Whistling Rain

by Schwabauer

Chapter 14- The End of an Era

“Send the cavalry to harass the retreating forces. Kill anybody that is too far from the… unicorns, for protection. Skirt any ranged units they have unless they’re shattered.” Ordered General Karlson, sending a messenger off on a horse before turning to a second one and saying, “Send the regulars to butcher any of the survivors and have the lights begin deconstructing the fougasses.”

Sighing slightly, the general set himself to the task of cleaning up after the battle, ordering some support to begin breaking down camp, while others he had on standby just in case. Perhaps this was bait he was taking for granted. Perhaps these were all green troops drawing out his cavalry to an ambush. But that was a risk he’d take, for if it wasn’t he could obliterate the enemy force; if it was, he could bring forth his line under cover by barrage and inflict further losses on their reserves. Regardless of the situation, he would bring a decisive victory to the press and his commander. He wheeled his horse around and drove it to trot into the forest. His bodyguard followed him, forming a protective diamond around him. General Karlson began writing out a dispatch to send to General Ernst.

With confidence in his writing, his horse trotted over the corpses of the dead and dying equestrians.

---

Admiral Kristofferson’s fleet had been out at sea for two weeks now and had spied smoke rising from the horizon along the coast. After being notified he brought his spy glass about to gain a clear picture of the settlement. It was a well-established city, with hundreds, nay thousands of houses crested between the docks and the rolling hills coated with fields carrots and wheat.

Squinting, Admiral Kristofferson focused on the ships in the port, counting sails, rigging, masts, and portholes. A couple of wooden steamships were in port, but were the flat-bottomed barges used for river trade. He had had the pleasure of riding one to reach the port he set out of for his post at Kartiv’s Point. They were much faster than sail ships and could carry more weight. It was rather pleasant to see that this civilization already had low level industrialization. Hopefully, the peace deal would incorporate a favorable trade deal.

Turning his attention from the river, he looked out to the deep-water harbor. There he could see cranes moving crates and sacks from several large, low sunk boats. It was clear that some form of trade was conducted here, albeit the scale was not yet known. There were about a dozen of these trade ships, and they all looked to be of high quality. But it was not the trade ships that mattered to the admiral. Rather, it was the small contingent of other ships docked near a large warehouse and nondescript buildings, two of which looked remarkably similar to barracks that could be found in any Prussian port. The ships docked nearby were larger than the trade and passenger ships and had ballista on the decks. There were portholes running all along the sides, albeit considerably larger than any on his warships. The admiral feared that they were concealing large cannonades, for the portholes were large enough for howitzer bore cannon. Yet they had ballista on the decks, for reasons Admiral Kristofferson could not posses.

Turning to his communications officer, he gave the order to move in and blockade the port.

---

Twilight was running. Everypony was. The elements were galloping as fast as they could over the snowy tundra, fleeing the massacre in the woods. Nearly five hundred ponies were streaming out of the woods, the wounded and burned stumbling and falling behind the complete and utter route. Twilight and her friends were being escorted by what was left of her brother’s personal guard. That is, all five or six of them. The captured Prussian was still with them, getting slung along on Shining’s back.

She was now starting to feel the armor on her. What had before been only a slight weight that didn’t hinder movement now made her sluggish, every step making it feel incrementally heavier. Her helmet and visor had been discarded, falling off in a mad scramble out of a snow drift and sinking into the snow. Her mane was wet and cold, freezing to her neck. Sweat ran down her back and stuck to her legs, held in by the almost form fitting armor.

Rarity wasn’t doing much better. Twilight would even argue that she was doing much worse. She was rapidly slowing down and falling behind, whimpering and crying all the while. Fluttershy slowed beside her, crying just as hard, and whispered in her ear something Twilight couldn’t hear. But whatever it was, it got Rarity back to running and keeping up with the rest of the elements. Rainbow Dash flew in circles overhead, making sure her friends stayed together. Applejack was silently galloping along beside Shining Armor, glaring at the unconscious Prussian soldier. Pinky Pie was bouncing through the snow, a forced laughter reaching Twilight over the air rushing past her ears.

The galloping of horses through snow thundered closer, the heavy dull hoof steps shaking the ground as they pressed closer. Twilight sprinted harder, desperate to get away from the ever nearing death. Her breaths deteriorated from ragged to shuddering, shaking, tattered breaths graying to keep the oxygen flowing into her body. A sudden burst of adrenaline pumped through her system, sending her flying forward, feet barely touching the snow as she careened away from the ever nearing Prussian dragoons. And then a cry of victory echoed up from the Prussians, while a scream of agonized terror was cut short behind Twilight. Her head snapped around, just in time to see a dragoon pulling his sword up and out of the body of Rarity, while two more fought for control of their mounts, shying away from Fluttershy’s tearful Stare.

