The War of 1002

by Fireheart 1945

Chapter 4; A new job and a not-so-new style

James awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming through the window. As he looked around, he remembered everything that had happened, everything that had been said. The realization hit him like a wind storm; these people really were counting on him, despite the short amount of time he'd been here.

He managed to sit up, though his arm protested. It was still hard to believe he was in Equestria, but what other alternative was there? He was convinced this was the real deal, not some insane fantasy.

Suddenly he heard hoofsteps on the stairs. A white pony wearing a nurse's cap and sporting a red cross on her flank entered the room. She gave him a brief look, then reached into one of her saddle bags. As she did so, Twilight Sparkle came into the room, with a small smile on her lips as the nurse pulled out a stethoscope.

"Morning James, this is Nurse Redheart, the Princess told her to check you out and see if you're o.k. to get out of bed."

Well, she did pull me into her world for a reason other than getting beauty sleep. As he thought this, Nurse Redheart said, "Yes, well, he's looking well enough to sit up, at least. I need to look at his leg... sorry, I mean arm," she amended, as James gave her a slightly puzzled look.

James sat up, pulled the sheets off himself (fortunately the ponies hadn't taken his clothes off to examine him after he had first been injured), and put his legs over the side of the bed. Redheart sized up his body at a glance. "So thats what a human (she pronounced it "hum-man") looks like. Could say more for the clothes, but that's not my job."

Um, If I'd had better warning, I might have dressed better.

"Well, lets see that arm of yours." He presented his arm, still bandaged, to the nurse, who then announced, "I'm afraid that bandage is gonna have to come off if I'm going to assess the damage."

Although a little worried by this, James did peel the bandage off, to reveal the hideous scabs and dried blood that mangled the surface of his skin. He was not surprised to see both ponies almost instinctively cringe at the sight. Nurse Redheart recovered quickly though. She set to work with an eye that someone in a medical field requires. She looked his arm over for a few minutes.

Finally, she looked up. "I don't think it's permanent, and I think it's fine to let you get up and about, as long as you don't put undue stress on your arm until it heals fully."

Phew. He sighed with relief at this, both verbally and mentally. He didn't like the idea of being confined to bed for several more days. The Changelings and the Griffons could strike at any moment. If I'm going to train the army, then I need every moment I can get. "Alright, thanks nurse."

She smiled at him. "No problem." She packed up her stethoscope and, after saying goodbye, left.

James got out of bed completely and stood up, stretched... Then heard a faint knocking that sounded as if it was coming from downstairs.

Spike came running up the stairs, huffing and puffing a bit. "It's Fluttershy. She says she's found your bag, James."

Twilight gasped... then put on a smile that would have suited Goofy. James smiled too, though NOT to the extent Twilight did; he did have limits to being silly. "That's great!" James said, elated and further relieved by the arrival of something from his own world, that he could relate to completely and use.

They all went downstairs. Twilight opened the door with her magic and welcomed Fluttershy into the house/library. The yellow pony was looking shy, as ever, but she managed to walk up to James. Her head does come up to my chin, so the height difference isn't significant, I guess, and she's dealt with animals a lot taller than I am. Heck, she stood up to a damn minotaur and was able to do it without a single stutter.

She still looked a little scared. "H... Here's your bag. I... I found it by the tree you said it was under." Yep, shy and scared.

James moved his hand to the top of her head and stroked it. Although she gave a little jump when this happened, she calmed down quickly and even began to look content.

He stopped petting her after a few seconds. "Thanks," he said quietly. He reached down and grabbed the handle. He now had a source of knowledge to draw upon, as well as his wallet; although he didn't have any Equestrian money, he did intend to at least offer to buy stuff rather than mooch off his new friends, and he also had some sources of identification. That could come in handy.

He walked to the living room with the ponies following close behind. He sat down and unzipped the bag; Twilight watched with a rather silly, massive smile on her face, pearly whites showing. It's not like this is a treasure chest, with you as a pirate. He refrained from laughing, and opened the bag. His Civil War books were the first things he could see.

