Under the Fire of Artillery

by Im a B O X

Rating: teen
Tags: Other, Princess Luna, Thriller, Original Character, King Sombra, Violence, Tragedy, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Human
Length: 6080

Artillery and Cavalry, it shouldn't be a surprise that one outlasted the other.

The Crystal War is about to end, the era from which King Sombra ruled the Crystal Empire to its height is coming to a close, with the Kingdom of Equestria at his nation’s doorstep, he plans to make one last stand on the Frozen North Valley path.

As fate would have it, the Royal Sisters also had a plan, one to ensure a victory that would save as many lives as possible.

But when the night rises, and on the first break of dawn is in sight, a new era for Equus, and especially for Equestria will come forth.

Unfortunately, the Shadows of a Bygone era still stood at the position, guarding the Frozen Valley pass like the souls that have reawakened them, just like they have done from worlds gone by. Truly, tonight was going to be a long night, one that wouldn't be easily forgotten.

Some heads-up:
The story doesn't "necessarily" have humans in it, but they are related to the plot of the story. Their souls serve as the "Shadow of Bygone Era".

And I provided some video “references” for you to enjoy.
Said “references” are just that, references. (Its “Union of Salvation”).
I personally enjoyed the sound design and acting of the film.

Clearly, it is not one of my best stories, I think there are a lot of things I could have improved and ironed out, but I’d leave the story as is, I did what I came to do with this story, and it was both fun and painful trying to “research” some of these topics, and since I am really tired from just writing this, I’ll just... leave it as is.

Anyways,

Later!

Published 2022-01-20 11:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-01-20 11:40:01 UTC

Cannon Fodder

The Frozen North Valley

Border between the Kingdom of Equestria and the Crystal Empire.

499 A.C. (After Chaos)

Through the night, only the moon and the stars illuminated the path of two armies as they marched to their battlefield, well, there would be three in the morning, but only through the passage and concealment of darkness did the Lunar Guard and the Shadow Army march, it was like a calling fate to them, to walk the path that they had been associated with. There was only one passage from which both armies could attack the other nation effectively, but after a colossal defeat at Galloping Gorge, the army of King Sombra was forced on the defensive, but like the cunning and mindful warrior-king that he was, he would fight till the bitter end, a few cards of aces up his sleeves.

The Princesses, Luna Faust, and Sol “Celestia” Faust, the pair were known under the title of “The Diarchs”, a title that they have earned with their teamwork and their unprecedented ability to lead as a pair, and the reverence of that was formed between their respective armies were earned with the victory and respect that was held between leader and follower. Tonight, the cogs of a plan that was agreed upon were set in motion, with Luna, and her army, setting the bait for the Shadow Army, forcing them into battle in the Frozen North Valley and hold out, a stalemate was to be expected as a result, with her sister traveling the longer route around the valley and encircle Sombra and his remaining forces in the valley, securing the safety of the Crystal Empire from the king’s grasp.

But tonight, when the full moon was at its highest point, the Frozen North Valley would come to have a taunting name that would haunt everyone, and I mean everyone, even the Royal Diarchy for years to come. Because on that fateful night and so forth, any army that dared pass this valley, regardless of faith or reason, the valley will halt any and such advance, regardless of any intent that the leader may hold, be it conquest or liberation. This event would cement the fear of valley’s, with good reason, because on the very first instance of such a hellfire, it had stopped two of the strongest armies from every fighting, decimating them regardless in the process.

A time when Harmony hadn’t fully developed and was still in her infancy, Harmony would not stand to her full ability, not until the end of the S.N. (Sleepless Nightmare) Era, when the T.A. (Twilights Accession) Era would begin.

For Equus, when history is to be studied in the future, from the 499 A.C. to the beginning of the T.A. Era, myths and legends would be formed because of this singular valley, similar sightings across the span of hundreds, if not thousands of other valley related folklore are to be shared, experienced, or even sighted, in one singular massive Era to its entirety, it would be fulfilling era for folklore, for the sole reason that it opened up many new opportunities and ideas, one that would garner a certain degree of respect for.

