Dawn's Candor

by Clarke Otterton

Chapter 7

Dawn woke up in her cot drenched in sweat. Her tent was bathed with light from the morning sun, a portion which peeked through the slit in the tent flap and reflected off the desk’s mirror into Dawn’s eyes. She groaned as she sat up and pulled a stool up to her desk. Her mane was a mess and fur matted. She felt exhausted, with the bits she vaguely felt from her dream reminding her that the morning was chilly. She shivered. She brushed what she could of her coat, braided her mane, and then slipped her tunic on. The wool was familiar and warm. Dawn buckled her saber and saddlebag then step outside her tent to where Cornet Star was waiting, a cup of hot tea floating next to her.

“Good morning, Dawn! I made you some ...” Dawn quickly accepted the mug and drank greedily. “I am sorry about what happened last night,” Star said, casting her eyes downward.

“Don’t be. What happened is in the past. And I’ve moved past it.” Dawn felt better with Star’s words, and tea, but knew she still had not overcome yesterday’s failure. Not yet. She wanted to be positive for the young cornet, though. “Thank you for the tea, Star. It’s the perfect thing to warm me up on this chilly morning. Now then, I have some duties for the major to attend to, if you’ll excuse me.”

Dawn trotted towards the outskirts of camp where her section of ponies was waiting. Dawn was surprised to see that they were already in formation awaiting inspection. She was more surprised to see Sergeant Bic Mac standing in front of them. He saluted as the lieutenant trotted up to him.

“All present and ready for orders, ma’am,” Big Mac said. Dawn returned the salute while trying to keep her confusion from breaking her composure.

“Sergeant Macintosh, I don’t recall asking you on this mission.”

“Major Bolt assigned me late last night, ma’am. Seems you neglected t’ include an NCO in the roster you submitted.” Dawn did not remember submitting a roster to the major. Then again, she did not remember much from the previous night either.

“Very well. Fall into the section.” Big Mac saluted then stepped back and marched to take his place in the section. Dawn walked through the ranks, carefully inspecting the mechanisms of each rifle as well as the ponies’ equipment. Satisfied, she returned to the front of the formation and commanded, “At ease.” The soldiers relaxed. “Good morning, everypony. Today’s mission is of the utmost importance. I have chosen each and every one of you because I believe you have the right stuff. Our route of march takes us deep into unfriendly territory. I expect everypony to be on their guard. Watch out for each other.”

Dawn looked into each ponies’ eyes as she spoke. They looked back at her with steely determination. “Right then. Section Atten-SHUN! Right, FACE! At the trot, forward, MARCH!” The ponies moved in sync with the lieutenant’s orders, smartly marching out of camp and into the veldt to the sound of clopping hooves and clanking canteens and bayonet scabbards.

The first several miles of the march were familiar, taking Dawn and her section along the same route of retreat they had traversed the previous day. Last night, Major Bolt had briefed her that starting at the old battlefield would give her the best chance of finding where the Boerperds took the colors, since they likely arrived at the ridge from multiple villages but retreated together to one in the confusion to flee the battle. Identifying the direction they took would give Dawn the best chance of finding the colors without having to search every other village in the area. She hoped that they would find them in the village closest to the battlefield, a settlement by the name of Paardenburg on her map. The other villages were more than a day’s march from each other. Although Dawn had her ponies issued double the standard three days ration, the longer they were on the veldt the more likely their section would be captured or killed. Or simply forgotten.

The sun moved to halfway in the center of the sky, baking the open expanse of bush and the ponies trotting through it, sweat darkening spots on their red tunics. The sky was perfectly cloudless, a solid dome of blue except for the black dots that circled the ridgeline of the old battlefield.

“Vultures, ma’am,” Crag said as he looked up into the sky next to Dawn. “I bet you they’re getting fat.” Dawn grimaced at the barbarity of the image. The ponies pressed on, passing what had been the battalion’s initial position when the Boerperds opened fire. The lifeless lumps in red formed a straight line through the bush. Dawn was disgusted. The corpses, left in the open air, had bloated into unrecognizable forms. The smell was even worse. Saddle packs, shakos, and a few rifles and bayonets littered the main road, dropped by ponies intent on leaving the battlefield with haste. Dawn hoped the battalion was sending a burial party to clean up the mess. These ponies deserved better.

