My hooves ache as I trudge across the barren plains, the afternoon sun bearing down mercilessly upon my weary company. We have marched for days with little rest, always chasing the shadows of the griffin armies but never quite catching them. It seems they wish to drag this conflict out as long as possible, bleeding our forces dry through attrition before deliverng the final killing blow.
Our numbers have dwindled significantly since first encountering the invaders' forces a moon past. What was once a regiment of over a hundred strong ponies has been whittled away gradually with each skirmish, engagement and ambush along our frontier. Now, no more than three dozen ponies remain under my command - if one can still call us that in our broken state.
As I glance over my shoulder at the stragglers struggling to keep pace across the barren terrain, I cannot help but notice how gaunt and hollowed their faces have become. Dark circles ring dull, sunken eyes that no longer shine with vigor or passion, only a resigned fatigue. Coats once lush and healthy have taken on an ashen tone, manes unkempt and matted. These are no longer the proud soldiers I had marched beside for so long; merely shells of ponies trudging forward out of sheer force of habit rather than will.
My own condition cannot be much better, though I fear to glimpse my reflection in whatever sparse water sources we happen upon. The muscles beneath my coat have wasted away to nothing through lack of proper sustenance, my abdomen painfully concave. Only sheer determination and duty keep me pushing forward each day, reminding myself that as long as a single pony under my command still draws breath, I cannot falter or show weakness. We are all that stands now between the marauding Griffin hordes and the innocents sheltered within Equestria’s borders.
As the sun dips below the cracked, parched landscape, painting the skies in fiery shades of orange and crimson, I call a halt to our march. Weapons are wearily unslung and stacked in a disorganized pile as my soldiers -no, my family- collapse where they stand, too fatigued even for setting up the meager protections of a campsite.
My trained eye assesses their conditions with a sinking heart. Private Second Class Daisy has developed a nasty cough these past few days that worries me greatly, her breaths now coming in sharp wheezes. The gash across Sergeant Stronghoof’s barrel has festered angrily despite our attempts to staunch the bleeding, the skin around it an angry reddish-purple. And pale wisps of vapor escape Private Cloudchaser’s nostrils with each exhale; her fever has risen once more.
None may survive the night if things continue thus. And with no medical supplies or provisions remaining, my hooves are tied uselessly. A Captain ought to be able to remedy such issues and lift spirits! But I have never felt so powerless, so wretchedly inadequate for the task set before me.
As I move amongst my charges, checking bindings and offering what few herbs and remedies remain from our stores, I hear them speaking in hushed, resigned tones when they believe themselves unheard. Speculation on chances of reinforcement or rescue have long since given way to quiet acceptance of one grim certainty - that unless some miracle transpires upon the morrow, this may be the last night any of us gaze upon the stars.
I dare not linger to listen, for fear the fragile walls shielding my own crumbling resolve might crack beyond repair if I heed their despairing whispers overlong. Instead I focus my energy on ensuring everypony is as comfortable and orderly as circumstances allow before taking up the first watch, alone with my troubled thoughts as the night deepens around our camp.
Somewhere beyond the vast, empty plains, the Griffins no doubt rest and recover their strength for the next clash, nurtured by replenishing supplies. Yet here we wane with each passing hour, flesh and spirit drawn thin by privation until soon there will be naught remaining to cling to but memories of better days. How I wish for but a glimpse of home again...of green, verdant fields and laughing foals without a care for the world outside their borders.
But that life seems ever more a fleeting dream as the cold stars shine down, indifferent witnesses to our ebbing flame. I can only pray that if this night proves our last beneath their light, some remnant of our sacrifice may echo through the ages and protect our homeland from a similar fate. For if Equestria falls, all of this would have been for naught.
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The sharp crack of talons meeting chitin echoed across the plains as two figures clashed, beaks snapping and claws raking for purchase. I struggled to regain my hooves, lungs heaving for breath as I watched Sergeant Stronghoof grapple fiercely with the griffin soldier pinning him.
It had been a standard morning's march, our company wearily trudging onward as the rising sun cast our lengthening shadows across the barren dust. No hint or warning presaged the ambush - one moment all was calm, the next the horizon erupted in a swarm of avian forms descending upon our flank. Talons and beaks flashed in the sunlight, hungry for Equestrian flesh.
I recall bellowing orders, some obscured part of my mind detachedly noting how hoarse and ragged my voice sounded even to my own ears. "Form up, defensive line! Flank left, hold them off!" My hooves worked independent of conscious thought, muscle memory guiding me through the well-practiced drills as my soldiers moved into position.
Blades sang as they were drawn, the ringing tones a portent of violence to come. My mare companions stood resolute alongside stallions twice their size, faces set in grim determination despite the fear surely gripping their hearts. These were no mere soldiers following orders - they were a family who had lived, bled and grieved together for moons without end in sight, bonded by shared suffering into something far greater.
