Chapter 8: Pegasicillia
General Siegfried marched forward, through the piles of snow that lay before him. Behind him was the bulk of the German military, numbering exactly 453 ponies and 142 griffins. Only about half of the ponies could actually be seen marching on the ground. Above Siegfried, the German pegasi forces had gathered along with the griffin forces borrowed from Griffonia. In front of the pegasi and griffins, just above Siegfried, was a mare with a light tan coat and a burnt-orange mane. Her eyes were a deep shade of blue. Her cutie mark was a bright yellow comet, brimming with flames. She was wearing a purple, tightly fitted chestplate along with a layer of chain mail underneath.
General Siegfried continued without moving his gaze. “Sharp.”
The tan coated pegasus above him, lowered her altitude just above his head.
“Yeah, what do you want?” Sharp said with indifference in her voice.
Siegfried furrowed his brow at Sharp. He had always loathed the pegasus’s absolute lack of respect. Unfortunately, she was a necessary component to Trixie’s plans and as such, he chose to refrain from reprimanding her. “The weather is getting much worse. Clouds are gathering in the distance. I believe they are aware of our less than friendly appearance. I need you to send a scouting group ahead and inspect the situation.”
Sharp gave a sigh and tapped the side of her neck. “Kling, Ripple, Jolt, go ahead and check out what Pegasicillia is up to. I want reports on any troop movements, guard towers, weather formations, anything that stands out.”
Above Siegfried and Sharp, a trio of pegasi soared ahead to scout out the situation. Sharp looked ahead at the gathering of clouds that obscured their view of the city that loomed in the distance. Now, bits of snowflake began to pour out from the clouds.
“They’re using the terrain to their advantage,” Siegfried said. “With the amount of pegasi they have guarding the city, they have complete control of the weather surrounding it. We need to take out those pegasi if we want any chance of invading by ground.”
“Leave it me; my guys can take care of it,” Sharp said with a smile.
Siegfried felt his stomach knot up at the way she spoke. Her very smile spoke volumes about her obvious enjoyment in the destruction that was to follow. “Very well,” Siegfried simply said. “Take out those pegasi, and I’ll lead the ground forces directly through the city. I’ll put the unicorns on lead.”
Sharp nodded and flew off to give the order to the lines of pegasi and griffins above. The rows of aerial forces quickly took off, led by Colonel Sharp. Sharp’s forces took a sudden ascent and flew above the clouds, where they were destined to meet the city’s defending forces.
Siegfried turned back to face his troops. All of them stood, their gazes focused on the general. Many of them were shivering from the weather, despite wearing heavy coats and lavender plated armor.
“Ponies, we have began our assault on Pegasicillia. Colonel Sharp is leading an aerial assault that will give us an opening. Once we are clear, we will invade the city and bring it under German control. We will split up our forces and attack across the city. Follow the plan and the city will soon be ours.”
Siegfried stood firmly as cheers filled the air. He moved his gaze to the distance where he could see clouds fully formed around the city.
“Cloudkicker, set up clouds along the eastern perimeter!” Rainbow Dash yelled across the sea of pegasi that ran about clumping together clouds and gathering weather supplies. They were all wearing light blue armor that bore the crest of the Lunar Republic. Their armor was specially designed to be lightweight, as not to hinder their speed or flexibility. They wore special headsets along the course of their ears, which allowed communication across distances. Some opted to wear tight fitting helmets, but Rainbow Dash refused, believing that the helmet impaired her peripheral vision and hindered her skills. She simply decided to stick with the chestplate and chainmail underarmor. Above that chainmail and under the chestplate was a special set of pouches that could store items.
Rainbow Dash continued to scrutinize her soldiers, trying to increase efficiency and help Colonel Breeze’s plan flow smoothly. Their plan was simple: encase the city in a massive snowstorm. That would halt the advance of ground forces. However, it would not stop the enemy pegasi from assaulting from above. They were prepared for it. Rainbow Dash was prepared for it.
“Starstruck, are the pegasi on the northern end finished?” Rainbow Dash yelled to a purple pegasus who approached her.
“Yes, ma’am!” she yelled with a salute.
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Okay, begin the stormfront! Winter’s coming early!”
“But it’s already winter,” a pegasus interrupted.
Rainbow Dash stumbled, “Umm....well...whatever! Just make it snow!”
The ponies around her nodded and began pouncing on the clouds, causing a slight sensation beneath Rainbow Dash’s hooves. She had never performed a snow storm at such a large magnitude. The sheer force of the storm could be felt, even above the clouds. Rainbow Dash cleared a small hole below her so that she could see below.
When she looked underneath the clouds, all she could see was pure white. The very sounds of the roaring winds were almost deafening. Past the walls of snow, she could barely see the city, protected from the severity of the storm. However, it was not visible to the enemy. They had planned ahead and closed off the skylines above the city to camouflage it. It was in the city that Colonel Breeze and the city’s ground forces resided, ready for the worst case scenario.
Rainbow Dash sealed it back up and looked around her at the hundreds of pegasi staring up at her.
“Alright everypony, we’ve successfully set up a blockade around the city. Unless the Germans are suicidal, there’s no way that they’ll send in ground troops against these kinds of weather conditions. However, that’s not gonna stop them from sending as many pegasi and griffins as they can muster. They’re going to come here, and they’re going to try and stop us. We can’t let that happen. This city depends on us. The innocent ponies that live here depend on us. This town is home to over a thousand ponies and you know that? I don’t intend to lose a single innocent life, because in order for that to happen, they’re gonna have to get past me!”
The pegasi began stomping their hooves against the clouds, emitting a roar across the cloudscape.
