Devils in blue and yellow
A morning mist was floating in the air, clinging to the golden armor of Celestia's Royal Guard as well as the Black, threatening armor of Luna's Night guard. The sun had just started to rise above the horizon as the seemingly massive army stood in neat lines, with spears and swords at their sides. A darkness hung in the air which most ponies were unable to place. A few veterans in the ranks were familiar with this feeling, however. It was the feeling of dread and of the fear to meet another army in open combat.
The 50,000 pony-strong army felt practically invincible, but against this new foe... Victory was uncertain. This was what went through the heads of the regal leaders in front of the army. Clad in gold and black armor respectively, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna felt a strong sense of uncertainty. This new army... It was unlike anything that they had ever seen in their lifetime, long as it was. One could compare it to the old Black Guards of the griffons, or the Zebrican zonghai-warriors, but even that was really giving them too little credit.
The mist laid so thick around the army that one could not even see how far it to either side, and gave them only a few hundred yards of view towards the front. This battle felt wrong. Princess Celestia had been apart of a few battles in the past, but no one felt so strange as this one. Survivors from a nearby village had told of unspeakable horrors. Of giants in blue and yellow clothing pillaging, raping and burning down the entire town. Not even griffons were that brutal. Not by a long shot.
Celestia teetered on the edge, nearly falling victim to a heart attack when she saw a lone, male pegasus in golden armor fly towards the army. He landed but a few feet in front of the Princesses, and bowed respectively. "Princess. The army is getting close. Three-hundred or so feet in front of us." She nodded her head and he rejoined the ranks of the Equestrian Army. She cleared her throat and turned around, looking at the unsteady and scared ponies behind her with a stern face.
"Soldiers of Equestria... You are soon going to fight for the freedom of all of your loved ones... We cannot allow these demons to take one more step into Equestria! We will show them the power that our friendship has! You are all strong, and with that strength we will prevail! Do not falt..." She was cut off... The hair rose on her back.
The sounds of marching boots were in tune with what sounded like a fife and drum march that was downright terrifying. It's tunes were all wrong! They didn't even fit together, as if it wasn't supposed to be like this! It was simple, but it gave so many feelings, none of them positive. The marching sounds got closer.
Celestia returned to Luna's side, awaiting the marching army. Her hooves curled a bit on the ground as she once again teetered on the edge of a nervous breakdown. She kept up the strong face, though, for her ponies. A shape began to form in the mist to her front. It soon took the form of a banner, held by a creature standing upright. It was apparently leading the charge. The banner looked downright strange... It was remarkably simple, but it told of power and wealth. It consisted of a blue background, with a yellow cross over it, ending in spikes.
More shapes began to from in the mist. Blue and yellow colors were beginning to form. Celestia could then see clearly what was coming her way. Rows and rows of two-legged creatures, clothed in blue and yellow coats and holding sticks that screamed weapons. These sticks had long blades on the end of them. They had tricorne hats on their heads. Their faces were a beige color, with most of them having piercing blue eyes looking forward with a degree of discipline practically unimaginable to Celestia, and that terrified her.
The army continued to march towards the pony army, not even raising an eyebrow at the massed troop in front of them. They had confidence beyond anything she had ever seen. Either that, or insanity.
With a few quick lashes, the drummers of the army signaled a stop, and the fifes went silent. Both armies became as silent as the night, staring down each other, seemingly daring the other to make the first move. Celestia's old eyes looked over the mass of perfectly aligned creatures in front of her, before one in particular seemed to look back at her with the same leader-esque eyes. He rode upon a big creature that looked strikingly similar to a pony, but much more expressionless. She pondered for a few moments if it was sapient at all. Her eyes followed the creatures legs up to his main body, having a uniform that was similar to his soldiers. His pants were black, but partially covered by a long slender coat which was a dirty blue held together at his midsection by a yellow belt. At the end of his arms, he had yellow gloves, being the same color as the belt. Her gaze finally went further up the creature, and found his eyes...
