The War of 1002

by Fireheart 1945

Chapter 20; Redeployment

James lay in his hammock, still with an enormous bandage covering his left side. It had been a day since the army had stormed the Changeling fortress. Already newspapers were printing out stories of heroic success, with many of the details exaggerated. The part about his own brave charge against the breach in the wall was one such... somewhat misinformed tale.

He set down the newspaper, bored. The doctors, nurses, and medics had all insisted - not ordered, but insisted - he remain in bed. They had managed to rebuild the shattered bone and regrow pieces that had been lost. Not that that hadn't come at a cost; more pain. One of them had knocked him unconcious with a spell, which had helped then, but he knew he was not going to be leading anyone for a while.

The battle had had it's own cost; a fifth of the army had been killed or wounded, amounting to about a thousand troopers overall out of action. The cost might have been worth if if the queen hadn't managed to escape. James could remember a pegasus flying into the medical tent, a look of guilt and shame on his face. "Sir, I'm sorry. They hit us hard with everything they had left. The queen... got through us."

James had felt like losing his temper, but he knew the pegasi group sent to block the enemy's retreat hadn't been the strongest of the forces he had sent out there. "Don't apologize," he had said, clutching his shoulder. "If... anything, that was my fault. I should have given you more troops to prevent that from happening." The docs had forced him to end the conversation after that.

In the present, James felt an enemy creep up upon him, one that ranked as one of his greatest foes since birth, alongside math; boredom. He hated doing absolutely nothing.

After several more minutes of staring at the ceiling, he lost his patience. Screw it. He got out of the hammock, painful as it was to do so, and walked over to the table, sitting down in his chair.

Now this is more like it. He began to take note of current friendly positions and the Changelings' known escape routes. Despite the Equestrians' losses, the enemy had been almost completely crushed. Only a few hundred had made good their escape, with the vast majority fighting to the death. A few hundred of their wounded had been taken prisoner, but none had offered any information, remaining defiant despite their captivity. Now the ponies were the hunters, the proud cats, hunting the mouse that desperately tried to avoid being caught.

The camp had been moved up northward of the Changeling base, which was still remarkably intact, enough so that the scientists that were with the army were no longer complaining - so much - that there was little to learn from the hive-like structures. The green material they used to imprison those they would suck emotions out of was being analyized. So far, no inherent weaknesses had been found in it, but efforts to find one, and even to reverse enginner the stuff, were under way.

He moved some of the unit icons - carefully marking where they had been previously - in a way he thought efficient. After a moment, he shook his head and redid it in a way that was better.

The tent flap opened, and an earth pony regular walked in. "Colonel, there's..." The soldier noticed he was out of the hammock. "Sir, you shouldn't be..."

"Up and about?" James looked up from the map for a few seconds. "I'm no use to anyone laid up in bed, trooper."

"And you're no use to anyone injured or dead either." That hadn't come from the regular. James looked to see the white alicorn that the voice belonged to walk inside.

"I was bored, Celestia, and I hate being bored. Besides, what I said moments before is true."

The soldier looked affronted from hearing his commander address royalty so casually, but the Princess ignored him. "What I said is also true, and too many have died already."

"Boredom is very pressing in it's own way; to be frank, I was tired of staring at the ceiling and doing nothing to do the job you hired me to do, if you'll forgive me for being so bold." James looked back at the map, hand to his chin as he though about how he had moved the unit icons. And... "Forgive me again, but might I ask why you're here? You tend not to come to the army camp unless there is important news to be discussed."

"Forgiven for both accounts of rudeness, and you are right, this is not a social call, or at least that's not the primary reason for my visit." The Princess walked up to the table. "I'm redeploying you to the Griffon front."

James leaned back in the chair. "So, the birds have made their first move."

"Yes, and their first strike is aimed at Trottingham, a major city." She pulled up a map of Equestria with her magic and set it on the table. "As you can see, no other major settlements lay in the path of their invasion force."

"Is the army you sent there still intact? You understand that I cannot hold back their advance with them."

"Yes, I gave orders for them not to engage the enemy, as most of them have no experience yet." She looked serious as she went on, "We need someone to be in overall command there, someone who knows what he's doing."

"And I'm the one who comes closest to filling the bill." James leaned in, looking at the map intensely.

He heard Celestia giggle. "You undervalue your own abilities."