Rainbow Dash briefly smiled before bearing a serious look. She raised her right hoof into the air and shouted at the top of her lungs, “For Pegasicillia! For Lunaria!”
As if on cue, a swarm of black made itself visible in the distance. Rainbow Dash kept her hoof raised in the air as she gazed at the lines of black that flew above the clouds, heading directly towards them. Rainbow Dash raised her other hoof and tapped against the leather strap on her right foreleg. A long, thick blade snapped out from the outside of her hoof strap. Rainbow Dash did the same for her other foreleg, and she began hovering above clouds.
With her blades extended from her hooves, she pointed at the oncoming swarm and her voice boomed, “The enemy is here! Everypony, defend the city!”
The crowd responded with a collective roar as they began hovering above the clouds. Rainbow Dash flew forwards as the other pegasi followed behind. As she grew closer, she could see a multicolored mix of pegasus ponies and griffins. All of them wore the same grim expression as they brandished their blades. It was a look of seething anger mixed the fear of death; the look of a pony ready to fight and die in battle. It was a look that Rainbow Dash was all too familiar with.
It was only several seconds later that Rainbow Dash’s blade made contact with an enemy pegasus, her blade stabbing through his chest. Rainbow Dash brought her foreleg back, sending blood onto her coat and used her other foreleg to horizontally slice across a griffin’s lower abdomen. The griffin reeled back in pain and fell towards the ground. Rainbow Dash positioned one blade in front and another to her side, and watched as five pegasi surrounded her from all sides.
The first one to attack came from her left. Rainbow Dash ducked underneath his lunge and struck a hoof upwards, directly through his jaw. Two more assailants flew forth, swinging their hooves at her; one approached from her left, while the other approached from her right. Rainbow Dash was almost disappointed. This was child’s play.
With her hoof retracted from the fallen pegasus, she dodged a blow from the leftmost pegasus, and put all pressure in her hind legs as she kicked upward, hitting her rightmost opponent’s legs just below his hoof-blade. There was an audible crack as the bones broke in his arm. Rainbow Dash quickly ended his misery with a swift stab through the chest. Before the other pegasus had time to react to her comrade’s death, Rainbow Dash rose up and delivered a strike through the poor pegasus’s skull. Three of the original remained, along with a flock of griffins who flew downwards, intending to strike Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash sensed their attack and with a flap of her wings, she quickly flew backwards to avoid the attack. In her moment of evasion, one of the three pegasus lunged forward, brandishing their hoof blades. Rainbow Dash spun around in midair to face him and flung her hooves in front, blocking his blades with her own. Within the split second of impact of their blades, Rainbow Dash rammed her head forward, knocking the pegasus back in pain.
Rainbow Dash briefly jumped back at the sudden pain that screamed in her forehead. There was no time for pain. This was a time to fight. The two pegasi lunged forward simultaneously.
Still in pain, Rainbow Dash jumped forward while twisting her body, and delivered a powerful kick with her hind legs that crushed the pegasus warrior’s rib cage. The remaining pegasus came at her with four griffins at his side. Rainbow Dash brought her hooves forward, ready to strike. Everything in Rainbow Dash’s movement remained fluid and mechanical as she flew up threw a jab in the direction of one of the griffins. The griffin jumped back to dodge it while Rainbow Dash raised a hoof above her forehead to block a blow delivered by the enemy pegasus.
Rainbow Dash, griffin slayer!, a voice in her head rung. Rainbow Dash shook the thought as the flow of combat absorbed her. Everything about Rainbow Dash’s movement became mechanical as she dodged, evaded, and attacked. Two griffins came at her, inciting Rainbow Dash to extend both forelegs and stab through both griffins. Rainbow Dash retracted her blades from their bodies and spun to face the next griffin whom she effortlessly slayed with a single swipe of her blade.
Everything about Rainbow Dash flowed effortlessly in combat. There was no sadness, no anger, no rage; just pure instinct.
An image flashed in Rainbow Dash’s head as she sliced through the remaining pegasus from earlier. She could see herself. She could see the blood on her hooves, the screaming as her enemies died before her. No griffin could match her speed. Her allies cheered as she defended Cloudsdale and slaughtered griffins by the dozens.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. Now was not the time. With her previous enemies finished, she flew forward, towards a fellow Lunarian as he fought against three angry griffins.
“Hey feather brains!” Rainbow Dash yelled, causing the three griffins to look back. A moment of confusion ran over their faces, quickly replaced by rage. While Rainbow Dash was a hero to Lunaria, she was certainly despised by the griffins.
Rainbow Dash swayed in the wind as she dodged their attacks before delivering a fierce retaliation in the form of a blade through their guts. One by one, they fell to Rainbow Dash’s blade. Rainbow Dash began breathing heavily and looked at the soldier, who simply stared in awe at the display that Rainbow Dash had given.
“What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash yelled at him. “Go help the others!”
The soldier shook his head before saluting and flying off to help his fellow Lunarians. Rainbow Dash sighed as she looked at the sight before her. All around her, pegasi and griffins clashed blade against flesh and bodies fell from the sky like rainfall. They were just outside the cloud area. Rainbow Dash was succeeding in keeping the enemy outside the cloud area. As long as they could keep them away from Pegasicillia and dwindle down their numbers, they could win.
