Wings of Tomorrow ~ Lament of the World

by Keeper of Jericho

37. The edge of despair

Wings of Tomorrow
Lament of the World

37. The edge of despair
The Siege of Stalliongrad – Part 6

It was almost comical how quickly things could turn in battle. But a moment ago, the defenders of Stalliongrad had scored a victory with the breaking of the enemy’s barrier, followed by a successful defensive manoeuvre that managed to slow the enemy’s advance to a crawl while thinning their numbers. Hope had surged in the heart of every royal soldier, as it had appeared to them that they might just make it yet.

Now, that hope had evaporated like snow under the sun, as if it had never been there at all. A surprise attack from the back had the Royal air fleet fighting a battle on two fronts, ensuring that next to no aerial support could be given to the troops on the ground. Before the Royalists had even gotten the chance to recover from that nasty wakeup call, the Republic had unveiled their newest weapon and the defenders found themselves facing a threat unlike any they had ever seen before.

The Republican tanks were approaching at a steady pace, in a single line running from one side of the valley to the next, ensuring that there was no chance for the Royalists to do anything but retreat. The mere sight of the monstrous vehicles made of pure armoured steel and steam power sent the defenders into a panic. Swords and arrows were useless against these monsters, and they all knew it. Not wanting to go anywhere near the oncoming destruction, the soldiers tripped over each other in their haste to get away.

Unable to stop them, Desert Heat could only watch as the defence line he had struggled so hard to create and maintain fell apart before the enemy had even fired a single shot. He clenched his jaw and let out a low growl, sending a heated glare towards the Republican ranks. Anger and despair clawed at the back of his mind, trying to overwhelm him, but he pushed it back and forced himself to remain calm. As appealing as panic looked in this situation, he couldn't afford giving in to it. The battle was looking pretty hopeless at the moment, true enough, but it was his duty to try and mount a defence and turn the battle in their favour again.

His brain worked at furious speeds as he observed the battlefield and tried to form a plan of action. A quick glance at his troops made it obvious what had to be done first. Whipping out his trusty communication crystal, Desert Heat contacted the vice-admirals in command of the numerous sub-divisions of the Royal Guard.

“Have all earth ponies and pegasi fall back to the city and get ready to make their stand there,” he began. “Meanwhile, I want every available unicorn move to the front to cover their retreat and try to stop these monsters. Swords and arrows aren't going to do much good, so magic is our best bet for now.”

To his great relief, the vice-admirals and their lower ranking officers were able to regain control over their panicked troops, and Desert Heat's orders were carried out swiftly and effectively. As the earth ponies and pegasi retreated to the relative safety of the city's walls, the unicorns separated themselves from their division and dutifully stepped forward to face the oncoming Republican threat. Desert Heat quickly took control of the situation and guided them into position, casting quick glances at the tank division the entire time.

The tanks were quickly closing in on them, but they had yet to fire a single shot. Desert Heat didn't know if this was because they simply weren't within firing range yet, or because they were waiting for the Royalists to do something first, but he didn't have much time to think about it. He was simply glad for the time it gave him to organise his defences. The unicorns by now had lined up in two rows in a V-shape, Desert Heat standing at the front of the formation.

“On my signal, I want every front pony to raise up the strongest shield he or she can,” he bellowed, while trying to prevent panic from creeping into his voice. “When the shields are up, all back ponies are to light up their horn and start bombarding the enemy with the strongest blasts they're capable of. If we're lucky, that'll puncture a hole in those bastards and ship them off to Tartarus. Do not let up the attack until I give permission to do so!”

Desert Heat didn't wait to see if his orders were understood or not, there was no time for that. He turned and faced the looming tank division, which had neared enough for the distant purring of their engines to become a loud and disheartening rumble. The admiral gnawed on his lower lip, took a deep breath and then raised his hoof.

“Shields up!”

Immediately, a row of shimmering shields spread across the entire frontline, their soft glow bathing their casters in an eerie purple glow. Desert Heat let out the breath he hadn't realised he was holding, then gave a barely noticeable nod. So far, so good. His soldiers might not be Shining Armour, but their shields would protect them from cannonballs or magic blasts, at least for a while. He quickly proceeded to the next stage of the plan.

“Back ponies, charge up your magic!” he commanded, his hoof still raised. The Royalist line became a row of colourful lights as hundreds of horns lit up with magic in varying colours. Desert Heat gave them a few seconds to build up their power, his eyes fixed on their target all the while. The passiveness of the tanks unsettled him and put his nerves on edge. For the life of him he couldn't figure out what they were waiting for. He ignored the rumbling of cannon fire, far away in the skies above. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.

Desert Heat dropped his hoof. “Fire!”

A wave of magic blasts surged forth from the Royalists' defence line, heading straight for the Republican tanks. The first blast reached its target, slamming into it at great speed before exploding in a discharge of magical energy. An attack of that power would have been able to put a dent even in the most armoured airship, yet once the light of the explosion died down, the tank was undamaged. More magic projectiles rained down upon the vehicles, but upon every impact the tank would shimmer with the familiar glow of a magic shield and shrug off the attack. The war machines simply drove on through the magical barrage, ignoring the attacks being fired at them entirely.

“Their plating must be enchanted, or they have unicorns inside,” Desert Heat realised, and he cursed. Still, he did not give the order to cease the attack just yet. Perhaps if they battered away at the magical defences long enough, they could break through and hit the vehicle underneath...

A bright glow pulled him out of his thoughts and he ran his eyes across the battlefield, trying to find its source. The source turned out to not be one, but many, as the light came from the end of the barrels of the tanks' cannons. Ever since the new weapons had made their appearance, Desert Heat had wondered what the cannons fired, as they were too narrow for normal cannonballs. The light he was now witnessing told him everything he had to know.

“It cannot be...” he thought, a moment before realising what was about to happen. He quickly turned to his troops, barely having the time to shout a warning. “Shield casters, brace yourself! Everypony else, get down!”

The tanks fired before he had even finished speaking. The fifty vehicles struck in perfect unison, a beam of pure, focussed magical energies bursting forth from each cannon. The blasts went straight towards the Royalists' shields and pierced right through them as if they weren't even there. The magical domes shattered like glass, their casters struck down by the backlash of their failed spell. Still the blasts moved on, utterly pulverising any unicorn that stood in their way, until they hit the ground a few paces behind the defence line, causing numerous, and devastating explosions.

Desert Heat had succeeded in shielding himself and the soldiers closest to him from the explosions with a wall of sand, the outer layer of which had been turned into glass due to the sheer heat emanating from the magical explosions. Dirt and debris that had been blown in the air started raining down around them, occasionally accompanied by the corpses, or parts of them, from the fallen that had littered the battlefield. Only when it was over did Desert Heat lower his wall of sand and climb back to his hooves.

He looked around the battlefield, but his vision was impaired by the smoke and clouds of dust that followed in the wake of the explosions. A soft breeze quickly did away with that problem and the sight that greeted Desert Heat once the air had cleared was one he would remember until the end of his days.

The area where a few moments ago hundreds of unicorns had stood together was now littered with smoking craters, many of which were filled with burning bodies or debris. The corpses – or parts of them – of the fallen laid scattered across the marred valley floor. With only a single volley of a mere fifty tanks, the battlefield had been transformed into a wasteland, a feat that normally took a bombardment of an entire airship fleet to achieve. It was unbelievable. It was horrifying.

But Desert Heat paid it barely any heed, knowing full well that the battle was still raging on and that they were all in danger at this very moment. There was no time to be shocked or horrified. “Everypony fall back to the city!” he commanded, shaking his surviving unicorns out of their horrified stupor. “Retreat and regroup behind the walls! Retreat!”

Fortunately, his soldiers didn't need much convincing and immediately obeyed his orders. Those who could teleport did so, taking as many of their comrades with them as they could. Those who could not fled the old fashioned way, running faster than they ever had before. Desert Heat did not follow them. He stayed where he was, watching as the tank division emerged from the clouds of smoke and dust like horrors out of the mist. One soldier, upon noticing that his superior did not flee, stopped and called out to him.

“Admiral, what are you doing?!” he cried.

“Somepony has to cover our retreat,” Desert Heat calmly replied, not a trace of fear in his voice. “It is my duty as a Royal Admiral to protect my troops and stop these monsters.” He cast a quick glance over his shoulder at the worried soldier. “Now go! Fall back to the city and rejoin the others!” He did not look again to see if the stallion had obeyed him or not. All his attention went to the enemy before him.

