Bellum tyranni sol et luna Benedictus

By Chaos Pony

thestrals et ictum primum

'Strike first, strike hard' Conor McGregor

The Royal Guards moved along the inside edge of the Everfree Forrest towards Fillydelphia while a secondary force marched towards the renegade city. It was a nice simple tactic, draw the defenders attention away from the real attack by having the secondary force attack from the front. Once they were fully engaged and pulling troops from other section, attack from the rear and slightly to the side with real army since nobody was crazy enough to go through the Everfree Forrest to attack. Only Brigadier-General Mustang was crazy, crazy enough to take advantage of what their commen sense told them. Yes, there were monsters and going into the deeper parts would be suicide, but the edge was a some what wider safe-ish buffer zone than most people realized and the monsters tended to avoid large hunting parties. Other than a few smaller prides of manticores that just watched them, a sleeping Ursa Major that only snorted before rolling over and going back to sleep, and very determined pack of timberwolves, they hadn't run into any of the Everfree's usual freak show of horrors.

Commander Mustang smiled to herself, everyone feared the Everfree Forrest, but if you followed it's rules you would be some what safe. Don't pick fights with things best left alone, don't go too deep or you might wake something up, and above all remember even an army is useless against some of the things that called the Everfree home. Sure it had been a huge risk, the Ursa alone could have wiped them out, but she felt it was well worth it and her troops knew her rules for dealing with the forrest. Her only concern was reports of some sort of shadows tracking them from the deeper parts. Not that there was much they could do if She was hunting, but her territory was closer to Manehatten than here. Plus the shadows were too big to be Cerberus chasing another escapee and too subtle to be Plunder Vines looking for easy prey. It couldn't be Changelings because you would never known they were there, maybe something new that the forrest had cooked up. So long as whatever it was decided to just track them and watch, she was going to leave it alone. No use attracting more trouble than it was worth.

"I look around and I don't see conquered people. I see those my sister could never conquer. She could drive you from your homes because you wouldn't yield to her will. She could hunt you because you refused to give up the old ways. And yes, she could slay you, but you, my mighty, my proud, my brave who have never yielded. You may be fewer in numbers than your brothers and sisters that did, but you are also stronger for it. They may point to everything they own, but you are richer for the life you live and for the company you keep. They may claim they are free, but it is you who are truely free because you do not scrape upon bended knees to a Goddess forced upon you, but stand proud in the eyes of the Gods you choose. And that is all I ask, stand proud beside me, make your Gods proud, and make the world better for knowing you"

Pvt. Cashew Cluster, sighed with relief as he undid his fly and started pissing. He had been marching all day through this damn forrest and all he wanted was a piss, a smoke, and for Sgt. Hard March to drop dead. He never heard any sound as he was to busy wistling as he pissed. The knife was jabbed into his throat and yanked hard across, spraying the tree with blood while a dark grey hand clampe over his mouth. The knife went down and jabbed up through his stomach and under his rib cage into his heart. The last thing he felt was a hard yank as he was pulled backwards through the under brush as he heard the last bars of what he was wistling be wistled, Pop Goes the Weasel.

"I have heard your pleas for justice. I have seen the desperation begging for relief in the eyes of both your old and your young. I know of your hopes, your prayers, and your dreams for vengence. For I have felt them to, here in my heart, and I shall not stand for another fortnight allowing my sister to go unchallenged. I promise you they will hear your grievances and my sister will answer for them. I promise you I will bring you justice, I will bring you salvation, and above all I will bring you freedom."

Sgt. Hard March was not a happy Stallion. That slacker, Pvt. Cashew Cluster, had diappeared yet again and when he found him he was going to shove his boot so far up his ass that he could pollish it with his tounge. Only he didn't see him behind the tree some corporal had said he had saw him go behind. He had been about to go back and give her a piece of his mind when he noticed the blood on the tree. He turned about to shout out as his eyes followed the blood into the under brush. Only for an arrow to go through his eye and punch straight through to his brain. He never saw the shadowy figures that dragged his corpse into the Under brush and never saw what came next.

