//------------------------------// // The War Begins: 6 - Trial by Fire // Story: Into the Storm: The Flight of Firefly // by Firesight //------------------------------// As I write this chapter, I find many old memories awakened, recollections of battles past. I remember well the fear and terror I felt that first day of war, the crushing sorrow and anger we all experienced, the certainty of defeat followed by exhilaration of surviving. Though my contribution to this fight was by no means meager, ‘twas certain that it paled in comparison to the one who saved and inspired us all. As I now live outside Fort Spur, I found myself compelled to visit again the statues that line the boulevard leading to its gates; the great Guardspony heroes of the past. My sister certainly earned her place in their ranks, but so did another. ‘Tis to him I dedicate this chapter, to a great warrior, trainer, and mentor… and my sister’s first father figure. Though I admit I could not fathom he could actually be such a thing to anypony for as harsh as his training was and all he put us through… ‘Twas not until the end that we understand why he did what he did. Methinks he saved us twice that day—once through his training, and once through an act of sheer honor and heroism that ‘tis certain neither I nor anypony present could ever forget. —Wind Whistler Return Engagement Fort Spur Armored Guardspony Training Base North Campolina province September 1st, 1139 AC 1340 hours The battle between Windshear and the Red Talon named Pylea began with but a single grounded pass. We all but blinked, and suddenly they were ten yards past each other and facing away, each with an extended blade from a slash. We heard the sharp metallic WHANG! of clashing blades and even saw sparks erupt from their collision, but afterwards, they were both unharmed… or nearly, a line of red appearing just above Windshear’s hoofstriker; metal gauntlets worn on our hooves that could be used as blockers or blunt objects. Wielded by an Armored Guardspony or even a regular earth pony, they could used to deflect blows, crush skulls... or for stronger ponies like Windshear, blast right through brick walls with a single buck. “Not bad, Sergeant Major…” Pylea said as she turned back to face him, noting the very tips of her outermost right feathers had been sheared off by his wingblade. “Methinks I’m going to enjoy this.” “This is not a game, Centurion!” Windshear replied in anger, ignoring his own wound, which appeared to be shallow. “And one exchange will not decide this battle!” “I would be disappointed if it did!” she shouted back as the two launched at each other again, this time going airborne, and a rapid exchange of blows followed which we could follow only thanks to the sparks thrown off of metal on metal. The clash of blades produced orange sparks whilst those against the Talaeus armor were violet, the release of magic indicating her black onyx armor was enchanted against curses and could withstand far more than the usual amount of punishment. But so could Windshear’s; Guardspony armor—which recruits like myself did not yet have—were designed to withstand not just sword strikes but the elemental attacks of gryphon mages; the sparks off Windshear’s armor were blue. At first, the pair seemed evenly matched, and I realized quickly that Pylea wasn’t bragging when she said the only way to defeat the attack was to defeat her—as good as she was, she could clearly take on and defeat many recruits at once; even the other trainers were unquestionably overmatched by her. And yet, it also became clear that the two had only been taking each other’s measure in the initial exchanges as they sped up even further, giving us even greater appreciation of Windshear’s full abilities that he could keep up with her. Still, that only went so far. As the fight wore on and I got a better sense of the pair, I was having to give the advantage increasingly to the Red Talon eagless. In truth, I couldn’t help but admire her. Her movements were quick and sure, as graceful as any cat with very little wasted energy or effort. She had clearly been selected for her ability to counter his strengths well, from her cool temperament to her extremely quick reflexes and crisp technique. I knew not what she had done to earn the title of Talaeus, but she was every bit as good as she boasted, and Windshear, for every bit as good as he was, was hard-pressed by her speed. ‘Twas an interesting role reversal, actually, in that the advantages of gryphons were normally strength and stamina, whilst those of pegasi were speed and quickness. But Pylea turned that on its head with her hit and run attacks, wielding her single blade well even as she kept her second sheathed on her back. If