As he called upon his magicite and started preparing an attack, Desert Heat also switched on his communication crystal, opening the line between him and his fellow admirals. “Dash, Sparkler, can you hear me?” he called, as he launched a crescent blade of sand at the nearest tank, which was a good stone-throw away from him. His attack, normally capable of slicing even through the armoured steel-plating of an airship, was stopped by the magical shield placed upon the vehicle. “There has to be some way I can slow them down...” he thought.

“I'm a little… ugh, busy at the moment, Desert!” came Rainbow Dash's voice through his crystal, together with the sound of grunts and clashing steel. There was a cry, followed by the familiar sizzling of electricity. Evidently, the pegasus was just as busy fighting as he was. “They really turned up the heat here.”

“I fear I have to echo that statement,” said the voice of Amethyst Star, which went accompanied by the sound of explosions going off in the background. “I find myself momentarily occupied. Apologies, my friend.”

“So no help from your end, then,” Desert Heat replied, giving a wry chuckle. “Can't say I didn't expect that. At least tell me you saw what just happened.” The tanks were almost upon him now. He could see how light began to gather near the end of their barrels as the armoured vehicles readied another volley. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw many of his troops weren't even halfway to the city yet. He had to do something, and fast.

“Hard not to notice a good chunk of our unicorns getting wiped off the face of the planet,” Rainbow Dash answered with a grunt, and her fellow admirals could hear the sound of hooves smashing into something, followed by the snapping of bones. “In one attack, no less! Did they come up with a new kind of gunpowder or what?!”

“I'm afraid it's worse than that,” Desert Heat replied, as he summoned a second miniature whirlwind on his hoof, intending to summon another sandstorm. He reared back to unleash his powers of sand upon the wind, but he was a split second too late. The tanks were faster and fired first, most aiming at his retreating troops, but one had targeted him.

Desert Heat was forced to throw himself into one of the impact craters and burry himself and the smouldering corpse next to him underneath a thick layer of sand to shield himself from the blast, but even then he could feel the shaking of the earth and the sheer heat of the magical explosion right through his sandy cover. He waited a few seconds, then moved through the sand like a fish through water and resurfaced. He took a deep and welcome breath of air, before looking around to take in the damage.

More of the valley had been turned into a wasteland, but he was relieved to notice that there was much less casualties this time around. The first time around the tanks had caught them off guard and they hadn't known what to expect from these new weapons. This time, they knew what they were up against. When the tanks had fired, many had sought cover in a trench or crater, a move that had saved their lives.

Now that the explosion had passed, they clambered out of their pits again to continue running for their lives. Desert Heat was pleased to notice that unicorns who could teleport and had already reached the city, where now going back to fetch their comrades who could not and were still out on the field. Almost every member of his troops had been evacuated to the relative safety of the city walls.

Desert Heat knew that the thick walls of Stalliongrad would be demolished by the awesome power of the tanks with ease, but to do that they first had to get within range, and he wasn't about to let that happen. He shook off the remaining sand that clung to his body, then quickly retreated a small distance. The tanks hadn't stopped their advance while he was playing mole under the sand, and they had neared enough for him to almost touch them.

“Desert, are you alright?” Amethyst Star asked, sounding worried.

“I'm alive,” he replied curtly, as he started to once again build up a second sandstorm. “Have to stop them before they get in range of the city. One volley of those blasts and our walls will be history.” With far less flair than the first time, Desert Heat set the miniature whirlwind on his hoof free on the wind, unleashing another sandstorm. He was well aware that it wouldn't damage the tanks, but the swirling sands obscuring their view ought to slow their pace at the very least.

“Just what are they firing?” Rainbow Dash wondered. “If it weren't for the fact that blasts of such power take a unicorn with the raw power the likes of which Twilight has, I'd say it was magic. But I refuse to believe there are that much Twilights running around and that they all happen to be inside those tanks.”

“Not magic,” Desert Heat said. “Magicite. I don't have to be a unicorn to recognise this kind of amplified magic.” Around him, the winds were beginning to really pick up, smoke, dust, debris and sand being swept into the air as the storm he had summoned grew in strength with every passing second.

“If the Republic has this many magicite shards, why would they waste it by putting it in tanks, instead of giving it to their soldiers?” Amethyst Star wondered, sounding unconvinced. “A trained magicite user would be much more versatile and useful than a tank.”

“I don't think it's natural magicite,” Desert Heat answered. “If the Republic had found that many shards, we would have known. No, we're up against manufactured magicite here, I'm certain of it. Somehow, they were able to weaponise it.”

“But that would mean their research into manufactured magicite is much further along than the reports said it was, not to mention more advanced than ours!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “We're barely capable of making magicite that doesn't shatter the moment we put a life spell in it for our mechanical wings and stuff, while they're putting it in tanks?!”

“Seems that way,” Desert Heat confirmed dryly.

Amethyst Star's side of the line was silent for a moment. “There was nothing about this in the plans,” she said, her voice dark. “Not even a hint. Either this technology wasn't ready to be included yet at the time we grabbed them and they added this plan only afterwards, or...”

“Or they deliberately left it out, taking the possibility of their plans being leaked into consideration,” Desert Heat finished for her. He gave a hapless shrug. “No way of knowing which of the two it was. With Shining Armour, both are possible. But deliberate or not...” He stared solemnly at the shadowy figures of the tanks trudging on through the sandstorm, unbothered and unhindered by the sad. “They got us, and they got us good.”

The silence that followed was dark and ominous, and said more than words ever could.

“So…what do we do?” Rainbow Dash wondered aloud.

“I thought that would be obvious,” Desert Heat replied. “The both of you continue as you are and keep us from being butchered in the sky, while I try to deal with these tanks.”

Amethyst Star wanted to protest, but Rainbow Dash beat her to it. “Desert, did those tanks finally make you snap? Going up against fifty magicite users is suicide, even for somepony like you! It doesn't matter if they're just using manufactured magicite and aren't as versatile as you are, you'll be blown to pieces!” she said, almost screaming. “You should regroup with the others in the city and think of a plan to win there, not out in the field where they can hit you!”

“A plan to win?” Desert Heat echoed, sounding somewhat confused. “Rainbow Dash, this isn't about winning anymore,” he said, shaking his head. His green eyes gazed at the dark forms of the tanks trudging on through the storm. “This is about surviving.”

---

It was with a heavy heart that Amethyst Star shut off the communication with her fellow admirals and put her stone back in its pocket. Desert Heat was going up against something on his own, something that by all rights required all three admirals' attention. It didn't sit well with her, not in the slightest. Desert Heat was a friend and her heart longed to go down there and help him face off against the Republic's division of secret weapons.

But she couldn't, something she was all too aware of. She was needed here, in the air, dealing the threat of the Republic's second airship fleet. The Royalist fleet, smaller in number, facing the Republic's aerial might needed a capable leader to guide them through the fight. She was that leader. Everypony aboard these ships was looking at her for guidance and she could not disappoint them. She could not abandon them to their own devices to go and help Desert Heat, not with how dire things looked up here.

Her troops being outnumbered was only the beginning of her troubles. Given that they had not expected an attack from behind their lines, not one of this size or nature at least, Amethyst Star didn't have a planned strategy for dealing with this new threat. She was a quick thinker and a good strategist, for sure, but even so not being able to properly prepare for a fight was never a good thing.

Finally, she was simply not as skilled or experienced when it came to aerial warfare as Rainbow Dash was - and Amethyst Star hated admitting Rainbow Dash was better than her at something - making the challenge she was faced with now all the more difficult.

She had little choice but to tackle it head-on, however, which was exactly what she planned on doing. Challenging or not, it was her duty as a Royal Admiral, and she took the duties that came with her rank very serious, even in seemingly hopeless situations. She cast one last glance over her shoulder to the other side of the valley, which was still being ravaged by sandstorm.

“I'm sorry, Desert,” Amethyst Star apologised quietly. She sighed, and then turned her attention back to the challenge laid before her. Her face was a scowling mask of determination, her cold eyes locking onto the Republican flagship leading the second invasion fleet. “Set course for their flagship!” she commanded a nearby crewmember of her ship.

Said crewmember snapped to attention and gave a dutiful salute. “Yes, admiral, ma'am!” he replied, before hurrying off to relay the message.

Amethyst Star walked to the prow of the ship and jumped on top of its figurehead, a prancing windigo, with practiced ease. As the ship began to turn to set itself on its new course, the admiral called upon her magic and summoned her trusted Sephira blades to her side, readying herself for battle. In a hopeless situation like this, she mused, the best defence was a good offence. As far as strategies went, it wasn't exactly her most impressive work, but without Rainbow Dash around to tease her about it, she didn't really care.