Rainbow Dash’s thoughts were interrupted by a bright figure soaring through the distance. It was a pegasus pony wearing a purple chestplate. The pegasus soared in Rainbow Dash’s direction, slicing through Lunarian soldiers as she went. Rainbow Dash felt a chill go up her spine as she caught a glimpse of the pegasus's face. There was smile on the pegasus's face as she slayed Rainbow Dash’s comrades; a devilish grin that derived unbridled joy from ending other pony's lives. She had met ponies like her on the battlefield before, but none could compare to the freight that Rainbow Dash felt as she looked into her eyes, blue and deep as the ocean, yet barren and devoid as the depths of the deepest darkest pit.
Rainbow Dash prepared herself as the the distance closed between the two.The pegasus swung her foreleg, bearing a thin sword from her hoof strap, and clashed with Rainbow Dash's blade.
The pegasus swung at Rainbow Dash with her free hoof and met Rainbow Dash’s other blade. The two stood in a power struggle as their blades pushed against another. Rainbow dash gritted her teeth and tried to push through, to no avail. The other pegasus simply smiled and said, “Hi there, name's Colonel Sharp! You must be Major Rainbow Dash! I’ve heard an awful lot about you!”
Rainbow Dash skidded her forelegs to side and did a sideways roll to dodge Sharp’s attack. Sharp quickly pressed forward and began swinging her legs rapidly towards Rainbow Dash as she nonchalantly continued, “They say you’re a war hero. They say that you slaughtered an entire village worth of griffins! It’s bad enough that they’re forced to live in cramped ghettos in the far eastern mountains without some pegasus coming and dwindling down their population even more, don’t you think? Don’t worry, though, I don’t have a soft spot for them. I killed my fair share of those feathered bastards during the war.”
Sharp’s face continued to haunt Rainbow Dash as she flew back and Sharp repelled her failed attempts at attacking her. Rainbow Dash couldn't describe why, but every time she looked at her, she felt weak. She felt helpless.
She saw an opening. Rainbow Dash ducked under her striking foreleg and attempted an uppercut. Sharp leaned effortlessly leaned to the left, blocking the attack. Sharp prepared her counter and spun around to kick with her hind legs. Dash smiled as she dodged and kicked the cloud beneath her. The cloud beneath her spread open, revealing the rushing winds and the torrent of snow. Rainbow Dash fell beneath the cloud layer but not before wrapping her hind legs around Sharp’s left hind leg as she struck. With a sudden flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash dragged Sharp, along with herself, down into the storm below.
By the time Sharp realized what was happening, she was already underneath the cloud layer, completely blinded by the snow and deafened by the howling winds. She tried to fly up but could only slow down her descent. Rainbow Dash squinted and tried to search for her enemy but was was forced to fly downward at an alarming rate.
Rainbow Dash crashed against the snow and rolled to her side as she felt Sharp land next to her. Rainbow Dash quickly made her way to her hooves and could make out the blurry figure next to her. Sharp made her assault, blindly swinging away at Rainbow Dash’s figure which was obscured by the snow.
Their movements became animalistic in nature. Sharp’s attacks lost all sense of rhyme or reason as she honed in with her limited sense of sight and hearing. Rainbow Dash dodged her attacks one after another. She could barely see Sharp lunging forward, using her wings as a form of propulsion. Rainbow Dash jumped to the side and launched herself at Sharp.
Sharp turned around to block her hoof blades and kicked upward, striking Rainbow Dash in the jaw. Rainbow Dash flew upward and remained in the air as she rubbed her chin with the back of her hoof. She could taste iron in her mouth, an all too familiar taste for Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash simply spat the blood and placed her forelegs together as she planned her next attack.
Rainbow Dash positioned herself so that her hooves pointed upwards. She took a deep breath and began to rotate her body in the air, slowly rising up into the snow storm. She thought that she could hear Sharp yelling something, but she blocked it out of her mind. Her body began to rotate faster as she gained altitude. The winds began to funnel around her and she began to control the currents.
She stopped.
Still rotating, she twisted her body, facing downward and began to descend. She began to gain speed as the winds around her became violent. She spiraled towards the ground, appearing like a rainbow-colored tornado. Rainbow Dash’s eyes were closed, but she could still feel the nausea that came with this technique. She ignored the crying in her gut and focused only on winning.
Sharp could barely see Rainbow Dash at first, but could now see the rainbow spiral that approached her. She cursed under her breath and began running in a desperate attempt at dodging it. As she looked back, she could see it still following her. Rainbow Dash was actually following her, despite her inability to see or hear. There was a brief moment of panic in Sharp’s eyes as Rainbow Dash got closer and closer.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes opened as she came within inches of hitting Sharp. She stopped. As she paused her impact, a violent wave of razor sharp winds tore through the area, slashing against Sharp’s body. Sharp pressed her hooves against her face in an x-shaped manner. Her attempts at blocking proved ineffective as she was continually pushed through the snow, her blades breaking almost instantly upon impact of the ground.
Sharp could no longer control her body as she fumbled through the snow like a ragdoll. After several seconds, she felt herself crash against a rock, causing her to wince in pain.
Sharp was now covered in blood from the various cuts and bruises that she had maintained from Rainbow Dash’s surprise attack. As she made her way to her hooves, she could see Rainbow Dash slowly making her way to Sharp.
Rainbow Dash’s movements were slow, and she had a pounding headache. Her stomach was in turmoil over the previous attack and her breathing was now ragged. Rainbow Dash looked down at her hooves, her own hoof-blades were destroyed after her attack. Her gaze finally rested on the beaten and bloodied body of Colonel Sharp. Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief; she was beaten. There was no way that she could still have any spirit to keep fighting.
She was wrong.
Rainbow Dash froze as she heard a heiyena-like cackling from under Sharp’s breath. It was quiet at first, barely audible under the winds. It grew louder and louder until it overpowered them. Rainbow Dash looked into Sharp’s eyes as she raised her head and laughed.