The first crash came as our lines met in a chaos of feathers, fur and flashing steel. A great golden eagle plunged from the sky directly at me, talons extended for the kill. I rolled aside just in time, coming up with my blade lashing out to spill its guts upon the earth. But for every griffin felled, it seemed two more appeared to take its place.
All around was a blur of motion and color, punctuated by guttural cries and clangs of combat. From the corner of my vision I saw Daisy struggling beneath the weight of two smaller griffin soldiers. With a snarl I charged, barreling into them and bearing my comrades safely away. A savage peck took a chunk from my shoulder but I ignored the sear of pain, whirling to kick the aggressor square in the avian breast.
Somehow we held our perimeter, steadily pushing back the ambush with disciplined strikes and teamwork. But casualties mounted on both sides as the battle raged, and my soldiers began to tire. It was then I spotted Stronghoof grappling with the towering griffin captain, both badly wounded but unrelenting. Seeing him in peril lit a fire in my veins, banishing fatigue. With a thunderous war cry I slammed into the pair, locking talons and beak in a desperate bid to pull the sergeant free.
Slowly our strength prevailed, my comrades rallying to aid in dislodging the beast. With an almighty heave we separated them, and I smashed the hilt of my blade into its temple with a sickening crunch. Its body crashed limply to the dust.
Breathing heavily, I turned to appraise the sergeant's wounds. Three parallel gashes rent his barrel, dripping crimson onto the parched earth. His breathing came in shallow rasps yet determination still burned bright in his eyes. "Thank you...captain. I owe you...my life."
A grim smile pulled at my muzzle. "Consider it payback for all the times you've dragged my sorry flank back from the brink, stronghoof. Now let's see to binding those cuts before you repay the deed."
Our laughter was cut short by a mournful cry from Cloudchaser. My heart sank as I followed her gaze to a still form nearby, blue coat stained darker than the clouded sky she was named for. Her brother Thunderbolt lay broken, wings bent at unnatural angles where he had shielded a young unicorn from the murderous talons.
His eyes found mine as I knelt at his side, unfocused yet pleading. "Captain...look after...her for me." A shuddering breath, and the light faded from his gaze. I drew Cloudchaser into my side, letting her sobbing frame convulse against me as private grief overtook public duty. A squad gathered around us, joined in solemn vigil for their lost comrade.
That was the first of many deaths, though none cut quite so deeply as losing the spirited pegasus and watching his twin succumb to inconsolable despair. In the aftermath, I organized retrieval of our fallen and tended wounds in grim silence. My company hung their heads, shadows crossing once cheerful faces.
A flutter of wings drew my eye, where a young griffin soldier hovered over Thunderbolt's corpse - not in threat, but as if drawn by some unseen impulse. Pain and sorrow had leeched the savagery from fierce features, an expression of mournful recognition replacing the usual hostility. Our eyes met, and I saw in their golden depths an echo of my own anguish.
At that moment, the boundaries between us seemed to blur. For I realized we all bled the same, grieved the same, and would fight with equal ferocity to protect those we held dear yet might never see again. We were not so different, griffin and pony, brought low by the base machinations of power-mad leaders. And I wondered - had circumstances been different, could we have found comradery where now only carnage reigned?
The griffin lingered a moment more, laying a feather upon Thunderbolt's breast in some final rite or homage, then winged away without a backwards glance. I was left questioning all I had been taught of our supposed enemies, and what cruelties lay ahead before this long war finally ran its bitter course.
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Twilight's gleam peeked hesitantly over the horizon, her silver glow a pale imitation of her usual radiance. No stars accompanied her ascent, obscured by a veil of particles suspended heavy in the lifeless air. The entire plains seemed leached of vibrance or beauty, merely a barren staging ground for death's grim dominion.
I sat apart from the listless heap that was my company, hooves folded and eyes downcast. Sleep had eluded me once more, plagued as I was by memories that would not loosen their taloned grip upon my mind. Thunderbolt's empty eyes stared at me from within the depths of my psyche, mingling with other faces I had failed to save. Their accusing gazes followed me even into waking hours, sapping what little strength and will remained.
My charcoals scratched dirt idly, tracing familiar outlines in a craven bid to distract from the turmoil within. But it was no use - each sketch reanimated old friends to leer judgementally once more. With a wordless cry I tore the crude portraits to bits, then stood shivering on the brink of some unnamed precipice within.
What more could I give that had not already been rendered? My pound was near empty, spirit broken, yet still this accursed conflict demanded more bodies to feed its insatiable maw. When had my duty transformed from protection of the innocent into mere sustenance for slaughter? Was I now so devoid of sense or self that I could not see my troops were being marched purposefully to ruin through my flawed lead?
Dark thoughts swirled cold and thick as the dust-filled winds, preying mercilessly upon crumbling edges of cognition. I began to question all - past glories which now seemed hollow falsehoods, comrades who surely despised the wretch leading them to doom, a cause which bled Equestria dry while champions fell nameless and forgotten.
