Many of them.
Many enemies were strewn out across the land, covering the map in front of a massive stallion. His hardened eyes traced along the lines and curvatures and words. To an untrained eye, they would have just been the names of towns and points of interest. But to a commander, they were losses, chances, possible victories, and the multitude of probable hostile locations.
The enemies were all over the east and north. They had come so suddenly, offering barely enough time to even raise an alarm. From cracks in the earth the monstrosities spewed. Nothing but death and carnage followed in their wake.
The sound of fluttering curtains drew his attention away from the portrait of the land and up to his large weapon in front of him, mounted on the wall in its rustic glory. It had been custom made from their allies, the more technologically inclined gryphons. Heavy and extremely durable, it had taken many beatings and marks. Its strong frame had begun to show cracks from the battles it aided in. The blade had grown dull and stained red in its edge.
A thin pegasus mare appeared in the doorway, casting a shadow over the back of the stallion. Celestia’s light had dropped to late afternoon, hanging above the horizon. The small structure’s entrance was positioned to point squarely west. He knew at what time they would arrive.
“Sir, the enemy forces have been sighted.” The mare was adorned in light armor. Small plates were positioned to protect her neck, chest, legs, and back. Her golden hair shined in the light before the curtain fell back to its lazy position, draining all streams of the day away. Only the illumination of a lantern that sat on the table danced in the room. Odd, flickering shapes sprawled along the walls and reflected in her eyes and on the metal of her outfit.
“And our troops?” the stallion responded. His voice was strong and worn from his time; he starting to grow old and out of his prime. His head didn’t move from its fixated spot as he continued eyeing the large metallic object. Its steel mirrored the flame and revealed to him all of the scars it had taken. Scratches, gashes, chips and cracks were all visible in the ever shifting flame.
“Prepared. We have received our shipment and are arming them now. All have been accounted for.”
“Good work, Glory.” A barely visible smile appeared on the leader’s mouth. The pegasus had always been his favorite. Though he never showed it, she had held a spot in his toughened heart. Perhaps he had grown soft after meeting her in the ranks. If he has, he would make up for it.
“Permission to speak, sir?” Glory’s face held a stoic mask but it began to falter and crack under worry.
“Permission granted.”
She took a step closer then stood in a trained stance before speaking; “Truthfully, do you think that we could defeat them?” Her voice that was normally light and airy turned deep, heavy with uneasiness. This got a sigh from the stallion and he pivoted around in his spot to look at her.
When he walked closer to stop only a few feet away, the difference between them was very obvious. Glory herself was barely half his size. Even though he was a pegasus like her, he sported extremely large and powerful wings. Most of the time they remained folded back in place.
“I do not think that we can stand a chance against them.” The leader knew that his words wouldn’t assure the troubled mare in front of him, but he was going to be honest with her. “These demons had slaughtered so many of our kind in their uprising. Many other warriors have fought to keep them away, but they were just... rolled over.”
Sadness had befallen Glory’s face and she tilted her head down. “But, we are a massive force that is to be reckoned with. Many of us had been trained by the highest ranking guards of Celestia’s own Royal Guard.”
The mare was still sulking. His gaze softened and his voice grew gentler. “I know that you are worried about your child, Glory, but she is safe at the castle with Celestia. All ponies have been grouped up in Canterlot.”
He turned back to his table and weapon. The flame had grown serene and still in the room. “As being one of the last few defenses before the Royal Guard, we must do our duty. Not just for Celestia, but for all of our kind. To avenge our fallen and the ones that shall soon fall in battle. They deserve the honor of having the vile creatures taken out in their names.”
The stallion looked back at the pegasus after a few moments of silence. “You are excused.” She turned and walked out. Glory puffed up and tried to maintain the stoic look of a soldier, even though she couldn’t help but think about her sorrows.
Once the sunlight from the waving tapestry was shut out he moved over to a rack of heavy armor. His armor. It was darkened and severely unpolished in its lackluster state. Dents and slices decorated it. Originally, he was offered a flashy set from the Guard, but he refused it. A leader does not put himself above his soldiers but rather joins them. At least, that’s what he thought.
After he equipped and secured his plain but robust suit of defense he took down his mighty weapon. A massive double headed axe that still held its strength and grace despite being worn down.
With a single flap of his wings, the lantern snuffed out.
It had begun.
Light blinded the stallion as he exited his structure. Being in a candle lit room for long periods of time tends to do that. It never bothered him though since he could just continue out and not have any problems.
He stepped down the short dirt path that lead from his tent to the would-be battlefield. With a last, hard step he stopped and looked over his soldiers, his gear clanking and jingling from the force.
They were put into sections and groups, separating the individual kinds that he controlled. Unicorns, with their magical abilities stayed off to his left side. Pegasi, with their flying ability and quick agility were to his right. The staple fighting force, the earth ponies, were in front of him. All of them had been geared up with armor that fit them best along with weaponry that fit as well. The earth ponies had the best and most gear, consisting of massive plated armor and chain mail with a large round shield for defense; swords and spears were their weapons.
