Hill by Hill
"Get down!" The soldiers heard the cry right before the air was filled with a high, screeching sound. The ponies dropped to the dirt, covering their heads as best they could with their hooves as they waited. The screech continued to grow until a deafening BOOM sounded somewhere off to their right. The collision caused the ground under the ponies to shake from the impact.
"Dammit! Those cannon shots keep getting closer every time!" yelled a dark orange unicorn. Swatting away the dirt from his blue mane, he lifted his bow and looked towards the direction the shot came from.
"I know Hawkeye, but there is no way in hell I'm waiting for them to lock onto us. We have to get out of here!" replied a dark gray stallion with a yellow mane that was black at the top. After standing up, the gray stallion began to sprint foward, searching the battlefield for a suitable cover for his squad. About thirty yards away, he came upon a crater with a cannonball lying in the middle. "Guys, over here!" he yelled back to the other four ponies.
A black stallion with a blood red mane turned to the rest of his squad that was still in the open. "You heard Shadow Hoof, get to that cover now! Frost, get a shield up if you see any incoming arrows. Hawkeye, if any of those rebels get within fifty feet, stop them where they stand," he said. With that, the stallion began to run towards Shadow. As the squad leader, he was constantly turning his head to look for enemies up ahead and looking over his shoulder to check on his team.
Once they reached the crater, the squad jumped in and layed down, trying to keep as much of their bodies hidden as possible. They stayed there for a minute, catching their breathe and awaiting the banshee-like schreech of another cannon shot. But when the dreaded sound never reached their ears, they gathered together to plan their advance.
"Storm Sweeper, I'm gonna need you to fly up and tell us the situation up ahead. See if you can find a path for Shadow to get through and cause some chaos behind their lines. For the rest of us, I'll need some cover closer to the enemy where we start to bring the fight to them," ordered the black pony.
"You got it Shield Breaker!" replied a leaf green pegasus with a black mane. Opening her wings, she thrust down and shot into the air. Being the only squad member with wings, Storm Sweeper was often tasked with getting information as quick as possible while in the middle of the battle.
Shield Breaker watched as she flew away, then continued his orders to the rest, "Like I said, Shadow, I'm going to need you to get behind the REF's. See if you can find that damn cannon of theirs and disable it. That will save us in the long run. Frost and Hawkeye, you're going to move up with me right down the middle. Frost, Storm, and I will engage them while Hawkeye covers us with his arrows, got it?" Shield Breaker recieved a variety of nods and "Yes sir"'s from the group.
The sound of wings flapping brought their attention to Storm as she descended upon the group. "Ok sir, I think I have it figured out. If we are quick enough, we can move up the field, taking cover in more craters and behind some trees while moving towards enemy. The rebels are set up on a hill to the north, so we will have to go straight up at them," Storm reported.
Shield Breaker grunted, saying, "Ok, it looks like they have the better terrain, but we aren't going to let that stop us now. What do you have for Shadow Hoof?"
"About fifty yards east of here is a small ravine that cuts its way north. This stretches past the REF's, allowing him to give them a nasty surprise from behind."
Hearing this, Shadow Hoof smiled. "Then I'll see you guys on the other side!" With that he grabbed his favorite dagger out of his front leg sheath with his teeth. Shadow jumped out of the cover and began racing for the ravine.
As he ran, he caught a glimpse of the rebel's hill out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to get a better view, tripping over an unseen rock in the process. Coming to a stop after a few yards, Shadow sat facing the hill. There on the hilltop was the very cannon that had been causing his team grief through the whole battle.
Suddenly, a large flash errupted from the cannon, and an explosion was heard a second later. Shadow jumped up in surprise, and began to run again. A screeching pierced the air for only a couple seconds, quickly being replace with a thundering BOOM behind him. The shockwave caused Shadow to stumble, but he somehow managed to stay on his hooves.
He shook his head to try and rid it of the terrible ringing in his ears. When we looked back up, Shadow found himself at the ravine. Skidding to a abrupt stop, he peered over the edge. It was a steep slope down to the bottom, about twenty feet below him. At the bottom was a stream of water slowly working its way through the winding ravine.
