Secrets of a Lunar Princess

Chapter 7

Total War

“THIS ISN’T A DRILL! LET’S GO! LET’S GO!” an officer shouted throughout the castle corridor as hundreds of guards and regular troops quickly marched in an orderly fashion towards their armories and rally points. However the piercing siren that was still wailing throughout the castle was taking its small toll on morale as could be seen with many of the concerned and worried faces of many of the soldiers. From outside the walls, jets could be heard flying overhead towards wherever the disturbance was, and in great quantity. The situation was no different in the Lunar Quadrant as guards and soldiers filed out as well. Right before a guard was to awaken Luna, the door flew open (almost off its hinges), revealing a startled and distraught looking Lunar Princess.

“Tia! What the hell is occurring at this moment?!” Luna asked via mental communication.

“I’m not sure right now! I’m still waiting on detailed reports but all I know is that there has been a multi-stage invasion to the north, the north east, east, and north west.”

“What do you know right now?!” Luna asked as she made haste to the nearest armory. She’d be sure to locate Phaze as well.

“Border posts were essentially leveled by artillery strikes first. Surrounding forces were able to sound the alarm but had to retreat when a full scale invasion with troops, armor, and air power was present,” Celestia answered in a stressed state, clearly attempting to sort things out.

“Have we the forces to combat this threat?”

“We have 1.2 million men and women including reserves ready and willing to fight on all terrain and theaters, but it will mean nothing if we cannot get them rallied and deployed in order to stop whoever is invading in their tracks. I’ll coordinate with you as soon as I can but I need to ensure that civilians are evacuated and prepared accordingly for war.Work your magic, Luna. GO!”

Luna didn’t need to be told twice. She broke into a sprint towards the armory which was helped by other troops giving her a path. She then fell in line as they were distributed uniforms, helmets, and ultimately weapons and ammunition. She didn’t care who saw her at that point, which was evident when she quickly stripped down in front of all the other men and women and donned her uniform. Once her helmet was secured and her assault rifle strapped to her back, she set out on the next course of action: Locate Phaze. She did a quick scan of the armory and found him suiting up in a corner, so she met up with him immediately. He perked up when he saw her:

“Luna!”

Many of the guards turned in incredulity at the fact that he didn’t address her as “Princess,” or any derivation of the regal nomenclature.

“Phaze! Glad I found thee… let us leave, now!” Luna said while literally dragging him along. He righted himself quickly and fell into step right alongside her, dozens of soldiers pouring past them the other way.

“Luna, where are we going? And what’s even going on?! No one is saying anything!” he asked trying almost desperately to figure things out. The still blaring alarm was not helping his thought process either.

“We’ve been invaded, Phaze. By who, I know not yet, as information is still coming in. We need to seek out High Command to deliver battle orders and then you and I are heading to where the heaviest fighting is,” Luna stated without looking back at him. Phaze didn’t answer as he submitted wordlessly to her plan. Soon enough, the pair found themselves in one of the command rooms of the castle. Luna opened the door to find high ranking officers of the military conversing with one another. Upon her entrance, the military personnel stiffly saluted her, which she returned. The door then closed, sealing out the other noise including the siren that was getting on her nerves. Luna then spoke:

“Gentlemen,” Luna began, sitting down and everyone else following suit.

“Who would like to brief me on what we know currently?” she asked softly but sternly. The lanky officer on the left cleared his throat.

“Princess, as Princess Celestia undoubtedly told you, border posts to the north, north west, north east, and east were essentially leveled to hell by artillery. With that, the enemy was able to easily pour into and invade the country. We’ve deployed what we could in response within only half an hour, but unfortunately that’s not going to be enough to rout a full scale offensive. We need more time to rally more forces! We’ll have to divvy up what we currently have ready to all fronts to—”

“I disagree,” another one of the generals interrupted. “Reinforcing every front right now with what we currently have deployed will merely dilute our efforts and we’ll be pushed back, consequently, on all fronts. We need to strategically retreat from one end while halting the offense on another. Stalling the invasion in one area will send the enemy coordination into sheer disarray.”

The same general pulled up a virtual map on the circular table with his magic.