And once the stories, myths, and legends, came rolling about this valley, one thing remained consistent with any rendition of each different story, the very distinctive sounds of a crack, whizzing, and bang that are accompanied by the brief flashes of lights, many interpret it in a different view, but the same point would remain, it could silence an entire nation if need be, any army, any pony, any creature best know that it was time to turn back, simply because those sounds, they stood as a warning, for they might be entering the den of “Mortui Fumigant” - Deaths Smoke.

As Luna approached the mouth of the valley, she could sense the fear in a number of her soldiers. And as the regal leader that she was, the moon shun above/behind her, creating a sense of power as the moonlight accompanied her as she began her speech, something about liberating the Crystal Empire from the tyrannical king, how they are in the right and they are in the wrong, how they would come back.

At the other mouth of the valley, coming from the Crystal Empire itself, a similar event took hold, with the Crystal Monarch giving his own speech to his soldiers, the dark shadowy form of King Sombra instilling fear, just as he liked. But unlike his counterpart at the other side who spoke in inspiration and reassurance, he spoke in the completely opposite, he spoke of cold hard truth, the truth that was his reason in the first place of this all, how he took over the empire by strength and reason, by the right of conquest, and how his soldiers, maybe even himself, might highly die from tonight and the morning, willingly or otherwise.

But in doing so, the Crystal Monarch did something that the Diarchy of Equestria had failed to do, to speak the cold-blooded truth about Warfare, and while the Kingdom of Equestria was, to a major extent, cable of winning this war, the effects of the Crystal Monarch only cemented the fate that would be the downfall of Princess Celestia herself.

But unbeknownst to both armies, tonight won’t be the night when they expect each other to fight with “honor” to an equal foe, no, tonight, the nightmare of death will come. The Crystal Tyrant and the Fallen Sister would share this moment to varying degrees, a moment the solar princess herself will never truly be able to understand. For tonight, at the height of midnight, the valley will be lit aflame, a flame that will burn itself into the minds of many, and for those unlucky, they will never see the light of dawn, not tonight.

“Commander Sharp Shot, I think my eyes deceive me, but… do you see something ahead of us?” Sombra asked his right-hoof commander, pointing a hoof in front of him, unsure if his senses were playing tricks on him. Ever since he had entered the valley, an eerie feeling had never left him, he felt like he was being watched, but watched in the sense that he was the prey, but he knew which gut told him of an Equestrian spy or scout, they always had feared when they saw him, be it directly into his eyes or not. But this, he felt no fear, only the persistent silence that defined him, that taunted him.

A few moments passed, but on instinct, without informing the king, Commander Sharp shouted an order, “BATTLE FORMATION!”

And upon hearing this order, the king knew that the enemy was close, again, he looked ahead, but he knew his commander won’t charge unless it was his command. Truly, he had a commander both loyal and talented to his cause.

But he still knew that there was an army probably waiting for them, and he knew they heard the command, with now narrow and one way the valley is, a charge by the Shadow Army could not only hold but also probably push back whatever is waiting and unfortunate enough to meet his army’s wrath. His resolve was only strengthened when he remembered that he lead what is essentially the Crystal Empire’s Elite Guards, having armor apparently tougher than most spells that a mage could cast, he remembered that Equestria’s mages (unicorns) are at the very back of their formations, and usually, that meant they can’t make use of magic as an offensive attack (no spell had been formed to fire in a predictable ark at that point in history), less they risk to suffer more casualties than his own.

At the opposite end of the valley…

As a voice echoed through the valley, piercing through the silent night sky, it brought a shiver on the spines of several ponies. This, of course, did not bother the Lunar Guard, who by instinct, went into their own battle formation, although no voice spoke was spoken in the hopes that it would not reveal the fact that they heard and are prepared.

Luna, before she could ask, simply gave a stare to the captain of her guard, Silver Knight, who immediately knew what she had asked for him to answer. She had stayed at the right side of the entire formation of the Lunar Guard.

“I am unsure, your highness,” he whispered, “but I do know that it is likely a group of ponies, from the rumbling, I assume you could also hear.” He said, the hearing of a bat pony being twice as more sensitive as any regular pony, although their shortsightedness hindered their affectivity in spotting enemies, which won’t be a problem, for now.

But before long, as they drew ever so closer to the midway point, the same as the Shadow Army, a third distinctly different voice spoke, one that confused both armies. The light of night only being bright enough to shun the path, but not enough to reveal the figures ahead of them.