With her mane billowing in the wind and her eyes blazing with the fires of war, Amethyst Star flew into battle.

---

In the skies on the other side of the city, the battle was already well underway again. After the brief retreat while Shining Armour's shield was up and the splitting of the fleet, Rainbow Dash and the remainder of her troops had dived straight back into the fray, with a ferocity that bordered on desperation. Which, given the turn the war had taken, might not have been too far from the truth.

Given that the troops at her disposal had been effectively halved, Rainbow Dash had had no choice but to adopt a new strategy. Before, she had moved her ships in a single front that constantly pushed against the enemy's fleet and forced them back, but now that the Republic was outnumbering them, that formation had become impossible to hold.

Instead, Rainbow Dash had opted to spread out and amalgamate her fleet with the Republic's. There were no clear cut front or specific formations anymore on either side; the two opposing fleets were flying crisscross through each other in a free for all battle. Unwise as it seemed at first glance, Rainbow Dash knew that this course of action was ultimately to their advantage.

Now that the Republic's firepower was greater than theirs, it was important to prevent them from using that firepower in a united assault. By abandoning ordered lines and formation, Rainbow Dash had done just that. With the Royal airships flying through the Republican ranks, the enemy ships had a much harder time firing their cannons, out of fear of hitting their own allies. Admittedly, the same was true for her own ships as well, but with the artillery crippled, the battle had to be fought by ponies, not weapons, and Rainbow Dash knew that when it came to that, they still held the advantage.

It wasn't overconfidence or arrogance, merely a fact. The Royalists had more flyers. Whereas the Republican unicorns and earth ponies were forced to remain grounded aboard their ships, their Royal counterparts could easily take to the skies with their mechanical wings. The separatist laws of the Republic that forbade the three tribes from wandering into each other’s' territory now worked against them, and Rainbow Dash wasn't afraid of exploiting that.

“It's not like I have much choice,” she thought to herself as she soared through the air in search of her next opponent. “With everything having gone to Tartarus like this, I need to press any advantage I can get!”

She dived towards the nearest Republican ship, her body surrounded by sparks of lightning and her mind set on wreaking havoc. With a swing of her left hoof she threw a bolt of lightning at the ship, which crashed into the magical shield the unicorns aboard the ship had woven around their vessel. The crackling of electricity could be heard above the din of battle as the lightning ran across the shield, but despite the power of the attack, the barrier held.

Her attack had drawn the attention of the ship's crew and Rainbow Dash now found herself the target of a barrage of spells and arrows. With practiced ease she swerved left and right, deftly dodging the numerous projectiles, occasionally swatting one aside with her lance. As she came closer to her target, she took note of a whole flock of pegasi rising up around it like a wall of feathers, flesh and steel.

With a gesture of her hoof she mentioned the nearest of her own soldiers to follow her, with a second gesture at the ship making it clear what their target was. Immediately five members of the royal guard fell in line besides her, moving in formation with the admiral like a well-oiled machine, the result of years of exercises and hard drills. When they were almost upon the enemy ship, Rainbow Dash fired another lightning blast to herald their arrival.

As the blast bounced off the magical shield, a number of Republican pegasi broke loose from their flock and headed out to intercept them. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and prepared herself for the oncoming fight, but kept flying straight towards her target. Amidst the flying ships, exploding ammunition and spells, the two groups clashed. The Royalists at her side each engaged one of the incoming Republicans, though one unfortunate soul had his throat slit by a sword after exchanging only one blow.

This left Rainbow Dash to deal with the remaining attackers, a task she was fortunately more than capable of performing. She ducked under the swing of her first opponent's sword, then jabbed her lance upward through his jaw into his skull. As she pushed his corpse of her weapon with her legs, two more Republicans attacked her from two directions, one from the front and the other from behind. A third soldier, armed with a crossbow, hung back and fired a steel bolt at her just as his comrades swung their swords at the admiral.

Rainbow Dash pulled in her head just enough to let the crossbow bolt pass over her, a few of her rainbow-coloured hairs being lost in the process. She blocked the sword coming at her from behind with one of her metal-covered wings, while the other she held back with an armoured hoof of one of her legs. Her magicite blazed as she grabbed the Republican in front of her by the face, unleashing a blast of lightning straight into his skull, rigging the soldier behind her on her lance through his abdomen without even looking behind her.

She let the first corpse drop from her hoof and threw the other one off her lance towards the crossbow user, who was still frantically trying to reload his weapon. He barely managed to avoid being hit by the body of his fallen comrade, but in the time it took to do that Rainbow Dash was upon him and had pierced his throat with her lance. She ignored the blood spilling on her weapon as she pulled it out of her opponent's body, her attention already aimed at her true target again.

Rainbow Dash continued her flight towards the enemy ship, noting that her efforts and those of the guards fighting with her were starting to pay off. There were notably less enemies left defending her target, though two more of her soldiers had lost their lives during the struggle. It pained her, but she forced all feelings of sadness and mourning to the back of her head, where they would have to wait until the battle was over.

Spotting an opening, Rainbow Dash sped straight towards the barrier surrounding the Republican airship, grabbing her lance tightly with her two hooves and holding it out before her. Lightning laced from her arms into her weapon, the magicite shard upon her brow shining like a star as she tapped into its power. Three enemy soldiers saw her charge and tried to intercept her, but she knocked them out of the skies with a quick blast of lightning.

With the speed of a bolt fired from a crossbow, Rainbow Dash crashed into the magical shield, sparks of lightning flying off in every direction upon collision. For a brief moment, the part of the shield around the area of impact bent in under the pressure, then the tip of Rainbow Dash's lance pierced through the magical field. Like a bubble popped by a needle, the shield shattered, flooring a number of unicorns on the ship's deck as the backlash of their spell struck them.

Rainbow Dash was still speeding like a bullet, but she had chosen her angle of approach well and did not crash into the ship. Though she would most likely not get hurt and merely pierce a hole right through the ship, she wanted to avoid damaging it in hopes of commandeering it if at all possible. She spread her wings to bring herself to a halt, the muscles of her wings groaning somewhat under the strain, then dropped safely on the deck, near the entrance to the bridge.

A quick glance behind her revealed that the remaining crew members aboard the airship weren't very happy with the new passenger, as they unanimously began to charge towards her or prepare a spell. Rainbow Dash was not in the mood for another fight, however. Growling, she created a single lightning bolt in her hoof and wielded it like a whip. With one swing she swept the deck clean, a thunderclap accompanying the impact, and the ship's crew was launched over the railing and fell to their doom.

This did not mean the ship was hers just yet, however. The sound of beating hooves from below the deck signalled that more enemies were coming up to greet her, while Republican pegasi approached from the skies surrounding the ship, looking to land on the deck or kick her off it. As she blasted them out of the air with lightning as quickly as she could, the admiral sent a quick signal for help, knowing that she could never take over and hold the ship on her own.

Her call was answered and ten more Royalists approached from various directions of the battlefield. The first three landed just as Rainbow Dash bucked the Republican soldier who'd come from below deck square in the jaw, causing him to spit out blood and teeth. With a few quick gestures of her hoof, she pointed them towards the bridge with the clear order to take it over, to which they hurriedly obeyed.

As she fought the Republicans coming up from below deck, Rainbow Dash noticed five more of her own troops arriving. She opened her mouth to call out to them and give those orders, but before even a single sound could escape her lips a stream of searing hot flames burst forth out of nowhere heading straight towards them. The unfortunate Royalists stood no chance and were burned to a crisp in an instant, their smoking, charred bodies plummeting to the ground below.

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth, knowing that the stream of flames heralded the arrival of the one pony she'd tried very hard to avoid. After blasting the last few Republicans coming up from below deck straight through the bottom of the ship, the admiral turned to face the only pegasus she considered to be her equal.

“Spitfire,” Rainbow Dash growled, her teeth bared.

“Hi, Dash,” Spitfire replied, her face and demeanour serious despite the playfulness of her greeting. “Ready for round two?”

---

The tanks continued their approach, ignoring the sandstorm raging around them, which did little to improve Desert Heat's mood. He had hoped that reduced visibility would have slowed the battalion of war machines down at least a little bit. What was even more puzzling was that he had spotted no opening anywhere in the tank through which the pilot could look outside, making him wonder how they even managed to manoeuvre.