“Suppose we pour most of our readied reinforcements to one front. That will create a wall against the enemy lines while the remaining offensive would continue against our own weakened lines, thus creating a pocket of sorts. If timed correctly, we can capitalize on the moments of disarray and start pouring forces into this pocket, reinforcing it so they don’t get surrounded, and eventually folding outwards and stalling the invasion. This will create a stagnant line which would most likely evolve into trench warfare if left unchecked, but we need to tackle one hurdle at a time.”

The other officers seemed to agree and Luna was deep in thought. Phaze had nothing to offer and was just there as Luna’s guest, essentially. Before Luna was about to speak, another officer from one of the corners of the room had received another report. He looked at it and turned back towards the main group:

“This just came in and requires immediate attention. We have identification on the attackers!” he shouted out, eliciting some murmuring amongst the officers. He also had Luna’s full attention.

“Very well, but with the power being used against us, I’m most certain it’s a bordering nation. Which one might that be?” Luna asked inquisitively, ready to find out to whom she needs to lay down a humiliating defeat against. The Officer read on until his eyes went wide. He then turned his attention to everyone.

“All of them.”

Silence. One could hear a pin drop as everyone just stared with pure incredulity.

“And precisely what do you mean by ‘All of them?’” Luna asked, getting more irritated by the moment. The officer fumbled with the papers:

“W-well, to the north and north east, troops have reported armored divisions spearheading the assault, emblazoned with the Iron Cross of Greifenraum. Our forces to the east have apparently been engaged with Crystallian heavy infantry, several divisions have turned towards the Crystal Empire as well, and we’ve taken the liberty of warning Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor. This makes some sense, because as you know, the Crystal Empire and The Empire of Crystallia used to be one, long ago. Troops in the north west were pushed back by an entire field army as well as naval artillery originating from the Empire of Dracon… not to mention air forces from all three nations have penetrated our air space. We’re constantly scrambling more aircraft by the minute.”

“THE EMPIRE OF DRACON?! They’ve been the most neutral to us out of all of our bordering nations!” Luna attempted to reason out loud. Phaze was growing more worried by the moment, as surely the rest of them were.

“This is what the report states. Unfortunately, that’s all the new information I have, Princess.”

Princess Luna thought for a minute before she spoke once more:

“General, where is the heaviest assault taking place, or that needs relief the most?” she asked. They sifted through some reports before another officer spoke up:

“One hundred miles north,” he said. Luna completely went livid.

“One Hundred miles?! You mean to tell me that in half an hour, our enemies to the north are less than one hundred miles from our capitol?!” Luna screamed in her amplified voice. The others didn’t have an answer for her as they were recovering from her outburst. Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.

“You all have my permission to use your best judgment in deployments and strategies in order to stop this advance. I have a country and subjects to personally protect.”

The Generals saluted her as she stood up and made for the door. She beckoned Phaze to follow her.

“Let us leave, Phaze,” she said and he immediately fell into step with her.

“Where are we off to, Luna?”

“The north. Except this time it is not necessary to pull any punches, in a manner of speaking. The Greifens want to throw armor at us, then we shall throw it right back!” Luna stated, picking up her pace as they exited the castle towards a vehicle hangar. Phaze’s hearing was cut out partially as a squadron of sixteen planes flew overhead towards the north. He could also make out flickers of light in the distance, most likely from the battles raging. His thoughts were cut short as they entered into the depot, which was housing approximately two hundred armored vehicles of various types. Luna led him to what looked like a decent sized tank-ish thing.

“What exactly is this?” he asked, noting the distinct lack of a rotating turret. Instead it looked like a tank chassis with a giant 270 degree shield and a gun protruding out front.

“As you know, we currently employ five types of armored vehicles: Light, Medium, and Heavy tanks as well as Tank Destroyers and Self Propelled Artillery. Greifen tanks are known for their ungodly amounts of armor, so we need vehicles that can pack a larger punch. This here was taken from an obsolete design of Greifen origin, namely the Panzerjäger line. We simply have taken the design and improved on it.”

Phaze was examining the navy/teal camouflaged vehicle of the Canterlot Lunar Contingency. Luna then jumped into it.