But they won’t have to wait long…

After a few moments, both armies halted, they were nearing the midway point of the valley, but something gave pause as they observed the paths in front of them, a sign with symbols that they couldn’t understand in the middle of the valley path, but what was most intriguing was that despite the limited light given, several forms on the signs could be made out, the most recognizable was the symbol that resembled a centaur’s hand, covered all in red, and under it, in a glowing white-ish manner, another string of symbols that they can’t understand, something they couldn’t understand and didn’t even both to read,

“[Arrêter!]”

But regardless of the muttering and hesitance, it would be Crystal King and his army that would make the first move, although, unfortunately for Luna, her inability to… make a statement, or in this case an order in a proper manner would cause her the lives of plenty more souls lost in an unnecessary skirmish, well, more like a massacre.

The winds grew cold, but eventually, a fire would start, literally, in the middle of the valley. A small torch alit, but it would be held to provide a very limited amount of light, how such a torch was set aflame was beyond what was supposed to be asked, because at that moment, both armies, mistakenly at that, assumed that their enemy was foolish to do such a thing, only exposing their position. Something they wished to capitalize on to win.

Sombra thought for a moment, he didn’t understand why, but unless the solar princess was around, the Lunar Guard would have no use for fire outside of encampment, and clearly, they should have done that at the mouth of the valley, even then, they also didn’t have use for any signals relating to the sun for that matter, the solar princesses, from what his spies had told him, was still far behind and would only arrive in the morning

‘The solar princess… solar princess… CELESTIA AND HER ARMY!’ As the thought crossed his mind, the Crystal King immediately knew one thing, unless, it was a much more powerful army with a foolish general, he had nothing to lose from a charge, his ‘enemy’ had just exposed themselves, and even ever more so important to launch an attack now if the flame actually had some message to it, like, a specific action or something,

He immediately looked at the sky to scan for any pegasi up in the night sky, and he found none, but he held fast, although hesitantly at first, he will not allow this moment to slip out of his hoof, he had everything to gain from a push, and his troops had the capabilities no doubt. Attack now and if he was able to make a decisive victory against, who he assumed to be, the Lunar Guard, then he would have one less army to worry about, and the advantages were stacked to his favor, there was only one way to make the crossings to the Crystal Empire, and it was through this very valley, the crystal mounts that surrounded his empire could not be penetrated, it was too high and unforgiving for any army to march across. He had everything to gain from an attack now, he had a chance to win this war.

A sense of uncertainty set on him, he felt the presence of a shadow, a shadow with a soul, but just as how quickly the feeling arose, it similarly dissipated quickly. He reasoned with himself that such a thing could never exist, that a shadow with a soul could never form, not without the help of a powerful source of magic or even artifact, it contradicted Star Swirls Theory of Magic, there is no way that a shadow could support the soul, that thought alone had several other implications, a matter for another time. A creature having served their connections and extension that is magic, the connection to the world? Simply impossible, he thought, such a creature could never form, it was against the very nature of this world's era. He forgot that in worlds of infinite possibilities, magic is but a spec that makes up the characters of these endless worlds.

He thought…

And in one hoof motion, and a whisper to his right-hoof commander, he would have the first 4 rows of his army charge at his enemy, taking them by surprise, then after that, he would immediately send another bulk of soldiers, a wave-like charge that he had hoped would decimate his opponent.

A tense silence was shared, the flame that was lit from the middle of the valley released nothing but the sure assurance that there was a creature in the middle of the valley. The flames burning was a constant reminder of a foe, but slowly, that too dimmed out, extinguished by a sudden cold gush of wind from the Crystal Empire.

“First Company! CHARGE!” Was the order given by the Crystal commander, full entrusting to his king’s instincts.

And the first wave had begun,

But that won’t be the only command given.

From the middle of the valley, another command was to be shouted, not that of the Lunar Guard or the Shadow Army. It would be a command that would send a chain reaction, truly, this command will dictate the sight in the morning. The command being of a different language that Equus would never fully understand, emitted from where the flame had momentarily alit the middle of the valley.

“[Bona Fide…]”

“[Apprêtez-vos armes!]”

“[Joue!]”

And silence for a short moment was hung. Only accompanied by the soft but growing rumbling of ponies charging down into their position.