He frowned. The book on top had pictures of a Union and a Confederate soldier, each in their respective uniforms, which was something James lacked, except for a not-so-authentic kepi. If he was going to be a soldier, he would need a uniform of his own. I'll have to make a trip to Rarity's. I hope she's willing to make a uniform for me. I'm not wearing THIS when I go out the train soldiers and fight.

Twilight was too interested in the books to pay any attention to James' facial expressions. "Wow... all this knowledge from another world... Can I borrow them? Uh, please?"

James jerked himself away from his thoughts. "Sure, you can borrow them, but I'll probably need some them again soon." He got up again and headed for the door.

"Um, excuse me, but where are you going?" Fluttershy asked in a quiet voice.

"I'm going to Rarity's..." He stopped. He hadn't thought this over. First of all, the ponies in the town would probably think of him as some sort of monster. He didn't want to get hunted down or arrested, even if that did end up being temporary. Secondly, he didn't know the way to Carosel Boutique. He'd be walking blind. And last but not least... Uh, what is third?... oh yeah, no Equestrian currency. That might just be a problem.

"Why were you going to Rarity's? You don't know the way... do you?" asked Twilight, who looked, at that last, slightly suspicious.

Sighing, James turned back to them and replied, "No, I don't." The fact of the matter is that the TV show is going to come back to haunt me like this over and over again. He would have to sort that all out later. "I was thinking about that. As for your first question... I need a uniform. I can't go around trying to get the army into shape wearing this", he said, gesturing at his current clothes. "And... I'm not sure how the peo... ponies are going to react to me. I don't want someone to go and yell "Monster!" when I go out the door."

Twilight smiled. "Oh, you shouldn't have to worry about that. Princess Celestia told the Mayor about you, who in turn told everyone in a town meeting today."

That was considerate. Relieved, James asked, "Can you take me there, please?"

Twilight and Fluttershy both nodded.

"Well, lets go then." James let the two ponies go out in front of him before he followed them out the door.

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

It wasn't the best walk James had ever had. For one thing, all the ponies would stop what they were doing and stare at him as Twilight and Fluttershy lead him through the town. Nopony cried out that there was freak or a monster loose, so the Mayor must have been able to convince everyone that he was not going to harm them. They were still clearly worried though.

After perhaps 20-25 minutes, Carosel Boutique was finally in sight. James sighed. Finally he could start to get down to business.

They reached the door; James knocked. Rarity's voice answered, "Come in!" They did so. James looked around. Rarity had apparently been busy; a number of dresses had been hung on models of ponies, in patterns primarily of blue and green.

"Ah, Mr. Lavigne," she said, managing to pronounce the name properly. At least she says it right. I'll never forget the time my college professor pronounce Lavigne as "Lav-ig-ney".* Why do people seem to have so much trouble pronouncing French names? "To what do I owe you the pleasure?" She seemed very curious. I would be, in her position.

In answer, James took out one of his books, showing the uniform of a Union Sergeant. "I'd like you to make me a uniform I can wear during my time here."

For a moment the white unicorn seemed starstruck. "You... you want me, to make you... a new uniform?"

I think that's what I came here for. He nodded.

"Oh, that's just fantastic!" Rarity exclaimed, giving a small jump. "I get to create a new uniform for the very first human ever to come to Equestria!" Her enthusiasm was overwhelming.

"Yes, well, its just that I can't wear common, casual clothing while training and leading soldiers, can I?" James stated.

Rarity calmed down a bit after a few moments, although still somewhat excited. "Yes. In any event, I'll need to measure you to get the uniform to fit just right. If you'll follow me."

James did. Twilight and Fluttershy followed him, into a smaller room. It's the exact same one where Sweetie Belle, er, cleaned up, to Rarity's disgust in the Sisterhooves social episode.

