Inside safe walls

Chapter 5: Myrmidons, to arms!

"Hail, general Milon!" one of the two officers adressed him, bowing his head. "We have orders from the great king Gordin!"

Milon frowned, this wasn't expected, and he hadn't gotten any message about this arrival either. "Come into my tent, officers, so that I can hear these... Orders that the king has sent you to give me."

As they walked into Milon's tent the officers took of their helmets and ordered their bodyguards to wait outside. They took off their helmets and the oldest looking one started to speak to Milon. "Let's make this quick, general. The king wants us to prepare the coming events as quickly as possible. "

"What events?" This didn't feel right, something inside Milon told him that something was horribly wrong

"Since you are already so close to the Equestrian capital, Canterlot, with your soldiers, you and your army are to conquer Canterlot and make them kneel before the great empire of Holems!"

It felt like Milon's heart had stopped, fear, hate and anger rising up inside of him. " You want me, to do what?"

The officer looked at him with a piercing look in his eyes. " Take over Canterlot and keep it until our king comes here to make the princesses of Equestria kneel to him and accept him as their new king."

Suddenly the soldiers that were standing outside of Milon's tent heard a loud scream, and out of the tents opening flew both of the officers, landing in a heap on the dirt road in front of their own bodyguards.

"NEVER!" Milon shouted at them as he stepped out, rage emanating from his very being, "I would rather DIE than performing this kind of treachery!"

The two human officers got up from the ground and the soldiers that had escorted them rushed to their side, weapons in hand.

"Guards, seize this traitor!" The officer commanded them and they hurried towards Milon to arrest him. But they didn't get far, the Myrmidon soldiers around Milon and the officers had jumped up and charged at the attackers.

It was over quick, the officers bodyguards laid dead at their feet, the Myrmidon blades had easily cut through their armour, and the skill of the Myrmidon soldiers had overcome the guards skill with their blades.

The officers faces were painted with blood, shock and more than anything, fear. "M-Murderers!" They slowly backed away, stuttering while pointing at Milon and the soldiers. "MURDERERS! You will all be punished for this! You will all pay with your lives!"

They turned around and ran, they ran like they were chased by the darkest demons of hell themselves.

The young soldier Arkantos walked up to Milon, a crossbow in his hands. "How many men does it take to deliver a message general?" His tone was serious, and so was the look on his face.

Milon sighed, and answered. "One, do your best, soldier."

Arkantos held up the crossbow, aimed, and fired.

The bolt flew through the air and impaled the neck of the officer that were closest to them. With the sound of an axe hitting wood, the bolt went into his neck, the tip poking out on the other side as it went completely through his throat. With a sound that was a mix of a scream of pain and gurgling, the man fell down on the ground, gripping the bolt as his blood flowed out of his throat.

Milon turned around and sighed at this sight. Augustus came to his side asking for what they were to do. "What are your orders general?"

"Collect their armour and weapons, then bury the bodies outside our camp." He walked back into his tent. "After that assemble every soldier, we are heading to Canterlot, we have to prepare for war."

...

The girls and Spike were sitting around a table outside of their favourite inn in Canterlot, eating donuts and drinking cider. Well, not all of them, Rarity was eating a salad and Spike had brought some rubies and sapphires to eat from home, since they aren't cheap to buy and the inns doesn't sell them.

Pinkie Pie was still wearing the armour she had gotten from Milon, she burped and waved her cup around trying to get the bartenders attention. "Barkeep! Another one please!"

"Don't you get warm in that thing at all Pinkie, darling?" Rarity asked looking at her with an amused look on her face.

"Not at all, the leather under this steel is thin, and its just to stop the armour from giving you scratches and pinching you, so it feels kind of like wearing a dress, except that it weighs more and that I look totally badass in this thing~!" She answered, looking at her with a smile, waving her hooves around as she spoke.

"But why are you still wearing it?" Twilight asked her. "I mean, it looks like a perfect masquerade outfit, and it might be badass, but it's not for everyday living, plus you are not a soldier." She pointed out, ever the pointer-outer.

"Easy." Pinkie answered, her smile still wide. "It's a gift! And I'm going to wear it for a loooong time, until I've given Milon a gift back! I wonder what he'll-" A loud burp cut her off.

The girls stared at spike, who now had the bowl which the gemstones had been in, on his head.

"What?" He asked, and frowned at them. "When you girls burp all you do is giggle and smile about it..." he put the bowl down and started to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Rainbow Dash shouted after him.

"I'm going back home! See you there, Twilight."

The purple pony sighed. "We might have been a bit unfair on him."

Rarity sat up, striking a high class pose. "At least a lady like me would never burp, in public of course!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and took another bite of her donut.

Suddenly Spike came running back towards them as fast as his legs could bear.

"I knew he'd come back!" Rainbow Dash said. "So, did you change your mind alrea-"

"Guys! Come here hurry! HURRY!" He waved for them to follow him, which they did, all of them running down the road, heading for the big main road going through Canterlot.

"What is it Spike? An emergency?" Twilight asked as she easily kept up with Spike's speed.

"I'm not sure, but it looks like that atleast!" He answered, panting.

