A New Moon Is Rising

by Jinxed

Eyes In The Trees

“Oh sweet Celestia, this was my fault!” Twilight uttered, feeling her chest tighten.

“Shut up, kid.” Trip ordered, strapping a brace of slim daggers over a thigh and grabbing her helm, placing it on her head and then picking up her shield. “No way of knowing that, even if it was there’s no changing it now. We can’t stay here, they might try to burn us out and then we’re well and truly fucked.”

“We have to go out where there’s fighting?” Twilight wondered incredulously, looking at Trip as if she was mad. “I can’t fight!”

“Not expecting you to. Just stay low, and stay in front of me.” Trip told her, slapping her face to get her attention. “You hear me? This little errand isn’t failing, get your ass out there.”

Twilight was apprehensive, but a rough pull and shove from the eastern mare and she was at the tent flap with her, she felt as frozen as she had back in the ruins of Ponyville, dreading what she’d see when they left the tents confines. Fighting had already broken out as she could hear screams and shouts, the heavy ring of swords clashing, and no doubt the soldiers tasked to protect her were dying. Trip carefully peeked out, quickly taking Twilight’s arm and pushing her in front.

“Go now!” She barked.

Her mind was blank for a few seconds as she obeyed the order, stumbling out and almost blindly sprinting into the night before Trip roughly seized her by the arm again and directed her forward. Almost immediately an arrow embedded itself in the earth next to them causing Twilight to cry out in shock, but she kept on at Trip’s forceful control. It was thankfully in the front of her mind that she shouldn’t use magic because she very nearly did on instinct to create a barrier, she didn’t want to give herself away as no doubt the enemy soldiers knew to be looking for signs of her magic.

The Princess had spoken with her during their discussion of this mission, about the very real possibility of being captured, and that Lady Luna would most likely want to take her as a hostage to ensure her victory against her sister. Given the lengths she’d already gone to Twilight believed it was very much something she would not be beyond at this point. If she was captured as a prisoner of war she wasn’t certain what sort of treatment she would be subjected to, or whether it would be fair.

Given the situation though, this wasn’t the time to be thinking about it. Right now her main concern was survival, as anything could happen in a skirmish like this and anypony could kill her, intentionally or otherwise. Given the light conditions with only a few torches having been struck into the ground for visibility, she could just about see she was being directed over to Captain Crichton holding position atop higher ground, who held a massive greatbow in his sturdy hands and was using it expertly well against the enemy.

“DRIVE ‘EM BACK, LADS!” He bellowed out, nocking another arrow that would have looked comically large in Twilights hands. “GIVE NONE TAE REST!”

Drawing it back with impressive strength, Twilight felt herself involuntarily duck down as he loosed the missile in her general direction at the attackers behind her, hearing a shout of pain as the sizable arrow hit its mark. There was a break in progress as Trip’s guidance faltered, Twilight stumbled as something then heavily slammed into her and knocked her into the dirt, she fell onto her side feeling her head impact against the ground. It was the adrenaline in her system that helped her through the pain and right her as she scrambled to back away.

Twilight saw Trip now engaged in melee with the stallion that had thrown her down; one of Lady Luna’s own Night-Guards, with Trip barely managing to parry a powerful upswing and attempting to swipe back in response. The stallion’s sword had the better reach and he easily battered down her attacks any time she struck out, Twilight tried desperately to do anything but she couldn’t bring herself to move, petrified by fear in the madness surrounding her. Trip’s assailant deftly broke past her shield and laid open a gash in her arm, followed by another across her upper thigh, making to finish her off with a long heavy sweep across the chest but her shield just came up and blocked the powerful attempt. She was lurched back, but recovered enough to definitely pitch her boot forwards and succeed in kicking out at the soldiers leg, causing him to falter for just a fraction of a second. It was sufficient for her to bring her own sword up quick enough that his momentary lapse allowed her past his weapon to plunge her blade through his light armour and into his guts.

Twilight felt her stomach lurch.

Wrenching her sword free and letting the dying Bat-pony fall where he stood, she gathered herself and resolutely stepped over him to where Twilight was, firmly pulling her to her feet and again driving her towards the Captain.