There was a trickle of blood that ran down Sharp’s forehead, in between her eyes. Her eyes were cold and distant, piercing into Rainbow Dash’s soul. Her laughing stopped and she simply gave a devious grin.
Sharp finally spoke. “What’s the matter, Dash? Isn't this what you live for? Don’t you love it; the blood falling from your beaten body, the fear of death driving you on. That is the very foundation of battle: the strong vs. the weak. The others were boring; they were weak. You, on the other hoof, are strong. How many ponies have you killed in the past hour? The reason that you still live and they lie dead is because of this universal truth: the weak will die while the strong shall inherit this world. Unfortunately for you, I’m stronger.”
One second, Sharp stood in front of Rainbow Dash; the next, she was gone. Rainbow Dash felt a powerful jab against her gut and she reeled back in pain. Before she had time to react, she felt another series of blows from behind that knocked her into the ground. She slowly raised herself back up. Even as she stood on her four hooves, she could barely maintain balance.
She felt another punch as she tried to stay standing. She could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins as she dodged the next punch and threw another punch that connected with Sharp’s sides. Sharp winced and slapped Rainbow Dash across the face. Rainbow Dash barely flinched and instead, leaped up and tackled Sharp to the ground. The two rolled on the ground as they exchanged blows.
Their senses became dulled and their instincts took over. They were no longer Major Rainbow Dash of Lunaria or Colonel Sharp of Germaneigh; they were animals fighting for dominance; fighting to see who was stronger.
They continued wrestling on the ground for several minutes, enduring agonizing blows to face, often resorting to methods such as biting before they stopped and looked at the skies. It had stopped snowing.
Rainbow Dash stared up at the sky in fear. “No,” she said as her voice quivered.
Sharp kicked Rainbow Dash off her and stared in the sky as pegasi wearing lavender began to descend under the cloud layer and head towards the city.
“How?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Simple,” Sharp said with a laugh, “we’ve been slowly tearing away at the cloud layer this whole time. We have unicorns that were studying the weather patterns and trying to cancel the effects. The pegasi just had to buy them time and weaken the upper cloud layer. Unfortunately, you were getting in the way of that. That’s where I came in. I distracted you just long enough and just as Siegfried predicted, our battle ending up distracting you from defending the cloud layer.”
“No,” Rainbow Dash said, “No! This isn’t over yet!” Rainbow Dash lunged forth only for Sharp to evade and deliver a kick that knocked Rainbow Dash to the ground.
Sharp spat on the ground and said in a disappointed tone, “Sorry, as much as I’d love to finish this, Siegfried would be pissed if I stayed here. I got a city to conquer! You know, Dash, you and I, we’re the same. Anyways, see ya!”
As Sharp began flying off into the cloud layer, Rainbow Dash stood and began racing towards the city.
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“Ponies! Our defenses have failed. We prepared for this. You’re going to be fighting against Germaneigh’s ground forces. The city depends on your diligence!” Colonel Breeze shouted from above.
They all nodded as the earth ponies took their position behind the stone blocks that had been set up around Pegasicillia’s borders. In front of the earth ponies, five unicorn soldiers took their place, ready to fend off any invading magic users. All of the earth pony soldiers huddled behind the walls and adjusted their hoof-strapped pistols. The unicorns began warming up and some began casting light spells to increase their defenses. Colonel Breeze gave a silent nod and flew above, scanning the current influx of German soldiers that were now making their way towards the city. They would be here very soon.
Breeze swooped down, towards a large concentration of earth ponies that gathered near the front walls of the city. He took a head count and nodded his head. 133 earth ponies at the front, 193 to the south, 112 to the west, and 150 to the east. The unicorns were much more thinly spread, with only 20 at each entrance. Hopefully, they would be enough to fend off the enemy’s superior unicorn forces.
He had already dealt with the civilians and made sure that they were safe. Now, his main priority was to protect the city from German occupation at all costs. His concentration was broken by the sound of thunder.
Breeze looked up to see the pegasus forces fighting above. They had failed at the initial phases, but Breeze believed that they could still make a difference even if Rainbow Dash had failed in her job.
Breeze made his way to the ground on the northern side as German soldiers trotted towards their ground forces. Breeze activated both hoof-blades and prepared as the Lunar soldiers fired their first shots while hiding behind the stone blocks.
Their bullets were deflected by German unicorns that led the assault. Breeze turned towards the twenty unicorns that he had gathered and they silently nodded. The twenty unicorns jumped in front and began slinging spells at one another in a bright display of dominance.
With the unicorns distracted, the Lunar earth ponies were free to fire upon the influx of German earth ponies. One by one, the German earth ponies fell, unguarded by the stone blocks which had protected them. The German soldiers quickly fell back, behind the city’s outer walls.
The opposing forces stayed hidden behind their walls, leaning out only to fire. The sound of whizzing gunfire and the shattering of concrete as bullets made impact filled the air. Ponies fell back and died in droves. Breeze shook his head at the deaths of these ponies. He knew them all by name. It was an unfortunate consequence of his job that he had come to accept.
His concentration was broken by an explosion by the eastern walls. Breeze took to the skies and flew towards the walls. Above the city, he could see the empty streets below. Breeze had done everything in his power to ensure that the civilians were evacuated before the attack. Still, he was relieved that no enemies had made it too far into the city. He hoped that it would remain as long as he stayed in charge in the situation.
He was fast approaching the scene of the explosion as evident by the rising smoke. As Breeze flew down, he could see an oddly high amount of bodies on the snow-covered ground; most of them were Lunarian.
