33. Realities of war
Attention! This chapter is about war, so naturally there will be violence. Nothing too dark and no gore, but there will be violence, injuries and death nevertheless. Such is war. Again, nothing explicit, but you have been warned.
Wings of Tomorrow
Lament of the World
33. Realities of war
The Siege of Stalliongrad – Part 2
Upon arrival, the armies of the Republic had quickly arranged themselves into a battle-ready formation, a considerable feat given its numbers, one that left even Desert Heat impressed. The Republican troops had been divided into smaller battalions, stationed from one side of the valley to the other. Row after row of soldiers stretched out as far as the eye could see, making a disheartening sight for every royalist who managed to catch a glimpse of it.
Up in the sky, the ships of the Republican air fleet cast long, dark shadows over their earthbound allies. The Republican airships were fewer in number than their Royal counterparts, but the dark forms of the great battleships made for a fearsome sight nevertheless. One ship in particular stood out: a humongous warship that dwarfed all others, coloured in many fiery shades of red and gold. Its prow was shaped like a great phoenix with its magnificent wings spread wide.
From where he stood atop of the walls, Desert Heat could spot a colourful dot atop the phoenix’s head, and he lifted his binoculars to his eyes to take a better look. The sight that greeted him confirmed what he already had suspected: the dot was none other than Spitfire the Phoenix, commander of the Republic’s pegasi division. The mare looked just like she had the day before when she had come with Shining Armour to give an offer to surrender. Only now her expression was grim and serious, and she held her glaive firmly in one hoof, ready for battle.
Desert Heat took his gaze away from her and focussed it instead on the Republic’s frontline down below in the valley. At the head of the formation stood marshal Shining Armour himself, and at his side was a heavily armoured earth pony who Desert Heat recognised as Smaragd Haze, the notorious commander of the Republic’s earth pony division, responsible for the massacre at Neighara two years ago.
Desert Heat scanned the rest of the enemy lines, hoping to locate the last of the Republic’s strongest warriors: Trixie Lulamoon, commander of the unicorn division. However, no matter where he looked, he could not find as much as a glimpse of the incredibly powerful mare. He did spot many other Republican officers, of lower rank and of varying levels of infamy, all of whom stood at the head of their battalion, ready for war.
The admiral lowered his binoculars, but kept staring ahead with a pensive and contemplative look on his face. He realised, in that moment, that he was looking at something that hadn’t been seen since the beginning of the war, all those centuries ago. Surprisingly, he found himself smiling, and he took out his communication crystal, contacting his fellow admirals.
“I hope you two are looking, because we’re the first to see the Republic exert itself this much in centuries,” he said, chuckling softly. “Quite an impressive sight. Terrifying, almost.”
“A force to be reckoned with, indeed,” the voice of Amethyst Star replied coolly. “We have our work cut out for us.”
“That we do,” Desert Heat mused. He picked up some movement at the Republic’s frontline, and he lifted his binoculars to his eyes again to take a better look. Shining Armour was speaking to a communication crystal, no doubt giving orders. Desert Heat lowered the visual aid again so he could overlook the entire battlefield, trying to spot where Shining Armour’s commands would cause movement. A look at the skies gave him the answer.
He was about to activate his communication stone again, only to find that it was already glowing. “Desert, the Republic’s fleet’s on the move,” the voice of Rainbow Dash said.
“Yeah, I noticed,” Desert Heat replied. “I want you to intercept them and keep them out of our skies, but I leave the strategy used for that to you. Just make sure you leave enough ships behind to guard the city, and keep me informed of what you’re doing.”
“Got it.”
Satisfied that that was dealt with, Desert Heat returned his attention back to the Republic’s earthbound troops. They had not moved from their previous position yet, but that did not surprise the admiral. Every military commander worth his salt knew that it was plain stupid to send forth your ground troops while the enemy’s air support was not yet taken out or occupied. To do so meant turning your forces into fodder for the cannons of the enemy’s airships. Shining Armour was not that stupid; he would hold his troops back until his airships had engaged the royal airfleet and kept their cannons aimed at the sky instead of the ground.
It was a logical move, but also one that Desert Heat had entirely expected. The delayed charge of the enemy meant that they had more time to prepare and get in position to fend off the inevitable attack, something Desert Heat was grateful for. Every second they could get to strengthen their defences was welcome and valuable.
“Amethyst, how are the preparations coming along?” he asked, with a hint of urgency in his voice, as he overlooked the valley. A loud explosion momentarily distracted him, and he glanced up to see that the first ships of the two opposing fleets had come within firing range and had engaged one another.
“Nearly done,” the voice of Amethyst Star replied through his communication stone. “The last of our troops are getting into position.”
“Get it done as soon as possible,” Desert Heat said, his narrowed eyes focussed on the sky and the battle there that started to unfold in earnest now. “They’ll give the signal to attack any moment now.”
“We’ll be ready by then,” Amethyst Star assured him.
“You’d better be,” the other admiral replied, his voice having an edge to it that was slightly sharper than he intended. He wasn’t angry with her, of course. It was merely the stress of overseeing an entire war that was starting to take root in him. “We need to keep them as far away from the city as possible for as long as we can. We must make them suffer maximum losses for every single metre they gain. That, combined with a failure of their invasion in New Saddle, is the only way to convince Shining Armour to order a retreat.”
“As we concluded during our last briefing,” Amethyst said dryly. “I know the plan, Desert, do not worry.”
That got a dry laugh out of the older admiral. “My dear, we have the full military might of the Republic deployed against us, while we have to make due without the strongest weapon in our arsenal and our Grand Admiral. And to top it all off, even if your mother was here right now, we’d still be outnumbered fifteen to ten,” Desert Heat replied. “The real kicker, though? Even with those massive odds stacked against us, it is expected of me to lead us to victory. Tell me, Amethyst, how exactly can I not worry?”
