World War Equestria

Meanwhile, Hustler was having a blast in the desert. The First Cavalry had been scouting a Arabian army that had arrived a week earlier. The Arabians were quick, hard hitting, and all but immune from the desert heat. On the other hoof, the price to pay from speed and heat immunity was lack of armor. Only two Equestrian units were in the desert, the First and Second Cavalry. The higher ups knew that infantry would get mowed down, and desert warfare was all about mobility, which infantry units lacked. As a result, the cavalry were some of the most elite units. And because of that, Hustler was proud to be a cavalry stallion.

   He was about to receive his baptism of blood. After galloping for almost a straight week, the Arabs were exhausted. They settled into a camp for the night. The time was right for the Equestrian cavalry to strike. Hustler’s comrades gathered in the darkness. “Alright, you know the assignment.” He was quick to retort, “yeah, kill the Arabians and don't get killed yourself.” His sergeant glared. “Alright, five minutes, draw your sabers.” They had lightweight armor, easy to pierce but it would be enough, and a steel saber, the perfect weapon for cavalry. The Regiment spread out along a ridge, still behind it to shield themselves from Arab sentries. “Now.” The harsh whisper spread along the line, and one by one, the pegasi spread their wings and charged full speed across the plain.

They caught the Arabians by surprise. When it was clear that an alarm had been raised, they let a terrible war cry. Hustler's blood was up in a fury. He joined the war cry and set his sights on a fleeing Arab. His wings flapped faster and his saber entered easily into the Arab. The rest of the regiment entered the camp, slaughtering Arabs left and right. Hustler stopped flying and charged saber first into a group of Arabians resisting. His saber slashed a neck, the horse cried out, and suddenly 5 of them were converging on Hustler. His saber was blocked by a simitar wielded by an Arab. They formed a ring around him, so desperate to kill this one pony. But he had an advantage the Arabians didn't; wings. Hustler took off straight up in the air, and spiraled down directly on an unfortunate horse. The saber went clean through his body and protruded out through his belly. That was enough for the arabs. They joined the crowd of horses fleeing the camp. The 1st reformed, and began to hunt down the survivors. 5 more times Hustler got his saber wet. Yet he was different from most of the other ponies. Most of the others would receive nightmares about the horses they killed. But not Hustler. He said many times during the interview that he actually relished the killing. It shocked me horribly. But I had to remind myself, everypony is different. Anyway, the 1st Cavalry got off almost completely scot free. Only 7 ponies died in the raid and only about 20 were critically wounded. It was exhilarating in Canterlot to see a victory without many Equestrian lives lost, unlike my fight in Bellamule Woods*. But total victory was far away. The Arabians regrouped, and struck.

   The heat didn't bother Hustler as much as it did other ponies. Probably because of where he lived, in Los Pegasus it's almost always hot. The only thing that bothered him about galloping through the desert was the lack of water, made worse by the huge dust clouds they stirred up. Hustler was coughing to remove the dust from his lungs when he saw something. A white horse on a sand dune. Before he could call out, a huge army of Arabs closed in from both flanks! The column halted just as they were sandwiched in between two masses of horses. They had cut through about two ranks on each side before resistance mounted. Hustler drew his saber right as the pony in front of him was impaled through the neck, spilling blood all over the sand. Hustler howled, and slashed the attacker on the face. The Arabian screamed in pain and covered his horrible wound. Before Hustler could celebrate his victory, a poorly aimed scimitar slammed on his armor. Like I said, the armor was thick enough to deflect light blows. He turned about and their swords clashed. Face to face, the two equines snarled at each other before Hustler won, and smashed the hilt of his saber against the face of the Arab. The Arabians broke of combat, daring the Equestrians to come after them. Unfortunately, they did. A horn sounded, and they charged against the left flank of “fleeing” Arabians.

A volley of arrows shredded the ranks. The charge faltered, and another horn sounded. It meant “take to the skies.” The regiment got airborne, and our own archers startled raining their projectiles on the Arabs, but they fired back and Equestrians started raining from the sky. Still in the air, they flew back to a safer position and formed a square. The Arabs followed, and charged. Reinforcements finally arrived. The 2nd Cavalry hid in the rear of the square, and as the Arabians impacted, they ringed around and hit them from the rear. The square broke and charged. Hustler’s blood was up again and he stabbed a horse in the leg and he collapsed in a pile of bodies. The Arabians broke and fled.

   Tactically, it was an Equestrian victory. Although in the desert, tactically, most battles didn't matter. The Arabs were pushed back, but they inflicted heavy casualties on the 1st. Their dead were scattered across the battlefield. Psychologically, it was a crushing blow. The government was embarrassed by the near defeat and never listed causalities, so research was hard, but the regiment’s official count was about 1,000. The war was turning very deadly, and any hopes of a swift, bloodless victory were snuffed out at the same time as the 1,000 ponies.