“Go!” Trip growled out, warily looking back over her shoulder.

As if unbound from a spell, Twilight could walk again at the insistence of the Guardsmare, it didn’t take a minute before they were finally treading to where Captain Crichton and a number of his troops were tactically standing their ground with bows, the higher land giving them a clear advantage in firing over their own while stopping the enemy from coming in. Two of the Section moved up and covered them as they came into the area, another approaching Trip and seeing to the deep cuts in her arm and leg.

“Miss Sparkle, I’m gaun tae need ye tae draw yer weapon.” Captain Crichton told Twilight, nocking, drawing, and firing another arrow. “More o’ th’ enemy are closin’ en now, et’s gonnae come down tae close quarters soon.”

Twilight glanced to the shortsword on her hip with fear, then back to him.

“Dinnae fret, lass.” He assured her, looking between her and the outlying woods around them as more of his troops moved in to form a wall of sorts. “We’ll keep ye safe.”

It was almost instant, the Guard at the front were set upon by enemy soldiers while quite a few arrows rained in from the darkness of the trees, the arrows hit nothing but raised shields or earth and a volley was returned in kind, one of the Captain’s hefty arrows accompanying the counter. The Captain slammed the end of the hefty bow into the soft land as more attackers started coming in, reaching around and taking hold of the two-handed bastard sword on his back, sparking several of the soldiers around him to follow suit.

“Archers, be ready encase they get too close, but keep us covered till then!” He shouted out from his helm, then pointing at Trip and two other guards. “Trip, Xiphos, Rivet! Keep the lass safe!” His vision passed over the frontline who were managing quite well to hold their own against their opponents, but despite their valiant efforts a number of Lady Luna’s personal Night-Guard were starting to break through their defences and pave the way for the invading infantry. “Third Section hold this ground an’ be ready tae engage! First an’ Second wi’ me! They’re breakin’ past th’ line an’ we winnae let ‘em get nae further!”

He pointed the tip of the huge sword in their direction and readied it.

“HAVE AT ‘EM LADS, SEND THA BASTARDS TAE TARTARUS!” He grandly bellowed, readying the weapon. “FOR PRINCESS AN’ COUNTRY!”

With all the might of an enraged Ursa Major and a warcry to match, the Captain led an incredibly impressive charge with his troops behind him, the Night-Guard and soldiers that had broken through likewise charged to meet them, a few still caught in one-to-one trades with a couple of the Guard who were becoming overwhelmed. Both sides clashed together in a brutal metallic crunch as swords met and death was immediately given, the Captain’s own sword being among the first to cleave an attacker from shoulder to waist from the ferocious strength behind the swing, leading into a powerful strike that pierced the next enemy’s chestplate and went right through the other side.

Twilight fidgeted and felt sick but she couldn’t bring herself to look away, these Guards of the Princess were fighting for her mission, this initial battle would be the deciding factor in if the mission even continued, and it was likely her own fault that it had occured in the first place because she was stupid enough to use magic because she’d been too busy to even pay attention to-

“Kid!” Trip shouted, pulling Twilight from her distracted thoughts.

Twilight was once again saved by Trip’s ability, the eastern mare having grabbed a shield and thrown herself in front of Twilight, stopping an arrow from hitting her.

“Pay attention!” She snarled at her, snapping the missle off at its tip. “Take this shield, we can’t do this if you’re dead!”

“I’m sorry…” Twilight whispered, her emotions getting the better of her as she began to cry around clumsily taking the offered protection. “I-I didn’t mean for this to…”

“Shut up!” Trip growled again, giving her a shove and turning about towards the ongoing melee further in front. “We don’t know that, so quit being a crying pissbaby, stay alert, and keep down.”

Twilight tried her best to stifle her tears and focus, she knew they needed to succeed here and Trip was right in saying that this mission would only be won if she was the one to speak with the Changelings; nopony else had achieved what she and her friends had with defeating Queen Chrysalis and her horde, they wouldn’t have opened dialogue otherwise; they only trusted Twilight.

