Again I was at the Temple of Boreas, beside the throne of the Grovers, with Heavenly Snow atop it. In the backround, the sky glimmered red from the raging flames of war from across the city. In the front, all of the elite from the River coalition were seated before him. River Swirl sat nervously, her sweat running down her flanks in rivulets, Pegicles stroking his pilum in fear. Crimson Heart of Ponaidhean was staring at the throne completely still whereas Queen White Star was drinking champagne after chapagne with Lord Wulfric thinking, probably about how he should be the Kaiser of the Herzlands. Across the aisle, Nova Whirl and Arclight stood, both not all that impressed with this coronation. A large Diamond Dog, presumably their king, sat with a box wrapped in iridescent paper, like a present. He probably didn’t get the memo that this was a coronation. But now the coronation was in full swing now. The Archons were applying their god’s blessing upon Heavenly Frost at gunpoint, at the moment, Eros was midway through his blessing. From here, I could see his fear in his eyes. Then, with a flourish, he poured holy ice over him, uttering “Boreas protect thee.” His job done, he was dragged away by a Lake City guard. He then called at the assembled ponies, “Now I am this union’s head. Swear your fealty to me and me alone and be rewarded. Stand against me and join these pathetic griffs in death!” First came River swirl, who began to utter some form of oath. Suddenly, I awoke with a medigriff zapping me with some exposed wire. “That was some mad shit there, sir. You fought masses of foes and lost a LOT of blood, yet here you stand victorious. How in Boreas’ name did you not get overwhelmed by agony or just die?” I thought deeply. I had no idea, just fury and rage carried me on. The bullets didn’t hurt me at all then. I then climbed back up, my torso aching horridly as I did so. The medigriff tried to get me down but to no avail. I said, “Whatever fears ya have, you’re right. But I have a service to the Kaiser and Empire to fulfill, by killing Heavenly Snow.”
I raised my battered sword and screamed, “KINSMEN! WE ARE AT THE ENDGAME! I PROPOSE OUR FINAL CHARGE! ENTER THE BUILDINGS AS OUR MAIN HOST CHARGES FOR THE TEMPLE! WE WILL SUCCEED! BOREAS IS ON OUR SIDE! WE MUST WIN FOR GRIFFONS EVERYWHERE!” The battered troops raised their rifles one last time with a hoarse cheer. I could tell, they were running low on energy. They were sick of hearing me desperately gear them up for this. This was our final strike. My inspirational speeches were depleted, the troop morale was lower than I could motivate and now the coronation had begun. I had to finish what Ebonwing started, to defeat the false Kaiser and free the Grovers. Now some tanks had crossed the river, for heavy support, so we could have a chance at taking them on. I raised my minigun and one last time, I screamed, “FOR KAISER UNT VATERLAND!” The hoarse voices of the tired griffons behind me echoing my fury. We then began to hike the last twelve kilometers to the hill’s top and the Temple of Boreas.
As soon as we began to move, the houses erupted in storms of lead, machine guns lining the windows. I charged for the left house, firing towards the windows as I charged. A tank fired at one of the houses, the gunners consumed in fire that mirrored my dedication to this cause. Bashing through the unlocked door, I emerged in a massive marble tiled entry hall, a team of machinegunners at rest in its centre. I gave them no quarter, unleashing my mingun volleys as they scrambled to arms. Four of the ten fell almost instantly, the fifth struggled to open a magic barrier which gave me enough time to slay the fool and the one next to him. The remainder ducked behind a statue of Boreas, one peeking out to spray his own return at me. I used the waxed tiles to my advantage, sliding towards him under the fire until a lucky shot hit my beak. I roared in fury and leaped up, landing behind them and cleaving them all in two with a single stroke. I ripped the blood soaked lead piece from my beak, uttering in anger. Now to clear the rest of the building. Taking their ammo, for I was running low and our machinegun ammos were the same, I climbed up to clear the gunners in the windows. As I climbed, I thought about this battle. How we were winning, I had no idea. Boreas perhaps had blessed us. They outnumbered us severely, and had more aerial support. We were disorganised and I was the only leader. But yet here we were. I was in a manor on the Kaiserstraße, the final push in action. Perhaps our unexpected strike paired with the firm resistance in Feathisia had thinned their lines a bit. I felt the landing under my claws, so I focused. Turning a corner, I kicked a door down and before the gunner could even turn, ran him through the Cutie mark. Not stopping to retrieve my sword, I punched the next machinegunner, not stopping until he fell unconcious. Retriving my blood stained blade, I ran into the next room and slammed my sword into the first gunner’s head. As the next one turned, I swung at his jaw, the blade cutting his head in half. The next room held prepared gunners, as when I turned through the door, I had a smoke bomb blacken my vision, followed by a blast of ice magic freezing my chest. The gunners both leaped through the smoke, their saddleside guns ablaze, ripping holes in my chest. Their blows didn’t stop me from tackling both of them, and charging out the window with them firmly choked under my arms. As the ground arced towards us, I threw them both head first into the ground and spread my wings to handle the hard landing. I hit the ground, rolling to lessen the blow.
