Ice Fall

by Bluespectre


Chapter Four - Defense of the Realm

CHAPTER FOUR

 

DEFENSE OF THE REALM

 
This wasn’t war, this wasn’t even a battle. It was…
 
“Murder” Wild brushed her mane away from her sweat soaked face, “Goddess almighty, Dray, we’re murdering them”
 
The Colonel nodded slowly, his heart racing, hot adrenalin surging through his veins, “It’s not over yet, Major. Here they come again!”
 
A horde of howling and shrieking minotaurs burst forth from the choking smoke of the forest. Many of them had large patches of fur burned away, their terrible charred and blackened skin stinking of the damage caused by the flames, and yet on they came swinging their huge battle axes at their foe. The mass of muscled brutality slammed into the ranks of ponies, the lines barely wavering as those who had so recently sent them fleeing for their lives, were now the ones being cut down and trampled under iron shod hooves.
 
Uncoordinated and panicked by the flames, the forces of Nightmare Moon emerged piecemeal from the forest in a disorderly mass. Already ranged for both magic and arrow, the open ground between the massed Celestians and the tree line became a killing field. As the ragged waves of attacks peaked and then slowly petered out, small squads of archers moved forward to target individuals and take them down. The worst of it however, had been on the left of the line.
 
A messenger raced up and saluted smartly, “Colonel Dray, Sir”
 
Returning the salute, Dray nodded, “Report”
 
“Sir, Captain Weald sends his compliments and requests you attend his position at your earliest convenience.”
 
“Very well” Dray replied, “Inform Captain Weald I shall attend presently.”
 
The messenger saluted once more and raced off back down the line.
 
Wild shook her head as she watched him leave, “You thinking what I’m thinking?”
 
The Colonel wiped his swords blade before replacing it in its scabbard, “There’s only one way to find out.”
 
Dray and Wild trotted up to the small group of officers standing by the fluttering red and gold banners of Celestia’s royal guard. They were deep in conversation, with Colonel Spoon standing as tall and proud as ever, as well as sporting that never changing deadpan expression Dray had come to associate with her. The older mare nodded to him as he approached,
 
“A good end to the day, wouldn’t you say Colonel Dray?”
 
“I would, Colonel Spoon.” Dray replied, smiling, “Unfortunately I doubt the rest of our friends will depart so graciously.”
 
Spoon shrugged, “Maybe not, but I doubt they would attack through the forest or up the road now. Your little plan worked well.”
 
Dray nodded, “It worked, but the enemy have plenty more where that lot came from.”
 
“Agreed. Thoughts?”
 
“We hold the high ground and morale is good.” Dray explained, “I recommend we dig in, set defences and have a watch on all night. These things are damned near invisible in the darkness and I wouldn’t put it past them to launch an attack when our visibility is at its lowest.”
 
Spoon raised an eyebrow, waving to one of her officers to come over, “We’ll get the new blood on the case. They have to be good for something.”
 
Dray nodded bitterly. She was right, they weren’t fit for war, but they could still be of use. He saluted and quickly set off along the battle lines to find Captain Weald.
 
It wasn’t hard to spot him. Weald was surrounded by a group of officers and non-commissioned officers, standing before a number of ponies who where clearly under guard. Captain Weald was leaning heavily on a halberd whilst a medic tended to a nasty looking gash on his hind quarter. Parts of a conversation drifted across to Dray as he drew closer,
 
“….turned against your own people. You killed other ponies, and you have no feelings of regret? No remorse?”
 
“You are the ones who follow the false goddess: the deceiver of ponies, the bitch queen who lies on the throne of bones, Celestian.”
 
One of the guards suddenly swung his spear, cracking one of the prisoners in the side of the head, but rather than retaliating, the pony merely turned to look at him and smiled,
 
“Pathetic, just like all your kind.”
 
The guard’s eyes narrowed and he lifted his spear high, ready to deliver what would most likely be a lethal blow.
 
“Hold!” Weald spat, “We don’t mistreat prisoners, soldier.”
 
Saluting, the guard reluctantly lowered his spear while the prisoner grinned at him knowingly. Dray could almost taste the atmosphere as he walked up to the Captain,
 
“Captain Weald.”
 
“Colonel Dray” the injured officer nodded, “Forgive my lack of decorum Colonel, I’m a little, ah…” He nodded to the medic, “…indisposed.”
 
