighed, frustration edging across her face, “But we knew it was coming.”

Sebastian had heard several ponies speculating, “Our air fleet is gone. We're wide open.”

“They've taken Chicacolt.” Regina explained, “The garrison straight out surrendered, and honestly I can't help but agree with them.”

“I don't see what this has to do with our evacuation efforts though.” His father somewhat stubbornly declared, “The Rainbow Cloudsfields still stand with us... unlike a few other places I can think of.”

Sebastian hated to say it, but he kinda agreed with his mother, “But what if they turn on us in the middle of the battle?"

“They won't.” He firmly declared, resting a claw on his wife's shoulder and looking her in the eye, “Because I believe in the NCR, and I believe in those who march under its banner. And... I believe in you Reggie. You'll get us through this.”

She couldn't help smiling, a blush across her cheeks, “Thank you Percival. I'll try not to let you down.”

¬

Perceval considered himself a man of peace, his days of battle far behind him. Still he did feel a little thrill as he stood among a troop of battle hardened pegasi, his own somewhat considerable gut squeezed into combat armor. It made him feel strong, young again.

...he kept this to himself, now quite ready to admit to a midlife crisis just yet, "Are we all ready?"

"The artefacts are all loaded and limbered up." The pegasi flight leader announced, looking up at the skies above Canterlot, "The wind is favourable, and low level visibility is good."

"And the enemy?"

They have a great number of scout bots positioned in the clouds above."The flight leader replied, before shrugging it off, "They're not equipped for battle. They're likely simply for high altitude recon and watching for any intervention by our fleets."

Percival winced at the mention, "That don’t exist anymore."

"They don't know that." The flight leader reasoned, "But we should be long gone by the time they get their air forces off the ground, especially since the fastest route would take them straight across our anti-air turrets."

Percival nodded cheerfully, "Then lets get going!"

They hit the skies, Percival scanning with his binoculars as the pegasi moved to flank and the porters carefully lifted each of the large crates carrying the artefacts off the ground. The tether cables groaned against the weight but soon they had them perfectly balanced, winging above the walls and making for the horizon.

And then a desperate radio message hissed through, "Watch the skies! Incoming!"

He looked back, watching as a steady stream of projectiles were launched from the zebra camp from some kind of specially fitted robots. They flew in a high arc about the cloud cover, the few shots let off from the city missing them completely.

He admitted that the speed and angle would suggest they were firing at them, but it seemed a rather odd choice of attack. How could they ever hope to hit a moving target with artillery?

And then the first projectiles started to rain back down, as expected almost entirely wide of the target. The flight leaders directed those who had been correctly targeted out of the way, Percival pretty certain they were safe...

...until the projectiles ignited engines and boosted straight at them, extended wings fluttering and machine guns firing.

The pegasi turned as the aerostriker swarm approached them from both sides, their commanders ordering them into position. They looked nervous, for good reason. The little machines outnumbered them quite heavily.

And the alicorn at their head also gave them reason to pause. She flew on glowing wings, her skin polished steel and her eyes glowing with cold, mechanical fire. She held back a little, letting her machines go first... yet as they made their final approach her horn ignited with fire.

“Evasive manoeuvres!” The flight leaders shouted.

An energy blast shot out from the mechanical alicorn’s horn, cutting through the support wires for one of the crates and causing it to lurch to one side. The griffons carrying it were sent tumbling, the crate scattering pegasi as it was pulled across their defensive lines. The aerostrikers flew in for the kill, Percival shouting for the others to make a run for it as chaos erupted all around them. He fought to keep his composure as a pegasi captain nearby had her wings near torn off by the entrapping wires of one of the aerostrikers, the mechanical alicorn strafing across their lines with the heavy machine gun built into her side. Some of the pegasi charged her but her horn maintained a heavy shield and her body shrugged off what small hits they landed, her odd flight profile making her movements very difficult to predict. She seemed to be flying using some sort of anti gravity drive, which was high end pre-war technology.

And then his interest was returned, the alicorn turning her eyes to him. She floated forward, allowing him to witness her up close. She was astoundingly beautiful, and terrifying in equal measure. Her voice echoed, a slight griffon accent there, “Percival Grimfeathers.”

He looked to his fellow griffons, struggling to avoid the assault, “Call off your machines, we are civilians...”

“Exactly. And that is your sin.” The machine replied, “Sacrificing their lives, and for what? Trinkets? Monuments to the arrogance of your family?”

He wouldn't have that. He could take insults to himself, his family, his country... but art itself? “This is our history!”

“No. This is lies.” The machine replied, levitating up at broken shard of what used to be Celestia's face from the ground where it had fallen, “What place does Celestia have in your council chamber? Do any of you even know her politics, what she stood for? Or does it simply make you feel important?”

“She inspires us to greatness!”

“She inspires you to arrogance.” The machine spat back, “Fooling you into believing you are carrying out her will with your self satisfied egotism, adopting shallow approximations of her rule without understanding of the context or the values behind them.”

Percivial couldn't believe it. He couldn't understand it. He certainly didn't like it, “You're killing innocents because you disagree with our choice of decoration?!”

“A perfectly simplistic understanding of my motives.” The machine smugly replied, magic sparking up its horn, “I am doing you a favor. If you cannot understand your history, then I shall take if from you.”

“Do what you will.” Percival declared, proudly thrusting his chest forward. He would be damned before he gave her the satisfaction, “A Grimfeather does not cower in the face of death.”

“Gawdina's brother died begging for forgiveness.” The machine replied with a tone of cold satisfaction, “And both Gawdina and Gerald died choking on their own vomit, lacking the strength even to speak.”

“And yet they still retained more dignity than you.” He proudly replied.

The machine had no expression, still the anger was clear as she angled her horn downwards, energy winding up the wires within its horn. Behind, the pegasi defenders continued to fight against the swarming aerostrikers... a battle they were clearly losing.

¬

“General!” The radar operator shouted across the bastion control room, looking down at his console “We have incoming cloudships!”

General Steel Edge knew that could only mean one thing. Their fleet didn't exist anymore, which meant it could only be... “The Enclave.”

¬

Something streaked by, slamming into Percival’s side and pulling him away at the last moment as the mechanical alicorn’s horn blast flew wide. The machine turned to follow their progress for a moment... before her attention was pulled up to the skies as the clouds parted.

The Cloudsdale anthem boomed out as the ships burst through the cloud cover, pegasi swarming from their launching areas. Defence turrets locked on, sending out a stream of high calibre fire that cut apart the aerostrikers, pegasi guiding the Canterlot defenders to safety.

He looked down at the mare who had caught him, staring into her furless, melted features, her off centre eyes... “Ditzi Doo?”

She just smiled.

And then his attention was distracted away, towards the booms of Caesar's artillery. Shells flew outwards, detonating amongst their troops and ploughing into the cloudships. One caught fire and dipped a little, the damage making it clear that all of them were light frigates that would not last long against any kind of bombardment.

And then another ship came down from the crowds, right above Canterlot. Artillery fire seemed to just bounce off it, despite the clear damage it had already taken. Once a beautifully decorated vision in gold and marble, now its steel skeleton was exposed in many areas, several places caved in and propped up with what looked like the most slapdash of repairs. Most of its guns didn't even seem capable of firing.

And it stood between them and Caesar's guns, proud and defiant as it shrugged off everything they could bring. And even through the damage, its name still stood emblazoned across the hull.

The Twilight's Fall.

¬

“This is Captain Shields of the Twilight's Fall, reporting.”

“And Councillor Flutterflash of the Rainbow Cloudsfields, reporting.”

General Steel Edge couldn't believe what he was hearing, “The airfleet is still under repair, how could...”

“I did what I said I would.” Flutterflash replied, proud and defiant, “I went back to the Cloudfields and asked for volunteers, pegasi willing to defend Canterlot against invasion. This is every cloudship able to mount a gun and carry soldiers, willing to fight and die for the republic.”

“And the Twilight's Fall's weapons might be out of commission, but it's armor has proved it can take its share of hits.” Captain Shield replied.

General Steel Edge was boggled, “You've deployed an airship without weapons?”

“As long as we can fly, we can serve. For the republic sir.”

He shook his head clear of any further questions, this was the time for action, “Tear their aerial units apart, and then flank round the sides of their camp. Caesar's supply camps are totally exposed, hit them hard!”

¬

Sebastian ran to the walls as the airships hit Caesar's camp, both hopeful and terrified in equal measure. Their fast flanking at least ensured they quickly moved past the firing arcs of Caesar's fixed artillery, still there were plenty of mobile weapons capable of hurting them. Huge sentry bots fired their missile batteries in waves, infantry bringing rockets and heavy machine guns to bear. The first airship in the wave quickly found its prow breached, leading to a series of explosions as rockets detonated all along it's insides. It tried to hit the camp but lost altitude too quickly, slamming down and tearing itself apart well clear of any enemy.

The others carried on regardless, bathing the enemy camp in fire. An artillery piece took a direct hit and was torn clean of its moorings, then an incendiary bomb struck a supply post and consumed it utterly.

An airship took a bad hit on two of its engines, veering sharply off course and losing altitude rapidly. Another suffered an internal explosion so severe that it near blew it in half, the front end spinning away in an expanding cloud of debris.

The pegasi came in behind, weapons flashing. They span and dived beautifully, avoiding enemy fire as they unbuckled their grenades and sent them bouncing amid the camp, destroying supplies and scattering Caesar's forces. It was awe inspiring... but there just wasn't enough of them. Pegasi dropped from the sky in droves, another airship blooming with fire as it's armor was penetrated. Sebastian looked at the wall commander, stony faced as he viewed the devastation, “Can't we help?”

“We're outranged son.” The pony replied, “The battle would be over before we'd even started to sally out.”

And then she came down, a flash of bright balefire. A cheer went up, Sebastian's heart in his mouth as he watched her descend. A companion of Littlepip, an element of harmony...

Ditzi Doo veered sharply upwards just above the camp, sending out a shockwave of energy that he felt even out here. The camp was upended, zebra near the impact zone flung a good twenty meters through the air. Structures toppled, a huge war robot thrown off its feet to crash through a sentry tower in a spectacular fashion. The NCR soldiers all let out a tremendous cheer...

...that turned into a moan as Ditzi's wing suddenly exploded off her body and she was sent tumbling through the air, limp and unresponsive.

“NO!” Sebastian cried, just about to take flight when a solider caught him from behind. The delay forced him to realise that he would never get there in time, but still... “Let me go!”

And two pegasi swooped down, caught Ditzi in midair, and sped away through a plume of obscuring smoke.

¬

“Third Pegasi Swoopers here, Ditzi Doo is secured, moving for medical evac.”

“Stratonimbus here, just us and the Cumulonimbus left, both heavily damaged. Admiral Stratos Jumper and Councillor Flutterflash presumed lost, please advise.”

“Twilight's Fall reporting, we have to withdraw. Any further damage and we risk falling on the city.”