Under the large stallion’s gaze he could tell that many of them, mostly being young and new recruits, were uneasy. Whether it was the sight of him in armor with a great axe on his back or the fact that they’ll be in war within minutes that scared them, he could not tell.
He took another hard, quaking step forward then put himself into an appropriate stance. Now was the time for his trained Royal Equestrian Voice. He had been taught it upon reaching his commanding rank. While it is hard for a non-unicorn to use it, since it requires magic to boost the user’s voice, he had taken a more simple approach to it but got about the same audibility. He yelled.
“Soldiers!” his voice boomed and shook the ground directly around him. Any of the ponies who weren’t paying that much attention certainly had their focus locked on him now. “You are here to protect and defend our home, to keep these demons from slaughtering our loved ones!”
He picked up and slammed a hoof down at the end of his words then spun on the spot, turning sideways and slowly walking to the side. “For you soldiers who have them still around, they have all been round up and are secured in Canterlot. For the ones who don’t have any around, then I must ask you to fight in the name of your friends, your brothers, your sisters, who still have them.”
The leader turned on spot again and reversed his path. “These damned infernal beasts shall know the fear of ruining our lives! For cutting us down and giving no quarter!” His voice roared louder in emphasis at what their enemies did. “But we shall give them no quarter, either!”
He pivoted around and returned to his original place in the very middle in front of his forces. His eyes scanned the closest row of soldiers. An earth pony slightly towards his left muttered something softly.
“You there!” he pointed his armored hoof at the colt who jumped in surprise. “What did you say?”
“I-uh, um... asked... Celestia for help?”
The leader sprang forward and slammed down in front of the scared earth pony. He fell backwards and tried to crawl away in fear from the massive pegasus.
“Fool! Do you not think that protecting the ones who can’t help is enough!” He smacked his front right hoof down and made the ground crack under the force. Many other ponies nearby shuddered away. “You do not ask what the Princess can do for you! You ask what you can do for her!”
His fiery eyes turned up and looked over the rest of the soldiers. “Who else is scared like a filly!” Almost nopony dared to say anything or even flinch. Eventually, one hoof was raised at the back of the pegasi crowd. He could tell that the mare who raised the hoof was frightened of what might happen.
He made one strong stroke of his wings and flew back up to his spot in front and above the others. Once again, the stallion landed with a hard hit.
“You soldiers have nothing to fear! The only fear you should contain is the fear of not bringing enough of those demons down!” He took off his massive axe and dropped it in front of him. It crashed down with a ruckus of clanging steel. “For every single pony they have killed, we shall bring at least twice that amount down back to the depths of hell from which they came! There is no pardoning! There is no QUARTER!”
He took a leap forward and made the front row of the earth ponies rear back. “Set a goal! For every single pony that you’ve seen run down, for every single loved one that you’ve lost, set a goal! Take down at least twice the amount!”
Stepping back, he shot his rear leg out and struck the hilt of his axe. It flew up in a spin but only came crashing down a moment later. The blade was buried deep within the rock to his side. “If you’ve seen four die, then take eight! If you’ve seen ten die, take twenty! If you have seen fifty die, then take A HUNDRED!”
A few ponies had a slight questioning look upon their faces but it was quickly taken away as he answered. “I have seen many, many ponies die in front of my eyes when the demon spawn came. And you know how many I’m going to be taking?” He paused for a few seconds. “As many as I damn well can!”
The stallion’s voice was slowly turning raspy and tired from his yelling. He instantly turned his head and pointed a hoof again at the original pony he landed in front of. “You!” The pony jumped again. “Do you not think that you are properly equipped for this war?”
He looked like he was going to say something, but stayed quiet. The stallion leader snorted and took off his armor, much to the crowd’s amazement. He threw the armor to the feet of the earth pony, who looked at him oddly.
“If you do not think that you are equipped properly, then take my armor!” He then bit the shaft of his axe and threw it, tearing it from its new foundation in the rock. It narrowly managed to miss the pony’s hoof and sank its deadly blade securely in the ground.
“If need be, I shall go without protection or weapons! I shall still kill as many as needed to repay the blood debt that they owe!” The soldiers raised their heads and now had an aura of bravery. “Fight, my brethren! Fight not only in the name of Celestia, but in the name of all who have fallen!
“We will not let these beasts kill the defenseless! We will not let them past us! We will not let them continue their rampage! Instead, we will bury them back in hell! They shall know the meaning of fear, for once they meet us in the battlefield, our blades will sink down into their forsaken souls and tear them from this land!”
A loud praise came from his troops. He looked to his side at Glory who had flown in.
“Sir, the enemies are over the horizon and coming fast.”
The clamor from his soldiers grew silent. The stallion was laughing in the face of death.
“Did you hear that they are coming?” His voice raised back up to its loudest. “The enemies don’t know what they’re messing with! With Celestia’s light at our backs, we will defeat and pulverize these monstrosities!” He raised his hoof and got another loud cheer from his soldiers.
“What will we give?” he yelled at his troops. Every single one of them held fire in their eyes and strong will in their mind. Some had wicked grins while others smiled with their patriotism. Every single pony brandished their weapons and held them high, yelling out two words in response to their commander.
“NO QUARTER!”
