'1356'
Chapter 4: 'Preliator' (The Battle of Hawksbill Part 2)
With shields facing forward and clinching tight the grips and weapons, the Griffons and Mountain Hippogriffs of the Griffonlands and Chefal clashed with the Ponies in a storm of iron and steel. Wilhelmina and Genève entered the fray by ramming several pony-soldiers with their shields. Wilhelmina made her first kill with a slash across a stallion's muzzle
Another was stabbed clean through the chest and out the back between the wings while Genève stabbed a Unicorn stallion into the mouth and out the back of his skull with her sword. A griffon-knight named Guion weaved to evade a sword. He chopped off and clean through the back leg of a mare-knight with a battle axe. His ears deaf to her screaming
Genève got her second kill of many by flipping a Unicorn hoof-soldier over her heater shield. She gripped the mare's lower jaw before slitting her throat and her blood spraying on her beak. The griffons Galena and Georgia have the sword and shield and the two-handed battle axe. A stallion-soldier was slashed across the face between the eyes by Galena
The last thing a mare-soldier heard was Georgia's battle-cry as her head was split open by an axe. Her blood splashed on Georgia's face. In the same fray, a Mountain Hippogriff soldier, the same age as Georgia and Galena, named Henriette struck aside a stallion hoof-soldier with her shield, and hit a mare-knight upside the temple with her flanged mace
Some ponies were knocked on the backs, or on the backs of their wings and ran through by spears, or held down by shields and had their necks slit by swords. The golden eagle and lynx griffon Guion met Fleur De Lis in combat amid the chaos of battle. As Wilhelmina says, 'it is not the weapon that matters, but the one wielding it' as Sir Guion bested her.
"Live free," she muttered with a battle axe blade in her upper back
"Meet death without dishonor," he replied back out of respect
With that, Guion plunged the blade of his battle-axe into her chest. The battle was not over even with the death of a member of Princess Celestia's royal guards. It was another death that quashed the Ponies hopes of victory at the green fields of Hawksbill. Prince Blueblood had galloped in, hacking down Griffons and Mountain Hippogriffs left and right.
He was galloping toward Wilhelmina, "Come you coward! Come and taste my steel!" she called out to him, with that and a battle-cry, she slashed at his front legs to make him fall over to the side. As he was getting up and gathering himself, the last thing he would see in his mortal life was Wilhelmina's longsword chopping off his head with one clean stroke.
With the death of Prince Blueblood and the superior numbers now dwindling, there was only one thing left to do and it all started with the archer-ponies, "Retreat!" yelled out a stallion-captain, and the Ponies were on the gallop with their tails between their legs while the less fortunate were victims of being the last kills to seal the victory for the rebels.
Some were putting stabs into the wounded ponies reaching their hooves out for mercy. They received none. As Fleur De Lis stated, the griffons and mountain hippogriffs will receive none from their Equestrian overlords. The wounded cried out in blood as they crawled out of the piles of slain ponies as they were helped back on their talons and paws
As the battle was winding down, Wilhelmina almost slashed Genève, but stopped herself while giving Genève a bit of a fright. The battle was won, but the war had only just begun. It will not take long for the word of their victory to spread to both their enemies, and to many other griffons and mountain hippogriffs that may rally toward their cause
"We did it," said a tired Wilhelmina to Genève with a paw on her shoulder
"Yes, we did it," replied an equally tired Genève and returning the gesture
The wounded were treated by nursemaids. Their wounds were treated and bandaged after they were pulled away from the battlefield. It was a victory that came at a price, and it instilled a confidence in the rebellious griffons and mountain hippogriffs. Equestria is larger and more powerful, but this small force proves that Equestria can be defeated
Amid the thousands of dead pony-soldiers and knights, the Mountain Hippogriff and the She-Griffon stuck the tips of their bloodied swords into the soft ground. Their flanks clad in leather tights, chainmail leggings, and plate armor clinked, rattled, and wiggled as they embraced and touched foreheads to the cheers of victory over the armies of Equestria.
At battle's end, the Mountain Hippogriffs and Griffons collected useable weapons and supplies from the dead. Guion went up to the body of Fleur De Lis, and gently closed the eyes, "Be at rest, be at peace," said the knight. Meanwhile, Prince Blueblood was getting a less royal treatment. His severed head was placed in a wood and lacquered leather box.
Under the cover of night, Georgia sent the furnished box to the balcony on Lady Genève's orders to serve as a warning to Princess Celestia. In total, the Griffons and Mountain Hippogriffs lost around 100 of their own when counting the wounded as well. The Equestrian losses were in the thousands. Their dead would be food for crows and timberwolves
That evening as the dead were honored, the cook passed around a creamy stew of smoked sausage, sauerkraut, and potatoes with bread for the tired and wounded soldiers and knights. The woods-griffons from the Northern Griffonlands got a few bonfires going at camp. Like everyone in the army sitting around a fire, they knew that Equestria will return