“This is Percival Grimfeathers, the surviving artefacts and scholars are clear, no hostiles in sight.”

General Steel Horn nodded gravely as the reports flooded in, already weighting up the results of the attack. He clicked the send button on the radio as the expectant faces of his staff looked to him, “All air forces, withdraw. Make it to safe harbor and fix yourselves up...” He paused, unsure what really could be said, “You've done the republic proud. This is our first real victory over Caesar's forces, and we won't forget that.”

“Roger Canterlot. Make sure it wasn't for nothing.”

He nodded, “If we sell our lives half as well as you did, they'll never see past the front gates.”

¬

Caesar panted in equal parts exertion and terror, stabbing his longsword into the ground and looking at the blood that coated it. This was just the second time he had to fight outside of an arena, and the first time he had actually killed a real opponent. He... hadn't embarrassed himself at least, looking across at the pegasi currently crumpled upon the grass a short ways distant.

He was then forced to acknowledged the dozen that surrounded Oteka, having to admit that he had suspected that her combat skills might have declined with age. That was clearly not the case, “Oteka... are you ok?”

She finished chugging down a healing potion, eyes narrowed as she scanned the surrounding camp, “Personally my lord, I am well, but of your army I cannot tell.”

He acknowledged the hint, firming himself up and striding out towards a group of panicked looking zebra, “You there! Round up as many as you can, start putting out these fires. You! Find a doctor and set up a medical camp, bring all the wounded you can find here for treatment!”

They saluted and sprinted off, Caesar looking about for anywhere else where he could help. He was just about to head towards a group of collapsed tents a little further out when something hard hit him in the shoulder and he was knocked to the ground. It annoyed him a fair bit, figuring someone had ran into him. This feeling was only inflamed further as Otaka jumped on top of him and tried to roll him across the grass, “Otaka, what are you...”

As he looked to her however, his attention was diverted to the rather huge hole in his side, leaking a steady stream of hot blood.

He decided to pass out at that point.

¬

Regina stood at the war room table, looking across the map at the NCR that had been laid out before them. It looked depressingly bare, “Have the air forces and my husband managed to get to safety?”

“Yes Lady Arbiter.” General Steel Edge acknowledged, moving the couple of pins indicating them across the board, “We suspected that Manehatten might turn our forces away, so as not to risk provoking Caesar. Instead we have retreated to the Lighthouse at Grimfeather peak. It’s almost invulnerable to attack from the ground and a fair way from their forces, so they should be safe there until repairs are complete.”

Regina sighed, “How long will that be?”

“Five months at least.” Steel Edge reluctantly acknowledged, “And that’s merely the repairs on the Twilight’s Fall and two surviving Frigates.”

Regina admitted she had been asking for miracles, “Are we expecting any relief from elsewhere?”

Steel Edge levitated a stick of chalk, using it to mark off a large area of the NCR, “This area here is now under the effective control of the Enclave.”

Regina frowned, noting that the area included... “My daughter’s talon company was out that way scavenging for resources.”

“Yes Lady Arbiter.” Steel Edge reluctantly acknowledged, “It was those talon forces that provided most of our intel. We ordered them to lie low and obey radio silence, so unfortunately we are currently unaware of their situation.”

Regina nodded grimly, aware that allowing Kerida to join the talons was always a risk. In fact she was likely safer out there than here, “And the rest of the NCR?”

“All other territories have declined our requests of assistance.” Steel Edge stated, “I’m sorry.”

Regina shook her head, “I’m sorry. This was on me.”

Steel Edge sighed, “Look at Caesar’s army. A dozen species, come together as one. I remember what that felt like.” He shrugged, “Now we’re facing oblivion because we’ve forgotten how to work together.”

Regina smiled a little, “We’ll let’s hope they never learned.”

¬

Rose Twist blinked away the headache forming as she stood within the rather hastily repaired command tent of the Alliance forces, listening as the arguments passed back and forth. With Caesar still recovering from his wound the need for firm leadership was never more apparent, and Rose realised she might have been somewhat spoiled by spending most of her career serving under Pangaea, who encouraged a friendly, family like atmosphere among his staff. She just didn't know how to deal with... this.

“We should have had more resources assigned to defence!” General Gavosh shouted, looking pointedly at her as he did so, “We were humiliated there! The damage they did...!”

She hesitated to point out that she was a strategist, not an engineer, and as the largest army camp preparation and deployment was Caesar's... and by that measure, Gavosh's... responsibility. Still assigning blame would make her no better, “There was a mutual agreement that it was not worth the resources. The NCR airforce was destroyed, as were all armies in the vicinity.”

“Obviously not.” King Aspen observed.

Rose took a moment to muse to herself that the chain of command went Caesar – Pangaea – Ariel – Aspen, which put the deer technically in command. It made the fact that he clearly was only interested in snark from the sidelines even more frustrating, “Ultimately, this is a very small setback. It will still be impossible for them to defend the city against our numbers."

¬

“We're all prepared for the attack Lady Arbiter.” Silver Bell informed Regina as they travelled to the walls, lined with brave defenders and covered in hastily constructed fortifications. A troop of robe clad mages trooped past, Silver Bell giving them a warm nod, “It should hold against anything they can bring.”

“Reggie please.” Regina asked, always feeling extra uncomfortable with her title or full name being used by old friends. Sure they had never been super close, but Silver Bell had met Littlepip before she had, “You're finally going to get the opportunity to save Equestria. How does it feel?”

“Terrifying? Heartbreaking?” Silver Bell noted with odd cheer, “I started studying magic because I thought I could be the element of magic you know?”

“But?”

“I just saw my adoptive mother shot out of the sky, and the city I call my home might soon be on fire. Set by zebra, the same race as Miss Zenith.” She sighed, shrugging her shoulders, “Peace suits me.”

“We'll have it back.” Regina reassured her, patting the unicorn on the shoulder, “Get back behind the front lines.”

Silver Bell raised an eyebrow, “You're not coming?”

“They need to know their leader stands beside them.” Regina replied, then gave her a smile, “If you're right, I shouldn't be in any danger right?”

“Testing my confidence?” Silver Bell chuckled, “Good luck Reggie.”

Regina nodded, then proceeded up the stairs to the wall. The zebra army was arrayed before them, ready for the charge, Regina looking left and right as soldiers threw her salutes. Their faces were scared but determined, hope fighting back against the fear. It was good, “All of you! Remember, this army is fresh off beating us twice now! They're confident, they're sure that the NCR is weak!” She smirked, “So watch the look on their faces when they break against our walls! Because that is what it's like to underestimate the resolve of the New Canterlot Republic!”

A cheer sounded out, soon fading as a rumble sounded out across the other side of the battlefield. Regina looked across at the hoard thundering towards them, big robots in front wielding slab shields to protect them from attack while well drilled squads marched behind. She noted many of the troops were clad in power armor. She certainly appreciated the irony, that the zebra had more power armor than them, “Hold! Let them get closer!”

Canterlot's army huddled in their defensive positions, wincing every time a shot thudded into the concrete nearby. The walls shuddered against the impact but they held, which is more than could be said for the city behind. An artillery shell streaked overhead and slammed straight into the tourist district, buildings that had stood since the founding shattering apart like eggshells. Above their heads defence turrets sent out a constant stream of fire at Caesar's hoard, before inevitably falling silent as return fire tore through their armor.

Caesar's army was almost upon them. Some of the robots behind had huge battering rams, perfect for shattering their walls and letting the tide of infantry inside, “Get ready! Mages, are you prepared?”

The mage behind nodded, then ignited a blue light at the top of his horn and held it aloft. The voices of Caesar's warriors could be heard now, yelling insults in a mixture of zebra and Equestrian. The shield robots moved aside, the infantry and breaching droids charging in...

Regina yelled her order, “Now!”

The mage changed his horn color to red, prompting his fellows below to ignite their horns at once. Blue runes exploded into life all along the wall, and with a fierce roar... it rose. A vast shield of energy, soaring up into the sky to gather together in a perfect dome above. Immediately the impacts stopped, the zebra's fire thudding into the shield with only small ripples to show for them. Regina ducked out of her command post, levelled her pistol at a unlucky zebra solider trapped just beyondthe shield, and fired. The bullet passed through the barrier without impediment and took the stallion's eye out.

“Warriors of Canterlot!” She screamed, “Show them fire!”

¬

“What is this!?” Rose Twist yelled as she watched the energy barrier expand around the city, then had to deal with seeing their attacks bounce off harmlessly while the defenders swarmed from every nook and cranny to fire down upon their army with no issue at all, “Shields don't do that... right?”

“Um... Equestria was working on monodirectional shields before the war.” Caesar's unicorn advisor Starstrike began, sounding appropriately nervous, “But to not only possess this technology, but be able to deploy it across a whole city...”

“I don't need a critique!” Rose yelled, watching their battleplan fall apart, “How do I stop it?”

“Well, as you can see.” Starstrike waved a hoof at Canterlot, “Brute force will work eventually...”

Rose turned, watching as a badly battered breaching droid reached the shields, then delivered two mighty blows from its ram. The result shattered a great hole through the barrier, allowing the troops behind to rush through... straight into the waiting guns of the defenders. The breaching droid itself was swiftly blasted apart, and the troops then realised they had no way past the wall behind. Rose watched in open mouthed horror for a moment before shouting out her orders, “Retreat! Order the retreat!”

¬

“They're retreating!”

Cheers went up around the city, Sebastian unable to believe it. It can't have been that easy. He looked up as artillery rounds continued to rain down, only now they struck against the shield of shimmering blue light that surrounded the whole city, “So this is the power of unicorn magic...”

He shook his head clear and grabbed an ammo crate, hauling it down the street towards the front line. He would like to have flown but they had banned it for now, judging the threat of sniper fire too high.

He saw the jubilant defenders on the wall up ahead, firing their weapons in the air and clapping each other on the back as they celebrated. Sebastian noted that it kind of made him feel his ammo hauling duties were being taken for granted, but figured if they had truly driven the zebra back they deserved to celebrate.

And there she was. It wasn't like he was checking up on her, but there was a reason he had taken this duty. She was carried down from the battlements on the backs of cheering ponies, grinning widely as she enjoyed the attention. They delivered her to the commanding officer, placing her down before him and speaking in exited voices.

And as Sebastian drew close, Elegant Waters turned her head to him, her smile growing even wider, “Sebastian!”

The officer, a rather portly earth pony, followed her gaze. He struck a salute as he saw Sebastian, “Even better. It is a rare honor to be granted distinction by a Grimfeather.”

Sebastian wasn't sure what was going on, “Distinction?”

“These solider her tell me that young Elegant Waters here scored eleven confirmed kills, with thirty two shots. No one else shot better, and I'm pleased to have the authority to bestow the Black Wings of the Republic upon her.”

Sebastian looked down at her, feeling a queasy feeling in his gut. He looked at her innocent face, a child really, remembering how she had cheerfully wound daisies in her hair and named her cuddly toys, “You killed eleven zebra?”