Dawn led her section up to the crest of the ridge using the same path she had discovered the previous day. The scene was very much as she remembered it, with corpses slumped in the ditch indicating those unfortunate ponies who had been left behind. Dawn spread her soldiers out from the column and instructed them to scan the ridge for traces of the Boerperd’s retreat. She had Crag and one other pegasus fly over to keep watch as they searched.

The ponies scurried through the loose dirt and rock, eyes focused on the tell-tale signs of discarded equipment and broken branches that would indicate movement. However, Applesnack, Dawn noticed, was not looking for clues in the bush but rather inspecting a rifle leaned against a shattered rock. Dawn walked over to the green stallion and raised a stern eyebrow. “Private Applesnack, you seem rather taken by the enemy’s equipment. What about that rifle is so interesting?”

“Take a look for yourself, ma’am,” he replied, shoving the weapon into Dawn’s hooves. She let her eyes follow the intricate striped pattern in the grain of the wooden stock. The zig-zag pattern of alternating light and dark wood gave the weapon an exotic feel. The bolt mechanism, though, was an almost exact copy of the bolts on the rifles Dawn’s soldiers carried. Dawn checked that the weapon was cleared then operated the bolt. If anything, she concluded based on the smoothness of the mechanism, it was an improvement upon the Equestrian design. Dawn handed the rifle back to Applesnack, her expression conveying her understanding to the stallion.

“You see, ma’am, simple farmers don’t just own weapons like these. And I’ve never seen a wood pattern like that. The bolt sure looks Equestrian, but that wood is definitely foreign.”

“How do you think they got them?” Dawn asked. Applesnack growled.

“I’m not sure, ma’am. But I am even less sure of why this particular rifle ended up in the hands of a little filly.” Applesnack stepped aside to reveal a yellow filly, just barely a mare, slumped behind the rock. Dawn winced.

“Luna fucking wept,” she could not resist the oath as both her recollection of her dream and the day before flooded back. Her heart ached for the mare she had killed as she looked over the yellow fur. Her blue mane was caked with dirt and blood, although her hat remained firmly place on her head. Dawn sat down next to the filly. She lifted her hoof and placed it on the pony’s cheek to caress it. The corpse stirred. Dawn backpedaled in horror. The filly was still alive. She opened her eyes which frantically took in the scene around her, then closed again. Her side rose and fell in small, ragged motions.

Applesnack left the lieutenant for a moment and came back with Ditty. Common sense returned to Dawn as she remembered that musicians were also trained as the army’s first line medical ponies. “Single bullet wound to the chest. And she has likely lost a lot of blood,” Dawn told the unicorn as she arrived. Ditty went to work, pulling bandages out of her pack and unscrewing her canteen along with several vials of potions Dawn was unfamiliar with. The unicorn’s horn glowed as she wetted a rag and cleaned the dried blood away before applying a drop of the potion followed by the bandages. She poured another vial along with the remainder of her canteen into the filly’s mouth and eyes.

“This will stabilize her,” Ditty said,” but she needs to get the bullet removed before infection sets in. And the blood transfusion potion I gave her will only last so long.” Dawn nodded, then looked back towards the filly. Her eyes were open again, pretty blue eyes that stared softly into Dawn’s orange ones. She tried to open her mouth to say something, but no sounds came out. Dawn thought the filly mouthed something that started with an “m” and “c” sound.

“Quiet now, you’re going to be alright,” she said.

“Lieutenant, we have visitors,” Crag reported as he landed next to Dawn. “Group of about ten coming from the northwest road. They don’t look armed, but I reckon they’ve already seen us.”

Dawn fumbled with her thoughts on receiving the news. If the Boerperds suspected her section and its mission, then reported that back to one of the villages, it would only be a matter of time before they met her little group in force. The possibility that they had already been sighted meant Dawn could not just hide her ponies. They needed a reason to be here. Dawn looked over the battlefield and found an idea.

