Aria skidded to a halt as another ice boulder slammed into the mud in front of her and Blaze, cascading a wave of muck up the sides. Sparks flew off, igniting thin patchworks of grass nearby. The fire fizzled, but the ice still began to creep and spread as Aria scrambled aside with Blaze.
"What the..." Blaze slurred, bright blood glistening on the back of her neck, her mane sticking to her fur. Her orange-gold eyes were unfocused. Aria grit her jaw, cannon blasts ringing in her ears.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
An arrow whizzed by and thunked into a Lunar soldier, they falling to the mud with a pained grunt. Aria whinnied as her hooves lost traction and began to slide, the thick mud caking her legs. As far as she could tell, there were twenty crystal ponies who were charging on the base, but far more troops were lying in wait to massacre them all. That's where the cannons were being fired from and unless there was a crossbow-wielding earthpony attacking, there were archers within range too.
But where are they coming from? Aria slipped over a mud bank, gripping Blazing Reign's ear in her teeth as the other mare began to slide away. There's nothing but Lunar and neutral territory for miles in any direction!
The base that was under siege was Base Métis, previously deemed Cowpony Junction before the war. It was a small southern town that was just twenty miles east of Appleloosa. Appleloosa — Base Titan as it was more commonly known — was the main agriculture unit of the republic, producing nearly ten tons of food every year. Métis was simply a trading outlet for travelers from different areas and at most a base for training and drills.
Aria ducked behind a building, tugging Blaze with her. She forced the other mare to sit as she glared past the shop. Lunar's were falling quickly, yet an officer had gained control of some fighters and was pushing back against the attack.
The crystal ponies that Aria could spot were donned in blood red armor with rose colored padding and straps. Black veils covered all their eyes and rock-stiff hides glittered from beneath their adornments. Diamond-edged spear tips and titanium swords caught the moon's light and dazzled her eyes.
"Ooh," Blazing mumbled. She looked at Aria and squinted. "Who're that?"
"Shut it, you stupid equine," Aria hissed, tucking herself in the cover of the building once more and sitting beside the pegasus. She held her ribs for a moment, breathing in raggedly. They burned and throbbed to the point that a migraine was pounding behind Aria's eyes. She couldn't cast magic like this. Screams flooded her ears, the fur on the back of her neck standing on end.
Get to your tent; rally your forces there.
Aria bit down hard into the thought, using it to drown out her pain and tension. She hooked a foreleg around her partner. Her horn flared to life, orange light bleeding on the two mares.
The world shifted from beneath them, and Aria thrust herself upwards onto her hooves. Blaze stayed sitting in the middle of the tent and stared at the small lanterns, her mess of a body swaying as she focused on them.
Aria grit her jaw as she yanked a chest out from under her cot. She threw open the lid. She tore a scrap of her blanket on the cot away and wiped off the mud covering her, incinerating it once she was done. She clasped on her helmet, shrugged on her body armor and began to strap on her leg guards. A keening shriek bounced across the Moon Base, indistinct shouts from ponies dampened by the siren's piercing cry. Blaze groaned softly at the noise, folding her wings over her head. Aria grimaced and grabbed her sheaths for her dual falchions.
"Blazing, you're staying here."
The pegasus's neck feathers fluffed up. "No! Too loud! I don't want to!"
Aria's eyes narrowed.
"You're going to protect this tent while I'm gone and stay out of harm's way," Aria responded flatly, tossing anything remotely dangerous into the chest and kicking it under her cot. She yanked her partner to it and had her sit. "Stay."
Blaze's ears twitched up and down. "It's loud. I don't want to."
I don't give a flying-donkey's ass about what you want right now you stupid, concussed sheep! Aria's mind howled.
"I know," she forced out instead through her teeth, placing a hoof on the pegasus's cheek. "I'll make the noise stop, but please stay here for me. Okay?" Her horn glowed and the outside noise muffled out, leaving behind the soft buzz from the overhead lanterns.
Blaze looked at Aria with thankful gold eyes before the unicorn darted out of the tent and back into the ungodly wail of the alarm. She pulled her bandanna over her snout and galloped towards Métis once more.