“And ponies.” She corrected, her expression beaming, “Guess I take after my dad huh?”

He would never have thought it of her, “Are you really ok with this?”

“To be honest, I've never liked anything more!” She gushed, “I like shooting, but this... it's so much better. To know how much rides on each shot you make, hearing the sounds of battle as you focus on that one single point... she uttered a deep sigh, “I've never felt anything like it.”

“She really does have her father's blood.” The officer proudly stated, handing Sebastian the medal, “If you would?”

And her father's money, to pay for all those shooting lessons, and the fancy rifle hanging off an even fancier battle saddle. Sebastian looked at the medal, black wingsexpanding outwards. It seemed like bad luck, to name a medal after a warrior who had fallen in battle, “Congratulations Elegant Waters.” He looked up at that youthful, innocent face, full of dreams and possibility... like many of those she had killed, “I know you're going to continue to make all of us proud.”

¬

Caesar looked across at the map of the area, collecting his thoughts. Rose Twist stood just behind, likely thinking he was going to have her head chopped off or something. She didn't need to worry, he knew where the fault lay, "It seems we have gotten overconfident."

"Yes sir." Rose started, "I should have considered..."

"We should have considered it." He stated as he turned to her, "You made the right choice, pulling back."

"Thank you Lord Caesar." Rose stated, nodding her head gratefully, "Though I'm sure you would have thought of something better. Respectfully, I am a naval logistics officer first and foremost. I am a poor choice of second, but no one else was stepping up."

Caesar admitted his officers were... underperforming, especially after a few of his best had fallen to sniper fire. And appropriately given half his numbers had been drawn from a nation of pirates, Rose's predicament wasn't unique. Star Fall had provided him with dozens of admirals, and few generals, "What about Princess Radiant?"

"She has been... reclusive." Rose answered, "Mostly she hides within her camp administrating, while we provide the Lost Legion orders through one of the drones. No one has seen her since the aerial battle, apparently she is repairing damage she suffered."

Caesar wasn't that surprised, honestly he trusted the machine about as far as he could throw it. He noted the Lost Legion had a tendency towards excessive caution in battle, letting living equines take the bullets in their place. They provided a huge amount of heavy firepower that he needed, and his forces were still quite capable of shutting down any betrayal... but it still worried him. If they turned on him in the middle of a battle the Lost Legion would certainly be destroyed, but it might well cost him a battle. And robots could be fixed.

Still, the issue at hoof, "You said the shield was impossible right?"

"Yes sir. Either they have an alicorn princess, or... some kind of big magical artefact." Rose nervously explained, "Nothing else could maintain a shield so large and resilient."

"Excellent." Caesar stated, a smile creasing his face. If it had a focus, a point of failure... this he could work with, "Maybe it's time we considered other avenues of attack."

¬

Silver Bell walked the city, inspecting their handiwork with not a little bit of pride. It felt like... validation.

Despite the illustrious history New Canterlot University was trying to evoke, in truth their magical studies department was widely viewed as a bit of a joke. All the truly powerful sorcerers had declined to join, which left a scattering of underskilled scholars who spent much of the intervening years trying to acquire enough magic to teach. Furthermore she had heard that spell use was dying out even before the war, with magical engineering being able to duplicate most of its applications in a way that was reusable, open to all races, and often more powerful. It said a lot that she was the dean of magic, considering that she was a twenty something with skills that would shame a true practitioner of the arts.

And yet they had saved the city. This shield had been put in place by sorcerers, repaired by them, and activated by them. She noticed admiring glances when she walked the streets in her robes, where as once they had laughed. They were getting twice as many applications to join, to the extent that they were going to have to turn many down.

She spotted one of her colleagues ahead, his horn glowing as he scanned it across the white stone of Canterlot's outer wall. This was one of the rune areas and was somewhat out of the way and difficult to reach, hidden down some winding alleys and mostly obscured by some of the more poorly built buildings in the city. As such it was in rather poor repair, which meant it required nearly constantly maintenance, "How are you doing Ether?"

Ether turned, nodding in satisfaction at his handiwork, "It should hold strong against the worse they can throw. In truth it's a marvellous design, we should have studied it earlier."

"Well we'll have plenty of time once we've saved the city, we..." Silver Bell then paused, her eyes catching the tiny flutter of light as it travelled away from the wall. She was intimately familiar with the effect from her time spent with Zenith, "Shields!"

Ether knew well enough to not question, adding his magic to hers and forming a shining teal bubble about themselves. It likely saved their lives, a huge explosion tearing through the wall and sending rubble and flames crashing into the surrounding buildings. Silver Bell allowed the shockwave to wash across them before dismissing the shield, switching to a light dispersal spell and blasting it across the area.

As she feared, two cloaked figures flickered back into vision, zebra faces turning to glare across at them.

Silver Bell flung up a forcewall and used it as cover, firing off a horn blast at the zebra. Ether did the same, though his aim was better, striking one of the zebra and knocking him to the ground as her shot went wide. Ether went to fire on the second but the zebra was ready this time, rolling across the ground and flinging a short javelin that cleanly speared Ether through the throat.

He gurgled and dropped, Silver Bell feeling her composure drop like a stone as her mind flashed back to her youth, "Ether!"

The fallen zebra rose, clearly uninjured from the horn blast. His companion finished Ether with a sharp thrust of his knife before advancing on Silver Bell with the steel still dripping blood. Silver Bell threw caution to the wind, placing every last drop of magic she had into her next spell. It made her head ring like she had been hit with a hammer, burnt her magic out instantly... but the two zebra both paused as their eyes rolled back, both dropping unconscious to the ground after but a moment.

But as Silver Bell looked around with bleary eyes, all she could see was the plumes of smoke rising from sections of the wall all around the city... and no sign of the shields.

¬

"Their defensive walls, watch them burn." Oteka commented, a look of grim satisfaction on her face, "I seems Equestria never learns."

"Classic great war tactics sire." General Gavosh agreed, thumping his chest with a hoof, "Oteka's dragoons have done their duty well, now permit my armies to finish the job!"

Caesar grinned, giving him a firm nod, "Do it."

¬

Captain Endeavour stood at the secondary barricades on Sweet Street, in truth just some wooden fences hastily nailed together, topped with a couple of raised firing positions. It was the kind of thing that would barely repel bandits, let alone an army. He had barely a hundred souls standing alongside him.

And ahead, the broken ruins of the Canterlot walls, the bodies if it's defenders... and the wave of zebra currently thundering through the gap.

"Sir, we don't stand a chance!" One of his sergeants shouted over the sound of rifle fire, "We need to withdraw!"

Endeavour was aware of that. But he also understood the wider battle, "Behind us hundreds of civilians are packing up supplies and evacuating VIP's, while our commanders rush to form a plan to counter these breaches and restore the shields." He looked across the onrushing hoards, "We need to buy them as much time as we are able."

The soldier nodded grimly, then looked upwards, "VIP's sir?"

Endeavour nodded in understanding, then called up to the firing platform, "Elegant Waters!"

The girl didn't look away from her sight, snapping a new clip into place and continuing to fire, "Sir?"

"You need to run back to command and tell them our situation."

Elegant Waters made no move to do anything of the sort. Her response was firm, "You should pick someone else sir, I'm not very fast." She fired again, Endeavour watching as a combat droid slumped with its power conduits cleanly severed, "But I am a pretty good shot."

Endeavour could only agree with her assessment, drawing his rifle and preparing for battle, "You heard her sergeant. We stand together."

¬

Silver Waves hovered above the city, looking across at his alicorn brother and sister as they observed the destruction. The city walls had been brought down in six places and the zebra were swarming through three, the shields completely inoperative. The detonations were so sudden that the defenders were struggling to mobilise to the defence, compounding their already vast numbers disadvantage.

"Silver Waves, report!" General Steel Edge shouted over the radio.

"The attack through the central markets is under control for now, our forces have them flanked. The attack through the museum district is getting bogged down in the street layout, we have skirmishers harassing them as they go." Silver Waves looked across at the attack through Sweet Street, trying to keep his voice neutral as he witnessed the destruction, "The attack through the upper residential district has almost completely routed our forces, the defences have been completely overrun."

"You need to guide reinforcements to that area!" The general ordered, "We have confirmation of further outside aid, but we need to hold just a little longer."

"There are no reinforcements to guide sir, they..." And at that he paused, took a deep breath, and nodded, "On route sir."

His sister looked across at him, her eyes concerned, "Silver Waves?"

"The line needs to be held." He stated, dropping into a dive, "I won't ask you to follow."

He dropped down onto the pavement amid their retreating forces, all of them pausing in shock at the sight of an alicorn standing before them. He added a small amplification spell to his voice, calling out, "All of you, behind me! Get to cover!"

A zebra soldier fired a rifle shot at him, Silver Waves engaging a shield in front and letting it deflect away. He slowly advanced forwards, the wounded and broken NCR soldiers retreating behind as bullets shattered against his shield.

A combat robot fired an armor piercing missile straight at him... only for it to be caught in telekinesis and flung away, his two alicorn siblings landing beside. His sister used her telekinesis to fling down a burning building upon the zebra, his brother blasting them with lightning. Silver Waves felt their magic join his, felt the power of the unity. His voice called out, "Behind us! Fight, fight for the defence of Canterlot!"

The broken soldiers paused, gripped rifles, looked back with blooded faces. Then they rushed behind broken rubble, crouched beneath the hooves of the three alicorns, the zebra advance breaking against them.

Then his sister cried out and dropped, her blood covering the tiles. A heavy bullet speared through his shields and cut across his shoulder, another punching through his leg. He stumbled for a moment, almost fell... he held himself up by more willpower than practical strength, watching the hoard thunder towards them. They couldn't last.

His brother spoke, his voice wavering, "Brother...?"

"We hold." Silver Waves stated, calm and resolute, "For Equestria."

And then the ground quivered, the soil under the large gardens that decorated this area of the city shifting. A thundering noise sounded out as dark figures leapt over Canterlot's walls, scaling the solid stone with ease and moving with sleek, deadly agility. And then he beheld the moment all alicorns feared, now unleashed upon his enemy.

They burst from the ground, blood spilling into the gutters as long, razor sharp claws tore through the zebra ranks with ease. Even as their flanks collapsed against the onslaught Caesar's forces found themselves fired on from above, plasma fire raining down from the long limbed, black clad forces atop the buildings.

A cry went out, "The hellhounds! The hellhounds have come!"

Silver Waves watched in amazement as the hellhounds decimated their enemy, suffering a few casualties but quickly routing their opponent. Once again it was demonstrated for all to see how terrifying a hellhound army was in melee.

But then he saw it, a zebra commander at the back organising a firing line, remembering how equally vulnerable they were to long range fire, "Brother, we must get in front of the hellhounds!"

His brother nodded, enveloping them in teleportation magic and fling them across reality to come out in front of the massed zebra ranks. Silver Waves instantly stepped out with his shields engaged, deflecting fire away from the vulnerable hellhound melee troops. The waited for the barrage to weaken before charging out, one of the hellhounds patting him on the shoulder and pointing up at the roof opposite, "Give a brother a boost?"

