The grey mare fell at my hooves. It had lost a leg, and its neck had been slashed open during the fight. Its eyes were completely blank, just like all of its comrades. I watched the last bits of life drain from its throat, as it laid on the ground gasping for air. It coughed, spitting up a large amount of blood as it did. With a final exhale of breath it no longer stirred. It was dead, and I was the one who had brought it down.
I looked up from the mare in time to see a brown earth pony coming at me with an axe. I deftly sidestepped it, and with a flick of my wings cut its head clear off. It rolled across the ground in front of me, as its body collapsed behind me. I felt sorry for a moment; I was matched against such slow and unthinking creatures.
I surveyed the battlefield, and watched as my brothers in arms fought against the horde. Most of the mindless ponies were unarmed, but several had crude melee weapons. They charged at us without fear of death or injury. That was the most frightening thing about the horde, and it told us that they could no longer be saved.
We had been currently fighting on a barren field, which had long ago been some kind of orchard. Dead trees covered the landscape in neat rows; they gave excellent cover. We had lured the opposition into the field, so that we could thin their numbers, but it seemed that their overwhelming force would win them this battle eventually. For every one of us that they took down we would kill five, but they could spare it. It was an unfortunate reality that because they merely outnumbered us, that they would eventually overpower us if something was not done.
I looked to one of my lieutenants, that was standing on a barren hilltop nearby. He was a pale green earth pony with a dark brown mane, and was barely out of his teens. On his flank he bore the cutie mark of a spyglass. I signaled for him to make his way over to me, and he proceeded down the hill he was perched on. When he reached me he stopped and saluted.
“Yes Ma’am,” he said lowering his hoof.
“You idiot! Do you want them to try and assassinate me because you couldn’t help but salute me on the battlefield?” I asked causing him to cringe.
“Sorry ma’am it won’t happen again,” he replied.
“It had better not lieutenant. Now tell me where the enemy commanders are,” I ordered.
“Ma’am! There are two unicorn commanders on the other side of that barn. I believe there is a third somewhere, but have not made visual confirmation.” He visibly suppressed the urge to salute me again.
“Good job lieutenant. Now get back up on that hill, and find me that last commander.” He quickly turned and made his way back to his post.
I turned away from the lieutenant, and looked across the battlefield. I could barely make out the barn that was on the other side of the orchard, through the thick fog that covered the landscape. I would need cover if I was going to reach it. I flew a short distance to a pony wearing thick barding. He was a white unicorn, and a close friend of mine. He had just finished running through an earth pony with his blade when I came up behind him. He heard my hooves touch the ground and whirled around to face me with his blade raised.
“Major,” he sighed. “You should know better than to sneak up on ponies.”
“I don’t have time for banter Strike. I need you to clear me a path to that barn across the field. The commanders are hiding behind it. I will finish them off, and end this battle,” I said motioning to the barn in the distance.
Strike looked to where I was pointing and frowned. “You are going to make it all the way over there?"
“It is my job isn’t it?” I replied.
He sighed, and signaled to the ponies under his command that were nearby. They immediately disengaged from the enemy, and formed up in front of him. There were several gaps in their lines, which marked the ponies that had fallen during the battle. Seventeen ponies were left under his command; he had come into this battle with thirty.
“Listen up. We will be running interference for the Major. Engage as many hostiles as possible and try to clear a path to that barn,” Strike said motioning to the building through the fog. His squadron then quickly broke rank, and once again engaged the horde. They slowly began to punch a hole through the enemy creating a path to the target.
The fighting was savage. The unicorns were casting spells at the enemy, trying to disrupt them. The more talented magic users who were able to cast blades, engaged the enemy with deadly strikes. The earth ponies were using their natural strength to protect the unicorns, and keep the savages off of them. The few pegasi that we had left were trying their hardest to keep the skies clear, making sure not to stray anywhere close to the deadly clouds overhead.
“It’s now or never sir.” Strike turned to me.
“Wish me luck,” I said giving him a smile; of course he didn’t return it.
I took to the air with all the speed I had, which was considerable. I raced across the field, pumping my wings as hard as they would allow. A feral pegasus came screeching towards me, but in the air my wing blades were ten times more deadly. I cut it clean in half as I soared by. It didn’t take long for me to reach the barn, and swoop around to the back. Just as the lieutenant had reported, I spotted two unicorns behind the barn standing in rune circles. Their eyes were closed in concentration, as they channeled magic into the mindless earth ponies and pegasi that they were commanding in the field.
I quickly dove at one of them, hoping that I could silently take out one of the unicorns before the other one noticed. As I approached the blue mare, I slammed hard into an energy field that threw me back. I managed to right myself in the air, but I was dazed. The mare inside the energy field noticed me and turned towards me; its horn began to glow. Its companion continued to keep its eyes closed, and kept focused on the battle.