"Hmmm." James looked at the calendar. November had come. Winter was still a month or so away...

Winter... Yes... He looked up into the alicorn's face. "I think winter is going to come early to Equestria, Princess."

"Oh?" For once the Princess seemed a little confused.

"In many instances of warfare, a defending force has managed to use the winter environment", James recalled, remembering the Winter War between the Finns and the Soviets. "We know this country better than the enemy, and we can use that knowledge to our advantage. "

"Ah. Unfortunately I cannot approve that request without due council." The Princess looked apologetic. "It will probably be several days before I, Luna, and our ministers come to a decision. Until then the weather will go on as scheduled."

Damn it. "Well, in that case, I will do the best I can, under the circumstances." James didn't know whether he could hold; the numbers were four to one, and not in his favor. The upside was that these foes were not mindless drones; they would have weaknesses in morale and supply, which could be disrupted. Of course, that blade had two edges; the Griffons would have intelligent soldiers and officers who could form plans in the midst of battle and distribute them effectively.

"I'm certain you will. And, seeing as the Changelings have been defeated..."

She paused, and the soldier gasped, when James lifted a hand in response. "Forgive me once more, but the Changelings have not been utterly defeated, ma'am. They still have their queen, and several hundred of their drones. We cannot consider them defeated until every last one of them has been accounted for."

"Which is why I'm not pulling every single soldier away from this front." The Princess nodded to show he had been forgiven for the interuption. "Shining Armor will handle things here, with about two thousand soldiers; the rest will be going with you."

"Good; that will increase the ratio to two to one." From desperate to half a chance, in other words. It was better than he would have had, though, and those odds were more easily beaten than odds of three, four, or five to one.

Celestia nodded again. "And I will be sending the Changeling, whom you named Rand, with you."

James' eyebrow raised almost of it's own accord. "May I ask why? He would be more useful here, aiding us in intelligence against the remaining Changelings." He stood up, sarcastically adding, "And, for some reason, the troops don't seem to like him very much. He would be in great danger everywhere he went."

"He would, I admit, but the chance of the queen finding out about him, and trying to destroy him as a result, is much higher here than anywhere else. And this is an experiment of mine; I want to know if the Changelings can be reformed, to be brought into the light of good."

James grunted, but it held no approval or disapproval.

"You were able to get information out of him by treating him as an equal," the Princess continued. "And we've had less luck with Guards shouting at him and insulting him, which has happened, try as I may to get rid of such sentiments."

"in that case, Princess, I accept the post you've given me. (Not that I have the authority to refuse). I must ask that some of our most experienced troops, the ones in from the start, accompany me."

"I will see to that very soon, I promise you."

"Thank you."

The Princess bowed, then added, "But I expect you to try to rest, and allow that shoulder of yours to recover."

Oh, for Pete's sake, this again. He facepalmed as Celestia laughed.

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Soon enough, James was at the station, waiting for the train to arrive. His right hand held his bag as he waited. His left, painful as it way, held a Civil War book, which he read intensely. He heard a steam whistle in the distance. He ignored it and kept reading until the train had pulled into the station.

The four regiments - all depleted from their optimal strength of a thousand - began to board, with artillery and anti-air cannons being loaded on flatcars at the back of the train. The loading process took a while, and James had plenty of time to read in his seat at the front of the train before it started moving.

He noted that Bright Star, Silver Lining, White Knight, and Silver Shield took up seats next to him, while Jack Tar took a seat some distance away. He noted the arrangements they made, but kept reading.

"Hey, Jim, how's it hanging?"' Bright asked.

"Fine. Just think about our future campaign against the Griffons. I've been trying to find a good weakness we could exploit easily, but there isn't much new information to go on."

"What do we have to go on?' Shield asked, looking interested.

"As far as i can see, they're more a confederacy than a true kingdom, with an alliance of clans of varying wealth, technology, and power supposedly united under one king." He took a deep breath. "They may as such be more loyal to their clans than to the king, and the armaments and uniforms of their troops will... well, lets put it this way. A unit of kilt-wearing, sword swinging warriors will be next to one that has soldiers wearing red uniforms and using guns."

"Hmm, that could be a weakness we could exploit," Shield said quietly, obviously in thought. "But you said some of them will be armed with guns?"

