Chapter 2
Applejack and Alex walked through the streets of Canterlot. Applejack’s back was bending under the weight of the pack she was carrying. Alex used his hands to balance his own load, but he was still straining his muscles. The weather ponies of Canterlot had removed all rainstorms from the schedule because ponies and humans were sleeping in the streets.
After the burning of Humantown, the American army had moved into Ponyville, marching in lockstep. The second retreat of the Equestrians had been more orderly and with no casualties, but they were still depressed at how much they had to abandon. Golden Oaks Library was now an observation post for the military, and at last report Sweet Apple Acres was serving as General Wallace’s headquarters.
“I can’t abide the notion of them bushwhackers holed up in our barn,” Applejack said as she passed a blanket to a stallion and his family.
“Well, they probably won’t be there long,” said Alex. “They moved on quickly from Humantown, and they’ll move on quickly again. I’m just hoping they don’t continue their scorched-Equestria policy.”
“Meaning they probably will, if I hear you right.”
“Not necessarily. They’re trying to get us back on Earth. Burning down our homes furthered that end.”
Applejack stopped in the street and looked at Alex. “You’re taking it rather calmly.”
“I’m so wound up that I’m ready to snap and tear through that army until they kill me. But that’s not useful right now, so I’m pushing it deep down. If a miracle happens and we win, I won’t need my anger. If things go the way they look like they are, I’ll need all of it later.”
They moved on and passed out more blankets.
***
Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy knocked on the door of the room. “Come in!”
The hospital in Canterlot was large as compared to the one in Ponyville, but it was still not particularly impressive to Olivia who had seen tower hospitals on Earth. However, she had never visited anyone for the reason she was now.
“How are you feeling, Rarity?”
“Achy. But on the mend. I’ll be back on my hooves by the end of the day. I never thought about how such a thing would feel. The heat of it was just so intense.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you,” said Olivia.
“We all are,” said Fluttershy.
“But you were. You got me out of there when I would have died otherwise.”
“Don’t say things like that!” said Pinkie Pie. “Nopony needs to die. Ever!”
“I’m sorry, dear.”
“Forget it. I’m here to cheer you up. Laughter is the best medicine, after all!”
Pinkie was clearly struggling to maintain her smile, but she brought in balloons and streamers and did her cheering routine. But it was abbreviated.
“We will need you in the next briefing, you know,” said Olivia. “So get well soon, because we have such little time.”
As they left, they met up with Applejack and Alex coming up the way.
“How is she doing?” asked Alex.
“Getting better.”
“It’s all my fault. Her getting shot. We were running and neither of us were willing to let the other go.”
“It’s not,” said Fluttershy. “Everypony was running all over. She didn’t want to let you go either. She cares about you, Alex. I hope you know that.”
He blushed, and said, “Come on, let’s get back to the castle and see if we can’t help the princesses.”
***
Twilight and her friends maintained the highest profile possible to keep up the spirits of the Equestrians. The human members of the council of war also put themselves out in the public eye. There was one exception though.
Luke came back in through the upper window of the castle and found the others waiting for him at the table. He was sent to find the missing person.
“Hey, Lisa. Come on, we’re starting.”
“All right, let’s get this over with.”
Everyone had grabbed as much sleep as they could in the day since the battle, but only Lisa still looked like she had just gotten out of bed. She came to the table.
Speaking even before the princesses, she drew the eyes of all present. “So, listen. I’m sure you all have a lot to talk about, and that’s why I want to get my part over with. Do you want me to leave on my own or would you rather kick me off?”
“What?” said Olivia “Why?! We need you.”
“We all know why our spells failed. There’s only one way to cancel out magic that’s ever been discovered, and it’s all because of my selfishness. Heck, we all had crises of confidence, but I’m the only one who went ahead and handed our enemies a weapon to destroy us. Whether it’s because I was insecure or because I was too confident in my own intelligence, it doesn’t matter. It’s my fault, and if I sit around here and try to help you decide what to do next, I’ll only make it worse. Again.”
Protests arose from all around the table, but Lisa would have none of it. “I know you’re all trying to make me feel better, but you can’t. This is bigger than all of us. A whole new society, and it’s going to fail because of me.”