“Sergeant MacIntosh,” she shouted. The red stallion came cantering up to stand next to the lieutenant. “Take fifteen ponies and start collecting our dead for burial. Start with the initial deployment area. Keep the ponies busy and try to keep them from looking up at the ridge. We are no longer the only ones out here.” Dawn hated assigning the dirty work to her ponies, especially with only a handful of small entrenching shovels between them. But she also knew it was the proper thing to do, and it might just fool the Boerperds about her actual intentions here.

“Ditty, Applesnack, grab the filly and bring her with us. Crag, keep an eye out while we move then join us by the spur. I want to keep a close watch on these ponies. Maybe they will lead us to where the colors are.”

Dawn watched her ponies move to execute her orders. Big Mac selected his crew then led them down the slope of the ridge. They unfolded the small shovels and began digging. Dawn and the remaining ponies took positions under the cover of the spur while Ditty and Applesnack set the filly down next to one of the few trees. She had lost consciousness again. Ditty place a hoof on the filly’s neck, then nodded with a smile to Dawn to assuage the worried look on her lieutenant’s face.

The Boerperds arrived on the ridge several minutes later. They were unarmed but carried several shovels in a wagon one of them pulled. Dawn pulled out her telescope and watched them dig. A few of them turned to look at Big Mac’s digging party, but otherwise seemed uninterested. Dawn breathed a sigh of relief. She also noted, with curiosity, that the Boerperd ponies were taking the time to dig individual graves rather than the mass sites prescribed by Equestrian service manuals. Ditty apparently noticed her puzzled expression.

“The Boerperds do not believe in the same idea of harmony that we do,” Ditty explained. “According to the earliest sources in my book, they split from the earth pony tribe during the Windigo Blizzard but before the unification of tribes that created Equestria. They believed that true harmony was that which the individual must find within themself. To them, independence and freedom are the keys to creating peace for them and their community.” Ditty’s speech was animated; she had been reading all night to learn that knowledge for the mission.

Knowledge which helped Dawn understand the reality of the current conflict. For a thousand years, the frozen landscape that had hidden the Crystal Empire had also barred entrance into the veldt the Boerperds called home. But this independence had been threatened when the Crystal Empire reemerged and claimed the territory, which despite being arid was rich in mineral resources. The influx of crystal ponies and the new mines they built disrupted the balance centuries of isolation had fostered, leading to violence as the only apparent response. Which was why Lieutenant Dawn and her soldiers were lying face down in a bush on a ridge hundreds of miles from Equestria, watching farmers through dirt over the slain bodies of their own.

Dawn watched the ponies for several more hours, the sun arching through the sky to change the direction of the shadows the diggers cast. The burning in her hind legs made Dawn regret not moving as she lay there. She winced and shifted to look down the road where Big Mac’s ponies had finished their work and were now collecting equipment from the road. A burial party had never arrived from the battalion, but Dawn’s disappointment was mixed with relief that her ruse had not been foiled.

“That looks like the last one,” Ditty said into her ear. The Boerperds threw a shovelful of dirt over a grave and then loaded their equipment onto the wagon. Dawn followed the group with her telescope as they trundled back down the ridge and towards a crossroads. They turned northwest. Dawn thanked the goddesses and pulled herself out of the bush. She brushed the dust off her tunic then started giving orders.

“Crag, fly back to Big Mac and have him rejoin us. We have our destination.” Lieutenant Dawn was coming to Paardenburg.

“Princess Celestia?” The voice, following a quiet knock on the pair of large wooden doors, echoed between the room’s marble columns and arched ceiling. Princess Luna looked up from the scroll she was reading by the last rays of evening light that peered in from the windows behind her. She yawned then addressed the caller. “Come in, Twilight.” The purple unicorn’s eyes widened when she saw the dark blue pony sitting across the room as the doors opened.

“I’m sorry, Princess Luna, I thought Princess Celestia might still be here,” Twilight said as she approached the throne and bowed.

“My sister left early this morning for the Zebra capital. What is it I can help you with?” Luna asked.