---
Aboard the Wonderbolt, it just so happened that Rainbow Dash was wondering about the exact same thing, even though she hadn’t heard the conversation between her fellow admirals. She was standing on the head of the airship’s dragon-shaped figurehead, from where she had an excellent view of the surrounding skies. Her eyes, however, were not looking at the skies, but at the ground below.
At this height, she could see the entirety of the Republic’s army, and only now did she truly realise how massive it was. There had to be at least a hundred thousand soldiers down there, though she wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be another fifty thousand more than that. She had never seen an army so vast; even the changeling swarms in her previous life hadn’t been this numerous. She had always known that the Republic outnumbered them, but only now did the reality of the humongous odds that were stacked against them truly sink in.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when a cannonball exploded uncomfortably nearby; she could feel the heat of the explosion on her face. It reminded her of her current position. Now wasn’t the time to let herself get intimidated by numbers, she scolded herself. Why would she be intimidated anyway? She hadn’t seen anything that she hadn’t expected to see, and even if she had, it wouldn’t matter one bit. To Tartarus with odds and numbers, she had a job to do, ponies who were counting on her, and she wasn’t going to let them down. Not her. Not Rainbow Dash, Admiral of the Royal Guard’s Second Division!
With a huff, she averted her eyes from the depressing sight below and instead focussed her attention on the battle unfolding in the skies around her. The ships of both fleets were exchanging cannon fire without pause, but aside from a bit of superficial damage had not achieved much yet. It was only a matter of time, though. With the distance between them growing ever smaller, the soldiers on both sides were finding it increasingly difficult to block incoming enemy fire. Soon, they would be within range to board, and then the real battle would begin.
Rainbow Dash was determined not to wait until the Republic took the initiative. They might outnumber them on the ground, but here, in the skies, the Royalists had the upper hand. She was not about to let that advantage slip through her hooves. Her orders were to force the Republic’s fleet back, but Rainbow Dash aimed higher. She was going to try and sink as much of the enemy fleet as possible. For every ship the Republic lost, they would gain a ship that could instead provide aerial support for the soldiers down on the ground. Given the odds, such support would be most welcome.
She knew better than to get reckless, however. It was true, she was a risk-taker by nature, but her years in the guard had tempered that recklessness with experience and tactical understanding, and had taught her responsibility. It was a lesson she had learned well, else she wouldn’t have been promoted to the rank of admiral. She was not going to endanger those under her command to achieve a goal that might be unreachable. First, they had to follow Desert Heat’s orders: keep the Republic out of their airspace, force them on the defensive and hold them there. Only when she had managed that would she attempt to aim higher.
She turned to face the deck. Guards worked in pairs to man the cannons, firing at Republican ships and shooting incoming enemy fire out of the sky before it could reach them. Another group of soldiers stood in the middle of the deck, in orderly rows of four, waiting for orders. These were the ones who would leap off the ship soon, taking to the skies on their own wings and engaging the Republic’s ship in battles of pony on pony. More of them were stationed below decks, ready to disembark on her signal.
“Alright, all of you who aren’t busy shooting stuff, show me that those ears aren’t just decoration for your head and pay attention!” Rainbow Dash shouted, making herself heard over the din of cannon fire. “On my signal, we’ll disembark and launch our attack. Remember your training, put it to use and you’ll make it!” Her narrowed eyes glared at the soldiers standing before her, trying to see if any of them batted as much as an eyelid at her words.
None of them did.
“Remember, the Republic may have the bigger numbers on the ground, but the skies are our domain! We have the strongest air force in the entire world, and today the Republic is going to learn just what that means!” she continued. “Once we’re out there in the skies, I don’t want to see any faltering or losing, you got that?! We’re going out there and we’re going to send them packing right back to Canterlot! We’re going to head out and kick their asses so hard their grandfoals will still feel it! We’re going to fight, and we’re going to win! Did I make myself clear?!”
“YES, ADMIRAL, MA’AM!”
“That’s what I wanna hear,” she said, and she smirked. There was a feral glint in her eyes; the look of a mare eager for battle. She glanced down at the pony closest to her, standing at the prow just behind the figurehead. “Rose Thorn, you’re in command of the Wonderbolt while I’m out there. Keep contact with the rest of the fleet and inform me right away if anything comes up. Leave command of the airborne troops to me.”
“As you wish, ma’am,” Rose Thorn replied, nodding curtly. He gave his superior a salute, which Rainbow Dash answered briefly with one of her own. Then Rainbow Dash turned around, facing the skies ahead of the ship, where war awaited her.
“Alright, time to go,” she said simply, after which she casually jumped off the ship. For a few seconds she was falling freely through the air, then she spread her wings to their full span. They immediately caught the wind under them, carrying her upwards to far above the ship. There she hung completely still in the air for a moment, until one beat of her wings sent her forward into a dive towards the nearest Republican ship.
A great swarm of soldiers, coming from every ship of the royal fleet, followed in her wake, and ahead of her she saw many enemy soldiers pour out of the Republican ships as they disembarked to confront this new threat. Gritting her teeth, Rainbow Dash increased her speed and flew into battle.
---
Desert Heat’s attention was drawn away from the unfolding battle in the skies by a blinding light coming from the direction of Republic’s army. Now that the threat of bombardment from the sky was gone due to the royal fleet being occupied fighting the republican fleet, the numerous battalions of the Republic began to advance. Determinedly they marched forth towards the city, but Desert Heat quickly noticed they were leaving a wide opening in the very middle of their frontline.
The reason for that became quickly apparent: the bright light that had caught his attention was the bright glow coming from Shining Armour’s horn as he charged his magic. The marshal appeared to brace himself for something, then fired a beam of pure, concentrated magical energy from the tip of his horn through the gap left by his troops, straight towards the city gates.