I could describe the average Red Talon warrior, I would say they had the strength and armor of the Knights combined with the speed and sheer skill of the Ravens. We would face many of them throughout the course of the war, and they were unquestionably the best—or worst—of both worlds, possessing superlative combat skills in addition to the best armor and weaponry the Empire could provide. They were never to be trifled with, and woe to those who did not take them seriously. The Empire was a military meritocracy, and ‘twas certain you could not ascend to such a rarified rank unless you had proven yourself the very best there was. They were very formidable, oft even incredible, but they were not invincible, as Windshear had already proven. He held his own and then some; it became clear he had done some damage of his own as the pair separated after the better part of a minute, both breathing hard and showing multiple wounds in the form of bruises and slashes, chinks in their armor and even some damage to their blades. Despite her own injuries—which methinks included a bleeding flank and forearm; ’twas hard to tell against her backdrop of black-dyed fur—Pylea looked anything but unhappy. “Yes! YES!” the Centurion shouted in something almost akin to joy, her eyes glittering with excitement and sheer exhilaration as the watching Knights cheered her. “This is what I wanted! THIS is what I have so long sought!” she told him. “You do not disappoint, Sergeant Major! Our contest is a duel for the ages… one I will relish for a very long time not only for the rush of battle I feel, but the glory your death will earn me!” she told him. “You are still treating this as a game, Centurion!” Windshear pointed a bloodied hoof at her. “You fight for glory and vengeance? I fight for princess and province! I fight to defend others, but right now, methinks you’re just fighting for yourself!” he told her. Her grin only grew at that. “Perchance I am, pegasus. I do not deny I enjoy the thrill of fighting a worthy opponent, which is something I so rarely receive! But do not make the mistake of thinking that I have lost sight of my duty or objective here, Sergeant Major Windshear!” she told him, then her smile got something akin to evil. “I had hoped we might allow our audience to see this through to the end, but if that is the way it must be, then so be it! If ‘tis a war we fight... then a war your fellow Guardsponies shall have!” she turned and squawked an order at her side in Aeric; I knew just enough of the language to recognize their intent… Or so I thought. “She’s ordering her mages to attack with fire!” I warned everypony, and we immediately braced ourselves, ready to counter with wind from our wings to deflect the blasts of elemental flame we expected to be launched at us. But instead of striking us directly, three of the mages retreated to the ground under the cover of the fourth, who shielded them as they formed a wide circle around the wooden mess hall and pointed their staves at its center. Great gouts of flame erupted from the ends of their staves and set the structure ablaze. But even though it was already afire they kept adding more heat and flame to it. ‘Twasn’t clear what they were doing until they switched their elemental magic from fire to wind and turned their staves slightly outwards to the right, angling them to provide rotation in the air around the growing pyre… And suddenly a spinning, cylindrical column of fire formed right over the burning building, feeding off the heat and air around it, becoming a veritable tornado of flame that quickly reached hundreds of meters into the air; its heat and suction intense enough that we could feel it from a hundred yards away. “Holy…” one of my squadmate stallions said in shock as the mages started pushing the funnel towards us with their wind spells, their horrific creation incinerating the grass, trees, and small structures it encountered as it made its way inexorably towards us, fed by the very fires it set and spread. “Pegasi! Stop that thing!” Even Ironsides sounded afraid, and he could hardly be blamed; if it struck the armory... “It’s up to us, recruits! On me!” Our senior trainer, First Sergeant Sun Pillar, led us towards the approaching monster as the gryphons simply watched in great pleasure, waiting for their unnatural creation to do its work. I worried they’d open up on us with crossbows, but then I realized the hurricane winds we were encountering would just deflect them, and they knew it. And besides, why should they risk themselves by engaging us in such close proximity to the roaring, swirling column of flame? Their choice of tactics was proven correct as it quickly became clear there was seemingly nothing we could do to