“Princess! Miss Fluttershy! Get behind the barrier!”

The cold voice of the captain rang out into the night air as a rope lassoed around both the purple Alicorn, and the butter yellow Pegasus. The rope snapped taut, sending both mares flying backwards behind the shimmering purple barrier, just as one of the birch hounds smashed its opened jaws into said barrier. Splintered teeth and sparks flew, sending the beast flying backwards into another hound.

Sparks of golden electricity danced across its slender form, sending its smoldering body into a twitching frenzy. Both would regain their footing, rolling back onto their mossy paws. The murderous gaze of the beasts looked upon the two with such disdain, sending rolling waves of fury that made both mares shudder. Poor Fluttershy was horrified, with the color rapidly leaving her cheeks as she hid behind the rapidly approaching guards.

“That was darn close y'all, Twilight! What did we learn about moseying off in such a dangerous place? Tsk…what would y’all do without us?” Applejack chuckled, approaching from behind with her lasso neatly tied to the tip of her tail. One flick and tug dragged the pair further from the shimmering barrier. This gave time for the bulwark of earth pony guards to march forward in front of them. Their spears were raised with the tips angular towards the opposition, ready for any changes among the beast’s ranks.

“Captain SIR! The timberwolves are organizing and attacking all three camps! There doesn't appear to be an end in sight to them!” Multiple hot pink lights illuminated the forest, signals of alarm from the sudden ambush to the camps. The captain raised his hoof, his glaive slaming into the dirt.

“Have the earth ponies line up in a C shaped defensive position, have them ready for a controlled breach! Have the barrier mages open a hole in the center to relieve pressure and pick them off one at a time! Battle mages I want you to flank at both sides of the opened hole, flame spells at the ready. Burn them all to cinders and let none of them remain, if not then wound them enough for the earth pony line to finish off! Support mages, reinforce your earth pony spearstallions. Make them as tough as the Canterlot mountain, and make damn sure not a single one of those sap sucking mongrels make it into our camps!” The captain spoke with authority, his bold voice, intimidating gaze, and assertiveness inspiring his troops.

The messenger Pegasus who had flown down to report gave a one winged salute before taking to the trees, flying between camps to relay the orders. The mutated timberwolves fought with a fury unlike anything ever documented in the history of Equestria. They threw themselves blindly against the barrier, not caring if their bark armor charred or chipped off. Each impact however made reasonable leeway at cracking the barriers, causing the unicorns maintaining it to stumble in strained concentration. If they faltered even for a moment while channeling the spell, the camps would have no protection.

Their topmost priority was defending the princess and the element bearers no matter what, even if it came down to the last stallion or mare. The Captian's teeth grit tightly together, grinding whilst observing the battlefield that their “safe camp” had become. Everything needed to fall into place, every piece on the board needed to fit just right, or casualties would arise. The captain's hoof wrapped tightly around the glaive, his brow furrowed as his golden eyes burned into the red orbs of the encroaching nature beasts.

It took a minute, but everypony was in position at their designated camps, with two guards keeping an eye on the elements at a time. When the group at the captain’s camp opened the hole in the barrier, two wolves poured in. Gnashing teeth, claws scratching up earth, and a mindset befitting a homicidal maniac. Their attempts to adjust themselves were halted by a barrage of golden blasts from the unicorn guards on either side of the barrier entrance. Birch charred, sizzling under the intense heat of the militarized magic beating down upon them.

Their howls of pain rang out with blackened smoke rising into the night air in thick columns of black. They regained footing and made a lunge for the closest mage only for them to be pierced in the skull by a golden spear. The head of which plunged through the beast’s skull and out the back with a series of loud cracks. One last swing of the golden spear shattered the wolf into a pile of smoldering timber, resting alongside the second who received a similar fate.

None would have time to prepare as three more leapt over the piles of burning timber. They smashed into the solid wall of Canterlot guardsponies. Each stallion or mare refused to move, standing side by side with the fortitude and mentality of a stone wall. Behind them the supports were casting reinforcement magic, giving the guard’s armor a shimmering blue glow signifying their enhanced durability. Mages blasted at the hounds both inside and outside formation ring.