“You’re right,” said Princess Luna, and everyone looked at her. “You’re right about it being bigger than you, bigger than all of us. But again, I think, you look at things from a human perspective, which is a narrower one. Clashes of societies are never pivoted on trivial things. The way we use the tools and powers given to us depends on what’s in our hearts. Whether it be magic or flight or strength, and whether it be electrical power or mechanical power or technological complexity, it’s how you use it.
“The army we’re facing has an awful lot behind it, and it’s not all evil. It has been used in the past for good. Now it is being used to try to take you from your homes. If they did not take your spell and use it against us, there would have been another advantage they would have exploited. Nopony ever said our victory would be easy. But we are not yet defeated.”
Celestia motioned for Luna to stop her lecturing. “We still want you on this council, because we have need of your skills. You were the one who developed the spell to cancel magic, and that means that you understand its magical profile better than anypony else. You can try to find a way to beat it.”
This was something that had not occurred to Lisa. She had been so convinced that their cause was lost and that she would be vilified forever as the brony who lost Equestria.”I can? But we don’t have any time.”
Celestia was at her most comforting. “And that is why you will have to work quickly. You will have help from all of us as you need it, but it will ultimately be you who determines our next step. If you say you cannot do it at all, we may be forced to give in. But right now we still have a chance. And if you can, then no one will ever call you overprivileged again.”
Lisa retired back to her room with a pile of scrolls and quills, and renewed hope. Twilight and Olivia were frequently called in, either to give advice or to serve as a test subject.
“What do you suppose they’re doing in there?” said Julie.
“I don’t know,” said Fluttershy. “I don’t meddle in the affairs of unicorns, lest they turn me into an orange or something.”
“You know they’d never do that.”
“Not intentionally, anyway.”
The mood in the central chamber was one of intense anticipation. A grandfather clock ticked away as everypony else paced and brooded. The only break in the long wait was when the door opened and Rarity was escorted in by the royal guard.
“I’m here, everypony.” She was still limping and favoring her side, but the others wondered if she wasn’t embellishing it for dramatic affect just a little. “What have we decided? How are we going to take back Ponyville from those ruffians?”
Celestia brought her up to speed on Lisa’s attempt to wrest back the magical advantage they had lost.
“I’m just sure she can do it,” said Rarity. “She’s intelligent, she’s inventive, she’s wonderful and coming up with new ideas, she’s. . . “
“Got something.”
Lisa had walked back into the room with the big table.
“Did you figure it out?” said Rainbow Dash. “Are we going to be able to destroy all their stuff again?”
“Well, I’ve got something, as I said. Twilight, use the magic suppression spell on me, please.”
Twilight Sparkle hesitantly checked her memory and cast the spell as lightly as she could. “It’s done.”
“Now, right now I’m trying to teleport you across the room, Twilight, and I can’t. But if my estimates are correct. . . “ She walked up to Twilight with her hands outstretched. As if she were afraid of giving Twilight a shock of static electricity, she gingerly touched the unicorn’s shoulder. Twilight vanished in a spark and popped back into existence behind the table.
“Great job, Leese!” said Olivia. “I knew you could do it. How does it work?”
“Well, I reasoned that, especially the way that the army was using it, the suppression spell isn’t about the spell caster as it is about the cast-ee. It stops the effects of magic, not the use. Magic is very subjective after all. But if a mage can get in contact with her subject, become physically continuous, then there’s no distinction between caster and target. I think that, given further time, I could restore full functionality by having us be magically continuous instead of physically, so I’ll work on it some more.
“We may not have that much time,” said Luke. “I’m sure they don’t intend to stay in Ponyville for that long. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were on the move again tomorrow.”
“And remember,” said Princess Celestia, “We’re still looking for the decisive victory that will shake their confidence and give us the chance at negotiating. Lisa, you have done very well today, and I am proud of you. But please let Luna and me consider how this ability might be used to our advantage. Please retire for a few moments.”
The humans and the ponies all went into the room that Lisa had worked in, patting her on the back and congratulating her. They sat around drinking water and believing, for the moment, that they still had a chance.
Perhaps a half hour later, Celestia opened the door and called them back in. Luna was absent.
“I have sent my sister to gather every pony and human still able and willing to fight.”
“But everyone still wants to fight for our home!” said Julie.
“I know, but this is a different kind of fight. A very serious one. I do not expect everyone to survive.”
An ominous silence covered the room.
