Equestria's Ray of Hope

by The_Darker_Fonts

Greenery

Shockingly, the grasslands were far more beautiful than Ray had imagined them. Maybe it was just how bland the scenery of the Golden Plains had become, but he had only expected the same rolling hills covered in grass instead of what they had found out here. The grass was a much darker green than in Equestria, a deep emerald color that glistened in the sun. It was wild and tall, in some areas almost up to his stomach and twice the height of the Fallen, yet it was as soft as silk. There were a number of flowers that grew among the blades of grass, blues, whites, and purples sticking out among the greenery. The hills were a bit more sparsely placed, and instead of hard dirt that would scrape his skin, the soil here was soft and somewhat dense. Rain had recently visited as well, and there was a morning dew that made the whole horizon glimmer like diamonds in the rising sunlight.

The hill they currently were encamped on was a bit taller than the nearest neighbors, though not by much. However, there was a distinctive ring of grayish rocks that created a ridge about ten feet high, allowing access onto it only from the east side. It also wasn’t that large, meaning the camp spilled slightly down its slope. Otherwise, though, it had a perfectly spherical top that gave it a fantastical look to it. With the commander's tent at the very top of the hill, he could see the horizon from within the camp between the other tents.

It had taken them longer than they had anticipated to get here, however. The spiderlings had been off by twenty-two miles, meaning another two days of travel were required to actually reach the grasslands. Then, a third day was spent trying to find a strategic location to pitch their tents while they rested and surveyed the area. While the grasslands were beautiful, it deprived them the advantages of the Golden Plains. The hills and valleys kept the army hidden while immobile and gave them ample vantage points. The ground also didn’t kick up dust, even with almost seventeen thousand Fallen stomping on it, meaning they wouldn’t be able to track the movements of minotaurs or get a warning unless it was from the scouts themselves.

In the north, easily visible from the top of the hill, was a forest that looked nothing like Ray had seen, even from the Everfree. It was hard to distinguish from this distance, being about three miles from its edge, but the trees had a wild symmetry. The forest didn’t just start like the Everfree did but had a small distance of trees that gradually became thicker and larger before reaching the definitive treeline. Many of the trees were at least three times taller than Ray, and incredibly thick, allowing him to distinguish individual trees from one another. He was tempted to take a party and go explore the interior of the forest for any signs of life beyond the rich vegetation, but he knew he’d have to leave that task to the spiderlings.

Hdakdeala had apologized profusely for the inaccuracy of the spiderlings in estimating the distance, and while it was a nuisance to have to extend their plans, it didn’t have any consequences. Ray had ensured the broodmother that she was perfectly alright and that the spiderlings were forgiven since they had given them accurate accounts otherwise. Still, she had a strange anxiety about any mistakes and promised him to immediately investigate the forest herself to ensure no misinformation was shared. In a humorous way, she seemed to be very nervous about being a general with the rest of them. Ray would allow that anxiety to ease naturally.

Today was the first day of being firmly camped, the entire army entrenching themselves and unpacking. The occasional rain had kept the entire march bearable, especially as they neared the grasslands. The soil was able to accept more of the water, and while it became muddy, there were no large puddles they had to navigate around. The rain was also less intense, with only an hour or two of light sprinkling at a time, and never any lightning. The rainwater they managed to collect on the march was about equal to what they had while back at the harbor, if not greater.

It struck him then, as he stared at the remarkably beautiful surroundings, that they had traveled so far. It hadn’t felt like it while on the march, moving in chunks every day towards a distant goal, but now they had reached it. This hill they were camped on was over a hundred miles away from the hill outside the harbor. It sounded like an incredible distance on paper, and truthfully it felt like a long way from where they had been, but he also knew that, comparatively, it wasn’t even a trip from Pittsburgh to Cleveland back on Earth. There was, however, a satisfaction in knowing that he and the Fallen had done it all themselves, walking such a large distance and making it with ease.

“Morning, lordling,” Linium greeted as he turned a corner and came upon the human. The stallion was becoming a familiar face around the commander’s tent. Yarem had taken him in as his only assistant, given the general was only involved in a small number of tasks that would require his assistance. Compared to Kraven’s staff of nearly two dozen, though, it did seem rather sparse. Harbor and Skalos had also employed a couple of Fallen, mostly as messengers for communicating whenever needed within the camp. Even Pelios had three stallions he entrusted with managing communication and giving out orders on his behalf whenever the need arose.