"Yes, with much greater range than my own," James replied, holding up his pistol; it still had a single bullet left. He had intended to use it to force the queen to surrender, but that hadn't happened. "From the last intelligence reports - which stopped coming when the Griffons began their invasion - a few of their units were confirmed to be armed with muskets, with a doctrine of maintaining a line of battle to make up for the inaccuracy of their weapons, mostly those coming from more wealthy and powerful clans." He sat up straight. "They'll be harder to beat in some ways than the Changelings. Their ability to think for themselves is a strength as well as a weakness. We might be able to break them if we hurt them badly enough, yes, but they'll be more flexible, and more maneuverable. And they'll have artillery of their own, though that will vary along with the clans and units employed."

"Dey can't be any harda dan da Changelings," put in Knight (the short form of his name they had agreed to call him by).

"Believe me, they can. We might be able to use their arrogance against them, but that will wear off eventually, and they do have a technological lead on us." Then, in a firm voice, he added, "Don't underestimate them just because we've all but beaten the Changelings. The birds won't be like them. Be careful, and don't give them the chance to outthink or outflank you."

"Don' worry, sir, we know a few tricks of our own," Silver said, with a determined look on his face.

"I sure hope so." James went on reading.

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Once againg, the train had to chug through the night, and, in a deja vu moment, James again lost the coin flip to sleep on a seat, and had to get blanket and curl up as much as he could in the compartment to sleep. Not everyone was sleepy at the moment though; scattered whispers could be heard, and his own friends were chatting away.

He had let Shield and Bright borrow some of his Civil War books. They were busily reading as the human read a book about the First World War. James sighed quietly. He had gotten to the part about the Battle of the Somme, and the first recorded use of tanks. If only we had some of those, they might end the war pretty rapidly. I'd gladly settle on an old French Renault FT-17 or a British Mark IV or V, if only we could use them. But they didn't, and they'd have to make due.

He got up, and whispered to Shield, "I'm going to the caboose, to check on Rand."

The Guard snorted, but otherwise didn't show any disapproval. "Just be careful, sir."

"I will."

James walked down the corridors of the train, trying to keep quiet as he did so. It wasn't easy, with the shoes he was wearing, but he didn't hear anyone complain that he had woken them up, so he must have done something right in that regard.

He got to the caboose, and the guards stepped aside to let him pass, although they clearly didn't like it.

James opened the door, stepped inside, and shut it. Then he looked at the bed, where a black body the size of a pony lay upon it. As he approached it, it jerked and sat up, eyes widened in surprise, but as it recognized him, it calmed.

"Oh, it's you, sir." Rand relaxed and lay back down, hooves tucked under his belly. "I was afraid it would be someone else."

"Well, in any case, I'm here. How are your accomodation?"

"They're good, better than any I ever thought I would have." The Changeling's head drooped. "I just don't like how almost everypony treats me. They call me rude names, saying that I'm a freak, or a bug that needs to be squashed." Rand sighed. "I just want to be treated like I'm somebody, not just a cog in a machine or an outlaw."

James felt pity for the black creature before him. "Hopefully they'll get over it. I'll try to make sure they don't continue that. Most of them are upset about the invasion of Canterlot some months back."

"I know all about that, sir; I was there."

James didn't move, but found himself surprised at the new information. "And? What happened?"

"I think you know, sir. Everypony does. Princess Cadence and Captain Armor used their love to expel us from the capital, and from Equestria overall." The pony-shaped creature looked outside the window. "I remember the love we took in. It was... beautiful. It made me feel... empowered, like I could do anything." Then his voice lowered. "But when I looked at the pony we were getting the love from, I felt... regret. I was sorry to be stealing something so good from someone so pure, especially by force."

James digested this. "Did any other Changeling feel the same way?"

Rand turned back to him and shook his head sadly. "Not unless they were like me, feeling independant but hiding it for fear of termination." He shivered; clearly "termination" was a painful process, or otherwise so feared that it was incomprehensible to even think of disobedience, even for those with a free mind capable of independant thought. However, he continued, "A little while after that, a blast of pure energy - so enriching, but so painful at the same time - blasted us all out of the country, and scattered us to the winds. The queen spent the months after that gathering her lost army."

"That explains the gap between the invasions."

"Yeah." Rand looked down, and to James' shock he found the Changeling was crying. "What am I supposed to do, sir?" asked Rand, tears running down his face. "I'm a traitor to my people and a hated monster to everyone else. Maybe it would have been better if I had died..."