The ones that were roasting received a firm smack or stab with the spear. Poking, stabbing, and whacking until their targets were nothing more than piles of glowing embers. Everything was going fine until one of the breaching hounds leapt onto one of their kin, then launched OVER the formation of guards. It’s stone paws lashed out at the closest support unicorn who let out a loud scream. The mare flinched, expecting a painful end to befall her, yet it never came.

That's because the birch hound was lifted from the ground in a purple telekinetic aura, hovering its thrashing form inches from the unicorn’s pale muzzle. Princess Twilight Sparkle stood tall behind her, wings spread, horn lit with a blinding lavender light. Sweat trickled down her brow as she concentrated on moving the beast away from ponies. “Applejack! A little help please!” She called out, keeping her horn trained on the beast.

“Ah’m on it Twi!” Applejack was working on her own opponent, smashing her back hooves into another one of the birch monsters that had leapt over the main wall of guards. The beast was sent back into the pit with its kin, being lit up for its troubles by arcane fire. Galloping towards Twilight, she would slide, pivoting on both forehooves to turn beneath the amethyst aura containing the splintery beast.

Twilight timed her release causing the momentum that the monster had been using to pounce followed through. However it was simply fated to receive a gnarly buck into its chest by Applejack’s hind legs. *CRACK* There was a rippling shockwave from the cowfolk’s strike center mass into the beast’s beating core. Its durable body rather than being launched back into the ring of death with the rest of its attacking forces exploded in a geyser of sap, twigs, bark, and purple slime. It was like a garbage bag full of maple syrup being smacked with a sledgehammer.

“Captain! Camp 2 is being overwhelmed! Formation is breaking!” One of the Pegasus guards flew overhead, hovering over Smolder Spear. Her helmet was streaked with purple slop, viscera from the heated battle observed below. He looked to her with a firm expression, and without hesitation he galloped through the barrier without resistance, glaive floating in his telekinetic grasp.

The distance between camps wasn’t too far, a good 133 yards out, the purple distress flames lighting up the forest around them. Shadows danced, howls echoed off the endless sea of trees, and combat shook the grand woods. The captain could sense the encroaching wolves who had broken off from the camp he had just left and the camp ahead. They saw him as easy pickings, a ground pony who had left the safety of the magical bulwark protecting camp, however that was far from the case.

Smolder’s horn shimmered with hot white light as the dual bladed glaive became imbued with the heat of Celestia’s scorching sun. Flames gushed from the red hot metal of his glaive blades, an unimpeded barrage of his powerful magic flowing intricately through the weapon. He moved through the enemies like water through a bed of stones, his voice coming loud and proud.

“Solar Swansong!”

Those who could see watched in amazement as the royal captain danced through the hounds, his blade twirling in wide arching swipes, never stopping its graceful movement. It looked as if he were creating streaks of white and orange within the air itself, leaving dazzling trails in his wake. He would jump over the blade would it ever come close to his constantly moving hooves, allowing him to maintain his pole arm blade’s continuous state of movement.

The molten hot blade would cleave through the hounds left and right, effortlessly slicing through and through as if they were made of jello. Their wooden armor stood no chance against the might of the sun, ceasing their regenerative properties by boiling their cores the moment they were cut through. Seconds after a cleave the orange marks that comprised the cuts would cause the beasts to combust in a spectacular shower of sparks and ash.

Another hound from afar retracted the wooden spikes on its back, opening its jaw wide with the inner mouth lighting up a sickly green. In a jaw dropping display the beast fired a hail of glowing green shards. This forced the captain to redirect his Swansong, twirling the blade rapidly like a propeller to deflect the green shards. It easily burned them seconds after they encroached upon his weapon’s smoldering aura. With a single arcing slice the hound was cleaved in two directly down the center.

Leaping onto a log he would gallop and jump off on top of a birch hound that had breached through the second camp’s defenses towards the ordered kill funnel. His magic twirled and impaled the beast through its stomach, pinning it up against the shimmering barrier. The energy from it roasted its back, combined with the molten blade boiling its insides. It burst into a volatile slurry, with some of the sticky hot sap splattering across Smolder’s cheek.