“Good morning, Linium,” Ray replied with a small smile, opening the tent flap for him. The stallion entered without another word, and Ray let the flap fall back in place as he continued to survey the surrounding area.

The grasslands were rather small, as from here he could see the scrubby, half-baked mix of grasses to their south where the Golden Plains and grasslands met, while further to the north he could see the forests. The sparsity of hills in the grassland allowed for him to see far to the west, while in the east he was able to tell where the landscape dropped away to the cliffs around the ocean. There were only a few clouds in the sky, allowing him to see the brilliant blue sky above the grasslands. With the lack of dust hanging in the air, he could see better, the sunlight no longer reflecting off the little particles and making the entire world glow harshly.

Skalos was the next to turn the corner, though his eyes also seemed locked on the horizon. Smiling at his friend and opening the tent flap, Ray asked, “What’s caught your eye, Skalos?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen trees, Ray,” the general answered, finally tearing eyes away with a small, wry smile. “I didn’t even know I missed how they looked. Now I can’t seem to stop looking at them.”

“Well, hopefully we’ll have some time to take a closer look at them later,” the human told him, following him into the tent. Everyone else was already present save for Harbor, though considering he slept in the same area as his army, it made sense for him to be slightly tardy. Knowing the other generals had been listening in, Ray gave Kraven a look and said, “I know Kraven wouldn’t mind a proper investigation into those strange trees.”

“Indeed, they seem like a strange genus, perhaps an odd branch of Equestrian oak,” Kraven mused. Accepting a paper from one of his staff, he glanced at it briefly before telling the group, “All Fallen and equipment have made it to their proper place in camp. No major injuries or missing soldiers to report from the march. The status of the army is tired, but operational. Should the need arise, it can be called upon for battle today, though it’s recommended two or three days of rest before any action is taken again. Scouts have already been sent out, and the spiderlings have set up a den for themselves in the hill three-fourths of a mile northeast of our own.”

“Perfect,” Ray surmised contently. “If that’s the case, then I believe we only have the future to discuss right now before I release you for the day. I want to hear plans, ideas, and predictions.”

“I’ve compiled some information that may be of some use,” Yarem stated, gesturing for Linium to present a piece of parchment. On it, a rough map of everything they had explored thus far was drawn on it, with locations of battles, major structures, and routes articulated. Much of it remained blank, a blatant example of exactly how little they knew of the land they had set about conquering. “This map shows us a rough estimation of how large we believe the continent to be. From everything we know, we have discovered perhaps five percent of the continent, none of which has been habited. From our best understanding, we can guess from the population of the number of minotaurs we’ve encountered thus far that only another five to ten percent of land would be inhabited.”

“So, we need to narrow down our efforts, eliminate wherever we think they won’t be and search where we assume they will be,” Pelios concluded.

“Well, that much is obvious,” Yarem shrugged, still staring at the map. Placing a hoof on the map where they currently set up camp, he began tracing a path. “What I mean to suggest is that we use what we already know to eliminate as much territory in as short a time as possible. We’ve moved a decent way up along the coast, and while we could certainly just continue that way, I don’t think it would be the most efficient path. Firstly, our soldiers haven’t had to march through the forest yet, and I highly doubt there’s any clear paths or roads to take. Therefore, I propose that we head due west for about fifty miles before beginning a wide arch down southwest until we begin heading east, toward the coast again. Optimally, we’d reach the eastern coast about some distance south of the harbor to work our way up from there if we haven’t somehow discovered the minotaurs on our way.

“Though we wouldn’t be outright exploring the interior of the continent, by taking this big outward arch, perhaps we could discover the minotaurs or come across anything that could hint to their whereabouts. We may also be able to find the western coast and properly estimate the size of the continent. Either way, we’d be getting the most out of our venture for as little movement as possible. Preferably, we’d not have to take such a long, meandering journey, but there is no time to waste. Or, perhaps we’ll find and destroy whatever minotaur presence there is and be done with it all. It’s something we need to do, and anything could happen.”