Raity turned towards him, levitating a pair of glasses onto her face. "Now, if you'll kindly remove your clothes I'll be able to measure you up nicely.

D'oh! James frowned... again. "Sorry, I can't do that."

All three ponies looked taken aback. "Why ever not?" asked Rarity, perplexed.

Should have known this would come up at some point. Drat! With a nervous look on his face, James said quietly, "It is inappropriate for a human to be seen without clothes in most circumstances."

"Why?"

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Do I really have to say this!?! A little annoyed, James said, "Because it's sexually inappropriate for us to be naked."

The three ponies all had shocked looks on their faces at this news, and they all gasped. Dammit. My temper got the best of me again. He supposed he could have said it better, and less directly. Well, that was all water under the bridge now.

Rarity spoke up. "Oh, I'm so sorry, my dear, I didn't know." Recovering, she kept on, "I suppose I can take the measurements with you... as you are, though the outfit might be a little loose."

"That's perfectly ok with me." James was relieved that that small impasse was out of the way.

The process took longer than James had thought. Rarity used the measuring tape well, though James might have added that it was a little aggressive, though not too intrusive. He had to endure the tape going under his arms, the measurement of his waist, the distance of his hip from his armpit, and more.

Finally, Rarity was finished. "Now, it shouldn't take more than a day for me to get this whole thing done. I think it will be ready by noon tomorrow."

"That's great!" Reaching for his wallet, James went on, "How much... ohhhhhhh." His voice deflated like a balloon without it's end tied up. He stared at the contents of his wallet; a couple hundred dollars and some change. All very good... in America. Who knew what it was worth here, or if it was worth anything? Uggghhh, why didn't I mention this earlier?

"What was that, darling?" Rarity turned around.

James sighed. "I was asking how much you wanted me to pay for this, but..." he opened his wallet and and flipped it so that she could see inside it somewhat. "I'm afraid I don't have any Equestrian money to pay for it."

She looked into his face. "Oh, dear, I'm not charging you anything. It's completely free."

James was surprised. Yes, Rarity was the Bearer of the Element of Generosity, but it still didn't seem to make sense to wave away the offer of payment. You couldn't stay in business long if the prices were free. Bemused, James simply said, "Thank you, ma'am. That will make everything a little easier, in any case."

Rarity smiled. "It's my pleasure. I do love taking on a new project every now and then."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Rarity answered, "Coming!" and went to do so. Everyone else followed.

Rarity opened the door; Rainbow Dash flew into the room, looking a little tired. She panted a little, then looked up. "Have any of you seen Ja..." She then saw James standing behind Twilight and Fluttershy. "Ok, good. You have to come right now; the Princess and Shining Armor are at Twilight's, they say they have to talk to you!"

They would show up in the few minutes I'm away. Clearing his head, James said, "Then we must go at once."

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Shining Armor was not in the best of moods. He was still somewhat put off by the fact that a... human, of all things (and from a different reality/universe/world to boot), had been tasked to train and lead the army. Not to mention James was nowhere in sight. While Spike had informed him and the Princess why James had left and where he was going, it was still inconvienent to have to wait while Rainbow fetched him.

James came into the house at last, followed by Rainbow, Twilight, and Fluttershy. Shining stood up to his tallest height; to his relief, he had a slight height advantage over the human. That was comforting, though it meant little.

"Ah, James," the Princess said, not bothered in the least by his temporary disappearance, "we have a few things to discuss that we unfortunately did not have time to yesterday."

"Hmmm." James gave a small nod. "And what is up for discussion?"

Doesn't he know who he's talking to? How important she is? Shining thought, somewhat miffed by the short response. Apparently not. Princess Celestia went on, "First, what is necessary for the creation and maintainance of a military force?"