stop it. A regular tornado or any other weather whirl we could decompose by getting inside it and using our wind magic to disrupt its circulation. With enough pegasi, it could even be done from the outside by simply circling it in the opposite direction to in essence unwind it. But here? Its overwhelming heat, chaotic winds and flaming fragments being flung outward in every direction forced us to keep our distance. Two recruits who got too close caught fire from the radiant heat alone; one fell the ground dead whilst the other frantically retreated whilst his friends beat out the flames with their wings. “We can’t stop it!” A badly singed Sun Pillar warned Ironsides, the unicorns down below having no more luck holding it back with their shield or levitation spells as it closed within fifty yards, starting to pick up speed as it found more fuel and embers landed on the roof of the armory. And once it caught... “Run!” Closing his eyes tightly, Ironsides gave the order to scatter as the twister closed in, Guardsponies in the ground and air fleeing at maximum speed. It plowed into the armory and then… The explosion of explosive arrows, crossbow bolts, and crystals stored inside leveled the building and everything within a hundred yards, leaving us without our redoubt and the very weapons we could have used to withstand an extended siege. From the air, we could do nothing but watch in horror as some trailing Guardsponies were cut down by by the blast wave and flying debris, and worse… No longer a tight formation, they were easy prey for the Ravens and Knights that suddenly descended upon them. The Meaning of Honor “Glorious, isn’t it?” I heard Pylea ask a stunned Windshear as the only momentarily disrupted twister took aim at the hospital next, where Bone Deep and the healer teams were stationed. I could understand his reaction; we were all frozen in shock as well as the Gryphon Knights split their force, half concentrating their efforts on our ground forces whilst the rest moved to surround us so we couldn’t assist our earth pony and unicorn comrades. “You should be honored, pegasus. For this attack was inspired by your own Princess!” she said almost gleefully, her eyes all but glowing orange with reflected firelight. “But enough of such idle spectating. I will allow your recruits to see the results of this duel and at least a few to live so word of what happened here may spread! Now shall we resume our little match…?” She drew her second sword and brandished it, saluting him with it. Windshear looked to the fire tornado, then back at us. He next raised his fire-illuminated face to her, something in his eyes and voice I didn’t immediately know how to quantify. “No, Centurion…” he said, not returning the gesture. “Our match is over. And you have lost.” She gave him a strange look, her exposed fur and feathers whipping in the hot wind along with Windshear’s shorn cobalt mane. “Lost? Methinks not!” She pointed her blade at him. “Abandon the fight now, and you have no honor, pegasus!” “Honor?” Windshear gave a short and bitter laugh as he set his jaw; methinks in hindsight he had just reached his resolution. “You want to know what honor is, Talaeus?” he asked her, and then used the chaotic winds against her, enhancing them with his wings to knock her off balance in the air fractionally as he charged in and tackled her, accepting a sword to the stomach as the price for getting her into a death grip. “Sergeant Major!” we called to him in shock as he locked his forelegs around her and pinned her wings with his strength, then head-butted her hard to stun her and keep her from trying to break free. I knew not his intention or why he’d accepted a likely-mortal wound, until he dove hard for the tornado with her in grasp. “Here is your honor!” I just heard him shout as with her struggling and shortly screaming form he flew them right into the inferno; they both caught fire just before disappearing inside it. “NO!” we cried out as the initially well-defined tornado of flame shivered, faltered… and finally collapsed as Windshear tore it apart with his wind and flight magic from within. The previously suspended column of embers and flaming debris then crashed down right on top of him, burying him and his captive Red Talon beneath it; we would find very little left of either combatant once the ashes could be searched. “By the sun…” somepony said, and I could not but agree with the sentiment. In one fell swoop the Sergeant Major had just taken out the Talaeus commander and the tornado, saving the hospital and perchance, our entire base. His act of sheer heroism and sudden disappearance of the twister had drawn the attention of all, as the fighting stopped long enough for all present, both pony