Any moment now…

At the other side of the field where the Lunar Guard is at, the single command given by the Shadow Army was painfully obvious, but now they could only be on the defensive, they couldn’t win this battle with brute force, yet they thought they had the upper hand. But before they could take their own actions against the army that they are about to meet, the middle of the battlefield spoke, commands in a different language they couldn’t understand, and one they certainly did not expect.

“What is the meaning of thee!?” Luna barked, not on fear, but on instinct upon hearing the foreign commands.

“I-I don’t know, your highness,” Silver Knight responded, he to being bewildered at the situation, but that wasn’t all that was bewildering, because, like most of the bat ponies in the guard, they heard the rumbling of hooves, becoming much louder and louder.

But before they have a chance, and when they thought they would have to actually face the wrath of what is the arguable the only army that could challenge the combined Equestrian Armed Forces, a taste of a bygone era was what Luna would taste tonight.

Dread crept, when all hope for a night without a battle, it all went up and dissipated in a climactic moment as a short, SINGLUAR, order pierced the night sky, accompanied by a sight that these ponies mistook as god's divine intervention, a glimmer of false hope.

“[FUE!]”

(timestamp ~1:40)

And on the command of a singular word, the night sky would again be lit aflame for a moment, the first sharp ‘bang’ that was followed by what had seemed to be dozens upon dozens of similar shots being fired, a volley that illuminated the valley.

It was… somewhat pathetic, it was the only way to describe the first order of retaliation by Sombra. To put it mildly, he didn’t seem, he wasn’t impressed, the moment the command of retaliation was said (he was smart enough to figure that the foreign language probably meant something in retaliation), a moment of flame spat out, followed by smoke, admittedly the ‘bang’ that accompanied it made him flinch, but it didn’t cause any problem.

But before long, he had to ask the same question that he had asked himself before, “Are my eyes deceive me?” He asked, he couldn’t face the troops beside him.

Because once the Smoke and shock lifted, they didn’t immediately notice it, but there was a noticeable amount of corpses on the ground, at least 2 rows worth of ponies lay unmoving. The rest still continuing the charge, less than 200 meters (~218.723 yards) from the midway of the valley.

But that won’t be the first volley, as there was a second volley of fire that immediately followed suit after that first one, decimating the first wave of ponies from the Shadow Army.

Immediately after the second volley concluded, he heard a cry of relief, this time, from a familiar source. He had no doubt that he would be outnumbered but he had to decide again, to send the full bulk of his force for a burst of momentum, or to retreat into a safer part of the valley…

Moments later, he would find his answer.

Again, the Lunar Guard cried in cheer, relieved that, apparently, god was on their side (like the alicorn princesses weren’t there, being sidelined, unfortunately). And immediately, in a false sense of security, Luna’s captain would make a terrible mistake.

“THE GODS ARE ON OUR SIDE! PRAISE THE OLD AND NEW GODS! FIRST BATTALION, MARCH ON MY LEAD!” He screamed, the euphoria of the experience being one that would immediately be extinguished as they marched forwards under his command, planning to push the Shadow Army with this third party.

Unfortunately, as they marched, a shot was fired and a turn of events, Silver Knight watched as the ponies to the side suddenly buckled and dropped dead with a ‘thud’.

Another volley fired, several ‘bangs’ as the shock of this new revelation was being processed.

And immediately, a gush of wind flew past the side of Silver Knight’s face. And he was fortunate enough to not only see but also hear the shot fired. And as if in a chain reaction, he looked to his side, just on that moment, the stallion beside him dropped, his armor clattering under the sudden drop, his helmet dropping off, a hole clean through it.

Immediately, his eyes went wide, he had just survived death’s kiss. At that moment, his ears, his sensitive ears, perked up, hearing something from the middle of the valley…

“[Alea iacta est…]”

And for a few moments, he weighed his next moves, he had a third-party in the battlefield tonight, a loose cannon than anything else, the Shadow Army might make a dig in for the night, they might have an entrenchment by the morning, defeating the purpose of this costly night stalemate, they were supposed to have a long-drawn-out battle so that when Celestia arrives, a clean victory could be achieved without entering the Empire proper, but now, he had stopped, so did his army, he could retreat, face probably shame from all directions, especially her highness, who he realized he just left, no honor and evermore so if he asked for forgiveness. But then he realized, what was in front of him was a loose cannon, he might lose more ponies if they tried to retreat, clearly, this enemy was had some advance magic to hit them from this distance, less than half a kilometer (<546.807 yards).

