The Promise

by Lucent Flare

Rating: mature
Tags: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other
Length: 21537

The Heralds are the organisation charged with protecting Equestria from inner and outer threats that elements of harmony are not fit to deal with. For centuries they have kept a secret vigil, ensuring that peace will always prevail.

However, with the Zebra on the warpath and about to conquer the Buffalo, the future looks increasingly uncertain.

Even at home, things are looking grim: the aristocracy corrupted by an insatiable greed and lust for power; rumours of a dark cult; and even an outbreak of bandits now haunt the dreams of the nation. Lucent Flare, one of the Heralds agent, must fight this outbreak of nightmares. This time, friendship may not be the answer.

Set after the events of Crystal Empire and before Twilight Sparkle transformation into alicorn.
I wouldlike to say my thanks to immense help from Stuffy for proofreading my story and Belle for being a great friend and help me get this done.

Published 2016-12-22 23:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-05-03 22:03:51 UTC

Prologue 01: The Culling

"Enough!“ my voice boomed inside the council‘s tent, making some of the zebras standing around shiver. This meeting before the battle wasn’t taking the course I would’ve liked. Too much hesitation from appointed advisors who have never seen any battle. And even some voices to withdraw. What a bullshit. All these advisors meeting were good for was to give me a headache.

"I don't understand why you would like to wait, Lekan, our forces are assembled and all preparations finished, no need to halt the attack any longer,“ I pointed my front hoof at the voice of the weakness that infested our campaign like a plague. He was an old coward who got his place only thanks to some ties in higher places; never lead in any battle, probably didn’t even know how to fight, and now he was sitting here like a virulent tumour; dressed in fine clothes to mask his fat body. He’d been preventing a decisive strike against buffaloes for ten days now. He and other advisors were more dead weight to pull than any help. “Not to mention pegasi “peace” keeping forces could arrive to hamper our situation. I am not willing to endanger our soldiers any more!”

“Buffalos gathered the remaining tribes, their army now counts more hooves than ours currently does. They have also got a high morale, plenty of supplies and don't forget how well they are fortified on the White hill. Attacking now would be if not suicidal at least a colossal waste of our assets in a battle that doesn’t even need to be fought,” he finished with a smug grin on his face. One slice of a blade and most of my problems would be gone. Just one… “

The idea was so tempting; I realised my hoof was reaching for my sabre on it’s own. With a sigh I pulled the eager hoof back.

After that coward was done with his speech a wave of approval rose in the tent. The same wave I had to cut short many times before. I looked at those zebras who were too afraid, too weak or just too comfortable at the posts given to them. Their faces made me almost throw up. Sons and daughters of wealthy families always find a way to a higher ranks in any army. And these were so pompous, so full of themselves they didn’t see the opportunity which revealed itself in front of us; dancing and giggling just waiting for us to reach and grab it with our hooves.

No, all they saw was a danger to their career, to their social status. For every day they have spent near the battlefield or at least five miles away from it, their social status rose as well as their treasury. They disgusted me, and the way Lekan has spoken… Our assets, like this was some kind of company!

"I’ve had enough of your cowardice Lekan! Our Great leader send us here to deal with the buffalos. Now we have them in one place! One place where we can kill them all! I am not letting this opportunity slip away!“ I hit a table in front of me with a hoof venting up my frustration; splitting the wooden desk in two.

To my amusement some of his numerous chins shook like a grass in a wind as he opened and closed jaws without saying anything.

"Terona speaks truth, we must attack as soon as possible. Schmatrag wills it!“ Zorxa, my second in command stood up; earning a respectful nod from me. She was always first to follow me.

"Schmatrag wills it,“ hesitant murmur sounded in reply after advisors found their voice and rose it on behalf of our leader, not convinced to attack but not wanting to sound unloyal.

"So it is settled, we will attack immediately,“ I looked around the table; not expecting any opposition. To my surprise it still arose.

"You can’t make this decision on your own Terona, we have to vote,“ Rieth spoke up. If there was one zebra worse than Lekan then it would be her. While he was arrogant and pompous he was still a coward, unlike him, Rieth had a spine and could fight to some degree. In addition to that she was unpredictable.

"What?!“ I roared shaking with suppressed rage.

"We need to vote,“ she repeated calmly, unaffected by my outburst.

I narrowed my eyes; glaring at her with hate. "Why?! We didn’t need to vote before when we assaulted other buffaloes tribes!“

She didn’t lower her eyes, repaying my glare with a serenity of an iceberg. "This is going to be a last stand of buffaloes as you said and we must be prepared for every risk. We wouldn’t want to trip right before the finish line would we?“

"But I am the warmare here! Our Great leader chose me to lead his army to victory!“ my hoof shifted again to the hilt of the sabre.

"Of course and we are here“- she waved her hoof in a circle-" to make sure you achieve it in the most efficient way. So I propose a vote: whoever is for immediate attack on the well fortified buffalo's lines on the White hill raise their hoof,“ she turned her head from me to look over rest of the advisors. Heh, at least some victory, even if only in a staring contest.

I couldn’t believe this! From a quick glance it was obvious my proposal wouldn’t get enough votes. Too little(few) hooves were in the air and too much(many) remained down. But we couldn’t afford to wait! The risk of pegasi strike force interfering was too great. Slowly, I left my place at the front of the table and made my way behind Rieth.

The snobby, stupid bitch. But her mindset wasn’t always like this. When she joined our conquest at the beginning, she showed some promise. Rieth wasn’t afraid to get her hooves dirty, unlike the other useless advisors. No, when the buffaloes attacked our camp she valiantly defended it, fighting bravely and risking her life. Then to my surprise she asked for a place in the counter attack to avenge her friend who was killed in the buffalo assault. From the reports, she charged the buffalo lines without hesitation, screaming a fearsome war-cry; truly, a warrior's spirit burned brightly inside her that day.

It's a pity she got injured in the counter-attack. While it wasn't life-threatening, it did make her spend more time with the rest of the advisors like Lekan; parasitic leeches who only wanted to grab as much as they can. From then on, she became a thorn in my side; tossing sticks under my hooves whenever she got the opportunity. I couldn’t tolerate it anymore; I tried many times to talk some sense into her, but to no avail. She needed to find out that no zebra stands against the warmare for so long. No matter how brave they were.

The simplest solutions are usually the correct ones, right?

Who needs these advisors anyway?

"And those who would rather wa…“ Rieth bemoaned as I stabbed her in the back; plunging my sabre deeper, making the blood gored tip burst out from her chest. Credits where credits due, the weakling tried to grasp it and push it out before I let the hilt go and punched her to the head. Rieth feebly fell on a side; badly wheezing for air, blood gushing from the wound and trickling from mouth stained her white-black coat. The sabre must have pierced one of the lungs on it’s way; red bubbles gurgled around the edge of the wound.

“You are hereby relieved of your duty as an advisor,” I put a hoof underneath her chin and turned it towards me so I could look her in the eyes. The light of life was quickly fading away from them. In a final act of defiance, Rieth spat a mouthful of warm, dark blood on my muzzle followed by a quiet curse I didn’t understand. A heartbeat later she stopped breathing and I unceremoniously dropped her head on the ground with a soft thud. Underneath the corpse a dark red puddle was growing, fed by a thinning trickle of blood.

"And those who would rather wait?“ I pulled my sabre out from the corpse with a squelching sound as some of the blood held by it quickly flowed out. "No?“ I aimed my ( now crimson) sabre at every advisor, each of them hastily looking down. "Thought so.“

"Zorxa, it looks like our front lines just got some reinforcements,“ my lips curled into a cruel smile. "Make sure they are equipped accordingly,“ I waved the sabre at the paler than usual advisors; some of them getting splattered by Reith’s blood. They flinched nicely when the still warm drops hit their face; forming interesting patterns. Heh, maybe I should try getting some canvas and paint a few pictures with this special colour after the battle.

"Will do, warmare,“ Zorxa saluted and immediately kicked the advisor closest to her in the barrel, sending him to the floor. "You heard your orders, get up and move! You will follow corporal Barbed like he is your good uncle and do everything he tells you. Is that understood?!“ her voice which could shout down a storm rumbled in the tent; waking the advisors from their stupor; making them stand up.

Still shaking Lekan tried to argue, but when he opened his mouth a well aimed punch from Zorxa broke his jaw with a loud crack, after that he quickly followed the rest of the advisors out of the tent. In a short time only I and Zorxa remained inside.

"There will be consequences,“ Zorxa said in annoyed tone, pointing at the dead body.

"No there wont,“ I wiped the sabre into Reith’s fur, getting rid of the blood. "Today we are going to win. Nothing else matters. Did the pegasi scouts report anything new?“

"Lekan pretty much summarized it, the buffalos fortified their positions on the White hill with enough supplies to last them for months, they are in no rush to get us. Just a question if I may, the pegasi were surprised that we don’t rhyme when we talk, what kind of crap is that?“

"Apparently one of our shamans who lives in the Everfree Forest likes to screw with ponies, so everything he or she says rhymes. That’s all I know,“ I shrugged; turning to face Zorxa so I saw how she rolled her eyes.

"And they expect us to rhyme as well? Those pegasi are really featherbrains,“ Zorxa smirked mockingly.

"Invaluable featherbrains,“ I rose my hoof. "Don’t forget that thanks to them we know where the buffalos are.“

"I am surprised that they are willing to scout for us. One would think all ponies would put their hooves away.“

"Mercenaries. Their goddess is gold, they would do anything for the right price,“ I walked towards the exit. "Let's go prepare the troops for the upcoming battle.“

"And what about the body?“

"Dispose of it. I don’t want this tent to stink of death. Also make a banner for our newest recruits. It would be shame to have them march into the battle without it.“

Zorxa grimaced. "It will be done, warmare. I will take care of it.”

Immediately when I left the cover of the tent a strong gust of wind blowing around tossed a shitton of sand to my face, making me close my eyes; some of the little grains found their way inside my nostrils and mouth; making me sneeze. God fucking- hep-čí! - damn it! And the bland sand got between my teeth! I tried to fish out the small grains with my tongue but it proved totally futile. At least someone would get a good chuckle out of watching me. Horrible weather. Even in the morning the sun was doing everything it could to drain all life from me. It’s rays ruthlessly scorching my coat made me sweat like a pig, small beads of it already trickling from my brow. The freezing nights (not so freezing thanks to one lovely mare) were not any better. The conditions of the desert are something I probably won’t ever get use to. And this was the plain beneath the White Hill; it must be even worse on top of it.

“Bless you,” a few steps in front of the tent stood a couple of couriers (who had to see me impersonating a toothless dog with a piece of toffu); wearing light armour with scarves tied around their muzzles. I cursed silently; the worries of the upcoming battle made me completely forget about this little piece of cloth which could make all the difference in comfort around here.

“Thank you, Imari,” I sniffed, wiping my nose. “If I remember correctly it was common habit to greet your superior rank by a salute. But I guess I was wrong,” I smirked.

“Sorry, ma’am,” a pair of hooves shot up in unison as they stood at attention. “But if you pardon me you don’t look exactly as a warmare. Or even an officer. More like a sloppy murderer with all the blood stains” Imari laughed nervously.

“At ease,” I saluted them back. “Sloppy, Imari? That hurts. You know I am not sloppy when it comes to murder.” I grinned at him. “Our dear advisors needed some persuading to see the bigger picture.”

“Does that mean..?” Imari’s ears perked up.

“Yes, we’ll attack the buffaloes. Go to the officer’s tents and tell them to assemble the army as soon as they can. Get the message around quickly. I would like to have this battle over before lunch. There was talk of having mushroom burgers for one of the chef’s birthday today. It would be a shame to miss it,” I confidently smiled at Imari.

“Yeah, I heard they got some fine beer to go with it as well,” Iimari scratched back of his head. “Permission to speak freely warmare?”

“Go ahead,” I nodded. What was so dire he needed to ask for permission?

“Ehm, warmare with all due respect, shouldn’t the officers and commanders gather first? For a meeting before assembling the army? This is all rather sudden.”