As they got to the main road they were met with the sight of the Myrmidon army marching towards princess Celestia's castle. As they turned their heads in confusion to look at them, they saw Milon in the front, holding the Myrmidon banner in his hand.

They galloped over to him."Milon!"

He turned his head to look at them, but didn't stop his stride, answering them with a neutral tone. "Yes? "

"What is this?" Twilight asked him, now very confused, "Why are you marching to the castle?"

"Something has happened" Milon said, letting out a huff.

"What has happened? What are you talking about sugarcube?" Applejack seemed just as confused as the rest of them as she tried to get some answers from her lover.

"I will explain when we reach the castle!" Milon said with an annoyed tone and started to walk a bit faster, as if he thought that they couldn't get there fast enough.

"But, darling-" Rarity started but she got cut of by Milon.

"At the castle ladies, please!"

They quieted down and followed Milon towards the castle. The soldiers behind Milon stopped at the base of the stairs, and only the girls and Milon's officer, Augustus followed him up the stairs.

Now the streets started to get filled with ponies that wondered what was going on and why the humans were standing below the castle at all, since this had not been planned.

As the group walked into the throne room they were greeted by both princess Celestia, princess Luna, and princess Cadance and Shining armour.

"Good day Milon, what a pleasant surprise!" Celestia greeted him and gave him a bow.

Milon bowed back. "I wished that it would be a pleasant visit my lady, but I have grave news."

This earned him everybody's attention. "Holems is declaring war on the kingdom of Equestria!"

The girls and spike gasped, princess Cadence hugged her husband tight in shock and both the royal sisters stood up.

"What do you mean declare war!?" Luna asked, her voice booming now, echoing through the room. "You said that the people of Holems came with wishes of peace and prosperity, was this all just a plan to deceive us?"

Milon sighed. "The king of Holems, Gordin sent his officers to me, they came with orders that I was to ambush Canterlot when you are not ready for it and through that, conquer Equestria."

Princess Celestia's face had turned from shocked to depressed as she heard him out. "Then, if what you've told me about the size of the great army of Holems is true... Then Canterlot won't stand a chance if they come here to conquer us."

Milon looked over to Shining armour. "Captain!"

"Yes general?" Twilights brother walked over to Milon, making a salute with his hoof.

"The Myrmidon army will not stand for the treachery the king of Holems has committed against you. Telling you that we come in peace but secretly waging war. The king has no honour, and no sense of defeating an enemy in open battle rather than using cowardly means. The Myrmidons and I have decided that we are going to help you defend Canterlot!"

Shining Armour let out a sigh of relief and gave Milon a look of respect. "Then you came as brethren after all! I thought you were going to leave, to not participate in the attack. But what you are doing now, turning yourself into traitors. You have earned my deepest respect!"

Milon turned around, "I know more about how the army is equipped and of the officers below me and their strategies. And with your army by our side, they will have to fight for their lives!"

Celestia cleared her throat, making the two warriors turn to her. "Before we start to plan our defences, we have to prepare the people for what is to come, they deserve to know."

Shining Armour and Milon nodded at her, agreeing with her decision

She walked towards the castle gate, Milon following close by her side. As they walked out, they were met by cheers from all the ponies that were standing below them, around the Myrmidons.

Celestia raised her hoof, silencing the ponies. "loyal and beloved subjects, today is a dark day!" she began, her voice echoing through all of Canterlot, "The king of Holems has declared war on Equestria!" now even the pony soldiers standing around them stared at them, and some mares could be heard screaming, "Milon told me that by siding with us they have been branded as rebels. For aiding us, he is a hero!"

Now Milon stepped forward, putting his hand on Celestias foreleg. "If you'll excuse me princess, I think that I can take it from here."

She nodded and Milon turned to face his soldiers and all the ponies had gathered. " Earlier today, I got orders from my king to betray you, to stab you in the back when I came in peace! We will not stand for this! Me and my soldiers will do everything in our might to defend this city and you! But I want you to remember, I am no hero, I am not trying to be one. I am going to do what's right, we are going to stand by your side and fight with you! We will fight side by side! As one!"

This got everyone, humans and ponies alike to let out a roar that shook the ground they stood on.

Celestia took a step forward. Continuing the speech. "We shall give them one hell of a fight, and we will not let them inside the walls of Canterlot easily!"

...

Shining Armor, Celestia, Milon, and Augustus was standing inside Celestias counselling room around a table with a map on it.

Milon looked at the others, explaining how long it had taken him to get to Canterlot. "It took my army one full week to march directly from Darkane to Canterlot, we're two hundred blades strong. The kings army has five thousand soldiers, so we will have a month, give and take a few days, to prepare our defences." Milon looked up at Augustus. "Augustus, with you and me here, lieutenant Zach is the next in command correct?"

Augustus nodded. "Yes, and if I know him right he will bring siege towers and ladders to take control of the walls and to ensure a steady flow of soldiers onto the walls from both the ladders and siege towers. They will also try to take a hold of the gatehouse, if they succeed, their soldiers will storm into the city."

Milon looked at the map. He took up a quill and placed three crosses on various places inside the walls, "If we built catapults here, we can defend ourselves against the towers, or we can at least try."