The unicorn began to shoot magical beams at me from its horn. Though these unicorns controlled the horde, they were little better than the mindless earth ponies and pegasi. They had enough brainpower to form a couple of spells, but shouldn’t have been able to put up an energy field. That could only mean that one of the higher ups was nearby. A thought that did not sit well with me.
I dodged its magic with relative ease, and rammed my hooves into the energy shield. I felt the shield give a little under my assault, and I quickly retreated to avoid being hit by a magic missile. I slammed once again into the invisible shield, this time I saw small cracks form. It seemed that I underestimated the unicorn, and a bolt of energy struck my armor just below my wing.
I was almost knocked from the air by the shock of the bolt. A hole had been punched straight through my armor, and had ripped right into my side. Blood began to trickle from the wound, as I fought to stay airborne against the continuous onslaught of magic. I flew higher, and higher as I dodged the bolts. When I was just below the cloud ceiling I looked down to where the unicorn was still firing magic at me, but had very little chance of striking me at this distance.
I then proceeded to drop from the sky. At first, I allowed gravity to do most of the work as I descended towards the ground, but I soon began to pump my wings to help me build up speed. The closer I got to the unicorn on the ground the closer the shots became. One whizzed past my face singeing my cheek, but I continued to dive directly at the mare and its shield. I collided with the invisible shield completely obliterating it.
The shock of hitting the shield slowed me enough, so that I didn’t kill myself when I tackled the unicorn. I slowly climbed off of the mare, and noticed that I had broken its neck when we collided. I turned my attention to the other unicorn, which had been protected inside of the shield.
It was no longer channeling magic into the horde, and just stared at me with a blank expression on its face. I fought to catch my breath as I slowly approached it. You never knew what might happen on the battlefield, and I somehow always seemed to fall right into traps. As I got closer I could tell that this was no trap. It just continued to stare at me.
The blue unicorn must have been above it on the hierarchy, which meant that I had effectively severed their chain of command. Without somepony telling it what to do, it had reverted into a dumb animal. I momentarily felt bad for the unfortunate soul, but I had my duty. I sliced my wing blade across its throat severing an artery.
It didn’t fall over, and start grasping its throat like any normal pony would have done. It simply continued to stand there, devoid of any thought until it had lost so much blood, that its body could not support itself any longer. When it fell, it laid on its side until it was no longer breathing. I did not see the light drain from its eyes, as I had with the other ponies I had slain. The unicorns never had any life left in their eyes.
With that the two unicorns that had been controlling the other ponies were defeated, and I took to the air once more, so I could reach the battlefield on the other side of the building. When I was once again in the orchard I saw that the horde had stopped in its tracks. If there had ever been another unicorn in the field, and that energy shield made me suspect there was, they must have fled after their two subordinates had been slain. This definitely meant that I was dealing with one of the higher ups, which explained why the horde had pushed us so hard over the past few days. On the rare occasions that I had fought one of the enemy's commanders I had been with at least another Major. Since I was the only high ranking officer in the battle, I would have had to take it on solo. I had been very fortunate that it had turned tail.
I looked once again across the field. The pegasi that were fighting us had fallen to the ground wherever they had been flying. The earth ponies were mostly standing in place, but a couple were grazing on some weeds that were still growing in the barren field. Ponies being reduced to such a state was something that never should have happened.
But it did happen. I had to face the harsh reality that I lived in. I flew back to where Strike was standing, giving out orders to the remainder of his troops. The rest of the soldiers that were in the field, were also making their way over to my second in command. When all the ponies had gathered, I counted that seventy-three of us remained. Coming into this orchard, we were a hundred and forty strong. We had managed to keep casualties under fifty percent, which was something that rarely happened as of late. Still it was terrible, and I would have to give a report to General Storm directly about this.
“You orders sir?” Strike asked turning to me.
I looked back over the battlefield, and noted the blank expressions on the ponies that we had been fighting for the past couple of days. It had taken three days to finally bring their forces to a standstill. I looked over the faces of the dead that lay in the orchard. I immediately recognized many faces, most of which I had known personally. I closed my eyes, and wished that I didn’t have to give the next order.
“Kill the rest. Retrieve the bodies of our comrades and burn them.” With that I turned away, and listened as Strike relayed my orders to the rest of the troops.
They quickly got to work carrying out their instructions. I listened as the throats of the enemy were slit, and they fell to the ground gasping. The pegasi were always the worst; they would shriek and spasm before finally going still. The slaughter continued for nearly twenty minutes, and eventually I could no longer hear bodies hitting the ground. This was how we fought in the queen’s army. This was war.
The trip back to the base camp wasn’t an exceptionally long one. I walked alongside my troops as we trudged through the barren landscape. Being one of the few pegasi left, I would have much preferred to fly back to camp, but I needed to stay grounded for morale purposes. I was also worried that my wound would open again if I took to the air. The other two pegasi in my contingent, took turns monitoring the distance for an approaching enemy force.
