Equus: World at War

Star held his rifle close, gazing up to the sandbag lined parapet, holes having been shot through the hessian sack, leaving the dull sand visible. He knew they would need changing soon but over the weeks they had been here, they had realised how little attention their section of the battlefield received. The fighting had died down to only the occasional shot or artillery shell being fired and become a monotonous wait for something to happen, even if many knew that ‘something’ would most likely involve death and injury.

"Star your turn" Jacob would say, sitting on the firestep, his back against the wood and earthen wall of the trench, holding his cards close to his chest. Sky Star looked down with confusion from where he stood, glancing up at the parapet once more before sitting beside his friend, taking a card from the deck. He'd look over his current set of cards briefly before setting down a Jack of Spades onto the small wooden table, resting his rifle beside him "So... you sure it's next week?" he'd ask the human.

"Yes, it's next bloody week... Shit Sky, you won't get out of this trench any sooner if you keep asking you know?" Jacob would say with in a brief moment of annoyance, sighing after a moment "sorry, I just want a break too..." he put a hand on the unicorn's arm as he apologized, "It is next week though, on the Thursday... unless they change it, touch wood it doesn't," the human tapped the box in front of them, which had become their makeshift table, whilst Star idly knocked on the wooden support beam by his head.

The stallion glanced up at the top of their trench for a moment more before looking to the human again, "He'll be back soon, right?" the unicorn swallowed, praying silently for his cousin.

"Trust me, he's fine. Despite the name, he has Lady Luck on his side half the time... And he's only on a scavenger run right, no scouting jobs like the lot in Brackish Way had to do," Jacob would say, waving his hand in the general direction of the trench lines some eighty metres towards the coast.

After what felt like hours to Sky, Tumble Jinx's voice could be heard singing, badly, as he approached them, bag held in his hands as he shifted back and forth in a little dance, Laurel following him, rolling his eyes as the stallion took his time getting back to his friends

"Boys....it's Hearths Warming," Jinx would say, setting the bag down "Ho ho ho I bring gifts oh plenty. And what would you like for Christmas young Sky Star?"

The smaller unicorn shook his head "How can you still be messing around and having fun like that... it's been a month of this nearly," Star wrapped his arms about himself to keep warm.

"Oh, someone's down today, I think he might need two presents to cheer him up, ho ho," Jinx made a show of rummaging for a while in his bag before producing a box of cigarettes "Here you go young lad, a half full box that's slightly damp."

After a moment of staring at the box held out to him, Star would eventually crack a smile, taking it "Thanks mate," he'd say as he opened it up, taking a dry cigarette and lighting it. He wasn't happy to have developed such a habit like this... but if he didn't have 'something' to pass the time then what...

Jacob finally placed down his card, looking up to Laurel, "So, you back for a while then?" He'd ask the snake who'd kneel down with them.

"Four days then I go west unfortunately. Don't know how long I'll be there for but that's that," the snake would finally say, quickly giving a glance at the other firing posts, head tilting to look in the dugout nearby, all of which were empty, "Where's everyone else?" he'd eventually ask.

Jacob would be first to reply, "The shark with us got pulled back to the medical bay when some random stray bit of shrapnel from ‘gods know where’ came over the trench and hit him in the shoulder. Then the Earth pony asked for some transfer, didn't really say why... I think he just didn't have any of his regiment up here. That was a week ago."

Star soon commented "And the other three got their week off two or three days ago so... they'll be back soon. Heh one's this sapper guy who originally tried to be a comedian, so he had all these, like, really awful jokes... yeah but they don't really like us as much.”

Laurel gave a smile as they talked, though his brow was still furrowed with concern, "Why don't they like you?" He shifted closer; arms crossed over his chest.

The stallion soon answered "Well we're the 95th regiment, always shouting at us like we don't know anything and saying we're not a real regiment just a pretend one. They even refused to help Habben, the shark guy, when he got hit by the shrapnel because he was part of our regiment... said we needed to learn or some bullshit. They were always being rude to him because he wasn't a Pony. Just a bunch of assholes." Star growled at the memory of it all.

The snake shook his head as he listened, "Well... I'll be sorting that out when I get to the Officers bunker mark my words!"

Star would quickly try to calm him "No no just leave it... what if they get pissed off when they come back?" the unicorn would say.

Jacob would soon join in, "Yeah I'm with Star, if you say anything they're the kind who will shoot you and just say you put your heads up above the parapet line."

