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Post by Red Charge on Sept 1, 2013 15:30:34 GMT -5
"I agree with Hoofington over there." said Sapphire, "Changelings can't change, it's not in their nature."
Fillydelphia shrugged, "I don't see why not, peace with us means dialogue, they can get a lot more love from peace than they can from war. They might not see it now, but they will, in time. I suppose part of the reason we're here is to prepare the ground for that. When we're done with those filthy dogs, they're going to want to start trading and going about Equestria freely."
"Going around Equestria freely?" Sapphire harrumphed, "They'll just cause more chaos, what's stopping them from taking our forms and just wreaking havoc, ending up with us getting blamed?"
"Obviously they won't be allowed to change shape in our territory." Fillydelphia responded evenly, "And if they do, I'm sure we'll be equipped to know. Could be another one of the reasons we were called here. There's at least one pony here from every militia and most major units."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 15:37:34 GMT -5
"Now it just sounds like you're making stuff up hoping for things to get better," Phalanx retorted, "What? You really think they'll want to live 'peacefully' after all of this is done? Set up a dainty little shop and sell their wares while giving their neighbour a delighted smile and never once use the talent they were born with? The talent that would then be completely outlawed? Yeah, unicorn, you tell me you'd live a happy little life if suddenly using magic was a criminal offence." For once, Phalanx didn't mind the Cloudsdale pony as much, at least they seemed to have the same opinion about the wretched bugs around them, meanwhile this Fillydelphia unicorn was on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. What next? Is she going to say that dragons should be accepted into Equestrian society?
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Post by Red Charge on Sept 1, 2013 15:47:16 GMT -5
"I don't like them much either." Said the Fillydelphia pony, shrugging again, "But if I don't hope for better things, what do I have left?"
At that, Ranger began shushing the crowd, "All right fillies, settle down." He said, "You're all probably wondering why you've been brought here, well there are numerous reasons, chief of which is because Equestria has gone for too long without being able to control the large territory known as the Everfree Forest. As was seen during this invasion, enemy forces move freely throughout, which has made them hard to predict, hard to observe... hard to fight. No more. You have been brought here as the first in a program to train ponies from various bodies of the Equestrian Armed Forces to successfully use the forest to Equestria's advantage. You will undergo survival training, learn how to cope in this environment as well as how to navigate it, with the end result being, mastery of the forest, at least as much as one is able to master the Everfree."
At that the mares burst into talking.
"Well, didn't see that coming." Said the Cloudsdale mare, "So... this Ranger guy is going to make us all into rangers? Ironic."
"Well, it's pretty obvious Starling has them by their tail now." Fillydelphia said.
"What do you mean?" Asked Sapphire.
"Being able to move forces through, survive and navigate the forest makes them very vulnerable to Equestrian attack in the future. They're pretty much going to teach us how to get at them later on."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 15:55:14 GMT -5
Phalanx grumbled, figures that Ranger - the traitor - was going to be conducting this weird training thing, not Starling himself like she had figured. Great, nevermind the fact that the Everfree forest held little interest for her between the potentially living trees and the horrors within, but now this very select group of mares from all over Equestria was suddenly going to conduct 'survival training' in this wretched place? Oh good, great, exactly what she had always wanted to learn.
Great, more 'probably good news' from the Fillydelphia pony. She looked to her, "Yeah, how do we know this is the only place they live? They can hide and survive anywhere. Nothing ever shows it's weakness willingly, so whatever this is: they're not giving us a knife to stab them with. Who's to say they can't afford to lose this place?"
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Post by Red Charge on Sept 1, 2013 16:01:37 GMT -5
"Well this is where there hive is, there's nowhere else in Equestria they can settle in where we can't see them. If they settle outside of Equestria, they wouldn't be our problem anymore would they?" Fillydelphia responded.
"Here's hoping they go to the griffs, heard they bombed their changelings to extinction." One of the changelings overheard that and looked her with a disgusted look, but dared not say or do anything other than that.
"Settle down, please." Ranger said, waiting until the mares have all shushed before going on. "As it is, you will not be living in this hive but in the forest itself, underneath this hive. Outside of training you will receive no aid and will have to rely on the skills we teach you in order to do well for yourselves. You will be divided into two teams, each of which would compete against the other. During the training course you will be given certain objectives and perform tasks at given times, the winner of which will be rewarded with assistance. Those who fail to adapt to the training or their squad mates will be cast off. Rangers sometimes have to live in the forest for long periods of times, especially during war when ambushing enemy forces and observing their movements is critical. If you can't get along with your teammates now, you won't be able to in real time and that's a risk no one is willing to take."