We walked along a beaten path, which led through the barren land. The ground was hard, and crusted. Despite the clouds constantly hanging over us, it never rained. If any rain did fall from the sky, it would probably kill us all in a matter of minutes. The trees along the path were long dead, and their branches creaked in the slow breeze. The air smelled of death, this whole country smelled of death. We were the invading force, and we were fighting for our claim to this hell.
We encountered no opposition as we marched back to our forward operating base. We had come from backing up the fifth division, and needed to resupply before we were to be deployed again. We were running low on rations, and couldn’t scrounge up anything to eat in the wastes.
I never knew quite how the horde was able to maintain its numbers, with how little food existed in Equestria. I had been told stories when I was young, of how once a long time ago Equestira had been a thriving civilization, and plant life grew everywhere. You couldn’t take a step, without running into something edible and delicious. Now however, there was only dirt and gray as far as the eye could see.
Just over seventy ponies remained under my command, and walked along the road behind me. To my left, my second in command Captain Quick Strike walked, and on my right was Captain Snow Flake. The teal mare hadn’t been under my command for long, but her array of spells helped turn the tide of many battles. It astonished me that she was able to make the rank of Captain without being a blade caster, but that just showed the amount of determination that she had.
Determination was something that everypony in the military needed to possess. I have seen too many kids join the military without having the right attitude, or work ethic. Fortunately, most of them were screened out in boot camp before they ever saw any real combat. Sometimes though, one would make it all the way to the battle lines, and freeze up in the middle of the fight with the enemy. Sometimes, somepony would make it in time to aide them. Far too often nopony did.
The campaign to retake Equestria has been raging for longer than anypony can remember. The only ones that could accurately give a timeline would be the queen and king, but they hated the war so much that nopony dared to ask. The king had never planned for the campaign to last so long, and took our failure for complete domination of Equestria as a personal shame. For the past twenty years he has secluded himself in exile leaving the queen to take over all of the royal duties.
Our queen was as wise as she was beautiful. It is said that she has lived for more than a millennia, but it is hard to imagine such a thing. It isn’t that I doubt her divinity nor her power, but were there a creature so powerful I don’t see how the world could have fallen to this. Such thoughts must remain locked away here. Were certain factions to hear such blasphemy, I doubt my station would be enough to protect me.
Equestria was a dull and useless stretch of dirt, which had a poisoned sky. I sometimes wondered, why it was that we were fighting so long and hard, to capture a worthless country. Most ponies bought into the propaganda, and thought of it as our birthright to take control of Equestria once again. The masses bought into the babble that the elite spouted, and signed up for the military by the hundreds. None of the aristocrats could be bothered to come to the front lines, and fight in the war that they kept going. It is only when ponies get to the fighting and the killing, that they truly see how pointless it all is.
I hate the war, and everything that it represents. Our enemies are nothing more than simple beasts that are controlled by an intelligent few. They throw themselves at us, without fear of injury or death, and overwhelm us with numbers. Were we to simply let them be it is likely that they would not show aggression to us. Unfortunately, that is a risk that we cannot take.
If the horde did press into our territory, and bring the taint with them, it would be a recurrence of the Black Massacre. The fear of another outbreak of the plague is what drives us to push into Equestria, and try and rid the world of these monsters. That is what keeps the endless cycle in motion.
I looked ahead to our pegasus spotter that was signaling that we were close to camp. I held up my wing to stop our march, and called for our two scouts. Fours Star and Pumpkin, were the two earth ponies that had been assigned to my personal unit for scouting purposes. They quickly made their way to the front of the pack.
“I want you two to scout out the campsite before we make our way over this last hill,” I said turning to the two. They each gave a salute, and made their way to the base camp that rested still a mile off. Once they had disappeared from view Strike turned to me.
“Why are we sending ahead scouts to our own base camp?” he asked in a hushed tone, making sure that none of our subordinates could hear him question my orders.
“One of the enemy commanders was in that last battle, but fled before we could find them. I don’t want to walk my troops into an ambush, and lose any more ponies,” I replied without turning to him.
“Are the enemy commanders even smart enough to plan an ambush?” I could tell that the question was rhetorical, but I needed to fix his attitude right away, his life may depend on it one day.
“You have never had to fight one of their commanders before have you?” I asked causing Strike to shake his head in response. “What about you?” I asked Snow, trying to include her in the conversation.
“Unfortunately I have,” she replied simply, which shocked me.
“What did you make of it, Captain Snow Flake?” She obviously wasn’t expecting me to involve her so much. I do not frequently try to socialize with the soldiers that I have to command, but with the captains being the only two with a rank even close to mine I tried to build a rapport. I had gotten close with Strike over the years, but still needed to get to know Snow Flake. From what I had been told of her, and what I had observed, she seemed to be a very studious pony.