Breeze cautiously landed, where he was met by a group of earth ponies who began firing upon him. Breeze’s instincts took over as he dodged their gunfire and hovered above the ground. His hoof blades activated and he circled around the group, noting their position and firing pattern.
Ten of them. Their aim was shaky and their eyes were wrought with arrogance and emotional turmoil. These were not the eyes of a soldier, rather, these were eyes of a rookie. Breeze saw an opening and flew directly towards them, dodging their bullets in mid-air. Breeze moved in a zigzag line as his blades went through each of them, and he gracefully landed back on the ground.
He focused his attention once more on the smoke in front of him. Breeze rose into the air and began slowly flapping his wings, causing the smoke the dissipate. Breeze’s eyes went wide with fear and his breathing briefly came to a halt. He could now see the charred remains the city wall, which now had a gaping hole through the side. This, however, was not what captured his attention. What captured his attention was the stallion unicorn that stood below him, donning a purple cape and a ruffled blonde mane.
If you are to encounter General Siegfried in battle, I have only one word of advice for you: run.
Breeze regained his composure and faced his opponent with fearful eyes. Breeze cautiously positioned his blades, and he flew forwards.
Rainbow Dash flew through the snowy outskirts of the town, dodging the gunfire of enemy earth ponies. There was no time to waste. She had to report to Breeze and come up with a plan. As she grew closer to the city walls, she could see a handful of pegasus soldiers flying in her direction.
Rainbow Dash let out an exasperated sigh as she extended her hoof blades. “I really don’t have time for this!”
The first two came at her in a synchronized pattern, one above her and one below. Rainbow Dash carefully slipped between their blades and continued past them as another pegasus came at her. Rainbow Dash dodged the attack and sliced through his gut as she flew underneath the enemy pegasus. Rainbow Dash continued to fight the onslaught and gain ground closer to the city.
As she tore down each soldier, a single thought kept reappearing in her head. You know, Dash, you and I, we’re the same.
Rainbow Dash shook the thought. No! I can’t be the same! I fight for my country! I fight for my ponies!
Did that really justify anything? Is murder acceptable as long as it is for a reasonable purpose? Even now, blood continued to soak through Rainbow Dash’s armor and leak onto her fur and mane. She wasn’t pony; she wasn’t pegasus; she was a warrior; she was a weapon.
Rainbow Dash shook the thought once more. There would be time for pity and self reflection later. She was finally at the eastern walls and could see a gaping hole that reached through the wall. Rainbow Dash stopped and stared in horror. “What happened here?” Rainbow Dash questioned out loud.
Just below the hole, a steady flow of soldiers made their way through into the city. Just past the walls, fires and smoke stained the skies above. It would be a smart idea to scout out the situation or fly above the enemy to avoid attention. Rainbow Dash had other ideas.
Rainbow descended towards the ground, stopping just inches from the snow covered earth. She extended her hoof blades out and with a single flap of her wings, she flew directly through the path of the soldiers. The bulk of the forces that breached the wall were earth ponies. Fortunately, their reflexes were much slower than Rainbow Dash had anticipated.
As Rainbow Dash flew through the path of soldiers, she threw it all away. She let go of her emotion. She let go of her thoughts of Sharp. She had only one goal in mind: victory at any cost. She let out the animalistic machine inside her.
Everyone in her path fired and attempted to fend off the rainbow pegasus but their attacks were proven ineffective against the fluid movements of Rainbow Dash’s blades as they ran through their throats and stomachs. Rainbow Dash continued to gain ground against the foreign hoard, carving out a path of death behind her.
During the Griffin-Pegasi war, Rainbow Dash was always sent at the front lines regardless of her actual role in combat. The very image of Rainbow Dash was enough to cause the mightiest of the griffins to cower in fear. They had a name for her during the war: The Rainbow of Death.
After several minutes of slicing through their numbers, Rainbow Dash finally made it through the wall and could now see the insides of the city. What she saw filled her with a pain. She wanted to scream, maybe even cry. The very city that she had been tasked with protecting laid in ruins. Buildings were blown to shreds. Gunshots filled the very air around them. The scent of death and decay burned Rainbow Dash’s nostrils.
Rainbow Dash had to find a place to think. The remaining soldiers from behind the wall continued to fire at her, forcing Rainbow Dash to take to the skies and scan the area for a place to hide. Among the destroyed buildings, one in particular managed to catch her attention. It was a small stone building with the entire side completely demolished. It was near the destroyed wall but just far enough to give Rainbow Dash a moment to think and try and contact Breeze. Rainbow Dash descended rapidly towards the house and skidded to a halt against the snow. She quickly looked around to ensure that she was alone before entering the house.
As she entered the house, she began examining the interior. It was an older house with lofty furniture and an expensive piano in the center of the room that Rainbow Dash had entered. What caught her attention, however, was the large trail of blood that began by the piano and trailed to the left.
Following the blood trail, Rainbow Dash turned into the next room where she could see plates and silverware scattered on a large wooden table. The ponies who lived there must have recently evacuated. Before Rainbow Dash could continue to examine the table, she was stopped by an unbearable odor coming from the next room, blocked by a door. The blood trail led right through it.
Against her better judgement, Rainbow Dash slowly approached the door and drew out her right hoof blade while she approached the door and rested her head against it. She couldn’t hear anything from the other side so she began counting to three in her head.
On the third count, Rainbow Dash bashed the door in with her left hoof and twisted to aim her right hoof blade in the direction of the open room to find the corpse of a Lunarian pegasus. Rainbow Dash froze in shock. She recognized the pony that lied dead before her. It was Colonel Breeze.
