Chapter Twenty Three: Airborne
Battle knelt as his army crested the last snowy dune at the edge of the ice field. He heard Sky gasp at the sight of so many dead. Juggernaut gave a disbelieving murmur. Arson said nothing, his eyes wide looking at the decaying and rotting bodies of his fallen predecessors in shock. Shining looked to Battle as he knelt.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Paying my respects," Battle replied, placing his clenched fist against his chest. "Requiescant in pace meus cecidit commilitones."
"Consensi," Sky whispered.
Battle got to his feet and looked out of the icy ground he had fought on so long ago. It seemed like centuries ago to him. He felt like a different pony. The first time he had been here, he remembered his passion, his determination, his recklessness,... his fear. Now here he was again. There was that same determination, but the passion burnt stronger, the recklessness burnt out and instead of hiding his fear like he had before he embraced it like an old friend.
He was afraid because he was fighting a legend, but he stayed because he was one in the making.
"What are we waiting for?" Shining asked.
"Wrath," Battle muttered.
"Why don't we go to him?" Shining asked.
"Wrath likes playing games," Battle shrugged. "He'll come when he wants to. If we try and force him out he'll wait even longer. So we wait here, get him to come to us."
The wind picked up suddenly and lightning cracked across the sky. Black lightning, way too low to be natural.
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Juggernaut roared.
A bolt of Black Lightning flew straight at where Shining was standing at the speed of ten sonic rainbooms, so fast nopony would have had time to see it and react had they been wearing standard Warhorse armour. In his new armour however Battle was faster and more mobile. His horn glowed brilliant silver and his hand came up faster than a blink, covered in the same aura. The lightning struck an invisible wall and bounced off.
"Fuck me," Sky whispered. Arson muttered something that caused Juggernaut to laugh.
"That was... good reaction time," Shining admitted. Battle grunted, hand pressed to his shoulder.
"Sire?" Sky asked, concerned.
"Empathetic shield," Battle explained. "First thing that came to mind."
"A cute gesture, if a foolish one."
Battle looked up, almost bored.
"You done?" he asked.
Wrath hovered there, his smoky, formless spirit more powerful in his realm. Lightning crackled in his shadowy flesh and his blood red eyes glowed with evil power. The flesh-less matter looked almost corporeal.
"You were brave coming here," Wrath smirked. "Brave b-"
"Brave but foolish yeah yeah," Battle sighed. "Let's go muffin top."
Wrath scowled at him.
"You mock me?"
"I mock you're face!" Battle cried. "Let's fucking go! I think we all want to get this over with, right guys?"
"Yeah," Arson agreed.
Wrath growled. "You may mock me child of Warhorse. But I see you're fear."
Battle smiled.
"You're right. I am afraid. I'm afraid I might fail again. I'm afraid I'll make mistakes. I'm afraid that I'll get the people care about hurt or worse." He fixed Wrath with his gaze. "But I am not afraid of you. And do you know why? Because you're a coward."
Wrath's eyes flared in anger.
"How dare you?" he thundered.
"Easily," Battle shrugged. "Because unlike you Wrath, I am not, have not, and will not ever, fear, death." Battle's gaze was hard enough to cut diamond. "I understood long ago I may face my death on the field of battle or beyond. But unlike you, I accepted this fact, rather than hide it. Rather than change my identity so I would never face death. Because in the end Wrath, death always finds whomever he seeks." His smile returned. "And on this day, I have found you."
Wrath snarled. A clawed shadow hand was raised as he rested his finger on his thumb. The ice field exploded behind him. Battle's eyes narrowed in anger as the icy plain was swept clean. Wrath moved away, floating through the settling ice crystals and snow. Battle clenched his fist.
"He shouldn't have done that," Battle growled.
"Agreed," Arson growled.
Battle spun on his foot and turned to his army. The ice around his feet cracked as his horn glowed silver. Battle lifted the ice plinth into the air and by extension himself. The dust behind him cleared, revealing a clean plain of ice. A dark mass on the other side moved steadily towards them.
"Warriors of Warhorse!" he roared. "The time is now! This is the beginning of Phase One! And this is the day Wrath falls!"
There were cried of agreement from the army before him as Battle lowered himself back down.
"Sky," Battle said to his general. "Give the order."
"Pegasus soldiers!" she roared. "Take arms!" There was a great sound of various weapons being drawn. "Take flight!" Every Warhorse pegasus took to the skies, hovering several meters above the other soldiers. "ATTACK!"
Battle felt someone tap his head on his head. He looked up to see Dash hovering there.
"Yeah?" Battle asked.
"I know I said I'd help with Phase Three," she said. "But...."
Battle rolled his eyes. "You remember the signal for Phase Three?"
"Yeah."
"Then knock yourself out."
"Yes!" Dash cried, pumping her fist, taking after the other pegasus.