“You are right. This is a bit sudden but don’t worry, as opposed to our lazy advisors we were busy with creating the best plan of attack. All officers and commanders know what to do, all they are waiting for is the order to go. The Buffaloes won’t know what hit them.” At least something good came from the all the delays the advisors have caused. They gave us enough time to come up with couple of plans and backup possibilities. Shame they didn’t know when to stop… “Now please go and deliver the message, I am sure they are eagerly awaiting it. And while you are at it, send some creative zebras here, Zorxa has a job for them.”

“As you wish, warmare,” Imari and the second courier briskly saluted and left in haste.

It probably would be good if I visited some of them personally. But all of them were competent zebras on the right places and since the plans for attack have been been prepared some time ago and discussed through and through; there was no reason to run around while they had their hooves full. And I would see them after the assembly anyway.

Soon the air was filled with clean tones of trumpets; shouting of sergeants and corporals who were cursing angrily at soldiers seeking refuge from the sun and dust inside tents and now were taking too long to gather their weapons, armour and other equipment. After a brief moment the tent city resembled a wasp hive; zebras quickly moving through narrow paths between walls of canvas trying to avoid bumping into each other but sometimes a loud thud followed by jingle of chain mail echoed here and there.

After a few officers passed by in haste the path towards my tent was clear. Not a lot soldiers in this part, mostly just couriers running around. With a light trot I headed to my little canvas home; it’s not much but at least the sand wouldn’t get in.

Two guards were standing in front of the entrance to the tent in full combat armour; indifferent to the weather. A matte white, bulky plate armour with black stripes , reliable chainmail underneath and cotton overalls as the last layer of defense. With a plate helmet covering the head and muzzle, every zebra who was was wearing it was protected from the bottom to the top. Even though I told them they don’t have to wear it; no need to let the weather drain more strength from you than is necessary. But one look at them and any intruder would think twice about attacking.

The guard on my left rose a hoof to his chest and bowed slightly; shadows casted by his helmet made the face behind drowned in a darkness with only azure eyes brightly shining through. "Does the sound of trumpets mean we are attacking soon, warmare?“ The eagerness in his voice tingled in my ears.

"Yes, I have dealt with the advisors, there is nothing between us and our victory now, Gralen,“ with a quick move he pulled the canvas away, opening the entrance for me.

Once I entered my chambers I let out a sigh of relief as the blistering heat died off only to be replaced by a breathtaking sultriness. Still it was better than the scorching sun.

At once I emptied a lukewarm pot of water that stood on a small wooden table near the entrance on my head. That felt good. My wet mane clung to my face and small streams from it trickled down my muzzle. Some drops found their way in my mouth and brought… a very diluted taste of Rieth’s blood. Damn. Wiping my lips with a foreleg I clicked my tongue. Not a bad vintage. I grabbed the tablecloth and dried my muzzle before tossing it away.

The inside of my tent was dominated by a ponyquin wearing the plate parts of my own armour. It was similar to the armour of the guards and soldiers, the only exceptions being some golden embellishment around the edges and a masterfully crafted golden motif of a hyena’s head grinning widely on the helmet. Not only did it look impressive, but intimidating as well.

The rest of the tent was mostly a mess with pieces of clothing strewn about, and papers lying where I dropped them. A pile of reports and recommendations from advisors, which started to look like a white tower atop my desk now sat on a half rolled up map with dried brown circular stains adorning its surface.

I had to tidy this place up a little, otherwise Zorxa would go crazy on my plot, and I would rather avoid that.

Carefully I navigated through the mess on the floor, overstepping a wooden training sword and shield on my way to the ponnyquin. Gently, I dragged a hoof over the warm iron; feeling every dent, every scratch it received from previous battles. When my hoof reached a recently repaired crack I froze, my eyes examining every little detail of it.

The blacksmiths did an amazing job of putting it back together, it would have been much easier for them to just give me a new one but I didn’t like the idea of some zebra fighting without it; just because I was so pretentious and over confident which ended in damaging my armour and almost got me killed. I hated the thought of losing even one life thanks to my own stupidity and recklessness.

Slowly I ran my hoof further towards the chest piece until I felt a familiar chainlet and heard the softest, sweetest jingle I knew. A jingle so sweet that it caused my lips to curl up in a warm smile.. Zorxa’s locket. I sat down and in a haste pulled it from the ponyquin and marveled breathlessly at the artwork she had put into it. Made from silver, shaped like a symbol of a heart with a pair of beautifully engraved curved swords, overgrown with fern. It was the only piece of jewelry I would ever wear. Not just because it was beautiful, but because of what was inside. A precious memory.

I sat down on my haunches and opened the locket with care; a big lump forming in my throat as I saw the contents. An old, worn-out piece of yellowing paper rested inside.. The smile on my face widened as I gingerly unfolded it, bend by bend, making sure not to tear it at any place. A sudden gust of wind forced me to hug both of my most prized possessions close to my chest.

“You don’t have to hide that masterpiece from me,” a silky voice whispered in my ear as Zorxa’s cheek nuzzled mine. There was no trace of viciousness in her words.

I instinctively nuzzled her back, comforted by her touch “I know, I was just afraid it would get lost in this mess,” I looked around, eyeing the less-than stellar interior of my tent with a sheepish smile.

Zorxa sat down next to me, resting her head on my shoulder. “And whose fault would that be?” she smirked, her hoof nudging me as a silent rebuke.”Want me to go away so you can reminisce in peace?” she asked with concern, shuffling her legs to stand up.

“Stay, please” I nuzzled her once more, conjuring up a soft smile from Zorxa. “You have already seen it plenty of times, no reason to hide it now,” I brought the still folded paper in front of us and motioned Zorxa to spread it. “Would you do me a favor?”

"With pleasure." Carefully, she unfolded the last bend, revealing a crayon drawing.

I tried to swallow the lump, which grew uncomfortable when my eyes drank in the image.. Drawn in black crayon there stood a smiling mare with a proud stallion next to her. In front of them sat a small filly wearing a tiny crown, alongside a slightly larger colt. All of them were in front of a big castle with numerous towers and spires reaching out to the skies. In the corner of the paper there was an obligatory sun grinning widely as it looked down on the family.. To anyone else it would have looked like a foalish scribble as the drawing mostly consisted of indistinguishable knots of lines.. To me it was the most beautiful picture ever.

“They all look so happy. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise with a mom like you,” Zorxa said softly, her leg wrapping around me in a tight hug.

“Th-They just-”I gulped down the lump in my throat again, blinking to fight back the tears that were burning in my eyes”- got their new home where they can play all day and don’t have to work,” I pointed my trembling hoof at the maze of lines. “Only fun and…”

“Games for the rest of their lives,” Zorxa finished the sentence for me. “With nothing to fear because daddy and mommy will make all the evil things go away,” she continued in a wistful tone.

I sniffed as the floodgates of my memories opened and the warm tears trickled freely down my cheeks. “She told me that when she gave it to me,” my hoof pointed towards the filly. “I miss them,” I sighed, hanging my head low. “I miss them all so much.”

“I am sure they miss you too,” Zorxa pulled me closer to her. “Wherever they are.”

“Thanks,” I pressed my cheek against her chest, the calm heartbeat and warmth radiating from her stopped my waterfalls.

“Ooh, look at you”-Zorxa patted me on my head, making me blush in embarrassment -” such a big softy you can be. I hope you don’t mind me asking but… why now? I know you look at it when you are feeling kinda down, but now?” her head rose up from my shoulder and I could feel her gaze on me.

I let out a long sigh before I looked at Zorxa. Her piercing green eyes were full of concern and...was that worry too? I must have been looking rather down to damp her usual upbeat attitude. ”I just wanted to see them and say my farewells if-”I chuckled bitterly”-I die and I won’t see them again.”

“Like that is going to happen,” Zorxa smirked, the worried expression replaced with a mischievous grin.”No need for farewell when a goodbye is enough. I know you are going to meet them again.”

“Heh, thanks but they are old enough now to stand on their own hooves, they don’t need a mom anymore,” an idea of my foals growing up filled my mind and I smiled. I imagined them (as I often did) going through puberty and into adulthood with all their dreams and wishes they wanted to fulfill. I broke into soft sobs again, this time quite happily.

“Everybody needs a mother,” Zorxa nuzzled me, kissing my cheek. “And now your bigger family needs theirs to lead them.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I nodded and gave the beautiful drawing one last look, engraving the image in my mind. “Goodbye,” I murmured wistfully, putting my hoof on the aging paper. I almost gave a lurch when Zorxa placed her hoof on top of my own. When I looked at her she smiled at me encouragingly.

“May I?” she motioned towards the painting with her muzzle. As I rose my hoof she folded the paper more carefully and quickly than I ever could and closed the locket with a soft click. “There we go,” Zorxa slipped the the chain with the locket around my neck. “Now we only have to get you into the armour. In comparison to folding your drawing this will be much easier,” she stood up and chuckled but I could hear a trace of sadness in her voice. “It might even be fun... I can even get rough with you,” Zorxa turned around to face me, her signature smug/playful grin plastered on her face.

Except now it was not completely sincere. Now it was just a facade with tiny cracks that began to show. A quivering bottom lip and one of her ears half way down was a giveaway what was going to happen.

“Zorxa,” I spread my frontlegs wide and she nearly jumped into my embrace, almost crushing my ribs as she hugged me tightly. “Y-you s-softie,” I managed to say between my wheezing. Luckily she realised I needed some air and released the death grip around my chest.

“Shush you,” she snuggled up against me, pressing her face on my chest.

I opened my mouth but closed it without saying anything. Instead I decided to caress her mane as we hugged there in silence, enjoying the heartwarming company of each other. I felt Zorxa’s heart fluttering quickly yet slowly calming down the longer we remained in the hug. The instant I burrowed my muzzle in her soft coat I knew that I couldn’t be happier.

The silence was only interrupted by Zorxa’s occasional sobs. After a moment I felt dampness spreading on my chest as the lovely mare in my hooves broke into tears, shaking like a leaf in the wind. Immediately I brought her as close to me as I could and held her.

“Better?” I whispered in Zorxa’s ear once the trembling subdued and she was only sniffing softly.

Zorxa nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. “Heh, what a pair of silly mares we are,” she neighed.“There is going to be a big battle and what do we do? Cry like little fillies.”

“You are the only one crying like a little filly,” I smiled and got a nudge back for my teasing.

“Maybe but when you cry you can flood the entire desert. Look at me, I am completely soaked! And not in the good way,” she smirked. “But it seems I am not the only one who is wet am I?”

To Zorxa’s amusement I groaned loudly and rolled my eyes. When she chuckled afterwards I knew she had most of her grief out of her. “And who made me this wet in the first place?” I growled at the mare who was now shaking with suppressed laughter.

As I hoped she eagerly jumped for the opportunity to embarrass me further. “Oh I made you wet just by hugging you? My my you have no restrain if that’s all it takes to push you over the limit.”

“B-but you said you are soaked too,” I stammered.

“And who soaked me like that?” Zorxa pulled out from the hug. “Care to tell?”

“Ugh! You are horrible, always twisting everything I say against me!” I huffed in faked irritation and turned my head from her. “There is no winning when you do that,” I crossed my forelegs in front of my chest. “You wet looser.”

“Oh you are right there, there is no winning against me,” she smirked as she leaned from me. “It would be nice if you could finally recognize it, and make it easier for me.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Before I could get any answers Zorxa pressed her hooves to my shoulders and pushed. I tried to remain sitting upright but without my forelegs to keep balance she effortlessly tipped me over on my back.

The moment I hit the ground Zorxa was already straddling me, a predatory grin revealing her teeth. Yep. She got definitely got better.

“What do we have here,” she cooed softly, pinning my forelegs firmly to the ground alongside my barrel.“A completely defenseless warmare who called me a wet loser. It would be a shame if something happened to her,” the now ‘completely in charge’ zebra leaned closer, snapping her teeth close to my neck.

“Z-Zorxa?” I looked her in eyes and saw a playful spark she always had when… Oh no. “I-I am sorry?”

“You will be that’s for sure,” she breathed a hot steamy air on my neck, making me shiver in delight. She couldn’t be serious, she just couldn’t! Didn’t she now there is a… I let a moan escape my lips when Zorxa (cowardly) assaulted my ear, nibbling it passionately. Damn her! “Look at you, enjoying being put to your place. Beneath me” she tittered, obviously pleased with herself. “Who is a wet looser now, hm?”