Shadow carefully placed his front hooves on the rocky slope, sliding down to the ravine floor. Once there, he turned north and began to go upstream. He ran quickly along the water, determined to reach the REF's before his team did. He needed to pull the rebel's attention away his squad to give them a chance to attack.
As he rounded another curve in the ravine, Shadow heard voices coming from up ahead. Quickly looking around, he spotted a ledge half-way up the slope where he might be able to hide. Using small crevices as hoofholds, he ascended to his make-shift hiding spot. As he lied down as low as he could, three ponies appeared from around the bend.
"-if we attack the Guard from behind, we can easily dispose of them. That's why the Captain sent us through here Iron Hoof," said the pony in front. He was a pegasus followed by two earth ponies.
"Shit, I can't let them get to my team," Shadow whispered to himself, "I'll have to take them out first." He crouched low to the ground, dagger in mouth, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting rebels. He decided to strike the pegasus first, since he had the best chance of escaping and seemed to be the leader. The ponies were looking left and right for any sign of danger, but never looked up.
Seeing his chance, Shadow skillfully leapt off of the ledge, falling towards the lead pony. "Willow, look out!" cried one of the earth ponies, but it was too late.
"Wha-" was all the pegasus managed to say before the dagger was brought down on his neck, dropping the pony instantly. Shadow quickly jumped off the body and looked to the other two rebels who were trying to unsheathe their weapons. While they were reaching for their swords, Shadow didn't waste any time. He ran at the left pony, tackling her to the ground and slashing his dagger across her neck. He then rolled away just as a sword came crashing down where he was a second ago.
"You're gonna pay for this!" yelled the remaining rebel as he jumped towards Shadow, sword drawn between his teeth. Shadow raised his blade to catch the opponents sword, but was knocked back a foot from the impact. Regaining his balance, Shadow backed up slowly, looking for his chance to strike. Filled with rage, the rebel charged again, but Shadow was ready this time. Right before impact, he dropped to the ground and slid into the other earth pony, barely dodging the sword that swung above his head. Swiftly twisting his dagger, Shadow swung up and down one of the rebel's front legs.
"Agh!" screamed the pony as he fell to his weakened side, now defenseless. Shadow made a quick stab with his blade, silencing the pained pony. He resheathed his dagger before running upstream, hoping this delay hadn't affected his squad.
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BOOM! "Celestia dammit, where the hell is Shadow Hoof. We need that cannon taken out NOW!" yelled Shield Breaker to nopony in particular. His squad had begun to leap from cover to cover across the battlefield, but the rebel's cannon had been harassing them the entire way.
"I don't know, but I think we'll have to find a way to get to the hill without him," replied Hawkeye as he peeked his head around a tree long enough to fire an arrow towards the hill. It landed a few yards in front of the line of rebels inside a hastily dug trench. Hawkeye readjusted his angle and fired another arrow. This one flew fast, landing itself into a pony's shoulder as he fell from the impact. "I need to be closer to make every shot count!"
"Sir, I can draw the cannon's fire long enough for you to get close," suggested Storm from her hiding place behind a boulder.
"No, I am not risking you. One hit from that cannon and there won't be any of you left for Frost to try and heal!" said Shield, looking over at the pegasus.
"It's the only option we have right now since Shadow Hoof hasn't made a move. It's either I distract them, or we wait here until they get a lucky shot in and hit us," Storm replied. Shield Breaker sat silently as he quickly thought it over. True, Storm was one of the most agile ponies he knew, but even one unlucky hit could knock her down. But if he got his team to the hill, it would be too close for the REF's to use the cannon without risking their own ponies in the shot.
"Ugh, fine... but you better make it, because I'm not losing any of my ponies to this damn cannon. Wait for the next shot, and run while they reload," Shield Breaker finally said. Storm nodded, stretching her wings and legs and she waited for her opportunity.