Silver Wave nodded and extended a shield above his head, the hellhound leaping up and instantly flung across the gap as he blasted it upwards. The hellhound landed smoothly in the middle of a zebra sniper nest, claws swinging out to make swift work of them.

And then a grenade went off beside Silver Waves, badly shredding his shoulder and causing him to drop his shields. Immediately several bullets caught him hard and he stumbled and fell, his brother looking to him in shock, "Brother!"

"Keep up the fight..." He hissed, knowing they needed to keep up the pressure, "...I'll be ok..."

His brother nodded and galloped off to deploy his magic to the front line. Silver Wave watched him go before slumping against the stone. He wondered if this was what death felt like. Everything felt so cold, and so far away...

...and then he felt the sting of healing potion, looking up to see a female hellhound wearing a medic's uniform. To say the least, he had never been so happy to see one so close, "You came... I thought Ponyville wouldn't help, Golden Harvest..."

"Every hound here is a volunteer." She firmly stated, "We do not need the permission of politicians to defend our homes."

"But these aren't your..."

She silenced him with a glare, then looked to the battle ahead, "We've already won four wars for you. We see no reason to break that habit now."

¬

The medic worked, his every thought dedicated to the patient in front of him. His hooves brushed the syringes in front of him, finally finding the one he needed and threading his hoof through the handle before driving it home.

The boy on the table gasped, and his pulse finally slowed. He looked up at the medic, uncomprehending, "Where... am I..."

"You are safe." The medic simply stated, laying a gentle hoof on the boy's head, "Rest."

"Doctor!" A voice called across the room, coming from one of the nurses triaging at the doorway, "I need your opinion."

He nodded and trotted over, already assessing the patient as he approached. A unicorn pony, though his horn was snapped at an angle halfway up the shaft. He was wearing a colonel's uniform, body absolutely covered in dust. His eyes were dazed, incapable of focusing.

"I don't know what's wrong with him." The nurse explained, "He just wandered in, unable to speak. I can't see any injuries on him..."

"It's alright." The medic stated softly, moving over to look at the young man, "I understand son, I've seen this happen to hundreds of brave young men."

The dusty solider looked up at him, eyes shaking, "I... I d..d..don't understand..."

"I know." He replied, "But understanding will come. I will help you."

The soldier tearred up, cradling his head in his hooves. The medic just watched, quiet, present, waiting for the soldier to be ready to say more. Once the Steel Rangers would have called such soldiers mentally unprepared, weak, cowardly. Another thing that he had always hated about them.

"Everypony, we need to evacuate!" A voice called from above, "Zebra are heading towards this position!"

The medic looked up, "How many?"

"A whole unit! Eight of them!"

The medic nodded, looking back towards the nurse, "Bar the door, walking wounded should escape through the back way."

The nurse gave him a questioning look, "What are you going to do?"

"Buy you some time." He stated as he stepped out through the door. His hoof went to his bag, pulling out a heavy pulse grenade and flinging it against the wall leading out onto the main street. Then he dropped behind some storage crates, buckling his laser pistol and setting it to kill.

The zebra advanced cautiously, weapons out. Credit to them, though they didn't notice the grenade until it was too late. It bleeped once before detonating, flinging three of them to the floor and dazing the others. The medic immediately broke cover, giving him the best possible view as he calmly and methodically gunned them down in order. Two of them got shots off and they struck him in the flank and forehead, still he remembered his old training and stood fast.

It helped that he no longer had any fear of death. They did. They ran, and he let them go. Damn kids who didn't know any better.

“You... you saved us!" A medic exclaimed, moving from the doorframe to look at him in awe, "Like something from Littlepip herself!"

He averted his eyes. He was anything but. This was all his fault, through his foolishness he had brought the zebra here, broken the NCR's ability to defend itself, betrayed everything he stood for. He wasn't here to be a hero, he was here so... he wouldn't have to die a coward. He turned his eyes to the mare, shaking his head, “It was nothing. I... I was a ranger scribe once, still remember some of my training."

Yes, he had been a ranger scribe. Before he had betrayed them, and everything he stood for.

¬

Caesar observed the battle through binoculars. Equestria fought well.

“Sir, our forces have been bogged down in narrow streets.” Rose informed him, “The NCR is gaining back the advantage.”

“Then order the retreat.” Caesar stated firmly, smiling grimly to himself, “We’ve done enough for today. No need to get greedy.”

¬

Captain Gaston made his way back through the streets of Canterlot, observing the damage. The assault had stopped at the secondary barricades but the cost had clearly been high. The bombardment continued, and many of the grand buildings in the centre of the city were little more than rubble. Even the palace was pitted and marked with the evidence of numerous direct hits. The medical points were full of wounded, and many of those still up and working sported nasty looking wounds and tired eyes.

They had lost a good fifth of the city, the area just beyond the walls still swarming with Caesar's troops.

With all that it made sense that he would be called back to account for his actions during the defence, though he questioned its value. He would rather remain at the front lines with his troops, and he still found it perverse how a famous warrior like Steel Edge was stuck in a bunker miles away from the battle.

He was let into the compound, giving him a chance to see the arrayed hellhound legions with his own eyes. He counted about two hundred of them, a terrifying sight to be sure, clad in high end combat armor and carrying more plasma weaponry than he had ever seen in his life. He was aware that two hundred was hardly an army, but personally he would rate each of them as worth ten ponies or griffons. He certainly wouldn't want to face them.

He continued over to the bastion, steely eyed 'all business' soldiers leading him into the general's office. Steel Edge was there, along with Arbiter Regina rather suprisingly, "Lady Arbiter, General Steel Edge sir. I'm presenting as ordered."

"You made it through the battle without injury?" Regina asked, her tone kind.

"Nothing a little healing potion couldn't fix." He acknowledged, "I was lucky."

The general nodded grimly, "You defended your position well. Indeed you confronted the largest assault and incurred the fewest casualties."

"Thank you sir."

"However..." The general continued with a little reluctance, "Your methods have been called into question. Methods that I am forced to address immediately."

“What are the charges General?” Gaston asked pointedly, wondering what was so offensive about not getting his soldiers killed, “I defended the breach, inflicting significant casualties upon the enemy at little cost to my own troops. I stopped them from overrunning the city.”

“In the short term.” The general admitted, “But our nation is built upon mutual co-operation between all races. Your actions go against that, and everything else we stand for.”

Regina raised an eyebrow, then looked straight at Gaston with a rather searching expression, "What exactly did he do?"

The general wrinkled his muzzle in distaste, “He split his forces in two. Ordered the ponies to form the vanguard, letting them take the full brunt of the enemies attack. He held the griffons back, only committing them when the fighting was already underway.”

Regina's poker face was impressive, showing no reaction as she considered this, "So he's charged with protecting his griffon troops, letting ponies die in their place?"

The general nodded, "Casualties among the ponies are five times that of his griffon troopers. Do you deny this Captain Gaston?"

Gaston shook his head. He would do his best to remember that fact for the rest of his life, "No sir."

"And how do you justify this?"

"Griffons make poor heavily infantry sir." He replied decisively, having well considered this, "They are larger than a pony, yet far less durable and considerably lighter. Placed on a defensive line they make easy targets, and cannot resist a charge."

"That is a massive generalisation..."

Regina interrupted the general, her voice calm, "To be honest, he's right. Observe how the Talons fight, we adopted those tactics for a reason."

"Exactly." Gaston acknowledged, "Griffons are more agile and mobile than ponies, and better at shooting on the move and short range gunfire. Therefore I assigned my griffon troops to flank the enemy once they were engaged, using hit and run attacks to disrupt their formation."

The general sighed, shaking his head, "I admit, it makes sense. But still, such tactics can drive a wedge between us."

"Any other day I would agree." Regina answered, smiling across at Gaston, "But we are fighting for our lives, and I know that our soldiers only desire one thing in death... that it be meaningful, and serve our final victory."

Gaston nodded, knowing she would understand. After all, Regina had served herself, "Thank you Lady Arbiter."

"I feel it is appropriate to present those ponies that held the line with a medal, acknowledging their sacrifice." Regina continued, "Laying down your lives for the greater good is a heroic trait, that should be celebrated."

"Very well." The general rather reluctantly conceded, "Thank you for your time Captain Gaston, you may return to your troops."

"And if I may accompany you?" Regina asked, "I'm heading that way, and they insist I receive an escort."

Gaston admitted, this might have him more nervous than went he had faced Caesar's army. Still he wasn't about to turn her down, "I would be honored."

They walked out, Gaston keeping his eyes firmly ahead as they were let through the gates. He felt sure he would blush if he looked at Regina directly, the Reggie Grimfeathers. He had grown up admiring her, the teenage hero of griffonkind. He had never imagined he would ever get the chance to meet her, let alone escort her through a warzone.

"Do you think we can win this Captain Gaston?"

He looked at her in shock, not sure how to answer that. He wanted to be honest, but... how could he? In the end he realised she would know if he tried to lie, “I... no maam.” Gaston admitted, “Caesar could do this all year, whereas we're already running close to exhaustion.”

Regina nodded, “That's my assessment too. So tell me, why hasn't he just launched an all out attack? Why do his forces retreat so quickly?”

Gaston had wondered that too. Caesar's assault had certainly possessed conviction, yet it had petered out quickly in favor of hit and run attacks. It was then that he realised that was exactly what they were, “He's likely concerned about any further surprises like the shield or hellhounds, decided to be more cautious.”

“So he's probing us for threats?”

“And trying to wear us down. I've used these tactics myself on bandits.” He sighed, never imagining he would experience what it was like on the other side, “He's swapping his troops out at regular intervals, keeping them fresh and rested. At the same time the constant bombardments and attacks are keeping us constantly on edge, wearing us down little by little. He's using the mobility of his troops to punch through our lines and deliver maximum casualties, then retreating before we can surround them.”

Regina smirked, a rather unsettling sight, “And it also serves to give his troops some battle experience.”

She clearly hadn't gotten rusty. Still, Caesar's strengths were only half the story, “Yes Lady Arbiter. But if I could be so bold, it's not battle experience he lacks.”

“What is it then?”

“It's trust and communication.” He observed, finally bringing together a theory he had been having for some time, “His formations are very effective, but when they're broken his army falls apart. I don't think many of his deer even speak the same language as the other species, and I've even heard two zebra yelling at each other in broken Equestrian.”

“An astute observation Commander.” Regina noted, a slight gleam in her eyes, “Our initial scouting reports indicated that the zebra lands hosted dozens of different cultures and languages. Star Fall still speaks Equestria as standard, where as many of the more remote areas in the zebra lands only speak their native languages.”

Gaston nodded enthusiastically, glad to be proven right, “We need to find some way of taking advantage of this. It could be our key to victory.”

“It will be commander.”

He looked up at her, a smile playing across her beak, “Arbiter?”