Celestia looked at the crosses and hummed. "Hmm... How are we going to know when to fire them? If we have people controlling the catapults, they will not be able to see the siege towers until they are already at the walls."

"We can place markers at different distances outside the walls." Shining Armor filled in and placed his hoof on the map that showed the area outside of Canterlot's walls. "When their army walks past these markers we fire them off."

Augustus cleared his throat. "We will have to start working on the catapults and measure out were we are to place the markers. But we can't allow them to see the markers or they might change their tactics." Augustus pointed out. "So, what If we place rocks on the field and paint the side facing towards us with a white color so we can see it?"

Celestia nodded, her face still serious, "The best strategy is to catch the attacker off guard, if we surprise them enough they will be on their heels, and off focus as they try to be ready for a new surprise rather than focus on their attack!"

Suddenly the door opened and spike walked in, a pony guard following him in. "Spike requested to speak with you Princess." He said. " I did not want to let him in, but since he is the assistant of your personal student I thought that you could decide if you had time."

"Spike, my friend! What are you doing here?" Celestia greeted him, and nodded to the guard, making him bow and walk out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"H-Hi, princess... Sirs!" Spike bowed and turned to the table, facing the officers. "Uhm... I was walking around outside of the walls, watching the soldiers patrol and such and, I think that I might have an idea that you can use. I'm sorry if this is interrupting I just thought it might be something worth looking into."

He climbed up on the table and pointed to the Ever-free forest, that grew close to Canterlot. "The Ever-free forest is close to the hills and fields in front of Canterlot right?" The group nodded. "And on the side of the wall here." Spike pointed to the west wall. "There's a smaller gate here, so if we hide some soldiers at the edge of the Ever-free forest and attack their army from the side as they march towards the wall, they might loose quite a lot of soldiers, and if they attack the soldiers that hide there our men can just run back through this gate and have it locked behind them."

Milon smiled and patted Spike on the head, "You could be a fine strategist one day!"

This made Spike smile and chuckle. "Hehe, thanks Milon."

"If we have any men to spare I will make sure that we use your idea, alright?" Milon assured the little dragon and smiled.

"Thanks Milon!" As he walked out, he stopped in the doorway, turning around to speak. "We believe in you... We all believe in you Milon." With that he walked out and left a warm feeling in room.

...

The next day, there had been literally wave after wave of ponies who wanted to volunteer to help with everything that needed to be done to prepare Canterlot's defences for the coming battle.

Ponies and humans were running around inside and outside of Canterlot with weapons, building materials and the like, taking the materials to their destinations. Outside the walls they were putting up sharpened poles to prevent the enemy soldiers from approaching the walls in too great numbers, as well as allow the unicorns and archers to attack them from atop the wall with crossbow bolts and magic as they tried to weave in between the poles.

Even if they did not show it, everyone was afraid, an army from a different country was going to attack them, and their people would give their lives to defend themselves, they did not have any other choice.

Milon knew that it was difficult and that they were afraid for their family and friends. As Milon walked past ponies and his own soldiers working, he noticed that they got more energetic, as if his presence inspired them to work harder, almost like they wanted to be like him.

He kept telling himself that he wasn't a hero. He was simply protecting innocent people from a tyrant, a cowardly tyrant that wouldn't dare to go into battle himself. But, if he inspired them the way he seemed to do with just his presence, maybe he could lift their morale immensely when the final hour arrived.

He headed to one of the catapults, the only one that had been completed so far. They had started to test fire it so that they could calibrate the distance it would fire.

Both humans and ponies had moved big boulders around outside the walls to different positions, marking five hundred, three hundred, two hundred, one hundred, and fifty meters from the wall. And as planned, the sides that were facing towards Canterlot had been painted in a bright white colour.

The catapults were to be fired as the first line of enemy soldiers crossed the three hundred, two hundred and one hundred markers. The time it took for the enemy to get from five hundred to three hundred, were to prepare the catapults to be fired.

The catapult he was inspecting was supposed to be fired at two hundred. At the moment, they were making some adjustments, since it didn't quite reach the two hundred mark.

Milon climbed up the stairs heading up onto the wall in front of the catapult.

"How are we looking Salvatore?" He asked a brown coloured pony in front of him, he had recognized the blade he had forged onto the helmet as soon as he saw it.

"General!" Salvatore turned around and bowed, taking off his helmet. "Things are looking good, but the catapult doesn't fully reach the two hundred mark yet, it either goes too short, or too far each time we test it."

"Well, it shouldn't really exactly and at the two hundred mark should it?" Milon pointed out. "Make it land a little bit further than the mark, that will thin out the number of soldiers as the first line is at the walls. Plus, it will make the lines behind those who got hit be a little bit scared. Since one does not normally want a giant boulder on top of themselves."

"Okay, that sounds like it could do some damage. And I like damage." Salvatore turned around and shouted down to the pony engineers adjusting the machinery. "Guys! We're going to aim a bit further than two hundred. So tighten it up a bit allright? Let's give it a bit more punch!"

"Sure thing, lieutenant!" One of the engineers answered, then they adjusted the wooden cogs on the arm that slings the rock and then had two, big, strong stallions and two human soldiers of the same stature lift a boulder into the sling. "We're ready down here!"