“Hey, don’t mind Trip.” The tall stallion she believed to be Xiphos whispered next to her, gently nudging her in a sympathetic manner. Unlike Trip’s open-face helm, his was similar to hers and covered his face with an additional lower-plate, but she could see kind green eyes in there and a messy orange mane that creeped out from under the sides, his coat looked to be peachy sort of colour in the glow of the torches around them. “She gets cranky when she can’t be in the thick of it.”

“I can hear you, dumbass.” Trip muttered, not taking her eyes off the conflict.

The battle that raged on seemed to be going well, what was only minutes for them waiting here likely felt like hours for those below, but it appeared that it wouldn’t last a great deal longer at this rate as Lady Luna’s forces were clearly limited in their numbers and were getting the short end of the stick, mercilessly being pushed back while the Guard were still going strong with having the extra units here to reinforce the fight. While it was a concern to Twilight that Lady Luna had ordered patrols this far into Princess Celestia’s territory, and it was quite worrying that scouting parties had managed to evade her forces, it was also rather a good sign that when met in combat they were woefully outmatched.

“At least this’ll be over soon.” Xiphos kept on, scanning the fight. “The couple of Night-Guard that were leading the main force have fallen, Captain's already gotten to the last one.”

Fighting was a generous word for it, Twilight would have said. The Bat-pony was more stopping himself from dying than doing any attacking, Captain Crichton was hammering blows left and right against an admirable defence that was beginning to falter under the continuous onslaught, until at last his footing gave way and his sword came up at an odd angle in an attempt to parry as he stumbled, allowing the Captain to swipe his bastard sword against the blade and dash it from his grasp.

Twilight winced, knowing what came next.

Except the Night-Guard had fallen to his knees and raised his hands in surrender, and the Captain hadn’t delivered a death blow, instead vehemently glaring daggers at the Bat-pony and backing off, then blocking another attacker who eventually came to the aid of his fellow and stepped in, giving the Night-Guard ample time to scamper back into his ranks.

“Why didn’t he kill that stallion?” Twilight wondered, watching the Captain easily resume fighting to behead the soldier that had challenged him. “Didn’t he order no quarter given?”

“Captain’s own fucking stupid notion of honour.” Trip grumbled.

“He won’t kill an unarmed enemy.” Xiphos explained to Twilight.

“Well it’s good to be honourable.” Twilight smiled, seeing the Night-Guard disappear among the many heads of their side. “I think if somepony surrenders in war then they shouldn’t be killed, they should get a fair trial.”

“That guy’ll die soon enough.” Trip commented, then stopping her survey of the battle as her ears suddenly perked up atop her head, and she quickly looked to the north. “Hey wait, you guys hear that?”

At first, Twilight didn’t hear anything but the ongoing fight, but then it slowly came like a low rumble through the forest off to their right, something she couldn’t put her finger on just what it was. Trip and the other two stallions very quickly realised and set about giving orders that really struck fear into her gut.

“ENEMY FLANKING FROM THE NORTH!” The third stallion, Rivet, blared to the Section's left, clearly taking command of them while the Captain was otherwise occupied. “PREPARE TO ENGAGE, GIVE NO QUARTER.”

“Come on, kid! Get behind me!” Trip urged to Twilight, placing herself between her and the direction of the dense thicket of trees, while Xiphos stood between her and the initial bloodshed the Captain was still fighting in. “Keep that shield up and be aware of your surroundings, this is do or die!”

Twilight really wished she wasn’t so black and white about it.

The seconds dragged on as all she could see filling her eyes and drowning her ears was chaos and conflict, her breathing came unsteadily in her uneasiness and her heart rate picked up, beating as if it were trying to leap out of her chest. She heard the first strike of the enemy assault before she saw it, as a soldier or two audibly caught an arrow in the front before everypony raised their shields even higher in defence; she wisely mimicked the action as not a second later a bolt slammed into her just-raised safeguard.

The impact of it took her by surprise and she briefly stumbled, thankfully she was caught by Xiphos beside her. He gave her a nod and turned his attention back to the frontline.