“We believe,” said Celestia, “that the only chance is to take the offense. We waited for them and they outthought us. Now we must try to do the same to them. They will be resting tonight, though of course they will have guards. We will invade Ponyville, which we know better than they do, and try to catch them off guard.
“Our goal will be to use Lisa’s workaround to bypass their magical defense and teleport the soldiers to the castle. We will only transport their bodies, so once they are here, they are no threat.”
“Yeah! Send them to the dungeon!” said Rainbow Dash.
“The largest area is down below, but it is not really a dungeon. Unicorns and magical bronies will have to learn its location. That is the easy part. Getting to them will be hard. We think the best means of staging our attack will be to have humans ride ponies.”
Jaws dropped. Eyes went wide. Celestia was suggesting that they break one of the deepest taboos established since bronies came to Equestria. Even before Twilight and Pinkie had decided to open communications with Earth, they had observed humans riding equines, and feared that the people were keeping ponies as slaves. Once they found that Earth ponies and horses were not intelligent, they still determined that they would never be ridden.
“It is the most efficient way to have all of you there at the same time, in one wave of the attack,” Celestia said. “And it will enable those of you who cannot perform the spell to aid in the battle and serve your friends and loved ones. Pegasus people can help carry out the wounded, and Earth humans can help protect others. But the magical bronies and unicorns will be the ones you have to protect.”
The meaning of what Celestia was saying began to sink in. Their only chance to regain their land and have a chance to rebuild what the Americans had burned was to run toward the bullets instead of away.
Lisa and Olivia looked at each other. So did Julie and Luke. Alex looked at Applejack, and then at Rarity. Everyone was thinking the same thing, and wondering who would be the first to ask the question: was it worth it?
It had not even been a year that they had been in Equestria. All the humans still had lives back on Earth that they could return to. Moreover, they were asking the ponies to risk their lives as well, and the humans valued their lives as much as their own.
Rainbow Dash was the one who broke the silence. “Well, what are we waiting for?! We’re not going to let them bully us around, so let’s get this battle started!”
Pinkie Pie laughed, and that broke the tension. “I’m not sure I want to, but we’ll do it anyway. Then, once it’s done, we’ll get back to parties and fun!”
Even Fluttershy was uncharacteristically enthusiastic. “I’m ready to get it over with as well. But, Princess, are you going to be there? If. . . if something were to go wrong, then at least Equestria would still have its princess.”
“I hope you will not think it cowardice,” said Celestia, “if I remain here. I agree with you that my role as leader of the nation outweighs my value as a warrior. But do not be too sure that I will not have a part to play.”
“I, however, intend to be there at the vanguard.”
All heads turned to see Princess Luna return to the room.
“Are you sure, Princess?” said Olivia. “We were just discussing what would happen to Equestria if Princess Celestia were to fall in battle. If the same thing happened to you. . . “
“Then Equestria would be in the same state it was for a thousand years. It is the advantage of having two rulers for our land. Who knows? My recent return and reclamation might have been merely a prelude to this event.”
The humans were a little surprised that Luna could be so fatalistic, having the power she did. But they felt some comfort. Perhaps she was there for them as well.
Celestia approached her sister. “What success did you meet with in recruiting, Luna?”
“I did not make a head count, but most of the ponies and humans who fought in the last battle are still standing. I think that anyone not in the hospital will come with us. Scouts and emissaries from the other human settlements have also come, and I pressed them into service rather than send them back for greater numbers.”
“They still outnumber us ten to one, at least,” said Alex.
“And that is why we will need every advantage we can get. We will need planning, guile, strategy, and tactics. It will be difficult to find sleep until this is over, so prepare potions for wakefulness, speed, strength, and awareness.”
“You sound as if you have a plan in mind already,” said Luke.
“I have the rudiments of one, and we must discuss it. All of you will serve as leaders. We have no ranks in our army, but think of yourselves as the sergeants. I want to pair all of you together in the ride. This is somewhat a paradox, since I want to spread you as well to lead as many others as possible. We also want, as much as possible, to spread our mages. Lisa, will you ride Rainbow Dash? And Rainbow, are you willing to carry Lisa?”
“It might make me a little nervous,” said Lisa, “so no sonic rainbooms, but other than that, I’d be honored.”
Rainbow stomped her hoof. “I just saw a girl who believed she’d doomed her race get up and get back to work. That kind of dedication is always someone I’d want to ride with.”