A small gasp escaped her breath. “No,” Rainbow Dash said barely above a whisper.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes turned to pure panic as she screamed at the top of her lungs, “No!” and began punching the door, knocking it off its hinges. Her mood calmed as she tried to think logically, ignoring the fearful thoughts that ran through her mind.
Rainbow Dash was the second highest ranked member on the field. With Breeze gone, all responsibilities now fell to Rainbow Dash. She sat down next to his body and examined his wounds. Breeze’s left hind leg was bent very oddly and cuts and bruises ran all along his body. The most severe of these wounds was a gaping hole in his left abdomen; this was most likely what had killed him. Rainbow Dash’s thoughts trailed as she looked over his shoulder. Over his shoulder was a wire leading to a small headset. The side of his earpiece was flashing red, indicating that he had left a recording some time before his death.
Rainbow Dash began to check behind her ears and realized that she must have lost it during her fight with Sharp. Whatever Breeze had said, it may have been important. Rainbow Dash cringed slightly as she reached behind the dead pony’s ears and pulled the earpiece up to her ear and pressed the blinking light on the side.
Breeze’s gruff voice could be heard in her ears. He began coughing and she could hear the sound of his leg dragging behind him. “Siegrfried,” he spoke, “I should have figured that Siegfried would be the one to finish me. I barely had enough time to get away. I managed to this house. This should be a suitable place to die, I suppose.”
Another bout of coughing came from the fallen colonel’s voice. “Rainbow Dash, if by chance you’re listening to this or through some miracle, you haven’t destroyed your radio due to sheer recklessness, then I have a final message to you. Rainbow Dash, you’re the next in command. You have to be the one to end this fight. You must lead them. Rainbow Dash, do not let pride and arrogance cloud your judgement. Protect the citizens and protect our comrades. Protect them no matter the cost. If it comes down to it, don’t be afraid to blow it.”
She continued to listen to his final words. It was harrowing to say the least. After all, she was currently listening to a message specifically made for her from a pony long dead. His words seemed simple enough. He gave an analysis of the situation around the time of death which Rainbow Dash estimated to be around twenty to thirty minutes before her arrival. Among this information, Breeze gave his final orders and told Rainbow Dash to be brave. Upon hearing his words, Rainbow Dash’s eyes narrowed and she was forced to swallow a lump in her throat.
Rainbow Dash pulled up his chestplate, revealing a tan pouch. Rainbow Dash carefully lifted the pouch and pulled out a single, silver key. Rainbow Dash gently stuffed the key in her pouch and shut it.
With the colonel’s final words passed onto Rainbow Dash, she stood up, still bearing his earpiece, and took a final gaze upon her fallen commander. She gave him one final salute before leaving the house and taking to the skies.
General Siegfried cut down another pony that dared cross his path as he strolled through the city, looking in awe at the towering factories that still emitted smoke. With this town in their control, Germaneigh would not only halt one of the Eastern Lunar Republic’s primary supply routed, but it would also give Germaneigh an advantage and allow them to syphon resources and ammunition from the city.
Bullets continued to fly past Siegfried's mane as ponies hid behind the houses surrounding him. Siegfried took note of their locations and caused the concrete round him to crack. From the cracks, small splinters of concrete were levitated into the air and thrown in all directions. All of the throws were made with precision, striking through their cover and instantly killing all those around him. He was sure to aim for the head, ending their suffering as quickly as possible.
Siegfried could hear a voice coming from his headset. “Sir, we have reports of a rainbow maned pegasus that’s causing trouble along the western walls.”
“I see,” said Siegfried in a calm, collected voice.
With the colonel’s earpiece, Rainbow Dash had been effectively able to take command of the remaining forces and gain information of enemy locations and weakened sections of the city.
Rainbow Dash was currently fighting along the western walls of the city, aiding the dwindling number of Lunarian troops. Rainbow dash remained at the front lines, zipping from building to building and from soldier to soldier as her blade tore through their flesh. Rainbow Dash’s ears began tingling as she struck down an unlucky earth pony.
“Rainbow Dash,” a voice in her ears rang out. Rainbow Dash hovered above the enemies and she looked around to locate the source of the voice, to no avail.
“Who’s there?” Rainbow Dash shouted to the voice in her head. More soldiers began firing upon Rainbow Dash, causing to her to leap back and dodge their fire with her keen pegasus senses.
“My name is General Alexander Siegfried, commanding general of Germaneigh’s military forces. As you are most likely aware, Colonel Breeze is dead. With his death, you are now left in charge of all the soldiers that reside here.”
“Yeah, and what of it?” Rainbow Dash shot back as she flew down to take out more annoying earth ponies. She could feel herself beginning to lose her edge as fatigue set in. Suddenly, she no longer felt as invincible as before, barely able to dodge the enemy’s attacks as a bullet grazed the side of her cheeks.
“If you continue this frivolous endeavor, I can guarantee that your ponies will meet a swift end. Surrender the city, and I promise that your soldiers will be free to leave and we will not harm the fair citizens of this city.”
Rainbow Dash leaped back, letting her men cover her while she regained her breath. Rainbow Dash briefly considered his words. While it was true that although the general was ruthless in battle, he was also known to be merciful to his enemies and always honored his agreements. A mental block kicked in and Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“No!” Rainbow Dash yelled, “I’m not going to give up an inch of this city! My loyalty lies with Pegasicillia, The Lunar Republic, and its citizens!”
The buzzing in Rainbow Dash’s ears ceased and she was left in a state of confusion. Siegfried must have used telepathy to communicate with her. It was a draining spell, but it was very useful within close ranges. Either way, she had to hold off Siegfried’s troops and protect the city.