“May I introduce you to the Q-105TD. Equipped with a 105 millimeter gun, a V12 Trotsdem engine making it able to achieve speeds of over 40 miles an hour, and also sporting 25 millimeters of armor. The crew is three,” Luna said, almost like a saleswoman.

“Three? Then who is our third crewmember?”

“That would be me!” a voice stated excitedly from behind the two. They turned to find an average height female soldier dressed for combat. She was a fair skinned girl who had long teal blue hair that was tied up in a ponytail and deep blue eyes to complement it.

“I’m Private Mystic Glimmer, Equestrian Tank Arm, Canterlot Lunar Contingency, 5th Tank Destroyer’s division; Mystic or Myst will do just fine. It’s a pleasure to meet you Princess, albeit with less than ideal circumstances. I’ll be your driver for tonight… or however long we are together,” the slightly bubbly young woman exclaimed with a respectful curtsy to the Princess who politely acknowledged her.

“Rise, Mystic, and likewise.”

She turned to Phaze:

“And who might you be?”

“Phazeshift Radian. Equestrian Special Forces, Beta Group. Pleasure to meet you as well,” he said, taking her hand in a shake.

“Now that our introductions are out of the way, I suggest we commence the ‘rolling out.’ Time is currently not infinite,” Luna began. She then picked up the talking end of an onboard radio:

“Universal Command: All units are to move north towards Bratestka Valley.”

Soon the orders were relayed over the loudspeaker in the entire hangar and crews scrambled to their armor. Radios were checked, crews were prepped, and ammunition was loaded. Phaze and Mystic joined Luna inside the stationary turret of the tank destroyer; Mystic dropping into the driver’s seat while Luna took the Commander’s position and Phaze took the gun. Luna gave one last look to Phaze and then to Mystic, who acknowledged right back to her.

“Very well. We ride.”

The engines of all the vehicles roared to life as lights flickered on and the front doors opened, revealing the outside world to the impressive armored division. With one more nod of confirmation, Mystic stepped on the gas and the tank destroyer led the others out of the hanger, making a sharp turn to the north and setting cruise control at full speed.

Chaos. Pure discordancy is what was plaguing the Equestrian ranks. The initial and surprise artillery strike had completely and utterly leveled the defense posts along the borders and any surviving units were forced into a full scale, almost running retreat. A few divisions had been able to deploy with haste but it was mostly a few thousand infantry supported by some light and medium tanks. They were barely holding out against the Greifen blitzkrieg assault which was being spearheaded by their superior armor. Currently, the paltry (in comparison) defense force had reached the southern side of Brateska Valley, the Greifens on the north end. The valley was not particularly deep or wide, but enough in either parameter to be considered a significant amount of no-man’s land. Jets were in constant combat above in the sky, so no advantage in air power was present for either side, but the superior force (in numbers and armaments) of the Greifens would eventually overpower the Equestrians.

Artillery and tank fire was raining down on Equestrian positions, some scoring terrible hits, but they had refused to give any more ground at this point. However, if help didn’t come soon they would have little time to withdraw, lest they be destroyed.

“Sergeant! What’s the damn holdup?! Did you reach high command?!” a field commander shouted over the deafening explosions of enemy and friendly artillery. He flinched once more when one of their guns received a direct hit and exploded, taking five troops with it.

“Sir! Long range radio died after the message was sent. I’m not sure if they got it or not! We only got short range and it’s pretty useless for that!”

“Well then, we hold this valley no matter what! If we have to, we’ll—” the Colonel was interrupted when a logistics officer spoke up:

“Sir, we’ve got an enormous amount of movement heading in our direction from behind us!” he shouted. His troops were falling by the minute, further adding to the decrease in morale.

“GODDAMMIT! I want five tanks diverted to watch our rear, along with seventy infantry!”

“Sir, that won’t—”

“IT’S ALL WE’VE GOT, SOLDIER! DO NOT QUESTION MY ORDERS!”

“Yes sir!”

The tank destroyer launched off a small hill and got small amount of air time from the speed it was traveling. The entire division followed suit, the ground rumbling under the combined wall of metal.