It wasn’t a very large beam, no greater in width than an orange, but its appearance belied its sheer power. Its mere passing, a pony-length above the ground, left a trench three metres wide in its wake. Shining Armour’s attack plunged through everything in its wake, fences, barricades and whatever defences the royalists had thrown up to halt the enemy’s advance, and it seemed nothing would stop it from reaching the gates and destroying them.
Atop the gates, Desert Heat swore. “Amethyst!!!” he cried out urgently, bracing himself as he watched the beam approach at great speed.
Just as the magic attack was about to reach its target, there was a flash and Amethyst Star appeared in its path. The admiral didn’t panic; with an inaudible growl she braced herself and called upon her own magic. A bright shield was conjured up around her and Shining Armour’s beam smashed right into it, but did not go through. Amethyst Star gritted her teeth, flinching slightly upon feeling the impact of the attack, but did not relent. With a cry she reared up on her legs and deflected Shining Armour’s attack with her shield. The beam shot up straight into the sky, where it dissolved harmlessly.
Amethyst Star lowered her shield again, and aside for a few drops of sweat on her brow appeared to be entirely unfazed. For a moment, she and Shining Armour regarded each other over the long distance between them, Amethyst giving a defiant sneer. Then her eyes narrowed and the admiral suddenly vanished, without a trace or sound. She reappeared just as suddenly in the skies above Shining Armour, held aloft by her own magic.
“I’m afraid it won’t be that easy,” she said coldly, after which she conjured up six great swords made of pure magic and fired them at the marshal.
“Would that it was,” Shining Armour replied sadly, giving a sigh. With a flash he vanished and Amethyst’s swords pierced naught but air. He appeared again behind her, having conjured a lance of magic and lunging at her with it. “It would have saved a lot of lives.”
“If you want to spare the lives of your troops,” Amethyst replied, while deftly blocking Shining’s lance with another conjured sword , “you could just surrender.” She created another magical blade and swiped at the marshal with it. Her sword cut nothing but air, however, as Shining Armour had already teleported away again, reappearing far behind the frontline of his troops.
“Thanks, but no thanks, admiral!” he called out to her, a determined look on his face. Then he lifted his communication crystal to his lips and activated it.
Amethyst Star couldn’t hear what he said, but it became quite obvious when the enemy soldiers’ marching turned into an all-out charge. The thundering of their hooves made the very ground of the valley tremble as they stormed across the valley floor towards the city. Cursing, Amethyst turned her back on Shining Armour and teleported back to her side of the valley.
She reappeared on top of the wall next to Desert Heat, and together the two admirals watched as the Republic’s forces thundered through an empty valley. The royalists had dug many trenches and set up fences and barricades all across the valley floor, but there were no soldiers in sight who manned them.
Amethyst Star glanced at the stallion to her left. “Now?” she asked calmly, seemingly not perturbed by the fact that there was a horde of soldiers approaching with nothing to stand in their way except some wooden fences and empty trenches.
“Not yet,” Desert Heat replied quietly. The older admiral observed the situation with a calculating look on his face, and his eyes were narrowed. He looked a bit tense, which did not surprise Amethyst in the least. Her fellow admiral was dealing with a lot of pressure, after all, most of which he had not been expecting to deal with. “I’ll tell you when, don’t worry. Go and get in position, then wait for my command.”
“Understood,” Amethyst Star said, giving a curt nod before teleporting away again. She did not reappear anywhere within sight, but Desert Heat did not need to see her to know her position. He had informed his fellow admirals of his strategy, and they knew where they had to be and when in order for it to work.
He lifted his binoculars to his eyes and zoomed in on the approaching enemy. “Just a little bit closer,” he muttered quietly. Warily, he watched as the distance between them and the true breakout of the battle grew ever closer. He sought out Shining Armour and tried to gauge the marshal’s reaction. Anypony with half a brain would realise that the royalists had some kind of plan when they left their whole valley empty, and Shining Armour definitely had more than half a brain.
So it wasn’t whether or not Shining Armour knew that bothered Desert Heat, it was what he was planning to do about it. The marshal was no fool, a fact Desert Heat was all too aware of. No doubt Shining Armour had some kind of plan of his own, though at the moment he could only guess what that plan was. The plans Rainbow Dash had stolen from Canterlot had detailed the strategy Shining Armour had planned to use, but obviously that one was not going to be put to use anymore. Using a strategy the enemy already knew was the kind of tactical blunder that Shining Armour decidedly did not make.
“What are you planning, I wonder…” Desert Heat muttered to himself as he observed the Republic’s military leader.
---
As fate would have it, that was the exact same question that Shining Armour found himself pondering about, as he stood on top of a small hill near the back of the Republic’s lines, observing the lone admiral positioned atop the walls of Stalliongrad. Shining Armour didn’t need binoculars to be able to see Desert Heat clearly, a simple sight-enhancing spell produced the same effect and was much less cumbersome. One of the advantages of being a unicorn, he supposed.
The marshal let his gaze wander from his admiral counterpart to the frontlines of his charging soldiers. Since Amethyst Star had teleported herself back behind the strong walls of the city, he hadn’t been able to spot a single royalist anywhere in the valley, save for those unfortunate souls who had fallen from the battlefield in the skies above. It went without saying that he didn’t like it. At all.
“They obviously have some kind of plan, otherwise they wouldn’t leave so much of their territory unguarded,” Smaragd Haze said, standing next to Shining Armour atop the small hill overlooking the battlefield. He had no sight-enhancing spell or binoculars, but he did not need them to see things were off.
