“The ground is trembling, lording. Tens of thousands, maybe even a hundred thousand, steps are taken every second. They are not far from us, but their movement is hidden.”
The Matriarch’s dire warning, only an hour old, echoed for the thousandth time in Ray’s mind as he crouched at the top of the grassy knoll. It had come unexpectedly, almost like the news was simply blown in on the wind, but Ray had known it was true from the grim solemnity of her voice. Now, as the sun slowly began to set, there was a growing tension as he stared at the space where the grasslands became the Golden Plains. Distantly, he could see the army he had been forewarned about. The Matriarch’s senses must have diminished greatly in the few months since their last battle or the minotaurs had simply made ground quickly. Either way, they were practically at his feet.
His scouts had yet to return from that direction, making him fear the worst. If they had been caught and killed, the minotaurs undoubtedly knew the Fallen were close, hopefully without any sense of direction where. Currently, it was hard to tell if they were oblivious to the Fallen army sheltered on the north side of the hill, spears equipped and ready to charge. There wasn’t a real plan, not yet. The minotaurs were just outside of range for a surprise attack- if it was a surprise- and they were visibly slowing down. Thanks to the long grass and distance, Ray wouldn’t be easily spotted by any looking minotaurs, let alone set apart from any of the stones that frequently sprouted from the ground on these softer, rockier hills.
The Matriarch and her spiderlings had moved further back to the east in an attempt to hide their mass, which seemed to have worked. It was humbling to realize that the army of the Fallen could be hidden by the shadow of one hill while the spiderlings needed an entire valley. However, the force they faced may be the first that was truly overwhelming in number even if outskilled and outmaneuvered. The Fallen did excellently in battle if each wave only had to charge once and could shatter several layers of the minotaurs’ defense. With the immense horde they would be facing, even a perfect attack may not be enough to stagger the enemy. As soon as their advantages were taken from them or nullified, the Fallen were susceptible to being slaughtered.
Defense was also not an option. The Fallen’s small pony bodies could hardly hold their own against the strength of minotaurs, especially not when they had to remain stationary in the face of the enemy. This left attack as their only true option against an opponent like the minotaurs. It was an emerging problem with pony warfare, but one that, if they remained conscientious of, would be a hindrance rather than a detriment. Even if the minotaurs charged, they had shown to be disorganized and nigh-on feral fighters, which could easily be swept aside by an organized charge like the Fallen were specialized in.
In the distance, the minotaurs seemed to pick up their pace, continuing to march towards the Fallen’s hidden position. Cursing under his breath, Ray quickly scurried back to the other side of the hill, the sight of his own army crowded around the shadow of the hill giving him some relief. It was an impressive army, even if outnumbered, and he knew that if any army would overcome the odds, it would be his Fallen. He remained crouched until he was completely sure he wouldn’t be spotted before racing down to where the other generals were gathered, all apprehensive.
“Minotaurs haven’t stopped moving,” he told them grimly. “They’re marching right towards us still.”
The generals shared a look, each understanding the dire situation as they processed the dark news. Taking a breath, Ray explained, “There’s at least thirty thousand by what I’m able to see, but most definitely more than we’ve ever faced before. They’re maintaining a huge block formation, wider and thicker than our own waves could handle.”
“So don’t use waves,” Skalos replied, thinking on his feet. Using a hoof, he outlined a quick map on the ground, depicting the minotaur’s block and the Fallen’s own position. Speaking as he depicted, he said, “Don’t use the wave formations since they’ll be too small to survive a head-on engagement. Instead, take each infantry army as our formations. Use mine to wrap around the east of the hill first, charging the minotaurs. Then, before engagement, we’ll turn due southeast and slice off that wing of the minotaur formation. Follow it up with Yarem’s infantry, wrapping from the west immediately after us and slicing off due southwest. This leave’s Pelios’ army, which would have grouped into a formation in front of the hill. The archers would release a volley once Yarem’s infantry are out of the way, followed by Pelios’ infantry charging the shattered frontline. By what I can guess, at least half of their army would be dealt with by that point.