Regina's eyes grew proud, “This is not some doomed venture to save face Commander. We are winning.”

“We... are?”

"The general said it himself, moral is high. We're fighting to defend our homes, against a force that vastly outnumbers us. Each time we hold, each time we give them a bloody nose, it feels like a great victory.” She looked to him, “They're a mob comprised of a dozen different cultures and ideologies, united by greed. They've been told that we're evil, that ponies are responsible for the destruction of the world, yet having met us they see only good creatures of all kinds fighting for a better tomorrow.”

Gaston felt a smile break out across his face. He could almost believe it, “Then we just have to hold out a little longer...”

“And they'll break.” Regina extended a claw, patting him on the shoulder, “Keep up the fight Captain.”

He hit a firm salute, “Yes sir!”

¬

"We cannot keep this up sire." Rose Twist explained as she stood within Caesar's tent, the zebra's expression growing darker with every word from her mouth. She continued regardless, knowing well the value of honest advice, "Moral is dangerously low, and the tide of opinion is turning against our cause."

Caesar gestured angrily as he stalked the tent, "But we're winning! We're through their walls!"

"Winning was always expected." She explained, "The last two battles have been major, crushing victories. But they came within hours, with minimum casualties. This on the other hand marks the second time we have been driven back hard just as victory seemed imminent."

"And we will attack again, and this time..."

Rose sighed, "It's not just the battle sir. We're not just fighting soldiers now, we're invading a civilian population area, fighting militia. Some of the soldiers are becoming uncomfortable with that... especially after what Chigaru did in the last battle."

Caesar grimaced, "Which is why I've banned him from taking the field this time."

"But they all saw it." She explained, "And they're now wondering who's on the right side of history. And the NCR is exploiting that weakness."

Caesar looked up, concern written across his face, "How?"

"The radio stations of the NCR, they've started broadcasting classic content, and commissioning new works about the history of the NCR." She explained, having listened to a lot of it herself. Even though she knew half of it was propaganda, she admitted it made a compelling tale, "The soldiers have been listening to it, and it's endangering sympathy for the NCR."

"Then ban it." Caesar ordered sharply, "Get our own speech writers to come up with some propaganda of our own."

If only it was that simple... "We don't have a recording studio sir, let alone one that will allow us to compete with those production values."

Caesar simply grunted in frustration, thinking for a moment before a slight smile crossed his lips, "Then find one. Scour the parts of the city we control, and turn their own resources against them!"

¬

Zebi looked around at the near untouched gardens, the fields of bright flowers, the statues of wise and learned ponies clutching scrolls and books, the great marble halls that surrounded them and the towering spires that loomed above. His eyes came to rest on the plaque that adorned the wall just a short ways distant, reading the words.

'From ignorance, to knowledge.
From knowledge, to wisdom.
From wisdom, harmony.'

He followed the enthusiastically waggling tail of Blue as she entered one of the nearest buildings, frowning as she continued to chat excitedly, "Isn't it incredible? Canterlot was called the greatest seat of learning in the world, and now its right here around us."

"This isn't Canterlot." He felt the need to remind her, "Canterlot was on that mountain more than a hundred miles distant."

"Well yeah..." She admitted, looking sheepish, "...but just look at it."

He did, looking about as they searched the place. Pretentious inspirational quotes covered the faux marble walls, interspersed with statues of smug looking ponies and doors leading into luxuriously appointed lecture theatres and laboratories. The idea that it was all post war was admittedly impressive, but ultimately he felt it pretended at a sense of history that came across as false at best, insulting at worse.

It celebrated equestrian history, but ended up as insultingly shallow as those inspirational quotes that covered the wall.

"Wow... look at this."

He looked across at Blue, standing in front of a rather fancy door covered in golden gilding, "Have you found the recording studio?"

"No... it's..." She pointed an exited hoof at the nameplate, "Silver Bell, Dean of Magical Studies."

"Who?"

"She was one of the first people encountered by Littlepip, she was calling herself Pinkie Bell, had sawn off her horn..."

He stopped her there, really not having time for a long story, "So it's not the recording studio?"

Her face fell, "No..."

"Then it's not what we're looking for." Zebi reminded her, "We can go sightseeing afterwards."

Blue quickly held up a hoof in protest, "But...!"

He humored her, "What?"

"If she's the city's première sorcerer, she must have worked on its defences." She reasoned, "So there might be important material inside her office that we could use to save lives."

He sighed, "Ok..."

They moved inside, that idea becoming more unlikely by the second. It was a reasonably sized office, wood panelled, looking out over the hills and forests north of the city, lined with bookcases and shelving... all of which was totally empty. Indeed scuff marks on the floor indicated that even some of the furniture had been removed, leaving the room totally bare of anything of any interest.

Blue looked discouraged for a moment before running over to the desk, pulling open a drawer and finding only paper clips and lint, "They must have left something behind..."

"Give it up Blue." He ordered sharply, "It's clear they..."

And then a hole appeared in the window with a loud crack, sending cracks running up and down the glass and causing Blue to let out a little gasp. Her legs then buckled and she dropped, Zebi rushing to catch her...

Some sixth sense pretty much saved his life, ducking his head and only losing the tip of his ear to the next shot. He looked round at the window, seeing absolutely no vantage point anywhere near. He peered desperately, knowing he must have missed something...

...and then on the hill just on the edge of vision, easily a few miles away, he saw the slightest hint of a muzzle flash. He instantly ducked down behind the desk, the round striking the far wall a moment later. He desperately pulled out his radio, dialling up command and screaming into it, "Sniper on middle hill, due north of my position! I'm under fire, man down...!"

He looked at Blue lying beside him, her eyes open and a look of frozen surprise on her face, blood pooling under her head.

¬

Sebastian stepped out onto Sweet Street, once one of the most beautiful residential districts in the city. Now it was a smoking ruin, covered in what looked like hundreds of corpses. They had clashed here, in one of the most vicious battles of the siege. The NCR had pushed them back, but not before they had taken enormous casualties.

And those casualties included pretty much all of Elegant Water's unit.

He moved forward, grimacing as he inspected the corpses. He had seen dead bodies before, he had passed through the field hospitals on his way here... but this was different. Here they just lay about in heaps, detached limbs still where they had fallen. He figured he would be able to identify her, but he realised it was going to a lot harder than it seemed. Some of these bodies barely looked like ponies anymore.

A body about the same size as Elegant caught his eye and he forced back vomit as he stared at the near completely demolished face. His eyes then caught her lollypop cutie mark and he sighed in relief... only to then be overwhelmed by a wave of guilt.

He remembered what Elegant Water's had said about the world not missing one stupid rich girl. Elegant Waters wasn't small for her age, but if this pony was the same size then she was either exceptionally short or a minor herself.

His eyes caught movement, looking about to see an approaching zebra in an enemy uniform. Their eyes met, the zebra friezing for a moment before raising his hoof in what looked like a gesture of peace. Sebastian returned it as he very gingerly approached, noting the zebra was on his own, “Peace?”

“Just here to find friend.” The zebra replied in a heavy accent.

“Me too.” Sebastian confirmed, “What does he look like?”

“Zebra, taller than me, red braids in hair and spiral shaped like this.”

Sebastian watched him trace the shape, memorising it, “I'm looking for a grey unicorn with a blue mane, a mare with a three crown cutie mark.”

The zebra nodded and started searching, Sebastian moving to the other side of the street to do the same. A hellhound plasma rifle had exploded here, gibbing the poor creature and killing many nearby, some of which were too burned to identify. Still none looked the right size.

“Griffon.” The zebra shouted, nodding at a corpse by his feet, “This her?”

He hurried over, prepared for the worst. He noticed quickly that the corpse was both the wrong shade of blue and much taller than Elegant, though she was very skinny. Her cutie mark... a crown, and two crossed swords.

He came to a stop, trying to remember her name.

“This her?”

“No.” He acknowledged, “But I knew her.”

She was a guard at the palace. Had handled his bags when he had first arrived. She had spoken to him at length as she led him to his room, bubbly and casually flirtatious, seemingly determined to make him blush. He had seen her a few times since then, always hurrying somewhere.

He had never actually caught her name.

He sighed and looked around, searching for some likely point. After some proper inspection the battlefield did start to make sense. The hellhounds were around the edges, having kept to the soft soil of the gardens. Ponies lay around a mostly demolished defensive position further on, with many of those here having been shot in the back.

Elegant Waters was stubborn, she would have stayed at her post. So the defensive position. And she was a riflemare so she would want somewhere high up.

A wooden tower had been set up, now toppled. He looked around the area, many of the bodies buried under the debris. But if she was up top when it toppled, she would have been flung clear...

He looked along the likely route and saw it, the stock of a rifle sticking out from under a pile of corpses. Naturally it was decorated and of a particularly expensive model, instantly distinctive and very familiar.

It lay under a griffon in full body armor. Sebastian threw his weight forward but just bounced off, trying again and forcing himself against the griffon with a grunt of exertion. He realised that wasn't working and looked about, spotting a long plank of shattered wood and shoving it under the griffon. It took a moment to position it across a chunk of rubble, apply pressure to the end...

The griffon rolled away, revealing the mangled, bloodstained length of the rifle. The stock was cracked by some heavy impact, a bullet having penetrated through the barrel and up through the mechanism before exiting near the sight. That was the part that was most bloodstained, and the rest of the ground near the griffon was pretty clean.

He looked back toward the fallen tower, spotting the trail of gore and moving to examine it more closely. The cover of fur was unmistakable, grey like her coat. And the shredded bits of flesh...

...an ear.

She had fallen here from the tower, yet had remained conscious enough to lift her rifle to her eye. Then a bullet had entered the barrel, penetrated upwards and struck across the side of her face, shredding her ear.

And then? He looked around for some sort of blood trail, not exactly easy considering how much death there had been here. He had to guess quite a bit, followed a few false leads...

He looked down, seeing the officer who had awarded her the Blackwings lying propped against some sandbags. His stomach had been blown open, but by the looks of the pistol on his lap and the jammed rifle nearby he had gone down fighting to the end.

And his medical kit had been removed, and a clear trail of blood led away from him. Sebastian followed it, moving through the blown out wreck of a nearby building. And after a short while, another corpse, a zebra, his throat cut open... by the twisted remains of a Blackwing medal that lay nearby.

She was here. He looked around for a trail...

"Don't move a muscle griffon."

He looked round with a start, only to be greeted with a gunshot and a whistle of wind right beside his head. He admitted to giving a rather high pitched squeak, especially as he beheld the troop of zebra all pointing guns at him. He fought through the tightness in his throat to quickly state his intentions, "I'm a non-combatant, no threat to you!"

"Good." The zebra stated, "Then why are you here on a battlefield?"

"I'm looking for a friend." He stated, trying to look as trustworthy and harmless as possible, "I'm just a scholar, a scientist."

The zebra leader smiled, "You're the knowledgeable sort then? A student?"

"Yes." He stated quickly, "So if you just let me go..."