Perhaps it would be kinder to simply lay down my blade, abandon this mockery of command, and let the Griffin onslaught deliver the coup de grace my ragged company so desperately sought. At least then the anguish rending my being to fragments would find surcease, and I need no longer face the accusing, pleading eyes that haunted my sleep.
A distant cough stirred me from the maelstrom, reality returning in jarring fragments. Daisy hacked wretchedly behind feeble wings, rib bones stark against thinning flesh. Her fever raged yet higher, life ebbing with each pained exhalation. Spark snapped back into my limbs - she required aid this company could no longer give alone.
With a steadying breath I gathered what scraps of medical training lingered, then set swiftly to examine her. But there was little to be done; infection had taken root too deeply, her reserves spent. As dawn’s first rays peeked over the shifting line where sky met deadened plains, her labored breaths ceased. I could only close her eyes gently, taking her hoof in mine as tears carved cleansing tracks down my muzzle.
Another friend lost to this senseless cause. Another flame extinguished before its time, guttering out in squalor and privation while this once verdant land turned to desert around us. How many more must wither thus before some shred of mercy shows its face again? Each death multiplied the weight upon my soul tenfold, dragging me ever downward into the abyss’ waiting maw.
A distant rumble drew me from morbid reverie, sending a lance of dread through my core though I scarce knew why. Clouds gathered swift upon the horizon, obliterating all but a narrow band of blue directly overhead. An omen, perhaps - though of what nature remained unclear. All I knew was a prescience of impending change, for good or ill. And that we could not endure much more before being swept utterly away.
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The gloom gathered apace as our company marched beneath malignant skies. Darkness crept sluggishly inward, smothering the sinking sun. An eerie half-light prevailed where visibility should have reigned, casting all in a pall of shadow and specter.
An oppressive tension hung heavier than the clouds above, borne upon an unnatural stillness that infected even the arid winds. Not a breath of life stirred across thefeatureless marches, the entire plain holding its collective breaths in wait of some dread portent.
Ahead, indigo gave way to an impenetrable inkiness like the depths of the Everfree itself had been sucked upwards to devour the heavens. Strange lights flickered within its turbulent murk, nebulous phantasms dancing just beyond comprehension. Their eldritch glow limned the shroud's crawling approach with a terrible majesty that sent unease prickling across my coat.
Something was coming.
I called halt beneath a lone, gnarled tree jutting starkly from the ashes, its bare branches like talons grasping vainly at the growing void above. My soldiers turned haunted eyes skyward, shadows dancing queerly across gaunt features. An unspoken consensus hummed thickly between us - this would be our final redoubt, come what may.
Weapons were readied with clumsy, trembling limbs as the aberration swelled to fill the firmament. Gusts moaned dissonantly through twisted boughs, bringing snatches of an ominous dirge we dared not name. Time slowed to a crawl, suspending us upon the cusp of fate's decrees.
Then impact, with a force that shook the very earth. Darkness slammed down as a physical mass, engulfing the plain in a roiling maelstrom too thick to penetrate. Choking dust was whipped into a frenzy, flaying exposed flesh. I could barely make out the panicked forms of my soldiers through the sand-filled hysteria, all order lost.
We battled to stay hooves the torrent raking mercilessly across exposed coats and manes. Eyes stung blindly, breaths choked on grit. Still the howling din increased, growing outside all comprehension or sanity. Within moments we were reduced to beasts striking out mindlessly against the elements' savagery.
Time lost all meaning as the maelstrom raged eternal. Beaten and buffeted, I scrabbled against the dust-laden gales, blindly seeking purchase or comrade. But hooves found naught but more ravaged earth sliding loose beneath. My voice went hoarse calling names swept away upon the shrieking winds.
Slowly awareness fractured, particles of self scattering into the merciless void. Memories surfaced and fragmented upon the unforgiving currents, identity stripped harshly to base instincts alone. Survival became the single, primal urge - to endure, to resist being swept into oblivion no matter the cost.
Sight returned in fits, glimpses between dust-stinging lashes. Twisted silhouettes rose and plunged within the shrouded Pandemonium, barely identifiable as pony, griffin or other. They slammed and scrabbled against each other and the howling maelstrom, fighting both the raging storm and one another with tooth and talon.
Reason had long since fled, leaving only basest violence to fill the void. Perhaps this was what war truly meant - not honed tactics or glory, but descent into madness and slaughter bereft of meaning or purpose. A cycle eternal of feast and famine, reducing all to animals warring endlessly over scraps beneath uncaring skies.
As the world dissolved around me into chaos tangible and consciousness alike, one thought alone prevailed through the tempest's din - that for this to be war's truth, there could be no return from the abyss. Here, in the blind and bloody throes of fate's maelstrom, our struggle would end.