After wiping the sweat from her forehead, Rainbow Dash lunged forward and joined her fellow Lunarians. The others, mainly consisting of earth ponies, assisted Rainbow Dash in assaulting the German soldiers. Rainbow Dash pushed her way back to the front line and led them in a flurry of blood and steel. Rainbow Dash dodged a blow from an earth pony soldier before lunging her blade forwards, into his skull. Rainbow Dash sensed another bullet coming towards her head and leaned her head back, barely missing the projectile. She jumped back and met the pony with fierce retaliation. The fighting continued for several grueling minutes and one by by, Rainbow Dash’s fellow soldiers fell in battle until only she remained. She survived the onslaught of soldiers, battered, bloody, and alone. She tried to walk forward, but felt a sharp pain in her left hind leg. She slowly limped forward and approached the bodies of her fallen comrades.
Is this what she had fought for; to see her friends and comrades die before her? Rainbow Dash shook the thought once more. She continued past the bodies, and she entered into another area where she could hear the bullets flying and rubble exploding into dust. She flew onto the scene with little regards to her own safety, her own body full of cuts and bruises. There were about ten Germans and seven Lunarians. Rainbow Dash finished her onslaught quickly, sparing the seven Lunarian soldiers.
Rainbow Dash couldn’t shake the feeling that the Lunarian soldiers gave her. On the outside, they were smiling, just glad to be alive. Behind those eyes was fear. A fear of the strength and anger that ran through Rainbow Dash’s hooves as she slaughtered the enemy, one by one. Was she truly any different than the ruthless Colonel Sharp? Was maintaining the city worth all this bloodshed?
A voice rang in her mind. Rainbow Dash, do not let pride and arrogance cloud your judgement. Protect the citizens and protect our comrades. Protect them no matter the cost.
Rainbow Dash turned away from the soldiers and began walking away despite the call of protest from the others. Rainbow Dash found herself alone, between two small houses. She began to weep as she smashed her blade through the wooden walls.
“Damn it,” Rainbow Dash said through the tears, “They’re counting on you. They’re all counting on you. You have to do this.”
Rainbow Dash reached up and retracted her blade. She began to slowly wipe away her tears and tapped the receiver on her ears. There was a brief buzzing before Rainbow Dash decided to speak up.
“Everyone, this is Major Rainbow Dash of the Lunar Republic military forces. This is a message to all forces in Pegasicillia. Passcode: RGB-577. Retreat. That is an order. Retreat through the eastern walls. They will not pursue you past it. This is an order. Over.”
There was a brief silence, possibly the longest silence that Rainbow Dash had heard in her entire life, as slowly more voices came on, announcing that they were pulling back. Rainbow Dash lowered her head and slowly reached the skies to see pegasi exiting the city through the eastern walls in droves. “I hope you’re right about this, Colonel,” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself as she flew to the outskirts of the city to meet her comrades.
Siegfried stared down the large factory building in the distance as he shook the blood off of his sword. He was alone as he walked around an alleyway, searching for any hidden enemies. He heard a flapping of wings and thought to himself, Please don’t let it be her.
A raspy voice came from behind him. “Yo, Siegfried!”
Siegfried gave a frustrated sigh as he turned to face Colonel Sharp. “Report,” is all that he said.
“It looks like the Lunarians are retreating. Now would be a perfect time to take them out! They won’t stand a chance!” she said with a grin.
Siegfried bore a scowl as he shouted, “No! You are to let them retreat and we will take command of this city. If I hear any reports of you harming them, I will end your life on the spot!”
Sharp gave him a disgusted look as she spat on the ground, “Okay! Geez, you’re uptight! It’s a shame, I was really looking forward to killing that rainbow one.”
Sharp looked back at her blades, etched in dried blood, and said out loud, “One day, Rainbow Dash. One day, I’ll have your head; or you’ll have mine. Either way, we’ll find out who’s strongest.”
Rainbow Dash led the city’s surviving troops further away from the city. The retreat had been relatively smooth and from what Rainbow Dash had heard, Siegfried had stuck to his part of the deal and spared any needless bloodshed. Still, Rainbow Dash remained silent during the short walk, contemplating the decision that she had made. She was always revered as a war hero, as a symbol of strength in the Lunar Republic and now here she was, retreating like a scared dog. Still, she had one last chance to make up for her failures on the battlefield.
After several minutes, they reached a mountainous pile of snow, a cleverly designed bunker. Rainbow Dash approached it and began wiping off the snow on the front to reveal a metallic door. Rainbow Dash began knocking on the door and shouted, “Guys, this is Major Rainbow Dash of the Lunar Republic. The battle is over.”
There was a brief moment of silence followed by the clamoring of hooves and the sound of gears turning as the metallic door slowly began to descend into the ground. Snow fell from where the door had once stood and Rainbow Dash now stood face to face with a Lunarian lieutenant who saluted her.
Rainbow Dash returned the salute and walked past him while saying, “We lost the city. We’re going to move everyone further east, to New Pegasus.”
The lieutenant was flabbergasted and began stammering, “L-l-lost?! What about the factories? What about the supplies?”
Rainbow Dash stopped and looked into the distant lights of the underground bunker. In the distance, below the descending staircase, she could see the eyes of over a five hundred innocent ponies staring at her, their eyes filled with the fear of losing their homes and livelihoods. Rainbow Dash shuddered at the thought before approaching a door on the far right of the room. It was held locked tight, with chains wrapped all around it and united with a large padlock. Rainbow Dash reached within her pouch with her teeth and pulled out the silver key that she had pulled off Colonel Breeze.
