*KABOOM!!* Beams of blue light burst through the tree-line, scattering the entire platoon that had just dug in a few dozen feet in front of me. All around me, I could hear the stallions and mares screaming and shouting orders, lightning crackling through the sky, projectiles flying every which way, chipping away at my sanity, over and over again. It was an experience I thought I would never witness in my lifetime. Yet here I was, waist deep in mud, struggling to hold onto this tiny, precious life of mine. Tears were streaming down my face, the emotions inside seeking to pull me in every direction possible. All I could ever do was sit in the mud and watch one the world's most historic battles take place right in front of me.
The location is Everfree Forest. It had become Discord's paradise. It. Was. Chaos.
The burning wreckage of the airship fleets lay scattered across the battlefield and beyond. The ground was littered with ponies, minotaurs, and griffons. All were in varying states of mind, ranging from outraged shooting (and failing) to destroy the enemy, to lying on the ground unconscious. One blond-haired, prissy unicorn was thrashing in the wet dirt, shrieking at the top of his lungs, trying desperately to scrape off something that was apparently clinging onto his armor. The substance was melting, MELTING, all of the armor and weapons he held into an unrecognizable heap. The frantic jostling broke the straps, giving the terrified "soldier" the chance to throw off everything and run back the way we marched, madly dashing to the safety of the deteriorating shields. I didn't blame him. No one could. Given the monstrosity we were fighting, I was surprised that only a little more than half of the soldiers and fighters actually held their ground. An honorable, yet futile last stand.
The fighting in the air was no better. With no visibility of what lay in wait underneath the canopy, pegasi were taking blind shots with their storm clouds, hoping to at least clear out a few trees. Griffons fired their crossbows and rifles with fervor. Or desperation. It was honestly hard to tell by this point. By their movements and flight patterns, it seemed to be that it was a last ditch strategy. A poorly planned and fatal mistake. In retaliation, light spells I've never seen nor heard of shot out at blinding speed in the hundreds, bathing the rainy sky in a brilliant blue light. The flyers dodged to their sides, only to realized in horror that the glowing missiles changed their direction as well. At contact, the spells burst into explosive shockwaves, rocking the very soil beneath my feet. Dozens of senseless bodies tumbled to the ground, where they would meet a very uncertain fate. Those fortuitous enough to miraculously evade a direct hit were wailing in agony, descending to the ground in too much pain or flying erratically back to the shields. One very lucky rainbow-haired pegasus had managed to escape the volley completely. I could see and hear her screaming and yelling at the forest canopy below, before carrying an injured griffon away from the carnage. The last of our air support was taken down.
A horn sounded to the right of me, shocking me out of my stupor. I got scared out of my wits when an armored, seven-foot minotaur splashed down into the mud next to me. Her short horns were curved inward, giving the impression of a helmet on her face. Even though her entire body was heavily fortified with iron, she strode towards me like the whole set was weightless. It took me a moment to comprehend that she was shouting at me. It took me another second to understand what the words coming out of her mouth meant.
"Get on your feet soldier!"
A pathetic "H-h-huh?" was all I could manage.
"I said on your feet! The retreating horn just sounded! We need to get out of this Tartarus hole before we get le-"*BOOM!!*
"GAAAAAAH!!"
A giant blue ball shot out of the forest and smashed directly into her side, knocking flail, shield, and consciousness out of her in a split second and flinging her across the field. My eyes widened when I realized that I too, had been thrown backwards and into the sky above. For an eternity I hung there, grasping at the seconds of peace I would never have again, before rapidly descending to dirt below. Pain shot through my left shoulder and spine as I hit the ground hard, tumbling around for a moment before smacking my head against a boulder. Dazed, in pain, and now bleeding, I shook my head to clear it before looking up.
The scene before me was now definitely one of Tartarus on Equis. Everywhere I turned, griffons, minotaurs, and ponies were running for their lives. The bursts of light were rocketing out of the trees in faster and faster frequency. They knew they had the upper hand now. They always knew. For some unknowable reason, they found a way to be one step ahead of every plan our strategists came up with. New locations, secret messages, even threats from the Princesses and kings to supposed spies did next to nothing to break the cycle. Was this all really for nothing? Was I actually witnessing the end of days?
"G-get away! Get away from m-meeee!!"
A cry for help had my head whip back to the forest edge, my eyes bigger than dinner plates at this point. A screaming pegasus pony with white fur and massive muscles burst through the tree line and onto the muddy terrain. Seconds later, a light spell tore through the trees and hit said pony in the back of the neck, followed by a loud *CRACK* that echoed through the battlefield. His eyes immediately rolled back, blacking out and splashing into the mud below. All my senses and emotions kicked into overdrive. This was way beyond terrifying now. I didn't care if they called me a coward, or was punished for insubordination. I would rather be humiliated for the rest of my life than to be taken by these cruel beings. I wanted out. NOW. I started backing away from the forest, hoping to run when the light spells decreased their shots.
I could only take a few steps before a loud and thunderous rumble started to violently shake the earth beneath me. From the tree-line shot out three, titanic eruptions of soil and silt, shooting dozens of feet into the air. The blasts of mud and debris were snaking its way towards me at unbelievable speeds. This is it, I thought. A raging pile of dirt. This was how my life would end. I didn't even have the time to blink when the three explosive masses streamed past my spot. Torn between overwhelming relief and utter confusion, all I wanted to do was turn around and bawl right then and ther-
*CRACK-BOOM!!*
Behind the defensive shields, the three mountains of earth literally cracked the ground beneath and volcanically erupted, sending a shockwave powerful enough to cast everything within it hurtling across the sky. Ponies, minotaurs, griffons, it mattered not. They all watched in terror as three massive, un-earthly tendrils shot out of the ground and hundreds of feet into the air, writhing and swinging every which way. Black as night, yet pulsating with blue energy, they imposed a feeling of dread, as if they had judged us and deemed us unworthy of life itself. No one dared to move as precious seconds ticked by.
In one smooth, arcing motion, the longest tendril smashed into the ground and swung with all of its power. The wagons, armory, cannons, and barracks were ripped to shreds. Weapons, utensils, and other small pieces of equipment were instantly pulverized and liquified. Tents, bags, and personal belongings crumbled undertow, never to be seen again. A second tendril slammed itself into a large mass of soldiers, sending them to the sky and denying any attempts at escape. Anyone caught in the swing was ripped off the ground and dragged into the tentacle itself. Hundreds of screams pierced the air, only to be muffled by the sounds of drowning, then silenced within the gel-like substance. The third and final tendril rocketed to the ground. The blue-haired unicorn in purple armor could only watch in terror as the massive glob rammed right into him and the unicorn mages, breaking his horn and putting him in a coma. Unicorns struggled to use magic, only causing the matter to target and wrap around their horns. A spark of light pulsed into the horns, causing them to howl in pain before going limp in defeat.The shield surrounding our army flickered for a brief second, before shattering into a million pieces. The last sound I heard before blacking out was the low rumble of millions of feet, rushing in to claim their prize. Our last defense had fallen.
The kingdom of Equestria was over.
Five months earlier...
[LOG ENTRY]
[3 APRIL, 3122]
[LOCATION: UNKNOWN]
It has been four days since landing, and I have just found out that this function even exists. I have decided to keep a journal within these records in order to keep my writing skills and sanity in check. This will be kinda hard to do, seeing as I don't have any arms...or legs...or body...or any bloody part that is remotely human-WHATTHEHELLHAPPENEDTOMEWTFBBQ.