The Charge of the Lighting Brigade
As told by Private Silver Sheath of the Equestrian Army, 1st Corps, 8th Division, 24th Lighting Brigade, 2nd Gold Battalion, B Company.
Equestria-Zebra War, PLD (Post Lapsum Discordiae) 241, Battle of Haycart
I stood watching the Zebra Bombards fire on our frontal fortification mercilessly. Our squad had been put up on a hill to guard an observation post placed there but Celestia knew we wanted to be down there helping our allies fight off the Zebra onslaught. For a good few hours we had sat about on the hill talking, sharpening swords, or just watching the carnage below. The sheer magnitude of the fight was both breathtaking and terrifying at the same time. From our elevated perch we could see almost the whole line. We could easily tell from ours and theirs simply by the either bright red of the Zebra uniforms or the dark purples and bright blues of our own, mine of the latter type. The Ponies and Zebras below were just ants up here but we knew the hoof to hoof combat below. Our squad had lost one of our newer recruits, not that I wasn’t one, just a few days ago to a Zebra and his knife. By the time we had seen the Zebra it was too late. The thought was still fresh in our minds even then. Sometime around midday a pony with our battalion ran up to use with an order for us to return to the rest of the brigade immediately. With haste we ran down the hill to see the rest of the brigade assembling. My squad was just able to catch the end of the briefing and were clueless on our orders. Just before one of the Pegasi flew off to get into air formation I caught them asking for orders. He quickly told me that we were going to charge the Zebras head long. At first I thought he was pulling my leg but he was dead serious. Much to my horror he was right and the brigade along with a few more down the line had began to get into a charger’s formation. If one of my squadmates hadn’t stopped me right then and there I would have snuck off and waited for the fight to end. With much hesitation I lined up along with my brothers in arms. From my spot in the formation I could easily see a number senior officers running in place nervously. It was clear they hadn’t liked the order just as the rest of us hadn’t. We stood in tight formation for a good fifteen minutes waiting for the final order. After another fifteen minutes had gone by the brigade commander began a heated argument with one of the senior sergeants from 1st Battalion who after the threat of court martial sulked back to the line defeated. The CO was clearly fed up and made a hasty decision. Our worst fears came true when he drew his dress sword from his sheath. We all stood rigid as he dropped it and we ran.
With a mighty shout we began to run forward all around the loud bellow of war cries filled the air as other units charged ahead joining the spear front. Above groups of Pegasi engaged Griffon mercenary units with the Zebras, It was chaos. I’m fairly certain by now the Bombards had turned their attention to us as the ground rumbled every few moments. Every once and a while a Griffon or Pegasus would fall from the sky and land nearby with a sickening crunch. Ahead of the the charged thinned out as Ponies were downed by Zebra archers. The new found view gave me a clear view of the Zebra lines and my general area. Around me the gutted and dying bodies of Ponies and Zebras lay about on the battlefield from a fight a few hours ago. All around me my comrades fell one by one leaving only few of us in the spear head to face the large number of Zebra soldiers waiting to meet us, swords drawn, farther down the field. The Zebra line rapidly approached as the last of us got into a tighter formation for our own protection. I didn’t recognize any of the Ponies in the formation around me just telling me how cut our numbers were. In the sky the pegasi had been forced to retreat as most of them had been cut out of the sky the the superior Griffon numbers. The run felt like an eternity. Directly in front of me a few seconds away was the whole of the Zebra army ready to cut my head off. With another shout we hit the line. The clashing of steel on steel rang all about me. The Zebra’s curved swords were some of the best in the world. They were made for the fast kill and could slice a pony in half with ease. I don’t remember how long I was fighting but it couldn’t have been long. The Zebras were some of the fiercest fighters in the world as well. They had years of training along with a warrior background and they put it to test on the battlefield. After a few moments I felt a strong pain and collapsed.
I woke up much later in a field hospital behind the lines with a large cut spanning the length of my gut. After some questions to a nurse I learned the charge was a misorder but was a success. Enough of the other units had punched through to take out the Bombards and give the ponies at the fort enough room to counterattack. It was at a cost however. Five battalions hadn’t reported back and countless were missing. The final casualty rate of the charge was placed at twenty percent but I knew it was much higher. I was out of the war now. The injury won me a ticket home and a honorable discharge.
From Equestrian Wars and Tactics by Commander Headwinds
Author's Note
Just something I did when I got bored. Before anyone asks yes this is inspired by Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Tennyson on his take of the doomed charge by British forces during the Crimean War.