“Excellent. Twilight, will you carry Luke? I think he is strong enough, and a good enough flyer, that he would help you travel swiftly and even be able to lift you in a pinch.”
“Anything you say, Princess,” said Twilight.
“I won’t let her down,” said Luke.
“Rarity,” began Luna, and Alex looked up. He was sure that the rest of the princess’s sentence would include the word “Julie.”
“I would like you to be ridden by Alex. Your dedication to each other has been made clear, and I believe that you will go through anything to each other.”
Rarity blushed. “I would be quite content.” Her voice belied how much she was happy with the choice.
Alex was speechless. He just nodded.
Olivia stood up. “You’re saving me for last, princess. Let me know. Who am I riding? Pinkie? Applejack? Fluttershy?”
“No, Olivia. In this case I must go with my heart over logic. You will ride me into battle. I want you protected.”
She gasped. It didn’t make sense. It put two mages and two leaders together. But Luna hadn’t asked as she had with the others. She had said, “You will.”
Luna addressed the conference again. “The other three ponies will be given magical bronies from elsewhere to aid and work with. I trust that you will give them the same dedication that you would anyone in here.”
“Um, where does that leave me?” asked Julie. “Am I going to have some other unicorn to ride?”
“Even though he won’t say it, Luke is worried for you. I intend to assuage that worry. I have a separate mission for you. Something secret, that I don’t even want anyone else here to know about. I will discuss it with you in private. It will still be dangerous, but not in the same way.”
Julie winked at Rarity. “Do I get a ‘dangerous mission’ outfit?”
Luna smiled. “If you like, but I will also give you some equipment that might help save your life. I will rejoin you all shortly. We must prepare.”
Luke stood up and looked at his wife. He was not conscious of anyone else in the room. “I love you very much, Julie,” he said. “I’m don’t regret anything that has come to pass or will, because it was worth it. I will be fighting for Equestria, but only because you are in it.”
“And I am proud of you for fighting. It may be an anachronistic sentiment, but I still want my man to fight for me. I will do what I can for you.”
They kissed, and held each other’s eyes, as Julie left the room with Luna.
***
They walked without speaking to the Canterlot archives. Once ensconced in a room filled with scrolls, Luna began her briefing. “Many of these spells can only be used once, like the time-travel spell I believe you are familiar with. But I see no reason to save them now. This one in particular I will use now.”
Luna’s horn glowed, and black and purple light suffused into Julie’s hands.
“What did that do?”
“It is a trace spell.”
“You mean it traces where I am?” asked Julie.
“In a manner of speaking, but it also uses the other meaning of trace. Your hands now have a magical ‘ink’ that will linger where you go. Let me show you. Draw a line in the air.”
Julie complied, and Luna cast another spell. The air hung with light in the shape of a freehand-drawn line.
“So you’ll use this to see my path.”
“Yes, and you can also send messages by writing in the air, and I will see them during the battle. It is key that we find the leader of the opposition, I believe you said his name is Wallace. Part of your task, once you are in Ponyville, will be to determine his location. Once you have, draw the symbol of the crescent moon, and I will know which direction to lead the charge.
“After that, get out of town and down to the Gate. There is something important on Earth that you must retrieve.”
She explained the rest of the mission, and Julie said, “Princess, may I ask a question? Why did you choose me for this?”
“Part of the reason was, as I said, for Luke’s sake. But also, I believe that they will look differently upon you than they would on a man, or even than on a magical brony. You have an innocence about you that I hope will aid you. Once you reach Earth, I estimate that you are also adept at completing the second task.”
“I’ll try to make you proud.”
***
The train was not running from Canterlot to Ponyville, so Julie had to fly, and fly as low as possible to avoid being spotted. She circled around and buzzed the treetops of the Everfree Forest. She silently wished that the Americans would explore the forest and have to deal with timberwolves or poison joke, but then realized that that would be no better than killing them. All she wanted was for the soldiers to go away.
In the twilight, at the hardest part of the day to see, she lit on the edge of Ponyville. Already she saw patrols walking the border, but she knew the town far better than they could. She was able to find a break in the buildings that looked too small to pass by, but widened in the air. Folks bound to the ground couldn’t take into account all the way that the winged could gain access.