“Nice catch, break it off and keep it held where you had it, more shots will be coming in.” He said, raising his own shield ever so slightly. “They’ll hit us with another volley or two to try and soften us up, then charge in full on.”

“You know what they’re going to do?” Twilight wondered, now not daring to peek around her only defence as more arrows rained in from above.

“Luna’s soldiers will still massively follow the same doctrine and tactics that Celestia has had taught and drilled into her own.” He nodded, barely shifting when two arrows successively hit his shield. After a third smacked home, he waited for the rain of projectiles to end before snapping them at the tips.

“I read about that, snapping off arrows in wounds instead of pulling them out to make sure injuries don’t haemorrhage.” Twilight commented, watching as he did so. “But why do it for the shields? Surely the arrows would provide additional defence against other arrows? Slow their velocity and lessen their impact?”

“Sure, that might work.” He laughed, keeping a close eye out for another volley. “In the end it works better to not have additional weight on the shield. You ever tried lifting a shield full of arrows? It screws with your balance, takes a little longer to lift it if you leave them all intact, the extra second or two might cost you your life.”

He made sure she was watching when he got to the third arrow and attempted to quickly wrench it out the shield, not managing to do so from the angle he was at and then snapping it off instead.

“That’s the other reason: They’re a bitch to get out the shield mid-combat.” He explained, keeping his guard up as another salvo began.

Twilight stood better against the tirade this time, expecting it to be stronger. She was right to prepare her footing and brace, as the quantity of arrows firing down had increased for this wave. Her heartbeat quickened as her shield grew heavier and she could feel her arms tiring as the seconds ticked by. Xiphos was quite right, the arrows were causing her defence to falter to sheer weight, all those small shafts of wood and metal tallied up considerably.

“Easy, girl.” He assured her, stepping closer and using his free hand to help support her shield-arm. “Soon as this volley ends I’m certain they’ll charge in. Be ready.”

That didn’t reassure her at all.

There was one last punch into her shield, and then everypony around her was cheering in defiance of the enemy. These soldiers had just been submitted to a hail of death and now they were simply taunting their foe.

“That all you fucks got?!” Trip shouted at the top of her lungs, even though it was lost in the noise of jeering. “Wasps have more of a sting than that!”

She’d never understand soldiers.

She’d also have no time to ponder on it, despite that her arm hurt and ached terribly all the ponies surrounding her were preparing their defences and readying their swords. She’d have to do the same. While in her own shield she saw about twelve shafts, she was shocked to see Trip’s shield had borne the brunt of what had come their way, numbering roughly double what Twilight had blocked. Trip deftly unsheathed her sword and slashed through all of the arrows embedded in the metal, there not being enough time to pull them out. Twilight held her own out seeing Trip intended to do the same for her.

The release of weight when the sword disconnected the numerous shafts was greatly noticeable even with the arrowheads still dug in, she sighed in relief at how much easier the protection was to lift now.

“Thank-.” Twilight began.

“Not yet.” She interrupted.

“INCOMING!” Shouted the third stallion up front. “MAKE READY!”

Ranks were reformed, there was a shift from the amusement merely a second ago back into hardened fighters. Trip and Xiphos positioned themselves in front of her, their swords already in hand and shields ready on their other arms. Twilight’s shield arm still felt leaden even though she wasn’t bogged down with arrows, it was sore and bruised from the impacts, but regardless she had to hoist it up as best she could.

“Ready your sword.” Xiphos said back over his shoulder, looking forward again at the front of the line. “We’ll keep you safe, but having that in hand may mean you save yourself.”

She swallowed, nodding. She still hadn’t drawn it yet, even though the Captain had ordered her to. Her fingers felt shaky around the hilt, the leather wrapped around it did nothing to encourage her clammy grip as she slowly pulled the weapon free. She looked at the clean polished edge of it, seeing a blur of herself and the forest reflected in the light of the torches surrounding them. She nearly dropped the sword when the crunch began, making her jump as the frontline was laid into by Lady Luna’s flanking force.