"I ask of you to stand with me. To raise your swords with my own. And to fight, not for me, but for your mothers and fathers, for your brothers and sisters, for your lovers, and for your sons and daughters. To feel the weight of history and all who have come before you. To feel the hand of fate and all who shall come after you. To know that this is the moment when Legends are born. For Justice, for Honor, for Glory!!!" Nightmare Moon called out as those gathered around her began chanting, "Thriamveftikí Nýchta! Thriamveftikí Selíni! Thriamveftikí Nýchta! Thriamveftikí Selíni! Thriamveftikí Nýchta! Thriamveftikí Selíni! Boreí i nýchta diarkeí gia pánta!"

Some music to set the mood for you [http://youtu.be/r_WxpjhzKHI]

All along the lines of troops taking a break before pushing on no on noticed the scent in the air or that anything was wrong until the first howl was heard. Thinking it was another pack of timberwolves, the sharp shooter and snipers got ready. Only what came out of the forrest wasn't just a pack of timberwolves, several dozen packs of timberwolves came running out on fire and paniced. As they tore into the lines of troops, they were unprepaired for shadowy figures flying above them throwing down burning pots of Thestral Fire unto them and the trees around them. Over 200 Thestrals lead the attack as Griffons and Changelings swoped in behind them, forcing any Pegasi trying to escape back into the hell the Thestrals had turned the forrest into. Back the way the army had come was engulfed in flames and the ground was caving in as Diamond Dog tunnels collapsed dropping huge burning trees behind them.

"Rally on me!" Brigadier-General Mustang bellowed, "We have to push our way through! There's a river ahead, that leads straight out of the forrest and into Fillydelphia! Our only chance is the river!" She shouted to her officers, who rallied the troops. The Royal Guards pushed forward, but only a 1/3 of them made it.

More tunnels began collapsing and many of the Royal Guards were forced to fight Diamond Dog tappelupukari in brutal subterranian hand to hand fighting. Only these were not the simple minded tamed bruts Celestia had turned Diamond Dogs into. Oh no, these were the elite who had been born and breed for the fighting pits, had fought their way up through the ranks, earning the title of Alpha, and all of them desiring to be one of four to claim the titles of Geri, Freki, Skoll, and Hati and free their God Fenris.

Then as those who had escaped falling into the tunnels fled for the river, they heard a sound of a single battle horn and the screaming of dozens up dozens of voices. Then suddenly the Reindeer slammed into their flanks, screaming like wild animals as they all were possessed by the Beserker Rage. Spears, swords, arrows, and even bullets could not stop them. it was as if they had the strength of demons. There was no mind left as they killed with such wild abandon as their bodies burned through their energy like an inferno, before finally collapsing and giving in to their exhaustion. Only to be pulled away to safety by Qilin Shaolin as Kirin Shinobe stalked the edges of the battle for more that needed help, their scales protecting them from the from the inferno the forrest had become.

Finally reaching the river, what remained of Brigadier-General Mustang's army was met by hundreds of Buffalo Naabaahii, a Thestral hoplites phalanx of 30 Thestrals, and Nightmare Moon. Seeing this Brigadier-General Mustang rallied her troops one last time. "One more push and into the river to freedom! One last push to live, because if we stay here we will all die! SO ONE LAST PUSH!!!" She screamed as they attacked. A 1/2 hour later the river flowwing into Fillydelphia began to tunr pink, then blood red and with lots of corpses floating in it and one survivor. Brigadier-General Mustang survived the first battle of the Everfree, but the horror of that day haunted her for the rest of her life. That and the chanting in victory she heard everytime she closed her eyes, "Thriamveftikí Nýchta! Thriamveftikí Selíni! Thriamveftikí Nýchta! Thriamveftikí Selíni! Thriamveftikí Nýchta! Thriamveftikí Selíni! Boreí i nýchta diarkeí gia pánta!"

Author's Note

"Thriamveftikí Nýchta! Thriamveftikí Selíni! Thriamveftikí Nýchta! Thriamveftikí Selíni! Thriamveftikí Nýchta! Thriamveftikí Selíni! Boreí i nýchta diarkeí gia pánta!"
Triumphant Night! Triumphant Moon! Triumphant Night! Triumphant Moon! Triumphant Night! Triumphant Moon! May the Night Last Forever!

I'll let this one speak for itself.