“I’m aware,” Shining Armour replied evenly, glancing at Desert Heat again through narrowed eyes. Smaragd Haze opened his mouth again to say something, but Shining Armour cut him off. “I know what you’re going to say, commander,” he said. “No, I don’t think it’s very smart to run into what’s obviously a trap, but we don’t have much choice. In order to proceed to the next step of the plan, we need to lure the enemy out of hiding and get them to start fighting us. If we have to spring this trap of theirs in order to do that, I’m afraid it’ll have to be so. We need to move quickly now that their air fleet is still kept busy.”
“Fair enough,” Smaragd Haze shrugged. “Do you require me to head to the frontlines, to minimise the damage of whatever this trap of theirs is?”
“Not yet,” Shining Armour said, his face twisted into a thoughtful frown. “It could still be a diversion. I want confirmation of Amethyst Star’s whereabouts first.” He paused for a moment and took a good, long look at the walls of the city again. “You are certain that there have been no sightings of Derpy Hooves yet?”
“Positive,” Smaragd Haze confirmed. “All scouts agree that it is Desert Heat who is coordinating the enemy’s war efforts. Grand admiral Hooves has not been spotted anywhere near the vicinity of the warzone.”
Shining Armour’s frown deepened. “I like that even less than I like this empty valley,” he admitted. “It could be a deception, to try and make us believe she’s not here, only for her to catch us unaware and attack our rear or flank or something. It’s the kind of strategy she likes.”
“And if she truly is not here, marshal?” Smaragd Haze inquired.
“Then that’s even worse,” Shining Armour answered. “Derpy Hooves is the Grand Admiral of the Royal Guard, and she knows how important this battle is. She wouldn’t abandon her troops and leave command to one of her admirals, not unless she has a very good reason. The idea that the Strongest Mare in the World is somewhere we don’t know doing something we also don’t know honestly is one I don’t like. Not one bit.”
“Then what do you suggest we do about it, sir?”
Shining Armour cast a sideways glance at Smaragd Haze. “We continue with the plan, and win this battle as quickly as we can,” he then said, his voice hardening with resolve just a little bit. “The moment we are victorious, we don’t have to worry about Derpy Hooves any longer. She may be the strongest mare in the world, but if her army falls here, even she won’t be able to hold off our advance towards Cantropolis.”
“I like the sound of that, sir,” Smaragd Haze replied quietly, smirking.
---
Desert Heat felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his face as he watched the charging Republicans, and waited. They had almost reached the first of the barricades the defendants had built in the valley, but they had to come closer still. He couldn’t risk giving his order too soon, a lot of this trap depended on the element of surprise. Too far, and the enemy would have recovered from the surprise before the blow could be dealt. Too close and his soldiers would not have enough time to deal a proper blow to the enemy.
Thus, he waited and counted, every single second wracking his nerves, but he endured it. He knew what was at stake, and he would not allow it to be lost just because he could not handle the pressure. Derpy had entrusted this operation to him, because she believed he could handle it. Amethyst Star and Rainbow Dash had faith in him, not for a moment they had thought that Derpy had chosen the wrong replacement. All those soldiers of the royal guard trusted him to lead them to victory. He would not let them down.
The Republican army was only five paces away now from the first barricade. In the blink of an eye Desert Heat lifted his communication crystal to his lips. “Amethyst, NOW!!!” he roared, his gaze still firmly fixed on the valley.
For one single, horrible second, Desert Heat worried that his command had come too late, or that his communication stone had malfunctioned somehow, and it felt as if the ground had vanished from under his hooves. But then there was a loud battle cry erupting from the royal side of the valley, and instant relief flooded his senses.
In the blink of an eye, Amethyst Star dispelled the invisibility illusion she had cast over her entire division, and to the Republicans’ horror the trenches in the valley, which a moment ago had still been empty and unmanned, were now filled with soldiers. Immediately the royalists fired a volley of arrows and spells at their stunned adversaries, which felled nearly the entire first row of the enemy’s soldiers. A third and second volley followed, felling many more.
The element of surprise kept the enemy off guard for only so long, however, and the Republic’s officers were trained and experienced soldiers. By the time the defenders readied their bows or spells for a fourth salvo, they had already rallied their troops again and resumed the charge. The royalists fired at them again, but this time the attackers were more prepared. They raised their shields, be they of steel or magic, defending themselves from the attack while they charged on. Only a few Republicans fell this time, and those coming behind them simply continued on unfaltering, jumping over their fallen comrades as if they were not even there.
“Do not panic!” Amethyst Star commanded with a magically amplified voice, her tone harsh and unforgiving. “Ranged units, reload your weapons. Prepare to fire at an arch from this moment on. Everypony else, draw your weapons and be prepared to lose your teeth. I see any pony running, I will toss you at the enemy myself!”
It was hard to say who the defenders feared most at that moment, their admiral or the enemy, but Amethyst Star did not care. She watched as the Republicans drew nearer, and when they were only a stone’s throw away, she fired a brilliant flare from her horn. Its light was so bright and strong that it blinded the oncoming enemy soldiers, who shielded their eyes and cried out in agony. They stumbled and fell, creating the opportunity Amethyst Star had been waiting for.
“Charge!!!” she roared on top of her lungs. Then, after letting out a chilling battle cry, she jumped out of her trench, a look of cold fury on her face. Many other soldiers jumped out of the first line of trenches as well, following behind their admiral. Their numbers were in the hundreds, and they charged at the stunned Republic in a single line, like a wall of armoured steel and muscle.
Their assault was so fierce that they completely overpowered the first few lines of the Republic’s army, trampling over the blinded, panicked Republicans and crushing them as if they were naught but twigs beneath their hooves. For a moment, they actually succeeded in pushing back an army a thousand times their number, and the defenders cheered.