Another burst of talking started between the mares. "This all sounds ridiculous." Said Sapphire.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 16:08:38 GMT -5
Yet again Phalanx had to agree with Sapphire, this didn't make *any* sense. Wouldn't Starling have called in a few stallions for this 'ranger' training if this was indeed all it was? Just a survival competition between two teams? Wouldn't ponies higher up in command have been brought in instead of low-ranking military like herself, rather than this hodge-podge mix of mares from all over the place?
A horrible idea hit her. "Now I get it," Phalanx commented, "They're setting us up. They're waiting to see how ponies react to their training to understand how we learn and adapt, then they're throwing us in the forest to see how long we can survive out there...all under the guise of helping ponykind." No doubt she was probably wrong, but in the rare case that she was right...at least she'd be wouldn't be surprised.
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Post by Red Charge on Sept 1, 2013 16:39:31 GMT -5
"Now that's ridiculous." Fillydelphia said, "You really think it's not something the Field Marshal would think of? You think he's not one hundred percent sure he's got them where it counts? You're underestimating him."
"Well it's true, I don't know Field Marshal Starling to be a fool, pony won wars by himself. There's a reason he's at where he's at." Sapphire had to agree, "But this still looks... I dunno, fishy? I guess we need to put our trust in our Field Marshal. He'd never risk the safety of Equestria."
At that, the groups were given the most basic in camping supplies and sent down the ladder. However they had no fire, no tents, just sleeping bags and fake grass and vines to hide in. Which plants in Everfree were even edible? They didn't know. They were lowered down into the thicket of the Everfree, when they reached down Fillydelphia continued, "Field Marshal Starling's not going to be fooled by these guys."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 16:48:17 GMT -5
Phalanx grumbled to herself. So much for the 'training' they were supposed to receive. I'm pretty sure throwing sleeping bags and fake plants into somepony's hooves is a *great* way to get them accustomed to the harshness of the forest, she thought to herself angrily. This wasn't training, this was just a wretched game, a way to see how ponies accustomed to the forest. She still considered her strange idea as to what might be happening, and the lack of training or information was more than enough reason to make sure she didn't abandon the thought.
Phalanx looked over to Fillydelpha, "I've give Starling some credit, he's definitely a brilliant pony...but these are changelings, a species whose primary talent and ability is deception. I'm not ruling out the changelings getting ready to turncoat at a moment's notice, not until the changelings have absolutely nothing left."
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Post by Red Charge on Sept 1, 2013 17:10:29 GMT -5
Fillydelphia shrugged. She was either very talkative or not at all apparently. They were split into two groups. One of which contained the militia and royal guard ponies, the other one contained the army ponies. The two groups were then split apart and taken far away from each other in the forest, each left somewhere in the thicket. Needless to say it was uncomfortable. The ground was uneven, thorny and rocky at best. There was low light if at all, it was despicably noisy due to the bad acoustics in the area and more than anything it was cold. How could it be cold in here when outside it felt like the world was on fire? Magic, probably.
Almost immediately as they settled, after the Changelings left, Sapphire said, "You know what, we shouldn't be playing their stupid game. If our goal is to beat the other team, we should just raid their camp at night and steal whatever supplies we can, stash them somewhere in the forest and wait for them to quit."
Fillydelphia pondered this, "You know what, I think she's right. End this little program pretty quickly for them. Though I don't advise doing it right away. We'll get lost, I say we learn a little bit, play along, then as soon as we can do it efficiently, do it."
One of the royal guard mares piped up, "We've been told to go with the training."
"Well initiating and raiding is just as part of guerrilla warfare as observing and ambushing." Sapphire argued. "Sides, it'll be a good way to implement what we learn and show those bug eyed freaks what we're made of."
The royal guard seemed hesitant, well of course, all the royal guards were goody two shoes, had no initiative, that's why they got beat over and over again in this war. "It's our team versus theirs now and I'll be trapped in a cider barrel before I let them win."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 17:17:12 GMT -5
Phalanx chuckled softly, turning to the royal guard, "What's the matter, Dove? Getting cold hooves? You are right, it's us against them in a test of *survival*. Either we do the goody-four-hooves thing and try to out-last them, or we severely lower their chances of survival while boosting our own. If we manage it, it's just about a guaranteed win for us. Let's at least figure out the basics first, let them start to hoard a few supplies first, then: we raid their camp. They let us keep our gear, so why not put it to good use?"