“WOOHOO!!” Mystic shouted as she floored the engine, pumping her fist into the air. Luna and Phaze couldn’t help but chuckle. Her lighthearted attitude was certainly helping to ease the gravity of the situation, even if just by a little bit. The sounds of battle could slowly be heard louder and louder, and they got close enough where they could see tracer rounds shooting as well as jets engaged in ferocious air combat above the valley.

“This is Sergeant Cumulous of the Equestrian Army. Identify yourself!” a short range radio transmission came through. Luna picked up immediately.

“This is Princess Luna, Sergeant! I hath come bearing the gift of relief in the form of weapons, ammunition, and armaments!” Luna shouted back.

“Princess Luna?! You’re… Hey guys! It’s Princess Luna! We’re gonna be alright!” He began to say before speaking to his comrades around him. The sound of sheer joy in his voice almost melted her heart. Luna radioed the rest of the division of armor:

“Spread out along the ridge. I want two tank destroyers covering every four tanks. Universal carriers, get to the infantry and deliver supplies as well as evacuate the wounded and… the dead,” she stopped slightly at the last word. As they approached the defenders, the wall of metal complied with the orders and fragmented out along the valley ridge, coming under fire almost immediately. However, they were able to return fire perfectly, and the added morale boost was definitely needed to continue fighting.

“You have no idea how glad we are to see you, Princess!” The Colonel and commanding officer met her as the tank destroyer pulled up.

“Someone must be the one to relieve the troops!”

“Would you care to tell us why exactly we are facing Greifen troops in open warfare?”

“I know not the reason for their attacks, but nevertheless, we are also under attack by two other nations. The Second Global Conflict has inevitably begun. We will discuss later but for now, we have an enemy to stop in their tracks!” Luna spoke loudly. The Colonel nodded and gave orders to his own troops to hold the line with Luna’s.

“We need a spotter for enemy armor! Call out anything you may see!” Luna ordered. She then got out of the commander’s seat and handed Phaze a large Armor Piercing shell. He took it from her and slid it into the receiver of the large gun, pushing a lever forward. The gun was loaded.

“Fire as the targets are coming in!” Luna ordered. The bolstered Equestrian force got right to work.

“Armored Personnel Carrier, left of largest tree, coordinates at Echo 5 on virtual map!”

“I see them! Mystic, adjust ten degrees left!” Luna ordered. She complied wordlessly as the tracks moved, turning them carefully.

“Target acquired!” Phaze called out, aiming down the gun sight.

“FIRE!”

Phaze pulled the trigger and with an enormous roar, the shell sailed across the valley and landed a bit low. The enemy carrier’s track was completely destroyed. Looking through binoculars, the rear hatch had jammed, trapping the infantry inside.

“Hit it again! High Explosive Shell!” Luna said, tossing him the oversized bullet. Phaze ejected the spent cartridge and loaded the next one in.

“Ready to fire!”

“LAUNCH IT!”

Phaze pulled the trigger one more time and the shell flew straight with another deafening roar, combining with the rest of the tanks and tank destroyer’s cannons, and went straight through the hull of the carrier, exploding violently from within.

“That takes care of him! Find another target!” Luna shouted. Soon, more explosions could be seen on the opposite ridge as Greifen armor was being taken out one by one with comparatively fewer losses on the Equestrian side. Her thoughts were interrupted when a shell exploded on the ground right next to them, the shrapnel was deflected by the metal shield.

“We’re being targeted!” Phaze shouted, getting back up from a ducking position to man the gun.

“I saw the tracer, Princess. Enemy Self Propelled Gun, Secondary Ridge, coordinates at Delta 7!”

“Armor Piercing! Load it while they’re reloading!” Luna shouted. Phaze quickly shoved the shell into the gun.

“Target acquired!”

“Fire!”

The shell sailed over once again and the most frightening thing that could be seen through Luna’s binoculars happened:

“It bounced off!!” Luna shouted.

“They’ve almost reloaded, gimme another, gimme another!!” Phaze shouted frantically.

“HEAT Round! LOAD IT!” Luna shouted. Phaze recycled the loading action and forced the shell inside the gun.