and gryphon to gape. Our trainers saluted, several crying openly, and my own eyes were wet as well as my right hoof went rigidly to my forehead, giving the sharpest salute I could make. I do not think we knew until that moment how much we had admired the Sergeant Major or how much we had bonded with him over the course of our training. I would not have thought it possible at first, but he had become our mentor and even in an odd way a father during the past four and a half months, and for it we reacted no differently than we would have to lose our teacher and sire. The evidence of that was made plain as grief quickly turned to rage and our platoon of forty prepared to avenge our Sergeant Major, no longer caring about the disparity of numbers we faced. “Guardsponies!” First Sergeant Sun Pillar called to us, lowering his head and aiming himself for the heart of the Knight formation. “For Windshear and for all Equestria! ATTACK!” Forgive me, but I must pause before continuing this story as I find myself too choked up and trapped in the same emotions I felt then to continue. ‘Twas far from the only time I would face death or see my comrades fall in the course of the war, and yet... this is still the one I remember most keenly, the most selfless feat of sacrifice I can ever remember. If ever an act earned ascension to the Summerlands and to be immortalized for all time, it was his. —Wind Whistler Falter not, my friend and former foe. As I read your account of these events now—our own reports of this action were understandably fragmentary and did not even begin to do what happened justice—I note that the Sergeant Major said he would show my Talaeus what honor was, and ‘tis without question he did. ‘Twas an act both sides would find worthy of remembrance and reverence, even then, and thus I call upon you to honor him by continuing your story, much as you then continued on to fight in his name. I cannot pretend to know your pain, but perchance a quote from your own base commander, then-First Lieutenant Ironsides, will ease it: “’Tis foalish and wrong to mourn the ponies who died. Rather we should thank Celestia and the sun itself that such ponies lived.” —Layan Kaval I thank you for your words of wisdom and comfort, Ambassador. I had initially written my sister asking her to let somepony else finish telling this story as I felt too distraught to continue, but now that I have received your response and had time to think upon it, I believe you are correct. I will indeed press onwards, just as I did then… Just as Windshear wished us all to. —Wind Whistler For the Fallen I am normally a pony very reserved in her emotions. ‘Tis simply the way I have always been. I have never been hot-blooded or quick to anger; ‘twas what made me such an excellent friend to Firefly growing up, as she herself once called me the ‘voice of reason’ to her previously impulse-driven life. I kept her fighting instincts in check and grounded her, keeping her from getting carried away by her flights of warrior fancy or biting off more than she could chew, as she had a propensity in her youth to find and challenge those bigger and better than her. And yet, ‘twas all being thrown out the proverbial window as a white-hot rage took hold of all of us, and I felt my own fighting blood rising for what in many ways was the very first time. ‘Twas not that I’d never fought before; I’d certainly seen my share of sparring matches and even bar brawls with Firefly over the course of our upbringing and time we spent together, never mind the five months of basic training I’d just had. But now…? Now I wanted nothing more than to kill those who had brought about the death of our beloved mentor and trainer, ready to die along with him if it meant taking the life of the Knights and Ravens who had invaded our base and brought war to our land. Now under the command of First Sergeant Sun Pillar, we charged the center of their formation, taking advantage of the momentary shock they suffered seeing their commander killed and the tornado of fire they’d been using against us along with it. We were upon them quickly and managed to break through their aerial cordon, taking down seven in quick succession with local advantage in numbers and scattering the remainder, suffering two casualties of our own. My own blades did not immediately draw blood then, though I did deliberately angle an attack to make one Knight dodge right into the path of my wingcolt, who took off a wing and sent her plummeting. Our well-trained foes recovered quickly, however, as another gryphon, this one bearing the armor and insignia of a First Spear, took command and directed her forces to open up on us with their crossbows, firing armor-piercing bolts. We reacted