“Given how the weaponry uses magicite, it's reasonable to assume they have a unicorn aboard,” he thought. “In which case a see-through spell wouldn't be out of the question. That way they could reduce openings for visibility, meaning less weak points in the design that could be exploited. Risky, admittedly, but clever nevertheless...”

His thoughts were interrupted when the tanks came uncomfortably close and the admiral had little choice but to retreat even further, lest he be overrun. All the while, his thoughts were racing, trying to come up with a strategy - any strategy - that he could use against this fearsome opponent. He knew that, if these steel monsters managed to get close enough to the walls to use their weaponry, everything would be lost. The way to the city would be wide open then, with no hope for any kind of organized defence.

He was not going to let that happen. It was his duty as a royal admiral to protect the city and the ponies residing within it, one that he refused to fail. But while determination was all well and good and he could refuse as much as he wanted to, fact was that if he didn't find a way to stop the battalion of steel monstrosities he was going to fail regardless. It was a stinging truth he was all too aware of.

“Think, Desert, think!” he told himself. “These things must have some kind of weakness you can exploit; you only need to find it!”

The admiral once again let his gaze run across the line of war machines. Nothing he had done so far had slowed down their approach even a bit and at this rate they would reach and level the city's walls within ten to fifteen minutes. Closely behind the battalion of tanks, the rest of the Republican army followed. Shielded by their fearsome vehicles, they could advance on the city without any opposition while suffering not even a single loss. Even if they suddenly lost the cover of their tanks right now, the amount of terrain they had won was still disastrous.

Just as Desert Heat was getting truly desperate, fate willed that his gaze fell upon a hitch in the tanks' formation. As the other tanks continued to advance, one of them appeared to go much slower. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it wasn't going slower, it wasn't going at all. A single glance at the ground revealed the reason why and caused Desert Heat to wonder why he hadn't thought of that sooner.

Over the course of the battle, spells, cannonballs and the magical blasts from the tanks themselves had battered the battlefield with numerous explosions, tearing gaping wounds into the earth. The uneven terrain did not make for an ideal driving ground for the lumbering prototype tanks, but they managed to cross even the pits and craters with only minor difficulty. Some had to increase the output of their engines, sometimes even dangerously so, but nevertheless all tanks continued their advance.

All, except for one.

The crates that littered the battlefield were filled with debris, shrapnel and, more often than not, corpses as well. But one crater had been filled to the brim with sand, the same one in which Desert Heat had sought cover from the magical blasts of the tanks only a moment ago. One of the war machines had attempted to drive across it, but its wheels had found no grip on the loose sand and it soon found itself stuck. The driver's attempts to break free by pushing the engines and making the wheels spin faster only caused it to sink even deeper, the war machine's heavy weight not helping matters much.

If the situation hadn't been so dire, Desert Heat might have chuckled at the thought of something as powerful and destructive as a tank being bested by something as simple as sand. Clearly, whoever had designed these marvellous new weapons had not intended for them to be deployed on a beach or in a desert. He found that he couldn't blame them. After all, even if an enemy found out this particular weakness, it would do them little good, since deserts and beaches weren't exactly commonplace in Equestria.

That little titbit of information, however, didn't bother Desert Heat in the slightest. “After all,” he thought, as he began to call upon the power of his magicite in a manner he had done only twice before in his entire career. “If there's no desert nearby to use, I'll simply make one myself.”

A plan had formed in his head and he wasted no time in putting it into execution. The first thing he needed was more cover, for he knew that the Republic was unlikely to let him do as he pleased once they caught on to what exactly he had planned. His sandstorm was beginning to subside, much to the relief of the Republican soldiers as they trudged on in discomfort through the storm in the wake of their tanks. Desert Heat quickly decided to pluck that sprout of hope before it had a chance to grow.

With a push of his powers, he renewed the storm, but he knew he had to take it a step further. The current storm provided major discomfort to his enemies, but he needed more. The swirling sands hindered visibility, but didn't take it away completely. The sand could blind his foes, but the Republicans by now had learned from past experience and began employing magical shields to protect themselves from the onslaught of the elements. He needed a storm that was so fierce one could not see a hoof if it was held right before his face.

Creating such a thing was definitely within his capabilities, but the problem was that a storm of that magnitude and power could very well be beyond even his control, which was already quite precarious and limited. He could influence the magnitude and size of a storm, as well as the direction it went in, but this became more and more difficult as the size of the storm increased. Certainly he had never tried to create a storm of the magnitude he had in mind. It would be risky, dangerous even.

“But since I don't have a better idea at the moment, nor the time to think of any, it's a risk I'll have to take,” he thought quietly. Still, he was not about to do that without giving some warning. Taking out his communication crystal, Desert Heat quickly send a message to his fellow admirals. “Girls, I'm going to get a bit dangerous, so if you spot any turbulence up there, you know who to blame.”

He could hear gasps of protest on the other side of the communication, but he shut it off before they could say any word, knowing all too well that they'd argue with him not to do it and he didn't have the time for that. The clock was ticking for him and the city he was supposed to keep safe. He had to act, and fast.

---

Shining Armour winced as the fierce winds raging all around him tugged at his body, blowing his mane and sand into his face and nearly tearing his coat from his shoulders. Shielding his eyes with one of his hooves, the Marshal quickly erected a small barrier around himself and those nearby, protecting them from the onslaught of the elements. His action came not a moment too soon, for the howling winds were growing stronger and more ferocious with every passing moment.

The sandstorm, which had been an irritating but mostly minor hindrance at first, was quickly becoming a real menace to every pony unfortunate enough to be caught in its embrace. Whereas before the storm had done little more than kick up sand - irritating, blinding sand that crept under their armour and chafed their hides, yes, but sand nonetheless - its swirling winds were growing so strong by now that they swept up everything that couldn't get away in time.

Even a fully grown stallion, armoured from horn to hoof with heavy steel was plucked from the ground and toyed with just as easily as a shrivelled leaf. Shining Armour had seen more than one of his soldiers take flight, set to be tossed around like ragdolls by the storm until the fierce winds let them drop likes stones towards their doom. He shivered slightly and tried not to think about it.

He knew he could probably raise another magical shield that would cover the entirety of his army, but he did not want to risk having it shattered again, as unlikely as it was with both Rainbow Dash and Amethyst Star occupied elsewhere. But even the slightest chance was too big a risk, as a second backlash from getting one of his shields shattered would undoubtedly end up frying his brain and knock him out for the rest of the fight. He could not risk that. His troops needed his guidance and leadership. They would have to make do with multiple, smaller shields cast by numerous unicorns instead.

Which, as far as he could tell, seemed to work just as well for the moment. Still, it was better to make sure. “How are we holding up, lieutenant-commander?” he asked, casting a questioning glance at Amber Chip standing at his left.

“All troops are secure, Marshal,” she replied. “The storm is fierce and visibility has been reduced to zero, but it cannot get past our magical barriers. We can safely march on without suffering any further casualties to admiral Desert Heat's attack.”

Shining Armour gave a brief nod. “That's good to hear,” he said, with a hint of relief in his voice, as he stared pensively at the incredible storm raging all around them. The winds had kicked up so much sand and debris into the air that it was impossible to see anything beyond the shields. Before he had still been able to make out the silhouettes of his tanks even through the sand, but when the storm had grown in power that became no longer possible. “What of the tanks? Has there been any sign of trouble?”

Amber Chip shook her head. “Negative, sir,” she answered. “Their advance has continued unhindered despite the storm and there have been no signs that this will change. The enchanted plating and waterproof design is successfully keeping the sand at bay, while the see-through spells of look-outs allows them to navigate despite the reduced visibility.”

“I see,” Shining Armour muttered distractedly, almost as if her answer had upset him instead of reassuring him. A deep frown settled on the marshal's face. “That makes little sense.”

“Sir?” Amber Chip asked, puzzled.

“Think about it,” he replied, turning his head to look at her. “Why would Desert Heat waste time and energy executing a strategy that does not work? His sandstorms no longer pose a threat to us and they never did to our tanks. Yet instead of abandoning that tactic, he does the complete opposite and increases the power of his storm instead. Why? It makes no sense.”

Amber Chip tapped her chin thoughtfully as she mulled over her superior's words. It certainly sounded odd when he put it like that, she had to admit. She glanced at the marshal, who was peering into the storm with a scowl on his face, as if willing himself to see his enemy counterpart.

“See...” she repeated, out loud this time. She glanced down at her hooves distractedly. Something tugged at the back of her mind, a feeling similar to the one she had when something was on the tip of her tongue. Suddenly her eyes widened as the answer hit her. She and Shining Armour looked up at the same time, having both come to the same realisation.