“Shoot the fucker!” Luna ordered frantically. Phaze pulled the trigger and the artillery piece erupted into a hail of flames and exploded shrapnel. Luna let out a breath that she didn’t even know she was holding. Looking through her binoculars, the Greifen division was making a break for the valley below. Their numbers were now somewhat equal to the Equestrians, but nevertheless they were charging, tank and infantry. Luna lowered the sights from her eyes with a determined scowl. She then looked side to side, seeing the nigh endless phalanx of armor and entrenched troops, not to mention the air battle that was still being waged. They could attempt to snipe off the enemy armor and infantry from the ridge as they advanced into the valley, but once the enemy reached beyond a certain point, friendly weaponry would exhaust their downward angle. She made up her mind as she picked up the radio receiver:

“All artillery units, concentrate fire on enemy SPGs and tanks. Give us a salvo for cover. I want ten Tank Destroyers with the artillery to fire directly into the valley below. The rest of us: all infantry, find your squad and fall into step behind the armor. We are retaking the valley!”

With the order given, the engines roared to life once more as they began the slow trek into the valley. SPGs on both sides erupted with their salvos as both opposing divisions descended into the valley. Shrapnel was being deflected off of the armor shield and many close calls were had with shells and bullets alike. Luna sat un-phased as she cupped her rifle in her hands, Mystic working her driving magic. The tank destroyer next to them took a direct hit to the engine compartment and exploded. Luna couldn’t tell if there were survivors or not. Soon enough (although it felt like days), the combined division reached the bottom of the valley and proceeded forward. With direct line of sight to the enemy save for hills, shrubbery, and rocks, Luna handed Phaze a shell before moving the supply next to him:

“Open fire on the enemy at will. I will be attempting to command the force and call out targets, so you must take care of the loading, Phaze.”

“Not a problem!” he shouted back, arming the powerful cannon. Mystic slowed the pace down a bit as the ground leveled out, and it was quite the sight (in a very odd sense) of seeing the tracer shells pass hundreds of feet over them, with the aircraft in the atmosphere battling it out. Her thoughts left as suddenly as the entered her head due to the enormous roaring and recoil of the cannon in conjunction. Luna then witnessed a Greifen tank destroyer get blown apart. Luna decided to make herself even more useful by aiming out of the side of the shield at enemy troops that would get too close.

“Myst! Adjust to the right!” Phaze shouted almost desperately as he loaded another shell in to the cannon. Artillery and enemy shells were raining down on the entire valley, including them. Luna had to duck behind the shield to avoid a spray of enemy fire before she turned out again and squeezed her trigger, cutting down another enemy trooper. Looking back, a few of her own troops were using the vehicle for cover; sprinting away towards a large rock when the coast was somewhat clear.

Friendly and enemy forward units had finally clashed; armor was being destroyed, troops were falling by the dozens and the aerial battle was ceasing to end. Luna could barely think with all the organized chaos and warfare around her, which was made worse when the entire vehicle shook once more from a fired shell of the enormous 105. She moved to yell another command into the radio when the ground in front of them got shot up by a high caliber machine gun; the strafing run missed them but the medium tank to the front and right of them wasn’t so lucky.

“We’re being strafed by enemy aircraft!” Mystic shouted out as she adjusted the vehicle and gave it more gas.

“The 105 really isn’t fit for taking on aircraft, and I can’t even aim at it. Luna, can any planes be diverted?!” Phaze asked, loading another shell into the cannon. Without answering, Luna picked up the radio again:

“This is Lunar 1 with the 5th division, Lunar Contingency, in Brateska Valley. We are being strafed by an enemy aircraft, requesting air support on the double!” Luna yelled out.

“Negative, Lunar 1. All air support in the area is currently engaged with the enemy air force. We’ve dispatched a squadron of aces but they won’t arrive for an unknown amount of time.”

Luna slammed her fist down on the metal console in anger. A strafing run came in again, followed by a rocket which decimated a close formation of Equestrian troops.

“Received, Command. Lunar 1 out.”

The Greifen jet picked up thrust again and shot off into the night before turning around once more. With all air support currently engaged, Luna took it upon herself to do something.