“Y-you are!” I spat out and tried to free my forelegs. To no avail. They might as well be glued to the ground. To my dismay Zorxa sit down on me. Not with her full weight, but just enough to prevent me from trying to escape. “Get down you fatty!“ Looking at it now from retrospective, that was a very poor choice of words on my part.

“So rude. I think some punishment is in order,” her tail swished against my belly making me gasp for air audibly. “You know it is not a punishment when you enjoy it right?” another hit, this time with more strength behind it elicited a high pitched squeak from me, my body tensing with anticipation. “Heh, like a finely tuned instrument.”

I was panting like I’d just ran a marethon. Zorxa knew exactly how to push my buttons and to my infinite ire she knew precisely when to stop! Just when I opened my mouth to tell some nasty curse on behalf of the top mare she dove down and silenced me. Quite effectively. And pleasantly.

“That’s enough for now,” Zorxa said after our lips departed. She deliberately ran her tongue over my muzzle, leaving a wet trail behind. “Come on, don’t look at me like that. I have to save something for the night,” the succubus in zebra body raised up and stood beside me “And don’t think I forgot about how you called me, there will be consequences. So don’t get killed otherwise I will have to find some other, much younger mare. Do you understand?” her hoof smacked my exposed belly and left a fine red imprint on it.

Biting my lip I suppressed a yelp depraving Zorxa a small victory. “You are a vile temptress!” I groaned in exasperation and stood up myself. “I wanted to keep my head clean before the battle and now…”

“And now what?” she asked with an innocent smile.

“I will get you for this later,” I growled at her. “Care to help me to my armour? ” I quickly changed the subject.

“Sure, if I can find the pieces in this mess,” Zorxa looked around, eyeing the inside of the tent. “How did our army got so far with a pig for a warmare, the world might never know.”

“Hey! I was gonna clean this but I was… busy!”

“Yeah, right,” she chuckled,”Better to put the armour on you so nobody can see what a chubby softie you are. Once the buffaloes find out we will have to surrender our sweets to them,”Zorxa sneered.

I slumped to my haunches, head in hooves. “One. One moment alone with you when you wouldn't drive me mad. Is that too much to ask for?” The answer was obvious but one can still hope.

“Nah, it more fun like this. You know, when you are not all so serious and you loosen up a bit.”

“Zorxa, there is going to be a battle, you know that right?” I asked in a disbelief. “A huge one nonetheless.”

“Uh-huh, so?”

“Zebras might die. I might die. This is not a moment to…”a slap that nearly send me to the ground cut my speech short.

“I swear, I will smack the shit out of you if say anything about you dying again!”she hissed at me. “You know how much I-” Zorxa gulped audibly”- love you but stop talking about your death. Can you do it for me? Please?”

“Y-yeah,” I rubbed my burning cheek. “I mean you wouldn’t have so much fun with a corpse no matter how sexy it would be.”

“Glad you caught my drift,” Zorxa leaned closer and kissed the stinging spot on my face.”I’m so sorry for that slap but you have left me no choice.”

“Don’t worry, at least it cleared my head on what is important, I smirked. “And Zorxa, I love you too,” I blushed. No matter how many times I have told that I still feel like a little filly while doing so.

“Of course you love me, I am awesome. Now we better get you into the armour,” she turned around looking for the missing pieces. “You are not off the hook for calling me fat though.”

Maybe she was right I need to loosen up and… my linen coveralls landed squarely on my head and muzzle. Followed by Zorxa pecking a kiss on my cheek as I was just sitting there, grinning underneath the fabric.

Soon, worries in my mind vanished as quickly as a steam over a pot when an epic cloth throwing battle inside the tent took place.

Even with the time we have spent tossing various objects against each other we have arrived before the army was assembled. Some units were not present or had a few stragglers missing. Soldiers were still gathering while I stood on a small wooden stage, sweating like a pig in my armour thanks to the merciless sun. All in front of me me I could hear the rattle of the armour and weapons, banners softly flickering in the wind, voices rising to join the others around them to form a thundering indistinguishable chorus. Even though the heat was beating me down I could feel a cold shiver in my spine when the brisk tones of trumpets cut through the hot air, calling for the latecomers to hurry up. The buffaloes would have to be deaf, blind and stupid not to notice this.

When I looked at the army a feeling of pride overwhelmed me. An army of battle-ready zebras spread far and wide like a black and white sea with forests of spears jutting towards the sky. The sun rays were reflecting from any polished surface they touched, casting bright gleams everywhere around, resembling shards of glass in the desert. I looked at the faces below (at least at those which were not covered by helmet). Most had a resolute, hard expression and eyes full of confidence without a trace of fear. Some had proud smiles as they were standing, chatting while they waited for the rest of the troops. A pang of sadness shot through me. How many of my soldiers wouldn’t return back? Dozens? Hundreds? A steep price to pay. I would be the one sending them into danger and… to death .The air around me suddenly got much colder. Still, they were soldiers, my soldiers; they know how to handle themselves on the battlefield. And I must go as an example.

I tapped an amulet on the stand in front of me. It blinked a few times before emitting a solid green light. Thanks to this enhanced gem even soldiers in the back would be able to hear my speech.

“Soldiers! I can’t say how much I am proud of you. You have proved countless times that you are the best in the world when you have stood unyielding and true against everything the buffaloes have thrown at us. I ask you now to do the same once more. To go and finally win this bloody war!“ I roared at top of my lungs. “The buffaloes think they are safe up there, hiding like cowards and waiting for the pegasi to save them. We can’t and we won’t let that happen! We are going to plow through their ranks to the top of the hill! The time has come for us to deal with buffaloes once and for all! Nothing will stop us! For Schmatrag!”

“For Schmatrag!” thundered back as soldiers cried out in unison. “Death to buffaloes, no mercy, kill them all,” were the most prominent of shouts I managed to catch in the boiling sea.

The storm subdued when I raised my hoof. “All of you know me,” or at least I hoped so. “I have fought alongside you in every battle I could. From the brutal skirmishes when the blood of zebras have been shed to give birth to our united nation to this campaign against buffaloes. This battle won’t be any different. Together we will claim the victory we have been waiting so long for! Now make no mistake, the buffaloes are not going to roll over and die. They will fight desperately like a cornered beast by teeth and hoof, kicking wildly all around. It won’t be easy. I have not lied to you before and I won't start now, this battle will put us through pain and death, there is no way to sugarcoat it. All I ask is don’t play heroes, the graveyards are full of them and I’m sick of having to bury more. Fight with strength, courage and honour. Not for me but for your brothers and sisters next to you. Together we will wipe out the buffaloes and anything they have prepared. Together we will show the whole world how zebras fight. Together we are unstoppable! Together. WE. WILL.WIN!” I ended my speech, shouting out the last few words and deactivated the amulet on the stand.

Once more the air was filled with loud shouts as the army kept chanting, rattling with their weapons wildly. This went on for a while until the brisk sound of trumpets soared above the voices. In a short time the army began to move, led by the officers to their places for the the upcoming battle. A cloud of sand had risen behind them as they went, covering their armour with a thin layer.

Only after the troops had walked some distance I heard a soft jingle. My chainmail was ringing while my body was trembling from the excitement. It took me a few breaths to calm down a bit.

“Encore!” a lone pair of hooves was clapping behind me as Zorxa’s voice rose to taunt me. “But I know at least one battle you didn’t participate in because you were… indisposed?” she sneered.

“Zorxa,” I turned around and glared at her. She was wearing an elaborate dark orange scale armour made out of a basilisk. The armour covered pretty much the entirety of her body save for her head and a bit of her neck. The only few pieces of plate armour she has put on were dark red bracers around her legs. A pair of scimitars was strapped on her back, the hilts in a comfortable reach. Even though Zorxa was smiling playfully she gave an impression of a compressed spring, ready to unleash its force. Still, no matter what her main objective was to torment and embarrass me. No surprises there.

“I know, I know,” she waved her hoof dismissively a soft smile playing on her lips. “Only important stuff now. Well this is important. First, the new unit is ready and second, the commanders are going to gather soon at the flag there,”she pointed towards a banner fluttering behind the last line of the soldiers. “I dare to say you should see our advisors, they are quite spectacular,” Zorxa’s lips curled into a cruel grimace.

She wasn’t exaggerating in the least and I couldn’t help but smirk when I saw what advisors turned into. Guards must have gathered the rest of them as in front of me stood about forty - fifty zebras who looked rather lost. I felt almost sorry for them. Gone were the days of luxurious cloths and perfectly styled manes and coats. Instead the has-been advisors wore unfitting pieces of any left over armour the armourers were willing to part with. Some of them had vivid bruises on their faces and probably on their bodies too. The guards certainly weren’t gentle while rounding them up.

“It is good to see all of you are willing to join the upcoming battle,”I gave the newest recruits a wide grin. Normally I am not a gleeful zebra but seeing them huddling close together, terrified of the future made me smile.

“Y-you can’t be serious,” Senga stammered. Her voice trembling with anger. “We demand to be released at once!” she added, stomping her hoof. A quiet chorus of agreement rose from the rest of the unfortunate advisors.

I took one look at her and it was clear she had only tried to look tough. Her eyes gave out the fear she was trying to hide in her bold behaviour. Eyes are the window to the soul of everybody. Or so they say.

“You are not in a position to demand anything” I replied to Senga calmly and walked towards her. She took a couple of steps back until she bumped into a guard behind her. With nowhere to back off Senga stood at place, shivering until I stepped in front of her. “The times where your word meant anything are gone. Better get used to it,” I glared at her and she quickly casted her eyes at the ground.

“Please, let me go,” Senga sobbed, the mask of haughtiness broken. “I didn’t do anything to deserve this,” a first tear dropped on the ground. “I only wanted to help.”

“You only helped yourself,” I snorted, disgusted by the selfish mare in front of me. “All of you are parasites that would suck this army dry. You have stolen supplies, buffalo relics and artifacts. Delayed our campaign so your companies can profit on it longer. Also appealed to Schmatrag to get me replaced because I am unfit to lead,” I growled at the zebra in front of me that was now openly crying. “And you say you didn’t do anything to deserve this.”

“Lies!” Senga blurted out and raised her red eyes at me. “We wanted to be sure with every decision you have made. It is not our fault information took so long to get to us,” she said with a hurt pride. “The accusation of us wanting you to relieve you of your duty is just an accusation! We were concerned about your health and asked for a temporary replacement. And regarding the stealing, all of it was done by the soldiers. You were just too blind to see i…”

Senga didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence as I punched a side of her muzzle. She yelped in surprise and pain as she fell down. “How dare you blame the soldiers?! You lying piece of shit!” I roared at the zebra sprawled at the ground. The has been advisor closed eyes as she cried uncontrollably, a tiny rivulet of blood running from a corner of her mouth. “I should just kill you at the spot,” I hissed at her, trembling with hate.

“P-please, no,” Senga shielded her head with forehooves and curled into a fetal position. She was whimpering loudly while she lied down.

I was breathing heavily, anger threatened to overwhelm me. This pathetic mare tried to lie her way out, willing to accuse anyone to shift blame. Yet if there is a sliver of truth… “Do you have any evidence of your claims? ” I took a deep breath to calm down. “And don’t lie to me.”

Senga shaked her head. “If we did we would get it to you right away. But we didn’t steal anything, you have to believe me!”

“Stand up,” I ordered her. I didn’t like talking to her like this. Timidly she obeyed, watching me with cautious eyes to see if I would hit her again. The side of her muzzle I hit was getting swollen, a dark purple bruise setting in. “I have a proposition for all of you,” I swirled around, the previous advisors closest to me taking a step back. “If you fight and survive I will allow you to investigate the thefts to clean your names (of course I would have someone doing the investigation as well, just to be sure). If you hide, avoid or run away from the fight I will have you executed as deserters. With all the consequences of being sentenced as such. And if you die, well I will consider your debts paid. Sounds fair no?” I grinned at the mortified crowd surrounding me. All of them wore an expression of absolute terror. At least those who didn’t see me kill Rieth. Those few accepted the news with sighs of resignation.

“We only wanted to help,” Abioye shook his head in disbelief. “Not to fight in the front line.”

“If you don’t want to fight I will kill you right here,” I shrugged. It would take me some time to carry out the executions if more of them decided to throw their lives away like that. “But in the battle you can earn your life back. You might end up wounded, close to death yet still alive. Giving up won’t do you any good.”