"She'll be fine. We need to focus on getting to that hill before they get a chance to reload and hit us point-blank," Frost said to the squad leader. The ponies sat there for a couple of seconds until the familiar defeaning sound rang out across the field.
"Go!" yelled Shield Breaker. Storm didn't hesitate, quickly sprinting away from her cover and to distract the rebels.
Meanwhile, Hawkeye was watching the hill and said, "They're changing the cannon's direction, get ready to move on the shot!" Still running, Storm looked at the cannon, waiting for the right time to act. Once she saw a bright flash of fire, she hurriedly flapped her wings, shooting into the air. Storm got a second flap in before the ground beneath her exploded, shooting dirt everywhere. A small rock clipped Storm's wing, but she continued to fly up, quickly getting out of range.
Once the cannon had fired at Storm Sweeper, the other three ponies jumped from their cover and began to sprint towards the enemy hill. The entrenched rebels saw them coming, and the archers drew their bows to fire. As arrows filled the air, Frost's horn lit up and a floating blue shield appeared above the running ponies. The magical shield caught the arrows before they could reach their target.
But then the Guard ponies watched in horror as the cannon swung around to their direction. Although Frost's shield could prevent arrows from penetrating, there was no way it was going to halt a solid ball of iron being launched at them.
"DON'T SHOOT! You'll hit us!" screamed a pony in the trench, seeing that the cannon happened to be pointing dangerously close to them also. Upon hearing this shout, Hawkeye detached from the group, taking cover behind a large rock at the base of the hill. He quickly set to work, holding the bow in one hoof, and firing arrows with his magic.
The REF's began to pull out their blades, preparing for close-combat. As they glared at the two approaching ponies, a cry of agony stole their attention to where the cannon sat. There, standing over the two cannon ponies, was a dark gray stallion with wielding a bloody dagger. The archers turned to fire at him, only to be brutally reminded that they forgot about the two Guards coming up the hill.
Reaching the enemy trench, Shield Breaker bit down of the handle of his broadsword, swinging it into one of the distracted ponies. The force threw him into a nearby archer, whose arrow shot harmlessly into the sky. Shield Breaker jumped down into the trench, bringing the flat side of the blade onto the top of another rebel's head, knocking him out instantly.
As Shield ran towards the other ponies, he caught a glimpse of Frost's two rapiers twirling around with her magic, before descending into an unfortunate pony standing below her. Shield refocused on the pony in front of him, bringing his sword up to block a swing aimed for his head. After effectively stopping the other ponies sword, Shield lunged forward, bashing his shoulder into the pony and knocking him down. Bringing the broadsword up, he quickly finished off the rebel with a forceful swing.
"Behind you!" came a voice out of nowhere. Spinning around, Shield came face-to-face with a pegasus, her leg raised to bring a sword down onto him. Shield Breaker closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact... that never came. Instead, his ears were met with a high pitched scream. Opening his eyes, he saw a spear sticking vertically out of the mare's shoulder. Suddenly she crumpled under the force of Storm Sweeper landing on top of her. "You ok sir?" she asked, reclaiming her spear that she had thrown.
"Ya I should be fin-"
"Down!" Storm yelled as she leaped over her leader. She smashed the side of the spear into the snout of the pony standing behind Shield, making him stumble back. Storm swung the tip of the spear down across his face, leaving a bloody gash. She cocked her leg back and threw the spear towards the rebel, delivering it straight to his chest.
As Storm retrieved her spear from the bleeding pony, she looked around for more rebels. Her gaze fell upon a group of eight ponies surrounding Frost. As Storm ran to help her friend, two REF's dropped to the ground. One had sword wounds across its chest and neck, while the other was felled by a arrow to the skull.
The rebels began to swing at Frost, but she skillfully blocked their attacks with her two swords and dodged the ones she couldn't parry. As she defended herself, Hawkeye wasted no time in killing the rebels while they were distracted. By the time Storm reached the group to help, they had all been taken out. "Whoa, Hawkeye is crazy good with that bow of his!" said Storm as she trotted up.
