It had already been several hours since we departed from Canterlot. The 10th S.P.D kept at the front, as they had an easier time maneuvering. Behind them was the 5th R.I, and behind them were the 12th U.A.
We had kept a steady pace the entire time, as we didn't know how much longer the 3rd Armored could hold out. With the intel we had and constant scouting, we determined that we were about 2 days from the border if we didn't stop. And that was exactly what Arch planned on doing.
He kept everypony moving, all the time. He didn't want to lose anymore lives than we were already losing. Our objective was to push the dragon's advance back. His objective was to save the ponies that were out there fighting. I understood how he felt, but like he said back in Canterlot, this is war.
After everything I've seen out in the field, I know you can't save everypony. No matter how much you tried, it just wasn't possible. It's either you fight or you try and save lives. Whichever you picked, somepony would die in the end. And he just couldn't stand that.
He has something he said from before I died. 'I'm not here to kill invaders. I'm here to save the country being invaded. And I plan on doing so by saving as many ponies as I can.' He stayed true to that, no matter what.
As we passed by the burned and destroyed towns in our path, he always ordered we search for survivors. If we found anypony alive, he gave them food and water. He then showed them the direction of the nearest town or patrol. If we found the dead, he would bury them himself.
Some of the ponies said he was an amazing pony, and even a better General, for doing these things. Others called him soft,said that he was wasting his time doing all those things. Me, I just let him do what he felt he needed to. I wasn't one to judge, as I had things that I did that I felt I needed to.
Whether he had demons from his past haunting him, or they were just his morals, he always did what he could to save lives. Even if it almost killed him.
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A day had passed with nothing eventful happening. We got maybe 3 miles from the hill that the 3rd Armored was supposed to be holding out. It had taken a lot of persuasion to get Arch to set up camp. He finally gave in, realizing that everypony was tired. He knew that you never go into battle with a tired army.
After sending scouts out to make contact with the 3rd, Arch came into my tent.
"Hey, how're you holding up?" He asked me.
I sighed. "You know, just because I'm in a new body doesn't mean I can't keep up with you. If anything, you probably couldn't keep up with me. I have yet to get tired throughout the entirety of this march."
He gave me a sheepish grin. "Yeah, sorry about that. Anyways, I need you to do me a favor."
"And what would that be?" I said, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing too big. I just need you to keep an eye on the soldiers. Some of them are getting pretty riled up. They didn't like being moved into a new unit, especially one with me as a General."
"That's it?" I asked. "Alright I can do that. My question is why would they not want you as a General? You've led an army against numbers far greater than your own and came out on top."
"Well," He started, "Unless you've forgotten, I'm the youngest General in Equestrian history. I'm also considered one of the most reckless by some of the other Generals."
"Your age shouldn't be important. You're just as capable as any of the other Generals. The fact that they consider you reckless is probably on the account that you're the first into battle. Don't worry about what they think of you, you've done amazing considering the circumstances." I said.
"Yeah, you're right. Still, keep an eye on some of the ponies around here. Get some rest, tomorrow at dawn we're off to the battlefield." He said as he walked out of the tent.
I laid down, looking at the roof of the tent. Slowly, I drifted off to sleep.
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I opened my eyes to see that I was in a small field. I looked around and all I saw was a field for miles. After a while I saw Death approaching in the distance, and I started walking towards him.
Good evening, IronTrot.
"Same to you, Death. Is there something you need?" I asked.
Yes, I need to give you a warning about your upcoming battle. Many ponies are going to die tomorrow, IronTrot.
"Well of course ponies are going to die," I said in a serious tone, "This is war, we're going to have some casualties."
I am aware of that fact, but still, remain cautious. I feel there is more to this war that we believe.
"Alright, I'll keep on my guard. Anything else you need?" I said.
No, but you're about to be woken up. And from the sound of it, it's really important.
Suddenly Death and the field suddenly shot out of view and I was left in nothingness.
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"Legend! Wake up!" Yelled Arch.
I jolted awake and instantly rose to my hooves. "What's going on?" I asked.
"SwiftWing said the scouts are freaking out about something. They're too out of it to say, though. We need to go check for ourselves." He said.
We exited the tent and met up with SwiftWing and Aceymac, who were waiting outside.
"What exactly did the scouts see?" I asked.
SwiftWing turned and looked at a hill in the distance. "They're too much in shock to say. Whatever they saw, it's something we weren't expecting out here."
"Tell one of the runners to come with us," Arch said, "We don't know if we'll need to send word about it back to Canterlot."
After waiting for several minutes for the fastest message runner to arrive, we set off to the hill that SwiftWing had talked about. It was a large hill, and once at the base of it, it blocked the moon from our sight. We all hiked up it, so not to alert whatever was on the other side with the Pegasi flying around.