A silence fell upon the crowd once more. The advisors were considering their options as they looked at each other warily. A certain painless execution on one hoof and a possible painful death on the other. With a slim chance of surviving the whole battle. They deserved nothing less.

“So what it is going to be?” my hoof reached for the hilt of the sabre. “Anyone who wants to give up now?”

“No,” Senga’s low voice broke the silence. “Your options are cruel but I will fight. And survive. Just to prove your opinions about your soldiers are wrong,” she said in a determined tone.

“Be my guest. Just don’t be disappointed when you fail to find anything,” I smirked, amused by her statement. “How about the rest of you?”

For a second time no one said a thing. All of them lost in their own thoughts.

“You are too soft on them,” Zorxa sneered. “Atte-ention! Listen up you poor excuses for soldiers. Everyone who wants to fight line up behind me! Rest of you pathetic maggots who don’t have guts for it can stay and wait for their death. What are you waiting for?! Move, move, move!” she shouted at them.

That broke the stupor. In a few moments the advisors were trying their best not to bump into each other as their surged behind Zorxa, sprung to action by the authority in her voice.

“I would manage that myself,” I turned around to face my second in command and blinked a few times. “Oh, that is terrifying.” During my talk with Senga she sneaked away and got the banner for the new unit.

“Impressive isn't it?”she chuckled. “It is the best we managed in the short time. I think we have outdone ourselves.”

She was right. On top of a five meters tall pike rested Rieth’s head, carelessly cut away from the rest of her body. From the jagged tatters of flesh that once was her neck occasionally dripped blood. Beneath it, nailed to a piece of wood a banner made from patches of Rieth’s hide was hanging. The banner itself was sewed together by large crude stitches that cut into the unusual canvas they were used on. And to be sure her previous friends would recognize the unfortunate donor of materials without a doubt, a set of glyphs (still on their pieces of hide) resembling a hut was stitched in the center. The previously white stripes were now dark red and the banner was surrounded by a sharp scent of caked blood. Every time a gust of wind leaned against it, the banner fluttered with meaty slurp, slurp, slurp.

“Not bad. It reminds me of the flags the barbaric tribes used to make,” I blinked again to tear my eyes from her creation. Zorxa could use her creative talent for everything if she had put her mind into it. Sometimes with frightening results.

“I was inspired by them. Though to make it in their traditional way it would require a lot more work. Now it is just a rather sloppy design I was able to put together. It lacks any finesse or sophistication,” Zorxa clicked her tongue in exasperation. ”But what it lacks in those features it atones rather well with the sheer brutality and viciousness,” she explained like an artist describing a new painting. “Alas, time was against me and this will have to do. Afterall it is just for one battle,” she shrugged.

“It will work I am sure,” the more pale than usual faces behind Zorxa confirmed my words. “I thought I said something about disposing the body but now I am glad you didn’t do it.”

“Well, there are still some leftovers if you would like,”Zorxa smiled at me and one of the advisors behind her threw up when a couple of blood drops hit his nose.

“Maybe later,”I repaid Zorxa’s smile and looked at the crowd that huddled behind her. An idea popped in my mind. “Lekan, come here!”

On uneasy legs a distinctively fatter zebra separated from the group and hobbled it’s way forwards. It must have been difficult to find any piece of armour that would fit the overweight sloth since he wore only a tattered loin coveralls. If Lekan wasn’t so fat I probably wouldn’t be able to recognize him as his face was a mask of pain, fresh bruises and cuts covering most of it. His eyelids were opened only on tiny slits as they were swollen and puffy; it must have been a miracle for him to see anything. Lekan probably tried to talk his way out and corporal Barbed didn’t take it kindly, judging by the teeth the advisors was missing.

“Lekan, since Rieth was your close friend I will grant you the honour of carrying her into battle,” I pointed towards the banner and some bruises on his face went a shade lighter. “Make your unit proud.”

“Phleashe nho,”Lekan lisped and shook his head.

“I am not going to discuss this,” I turned towards the leader of the guards. “Jabari, lead this unit fifty or so meters in front of our lines. If they try to run away break their legs so I can punish them later accordingly. And make sure Lekan carries the banner,” I glared at the whimpering knot of nerves. All of the pompous, haughty attitude was gone replaced by fear.

“As you command, warmare,” Jabari saluted and went to instruct his soldiers. On his way he casually hit Lekan’s left hindleg and shoved into him sending the terrified zebra down onto the ground.

“Jabari, don’t hurt them too much. The buffaloes would like to have fun with them as well,” I reprimanded him with a mocked seriousness. Though it would be a shame not to give them a chance to prove themselves, a punch or two from the soldiers the advisors tried to steal from couldn’t hurt. Not too much at least.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jabari briskly shouted back and a blow that would hit Lekan’s face harmlessly hit the sand next to it.

“Once they are at the front give them weapons. Not some worn out garbage nor training ones. Normal weapons. Hopefully they won’t hurt each other with them,” the advisors might have been completely untrained, poorly armoured but they would atleast have a fighting chance. Small but still better than none. I turned around and walked towards waiting Zorxa who was waiting on me. Together we have trotted to a commander's meeting leaving the newest unit behind to Jabari’s command.

“Do you expect any of them to survive?”Zorxa asked with a sneer after we have put some distance between us and the frightened group. There were no doubts about her opinion.

I neighed. “No, I would be surprised if at least one of them doesn’t try to run away.”

“Wanna bet if anyone actually survives?” she chuckled.

“Isn’t this a little grim? Even for you?” I looked at her and raised my eyebrow in a mock seriousness. “Betting on lives of zebras like that…”

“Who? Me? Nah,” she waved her hoof dismissively, an innocent smile adorning her muzzle. “But this way they might actually be useful. So are you up for the game?”

With Rieth dead I knew there was no zebra with any actual combat experience. Nearly all of the advisors got their posts thanks to their wealth or relations. But there could have been some who would try to save their life… “Senga, she at least has some reason to survive. If only to try in vain to blame other for the thefts they did. You?”

“Heh, knew you would pick her when she tried to stand up for them. You can’t deny you were impressed by her behaviour,” Zorxa laughed.

“Until she wanted to blame the soldiers, sure,”I huffed in exasperation. “How could she even believe that argument would work. If that was some form of a trump card it was a poor one.”

“True, but you know what they say ‘there is no smoke without fire’. She might be right about our soldiers trying to improve their quality of life,” Zorxa looked at me with a serious face that hinted no signs of a joke.

“If that was a joke it was one of your poor ones,” I glared at my dearest. When she didn’t say anything and continued to repay me my stare I gulped. “You can’t be serious.”

“Think about it. Every time we tried and set up a trap the supplies arrived intact. And I am not talking about the artifacts that just vanished after the battle. Someone well informed has to be warning whoever is behind this.”

“I know,” I sighed in frustration. “But no one has seen anything, heard anything or wasn’t there at all. It was like chasing a wind!” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm down. The whole affair was casting a bad light on the army as whole. “I guess I will have to try and get to the bottom of this once the war is over. If there would be any clues left.”

“Even though you might end up with a conclusion you don’t like?” Zorxa asked me and frowned.

“Yes,” I replied firmly. “You know there is no other way, if the soldiers did it, they have to be dealt accordingly. It would ruin my reputation for allowing such a thing to happen but if that is the price to pay to have the army free of that kind of scum I would gladly do so.”

“Soo grim,”Zorxa rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Are you sure you are not turning into a martyr with all the things you are willing to suffer for your soldiers? I know you are a glutton for punishment already but this is taking it a bit too far,” she sticked her tongue at me while I blushed faintly.

I appreciated how she tried to lighten the mood but my mind has been already wandering on a path of self blame. “It would be only fair. I am the one responsible for their actions, I am the one who let the thefts grow into a larger problem instead of cutting it at the beginning. I should have had… ,” I wanted to continue with my list of blunders but Zorxa interrupted me.

“Should have, would have, could have, she groaned grumpily. “You are talking like it would be your fault if the soldiers were stealing the supplies. You need to stop with that stupid attitude of yours, honestly, you can’t blame yourself for this,” she continued in persuading me. “I know you care about the soldiers and they look up at you for it but if there are some who would steal from the army to become rich it is something the soldiers decided to do. You can try your best but this was something you couldn’t influence so stop beating yourself over it.”

“Do you really think the soldiers could be responsible?” I asked her directly, hoping my desperation about the matter wouldn’t seep into my voice.

“It would make sense, but I think you got the thieves now,” Zorxa motioned with her head behind us. “If the thefts stop after they are dead there is a good chance they were behind it, if not we can focus our attention amongst our midst. Either way the new unit is a win - win situation,” she snickered.

“Killing two birds with one stone,” I sneered. “At least the advisors would be finally good for something.”

“Heh, as a small bump to slow down the buffaloes before they reach our lines,” Zorxa laughed.

“If they don’t try and run away,” I smirked. “After the battle I will lead the investigation I want to be sure that this whole thing is resolved.”

“From a warmare to a spy? I see, you want to return back to your roots,” she nodded solemnly. “But don’t you think the soldiers will be able to recognize you instantly? It might be better to send someone trustworthy to do it instead?”

“No this is something I want to deal with personally,” I shook my head.

“Not a good idea to be honest. You are kinda recognized around here. Still if that is what you want to do be my guest,” Zorxa shrugged.

“I would be surprised if some shaman wouldn’t be able to help with that.”

“Hm, maybe they might be able to improve your face as well,” she snickered. “Nah, I think flying pigs are more probable.”

“Focus on the important things, Zorxa,” I said somberly. “The upcoming battle, the thefts, these sort of things.”

“Well, the way you look is quite important for me. I am the one who has to look at you all the time, it is no small deal you know.”

“Will you ever stop with the teasing? The investigation is going to be a difficult one and sooner we start with the planning the better. And you are not helping at all,” I grumbled and swallowed a curse . Sometimes she really doesn’t know when to stop.

“Neither are you. Right now you can’t do anything about the thefts so better stop worrying about them” she explained calmly. “And we already have a plan for the battle and unless you have come up with a serious change of strategy stop worrying about it as well. If not all you have to do is to concentrate on the fight itself. We will deal with the thefts in due time so stop thinking about it and focus.”

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?” I muttered, ashamed of myself for shifting my attention so much. “You are right though, I should focus,” I shook my head in attempt to sort my thoughts and clear the proverbial garbage. Without Zorxa I would probably tried to solve it at the spot. The looming battle ahead or not. How blind can I get… “You know you still haven’t told me who do you think will survive.”

“None of the advisors is really any good, all of them are equally incompetent. Though I think Abioye might have a chance. From what I gathered he at least knows where to point the sharp end of a spear. Not that it matters in actual combat anyway,” Zorxa shrugged, not bothered in the slightest by the upcoming fate of the advisors.

“Heh, I am sure Senga will try the hardest to survive. After all, she wants to clean her name.” It could have been a truth, she looked rather determined to get a chance to do so.

“Yeah, you might have picked a better option to win the bet,” she drawled.

“Woah, one of the few rare occasions I will win? I must be dreaming.”I blinked in a pretended surprise. “Is it too much to believe the usual winning conditions apply?”

“Sure, no reason to come up with something else now,” she grinned at me and a very familiar feeling of warmth spread in me.

“Then we have a deal,” I smiled back at her, confident in my victory.

“Awfully eager like always. If only the advisors would share this trait with you. We would have to bet on something different.”.

“And lose this opportunity to win over you? No way! If I knew I could win this way I would have send them to battle long time ago.”

“And you accused me of being grim,” Zorxa snorted, her features softening as a smile played on her face. “Maybe I should go with the advisors, to ensure Abioye survives.”

I neighed, not believing her for one moment. “Oh I forgot you are a sour loser. Well, you can go make friends with them and I will excuse you from this meeting.”I felt a bump strong enough to make me stagger and nearly lose my balance, even though I was wearing my plate armour. After a couple of unsure steps I stopped and glared at Zorxa who was wearing a mask of complete innocence as she walked past me.

“Oh my what happened? Are you feeling sick? Maybe I should excuse you of the meeting and battle as well. To make sure nothing happens to you. Wait, I had to do that one before hadn’t I?”Zorxa asked with a mocked concern, sounding like a mother worried about her foal. She was right about me having to skip one, one battle. But that was long time ago, before I had the rank of warmare.