James sat down on the couch opposite, a hand under his chin; Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy kept standing. "Food, as always." The Princess laughed, although neither Shining or James did. The latter went on, "There needs to be conscription or a draft of some sort, if the Royal Guard is not going to be the only Equestrian force out in the field. Tents, firewood, weapons, the whole bit. And, if I might add, I personally think that spears alone will not hold off the enemies now opposing us. Weapons development and research should be a priority."

Shining was a bit annoyed by those last ouple of sentences; it seemed like James was belittling the Guard. However, the Princess again took no action to correct this, and only nodded. "I knew as much already. Our merchants in the Griffons' capital city - who I asked to gather intellience during their trips there - have reported seeing Griffon warriors armed with crossbows and swords."

Shining took a step back; he hadn't thought the Princess had taken such a step. James raised his right eyebrow, but asked no questions on the subject. "As you may or may not know, I came into this world armed with a weapon which is superior to crossbows in accuracy and stopping power. Might I go retrieve it?"

The Princess nodded. James went upstairs quickly, then came back clutching something; a long tube with a large cylinder at one end and a wooden grip below and to the rear of the cylinder. Shining was curious, as well as skeptical. A weapon superior to crossbows and spears? Not likely. However, he said nothing.

James then asked "May give a demonstration of this weapon?"

Princess Celestia shook her head. "Maybe another time. However, you can tell us how it works."

James nodded again. "Alright. This is a rather antique gun, but similar designs should work for the army, if they are armed with firearms. Here's how to load the piece." He did so; it was clear now that it was a projectile weapon. 'Now, to ready the pistol for firing, cock the hammer, like so," he said, doing it, "and you're ready for firing, by pulling the trigger." He looked at the pistol. "Well, building guns without a trigger guard seems necessary, as pony hooves are unable to get a grip on the trigger as is."

Shining now suddenly remembered hearing about guns before; they had been an experimental project, that had seen wide media coverage. They hadn't been contructed by ponies, of course, but in any event the project failed to achieve the desired results. And, he noted, shivering a little inside, it had been a Griffon project. If they decided to try again, and got it right...

James might be right; guns are superior to anything we currently have. Again, he stayed quiet, trying to size up the human and his ideas.

The Princess said, "I'll have to make preparation for the draft. I'll call on ponies from all four corners of Equestria to counter the Changeling and the Griffons." She sighed, clearly regretting the need for war, yet unwilling for the citizens of the country she ruled to be brought underfoot by the soon-to-be invaders.

James unexpectedly frowned. Shining thought he would have been happy to hear that last. He went on to ask a question; "Ponies? Not stallions, your majesty?"

She looked at him. "Is there a problem?"

"Well... yes. Simply put, if you have female troops mixed in with males... well, that will lead to love, and where there's love there's... errrr... foolishness, if you know what I mean. And the... relationships will likely hurt the army's ability to conduct warfare."

Foolishness? what did he mean by... oh. He made a face; he couldn't help it. However, as he recovered, he gave the idea more thought. Yes, that would be... distracting, to say the least. And we need every soldier we have to concentrate on the job at hoof. Yes, James seemed to know his stuff, even going into details that would have seemed mundane or that would have been ignored altogether. He had expected James to discuss battle tactics and campaign plans first, and then go into other details, if at all. The imagination and the reality were, as so often happens, quite different.

The Princess nodded, showing no signs of disgust at all. "I suppose you have a point there."

"How much time can you get me?"

"Pardon?"

"How much time can you buy at the negotiations? I'll need every day, week, and month to train the army, and the more time you and the other Equestrian diplomats can get, the better the army turns out altogether, not to mention the research and development of new weapons."

The Princess frowned, though she was not angry at James. "I don't know for sure. How much time is really necessary?"

James thought for a few seconds; "Between training and re-equipping the army, the amount of time it will take for significant numbers to reach the training fields... I'd say maybe three months, at least, and the results from that will probably be rudimentary at best."