So, his mind was made up, on the idea that he would lose the lives of more ponies for nothing if he retreated than if he charged and tried to take the position wasn’t a hard one, by some miracle, he hoped the Shadow Army would also attack with his force, a small hope with a hint of fear, but one he knew would still cost them so much, but the control to the valley, as he remembered correctly, is important to the Cyrstal Empire to hold its ground, at least that what they thought, a surprise in the morning just as planned.

After all, there was a loose cannon in the middle of the field of battle that could, as far as what could be seen, cut through and kill ponies with range, so retreat without suffering a tremendous amount of casualty was unlikely, he just can’t forsake the lives of his troops for nothing, better to die fighting than running.

And with one hoof manner, they resumed their advance, and with it, a new hell was about to break loose.

The marching signaled Sombra that the Lunar Guard are probably on the advance, and he was about to make a retreat when he swore he heard a voice that whispered to him in the winds. One that would repeat itself…

“The enemy of an enemy is a friend…” The wind whispered a chant that drew Sombra’s attention. And repeatedly, he had to listen and fight this chanting, just to avoid losing his cool at this crucial moment.

And slowly, he suddenly found himself finding the idea acceptable, sure, he was about to fight against an unknown, but after that, he would fight on much more familiar grounds, he was a shadow of his former self, everything to gain, that was what the winds chanted to him.

Suddenly, he bellowed an order, on that puzzled his troops, and even his commander.

“Rear Formation! Make camp at the outskirts of the valley!”

His commander tried to protest to the decision, “B-but Sire-”

A quick stare with his eyes was the only message the commander needed, lest he faces the wrath of those eyes.

“O-of course…” He reluctantly replied, keeping any further comments to himself.

“The rest of you, FOLLOW MY COMMAND!” He bellowed, as he raised himself with his signature jet-black crystals into the high ground, leading his troops and pointing his hoof and blade forwards, his pure crystal saber, despite being drenched in the blood of his enemy’s, with simple dark magic, somehow became the universal direction needed by his troops to charge forwards.

And a unanimous “Ura!!” was all that he needed to hear. As the bulk of his Army charged forth, while on the other side, the Lunar Guard did the same.

But tonight, God sided with the Best Artillery…

Another command is given…

“[Apprêtez-vos armes!]”

“[Joue!]”

“[FUE!]”

(timestamp, 1:38 to around 2:00)

And again, the command was said once more, the night once again being alit by the flame emitted by these strange beings and their weapons. The sound of ‘bangs’ and the gushing winds with the prominent ‘cling’ that emitted when a pony was hit and dropped in an unceremonious ‘thud’, more akin to tripping, but never to rise back up again. The sight continued, the sounds continued on reverberating in the valley becoming more of a graveyard than the empty valley that they all expected.

Thankfully, hope was rising, at both sides closed in on the middle, around 100 meters left until they were able to break the defenses of whatever these beings are…

But as another wave of shots is sent downrange, the appearance of these figures became clearer, thanks to the muzzle flashes and the closing distance, the ponies could start to make out the defining features of these creatures.

And much to their horror, not dismay, they could see several pure black silhouettes, but before they could process this small information, a new command was heard again, this time, a different hell was about to break loose…

“[Man les canons!]”

“[Infanterie, écartez-vous!]”

And after the second command, there was the audible rumble as the dark figures rumbled about, then, not even a second after, the next and (would be) repeated command is said once more.

In a moment of hesitation and confusion, both armies stopped in their advance to assess what just happened, they could just resume charging after that, they had the numbered, and they were close enough, they encircled whatever was in the middle this valley.

A torch alit the midway of the valley, then another, and another, until at least a dozen or so torches lit the midway valley. It was bright and plentiful, yet it wasn’t as unwelcoming or painful as one might expect.