"Allright!" Salvatore answered. He and Milon turned around looking out onto the field in front of them. Salvatore held up a red flag and waved it to the ponies out on the field, telling them that a test shot is incoming and that they need to move out of the way. They got a wave of another red flag back and the ponies on the field moved to safety.

"Two hundred, fire!" Salvatore ordered. One of the engineer ponies pulled down a lever, a loud clonking sound, followed by a swooshing sound was heard when the catapult launched the big boulder into the air.

Flying in an arch through the air, it landed on the field, a bit further than the two hundred mark, spraying dirt and grass everywhere.

Salvatore laughed and smiled widely. "A perfect launch! Damn, this is going to work perfectly, two more catapults to go. The other teams are almost finished building theirs."

Milon nodded, happy that everything worked out as they had planned. But he knew that soon enough, those boulders will spray blood and pieces of bodies and armour around them, rather than dirt and grass.

...

As the days went on, the defences were getting closer and closer to being finished. The catapults were adjusted, all the poles outside the wall were in place and the gate had been reinforced. To make sure that no one could get into the castle by using the walls, they had barricaded all the entrances to the castle along the wall with rubble, boulders and by boarding up the doors and doorways leading there.

The weeks started to slow to a crawl. Each day passing caused the anxiety and fear to grow in Canterlot, all of the ponies and humans now living there was dreading the day they would see the human army at the horizon. That day was to come, sooner than they expected.

Everything was as it had been for the few weeks. Soldiers getting ready for any possible surprise assault, ponies going on with their normal lives, trading at the market in the town square. Taking drinks at the many inns, still talking and laughing.

But suddenly, one day, the peace that still lingered in the air in Canterlot disappeared. A bell was ringing, echoing through the town with its strong vibrant tone. The bell on the gatehouse signalling that approaching enemy forces could be seen on the horizon.

Milon, felt the adrenaline rush through his body as the first tone of the bell was heard, then the second one, and then the others that followed. They were here, there was no way out now.

He ran as fast as he could, heading towards the gate. He had been talking with Applejack and the other ponies, they had been worried about what they were going to do when they were attacked. But they had felt better once Celestia had ordered that the ponies that weren't going to fight, which meant women and children, were going to hide in the castle dungeons to be protected. In theory they would be protected until the enemy broke down the castle gates, but Milon wouldn't let that happen.

Milon ran past groups of Canterlot and Myrmidon soldiers as he headed for the city gates. The soldiers were putting their armour on and headed towards their designated guard posts.

He sprinted up the stairs inside the gate heading up to the top as quickly as he could.

"General! Enemies on the horizon!" Salvatore pointed with his hoof over the edge of the wall. At the horizon you could see the tips of looked like tall wooden towers.

"Siege towers..." It was as Augustus and Milon feared. They needed to fight like lions to defend the walls from this. They could see something moving in front of the The siege towers, quickly coming closer, and Milon realized what it was when he could see the glimmering of swords, armour and what looked like wooden ladders coming towards them. It was a small assault force.

He turned around and started to shout out orders. "Myrmidons! Assault force incoming! Man the defences! Ponies of Canterlot, man your defence stations!"

Ponies and humans rushed to their battle stations upon the walls and near the gate. "Unicorns, get ready for a defence volley!" Salvatore ordered.

Milon turned to him. "No, order them back. This assault is just to see how many defenders we have, they will pull back and then bring the numbers back to the main force. Order half of the unicorns to stay where they are, that way they wont know our correct numbers when the main attack comes."

Salvatore shouted out additional orders, making a group of sixty unicorns stay behind.

"Auxiliary crossbow regiment! Half of you defend the walls, double time it!" Milon ordered and his soldiers started to stand in a line behind the wall crenelations.

The group of humans that were carrying ladders had come closer, you could now see their armour and the emblem on their banner. A black, winged shield on a white flag. The humans got ready with the ladders, slowing down as they came close to the poles that the defenders had put up outside the wall

"Get ready!" Milon shouted, both the unicorns and his own crossbowmen ready to fire at the enemy.

"LOOSE!" Both Salvatore and Milon gave the order simultaneously.

Their shouts were followed by bolts of fire, lightning and the swooshing sounds of arrows raining down on the small attack party. The soldiers below the walls screamed in fear and pain as they got struck by the arsenal and many of them fell down dead, impaled by the arrows and their faces scorned by the magical attaks.

The soldiers that survived the first volley from the walls dropped their ladders, shields and swords, retreating. They knew that they were outmatched and did not want to loose all of their men so that they were unable to give the number of the defenders to their superiors.

"Hold your fire!" Milon ordered as the enemy ran back towards the approaching army that were steadily getting closer.

Milon walked back down the stairs heading down into Canterlot. The soldiers on the walls cheered, their enemy had been defeated, for now.

Milon walked past ponies that had hid at the first best place they could find out of fear. They looked at him, many with tears in their eyes.

He pitied them, he understood their fear, they were trapped in here, and had to fight for their lives. He wished that he could take the fear out of them so that they did not have to worry, but he couldn't.

As the first attackers were defeated, the mares, fillies, colts and foals that lived in Canterlot were led into the castle to hide in the dungeon underneath it.