“I'm a thrice-damned foal,” Shining Armour cursed. “Of course he would have known that his sandstorm didn't stop our tanks, but he never intended it to. It's only meant to prevent us from seeing him as he works out whatever plan he has come up with to stop us instead!” If he'd had the time for it, he would have planted his hoof on his face.

But he didn't have the time, so instead Shining Armour turned to the mare at his side. “Send word to the tanks immediately and tell them to be on the lookout for any kind of threat,” he commanded. “Also have them increase their firing rate and their pace if at all possible. If Desert Heat really has a plan to stop us, then I want those walls torn down before he can do it!”

Amber Chip gave a dutiful salute and a curt nod. “Understood, sir,” she said. She wanted to run off and carry out her orders, as she had done so many times before during the battle, but Shining Armour reached out with a hoof to stop her.

“When you get back, I want you to temporarily take over command,” he told her, his face serious. “You know what to do and when, so I am confident you can handle this.”

For the first time in a long time since she'd been assigned as Shining Armour's right-hoof pony, Amber Chip found herself stunned and nearly speechless. “M-me? Take over command?” she echoed in disbelief. “B-but why me? Would commander Haze not be a better choice?”

“Smaragd Haze is currently at the front line, guiding our troops as we advance, and I'm reluctant to take him away from there,” Shining Armour explained. “I'm also not convinced he's the best choice to give overall command to. I need somepony who I can be sure will follow my orders exactly as I stated them, and I know you are that mare.”

“But marshal, sir, what about you?” Amber Chip wondered, still feeling a bit overwhelmed. “What will you be doing?”

“What needs to be done,” Shining Armour replied. “Somepony has to find and stop Desert Heat from doing whatever it is he's planning, and it can only be me. Smaragd Haze would be at a disadvantage in these sandy circumstances, as would Spitfire, and Trixie's occupied elsewhere. That leaves only me as somepony powerful enough to face a Royal admiral.”

He dropped his hoof from her chest plate and turned towards the direction of the city. “You have your orders, lieutenant-commander,” he said. “See to it that they're carried out.” He spared a glance up to the stormy skies. “And have some unicorns and pegasi try to take care of this storm,” he added. “Dismissed!”

And with those words, without even waiting to see if Amber Chip obeyed, Shining Armour vanished with a flash of magic, which carried him from the safety of the shields to the heart of the storm.

---

Amethyst Star cast a worried glance at the sandstorm raging through the valley on the other side of the city, concern for Desert Heat gnawing at her heart. Even from this distance it was clear to her that the storm her fellow admiral had unleashed was of a magnitude he had never tried before, making it perfectly clear what his message of 'getting a bit dangerous' meant. At this rate, the sandstorm might very well end up becoming a danger to its own creator.

“I hope you know what you're doing, Desert,” she muttered quietly, before turning her attention back to the battle raging in the skies around her. It hurt her that she brushed off Desert Heat's safety as if it was of no concern, but she knew that there was nothing at the moment she could do to help him. She couldn't leave this front to go and aid him, the royal troops here needed her guidance and leadership.

Despite one side outnumbering the other, the battle had still been mostly even until now. Amethyst Star had realised quite quickly that, despite the Republic having greater numbers and more ships, the number of ponies capable of flight in accordance to their total number of soldiers was lower than the Royalists'. It was a minor advantage at best, but given the current situation she was glad for anything she could get her hooves on, and it had allowed her and her troops to hold their ground, at least for the moment.

As was the case with the aerial battlefield on the other side of the city, there were no formations or clear lines to be found on this front. It was a free-for-all battle to the death, with airships and ponies soaring crisscross through the skies with very little semblance of organization. Airships chased one another as they fired their canons, while Republicans and Royalists were locked in hoof-to-hoof fights in the middle of the chaos of spells and cannon fire.

One of those ships giving chase to another was Amethyst Star's very own Ice Wraith, the flagship of the Royalists' third division. Since the beginning of the battle, Amethyst Star had been attempting to attack the Republicans' flagship, knowing the best way to sow confusion and doubt amongst the enemy troops was to take out their leader, but said leader was proving to be very elusive. Every time the Ice Wraith came close to catching up, another Republican ship appeared to block their way, stalling them while Trixie and her ship vanished in the chaos of the battlefield.

Amethyst Star cursed as another one of her attempts to grab the enemy's flagship was interrupted by another Republican airship appearing on the right of her beloved Ice Wraith. It was heading straight towards them at high speed, with the clear intention of ramming the Ice Wraith's hull. Reluctantly, Amethyst Star averted her eyes from her desired target and focussed instead upon the new threat.

“I'm getting really tired of this,” she growled under her breath, as she sent a heated glare at the enemy ship that once again interrupted her chase.

Her jaw clenched, Amethyst Star caught the oncoming ship with her magic before it could come close enough to ram them as had been its intention. The sheer amount of magical power needed to grab and stop an airship going at full speed was so massive, even for a Royal Admiral, that she almost faltered, and for a moment it looked as if the two ships were going to crash still. Then Ameythyst Star's eyes shot open, glowing white with power, the magicite shard upon her brow blazing like a star, and with a cry she solidified her hold on the enemy ship, leaving it hanging motionless in the air.

Even as the Republican ship and its crew were still reeling from the sudden blow, Amethyst Star moved to attack. Still holding the Republican vessel firmly within her telekinetic grasp, she called forth her Sephiras and sent them forth towards the captured ship. The five blades, aglow with might and power, pierced straight through the warship at five different locations, leaving it riddled with gaping holes upon exiting. One of the Sephira swords cut through the ship's steam engine, causing the machinery to explode and destroy the entirety of the stern.

Satisfied with the work of her magical constructs, Amethyst Star summoned up her remaining power and threw the fatally damaged and crippled ship away, setting the smoking and burning wreck on collision course with another Republican ship. Once her magic hold faded, Amethyst Star closed her eyes, let out a deep breath and bowed her head. She was breathing hard, her lungs greedily sucking in air, and she could feel sweat running down her flanks.

Though Amethyst Star certainly possessed a great amount of power, juggling with airships was exhausting and taxing even for a royal admiral like her, and the repeated interferences she had had to deal with while chasing Trixie had tired her out and drained her magical reserves considerably. In all honesty, she could do with a small break right now, if only to catch her breath.

Unfortunately, any hopes for that break were swiftly and expertly crushed by the appearance of another airship. It came up to the left of the Ice Wraith from somewhere below, seemingly out of nowhere, and quickly placed itself alongside the royal flagship. Amethyst Star nearly lost her balance when the entirety of the Ice Wraith was rattled due to the Republican ship crashing against it and pressing their hulls together.

Pushing her fatigue aside, Amethyst Star rushed to the other side of the deck, to where the two ships were locked together, her horn alight as she called upon her magic once more. She reached out with her telekinesis to try and grab the Republican warship that had the gall to ram her dear Ice Wraith, only to stumble and cry out in pain as her attempts were repelled and the backlash of her failed spell hit her like a blow to the horn.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie will not allow her ship to be tossed around like a toy by a piece of royal trash that has sold her unicorn pride!” a voice called out to her over the wind and the din of the battle, causing Amethyst Star to take a second, better look at the new warship she now faced.

It was more than just an ordinary warship. The fact that it was bigger and more heavily armoured would have been proof enough of that, but on top of that the ship was also gifted with a unique appearance to put it apart from common warships. The hull of the ship was shaped to look as if it had been carved from the dead body of an Ursa Major, with the astral creature's head serving as the ship's prow.

Standing atop the figurehead was the owner of the voice that had called out to her. It was a unicorn mare like herself, with a silver mane and tail and a sky blue coat. Her cutie mark was a crescent moon crossed with a magic wand and around her shoulders was draped had the flowing cloak of an arch mage. Even if she hadn't just identified herself while speaking a moment ago, Amethyst Star would have recognised her.

Commander of the Republican Unicorn Division, Arch-mage, magicite user, pure-blood unicorn supremacist, tool of oppression in the hoof of the Court Nobles. Only a single pony in all of Equestria fitted that description.

“Trixie Lulamoon,” Amethyst Star growled softly, sending the commander a heated glare.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not wish her name to be spoken by the likes of you!” Trixie snapped back, holding one of her hooves against her chest in a dramatic, theatrical gesture to show she was offended. “A traitor to the superior pony race such as yourself has no right to utter the name of my greatness!” Returning Amethyst Star's glare with one of her own, Trixie put her front hooves a bit further apart to stand more firmly, and her horn started to glow as she readied her magic for the fight.

