'1356'
Chapter 3: 'Preliator' (The Battle of Hawksbill Part 1)
Fleur De Lis looked not phased by the threat "Wilhelmina De Faucon...Genève Van De Falke, with your words taken to mind, let me remind you that we will show you no mercy, you gallop or fly against us, then you're the same as every soldier and knight that follows you," the mare responded, she can see in their eyes that the enemy will not surrender
"We'll look for your among the dead," said Genève
Fleur De Lis passed the news back to Prince Blueblood, "Good, I was hoping for a bit of sport," said the Prince, "archers!" a flag was raised up and lines of longbow-ponies from Trottingham lined up in neat rows. Wilhelmina and Genève met back up with their forces. They looked on at the Ponies prepared to fire a volley of arrows. The battle has begun.
Lady Wilhelmina and Lady Genève unsheathed their swords with a calmness before the storm of steel, and a readiness for the coming battle. Prince Blueblood raised up his hoof and gave the archers the order as they had their arrows nocked in the strings and bows at a firing arc "Loose!" he ordered, the arrows were fired and fell on the enemy like rain.
The Griffons and Mountain Hippogriffs raised up their heater shields. The arrows only seemed to hit the leather-covered wood of their shields, causing little to no damage to the rebel forces. Prince Blueblood, annoyed by their defiance, then ordered a second volley "Loose!" ordered the prince, and with that came the same result, causing very few to fall.
"Let's see you mongrels stand up to this," smirked Blueblood
"Send the knights, full attack," he ordered, Fleur De Lis raised a hoof to give the signal for the knights to attack. With holes in their shields from the volleys of arrows, the rebels felt the ground shake under their talons and paws as a force of 1200 Unicorn and Pegasi knights are charging and looking to swoop in for the attack. Still, they held their ground
"Steady now," Genève said to the soldiers and knights behind her and Wilhelmina. The pony-knights, in their gleaming suits of steel armor and chainmail with their surcoats bearing their cutie-marks, readied swords, battle axes, lances, and maces in the charge as they yelled out their battle cries. What they did not know is that their enemy is ready.
"Spears!" called out Wilhelmina once the pony-knights were in range. Soldier-griffons and hippogriff-soldiers came out from the ranks. The front ranks now had their 2.5m long spears. The Griffons and Mountain Hippogriffs roared back the respected feline and avian cries for blood. The pony cries for battle turned to cries of agony as they fell into a trap
"Hold your ground! For Griffonstone! For Chefal!" cried out Wilhelmina amid the chaos of battle. A soldier from Southern Chefal used her 'Cork Harvesting Axe' to strike a Pegasi knight in the belly. When he bent over, she took the axe and slammed the bladed head into his back. She killed another with her axe to his chest, dripping blood from his mouth
The Unicorn and Pegasi knights were met by the steel heads of hundreds of spears. A soldier-griffon used his axe to knock a Pegasus out of the sky, making an aerial back roll before coming back down to earth to get a 'Talabot Axe' in the top of the skull with her blood reddening down onto her face. Genève slashed another out of the air with a sword
The green of Hawksbill was turned crimson by the blood of slain ponies. The fighting was up close and brutal. Wilhelmina stabbed one through the chest. As the knight bent over, she slashed him across the back. Another pony-knight made it over the first line only to get ran through the neck by a spear, and bleed out a splatter of blood onto their shields
The war hammer of a pole axe took down a Pegasi knight while the axe was cleaved into his forehead. The clatter of steel weapons echoed, and mixed in with the wails of the wounded and the dying. Another screamed as she was pulled down by her wings. She was stabbed through by a soldier-griffon's sword, and had her skull shattered by a mace
"Send the infantry," growled Blueblood, gritting his teeth
Pony knights were skewered through, and slumped over the shafts of spears. Some broke through only to get cut down and hacked to pieces by other manners of arms from swords and axes to being bludgeoned by a Griffon's or Mountain Hippogriff's flanged mace. The charge of the Pony Knights had failed, "Your Majesty?" Fleur De Lis questioned
"Crush the filthy savages!" The Prince snarled back at the mare, Lady Wilhelmina and Lady Genève looked on from a distance as their soldier-griffs and knights were pulling their weapons out of pony flesh, and the bodies of the dead littering the fields. The dapple grey Mountain Hippogriff and snow white Griffon slashed the blood off the twin sister swords
They looked off in the distance with their forces at the sound a command coming from a Unicorn captain "Infantry!" with that, Fleur De Lis and Prince Blueblood unsheathed their longswords for battle using their unicorn, and led the attack of the Ponies from the front. The sound of thousands of battle-cries danced on the cool breeze as the Ponies charged
Genève pointed her sword at the enemy defiantly "Aanval!"
Wilhelmina followed her actions as the tips of their swords were pointed at the enemy "En avant!" she cried out, and the Griffons and Mountain Hippogriffs charged the fields of Hawksbill. The rebels will fly upward and coast down with speed and elegance with ready weaponry. For this clash will determine who will claim victory at the Battle of Hawksbill