Milon wanted Celestia to stay inside with her people, but she refused, at least she did for a while until Milon convinced her that it would lift the spirit of her subjects to have her being with them inside the castle.

For the moment Milon and Shining Armour were standing on the Canterlot gate, gazing out onto the Holems army.

The army had stopped almost a kilometre away from the walls, and they were getting ready to attack soon, from what they could see. The sun was going to settle in a few hours and the soldiers in Canterlot were ready, they were on guard, waiting for the final moment when the Holems army attacked.

"Milon?" Twilight Sparkle were calling for him, she and the rest of the girls, along with spike were standing below the gatehouse looking up at them.

"Yes, Twilight?" Milon looked over the wall to speak to her.

"We are heading into the castle now, we just wanted to say goodbye, for now." She told him, her voice distraught.

Milon turned around and walked down the staircase leading down to them. "I'll follow you there, if anything happens Shining Armor will sound the bells."

They were all quiet as they walked towards the castle. Applejack walked close to Milon, rubbing her chin against his hand, making him rub it affectionally.

"We will do our best to defend you." Milon stated as they walked up the large staircase leading to the castle. "We will die to protect you!" His tone was serious, more serious that they had heard before-

"I don't want you to die!" Applejack cried out, stepping in front of him stopping him in his tracks."I know you are the best one to lead our soldiers, but I don't want you to die! I love you! Don't die! I'll kick you all the way to tartarus if you die!"

Milon chuckled and knelt down, placing his hands on her cheeks. "I don't want to leave you either, but I have to do the right thing, to protect you from evil. I love you more than I can tell you, and I don't want to die away from you. But I promise you, if I die I will take a hundred of them with me, and I will wait for you in the heavens." He looked deep into his lovers eyes, seeing that she acknowledged all he had said. Their tender moment was interrupted by the bells on the gatehouse that started to sound. Their clear tone echoing through Canterlot.

The ponies that were still heading to the castled started to run, letting out screams of fear.

Milon looked over his shoulder. "They are coming!"

He turned back around and lead the others into the castle. "I will come back to you, I promise, my love!" He pressed his lips against hers, kissing her passionately.

He pulled away from the kiss, turned around and started to run towards the wall.

"Milon! I'm-" Applejack shouted after him, but she was cut off as the castle guards closed the gate and barricaded it from the inside.

Her friends stared at her, a bit thrown off by her shouting.

"You're what? Applejack?" Twilight asked Applejack as she walked over to her. Applejack turned her head, and looked over at them, tears dripping down her cheeks.

"I'm pregnant!"

...

As Milon dashed up the stairs to the gatehouse he was met by Shining Armour. "They have started to move towards us! We have to get ready for them!"

Milon nodded. "Our catapults will rain down on them when they get in range!"

Shining Armour had the look of determination his face. He must be feeling the same as Milon, if he is going to die defending his people, he will take as many human soldiers as he can with him.

Milon looked over at the soldiers, they had mixed expressions. Many looked determined and scared, there were also some that were crying, tears of either fear or just plain acceptance that they were going to die defending the innocent.

He turned back around and started to shout out to the soldiers to make himself heard. "Soldiers!"

They all turned to look at him as he spoke.

"We now stand before an enemy more dangerous than any we have ever met. This enemy is made of pure greed and treachery! Me and my men came here as brothers, determined to make you love us as your friends, to prove that our kingdoms could be allies. But here we now stand, defending our loved ones from an enemy so much greater than us. But the courage I see in your eyes proves to me that every man and pony here is worthy of being a Myrmidon! We all now stand, as Myrmidons! Brothers in arms!"

He turned around and drew his blade, pointing it to the advancing army outside the walls.

"They will not get over these walls without the biggest fight in their lives!" He turned back around reaching his swords into the air. "Myrmidons! What is our creed?"

His soldiers raised their weapons and answered, shouting. "Never give up, never back down!" They continued to chant and soon all the ponies had joined in aswell. Their voices echoing over the landscape.

"Myrmidons!" Milon shouted again and now every soldier that was on the wall answered.

"Yes general!"

"Lets give them hell!"

The soldiers roared as they all ran to their specific stations to which they had been assigned. You could now hear and feel the ground shake slightly as the Holems army came into close view. The Myrmidon flagman held up the banner, now with two flags on it. The Myrmidon flag next to the Equestrian flag with Celestia and Luna circling the sun and the moon.

Milon looked out at the enemy, their first lines had passed the first markers, at five hundred.

He turned back around and shouted to the group of ponies handling one of the catapults to the left of the gatehouse. "Five hundred! Get ready!" they pulled at the ropes on the catapult and tightened the cogs one last time, now waiting for their signal.

The enemy army had now gotten closer, and they had just passed the three hundred mark. " Three hundred!" The engineers pulled the lever to the catapult and it launched the large rock over the wall.

As it arched over in the air, screams and shouts could be heard from the lines of the enemy, but it was too late. When the boulder landed, the impact launched the soldiers closest the it into the air, as well as crushing those it landed and rolled over, their screams of pain and agony over-voicing the marching feet of the entire army.

Milon felt a bit of triumph at this, they must have gotten almost fifty or sixty of them, and they were slowly getting closer to the two hundred mark.