The reptile turned, "They won't be bloody coming back here then! I'll have them shipped off to the fucking East Flank for that, see how they like it up there!" the snake hissed angrily, baring his long fangs briefly, before they'd retract into his mouth, "I'm not going to let them risk killing you guys alright, my decision is made."

He let out a growl before calming himself, the stallion and the human conceding in their attempts to dissuade him further. After a brief silence the snake would open his eyes, "But right now... is there only you three in this trench?" His brow furrowed with concern.

"Yeah, just us three right now." Jacob would reply, setting the rest of his cards on the table as he sat back to listen

"Alright well I’ll have to let the Officers know about that as well. There just aren’t enough troops available for these coastal trenches I guess... I shouldn't be telling you this but... and keep this between yourselves" he'd say leaning closer, "In the next day or so you'll be pushed forwards, over the line to take their trenches. We're doing a big advance to break this side.”

"Oh great...so we’re going to die soon?" Jinx called out.

Laurel batted the stallion's side with his heavy tail, "Keep your voice down! We can't say this to anyone encase they're traitors. I can trust you three but the others," the snake went on, "look... it's happening whether you like it or not, but they're not sending you out with nothing. The capital won't send battalions to their death like 'those' bastards. You'll be shipped in a convoy with the tanks, this new tactic they're planning, directly in their trenches."

"What else is happening then?" Star, eventually took off his helmet, scratching his head.

"I don't know too much about it, but the tanks are intended to remain in the trenches with you like a, I guess, some sort of bunker turrets to provide support. I'll just say, when you're there, don't stay near the tanks as they'll probably be targeted immediately alright. I only heard this in passing so I don't know the full details but something else was in the works," Laurel sighed, "I know it's shit for you guys, but they aren't making this decision lightly, we want to succeed in this push. Once you're established then support will be coming through soon enough. They hope to send in a column behind you."

There was a silence between all of them as they looked to the floor. Finally, Jacob would speak up "So... this might be the last time we see each other? If it goes wrong."

Laurel shook his head "No, guys, listen to me you'll all be fine. Look," the snake pulled his bag off his back, glancing about once more before setting several weapons on the box between them. One was an iron mace that looked like it had been constructed from a wooden hatchet handle with a metal cap hammered over and nailed to the end, the others were a longer bayonet, somewhat like a short sword at 16 inches in length. He pulled out a wooden club with nails hammered into the bulbous end and a short but stout dagger, handle like a brass knuckle.

"I've managed to keep these from entering into circulation for our guys, these are the better ones that we found scavenging out there just. Take what you want but keep them close alright. I’m guessing you haven’t had any close combat experience or even training at this point. From what I’ve gathered you haven’t received any charges at all..." he gestured at the table “I wish I could do more for you guys but that's all I've got," Laurel sighed.

"Fuck, no Laurel, this is... this is loads, thank you" Jacob would say, patting the snakes back.

"Without you we wouldn't even know what was happening, and you're already putting yourself at massive risk doing all this" Jinx would comment soon enough.

Star picked up one of the gruesome clubs, covered in blood and mud... knowing he might be adding another layer to it soon enough, "thank you Laurel... you honestly do more than anyone else would do." he pushed himself off the trench wall.

"I'm just making sure you guys are looked after. I'll try and help one or two of the others in the regiment but I know some are probably still loud mouths... and that shouldn't be the reason they don't receive help or a better chance of surviving but if the enemy finds out then it would be a true suicide mission without anyone knowing and it would be all my fault for not keeping quiet," he rubbed his hands together as he felt the cool morning air "...I should be going and report my findings before they start wondering where the hell one of their scouts went," standing up immediately, he gave them a thumbs up, "Good luck guys"

Laurel would soon leave, the trench already beginning to feel much more lonely and less safe without the snake, who always seemed to be in control or know what was happening, able to reassure them that they would be alright.

The silence would persist till Star eventually asked, "So what else you got in there?"

Jacob gave a nod, happy with the change of topic as Jinx smiled, continuing from where he'd left off, as if the last few minutes had not occurred, "Oh I forgot your presents didn't I," the unicorn went on, grinning for them. He'd pull out a deck of cards, "Now we can do that double deck thing we talked about" he'd say, finally pulling out a bottle, "And I even got a half empty whiskey. I think it's whiskey... I mean if you guys want it, we… " he faltered for a moment, setting it down on the table with a sigh. Soon enough the unicorn rested his elbows on the table, pushing several of the weapons aside to make room for himself "Listen... he's right... we're going over and we need to think about what we are going to do."