For all their bravery, however, they were still only like boulders trying to hold back a tsunami. The Republican officers quickly recovered from the attack and rallied their troops back into formation. Though they had suffered a nasty blow, the loss of their comrades only made the republican soldiers all the more determined to continue the fight and return the favour. Their counterattack was as fierce as it was swift, and the line of defenders found themselves quickly losing ground.
The royalists fought desperately to try and hold their line for as long as possible, but for every republican soldier they cut down, two more appeared. Their archers and spell casters provided as much ranged support as they could, sending spells and arrows in a graceful arch into the ranks of the enemy, but it helped little to alleviate the pressure put upon the defenders trying to hold the enemy back.
There was a gurgled cry, as one of the defenders’ lifeless body hit the ground and his killers wormed themselves through the gap they had created. The formation wavered as across its entire length similar breaches were made, the exhausted defenders being unable to hold back the ever oncoming flow of enemies. As they saw their comrades fall and the enemy break through, the remaining defenders began to panic and the formation threatened to fall apart entirely.
However, just as the defenders looked as if they were about to be overwhelmed entirely, there was a huge magical explosion that blasted a huge hole in the enemy’s ranks, and for a moment the Republic’s advance faltered once more. Amethyst Star pushed herself forward to the frontline, her eyes blazing with cold fury.
“Reform the line!” she shouted, her magically amplified voice audible above the din of battle, as she rallied her troops around her in a tight formation again. “Nopony take even a single step back, or I will personally toss you at the enemy! Shields and spears to the front! Don’t let a single one of them through!”
Her presence bolstered her soldiers’ courage, and they stood against the oncoming swarm of foes with renewed vigour. Even as their comrades fell left and right, Amethyst Star rallied them to her side every time they wavered and led them forward again. The admiral was as an island amidst a sea of enemies, and where she went the Republicans panicked and her soldiers took heart.
Amethyst Star, for her part, seemed to take little note of the emotions she inspired in those surrounding her. All her attention was focussed on the battle and its course, and her face was like a stone mask, her eyes cold as ice. It is said that war inspires certain feelings of heated passion or love for battle, but for her this was not the case. She viewed it all with a pragmatic mind-set, focussed on making use of her troops as efficiently as possible. Even her own fighting style was like this. There was no flair or grace to it, only cold, merciless efficiency. Every spell she fired was meant to be lethal, every strike with her blades aimed to kill.
In her eyes, emotion had no place on the battlefield. War was cruel and merciless. It made no distinction between the helpless and the powerful, soldier or civilian, the guilty or the innocent. Compassion, emotion and pity during war and battle only led to injury or death. She had learned that lesson the hard way, and she had never forgotten it. Pain and regret could wait until after the battle, for during it they only served as a distraction.
A movement to her right caught her attention, and she reared back to avoid being impaled on a Republican sword. Before her attacker had the chance to go in for another blow, she had already conjured up a sword of magic and rammed it viciously through his throat. Amethyst didn’t even stop to see him drop dead on the ground; she was already moving on to face the next fool stupid or crazy enough to come at her.
The Republican soldiers were not entirely without brains, however. They knew that they could never hope to take down a Royal Admiral on their own, so they came at her with many at the same time, hoping to overwhelm her with their numbers. Without her, the defenders would be leaderless and their formation would fall apart, making it easier to take them out. This strategy did not exactly surprise Amethyst. She knew that, as an admiral, she was a prime target.
A dozen of the braver one surrounded her and then jumped at her all at once. Amethyst Star could barely resist the urge to scoff at their efforts, while freezing them all in mid-air by grabbing them with her telekinesis. Then, as casually as a pony snapping a twig, she utterly crushed their armour as if it was made of tinfoil, crushing their ribcages in the process. She heedlessly tossed their lifeless bodies away and moved on. The war raged on around her, spells exploding, ponies shouting, blood flowing.
The admiral gathered energy in her horn and then fired off a beam of pure magic from its tip, blasting a huge gap in the enemy’s ranks. She broke into a run and charged through the hole she had created. Conjuring a few magical blades, she used them to cut down enemy’s left and right with precise, deadly cuts and stabs. Soldier after soldier attacked her, trying to stop her, only to find death as a reward for their attempt.
Just as she finished slitting the throat of another Republican with one of her magically conjured swords, her eye caught sight of a wounded Republic soldier laying amidst the bodies of his fallen comrades. He lay on his side, but did not get up, and as Amethyst Star came nearer, she could see why. The entire right side of his body was marred by hideous burns, no doubt caused by the explosion of a magic spell or a stray cannonball that had fallen down from the battle in the skies. He was also missing two legs, and clearly in a state of shock.
Amethyst Star looked down on him and for a moment, she saw not a Republican soldier, but little Dinky, her sister, after the purging of Ponyville. Then the image abruptly faded when the admiral brusquely plunged her sword in the Republican’s chest, ending his suffering. Wordlessly she turned her back on him and walked away, seeking out new foes to slay, her expression as cold as ever.
However, she suddenly stopped and glanced back over her shoulder one last time, though she knew not why she did it. Thoughts of her dear little sister, waiting for her return back in Cantropolis, scarred for life, entered her mind. Amethyst Star averted her eyes and gazed up at the sky, to the Sun that was shining as it did on every other day, heedless of the wars and struggles of the ponies that walked in its light.
“For you, little sis, for you…” Amethyst thought, before charging back into the battle.
---
Desert Heat watched the battle in the valley with mixed feelings. On one hoof, he was relieved to see that his strategy was holding up so far, though he mourned the losses. On the other hoof, he cursed the fact that he could not be out there and fight at his soldiers’ side. His heart longed for it, but his head knew that he couldn’t leave his current post atop the wall. He had to stay in a position where he could oversee the battle, for it was his task to direct its flow, to anticipate enemy manoeuvres and change his strategies accordingly.