“Oh, you are so done when I win,” I leaped forward to tackle Zorxa down but she easily stepped away and I missed my attack completely.

“Too slow,” she sticked her tongue at me and galloped towards the commander’s meeting after I whirled around and tried to snatch her tail between my teeth.

“Oh, you are so gonna get it,”I murmured and galloped after her. There was a small chance I could catch her but I was willing to give it a try just to get some of my revenge back.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading the first chapter of my story I hope you have enjoyed reading it. The first few chapters follow Terona, the warmare of Zebra's army before switching to the perspective of Lucent Flare. Don't worry the switch will happen only once.

Woah, first chapter done, never thought I would end up publishing anything so, please comment as much as you would like. The feedback you can give me so I can better myself is invaluable for me.

Prologue 02: Cutthroat negotiations

I wasn’t able to catch up to Zorxa until she slipped safely in the midst of the gathered commanders. From there she was occasionally looking at me with a smug smile, knowing well that our game has ended and she had won while I trotted to meet the commanders as well.

Fifty high ranking officers were already waiting there, talking between themselves. Some of them were wearing mail armour but most of them had put on a black and white uniform with woven golden lines. Even though the uniforms were made out of cloth by my request, they were reinforced by leather and steel in vital areas to make them a bit more protective. And as I was told they looked rather chic, although heavy.

Judging by the relaxed atmosphere, the meeting hadn’t started yet. Groups of officers were talking between themselves and occasionally I could hear a laugh. I slowed down to a trot and then to a collected walk. I didn’t want to gasp for breath the moment I got there. When I was a few meters away, the officers (except for Zorxa) still hadn’t noticed my approach, caught up in their conversations and planning. With no guards around I walked to them, the marching army making enough noise to mask my hoofsteps.

When I got closer to the center a familiar voice greeted me: “Ah, Terona, I am glad to see you have joined us.” The voice bore no sign of viciousness and was smooth as the finest silk. I swirled around to face the zebra behind the voice to see the face of an older stallion with deep wrinkles around his piercing emerald eyes. Chidike nodded respectfully, his silvery mane tied into a ponytail resting upon his shoulder. “We are still waiting for a hooffull of officers, but I think they will be arriving shortly. Or do you want to begin now?”

“We can wait, the army will need some time to get into position.” I waved my hoof dismissively and took a better look at him. He was one of the few officers to wear actual armour and had his distinctive battle axes strapped on its sides. “It is good to see you as well, Chidike. I guess you didn’t put the armour and weapons on just to show off?”

“As long as I can, I will fight.” Though he was old enough to be my father he was also one of the most experienced fighters and cunning officers I knew. Carefully, he looked around as if to see if any one else was paying any attention to us. But before I could voice my concerns he took a step towards me. “I don’t agree with the way you have dealt with the advisors. I know why you did it and understand your decision, but there were other, better options than killing one of them and sending the rest to die. We might lose valuable allies at home thanks to this,” he whispered.

I blinked in surprise. For a moment I blankly stared at him, still processing the words that were said. “It was the quickest solution. I tried reasoning with them but it led us nowhere.We were sitting around, doing nothing. Meanwhile ponies, mainly the pegasi could have interfered. Not in direct combat, but a constant rain, sweeping winds or any other weather manipulation would be enough to make us leave with casualties and no results to show for them. As Warmare I can’t and I won’t allow that to happen,” I shook my head. “But I am glad you were honest with me Chidike. Thank you.”

“Have you considered the outcome of this decision?” The officer tilted his head.

“Yes, I think the gains outweigh the losses.” I explained casually. “They were a burden we had to carry around. A dead weight. I did what was necessary to get things moving so we can get this over with. It might have been the wrong decision and I will take full responsibility for it if needed.” I said decisively.

Chidike continued to look at me sternly while I returned his gaze calmly. After a few moments his lips slowly curled up in an honest smile,“I knew you would be the right choice for Warmare in this campaign when you were under my command,” he said and I felt my chest swelling with pride.

“You taught me a lot,” I smiled back at him. “Just the politics eluded me. The families of the advisors are not supporting Schmatrag out of the kindness of their hearts. Land, reputation, titles, wealth and who knows what else. All this while our soldiers died, were wounded. I am so sick of their games,” I snorted in annoyance.

“While that may be true, you might want to learn how to act with a little more tact around the aristocrats. Afterall, without their money we would be fighting with sharpened sticks. Act like you respect them, think whatever you want about them. The sad truth is, so far, we need them.”

“I am not cut out for these cloak and dagger games,” I groaned in exasperation and rubbed my temple. “Hey, silly idea. How about you become my advisor? A free spot opened recently,” I gave him a bright smile.

“You will learn that in time,” Chidike patted my shoulder fatherly. Even though my armour was in the way I was grateful for the gesture. “Also I think I will pass on your offer. I have a better chance to survive on the battlefield than being your advisor,” he chuckled.

“Oh please,” I snorted in mock irritation. “I know better than to try to fight you. Plus you would be an advisor I appointed. Not one forced into my ranks against my will. That might make a tiny difference. I just don’t understand why Schmatrag would persuade me to keep them around, instead of forming the inner circle from my officers.”

“Neither do I. He had his reasons for doing so otherwise he wouldn’t have interfered.” Chidike shrugged.

“Anyway, do any other officers feel the same way about the advisors as you do?” I asked him, with interest.

“They have some reservations but I think you should ask for yourself,” he motioned his head behind himself.

“That might be a good idea,” I nodded, agreeing with his approach. “Thanks for the advice.”

“Glad to help, like always.” He stepped away to let me pass.

My mind was a whirling maelstrom of thoughts as I passed by the groups of officers. As I got to the banner, all eyes were on me, the conversations interrupted by my presence. “As you might know I have killed one of the advisors that opposed the direct confrontation with the buffaloes and sent the rest of them to the battle. Unless they are lucky, it is their death sentence. It is understandable, that some of you might be concerned about it and the backlash that might follow. I would like to hear your thoughts in this matter.” I draw a long breath, looking around. A silence filled the air and some officers exchanged quick looks.

“Nothing of value was lost.” Ashanti, leader of the Sickles, broke the silence. She and I were similar, both in looks and opinions but she was definitely bigger and more muscular than me. And much more savage when it came to combat. I had to rise my head a little to look her in the eyes. For this battle she chose a plate armour made to encompass her big frame. “They were a pain in the ass alive, they will be a pain in the ass once they die. ”She snorted in contempt. I knew her position in this matter before, no surprise there.

“Yes, but it could have been handled more smoothly,” Faraji said and some officers nodded in agreement. “Killing them like this is rather harsh penalty for being a nuisance. Brutally efficient but still needlessly rushed. Thanks to this, our influence at home will suffer. The consequences won’t be pleasant. Next time, I would suggest to try an option that can still be talked out afterwards.” He added with a sigh.

“I agree. I would prefer less permanent solution as well. Yet, I must admit things are finally moving the right way. Maybe we should have got rid of the advisors sooner. With less blood mind you.” Keyon explained his point of view calmly. “For now, I think, it is best to deal with the buffaloes. That’s why we are here after all. The advisors are out of the way so let’s make the best out of it.” His words raised a murmur of agreement that gained on volume in the ranks of the officers.

“Does anyone else have anything they would like to add?” I looked around, gliding from face to face.

“With the exception of the haste disposal of advisors everything goes the way we planned it. The aerial scouts report the buffaloes have begun to gather and occupy the defensive positions on top of the white hill,” an intelligence officer, Talib said. He wore the officer’s uniform, but he had it remade to better suit his needs. Dozens of pockets to carry all the reports, lists written in a hoofwritting only he could read.“Also there are groups of pegasi flying around.”

“Do you think they might attack us?” I asked with a concern. A few groups of them would not stop us, but they might be able to cause some chaos.

“No, the princesses do not wish to drag equestria into this. That hasn’t changed. They are probably just scouts or curious watchers. But if I am wrong, we are ready for that variant as well,” Talib said soberly.

“Peace for our times.” Ashanti snorted and some officers around chuckled upon hearing it.”The princess of love has a strange sense of humour.”

“As long as ponies are happy, I am happy as well,” I smiled. “Well, as long as they are not around here brandishing weapons.” My smile turned sour.

“Well, they might be able to learn how to fight properly.” Zorxa snorted.

“Are you sure you can make the buffaloes to abandon their positions on the White hill?” Faraji asked. “They are well fortified there with enough supplies, it would be foolish from them to do so.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but Talib was faster.“ I am sure it will work, their chieftain is not known for a virtue of patience. In these tasks he relies mostly on his brother to solve the diplomatic tensions. With him gone I have no doubts buffaloes will attack. And if they stay up there it is more of a hindrance than a problem,” the intelligence officer explained. So far the profiles of the enemies he provided were pinpoint accurate. How he managed to put them together to predict their behaviour was a mystery and a piece of art.

“I know the alternatives,”Faraji nodded. “But I wanted to know if Terona understands what is asked of her.”

“I understand it completely, Faraji. I just hope they will surrender.“ I sighed and smiled sadly.

“Not likely.” Talib shook his head and his well kempt mane flew wildly in the wind. “We left them no place to run and we know they are not gonna accept our conditions. You can still try, just don’t expect any success.”

“If that fails, I will do what has to be done in order to succeed.” I nodded gravely. The task was not to my liking, but it was the best bet to lure the buffaloes out according to Talib. “Does anyone have another questions to ask?”

“I think we understand our tasks perfectly,” Ashanti said and the rest of the officers agreed with her.

“In that case, let’s go perform Schmatrag’s will.” I declared. The only way to prevent a bloodshed now, would be the surrender of buffaloes.

“Schmatrag wills it!” Sounded back and the officers dispersed, trotting to their posts and their units.

“Don’t you have your pride to command?” I asked Zorxa and the cautious steps behind me stopped. She wanted me to hear her approach otherwise she would just pounce.

“I thought you will join us. Or do you have other plans?”

“Hm, Ashanti’s Sickles improved a lot. Maybe I should give them the honour of fighting alongside them.” I teased her, for once having the upper hoof.

“You know, once you are Indomitable you are one for the rest of your life,” she whispered in my ear, standing right next to me. In my surprise, I almost jumped away. A small jingle bell for her to wear, just so she can’t sneak around like that anymore would be a perfect addition to Zorxa’s apparel. “Or do you want to go through the ritual to leave?”

With a lot of self control, I managed to keep a straight face and to prevent my voice from trembling. “I am the warmare I decide where I fight.” I gulped. “Today I will join the Indomitables,” I added with a haste. Someday I will fight where I want. Zorxa be damned.

“Good choice I am glad you came to your senses.” Zorxa purred, still standing right next to me. Someone has to teach this zebra about personal space. “I am sure you won’t regret it. That’s if we hurry up, otherwise we might miss it.” She grinned and ran towards the army without saying anything else. I sighed and followed her. On that moment I wondered if I am in charge of her or the other way around.

***

The center of the army was already in place, only our flanks were getting to their positions. Zorxa and I trotted through the lines of soldiers that opened in front of us to create a narrow corridor. Our goal was a banner that looked rather mundane in the sea of colourful flags. Its white and black colours were dull, the dark shades faded long time ago by the elements. In the middle of the black field was a dragon head embroidered with silver and golden threads. It fluttered proudly in the middle of the frontlines.

The army was encircling the only path that lead on the top of White hill, the frontlines being about kilometer in front of the steep table mountain walls. The nature helped Buffaloes greatly in creating a perfect last stand position. Only one trail up that narrowed towards the top like a giant half funnel surrounded by jagged stone walls. In the close vicinity laid a barren land, only occasionally a lonely speck of withered yellow grass or shriveled, thorned bushes. Further from the mountain, oasis dotted the landscape like green beads. If we had enough time, we could have waited and let them starve out.

When we reached the rank of Indomitables, I felt like I arrived home. Familiar zebras greeted me with smiles and friendly nods and I was happy to return those gestures, despite the upcoming battle. Even though they were a few moments from a merciless fight their moral was intoxicating. The members of Indomitables were joking amongst themselves, carefree while having their weapons ready for anything.