"Yeah, saved me a good deal of wounds just now. Speaking of which, Storm you wing is bleeding!" exclaimed Frost as she moved over to her.
"It's nothing, just a cut. We'll worry about it after we clear out the rest of these traitors," Storm said as she looked around the hill. Shield Breaker was pushing back two ponies at once, ruthlessly swinging his sword as the rebels tried to block it. The two then split to both sides of Shield to try and flank him, putting Shield on the defensive now.
Out of nowhere, Shadow ran up and tackled one of the ponies, rolling down the hill in a mess of kicking hooves and blades. This allowed Shield to focus on one pony, lifting his broadsword and driving the blade into the rebel. As Shield pulled his sword out, the pony fell over onto the ground.
Further down the hill, Shadow and the rebel had stopped rolling, ending with Shadow standing over him. He brought his dagger down into the pony below him repeatedly. After a few stabs, he backed away from the body, running back up the hill.
"Fall back!" came the a cry from a rebel officer, forcing the rest of the REF forces on the hill to retreat. They ran north, trying to put as much distance between them and the Guards of the hill.
Shield Breaker's squad watched them retreat, then trotted to the top of the hill to join together. Shield looked over his squad and spoke, "Outstanding work today. We might have taken some hits, but we hit them right back even harder. We get to rest up tonight and prepare for the fight tomorrow. We are not going to lose this war to these traitorous ponies! We fight for ourselves, we fight for the Guard, and we fight for Celestia!"
"YEAH!" roared the squad. Shield Breaker pulled an Equestrian Flag from his saddlebags, clipping it to the cannon on top of the hill, claiming the hill for the Guard.
Nova Squad
The squad had built a small campfire on top of the hill. Shield Breaker, Frost, and Storm Sweeper were watching it burn, chatting about nothing important. Meanwhile, Shadow and Hawkeye sat on opposite sides of the hill, looking out into the battlefield. The crescent moon provided some light across the expanse, but most parts were covered in shadow from passing clouds. The two soldiers sat attentively, searching for any sign of the enemy.
Hawkeye's ear twitched, hearing the sound of wings beating in the air. He quickly grabbed his bow in his hoof, knocking an arrow with magic. Searching the skies, he saw the silhouette of a pegasus approaching from the south. After aiming his bow, Hawkeye yelled, "Halt! Identify yourself!" The silhouette stopped its foward movement, instead descending straight down.
As the pegasus became eye-level with Hawkeye, he replied, "I'm a runner for the Guard, Private Starshot, I'm meeting up with available squads."
Hawkeye didn't lower his weapon, but continued to question the new arrival. "If you're a Guard, what is today's code?"
"Dragon fire," answered the runner as he landed in front of Hawkeye. "I'm here to check on our squads' conditions, relaying them back to command. I saw you guys take this hill earlier as I flew by, so it seems you fared a bit better than some of the other Guards today."
Hawkeye nodded, then pointed his hoof towards the three ponies around the fire. "Shield Breaker is the one you want to talk to then, he's the squad leader. I'll stay here and continue my watch," he said. Starshot thanked him and trotted over to the small fire, interrupting the three ponies' conversation.
Turning to the black stallion, Starshot began, "Private Starshot reporting, I'm here to gather your squad's status, then see what command wants you to do next. How did you guys hold up out there today?"
"No one was injured beyond small cuts today luckily. That's a damn miracle considering we had this cannon raining shots on us the whole way here. Besides that, you can tell command that Amber Squad is set and ready for orders," Shield Breaker said.
"Good job on your part then. A few other squads were hit pretty hard, got boxed in by the enemy. Took heavy losses before they could break out of it. Nova Squad lost three ponies just east of here, including their medic during that. I'm going to fly back to them, and send them your way. They need medical attention and don't have enough ponies to be an efficient group. Besides, I doubt you'll complain about having a larger fighting force," said Starshot.
Shield Breaker nodded and looked over to the two mares around the fire. "Frost, get some bandages and potions ready for when they get here. Storm, accompany Starshot to Nova Squad and lead them back to us. I'll inform Shadow and Hawkeye about this," he said before turning back to the runner. "Is that all you need?"