Her worry heightened, the pit of fear in her stomach resurged and she felt like she was going to vomit. Was this always going to happen? She’d never felt this way when facing down Discord or Chrysalis, she’d always felt confident, emboldened. Maybe it was because she’d had her friends beside her, and… no one had ever died.

Her hold on the sword wasn’t perfect, during the time they’d spent travelling to make camp and before they’d settled the camp she’d gone through several motions with the Captain and Trip separately to get a feel for it. Trip’s style was a lot looser than the Captain’s had been, his was more uniform and precise in how he trained despite his demeanour in battle, while Trip’s had been greatly more fluid and dexterous in its movements in and out of combat, neither of which she could replicate or at least attempt very well.

If she lived through this she’d practice more, maybe Xiphos could assist her too.

There was a small commotion as the noise increased from the fighting, Twilight couldn’t see too well but she could make out brief parts of the ponies skirmishing, to her eye their wall was holding against the enemy. She gasped then, suddenly blinded by a huge flash caused her to lose her vision. She groaned as it stung and her eyes watered, all she saw as she blinked was pure white, and her mind went into full panic as there were screams.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, her sword hand twitched animalistically in response but she had enough self-control to know it must have been her allies.
.
“Bastards used a flashspike!” Trip shouted in her ear over the din. “Can’t see too well, looked away when I saw it coming, most of the Section didn’t!”

Twilight wanted to weep, and in fact was due to the mass-spell, she could feel the tears falling down her face, but it was spurred on by the sounds of dying ponies who were helpless to fight. She wished she could see them, see what she had caused.

“Trip!?” Xiphos's voice came, he sounded unsure of himself. “I can’t see anything, Trip, are they coming?”

“Not on us yet, Xiphos!” She growled, keeping Twilight steady. “It’ll wear off soon, I’m already seeing better! It was a powerful move, fuckers have cut through the line!”

Such a small thing, so quickly done and already their advantage was undermined. But Trip was right, she could make out the eastern-mare’s form as colour returned to the world and the night came back into view from the pure white now slowly bleeding away from the edges of her vision.

Xiphos stumbled to Trip, she could make out his shape. They both faced about with their swords ready, as best they could be for the time being. The brief halt in the Section's defence had been enough for Lady Luna’s forces to turn a well-organised block into a semi-free battleground. Twilight gasped when her sight was almost fully intact again, as the enemy were stepping over what seemed like dozens of their own.

The first sword raised and clanged out, followed by countless more. The fight had begun in earnest and blood flowed from wounds, and all Twilight could do was wait. What could she do here? She wanted to use magic, she could feel the need to do something, anything to ensure no more lives were lost, not even on Lady Luna's side if she could help it.

But she couldn't. If she was captured, things would become far worse for Princess Celestia, and she'd already done enough to make things bad, she needed to get through this and speak with the Changelings, so no magic.

She could see the fight drawing nearer, the Section was slowly being whittled down and pushed back, the wounded being dragged behind their comrades who took their place to rage against the enemy as best they could. Princess Celestia's forces were well-trained, the surprise magical attack had only made them falter, and despite the losses they were now pushing back into a frenzy of clashing steel.

Twilight saw another brief flash in the corner of her vision, and turned away from the source fearing another mass-spell, as Trip crashed into her and pulled her to the ground. Next to where she lied, a dagger was embedded into the churned-up mud. Just as quick, the soldiers around her cried out as more daggers precisely struck from above into exposed joints between their armour.

"Let's fucking go!" Trip roared as three cloaked Night-Guard dropped down, two of them brandishing shortshords, the other holding a double-bladed staff. They wasted no time in setting upon the few soldiers near them, their high-ranking status among Lady Luna's forces evidently clear as they cut down several ponies before Trip and Xiphos met them head on.

Twilight stepped back, bumping into a friendly soldier she realised was Rivet, he pushed her behind his large frame as the staff wielding Night-Guard struck out at her, the tip of his bladed weapon hit nothing as Trip sharply swung her sword in his wake and forced him to retreat mid-strike. The soldier in front of her growled and advanced on the attacker, who spun his double-bladed staff and made use of the momentum in a heavy strike, the attempt again being spurned as Rivet's sword fiercely met it, the clash ringing out.