Milon looked over to the edge of the Ever-free forest. "I hope this works!"

As he finished his sentence a stream of fire, lightning bolts and arrows flew out from the Everfree forest, hitting a regiment of the Holems army in the side, taking them by surprise. Some of the soldiers caught fire immediately, the flames engulfing them causing them to scream and drop all they carried, flailing their arms around in failed attempts to put the fire out. Others fell to the ground trying their best to pull at the arrows that had lodged themselves into their chests and legs.

Those who had been hit by the lightning bolts were on the ground, shaking as the electricity shot through them, literally cooking them inside their armour.

The survivors of the squadron immediately ran towards the unicorns and crossbowmen in the Ever-free forest, who were now fleeing back towards the smaller gatehouse close to their location.

Swords in hand, the enemy was determined to kill the unicorns before they had a chance to retreat back into Canterlot. Shining Armour shouted out orders, making crossbowmen and unicorns on the wall fire down at the soldiers attacking the group of unicorns. They didn't get far, as the arrows and different attack spells took care of them quickly.

Milon signalled that their enemies has passed the next marker down on the field. "Two hundred!" The second catapult fired and launched the boulder out to the advancing army.

This time they reacted faster to it and tried to move away, but a small portion of soldiers were still crushed and some of them that stood a bit away from the impact died from their comrades weapons and armour being smashed to pieces and flying out and piercing into them in form on shrapnel. Arrows started to rain down on the defenders on the wall from one of the siege towers that had gotten close enough for the archers inside it to attack. The defenders held up their shields to protect themselves, but some of them were not quick enough and arrows buried themselves deep into their bodies, causing them to fall backwards onto the wall or to fall over the edge down onto the field below.

"Defend the catapults from the archers in the siege towers!" Salvatore ordered ponies and soldiers ran around, trying to hide from the steady volleys of arrows raining over them.

Once again Milon ordered the last catapult to fire "One hundred!"

The third catapult clunked and this time they got a lucky hit. The boulder arched and flew right into the of the siege towers that had gotten close enough to attack. More screams were heard as the tower exploded into pieces of wood and the soldiers inside fell out and were crushed against the ground as they landed with loud thumps. The tower collapsed and raised a big cloud of dirt as all of its big wooden pieces crashed onto the ground. The Myrmidons and ponies roared at this triumphant shot.

"FIFTY! ARCHERS!" Milon gave the last signal, now the archers and unicorns would get to work.

The crossbowmen and unicorns that were on the wall ran up to the crenelations and started to fire arrows and different attack spells down at the soldiers under them.

One of the siege tower came closer and closer, and it couldn't be stopped at this point, they were going to reach the walls.

"Get ready! They will not take this wall without each one of us taking one hundred of them!" Milon shouted and drew his blade.

The Myrmidons did the same and all the ponies and unicorns lowered their heads, getting ready to run blade and horn first into those who would run out from the tower as it reached them.

The pegasi flew up in the air, ready to knock down every enemy from the wall, if the were close enough to the edge.

The siege tower were only a few meters away now, slowly creeping closer and closer.

"Whatever comes out of those towers, remember, you are all Myrmidons, you will stand your ground. You are defending your families lives! Think of them and their lives when you drive your blades your enemy!"

A loud creaking sound was heard as the siege tower stopped. The big opening on the front of the tower slowly lowered itself and then it slammed down on the crenelations, smashing the rocks under it.

The first silent seconds felt like an eternity, but then the soldiers streamed out at them, swords in hand. Screaming like crazed animals, they charged towards them, determined to show their might by cutting down any man or pony standing in their way.

The first of the soldiers that emerged from the towers were impaled by the blades and horns of the pony and unicorn soldiers as they lunged right at them.

Some of the soldiers behind the first wave were knocked down by the flying pegasi that came from above. But the archers in the tower were quick to fire at them and some of them fell out of the sky, their sides impaled with arrows as they fell to their death.

"Stand your ground!" Milon commanded as he swung his sword at a young soldier, cutting his side open and making him fall backwards off of the wall, down into the mass of soldiers below. There were a few ponies that had lost their lives already, but their comrades stood their ground, they were braver than Milon had ever imagined that they would be, he had underestimated them.

"Second tower!" Shining Armour screamed as he stuck his horn into the chest of another soldier. The second siege tower had reached the wall, and soldiers were pouring out onto the wall, cutting down the ponies who were valiantly defending it with their lives.

"Second regiment!" Milon gave orders to a group of fifty soldiers that were below the wall on the inside. All as he clashed swords with an enemy soldier. "Assist the ponies on the east wall!" He headbutted his attacker and decapitated him with powerful swing of his blade.

The soldiers ran at full speed towards the staircase that lead up to the east wall segment. And they literally jumped into the fight as they arrived to assist the pony defenders, cutting down any enemy soldier they could see.

Suddenly screams were heard from outside the walls. The third siege tower was engulfed in flames.

Their secret plan had worked. Milon had asked for ten volunteers in something that could only be described as a suicide mission. The ten soldiers was to wear the armour of the soldiers they had killed when the officers of Holems wanted Milon's army to turn on Canterlot.

Their mission was to infiltrate the Holems army as they rested before the final attack, pretending that they were part of the first assault party, and when the time was just right, they were to sabotage one of the siege towers. They knew that once they did this they would be discovered and killed.