“From there, I and Yarem’s infantry will have formed rank to either side of the enemy army. Once again, as Pelios’ army falls back, they are covered by another volley. Both infantry columns would then promptly collapse onto the sides of the minotaurs, before sweeping up north to regroup back at the hill formation. If the minotaurs are still in fighting shape by that point, we should consider retreating having done all the damage we can without overextending ourselves. In the meantime, Hdekdeala and the spiderlings will be focused on wrapping all the way around from behind to catch any retreating minotaurs. We want to go for a full wipe, of course, but with how many there seem to be, it’s entirely possible they could decide to send an entire battalion back as messengers. The battlefield itself requires too much organization and swift, decisive movement for many of the younger spiderlings. This way, we utilize them without setting them up for failure.”
“Approved,” came the immediate response of the sole broodmother, her unblinking eyes focused on the drawn map.
It had quickly become somewhat confusing without the knowledge of Skalos’ timeline, prompting Ray to ask, “When did you come up with this plan?”
“It isn’t mine,” Skalos admitted freely. “Old war tactic for being outnumbered. There was a counter to it, but it required pegasi and unicorns, and even then it would almost certainly cost the enemy their earth pony forces. I don’t think it’s ever been used on such a large scale though, even for how massive wars used to be.”
“We don’t have time to form another strategy anyways,” Pelios pointed out. “We need to move now to get set up properly.”
Nodding in agreement, Ray turned to Harbor and Kraven and instructed, “Bring your archers up right away. If the minotaurs begin closing in before we’ve set up, fire as many volleys as you need to stagger them. We’ll wait for the arrows to stop falling before charging.”
The two generals scattered to give the orders to their soldiers as Ray turned to Hdekdeala and the remaining Fallen. “Hdekdeala, get back to the spiderlings as discreetly as possible. The minotaurs emerged from a valley with a hill behind it. Find a way into it and be ready to face at least a few thousand minotaurs. The rest of you, get to your armies and tell them what’s going on. Emphasize to stay as an army instead of taking wave formation. We need to be charging those minotaurs as soon as possible.”
“Ray, stick with Pelios’ army,” Skalos quickly told the human, earning a confused look.
“Why the hell would I do that,” he questioned, slightly insulted. “I lead my Fallen into battle, every battle.”
“Not this one, lordling,” Yarem agreed in sudden realization. “You’ll be left behind and easily dispatched, or accidentally swept away by our hasty movements. If you join Pelios’ army, though, you’ll be head-on and far less likely to fall behind on the attack or retreat. You’ll also have the benefit of volleys to cover you before and after the attack, in case you are slow.”
Ray wished to protest, frustrated at his own incapabilities and the situation, wanting to point out every time he hasn’t succumbed to such hindrances, he also felt the mounting pressure of time they were wasting. After a short, difficult moment of thought, he bitterly spat, “Fine, I’m sticking back with Pelios’ infantry. Skalos, the battle starts on your lead.”
“Yes, lordling,” Skalos acknowledged reverently, before breaking off from the group to sprint to his army. Taking a breath, lagging just barely behind the other two Fallen, Ray took off after Pelios as he made a beeline for his infantry.
Already, he could see the archers swiftly moving to drag the ballistas to the top of the hill as neat rows and blocks of archers were formed, four thousand archers quickly mobilizing into their position for the coming battle. Undoubtedly, the army’s movements had been noticed by the minotaurs, but Ray couldn’t see the reaction of the enemy yet. He followed closely behind Pelios as he began giving orders, shuffling waves to mesh together and organize his four thousand infantry into a cohesive formation that could take their position. The mere presence of Ray in their army, though strange, seemed to galvanize the Fallen to move swiftly, and within only a couple minutes, they began moving out from behind the hill.