The Greifen pilot banked the plane to the left and came in for another run. What he was blissfully unaware of was that Luna was charging her magic in one of her hands. She aimed it at the incoming fighter and felt a subtle linear connection between her hand and the incoming plane. This type of magic on an object the size of a fighter was rather taxing on Luna’s magical reserves, but she soldiered on. When she felt adequate power build up, and with a pained/strained yell, she yanked her hand with enormous force (as if fighting unseen resistance) to the left. The plane instantly exploded into a fiery ball before it came crashing into the ground, taking an enemy heavy tank with it.

Luna slumped in the commander’s seat to catch her breath and wipe her brow for a few moments.

“Nice work, Luna!” Phaze commented. She offered a tired smile and a nod to him before righting herself and picking up the radio again.

“All units, we’ve advanced past the middle of the valley! We must break the enemy lines! I want SPG’s concentrating fire on the enemy heavy tanks. Tank destroyers, be sure to eliminate the enemy light and medium tanks before they can fit through us! Infantry, keep the enemy troops off of the armor!”

The division immediately responded as if being commanded from above. Luna couldn’t be more proud at her personal force. Even though she had nigh supreme command of the military behind Celestia, she still took the liberty of having her own ‘unit,’ so to speak. Besides, moral in said unit was enormously high… who wouldn’t be in high spirits with revered and feared Princess of the Night commanding them?

*KABLAM*

An explosion shook the entire Tank Destroyer and Luna almost fell out of the cabin itself from the blast. Thankfully at first glance all were unharmed. When Myst tried to give the engine some acceleration she was met with a horrible jamming sound.

“The track is destroyed! We’re immobilized!” she shouted. Those were words that neither Luna nor Phaze wanted to hear.

“Can we repair it?!” Phaze asked, still attempting to shoot the cannon which was relatively unscathed. Mystic took a quick peek outside of the cabin, only to be met with the clanking of bullets that sounded when it hit the side of the shield where her head was. She quickly ducked back in.

“Negative! If the track was off the tread, we could. It’s completely obliterated, including the cogs. This tank destroyer is gone!”

“And so will we if we do not vacate this carcass of a vehicle!” Luna shouted. They did good work in the armor, but now it was time to become infantry once more. No one questioned Luna’s judgment as they made sure their helmets were secure and that their rifles were distributed and loaded. Mystic checked her supply like clockwork before they all stacked up on the inside of the shield in the face of coaxial machine-gun fire from enemy tanks. The Equestrian division was gaining the upper hand but it would mean nothing if they were cut down by enemy rounds. After a couple of seconds and a few shells landing close in their proximity, Luna gave the order:

“Out of the vehicle, let us go!” she shouted and bounded over the side of the hull. The others followed and landed gracefully by her side. They immediately broke into a sprint to the nearest cover which was another enormous rock. Bullets trailed them randomly before they moved on to more prime targets.

“The next stop is that hill a bit of distance that way,” Luna pointed out.

“We’ll need to use the cover of one of the tanks or we’ll get cut to pieces,” Mystic pointed ou

.

“There!” Phaze pointed out the closest medium tank that was stationary and firing off toward the enemy lines. Luna nodded and gave the two soldiers the signal to follow her. They stayed low while pushing their legs to the limit. However, the medium tank exploded as an artillery shell scored a direct hit on it, the area damage forcing the trio to the ground. Nevertheless, they continued running toward the now smoldering carcass of what was an Equestrian armored vehicle. Luna could only hope that the soldiers inside were spared a painful death.

The trio could now hear Greifen soldiers yelling to each other, a definite warning that they were in small arms range. Luna was careful to take notice that enemy artillery and tank fire had decreased significantly while their own remained rather constant, a sure sign that the enemy was taking a fair amount of losses in terms of weaponry.

“They’re just over that hill! We can use it as a makeshift trench. Let us move!” Luna ordered. The three hoagie ran once more before slowly ascending the small hill. They peeked over the ridge and spotted dozens of enemy troops taking cover behind other hills, small rocks, and tank carcasses. Other Equestrian troops also joined the trio on the ridge and aimed their rifles over.

