Rearranging Perspectives
Chapter 8: Opening Volley
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Sam was bored. He knew he should have been paying closer attention, but listening to Twilight drone on about the exact progress of each and every one of her troops during what was supposed to be a brief weekly meeting would tax anyone’s attention span. Therefore, Sam’s thoughts turned to how his own week had gone.
The best thing about his week had to be that his team was finally complete. He was looking forward to getting to know them all better. The novelty of it all was causing a stupid grin to grow on his face as he thought about.
“SAM!” Twilight’s bark cut through his thoughts like a whip cutting a can. Just before Twilight could start tearing into Sam for not paying attention, a guard burst into the room.
“I’m sorry for interrupting, but a force of Sun Eaters has been spotted marching on Canterlot!” The guard reported
“How far off are they?” Twilight asked
“ETA is one and a half hours,” The guard replied
“Thank you Arrow Point,” Twilight said quickly and all the generals went in search of Celestia. They found her and Luna on the highest tower, Luna peering through a telescope.
“Good, you’re here. The Sun Eaters are approaching. Are you all ready?” Celestia asked
“As ready as could be expected,” Sam answered and the others made sounds of agreement.
“Good. Now then, we-”
“I think you all should see this,” Luna suddenly interrupted her sister. Celestia quickly looked through the telescope and gasped. Twilight looked next.
“Is that Sombra’s horn coming out of that thing’s head?!” She exclaimed
“That’s what it looks like,” Celestia agreed as the other generals took turns looking through the telescope. When it was finally Sam’s turn, he was appalled by the thing he saw. Its body was pitch black with two gleaming white eyes, its mouth was a red splotch filled with teeth. It was bipedal and if Sam had to describe it any further, he’d have said it looked like a twisted mockery of a human in terms of body shape. Out of its forehead, as if it had been glued there, was Sombra’s horn, pulsing green and black and where it met the thing’s head, a sickly looking blue color spread out.
As for the host of Sun Eaters, they seemed to be about 5,000 strong and they came in many shapes and sizes, but none were flying and none were larger than Celestia. However, they all had the same head, just as always. As Sam gazed at them, a plan formed in his head.
“I have a plan,” Sam announced
“Let us hear it then,” Luna prompted
“First, we send the Air Force carrying bombs to blast as many Sun Eaters as they can before pulling out. Secondly, when they are in range of the cannons, we let them have it with those. Finally, once they are within 1000 meters, the cannons will stop and my team will charge right up the middle while Twilight’s regiment swings around the sides in a pincer motion. The primary goal will be wiping out all of the Sun Eaters. However, I want that Sun Eater with Sombra’s horn captured if possible, but that’s only the secondary goal. Is everything clear? Anyone have any objections?” Sam asked
“Why doesn’t one of the other regiments come in around back and completely box them in?” Rainbow Dash asked
“A cornered enemy will fight much harder than an enemy that believes it has a chance of escaping,” Sam replied, “If that is all, then we should start preparing.”
“I approve of this plan. I wish you all luck,” Celestia said and the generals dispersed to prepare for the battle.
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Water Spout was nervous, and not the kind that comes before a test. Her heart was pounding in her throat as she suited up for her first combat mission. Over the past months, she had gone through the motions countless times, but Water Spout was still finding it hard to dig up any confidence. This time, lives would be on the line, after all.
Just as Water Spout was finishing her takeoff checklist, General Rainbow Dash’s voice came on over the hanger’s PA system.
“As you all are no doubt aware, today will be our first combat as a group. I have absolute faith in each and every one of you and I know you will not disappoint me! You’ve been trained by the best, now get out there and show ‘em how it’s done!”
General Rainbow Dash was not renowned for her speech making abilities, but all the ponies felt some of the tension slip away as their General’s confident words infected them with courage. Even Water Spout found she was breathing easier after it and spotted a few grins sprouting among her wing mates.
A minute later, and the Air Force was speeding towards the enemy.
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General Pinkamena Diane Pie watched and barked orders as her men prepared the heavy artillery, her mane straight and limp. While her friends had learned over the course of the past couple of months that straight and limp did not necessarily coincide with insanity, but rather seriousness, she had kept this tidbit from her regiment. A small amount of fear and respect were healthy in a soldier/commander relationship.
Over the course of their training, Pinkie Pie had gotten her regiment to the point where they could fire a shot a minute per cannon. She would never dream of telling her troops this, but she was impressed by them. They worked hard, fast, and accurately. She couldn’t have been more pleased with them.