Xiphos and Trip were working in tandem to fend off the two Night-Guard savagely trying to break their self-imposed wall, every blow was stopped or parried with little chance to counter back against before another came in against their shields, until there was a shift in the footing of the staff-wielder as he dashed forwards and spun upward in an arc, catching Rivet across the unarmoured part of his thigh.

The hit was enough to leave him exposed as he staggered and before she could think, Twilight blindly threw herself forward, clumsily throwing up her sword towards the staff's blade that raced back down towards Rivet's chest. The flat of her blade shrieked as the sharp edge scraped and glanced off of it, deflecting and catching the back of her hand that was tensely gripping the hilt. She shouted out in pain as it cut deep, the Night-Guard seeing a fast opportunity and spinning the staff to grip the middle and thrust it directly towards her throat.

Her eyes went wide as the blade sunk into flesh.

"Rivet!" Trip shouted, snarling with anger and charging at the Night-Guard who pulled his weapon free of the stallion as he fell, quickly blocking her enraged attack. Trip fumed as she abandoned her shield, unleashing a torrent of swipes and swings to drive him on the back foot before Xiphos yanked her away, tripping up as he pulled her safe from the other two's reach. She growled and protested like a wild animal as she scrambled to strike at them as hard as she could, challenging them directly. "I'll fucking gut you cowards like fish, fucking fight me you pansies!"

Rivet had fallen into Twilight's arms from the precise hit, she'd almost collapsed under his muscular build and just barely fell to a knee without dropping him. She saw the blow had punctured Rivet in the shoulder, rendering his arm limp, but he was still conscious and already trying to get to his feet, adrenaline keeping him awake and fighting.

The three Night-Guard concentrated their efforts as the battle wore on around them and was drawing in more of their own soldiers around the flanked Section. Of the two swordsmen, the left struck out against Xiphos as he secured his defence to put him off balance, as the right sought to end him with a decisive rake across the throat.

It was hopeful at best, the very tip of his sword scratching across his helmet's face-plate as he jerked backwards, immediately dropping his shield and countering with a full upper thrust at the Night-Guard's open flank as his sword arm went wide. With Trip being driven into a frenzied rage and hammering blows against the other two his sword found its destination, piercing into his target's armpit as he drove it up into the Bat-pony.

He had just enough time to wrench the blade free and let his enemy fall before another of Lady Luna's soldiers joined the fight, he growled and set upon them too.

Rivet was just barely fighting with his one good arm, his wounds noticeably slowing him down as he did his best to protect Twilight. He leapt back from a soldiers strike and swept his sword across their chest, putting them down for the effort and scarcely deflecting another hit from the staff-wielder that had freed himself of Trip's attention. For the barest of moments they stood and panted as their eyes locked, regarding one another. The enemy assailant gave the briefest nod of respect before lashing out, Rivet again only just defending himself.

"You fight for a false ruler!" The staff-wielder shouted over the din of the battle, continuously dealing hits and whittling Rivet's resistance down further. "Let me ease you into the Lady's Night!"

Trip had managed to regain some self-control and backed off just enough to pluck a dagger from the brace on her thigh, aiming it at the staff-wielder. It didn't connect as she sent it his way, but the distraction of a blade glancing off his armour jarred him, she took another in hand and chucked it as he pivoted to parry Rivet's quick uptake.

The metal found purchase in his side, causing him to crumple so that Rivet could deliver a finishing blow, cleanly pushing his blade between the Night-Guard's ribs.

The last Night-Guard fighting Xiphos knew his fellows were down, making to strike at the weak link. He parried a thrust from Xiphos and in a last ditch effort, roared as he hurled himself past a swipe from Trip that slashed across his stomach to assault Twilight.

Twilight screamed out as his blade sailed down at her chest, her mind went blank as terror bloomed in her heart and she saw her own death, but somehow the Bat-pony's blade went slack as he collapsed atop her. With his weight being far greater than Rivet's she was buried under him and cried out in fear at the situation, trembling as his blood spilled over her hands and she fumbled to release the hilt of her sword, realising what she'd done.