Milon quickly pressed his blade against his heart, doing a mental salute to the warriors that died doing their duty. With their lives they had given the defenders more time before the wall would be overrun, hopefully allowing Milon and Shining Armour's soldiers to thin the numbers of the Holems army while defending the walls.

Raindrops started to fall, and soon it poured down on them, the sky darkening as the rain overtook them. The dead Holems soldiers, ponies and Myrmidons started to cover the walls, and the blood that pooled out from them were slowly being washed away by the falling rain.

After almost three hours of fighting the defenders of Canterlot were able to drive back the attackers from the walls long enough for them to retreat.

Knowing that they couldn't tear down the siege towers, they retreated into the city and spread out the soldiers as they had planned, a big portion of all the soldiers were to stand visible at the end of the big roads leading to the town square so that the enemy would head straight towards them.

In the small roads between the houses, small groups of soldiers would hide until the enemy had started to run past them, at which they would run out and attack the enemies behind them, leaving the small group heading towards the main defenders, alone and temporarily cut off from their comrades. The strategy was based on giving the enemy a bait and then surprise them.

They all ran full speed back to the town square, standing in formation at the three roads that went out from it, leading through Canterlot, ultimately connecting to the gatehouse. Crossbowmen and unicorns stood behind the pegasi, ponies and Myrmidon swordsmen on big boxes and the merchant to elevate them, giving them better aim to fire at the enemies once they came towards them.

Some of the soldiers was running around with bottles of water, handing them to the soldiers in formation, taking the chance now that they had time to refill some of their stamina and energy. From were they stood they could see the groups of their soldiers hiding between the buildings, waiting for the enemy to attack them once again.

The Holems soldiers started to pour in from the walls soon enough, running around and regrouping before they started to head towards the town square. A larger group got to work, opening the city gate, which had been cleverly barricaded from the inside inside as well, so to open it they had to bash it to pieces, no matter which side they did it from.

The myrmidons put their left feet forward and held their shields in front of them, creating a shield wall. The enemies ran towards them, their minds set on eradicating the remaining defenders. Luckily they were so set on that goal that they didn't notice the groups that Milon and Shining Armour had ordered to hide in the alleys. As the enemy ran past them, the soldiers in the alleys simultaneously ran out and swung their blades at the enemies, catching them by surprise, as planned.

The result of this was that the soldiers following behind those that were attacked by the small groups in the alleys stumbled and fell over the bodies of their comrades as they failed to stop in time, and as they lay there, trying to get up, they were killed by the ponies and Myrmidons.

At the town square, the defenders braced for impact. The enemy came closer and closer, and they were going to ram into them. "Arches! Fire at will!"

The order was followed by volleys of arrows and magic spells.

The first lines of the Holems attackers fell down in their tracks, as they died or got severely injured by the ranged attacks. Those who didn't get hit just jumped over the limp bodies of their comrades and charged at the Myrmidon lines.

Milon waited until the last moment before he shouted out another order. "Push!" The swordsmen took a step forward and bashed their shields into the enemy.

This move turned out to be more effective than they had thought. The Holems soldiers fell back to the ground, many with their skulls bashed in or their rib-cages bruised and broken.

"Charge!" with a roar, the ponies and Myrmidons took the fight to the enemy, charging towards them. The sound of screams, weapons clashing and bodies falling to the ground started to fill the air.

The sun had gone down, the skies now dark, and the rain was still falling. Of the six hundred total men, women and ponies that defended Canterlot only 300 was left. They had lost almost half of their numbers but judging from all of the bodies on the walls and inside Canterlot, the enemy must have lost more than a thousand men.

The unicorns and crossbowmen that had been standing behind the Myrmidons and ponies ran up the stairs heading to the elevated points outside of the gate. From there the could shoot down on the attackers, as they could see all of Canterlot from their position. The projectiles soon rained down on top of the enemy, thinning the numbers that reached the defending lines at the town square tremendously.

"Milon! They're thinning!" Augustus shouted over at him, as he bashed his rectangular shield into an enemy soldier and then stabbed his sword into him as he fell down. "If we keep them at bay a little longer they might retreat again!"

Milon nodded at him. "Myrmidons! Never give up!"

"Never back down!" They automatically finished their battle shout.

As Augustus swung his blade at another enemy an arrow flew through the air and hit his throat, poking all the way through. With a gurgling sound he fell down on his side, dropping his sword, making it fall to the ground with a clattering osund.

"Augustus!" Milon shouted and started to cut his way through the enemy as he tried to reach his fallen friend.

But before he had gotten half of the distance, he saw something that he never imagined to ever see in his life.

Augustus slowly dragged himself up, the arrow still lodged deep in his throat. Hunched over, he took his blade from the ground and continued to slay his enemies. The blood sprayed from his throat with each movement he made with his upper body. He cut down his enemies one by one with pure strength and will. But soon he got overwhelmed and was cut down by the blades of the enemy.

After another volley from the archers and unicorns above, the enemy started to pull back, heading towards the gatehouse, which they had broken through long ago.

"Captain!" Milon called out to Shining Armour.