It reminded him again why he had never wanted the position of Grand Admiral in the first place. He was not cut out for this. He wanted to be out on the field, amongst his troops. That was where he really belonged. An admiral was much more than just somepony in charge of a division. On the battlefield, they also served as a guiding light and a beacon of hope. An admiral’s very presence inspired hope in his soldiers’ hearts and fear in his enemies’.
Amethyst Star did her best, but she was still only one mare and could not be everywhere at once. Normally, both her and Desert Heat would have been on the battlefield, with Derpy overlooking and coordinating the battle from behind the lines, until such was the time when the war required her to participate. But now their Grand Admiral was absent, and an admiral less on the field. It was a considerable blow to their battle power, and Desert Heat was all too aware of it. Grand Admiral Hooves held the title of Strongest Mare in the World for a reason, and though he didn’t like to brag, he wasn’t too shabby in combat himself, either.
Desert Heat shook his head and berated himself for getting distracted in his thoughts again. He focussed on the battle again. Amethyst and her troops were putting up a valiant struggle, but their formation was growing decidedly thin and soon would become unsustainable. He frowned, thought about the matter as deeply as he could while still being quick, and then reached a decision.
“Amethyst, get yourself and your remaining guards out of there,” he commanded through his communication stone. “Fall back to the second line of defence and take up position there. After that, same strategy as before.”
“Understood,” came her reply through the stone. “About time, too. I don’t think we could have hold out here much longer. Too many already that managed to slip through.”
Desert Heat nodded, forgetting for the moment that the other admiral couldn’t see it at the moment. “Then get to it,” he ordered. “Be on your guard, though,” he added, and a deep frown appeared on his face as he looked out, past the battling armies, to the other side of the valley, where he spotted a white dot that had to be Shining Armour. “The commanders haven’t entered the battle yet, but I doubt they’re willing to let things go our way for much longer.”
---
From his side of the battlefield, Shining Armour was observing the royalists’ movements with great interest. He had to admit to having been caught off guard by their surprise attack, and was genuinely impressed by the valour and bravery their soldiers showed on the battlefield. Their tactic had certainly been effective, for he his own troops had suffered considerable losses given the number of enemies they were up against. Losses he truly regretted, but he saved his mourning for after the battle. Now was not the time for it.
He had not yet made a countermove; he wanted to fully understand his enemies’ strategy first. Brave as their attack had been, Shining Armour knew that they would never be able to hold off his troops for long with only one line of defence consisting of only a few hundred soldiers. He wanted to see first what they would do once their line of defence had been broken through. Only then, when he knew more, could he decide on the right way to react.
The marshal watched with some surprise how Amethyst Star suddenly erected a temporary magical barrier. Even from this distance, his magically enhanced senses could feel that it wasn’t a particularly strong shield; it would buy them a few seconds at most. Yet seconds were apparently all the admiral needed, as she called upon her magic again and teleported herself and her remaining soldiers away from the front line, leaving the first trenches empty and the way onward wide open.
Amethyst Star reappeared again, only twenty metres further, where they quickly took up position in and behind the second line of trenches and fences the royalists had prepared. As soon as his own troops broke through Amethyst Star’s weak shield and stormed ahead, the admiral signalled to her troops and a barrage of spells and arrows was fired from the trenches at the oncoming Republicans.
“Of course…” Shining Armour muttered, understanding dawning on him. He narrowed his eyes, focussing on his enhanced sight on the lone figure of Desert Heat atop the wall, the admiral apparently conversing with someone through his communication stone. Shining Armour watched him for a few seconds, then dispelled his sight-enhancing spell and called for Smaragd Haze.
The commander came running towards him immediately. “Have you figured out the enemy’s strategy, marshal?” he asked, once he stood next to his superior.
“I have indeed,” Shining Armour confirmed. “It’s certainly clever, though so logical I should have seen it much sooner.” He made a gesture at the battlefield with one of his hooves, indicating the other stallion to take a look. “They know we have the advantage of numbers, so they made optimal use of the fact that we’re in an enclosed space in this valley to get around that.”
Smaragd Haze stared at the frontline for a moment. The Republican army had managed to move past the defence line, only to be halted in their advance again by the defenders forming a second wall of armoured steel and muscle, their numbers no larger than before. He nodded in understanding.
“Ah, I see,” he said. “Due to the terrain we cannot attack them from the side or from the rear, only from the front. So they build up a wall with only the bare minimum of soldiers and have those fight to the very limits of their abilities. It ensures that we lose a great number of soldiers to take down a much smaller number. Then once their formation becomes too weak to hold, they merely need to retreat a few metres, rebuild their wall with fresh troops and repeat the strategy.” The commander looked almost impressed. “With this strategy a small army could take down one that is many times their number, at least in theory.”
“Exactly,” Shining Armour confirmed. “And from the looks of it, it works in practice, too.”
“So what do we do, marshal?” Smaragd Haze demanded.
“We continue on as planned, but Trixie contacted me just now to let me know that she needs some more time to get ready,” Shining Armour replied. He glanced up briefly to the battle in the skies, then looked back at the conflict in the valley, a pensive frown decorating his face. “Until then, we should focus our attention on cutting back our losses in the valley as much as possible.” His frown deepened as another big explosion at the frontline tore a big gap in his army’s ranks.
“We’ll carry out the phase one backup plan,” he declared, then turned his head to look directly at Smaragd Haze. “I will take care of that, but in the meantime something has to be done about Amethyst Star. Can I trust you to take care of that?”
A dark grin crept up Smaragd Haze’s face. “Consider it done, marshal,” he replied, while surprisingly managing to keep his eagerness from spilling into his voice. “Permission to cut down the effectiveness of the enemy’s strategy, too, sir?”