“You know, it is not really fair to give such a fear inspiring banner to such weaklings now that I think about it.” Zorxa tapped her chin, looking at the desperate group of zebras that were completely lost in front of our lines. “I should have given them a white flag instead. Decorated by some white feathers just to make sure everyone understands.”

“Why not join them then, if it bothers you that much, prideleader.” Furaha taunted Zorxa. “They would welcome such fighter like you, I am sure.”

“Yeah, it would be a shame to embarrass such a fine flag by giving it to their hooves. Look, the one holding it is barely standing on his own legs, soon he will drop it. Better go and save their honour, prideleader.” Jaheem took a jab at Zorxa.

Meanwhile I stood there completely silent my face a stone mask while I was enjoying how more and more Indomitables were picking on Zorxa. It was hard to hold the motionless appearance, but I knew the moment I would say anything all her attention would be on me and I didn’t want to spoil the fun so early. This might have been another reason apart from Zorxa extortion why I joined: to see this happen to her from the front seat.

As the teasing of Zorxa continued the buffaloes gathered at the top of the path to White hill. Only a small group of ten of them from which two buffaloes separated and were on their way down to meet us. The moment their descend began the Indomitables forgot about Zorxa and paid full attention to the couple, weapons ready.

“Just as Talib predicted. Well, I better go meet them before they reach the advisors. Who knows what they might think of our army if they saw them from close,” I walked from the midst of the pride; trotting once I got out.

“You need an escort.” Zorxa shouted from behind me and the sand grinded as two pairs of hooves stroke it.

“No, thanks.” I shouted back, but she was already trotting right next to me. “That wasn’t a question, was it?”

“Not really, no.” Zorxa shook her head. “Besides, it will be better if someone with a cool head is present.” she smiled.

“Oh? And why are you going then?” I cocked my head and blinked in surprise.

Zorxa sighed and muttered something underneath her breath that I couldn’t understand. Judging from the sour face she pulled it might have been something about me having an empty head.

We were trotting past the advisors who were standing in a battle formation I have never seen before. Many of them huddled close together, trembling. Only a few of them atleast faced the direction the buffaloes might attack from. An acrid stench and dark patches of wet sand underneath the newest recruits showed they were terrified to the bone. It was a sad display. To give credits where credits due, none of them had tried to run away. Yet.

“We should come up with a name for them.” Zorxa pointed her hoof towards the unit; contempt dripping from her voice like a venom. “Though it might be a pointless task, they didn’t even pick up their weapons!” she raised her voice, noticing the spears and swords lying around on the ground. Jabari followed his orders to the letter, noone can blame him if they don’t want to defend themselves.

“You didn’t write their name on the banner?” It was true. When I first looked at it, I was distracted by the gruesome materials to notice the lack of name. “Well, any ideas?”

Zorxa snorted and said nothing. The pair of buffaloes was only a hundred meters or so in front of us. From this distance I have noticed the smaller, sleeker one, probably a girl carried a pole with white flag on top. “Cowards, all of them. That might be a good name for them,”she grunted.

“How about Untouchables? It’s not like they can get any lower than they are now.” I offered my idea.

“Might as well.” Zorxa shrugged, not completely convinced. “I will write the name there once they are dead. It will be easier that way.”

We haves stopped roughly in the middle of the open field, between our army and the White hill. The Untouchables were about five hundred meters behind us. Soon the couple arrived in front of us; one old enough for his coat to have grey strands in it. The second one,as I have thought, a young girl with chestnut coloured fur. The elder had a great headdress from brown-white feathers; the girl wore just a simple green woolen band around head.

We stood there looking at each other cautiously. They knew our conditions and as Talib said, there was only a small chance of them accepting them. But even if they didn’t, this meeting was going to be crucial for the upcoming battle.

The older buffalo made the first step as he introduced himself. "Greetings, I am Firm Voice, brother of Unbridled Rage who is chieftain of buffaloes council, and here is my daughter, Meadow Breeze. We have come here to negotiate on behalf of our kind.” He bowed slightly while his daughter only nodded. “I will be blunt, is there a way you would leave us?”

"You know our terms, Firm Voice, we will accept only your unconditional surrender. Your tribes will be moved to other parts of our lands to live. Some portion of your kind will become our …”

"Slaves!“ Meadow Breeze spouted, stomping her fronthoof. She was sleek, athletic. Unlike her father she looked like she spend a lot of time on the move. Judging by her posture, she was used to fight as well.

"Workers. Proposing anything else is a waste time.“ I glared at her only for a moment, but that was enough for Meadow Breeze to hiccup and turn her eyes quickly to ground.

"Excuse my daughter, she is still young and full of fire of youth. But I can’t help but see it exactly the same way. We would have become your slaves.“ Firm Voice shook his head slowly. "I don’t think we can accept this.“

“Think about it Firm Voice. We don’t want your death. We want this land. You can still leave peacefully and live somewhere else.” Hopefully the traditional stubbornness of the buffaloes was not so strong in him. “All of us can walk out of this without bloodshed.” I pleaded with him.

“This is our land. Buffalo land. It belonged to us since our tribes were formed. This mountain is sacred to us. Here our chieftains slumber after they left this world to guide us from the afterlife. What makes you think we will give it you and walk away?”

“You have taken so much from us already! Why can’t you leave us alone on top?” Meadow Breeze once again found her courage to speak.

How could I explain to them, the buffaloes would be too dangerous if left together at one place behind our back. That we need this land as a staging ground. I had no idea. “Is this land worth the deaths of your tribes? To make this not only graves for your ancestors but a giant tombstone for everyone else as well?“ I knew how they will answer, but I hoped to convince them out of their foolishness. “This is not a battle you can win. Please let’s end this war here peacefully.”

“You are a fool if you have came here to negotiate with these arguments. I don’t see why you would like this piece of land so much that you would go to war for it. It is lunacy that’s what it… “Firm Voice said but was interrupted before he could finish.

“A war that you have started,”Zorxa gritted her teeth as she took a step forward. So much for a cool head.

“Do you honestly believe those lies?”Meadow Breeze snickered in contempt. “It was you who provoked us at Roaring Waters!”

“So your reaction was to wipe the whole village out. Oh yeah, completely understandable behaviour,”Zorxa laughed sarcastically, a hurt tone creeping in her voice.

“You’ve got what you deserved!” Meadow Breeze lashed out before Firm Voice was able to say anything. Now he was standing there with a shocked face. A silence settled around us once more with a Meadow Breeze looking at her father grumpily. “What? It is true! Now they speak of peace but where was that talk when they attacked our villages. They want peace because they are afraid we will bury them here!” She sneered. This meeting took a sharp turn south with her around. Talib’s prediction was about to come true, but I was willing to give the negotiation another try.

The sand next to me grinded and instinctively I raised my frontleg, stopping Zorxa who was was now fuming with suppressed rage. We looked at each other and she took a step back, grunting. “Why not travel north and settle in Equestria? The Princesses offered you a part of their lands where you can live. Take it and spare the lives of everyone who would die today.”

“No.” Firm voice shook his head and my heart sunk deep into my stomach. “We won’t leave to become a laughing stock in Equestria. We are proud people and we would rather die with honour than live without it.” Clearly someone has not seen enough battlegrounds to know that this mindset only leads to a quick death.

“There is also honour in passing the knowledge and traditions to future generations,”I tried to reason with them. “Don’t let your tribes be wiped out just for a stubborn pride.”

“You think we are the ones who will be wiped out? Don’t you understand we can just wait this out and trample any attack you try to dust before you get to the top? Princesses will eventually change their mind about their policy of foreign affairs and then you will have to hide like the cowards you are. So save your breath with your pleas, you are not convincing anyone.” He snorted, pleased with his speech. What a great diplomat.

Talib was right, there was no hope in convincing the buffaloes. I knew I had a little chance to change their minds, but it was painful to hear them say it anyway. “So, let’s conclude our meeting, shall we? Is there a chance you are going to pick the peaceful solution?” Firm Voice and Meadow Breeze shook their heads gravely. The stubbornness and pride of buffaloes won over their wisdom. “Then I am sorry for what must be done,” I took a step closer towards them.

“Oh, you are going to be sorry, don’t worry about that.” Meadow Breeze sneered, a cocky smile adorning her face. She was so brash even when two fully armed zebras were in front of her. Maybe she thought that white flag would grant her impunity to act like a spoiled brat. “If you attack us I will personally beat you into a pulp and… “

I have never got to hear what she had in store for me. In a heartbeat I took another step forward, drawing my sabre. The sharp steel eagerly slid out from the sheath, whistling ravenously as it cut through the air. The tone changed drastically when the edge cut Meadow’s throat, slicing through the coat and skin like a hot knife through a butter. In an instant her fur was stained by blood. She wanted to cry out in surprise and pain but only more blood poured from her mouth, forming a small crimson waterfall. Then realisation settled in. Her eyes opened wide, silently blaming me.
Meadow Breeze tried to attack me, but didn’t have enough strength to raise her hoof all the way up to hit my muzzle. She wavered from side to side before collapsing on the ground; blood pouring from her wound and mouth forming a small, yet quickly growing puddle underneath. She was still rattling and twitching slightly, her life leaving with a haste.

Before he got any chance to wake up from the stupor, I stabbed Firm Voice through his eye with a distinctive smack and pushed my sabre deeper until the tip hit back of his skull; making the whole weapon shake from the force of the impact. He went limp immediately and fell to the ground; sending a small cloud of sand into the air.

With a sigh I withdraw the sabre; part of the eyebulb and pieces of brain sticked to it; making the weapon look like an appetizer for a cannibal.

While the flag Meadow Breeze carried was not much of as use for a protection, it worked just fine as a sabre cleaner.

***

"I think the negotiation went well,“ Zorxa uttered while trotting beside me back to our lines. Behind us, on top of White Hill, an angry drumming gradually gained on strength.

“This is something I am not proud of.” I sighed, the image of Meadow Breeze’s face still alive in my mind.

“They didn’t left us any other choice.” Zorxa shrugged, not moved by the deaths of Firm Voice and Meadow Breeze in the slightest. “They got what they deserved. I would pay anything to see the face of Unbridled Rage when he got down.” She laughed wickedly. Not too long after Firm Voice hit the ground a roar full of sorrow sounded from the top and a lonely buffalo figure descended from the top.

“Let’s hope Talib’s is right. Otherwise I killed them for nothing more than getting Unbridled Rage angry. More angry than usual that is.”

“Don’t worry, his anger will blind him,” Zorxa said confidently.

“Hm, we will have to see if the rest of the buffaloes shares his view on the matter,” I replied, the doubts about the plan I have set into motion seeping in.

“Oh, I think you have got them pumped just fine,” Zorxa remarked as a sounds of one drum being beaten slowly reached us.

***

Back in our lines the atmosphere had changed. The Indomitables were checking their weapons and armour even though they were in excellent shape. A simple ritual that helped them to focus. The unit radiated calm that spread to nearby soldiers. Even though more and more buffaloes were gathering on the top, they remained unmoved.

Soon, the entire top of the path was filled with buffalo warriors. They stretched from one side to another, a wall of sharp horns and hooves the size of a plate. As always, none of them had any other weapon. Some of them wore a piece or two of an armour, but it was more of a decoration than an actual form of protection.

“This will be glorious.” Zorxa almost purred right next to me. Hungrily, she was devouring the lines of buffaloes with her eyes, predatorygrin settled on her face as her sight glided over them. A battle frenzy was once more taking a hold of her.

“You are crazy,” I murmured and put on the helmet that so far hanged on my side. With all the noise buffaloes were making, she overheard me, staring at the enemies in front of her.

The whirling of the buffaloes drums sounded like an approaching storm, calling more and more of the warriors to join. At that instant, the rumbling thunderstorm stopped. In that moment the first line of buffalo began their descent, a furious, brown avalanche with one goal - to crush us. One after one more and more lines joined the first, their hooves shaking the ground. Even this far I could feel the slight tremors that gained in strength with every step they made. Their charge was accompanied by a deep, all embracing powerful roar that echoed from the walls. Soon it was the only sound to be heard.

The army showed a great feat of discipline when their lines narrowed to match the width of the path. No collision between the warriors, no loss of speed, they fall in lines behind others until only a few columns approaching us were left.

