Five hours had passed since General Stormwinds and Captain Splash became aware of an enemy force advancing through the valley towards the outpost. The garrison, trained enough to be able handle themselves in melee combat, or so both Stormwinds and Splash hoped, were ready for battle.
General Stormwinds smiled as he swept his gaze over the assembled soldiers that stood before him. Standing atop the stone wall of the outpost, he could easily see all the soldiers. He placed a hand on his chin, thinking. Smiling, he raised his head and began to speak.
“Soldiers! Within the hour, our position will come under attack from an enemy that you have will have likely, at the very least, heard of! They are the Jackalopes!”
Murmuring immediately started among the assembled soldiers.
“Yes, yes, I know. I know what you are thinking. How can rabbits with antlers be much of a threat? They certainly aren’t as dangerous as, say, a dragon. But do not underestimate these jackalopes! They have the advantage in numbers! But, fear not! We have been trained in the art of war, they have not! We also have the advantage of being in an already fortified position with advanced warning of our foe! If we use the advantages that we have at our disposal, I believe that we can pull off this task and make them turn back and flee! Will you stand with me?!”
The soldiers cheered as this speech inspired them.
Captain Splash, standing next to the general, said, “However, if we are not at our positions, we will not succeed! Therefore, to your positions!”
The soldiers cheered once more, and then dispersed to go to their various positions.
Splash, smiling as his subordinates fulfilled their various tasks well, rested a hand on the general’s shoulder. “That was a nice speech, General,” he complimented, “it really inspired them.”
Stormwinds replied, cheerfully, “Thanks!”
He murmured to himself, “I’m not very good at speeches…”
“What was that, General?”
Stormwinds waved a hand dismissively. “Come,” he commanded, “we must be ready to lead our army in this upcoming fight.”
“Indeed.”
************
“Lord Cyclone!”
The white-haired pegasus, towering over even crystal ponies, glanced down at the unicorn and asked, “What?”
“The ponies in the outpost have been preparing for us! They knew we were coming!”
“It matters not, Arcaeus.”
“What do you mean, my lord?”
The pegasus snorted. “Even if our soldiers are slaughtered by the defenders, you and I are the mightiest warriors of our nation. We will not fail in this task.”
Arcaeus nodded, understanding his lord’s wisdom. “Yes, of course,” he responded, “I understand.”
He pulled on his helmet and hefted his great axe up to his shoulder. “Shall I accompany you into battle?”
Cyclone shook his head, to Arcaeus’ choler, “Fear not, my loyal Arcaeus. Remain here with the elite guard. I will call for assistance from you if I need it.”
Arcaeus looked away, sighing. “As you wish.”
Cyclone rested a hand on Arcaeus’ shoulder. “Don’t worry, the battle should go well. I will be leading the second wave.”
“Of course, my lord.”
************
“There they are!”
One of the wall sentries barked, his voice bringing Stormwinds over. The general barked, “Ballistas! Are you ready?!”
“Yes, General!”
“Archers?!”
“Ready, General!”
“Captain! Are your men ready?!”
Splash replied, “Ready as they’ll ever be!”
The general nodded, picked his helmet up from the ground and pulled it on. Taking his twinblade from one of the soldiers, Stormwinds hefted the weapon up, resting the hilt on his shoulder.
This is it… The moment of truth… for all of us.
******
Captain Splash spread a map across the table. He rested two fingers on a circle on the map. “This,” he began, speaking to all of the assembled officers, “is this outpost. Where we are now.”
He moved his fingers to a valley. “This hostile force, as you don’t send an army to an border outpost to chat, is coming through the valley. We don’t have as much time as we’d like to have to prepare a defense. Now, anyone have suggestions?”
“We could move the ballistas into positions at the western wall,” one of the officers said, “that way, we could thin out their numbers a bit with the ballista bolts.”
“The archers also need to be moved into positions with the ballistas, too. That will allow us to continue thinning their numbers,” another officer added.
“General, what about you?”
Stormwinds looked up at Splash, frowning. “If the jackalopes get past the wall, we’ll need to be ready to fight in melee. Are your soldiers ready for that brutality?”
“They’ve been trained as well as they can without special training,” Splash replied, “but since Commander Hurricane was exiled… I fear that the quality of our military’s training has degraded. Severely.”
Stormwinds nodded, knowing full well that Hurricane was heavily involved in overseeing the training of new soldiers. “The jackalopes may be barbarians, and even more poorly trained than your soldiers,” Stormwinds cautioned, “but do not underestimate them. They will overrun us with their multitude if they committed themselves to their assault.”
Splash frowned, realizing that the older stallion was right. He nodded, once again out of respect for his superior officer, and not from experience.
“Now,” Stormwinds continued, “their leader will, most likely, be leading the first wave. Since we don’t know anything about their leader, use the utmost caution you can if you have to engage him.”
“Of course, General.”
Stormwinds tsked in response, shaking his head. He murmured something derisive under his breath. He shrugged, “Ah, well. That’s all I’ve got for you officers. Let’s get to work, shall we?”
All of the officers, Captain Splash included, nodded.
******
Stormwinds chuckled, softly to himself. He paused, and looked to his right and up. A large knight, sitting atop the defensive wall, coated in armor charred black was staring at him. Stormwinds cocked his head to the side. The Black Knight stood, turned away, and walked away.
Stormwinds sighed.
Splash spoke up, “Something wrong, General?”
The general shook his head. “No. Just saw one of those Black Knights that wander Lordran.”
“Oh. I see.”
Splash knew about the Black Knights, mainly through tales and old legends.
He frowned. If one of the Black Knights is here… What does that mean for us?
***
A rumbling sound soon reached the ears of the general. He lowered his twinblade from his shoulder and gripped the weapon with his left hand. “They’re very close now… Very, very close…”
“Are you sure?”
“You’ll hear it… Soon enough.”
The captain opened his mouth to reply, when he heard what the general had heard as well. He tightened the grip on his glaive, frowning.
His frown slowly morphed into a smile.
This was going to be fun. His smile grew bigger.