“Well, it’s about the briefing a couple of days ago. It’s just, me and the girls really want to play our part, and I think you could use all that we’ve learned about friendship,” Twilight pleaded. Luna’s eyes softened but she kept her mouth firm.

“Twilight, I understand why you are eager to help. You and your friends have a powerful magic together that can solve so many things. But we have made our decision because it is what we believe is best.” Luna sighed. “Equestria is not the same as it was before my return, or even since then. It is bigger and so much more complicated than I remember. I am afraid you and your friends are too few to handle all of the problems we face.”

Twilight nodded but continued her plea. “What if those ponies are hurt? Or the zebras? Or our own soldiers? Wouldn’t it be better if the Elements could prevent that?”

Luna looked away from Twilight. She wiped a tear from her eye then turned back. “Ponies die every day, Twilight. But it is our duty to make sure those deaths mean something. We honor them and we carry on the ideas of harmony they stood for.”

“Then surely there is some way we can help.”

Luna smiled, hoping to hide the melancholy she felt. She thought of an idea that made the smile more sincere. “Perhaps there is something you can help Equestria with,” Luna began. Twilight perked her ears up instantly.

“Anything, Princess. We are ready for any test.”

“What do you know about the Boerperds?” Twilight’s blank look gave Luna her answer.

“Nothing really,” said Twilight, her cheeks reddening. “But I think I have a book on them in my library. I will read through it tonight!”

Luna chuckled. “Do so, Twilight. You need to know that the Boerperds are fiercely independent, but they still cherish harmony albeit a variation of it.”

“What do you need us to do, princess?” Twilight’s horn glowed as she floated out a notepad and quill.

“I want you and the Elements to go visit the Boerperds. I dispatched a battalion there a week ago after several mines were raided. But it appears the battalion’s commander has only stirred up more trouble. The Boerperds have been isolated for a long time, but I believe you and the Elements can convince them that Equestria only wants to be friends. It is vital that you succeed; the diamonds and saltpeter from those mines are vital to our economy.”

“Thank you, Princess Luna. I promise you we won’t fail.” Twilight was ecstatic.

“I will have a train ready for you in the morning to take you to the battalion’s camp. I am also sending my own regiment, the 2^nd Dragoon Guards. They are only there to relieve the battalion currently there and provide protection for you. When you arrive in the camp report to Major Brass Bolt. He will give you details on everything you need to know.”

“Oh, thank you! Goodnight, Princess Luna.” Twilight bowed and turned to walk out of the room.

“Oh, wait, Twilight,” Luna said, a tinge of emotion coming through her voice. “Can you send Spike in.”

“Sure,” said Twilight, her head tilted slightly.

“Thank you, and sleep well, Twilight,” Luna said as Twilight walked out. She levitated a small writing desk along with paper and ink to her chair. The words to her letter came quickly, the product of a day’s worth of rumination. A tear rolled onto the paper, smudging a block of words. Luna considered rewriting the letter but was cut short as Spike entered the room. Luna rolled the letter and sealed it. She also stamped “confidential” along the top then handed it to the dragon. “Send this to Princess Celestia. If she sends a response back through you it must be forwarded directly to me as soon as possible.” Luna watched the dragon engulf her letter in green flame then leave after Twilight. She then got up from her chair and walked to a balcony to watch her sister lower the sun. And to do her part to raise the moon.

Small bits of moonlight lit up the floor of the canyon Lieutenant Dawn and her ponies were marching through. Dawn had kept her section several miles behind the Boerperd work party, relying on the pegasi to keep her aware of the party’s actions. They trekked straight back to their village, paying no mind to the Equestrians tailing them. The yellow mare had woken up halfway through the march. She was chatty, but her voice was still weak from the stress she had endured. Dawn could not muster the courage to talk to the mare since she awoke, but Ditty managed to carry a conversation with her for several hours and relay useful information to Dawn.

The mare said she was a barley farmer from Paardenburg where she lived alone with her dog. She had also told Ditty about the canyon Dawn now led her soldiers through in order to cover their approach to the village. Dawn was surprised at the helpfulness of the mare, which did not lessen the guilt she felt for what she was about to do to her village.

