//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Mad Dash // Story: The Unicorn Wars: War of the Gods // by Constellation //------------------------------// "Ow!"I yelled as I found myself on a dirt road, I slowly opened my eyes and saw three Unicorn solders walk over to me. "Sorry sir,"the one in the front said as he saluted, this confused me, I was only a privet and he was a Privet First Class."the wagon hit a bump."he finished and then pointed toward the wagon. I stood up, helped by one of the others and saluted him back."What happened?"I asked, at this the Privet First Class looked worried."Before the cart thing."I said, that seemed to ease his worry. "I don't know,"the Privet First Class answered."we were in the barracks when the lieutenant came bursting in, going on about having to march out here and save some solders who survived a attack, how he knew that you had been attacked, was, and is, beyond me, but he said that the order came strait from the General."he finished, then remembered something."Sir." "Why do you...."I started but looked down at my shoulder as I noticed something new there. My uniform was the same, torn and bloody, but, on my shoulder there was a new set of gleaming Privet stripes, with a royal seal stamped in the middle, this made me a member of His Majesties Royal Guard. I looked up at the Privet First Class then back at the stripes, then back to the Privet First Class."Where did this come from?" "Damned if I know, Sir."he said."As we finished putting y'all in the cart, they suddenly appeared." "We had better keep moving, Sir."a privet said."We're supposed to be there by dawn tomorrow." "He's right, Sir, if you'll please get back in and we'll get a move on."the Privet First Class spoke up. I quickly looked myself over from head to hoof."Not a scratch."I thought to myself, then looked back at the Privet First Class."No thanks, I'll walk." As we began walking I looked into the cart. There where my friends, not a scratch on one of them, then I looked there uniforms over. The sarge had the same torn and worn uniform just like me and the rest of the squad, but, now on his shoulder, his Sargent stripes had the same seal mine did, and so did the rest of my squad mates. "The gods are with us.."I thought to myself. After my short observations I looked up to the sky, it was mid day by the sun, and, ultimately, hotter then hell fire. I looked back down toward the mountains about ten miles away, witch where our current goal. As I wiped sweat from my eyes, I looked back quickly, then returned my focus on the path forward. "Did nopony else make it?"I asked the Privet First Class. "No, and your lucky that you all made it,"the Privet First Class responded."those flash storms on these plans generally sink everypony caught in them." "Then why would anypony send a army out through here?"I asked. "I don't know, Sir,"the Privet First Class began."the storms are very rare, and the planes go strait through the heart of this hellish land." "Were are you supposed to take us?"I moved on. "Well, the lieutenant said to take you right to Scethbala, provincial capital."the Privet First Class responded. "How long until we get there?"I continued my inquiry. "That depends."he responded. "On what?"I asked. "On whether your friends can walk by the time we get to those mountains,"he answered and then pointed at the mountains we where moving toward."there's a path way up there, but no way we can get that cart through it." "What if they won't be able to walk?"I inquired. "We will have to go all the way around,"he said slowly."and that will take five or six days." "And how long if they can walk?"I asked. "Oh, two, maybe three days."he answered. After getting this information from him, I went to the cart and looked in. None of my friends had stirred from there sleep. I jumped into the cart carefully and shook my friend Maximus' shoulder. "Hey, hey Maximus,"I started."wake up." As this did nothing to wake him, I decided to try what always woke me up. I stepped back a inch, raised my hoof, and ever so gently smacked him in the face. *Smack* "Ow!"he said as he sat up."What was that for?" "I was trying to wake you up."I stated. "Well, it worked."he complained, rubbing a red spot on his cheek. "What's all that noise?"the Sarge said angrily as he sat up to. As soon as he spoke, both me and Maximus where standing strait up and saluting him. "Sorry, Sir, I was just trying to wake Maximus."I stated. "Ow,"Sarge grunted as he rubbed his back."at ease,"he said as he half saluted back."now, what happened?" "Well, we where saved, and now we are being taken to Scethbala, under the orders from the general of the province."I replied. As I finished the Sargent began looking around at our sleeping comrades. An annoyed look came to his face as he saw them all asleep still. "All right you laze vermin, get up!"He yelled. At his order every pony in the cart was on their hooves in a second, most looking around in confusion, as the Sarge just looked pleased. However, they all quickly came to attention as they realized what was going on. "All right, get out of the