Though not naturally gifted with an incredible amount of power she studied spells constantly. The way she fought in battle was very meticulous, and when I watched her on the battlefield she excelled. Most of her repertoire consisted of spells that used the terrain against multiple enemies at once, which allowed the grunts to move in and take them out.
“It was many years ago sir, I am afraid that my assessment would not live up to standards,” she replied.
“Give it to me anyways captain.” I could tell it would be a while before she would open up.
“Yes sir. It was many years ago back when I was just a private. I was assigned to a small contingent that was to serve as backup for General Diamond Heart. During the battle we got separated from her, and were engaging the enemy on our own. I was terrible back then, and could barely conjure a magic missile.
"We were outnumbered and quickly became surrounded. We tried to punch a hole through them, but for every one we took down two more came at us. Suddenly the enemy stopped dead in their tracks, and opened up a path for a single unicorn.
“Its eyes were glowing deep red, and it was laughing hysterically as it approached us. Without warning its horn flared a deep crimson, and my CO burst into flames. One by one we were dropped before the black unicorn as it approached us still laughing. I was too afraid to do anything, and cowered on the ground as it approached.
“I watched as it tore apart my entire squad by itself, until finally it turned its attention to me. I thought that I would be consumed in fire just like everypony else had been, but before it could reach me General Diamond Heart tackled it to the ground. Before or since I have never seen anypony that fights quite like she does. It is said that she can easily crush a boulder with one hoof, but it took her at least ten strikes to fell the beast.
“Once the commander had been taken down, all of the other enemies reverted back to their docile forms, and the battle was won. I have never let my guard down outside of my own living quarters since then. The enemy commanders are extremely powerful. Only a hoof full of unicorns in the entire army are as powerful as it was, and I have been told by more experienced officers that it wasn’t even one of the strongest commanders that they have.” Snow Flake finished recounting her tale leaving Strike slack jawed.
“The Infernals like the one that you faced are indeed terrifying. It is the Earth Movers however, that you need to truly be afraid of. As far as I know only one Earth Mover has ever been killed, and that was more than five decades ago. If you ever see one I strongly urge you to run.” I turned to Strike. “The enemy commanders are some of the most powerful ponies that have ever existed. What’s worse is that they are all sadists, and extremely intelligent. They will set traps, and ambush troops as they approach their camps to rest. It has even been reported that they can change their form, and imitate our forces. Never let your guard down while you are on this side of the border. Not even for a second.”
I looked back to the top of the hill where our two scouts were coming into view. Strike probably wanted to say something about how he could take out one of the commanders with a hoof behind his back, but was cut off as Four Star quickly made his way over. The brown stallion saluted, and began to give his report.
“Everything is clear ahead ma'am. No enemy spotted.”
“Very good private now fall back into line, and we will make our approach.” The two scouts saluted once again, and made their way back into line with the rest.
I gave the signal to continue our forward march, and everypony fell into line behind me. I knew some ponies that reveled in the power that authority granted. I wasn’t able to enjoy the commanding position however. It was true that being a Major came with great perks, such as a private tent and better food, but having lives in my hooves never sat well with me. I kept a log of every soldier that fell while under my command, and whenever I made it back to the homeland I sought out their families to give my condolences.
On my next rotation home I would be visiting at least a hundred and fifty families. My sister would always tell me that it wasn't a healthy habit, and I needed to learn to cope with the loss of my subordinates.
We crested the hill, and I looked down to see row upon row of tents set up that comprised the base camp. My division was part of the fifth expeditionary force, and this was where we were stationed. I saw ponies milling about their work, as they moved between the rows. At last count the fifth expedition was over a thousand strong. I led the ninth division, a specialty unit that was sent to reinforce others.
The quarters for all nine divisions were spaced out, and marked off. Flags flew over each of the tents to mark which division they belonged to. Our crest was a crown resting between a pair of wings; the same as my cutie mark. In the middle of the tents was a courtyard meant for running drills, and various gatherings. Behind the courtyard rested the quarters of General Storm Charger.
General Storm Charger was in charge of the entire fifth expedition, and oversaw everything we did. He was a pegasus of legend, and was known across the kingdom for his ability in battle. Working directly under him was one of the reasons I had asked for this position.
The fifth division had already made it back to base after their latest push into the wastes. We had been sent out to cover them while they made their way home. I knew Major Silver Lining personally, and had made sure that we got the assignment to reinforce them. It was partly selfish of me to ask for the assignment, but with pegasi being a dwindling species I couldn’t leave them stranded.
Silver Lining had fifty pegasi under her command, and led a heavy strike team that would push far into enemy territory and hit them hard. Somehow the enemy had surrounded them, and cut off their only path of retreat. This was the reason that the ninth division had to intercede, otherwise they probably all would have perished.
As we approached the bottom of the hill we reached a glowing energy field. There were unicorns stationed around the camp, constantly feeding power into the shield to fend off an enemy surprise attack. A small group of guards waited for us at the entrance barring our entry into camp.