Simultaneously, Skalos’ army suddenly began rapidly marching out into their position, not quite running, but moving quicker than normal. It was only then that Ray had the realization that he had just given his best friend the responsibility to lead the Fallen into battle. His heart froze as he thought of several terrible outcomes from that decision. Skalos had fought in every engagement Ray had and survived just as unscathed as him, the logical part of Ray’s brain argued, but at the same time he also knew he had no power if he lived or died now, not close enough to defend his friend if trouble caught up with him.
Physically swallowing his worries down, he watched closely as the Fallen suddenly picked up their pace even more as a war cry sounded from the amassed infantry, kicking up the slightest dust cloud as they took off. The minotaurs, just now coming into view, were shockingly close, less than half a mile from the base of the hill Ray and Pelios were leading his army around. They were still marching, seemingly not anticipating such a rapid attack. Right before his eyes, he saw their panic. They were a massive block already, at least a third Skalos’ block’s width larger, but the scattering of the minotaurs into unprepared defensive positions spread them out even more. The entire face of the minotaur army seemed to be a mile wide, but then just seconds before contact, it happened.
Skalos’ entire army suddenly turned due southeast and sliced through the right wing of the minotaurs with almost no resistance. The move caught the minotaurs completely off-guard. He watched with relieved satisfaction as the mass of glowing infantry trampled through a large number of the minotaurs, leaving hundreds, then thousands, of corpses in their wake. The sound of crunching metal, screaming, and bleating echoed back to Pelios’ infantry, but having moved as swiftly as possible, they were now in position.
Even before Skalos’ army had begun peeling away from their attack completely, Yarem was directing his army in their charge, a second, possibly louder roar of Fallen heralding their attack. The minotaurs, now in a misshapen formation missing what looked like an entire half of their frontline, tried to adjust for a similar attack, however, they didn’t anticipate Yarem turning his army southwest. Once again, mere feet before the two forces clashed, the infantry turned sharply to the southeast and sliced through the already bewildered minotaurs. The effect was almost identical to Skalos’ army, who finally pulled away and ran to regroup parallel to the minotaurs.
As Yarem’s infantry finished their work with the minotaurs, having shaved away the other half of the minotaur’s frontline and a great deal more to their left wing, the minotaur army resembled an upside-down house, like a pentagon pointing right at Pelios’ army. Even though thousands of minotaurs now lay dead, dying, or wounded, a small majority remained, a little over a third of the army now destroyed by the looks of it. However, the minotaurs had no time to think as suddenly the air over Ray’s head screamed, four thousand arrows and several hundred ballista bolts rocketing towards the paralyzed minotaurs. The volley slammed indiscriminately into the formation, and thanks to the short distance, Ray and the rest of Pelios’ infantry were able to see firsthand the devastation it wrought. The minotaurs were felled like blades of grass, their positions shattering further as holes formed in their decimated formations.
Looking down at Pelios, who stood beside him, spear at the ready, Ray asked, “Would you do the honors?”
“Of course, lordling,” Pelios agreed with a small, thankful nod. Turning to his soldiers, the stallion shouted at the top of his lungs, “To their deaths! Charge!”
Without further thought or consideration, Ray let his feet fly, thundering down towards the minotaurs. The short distance between the two forces shrank so rapidly that it felt like hardly a moment before the human could read the terrified, panicked looks in the minotaurs’ eyes as they desperately attempted to address the ruthless Fallen. Ray was only overtaken by three lines of Fallen before they slammed into the minotaurs, the force of the head-on collision sending both minotaurs and Fallen in the air. After having been hoodwinked twice, the minotaurs had been utterly unprepared for any attack, demonstrated by how swiftly they fell before the face of Pelios’ charging infantry. Five, six, then seven entire lines of minotaurs were slashed through before Ray finally made it to the front of the line again, watching as over and over, minotaurs would be impaled by a Fallen only for them to keep charging, ripping the spear from them with the ferocity of the charge.