“Drop them!” Luna shouted before being the first one to open fire. The rest of the entrenched group followed suit and several enemy troops fell in a crumpled heap. They were not defenseless though. The entrenched Greifens returned fire to their full extent of what they were able. An Equestrian soldier right next to Mystic took a bullet right to the clavicle, screaming in pain as he doubled backwards. Myst couldn’t take her eyes off the spectacle and for the first time in her life her eyes filled with genuine fear. For most troops, this was their first engagement, and the same could be said for the poor girl. In effect, she knew what she had signed up for, but then again no soldier really does until they experience their ‘job description’ in full. Her sights returned to the enemy that was shooting back at them, but her hands were not as steady anymore. She aimed down at the head of an exposed enemy soldier but couldn’t, for the life of her, pull the trigger. That indecisiveness combined with her being exposed would cost her dearly.

“AAAAHHH!!”

“Mystic!”

Phaze witnessed two rounds go through her upper right chest and exit out her back. Luna took notice as soon as Phaze yelled out, only to witness the young girl fall on her back and clutching her wounds, mortally wounded. As luck would have it, a friendly artillery salvo targeted the entrenched enemy infantry and finished a good portion of them off. It was enough of a break for Phaze to rush to Mystic’s side.

“Myst…” Phaze said, attempting to gauge her condition: she was bleeding profusely out of both her entrance and exit wounds and her breathing was very rapid and short. The worst for Phaze was her eyes: they shown pure fear once more.

“Someone! Get me a medical kit!” he shouted to the nearby soldiers, who scrambled to find one.

“P-Ph-Phaze…” the wounded girl attempted to breathe out through her painfully short breaths. Her lung was most likely collapsed and/or filling with blood.

“Shhhhh… don’t talk, everything’s going to be alright!” he cooed. The lull in the battle and the taking of point by other squads allowed Luna to kneel by Phaze’s side. She applied pressure to Mystic’s wounds with her hands, but watched Phaze out of the corner of her eye very curiously.

“P-Please! H-Help-p me!” she then coughed up blood and spat it out. Copious amounts of tears were rolling down her cheeks.

“GET ME THE FUCKING MEDICAL KIT!” Phaze yelled at the top of his lungs in pure fury. Even Luna was startled.

“Right here, sir!” a Private rushed over with a field surgeon pack. He immediately began to work on her. Luna did what she could and was going to remove the bullet and apply anesthesia magically, but she soon found out that in conjunction with the jet incident as well as trying subconsciously to keep the moon brighter for the troops, she was magically exhausted.

“It h-h-h-hurts! UGH! I don’t-t want to d-die!” she was desperately crying out through her short pants. She had already lost an enormous amount of blood despite Phaze’s quick and efficient work. His heart was breaking in several places at her words. Another field medic who had come to observe her ran a few diagnostics and attempted to help… but soon he sunk his head and looked to Phaze… the medic wore a solemn look and merely shook his head.

“P-please don’t l-l-l-et met die!”

“You’re not gonna die! Luna…!” he looked to her as a last resort, for even he was losing her. He had done all he could. Even the magically enhanced bandages weren’t stopping the entirety of the bleeding and her lung was almost filled with blood. She was close to choking.

“I cannot, Phaze. I pumped what I could into her of my magic reserves… there’s nothing I can do anymore,” she said softly and solemnly. Phaze only contorted his face in fury, but not at Luna… more of the fact that another girl was dying right in front of him and he was powerless to stop it. He turned his head back to the dying girl and found her looking even weaker before. She still managed to try and shake her head fervently.

“No… ple-e-ase…”

Phaze could only cup one of her cheeks and offer her comfort. This gesture visibly calmed her as she relaxed into his palm, silently accepting her fate. Luna noticed a small tear forming at the corner of Phaze’s eye… putting aside the heart-wrenching display, this was really intriguing to her.

“You did well, soldier,” he said softly, giving her a sad smile. She only coughed violently and nodded slowly back, fear still evident in her eyes. He softly stroked her cheek with his thumb and never broke eye contact with her… and she him.

“It’s gonna be alright… I’m… I’m sorry…” he softly spoke out. Mystic didn’t have the strength to respond anymore. She only weakly grasped his hand in hers… as if saying ‘it’s okay.’ Their eyes never left each other as Mystic breathed in one more light breath… before exhaling one last time. Her still never left his. Phaze gently closed her eyelids with his fingers before gingerly taking her tags off. Luna was still watching him and she could practically taste the emotions running off of him… her heart felt like it was going to implode on itself. Phaze then laid her now peaceful head deep on the ground and stood up.