I approached them they gave the customary salute, which I returned. “Major Red Dawn with the ninth division returning to base,” I said to the ranking officer. He was dressed in ornate black armor, which clashed with his white coat. He inspected me closely making sure that I was whom I claimed. When he finished his inspection he turned to the bubble surrounding the camp, and opened the entrance so that we could pass.
I gave him a polite nod as we passed beneath the protective shield, and made our way to the main courtyard. I called everypony to attention so that I could dismiss them, and give them much needed time off. Looking over the troops I found that they were very haggard, and trying to conceal their weariness from me.
“Dismissed.” I saluted them, and they returned it. Most of the commanders this far into enemy territory, began to forgo traditional decorum, and would instead carry on an impersonal relation with their subordinates. I made sure that I never started to lax in my duties, or my attitude towards my troops, which earned me a not so flattering nickname among my fellow officers.
They began to break rank and slowly trot away to their quarters to get some much-needed R&R. Being constantly on the move was nothing unusual for our division, but suffering such heavy losses was. The other divisions had also been having heavy casualties as of late. Division three, had been completely annihilated by the enemy less than a month back. It seemed that the enemy was learning our tactics, and forming countermeasures, which didn’t sit well with the higher-ups.
Never before had the horde ever shown that they could collectively learn something, and strategize accordingly. It was becoming apparent, that we would need to rethink our own strategies for engaging the enemy to avoid such heavy losses.
I waited in the courtyard until the last of my division had departed. The only two left standing at attention were my two Captains. Strike had known me long enough to know that I would likely want him to do something for me, and Snow Flake seemed hesitant to leave until told directly.
“Captain Quick Strike, I want you to bring me the field reports that have come in since we departed. I will be waiting for you in my quarters.” He gave me a quick salute as I dismissed him, and left to carry out his task. I then turned to Snow Flake.
“Was there something that you needed Captain?” I asked.
She looked hesitant to speak her mind, but eventually got up the nerve. “I wanted to ask something Major. If I may speak freely.”
“Speak your mind Captain,” I replied.
“I heard that General Diamond Heart was your sister. Is that true sir?” She averted her eyes, perhaps expecting to be reprimanded for asking a personal question.
“Yes it is true Captain. Why do you ask?” I answered.
“I was wondering what it could have been like growing up with somepony as strong and brave as her, sir.” This time she looked at me when she spoke.
“You have seen her on the battlefield have you not? Even when she was young she was extremely confident and sure of herself. She is several years older than I, so I cannot really give you much more than that. I just remember her as being a great big sister.” It was good to recall fond old memories, and it seemed to do Snow Flake some good just hearing about it.
“Thank you for sharing that with me sir,” she said.
“Think nothing of it Captain. Now is that all?” I asked.
“Yes sir.”
“Then you are dismissed.” Two salutes later she was galloping away back to her own quarters, leaving me alone in the courtyard.
I too was feeling run down after the long hours with no sleep. I was never able to sleep well while in the field. As I would start to drift off a far off noise would awaken me, and leave me staring into the darkness for hours. I still had to keep up appearances, so I casually made my way back to my quarters making sure not to show how tired I truly was.
Being a major gave me my own private tent in the encampment, which was truly a blessing. I can still remember the days of sharing a living space with other mares, some of which were very messy and unfortunately filthy. I did not blame anypony in the military for getting their hooves dirty while in the field, but in camp one was supposed to keep themselves and their quarters clean. Unfortunately, many ponies didn’t care about small things like cleanliness when they were this far out.
I made my way to the back of the encampment, where the rest of my division was. I chose to walk rather than fly there. Usually I would have raced to my tent so that I could collapse right into my bed, and go to sleep. My injury however was bothering me, and flying would just stress it more.
As I walked I saw that some of the ponies that were in my division, sat outside their tents and talked. Those that saw me pass by would stop their conversation, and salute before returning back to what they were talking about. Some however, did not notice when I passed by, and failed to salute. Some of the officers I knew, one in particular, would have called their subordinates out for failing to salute a superior.
They bunked four to a tent. The mares and stallions were separated of course, but all living arrangements were equal. Quick Strike had somehow secured a tent all to himself, I often wondered how he was able to get whatever he wanted. If you needed something, he was the go to stallion to get it for you.
My own quarters were impeccably clean, and I had nothing lying about. The trunk at the foot of my bed held all of my possessions, and the desk contained neatly sorted papers. I needed to keep everything in order. Outside in the war zone chaos reigned, but here in my own personal space everything was in its set place.
I made my way to the far wall of the tent, where my weapons rack stood. With extreme care I removed my wing blades with practiced ease. Their edge was sharp enough to cut metal, and I could easily cut myself with them if I wasn’t careful. My hoof blades were much simpler to remove, and I unclamped them quickly, and set them on the rack next to my twin set of blades. Finally, I reached back and unfastened my sling whip from my tail, and set it on the rack as well.