Ray slammed the spearhead of his kharamh through the chest of a minotaur attempting to defend itself from an entirely different spear, killing it instantly. Tearing the weapon from the minotaur’s bleeding chest, he picked up his feet again, already behind the continued charge of Pelios’ infantry as it dug deeper into the minotaurs. Leaping over corpses, he reached the frontline once again and took the position of a Fallen who was suddenly caught out by the upward swing of a minotaur’s axe, sending his head flying. The minotaur paid the kill with its life as Ray placed his kharamh right through its face, shattering its skull completely. Yanking his weapon free, he slashed it at another nearby minotaur, the hook tearing out its stomach and leaving it to fall dying, disemboweled.
Finally, having driven its way deeper into the minotaur’s army than any of the previous attacks had, the infantry began to turn and fall back to their starting position. The human moved to cover their retreat as best he could, though two Fallen were already turned upon by minotaurs and sliced to pieces. In a flurry of movement, he managed to behead one of the offending minotaurs with his hook before planting the butt of the kharamh through the upper abdomen of another one. Ducking underneath a third’s hastily swung axe, he used the momentum of standing up to wrench the kharamh from his victim’s dying body and plant the spearhead in the heart of the brazen minotaur who attacked him.
Satisfied and already falling behind the retreat, he swung at another minotaur, catching it in the head with his hook and killing instantly, before breaking into a sprint, praying there were no crossbows that could be trained on him. He struggled not to trip over the dozens of minotaur corpses on his path out of the carnage or slip on the gallons of spilled blood that flooded the battlefield. The Fallen in front of him looked almost horrific, their shining colors clashing violently with the red spilled over them. The moonlight served as the only censor to the carnage all around him, and even though the corpses almost entirely consisted of minotaur bodies, he almost felt sick at how much there was.
Glancing over his shoulder, he found that the minotaurs weren’t attempting to pursue the retreating Fallen forces, instead regrouping into something of a recognizable formation. However, almost cruelly, just as they seemed to get a footing, the air once again filled with the screams of arrows and bolts. Finally making it back to roughly where Pelios’ army had been originally positioned, he got a good look at the carnage of the archers’ second volley. Once again, the minotaurs were left in shambles, though a primal fear left them less a formation of soldiers and more a group of cowering creatures desperate for survival. However, they still wielded their weapons, and the occasional splash of Fallen blood glowing in the fresh night betrayed their frightening nature. Without warning a second volley slammed into the crippled minotaurs, and though once again it killed large numbers of them, there was little it could do to worsen the minotaur’s current position.
Looking to either side of the army, he saw both Yarem’s and Skalos’ infantry at the ready. Taking the second volley as their cue, the two armies charged almost simultaneously, moving in to sandwich the minotaurs with deadly intent. Ray stood watching in awe as both Fallen armies slammed into the sides of the minotaur forces, slicing through them with such ease and lethality it almost didn’t look like a battle at all. The Fallen simply seemed to be running past the minotaurs as they made their way cutting through the army. However, even with all of the losses inflicted thus far, by the time they each turned and made their way out, the minotaurs were still at least ten thousand strong, held together by small contingents of untouched minotaurs still capable of putting up a resistance or attacking. Even surrounded by tens of thousands of corpses, the minotaurs somehow seemed ready to charge.
Horrifyingly, Ray realized in a flash that’s what they intended to do. Now knowing that the Fallen needed to retreat and reset before being able to fight, they were weathering the devastating charge and planning to take advantage of the Fallen’s vulnerability. Without the time to explain, Ray turned to the Fallen and raised his kharamh into the air, the butt pointing towards his heart and the head threatening the moon in a bloody salute. With a roar, he commanded, “Charge, Fallen! Charge!”