When he surveyed the camp he could see that the C shaped formation of camp 2 had been broken up at the center, with an overflow of the birch hounds amassing. All of them were piling on top of one singular guardpony trying his best to push them off. Behind the guard Rarity stood her ground much to the stallion’s amusement.

Her magic was working into overtime, binding hounds in rather garish looking dresses from her own personal luggage. Even the young drake was doing his best to help out, spewing lethal green flames upon the monsters that were bound by the glittering mare. It would have brought a smile to the Captian's face it the circumstances were different.

The element of laughter, the questionable pink ball of energy whipped about the battlefield, disturbingly quick on the draw for a party mare. She had no grace, nor organization with her technique, she simply whacked the hounds that got close to her friend’s with an oversized mallet. The beasts would become nothing more than splintered piles of purple, white, and brown mush with the giant hammer between her teeth.

With each wolf felled, the pressure was alleviated ever so slightly. The mass of wolves within the kill circle were growing more restless, getting closer and closer to breaking the full formation protecting the camp core. Standing at the center of the C formation, Smolder raised his glaive with both hooves. Harnessing all the magic he could into the bottom blade he roared the incantation aloud. “May the scorching rays consume my enemies SOLAR BURST!”

The captain violently plunged the blade into the earth, releasing the pent up magic into a vicious shockwave of blinding light, heat, and power. Golden flames swirled around him, expanding outwards like an inverted vortex. The wolves attempting to climb over one another to get over the guards were vaporized in an instant, not even leaving a single flake of ash behind. Even the smoldering remains were consumed within the captain’s power. This was the true power of a Magus, and the iron hoof of Celestia’s royal guard.

The blast left a sun shaped burn in the dirt, constantly expanding outward with Smolder standing at its center. Sweat trickled down his brow, causing him to let loose a puff of steam. His little light show and rapid expulsion of heat was enough to spook the rest of the attacking hounds. They ran off into the forest with their leafy tails tucked between their legs, nursing wounds. Their once organized pack tactics were irreparably damaged, and that’s what unnerved the captain so much.

These things weren't normal timberwolves, they were smarter, faster, and admittedly more durable. If there weren’t any heavy hitters like Miss Applejack, or Miss Pinkamena, his spear stallions needed to take multiple stabs at a time in order to even breach the layers of birch bark, vine muscles, and rock to inflict lasting damage. Speaking of, they even managed to regenerate quicker than the old timberwolves. It made it nigh impossible to kill them unless they were set ablaze or their cores were damaged.

“Second lieutenant Twinkles! Status report!”

The male Pegasus flew down from above, wings fluffed and puffed open to reveal the sap soaked blades integrated between his primary flight feathers. “Sir, we have a total of 15 injured, 2 in critical, and...one dying…sir, a support mage, he is asking for your presence at camp 1.” He looked down at the earth, his big eyes closing with an unnerved expression on his face.

Smolder’s eyes widened and he gradually made it back onto all four hooves, using his glaive as a support to stand tall once again. He went from a low hobble to a full gallop back towards the leading camp, his breathing heavy as he leapt over logs, crunched branches, and crushed dead leaves. His heart was throbbing in his armor more and more the closer he reached the site. Huddled in a tent surrounded by his fellow support mages was a unicorn stallion. His body was covered in blood, from ears to hooves he had been riddled with wooden steaks, many effortlessly striking through his enchanted cloak.

“S-Sir…these wooden spikes, they are nullifying our healing magic…we can’t!-”

Beside the fallen troop, various wooden steaks were removed from his body. The tips were coated with a glowing green aura similar to that of the birch beast Smolder dealt with. The various other support mages desperately attempted to remove the rest of the oversized splinters, wrapping healing bandages around the wounds.

Yet for some reason they wouldn’t close even in the slightest. “Sir…I…Is the princess…safe? Did…I-I do good sir…?” The unicorn choked out, his breaths shallow and wheezy. He coughed a thick stream of blood off to the side, curling slightly as the medics tried desperately to keep his body still.