“Ugh, spare me the supremacist preaching,” Amethyst Star groaned in annoyance. Standing tall, she used her own magic to summon her trusted Sephira blades to her side, seemingly confident and ready for the coming battle. It was all merely an act, however, for in truth she wasn't as confident she could take the commander as she pretended to be.

“Amethyst Star, you're a blundering idiot,” she mentally scolded herself. “She played you like a fiddle and you didn't even realise it until it was too late.” When she had recognised Trixie's flagship as the one attacking her, Amethyst Star had realised in a flash that she'd been tricked. All this time, she had been chasing after the commander and fighting off any airship that had gotten in the way, not realising Trixie had prolonged the chase on purpose until now, when it was too late.

“She waited to confront you until you'd tired yourself out and wasted your magic destroying all those airships, and you didn't even realise it. Nice going, Sparkler, absolutely brilliant,” she continued to berate herself. “If Rainbow Dash hears I fell for the oldest trick in the book, I'll have to listen to her laugh at me 'till the end of my career. That is, given that I survive this encounter.”

Amethyst Star spared the briefest of moments to glance at the other side of the city, where the sandstorm still raged. “But I'm not the only one who's up to her neck in the septic tank,” she thought grimly. “We'll need a bloody miracle simply to survive this, so much so that I'm shocked we ever thought of winning...”

She tried not to think such defeatist thoughts, especially since she'd given Rainbow Dash such a firm scolding a little while ago for doing the same, but in the current situation it was hard not to. She was facing a Republican commander who was still newly arrived to the battle, fresh, well-rested and at full strength, while she had already been fighting for hours, her body suffering from injury and stress, not helped by the fact that she'd been juggling with airships only a moment before, depleting much of her magical reserves. The odds weren't exactly in her favour.

Despite knowing this, the thought of giving up didn't even cross her mind. She had long since decided that there would be no surrender here today. She would fight until she was killed or until victory was achieved. Even now, she stood by that conviction, but for a moment she wondered what good it would do. No matter how many she took down with her, no matter how much of a fight she put up before the end, the Republic would still win in the end, and everything she'd done before her death would be rendered meaningless.

“Was it all in vain?” she found herself wondering. “All those years of training, all the battles we fought, the oaths we've sworn… Did we live through all of that just to see it all come crumbling down around us here, today? Did all of us spend three centuries fighting for freedom, equality, peace and harmony, just to see those things die here today, together with us?”

She could not think of an answer, for Trixie chose that moment to attack and Amethyst Star had no choice but to react. Her body almost handled by instinct as she threw herself into the fight, still as determined as ever to find either victory or death. Yet even as she countered Trixie's magic with her own, Amethyst Star could not deny to feeling despair for the first time that day.

---

On the other side of the city, despair was the last thing on Desert Heat's mind, as he was wholly focussed on carrying out the plan that had formed in his head. He had to, for there were little more than eight minutes left before the walls of Stalliongrad came within range of the tanks' cannons. If the walls were taken down, then their last defensive position would be lost and the war with it.

Around him raged the fiercest sandstorm he had ever created, a feat he had already decided he would never do again if he could help it. The biting winds carried enough sand with them to fill an entire desert, effectively robbing the oncoming Republicans of their sight, but unfortunately Desert Heat's eyes fared no better in the storm. It was only by using his magicite to sense the sand in the earth beneath his hooves that he was able to orientate himself in the swirling maelstrom and not get entirely lost.

He knew that the storm wouldn't slow the tanks or the army following in their wake, but it didn't have to. It only had to buy him some time, to hide him from their view so that they wouldn't realise what he was up to until it was already too late. He worked his way through the sea of sand and dust until he felt through the earth that he had put enough distance between the oncoming enemy and himself.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself and focus his mind, Desert Heat called upon the power of the magicite shard resting upon his brow. The familiar feeling of warmth that flowed through his body as he drew upon the might of the shard was very welcome and slightly eased the pain of his aching muscles. He guided the power of sand to his front right hoof and then jumped with all his might into the air. He landed on his empowered hoof, shattering the earth underneath it and causing numerous, massive blades of sand to erupt in every direction from the point of impact.

The blades of sand cut deep wounds across the battlefield, tearing deep trenches across the ground. The sandstorm, still on top of its might, did the rest of the work, its raging winds, filled with erosive sands, ripping the wounds in the ground further open and turning the exposed earth brittle and loose.

“That was a nice start,” Desert Heat thought. “But the real work still waits, while the enemy doesn't...” He took another deep breath while he pressed one of his front hooves deep into the dirt. “Just remain calm and focus... ”

When, many years ago, he had been granted his magicite shard and had chosen for it to be filled with sand, Desert Heat had raised the eyebrows of more than one pony. That had hardly been surprising; after all, sand seemed decidedly plain and unimpressive when his fellow admirals were throwing around lightning bolts or giant swords of pure magical energy. It had never bothered him, though, and he had always been perfectly happy with his choice, for numerous reasons.

“Maybe I cannot juggle with swords and lightning,” he thought with a wry smile. “But I can do this...!”

With a mental push, he let the power of his magicite flow from his buried hoof into the earth. Many ponies believed that his magicite merely allowed him to create and wield sand, but there was much more to it than that. His sand also allowed him to dehydrate everything he touched, should he so chose, a skill that had saved him during his battle with Smaragd Haze and the commander's deadly acid. Now, he let loose this terrible power upon the very earth he stood upon.

The effects were immediate, as around him whatever grasses and weeds that had survived the violence began to shrivel up and die, all of their moisture sucked right out of them. Like a disease, the drought spread further and further away from the admiral, but Desert Heat pushed was just getting started. His face twisted in a scowl and beads of sweat began to trickle down the side of his face as he drew even deeper upon the power of his magicite.

The shrivelled, dried plants were dehydrated even further until they crumbled into dust, but Desert Heat took it even further. He pushed his hoof even deeper into the ground, targeting the very earth itself and draining it of its moisture. Like the grass that had once grew upon it, the earth grew drier and more brittle with every passing second. The soil, so solid and firm only a moment ago, crumbled and caved in, collapsing upon itself in a cloud of dust and sand.

The pace with which the dehydration was spreading was amazing, as in less than a minute Desert Heat had already dried out an area wider than half the width of the valley, with no signs of it stopping. On the contrary, the more sand was formed, the faster the drought seemed to spread. The many craters, as well as the trenches Desert Heat had cut mere moments before, scrambled and loosened the soil, allowing the dehydration to consume it even faster and reach deeper into the earth as well.

All of this was of course very taxing on Desert Heat, who felt his strength being drained as quickly as the water in the soil, but the admiral pushed himself to the limit and continued his momentous work. By this point his whole body was trembling from the strain it was put under through the continuous usage of so much strength, while his flanks and neck were drenched in sweat. A wave of nausea welled up in his stomach and he fought to suppress it.

“Just a little more...” he told himself. “Just need to keep this up for a little while longer...”

He clenched his teeth together and tapped into his last reserves of strength in order to cross the proverbial last few steps. Only one more minute and then his dehydration would have spread across the entire width of the valley, creating a sea of sand placed squarely in the path of the oncoming Republican forces.

He knew that it wouldn't stop the enemy soldiers, they could simply walk across, but the tanks were a different story altogether, their wheels not at all suited to traverse the loose desert sands. Perhaps the enemy could levitate them across, but his sandstorm, having grown even stronger now that there was an abundance of sand it could feed from, would render them unable to spot the danger until it was already too late.

“And once they are stuck in the sands, it'll be over,” Desert Heat thought, “for the desert does not relinquish its prey once caught.”

All he had to do in order for his plan to succeed was keeping his powers going for just a little longer. He had to make sure there was absolutely no solid ground left for the war machines to use in order to advance. He could sense their presence through the earth, soon the first would hit the sands. He had to be done before that, so that there was no time for them to warn the others to change their course to the ground his powers had not yet devoured. Ignoring the protests of his body and the agonizing headache that tormented his mind, Desert Heat let out a chilling cry and fed the last of his strength into his magicite.

With his body weakened as it was and his mind exhausted and distracted, it was little wonder that when a powerful blast of magic burst forth from the depths of the sandstorm, Desert Heat did not spot it until it was too late. The destructive blast hit the unprepared admiral head-on and exploded, the magical discharge knocking Desert Heat off his hooves and sending him flying. He hit the sand a few metres away with a heavy thud, sliding through the sand for a short distance before coming to a halt in an unceremonious heap. Though his armour had caught most of the blast, a feeling of something wet running down his face told him that he had suffered an injury to the head, one that was bleeding rather profusely.