instantly and instinctively to take evasive action, engaging in a series of loops and other maneuvers we’d been taught to throw off their aim and return us to formation quickly. Still, it only went so far; I heard several pained cries and at least one bolt glanced off my shoulder armor. But in testament to our newfound endurance and hardened physiques, not one of us was knocked from the sky for it, those hit continuing to fly and even fight. But instead of staying to engage them, Sun Pillar quickly and wisely directed us at full speed to our comrades’ defense, trying to reestablish contact with Ironsides and the ground-based Guardsponies now trapped in a running fight. They were trying desperately to establish a new defensive cordon around the hospital using whatever cover was available. The Knights and Mages were raining death on them in the form of explosive bolts and lightning whilst our beleaguered friends countered with spears and longbow arrows punctuated with the occasional spell or crossbow bolt. The sky gryphon Wind Knights were quickly learning that Guardspony skill with such weapons was not to be trifled with, however, as we saw more than one fall from the sky as we closed in. Sun Pillar fired a flare warning of our approach and received an answering one from the horn of a unicorn trainer; fire slackened just long enough for us to reach the cordon and a volley of longbow arrows then greeted our pursuers, forcing them to scatter. “Sir! Orders?” Sun Pillar asked as he skidded to a halt before a singed-looking Ironsides. “If we’re going to survive this day, we need to take out their mages!” Ironsides gritted his teeth as another bolt impacted the area with a loud BOOM! deflecting off a faltering unicorn shield; Bone Deep and his healer team had been forced to abandon their triage duties and join the defense, adding their own power to our protection. “But they’ve got a dampening field up and our unicorns can’t teleport close enough to counter them!” He nodded upward where the mages were hovering a hundred yards away; two were casting shields that protected themselves and a second mage, who cast the offensive magic. An occasional crystal-tipped longbow arrow was aimed their way but a wind spell deflected it, causing it to flutter harmlessly away. ‘Twas the perfect strategy; one defending and the other attacking, making them very difficult to defeat. Worse, Guardspony pegasi had no real means to break through a magic shield without lightning of our own… but the Ravens had destroyed our storm cloud cache early in the attack. We hadn’t seen much of them since, though I’d spotted at least fifty of the lightly-armored grey-dyed assassins on approach. Methinks they were being used primarily to clear buildings; to capture intelligence and trophies to take back to the Empire—proof of the Imperial victory here. A victory that, despite Windshear’s sacrifice, seemed all too likely then. “Give us some crystal-tipped spears, sir!” Sun Pillar offered. “We’ll deliver them on target!” “Right…” Ironsides grimaced, knowing what kind of losses we were likely to suffer in the attempt. “We’ll give you what cover we can but have to stay hunkered down here…” “No, sir!” I shouted abruptly, causing everypony to look at me. But I couldn’t help it, for I knew instinctively... “That’s exactly the wrong course to take!” The First Lieutenant stared at me in disdain and disbelief. “What in Celestia’s name are you talking about, recruit?” A fresh lightning strike and a pained cry emphasized my words as the owner’s shield flickered out. “Sir, look around you! If we stay here, we’ll be ground down to nothing! A static defense is suicide! They have the numbers and the air whilst we can’t even use half our force!” I motioned to the mostly idle Earth Ponies who looked very frustrated, unable to do much but hunker down inside unicorn shields and launch an occasional spear or crossbow bolt, their great strength and stamina useless against airborne opponents. Sensing I had his attention, I pressed on. “With just thirty pegasi, we might get lucky and be able to take out one or two mages, but ‘tis certain we’ll be wiped out in the attempt and then you’ll have no way to defeat them! It’s a mathematical equation, sir, one we will lose on both ends! We only have so many ponies and so much magic and arrows remaining! Methinks if we stay turtled up as we are now and send out only pegasi to run that gauntlet of Knights, you’ll lose your remaining air power and worse, the mages can then simply wear us down or generate another tornado at any time! Once our shields collapse or they force us to flee again, they’ll close in and finish us!” Ironsides looked unhappy at being given tactical advice by a recruit, and had this