Rainbow Dash proceeded to insert the key into the padlock, causing the chains to unfurl. With the key still hanging in her teeth, Rainbow Dash inserted the key into the door and twisted the knob. The door pushed open.
The sound of a whirring generator filled the room as the lights blinked into existence. The room was completely barren except for a cluster of wires and switches in the far end of the room. Rainbow Dash cautiously approached the cluster and began reaching for the switches with her hoof as she began adjusting her breathing.
Relax, Rainbow Dash. Remember what he said. Top-left, Middle-right, Bottom-left, Repeat, reverse,repeat the reverse.
Rainbow Dash continued to sort the switches with minor adjustments to the wires based on Breeze’s instructions.
Almost done...
With a final flipping of the switch, she could hear electricity being funneled through the wires.
General Siegfried walked amongst his soldiers, who were scrambling to search for supplies. General Siegfried began shouting orders. “Team 1, raid the northside factories for supplies and equipment! Team 2, search the eastside factories!”
They all gave their salutes and obeyed his commands. Siegfried trotted with soldiers running all around him.
Very clever, Breeze. You evacuated the civilian population ahead of time as to reduce the consequences of failure. A good leader always prepares for the worst case scenario, Siegfried thought.
There was a sudden trembling that almost caused Siegfried to lose his balance. Siegfried turned his head and could see the factories in the distance collapsing into heaps of metal. Within a minute, the factories that had once stood tall over the city of Pegasicilia were demolished, leaving the supplies inside, completely destroyed.
As Rainbow Dash walked outside of the room, she could a sickness in her stomach as the citizens and soldiers gathered outside to watch the smoke in the distance. She had just gave away people’s homes and now she had just destroyed pony’s livelihoods. She began walking through the crowd of ponies as they stared at her with looks varying from fear and confusion to anger and pure rage.
All of her decisions that she had made were for the greater good, she assured herself. She had to abandon the city to preserve her men’s lives. She had to destroy the factories to prevent the enemy from gaining resources. In the end, it didn’t matter to a pony who had just lost everything that they had ever known. She couldn’t help but think of the little yellow filly that had so willingly called her a hero and asked for her autograph. What would the little filly think of her now? Rainbow Dash cringed at the thought before turning to face the crowd.
Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and began, “Everypony, gather up your things. We’re heading towards Las Pegasus.” Rainbow Dash turned towards one of the soldiers. “Captain, has General Soarin been informed of the situation over here?”
The officer, a pink pegasus, nodded, “Yes, ma’am, he’s expecting us and has sent an envoy with supplies and transportation about 5 miles south of here.”
Rainbow Dash nodded, “Excellent. Alright everypony, I want you all packed and ready within the hour. If you can’t travel with it, leave it behind. We’re traveling through some thick weather.”
Two hours, that was how long it took for the group to reach the envoy. Rainbow Dash led the pegasi groups ahead of the pack while the rest of the officers led the earth ponies and unicorns below, following the snow covered roads. The Lunarian envoy consisted of about eleven empty cargo trucks and five trucks, armed with Lunarian soldiers in case of emergency. Rainbow Dash flew down, ahead of the others, to greet them.
She was met by a tall unicorn wearing a long blue coat and a colonel’s insignia near his collar. Rainbow Dash quickly saluted him.
“At ease,” the stallion said, “General Soarin has sent us to retrieve the citizens and he has some very special orders regarding you.”
Rainbow Dash arched her eyebrows and asked, “What exactly does that mean?”
“Things are escalating rather quickly. You see, Pegasicillia was not the only place attacked. As of this morning, Germaneigh has attacked Levintrot as well as Grandalia. Not only that, but there have been reported attacks from Neighpon along the eastern coastline. Neither Germaneigh nor Neighpon issued a reason for these attacks, however, the very act of invading Eastern Lunar Republic soil is an act of war. In accordance with these recent events, President Spitfire has made the decision to join forces with Britannia and the Solar Empire. As such, we will need someone over there to maintain diplomatic relations and represent the Lunarian military. That’s where you come in.”
Rainbow Dash’s heart nearly sank as she heard her words. “The Solar Empire!? Britannia!? They’re the enemy and all of a sudden we’re gonna get buddy buddy with them?”
“Calm down!” the colonel shouted. Rainbow Dash stiffened as he continued, “These orders come directly from President Spitfire, herself. You are to be transported to Camp Unita and you will meet with the Britannian prime minister. After that, you will receive word on further orders. Until then, you are to behave and do exactly as we say. Is that clear?”
Rainbow Dash gulped and slowly nodded her head.
“Good,” he said in a relieved tone, “follow me.”
Rainbow Dash followed him to a truck in the far back. The back of the truck was filled with armed Lunarian officers. The front had an older stallion with a handlebar mustache, the passenger side empty.
The colonel stopped and turned towards Rainbow Dash. “This is where we part. This truck will take you to the coast. Once you get there, our men will take you overseas, to Britannia.”
Rainbow Dash saluted and slowly opened the truck door, making her way on the leather seat. As she settled in, she could see the colonel walking away. Rainbow Dash closed the door and leaned against the window. She took a look at the driver who was wordlessly sitting with his hooves on the steering wheels.
“You’re not much of a talker are you?” Rainbow Dash snarkily said to him.
The driver didn’t respond, simply stepping on the gas as he drove onto the loose roads.
“Great,” Rainbow Dash muttered under breath, “This is going to be a long ride. I hope that Britannian prime minister is going to be more interesting than this big old bag of fun.”