"Yep, that should cover it. Once Nova shows up, try to rest up before tomorrow. Looks like you guys earned it today," said Starshot. Backing a little bit away from the fire, he lept into the air and flew off. Storm quickly fell in behind him.
As Frost started pulling out supplies from her bag, Shield Breaker yelled, "Shadow, Hawkeye, get over here!" After the two guards stood in front of him, Shield continued. "Starshot just informed me we have another squad joining up with us. Nova Squad got hit hard by the rebels, and don't have enough ponies to continue as a squad. Storm went to lead them here, so it's our duty to help them. They will come up your side Shadow, so call me over when you spot them. That's all." After dismissing the soldiers, Shield placed more wood on the fire, enlarging it for more ponies to sit around.
Half an hour passed without incident. As Shadow Hoof stared at the land in front of him, he saw a group of shadow walking towards the hill in the distance. Before he had a chance to call it out, he spotted another group of shadows off to the right. But instead of going towards the hill, it was heading to intercept the first group! Shadow turned towards the fire and yelled, "Guys, we need to get down there now! I think some rebels are going to try and pick off Nova Squad!"
Shield Breaker and Frost ran down the hill towards him, with Hawkeye not far behind. They quickly looked to the east, spotting the two groups of ponies. As they sprinted down the hill, Hawkeye looked to Frost and asked, "We need to warn them, can you do something?" Frost thought for a second, before stopping. She charged her horn, until a bright orb of light shot out. The light arced across the field, bouncing and then stopping between the two shadowy groups.
From the light, Amber Squad could clearly see both groups. Storm Sweeper was walking on the ground, helping a unicorn Guard who's leg was bent at an unnatural angle. Two earth ponies followed close behind them. Looking over at the magical light that came to a stop in the field, Nova Squad froze. Sprinting right at them were four armed REF's.
While the Nova guards stared at the approaching rebels in shock, Storm acted quickly. She lept inbetween the unicorn and approaching ponies to protect him. Two of the rebels halted, raising their bows as the others continued their charge. The fired arrows launched towards the stationary ponies, one harmlessly landing in front of the group.
"Agh!" yelled Storm as the second arrow drove itself into her flank. She dropped for a second, but painfully stood up again to continue shielding the unicorn. She grabbed her spear, biting down on it harder than necessary due to the pain.
"NO! I'm gonna kill them all!" roared Shadow as he forced himself to run even faster.
"Shadow and Hawkeye, make those archers pay! Frost and I are going to catch the other two before they can reach Storm. Go!" ordered Shield. The squad split into two teams, running towards their objectives. One of the rebel archers heard the yelling, and turned to engage the running ponies. As he was about to release an arrow point blank at Shadow, a different arrow grazed his hoof. The rebel reared up in pain, wildly firing the arrow into the night sky.
Hawkeye knocked another arrow, watching the success of the previous one. Firing the new arrow, it flew to the second archer. The arrow buried itself into the rebel's shoulder, not allowing her to raise her foreleg. Hawkeye continued his shots as Shadow reached the first archer.
With no arrow available, the archer swung his bow down, hoping to smash it into Shadow's head. At the last moment, Shadow side-stepped, avoiding the swing. With his dagger drawn, he stabbed into the rebel's side. Eliciting a yell from his foe, Shadow quickly turned backwards. Bringing his rear legs up, he bucked with as much force as he could muster. His hooves made a satisfying CRUNCH sound as they connect with the pony's skull. The rebel harshly fell to the ground and didn't get back up.
Retrieving his dagger and looking up, Shadow saw the other archer. She was laying on her side in a puddle of her own blood. Added to the arrow in the shoulder, two more were stuck in her side and one had pierced her neck. Shadow turned around and nodded to Hawkeye for the support.
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While Shadow and Hawkeye laid waste to the archers, Shield Breaker and Frost continued their run. Shield glanced over at the other saying, "You need to get to Storm and that unicorn. And make those other guards to do something besides stand there! I'm going to try and slow down the REF's, so be quick." Frost acknowledged him, headeding for what was left of Nova Squad.
