Marching Colors

by MlpHero


Ending B

Merry ran over to the line, standing firm. They then heard an explosion from behind them. Merry turned to see a group of injured creaturess, who had been wounded by shrapnel. Merry didn’t have time to worry, as the guards then began to charge. Merry panicked, before getting an idea. She turned to a dragon. “Hey! Make a fire wall and hold them off!”

The dragon nodded and began breathing fire in the path. They watched as a few unlucky guards charged right through the fire, screaming and howling. Merry and a few other creatures used the time to quickly form a somewhat liable defense. Some of the yaks had heavy automatic crossbows on their backs, and allowed a few creatures to climb on and use the weapons. As soon as the fire dies down, they let out a hailstorm of crossbow bolts. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop a few luckier guards from getting past. They managed to pick off a few unsuspecting Marching Colors with their bayonets before being killed themselves. Thankfully, most of the bayonets only wounded them, allowing the makeshift medics to easily aid them.

Merry grabbed her spear and ran up to the line, watching as the guards seemed basically endless. She felt something pull her back. Fear. It wasn’t like any fear she’d ever felt before, like a fear of the dark. It was... a new fear. 

Fear of death. A fear of war.

What the Marching Colors didn’t have in supplies, they had well dedicated soldiers. The royal guards on the other hand looked more fearful. It seemed no one wanted to attack. But, as stated, the Marching Colors didn’t have a lot of supplies. Including arrows. So when the automatic crossbows ran dry, they had to act quickly.

So, they went with a half-baked offensive. The one upside was that the guards were worn out and had almost no soldiers left. They immediately surrendered, throwing down their weapons.

~~~

Merry and a few other creatures watched as the guards squirmed, trying to break from their restraints. A griffon stepped up, grabbing one of them by the throat. “Okay, talk. Why are attacking us?”

The guard groaned. “It’s… not… our f-fault…” he wheezed out.

Another guard looked over. “He is telling the truth.”

The griffon let go, looking over. “What do you mean?”

The guard sighed. “Well, you see, we don’t really have a choice when it comes to who we attack.” He nodded at one of the younger soldiers. “He’s seventeen, he shouldn’t be here. But they just threw us right at you. Didn’t even give us a strategy or anything.”

A pony stepped up. “Well… if you didn’t fire at our crowds at Appleloosa—”

“Wait, Appleloosa?” the guard interrupted. “We didn’t fire first, we heard you guys did.”

There was a pause. Neither side expected this. The guard let out a sigh. “Listen, the point is, this is really by choice.”

The pony looked at the guard. “So, who ordered it?”

“The sisters!” a pony from the back of the crowd shouted. “They’re the only ones with authority to do it!”

“Not really…” the guard stated. “In all honesty, it’s more up to the Minister of Defense. And, by law, this is kind of a rebellion…”

The group exchanged glances. Merry could practically feel the tension. She could probably cut it with a knife.

“Hm… can you take us to Canterlot?” the pony asked.

The guard looked up. “What?! Are you crazy?! What are you gonna do?! Sit down for tea and cookies?!”

The pony smiled. “Exactly.”

The guard sighed, not seeing any other options. “Fine. I’ll try to put in a good word or something.”

The pony chuckled, turning to the others. “Get the wagons ready. We’re leaving first thing tomorrow.”

The group nodded and ran out of the tent.

~~~

Merry sat on one of the wagons, watching the scenery go by. It was nerve racking. She didn’t know what to expect. What if they immediately opened fire? What would they do if they’d defeated the Marching Colors? Would she die?

These thoughts echoed around her mind, like noise in a cave. Merry laid against a hay bale.

After a few hours, they rode up towards the front gates. The city streets were lit up by the hanging lamps. The citizens looked at the convoy, confused. They weren’t sure how to react or what to do. The convoy rode past, heading towards the castle. However, it wasn’t long until they heard a boom, followed by a loud crash and the leading wagon flying off the road.

The leading wagons began yelling ‘cannon!’ as another explosion rang out. The cannonball ripped through another wagon, sending the wagon and occupants flying off the road.

Merry grabbed her crossbow and tried to remain calm. Then, the bolts began flying. Automatic crossbows rained hail fire onto the wagons.

“Get down!” one of the ponies yelled.

Merry and some of the others ducked down. One colt looked terrified. Merry tried to reach for him, but a crossbow bolt got to him first.

Merry wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe it was the arrow hitting him. Maybe the blood splatter. Or maybe his scared but lifeless eyes. A dead pony’s eyes.

The wagon quickly came to an abrupt stop. The braking wasn’t clean, however. The wagon flipped onto its side, sending the occupants out. Merry felt her body ragdoll against the dirt path and land in on the soft grass. And for a while, she stayed like that. Just lying there. She was thankful to even survive the crash, let alone not break anything.

Merry looked up, watching as a mare ran towards her.

“Hey! You okay?!” she asked, leaning down. 

Merry reached a hoof out, trying to grab the mares hoof. Before she could, the mare let out a scream, then collapsed, an arrow sticking out of her back. Merry held back a gag, trying not to throw up. The smell of blood entered her nostrils. She groaned, but kept crawling. She then noticed one of the wagons had a flag. The rainbow flag they were flying earlier. She crawled over to it, grabbing it firmly in her hooves. The flag was battered and torn, and was covered in dust. Merry held the flag up, and marched towards the gate.

She watched as her fellow creatures charged towards the castle. She felt her breathing slow. She walked towards the gate, pushing it open. The soldiers charged forward, most climbing the walls and throwing the guards off. Merry watched as the guards fell to the ground, most seeming to break their necks. Merry then noticed a flag in the center of the garden. She stumbled towards the flagpole, using the flag in her hoof as a support. As she approached, a pony raised up from behind the pole, firing a crossbow bolt into her chest.

She let out a yell, dropping to her knees. The guard stood, ready to shoot her again when another pony ran in front of her, taking the bolt for her, but also tackling and pinning the guard. Merry Gaines her strength, marching over. The guard tried pushing the dead pony off of him, but couldn’t. Merry stood over him, raising the flag, then driving it down through his chest and into the ground. She stood tall, watching as the others cut down the Equestrian flag. The rainbow flag waved in the wind, signaling victory.

~~~

Present Day Equestria…

Luna stared at the statue. One that depicted several Marching Colors raising a Pride flag in Equestria’s courtyard. She sighed wishfully, wondering why she didn’t do anything sooner. If anything, she should’ve been out there, fighting with them. But she wasn’t. And it hurt.

~~~

Cries for our help, a quiet whimper

Unknown ponies calling for us

Sent to Tartarus, to find for Elysium

To serve in the dark as Marching Colors.

—Marching Colors