“That’s a sweet filly,” Big Mac said coming beside Dawn. She said nothing, her mind focusing on her duty to ease the ache of her heart. “Shame she’s in this mess.”

“We’re going to get her home, that’s what matters. Right?” Dawn said, longing to believe it was true. Big Mac turned an ear at the inflection.

“You don’t seem so certain, ma’am.” Dawn sighed.

“I just can’t seem to justify saving this pony’s life when I am about to take the lives of her neighbors. And for what? To get back a piece of silk?” Dawn looked away from Big Mac. “But to do so is my duty. I made an oath, and that I have to keep.”

Big Mac pondered for several moments, then spoke, “Y’know, we had a bat problem on the farm many seasons back. They was nasty things, sucked all our trees dry.”

Dawn’s eye caught a narrow path that wound its way up the canyon’s precipice while her mind wondered where Big Mac’s story was leading. She motioned for him to follow her up to the top with a quick turn of her head. The path was steep, but Big Mac continued unabated. “As farmers, it was our duty t’ protect our trees for our family, and that meant gettin’ rid of the bats.”

Dawn plopped down at the top of canyon and reached for her telescope. “But,” said Bic Mac as he sat down next to Dawn, “Fluttershy told us that we couldn’t, ‘cause those bats had families, too.” Dawn remembered the yellow and pink pegasus from Ponyville. She had always seemed so sweet and gentle whenever Dawn ran into her at the edge of the Everfree forest. Dawn adjusted the lens on her telescope and trained it on the distant village. The remanences brought about by Big Mac’s story caused Dawn to think of how similar the village seemed to Ponyville. Despite the stark differences the crude structures had with the neat architecture of Ponyville, Dawn could still imagine ponies trotting about in the village, exchanging goods in the marketplace and living their lives. It only made her feel worse.

“So you got rid of the bats?” Dawn asked.

“Nope,” replied Big Mac. Dawn was confused. “Well, it’s sort of a long story. We tried t’ get rid of ‘em, but then Fluttershy became a bat, an’ it just got worse.”

“I see, sounds rather complicated,” Dawn said.

“Ayep. It was then we decided getting’ rid of ‘em wasn’t goin’ t’ work. So we moved ‘em an’ gave ‘em their own orchard. Been doin’ great ever since, especially since they help the seeds t’ grow better. Sometimes what you first see ain’t the real truth.” Dawn pondered the moral of the story while she looked once again at the village of Paardenburg. She noticed how all of the outlying farmsteads led to the center of the village, arranged like spokes on a wheel. She had an idea.

“Thanks for sharing that, Big Mac. Now then, let’s get down from here and do our duty.” The pair navigated the path back down to the canyon floor. Dawn stepped on a rock, wincing from the sharp pain. In doing so she lost her footing and rolled the rest of the way down, arriving at the floor in a ball of loose dirt and rock. She tried to pick herself up before anyone noticed. The laughter from Applesnack told her that was no longer possible.

“See anything, lieutenant? Like that rock!” Applesnack’s voice somehow lost its gruffness as he let another bout of laughter take over him.

“Actually, I did Private Applesnack.” Dawn tried to reestablish a tone of professionalism. “And I have our plan of action. We need a distraction to lure the Boerperds from their farms into the center of the village. There we can surround them and force them to surrender. Otherwise we would have to fight them individually at their homes, which would cost time and lives.”

Dawn’s section gathered around her as she briefed. “We will have four ponies in two teams do the distracting. Applesnack and Big Mac, you will be the first team. Take additional rifles and cause as much noise as you can on the south side of the village. Crag and Ditty, you will be the other team. Start on the south side and work your way around north. Use your bugle Ditty. We want to convince them that they are up against a company sized element at least.” The ponies nodded at their assignments.

“The rest of us will go in after their attention is focused. Bayonets and five rounds charged only. We want to threaten, not kill.” Dawn pulled out her spare watch from her saddlebag and handed it to Big Mac after checking that the times were synchronized. “Give us fifteen minutes to get in place, then light the village up. We will charge in ten minutes after that. Now everypony, let’s get moving!”