It was hard to tell from so far away, but he seemed to be studying her in the exact same way she was him. On top of his head he had a mess of a mane, most of it poking upwards. There was a sense of power around him, despite him looking so young. Celestia felt as if she had seen less in a thousand years than he had in one. His eyes were cold and calculating.
Celestia had seen enough. It was time to act, not to wait. She called to the captain at her side, nodding towards him. He screamed out a few orders, holding up a yellow flag. The tightening of bows could be heard behind the infantry lines, which had armor. In one motion, the flag fell and hundreds of bows shot forth hundreds of arrows, darkening the sky slightly. Before the arrows fell, however, the drummer of the other army hit the drums a few times. The fifes started up again, as well as the constant beat. The army began to march forward just as the arrows hit their ranks. Many were impaled and fell to the ground. Celestia looked a bit heartbroken as she saw the creatures falling down dead on the ground, however she quickly reminded herself that these were the enemy. The losses didn't even seem to phase the army at all, it seemed. Their steady pace continued as they came closer... and closer... and closer... The arrows kept on raining death unto them.
This continued until they were only a few seconds of running away. They halted their advance abruptly, and Celestia looked on with horrified interest as more fell to the arrows. She could see the whites in their fanatical eyes.
"LÄGG AN!" A voice called out. The language sounded foreign, and she looked as the soldiers with rapt attention brought forth the sticks to their shoulders, aiming at the ponies. Her mouth opened slightly as she looked at them, perplexed.
"SIKTA!" The voice called out. She saw the soldiers pull back something on top of their weapons, clicking into place. She took a step back, fearful of this new type of weapon.
"GE ELD!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, and that was the last thing she heard before sound exploded all around her. It sounded as if thunder had struck a thousand places at once. Smoke filled her vision as she coughed, stepping backwards. She couldn't see anything at all. Not her sister, not her captain. She was lost in a sea of smoke. She turned and ran in the direction of opposite she thought the blue and yellow army was. She didn't get far, however, as she tripped over something warm and fleshy. Her vision focused on the thing she just tripped on, her eyes going wide as she saw it was one of the infantrymen, a large hole in his forehead and blood seeping out. Her stomach instantly rebelled and wanted to deposit it's contents unto the ground, but she managed to refrain from it.
"NER PÅ KNÄ!" The voice screamed in the distance, letting her know in which direction not to run. Celestia began to stumble over the corpses that littered the ground. Everywhere around here she heard shouts of pain and horror, and the pungent smell of death hung in the air.
"ANDRA LED, LÄGG AN! SIKTA!" The commands from the other army were issued faster than before. She leaped to the ground, holding her breath as she remembered that these were the words from before, when they first had used their terrifying weapons.
"GE DEM HELVETET, GUBBAR!" The sound of a thousand thunders once again rang out, with dirty being kicked up all around her. She heard the screams of her precious subjects, along with splattering sounds of the terrifying weapons killing more of her friends. She whimpered as she laid in the blood of her comrades, scared to make even the slightest peep.
"NYLANDS REGEMENTE! ATTACKERA!" The screams of a thousand stallions releasing a war-cry as they charged. She closed her eyes and charged up her horn with the last of her fractured will, disappearing in a flash and appearing on top of a hill overlooking the battle.
She stood up on raggedy legs, still keeping her eyes closed in fear of what she was about to see. With great hesitation, she opened her eyes and took in the sight before her. The mist had cleared since the start of the battled, and she could see the gruesome detail of the battle still raging on down in the canyon. The war cries of the creatures kept echoing around the mountains as she watched them slaughter the last of her ponies, most of the army already lying dead or dying on the wide-open field. She gulped as she saw the leader, sitting upon his pony-like creature inspecting the various corpses around him. He seemed almost happy at all the mayhem around him.
He suddenly stopped and looked up towards the hill where Celestia sat. Although she could not see it, she knew the creature was smirking maliciously...