The large stallion picked up the iron headed club, "I think we should do as he says, not stick to the tanks or they'll get blown up and us with it. I bet we'll get over and there could be guys hiding so we need to check everywhere... so like... I'll... I'll smash them with the club and be up front, Jacob you use your gun to shoot, heh of course you’ll use your gun to shoot I mean." the big unicorn kept trying to think of the plan but trailed off.

Jacob finished for him "I'll stay back with my rifle and Star, you stay between us and be ready to use your, you know" the unicorn pointed at Star’s horn.

Jinx nodded "yeah, you use your stuff Star... and we'll be all safe," he'd agree, looking to his cousin who rubbed the back off one of his hands with a thumb, eventually touching his spiral horn in thought.

"Okay... so Jinx with the heavier club, Jacob you take the bayonet knife and I'll take the knuckle duster knife thing for myself. You guys decide on the other club between you both. Jinx goes first, I'll use my magic to protect us as best I can. But guys we got to remember, we're not the only ones so we will have guys behind us and maybe in front. We won't be alone. Let's maybe... get out and take up a position in the trench we're at, clear it and hold position alright, let someone else advance then we can come in and protect them from behind. See where those tanks are and move from them. We just need to make sure we're on alert. Yeah, yeah! We'll be fine" he’d say suddenly smiling, the three of them seeming fairly confident with the plan.

********

The 95th regiment would be called to the support trench lines two days later where the situation would be explained to them swiftly, as they hoped to charge the enemy in the early hours of the same morning. Close to 300 soldiers would be sent across to capture the trench, along with thirteen tanks. The vehicles would form a shielded arrowhead formation in front of them, protecting them as best they could. When they arrive, they would clear out the trenches, sappers would begin constructing a fortified ring within the trenches using a new magic shield generator and produce a safe zone against artillery, a state-of-the-art device which was having its first true combat test that day. while three tanks to remain for a time whilst the other ten would move back to provide a second arrow-head formation for more soldiers to cross the battlefield. Eventually they intended to keep all the tanks in position till the area was fortified by their sappers at which point they would have to hold out till a supply tunnel deep beneath the battlefield could be dug to them.

Being within the enemy territory, they realised that the soldiers needed greater defence and were provided a new form of armour to wear. Little more than a simple to make steel 'apron' of sorts, the overlapping plates were backed by straps to provide flexibility, covering from their torso to just above their mid-thigh. The words 'first time using this armour method' and 'newly designed for the trenches' were passed around.

Of the soldiers being sent over belonging to the 95th regiment, they were well aware from being a testing regiment what that meant, 'you will be testing to see if it works... count the bodies so we can have our statistics'. It made Star almost angry to think about it. They would be the guinea pigs again, despite them being in a life-or-death situation and in more danger than they had been for the last month of fighting and now they were officially testing these new prototypes.

He cooled his temper before either of his friends noticed, remembering the words of their Colonel. The one-winged Pegasus had told them of the nitty gritty of war. Soldiers had to test tactics and equipment, no one mystically knew everything regarding war and could make it easy for them, even if they did receive aid from other worldly creatures who had experience of their own wars... like life, everything had some level of trial and error till there was success. Star realised how much he missed the commander. For someone who'd seen the worst of war, the Colonel had never been bitter and always tried to protect them like an uncle almost. Why did he try so much and care for them?

The tanks were finally brought to their position. They seemed more armed than normal tanks, fitted with two 25mm cannons each to provide further firepower. Large caterpillar treads were located on either side of the tank to carry its massive weight of who knew how many tons, appearing to be slightly bigger than the normal variants of the tank with the thick armour plating.

The soldiers formed into their rough formation. Timing was imperative with this charge. The tanks would cross over their trenches first to get into position then they would all need to clamber up and run amongst the steel behemoths as they stormed across the dead-zone between them and the enemy. The tank crews fortunately had practiced this manoeuvre several times, but the soldiers hadn’t, for them they were praying the tanks did not speed off without them and leave them expose.