Shining was surprised again; he had thought the human would demand a year or more; Royal Guards definitely required that much time and more to be able to report officially for duty. The Princess's frown did not go away, however. "I might be able to get you one month; I'm not sure how long I can keep them... reasonable."

Now it was James' turn to sigh. "I suppose I can train 30 day wonders, though I had thought 90 to be better overall."

Shining thought James had referenced something just now, but didn't know just what. In any case, it was irrelevant to the current subject. Princess celestia said, "I have already ordered a training area made just outside of Ponyville. The camp will be set up nearby." Then, losing the frown, she went on, "I have also decide that your current ranks" - here she glanced at Shining Armor as well - "are insufficient for you. As of now, Shining Armor, you are a Brigadier General, with all the priviledges and responsibilities that go with that title."

Shining Armor was speechless for a moment. A...a... general? Me? Then, managing to recover some of his wits, he stammered, "It... It's an honor, thank you your majesty." He thought about it all again for a few seconds. "But who will lead the Royal Guard?"

Princess Celestia turned to him. "You will. The guard will be deployed on the battlefield, as they already have some training to speak of, and are highly disciplined." She turned back to James. "As for you, you are now a Colonel, with the corresponding privileges and responsibilities that implies. However, you will still advise me and our army commanders on what to do in this crisis."

James was stunned for a few seconds, then said, "So basically, I'll be inferior in rank, but superior in influence and knowledge." He did not say it was if it were a question.

"Yes." Looking at both her new army officers, she went on, "I will leave you two to get aquainted. I must see that the necessary measures are taken in Canterlot." She began to walk out the door, then turned to James.

Both males in the room were utterly taken back by the question she now asked; "James, do you, like so many of my subjects, see me as a goddess?"

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James was flustered to say the least. He was a Christian, believing in only one God and no other ANYWHERE, even in another world. Now is the moment I had hoped wouldn't come. My answer may well insult the Equestrians.

"No." He said. "I do not. There is only one God and no other."

Shining Armor looked shocked and offended, as expected. His face, however, was nothing compared to Twilight's; She was stammering, clearly trying to raise an argument, while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy just stared, mouths agape. Princess Celestia, however, smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. I am not a deity, though many of my subjects see me as such. I must confess, I sometimes like being thought of as such, but it is untrue. I manipulate the sun, and can manipulate the moon, through magic alone, though through magic of levels that none but an alicorn or the Bearers could summon. And our longevity in life is similar to the fantasy creatures you call elves; we can live a very long time, but we are not invulnerable to wounds or disease."

James smiled himself. "So you just like the title of deity, despite it's inaccuracy."

She blushed. "Yes. It's rather flattering, and one thousand years and more ruling Equestria have not removed some things from my personality."

James couldn't hold it in anymore; he laughed, long, loud, and hard, and the Princess laughed with him, with a shocked, open-mouthed Shining Armor looking on, speechless.

James managed to regain control and decided to mention something else he had thought of. "I also suggest, if you do allow females in the army, that the Bearers are not allowed in. Not because of any lack of bravery or patriotism," he said, because Rainbow was looking like she would kill him in a few seconds, "but because... all that chaos, that the battles will create... Who would benefit from it all?"

Princess Celestia stopped smiling and frowned. "Discord," she said quietly.

James nodded somberly. "I know the Elements sealed him away, but... do you want to take the chance that he will escape to wreak havoc, while the nation's forces are at the front lines and in no condition or position to stop him?"

She clicked her tongue; She apparently hadn't thought of this. Neither did anyone else. The formerly furious Rainbow now looked nervous and thoughtful, while Fluttershy was visibly shaking and Twilight was looking at James with determination and... was that a newfound respect? He wasn't absolutely sure, but he thought it was.

Thinking out loud, Celestia said, "But the only reason he escaped in the first place was because Luna and I had lost control of the Elements, and our power drained away slowly from his prison, eventually freeing him."

"Do you really want to take the chance?"

