Chapter 11: The Third Wave

All was silent in Ponyville as Equestria's army waited for the next wave of opponents, Fluttershy and some other ponies were busy taking care of the few pegasi that had been injured during the battle against the brute griffons. The second wave of the war had gone rather smoothly for Equestria. Only a handful of pegasi had actually gotten hurt and even then their injuries were mostly minor. Gilda knew that she should be proud about how well things were going but she didn't want to get overconfident. She was paranoid about jinxing Equestria's chances by being cocky.

"Two down two to go." Rainbow Dash said excitedly as she watched the absolute last of the brute griffons fly off into the distance to retreat from Equestria's pegasus population.

"We're not done yet Dash." Gilda warned her. "These guys still have a lot more tricks left."

"G you need to lighten up a bit." Lightning Dust told her.

"We are doing pretty well." Twilight Sparkle agreed.

"Ah didn't think that it'd be so easy." Applejack admitted.

"Ya gotta admit Gilda." Grayback said. "We're taking those guys down without breaking a sweat."

Gilda glared at her friends and Grayback in frustration. They thought that the war had already pretty much ended even though they were hardly half way done. There was still another two waves of soldiers plus the secret weapon before there was any chance of the battle ending. Why couldn't they see that?

"Just 'cause we're beating them doesn't mean we won." Gilda said seriously. "There's still a lot more to go."

The group stayed silent as they waited for Grifforia to make their next move. Rarity stood with her army of unicorns and she was ready to lead them into battle. From what they had heard, Grifforia would most likely send their third wave of soldiers known as Special Ops. Their swords were dangerous but the magical powers of the unicorns would hopefully be more than a match for them. Trixie was preparing herself as well since she'd be fighting alongside the unicorns to protect Equestria. Suddenly Gilda's eyes narrowed as she looked into the distance. Grifforia had sent out their third wave of fighters.

The griffons that made up the Special Ops were much different than other griffons. For one thing they were walking on their hind legs rather than on all fours. Their clawed forelegs were gripping sharp swords with which they could attack their enemies. They wore very light armor which could be easily shattered by the unicorns. These griffons were lighter than the infantry and the brute griffons but they were definitely faster and more agile than them. They made their way to the ponies as Rarity waited with her forces. The white unicorn was wearing a green hat on her head to look dressed for the war that she was fighting. The two opposing armies stared angrily at each other before the griffon leader shouted his command.

"CHARGE!" the griffon lieutenant roared.

Instantly the griffons ran towards the unicorns who stood still and waited. Rarity was taking her time and was waiting for the proper moment. The horns of every single unicorn glowed as they all took aim at the griffons. Rarity waited for a few more moments and then made her command.

"Fire!" she yelled.

Instantly the unicorns all fired bursts of magic at the griffons. The colorful bolts of magic didn't hurt the half lion half eagle creatures but it did shatter their armor. The lightweight silvery metal material was made to withstand brute force but not magic. The armor was effortlessly split apart by the magic of the unicorns. The griffons stood in shock but then they continued their charge as the unicorns fought against them.

"Take them down!" the griffon officer roared. "These mules got lucky before but we're gonna beat 'em this time."

"How dare you?" Rarity yelled. "We are not mules!"

The unicorns, angered by the insult, fought brutally against the griffons. Their magic was clearly doing its job as many griffons fell after taking only one or two hits. Their speed and agility was formidable but they were incredibly weak compared to most griffons or even most ponies. Trixie had pushed up her hat and she was firing bolts of magic at every griffon that she saw.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie laughs at your futile attacks!" Trixie shouted as she defeated yet another griffon.

Rarity fought against some more griffons as she tried to make her way towards the leader of the forces. However she got surrounded by seven griffons and was cut off from any help. It looked like all hope was lost but then one of the griffons was sent flying by a bolt of magic.

"Leave her alone!" Spike shouted as he charged towards the griffons and fired magic blasts from his sword at them. His bold red cape fluttered in the breeze as he took down more of the griffons that were attacking Rarity. The young dragon and the white unicorn fought side by side until the last of the seven griffons fell to the ground. Rarity thanked Spike by lifting his helmet and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran towards the lieutenant. Spike continued his fight against the griffons as they tried to fight against him and the unicorns.

Rarity met with the leader of the Special Ops and the duo began to fight. The griffons swords slashed at Rarity but she was able to dodge past them and retaliate with her magic. She managed to shatter one of his swords as well as the remains of his armor. The griffon leader was only holding one sword and he was getting very frustrated.

"Just give up already!" he snarled. "There's no way a bunch of mules like you are gonna win anyway!"

"Mules? MULES?" Rarity shouted. "You rude uncivilized brute! I shall not surrender after hearing such horrible insults against myself and my friends!"

The two of them continued their duel as Rarity dodged past his attacks. The fashionista unicorn clearly was not a pushover as she dodged the griffons slashes and fought back with her magical attacks. The griffons sword brushed just above her head and sliced her hat in half.

The glare that Rarity gave the griffon was something so intense that it would make grown stallions shake with fright. In a low and dangerous voice, Rarity spoke to her enemy.

"It. is. ON!" she shouted as she blasted the griffon with more attacks.

The griffon lieutenant couldn't keep up with the powerful attacks that Rarity was sending towards him. He took hit after hit after hit from the white unicorn. His sword was knocked from his grasp and then destroyed before he could retrieve it. The griffon escaped from Rarity and signaled to his troops to retreat.

"Retreat!" he shouted. "Let's see them handle The Boulder Barrage!"

The Special Ops griffons ran away from the unicorns and they disappeared into the distance. They weren't even running on their hind legs. They were so scared of the ponies that they were on all fours as they desperately tried to escape from their enemies. Rarity and her army went back to get their wounds treated. Surprisingly not a single one of the unicorns had taken a hit.

"Guess the only casualty here is Rarity's hat." Rainbow Dash said jokingly as she received a rather angry look from the white unicorn as a result.

"Told ya we were kickin' their tails G." Lightning Dust said proudly.

Gilda remained silent and studied the horizon. The three waves of soldiers were defeated and now only The Boulder Barrage and the secret weapon remained. Gilda couldn't help but hope that maybe they could win this war after all. Maybe they had a better chance than she had thought. Still she wasn't going to let herself get too confident. The war wasn't over until the griffons surrendered.