The vehicles roared to life behind them, black smoke pumping from their upwards facing exhausts as the tanks drove across their trenches before driving over them, the soldiers seeing the underside of them as they passed. Once over, the soldiers began clambering up and running. What were they doing, this was mental, running along behind the tanks in such a way, scampering over the ground and climbing out over craters that were in their path. The sound of the tanks’ cannons firing constantly on the enemy trenches could be heard, flushing them out for when they arrived. The sound of bullets thunking on the steel hulls of the tanks rung out loudly and after a moment the soldiers grinned, beginning to believe this plan might actually work, protecting them all the way.

Suddenly there was a loud boom on the other side a tank, machine jumping in the air as a tread broke loose, vehicle veering off to the side and exposing the soldiers for a moment as the tanks on the right flank rushed to fill the gap. The battalion rushed to be in cover, though it was too late as several men dropped down to the ground, those still screaming being dragged by their companions the rest of the way as they clutched at wherever they had been shot. Still, they pushed on, another tank stopping altogether as the soldiers scurried about the dead machine. Finally, the tanks were over the enemy lines and the soldiers jumped into the trenches, looking both ways, bumping into each other as they searched for any enemies.

Jinx grabbed hold of both Star and Jacob by their shoulders, pulling them together and back as they were about to be swept in opposite directions from each other by the mob of soldiers rushing down the trench bays like a swarm of ants to attack an intruder to their nest.

To their left were the other tanks riding over the enemy trenches, soldiers pouring out into the other lines before rushing deeper in, the sound of rifles soon heard as the fighting began. Fighting was not the plan Jinx, Star and Jacob had. Though avoiding direct combat, they would do their part in sweeping the trenches clean that their fellow soldiers had passed through already. They all admitted they wanted to live through this and doing this search gave them the highest chance to survive... whilst giving a reason to not be rushing on ahead and claiming ground.

The enemies’ trenches were not like their own, seeming less zigzagging and instead having long straight bays that one could shoot down with ease. The walls were also unstable and many of the trenches did not have boards lining the walkways, making footing poor in the mud that had formed at the bottom of them.

Moving through the maze of paths, taking their time as they searched every dugout and small bunker, they made sure to not step too far out of the cleared zone, lest meet a group of enemy soldiers mounting a retaliatory attack. Everywhere seemed to contain yet more bodies, ponies strewn out, some appearing to have died instantly from bullets to the chest or head, whilst others showed signs of crawling away, having bled out before they received aid.

The trio felt the growing concern as they realised there was none of their own soldiers to help them if they were in danger. If one of them was injured and they were in a fight, there was no back up coming to save them. No creature would hear their calls over the gunfire, not at this distance... their combined bravery and push to go deeper would soon falter. Star looked back to Jacob, the human glancing about quickly before he called to his cousin, who still walked on ahead, growing increasingly unnerved "Jinx, slow down... maybe we should go back?" The smaller unicorn suggested.

"What but we need to catch up to the others!?" Jinx would jog up to the other two, "We can catch up if we just keep going."

Star shook his head "Look we were sent to secure this area, not kill everyone within a ten-mile radius. I know they have run off, but we shouldn’t too. We need to head back. There will be more coming up soon and we can link up with them," he'd try his best to convince him.

The other stallion would take a second considering, looking down the way they'd come, then ahead "... alright. Yeah, we'll do that. Tack on to the units which will be joining soon,” Jinx conceded, still looking ahead to where the rest of their battalion most likely was, eventually shifting past Star and Jacob "Come on let's go!" he'd call back, hearing the gunfire growing further away... Still wanting to join up with the others of their battalion.

They moved swiftly to where they entered, ducking down and almost running through the trenches. Jacob pointed out one of the tanks still remaining, suggesting they head towards it as the other tanks would most likely link up with them. Additionally, they could look for any soldiers who were wounded and retreated to safety.

They turned the corner, eyes lighting upon a group of soldiers from the 95th regiment, bandaged and wounded, being set upon by the enemy ponies. There was no mercy with how the enemy killed the already injured soldiers who could put up little resistance. It wasn't just killing quickly… they tortured them, stabbing and toying with the helpless soldiers of the Royal Equestrian army. The looks of glee they gave as they stabbed a feline, covering their mouth as they looked into his eyes. The five enemies were about to dispatch the last injured soldier as one of their number took off his satchel and pulled out a small metal box, a bomb, looking over to the tank whose crew were unaware they were seconds away from death.