A tense moment passed as Trip knelt down and roughly shoved his corpse off of her, grinning at the blade through his middle and quickly grabbed one of Twilight's bloody hands. Seeing that she was too stunned to move, Trip instead grabbed her under the arms and hoisted her up as her legs shook, backing off slightly while still supporting her as the mare emptied the contents of her stomach through her faceplate onto the floor.

"Easy does it, kid. Good kill, keep it together." Trip said, glancing around at the battlefield for any enemy soldiers coming in towards them, seeing the Captain's Section had finished their skirmish and regrouped on them, leaving the flanking force scattered now. The First and Second Sections were regrouping with the Third, and the enemy was being routed.

"I-I..." Twilight stammered, her eyes streaming as tears poured down her face. "I don't..."

"Calm down, kid. It's fine." Trip assured her, nodding to Xiphos as he came over and took Twilight's hand. Trip relaxed a little and her expression took on a softer edge when the large stallion pulled the purple mare into a hug as she started to bawl like a filly.

The eastern mare smiled at the sight, turning at the sound of armour but relaxing her sword arm as Captain Crichton lumbered over with a positively feral smile on his face, his helm under an arm and his bastard sword in the other.

"Ais done, tha enemy's en full retreat now. What's left es bein' mopped up, an' we even have onna thar Night-Guard." He intoned, noting the unfolding scene he was walking toward as Trip trudged over to meet him. "Report, Corporal, as both Sergeants are currently indisposed."

Trip's eyes glanced across to Rivet who was already being seen to by a medic, and Xiphos who was still reassuring a sobbing Twilight, nodding to the Captain and standing straight.

"Ser. The Third was flanked by the enemy from the North, they assaulted the area with several waves of volley fire before breaking through our frontline with a flashspike, but the Guard rallied and held off the advance." She cleared her throat and her hand went to one of her wounds that was starting to get to her. "Then Xiphos, Rivet, Twilight, and I were set upon by three Night-Guard. Rivet was injured protecting Twilight from a fatal blow... He selflessly risked himself to save her, Ser."

Captain Crichton nodded, planting his sword in the ground. "Continue, Trip."

"Ser... I got too focused on fighting and failed to protect Twilight adequately enough, to where Rivet was dealt a serious blow defending her." Trip sighed, angry at herself. "That's on me, if I'd kept the line between us even Rivet wouldn't have had to put himself in harm's way."

"She was engaged with the enemy, Ser." Rivet spoke up, limping over while the medic fussed over his wounds as he moved. "Two Night-Guard were on her and Xiphos, she couldn't have crossed the distance to block the strike, I couldn't raise my sword quick enough, best option was to put myself in front of the newbie."

"That's not-" Trip began.

"Stop blaming yourself for shit you can't prevent." Rivet smiled, nodding his head to Twilight as she sat down with Xiphos, and another medic who was seeing to her hand. "You missed it, but the girl stopped that Night-Guard from killing me, she jumped in and blocked his downswing."

"She did?" Trip asked with surprise.

"Yep. Granted, I wouldn't have had to jump in the way of the thrust if she didn't try to help me, but I also would have been dead." He smiled, looking away from Twilight and back to the Captain. "So really, we just helped one another."

"Well, I still should have-" Trip started again.

Rivet lightly punched her in the chest with his good arm, causing the medic to jump and scold him as she continued to patch up his shoulder. Trip rolled her eyes but took the hint, turning her attention back to the Captain, who was patiently waiting.

"Ser. We killed the three Night-Guard and a few more soldiers, the Third pushed the enemy back successfully with the First and Second reinforcing us." Trip then grinned, looking very overjoyed as she thumbed at Twilight. "And Twilight got a kill on one of those overgrown bat fucks, quite a first to have."

Captain Crichton eyed the distraught purple mare that was shaking like a leaf. She still hadn't removed her helm, which was good because the enemy could still be watching them from a distance. He watched as the medic finished wrapping up her hand in bandages, then gently washing the blood off of her as she stared at the earth.

"Trip." He said, putting a heavy hand on the eastern mare's shoulder. "Take et easy on tha talk 'round her, alright? She's gaun tae be troubled fer a while."