cart, lets go."he ordered following as I got out. Outside the cart the wagon crew had come to attention, and where now standing in a line along the side of the cart. After a second the Sarge walked over in front of the line and then turned to face it, he saluted us, then he began looking around. "Which way to the city?"he asked. "That way, Sir."the same Privet First Class spoke up, pointing at the mountains. "Good,"the Sarge started."Lead the way, we have to be there tomorrow!" At the Sargent's orders we all set out in a fast march, heading strait toward the pass. As the sun finally went down, we made it to the pass. However, there were to be no breaks, and the Sarge said we had to keep moving, so, we continued. I looked around silently from the back of the small column as it crept through the still darkness of the winding pass. I was set at the very back to keep watch for danger, with Maximus being just in front of me. The only light to be seen in the narrow crack between the rocks we were in was two torches, one floated in the Sargent's magic, the other in Maximus' magic. Maximus and I where often chosen to watch for danger, and commonly placed at the back of the group. I was fine with this, I liked being in the back, it made me feel important keeping a watch out for the others. The Sarge once said it was the single most important job he could give us. Maximus though it was boring, but never complained to the Sargent. Our roles were shared, and just as important, Maximus was watching the right side of the road, and I was watching the left. As we rounded a bend in the path, which was a very winding path, I looked up. Roughly from where the moon was I figured it to be about two in the morning. We had just entered a naturally wide spot in the path, making now possible for four ponies to stand shoulder to shoulder, this was the widest part of the path I had seen yet. However, as I brought my gaze back down I caught something out of the corner of my eye. I looked back quickly to where it was, but saw nothing. I kept a vigilant eye on the spot where I thought I saw movement, but, still nothing. Shaking my head, I looked back up toward the front of the column, then I looked slightly to the right to make sure Maximus was still there, he was. When I was about to turn away, however, I saw where he was looking; at the same rock I thought I saw something hide behind. "Maximus,"I whispered."did you see something?" "Yeah."he whispered back. At the moment he replied, I heard a sharp, ear splitting *Crack* come from behind the bolder, the sound of a dead twig being crushed under hoof, or claw. It was so quiet, that if anypony had even been breathing to hard I would have missed it. However, in the dead silence of the night, it sounded like a thunderclap. "Ambush!"I yelled at the top of my lunges. Instantly our whole squad was in a circle with muskets raised. *BANG* I saw the bright flash of musket fire come from the dark. I staggered back a little as I felt a musket ball hit me square in the chest, I looked down, there wasn't even any blood. "BARSH!" I heard from the dark. I had been in Griffonia long enough that I knew that word, charge. Then, with great speed, and reckless abandon, eight Gryphons came from the dark, I took a step back then fired my musket, along with the rest of my squad. Three fell, but the others kept coming, charging us wildly. I lifted my musket and blocked the first strike, but the gryphon, almost twice my size, easily knocked my musket from my magic, and sent it sailing through the air, I just saw it land in a bush, before he came back at me. As he swung back around I just had enough time to pull out my Gryphon stile sword and block, but he came back down faster then I thought possible and knocked my blade down to the ground, but not out of my reach, and as he came back around I pulled it back up and deflected his hit to my right. .I then brought my sword back around and made for his neck. However, he jumped back just in time and all I got was a large cut down his shoulder, but, that was his right arm, his fighting arm, now he could not swing his sword properly. I stepped forward just as he went for his sword with his left claw, and I stabbed him in the chest. As he fell from my blade dead, I looked back around just in time to see another Gryphon knock Maximus down, and I was quickly covering ground. Not fast enough though, as it saw me and Corporal Iron Hide, who had just killed another Gryphon, charging him, and was forced to fly away before he got the chance to further hurt Maximus. "Thanks."Maximus said as I helped him up. "Lets keep moving,"the Sarge said."that gryphon is going to go get his friends, and I don't want to be here for that party." At that we formed up again, this time though, we where all but running down the path. I looked back at the scene behind us. Two of the wagon crew had died, there bodies lying next to the bodies of seven gryphons, there blood already mixed. I looked forward just as we came over a hill, and from there I could see a large city, right on the edge of the sea. "Finally,"I thought."Civilization."