The army was in position. The gryphons were attempting to retreat, in preparation for a final assault, and Equestria's fate depended on this one battle. The momentum was in place. If they failed here, the Gryphons would regroup at their capital, and strike even harder than before. If they succeeded, the gryphon force would be shattered, and the push could be made for Peak Skycrown.
The call for arms was made for this battle, and, scattered across the Equestrian Army were heroes, from not just the war, but times before the war. Among the sea of soldiers, Sunny Skies, daughter of the Wonderbolt, White Thunder, and one of the original 10 Lightning Callers. Defiant Defender, the Shatterspell, son of the unicorns Radiant Shield, and Radiant Sword. Mistress Blade Fury, the Unmatched Swordsmare. Nixran "The Bulwark" Ironhide (Alternatively known as "Dragon's Fist"), son of the dragon Glaedrsha, and the Pegasi, Swift Wind. Many others among them, too many to name.
The stakes for the battle were high, and so was the caliber of the troops of both sides. With the reports being told of there being over 10 of the Battlespeakers, the gryphons' substitute for mages, the heroes and the troops were going to be needed. They would sing death and fire to the Equestrian forces, all the while inspiring and strengthening their own. This all didn't even account for the unicorn traitors that were deeply rooted in the gryphon ranks.
The gryphons had quite willingly displayed their terms of victory. Equestria was facing the total enslavement of unicorns , the complete genocide of the Pegasi and Earth Ponies, as well as the death of its monarchy, in the event of defeat. Something that could not happen. The gryphon King, Alevrus Ironbeak, had known the world had once survived without the power of either Luna or Celestia before, and was set on taking Equestria, regardless of the powers of the Diarchs. He ordered the first strike upon Buckston with no warning, and made clear he would stop at nothing to take the lands.
But Alevrus never counted upon the astoundingly fast mobilization of a military, and within the next few years, Equestria began pushing back, and they had the upper hand, especially in due part from the Shatterspells' interference over the Battlespeakers magic. They now had the gryphons cornered at the base of the mountain, and the presence of the military fortress-city of Cloudsdale warned blatantly against flying too high. The gryphons would, for the most part, be forced to engage on land, a condition that considerably favored the Equestrians.
For now however, it was a standstill. Neither side dared to make the first move. Should the Equestrians charge, the Battlespeakers magic would be more than willing to harm them. If the gryphons charged, they'd be heading straight under the cloud city, which would be more than a mistake. The first move was no doubt the most fatal. But it had to be made, at some point.
Minutes passed. Ten minutes. Twenty. Thirty. It was a stalemate, and Defiant Defender dared not charge so soon. His abilities would block the Battlespeakers magic from harming the ponies behind him, but the gryphon archers and unicorn mages were another story. A stray arrow could knock him unconscious, or even kill him, and both of those were unfavorable, and could lose the battle. The gryphons knew of him, as he learned from assassination attempts, and sole targeting by entire armies. Ponies seemed to die by simply being near him.
Nixran, brave and arrogant as he was, knew he was outmatched. His dragon blood granted him a rather large resistance to the penetrating blows of arrows, swords, and spears. But he had no protection against magic, and while his body was resistant, his leathern wings were fragile, and could easily be affected by what his main body could not.
Sunny Skies, her abilities as a Caller being very powerful, none the less couldn't force clouds to appear too far away. She didn't wear armor, as to better be able to fly and be closer to the sky, from which she drew her powers, so she couldn't be the one to charge. It would be like asking to be a pincushion for the hundreds of arrows that would target her.
Blade Fury simply could not. She grew to her fame by being quick and precise. While she wore armor at the moment, she'd ditch it before the fighting clashed, so she'd be able to move freely. And under her armor and skill, was a simple, normal pony. She'd be dead before she ventured within 300 feet of the gryphon line of soldiers.
But it seemed no charge was going to happen, yet, at least. A single arrow sailed forth from the Equestrian lines, a clear disobedience of command... And struck one of the Battlespeakers out of the sky, where he fell to the ground, dead as a rock. The ponies nearby, at least, turned to see who made the shot. A black gryphon from the Equestrian army, by the name of Chirp 'Anninnicus' Ravenfury.
And that's when Tartarus broke loose. The gryphon army marched forth slowly, arrows already firing at the Equestrian forces. The Battlespeakers, now in range, formed together and began chanting loudly, and the ponies ahead felt their courage wavering. The Battlespeakers magic was affecting them, and while the battalion that stood with Shatterspell held, he couldn't defend them all.
Even the Bulwark himself began to have thoughts of retreat cross his mind, and while he shook them off and stood proud, the allies around him were trembling. Spell or not, it was magic that affected the mind, and no amount of training would prepare ponies for it.
It began falling out of hoof, and though the cloud city was much too high too be affected, it's usefulness would quickly run out if the gryphons were able to devote all their forces to attack it. Equestria was losing the battle, and their archers were firing slower and slower, without any determination to fire.
Even the commanders began ordering retreats in the wake of the mind-magic, and that was the last straw, for Defiant Defender at least. "No! We will not falter!" He yelled out, and began running across the front of the entire force, interrupting, though briefly, the mind-spell. He did the most foolhardy thing he could, and removed the armor, which left him vulnerable, but quick. He convinced the soldiers, against the outranking orders of retreat, to form a wedge formation... With Shatterspell himself at the front. Nixran Ironhide took to the sky close above him, knowing full well what was about to happen.
And, without a word, Defiant Defender charged straight for the line that was in the direction of the Battlespeakers. A cone of ponies that couldn't be touched by the magic the Speakers made. Arrows and magic spewed forth, but with hooves of steel, Dragon's Fist let none touch the keystone of the wedge.
The clash came forth, and the battle speakers were definitely the first to be swarmed by the Pegasi soldiers. Defiant Defender himself, his purpose done for the fight, retreated to the archers. Without his armor, he was vulnerable in close combat.
Mistress Blade Fury, however, was happy to remove her armor, and, with the grace of an acrobat, leapt from point to point, dodging the attacks made for her. A simple side step and slash was all it took to make quick work of the enemies attacking her.
Nixran attacked ferociously with his hooves. He wasn't named Dragon's Fist in vain, and he frequently dug holes to reach the gems that he ate in every meal. They were hardened to the point that a strike would be fatal. His hooves were deadly weapons, as were his sharp teeth that belonged to the beast that his appearance barely matched.
Sunny Skies used her staff to scorch the back lines of archers, and she wickedly and cruelly aimed directly for the gryphons attempting to retreat. They slaughtered her home town, friends and family, and would no doubt have done the same now if the battle was in their favor. To her knowledge, Anninnicus Ravenfury was the only survivor besides herself. And the Gryphons were going to die for their transgressions. They killed children, without remorse. And so she would show no remorse in killing them. She would take pleasure in it, in fact... No mercy for the wicked....
The gryphons, outdone and outmatched, began to retreat, at which point the Pegasi cut off the escape. The gryphons would be taken prisoner, and be hounded to the fortress of Cloudsdale. The battle was won. The Charge of Horseshoe Mountain was a success. The true turning point of the war.
In the following months, Equestria took the fight into the gryphon homeland, and carved the path to the capital ( though with minimum casualties on both sides.). There, Celestia herself appeared and dethroned the King Ironbeak by force, and the war was won.
The heroes of the war, now finished with their task, went their separate ways.
They eventually would settle down and start another life of their own. Equestria changed much in the war.... It was going to need rebuilding.... Thus began their road...
The road to fame.