Dray smiled, “You’ve earned more than a mug of ale today, Weald.”
 
The stallion grinned, “I hope so. I’ve brought a little ‘premium’ lick with me as well as some damned fine brandy. I’d be honoured if you’d join us later?”
 
Dray opened his mouth to speak, but Wild beat him to it, “Wouldn’t happen to be Saddle Arabian pink, would it?” she asked enthusiastically.
 
Weald’s smile widened, “Why, it would! It appears you know your salt, Major.”
 
Shaking his head, the Colonel nudged Wild to one side and rolled his eyes, “Captain Weald, we’d be honoured to join you later.” He cleared his throat, “Now, you wished to speak to me?”
 
Weald nodded, “I did.” He waved to his Sergeant at Arms, “Take them away. Put them with the others.” Dismissing the guards, the Captain waited until his medic had finished bandaging his wound and thanked him with a smile, “Damned good medic, that one.” He said watching the apron wearing medical officer walk away, “Give me a shout if you need him, Colonel” The honey coated officer treated Dray to a beaming grin. With his lemon and green striped mane, he had always been a hit with the ladies. Dray couldn’t help but smile; the Captains reputation with mares was probably well deserved indeed, but he was first and foremost a damned good officer and one his troops respected. That alone outweighed any speculation about what went on inside his tent at night.
 
“I’d imagine this has something to do with…?” Dray motioned towards the retreating prisoners.
 
Weald nodded, “Fighting thestrals and minotaurs,” he waved a hoof, “’monsters’ if you like, is a hell of a lot different to fighting other ponies.” He winced as he tried to sit, “Bugger it!”
 
“Let’s go to your tent, Weald” Dray said, looking at the bandaged limb, “That looks sore.”
 
“It bloody well is!” The Captain squeaked, “But, um, I’d rather stay out here if it’s all the same to you, Colonel.” The young stallion looked away guiltily making Wild giggle like a foal behind him.
 
Dray shook his head “Very well, Captain, please continue.”
 
Weald nodded, “Follow me”.
 
The three officers walked along the long lines of troops, many of whom had begun to sit and play cards and were quickly trying to hide them when they caught sight of their superiors walking past. Dray smiled inwardly. He’d done it himself when he was in the line; catching naps, snacks, gambling, in fact anything just to kill time. Boredom was the one thing he’d never expected of army life when he’d enlisted, but with peace reigning for generations, the world of the soldier had been mostly ceremonial. Only the odd dispute that got out of hoof, or an incursion by some rogue monster from the swamps or the forests, was all that kept him from going insane with inactivity. In the end he’d volunteered for work up north, near the borderlands, the unknown wastes enigmatically called ‘The Frozen North’. It wasn’t named lightly either. The ice storms that often blew up out of nowhere could freeze the fur right off your hide if you were unprepared. It wasn’t just the weather though. Some of the things that lived up there were creatures that he hoped never to have to see again, terrifying beings that could suck the very light from your life leaving you an emotionless, empty husk.
 
He’d seen them, skimming across the skies like white vapour trails. Only their pegasi could engage them, but the cloud creatures had no interest in fighting and would usually vanish as soon as one of the soldiers closed with them. They were far more interested in preying on weak, sickly or lone ponies who’d strayed into their hunting grounds. As devious as they could be though, you could deal with an enemy like that, once you knew their strengths and weaknesses. Their relations however, the ones that lived in the mountains, in that fortress, they were a different matter.
 
Major Wild tapped him on the shoulder, “Dray, there’s so many of them. What are we going to do with them all?”
 
The penned enclosure had been thrown up quickly and was hopelessly inadequate for containing this many prisoners. Many of them were badly burned too, with numerous injuries sustained in the forest fire before they’d even reached the enemy lines. Enemy…Dray closed his eyes a moment, gathering his thoughts. Why? Not since the wars of the three tribes, had pony turned on pony. It wasn’t their way, and yet now…
 
“We’ve tried talking to them” Weald began, “they’re not exactly very talkative.”
 
Dray walked up to the fence and looked down at a mare who was leaning against it. The stricken creature was just lying there quietly, covered in burns and a variety of vicious looking cuts that stood out in stark relief against what was left of her pastel green coat. Her remaining fur, he noticed, was a lot longer than most Equestrian’s he’d seen. In fact, many of the prisoners had that very same attribute. Curious. The Colonel turned to the Captain,
 
“Weald, I want these ponies treated, all of them.”
 