Ditty walked up to Dawn as they continued through the canyon. “What about Gerst Malt?” she asked. The yellow mare apparently had a name now and was able to walk.

“We will leave her at her home. I think I know which house that is.” Dawn was not sure how she knew. Ditty’s face brightened as she left to rejoin Crag. She pulled her bugle out and started blowing through it to warm the metal.

“Do you know where you are going?” the frail accented voice startled Dawn. She looked to see that Malt had limped up beside her. Even in the moonlight Dawn could tell that she was pretty, with dark blue eyes that sparkled and matched her mane. A fact which did not lessen the tightening of Dawn’s throat.

“Yes, I think so. Your farm is the one on the northeast side of town?” Dawn finally managed to spurt out after an awkward pause. “And I’m sorry for, you know, shooting you.”

“It’s my fault I got shot, and I was only angry at myself. But you came and saved me like the moon pony said, so now I am at peace with it,” Malt said softly. “And, um, yes that’s the one. But I actually meant to ask if you knew how to get out the canyon. The river at the end is likely up with all the rain from the mountains.”

Dawn caught the reflection of the moon on the water a moment after Malt’s words. She cursed herself for not looking at her map earlier. The section halted at the edge of the flowing water and looked expectantly at Lieutenant Dawn. The river was deep and wide, but it was difficult to gauge how swift it was in the low light. Dawn looked for a suitable ford but was at a loss trying to revise her plan. Applesnack thought of a revision first.

“Everypony, strip down! Put your rifles on this,” he roared while dragging a petrified log over. Dawn blushed at the idea but decided to accept the plan despite the image of indecency it conjured. Everypony was already undressed when she realized they were staring at her with foalish grins planted on their faces. Dawn’s face burned even hotter. She fumbled with her tunics buttons and slid the garment off but clung to her shako so she did not feel completely naked. She chose to ignore the whistle that came from somepony as she turned her backside to secure her saber and saddlebag on the log.

“What are you looking at,” Dawn snapped, thankful the night hid most of the redness on her face. This was ridiculous. “It isn’t anything you haven’t seen before. Besides most ponies don’t even wear clothes. Now stop staring and swim!” The ponies obliged.

Dawn winced at the coldness of the water but was thankful that the current was not as quick as she feared. She paddled with her ponies to the other side, then shook the water off her coat. Applesnack redistributed the equipment and started to put the log back in the water to retrieve the red tunics.

“Leave them,” Dawn said. “There’s no time. If the fur the goddesses gave us is good enough to stroll about town, it’s good enough to fight in.” The comment sparked additional giggles from the soldiers. Dawn wanted to jump back in the cold water to stop the burning in her cheeks. She buckled her saber and pressed forward.

The walls of the canyon quickly receded as the river flowed into the east side of the village, draining into the irrigation ditches that allowed the plateau on which the farms sat to be fertile enough to sustain the village. Dawn led her section out of the canyon and then motioned for the different teams to split up. She pointed a hoof at her watch. Applesnack and Big Mac acknowledged with a quick nod then trotted off to their respective side of the village while Crag grabbed Ditty is his hooves and flew to their starting point.

Dawn took the main force through a field of hay towards the northeast part of town. The tall grass swished quietly, blending with the stillness of the night. They were halfway through the field when Dawn realized she had forgotten to give the order to attach bayonets. She cursed herself then halted the section. “Fix bayonets,” she whispered. The sound of scraping metal was alarmingly jarring. Bits of moonlight shined through gaps in the hay to glint off the steel, which made Dawn realize she had a new problem. “Stick your bayonets in the dirt,” she ordered. The ponies complied, stabbing the earth with dull thuds and an occasional scrape as a metal blade found a buried rock. Satisfied, Dawn resumed the march forward.