With thirty-five pounds of weaponry removed I felt much lighter, but also naked. The lessened weight on my wings was always the hardest thing to get used to. The blades weighed twelve pounds each, and cut my speed considerably, but I wanted their extra protection. My blades were what set me apart from all of the other pegasi in the fifth expedition.
Lastly, I began to remove my armor. I had taken the time to bandage my side after the battle, and the healing effects of the bandages were already hard at work. A large hole still remained in the armor's side, and would need to be taken care of quickly. I would have Strike take it to the smith when he came to deliver the reports. I placed the dulled golden armor on the mannequin that stood next to my weapons rack, and turned towards my welcoming bed.
My bed was the one comfort that I brought with me no matter where I went. The mattress was stuffed with clouds from the highest mountain in our kingdom. My mother gave it to me. She told me that I could take a little piece of home with me no matter where I went, and I truly treasured it, especially now when I was so tired.
I climbed into the bed, and quickly pulled the covers over myself. The warm embrace of my bed helped me quickly drift off, and soon I felt the darkness of sleep begin to take hold. I would need to meet with the other officers soon, and give my report, but that could wait a few hours while I caught up on some much needed rest.
___________________________________________________________________________
I was woken up by the sound of somepony knocking their hoof against a post, just outside the entrance to my tent. I knew that it was probably Captain Strike, coming to give me the reports that I had asked for earlier. I looked to a clock that was resting on my desk, and realized that I had been sleeping for nearly five hours.
I lazily rolled out of my comfortable bed, and walked towards the mirror. My usually well kept pink and red mane was disheveled. I picked up a brush, that I kept on my desk, and started to comb through it. It didn’t take long to get my mane in order so that I might partly look my position.
Now that I was somewhat presentable I walked to the entrance of the tent to see who it was that had woken me up. As I had suspected Strike was waiting outside with papers sticking out of his saddlebags. I heard him grumble something about mares taking forever to get ready before he noticed me, and stood at attention.
“Come in,” I said then turned back inside. I heard him follow me inside, and I stifled a yawn as I turned once again to address him. “Are those the reports that I asked you to scrounge up?”
“Yes ma'am.” He levitated the papers out of his saddlebags, and set them on the desk. We hadn’t been gone long, so there were only about a dozen or so reports that I would need to read through.
“Thank you for bringing these to me Captain,” I said looking away from the papers, and back to him. I noticed that he looked completely exhausted. “Would you be so kind as to take my armor to the smith on the way back to your quarters?” I asked motioning to the mannequin.
He quickly walked over to it and examined the hole in the side. The armor was in dire need of repair, and it was likely obvious to him. He levitated the armor from where it sat, and held it in the air behind him. He looked back to me, and awaited my further orders.
“That will be all Captain,” I said dismissing him. He gave me a quick salute, and made his way from the tent. “Make sure to get plenty of rest. I don’t know when we will be moving out,” I called after him.
Now that I had the reports delivered, I walked over to the desk, and began to leaf through them. From what I could gather, while we were away there had been another push by the fourth expedition towards Hoofington. Our forces had managed to capture the city for several hours before they were forced out. The capture of one of Equestria’s largest cities that stood before the war had been a great boost to morale.
Unfortunately, the third expedition farther south was meeting stronger opposition, and quickly losing ground. Three of their divisions had been completely taken out in a single attack. The entire expedition had been forced back to the border by the enemy.
Similar reports could be found about the seventh expedition. They were suffering many losses while trying to hold Manehatten, and it looked like they would soon have to abandon the city. Manehatten had been one of our strongholds in Equestria, and was captured nearly thirty years ago. If the city fell it was more than likely that heads would roll.
Casualty reports for the second and eighth expeditions didn’t seem any better. They weren’t being forced back by the enemy as hard, but had stopped making headway. Their combined charge into the heart of Equestria had ground to a standstill, and now they were both entrenched as they battled for days on end.
The reports from the first expedition were the same as they always were. The siege against Canterlot, had been going nonstop for nearly as long as the war had been going on. Many of the generals referred to the area as the meat grinder. If you barely passed basic training, or didn’t have enough sense to follow orders you were sent to the first expedition. The average lifespan of a pony in the first expedition was three weeks.
The final received report was of the number of new recruits that would be coming in soon, and where they were being distributed. The seventh was being heavily reinforced, and so was the fourth. As usual the fifth wasn’t receiving any additional back up. The ponies in charge didn’t think that patrolling the countryside was a very important assignment, and neglected to send us much needed horsepower. It was frustrating to know exactly how low you were on the totem poll, but I had to get over such trivial things. After all, I had asked for this post.