Once we reached the top we were all left with our jaws on the ground.
"Sweet mother of Celestia..." Was all Arch could say.
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There were stories within the dragon culture that said if all the Lords were to unite, they're strength could destroy entire nations. It was said that it had been done before and that it would be done again in the future. They never said against who they would unite, though.
In the past, from before there was Equestria, the dragons were all living alone. The Council had yet to be formed, and the Realm was not even known as the Realm. Their land was just the scorched earth that started at one point and ended at the other.
Then one day, a single dragon got into a fight with a group of diamond dogs. After a while, the dogs fell the lone dragon. News of the dragon's death spread quickly, and other dragons searched out the dogs in anger. When they found the group, several dragons wiped them out.
This was the day the Council was formed. This was the first time the dragons ever came together and fought together. They're ideas quickly changed from living alone and far from others to that of living in groups and having leaders.
In the years to come, the dragons' unity grew stronger and stronger. They went to war with other nations, and destroyed them in a matter of months. Their sheer numbers and size gave them huge advantages that nothing could overcome.
Eventually, they met the gryphons. When the dragons attempted to wipe them out as well, the gryphons fought back with everything they had. They had tactics and strategies that the dragons had never seen before. In less than a year, the two races were at a standstill.
When the King of the gryphons offered peace and a brotherhood forged in battle, the dragons accepted. Since that day, the dragons and gryphons had been allies. Never once were there conflicts, due to the respect the two races had grown for each other. Even today, this alliance stands strong.
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"You've got to be bucking kidding me!" Said Aceymac.
As we looked down from the hill, we say something horrible. We looked down at an army unlike any we had ever seen before. As far as the eye could see, there were dragons. Nothing but dragons.
"Runner! Send word to Canterlot now! Tell them that the dragons' offensive was larger than we had been told! There has got to be at least ten thousand of them!" Arch yelled.
The runner simply flew off at amazing speed, heading straight for the capitol. We all stayed and stared.
"What are supposed to do now?! We can't take on an army that size! We'll get slaughtered!" Yelled SwiftWing in panic.
"Calm down! We don't want to panic, that'll just make things worse. We need to head back to camp and tell the soldiers." I said.
"Are you crazy?! If we tell them we're outnumber two to one, they'll just panic!" He yelled back.
"Lieutenant Colonel, get a hold of yourself!" Arch yelled. "Legend is right. We need to tell the stallions what exactly we're up against. If we march them into this without them knowing, our ranks will crumble in a matter of seconds."
Aceymac nodded. "I agree. Nothing is worse than going into battle without knowing what you're fighting."
With all of us in agreement, we returned to the camp to assemble the troops.
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Once all the soldiers were gathered, Arch stood on a small hill in the middle of the camp.
"Ponies of the 5th Royal Infantry, 10th Special Pegasus Division, and 12th Unicorn Artillery. You all know that none of us up here would keep the truth from any of you. That is why I'm telling you this now. Our knowledge of what we were up against was wrong."
There were suddenly murmurs and whispers among the soldiers. Somepony had even yelled out. "Military intelligence wrong? Where have we heard that before?"
"Calm down, all of you. I tell you this now, so that you go into battle with all your heart. We went to that far hill. What we saw frightened even the God that is here before you. What we saw was a dragon army, with numbers of at least ten thousand."
Even more whispering and outbursts were heard now. Arch couldn't calm them down now, and some were starting to panic. I flew up into the air. As soon as I did, the ponies below all became quiet and watched.
"You are all here to fight, correct? Then why do you panic when you are outnumbered? You have faced these odds once before, I was there myself to see it! You all fought and you won! Now is the same situation. We are greatly outnumbered, but we will still fight and we will still come out victorious!" I yelled out into the crowd.
"You have amazing officers leading you, some of the best Equestria has ever seen. You have your brothers in arms that would give their lives for you. You have a God fighting alongside you. But more importantly, you have families you are fighting for! If we fail here, this army will surely march straight into Canterlot and wipe out everything!"
I made my way back down, next to the others. "Thank you, Legend." Arch said. He turned back to the army in front of him. "Now, what will you all do? Run like cowards and let these murderers kill out loved one? Or will you fight to your dying breath and send them back to their caves like the animals they are?"
After one large yell from the army, Arch knew what had been chosen. They would fight like never before. They would fight their hardest to beat an army that would surely destroy them. All because they had a reason to fight.
We all had reasons to fight, and now was the time to put those reasons to the test.
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A/N: Really sorry about the small gap between updates. I have a midterm every day of this week, except for tomorrow. I'll finally have some time to work on the next chapter. And let me tell you, it's going to be a long one. At least 3k words so be prepared.