B&T Chapter Three: The Army of the West

=Chapter 4: The Army of the West=

 

The volunteers mostly hailed from small towns and villages in the heartland of Equestria, places with names like Independence and Liberty and Friendship Falls. They numbered more than 1600 p0nies in all, a ragtag band of Earth p0ny farmhands and alchemists, unicorn scholars and preachers, Pegasi weather p0nies and civilians. In a burst of patriotism, they left their farms and shops and families behind. A call had gone out in Canterlot, a surprising declaration of war on the nation of Cervidas, issued by Celestia herself, and the p0nies of Equestria resoundingly answered the call, the will of their great leaders Celestia and Luna removing any sense of trepidation in their hearts.

 

With whatever weapons and supplies they could muster, they sped to Fort Hoofington, the frontier stronghold named for the town by which it resided. At this time, Hoofington was the closest outpost of Equestrian military power to the land of Cervidas. Here, in 1846, they camped in the grass not far from the banks of a nearby river. Every morning soldiers from the Equestrian Dragoons —a group of elite armored infantry p0nies specializing in shaping the inherent magical abilities of all p0nies for combat— rode over and conducted martial exercises for the benefit of these civilian volunteers. Whether it is the natural strength and connection to the land that Earth p0nies have, the Pegasi ability to fly and interact with clouds, to the natural ability unicorns have to focus magic itself, bending it to suit their will, the Dragoons knew how to best draw out these abilities. The Dragoons would drill the Earth p0nies in close combat, in saber and bayonet techniques, in marching and charging and marksmanship. The Pegasi would be trained in aerial combat, learning how to use the elements of weather itself against foes, being shown how to charge clouds with lightning, and then direct it to an enemy. The leader of the Dragoon’s had a special plan for his unicorn troops.

 

The dragoons were commanded by a firm, regal unicorn p0ny by the name of Colonel Void, a fine leader and already a legendary figure on the Western Plains. Void’s soldiers began to winnow these fresh recruits, a task that at first seemed nearly hopeless. “The raw material is good enough,” Colonel Void wrote in a war report to Princess Celestia, “but then it is, in truth, VERY raw.” In a few short weeks, however, this rag-tag was turned into a semirespectable column of soldiers, which, collectively, would be known as the Army of the West.

 

On the eve of their departure in June, hundreds of families of the volunteers gathered around Fort Hoofington to say their goodbyes, not knowing if they would ever see their children and spouses again. Tearfully, they presented the assembled companies with Equestrian flags to carry into battle, each banner painstakingly sewn by hand. Offering one such flag, a baker from Ponyville addressed the crowd of volunteers. “We would rather hear of your falling in honorable warfare,” she said, “than to see you return disgraced by cowardice.” One by one, the leaders of the various companies rose to accept their flags, pledging that their men would not shirk their duty.

 

“Death before dishonor,” Colonel Void declared. “The love of country is the love of Celestia. We are born soldiers, and the call to serve our nation is a homecoming.”

 

“The love of country is the love of Celestia.” These words echoed through the Hall of History in Canterlot Tower. Celestia and Luna were gathered around a swirling silver sphere of magic which displayed the scene before them in a shimmering reflection. Celestia had set this up to watch the departure ceremony. They had been arguing for hours about Celestia’s declaration of war. “See, dear sister? We have the hearts and minds of the nation at our command,” said Celestia. “It seems as if YOUR fears are unfounded after all” said Celestia with an unusual hint of scorn in her voice.

 

Luna glanced off to the side, unsure of whether to meet her sister’s stare. Her gaze turned towards a stained-glass depiction of the two sisters working together to imprison the monster known as Discord. Thinking back to those long ago times when they got along so well, a tear begins to form in the corners of her eyes. She braces herself, and says what’s on her mind. “We still think it is unwise to declare war on the Deerfolk. The truce has been upheld by both sides these past twenty years. Surely they pose no threat to our nation?”

 

“No threat! Listen here Luna,” said Celestia, the scornful tone dropping out of her voice, replaced now by the pressing inflection of urgency. “I’ve tried to keep this from you. I didn’t think it would become an issue. But the Deerfolk have been secretly plotting against us, ever since you first came up with that treaty.”

 

Celestia moves closer to Luna, looking right into her eyes with an almost hypnotizing intensity. “Agreeing to their terms has made us look weak. They hate us for our attempts to absorb their nation, you know. And they’ve been waiting…lurking. Patiently watching until they think we are spread too thin to defend ourselves. And do you know what they will do then?” Celestia says, her voice now a whisper, “They’ll strike. And they won’t stop until every last stallion mare and foal has suffered.”

Celestia eased away from the stricken Luna. “So I think it’s safe to say what our course of action is. It’s simple. We fight, or we die. Now go prepare the supply trains for our soldiers.” she says, turning her back to her sister.

 

“Y-yes Celestia, We must marshal our supplies at once,” said Luna, a faraway tone to her voice. As she turns to leave the Hall of History, she stumbles a bit. She stops for a moment, shaking her head to bring herself back to reality. “What am I-oh? Of course, the supplies…” she exits the Hall, wide-eyed and blinking repeatedly. If Celestia saw this strange behavior, she took no notice.

 

By now Celestia has reached the far end of the hall, where an ornate door with a lock that can only be opened by the Royal Sisters guards the room where the Elements of Harmony were usually kept locked away. Sliding her horn into the lock, a soft pulse of magic slips into the keyhole, spreading outward in an intricate curving pattern; from within, there is a faint sound of locks clicking open. The door opens, and Celestia steps into the darkened chamber.

 

“The love of country is the love of Celestia, oh how priceless.” The Princess repeated with a laugh to the gloomy room, a strange, foreign inflection to her voice. A bright light escaped from her horn, partially illuminating the room. In the center of the chamber, hanging upside down from the ceiling, was a swirling green and black matrix of magic, in which was suspended none other than a battered and weary Princess Celestia. With a shuddering noise, the figure who entered the chamber revealed their true form.

“D-Discord. You monster,” Celestia croaked out, barely over a whisper. Despite her tattered condition, the ire in her voice was all too clear. “You…you’ve bewitched Luna to do your bidding…Making her agree to a declaration of war on our allies.” She spat.

 

“Why Celestia,” he said, taking on a tone of mock hurt, “I can’t believe you would accuse me of such foul play. Luna is perfectly free to do whatever she wants. I’ve merely told her what that is,” Discord says with only the slightest hint of a smirk, folding his arms behind his head as he floats through the air to stop directly in front of Celestia’s suspended prison.

 

“Why don’t you hang tight for a bit, hmm? Relax. You’ve got plenty of time. Ha.” He let out a clipped, bitter sounding bark of a laugh. “Funny thing time. For these past few centuries, I’ve had nothing but time; time to reflect and time to think about what I’d done. I was far too brash, you’re right. I committed spectacular atrocities.” He said, feigning a tone of penance.  “I’ve learned my lesson since then. Dear Princess Celestia, today I’ve learned that the best way to wreak your vengeance is from behind the scenes. After all, if the presence of evil were obvious, it wouldn’t be nearly as dangerous. Enjoy your vacation dear. I’ve got a country to run.” He said, shuddering back into the guise of Celestia.

Walking back into the Hall of History, Discord took a moment to look in the swirling Viewing Sphere. The Army of the West began to march, miles of animals kicking up plumes of dust along the road.

“Ah,” he sighed, “The best pawns are those with pawns of their own.”