Turning, he took off as fast as he could, and even with short notice and incapable of properly understanding why, he heard Pelios’ infantry following closely behind him. As he had predicted, the minotaurs had begun to move from their faulty positions to try and chase down the retreating Fallen. However, at the sight of the charging Fallen, the minotaur’s realized their folly, but far too late. There was no time to try and reconsolidate, as within only a matter of seconds, the once attacking minotaurs were being shredded by the merciless charge.
Ray didn’t even slow down as his kharamh pierced through, then ripped out, the gut of a minotaur. Continuing his charge, he slammed the body of his kharamh into the swing of a minotaur’s sword. Blocking the hit, he swiftly slid the hook of his weapon down the blade, where it severed the hand of the minotaur holding it. It let out a bleat of pain and attempted to stumble away, but a swift, precisive jab from Ray pierced its throat and sent it to the ground with a tortured gurgle. Coming to a full stop, he parried the strike of another sword-wielding minotaur, though this one was suddenly swept away by a passing Fallen, dragged several feet before the spear finally tore free of the minotaur.
Moving to the next minotaur in sight, he stabbed it through the back as it tried to attack a passing Fallen. Letting it drop to the ground, he barely had to move at all as another minotaur ran at him, its massive axe sweeping low. Ray leapt over the wild strike, but landed awkwardly, slipping on a pool of blood and almost falling down right on top of the minotaur. Instead, he jabbed the minotaur through the chest, using it to stabilize before kicking the dying creature off his spearhead.
All around him, the charge had broken down into hundreds of Fallen chasing and destroying whatever remnants of the minotaur army wasn’t running for the valley. This final charge was the straw that broke the camel’s back, the remaining minotaurs leaving whatever formations they had attempted to make in lew of the brutal, relentless assault. Having taken sufficient stock of the situation, Ray set himself on a trio of minotaurs that had somehow gone unaddressed by the passing Fallen. They remained huddled near several ballista bolts planted in the ground, the large bolts and bodies propped up by them almost allowing the three to go unseen.
They noticed his approach with terror but moved to fight him regardless. The nearest minotaur brandished its sword threateningly, but a simple jab bypassed its poor defense and practically took off its shoulder. One of its comrades stepped in to draw Ray’s attention away, attacking from his right. Ducking beneath the high swing of its axe, he whirled his kharamh expertly, cutting through its stomach before standing up and planting the hook in the wounded minotaur’s side, killing it instantly as the hook pierced its heart. The final minotaur wielded a spear, but stepping past the unimpressive spearhead, he grabbed it by the body and pulled, dragging the minotaur chest-first into his own unique spearhead, impaling it.
Removing his weapon from the minotaur as it let out a last gasp, he let go of the spear, letting both drop to the ground. Looking around once again, he found that there were no longer any living minotaurs near him. In fact, there were only a couple dozen Fallen, exhausted or injured, that were slowly making their way back to the hill. Panting, the battle slowing to a conclusion in the distance, Ray began to feel his own tiredness wash over him. Everything had happened so quickly, going from a steady march one hour to a battle in the next, throwing his army at the minotaurs with the first plan they could think of. It was reckless, foolish, and had utterly crushed the superior numbers of the minotaurs. Chuckling slightly at how stupid it was in hindsight, yet how unstoppable the battle was, Ray turned and also began to make his way towards the hill, alone.
The distant chittering of spiderlings had grown into a strange symphony of arachnid speech and predatory shrieks that made the battlefield all the more haunting. Ray couldn’t tear his eyes away from the unabashed devastation he and the Fallen had brought to the minotaurs. The scale of death was nearly catatonic, tens of thousands of corpses, more than double the number of Fallen, surrounded him for hundreds of feet in every direction. It was apocalyptic, the mangled corpses, freely flowing blood, and ballista bolts making the entire area look like the surface of a foreign, bloody planet. Moonlight and Fallen blood added strange, horrific contortions to the field of dead, colorful illuminations that only helped amplify the carnage.