I looked around. Despite the living landslide that was closing in, none of the soldiers I could see were afraid. Some were nervous, their eyes darting randomly around, not resting for a moment. The rest were steadfast, their spears harmlessly point towards the sky, taunting the buffaloes and luring them further in.

“They took the bait,” Zorxa shouted at me and pointed towards the buffaloes. Their front line got from the path and now was on the plain underneath the mountain, spreading out into their full imposing width. Perhaps Unbridled Rage believed he could trample us like this in one strike. Maybe he saw me returning to the centre and wanted revenge more than anything. Regardless, he completely ignored units on the flanks that were ready to get in his back. If necessary.

“Brace yourself!” I yelled out but it was a futile effort. Apart from a few soldiers around nobody heard it. It was not needed anyway. Only the Untouchables will experience it nearly as badly as buffaloes.

Without any hints of what is going to happen to them, the buffaloes blindly charged into our trap. In a flash, the ground below them erupted in giant fountains of sand and rock. Most of their front line was caught in the blast that easily lifted some of the heavy buffaloes and sent them flying like they weighed nothing. The explosion was deafening, but I could dully hear the screams of those in the air before they landed. Regrettably, our lines were not spared of losses. Heavy chunks of rocks took their toll as they hit the soldiers with a sickening crunch, smashing through the armour and leather like it was just a paper, crippling or outright killing the unfortunate zebra.

The pained earth was shaking from the force that violently ripped it open. A thick cloud of sand raised up and veiled the battlefield like a curtain, preventing us from seeing anything on the buffalo’s part.

"CHAAARGEE!“ I cried out as loud as I could. In reply came the thunderous roar from throats around me as our soldiers shook off what they were witness to and galloped to deal with confused buffaloes.

I had one more stop to do before I joined the attack as whole. Zorxa was already passing the advisors, paying them no mind whatsoever, probably considering them an obstacle at least. When I got to them, I saw the explosion took it’s bloody toll here as well. Even more so, as they were much closer. About quarter of the unit laid down, broken legs, smashed faces, crushed chests. One became an unicorn, a sleek, long rock protruding from his forehead. Too bad he wouldn’t enjoy his newfound powers.

The hailstorm of rocks hit nearly everyone of Untouchables but most of them had only superficial wounds. They could still fight. “Get up you cowards!” I shouted at them with no reaction. “Get up you cowards I won’t say it again!” I kicked the one nearest to me who was shaking, his bleeding frontlegs wrapped around his barrel. With a yelp he slowly stood up, looking absolutely terrified. Following his example the others rose as well. “Go and fight! Stay here and you will get trampled.” I pointed towards the directions buffaloes were. It might have been useless as there was a plenty of soldiers running past us but the Untouchables looked completely lost, not knowing what is going on. With a hesitation they moved forward, most of them leaving their weapons behind. None of them argued with me, not even said a word between themselves.

I left them to their fate and galloped forward to try and catch the Indomitables. With the thick whirling sand around I could only see a couple meters forward, let alone recognize them from the numerous zebras around. With my options limited I ran towards the battlefield. Or where I thought it is going to be.

***

The stream of soldiers around me thinned, most of them vanishing into the thick sand cloud that was all around. The fine dust itched uncomfortably in my throat and around, gluing on every part of my body that was not covered by armour. After running a short distance I saw two zebras carrying a ladder. Knowing it is my best way to the front lines I joined them, running alongside.

Seeing a ladder on a battlefield without a fortress or a castle to siege might be an odd sight to see to say the least. Though this time they would be used to get over the chasm the explosion carved into the earth. If it is long enough it would serve as a narrow bridge, if it is short then climbing it is. I hoped it is long enough.

The fast gallop got my blood pumping and I felt a familiar, sweet sensation spreading throughout my body as many times before an upcoming fight. I welcomed it and shivered in delight. These moments made me feel alive; every worry forgotten and replaced by a focus on one thing and one thing only. The combat. I wanted peace but they refused, now they would reap what they sewn.

I heard a frightened yelp in front of me and saw how a silhouette of zebra carrying the front of the ladder vanished; dragging the ladder and the protesting soldier at the opposite end forward and down. Even though he was relentlessly trying to pull his partner up , the sand beneath his hooves didn’t offer much of a purchase and he slided closer and closer.

Instantly, I grabbed one of the transoms and pulled. Our combined strength was enough to stop and slowly haul the ladder back. We both were grunting when I saw one hoof desperately holding at the end.

"Can you hold it alone?“ I asked the soldier behind me.

He confidently nodded and shifted his legs a little to gain a better hold.

"Fine.“ I released the transom; ladder yanked a little forward and stopped; swiftly I dashed forward.

The edge that got fatal to the soldier almost got fatal to me as well; no warning whatsoever as the ground suddenly opened to a wide, jagged crack in front of me like a yawning mouth of a tiger.

An intense smell of sulfur and seared flesh was coming from the depths of it; like an entrance to hell.

The hoof slipped from the ladder the moment I jumped forward and grabbed it; landing on my stomach near him. Sand crunched under my armour when I slowly, so slowly pulled the unfortunate soldier up. Finally, he got his other fronthoof on a solid ground.

Piece by piece, I dragged the bruised and nicked zebra up; his coat stained with fresh blood coming from numerous little wounds; face twisted in pain. The cloth armour he was wearing had been shredded to tatters. The whole time I was hauling him up he was shaking and breathing rapidly. After his hindlegs got over the edge I understood why. Both of them were completely dark red. It was a miracle he didn’t pass out from the blood loss already.

His comrade galloped to us. "Is he going to be ok?“

"Yes, I am sure he will be fine.“ I expressed confidently; even though I was not so sure, the blood loss was getting serious and some wounds looked rather deep. "Roll him on his back and raise his hindlegs, we don’t want him to blackout.“ And just to be sure… "MEDIC!“

Fuck me, I should have expected this. The thick veil of sand flying around kept any help from arriving for significant time; if any zebra die because of this… From the muffled noises in front of us the battle had already started. Incomprehensible war cries, angry roars; painful howls gained in volume with each passing second and enveloped us; clawing on the edges of my mind as I was not yet in the heat of the combat.

"MEDIC!” I shouted out again; to hopefully draw their attention. They were taking too long.

"You – you are the warmare!“ The healthy soldier pointed a hoof at me; surprised expression on his face and hastily saluted.

"At ease, and your name?“

"I…I’m Bongani ma’am.“

"And your comrade, Bongani?“

"Tait.“

Hearing the sound of his name, Tait turned his head to Bongani, groaning in pain and trying to say something but only a wail came from his mouth.

"Talk to him, try to calm him down, and give me your belt!“

Hurriedly Bongani handed me what I asked him for as I pulled one from Tait; a short moment later and both of his hindlegs were constricted tightly. Not exactly stellar work, but I hoped it would help him a little; at least the bleeding subdued.

Another groan escaped Tait’s lips and his eyes closed for a short time before they lazily opened.

"Go talk to him, I will hold his legs.“ I nudged Bongani; prompting him closer to the fallen soldier.

"What should I talk about?“ he whispered fearfully.

"Anything, just keep him awake,“ I replied as encouragingly as I could while I tried to take a better look at his legs. They were cut badly. Numerous deep wounds were stretching all over them; and I think I saw a white piece of bone between all the torn muscles. At this point I was glad for the sand in there. I have seen a plenty of injures, eviscerated guts and what not but examining it up close… I would rather leave such sights to the medics or shamans.

In my inner rage I completely missed how Bongani calmed Tait down; his breathing changed from a shallow panting to halting long breaths.

"…remember how we were on our leave and went to Striped beauty? Heh, when that bouncer was done with you, you looked much worse than now. I promise, after this we will go back and knock the shit out of him. Huh? What do you say?“ Bongani asked with a slightly trembling voice; I noticed how his eyes became watery.

Tait barely nodded and opened his mouth to speak; only for a trickle of blood to flow out and sully his neck dark red.

Bongani’s head jerked back in surprise but he quickly leaned forward and wiped the blood from Tait’s lips. "It will all be ok you hear me? It will all be ok,“ he murmured in a shaking voice.

"Who called for a medic?“ Out of nowhere a zebra mare carrying saddlebags adorned with red crosses finally appeared.

"Tait here is injured, lots of cuts, loss of blood and I suspect an internal injury,“ I explained the situation as best as I could.

She sighed and whispered something I didn’t understand while she examined Tait. When her hoof touched his stomach he arched and groaned painfully.

"He is going to be fine, right?“ Bongani pawed the ground nervously.

"I am not going to sugarcoat it, it looks bad.“ She turned to face Bongani. "Deep lacerations, severe blood loss and internal bleeding. I’ll do what I can to stabilise him and hopefully we can carry him back for treatment he needs.

"Bongani, listen to me.“ I waved hoof in front of his eyes to get his attention; he was hypnotised how the medic tended to his friend.

"Y-yes, warmare?“ he blinked.

"I need you to grab the ladder and help me cross the gap, then you return back with your friend. Understood?“

"Of course,“ he gave a quick look to Tait before trotting to the ladder.

At haste, we carried my only way to reach the other side of the fissure to the edge where we rose the it up.

"Well, let’s see if this works.“ I nodded at Bongani and we pushed to the ladder that fell down like a toppled tree.

Luckily, it hit the ground at the opposite side; creating a small bridge and didn’t tumble down in the chasm. I shivered at the idea of climbing across.

After a few small adjustments, I stood on the first transoms that still were on solid ground; a few steps forward and I will be walking over this hellish chasm. On a narrow ladder. Without anything to hold. Hmph. This strategy might need some improvements in the future.

"Hold it until I am on the other side, then help the medic!“ I took a deep breath and carefully walked onward; each step bringing me closer to the battle.

It went well until I looked down. The wind was playing with the dust and pulled the heavy curtain of sand aside for a brief time so I got chance to see the bottom of the pit.

Mutilated bodies of buffaloes were lying there like broken dolls. Most of them were missing a limb or two as the explosives blew right through them. I saw one nearly decapitated; head dangling at a weird angle on a patch of skin and muscle, his throat covered by caked blood. I was glad when the drapery closed again; leaving only vague silhouettes beneath me.

A couple more steps and I at last felt ground under my hooves. This little walk almost made me kiss the sand in joy.

Before I got a chance to get my bearings, a buffalo warrior appeared in front of me suddenly, like the thick cloud of sand had spat him out. He wore a simple headband completely covered in dust and two wet stains underneath his nostrils. Judging how he growled he was not very happy to see me.

Immediately, as he recognized that a zebra was standing in front of him, he lowered his head and charged me, roaring furiously.

When he got close, I stepped aside at the last moment; drawing my sabre. He slashed against me with his horns, but didn’t have enough reach to cut me.

In return I cut the tendons in his left foreleg. A fair trade in my opinion.

He cried out in pain and anger as his leg went limp. That didn’t prevent him from mounting the next blitz against me.

Another charge, only this time it was much slower. I dodged and let him pass by. When he turned towards me, I was already waiting there. A sabre, thrusted into his jaw, left him quite speechless.

His eyelids closed at once as his spirit left the body; wasting no time I pulled my weapon out of the gaping wound; a stream of blood pouring out. As a final act I bowed my head a little to this courageous warrior before sheathing my sabre.

My ears swiveled around, catching a painful scream on my left. I couldn’t tell if it belonged to a buffalo or zebra but it meant one thing to me. An opportunity to fight.

***

Unfortunately, I arrived too late. Well… that pretty much depended on the point of view. Now I knew the scream was from one of the zebras that were lying on the ground, motionless. Every one of them had their head disfigured horribly; a bloody mash instead of face, pieces of pulverized teeth covering what was left of a muzzle; I guess a helmet only gets you so far… Amongst the zebra lied corpses of buffaloes as well; judging by a quick look our warriors took at least two enemies for each one of them.

Anger overwhelmed me when I saw what those still standing buffaloes were doing; they were focused on defacing zebras that still had their heads intact. It was not the bright –see everything red- type of anger. It was the white, cold fire that if controlled can give you strength as long as it lasts and lends you wings; figuratively speaking. Without saying a single word or shouting insults I walked towards them while taking deep breaths.

Nine buffaloes. Two of them lightly wounded.