Weald nodded, “Of course, Sir.”
 
The Colonel leaned against the fence railing, “Help’s coming Miss.”
 
One eye opened, the pale stone grey orb focussing on him with a look of absolute derision, “You want thanks Celestian?”
 
“No” he answered sincerely, “I want to help, and to understand.”
 
She snorted, “Understand?” The mare lifted her head, displaying the terrible injury down the other side of her face. Dray shifted back unconsciously. The mare noticed his reaction and sneered, “Can you ‘help’ this?”
 
“Our medics will help, Miss,” Dray replied, “I promise you that.”
 
“A promise? You cannot keep promises, Celestian.” The mare glared at him, “Your ‘princess’ made promises, but all we got was suffering, starvation and lies. You wouldn’t know though, would you? Brought up in the marshmallow softness of Equestria, living each day in the sunshine and warmth...” She spat at his hooves, “Your kind make me sick.”
 
Wild took a step forward angrily, her hoof reaching for her sword. She opened her mouth to speak but Dray cut her off with a raised hoof, “I don’t know about any lies or promises, Miss, but taking up arms against your fellow Equestrians in support of Nightmare Moon? Surely you know she wants to bring about eternal night, to bring darkness and cold to our home. You are all still ponies like us…”
 
“-Like you?” The green mare dragged herself painfully to her hooves, “We are nothing like you! We survived for years, living in the wastes: cold, hungry and in constant fear of the beasts that lived there, and why? Because your damned princess condemned us to that, and you wonder why we would turn to the goddess for help?”
Other ponies around her began to take notice of the exchange, moving forward to listen, “You want an answer, Celestian, then answer mine first. Why would your princess sentence us to a life of living hell? Answer me that!” She growled low in her throat, “But you can’t can you? Because she’s gone…”
 
Captain Weald stepped forward suddenly, “What do you mean, ‘she’s gone’?”
 
The mare looked him up and down with a look of cold derision, “Didn’t you know? Or are lying to yourselves now?”
 
“I asked you a question, damn you!”
 
The mare bared her teeth, the next words hissed out with a cold finality, “She’s dead”
 
“Horse dung! And you call us liars!” Weald slammed his hoof into the ground angrily.
 
The mare raised an eyebrow, her voice calm, level, as if explaining to an infant, “Didn’t you see her fall from the sky? The battle amongst the clouds was a truly glorious sight to behold. Our wondrous goddess in pitched battle with the bitch queen of the Celestians. Back and forth they flew, fighting with magic and fire, sword and axe, until the white witch flew right into the trap so carefully laid by her most divine majesty.”
 
Dray shifted his weight, feeling his own hoof starting to move towards his sword instinctively. Wild reached out to him, nervously brushing his neck, seeking some sort of comfort from the words of the mare.
 
The green mare wasn’t finished. In a voice, clear and loud, she continued, “The great elder dragon, Etrida, threw her enemy down, smashing her ruin into the ground like so much slaughtered meat.” She smiled cruelly, “Go seek your witch, Celestian, but take a priest with you when you do.”
 
Wild shook, squeezing her eyes tight against the waves of nausea. Beside her, Dray shook his head calmly, “You certainly have an active imagination, Miss, I’ll give you that.”
 
She blinked, “Imagination? How could you not have seen it? I saw it with my own eyes!”
 
“Pah!” Dray spat, “A dragon defeating the goddess of the sun?” He began to laugh, “They really would tell you ponies anything, wouldn’t they!”
 
The mare looked unsure for a moment, then sighed, “You can believe what you want, Celestian, I’m sure you’ve had a lifetime’s experience of living in denial, so it shouldn’t be difficult.” She began to walk away, “But ask yourself this: where is she?” Calling over her shoulder, the mare’s voice began to dwindle, ”You know in your heart she has gone. Celestia is no longer in this world, and your world will soon be coming to an end…an end in fire and ice.”
 
Weald stepped up to Dray, his eyes blazing with fury, “Tell me you don’t believe all that crap, Dray? Goddess forgive me, I’d happily strike that little bitch down for what she said.
 
“Celestia will return, Captain” The Colonel smiled, “Have no fear of that my friend!” He clopped Weald on the shoulder, “The enemy use honeyed words to trick ponies into joining them and turning on their own, probably using magic to alter their memories as well. You have heard of this already, have you not?”
 