"...No." Her voice was firm. "If there is any chance the spirit of chaos could escape, then the Bearers must remain in Ponyville." The other ponies in the room nodded, though Rainbow Dash still looked disappointed.

James said, "Is that everything for now?"

The Princess nodded. "Yes it is. And now, I take my leave. I hope to see you soon, Colonel." She walked out of the library. Everyone watched her go. The door shut behind her.

James turned to Shining Armor. "So, what do we do now brother?"

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*While James Lavigne is not my name, I do have a French surname and every college professor I have seems to get it wrong at least a few times; it's very annoying.

Also, Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence will NEVER be deities in my stories. Make of that what you will, I don't consider it an issue and some other authors have stories specifically claiming that they are not deities. Discord will never be one either in my stories; he is just what he is called; a spirit of chaos, nothing more, nothing less.

I will also edit my chapters as I think is necessary. Hopefully I made chapter 3 a bit better than it was.

Comments

[Guardian]

New chapter! Now, things are really getting interesting, can't wait for more! And don't worry, I pefectly respect you not making the Princesses deities. In fact, I'm actually glad you're not, as I am a Christian.

Now that I think about it, going to Equestria and serving as their military advisor/strategizer would be like a dream come true.

[Fireheart 1945]

1442240

Basically that's why I did it, due to me being a Catholic (edit; ex-Catholic, now Protestant), or perhaps just being a Christian.

And thanks for the compliments and encouragement. I will be adding another chapter hopefully within the next week or so. Hopefully school lets me, anyway.

[Br2nd66]

yeah I dont see celestia or luna as gods either
I like to refer to them as eternals they can still die just very difficult to kill

[Fireheart 1945]

1447004

Thanks!

[Philobrony]

This story is much better than I expected. Other than a few typos, this is quite good.
Also, I always saw the princesses as Valar. Just a thought.

[Diokno44]

1442303 Yay, another Roman Catholic, also, in my stories, unless it fits, the Princesses are basically very powerful Demigods, or basically achived CHIM (An Elder Scrolls thing where people gain ever growing knowledge of how the universe worked) and gained near godlike powers through mantling some artifact or was given to them or their ancestors due to The Maker, their version of God, giving them a near godlike magical power, and eternal life ala Artemis' Hunters fro Percy Jackson, eternal youth in life, as long as they don't fall in battle or succumb to powerful magic. As for Discord, he's like the Four Horsemen, or more likely, Sheogorath, physical embodiment of chaos, basically an insanely powerful demigod

[DrWhooves007]

What? Draft and trained an army in 30 days? It's impossible unless you're this man:
encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSe9IuG2N35Q394Fk7UQPntnHe4d7pnOnVMCxwmSqviXZ0OFhR98g
or this man:
medarus.org/NM/NMImages/NM-10-01_Img_Presidents/07pres_a_jackson/andrew_jackson_army.jpeg
or this man:
gunclassics.com/images/king.jpg
or this man:
encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTqyc09An_m69FJ9cTRavfmPoqWOfkcd7nbbCNedlZegA8GpPpw1g
or you have a million copies of this:
toptenz.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Unclesamwantyou-520x700.jpg
And you have to equip your army with this:
encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTV7jzPbXOBmVurgVW61fb3nOIUsb40TEGAmEewJkc6TiUqUDGh

[Dark Shade 75]

I never like it when authors bring up religion in their stories. If it's purely a religious story, very well, that's fine.

But it doesn't belong otherwise, and it tends to break up the flow of the story due to arguments made within the readers' own minds.

[kamachakta]

I find it strange that this chapter has been up for over a year and nobody mentioned that about half of it is in itallics.
Just a request from a reader, fix it please.