She had to admit it wasn't sportspony-like to raid their camp, but for all she knew the other team might've been thinking the same thing. Soon enough her team might have to start setting up nightly watches around the camp...
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Post by Red Charge on Sept 1, 2013 17:22:37 GMT -5
The Royal Guard looked at Phalanx silently for a moment before sending a hoof right into her face, causing her to reel back. Immediately Sapphire grabbed Phalanx to prevent her from retaliating while a couple of royal guard mares held back the 'dove'.
"Dove? You manure muncher militia serpent. What have you done for Equestria huh? Sitting all comfy under an ice shield serving a former cultist? Huh?" The enraged mare shouted, "Think that because you got fancy new armor it means you're a soldier, you're nothing. Hoofington hasn't given a single hair to Equestria's defense, so you shut your mouth or I'll shove a tree up your snout!"
As the Royal Guard ponies were dragging the swearing pegasus away, Fillydelphia got in the middle of both camps to prevent any one else from starting anything. "Well this is off to a good start."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 17:31:06 GMT -5
Phalanx smirked, apparently the nickname Long Haul had relayed to her for the white pegasi guards from Canterlot was enough to keep the mare from retorting. According to Long Haul, that nickname was still a pretty lighthearted thing to say, sort of like a 'friendly insult'.
Her smirk quickly disappeared as the dove swung a punch at her, landing square on her muzzle and causing her to stumble back over a bramble. Now bleeding from the nose and probably bruised on her back, she tried to regain her bearings as the dove threw a stream of insults at her. None of it really left an impact on her, of course, she hardly bothered to give the dove any attention after she swung a punch at her, nevermind letting the white-coated mare get to her. All things considered, though, at least now she knew a guaranteed way to get under the dove's skin.
Phalanx wiped away what blood she could, getting to her hooves and looking to Fillydelphia, "Just goes to show how uptight the 'Canterlot Elite' can get, can't even take a cute nickname without throwing punches. I get the feeling we're going to get along just fine," she remarked, sarcasm positively oozing from her last sentence.
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Post by Red Charge on Sept 1, 2013 17:35:26 GMT -5
"Well that was a mean thing to say," Sapphire said, "Considering the Royal Guard Air Force suffered the most in this war. Half of them won't be flying again after the Leviathan." The Cloudsdale Pegasus said, "Quite insensitive of you." She shook her head.
"We should let her calm down and then go talk to her, but next time, try not to insult the other ponies on our team alright? Last thing any of us wants is to take manure from our own." At that Fillydelphia buggered off to her corner, laying there and trying to get comfortable. She didn't go to sleep though, she just watched the camp as it became lively with talk and murmurs about what just happened.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 17:44:58 GMT -5
Phalanx rolled her eyes, "Can't even take a joking nickname on day one, wow...whatever, remind me to keep well away from her then," she commented to nopony in particular.
As Fillydelphia made her way to her own corner, Phalanx figured she might as well do the same. While there wasn't exactly anywhere comfortable in the little 'camp' her team was in, she eventually found a flat, rocky area outside the 'inner circle' as she started mentally referring to it. It wasn't comfortable at all, which was a given, but at the very least she could keep away from the Dove and anypony else perfectly willing to make Phalanx's day that much worse. Truth be told, she really did mean that as just a teasing nickname for the royal guard, not quite the insult she took it as. She reminded herself to slap Long Haul the next time she saw him, as the earth pony's information on the nickname had proved quite the contrary to what it seemed to mean.
Whatever, no point staying up any longer than I have to, she thought to herself, trying iin vain to get as comfortable as possible before trying to catch whatever sleep she could.
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Post by Red Charge on Sept 4, 2013 15:35:25 GMT -5
Phalanx woke up after what seemed like only an hour, her camp was completely silent however. Immediately she noticed Sapphire Bomber curled up around her in deep sleep. At least she was warm, if a little out as far as it came to boundaries, but she did seem to be very cold, so it was at the very least understandable. Looking towards the sleeping camp she noticed Fillydelphia sitting on a low branch keeping watch. The royal guards were huddled in their side of the camp while the rest of the militia ponies were in another side. Looks like Phalanx' exchange with the 'dove' was enough to split the camps. Then again, Royal Guard hardly ever got along with other ponies, whether in the militia or the army.
The forest was still cold, still silent and still eerie. Phalanx felt eyes constantly watching them and occasionally could spot a pair of animal eyes through the darkness before moving away.
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