Jinx fired first, grabbing not only the enemies’ attention, but Jacob and Star's as well, who had been attempting to plan out their attack quickly. His shot missed his target, the stallion with the bomb, but blew a hole through another pony’s thigh, dropping them to the ground screaming and holding the bleeding wound. Jinx stood, gulping as he quickly tried to cram another round into his breech, not even thinking about moving into cover.

Star rushed forwards and pulled his cousin into a nearby dugout, bullets penetrating the earthen wall where he had just stood only seconds later.

Jacob dove into another small dugout for cover, taking a shot down the length of the trenches, catching one stallion as they attempted to move behind a wall, the bullet punching a hole through his stomach. The humans’ fingers scrambled to pull a round from the ammo box on his hip, dropping one round into the mud. Leaving it, he grabbed hold of another and forced it into the rifle breech, not knowing if his friends were dead or not, till he took another shot around the bend, spotting the two unicorns for a brief moment, returning to their cover.

Stunned momentarily by how close he was to dying just, Jinx would freeze up before suddenly growling in anger, pushing past Star even as they tried to stop him, the smaller unicorn’s fingers pulling at their cousin’s uniform. Loading another round as he stood, Jinx stepped boldly around the corner, standing half exposed as he waited for one to pull out. His finger squeezed the trigger tightly, blowing a hole through the enemy’s chest, sending them reeling as Jinx moved back behind the wall, breathing quickly as he tried to reload.

"Guys... we’ve got two more out there probably!" Jacob called to his companions.

Star took a moment before taking a sharp breath in "Alright both of you move out... I'll protect you." he took another breath in deep. Standing, horn lighting up brightly, he’d use his magic to produce a glowing wall of light between them and the enemy soldiers. Stepping out, Jacob and Jinx stood in the trench openly, taking their time to aim their rifles and fire.

The remaining Van Hoover soldiers shot back, bullets stopping as they hit the wall of light, which flickered brightly but continued to hold. Jacob and Jinx knew that Star wouldn’t be able to hold this type of magic up for long and acted swiftly. Shooting back, their own bullets would pass through the translucent wall of magic as if it was air, and within seconds they would kill one of the stallions, moving on to the last one who fought more conservative, than his fallen companion. With every shot into the glowing wall, it would grow dimmer and visible fracture lines could be seen as if the magical structure was made of glass, ready to shatter.

Eventually Jacob landed the shot to the enemy's head, blowing a hole through their steel helmet. Lifting his rifle, Jacob turned back to Star, calling back, "They're dead, they're dead!"

The wall promptly vanished and what bullets were held in the air within its glistening aura, dropped to the ground. Star would pant loudly as he held onto the trench wall for support, knees feeling as though they may give out on him.

"Shit star you alright... come on give me your arm" Jinx began, though he was pushed off with what remaining strength his cousin could muster

"Get to the tank and tell them about the bomb!" Star managed, slumping against the wall with exhaustion.

Jacob grabbed Jinx's arm and pulled him back, "Go, I'll take care of him" the human called, pointing to the tank as he already knelt beside the weakened stallion.

After looking between both indecisively, he would finally rush through the trenches to the tank, banging on the door, "Open up! Fucking open up we've got a problem!" the stallion looked to the bomb nervously, sitting in the mud only metres away. The doors finally flung open, rifle pressed to the stallion’s face as he turned back, "Don't shoot, I'm with the 95th!" Jinx pointed behind himself quickly, "The enemy just tried to blow up the tank and..."

"Fuck a bomb! Merry Trot get here now!" one of the tank crew called into the vehicle, a unicorn rushing out to them soon enough. Following the finger pointing out to the explosive, the unicorn immediately hopped out, horn lighting up bright orange and enshrouding the device in a dome of magical energy "Get Coal down with the kit, we need to disable this immediately!"

"I don't know if they activated it so it might be safe, but I don't know" Jinx would say, stepping back as an Earth pony jumped from the tank with a tool kit, coming over to look at the bomb.

They would ignore Jinx as they got to work, "Just hold it Merry I'm working fast alright"

“On it just give me a second!” the other called back.

The two bomb diffusers would work, the unicorn holding the explosive in place, his magic preventing any internal mechanisms moving, the other slowly disassembling the device before it could blow. In minutes, it would be nothing more than pieces on the floor of the trench, the pair spending little time debating whether it had been active or not as they rushed into the tank to man their stations, continuing to fire.