Eight. They were so absorbed in their work, they didn’t even bother to look around; allowing me to slip close to them. The first one died when I plunged my sabre into his neck and pulled up; the blade exiting at withers almost severed his head from his body. An intense smell of fresh blood filled the air.

The little piece of skin and tissue was not able to hold the head straight which fell down at a weird angle; it looked like the buffalo was searching for something small on the ground. His heart was still beating; sending geysers of blood from an exposed jugular artery in regular intervals with splashing noises until it slowly died of.

The blood soiled my armour and was slowly dripping down.

Smoothly, I moved towards the second one, who didn’t have a clue about the death of his comrade. I whirled the sabre above my head in a wide arc before cutting off his hindleg at the knee; sending him towards ground with a bloodied stub.

He screamed in shock and pain. The crippled warrior rolled on his side to see what happened to him. Remorselessly, I slashed his exposed stomach open. A pile of colorful entrails slid out of the opened wound; some of them sticking to his fur like a bizarre adornment while the rest oozed on the ground; leaving a slimy stain behind them.

If he is lucky he will fall into unconsciousness soon. If he is not… Well I am not going to give him the pleasure of a swift death.

Now I had the full attention of the rest, they were hesitant, frozen in place. Just as they moved towards me, I was already mid-air towards the closest enemy. Stabbing him through his thick skull; killing him on the spot.

When I tried to pry the sabre free, my luck turned it’s back to me. It was stuck! No matter how hard I tried to yank it out, it wouldn’t budge. Great time to improvise.

I turned around, looking for a new weapon. Narrowly, I avoided the horns of an attacking buffalo by mere inches. That was too close for comfort.

Another buffalo reared up in an attempt to crush me, but he was too slow; I quickly shifted towards him; punching his stomach a couple of times with forehooves until his hindlegs gave up on him and he tumbled down on a side; wheezing. A strong blow to his head and I could feel the skull cracking under my hoof. Another one bit the dust.

Just as I thought I would have a moment to breathe a little, the other warriors had an urge to prove me otherwise.

The horns of the next buffalo hit my side, knocking the air out of me. I heard an ear splitting screeching as they tried to pierce my armour it before the force of the impact tossed me aside to the air like I weighed nothing at all.
Sand, sky, sand,sky, sand, sky; the world had finally stopped rolling and I noticed how the dust around settled down a little before an ugly, large hoof filled my whole sight.

A quick roll to the side saved my head from becoming an another bloodied mash like I had seen before. A sharp sting in my barrel after my sudden movement made me realise I might not have been as fine as I thought I was; the need for a weapon gained on urgency. Not that fighting against buffaloes with only hoofs wasn’t fun, exciting but... it could take so long.

With a groan I stood up; facing the last attacker, who was only a few feet away from me. As it seemed to be a buffalo’s tradition, he tried to impale me on his horns.

From the short distance his attack lacked any speed and strength, which allowed me to go on the offensive and grab him by his horns. With both forelegs locked up like this I bashed his forehead with mine. Twice. One of the advantages of wearing a helmet.Something snapped loudly and I fell; pulled down by the limp buffalo.

Just to be sure I punched him in the side of his head. Hard.

The four remaining buffaloes learned their lesson from the mistakes of their dead friends and instead of attacking me in a head on, they slowly surrounded me; confident in their numerical advantage and the fact I still had no weapon.

The rest of the buffaloes had those determined faces on and were snorting fiercely as they circled around me; closing in like they were tightening a noose around my neck.

This battle could have been going better; if they got too close it is bound to get interesting.

Just when I considered charging them head on myself; a wooden handle poking from beneath a zebra’s corpse caught my attention. The only problem was, I had to get through them to grab it.

I climbed on the unconscious buffalo and waited. Once another buffalo was in the right spot I leapt forward on it’s back and then jumped towards the weapon.

The one buffalo I used as a springboard wasn’t really happy about it, but didn’t have enough time to do anything; still surprised by what happened. When he realised what was going on, I safely landed next to the dead zebra and grabbed the handle.

It took me some nerve-gnawing moments to pull the weapon out. At first I was afraid it was a broken flagpole and I have only picked up a big stick to beat the buffaloes with. Thankfully this was not the case.

I was glad that I had the helmet on. This way, buffaloes couldn’t see, how much I was grinning when I dragged a long warhammer out in the light of day. The weapon consisted of a massive steel head and long sleek spike at the opposite end of the head, the handle, made out of a thick wood, ended in smaller steel spike. A little heavy for my taste, but brutal and efficient nonetheless. This weapon would make killing these buffalos a lot easier. Perhaps, even fun.

A gallop behind me caught my attention, I turned around to face it and stood up on my hindlegs, the buckled and deformed armour screeching in protest of the sudden movement. I held the warhammer straight up, waiting for the attacking buffalo to get into reach.

My ‚springboard‘ was first from the remaining buffaloes to die. I roared and gave all my anger into the strike. The crushing blow cracked his skull right open and catapulted his brain into the air around like a pink gooey confetti.

I used the momentum I gained and moved swiftly to another buffalo, who was now having second thoughts after his friend’s grizzly demise. He slowed down and gave me an opportunity to run the spike’s whole length through his thick head with a wicked crunch. Before his body hit the ground, I had the warhammer ready again. Mentally, I apologized to the weapon for my initial assumption of it being too heavy. It fit right into my hooves, a great balance of weight and devastating power. A joy to use. Especially, after having to fight the buffaloes with my bare hooves.

The last two buffaloes looked like they shrunk a little; their initial brisk pace changed to slow walk; there were also no traces of fury or anger in their movements. To me it, seemed like they knew they were going to a certain slaughter. The hopelessness was clear in their eyes and their uncertain approach.

Eventually, they found enough courage to attack me again, one of them hobbling slightly behind the other. Cumbersomely, I went to face the first one in a head on; not willing to give them the initiative. I swung the warhammer in a horizontal arc at the head of my nearest enemy, the weapon humming ominously as it was closing in. To prevent getting a rather quick and fatal head surgery, the buffalo raised his frontleg to block the blow. One sickening crunch later and the leading warrior tumbled past me, screaming in agony. A crushed limb is not something he will be able to walk free of any time soon.

Before I got a chance to silence him, a hard strike to my helmet made me lose my balance as the last warrior punched me directly to the face and almost broke my neck; forcing me to take a step back and fall down on all four. I tasted warm blood in my mouth and some of the teeth felt distinctly loose after the hit. Half of my face was in a world of pain and began to swell. With a growl I dropped the warhammer, my opponent being too close for me to swing it properly.

The final warrior was shaking visibly, his movements convulsive and sloppy. If he didn’t have the element of surprise at the beginning, I doubt he would even have been able to land that one hit.

After I blocked a few of his weak strikes, I punched him to his muzzle couple times; making him stagger as his skin ruptured and blood stained his face. I exploited that for a fast uppercut to his chin that grounded him for good and left him breathing heavily on the ground.

Once again I grabbed the warhammer from the sand, determined to finish the job here and move on. With steady steps I approached the buffalo with the crushed leg.

He was still screaming his heart out, rivulets of tears staining his face when he noticed me approaching.. "No, please!,“ he shook his head frantically, his pain temporarily forgotten. “Have mercy!”

"You want mercy?” I asked him. He quickly nodded. I tilted my head; seeing the mutilated bodies of zebras around. The most ferocious part of me screamed to kill him, to crush his head, ribs, every single bone until there is left nothing more than a bloodied piece of meat lying on the ground. And then beat it some more. It wouldn’t be wrong, I would just repay them with the same coin. I was shaking as I tried to control the urge to do so. My tendons were taut to the point they would snap when I swung the hammer down. The spike sunk harmlessly next to his head in the sand. I was breathing heavily as I stepped away from him. He couldn’t believe what happened, his terrified pin pricked eyes darting from the weapon to me and back. “Fine, I will grant you your mercy.” I stepped away, murdering him like that wouldn’t bring me my soldiers back anyway.

“You too I assume?”I addressed the second still conscious buffalo who was trying his best to look unconscious and slowly crawl away at the same time. He froze at the spot and nodded silently. “Get up then and help your friends. Pray to your gods or ancestors that soldiers who arrive after me will show you the same mercy as I did.” He stood up on unsteady legs and wavered to his injured friend who was moaning in pain.

My forelegs felt as they were a half meter longer; muscles aching like they were burning from within. The broken ribs didn’t help either; every time I drew breath a sharp pain spread from the wound. The adrenaline from the fight was being flushed away and all the deadening effects it had brought went with it.

And to make matters worse, the punch from the sucker damaged my helmet, bending some of the parts; preventing me from taking it off so I could relieve the wound. With an irritated growl I spat out a clog of blood (luckily no teeth) and let the helmet be. There was still one thing I had to do and I was dreading to do it.

At first glance it was apparent to me, that there was only a tiny chance some of my soldiers were still alive. The buffaloes did a great job of making sure none of these would stand up. My heart was bleeding every time I saw the broken, lifeless husks with gruesomely disfigured faces; pummeled beyond any recognition into a red-pink pie of pure horror. But I had to do it, I had to make sure there were none of my soldiers who could be saved.

In the center of a circle of five dead soldiers I found the unit’s banner trampled into the sand. They had defended it tenaciously, as evidenced by the dead buffaloes surrounding them. It was tattered, caked with blood and dust, obscuring their sigil, but the name was still readable. Whirlwinds. I looked around more carefully and with my guts tied into a trembling knot, found the captain. Akua was like the rest of the soldiers under her command, favoring light armour and heavy weapons. Now she was lying down on her side like she was just resting, if not for a jagged bone protruding through her broken foreleg and two dark red holes in the side of her barrel that showed how she died. A shiver ran down my spine. That could have been me, if not for my armour… I gulped and took a step closer, though I knew I arrived too late. Like the zebras around us, Akua had her face smashed completely, turned into a grisly mix of blood, teeth and bone. cursing silently, I went back for the banner.

“You are at peace now,” I said in hushed tone as I covered her with the tattered, stained fabric. Delicately, I put her weapon on one lappet of the banner so the wind wouldn’t carry it away, and continued in my grim duty.

I sighed deeply as I stepped away from the last body. No one remained alive; no signs of a beating heart, nothing. At least they died in combat. But that didn’t help me from feeling miserable; if only I got here faster there might have been some zebra still amongst the living. With my head held low I trotted back to the two buffaloes.

“T-thank you,” the one buffalo who didn’t have a superficial hole in his mouth said in a shaking voice. He was tending to the wounds of his injured friend who finally stopped screaming. I nodded in acknowledgment and reached for the hammer that was nesting the way how I left it. In an instant their eyes went wide and the less wounded one jerked back. “No! Please!” he shielded his friend with his own body.

Without uttering a single word I grabbed the handle and to the horror of those two, yanked the warhammer in the air above my head. “I am a mare of my word,”I replied to their frightened, yet understandable behaviour. With ease I slipped the handle through the leather nooses on the back of my armour. Not the safest way to run around with heavy weapon like this but it would have to do for the time being. “Take care of him. Maybe check the other buffaloes as well, some of them might still be alive.”

“I-I will try,” he gulped.

“Good, stay put and don’t do anything stupid. Don’t make me regret my choice. I will be on my way as soon as I… ” As on cue a sudden, strong gust of wind blew around. In a moment the air was saturated with the damned sand once more. I closed my eyes and held my breath until the wind died off. When It finally passed the dreaded curtain that prevented anyone from seeing further than few meters around was finally gone. Immediately I looked around eager to see what the situation looks like.

The battle was raging like a wildfire. Buffaloes have overcame the shock of the explosion and now were desperately trying to hold the ground against zebras who were pushing them up the hill. Our flanking force must have gotten lost in the sand veil and as they were fighting alongside the frontline force. Sadly this look also revealed I was one of the furthest zebras away from battle. Only a couple of medics were further.

In haste, I galloped toward the battle that unravelled before me; ignoring the stabbing pain as best as I could in my side. As I ran, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was missing something.

The closer I was the more intense it got; the muffled noises became crystal clear and the smell of battle drove my blood to boil.

One look at the flying banners and it was obvious for me where to run.

Author's Note

Finaly! The second chapter has been published! It took me way too much time to do it. It has been written a loooong long time ago but now it got polished as best as it could. My great thanks to McStuffins for proofreading and Sammypop for correcting as many grammar mistakes as he could.