"Don't say that!" James exclaimed. "Everyone has only one chance at life, and only one." The Changeling's sad lament seemed way too close to advocating suicide, which, as a Catholic, he could not abide.

"But it's true. I was never truly happy back with the queen, and I will never be accepted in Equestria, either." He looked into the Colonel's eyes. "You have no idea how I feel, sir. I'll never be accepted anywhere."

"You're wrong." James crouched down beside the bed, so that he was no longer towering over the Changeling. "I know what it's like, or some of it." He breathed heavily before continuing. "I was always a little strange, a little out of the ordinary back in school. I was always the smart one, always quoting facts to people who wouldn't listen to them. I didn't always fit in either."

"Okay," Rand said, tears starting to slow, "I guess you might know a little of it. But you never betrayed your people or your family, have you?"

James closed his eyes for a minute. Lord, please give me strength! "No, I haven't," he said, opening his eyes at last. "I've had disagreements, and I've even been punished for bad behavior by my parents, but no, I never betrayed them." At least, not like you have. He had, once or twice, done something bad enough - such as stealing the car keys and hiding them when he didn't get his way once, or being violent towards another kid - that he and his parents had been estranged for a while, but it never lasted long, and they would make up every time.

"There, you see? How am I supposed to live in this world if I can't be accepted for who I am, instead of who others want me to be?"

"Come on, man, stop it," James said firmly. "You've been given a second chance! Make the most of it! You might be surprised at the results." Then standing up, he said, "Princess Celestia doesn't seem to hate you whatsoever, if you want to know."

Rand stopped crying for a moment. "Really?"

"Yes. She's all for giving you that second chance. Don't give up now."

Rand sat there in silence for a while, thinking it over. "Okay, sir. I'll try."

"Good. And you don't have to call me by rank all the time. I'm a Colonel in the Equestrian army, if you want to know. And my name is James Lavigne. Friends call me Jim."

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By the time he had come out of the caboose, the moon was at it's highest... and he had gained a little knowledge he hadn't had before.

For one thing, the Changelings had been raised to suck emotions out of civilized races, such as ponies. They needed love, though physical food could also feed them, though not anywhere so effectively. The green material they used to ensnare those they captured came from glands inside their mouths, though these could only be utilized in the Changeling's true form. They also had a population mainly of male drones, with a small number of females to do the jobs that were the most regal and most connected to the queen. They could only have one queen at a time, with the old queen usually dying in a fight to the death with a young, fully grown one. If the old queen had already died and two queens were born at the same time, they would fight until only one was still alive.

It might not have been everything he had wanted to know, but it was more than he had known beforehand. And he just didn't have the heart to keep pressing the suffering creature inside the caboose. He kept thinking about Rand's position as he went back to his car. James knew the Changeling was in a rough spot. He hadn't done the duty expected of a Changeling, which was to fight to the death to protect his queen and to expand their territory, and had given information almost freely to the enemies of the hive. Not to mention the fact that most ponies continued to consider him a threat at best and a plague at worst. He would give the orders to give the Changeling good treatment and for the insults to stop, but he didn't know whether they would be obeyed or not.

He went back to his car, luckily not waking anyone while doing so, and laid down, covering himself with his blanket. He closed his eyes as sleep finally came over him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The train pulled into Ponyville station, it's supply of coal and water nearly exhausted. James knew it would be an hour or so before the engine was going anywhere, and the soldiers were bored. He allowed them to step outside for a while, with strict orders to behave themselves.

He got out of the car and walked out of the station. He met with some stares, but that was nothing new, not in Equestria... not for him. It felt good to be away from the war, however short the respite. There seemed to be no difference between the town as it was when he had first arrived and the town in the present. He put his hands on his legs, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

As he stood up, something rammed into his side, and he fell over onto his right side. His shoulder exploded in pain. He got up, pistol unholstered and ready to fire.

James holstered his revolver as he identified his attacker. "Rainbow Dash..." The cyan pony was lying upside down against a tree, looking slightly dazed.

She recovered quickly, and flew over to him. "James! You're back!"

"Yes, I am. Please do not crash into me, though." I'm in enough danger at the front, I don't need any further injuries. His arm ached in sympathy with the thought.