By that time, the second wave of Royal soldiers would have made it across the battlefield behind the cover of the tanks. Along with the troops were the sappers, who began working on barricading the trenches, taking steel sheets off the back of tanks and placing a large device of silver metal and crystals in place, close to six feet in height, the prototype magic shield generator.

With the newest mass of soldiers with them, their numbers were now pushing on 850, close to a full battalion. It would be enough to hold the position, especially with the additional support of the tanks which functioned as artillery.

Star was shaky but had almost recovered for the most part. Kneeling with Jacob and Jinx, he rested with them. The trio believed they had earned this momentary reprieve after saving the tank from destruction and the crew it held within.

"... How are you feeling Star... You think you’ll be ready to go soon?" Jacob would eventually ask, having taken to pacing back and forth, listening to the fighting which had all but silenced now, the enemy having been forced to retreat.

"I'm fine just, another minute and we'll go... Oh fuck!" Star looked to Jinx sharply.

The other unicorn looked down at himself then about, "What? What!?"

Star pointed to Jinx’s chest, "Your armour, its-"

Jinx looking down to see a sizable gouge and dent along the side of his chest plate, looking to be more of a glancing shot than a direct hit by the angle, "... DAMN... I-I didn't even feel it," the stallion ran a finger over the mark, blanching slightly at the thought of what it could have been if he had not been wearing the armour. He touched beneath it and immediately winced as he felt the large bruise over his chest, where the plate had slammed against him. Clearing his throat eventually and shaking his head, Jinx would gather himself, "Well... yeah, good. The armour works so... we know we can trust it right?"

Jacob bore a concerned look for a moment, the bullet looked to have been on the cusp of penetrating... but he said nothing regarding his thoughts, "Hmm… yeah yeah, it works and it'll protect us," the human looked off to the side, rubbing his face. Eventually his eyes wandered to his own plated armour where several scratches had already developed, frowning once again with concern.

A diamond dog ran up to them, badge on his right arm indicating they were an assault engineer, "You three on guard duty or something?" he asked, resting down on all fours as he was accustomed to, his arms and hands looking almost disproportionately large, like many of his kind.

"We are just taking a breather at the moment," Jinx would begin.

Jacob soon spoke up before the engineer got the wrong idea and thought they were slacking, "Just waiting for orders sir" he would add quickly as he saw the recognisable three crescent moons of a Sargent on the diamond dog's uniform.

"Well, we need more support on the eastern facing flank, been sent to find more so... come," he motioned his large paw for them to follow, "All you have to do is stand and keep guard while we do our work." they'd explain, turning and moving off, hem of their long coat dragging through the soft earth and mud momentarily before they changed for movement on both legs once more, seeming to almost shamble along.

The engineer led them past multiple enemy bodies and several of their own soldiers, all of which had been piled to the side of the trenches, allowing troops to move more easily. Little care seemed to have been given to the enemies’ bodies, stacked upon one another. Their own soldiers however, seemed to have been somewhat placed more considerately. After what they'd seen of the enemy troops, taking glee in torturing injured creatures, it was what they deserved, Star would think to himself.

They finally came upon where they would be stationed, midway through the trench was a mound of earth and logs, some semblance of firing ports having been provided in the wall and though it was rough, it looked sturdy enough for them to use.

The diamond dog looked to them, waving his arm to the other soldiers that were already in position, "Take up posts and we’ll reinforce, we need more time to work in other trenches and section it all off. Great deal of work to be done."

"Has there been any attacks yet?" Jacob would ask, pressing himself against the compacted wall, rifle aimed through the small hole provided, his friends doing the same.

"No attacks yet. But they will try. We doubt they will be bombarding us with their cannons and risk shifting fire from our true trenches. Plus, if they did blow us up then everything would be a crater here and open for more attacks in the future." he'd explain, soon on all fours once more, moving to a large dugout and disappeared into the darkness as he began digging into the soft earth.

Positioned against the barricade, rifles at the ready, the trio would realise how strange it was not hearing the constant sounds of artillery and rifle fire, an almost deathly silence about them. They knew this ‘peace’ would not last long and in little time at all the fighting would resume, but it was when that was most unsettling and left them feeling constantly on edge. In seconds they would here an echoing whirring noise and small boom behind themselves, light firing up into the sky fifty feet before producing a glistening multicoloured dome outward. Its edges touched down to the ground 200m from its source, encapsulating all of the Royal Equestrian soldiers that now resided in the Van Hoover trenches and protecting them for who knew how long.