“I would have to object,” Harbor suddenly declared, everyone turning to give the general a look as they realized he had picked up most of the conversation without being noticed. “In my opinion, we should remain in place here for the next two months. We’re in a strange area of the land that’s new and abounding with life. Undoubtedly, this is more likely to host minotaurs and our position is much less hidden. We’ll be able to scout out the approach of any enemy army and prepare a proper defense. We want to remain fighting defensive battles instead of forcing potentially dangerous or hasty confrontations.

“If we remained here, we would have yet another well scoped-out area of the continent to use to our advantage instead of pressing on. Attracting attention to ourselves, forcing the minotaurs to come after us, and beating them will give us an opportunity to follow their shattered army back to wherever they come from, as we have failed to do so yet. In the Golden Plains, it was nearly impossible thanks to the conditions, but here, surely we'll be capable of pursuing them until they reveal what we’ve failed to find for nine months now.”

“But what if the minotaurs don’t come to us and we waste yet another couple months waiting for a battle that isn’t coming,” Skalos challenged, looking concerned. “There isn’t a guarantee that the minotaurs are out here, as lucky and logical as it would be. The minotaurs have yet to present themselves our entire march here, so perhaps they don’t even reside on this part of the continent. What if the base of their society is on the western shores, wherever those are? Then sitting and waiting for them would just further cause issues of allowing the minotaurs to react however they please. Their army could take one look at us and just decide to begin building their strength even further until they overwhelm us.”

“Or we could march out to fight them and get ourselves stuck in some fight we aren’t able to take,” Pelios jumped in. “What if we do find them and begin conquering whatever nation they have only to find it too large or their cities too strong? They could be too large to take by force and then we’ll have plunged ourselves into the heart of the enemy only to be stuck there. The advantage of staying in a cautionary, defensive campaign is our ability to prevent ourselves from getting surrounded. With the sea behind us, they could never strike from behind or surprise us at all. We had dust trails to follow, but now we neither have the sea nor the dust. We can’t make a mistake or rely on environmental handicaps on our enemy.”

“Diving right into their nation would indeed set us up to be encircled and overwhelmed,” Kraven agreed, looking back and forth between Yarem and Skalos. “Such an aggressive maneuver could condemn us to being overrun and destroyed. The minotaurs’ true numbers are still not known, and considering they have lost so many already in what my eyes appears to be a disposable manner, I think we still remain well outnumbered. Caution must be taken in marching out to meet the enemy. I agree; we can no longer sit around and play the stone that breaks the waves. We have to move, we have to find the minotaurs, and we have to end this war. But charging out to meet them is a fool’s errand.”

“Then how do you propose we compromise,” Yarem questioned intensely. Kraven’s stance dead in the middle of the other generals’ extreme views was a precarious one, but Ray agreed with him. They couldn’t afford to sit around and wait for the war to end. At the same time, without any knowledge about the continent and scale of the minotaurs, it was foolish to just go blindly into the heart of the continent. The ocean had been a wonderful deterrent from being surrounded and served as a barrier they didn’t have to concern themselves with, the half of the world that was safe. Leaving the coastal cliffs and delving into the continent’s interior was a frightening prospect, but a necessary step they had to take to finish the war. Still, they needed to take acute caution in their plan to take on the world.

“We could use the outline of Yarem’s plan still,” Kraven proposed thoughtfully, sitting back on his haunches. “If we began to march straight west along the grasslands, our tracks would be hidden, but we could monitor both the forests and the Golden Plains for signs of minotaurs. By marching through the grasslands, we could keep an eye on all three environments we’ve discovered and carefully protect ourselves from sight. We wouldn’t curve back around and take a wide berth back to the coast, rather we’d retrace our steps and decide what to do next if we failed to come across any minotaurs. That way, we have secure knowledge of our path and can maintain a catalogue on what’s where and why.”

“That… could still be a waste of time and energy,” Pelios pointed out, still trying to digest the plan.