been any other training day, ‘twas certain I would have been excoriated for it. But here, he considered my words and had enough sense and past combat experience to realize I was right. “So what do you suggest, recruit?” He knew full well I was Firefly’s sister, but methinks he never knew quite what to make of me; my talents and mindset being so different from hers. By the end of her basic training, she could take on any number of trainers and win, including Windshear himself. But me…? ‘Tis worth saying again that I would never be my sister’s equal in sheer combat ability, but that did not mean my more cerebral nature could not come into play. Methinks I had studied much of military history and tactics over the years, taking to then quite readily, and I’d also learned I had talent for winning fights and brawls simply by being able to instinctively read the movements and intentions of others, oft able to put them down quickly for it. But did that ability extend to a desperate duel with the Imperial Elite in which we were now outnumbered worse than three to one? ‘Twas certain I didn’t know, but ‘twas also certain I didn’t have time to think about it. So I just spoke, knowing how my next words would likely sound. “Sir! We must bring the battle to them and force them to fight on our terms!” I told not just him but everypony present. “The Sergeant Major was right when he said that we, not the base, must live! And thus, if we are to survive this day, then we must not lock ourselves into defending the Fort or its buildings…” I took a deep breath to steel myself before I spoke my next words, knowing how they would be received. “We must take the offensive, sir! We must attack!” Defying Fate Ironsides went incredulous and those who could hear me weren’t much better. “Are you out of your moon-damned mind, recruit? You want us to launch a banzai charge?” He clearly was as learned in military history as I was, and knew full well from Neighponese stories how such desperate tactics ended—with all attackers dead. “No!” I shook my head hard. “Hear me out sir! Methinks I know how we can take out the mages and bring the Earth Ponies into the fight…” and without waiting for invitation, I spent the next two minutes explaining what to do, trying not to lose focus for all the death being rained down upon us, not knowing when or if the unicorn shields would yet give out. When I was finished, Ironsides could only stare at me in disbelief… and at least a small modicum of respect. “Such a plan is either madness or brilliance…” he finally said. “But methinks we have little choice. If we stay here, we die, so far better to turn and fight! Guardsponies! Listen and take heed…!” he shouted new orders into his command gem, bringing the trainers to me so I could explain to them my plan. It took three minutes to pass word, and more time than that to organize ourselves for the attack. ‘Twas just in time, as it turned out, as ‘twas also the point the gryphons finally tired of our obstinence. ‘Twas then that a Raven reached the First Spear, and a quick discussion ensued. Whatever was said, the acting raid commander gave new orders, perchance sensing that the longer they stayed, the more likely ‘twas that reinforcements would arrive. Thus, she ordered her mages to create a second twister to crush us. I’d wondered why they hadn’t done so sooner, but the answer—I would later learn—was threefold: first, ‘twas magically draining to create one and doing so multiple times could exhaust a mage’s power, and second, as oft-uncontrollable as it could be, ‘twas no guarantee ‘twould not turn on them instead. Regardless, they duplicated their previous tactics, with three Magus Knights landing some distance away from us around a cleared structure, whilst the fourth stood guard to protect the process along with a cordon of a dozen sky gryphon Wind Knights that would normally be almost impossible to break through. The third weakness of creating a tornado was the time it took, and ‘twas this one we then took advantage of, our unicorns teleporting themselves high overhead with two pegasi or one spear-armed earth pony. This tactic would only work once, but once would have to be enough… Half our group materialized three hundred feet overhead, outside of the ground dampening field range and where none were looking, a nearly fifty-strong mixed Guardspony force that immediately dove on our adversaries, blindsiding them. Directed in their fall by unicorn auras, Earth Ponies drove spears right through Knight armor whilst escorting pegasi cleaned up the remainder with wingblades, attacking their unarmored wings and hindquarters from behind, slaying them or forcing them to the ground where the now-grounded armored earth ponies could kill