This was something Luna and Sombra could both feel, but what would tip them off was what this light would reveal to every pony…

At that moment, they saw the creatures that have slain their comrades and enemy’s alike, bipedal one's creatures with the upper body's akin to that of a minotaur, all in black, in a somewhat transparent void, with whatever was beside or the things they held being in the same state as them. They seemed to have worn clothes but like their bodies, it too was shadowy and transparent. Their expressions were blankness, having no face, but the features of a nose, eyes sockets, and a mouth could be made out.

It was a moment of hesitation and bewilderment that they didn’t notice what they were starring at was an enemy of an enemy. It was bewildering, not only could they not see the figures, but also what lay behind them, being transparent enough to have an outline while also allowing for details to appear on them.

But then, it was cut short as another command was given, and at the same time, Sombra and Luna (who had followed their troops, shielding as many as possible, which proved to be a hard challenge since their barrier would crack and would have to be re-casted for every shot it took) went wide-eyed at what they were seeing, and on a moment, everything fell apart.

“[FUE!]”

This time, it wasn’t the familiar ‘crack’ or ‘bang’ that these ponies were introduced earlier that night, instead, it was cannon fire. It reverberated, the sound did not dissipate as each shot was followed quickly by a succession of several more cannons being fired. But unfortunately for these ponies, these weren’t ordinary cannonballs, these were grapeshots. And as the artillery continued to fire, so did the pace of which it was firing, and soon, the valley would be constantly alit with every volley fired, not relating for a single moment.

(timestamp ~1:40)

Another flash, another terrifying ‘thud’ and soon, Silver Knight, after a few moments of shock, was alone, standing there.

He stood there in silence, his muscles freezing up completely, unable to move or respond to his surroundings as his fellow ponies dashed past him, each being cut down in the process, some lucky, while others not so much.

But he shared a front-row seat to the chaos, the gore that had transpired, a scene he unknowingly shared with Sombra and one that Luna would later see.

The valley, what was once quiet and only illuminated by the night moon, was now in shambled chaos as short, shot, after shot, after shot, was made by these cannons, it was terrifying, to have your enemy create light, their faces the void of any emotion.

These troops are being forced to watch, as their brother, maybe even sister, ponies they have trained and fought with, and even promised to die with, they saw their comrades buckle and drop dead to their side, being helpless to even try and help them, knowing full well that that dead body beside them, could have been them.

Immediately, officers and some troops were trying to keep some semblance of order amidst the chaotic battlefield as many more were cut down with each fleeting moment.

But the terrifying truth is what they will instead meet. As they would soon see, the strength of an earth pony can only be relied upon if they are breathing, sure they could tank a few bullets, but blood lose will take their life, the pegasi, they would be cut down with the same ferocity if they tried to lift off the ground, the cannon fire either keeping them grounded or face certain death with grapeshot, the unicorn’s, they didn’t fair any better, the spell shields they have could only ever last for so long, with magic being tied to their mental capabilities, no wonder the strain of trying to stop what is essentially a very small and equally very fast moving projectiles could break them, is was still the equivalent of being hit regardless, unlike magical bolts, which the shield could maybe dissipate if the caster is skilled enough to see the bolt coming, and finally, the crystal ponies, their armor’s, although effective against bolts of magic, was just to fragile to withstand the shots made by these creatures, although their armor was crafted by Sombra to withstand most things, like bolts of magic, lightning bolts, even a head on collision from an earth pony, he made sure that their armor would keep the alive, battered and bruised, but alive, but against cannons? It was like shard glass breaking, the crystal armor being unable to dissipate the force of such a small projectile, so it breaks, and so those the pony behind it.

Ponies are cut down in the hundreds as they try to either retreat or keep attacking, some realizing the hopelessness and others being convinced that they were but a few short steps from victory, all that was needed was a semblance of order, something to unite them for at least this one moment.

But the firing did not cease and Sombra could feel his blood boiling.

‘Useless ponies,’ he thought as he jumped down from his height advantage and, with his dark magic, started to summon up dark crystal pillars from the ground up to block the cannon fire. Surprisingly, it was effective in blocking the grapeshot’s being fired, and slowly, he started to make a push.

The Lunar Guard did not fare as better but was able to create a makeshift formation, with two rows of mixed earth ponies and pegasi serving as shields and the final third row being filled with unicorns, and soon, they would unleash a barrage of their own magic, at least they hoped.

“[Coups ronds!]”