Groaning, and with his entire body screaming in protest, Desert Heat clambered to his hooves, though he had to try twice before succeeding, as his hind legs had buckled underneath him upon his first attempt. Still somewhat disoriented from the blast, he shook his head a few times to try and stop the spinning of his vision, before looking in the direction the attack had come from. He didn't spot his attacker right away, but quickly could make out a shadow approaching through the haze of sand and dust.

“I'm afraid I can't let you continue doing whatever it was you were doing, admiral,” said the familiar voice of Shining Armour, as the marshal emerged out of the sandstorm and approached his enemy, who was still struggling to remain standing.

“You'll forgive me for not being surprised by that, marshal,” Desert Heat replied with a soft chuckle that was meant to hide his anxiety. His desert trap still wasn't complete and he didn't think he'd have much opportunity to finish it while being confronted by the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria. Shining Armour truly couldn't have picked a worse moment to attack and Desert Heat felt his heart sink a little bit, cursing his bad luck.

“There's still time, admiral,” Shining Armour said. “We can put an end to the fighting and stop the bloodshed, if you surrender now.” When Desert Heat scoffed in reply, he let out a disappointed sigh. “Don't be a fool, admiral. You've witnessed the power of our new weapon yourself, the destruction they are capable of. Not even your great walls will keep you safe once they are within our reach. Your storm won't stop them.”

Desert Heat's eyes widened slightly upon hearing that last sentence, though he quickly hid his surprise. “He doesn't know what I've been up to,” he realised, while glancing from Shining Armour to the sand pooling around his hooves. “He must think the sand we're standing on is merely the result of the storm... Whatever spell he used to navigate through didn't reveal how deep it goes or how far it reaches.. .” He almost smiled. There was still a chance to complete his plan then, he just needed to buy a little more time.

“I won't deny that your new weapons caught us off-guard,” he said. “We never even suspected that your research into manufactured magicite had advanced to the point where you could weaponise it. It certainly wasn't in the plans Rainbow Dash borrowed from your office, but then again, I noticed today that there was quite a bit that wasn't said in those plans.” While he spoke, Desert Heat, subtly and unnoticed by Shining Armour, began to draw upon the power of his magicite again, but the amount he tapped into was so miniscule it didn't even lit up his shard to signify usage.

“I wasn't born yesterday, admiral,” Shining Armour replied, oblivious to what his opponent was doing. “With Rainbow Dash as one of my opponents, I knew I had to be prepared for everything, even for her breaking into my own office. That's why the plans you got weren't complete.”

“Grand Admiral Hooves suspected as much,” Desert Heat said, as he tried to remain standing despite his legs trembling and shaking as what little strength he had left flowed from his body into the ground. “It's why she told me to be prepared for the unexpected.” He made a weak gesture in the direction the tanks were approaching from, already feeling through the sand that some had finally entered his desert, something Shining Armour still didn't seem to be aware of. “But I'm certain even she wouldn't have expected you to bring tanks.”

Desert Heat felt his body shake and he was forced to sit down. He shook his head and chuckled ruefully. “I have to hoof it to you, marshal, your strategy was one step ahead of mine,” he admitted, looking Shining Armour in the eye. “First you attacked us head-on so we had no choice but to come out of the city to meet you. Then, when you had us locked in combat, you attacked us from behind with a second airship fleet to force our own fleet to fight on two fronts.”

“With our air support cut off and our troops out in the open, your tanks could strike unopposed, taking advantage of the surprise of our troops to attack them and inflict heavy losses,” Desert Heat continued. “Finally, with our troops dead or retreating and our air fleet caught in a losing battle, your tanks could advance on the city unhindered, clearing the path for your own troops following behind them. They would claim the city with minimal losses, earning you a clean and swift victory.” The admiral sighed and bowed his head. “As far as strategies go, marshal, I have to admit you've outdone yourself here today.”

“There's still time, admiral,” Shining Armour repeated, his voice sounding urgent. “Surrender now, before more lives are lost, I implore you. My offer of yesterday still stands, it is not too late yet!”

Desert Heat looked up and, to the surprise of Shining Armour, smiled. “But marshal, haven't you noticed?” he asked. “It's been far too late already!” Then, before his opponent could react, Desert Heat jumped to his hooves and with a swift swing of his arm, threw a wave of sand at Shining Armour.

Even as Shining Armour raised up a shield to block the sand, Desert Heat dug his hoof in the sand and used his last reserves of strength to complete his work. The power of his magicite coursed through the newly formed, miniature desert, flowing through the shifting sands until it reached the edge, where the ground was still solid. The tanks closest to the walls of the valley, who'd changed course to try and avoid the sand the others had gotten stuck in, suddenly found the earth beneath them give away and crumble, collapsing into dust and sand.

Desert Heat had completed his task; the valley of Stalliongrad now sported a brand new desert across a part of its length and Shining Armoured was contacted by every tank officer in his ranks that the new war machines had gotten stuck in the sand. The Republic's mighty war machines had been brought to a halt by tiny grains of dirt. It was almost poetic, and it reminded Desert Heat of a story a zebra had once told him, of how an elephant had been felled by a swarm of ants.

“I fear your strategy has…stranded, marshal,” he said, a smile tugging at his lips.

Shining Armour didn't immediately reply, in fact, he seemed to be at loss for words for a moment. He held his jaws clenched together stiffly, looking not very pleased. “It seems you insist on writing today's history in blood, admiral,” he finally said, his face and voice neutral. “I thought you better than that.”

“If the prospect of losing lives does not sit well with you, marshal, feel free to retreat,” Desert Heat retorted, as he tried to remain standing atop his shaking legs.

“This sand won't stop us for long, you do realise that, don't you, admiral?” Shining Armour asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Please, no bluffing, marshal,” Desert Heat replied, holding up his hoof. “We both know that it will be impossible to free those things in my storm without the help of magic, just as we both know your average unicorn can't lift something that weighs multiple tons, not without magicite. You have only two unicorns experienced enough in the usage of magicite to free your new toys, one of which is currently on the other side of the city being held up by my colleague, and the other is standing before me.”

The two stallions stared at each other in silence for a moment, as if willing the other to break. Finally, it was Shining Armour who looked away first. “Perhaps,” he answered quietly. He cast Desert Heat a sharp look through narrowed eyes. “But one unicorn is all we need.”

Desert Heat's eyes widened as he realised instantly what Shining Armour was about to do. Using strength he did not have anymore, he threw himself with a loud cry at the marshal, landing on top of him just as Shining Armour used his magic to teleport. The two stallions vanished in a flash of magic and reappeared next to one of the tanks, tumbling in the sand. Desert Heat was splayed across Shining Armour's back, but in his exhausted, weakened state, the marshal had no problem throwing him off.

The admiral collapsed on the ground, his mouth getting full of sand, and he barely had the time to roll out of the way before Shining Armour brought down his hoof on the spot where he had been a second ago. With a cry and aching muscles, Desert Heat swung his arm and launched a crescent blade of sand at the other stallion, which got blocked by a magical shield. Before the sand had even started falling back to the ground Shining Armour had already disappeared in another flash of magic. He reappeared right on top of Desert Heat, knocking the admiral, who'd been trying to climb back to his hooves, back into the ground.

Desert Heat had the air knocked out of his lungs by the weight and the impact, and he struggled to get his enemy off of him. Normally, with his superior earth pony strength, it would have been easy, but the excessive usage of his powers had tired him out. Shining Armour wasn't going to make it easy for him either. The marshal raised his hoof and delivered a powerful punch straight between Desert Heat's shoulders, a blow that could have shattered his spine if it hadn't been for his armour. Nevertheless, Desert Heat cried out in pain, but finally managed to escape Shining Armour's hold by sinking into the sand.

The sudden disappearance of his enemy left Shining Armour momentary stunned, but he recovered quickly enough to cast a spell to try and detect the admiral. It wasn't easy, for the shifting sands and the sandstorm made it hard for the senses to detect anything, even when enhanced with magic. He caught a movement to his left and fired a blast of magic at it, so quickly that the few soldiers watching hadn't even had time to blink. His attack did little more that throw up more sand, however, and Shining Armour cursed.

Suddenly, the sand beneath him erupted like a deadly spike, aimed at his chest. Shining Armour managed to twist his body aside just in the nick of time to avoid being impaled, but before he had time to regain his footing, Desert Heat shot forth from the sands like a shark jumping out of the water, coming straight at him. Shining Armour instinctively ducked his head, not thinking of casting a spell, but he was a split second too late.