Along the way, Aria found her squad frantically staying together and enforcing order. She whistled at them and signaled the fourteen soldiers over. A few rag-tags pursued them, appearing lost. Aria grumbled.
"Where the hell are your fours' leaders?" she snapped at them when they were close enough. Two earthponies, a unicorn, and a pegasus. Harvest Moon, Ashwood, Paint Splatter, and Chipcutter.
None of them answered, all of their eyes reflecting fear and shame.
For the love of Luna, Aria thought.
"Since none of you are in my team I'm going to escort you four with my squad. We'll pose as a platoon for now, but once we reach General AJ, you will find your places. Understood?"
They nodded, but the young pegasus looked jittery. Aria set her jaw and dismissed it for the time being. She couldn't abstain from her duties just because a rookie was getting first-battle nerves.
Aria nickered and took off running. The group followed her prints, the pounding of their hooves resonating through the earth.
On the way out of the Moon Base, Aria didn't see any casualties; only cadets guiding expecting mares, mothers corralling their foals, and elders staggering off to the safe haven of the abandoned rock farm. However the closer they all got to Métis, the more damage was visible.
Bodies littered the mud, ponies she had known for weeks to years lay motionless. Some were taking their last few breaths, unwilling to give up. The sight socked her in her gut and clawed at her eyes. But she couldn't stop and mourn the fallen and damn the crystal onslaught, she could only guide her own ponies to the battle awaiting them.
"Commander!"
She dug in her hooves as her squadron galloped past along with three of the others. Aria stopped and looked behind her to see Chipcutter, the shivering rookie.
"What is it?"
"M-my wife and son need me." He gulped and his half-unfurled wings trembled. "Ma'am. She's been ill since his birth but he's not old enough to know how to take care of her." Chipcutter fumbled over his words. She could see his heartbroken eyes through his goggles.
"Enough." Aria growled under her breath and sighed. "Go to the rock farm. They'll be there. Don't you dare leave a battle again or I'll be the one to pluck your feathers." Her glare bore into him, and she hated how relieved he looked. He hightailed it westward, not once looking back.
She stomped a hoof, exasperated. Of all times she had to be a pushover, this moment was the worst one yet.
"Commander Spellweaver! We have to move!" shouted Crimson Lock from Aria's group.
Aria blinked at the mare before her hooves began to beat the mud into submission. The piercing night air filled her lungs with star shards and moon tears. It hurt, but she needed it. Her weariness ebbed away and behind it sat a savage hunger for the blood of her foes. Aria's horn sparkled just thinking about the praise she would receive for defending Princess Luna.
"Approaching Base Métis!" Ashwood neighed from her left. Multiple ponies snorted in response, their hooves pounding harder. "Approximate arrival, two clicks."
"We need to head for the Midnight Forest," Aria said. "General Applejack would be there if our assailants are coming from the northeastern front."
In a swift motion they redirected themselves, heading for a stark-black swathe of trees. It stretched for miles southward. Aria spotted several other squads, platoons, and even a brigade dashing for the treeline as well. In the moonlight, she could barely catch glimpses of bloodied weaponry some of the ponies carried. A warm bubble of pride filled her chest.
What felt like only seconds later, their hoofsteps softened as they began to tread on muddy nettles and underbrush. The canopy of trees above sliced out the moon, but the soft glow of the unicorns' horns allowed enough visibility for Aria and her group to move onward. They pressed close together, their breaths hard after the trek but soft enough so they weren't able to be heard by potentially lurking ears.
"To whom do you idiots belong to?" Aria growled to the three tag-alongs. An indignant huff came from one of them.
"I am under Commander Spark," the offended pony said. "Surely you know him, Spellweaver."
"I know him well enough to recognize this will more than likely be his last conflict," Aria spat to her. "That stallion's spirit may be strong, but his body is not. Learn some moon-damned respect for a dying soldier who has served an entire half-life in this war, or become the fodder your comrades see you for as of now."
Members from Aria's squad chuffed sourly as the pony sputtered.
"And what about you, and you?" Aria muttered, her voice dampened by her bandanna as she flicked her head to the remaining two.
Harvest Moon answered first.
