Soldiers

Fight for your people. Keep them safe.

These words. Resonating through his soul as he stood upon the battlefield, looking out at the vast army before them. His company. A thousand soldiers, backed by a thousand more. Against what appeared to be millions. An army of green and black, hissing and snarling, clawed hands clutching blackened swords and spined shields. Horns crackling with green magic.

changelings.

Not just any. The Mad Queen’s army, once more. An all out assault this time. And here he stood, with his comrades. His friends. His fellow soldiers. He remembered the time when he was just a royal guard. A smile always upon his face. His loyal adoration of his goddess. Did he still see himself as devout? Could he believe her to be all powerful now?

No.

Sunlight Blade looked out across the stretch of blackened earth towards the encroaching army, and grimaced, clutching his own golden sword and shield tighter. They marched in time. Their commander, long since dead, was behind the enemy army. Pushed back again and again, now only two thousand. Morale dwindling. Soldiers on either side of him, a griffon priest turned soldier to defend his home. A brightly coloured changeling of Thorax’s hive, standing tall, ready to die in defense of his people. A crystal pony, looking for vengeance for the assaults upon her kingdom. A Yak, coming to the aid of their allies. Pegasi, Earth pony, Unicorn.

But all of them fearful. All of them knowing, like him, this was the only time they had left. They had no way of winning this fight. They were too badly outnumbered. These drones, mindless savagery and brute force. Bred for battle. Bred to kill. They didn’t take disguises. They didn’t bother to. They just cut down anything in their path that didn’t look like them.

Sunlight sighed, and glanced at the griffon, clad uncomfortably in chainmail and carrying a mace in one hand, his god’s clerical vestments over the mail, and his holy symbol in his other hand, wrapped around his wrist by golden chains. A glance at the crystal mare, two handed blade held in her powerful grip. Even she was trembling. Though, whether in rage or fear, he couldn’t tell. Her face was a mask of crystalline hate, a look he’d grown accustomed to ever since they slew her brother on the battlefield.

He put a hand on the griffon’s shoulder, who jumped and looked at him. Sunlight merely nodded. Once, he would discuss theology with this gentle priest. Sometimes for hours, arguing that his sun god was, in fact, Celestia. Now… He couldn’t just let him die in fear.

Sunlight had never been considered for leadership. He didn’t think he’d make a good one himself. But now, in the midst of this fearful world, upon this battlefield, he saw no one else making a move, so he stepped forward. His golden armour was dirty, mud streaked it in places and its shine had been all but hidden. But still, he felt the eyes of both the enemy and his fellows upon him.

He’d never been good at speeches. He’d always sort of bumbled through them. Clumsy, they’d called him. He’d been forced to turn that away months ago. But, he was still a pony. Friendship, love, and cameraderie is where his people borrowed their most powerful braveries, achievements and power from. Song, their weapon of choice. He prayed for that now. Prayed to his Goddess, as he’d done countless times before. The words came to him. It wasn’t a happy song. But this wasn’t a happy circumstance, now was it?

“It’s time to strap our boots on.
This is the perfect day to die
Wipe the blood out of our eyes.”

The ranks stirred, the ponies felt it first. Pegasus. Unicorn. Earth. Crystal. Followed closely by the changelings.

“In this life there’s no surrender
There’s nothing left for us to do.
Find the Strength to see this through.”

Sunlight turned to face his people. His comrades. His fellow Soldiers. A fire in his eyes, light in his heart and already seeing the effects. He thrust his sword into the air.

“We are the ones who will never be broken!
With our final breath, we’ll fight to the death,
We are soldiers! We are soldiers!”

They began to stir, adding to the song. It was only an undercurrent for now, but Sunlight would take what he could get.

“I stand here right beside you
Tonight we’re fighting for our lives,
Let me hear your battlecry.”

Horn blazing, Sunlight turned to face the enemy as burning hardlight armour slammed into form around his body, encasing him as a shining beacon of light. Of hope. Of battle spirit.
“Your battlecry!”

As one, the assembled motley crew of two thousand soldiers behind him sang with him, stomping their feet to keep time. Harkening up all the pride, all the strength they had left.

“We are the ones who will never be broken!
With our final breath, We fight to the death
We are Soldiers! We are soldiers!”

The first wave was coming. Ravening bezerk changelings, and Sunlight was ready for them. Throwing himself to the ground, he slammed his hands against it, and, horn crackling and burning with ethereal fire, raised them up, bringing lines of hardlight stakes with them. Rows upon rows, like glowing, sunlit teeth. The screeches of pain and sizzling of blood and flesh as they burst into flames on contact, even after impaling themselves. A sheet of arrows followed, cutting down the stragglers without mercy. The advancing army halted, a bit more careful. Clearly something out there commanding them had a brain. Sunlight didn’t hesitate.

“We stand Shoulder to shoulder!
We stand, Shoulder to shoulder!
We stand! Shoulder to shoulder!
You cannot erase us,
You’ll just have to face us!”

A roar came from the assembled army, and weapons were held in the air. Shields were bashed, The changeling army responded. Sunlight roared back.
“Face us!”

The charge began. The changeling barrelling forth, unleashed like the dogs of war they were. Sunlight felt his teeth grit.

“We are the ones who will not go unspoken!
We will not sleep, we are not sheep
WE ARE SOLDIERS! WE ARE SOLDIERS!”