[CosmonautPony]

No females In Equestria's military? Now that's just absurd and highly fucking sexist bro, I understand your a Christian and therefore think that it's a'ight to tell people they can't do shit because of what their born as but doing so in this way is fucking belittling an industry of fucking professionals, if your OC wasn't terrible at basic disciplinary actions then having his soldiers sexing it up would be the least of your worries. Cutting half your battle ready population in half because of a gender is a damned stupid thing to do and something I should have expected from this story seeing as you randomly add in God for no reason other than shits and giggles. If someone wants to die for their country and can get through training then they should get to bleed with everyone else. Although seeing as the army that is being raised here is little more than millitia maybe I shouldn't hold them up to the standards of an actual soldier,can't train a decent army in 30 days I'm afraid to say. But whatevs it's your story self insert all you want.

[Bronzer]

5120074

You don't know anything about ancient warfare, do you? Females in the military in those days was unheard of (aside from warrior women and wild women of some tribes). One of the reason is that very few women actually have the physical capability to keep up with the men in strength and endurance. Sure, some do, which is why many modern militaries allow women to serve on the frontlines. Even then they have much easier physical requirements. In the time of melee combat, though, no such slack can be cut. The skirmish line is only as strong as its weakest link, after all. It sounds sexist, but which would you rather do. Make a sexist regulation, or watch your soldiers be slaughtered because the women couldn't physically match the men in sword-and-shield combat so they quickly fell, which allowed the enemy in among your formations?

On the other hand, I do agree with you that his reason for segregating the regiments is completely moronic. Wait, no, he isn't segregating them is he. He's kicking out all the mares and making the entire military stallion-only. That is even dumber. Making all female and all male regiments I can understand when you don't have the luxury of picking males and females who both meet certain physical criteria to put into mixed regiments. This isn't that. This is the actions of someone who doesn't know what he is talking about and is apparently unaware that his own country's military is mixed-gender.

Royal Guards definitely required that much time and more to be able to report officially for duty.

These aren't Royal Guards, Shining, they're effectively conscripts and are expected to be nothing more than Red Shirts to buy time for proper soldiers to be trained. They know enough to be more dangerous to the enemy than to themselves and each other, but that is pretty much it.

James pretended to listen, but began to grow bored and found his head on the table with his arms folded under them as a pillow of sorts.

This means the Captain of the Guard can be outranked by someone who is technically his subordinate...

As far as religious stuff goes, Lauren Faust explicitly said in a Q&A that the princesses are not gods. Of course, anyone can tell that given that they have to use spells like everyone else. A deity would not need to. Though, no one really cares either way, I think.

[Emeraldleafeon]

Lol you forgot to take off the italics

[Ganondad42]

Couldn't Celestia have summoned a method of making better guns for her subjects? They'll be using outdated (at least in my biased opinion) tech, and there is no mention of any knowledge of gunsmithing books. However I can infer from Equestria's use of trains that there are at least a few places on Equis that have mills and lathes that could turn out the parts to make firearms... I really have to find my life...

[Ganondad42]

5120074 while women have participated in most of our major wars, I feel confidinte in saying that war is, for the most part, a "game" played by men. Yes, I understand that world militaries in today's timehave women in their ranks, but it hasn't always been like that. Its sorta new really, not even 100 years (pardon my guess if it is inaccurate) but the fact of the matter is that for 2000+ years men have been the primary piece of the war engine.

On a side note, I do agree with you on the premise that the Idea to segregate the regiments is a huge mistake. If anything, that could seriously hurt overall troop moral and prohibit the effectiveness of certain things later on. I believe that if a person is willing to fight for what they believe in, who are we to prohibit them from doing so?

However I do mot know what denominational group of Christianity you are baseing your absurd, and highly offinsive, comment about the Christian faith. That was like making a comment about the Islamic faith, but we all know how that ends...

[Godiswithus3]

hmmm. While it is understandable that the elements of harmony need to remain in Ponyville in case Discord returns, it still sucks that I may not see them in the battlefield. One can only hope.

[Racerex]

Heh, I'm just sitting here thinking about all the people who think Colonel is pronounced Kol-ohn-el.

