Survival Begins at Home

Civilians rushed to their homes all over the city. Shopkeepers locked up their stores from the inside and stayed crouched down behind the sturdiest furniture they could find, keeping their customers close, as well. Meanwhile, all of the soldiers took defensive positions against the canyon wall balconies. Archers took to the recently added merlons with built-in arrow loops to protect themselves while firing. All of the melee guards were fully armored and pressed against the crenels, ready to descend to the base of the canyon if need be, or ascend to the top if the enemy was rappelling down.

The answer came soon, as ropes were tossed over the lips of the cliff. The defending ponies kept their breath silent as the zebras began descending the cliff walls into the canyon. As the zebras made their way down, the archer next to Shining began preparing an arrow. Crouching down and aiming up, she pulled the string back, took a deep breath, and loosed it.

The zebra it hit was one of the anchors holding the rappelling line in place at the top of the opposite cliff. With him no longer holding the line, the other zebra acting as an anchor was pulled forward by the weight of the zebras making their way down. As they pulled him over the edge, the archer smiled. With one arrow, she'd taken out no less than five enemy soldiers in a single shot.

Several arrows flew after that, coming from both sides. Not just from both sides of the conflict, but from both sides of the canyon. A lot of the zebra warriors had little in the way of armor, but had big, sturdy shields to protect themselves. Before long, they had their own wall, with their own arrow loops. To make things even better for themselves, they began rappelling down with their shields on their backs to prevent being shot at. This might have paid off, if not for the very easy pincer formation afforded to the ponies who had set up their town on both sides of the canyon. The rappelling zebras may have protected their backs, but it had left their bellies fully exposed.

Shining Armor was suddenly feeling much better about their chances. The zebra bodies were piling up at the bottom of the canyon, and the river was carrying them out of Equestria and eventually back into zebra lands. Things were looking up.

Suddenly, over the shield wall, he saw something horrifying. A cluster of large rocks was flying right at them.

"Take cover!" shouted Captain Loft, pressing himself and another guard against the sturdy stone wall. The rocks smashed against the defenses, but the wall held firm. A few of the rocks had sailed over the wall and hit the front of a small café, smashing the front window and the security cage. They were made to stop thieves and vandals, not siege weapons. Shining could hear the pained shriek of a mare coming from inside, as well as the owner calling for help.

"Call me if you need me back," he said, patting Captain Loft's shoulder before leaping through the hole in the wall. For once, he was glad of his new lithe frame, as he might not have made it through if he was as ripped as he had been. He found the mare hiding behind an overturned dining table that had a large chunk taken out of it. He rushed to her side, lifted her up over his shoulder, and brought her further back, all the way to the kitchen.

"Do you have a first aid kit?" he asked the owner, grabbing a dishtowel and pressing it against the mare's laceration.

With a nod, the owner ran off and collected it from his office. "She needs more than just simple first aid. We need a doctor, right away."

"We don't have a doctor here," said Shining, ripping open the first aid kit and grabbing the disinfectant wipes, "unless one of your cooks here has a second job that I don't know about." He cleaned the area as best he could before applying a gauze pad. "I'm going to do my best to make sure she lasts long enough to reach a real doctor. The moment we sound the all clear, I want you to make sure she receives proper medical treatment." He wrapped the bandage around her leg and secured it in place. "She's going to need stitches, so make sure, okay?"

"Stitches?" The mare looked worried. "I'm going to need stitches?"

"They're not as bad as you think," said Shining, pulling his plated pauldron aside. "See here?" he pointed to a scar. "Nine stitches. You'll only need three or four. It won't even hurt that much."

The mare sniffled and nodded as Shining made his way back outside. He was a royal guard, and he was a prince. If he said she would be alright, she was ready to believe him.

Just as Shining Armor left the restaurant, his armour back in place, he was met with the sight of a breach in the wall. Some zebra warriors had made it into the city, and her now advancing with their shields facing forward. Drawing his hand-and-a-half sabre, he advanced against them.

As he came close enough, a spear lunged at him. He sidestepped it easily, grabbed the shaft, and with a strong chop, nearly cut the head off the spear. As the offending party tried to pull it back, a lower ranking pony struck again, a few centimetres away from where Shining had hit, chipping off a piece large enough that the shaft could no longer support the head. It snapped, and the sharp edge was now in Shining's hand. Climbing up on top of the shield, he launched it down, skewering the shoulder of the zebra holding him up. The zebra collapsed to the ground, and Shining had just opened up a gap in the shield wall, large enough that a few quick-thinking archers were able to make short work of the zebras.

The battle didn't last much longer. After several hundred deaths, more than half of the zebras were gone, and most of the walls had held securely. What was left of the zebra forces either retreated back to their commanders, or surrendered and were captured as prisoners of war. The losses were great for the zebra forces this day.

The ponies, on the other hand, celebrated their victory. Three dozen ponies had lost their lives in the city that day, and only two of those were civilians. As the sun set, all of the guards that were off duty were treated to food and drink, courtesy of the civilians they had helped to defend. There was much celebrating, and Shining was glad to see it. Though nopony really noticed, not even himself, his hands weren't shaking, and his breathing was steady. As he saw the victorious guards celebrating their success, he even smiled.