Weald nodded, wiping the sweat from his brow, “I have”.
 
Dray motioned towards his injury, “Go and get some rest Captain, but keep your troops alert. The night is coming and defences need to be constructed. Colonel Spoon is in charge of preparations, but would welcome an extra hoof if you have some troops to spare.”
 
Weald gave a half smile, “I’ll put Lieutenant Fresh in charge while I see if I can get some blasted painkillers.” He winced, “It’s not too deep, but it stings like hell when I walk.”
 
Dray waved over a couple of soldiers, “Help the Captain to his tent and be gentle with him. He’s had a hard day.”
 
Weald shot him a look, shook his head and gave a loud guffaw, “Remember my offer Colonel Dray, Major Wild, I’ll be expecting you!”
 
Dray gave him a nod, then turned to the Major, “Come on, Heather, let’s get the hell away from here.”
 
The two walked away in silence, the Major staring out across the open killing field at the parties of soldiers clearing away the dead and wounded. How were their own wounded faring at the hooves of Nightmare Moon’s army? How much mercy could they expect? She shuddered.
 
“Heather?”
 
Wild looked up, “Mmm?”
 
Dray looked at concernedly, “Don’t let that mare’s words wound your heart, Major. The princess will come back to us, I know it.”
 
Major Wild shook her mane, “I…I saw her fall, Dray, and that mare, what she said…”
 
“Some of what she said was true.”
 
Wild was incensed, “What?!”
 
The Colonel looked away, his voice sounding unusually distant, “About those living to the north, in the frozen wastes. I was stationed up there in my younger days.”
 
She knew he had been, but still! Wild took a breath, “I know, but…what she said was…”
 
“-that they had been made promises? That the princess had lied to them?” Dray shrugged, “I don’t know about that, but there were definitely tribal communities living out there beyond the border. We saw them from time to time. Them, and the things that sometimes tried to pass through.”
 
Wild’s brows drew down, “Things?”
 
“You don’t want to know” Dray tossed his mane, “I don’t want to remember myself. I still need to be able to sleep at night.”
 
“But…they lived out there?” The Major asked incredulously, “Why? What was stopping them coming into heart lands of Equestria?”
 
“Who can say?” Dray replied resignedly, “One of them ventured close to our outpost once and the Corporal tried to go out and speak to him. The pony just walked away as though he didn’t exist, like he hadn’t seen or heard him at all. I can tell you Heather, it scared the crap out of all of us.”
 
Reaching the centre of the line, Dray halted, “After that, we began referring to them as ‘grey ghosts’. Mainly because of all you could see through all that bloody snow was a greyish outline and the long cloaks they wore.” He took a gulp of water from the water barrel, wiping his mouth with his foreleg, “The more superstitious ones amongst us didn’t last long. Some went mad, losing their minds completely. We had to…” He shook his head, the sentence never completed, “Long bleak days of endless half light isn’t good for anypony, Heather. The goddesses help us if Nightmare Moon gets her way.”
 
Wild raised an eyebrow, “But it didn’t affect you though, Dray. You’re one of the most level headed stallions I’ve ever met.”
 
“Didn’t it?” The Colonel looked away with a distant look in his eyes, “I’ve lived with it for so long now, I can’t seem to remember much of what I did before or even during my time on the border. We used to joke that ponies went there to forget, and by the goddesses, you did. Every damned day was like the last. Somepony tried to talk to me about the afterlife once, you know, about the herd? I told them I didn’t know about the eternal herd and all that spiritualist mumbo jumbo, but by Celestia’s hairy arse I’ve seen hell, Heather,” the Colonel spat on the ground, “and its snow, endless fields of bloody snow.”
 
Dray’s aide de camp trotted up, saluted and hoofed him a note, “From Flight Captain Harrier, Sir”
 
The note was grubby, but in the now familiar fine style of the purple pegasus officer. It never ceased to amaze him how much the neat script contrasted with that maverick mare. He began to read, the smile spreading across his face until he couldn’t help but virtually jig with excitement.
 
“Good news?” Wild asked in a sarcastic voice, but her smile betrayed her real feelings.
 
Dray bobbed his head. His hooves were starting to itch for the first time in months, a sure sign that things were starting to change. Normally it indicated to the grey earth pony that a new season was coming, but not this time…no. Change was coming, even if only temporarily, but it was coming. He treated Wild to a beaming grin,
 
“Oh…you could say that.”