Smolder slowly removed his centurion helm, gently setting it to his side along with his weapon. His golden locks of messy mane dropped into his eyes which he promptly brushed aside. The captain kneeled beside his soldier, gently placing a hoof on his shoulder. “You did good colt…what's your name soldier…?” He asked softly, his hardened expression wavering to one of absolute calmness.

“It’s…nggkk…Rolling Gaze…I…I don’t look good huh…captain sir…ngg..I feel so cold…so…cold. Sir…I’m scared…I-I” Rolling Gaze shuddered, his head falling back to stare up at the ceiling of the tent. His chest moved up and down, slower, and slower, with blood pushing through the glowing white bandages. From outside a mare entered the tent, her long, soft, silken mane drooping over one side of her face.

Rolling Gaze would slowly direct his eyes lazily towards the new pony who had come to him in his final hours. He could feel it, the gentle hooves cradling his smaller form, her soft feathers wrapping around him in an almost motherly embrace. He even felt the warm tears splashing down onto his cheeks from those beautiful eyes. Fluttershy, a mare of great kindness embraced the fallen colt, running a single hoof gently through his mane which had been caked from the fresh blood.

In that gentle moment…she would begin to sing, sing with all of her heart, letting it fill the grim atmosphere with a sense of peace. Everypony would close their eyes, losing themselves to the music.

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li lai-lay

Lay down your head and I'll sing you a lullaby

Back to the years of loo-li lai-lay

And I'll sing you to sleep and I'll sing you tomorrow

Bless you with love for the road that you go

May you sail far to the far fields of fortune

With diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet

And may you need never to banish misfortune

May you find kindness in all that you meet

May there always be angels to watch over you

To guide you each step of the way

To guard you and keep you safe from all harm

Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

May you bring love and may you bring happiness

Be loved in return to the end of your days

Now fall off to sleep, I'm not meaning to keep you

I'll just sit for a while and sing loo-li, lai-lay

May there always be angels to watch over you

To guide you each step of the way

To guard you and keep you safe from all harm

Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li lai-lay

Loo-li, lai-lay

The stallion starred up, his eyes welling up with tears as he listened to the gentle tones, filling his dying body with a sense of true peace. Gaze’s bloodied lips parted into a small smile, letting his voice call out one last time to the shaken ponies present.

“I…feel…warm….”

The unicorns finished wrapping their dead brother in arms within a preserving bag, after gently removing the spikes from his bloodied body. He along with two others who had passed were loaded into the carts far back. Nopony could sleep that night, not a wink, especially Twilight, who stood beside the captain looking up at the gaps between the trees, to see the stars.

“It's…all my fault, if I didn’t insist on staying here to camp, we probably wouldn’t have been ambushed like that. My ignorance and selfish desires for research lead to the deaths of three good ponies…” Twilight said softly, her eyes glazed over as she continued to stare blankly up at the sky. Captain Smolder said nothing for a moment, letting the hot air of the Everfree blow his long mane to the side.

“No princess, this is my own fault…as Captain of the Solar Guard, it is my duty to make sure those brave stallions and mares make it back home. It is my duty that they get to live and see another beautiful cycle beneath our glorious princess’s sun and moon.” The captain sat, picking up his helmet in both hooves he looked it over, his reflection barely visible in the golden sheen of the metal. Slowly he raised it in both hooves, letting it snuggly rest back on his head, with his magic tucking his mane back inside.

“When we stand tall princess, we know the risks, every day is a battle for us guards…and in a battle there will be casualties…it is my job as their leader to minimize those casualties. We haven't had a stallion or mare die in the line of duty for 500 years. When it is all said and done I will have to be the one to look those stallion’s loved ones in the eyes and tell them. I will lead the march for their glorious sacrifice in the name of the royal family, they will be remembered as they were…heroes.” The captain gripped his weapon, slowly making his way away from Twilight, could only stare up at the stars, a single tear rolling down her fuzzy cheek.

‘In a battle…there will be casualties…’

Author's Note

Another chapter done! I added a little music this time! Hope you all enjoyed!