Trip firmly nodded. "Of course, Ser."

"Alright then." Captain Crichton looked around at the clearing and breathed out. "Les' get tae burying tha dead, we cannae take 'em wi' us. Doubt tha enemy'll attack again wi' tha remainin' force, so we'll take tha time ta bury theirs an' all."

"Honourable bastard..." Trip whispered under her breath as she gave him a nod.

"Wi' was tha, Corporal?" He frowned.

"Nothing, Ser. I'll gather some Guard and get started." She quickly followed up, giving a last look to Twilight as she left to do the work and waved the Captain goodbye.

"Xiphos!" He shouted over to the Sergeant, the stallion looking over his shoulder to the Captain. "After yer sorted here, I've got a special job fer ya."

"Ser." Xiphos confirmed, turning his attention back to Twilight.

The captured Night-Guard he'd mentioned to Trip was the same one that he'd spared, he'd found him again during the battle but the Bat-pony hadn't taken up his sword against the Captain a second time, knowing he was greatly outmatched. Instead he'd opted to knock the soldier out and drag him into a bush so his comrades would pass him by.

Having him as a hostage was not exactly an honourable thing to do, they didn't usually capture soldiers as Princess Celestia suspected Lady Luna wished to do with Twilight, but having him meant they could know Lady Luna's plan of attack, or deployment locations of their troops so as to avoid them.

He marched back to the area he'd left him.

---

It was reaching dawn by the time they'd finished burying the dead on both sides and regathered the tents and supplies, moving onward in their journey. Thankfully the incredibly precious love-supply hadn't been discovered and damaged or stolen during the battle, the cargo securely packed away separately from the food just in case Lady Luna's forces had raided their stores.

Buried in a quickly dug mass-grave with their armour and weapons, the dead were encased in preservation spells and the gravesite marked. When they linked up with the Cloudsdale reinforcements they'd relay the coordinates to them so the bodies could be recovered and each soldier given a proper burial service for their families. Lady Luna's forces had been buried not far from the Guard's own area, and Crichton hoped that when the war was over, their bodies could also be given the same respect.

Many of the Guard didn't feel the same, instead wanting to just pile the enemy's corpses onto a pyre and be done with it, but the thought disgusted him. Now more than ever after all these years of peace and honour, they couldn't allow themselves to descend back into the barbaric customs of the old wars.

Twilight was understandably still in shock, she was a civilian that hadn't been trained to the idea of taking another pony's life. She still hadn't really spoken to anypony since the battle and she'd collapsed shortly after it ended, only having woken up in the past hour with only a few words mumbled here or there. Trip lacked empathy and didn't see how harshly it could affect the sheltered mare, but Xiphos was a kinder soul, he was currently marching alongside the one of the carts carrying the wounded too hurt to walk, where she sat with the same medic that had bandaged her hand up.

With any luck they'd be able to reach the large swathes of farmland and stop before noon to rest for a while, by now it was a possibility the enemy had regrouped in their own territory and were already sending out another scouting force to engage them again, so relocating was an absolute necessity. Once they were resettled he could talk to Twilight himself, he felt he would be able to help her along with Xiphos, and get her back on her feet.

The Night-Guard they'd abducted was currently gagged and secured in one of the carts with the least wounded, Trip sitting across from him with her sword in her lap in case he tried to run or do any harm to anyone, not that the Captain figured him for the type; he seemed broken from his capture. But it could have been a ruse, so Trip was alert.

Xiphos had lightly plied him with questions, and so far he'd not been forthcoming with any important information beyond how large their force had been, which the Captain hadn't felt the Bat-pony to be lying about. If his words rang true then they'd all but decimated the only scouting party currently in the Princess's territory.

He sighed, looking out from the trees as the sun rose between them, hopefully they'd reach the Changelings before encountering anypony else other than their own.

Comments

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Seriously guys. Just a few years earlier you were part of the same army and you drop any respect aftr that. Man so much has gone wrong here.

[KillerJacob04]

Man This Story is Awesome Can't/Can Wait For More of It