"I'm with Gilded Frame," she said. "He is an infantry leader."
"I'm with Commander Spark as well," Ashwood said. "Paint Splatter and I are part of his brigade."
Aria raised an eyebrow as she swerved around a tree. "Interesting." She stopped for a moment and sniffed the air. Other than the smell of rotting wood, petrichor, and moss, she couldn't detect anything outlandish. "How could none of you manage to reach your assigned stations when the siren sounded? Must I inform your leaders of your fleeting memories? How about the blatant disrespect? Perhaps I could tell them of your incompetence?"
A collective negative came from each one, disheartened, and once more, Aria's group chuckled.
"Shut up," she ordered, halting her pace and turning to glare at each one of them. "None of you get to feel shameless: you've all been in that moment so I don't want to hear any of you giggling like gossiping fillies during a party. Am I clear?"
Nopony answered and Aria spun away, breathing in the forest air and occasionally stopping to look for possible traps.
Nothing. Aria continued onward, the accompaniment from the growing numbers of her allies comforted her.
The Lunars reached a clearing that shrank down to a cliff side. An orange warhorse stood tall at the edge, thick pads covering her back and chest, as well as her hammer shoved into the mud. A dark blue peaked cap sat on her head and a dash of glinting stars was on her shoulders.
General AJ was surveying the land, two colonels stood at either side, murmuring to her.
Aria sidled through the crowd, guiding her ponies in. Each commandant stood at the head of their group, issuing orders, short drills, and doing simply a head count. Aria grimaced. She was the last one to arrive.
She tilted her head towards the ponies, sending off her add-ons to their commanders.
AJ's head turned back to look at her and Aria merely locked her gaze. The general's eye narrowed and Aria felt a chill down her spine as she stepped through the crowd to flank Applejack.
"Comm'nder Spellw'ver." The two colonels — Frosted Leaf and Chalky Tips — retreated and Aria took her place beside Applejack.
"Yes, General?"
"Yer late," the orange pony grumbled through a stalk of wheat. "Whut in th' bl'zin' Hell were ya doin'?"
"I ended up accompanying some misfits." Aria dug a hoof in the soft dirt and lowered her bandanna off her mouth. "They were confused and lost. I figured they'd need help reaching here."
"They're grown-ass ponies, Spellw'ver, I'm sure they'd've tak'n care o' th'mselves." Applejack lowered her head to look directly into Aria's eyes. "Ya need ta let ponies make m'stakes. Ya'ren't gon' git punished f' somethin' some otha pony did."
"It wasn't fear," Aria insisted, "it was my duty as a leader to guide them. I meant no offense in our tardiness." She bowed her head, breaking the gaze.
Applejack made a noise in her throat, raising her head to look over the valley of enemy troops once more. Flickering fires dotted along the front rows, the rest were shrouded in ribbons of pale blues and green. Giant catapults were placed near the rear. Easily 300 crystal warriors were awaiting the Lunars' descent.
Aria lifted her eyes at the sound of crumbling wheels churning in mud. General AJ let out a sour laugh as she turned to look at the source: a hefty hunk of iron sat atop a dozen wooden planks with a long barrel pointing up at the sky. A small indent in the back revealed a lever, and a loading dock for a circular projectile.
Aria's breath caught in her throat. She whipped around to the general. "The cannons?! Have they been finished already?"
"I'm not sure," Applejack stated coolly, turning her wheat stalk in her chipped teeth. "But we need 'em."
"We're taking prototypes onto the field?"
"No oth'r choice I'm afraid."
"Well, there is a choice we could make!" Aria retorted, pacing to stand in front of the taller earthpony. "We could refrain from using the cannons and use our wits and the darkness to assist us! Would you really risk exploding half of our force away with a malfunctioning tool?"
Applejack snorted, her dead eye glistening in the moonlight. "Spellw'ver, ya know I ain't one ta risk our forces 'n a battle, and I ain't doin' that t'night. We'll b' fine." She nodded a dismissal and the colonels returned to her sides, eyeing Aria with suspicion.
Aria growled and stormed off, shaking her mane.
Not risking our lives, my hide! A prototype is a prototype for a reason. Idiot!