Shining Armour stared in silence at the other stallion for a while, his expression unreadable. Then he slowly turned his head to look at the battle down in the valley. He didn’t need to enhance his sight to see that he was losing a lot more soldiers there than needed. Ponies who had a life and a family waiting for them back at home. He closed his eyes and sighed, before turning back to Smaragd Haze again.
“Permission granted, commander.”
---
Rainbow Dash soared through the air, darting from airship to airship and intercepting whatever cannonballs fired by the enemy she could. Some she blasted apart with her lightning, others were slashed to pieces or sent off course with a strike of her lance. All around her, the sky was filled with explosions of cannonballs and spells, smoke and fire, and pegasi locked in struggles to the death. So far, neither side had lost any ships yet, but judging from the ferocity with which they both fought, it was only a matter of time.
She herself knew that she was more than capable of taking out an entire ship by herself, but until now she had held herself back to mostly defending her ships. There had been a few braver ones who had tried to attack her, who were now probably laying somewhere down below on the ground, trampled by their own allies. Rainbow Dash always tried to hold back and avoid using lethal force whenever she fought, but she understood that this was war and that compassion had little place here.
A glance to the ground below showed her that her fellow admirals were having the same opinion. Even from this high, Rainbow Dash could recognise Amethyst Star’s magic from anywhere, especially when it was creating explosions that tore a gap in the enemy’s ranks so large that even from the air they looked huge. For a brief moment, she pitied the Republicans down below. Sparkler was many things, but merciful was not one of them.
Rainbow Dash noticed a movement to her left and saw a group of Republican ships break off to the side, trying to encircle one of her own ships. Without wasting a second she took her communication stone from her pocket while casually swatting another cannonball aside.
“Rose Thorn, they’re trying to flank the Swallowtail,” she spoke into the stone. “Assign some ships in the area to take care of it.” As she talked, a small group of five Republican pegasi flew towards her, weapons drawn. Rainbow Dash barely had the time to put away her stone again and pull in her head to avoid being scalped.
She groaned audible, more annoyed than anything by their efforts. She blocked the sword of one who came at her from above with her lance, then used the other end of the same lance to butt another one who had tried to skewer her from below in the face. She adroitly dodged the third who lunged at her, making him fly past her. She hit him in the back of the head with an elbow, sending him falling to his death below.
Going on the offensive, she lashed out and rigged the fourth on the tip of her lance by plunging it into his chest, then turned around and swung him right into the final one who had tried to attack her from behind. By this time the first two had recovered and came back at her, but Rainbow Dash cut the sword of one in half with the sharp ‘feathers’ of the mechanical skeleton fitted over her wings. Before he could recover, she punched him square in the face, breaking his nose and more than a few teeth. While he was still reeling from that blow, she finished the job with a kick to his stomach that could have shattered stone.
She tried to find the last one, only to see he had went and gotten backup. Fear or anger – she didn’t know which – made them forego strategy, and they instead simply went for a direct charge straight towards her. Rainbow Dash scoffed at their idiocy and triggered her magicite. Her left hoof crackled with lightning and she thrust it forward, sending forth a gigantic blast of electricity that engulfed her would-be attackers and fried them to a crisp.
“Idiots,” she cursed under her breath, as she watched their lifeless bodies fall to the ground.
The little skirmish with those unfortunate soldiers did make her realise that she was getting pretty tired of hanging around all defensively, waiting for more fools to come at her and throw their lives away. It was high time for admiral Rainbow Dash to go on the offensive herself, she decided. Looking around the battlefield, she quickly picked out the perfect target. Grinning, she pulled out her communication stone again.
“Rose Thorn, take the Wonderbolt, the Queen’s Cider and the Sonic Snowflake and follow my lead,” she commanded. “We’re going to cripple their morale and take out their flagship.”
“Roger that, ma’am,” came his curt reply.
Satisfied, Rainbow Dash stored the crystal away again, then cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders a bit. It was time for some real action. Calling upon the power of her magicite once more, she summoned up bolts of lightning around herself. She flapped her wings a couple of times to make sure everything was still working perfectly, and then she took off. She burst through the air like an arrow made of lightning, the force of her mere passing enough to send pegasi tumbling from the skies. The speed was exhilarating, but Rainbow Dash stayed focussed, aiming straight from the giant battleship that led the Republic fleet.
At the speed she was going, she could easily tear straight through the ship’s thick, armoured hull as if it was made of tinfoil. She would have done just that, too, were it not for a jet of searing hot flames appearing right in her path out of nowhere, heading straight for her. Rainbow Dash just barely managed to change her course in time to avoid being burned. One of the ships behind her was not as fortunate, however, the stream of fire hitting it square in the middle of the rump, blowing it in half.
Rainbow Dash came to a grinding halt in mid-air, watching in disbelief as the first ship of her fleet was sunken in an instance. She turned around, trying to find the one responsible.
“Sorry, Dash, but I like my ship right where it is. Namely, in the air,” a familiar voice called out to her. Her eyes quickly sought out its source and landed on a yellow pegasus mare with a mane and tail coloured like fire. She was hovering lazily in front of the Republic’s flagship, holding a glaive in one hoof, while her other hoof was wreathed in flames.
“Spitfire,” she growled through clenched teeth, her eyes narrowing.
The two mares regarded each other quietly for a moment, neither of them moving as much as an eyelid. Then, as if on some unspoken signal, they took off, going straight for each other. Rainbow Dash didn’t feel the slightest bit of hesitation as she charged towards the mare who had been her idol in her previous life. Her magicite glowed, her hoof started to crackle with lightning. Ahead, the flames wreathed around Spitfire’s hoof started to burn brighter and hotter.