As I got up, I asked Wilhelm, who was ordering the panzers to blast their dens to shreds, “How many left?”
He said, “Me and the boys,” he gestured at some contempt, stupid looking, grinning griffons peering out from a tank, “have been able to take everything out up to Giselda Circle. If we all charge as one, we could reach the Temple.” I decided to authorise this one last push. It was time to win this city back. I pointed onwards, a simple gesture that everygriff should know. As one, our force began to grind forwards, the tanks still picking off the machinegunning ponies along the road. Halfway up, our flanks were struck from both sides, waves of Nimbusian pegasi and Deponian tanks storming our unexpecting sides. I turned and spread my wings, launching off the pavement to strike the east insurgency. I dove down straight into the heat of it, my sword piercing two pegasi and as I turned, I bowled another one down. A panzer fired at me, but somegriff threw another Nimbusian pegasus into the shell’s way, splattering me with gore and allowing me time to dodge. I took another bullet to the beak, staining my good eye red, so I bashed the riflepony who fired. He fell easily, and I decided to spin up my gun and dish out a lead blitz. I opened fire, lead, bones and bodies flying everywhere. Whoever approached me, I crushed them, laughing in furious ecstasy. These fools had defaced my homeland and now I would deface them. Fool after fool was mown down, as I turned to face more and more charging me. When one of their heavy tanks turned to me, I fired at the lower front. Judging by the screams, I’d managed to rip through the armour and hit the driver. I leaped atop, and slammed my sword into the roof, hacking a crude entrance into it. Inside, I opened fire once more, blasting through their ammo supplies and the comms pony alike. The commander had an axe in mouth and charged from behind the partisian wall. Like his friends I dispatched him. Climbing out once more, I surveyed their attack failing, laughing in fury as I began to storm them down once more with my leaden barrages. Suddenly, my world glowed orange as a grenade blasted me back. I crashed and rolled through griffs, stopping against a tank. Darkness of death began to edge towards my vision as I watched my blood empty onto the cobbles in front of me. I thought of my failure, to throw the torch to Wilhelm, but I couldn’t find him in the carnage. I called for him, but only succeeded in coughing up more blood. It seemed my fury could only get me so far. I raised my arm and yelled once more, more blood splattering my already soaked commander’s jacket. Struggling and bracing myself against my sword, I climbed up before slipping in blood, my vision beginning to grey out even more.
“This is it.” I thought. “Our resistance ends here.” A medic finally noticed the commander dying and ran over, uttering Boreas over and over again. He stripped my jacket off and swore at the amount of bullets and burns across my chest alone. In fact, I was entirely soaked in blood, so much I looked like I had bled out from everywhere. Which I had. The medigriff pulled out a scalpel, hacking pieces of lead and meat out from everywhere, before sewing up all the wounds to the best of his abillity. I called once more for Wilhelm, but again bled up more.
The medigriff paled and said, “Sir, you must withdraw NOW. You’ve lost over 70% of your blood, and you’ll die! In fact, you’re a miracle lasting this long!”
I ignored this, and climbed back up again.
“SIR!” The medigriff got in my way, so I bashed him away again, but grabbing all his sewing needles and shambled back towards the east insurgency. Griffons faltered to gasp at my ruined body, soaked red in blood, and some even fainted mid battle. The ponies alike were terrified, and when I began to spin up my gun, only then did they charge me. Now I had no joy in this, just cold hard fury. They nearly cost me my life. Now I’d punish them for it. Grenadiers thought the same technique could be used repeatedly, so I shot their grenades. Bullets hit my wounds, reopening them so I pinned them shut using the needles I took. Ponies killed griffon after griffon, so I settled the score by butchering them where they stood. Soon the flow cut out, no more daring to challenge me, so the march continued. Now the massive palace looming over the smoke smothered sky was within our sight, and with it, the Temple of boreas, where Heavenly Snow awaited us. From Giselda Circuit, more of our force returned to join us, our purging of the outer parts of town finished. The ponies here had mostly retreated to the palace or out to the front, afraid of our partisan fury, so now we could end what we began. The last guards, the elites, saw our approach and began to lower the Palace’s gate.
Wilhelm yelled, “That’s not good. The gate is near indestructible, except to Project Arcturius! If it falls we have to fly! And chances are they have Anti Griff guns up there! HURRY!” Using every pint of energy left, I leaped towards the sinking gate, Wilhelm and the remainder of the Knights of Arcturius behind me. Vision darkening, I made it through with the Knights. But as the gate clanged shut, I knew this was true endgame.