My Little Pony: Iron and Steel

Chapter 2: Gloria en Batalla

For two days, those Changeling Hordes have laid siege to the walls of Gorrión and still my troops stand their ground. From the ramparts and the arrow slits in the towers, gunfire erupts never extinguishing the fire of resistance. It will not be long now until they breach these walls. I am willing to sacrifice my life for my kin-folk. For I am Queen Maria-Elena

I have received word from my messenger Armando that Queen Gustel, and her armies are on the march. At night I see the torches of the sieging armies of Chrysalis. I will never give that insect such a title. Still, it fills me with relief that I can count on the Griffon Queen to come to my aid. The morning of the third day comes with the sound of cannon fire

A soldier is well-eqipped, and well-trained for battle. Like the griffon soldier, royal soldiers wear high quality half-armors. The helmet of choice is the 'Morion with Wings' often with engravings of great skill. Like the griffons, the weapon of choice is the halberd, but our difference is in firearms. Griffons use the 'snaphance' lock, and we use the 'miquelet'

Iron cannonballs hammered on the walls and ramparts of the city. Soldiers yelped as the shells exploded into the ranks. Dead soldiers fell from the walls onto the canvas tops of shop stalls. A musketeer was hurrying back to her post after refilling her powder flask. I saw a cannonball cut through the air, and decapitate her. Her red blood splattered on me

The townsfolk screamed and panicked amid the chaos of the besieging, "¡Armando! Lleve a estos ciudadanos a la seguridad de las colinas! ¡Ahora!" I called to the messenger, he saluted and nodded back. With a handful of soldiers, he took the townsfolk out of the city through the rear gate, and out to the hills where Queen Gustel is likely to be encamped

"¡Por nuestra reina!" they roared proudly,

I unsheathed my cut-and-thrust sword for the battle. Wooden duckboards were erected and siege ladders began to come up the moat. As the changelings began to climb up the walls, soldiers found cracks in the ramparts and began shooting back at the enemy. Dead changelings fell off the ladders, and blackened the waters of the moat with their blood.

A few changelings made it over the ramparts. I was prepared, and stabbed one up the chin and into the skull as I snarled up into his ugly muzzle. Another came up from behind only for me to slash her across the face. Others were run through by the spears of halberds. Our soldiers gave no quarter, no mercy, to the enemy as one got his skull split open.

"¡Fuego!" called out a gunner, our 'culverin' cannon roared back from emplacements behind the castle walls. One cannonball happened to make a lucky shot, and hit the powder magazine of the sieging army. A great ball of fire looked to erupt from the abyss as splinters of wood and shards of iron cut through the ranks of the army, inflicting heavy losses

The cheers came from our defenders with smiles, and their weapons raised skyward. It was a great moral victory for us after two days of being bombarded by cannon. From the ramparts, soldiers began to throw lit 'grenados' into the attacking changelings still climbing up the ladders. They maybe small, but they can do damage with small shards of iron

Musketfire began to signal resistance against the hordes. A quick yelp, and a splash into the moat or ground below was the sign of a lead musket ball hitting it's mark. We may have destroyed their heavy cannon, but the changelings also have small caliber cannon aimed, and firing at the gates. A force within the village was awaiting this coming attack.

"¡Por el reino!" I roared,

We not only have to fight the enemy, but also the fires that were springing up. Those that could gathered buckets of water from the well, and tried their hardest to put out the flames. Wounded soldiers were being taking from the ramparts and defenses of the fortress walls by nurses and citizens being taken to anywhere that can serve as a safe place.

Amid the chaos of battle, I shot an attacking changeling with my miquelet pistol, and watched as Armando flew away to the hills to hopefully meet up with Good Queen Gustel's armies. Seeing that we still stood our ground on the second day of laying siege to Gorrión, the changelings once again retreated back to their camp outside of the fortress walls.

A bucket is a futile tool used to fight fires. Many of those structures were left to burn. My black and gilded armor was covered in changeling blood as I sheathed back my sword, and holstered my two pistols. The next day will bring more of the same. I still have faith in that our Griffon allies will come to our aide. No doubt they will attack the front gates.

I looked down at the orange glow of the flames beneath the stone ramparts. Then came the task of collecting the dead. Among them was a nurse. Her blue eyes looking up at the moon, having been killed by a musket ball to the head. Her gold beak was slight agape with a trickle of blood going down the side. What a tragedy to see one so beautiful die

I came down from the walls. I walked up the dead nurse and I closed the eyes, "Descansa, mi amiga," I whispered, an undertaker was taking the bodies to a field outside the walls to be buried. Braves souls all of them, living and dead. I am proud to fight alongside them. They are all my brothers. They are all my sisters. If this is where I fall, so be it.