She made her way to her troop, glaring and huffing. They stood fully erect, and she waved a hoof. "At ease, ponies." They relaxed a small amount and Crimson Lock trotted forward.
"Everything all right, Commander?" she asked, lowering her voice as she came nearer.
"No," Aria admitted, daring to glance over her shoulder at Applejack. "Keep to the eastern edge of the battle; the general seems to have grown too cocky in this endeavor. I will not have my troop get blasted into rump-buck nowhere because of her incompetence." She nudged Crimson aside and placed herself at the rear of her group. "Soldiers, Crimson Lock will guide you all through this fight. My priorities lie elsewhere."
"Commander!" Crimson neighed, her ears flattening. "What are you planning? I'm not ready to lead a squad!"
"Hush. You're more than qualified." Aria nodded slowly to her group whom all seemed to be torn between looking at Crimson or herself. "I will return for all of you near the zenith of the battle. Please, stay alive. I don't have the energy to train anymore recruits."
Aria turned away before any of them could argue. She needed to get into a good position to wipe out the troops below so the cannons wouldn't be necessary. Yet she stopped when she heard Frosted Leaf's voice careening off of the huddled Lunars.
"I am Colonel Frosted Leaf," she called. "I am organizing an ambush attack on the Bleeding Heart's army. It will be composed of ten pegasi; listen carefully for your names."
Aria snorted and waived her attention from her. She shouldered her way into the thicket behind the gathering of ponies.
"Orion, Velvet Skies, Bromeliad…"
Aria unsheathed her dual falchions and crept further into the forest. Her hoofsteps were dampened by the wet leaves.
"…Blossomworth, Thunderlane, Willow, Night Glider…"
She stopped, her head rearing up.
Thunderlane? He's returned?
Aria made her way back, catching sight of Thunderlane's infantry gear and his spear. With a snort of disbelief, she pushed closer and hooked a hoof around one of his forelegs. He spun to face her.
She was met with scared purple eyes and a flecked snout.
"Rumble!" she hissed. He pushed a hoof to her mouth and ushered her away from the other Lunars. Nopony seemed to have heard her.
"Shush, Commander," he whispered in a trembling voice, "it's okay."
Aria yanked her head away and gave the pegasus a shove into the thickets. "This is beyond unacceptable, cadet," she growled, following him. "What in the Princess's name are you doing here? Posing as your brother is going to abolish any chance of you moving up in the ranks! You'll be digging trenches for the rest of your forsaken life."
"I know," Rumble mumbled, lowering his head as he stuck his spearhead in the forest floor. He sat, defeated, and tucked his wings closer to his body. "But I have no other choice. I have to do this."
"Why?" she demanded, an unrecognized chill coiling through her chest. "Why risk your success for a mere skirmish?"
"I won't be fighting tonight, Commander."
"If you're going with the colonel's infantry you will—"
"No," he said, raising his head to meet her eyes. "I won't be."
"You…" Aria's voice hitched and she had to use all her will to prevent it from rising to a shout. "You're leaving?"
"We haven't heard from the spies in the Solar Empire's territory in weeks," he whispered, shrinking in on himself once more. "Angelwings has been raising their children this whole time without him, and with the growing number of battles, she can barely stay in the maternal protection group. I have to be the one who finds him before my niece and nephew lose their mother too."
"Rumble, nopony has heard from his group. It's not just Thunderlane that's missing, you know."
"That's the point," he answered. "Maybe if I can find him, he'd lead me to his troop. If he does, we could send a rescue mission for them!"
Aria grimaced and shook her head.
"That's not how this works, kid. Going M.I.A. to find your brother isn't your only option. Go into this fight — you're far too deep now to avoid it — come out alive and stay in the Republic's territory." She tried meeting his eyes, but the cadet refused to lift his head. His eyes were glued to his dark blue boots. She softened her tone, trying to sound empathetic. "We'll analyze this situation better at a different time; your bravery won't go unnoticed, but you have to understand what your plan could cause."
"Commander…" The young pegasus swallowed hard, visible trembles raking his body. "I-I can't just sit and do nothing… I'm sorry."