A single story farmhouse stood at the end of the field. It was a rough structure, but the stone porch that wrapped around the front of the building gave it a homeliness that struck Dawn as familiar. She faced Malt and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “This is where we leave you. Stay inside until we’ve finished what we need to do. In the morning you will need to get that looked at by whoever the doctor in your village is,” Dawn instructed, pointing to the bandages across Malt’s chest. The yellow pony’s eyes showed a mix of emotions, none of which Dawn was sure of. Dawn’s eyes returned an expression of regret mixed with pity. She watched until the mare reached the house before checking her watch. Fifteen minutes had passed.

Right on cue, the quietness of the night exploded with the sound of intense rifle fire to the south. Almost immediately lights went on in the farmhouses scattered around the village. Yellow shafts cut across the shadows as doors flung open. The Boerperds cantered out and into the center of the village. Some tripped over straps and rifles as they tried to fasten them while they ran.

Dawn was impressed by Applesnack and Big Mac. The rifle fire and yells of orders and war cries that carried to Dawn’s position sounded to be coming from at least fifty ponies. New sounds doubled this estimate as she heard Crag and Ditty go into action further west. Ditty’s bulge played the order for advance several times, each in a different spot according to Dawn’s ear, which also began to pick up the first sounds of the Boerperd rifles. She noted that they had a subtlety higher crack to them.

Several minutes passed before Dawn looked at her watch again. She gave the order to form line in extended order, then pulled out her saber and let it drop forward to signal the advance. The ponies stepped out of the hay field, their multiple colors of their coats catching the moonlight. Dawn halted the line twenty lengths from the edge of the village. She could clearly see the backs of the Boerperds firing from hastily assembled fortifications of carts and barrels. Quietly, she gave orders to her line, “Aim high. We want to threaten, not kill. Use the butts of your rifles, take prisoners. No pony else has to die tonight.”

Then, in her loudest command voice, she yelled, “Company, make ready. Five rounds, magazine, independent, FIRE!” The volleys thundered into the Boerperd position, splintering wood and clay into the air. “CHARGE!” The ponies ducked then tried to spin around to face the screaming attackers as they flung themselves into the mess of carts. Their eyes were white. The Equestrian soldiers descended, clubbing heads with rifles and hooves. A brown mare came at Dawn with her rifle leveled. Dawn smacked the weapon out of her hooves with the edge of her saber. Metal met metal and rang sharply. She turned around to kick the mare to the ground.

Applesnack and Big Mac joined the fight, the pair’s deep voices piercing the cacophony of steel and wooden thuds. Big Mac reared onto a pony, distracting him while Applesnack tackled him to the dirt. The force of the impact threw him two lengths away to land next to a broken cask. Ditty sounded the bugle call for the charge several lengths outside the village. The Boerperds’ ears pricked up at the sound. They started backpedaling toward the corner of their makeshift fortifications. Dawn’s soldiers circled around them. Bayonets were leveled below grim faces.

The fight ended just as quickly as it began. With the ponies bunched together Dawn realized just how outnumbered her little force was. The Boerperds had at least four times her number, yet they believed they were facing a whole company sized unit of trained soldiers.

A graying mare stepped out from the cluster with her hooves raised. She looked for somepony to talk to, to which Dawn stepped forward. The gray mare spoke, “It appears you have me surrounded. I commend you …”

“Lieutenant Dawn, 2nd battalion, North Equus Regiment of Hoof,” Dawn stated, motioning for her ponies to lower their bayonets. The gray mare looked puzzled, which made Dawn remember none of her ponies were wearing their red tunics. Dawn was thankful she at least still wore her shako. She rolled her eyes but focused them again as the gray mare drew and presented her an elegant yet aged saber.

“I am Donker Weit, commander of the Paardenburg Commando. If you are truly Equestrians, please accept my sword and parole.” Dawn lowered the blade aside with her hoof.

“That will not be necessary, Commander Weit. You are wise to stop the fighting before any of our ponies were killed.” Weit barely hid her surprise as she counted her ponies. A few ponies nursed minor wounds and bruises, but otherwise the brief battle had seemed to avoid loss of life.

“However, there are some additional terms regarding certain items in your possession that I would like to discuss, commander. Now then, if you will follow me inside.” Dawn smiled as she led the gray mare into a building. Her plan had worked.

Comments

[shining paladin]

awesome chapter keep it up