"Oh, right, sorry." Her cheeks went a little red. "I was just so excited that you're alright."

She tapped his left shoulder with a hoof; he gave a cry of pain as his right hand flew to it.

"What's the matter?"

"I got shot there, that's what's the matter." He lifted his shirt to reveal part of the bandage.

"Oh my dear, that looks horrid," came a new voice. Rarity, James thought as the white unicorn trooted up to him. "And your uniform is ruined, oh you poor dear." She was looking at the hole in the left shoulder of the uniform's shirt.

"I can hardly help being shot." James lowered his right arm. "And as I told Shining, you should have seen the other guy."

"Oh, you saw Shining Armor?" came yet another, rather familiar, voice. "How is he? Did he come through it all okay?"

Is the entire gang gonna... Yep, he thought, as Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie came trotting in his direction, following Twilight Sparkle. He waited until she got closer before answering. "Yes, he was fine the last time I saw him. I have no idea how he is now, but I hope he's alright. He's not a bad sort at all. And... he's a friend.

"Oh, good," Twilight said as she stopped in front of him. Then her eyes widened as she saw his shoulder. "What happened?"

"Changeling shot me." Then, feeling the responsibilites of command and it's consequences come down on him, he added, "Others weren't so lucky."

"Luck? How is being shot and having your clothes ruined lucky?" Rarity inquired.

"Compared to being dead, it's very lucky. Compared to an amputation, it's lucky." He took off his hat with his right hand. "Too many others weren't so lucky."

"But we're winning!", Rainbow said, with a confused look on her face. "The newspapers are full of stories of the battle!"

"Do they mention the dead, or the injuries the boys on the front have suffered?" Seeing their shocked faces, he went on, "The newspapers exaggerate things; that's their job. They don't stuff that sounds bad, at least for them. Or would you say different, after an, um, incident with a certain newspaper some months ago?"

He saw them all shake their heads, some with more gusto than others. He sat down on the bench again.

"But we are winnin', ain't we, sugarcube?", asked Applejack, who looked worried.

"Yes, we're winning there. We would have won already, but the queen and a few of her drones got away. And yes, Big Mac is fine", he added. "He's with the troops on the train. If you hurry, you might find him before we have to leave."

"Leave? You're leaving, after such a short time?"

"Yes, Rarity, we're leaving in less than in hour. The train will be departing soon for Trottingham, and we have to all be onboard."

"Trottingham?" asked Twilight with a frown. "Why are you going up there?"

"Because the Griffons stabbed us all in the back, that's why." There were shocked gasps all around as he continued, "Their invasion force is closing in on that city, and we have to reinforce the troops already there before it's too late."

He waited as they digested the news, but before he could continue, he heard sobbing. Looking for it's source, he saw Fluttershy, tears soaking her face, head in her hooves.

"W-w-w-w-why?" she sobbed.

Because the bastards are greedy, and they want land and power for themselves, with out a care in the world for the inhabitants of the land they intend to conquer. He knew he couldn't say that, as Fluttershy was in no condition to receive such a message. Instead, he walked over to her, knelt down, and hugged her; she sobbed into his right shoulder and wrapped her hooves around him. He felt the others come up and hug the poor mare as she kept crying.

At last, she stopped, looked up into his face, and said, quietly, "Th-thank you." She got to her hooves and stood up. "Thank you, all of you."

Making poor Fluttershy cry? That's the last straw. I'll knock those stinking birds into the middle of next week, and I'll make sure they stay there. He said, "You're welcome," amidst a chorus of similar statements. He went on, "We'll do our best to protect this country and it's citizens; of that you have my solumn vow."

Fluttershy looked at him, still somewhat sad. "Why?" she said again. "Why are they doing this?"

He felt anger come upon him. "Because our enemies are greedy thieves who don't care who suffers as long as they get what they want," he said in a terrible, firm tone of voice. "And as long as they walk on this soil, I'll do everything that is morally possible to throw them back to the despicable pit they came from."

Everyone else back off a little on hearing this; he didn't even realize the tone of voice he had been using until he stoppled talking. He bowed his head. "Sorry if I scared you all."

Rainbow Dash hovered, hooves on her hips. "I wasn't scared." Then tapping his chest, she said, "And who are you to talk about scared? You lead that charge into the Changeling camp; you're a hero!"