"She made a fine soldier of Dash," Shining commented.
"That's Sky for ya," Battle replied. "Helping the impossible do the impossible."
Dash soared through the skies, wings spread wide, the icy wind blowing through her mane, her hair, her feathers. The armour that had so weighted her down on the ground felt light up here in the air, like it was an extension of herself. Like it was just another, tougher layer of skin. Even the plates on her wings felt like an extra set of feathers. She grinned. If this was what it was like being a Warhorse pegasus, she might just have to enlist permanently.
"Everypony dive and give them some hell!"
Dash winced as she heard Sky's voice echo somehow in her helmet. When she noticed that the pegasus around her had folded their wings however, she followed her general's orders. She reached for two of the knives strapped over her rips and drew them as she plummeted to the ground. Dash normally felt some kind of g-force as she dived from a height like this, but now? She felt streamlined, but she didn't feel the g's. Heck, the high winds didn't even make her eyes water.
Dash smiled. She was really starting to like this armour.
She looked at her fellow pegasus as the dove into the attack. Some were already in the thick of battle. She watched as Sky hooked one of Wrath's creatures with her foot under their armpit and brought him into the air, before dropping him on the head of his comrades. Dash whistled in appreciation. That looked like a tricky maneuver.
Dash decided to go with a simpler approach. Namely swoop low, attack, loop de loop come back for another pass. Lather, rinse repeat. Heck that seemed to be what most of the pegasus were doing. She figured it must be a newbie thing. Dash bit her lip as she pulled from her dive and hacked her blade against the throat of one of Wrath's creatures. She grain altitude once more as she thought.
She didn't want to be a sheep, but she also wanted to do her part.
"Dash," Sky's voice said. "You said you could do a Sonic Rainboom? That better not have been grandstanding. I've got any idea."
"Yeah, I can do it," Dash replied, hoping Sky could hear.
"Good," Sky said. "Think you could get a rainboom in the midst of their ranks and cut 'em up while you're at it?"
"Yes ma'am!" Dash cried.
"Get to it then!"
Dash rocketed straight up into the sky, her wings propelling her as high as she could go. After she was certain she reached the minimum distance required for her legendary Sonic Rainboom, she allowed herself to drop. She plummeted back down to the ground once more, eyes locked on a particularly large group of burly creatures. She smirked and flapped her wings, propelling her to go faster. She felt the familiar sound barrier press against her, but in her new armour she hardly even felt it! Dash grinned again. She was so going to have to show her new stuff to the Wonderbolts.
She neared the ground faster and faster. She felt the sound barrier nearly tear. At the last possible second she burst through it, levelling out instantly. The creatures that weren't flattened, knocked over or blasted into the air by the sheer force of such a maneuver, were quickly cut down by the blades on the ends of Dash's wings. She panted heavily as she began to fly around Wrath's armies, cutting bigger creatures down to size, and knocking smaller ones over, where they were trampled under foot.
"Nice work Dash!" Sky cried. The General was flying several hundred feet above the action observing everything. As Rainbow Dash zipped through the forces of Wrath, she could see other pegasus soldiers landing, getting close and personal with the monsters. They had been cut down to about half of their number since the battle started, but Wrath was beginning to make more. Still they weren't advancing any further. She looked to where she knew the next general was standing.
"Jugs, you're up. Let's get to it."
Juggernaut smiled as he heard Sky's voice. He contemplated drawing his battleaxe from his back and looked sideways at Applejack. The cowpony smiled nervously.
"You didn't have to come you know?" he said calmly, setting his heavy helmet on his head.
"Dash'd never let me here the end of it," Applejack shrugged.
"Good enough reason for me," Juggernaut smiled, before turning his head to look at his troops. "Alright you pansy's! Attack!"
There was a great roar from the ponies behind them as Juggernaut began to run towards the battle already raging. Applejack racing along beside him. Juggernaut may have been big and cumbersome but his strides were huge and fast paced. Applejack gripped her war-hammer tightly, holding it low, waiting for the first strike.
It didn't take long to reach the battle. As they began their final approach, instead of drawing his weapon, Juggernaut lowered her head and began to run even faster, easily outstripping Applejack. The farm pony thought that he would stop as soon as he hit the first line of monsters but she was surprised when Juggernaut simply ploughed straight through them and kept on running.
A line from an old comic book wafted to the front of Applejack's mind. 'Nothing can stop the Juggernaut'. She smiled despite herself, clearly understanding why he had that name. She turned her focus back on her own battle. She was almost there. She gripped the handle of her war-hammer tightly as she neared and raised it behind her head and over, sliding her right hand down to the bottom of the handle to meet her left to achieve maximum damage as she brought it crushing down on the creature's skull.
Applejack barely had time to register her first real kill as she had many more to go through before the battle ended.