Another knocking at the tent entrance took my attention away from the reports. I called for them to enter as I gathered up the papers, and neatly placed them in a drawer of the desk. When I turned around I was greeted by the sight of Private Shuffle. He was a young purple unicorn, whose only function was to deliver messages between officers in the camp. He looked nervous to be in my quarters.
“What is it private?” I asked as I approached him. He turned away from my gaze, and his lip trembled as he tried to decide whether or not he should tell me. “ I don’t shoot the messengers so just spit it out already.” I rolled my eyes knowing just whose message would be so frightening to deliver.
He gulped loudly, “Major Zelzar said he would like you to join the rest of the officers when you are done playing with your dolls.” He flinched away from me, likely expecting me to strike him.
I was able to restrain my outrage at the insult, and not put a hoof through a post. Major Zelzar was a misogynistic old zebra who had taken a personal beef with my quick rise through the ranks. He often would make his feelings known in private, but this was the first time that he had involved a somepony else to do it for him. The old coot must not have gotten his fourteen hours of sleep last night.
“You may leave private.” He could not have been more ready to get out of my sight, which he proved by dashing out of the tent as quickly as possible.
I sighed, and walked to my chest that sat at the foot of my bed. I had been hoping to catch a few more hours of sleep before I would be called in for my report, but it seemed I wasn’t going to be allowed the opportunity. I opened the chest, and retrieved my uniform from inside. Most officers preferred to wear their uniforms at all times, and only donned their battle regalia when they were called to the front lines.
I preferred my armor to the dark blue uniform. Being ready to engage the enemy at all times, was a state of being that I preferred, but with my armor being repaired all I had was the uniform. It was pressed and wrinkle free, and I made sure to keep it that way as I put it on. I once again headed to the mirror to inspect myself before I left my quarters.
The colors of the uniform clashed with my natural dark red coat, which was another reason I preferred not to wear it. I left the mirror and walked to the weapons rack so that I wouldn’t be walking around without any protection. I quickly retrieved and secured my wing blades, which snugly fit into place.
With no more preparations needed, I headed from the tent to the command center that was set up a few rows down. It was nearing nighttime, and guards were milling about as they prepared for their shift. Nighttime in Equestria wasn’t too different from the day. At all times a thick cloud cover obscured the sky, and allowed only a few rays of light to shine down. The only real difference was enemy activity.
At night the enemy would go into frenzies if they were approached. Even if there were no unicorns telling them to attack they would do so without being provoked. We were still uncertain as to why the horde became so hostile at night, but there were no lack of theories.
Some thought that the infected ponies are incapable of sleeping, and so at night they completely lost themselves, and attacked anything that moves. Some thought it had something to do with a clash between the moon and sun. Personally, I thought they become so hostile at night because they were scared. It is common for an animal to strike out when they are afraid, and I didn’t see the infected as anything more than animals. I couldn’t, or else I would be a murderer.
The trip to the tent, where the meeting was being held, was short. A few ponies stopped and saluted me as I walked by, and I would give them polite nods in return. I understood the need to show respect to one's superior officers, but couldn’t we have come up with something that was less time consuming? Some days it felt as if I spent thirty minutes saluting, and being saluted to.
I passed two guards that were standing at the entrance to the tent as I made my way inside. The other officers stood around a table, which held a map of Equestria. Several pieces were laid out on the map indicating ours, and the enemy’s forces. General Storm was pushing the pieces around, and asking the others for their input. Upon noticing my entrance an elderly zebra looked away from the board, and smiled at me.
Major Zelzar was from a clan that promoted males over females. The fact that the clan was still around, and operating within the kingdom was something that I would never understand. General Storm also looked up from the map, and noticed that I had finally joined them. He nodded to me to signal that I was to make my way over and join the conversation.
“Major Dawn it is good to see you back in one piece,” he said as I joined the table. “I was hoping that you would share with us your field report.”
“Yes sir," I began. "When sent to reinforce the fifth division we met opposition at an old orchard. I left a contingent under the supervision of Captain Snow Flake to hold the field while we pushed into the enemy to the north to reach the fifth. After a few hours we were able to reach Major Silver Lining, and covered their retreat. When we fell back to the orchard to regroup the enemy pushed into us, and we became surrounded. We slowly fought our way back to base over the course of three days.
“We were able to take out the enemy unicorns on the third day, and ended the battle. I received reports that an enemy commander was in the vicinity of the battle, but was never actually spotted. Final count is sixty-seven casualties. Twelve unicorns and thirteen earth ponies were injured during the fighting. Twenty earth ponies, sixteen unicorns, and eight pegasi were killed.” With my oral report given I waited for the general to mull over the information before he responded.
“It seems that the enemy has been getting the jump on us more than usual.” He turned back to the map, and moved a few pieces off of it. “Our divisions are getting ambushed just about every time we push out. The casualties are skyrocketing, and we lose more good ponies every day. You said that there was an enemy commander in the area that you were unable to confirm.” He addressed me again, and I nodded.