And for a moment, just a short moment, the pace of the volley of cannons suddenly stopped for a few moments, then, it resumed once more, but, there was something different about this one, because as the first shots were fired and hit their marks…

Screams filled the night instead of the earlier grunts and ‘thuds’ that grapeshots gave if grapeshot was effective in killing these ponies, a round shot was… demoralizing, because it allowed for this nightmare fuel to continue into a deeper extent, it wasn’t efficient to the same extent as grapeshot was, but it left whatever it was able to partially hit injured beyond full recovery, and for the unfortunate ones that were directly hit by the cannonball, dead, even worse if they were half-dead.

And the scene soon became unbearable, as screams of pain filled the sky, broken bones and crushed bodies filled the ground, if the earlier different volleys of infantry and grapeshot’s didn’t break the morale of these ponies, the screams definitely did.

As one portion of the makeshift formation of the Lunar Guard dropped dead, the broken bones of these ponies being so bad that internal bleeding assured death, the Princess of the Night finally arrived at her troop's side, summoning up a powerful shield that still cracked, but held up thanks to her perseverance, allowing for the remaining of her units to retreat safety, all the while she had to look at the massive blood bath before her.

On the other side, Sombra suddenly found himself struggling to make progress, as the crystals he summed began to crack, he had to summon thicker ones to protect him, finding himself having trouble at the fact that these creatures had weapons that could directly affect dark magic, but to be expected when they were shadows being manipulated, or so he thought. He also noted how effective these walls of crystals actually were and how he should improve on it if push comes to shove, being able to hold out against such neck-breaking projectiles did make him feel impressed at his capabilities.

But alas, he too, was forced to back down, much to his dismay, he vowed vengeance if it was the last thing he did.

As the first sight of dawn broke, so did the resolve of these ponies. And soon, by the time morning sun showed its full, a retreat was underway by both forces.

And soon, Celestia would arrive with her set of troops, all sleepy from the long journey over the mountains, but nothing could have prepared them for the carnage that they saw as they turned into the valley mouth.

What was supposed to be a planned push to encircle Sombra and his army had ended miserably. Thousands upon thousands lay dead in the frozen valley, corpses littered it with varying degrees of brutality. From simply lying dead to body parts bent to an unnatural extent, the amount of blood that filled the valley was impressive enough to paint the snow-white ground red. And it wasn’t a pleasant thought to think about, like Celestia, once regrouping with Luna and the remainder of her force, had to keep herself from screaming and crying on the spot, this much lost in life hadn’t been seen to this magnitude in such a short timeframe, let alone for the entire campaign, this singular battle could be considered one of the deadliest, yet she won’t get the full picture.

Sombra and his remaining forces had retreated back to his capital, where the final battle of the Crystal War was to be held, for Luna and her force, it was near completely decimated. Out of the combined 50 thousand ponies that entered the mountain from both sides, only 2 thousand (500 to the Lunar Guard and the rest to the reserves of the Shadow Army, including Luna and Sombra) and a half went home that night, all returning with some form of injury, be it physically or traumatically.

This single event would hold back both forces until Celestia, with her sister and Equestria’s full army, could lay siege to the Crystal Empire’s capital, of course, Sombra planned for this, and he knew victory was impossible at that point, so, he did the next best thing, and the rest is shown through history.

Author's Note

Translation will be given, I had to look do a bit of researching for the translations (I didn’t just use Google translate purely, I prefer to have a second reference or smth).

This was (supposed to be) heavily inspired by the movie, “Union of Salvation”. It isn’t my best work, just a crackfic I tried to sprinkle some plot on, clearly didn’t work out too well for me in the long run, too much effort went into this than I am willing to admit.

Translations as they appear, this was a mixture of research-based and Google Translate, it was pain.

“[Stop!]” (it’s French)

“[in good faith]” (it's Latin)

“[Make ready!]” (it's from a French manual)

“[Present!]” (another one from the French manual)

“[FIRE!]” (same gig, another French manual)

“[The die is cast]” (basically Latin for “the point of no return”)

“[Make ready!]” (French manual)

“[Present!]” (French manual)

“[FIRE!]” (French manual)

“[Man the cannons!]” (French)

“[Infantry, stand aside!]” (French)

“[FIRE!]” (French manual)

“[Round Shots!]” (French)