"I don't think so." The zebra stated with a broad smile, "You'll be coming with us, scholar boy."

¬

The medic stepped through the streets of the city, supplies mounted on his back. These would ensure the ponies in his care would live another day, see another sunrise. He didn't know how much that would help in the long run, but it was something at least. Even if it was a totally lost cause, each life saved had to count for something.

The city, the city he loved... was burning. He looked to the Palace, the entire front caved in and the great hall torn open, most of the left wing completely collapsed. The symbol of the republic, the wonder that Velvet Promises had built.

He kept his head down, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself...

...and then he saw her. Striped hooves, black and white fur, wearing an Equestrian soldier's uniform. He was instantly forced to look up, meeting her eyes. She turned away from the soldiers she was talking to, recognition dawning in her eyes.

She dismissed the two soldiers, then turned her head back to him. He just stood frozen there, trapped in that cold glare... of hatred. Accusation.

She had cut her hair short, "Gloom..."

"Is it true?" She asked, "Is this your fault?"

"Yes." He admitted, looking her in the eye as he said it.

"Then why are you still here?" She stated with cool fury, then a hint of hotter fury as her face tightened, "Why shouldn't I hand you straight to the guards, and have them hang you?"

"I..." His voice cracked, "I can never make things right Gloom, and I deserve worse. But I'm just trying to help fix the mess I've created, in what little way I can."

She snorted, then smirked ever so slightly, "I can't believe your idea of a disguise was cutting off your beard."

"You've cut your hair."

"I'm just aware of the impracticality of long hair on the battlefield."

He looked at her, every inch the soldier. It was an amazing transformation, "Why are you here Gloom? You're a councillor..."

"The council is gone." She stated firmly, "Our chambers are a bombed out ruin. And if you were to ask who did that, most of them would reply, 'the zebra'. So I'm here to remind them that some zebra still fight for the republic, that things aren't so..."

"Black and white." He stated with a soft smile.

She smirked despite herself, "And I fought at the battle of Fillydephia, and unlike some haven't taken the opportunity to get fat and lazy in the time since."

"I got lazy Gloom." He replied, his face falling. He looked at her, quietly pleading, begging for her understanding, "I tried taking shortcuts, thought I could save the NCR with lies and grand schemes. And it's never been more apparent... that it needed more politicians like you, and less like me."

She sighed, looking at him in grim contemplation for several long moments... before she turned away, anger flashing in her eyes, "Don't so much as look at me again Silent Steel. As far as I'm concerned, I never saw you."

He nodded, shouldering his supplies and starting his long, lonely walk back, "Understood."

¬

Sebastian was led through the zebra camp, unable to keep himself from staring around in wonder. A troop of deer stood quietly watchful, clad in armor the color of autumn leaves and wielding copper plated spears. And then nearby a group of zebra and ponies sitting together, repairing and customising sets of Steel Ranger power armor, repainting vivid murals of images he was totally unfamiliar with. There was even some pegasi in outdated Enclave armor, inscribed with the Star Fall and Golden Coast heraldry, "How many races have you got here?"

His zebra escort smirked, looking quite pleased at his question, "Camels, sea ponies, earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, zebra, deer, griffon, robots... whatever Chigaru is." The zebra looked across at Sebastian, "All united to take revenge on you Equestria."

"Revenge?" He expressed with confusion, "For what?"

"For this!" The zebra hissed, "You megaspell us into oblivion, then sit here fat and prosperous while letting all others starve? Well now you see just where that takes you!"

Sebastian opened his mouth to protest, "But we only..."

"That's quite enough." A cool, electronic voice declared, cutting through the argument like a knife. Sebastian turned to see, of all things, a robot alicorn, all silver and cobalt blue. Her eyes shone with a sharp blue light, her voice echoing with clear authority, "Questioning a prisoner outside of control conditions is a poor idea, especially one as... learned as this one."

The zebra looked back at Sebastian, "You... know him? He's important?"

"You are to be commended for capturing him." The alicorn stated, her body seeming to radiate a cold menace despite remaining as still and artificial as any other machine, "But I will take over from here."

The zebra broke out in a cold sweat, stepping back and quickly bowing his head in supplication. Sebastian watched as the zebra then retreated as fast as was still somewhat dignified, looking back up at the strange mechanical alicorn. She was far beyond any machine he had ever seen before, he was no mechanic but knew quality when he saw it. And it seemed she had authority, "Who...?"

"I am the Princess Radient, commander of the lost legion." She stated with cool, sharp tones, looming over him, "And you are Sebastian Grimfeathers."

He just turned his eyes away, feeling dumber than ever. If they knew who he was...

"An important griffon like you, venturing out into enemy territory completely unarmed?"

"I'm not important." He replied, angry at himself, "My training is in biology and ecology, and I'm barely sixteen."

"Boy, you are a Grimfeather." The machine stated with cold anger, "If you don't think that means anything then there's truly no hope for you."

Sebastian noted the anger there, feeling a chill run up his spine. This machine... hated him. Because he was a Grimfeather? Whatever it was, it didn’t bode well, "So what are you going to do with me?"

"Nothing." Radiant replied with an air of smug satisfaction, "Your family built the NCR. I simply want you to record what happens next, watch it all come crumbling down."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes, his fear fading in an instant, "My mother is tougher than you think."

The machine’s voice was smooth, cruel, and utterly confident, "Ah, there's the hope and defiance that built a nation. Watch the city Sebastian. Caesar hasn't even shown you a tenth of what he's truly capable of."

¬

Steel Edge studied the battle reports on the central table of the bastion command centre, tapping his hoof against the metal rim as he cycled through his emotions.

They had given them a damn good fight, and the casualties were in their favor. That was still the case now they were in the city, with their greater knowledge of the layout aiding them in their ambushes and flanking manoeuvres, along with the bastion's elevated position allowing them a viewpoint of the whole city. Caesar’s forces had tried to bring it down many times, but the tower's structure was designed to resist artillery fire. He had lost count of the amount of direct hits that had just bounced off.

Still the simple fact was that they were running low on battle ready soldiers. The constant fighting was taking its toll, and there was the ever present fact that if Caesar simply mounted an all out attack he'd have this place in hours, heavy casualties or no.

"There's another small force attacking from the east side sir."

He looked to the young earth pony manning the console, moving over to observe, "Inform all available forces, prepare to engage."

"Already done sir." The mare then looked round at another screen, "We're still getting some strange readings from the sky too sir."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged, "Like a pegasi, but the displacement is off. We tried to get a look with cameras and griffon scouts, but they both report nothing there. We figured they were sensor malfunctions..."

"Wait..." Steel Edge held his hoof up, that not sounding good after the events of the last few days, "Did you scan for stealth cloaks?"

"That's a unicorn spell sir, we can’t scan at that altitude." She gave him a questioning, slightly worried glance, "Still, you can't fly in a stealth cloak... right?"

"Perimeter alarms!" Another officer shouted from nearby, voice panicked, "Something just breached them from above!"

Steel Edge waved a firm hoof at his officers, aware they couldn't lose their composure now of all times, "Order garrison forces to protect the tower, seal the command room!"

"Sir!"

He gave them a reassuring nod as iron shutters closed on the entrance, "Remain at your stations! There is no way they can get in here..."

And then there was a cacophony of sizzling and crackling from above, then a series of crashes and squeals of metal under heavy torsion. The tiled roof above them cracked, Steel Edge quickly drawing a pistol from his coat and buckling it...

...as the roof totally caved in, a dozen zebra hitting the ground with stealth suits half open and fizzling, bloodwings on their back and submachine guns in their jaws. One barely had a chance to gain his bearings before Steel Edge engaged S.A.T.S and filled his head with a half dozen bullets from his pistol, dropping him instantly.

The other officers all attempted to defend themselves, sadly they were mostly unarmed clerks. The zebra were just too fast for them, Steel Edge watching as his comrades were cut down at their stations. Their two security officers assigned to the command centre came in with their assault rifles, but only managed to take down one of the zebra before they were gunned down by the others.

Two zebra charged Steel Edge, submachine guns rattling. He flung up a magic shield to block their fire, then snatched up a fallen rifle with his telekinesis and fired it across their flanks. One went down, the other was wounded. Steel Edge got close to the second and fired his pistol up through the zebra's chin, ending his life instantly. Another three tried to flank him and he rolled under the cover of a console, then used his magic to short out a relay near them. It exploded, knocking them to the ground with fur aflame.

Five left. He pulsed out a detect life spell, locating two setting up sniper positions and the other three flanking him on all sides. It was a good plan, but this was his battlefield. He cast a quick night sight spell, then shorted out the lights with a shot from his pistol. With the shutters down the room was plunged into darkness, Steel Edge coming out shooting.

One went down to his knife, a quick stab and twist opening him up. He flicked that knife up and kicked it through the air to nail one of the snipers through the windpipe. The other zebra had time to scatter glow sticks by that point, which allowed them to see the second sniper's head messily explode as Steel Edge sighted up with the fallen zebra's rifle and fired a round right into the right side of his skull.

The other two called out and tried to get to cover. His shot the hoof out from the first, then shot out another power relay in front of the second. Once again it exploded into fragments, blinding the poor zebra and knocking his weapon from his mouth.

The final wounded zebra shot the rifle away with a desperate burst from his own sub machine gun. Steel Edge thought quickly and levitated his fallen knife up, charging his magic like a slingshot and firing the blade right into the zebra's neck with a thunk.

And then... it was silent. Steel Edge looked around at the dead scattered about the room, aware that he hadn't taken a single wound in the fight. It made him feel like a young man again. Not for the first time he wondered if he was wasted as a commander, memories of his battles against the Enclave surfacing once more.

"You... you fight like Oteka... a demon in the shape of equine..." One of the zebra coughed, blood staining his teeth, "...but no one will ever know your valor..."

"What do you mean?" Steel Edge asked angrily, a second before he was answered by a rumble beneath his hooves.

...and heat. So much heat.

¬

"NO!"

Captain Gaston looked back at the sound of the cry, his eyes widening as he saw the bastion bloom with fire. Its spine, the survivor of so many direct hits, now was forced outwards from inside. It split, shattered outwards... and the bastion fell. It struck the encampment below with devastating force, the command centre coming away and rolling into its roof before slamming into the side of the palace.

He looked back at the cheering enemy forces, firmed his heart, and opened his beak, "Hit them, while they're distracted! Show these cowards what we think of their spies!"

His sorrow was replaced by pride as his soldiers did just that, some of the enemy busy firing into the air in triumph when they were suddenly rushed by a wave of vengeful equestrians. He whispered a soldier’s prayer to Steel Edge, drew his revolver, and joined them.

¬

"Lady Arbiter!"

Regina swore as she saw the bastion fall, cursing as she looked about the panicked faces standing around the street, "Everyone, rally to me! We need to get to the secondary command station, take control of the situation..."