It was only once he was completely out of the field of death that he was able to take his mind off it, though the smell and taste of blood in the air remained. About half of Pelios’ infantry had made it back, though they didn’t quite retain any formation. Most seemed exhausted as well, a day of marching and then a rapid, violent, turbulent battle, a nasty combination that would wear down anyone. He moved past them with the slightest acknowledgement, knowing that, at the very least, Harbor and Kraven would be at the top of the hill.
Now, he began to worry.
Looking to the west, then east, he assessed the status of Skalos and Yarem’s infantry. From what he could see, they hadn’t suffered any devastating losses, visibly indifferent from before the battle itself. That bade very well, though with how slowly Pelios’ army seemed to be coming back together, perhaps that was where they had suffered the most casualties. He also hadn’t seen the yellow stallion, but even as he thought that, he noticed the glow of his friend as he led a large group of Fallen away from the spiderlings. The Matriarch loomed over her children as they tore through whatever minotaurs remained or started their feasting on slain minotaurs. Some of his worry alleviated, he finished the climb to the top.
Around him, archers began to cheer as they stowed away their bows, quivers, and began preparing the ballistas for being put away. Camp would be set very late tonight, so this would help speed up the process some. The archers wouldn’t have lost a single soldier, which also helped morale since at least a portion of the army didn’t have to worry about reconsolidation or changes in command. Reaching the top, he found Harbor and Kraven already talking softly together, not an aide or lieutenant in sight. Kraven was pointing something out on the battlefield with a hoof while Harbor watched intently.
“Ah, lordling, welcome back,” Kraven suddenly said as he noticed the human’s approach.
“You look a little worse for wear,” Harbor commented offhandedly, giving him a good stare up and down. “How many minotaurs did you kill?”
“Don’t know,” Ray replied honestly, falling into a sitting position in the grass. It felt too good to be sitting down… “Hard to keep track, y’know?”
“Not really,” Harbor admitted honestly. Cracking a light smile, he said, “That was quite the final charge you led there.”
“Minotaur’s were going to attack the infantry as they moved to reset, so we needed to re-engage them,” Ray explained, lying back on the soft grass. He suddenly felt unbelievable gratitude that they hadn’t fought this on the Golden Plains, if just for the silky-smooth grass.
“Wasn’t questioning, sir, just observing,” Kraven clarified. “Glad to see you unharmed.”
“Thank you,” Ray replied with a sigh, relaxing just a little. “I saw Pelios, but I don’t know how Skalos and Yarem are…”
“Well, I’m doing just fine, Ray,” Skalos suddenly affirmed as he emerged at the top of the hill, causing Ray to sit upright. “How’re you faring?”
“Ain’t the damndest,” he joked with a tired, wry grin. “Nice work today. Your plan worked like a charm. Completely caught out the minotaurs and thrashed them.”
“You took some creative liberty there at the end,” Skalos replied with rare humor, sitting down beside Ray with a similar, exhausted sigh. “Thanks for thinking fast on your feet. Could’ve been… much worse. We lost a few good ponies as far as I know, but nothing crippling and nopony in command that I know. I just hope it’s the same around the other armies.”
“Me too,” Ray agreed softly before catching sight of Yarem climbing the hill, panting profusely. The last of his stress vanishing, he called out, “Yarem, we did it!”
“That we did,” he shouted back between hard pants. After a few more seconds, he collapsed beside Ray and Skalos, whistling softly in appreciation. “I can’t believe we destroyed the entire army. It felt like there were always more minotaurs to kill after each charge.”
“There were, but we got ‘em all,” the human proudly pointed out. Looking between Yarem and Skalos, he informed them, “Pelios is alive, by the way. I saw him beginning to make his way back with most of his soldiers. I’ll join you in helping the cleaning up of the battlefield. We’ll assess everything we can before setting about making camp.”
“Yessir,” came the uniform, tired reply of the generals.
There was a moment of silence, each general catching their breath, before Kraven deductively stated, “We maintain a lossless streak here. Four victories. It seems, my friends, that the Fallen are still coming out on top in this war.”