“Yes, but so could everything we’ve proposed this morning,” Kraven replied. “We have no knowledge to confirm whatever plan we choose is the best one. The only thing that will ever confirm our fears or show them false is whatever information we’ll be able to gather from the minotaurs, whenever we finally gather it. The ‘ifs’ and ‘coulds’ are all concerns each of our plans has. The ‘ifs’ and ‘coulds’ of this plan, however, are the most harmless, at least in my mind.”

“Kraven has a strong point,” Ray pitched in. “The minotaurs, intentionally or not, have remained discreet and kept wherever they are hidden from us. They take their time to confront us and have shown they’re capable of doing damage. Those are details that should concern us; however, we also have a mission to carry out here. Waiting for the minotaurs to strike could just be giving them time to rearm and revamp their efforts, slowly grating away at our numbers until we can no longer hold. Now we have to begin considering the ‘ifs’ and ‘coulds’ of this war lasting another year, and whatever plans we may need to stop that from becoming a reality. I hate saying it like this, but right here and now we have more soldiers at our disposal than we thought we would. We have the ability to fight a huge battle and press on, or fail at finding that battle and retreating back to the harbor to hold out once again. Kraven’s plan allows for either to happen without major consequences.”

“It does reflect our ability to juggle tactics,” Pelios agreed after a moment of thought. “It has my vote.”

“You have mine as well, Kraven,” Skalos nodded, his face almost unreadable. There was just the slightest hint of concern.

“If this has the majority anyways, I guess it doesn’t matter that I approve as well,” Yarem added in, looking around at the other generals. Only Harbor remained silent, though knowing the others were expecting him to say at least something of his thoughts, the stallion sighed.

“It’s a good plan, I supposed,” the general hesitantly stated. “I don’t agree with charging into battle, but there is a point to be made about the lack of time we do have. I won’t have any dissenting opinions other than what I’ve already said.”

“Then we’re in agreement,” Ray confirmed. “We’ll take three days to rest and see what news the scouts bring back, then we’ll march out due west. How far do we travel until we turn back?”

“Well, in distance, I would say fifty miles at least,” Yarem proposed. “It’s a good chunk into the interior, further than we’ve ever been before, and it’ll take at least four days to make that distance. If we’re concerned about the minotaurs moving up and striking us from behind, it does give them ample opportunities, but it also isn’t that much space they can move through without our noticing.”

“That’s conservative enough of a distance for me,” Pelios agreed, smiling slightly.

“Then that’ll be our plan, then,” Ray declared decisively. “If we spot the minotaurs, then we take a day to strategize before striking, if they don’t rush into battle first.”

“Sounds like a deal,” Harbor nodded, patiently awaiting dismissal.

“In that case, I’ll go tell the Matriarch and Hdakdeala our plan,” Ray informed them, before giving a light salute. “You’re dismissed for the day. Inform your soldiers at dinner.”

With the end of discussion, the generals broke off, but Ray didn’t make it far out of the tent before he stopped in his tracks. Hdakedeala stood in the middle of the path, halfway on top of the commander’s tent to allow Fallen to squeeze past her. For an awkward moment, the broodmother stared at the human and he simply blinked back, bewildered. Shaking it off, he told her, “You could’ve come inside. You’re supposed to be part of those types of conversations.”

“Nothing to add,” she said simply, her eyes wide in what he could only guess was embarrassment. “No space too. The plan is smart. Good balance. Safe.”

“Okay, glad to hear you agree,” Ray assured her, before falling into silence. He really didn’t know how to talk to the curious arachnid, and he couldn’t blame her for not knowing how to respond. While she was certainly exponentially older than the human, her communication capabilities were fundamental at best. He had enough trouble trying to talk to and get along with the dozens of different Fallen, and now he was trying his best to understand how a thousands of years old spider thought.

Without warning, the broodmother turned and began making her way out of the camp, calling behind her, “Going to tell Mother. Rest and think. Much to do.”

It was only after Hdakdeala had disappeared from sight that Ray realized none of the Fallen around him, going about their morning business, had even understood their conversation. With the smallest chuckle, he put two and two together. The broodmother had scrambled his language to be like hers, much like the Matriarch always did. The smaller spider really was learning to be like her mother.

Author's Note:

Fifth chapter of the month, let's go! Can't believe I got it done and God bless the leap year. As always, questions, comments, and concerns welcome and wanted!