She heard the familiar whistle, thinking how loud it was this time, how close. One of the nearby soldiers called out and she looked up, seeing the shell fall, watching it descend on her location. She raised a claw up to shield her face...

The building nearby bloomed in golden light, then came apart like it was made of children's blocks. Regina saw the shattered lump of concrete spin at her and tried to bat it away, only for it to tear her claw off at the wrist before slamming into her face.

It was a... odd feeling. She felt her head come apart, with almost no pain whatsoever. There was simply an odd sense of detachment as her jaw shattered, her eye socket caved in. She staggered briefly, then the explosion bathed her body in fire and she was flung to the ground.

She briefly choked on her own blood, watched her feathers fall in smoking heaps with her one remaining eye. And then mercifully, finally... she fell asleep, and the world departed.

¬

Zebi led his forces through the streets, leading them in a tide of screaming and hollering. Their voices echoed through Canterlot, Zebi taking enormous pleasure in seeing the ponies flee before them. He shouted his orders loud, "No prisoners!"

Blue had loved Equestria. Blue had encouraged them to be merciful. She had been a pony, just like them. And they had killed her for it.

"Zebi?" Briarwood asked from just behind, the deer's voice hesitant, "Is this... brutality really necessary?"

"Yes." Zebi replied, watching as the NCR fled in terror, "It was their choice to stay and die. I say we let them be the martyrs they obviously want to be."

Then his eyes turned to an approaching zebra soldier, leading out a pair of defiant looking ponies. They were obviously Equestrian, Zebi barking his question, "I thought I said no prisoners!"

"They're not soldiers sir." The zebra responded, "Civilians. Two adults, two elderly and two children."

"We won't give up our home!" One of the ponies barked, "I built it with my own two hooves, I'm not abandoning it to looters!"

Zebi thought he made his opinions clear, "I said..."

"Zebi." Briarwood interrupted in a calm voice, looking to the soldier with a smile, "Lock them in their home, bar the door. We'll deal with this when the city is ours."

Zebi watched them go, seething silently for a minute before hissing out his words, "Are you trying to undermine me?"

"I'm trying to save you." Briarwood responded, "These terror tactics serve a purpose, cruel as they are. But killing civilians?" He gave Zebi a firm look, "I defer to your command experience, but I technically outrank you. Don't give me reason to relive you of duty."

Zebi let his eyes fall, chastened, "Fine."

They continued on through the city, encountering no more enemy contacts. There were camps and fortifications but they all seem to have been abandoned, Briarwood turning his attention to a row of tents in the middle of a nearby square and the medical supplies piled up there, "We should repurpose this place ourselves, we need a medical camp to support our advance."

"Good idea." Zebi agreed, "Men, secure that location."

They moved forward, scanning the surrounding buildings for enemies and shifting aside the tent flaps. Finally they waved them over, "Position clear!"

"There." Briarwood stated with pride, "Now we can..."

And then the camp exploded.

...Zebi picked himself up, ears still ringing. He was greeted with a sight of carnage, the shredded corpses of his men scattered about the square. Their wounds clearly indicated the ordinance, a nail bomb, the scorch mark on the ground clearly indicating the location. The boxes of medical supplies, "...a fucking booby trap..."

Briarwood shook his head clear, looking with horror at the wounded soldiers scattered around, "Medics! With me!"

He charged out into the square alongside several other deer, their bags already open and bottles of healing potion clasped in their teeth. They ran out desperately, completely exposed...

Zebi was too late to warn them, "Wait!"

Briarwood dropped first, his horns shattering and his head coming apart. Then another had his throat torn out, a third losing the back of his head. The sharp retort that echoed out for each one was clear, a single rifle, bolt action. The remaining deer hesitated and Zebi screamed for them to return...

...but the sniper was too good. The last two deer had their kneecaps shot out, thumping to the ground and crying desperately for aid. He noticed a few of his men moving to rescue them before Zebi fixed them with furious death glares, "Are you stupid?!"

"But we can't just leave them..."

Zebi growled, he had no intention of leaving anything, "The sniper must be in those buildings over there..."

His men saluted, "We can loop round, surround the place..."

"He'll see it coming from a mile away." Zebi had to admit, the most likely position having a good view of all approaches. Not to mention they would likely just run into more boobytraps...

...his lip curled upwards into a wicked smirk. This fucking pony had no idea what he had done, "Bring those civilians to me."

¬

Gloom drew her bandana around her face, tightening it with a sharp tug of her hooves as the choking smoke spread across their camp. It looked like a fuel dump of some kind had caught fire, adding another shitty problem to an altogether shitty situation.

The artillery rounds that had been pounding the area had finally stopped, leaving burning ruins and piled dead in their wake. Some of the soldiers had cheered at that, but Gloom knew the truth. They had stopped because their own troops were drawing in, "What are the state of our supplies?"

"Almost completely depleted councillor." The supply officer reported mournfully, his face black with soot, "The main stockpile took a direct hit, we lost near everything."

She figured as much, "So, are we throwing rocks?"

"And cleaning wounds with spit." He confirmed, "We have a good defensive position here, but we can't hold."

She closed her eyes, "I see."

The officer gave her a pleading look, "Councillor, you must retreat. You've done everything you can."

Gloom looked ahead into the red haze that blanketed the city. She didn't want to die, and dying seemed a waste. Still she had been told by many that her bloody minded stubbornness was her best quality, "I'm not going to give those bastards an easy victory."

The supply officer went to speak, "Yes, but..."

And then a call sounded out, Gloom spinning round to see a group of ponies approach. They were not soldiers, clad in well made civilian combat gear, all scarred and rough looking from what looked like a lifetime of hard living. And on their backs...

...crates full of supplies.

Gloom looked at the lead pony, "How...?"

"We apologise for the delay." The rough looking pony announced, dumping his supplies to the pavement, "But our organisation doesn't normally work in these quantities. Draws unnecessary attention."

Gloom would apologise later if she was jumping to conclusions. Still, only one word came to mind, "Smugglers."

"If you know of us, you should know there are secret tunnels in and out of the city, known to very few." The rough pony announced, voice bearing a frankly eerie level of calm and control, "It seems they have come in handy."

Gloom... wasn't some naive moralist. She understood that not every criminal was some cackling bad guy. Still... "Why help us? I know Regina refused any help from criminals, threatened to arrest you all..."

"Our children go to school at state schools. Our sick are taken care of in the free hospitals. Our profits are made from the needs and wishes of your citizens, and the NCR army protects our homes from far worse than us." The pony stated firmly, "This is our home too."

She nodded, "You're right. And that's why I'm staying to protect it."

"Then unload the packages." The rough pony shouted to his companions behind. He then fixed his gaze on Gloom, his eyes hard but honest, "If there’s one thing you learn growing up on the streets, it’s how to fight for what little you possess.”

¬

Zebi stood proudly in the middle of the square, his soldiers lined up around him. He was perfect prey for a sniper, totally exposed. He hoped it would grab this bastard’s attention, at least for long enough to see who else occupied the square.

The family they had found, all bound and gagged in a line before them, "Sniper! I know you're out there! Come out, see what I've had to resort to!" He waved his pistol at the youngest, a tiny mare of about twelve years old, "Here's the deal. For every minute you refuse to show your face, I kill one of these innocent ponies! Any attack, any act of violence, and my soldiers will gun them all down!" He laughed, "The only way to save them is to hand yourself in, right here, right now!"

He saw movement on a far off building, knowing he had attracted the attention of his prey. Now all that remained was to wait, "Come on, hurry! I said a minute, remember?"

There was no further response, Zebi tapping his hoof in impatience. He knew giving him too long would only allow the sniper time to plan, and he was frankly sick of being planned around, "Maybe I need to make my intent clear!" He levered up his pistol and shot the father through the leg, dropping him to the ground with a scream. The other ponies shouted in distress, Zebi grinning at the sound. If the sniper didn’t come out for this, he had no heart.

But no response came. A minute went by, without so much as a peep, "Do I really need to do this?" He brought his gun up to the head of the father, the pony still whimpering on the floor, "Are you going to make me...?"

He heard a sound behind and dropped, more by instinct than skill. The shot passed over his head with just a brief stinging sensation across his skull, Zebi rolling sideways to be confronted with the sight... of his dead soldiers, throats slit and bullet holes through their heads.

...and among them, a mare that looked for all the world like a corpse, wearing bloody clothes carefully concealing a harness carrying a rather rustic looking rifle. A silenced pistol was clamped in her mouth, a knife buckled to her hoof.

The both fired, bolting from their positions like a firecracker had been ignited under them. She caught his hoof and hobbled him, he however fired high and caught her in the face. It blew part of her jaw off and shattered her orbital, Zebi roaring as he darted in for the kill.

She kicked ash in his face, then bolted. She darted into an abandoned house and jammed the door shut with her knife, Zebi kicking it down and showering her with bullets as she darted further into the structure. At least one hit but she shrugged it off, darting up the stairs and giving a rather buckled support post a sharp buck as she passed.

It came down with a crash, knocking Zebi off his hooves as he followed her up the stairs and sending him tumbling. He cursed as the heavy beam fell across him, forcing his hooves against it. He finally threw it off after a moment or two, charging back up the stairs...

...to see some bloody clothes, an empty vial of healing potion, and not a single hint of where she had gone. He screamed his frustration, looking out the windows, searching the house. Nothing. He had lost her. All that and... he had lost her.

His anger had turned into simply cold wrath by the time he made his way out. The family were still there, just struggling out of their bonds. His soldiers lay where they had fallen.

He had made a promise. Any act of violence he had said.

He lifted his pistol and fulfilled his vow.

¬

Caesar looked upon the burning city, the capital of Equestria, broken under his mighty armies. He had won now, it was obvious. Just a matter of time, "Our forces have all been drawn back?"

"Yes sir." Rose answered, as efficient as ever, "We've resumed the bombardment, and our forces have been ordered to rest for the battle tomorrow."

"Then the time has finally come." Caesar stated with barely controlled glee. He felt like the warrior kings of old, standing at the opening to a thousand year long dynasty. His enemies either now united under his banner, or about to fall before him, "Are you recording this Sebastian."

The griffon nodded mournfully, "Of course."

"Excellent." He stated, chuckling to himself, "Such a moment needs a proper chronicling."

And at that moment another voice chirped up, in a rather... rural equestrian accent, "I agree."

Caesar turned to see a pony standing just a few feet away, a small, soft pink mare standing between a pair of guards. Her mane was a tangled shock and her eyes were bagged and shadowed from lack of sleep, Caesar noting a paint splattered easel cutie mark on her flank, "Who are you?"

"Irrelevant." She stated with a wave of her hoof, striding past her guards without a care, "The real question is 'who are you'?"

"Serendipity?" Sebastian exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

Caesar raised an eyebrow at the strange pony, "So you know this pony?" He chuckled, figuring she must be some sort of artist, "I, my dear, am the great Caesar Incuta."

At this she smiled, wider and wider, until finally she spoke in a laughing, exited tone, “Yes, yes! You are Caesar yes?! You are truly magnificent! A model to create masterpieces!”