Desert Heat struck out with his hoof, hitting the marshal in the side of the face and cutting open his cheek with a blade of sand. However, Desert Heat was tired and not at full strength, and his blow, which could normally even shatter bone, did little more than bruise the marshal. This allowed Shining Armour to recover very quickly from the blow and he grabbed Desert Heat with his telekinesis and tossed him away. The admiral smacked against the steel shell of a tank, then dropped to the floor with a thud. Desert Heat groaned in pain, his head spinning, and he spat out blood.

With an inpony effort, he managed to push himself up on his hooves, only to see Shining Armour firing another spell at him. Ignoring his splitting headache, Desert Heat fired a blade of sand in retaliation, the two attacks meeting one another halfway and exploding in a cloud of sand and magical energy. When the dust settled, the two stallions were staring at each other in silence, taking a moment to catch their breath. For Desert Heat the break was very welcome, as he stood at the brink of collapse and risked not getting up again.

But Shining Armour was much less tired than him and as a result also needed less time to catch his breath. Much too soon to Desert Heat's liking, the marshal was once again preparing a spell, ready to continue the fight. He tried to gather enough strength to react, but his body had finally reached the very end of its limits and refused to comply with his demands, while his sandstorm started to slow down as the power of his magicite began to wane. Gritting his teeth, he could only watch and wait for the blow to be struck.

However, before Shining Armour could fire his attack, he was interrupted when his communication crystal received an incoming call, surprisingly at the same moment Desert Heat did as well. The two stallions shared a look, then gave each other a curt nod, having reached an understanding. Shining Armour dispelled his attack and instead used his magic to grab his communication crystal, while Desert Heat reached under his coat and did the same.

“Desert Heat, who's calling?” the admiral asked after opening the communication line, knowing from the different glow of the crystal that it was neither Rainbow Dash or Amethyst Star.

“This is vice-admiral Willow Branch, calling from Stalliongrad Headquarters, sir,” the voice on the other side of the line replied. “A message intended for you has arrived from New Saddle just now, sir.”

“New Saddle?” Desert Heat echoed, feeling his heart start to beat faster simply by hearing the name of that city. “What does it say? Who was it from?!”

“It's from grand admiral Hooves, sir,” Willow Branch replied. “She informs you that she has completed her mission and is on her way here as we speak! She's gone ahead while the Celestial Dream follows behind her at its own pace. She urges us to hang on until she arrives.”

The feeling that flooded Desert Heat's entire being upon hearing this news could best be described as release, as if a weight the size of the world was suddenly lifted from his shoulders. The feeling was so great it nearly moved him to tears, if he hadn't been too exhausted to shed them. Tossing his head in his neck, he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh of relief.

“She did it, she actually did it,” he muttered with a smile. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Desert Heat felt hope. If they managed to hold on until Derpy's arrival, then the war was not yet lost and the tides could be turned in their favour again. If Derpy Hooves was here, it could be done. All he had to do was keep things together until then. He lifted the communication stone to his lips again. “How long has it been since the message was sent?”

“Given the average time it takes for magical scrolls to arrive, it could be anywhere between just now and fifteen minutes, sir,” Willow Bark answered.

“That would set her time of arrival anywhere between fifteen minutes to half an hour,” Desert Heat muttered thoughtfully. “The Celestial Dream will take another hour on top of that. Given the current state of affairs, the enemy will reach the walls within half an hour, where we can hold them off for another hour, if nothing else goes wrong. Anything else after that is uncertain, but that should be enough time for the grand admiral to get here.”

“Pass the message along to all troops,” he ordered. “That should boost our morale a bit.”

“Understood, sir,” Willow Bark replied. “I've already sent word to admiral Amethyst Star and admiral Rainbow Dash, they should have received the news by now.”

“Yeah, and if the look on his face is any indication, so did Shining Armour,” Desert Heat said, looking at where the Republican marshal was standing a stone throw away from him, who looked as if someone had just told him that his wedding had been cancelled and his home burned down.

“The entire fleet has been sunk? How many ships were they up against?!” Shining Armour practically shouted into his communication stone, for the first time that day appearing to have lost his composure. “Just one?! How could one… The Celestial Dream?!” The communication stone almost fell from his hoof into the sand. “How… How did they know we were invading New Saddle?! Only the commanders and I knew about that plan!”

Shining Armour sighed and ran a hoof through his mane. “No, I'm fine,” he said quietly. “Inform the commanders and carry on as planned. We're on a time limit now. I'd say we have half an hour at best until Derpy Hooves arrives and when she does, all hope for a swift victory will be lost. We have to breech the city walls before that time or else we can pack up and go home.” Shining Armour paused for a moment to listen to something Amber Chip said, occasionally nodding. “Yes, do not worry... Shining Armour out.”

The marshal switched off his crystal and put it back under his coat, before slowly turning towards Desert Heat, the expression on his face unreadable. “Since the beginning of the battle, I've been wondering where Derpy Hooves had gone. I guess that answer that,” he said, his eyes blazing with cold fury. “What I want to know is how.”

“How did you know we were invading New Saddle today?” he demanded icily. Nopony knew about that, even the Court Nobles themselves knew only the barest facts. Only my commanders and I knew the full details of today's invasion, and all three of them were sworn to secrecy. They couldn't have told it to anyone even if they wanted to. So how, how in the nine realms of Tartarus, did you find out about New Saddle?!”

“I'm afraid I couldn't answer that even if I wanted to, marshal,” Desert Heat replied, having recovered enough by now to be able to stand again. “It was grand admiral Hooves who learned of your plans and she has sources of information the nature or identity of which she doesn't share even with us admirals.” The admiral felt a smile tug at his lips. “So I do not know how she learned of your plans, I only know that she did.” He took a deep breath and cricked his neck, the news having filled him with newfound strength to continue for you a little while longer. “It seems the tides are turning again, marshal.”

Shining Armour opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a loud explosion as the war raged on, heedless of the two stallions trying to converse. Shining Armour nor Desert Heat paid any attention to it either, for it was simply one explosion of many in the chaos of war. However, when Desert Heat noticed the eyes of his enemy growing wide and his jaw dropping, all traces of anger or fury having left Shining Armour's face to be replaced by disbelief, he knew something was wrong.

He turned around and looked in the direction Shining Armour was staring, towards the city, and felt his heart grow cold. With his sandstorm having dispersed almost entirely, Desert Heat, as well as everypony else on the battlefield, had no problem seeing the giant cloud of pitch-black smoke rising up from the city. Even from this far away, Desert Heat could see the tongues of flame rising up out of the cracked walls and shattered windows of a burning building, one on the brink of collapse thanks to the cannon fire that had set it aflame.

But it wasn't that the fact that somepony had bombarded the city had left Shining Armour and Desert Heat both staring in horror and disbelief. It was the fact that somepony had targeted this particular building. Despite the agreement even between warring factions that declared it a neutral zone, despite Shining Armour's explicit orders to leave it unharmed, despite all of that...

Somepony had bombarded the hospital.

End of chapter 37.

Author's Note:

And with that, chapter 37 is finished. Now, as I said in the author's note at the beginning of the chapter, I have an important announcement to make concerning the future of the story. Given the extreme delay between this chapter and the previous one, I am as of now looking for people willing to lend me their help. For the details of what kind of help I'm exactly looking for, please read ==> this <== blog entry. Yes, I know it's lengthy, but please bear with me. The reactions I get (or don't get) on this blog entry will decide the frequency and pace with which future chapters will be written and posted, so if you're a fan of the story, please check it out. Thanks in advance to everyone who does.

A big thanks to everyone who responded! I think I have enough people helping me now for the moment to get started, but should I ever need more, I'll be sure to let you all know.

Comments

[Nova_Blast]

hmm, i wonder if they will temporarily team up\to stop whoever attacked the hospital...
probably not

[KMCA]

Why is it that whenever I pick up a new 'epic' length fic I always come in at an unbearable cliffhanger? Take it away if you will DD

fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/211/7/4/mlp___cliff_hanger_by_omgklint-d58zyv6.jpg

[Sylocat]

Calling it now: Smaragd Haze is the culprit of the hospital getting destroyed.

[CrowMagnon]

3271915 Well, it seems like he isn't called "The Ruthless" for nothing. Speaking of which, Shiny, when two of your three direct subordinates are someone like that and a unicorn supremacist, you might want to reconsider whether or not you're on the right side.