Ch 35: The great city burns.

Marco sat straight on his horse, hands grasping the reins tightly. He was trained on how to ride a horse, but he was still nervous when he got on one. The horse clopped along the side of the marching infantry. Two lines of 19 men each, with two pushing the Feldkanone in the front. That was how much the other generals trusted him with, out of thousands of men between them. 40 men.

The sudden attack made Marco suspicious. No army would carry out an all out attack like that within three days of mobilizing. Unless they were preparing for years, which was impossible since the war was only going on for one year, they could not mobilize that much fire and flame that fast. They're technology was comparable to medieval britain.

This all made Marco think it might not have been any of the Star alliance members, but maybe a third party. Perhaps a mercenary group, which would be a loophole in the Wartime Decency Documents. The employers could have signed the Documents and the Mercenaries not, thus making the employers innocent of any war crime. Thus Marco avoided going to the battle directly, but a few miles away in compliance with the Documents.

Marco would communicate with the other generals if he could, but they weren't answering the mirror. They were probably a victim of the attack too. He doesn't know how much backup he's getting, he doesn't know if he even is getting any backup, heck, he doesn't know where he's going to teleport to. He comes in a few miles away, but WHERE a few miles away?

No communication, no information, no idea what he's getting into. He doesn't know if other forces have already directly portaled into Mewni, and if this whole portaling a few miles away was useless.

Snapping back to reality, he wiped his forehead of sweat. Stress and fear churned from his sweating brow to his shaking legs. Yet he let the horse trot on, never missing a beat. Perfectly synchronized with the marching of the soldiers. He recognized the road they were marching on. It was the road He, Star, and Tom rode through to get to the camp.
The checkpoint which had two guards now had only one. He took out some scissors.

"Portal opener Eli Cobbler, Sir!" He saluted Marco. The soldiers, so monotonous in their march, suddenly halted. The absence of the march gave an eerie silence.

"Open a portal, as close as you can get to Mewni according to the WDD." Marco said.

"Sir, there are multiple places I can put you. There's inside a building, in the streets, in a horse farm, in a factory-"

"The farm, PO Cobbler." Marco had an idea. Every soldier had basic horse training, and he needed to get to the castle fast.

"Of course, sir." The PO opened the portal.

"Alright, everyone! Into the portal!" Marco commanded. And as quickly as they stopped, they marched again. Each one of them walked into the portal. When half of them were through, Marco walked through himself.

What struck him first was the sight of it. It was night, normally Mewni would be bright. But it was neither dark nor light, but a red-orange hue that lit Mewni. It came from flame.

Next was the smell. Mewni was a few miles away, they were in the countryside far from the walls. But Marco could smell the smoke. Faint, yet it pierced the fresh air of the night.

Then, the sound. Or lack thereof. All Marco heard was the quiet murmurs of the men as they stared in awe. Mewni, the great city, so sanctified in their hearts. So long since it was touched by any harm. It was burning.

Then, they heard faint bangs and thunders from Mewni. Whatever magic their assailants were using, it was destructive.

Marco took the sight in, not speaking or thinking, just seeing. Seeing how the war had finally caught up with him. To him, the war might as well have been another chore or homework. All he did with the war was work on paper, or visit some people who were far away.

Now, it was real. The alliance, the way Marco moved his troops on a map, the statistics of death. It all converged on Marco's mind, and with this information, his mind spat out one thought:

Everyone you know is in there. Star, Tom, Star's parents, the Blossom family, everyone. You might be the only one who can save them.

He looked to all the soldiers. He could tell, they were thinking the same thing about their loved ones.

"My men!" Mode to the front of all of them. They snapped out of their thoughts and looked at Marco "Look at Mewni. How many people can you name that are in there right now? How many friends, and how many loved ones?" A few of the soldiers looked down, as if in sadness.

"I have a wife and son!" One of the soldiers called out.

"Oh god, my sister!" Another one said.

"I have a bowling buddy named Dale!" Another yelled.

"Think about where they might be now! They are hidden, somewhere in there. They are waiting for a saviour, my friends. WE will be their saviour!" Marco was speaking from his heart, not his brain "Mewni shall be saved! Your friends, your loved ones, they shall be saved!"

"Woo!" One soldier yelled.

"Men, see that farm behind you? Take some serviceable horses. They may not fly but when the enemy sees us, they will see… warriors as fast as the wind befall them." Marco adjusted himself in his horse. He felt no stress, no fear, only eagerness as the men came out of the hospital with horses.

"Men! Mount your horses! Today, the legend of the 17th infantry shall be born! FORWARDS, FOR YOUR BELOVED!" Marco charged towards the city, horse in full gallop. His soldiers did the same, the sound of gallops merging into one fantastic sound.

An orchestra of speed. A symphony of war.