them quickly. Duplicating mage tactics, one unicorn levitated both himself and a comrade who opened up on the mages from above with their longbows, quickly bringing down the hastily redirected shield of the fourth mage, who died in a hail of crystal-tipped arrows designed to defeat magical shields, her bolt-riddled body falling lifelessly to the ground. Suddenly defenseless, the mages on the ground were charged by the earth ponies and forced to abandon their efforts to create the tornado before it had really begun, scattering to the air and scrambling to erect shields, screeching for help from their surprised comrades, who were only starting to react to our sudden strike. I watched in satisfaction as I saw the events unfold and a second mage fall, this time to Sun Pillar himself, who caught and decapitated him with a wingblade after the gryphon caster’s shield was likewise shot down. ‘Twas then that Ironsides put the second part of the plan into motion. “Guardsponies! Strike!” We then took advantage of the distraction and split defense to abandon our defense of the hospital and charge for the battle site, intending to cause enough chaos and keep Knight attention on us long enough for our forward force to kill the remaining two mages, then reunite our separated force and finally be able to turn the tide with our new monopoly on magic. But no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy, and such ‘twould it be here as a series of grey blurs appeared and suddenly a unicorn and two earth ponies fell to Raven blades; the assassins had been watching from the shadows ready to pick off isolated targets and close in when our shields had finally fallen. They slew six quickly and scattered many more of us with tossed explosive gems, then took flight and escaped as quickly as they appeared, letting the Knights regain their bearings and swoop down upon us with crossbows, scimitars, and metal talons, finally closing in to finish us off with cold steel. If they succeeded, instead of facing them with a full force, we would be destroyed in detail… And as it had been my plan, I feared ‘twas all my fault... Counterattack ‘Tis said that the gods of war are capricious, and that fate is a fickle master, but something I would learn well over the course of the conflict was it applied to both sides. We had done our worst, but in the end, we could not win without reinforcements we did not have… Or so we thought as suddenly white bolts of lightning lanced out from above the gryphons, spearing several of them and a fresh volley of longbow arrows reached us, taking down half a dozen more. They were coming from the direction of the town of Spur, and their origin soon resolved… into a charging force of nearly ninety civilians, mostly retired Guardspony trainers and other military veterans who still lived near the Fort. They had pulled out their old armor, bows and blades whilst the pegasi amongst them had gathered naturally occurring clouds from above the nearby mountaintops to use as weapons. Seeing the battle unfold from the town, they had organized themselves and come to our aid, a wingblade-armed pegasus mare wearing a black bodysuit and mask at their forefront, and their timing could not have been better as they forced our adversaries to split their defense a second time! A great cheer came up along with some slightly panicked squawks as the gryphons shifted again to meet an unexpected threat and we engaged the Knights closest to us with blades and bows, our earth ponies finally able to get into the fight in a meaningful way. And their ranks included... There was a light grey blur; a different hue from the Ravens, but one that mixed among them and resolved into a knife-spinning earth pony mare with shorn mane and training armor who slew two of the assassins quickly. She showed superlative blade combat skills, dodging her opponent’s attacks with ease and retaliating with blinding speed and strength, slashing throats and impaling a third with a thrown blade. She wore not the pink fur and blonde mane I’d initially seen her with so many months earlier, the ones she’d had when my sister bested her in a duel in the first day of basic, but the light grey dye of Earth Pony guard recruits, and she was the only other mare than myself to have made it through training this far. The Armored Guard did not teach knife-fighting skills such as she was demonstrating. But the other half of the Royal Guard, the Plainclothes Security Division responsible for guarding royals and nobles, did! “Tulip Vale!” I recognized her as the PSD mare who had challenged and been bested by my sister on the first day of basic. She gave me a startled look in response, then all but sneered. “So you made it…” she told me in some