Blood of the Umbral Wars

Another blast rocked the walls of the small bunker; dirt and debris falling from the crudely dug out walls and ceiling. The heavy air ran thick with the scent of earth and congealed blood, a testament to the horrors of the war.

That fucking war. It had been going on as long as anypony could remember: The Umbral Wars of Night and Day. The fruitless power struggle between the two alicorn that sat at the head of the equestrian nations. So far, the estimated body count stood well into the millions; making life in equestria much more scarce than the fabled peace times.

A shockwave rippled through the earth around, knocking the pale blue soldier out of his trance. He looked around, trying to remember what he had been doing before he had zoned out. A quick glance down told him all he needed to know, taking the shape of a small white pegasi filly.

“Nightlock, just fucking kill it already! You heard what the orders from HQ were! All solar citizens are to be eradicated from this area. That means the filly, Nightlock. Just snap it’s neck so we can get the hell out of here.” He swallowed hard; biting back the tears that could only belong to a novice soldier. “I’m sorry”. He whispered, inching closer to the wide-eyed foal. “I’m so sorry...”.

A sick crunch told the soldiers that he had succeeded in his grisly task. Heads hung low as they all turned, making their way towards the exit of the small bunker. Nightlock finished heaving his guts up, before turning to join the rest of his squad. The blood-soaked mud underhoof made his stomach turn again, and it was all he could to to keep the remaining contents from creeping back up.

Half a dozen more squads stood to meet them as they crawled from the exit to the tiny bunker; all wearing the signature nightmare-blue armor that was issued to the unicorps of the New Lunar Republic. Weary faces accompanied the bloodied and dirty armor, showing just how hard the soldiers had been run. When at last it was decided that all of the soldiers had made it topside, a large stallion step forward.

“Listen up, colts. We’re pretty fucked from here on out. HQ’s reported sightings of multiple regiments of Goldcloaks and Solaris in the area, and if you recall our orders, we’re the bastards sent to take them out”. He paused for a second, spitting into the mud before clearing his throat and continuing. “There’s word that if we can complete this with minimal casualties, that we’ll be set for Umbra duty, and they’ll send Ursa or Raven in with us when we hit Giant’s Head. Something like that could give our set an edge when they send us in, so we’re going to have to buck the fuck up and get through this, alright?”

He didn’t take much time to collect an answer, instead barking a few orders and mounting up to move out. The sound of two hundred and eighty hooves squelched through the mud, accompanied only by the uniform sound of armor and equipment as they marched forward. The air was stagnant and cold, even with the lack of wind across the field. Private Nightlock shivered underneath his cold mithral armor, shaking his head and quickly trotting to keep up with his comrades.

All around them, the signs and sounds of war were ever-evident. Blood mixed and caked everything that could be seen. It permeated the air and hung about like a sickening fog; choking the soldiers that marched forward through the mud. For these damned souls, there was no alternative.

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