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

Chapter 4
In terms of numbers, a gender segregated male only army is facing the problem that the majority of Ponies will be excluded from the armed forces

Also, based on what we've seen of the Wonderbolts, integrated armed forces seem to be customary.

Based on the Civil War & 2 WW, it is going to take about a year to get shifted over to a full military economy. Trying to go faster is going to pile up a LOT of casualties.

[Helljumper206]

James turned to Shining Armor. "So, what do we do now brother?"

I just realized after reading this game reference
cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/37700/header.jpg?t=1447352397

[Night Swift]

I just notice something... that today's view is 6,660.... WOW XD

[HB_DS2013]

I may not know much about military matters, but I do know that Equestria has a skewed mare to stallion ratio and there won't be enough stallions to serve in the army.

[drako28611]

8064381
Truthfully we only see that ponyville has a skewed mare to stallion ratio. But cities like manehatten and Las Pegasus have relatively normal numbers.

[Whiskeylullaby]

I want to like this, I do. But Having served in the military, This kid is unbelievable. He got defensive whenwhen asked who, and what, he is. (As though those weren't pertinent questions, asked by someone who'd helped keep you from bleeding out) disrespected the princesses by not referring to them by their titles, and is treating this as a game. Speaking of games, no matter how good you are at rome:total war, it has little to do with actual military tactics. A real battle has no HUD, your units may not even hear your orders, or react to them slowly. Plus, your troops will not be a collection of pixels, and will need logistics ponies, handling food, ammunition, gear/kit. Medical corps to handle casualties, pension and disability for the wounded. And other such things. Not only that, but while ponies have a pretty good industrial base, reverse engineering the pistol and bullets alone would take months, let alone getting a functioning prototype, building or refurbishing factories for the parts and ammo and getting them to the front.

[blue skys]

8926745
I'm sure he knows that and is just making it simple and not to realistic. that would be a bit boring. also, I learned what you just said from HOI4. and as for communication arma taught me that as well using task force radio. ( a mod )

[Gnarl]

You think having a French name is bad? Try having a Czechoslovakian name. Every, and I do mean EVERY, person who is first introduced to my last name gets it wrong. I have yet to hear someone get it right. It makes for a good laugh though, so I don't really mind.

[ihatehaters1994]

Dude I got a long Italian last name, only person to pronounce it right other than my spanish teacher, was one of my DS from the Army.

[Kitsune_Kenshi]

She still looked a little scared. "H... Here's your bag. I... I found it by the tree you said it was under." Yep, shy and scared.

And cute

[Tempest_Flare]

Not to belittle Christianity but you do know that part of the structure of the angels and God was taken from pagan religions. God in this case has all the powers of a full Pantheon but is in the place that other head gods would be in. Angels can be considered demigods of varying power levels, and hell does not exist just the lake of fire. Anything that references the war beyond the vague mentions is supposedly not real and just the part of collective consciousness.

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

"Well... yes. Simply put, if you have female troops mixed in with males... well, that will lead to love, and where there's love there's... errrr... foolishness, if you know what I mean. And the... relationships will likely hurt the army's ability to conduct warfare."

Alexander the Great favored having lovers serve together on the grounds that no one would show weakness in front of their lover.

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

10245407
10256990
According to his autobiography Isaac Asimov had the same problem when he was in the army

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

James was flustered to say the least. He was a Christian, believing in only one God and no other ANYWHERE, even in another world. Now is the moment I had hoped wouldn't come. My answer may well insult the Equestrians.

The first commandment at least implies the existence of other deities.

[Fireheart 1945]

11251896

Exodus 20:3 does not imply the existence of other genuine deities. The gods referred to here are, in the end, false gods or demonic powers, but not cosmic equals to the Lord. This verse uses the language and worldview of the ancient world to reinforce the exclusive covenant between Israel and the one true God.

https://www.theologyofwork.org/the-high-calling/daily-reflection/first-commandment-no-other-gods