As the distance between them grew ever smaller, it became clear to the ponies in the skies surrounding them that neither was going to slow down or back out. The two strongest pegasi in all of Equestria were heading right towards each other, and they meant business.
A clash was inevitable.
End of chapter 33.
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Well, it's finally done. I apologise for the long wait, but I wanted to make sure I got this chapter right. You've all been waiting so very patiently since chapter 13 for this battle, so I really felt that I couldn't deliver anything that I wasn't a 100% satisfied with. I hope it was worth it. Don't be too impressed just yet, though. We're only getting warmed up! I know nopony did anything jaw-droppingly awesome just yet, but just you wait, I have a couple of things planned that I'm sure will be enjoyed. Expect some crowning moments of awesome during this arc, but also some crossing of the moral event horizon! I really want to make this arc live up to the 'hype' all the chapters leading to it created, so I'm going all out. Not sure when the next chapter will be out, but I'll do my best to publish it a bit faster than this one...
A warning to the people
The good and the evil
This is war
To the soldier, the civilian
The martyr, the victim
This is war
So exactly how long is this fic going to be? We've spent all this time working through the buildup to this one battle. Obviously this is far from the last battle in this war. So how do you plan on writing this. I'm enjoying this fic no doubt, but it seems like things have dragged out at a slow pace.
The war has begun and things just went epic already. Curious about Trixie, though...hmmm, what is she planning...? As for Smaragd Haze, man, I like to see that dirtbag get what coming to him. Oh, I can't wait, it's getting exciting as it is...
Oh boy, this is getting good! The whole "war" thing is starting to remind me of My Immortal Game (a truly superb fanfic by the way)
And the "killing ponies via telekinetically twisting their armor" bit reminds me of the whole Cantus power from Shin Sekai Yori, though I suppose you can't just twist the pony's body itself like in that show.
2533780
Hey, I like that. What's it from?
2533959
Well, I don't have an estimated number of chapters, just a rough idea of the major plot events. If I had to make a guess I would say that once the current arc of the battle of Stalliongrad is complete, we're close to halfway. Or closer to one third, now that I think about it. Either way, the end of the civil war will mark the halfway point for this story, something I hope to get to around chapter 50 or so.
2535065
Magicite certainly has the potential to be incredibly powerful, though it of course depends on what power it is filled with. Don't let the ease by which Amethyst Star, Rainbow Dash and Shining Armour make use of it fool you; they're warriors of the highest level who have been extensively trained in the use of their magicite. There's a reason only high commanders get to use it (aside from the fact that magicite is so bloody rare), namely, that without long and proper training, the ponies using it wouldn't be able to handle the abilities it bestows upon them. As a comparison, Rose Thorn, Rainbow Dash's unicorn vice-admiral, also has magicite, but his abilities aren't even half as strong as Amethyst Star's.
To use your example, a magicite equiped cadet would be more likely to injure himself than to take out that squadron of elite, non-magicite-using troops. Even if he understood enough of the basics to access its powers without hurting himself, he still wouldn't be able to get even a tenth of its potential out of it without further training. I was going to write a chapter originally that covered more of the basics of magicite in the "A Day in Cantropolis" mini-arc, but those plans got axed.
2535070
Never heard of that band before, but I like the song! *looks up Volbeat*
2535261
Heh heh, he hasn't even done anything yet and already people are starting to hate Smaragd Haze. Means I'm doing something right.
2535480
Well, Amethyst Star could have easily just snapped their spines or crushed their ribcages directly with her magic, she's certainly powerful enough to do it. I just thought that would be a little too brutal. She's cold and merciless, sure, but not a total monster.
You know the kind of story that seems really interesting, is probably really good, that you want to read but just never have time for? This is that story for me. It's been up on my browser for a month now and I still haven't started reading it... HOPEFULLY, after today, that changes! Can't wait to dive into this baby my friend.
Rainbow Dash should trigger a Sonic Rainboom in the middle of the enemy fleet and throw them all for a loop.
2536147
He doesn't have to. From what I have gather up so far about him and from his own behavior, he take enjoyment in harming others, to the point of being sadistic.
2537733
Just wait until you see what his magicite-power is...
2537861
Hmm... Earthquakes like Whitebeard from One Piece?
If you decide kill one of the Commanders/Admirals my guess it will be him
Does this need to be upgraded to Teen rating because of war? I know you don't describe death in detail but still... death.
2536147 I get to see them live friday night, i'm so excited!
here's a few other great songs from them.
Goodness this is intense! I love stories with great battles in them and so far this is brilliant. The strageties seem good and a nice play on the tactics used for the Battle of Thermopalyae. I just hope it ends better with the royalists' victory.
Looking forward to the next chapter.
2536147
Obviously, it's your story- but the magicite still seems overpowered to me. You say that it's due to training, but then also that Rose Thorn doesn't have half the power that Sparkler does. Does that mean Rose Thorn has spent much less time training? Given that Sparkler has had a maximum of about a decade to train- and one presumes that the higher one goes up the commander ladder, the more paperwork and administrative duties there are to suck up time- I don't see how she can be stronger than a number of magicite-equipped career soldiers unless she is astoundingly talented, to the point where her talent vastly exceeds commanders on both sides who probably have cutie marks related to warfare. Same with Derpy. There should be no shortage of talented ponies who would practice obsessively, and if the best magicite is given to the most skilled users, it stretches belief that Derpy and Sparkler could have both that level of talent and time.
Even if magicite is rare, it seems to be such a game-changer that it appears pointless to have any other combatants around. Okay, sure, I see the need for something to make the main characters stand out, but from my point of view, it detracts from what's otherwise a fine story when one gets the impression that if Royal army had six commander-level magicite users and the Republic had three, the Royalists could easily defeat the enemy magicite users and then wipe out the 100,000 Republic troops at their leisure.