disgust, her eyes glittering with something almost akin to enjoyment as she fired a wrist-mounted combat crossbow that was standard issue for earth pony Guardsponies, her bolt finding a gap in Knight armor but not killing him. “If we survive this, you can tell your sister that I’m still going to demand a rematch!” she told me as she reloaded the crossbow with her mouth. “Methinks she won’t mind!” I rejoined as we went back to back for a moment. I used a gust of wind to fling away a thrown explosive gem where another Raven was located, causing it to detonate harmlessly away, then took flight to rejoin my improvised squad and take on a Knight decade, both sides now finally able to fight in something approaching a proper formation. I’d lost track of the rest of the battle at that point, but I did realize that now three mages were down and, as I watched, the fourth was overwhelmed by magic beams from a dozen Guardspony unicorns. They were out of arrows, but they overtaxed her shield with massed magical force until finally her stave shattered, leaving her defenseless. She did not last long after that, slain by an earth pony-thrown spear through the chest. We had taken out the Red Talon commander, the mages, and even been reinforced. And yet… what we were left with was an even fight between the Equestrian and Gryphon elite. Worse, most of the trainers were down as the Knights knew to focus their efforts on them, and the recruits took increasing casualties as well; not quite fully-trained or able to keep up with Knights. The Ravens were even worse; their lack of armor gave them a decided speed advantage and they specialized in hit and run attacks, slowly whittling us down. My eyes then went wide at a sudden thought, mentally kicking myself for not seeing it before. ”Recruits! Remove your armor!” I told my squad, quickly doing so myself. ”What?” the ones who could hear me yelled, and twas certain I could hardly blame them as on its face, what I was proposing was insanity. But I persevered. “It’s slowing us down and right now, we’re better fighters without it! Remove it, and we will be stronger and swifter than they in the air!” I told him, emphasizing my statement by performing some very rapid aerial maneuvers unencumbered by my own. I had no idea at that point that I was demonstrating the same benefit that my sister’s soldiers had realized by training in weighted armor, but I wish it known here and now that she figured it out long before me. None of my fellow recruits immediately obeyed—I had no authority to give anypony orders—until a Wind Knight suddenly saw me isolated and swooped in to engage me one-on-one. Upon approach, he fired a crossbow bolt at me that I barely dodged, the bolt grazing my flank then charged me with his scimitar held overhead in a two-hoof striking stance. Physically, he was my equal or better, as I quickly learned from his jarring hits to my wings, sparks flying from the clash of bare metal. And yet, his initial attack missed me. So did his second, despite my panic. ‘Twas then I started to realize two things—that I could see each of his moves clearly before they happened, and shorn of my heavy armor, his speed could indeed be met by my own. He was stronger and yet, I parried his blows almost effortlessly for knowing where they would come. Downward slash. Right cross. Upward thrust. Reverse stab. I realized to my shock that after months of training and combat practice, after years of sparring and training with my mother and Firefly herself, I could see not one, not two, but three or even four moves ahead! ‘Twas then I spotted an opening and my acquired instincts did the rest, a downward cut that took off his foreleg at the elbow with a shocked shriek followed by a spinning reverse slash that connected with his neck at a joint in his armor, ripping his throat open and causing a great gout of blood to erupt. I might have been shocked at my own actions, but there was no time for it; not if we were to survive this day. Seeing how well I was able to fight and slay my target, my compatriots immediately dropped all but their helmets and hoofstrikers, and soon found themselves likewise able to evade and engage with their wingblades alone far more easily, forming up on my wings. “We’re with you, commander!” one called to me, an improvised title since I bore no rank other than recruit. I had never intended to take command, but now I had it, leading my remaining force of eight Guardspony pegasus recruits into the fray, suddenly far more effective fighters as we began dropping the Knights one by one, gradually gaining advantage… ‘Twas only then that I dared dream that we might yet win the day. It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. —George S. Patton