Twilight felt a punch in her gut, sent reeling from the sight. The Prussian who had just stabbed Rarity was suddenly flung up into the sky, his mount being ripped from under him as he screamed, flailing his limbs. A magenta hue of magic swept through the ranks of charging dragooners, flinging them through the snow and launching them into the air. Fluttershy turned and ran, breaking eye contact with the two dragoons attempting to approach her, giving them an opportunity to charge, only to be punctured by jagged magic spikes, shoving them from their horses, their swords dropping from their hands.

A shout from her brother brought Twilight back from the rage, shattering her concentration. She watched in horror as the final of the Prussians smashed back into the snow covered ground, wet snapping carrying across the fields towards her. She heaved, and tears broke through her eyelids, flowing long and hard down her face. She felt somebody pick her up and carry her on their back, and she went limp, sobbing uncontrollably.

---

The snow melt was freezing in Gotter’s back. He was upside down in the snow, feet dangling up into the sky. He could feel one of his arms was broken. When that witch had begun flinging his company about he was lucky enough to have been pinged directly into a deep snowdrift, and not thrown high into the sky like his lieutenant had been moments before.

He could hear muffled German somewhere above him, discussing what to do with the bodies. With sudden strength, the freezing Prussian flailed his legs in all directions, praying to the Lord above for somebody to notice his legs. With his legs slowing to a stop he sagged down as the conversation continued on without notice.

And then he felt two sets of hands grasp his legs, and roughly pull him up out of the collapsed snow. He felt the broken bones in his arms shift and squeal about, sending hundreds of hot iron jolts of pain through his body, and he vomited everywhere beneath him, coating the snow with steaming puke. He was layed out on the snow, and two line infantrymen stood over him, looking at him curiously.

“That arm looks bad, dragooner. Probably going to loose it.”

“Better than dying though,” commented the other infantryman, “Get him on a stretcher and take him to the rear. The doctors’ll take care of him.”

Moaning lightly, Gotter blacked out as his arm was crammed onto the stretcher beside him and he was dragged away by one of the soldiers. The field surgeon was thoroughly underwhelmed that day, with few casualties, and the ones that were received mainly being fatalities leaving him bored at the rear, performing a few amputations and setting a little more splints. Not even a single gash to be bandaged. With a calm coolness he shoved the bones back into place, and grabbed a spare board from the Chevaux de Frise to splint the bloody wound. Once it was set he wrapped it in many kilograms of bandages, making it impossible to bend. Once the bloody work was done he washed his hands and set to writing out care instructions for the unfortunate dragooner, who’d likely not be back to the front before the end of the war.

Comments

[Allsmiles]

(And this is what happens when you order a raid on an unknown enemy and begin hostilities. Especially when you, yourself, are not used to battle. War. War happens. And it happens against your favor.

Also, with one of the Elements of Harmony dead one of Equestria's best weapons is now out of commission. They are absurdly lucky that the Prussians messed up the ambush, or it would have been even worse. Even so, this is a decisive victory for the Prussians.

And I like the details about Twilight's armor slowing her down during their rapid, and fairly uncoordinated retreat. After all, there were a lot of ponies who if they'd been paying closer attention and looking out for their own over fleeing, could have saved Rarity.)

[Vigriff]

This is what happens when you pick a fight without understanding your would be enemies first and plot armor not protecting you from karma, Twilight.

[AustisticVeganPussy]

Dont fuck with prussia or your gunna Get Clapped

[battleship]

makes me a bit sad honestly wish they didn't fuck up so bad

[Adamanthys]

Chemical weapons are a nicely horrific way to introduce the ponies to humanities take on war, they better hope the crystal heart shield can hold up vs howitzer fire. And hoping Rarity isn't actually dead, my favorite part of these stories are the girls reactions to the horrors going on around them, stories that kill off the mane six tend to lose my interest quick.

Also makes me wonder how they would react if the Prussians, in the same diplomatic manner as before, offered them surrender terms after this show of force, justice being done and now in a position of power for the negotiations. Probably would be in disbelief for awhile before some of the more hot headed ponies attack him ruining any chance of a quick end to it, lol

In the end I think pegasi are gonna be the real threat to them here. The ability to control the weather, air drop in supplies for any siege they might attempt and fly above any real anti air capabilities they had back then is gonna be tough to beat, not to mention the flying moveable city they cant attack at all.

They have freaking lightning grenades now that I think about it:

files.catbox.moe/qsaflw.gif

[WojakWriter]

A couple of wooden steamships were in port, but were the flat-bottomed barges used for river trade. He had had the pleasure of riding one to reach the port he set out of for his post in [colony name].

Ah yes, [colony name], I heard the business is booming and the artisan goods simply to die for in [colony name]

[Schwabauer]

11530214
Shiiiiiiiiiiiit
Fuuuuuuuuuuck

[MarlonCalpe4000]

11530402
Why did you do this good sir? Why did you kill off Rarity? There could have been other OCs or soldiers that could have died but why her?

[Schwabauer]

11530405
The slow and unfit shall perish. Also it was her or Fluttershy.

[horsepoweryt]

That funeral ain't gonna be pretty
also

[AgentKorpsman]

11530409
You made the right choice then my friend