"Rumble, you will never be able to come back if you flee the field tonight," she snapped, flickers of her orange magic briefly illuminating them both. She couldn't be gentle anymore. "A bounty will be set on your head. You will be hunted by the Starlight Police and you will be trialed for treason and abandoning your Princess. Do you understand?"
He was quiet for a moment before squeaking out, "But… if I bring him back…"
"No!" Aria raised a hoof and smacked his helmet, causing the stallion to lift his head in astonishment. Tears had welled in his eyes and began to flow freely. "You idiot! Neither of you can come back. You are dooming Angelwings to be labeled a traitor, possibly sentencing her to banishment, and leaving her foals to be orphans! You cannot go through with this damned plan!"
Silence ensued, the only noise detectable was Aria's breathing. Rumble's ears flattened against his brother's helmet, and he gripped the spear with a hoof.
"Yes, Commander," he finally whispered. He stood, wiped his snout, and stared at her with empty purple eyes. They still glistened with his tears. "I won't go through with it. You're right." He hefted his spear out of the mud and began to pace away, towards the fight. Aria leaped in front of him, glaring.
"Swear an oath," she choked out, pain encompassing her heart. "Swear you will not abandon your duty to your Princess, and you will let us devise a plan for retrieval of your brother and his troop."
"I swear I won't leave my post in this battle tonight." Rumble shoved past her, sniffing hard. He tugged over his aviator mask and goggles, and trudged up to Frosted's post. She began a stern lecture to him for his tardiness and lack of respect.
Aria sighed long and low, and turned away once more, taking the forest path that wound towards the base of the cliff side. Little creatures skittered to and fro, occasionally trodding on Aria's hooves in their frenzied escape. The sound of her troops faded behind her, but she caught a glimpse of pegasus silhouettes darting into the shadows of the clouds, past the voided canopy of the forest.
Aria paused as she reached the bottom of the trail, staring out towards the enemy lines. She could hear garbled Geotongue from her position, but none of the words were decipherable enough for her to make out. She sat and pondered, watching the clouds far above twirl in response to silent wings whisking around.
The pegasi circle like sharks, she thought. Showing off for nopony except themselves. Knowing Frosted Leaf, they will target eleven high positioned foes — colonels and commanders alike, and raise them far enough above the clouds that their lungs give out. Then, they will drop them with their throats slit, so if they were to even survive that, the impact will kill them. The commotion from the impacts will disperse the ranks and scatter their senses, leaving Applejack to rush forward, stabbing through the lines of Crystal Soldiers and decimating them within an hour at the very most. Aria bit her cheek with a sigh. She will fire the cannon towards the western rear, where we saw the catapults; my ponies will be to the east, taking out archers and keeping busy.
She got up, pulled her bandanna over her snout and crouched. Once Frosted's forces began, then she would take out the catapults herself, leaving no risk of her fellow Lunars to die by friendly fire.
The first shadow plummeted, faster than a falcon, and rose back towards the scattered cloud cover with its writhing prey, briefly illuminated by the flowing auroras. Three more followed as the first one disappeared. The rest arrived once the second group dissipated high above. The Crystalline ponies seemed distressed, sporadic shouts flickering through the ranks. A catapult boomed into place, and Aria unsheathed her Bowie. With a muted flash of orange magic, she found herself behind the outermost catapult and next to a soldier.
She snarled softly and hooked a hoof around his neck, dragged her knife right above his chestplate, and shoved him to the dirt. He gargled, jerking his limbs. Clear blood slithered out of the wound, accompanied by sudden pumps as his heart struggled in the broken cycle. He died quickly. Aria stepped over him and her horn lit up, magic encompassing the ice boulder in the catapult. It sparked against her aura, but in a moment it was set ablaze, burning the wooden cart it sat in. She teleported a few meters away as ponies rushed over, desperately trying to put it out. Flames sputtered around, a pony cradled the dead stallion with a sour cry, and one soldier lit up like a fuse, shrieking as ice and fire crawled over his body. The screams cut off after a silenced snap.