Upon reaching them, she knelt down next to Storm, looking at her new injury. Making sure arrow hadn't hit a vital organ or blood vessel, she quickly yanked it out with her magic. Storm yelled in pain while Frost placed bandages over it to stop the bleeding. Using her magic, she brought a glass jar to her friend's lips. After drinking the purple liquid in the jar, Storm could feel the pain numb significantly, but not disappear.
Once Storm was taken care of, Frost rushed over to the earth pony mare and stallion. They were looking around confusedly, unsure of what to do. Frost remembered hearing about what they experience earlier today, and almost understood why they stopped. Almost. Arriving in front of them, she slapped both ponies in the face.
"You need to get a hold of yourselves. Are you Royal Guards or a pair of crying foals? My leader is fighting off two rebels by himself right now because you are too scared to do your job! Pull your weapon out pull yourself together, because we need you. Now MOVE!" yelled Frost. With a final shove from the medic's magic, both guards bounded off towards the fight.
Reaching the three battling ponies, they realized they were needed badly. Shield Breaker was skillfully blocking most of the rebels' attacks, but wasn't able to get in a swing of his own. He was relying purely on defense. The Nova earth ponies went to opposite directions, pincering the REF's. Before the rebels could turn to block, the guards attacked. They brought their swords down on both of the enemies' necks, snapping them and killing the ponies instantly. Shield looked at them gratefully, before sheathing the broad sword and running to his squad.
Storm and the injured unicorn sat together, with Frost standing next to them on guard. Once Shield arrived, Frost reported to him, "Ok, Storm was hit in the flank by the arrow, but it didn't seem to cause any major damage, only hit skin and muscle. Might be a bit before the wound heals though." She walked over to the unicorn, laying down next to his injured leg. "Looks like he has a dislocated hind leg. Just have to pop it back in," she said before giving him a nearby arrow to bite down on. Grabbing the leg with both hooves and her magic, she forced the leg back into the socket. This caused the unicorn to shout and roll over in pain for a few seconds until he managed to calm down a bit.
Gently, he placed some weight on the newly fixed leg, testing it. Finding he could stand with only mild pain, he addressed the three ponies before him. "Heh, well you guys definitely saved us a heap of trouble right there. Name's Dawn Light, Nova Squad's leader," he said. Looking directly at Frost, he continued, "I especially want to thank you. Not only fixing up my leg, but snapping my team outta their state, I don't know if I can blame them though. Today when we got boxed in by the REF's, there was so much chaos, confusion, and death. It's a miracle we managed escape with what little injury we did get."
By this point, Shadow and Hawkeye came trotting up with the other two Nova Squad members. Shield Breaker looked around at them all and said, "It's nice sitting here for a chat and all, but I want to get back to the hill. We need a defendable location, especially with one of my ponies now injured. Dawn Light, are you good to walk on your own?"
"Ya, I should be able to make it over there easy enough. What about Storm though?" he asked, glancing at the injured pegasus on the ground.
"I've got her, let's just get moving and get off this field before another rebel team comes along," Shield replied. Bending down, he pulled Storm up onto his back, and set off in with a steady pace towards the hill. Frost and Shadow flanked the group while Hawkeye brought up the rear. Moving quickly, they arrived at the smoking embers of the previous fire in a couple of minutes.
Gently placing Storm down beside the fire pit, Shield addressed the gathered ponies. "We're all worn out, so try to grab some shut eye. More than likely, we'll find ourselves in even more trouble tomorrow. But as always, we will pull through, because it's our job. I'll keep first watch, so the rest of you should try to relax," he said. As the ponies from both squads settled down, Shield began to calmly pace around the group. Every once in a while he would stare at some shadows down the hill, but nothing happened during his shift.
About an hour later, he woke Hawkeye from his sleep. Trading spots, Shield rested on the grass, glad to be be off his hooves. As he drifted to sleep, he couldn't help but wonder what challenges they would face the next day.