James laughed, though it wasn't all that funny, and sat back down on the bench as the ponies looked at him with surprised faces. "You have no idea how afraid I was. I wanted to be back home, with Mom. The only reason I didn't was because I would have been letting everyone else down."

"You have quite a pessimistic view of things, James," Twilight finally said, breaking the silence.

"Believe me, after weeks of mud and blood, you'd have pessimism, and to spare." Looking that the concerned looks everyone gave him, he said, "I don't like it either, and I'm sorry. Hopefully I can get my optimism back after the war's over."

"Ah sure hope so," Applejack said. "Ah don't like everything y'all have been sayin'"

"Hmmmmm." James stood up. "Come on, let try to find Big Mac, the train leaves in maybe forty-five minutes."

They all followed him into the station. One thing caught the human's eye; a flash of blue-green, which ducked under a bush before he could get a closer look at it. It made him wonder, though.

James forgot about this incident as they looked for a big, red coated stallion. They found him sitting alone on on side of the station. Big Macintosh and Applejack talked for a while, while James stood a way's off and let everyone else talk to the red stallion as he tried to enjoy the peace while it lasted.

All too soon, the whistle went off, and it was time to reboard. The soldiers walked onto the train, saying good bye to those they had had the fortune to meet during their brief stop.

James waited until Big Mac was about to board, then said to Applejack, "Your brother needs to learn to let go of his pride sometimes."

Both Apple family members stopped, surprised. "Why?" asked the orange mare.

"Because I was just doing what I said I'd do, keep him safe, and what does he say? He says, and I quote, "I can take care of myself!"

Applejack gave her brother a fierce look; Big Mac took a step away from her. "You're in big trouble when ya get back to the farm, mister.

"In any event, I wish you all farewell, until we meet again" the human said as he boarded the train, Big Mac right behind him.

"Good bye!" they all said, waving as the doors closed. The train began to move.

James sat back in his seat. I hope we all can all meet again when this war is over. He murmured a silent prayer as the train left the station.

Comments

[Philobrony]

They made Fluttershy cry?

CHARGE! FOR FLUTTERSHY! FOR RUIN! AND FOR THE WORLDS ENDING!!!!!!

[Fireheart 1945]

1993807

lol

[bodgers master]

Ok, seriously, this us and them thing is getting old. black v white? THERE IS NO SUCH FUCKING THING! aside from Rand, this entire story, though well written, and in my opinion entertaining, keeps reminding me, very unpleasantly so, of all the propaganda of the 1st and 2nd world war, picturing the enemy as heartless monsters and beasts, rather than the thinking, loving, fearful, caring, determined individuals they are. Certainly, there would likely be cruel and malicious individuals who control the nobility, but I think to denigrate ALL of the griffons like this is plain folly on the part of the main character. Of course, if you are trying to make me think of him in this way, you have done an absolutely brilliant job and i commend you greatly, but if all this talk about "us v them" is meant to make me think of him as heroic or of a high moral standard, then you are doing a very poor job of conveying this to me personally.
Now, I realize I lack any particular form of eloquence, and most of what I just said may indeed seem disjointed and incoherent, but it comes down to this : There is no such thing as good vs evil, us vs them, just people fighting for what they believe is right on both sides, fighting for their friends and families while the psychopaths or "evil" individuals are few and, even though no one likes to think it, on both sides.

[LordBucket]

3391954

That ties into the recurring religious theme though. James is very religious, and they're basically trained to think in terms of good vs evil. The possibility that the opposition might have thoughts or feelings or reasons for what they do doesn't occur to them. They're "the devil," to be demonized and seen as souless monsters.

I agree that it's a lousy way of thinking, but James is definitely that kind of character. Look at how he's constantly dragging around emotional baggage, never feeling what he does is good enough no matter how above and beyond expectations it is, drowning himself in guilt and self-loathing while simultaneously claiming the moral high ground. That's Catholicism all over.

I wouldn't want to be him, but I think the character is being written correctly for the type of story this is. Though I wonder whether he's an author avatar.

[Godiswithus3]

War changes people. It's changing James.

[Stainless Steel Fox]

1993807 On that note...

One does not simply trot into Mordor...

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

Chapter 20 18th century British curmudgeon Dr Samuel "Dictionary" Johnson said "Truth is the 1st casualty of war ". I'd go with " Common Sense is the 1st casualty of war. Truth is 2nd"