Caesar smirked at this. She wasn't wrong, “Well thank you. And you are... an artist?"

“I am Serendipity Strokes!” She declared hotly, looking insulted at having to be asked, “I have painted heroes, villains! But no...” She smirked widely, “...I have never painted an emperor before.”

“So you want to paint me?” Caesar asked.

“No! I must paint you!” She yelled, waving her hoof wildly, “It will be my masterpiece.”

Caesar admitted that he did need a record of his grand victory. To be painted by an inhabitant of the country he defeated... even better, “Very well then Serendipity, I accept your offer. Make it good, and I might offer you a job as court artist.”

“I obey no master save my muse, and require no payment!” She declared hotly, before spinning on her guards, “You! I will begin immediately, you shall bring my paints and easel to a location I deem suitable!”

The guard turned to Caesar. Caesar just offered him a smile, “You heard the mare.”

¬

The Chateau Rarity had once been one of the most exclusive hotels in Canterlot. By a certain standard it continued to hold this honor, the caved in wall on one side and the damaged central dome the only serious damage the building had taken, leaving it one of the more intact in the city. It's somewhat shielded position and proven endurance had made it the central hospital and command post in the city, especially now the bastion had fallen.

Gaston presented his credentials to the guards at the entrance to the premium rooms, ushered forward into what had once been a fancy private bar for first class guests and now was covered in maps, graphs, causality reports and tired looking officers in what was left of their battleworn uniforms. They all saluted, Gaston returning the gesture as he entered. He approached the pony that he recognised as Captain Mirror Shield of the security forces, her head bandaged and her uniform blooded, “Captain Mirror Shield, are you the senior officer on duty?”

“I command the security forces now. All officers senior to me died during todays fighting.” She replied, giving him a hopeless, broken look, “We're estimating over seventy two percent casualties. Of those, thirty six percent are dead.”

“Your officers have held the line magnificently.” Gaston soothed, “With our new reinforcements...”

“Do you truly think they will be enough?” She asked, nodding at the map before her, “The zebra have been seen rolling up artillery, smart money is them barraging us through the night to soften us up before assaulting in the morning. And you know we won't hold.”

Gaston admitted she was likely right about that, “Let any who want to go, go. Make it clear this is our last stand.”

She smiled then, “I already have. Only a dozen or so took the offer.” She looked at him, her hopeless expression firming, “I'm staying too.”

He smiled back, giving her a firm nod. Then his mind went to matters even more depressing, “How is the arbiter?”

“The doctor is with her.” Mirror Shield informed him with downcast eyes, motioning to one of the rooms, “I know it isn't good.”

He nodded, moving over to the door and giving a knock. He was bade to enter and did so, a elderly earth pony doctor and two nurses currently cleaning up in the corner sink. The well appointed bedroom was totally intact, a calm and dignified place suitable for what might well be the last arbiter of the republic.

She lay, bound in bandages, so still that he could think her dead. Regina Grimfeathers, “Thank you for your fine work doctor.”

He nodded back at him, face hard and voice harder, “She's stable.”

“That's good.”

“It might have been a blessing to have left her there.” He answered with a sharp growl. His eyes returned to the sleeping griffon, “She received massive head trauma, swelling all across the left of her brain. I had to remove much of her skull, her left wing is shredded, and there's a machine doing her breathing for her.”

Gaston took it in, unable to process it, “Doctor...”

“When she wakes, if she wakes... she'll be a cripple, looking out over her failure.” He finished, voice cracking slightly from the emotion, “I did my duty, but my heart tells me I'm simply prolonging her suffering. And make no mistake, I give her less than a twenty five percent chance of ever waking up.”

Gaston looked to the solider on duty, “Where is Miss Stephani Grimfeathers?”

The guard nodded in grim understanding, “Calamity assures me that her and her father are in a safe location.”

“Good.” Gaston acknowledged, looking back at Regina's broken form.

If the republic was to survive this day, then they would need a Grimfeather. And he had to accept the grim reality that with Sebastian, Arick and Kerida missing...

...by tomorow a little two year old fledgling might be the last they had.

¬

Oteka stood at the scaffold, prepared to do her duty. Caesar's law was clear, as was his desire to do this clean. They were the good guys, avenging the crimes committed by Equestria.

And good guys...

...they did not execute civilians, "Bailiff."

The bailiff nodded, opening a scroll, "Lieutenant Zebi! Do you understand the crimes of which you are accused?"

The zebra on the scaffold glared out at the assembled crowd, his eyes full of cold fury. He drew himself up proudly, "Do you?"

"The accused will restrict himself to yes and no answers!" The bailiff shouted, looking back to the scroll, "The accused has been proven guilty of executing non-combatants, incompetence, and bringing the honor of Caesar into dispute..."

"Then you're all guilty." Zebi shouted back, looking about the crowd, "Executing non-combatants? What do you think you've been doing by bombarding a city, destroying farmland, setting a hoard of zombies upon enemy encampments?! Incompetence? We still haven't taken this city, still keep losing hundreds of zebra with families, friends, because no single creature in this whole army has the slightest experience in urban combat! And bringing Caesar's name into dispute?"

Oteka waved her hoof at the executioner for the forth time, already planning for him being the next neck upon that noose when he was done desperately fiddling with the mechanism.

"He's the reason my friends are dead, my brother! He brought us here, he's responsible for the death of thousands... because of his ego!" Zebi screamed, "And he's not even here to do his own dirty..."

The mechanism finally engaged, Zebi dropping down to jerk to a stop with a final, resonant crack. All was quiet for a moment before the bailiff spoke once more, "And so is the fate of all criminals!"

Oteka watched the swinging body, listened to the whispering of the crowd. She thought back, to her vow all those years ago.

The Warlord Thassan had been a monster. She had served him loyally, as her honor dictated, but deep down... she hated him. And his elder son? A fool, a coward, a thug.

But Incuta was different. Incuta was sweet, and kind, and smart, and gentle. She had vowed to keep him that way, to protect him, to help him bring his vision of a united zebra empire to fruition.

And as she looked at all this... she wondered if she had failed.

¬

Silver Waves should have been sleeping. Even alicorns needed rest after the kind of strain he had put himself through, but with the shells still raining down, with the threat of attack ever present... if he was to die, he would rather it be with his eyes open.

Ponies looked at him differently now. Before he would always get this mild suspicion, constant questions about the unity and the fact that he must have been female once. Now they relaxed when he walked in the room, looked at him with something approaching awe. He didn't feel he deserved it. When it came down to it he was really a pretty terrible fighter, his only skill planting himself in front of others and engaging his shields.

It made him sad that the hellhounds were still encamped by themselves for the most part. It was their intervention that had held the line. They diligently maintained their armor and weapons, joined together in howls of victory and loss, their slick fur shining in the light of the fires that consumed the city. He looked about as the eyes settled on him, at once not judging the ponies too harshly. It was certainly intimidating being among so many...

"The shieldbearer!" A yell sounded out.

A hellhound rose to full height, a powerful mountain of meat and claws, "The hero of Sweet Street." He nodded in respect, "Welcome to our camp."

He nodded back, his nervousness vanishing, "I came to see if you were doing ok."

"The fires obscure the stars, and too many lie dead." The hellhound answered, before flashing a grin full of jagged teeth, "But we can be proud yes, to have done our duty?"

He was proud. It felt strange even admitting that to himself, "No pony expected us to fight."

The hellhound nodded in understanding, "Have you ever been to ponyville?"

"No, sadly."

"It is beautiful." He stated, drawing in the cold night air and sighing in contentment, "Even before the megaspells, we have never enjoyed such splendour. Ponyville, the heart of Equestria, the birthplace of the ministry mares... it is now our home, and our children grow up strong and proud."

He had never thought about it like that, "You earned it."

"But no pony would ever reward us for what we earned, because we are ugly and scary." The hellhound answered, "But Littlepip and Gawdyna Grimfeathers did. Even though they were responsible for the deaths of so many of us, they went to enormous lengths to make it up to us. Even when it would have been easier to believe us monsters."

Silver Waves guessed that was true. Still... "It's a shame what's happened since."

"We could care less about politics. No one built Ponyville but us, we just hired a pony to go to boring meetings on our behalf." The hellhound laughed, "But when they talk about the history of the NCR, it will be about how we tipped the balance in every war they fought! How our industry propped up the economy!"

A cheer sounded out, the hellhounds slapping the ground and howling at the sky. And Silver Waves had to admit, he had never been prouder to be part of the NCR than in this fine company.

¬

Dawn broke upon the ruined city. Sebastian could only look on in horror at the sight, smoke and fire rising into the sky, the once proud landmarks now nothing but ruins. The palace had collapsed in on itself, he could see it from here. The bastion had fallen, its shattered remains half propped against the buildings that surrounded it. The walls were full of holes, through which the shattered residential districts could be seen.

Caesar smiled as he observed the carnage, “Your city has fallen Sebastian. Record that for the histories.”

Sebastian bowed his head in shame, knowing it was true. The NCR was finished, and Littlepip's dream had finally died. Caesar ascended to the top of the podium that had been built, marching to the microphone that had been installed there and giving it a tap to make sure it was working. The sound vibrated through the camp, all of his army turning to listen. Caesar observed them in pride before speaking, “Look upon your victory, look and be proud! After all these years of pain Equestria is fallen! Together, we have...”

...and then, above the shattered walls of Canterlot, it rose. A banner, blue and white, five and twenty two golden stars surrounding images of Littlepip and Gawd. It streamed brightly in the smoke and flames, a pair of hellhounds holding it proudly aloft. Caesar hesitated as the camp all went deathly silent, soon broken by cheers as defenders emerged all along Canterlot's walls. They screamed their defiance, brandishing their weapons as they climbed upon the rubble and together sang the songs of the republic.

“Th... their walls are broken, their city is in flame!” Caesar shouted, though his voice was cracked, hesitant, “Your prize is there, you must only claim it!”

His army mustered a few half hearted cheers, staring in doubt and concern at the unbroken defenders.

And Sebastian did what he was told, and recorded the history before him.

Comments

[Philweasel]

8698314
This chapter was heavily inspired by Forgotten Voices of the Second World War.

In contrast to the rather more... heroic and combat heavy previous battles, for this one I wanted to focus more on the grind and psychological aspects of conflict. Focus on the little people primarily. You don't really need to know who a lot of these people are, because ultimately they're just normal folk trapped in a massive conflict. And either they rise to the occasion (Gaston, Silver Waves), or collapse under the pressure (Zebi). The idea that in a massive conflict like this, there are hundreds of little stories worth telling.

I like to think that in the future, many of these little stories will become much, much bigger.

[Rakdar]

This any good?

[Philweasel]

8753407
It's overlong and terribly written, 0.3 stars out of ten.

I'm approaching the end of the next chapter, and funnily enough the one after that is almost entirely written too.

[Rakdar]

8760685
Thanks for letting me know, I'll pass on reading it.