“Similar reports have been received. I believe that whoever this unknown commander is, they are responsible for catching us off guard. We need to form a tactical team to seek out, and take out this commander.”
“I volunteer to lead the tactical team sir.” Zelzar always tried to kiss ass as much as possible.
“No, Major Zelzar this team needs to be able to move around quickly. The tactical team will consist of pegasi. Major Silver Lining will create a small squad from her remaining pegasi.” The general turned to me. “I also want you on this team Major Dawn.”
I was honestly shocked to be assigned this mission. While it was true that I was a good flier, I didn’t want to leave my division stranded at base alone. Although, it had been years since I worked with an all pegasi team. Maybe this assignment would be good for me.
“This is outrageous General. You would send this child into battle before a trained and experienced warrior.” Major Zelzar motioned to me.
“Last time I checked Major she had wings and, you did not.” The General didn’t bother looking up from his map when he addressed Zelzar this time.
“Yes but…” the zebra was cut off as the ground below all of our hooves shook. One of the guards outside ran into the tent, clearly panicked.
“The enemy is here!” he screamed. Everypony turned to the General who was staring hard at the guard. Not one for inaction I pushed past the guard, and made my way outside.
The force field that was surrounding the entire camp was being peppered with fireballs. The enemy had organized an attack right after sunset while the guards were changing shifts. Ponies ran back and forth trying to figure out exactly what they were supposed to do.
All of the officers had been in the General’s tent, discussing our next plan of action. There was nopony to relay orders to the scrambling troops. How could they have known exactly when to hit us?
More fireballs struck the shield, and dissipated as they failed to breach it. Infected pegasi were joining the fight to bring down our protective shield by smashing into it. Just like the shield I had broken the day before, it began to show cracks where it was struck. I needed to find my Captains as soon as possible.
I raced past several ponies and zebras that were trying to get into some formation. By now many of the officers had stumbled out of the General’s tent, and were relaying orders to their divisions. Major Zelzar, had taken control of his zebra legion, and was marching it to the entrance. Say what I would about him, but he was amazing in battle.
I lifted into the air and flew as fast as I could to where I suspected Strike would be. Just as I had hoped he was organizing the ninth as they scrambled out of their beds. Most of the ponies in my division were only half dressed as they raced out of their tents to meet the oncoming threat. Strike was barking out orders trying to keep everypony in order.
I touched down next to him, and joined in trying to organize the ninth division. It took three minutes before we had everypony lined up, and fully dressed. Now I was glad we had wake-up drills, which were similar to this.
“An unknown force is attacking us, and is currently trying to break through the shield. The siege began almost five minutes ago, and everypony is scrambling to meet this invasion.” The entire division stood at attention as I addressed them.
“We don’t know how many they have. We don’t know what they know. We don’t even know how they found us. What we do know is that they will not win this fight. What we know is that we will crush them here. What we know is that at the end of this battle we will have won.
“They will throw everything they have at us and we will meet it head on. When we stamp them into the dirt they will know that we are stronger. When we stop them dead, and send the mindless beast running back to their mothers they will know who beat them. Today we fight for our lives. Today we fight for our kingdom. Today we fight FOR OUR QUEEN!”
“FOR THE QUEEN!” the entire division cheered back at me.
“The ninth division was made to support our allies, and that is what we will do. Captain Quick Strike.” I turned to face my second in command.
“Ma'am!”
“You will take the earth ponies, and our blade casters and back up Major Zelzar at the vanguard. I want you to keep in constant contact with me.” He acknowledged the order.
“Captain Snow Flake you will take the remaining unicorns, and head over to the medical ward. This battle is going to take a huge toll on our forces, and I don’t want any injured dying.”
“Sir, yes sir.” She saluted me.
“Lieutenants Cloud and Swift.” I called forward our two remaining pegasi, and they immediately flew up to the front. “You two are with me. We will be reinforcing the fifth division, and giving air support to our forces on the ground.”
It was then that I heard something massive collide with the shield. Everypony else heard it as well, as I saw all eyes leave me, and look up to the enormous cracks that were forming behind me. I turned in time to see the white light of some incredibly powerful spell vanished. The shield began to crumble in on itself, and the unicorns that were still trying to channel power into it collapsed.
Silence fell over the camp as nopony dared to move. What could they possibly have, that could destroy such a powerful shield? I turned back to my division, and saw that they were all frozen in place.
“What are you waiting for you have your orders!” I tried to stir them into action, and succeeded. Strike began to gather the earth ponies, and blade casters so that they could reach the front before the enemy engaged us. Snow was dividing the remaining unicorns into ranks depending on their ability to heal. She quickly accomplished her task, and led them away. Strike also raced off towards the entrance with his forces in tow.
I let out a small prayer for all of their safe returns. I knew that many would fall in this battle, but that didn’t stop me from hoping for the best. We would need all the help we could get.