Shining Armour turned to Milon as he and his soldiers cut down the soldiers that didn't retreat.

Milon pointed with his sword towards the staircase leading to the castle gate. "To the castle gate! Our last stand will be there!"

"Yes general!" He answered. "Ponies! To the castle gate!"

"Myrmidons, castle gate, move it!" They all ran up the huge staircase, moving to their last line of defence.

The enemy stirred again, gathering below the staircase. This is where they would stand and fall. Every man, woman and pony defending their city and their people, would stand and fall, at this last line of defence.

The soldiers below them started to run up the staircase, Milon held up his arm, "Fire at will!" And the archers and unicorns let loose again.

...

Dawn had finally come, the sun had risen and its rays lit up through the windows of the Canterlot castle. The ponies inside the castle had listened to the sounds of battle outside through the night until it had died down. With the royal guard inside the castle, Celestia had decided it was safe enough to open the castle gates and if the enemy was standing outside and had defeated their army, they were to surrender.

Applejack had been crying all night, and her friends attempts to comfort her were in vain. "My child will never get to know its father! The love of my life is dead!"

This is what they had heard all night, and they understood the pain and fear she was feeling. Milon was dear to all of them, he was a close friend and the thought of him not being alive was to heavy for them to handle.

"He is not dead." Twilight tried to reassure Applejack, and herself, holding her close in a tight hug, "If anything they will capture him, they will not kill him. He is alive Applejack, you hear me? He is alive!" The others agreed.

"Milon promised that you would meet again, and he is a man that doesn't break his promises!" Rarity exclaimed, a passionate tone in her voice. "He would stand against that army on his own if it meant that you would meet each other again!"

"I hope he's allright." Fluttershy said with her usual, almost whisper of a voice. "I cant imagine the pain he would go through if he was hurt."

The memory of all the sounds that they had heard during the night replayed in their minds. The screams, the sounds of swords clashing, armour rustling and the rain and lighting bolts that rained from the sky. They all had a group hug, to keep their hopes up. They wished that Milon would be alive, captured or not.

A guard stepped into the room they and other ponies sat in. "Celestia has ordered that we are to leave the castle." A stir of hope went through the room, they were going to be let out. But they had no idea of what they would see.

The castle gates slowly opened and a small group of royal guards dashed out to defend those inside if there was anyone outside, but the sight that were in front of them sent chills down the spines of everyone in the gate opening, and Celestia gasped and put a hoof to her mouth.

Everywhere there laid bodies of ponies, pegasi, unicorns and humans. The blood was like a small flood as it had run out on the roads and down the steps of the castle. They laid there, limp and cold, never to get up again. Celestia sniffed and a tear ran down her cheek at the sight of her fallen subjects.

It had been a massacre, a massacre like none before. They all walked slowly down the steps, and then out into the corpse filled streets to look for their loved ones, it was like an eternity filled with sorrow, children and mares finding the bodies of their fathers and husbands, crying and grieving their deaths.

Celestia was just as heartbroken as those who had lost their family and friends, she had loved all of her subjects. Every fibre of her being was grieving over her dead kin.

"Princess!" Came a voice from one of the royal guards that had walked around, securing areas of the town in case any enemy soldiers would be in hiding. "Survivors! We found survivors!"

Celestia was followed by Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash as they all ran towards where the guard was pointing.

In a corner of the town square there was a large group of ponies and Myrmidons. It looked like there were about a hundred of them. They either sat down or laid on the ground, exhausted. Their armour were filled with marks and cuts where they had been hit by enemy blades and their hooves, hands and faces were covered with dried blood. On one side, sitting with his back against a box, were Milon. His eyes were closed and he was holding his side, blood had slipped through his fingers, painting trails on its way down. This was the most severe injury he had sustained, but he too was covered in cuts and bruises.

"Milon!" They all said, their hearts exploding with happiness. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at them.

Applejack were the one that arrived first, kissing him as tears of joy was streaming down her cheeks. "Oh sweet Celestia! I thought I would never see you again!"

Milon returned the loving kiss, and answered with a low voice, "I thought the same thing during our final stand, but Calorossa didn't want me to leave you it seems... We won... They are defeated..."

Celestia looked down at Milon, proud of the man that had risked it all to defend the people he had barely known for even two months. "Milon, me and my people have been saved because of you, this is a debt we can never repay, thank you." She bowed to him, this caused her private bodyguards to bow to him aswell .

Milon smiled, not saying anything, just giving the Princess a look of gratitude. He looked back to Applejack and looked into her eyes.

"Milon, dear?" Applejack said to get his attention.

"Yes, Applejack?" He could barely see the blush on her cheek, but it was there and it made him smile again.

"I'm pregnant, I am carrying your child"

Milon smiled again and caressed her cheek. "I knew, I could see it. Itmade me fight even harder. I had to protect our child." He kissed her deeply, making her blush even more.

"We have work to do." Twilight said, looking around. "We have to bury the bodies, and raise a monument to those who defended their loved ones." They all nodded, but Milon was still looking into Applejacks eyes.

"And after that..." He placed his hand on her cheek again, "Applejack, will you make me the happiest man in the world, and marry me?"

She smiled back and kissed him. "Of course I will, you big ruffian."