Chapter 7: Ambush
Sterling crouched behind a tree, nearby three other ponies quickly joined him as they hid out of sight from the marching mass below on the road. Reaching back, he carefully drew the large mace from his back, glancing to the right and left of his position to see if the other two squads were in position.
Sterling knew the plan well, he had helped Valor Fist with it in the command tent the day before.
“The plan I propose is simple,” Valor stated, pointing a hoof at the section of the map currently on top of the pile of papers and used quills. “We know that a column of the more... ‘sentient’ of the undead, the skeletal ones that were risen from the military cut down in Equestria’s fall, w-”
Glaive snorted, standing to his hooves. His immense bulk taking up most of the tent. “We know all of this, Valor. To the point, time is not something I enjoy wasting at a map table when undead out there have yet to meet my axe.”
Sterling raised an amused eyebrow, smirking at his fellow Argent. “Now, now, Glaive. The readers don’t know it yet.”
Glaive and Valor simply looked at Sterling with a confused, flat look. Glaive snorted, as Valor returned to the map.
“Right...” Valor begun, “Anyways, back to the plan. We know a column of skeletal warriors will be marching to reinforce the entrance to Restful Hill, these are a batch of the elite ponies they have risen from the grave. Taking them out is a massive blow to Restful Hill, as that was simply a civilian graveyard, anything they raise will be weak and unarmed.”
Sterling nodded, leaning on the large silver mace that was his namesake. “I agree, but, that isn’t the only reason to send both Glaive and I out with six of our best, is it?”
Valor grinned, tossing his ink splatted mane. “You are correct, the plan me and Captain Zeal worked out requires more then just a few reinforcements from the south. We have to cut Starmane off from Restful Hill to be able to take either in the long run.”
Sterling nodded. “Aye, I understood that, but how do you plan to do that? The road is too much for us to defend from both sides. We barely keep this pass secure from assaults on one-side half the time!”
Valor Fist’s grin widened even more. “Explosions.”
Glaive snorted, leaning over to peer at Valor critically. “Explosions? What kind of answer is that?”
Valor simply chuckled patting the large stallion on the head. “I’ll explain!” He lit his horn up with a soft ebony glow, and picked a quill up before setting about scribbling his plan on the map as he spoke.
“You and Sterling will set your squads up, here and here. While a third squad, led by Tech specialist Blinky sets up here. They need to rig this entire stretch of road without the undead catching on, so when our plan is put into motion we can remotely blow the explosives, Understood?”
Sterling and Glaive both nodded. “A sound plan,” The former spoke, “Anything else we need to know?”
Valor frowned for a moment and sighed, his face growing solemn and serious. “Yes, there are reports a minor death knight will lead this column.. Be careful, both of you.”
A voice brought Sterling back to the present, “Sir, the column is in position for the ambush, we need to hurry, Glaive has already begun engagement.”
Sterling turned to the pegasus and nodded. “Right. Celestia, give your breathe to our wings as we soar into battle in your name.” He prayed before hefting the mace over his shoulder and flaring his wings. the other three pegasi with him followed suit, unsheathing weapons and flaring their wings for flight.
“For Cloudsdale!” Sterling roared, before kicking off with his hind legs, and sailing through the air at the column of skeletal warriors. His eyes sought his target, and standing on the other side of the engagement was a pony, a living pony, clad in black armor decorated with spikes and skulls. Sterling angled his wings so that his approach was right at this pony. He closed his eyes, muttering a prayer of might to the Celestial Light. His mace flared up with a golden aura, as runes glittered along the head of the hammer. Sterling reached the undead massed before him and with a grunt of effort brought the hammer around mid flight, crushing the undead in his path with the mace as he landed.
Giving a mighty sweep to clear a space around him, he spared a glace at the others of his squad who had landed in the middle of groups of undead elsewhere in the battlefield and were working on surviving and killing.
A mighty clash was heard as Glaive and his earth pony Argents clashed on the edges of the conflict, roaring their hate for the undead as they carved the edges of the column to shreds with axe and blade.
A glancing blow on a pauldron brought Sterling’s attention back to the present. He glared at the skeletal pony warrior before him, muttering a prayer, runes along his hoof-glove activated, and channeled his inner magic into the hoof as it crashed with divine light into the skeletal skull of his enemy, burning the necromantic magic holding the corpse together away. Sterling gave no more pause, hammer swinging in wide marks as he yelled his hate and faith at the undead, carving a path to the death knight.
As he finally parted the group of undead before him with his divine mace. He stood before his sighted enemy, the traitor.
Before his opponent was the corpse of a Argent, his body shown open like a sliced tomato.
“You will pay for that, foul traitor!” Sterling bellowed, kicking into the air and bringing his body and mace around in a spin in an attempt to decimate his opponent.
However, as the mace head came around to strike the armored pony, it instead hit a resisting force, a wall of pure magic.
“Foolish paladin.” The Death Knight’s dark voice spoke. “You think I am some skeleton to be decimated by the servant of a false queen?” The death knight’s horn glowed with a void black aura. The aura pulsed, sending out a blast of magic that sent Sterling into a tree, away from the battle.
“Pathetic. A pegasus paladin? You should leave the magic of faith to true ponies, not a lesser race such as yourself.” The death knight chuckled as his horn lit up to sent a bolt of magic into the dazed paladin before him.
“Any last wo-” The death knight was cut off as an axe cut into his spine, only the armor on his back kept it from cutting into the spinal cord and killing him instantly.
“You should watch your back, scum.” A deep voice bellowed.
Glaive ripped the axe from the death knight’s back and swung it at the pony’s head, narrowly missing as the target ducked under the blow.
Glaive’s opponent dropped his head and charged, crashing into the large stallion with a surprising amount of strength and sending him stumbling back and his axe falling from his hooves.
However, before either could act, a mace crashed into the side of the death knight’s helmet, caving it in, and leaving the pony’s head with a deadly wound. However, the death knight turned and fired off an erratic blast of magic at the offending pony, sending Sterling flying back, his armor blackened and mangled.
The Death Knight walked over to his fallen opponent and hefted the mace, for a killing blow.
“FOAL. I will not be beaten by a simple wound to the head! The wounds of the flesh mean NOTHING to one who has transcended the glory of the lesser races. I am MO-” Again, an axe cut interrupted the death knight, however, this time for good. As the axe blade sliced clean through the evil pony, slicing through his spinal cord, rib cage and internal organs, killing him instantly. The halves and a good deal of blood fell onto Sterling.
“When will the bad guys learn that monologue will get you no where on a battlefield..” Glaive snorted, as he pushed the corpse with ease from Sterling’s body and offered him a hoof up.
“You know... Sometimes I wonder what I would do without you, Brother.” Sterling smirked as he grabbed his mace, standing on shaky legs as he held a hoof to cover a gaping chest wound.
“You would be dead,or bleeding to death. I will clean this up and have the bodies burned.” Glaive turned to a pegasus who was near and called to him.
“Brother Lightning! See to it Sterling is taken to Priestess Redheart, now!” Glaive took the mace from Sterling and looked to his axe, the blade had been shattered and the haft broken by the force of the blow. He frowned and hefted the mace. “I need to borrow this. Stay alive, Sterling.”
Sterling grunted, but could do little more as the wound’s severity set on him, made it hard to breathe. He leaned onto the pegasus warrior ordered to see him back and left the rest of the clean up to Glaive and the others.
He gave one final look at the body of the death knight.
“He really did talk too much..”