The chaos began once the first body slammed into the heart of the army. Ponies shouted in astonishment, scrambling around. Aria popped over to another catapult, one with no soldier guarding it. She dissolved the ice as she had with the first, leaving only a flaming sphere to destroy the surrounding area. She kicked out one of the wheels of the cart for good measure, in case the soldiers attempted to set it off regardless.
As she teleported among the enemy, cutting throats and decimating their weapons, she felt a trickle of unease down her neck, as if AJ's eyes were tracking her every move. No doubt she was after the first catapult's interference, for Aria's magic was practically fire, winking in and out of sight no matter the distance.
To put it simply, she had to have been seen at this point, for she had not yet been blown to shit by her own troop's cannon.
She tussled with one mare, a chipped and bedraggled pony with teeth missing. She wielded a mace, slamming it into the space around Aria. She was only at her fourth catapult when she was met with this troublesome pony, whom had grown wary of the sudden orange flashes around her surrounding allies. She had only managed to land one swift crack to Aria's back before Aria finally tore her down. She kicked off the crystal pony's helmet and sank her knife into one of her eyes, swearing.
"Stupid equine," Aria hissed as the mare's throes began, "you never should have come here."
Aria thrashed her knife out of the mare with no delicacy, spattering blood and tissue across the dirt. She flicked off as much as she could and began to work on the catapult.
A keening whistle sounded. She stopped, fur standing on edge as her ears perked up. She turned to look behind her. A detonation's blast whirled the air around her face, forcing her legs to brace and her eyes to close. Once she could, she saw a crater where there had been at least forty ponies standing, their bodies now decimated mounds of burning flesh and bone. Ashes fell as small fires stayed lit around the impact's outermost edge.
An airship drifted slowly above the Midnight Forest, speckled with amber and emerald stars. A cannon's lips frothed with smoke, it mounted to the bow of the ship.
Oh no.
A thread unraveled and a figure swung down, landing on the cliffside. A brief flash came from them, and Aria heard a quiet buzz pass her ear. A pony groaned from close behind her and she flinched away, readying her knife. The pony behind her was already dead, his snout and cheek torn from the hole in his head. Aria grimaced. She had never seen a wound such as that before.
A spritz of magic residue to her left caught her attention.
"Colonel Fiery Mind," she said after a stunned moment. The other unicorn looked… off. It could've been his attire, or the smoking lance he carried made of metal and wood, or perhaps it was the delighted grin that split his ragged snout.
"Madam Spellweaver," he slurred, spinning his assumed weapon. "Gorgeous borealis, eh? Whatta sight."
"You weren't granted a summons to battle, Fiery," Aria snapped. "Leave."
"Aw, don't be such a bitch in th' mud, ratface!" He snorted and lifted his stick and peered down the length of it for a second, before a shattering crack and a spark sounded out. His grin only grew. "I'm jus' havin' some fun is all. Not ruinin' nothin'."
"You are interfering with the general's plan!" Aria hissed, stomping down on one of the catapult's wheels. It shattered and the mechanism slammed into the dirt at an awkward angle. Out of the corner of Aria's vision she could see more mercenaries clad in hardly recognizable Lunar gear. There must have been at least fifty of them.
"Again," Fiery said, leaning on his stick and lighting a cigarette. "Jus' havin' some good ol' fun. No harm, no foul."
"You're an idiot."
"And yer prolly a virgin, what's ya point?" Fiery cackled and leaped up as Aria sputtered.
A maniac, Aria finally deduced as she watched the stallion gallop off, whooping. She grumbled and teleported to the next catapult — only two more to go.
There was no guard. She made quick work of the catapult before teleporting back to her ponies on the eastern side. AJ's forces were storming down the cliff, a haunting roar emitting from the group as a whole.
"Commander!"
Aria whirled into Crimson hugging her tightly. Gashes littered her legs and her armor was chipped around her sides. Aria stiffened as more of her company embraced her. She flinched as she felt pressure against the injury on her back.
"Never do that again," Crimson Lock murmured into her ear. Tears dampened Aria's fur as multiple ponies sounded their agreement.
She knew there was no time for this, but in that moment no enemy dared to interfere with them. She erected a small barrier around her troop and sunk into the hold of her comrades.
The night was cold, but she was not.