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Trixie Lulamoon was ready for action, her horn practically itching to unleash the combat spells she had learned. Beside her, her triple dagger lay waiting to be used. She slipped the weapon into its sheathe and placed it inside her magically altered cloak.
Though she hadn’t had much chance to train under General Sam, she had learned a lot under General Twilight. She was ready to put that knowledge to the test. She just hoped she didn’t get herself killed in the process.
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Contrary to what many ponies thought, Octavia was not afraid of getting her hooves dirty. One had to have a certain tolerance for dirt when rooming with a mare like Vinyl Scratch, after all. No, her primary tenant was not cleanliness, but poise; balance. Her father had taught her many things in her life, but Octavia remembered two things above all else: you can’t rely on others to defend you and having a balance will make sure you are never overwhelmed.
Octavia recited these lessons in her mind as she prepared to face the oncoming horde of Sun Eaters. Vinyl was fiddling with her sunglasses, a subtle sign of nervousness that Octavia had learned to recognize in her best friend.
“Deep breaths Vinyl, deep breaths,” Octavia whispered in the other mare’s ear and soon Vinyl Scratch was the picture of tranquility.
“Thanks Tavi,” Vinyl whispered
“My pleasure,”
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Adrenaline was flooding through her veins and her heart was thundering in her chest. Lightning Dust had just dodged a rather nasty looking dark purple jet of light and let loose with another grenade in response. Ahead of her, she saw a team bucking a very large cumulonimbus cloud, which poured down lightning in response.
The fight had only started ten minutes ago, but already the Air Force was almost out of explosives and the Sun Eaters had sustained heavy casualties. The only thing that prevented General Rainbow Dash from ordering a full out attack was the Sun Eater that had a unicorn horn sticking out of its forehead. Its attacks were vicious and powerful. Lightning Dust didn’t even want to think what would happen to any poor pony that got caught in one of the blasts of that thing. As such, the Air Force had been staying up high the entire confrontation.
Lightning Dust dodged another attack, and went to drop another grenade, when she found she was all out. As per orders, she banked hard and made for the cloudbank where the Air Force would meet after the battle. Fortunately, for Lightning Dust, the rest of the Air Force followed soon after. Now it was in the hands of the artillery regiment.
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“Get ready to fire!” General Pinkie Pie called out and her regiment scrambled to make their final preparations. Overcast’s wings were twitching slightly as he poured the required amount of gun powder down the cannon’s barrel. While he wouldn’t be in close quarters with the enemy, nervous energy still filled him.
“FIRE!” General Pinkie Pie ordered and all fuses were lit. A few moments later, the report of cannons could be heard for miles. Overcast was thankful he had remembered to don his ear protection, unlike a poor unicorn stallion a few stations over. Fortunately, a quick spell put the unicorn back to rights and he quickly put on his own protective gear. Soon after, the cannons fired again. They would continue to fire for the next twenty minutes.
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As soon as Pinkie had given the all clear, Sam and his team marched out to meet the enemy while Twilight’s troops moved for the pincer. The Air Force and the artillery had Sun Eater horde, but the one with Sombra’s horn had kept Sun Eater casualties to a minum. Sam knew that if this was going to work, that Sun Eater had to go down first.
The moment Sam’s team engaged the Sun Eater, Twilight’s regiment stormed onto the battlefield to take out the other Sun Eaters.
“So, you are the one who wields the Ancient Sword,” Sam was so shocked to hear the Sun Eater speak; he was almost decapitated on the spot; only bringing up the Shield of Infinity at the last moment saved his head. Its voice was low and gravelly, yet had an oily quality to it as well.
“How are you talking?!” Sam shouted at it while Iron Sides struck out with his war hammer.
“Foolish human, you know nothing about the Sun Eaters, nor our master. Watch in despair as we destroy this world!” The Sun Eater roared and let loose a blast of raw magic from its stolen horn. Sam’s team was flung away, but soon recovered and renewed the assault.
With the leader distracted, Twilight’s regiment was having surprisingly little trouble dealing with the underlings. After cleaning up what remained after the Air Force’s attack and the artillery’s bombardment, Twilight turned her attention to the leader and Sam’s team. It was obvious to her that both sides were exhausted. Lucky for Sam and his team, Twilight had a spell for this. She had studied shield and containment spells alongside her BBBFF, after all.
Before the Sun Eater knew what was happening, it found itself encased in a purple sphere. It roared, raged, and tried to break the containment spell, but it was no use. It was too tired from the effort of continuous battle and Twilight was a very powerful, and fresh, unicorn. Eventually, the Sun Eater knocked itself unconscious.