//------------------------------// // Blades vs Rifles // Story: Foreign Politics // by Zh3sh1re //------------------------------// The explosions shook the building around Iron Skin, as a lone stallion grabbed his trusty blade. He was one of the Royal Guards left in Ponyville, tasked with protecting it. Suffice to say, it didn't go as planned. Many had routed before the fighting even started, but not Iron Skin. He was no deserter, and he had to follow his orders, even if it meant death. He had ran to the barracks as soon as the fighting started, and now that the final piece of his uniform was there, the blade, he was ready. Several other Royal Guards had readied themselves as well, or were doing so as Iron Skin did. "Alright, Gentlecolts, listen up." The commanding officer spoke up. His name was Offensive Strike, and was about as inexperienced as the other stallions here when it came to war. He was a Sergeant, and had until this point only had a few stallions under his belt. Now that he had an entire company of 230 stallions, all ready to die for the crown. He was leaning over a map of Ponyville. "What we've seen so far, is that the humans use vehicles that are similar to chariots, having a large destructive power and being made completely out of iron. We cannot take these out with any of our physical weapons, and have because of that, I've decided to rely on spells to get the job done. We need to seperate ourselves into group of six, four unicorns skilled with explosive spells, and two shock pegasi." He nodded. "The humans use a form of guerrilla warfare when it comes to fighting, relying on cover, and small groups of six or seven warriors instead of large formations. The reason for this is probably due to their advanced weaponry. We shall not be marching in any form of formation when in combat. Stay behind thick cover, and don't expose yourselves to their ranged weaponry." He nodded. "We don't know their capacity of melee combat as of right now, but from what I've seen, none of them carry any sort of swords. Be careful, though. They might have other ways of fighting in melee." "Their assault is coming from the northern side of Ponyville, and is supporting it with catapults. We're going to take up positions in several places in the Market Square, ambushing them when they come through the narrow streets towards the Town Hall." He points towards the secondary school, then the Book Store. "I need two groups of unicorns on each of these positions, their main focus on taking out their chariots. Our melee infantry will focus on attacking their warriors." He looks at some of the young scared faces of the stallions around him. "In the event that we die on this day, we will at least buy the families of Ponyville more time to retreat. He looks at all the stallions around him. "Any final questions...?" He asks. The room is silent, the only sounds coming from the explosions and gunfire outside. "Good. Then let's get this done." Some time later The rumbling sounds of the human chariots approach Offensive Strikes ears. They lay themselves down automatically to try and shut some of it out. The strange, alien-sounding language is heard, shouting as they move from building to building, oppressing anypony who stands in their way. Interesting enough, they leave the ones who don't go against them alone, and some even tells them in rusty Equestrian to stay indoors, or stay at home. Iron Skin's hoof grips his sword tighter, knowing all hell is about to break loose. It's do or die, and he has no intention of dying today. Offensive Strike sees the first chariot around the corner, only a few meters away, and he counts the seconds. "5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." He stands up and screams at the top of his lungs. "CHAAAARGGEEE!" The small pony formations move out of cover and sprints with all their haste towards the surprised human soldiers. Some of them manages to raise their weapons and open fire, ending several stallions lives immediately. Then, the stallions reach the human lines. Several spears pierce through the warriors bodies, warm blood dripping from their very un-used spears. Swords rip through their brown clothing, and spills even more blood. Quickly, the numbers of casualties are evened out. Iron Skin impales a nearby soldier on his sword, and blood splatters over his face and chest. He grunts and rips his sword out, charging for the next warrior. The groups of unicorns charge up their spells, firing at the chariots with all their magical might. The spells burn against the iron shells of the chariots. Then they realize... Their plan has been doomed. The spells are not strong enough to break the strong defenses of the chariots, which respond with effective machine-gun fire, spitting fire and metal, tearing the unicorns apart in seconds. Offensive Strike inhales in horror as he sees the ineffective fire coming from the unicorns, his friends and mates being cut apart by their weapons. He looks around, and sees the fighting, and the bloodied corpses of humans and ponies alike all around him. The humans are rapidly getting the upper hand. He screams again at the top of his lungs. "RETREAT!" He cannot watch this bloodshed any longer. They have made an impact upon the human numbers, and that will have to do for now. He turns around, and, accompanied by several mates of his, runs for the cover of the houses. The chariots open fire with their smaller, chattering weapons, the dirt ripping everywhere as they sprint. One of his mates is hit in the flank, and he falls down. Offensive stops, grabbing the ponies foreleg and begins hoisting him out of there. He sees the stallion cry, muttering sadly about how he wants to hold his little foal. It pierces Offensives heart, and just as he's about to comfort him as they run, a bullet pierces his skull, splattering brain-matter and pieces of his eye unto Offensives face. He grits his teeth and drops the dead stallion, and begins running again. That moment, he will forever remember, to the day that he dies, weather that's today, tomorrow, or in the coming week, he doesn't know. The small group of retreating stallions get further and further away from the human soldiers, who's offensive has stopped to regroup. They reach the edge of Ponyville, and sprints into the Everfree, their destination, ultimately Canterlot.