From behind a chimney on a thatched roof where she blended in, she overlooked a cadre of the soldiers taking mess. She realized how hungry she was, and wondered if stealing some food couldn’t be added as a mission protocol.
“What are you thinking?!” she told herself. “This is too important. But how am I going to find this guy?”
She clung to her hiding spot and watched the troops. She leaned in closer and could hear some of the conversation.
“What do you figure? Home by next week?” one man said.
“Are you kidding? Once we finish up and occupy the capital, it’ll be the same thing all over again. We’ll be on for our full hitch and more. First we’ll be running food and water to everyone, then there’ll be a provisional government, and we’ll be pulled out one at a time. If we’re lucky, the lumps first.”
“Get up, you guys! You’re supposed to be on patrol.” Julie recognized the colonel who had threatened Fluttershy with death when they were first captured. Her rage made her want to dive at him right then, but she also realized that if she could tail him, he might lead her to General Wallace.
One of the sergeants took him aside and requested that he take a little softer hand with the men under him, but the colonel gave him a response about soldiering by the book. Move on! thought Julie, my wings are going to cramp up if I stay here much longer.
At last he had enough of berating that particular sergeant. He moved on to two other platoons and stirred them up before ducking behind a building and smoking a cigarette. Again, Julie’s anger burned at what was probably the first cigarette to ever be smoked in Equestria, and even more so when he tossed the butt on the ground and stepped on it.
He straightened his uniform and finger-combed his hair, and Julie hoped that was a positive sign, since he didn’t seem the type to care about his appearance for subordinates. He made his way to the center of town, and Julie saw electric lights coming from the buildings where only candles, fireflies, and magic lighting had been before. From across the way, she watched him strut up to the mayor’s office.
“Colonel Stone to see General Wallace,” he said. Julie’s heart leapt. She had the location. The only problem was that it was in the center of town and not attached to any other building. If she was to mark it as Luna requested, she’d have to expose herself, and the general had plenty of guards.
She considered waiting until complete darkness, but time was of the essence. She had to get on to the next phase of the mission as soon as possible. Holding her breath, she decided to go for broke and fly right for the door. She flapped for height and wing-power and turned as if she was diving into a swimming pool. With both gravity and her own thrust pushing her, she reached the door before the guards had a chance to react and chalked the crescent moon on the door with her finger. As soon as she had finished though, the door opened, and she found herself looking right in the face of Colonel Stone.
She kicked off and tried to backstroke away, to get any break, hoping to get away and continue toward the Gate. But he was expecting that and moved quickly, grabbing her by the ankle and hauling her to the ground. Reaching for his sidearm, he held her at bay.
“Very clever, mostly. But I heard you cough from my smoke. I always knew it was a beneficial habit.”
Julie resolved then and there that before it was over, she was going to slap him in the face, but right then she had no recourse but to surrender. She was dragged back into the room where General Wallace and his aide were behind the mayor’s desk.
“Well,” he said, “did you miss me that much? What are you doing here?”
“My name is Julie, I haven’t got haven’t got any rank and we don’t have serial numbers.”
Wallace laughed. “Take her away and find out what she knows.”
Julie’s heart pounded. Her mission appeared to be a failure.
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Italics are broken.
1988287
Thank you! Fixed.
1988016 The military is portrayed in this story, so killing them gives the readers and the author an overall feeling of satisfaction.
1991714 Kill troops>Feel good(or get high)
1991765 Because plot.
1991885 24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9mzv8KyFK1rx6g1zo1_1280.gif
What happened to the soldiers from the first attack that Luna trapped in stasis? Were they just sent back through the portal? Are they in the dungeons? Are any of them having second thoughts once they learn the truth? (I'm sure one of the bronies would give them a **** of a talking to about invading a land of peaceful sapient beings and killing them without a second thought. I would.)
Then there's the fact that the American government dealt with things in the worst possible way. Diplomacy? No. Send troops armed with nonlethal weapons so they don't kill the people they're supposed to capture alive? No. Give the soldiers a briefing that will encourage them to slaughter (nonhuman) civillians? YES! Seriously, did everyone with a conscience become a brony and immigrate to Equestria, leaving only bastards behind? Actually, that wouldn't even explain it. Even an amoral tyrant, if he's competent, knows when using force would be inefficient.
BTW, I LOVE the naming convention you're using for the different parts.