“RAAAH!” he screamed in frustration as he yanked his helmet off and chucked it to the ground. Luna went and picked it up, handing it back to him.

“Thou and I are going to talk when this is over. But for now, we still have a mission to complete.”

Phaze only nodded and secured his helmet in place. The now duo bounded over the hill and was catching up with their advancing troops. The valley had been essentially retaken and the Greifens were pushed back, but reports came in that they were being reinforced and would definitely be back within the hour. Luna relayed the news when something caught both their eyes and ears:

“Hey, check it out guys and gals: We’ve got a live one!” a soldier said before he kicked his leg, resulting in a large and pained grunt.

“Ach! Nein… bitte!”

“What the fuck do you think? That you can just come in here, kill our men and women, and then beg for mercy?” another soldier said before stomping the wounded Greifen soldier in the side, most likely damaging his kidney.

“Ich… Ich…”

“I say we beat him an inch from death before we shoot him.”

Another soldier jammed the butt of his rifle into his face, drawing blood and most likely breaking several teeth.

“I lost too many friends today to show any pity to these filthy cocksuckers. Let’s get this over with—”

“BE STILL!” an amplified magical voice sounded out, stunning everyone in the radius, including the offending Equestrian troops.

“P-Princess Luna!”

“What the hell dost thou think you are doing?!” she asked. She was furious.

“Taking care of an enemy combatant?” one of the offending troops asked meekly.

“It appears as if he surrendered to you and yet you still harm him with intent to kill. We have a code for dealing with Prisoners of War. All three of you are stripped one rank and lose three month’s pay. If I find out that thou mistreats any surrendered enemy combatants the same way I will personally shoot all of you in your kneecaps and throw thy asses into federal prison. Do I make myself clear?!” she screamed at them. They nodded sheepishly.

“Good. Now get out of my sight and get to the front. I expect to see you all at the head of the advance. Dismissed.”

Luna then turned to the badly wounded enemy soldier who was coughing and recovering from the other blows. He looked enormously fearful before Luna put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Es tut mir leid… Es ist die erste zeit ins krieg meines soldaten,” Luna said with a soft voice, apologizing for the actions of her troops and explaining that it was their first time in war. The soldier looked enormously surprised that she could speak his language very well and gave her a pained grin and a nod.

“Jetzt, Sie werden in Gewahrsam genommen werden… Sie wissen dies, ja?” she asked him, clarifying that he knew that he would be taken into custody.

“Ja… das ist gut. Alles ist besser als dies. Ich wolle hier nicht sein,” he replied, understanding perfectly and being quite content with it. To him, anything was better than where he was and he didn’t want to be there in the first place. Luna nodded in understanding.

“Mach ihr keine Sorgen. Wir werden ihr schnell nach hause schicken,” she said, telling him not to worry, that they would send him home soon. He relaxed and visibly lightened up at that comment. Luna then patted him once more and stood up, addressing a bunch of soldiers who were attending wounded and dead.

“Take him as a prisoner of war and treat his wounds. Have him evacuated from here. Thy commanding officer will know what to do,” Luna ordered. The group of soldiers saluted her before taking him away on a makeshift stretcher. She then exhaled audibly, once again releasing a breath that she didn’t know she was holding.

“That was very inspiring to see. For all we know he could have killed several of our own troops, yet you spared him and show him nothing less than kindness… it’s really nice to see,” Phaze commented, walking up next to her with rifle in hand. Luna was just happy to hear him talking again after the ordeal about twenty minutes ago.

“In war there is one thing worse than death: Losing thy humanity,” Luna said before looking over to Phaze. He looked back pensively… thinking about her words and he nodded in perfect agreement. She then put her arms around him and he returned the embrace heartily. Other troops around them were somewhat dumbfounded that the odd duo was sharing a hug… just was rather out of the ordinary, especially for the Lunar Princess.

“I am sorry, Phaze. Truly I am… but you did well. You made her last moments more bearable.”

“Could I have saved her if I acted sooner… or did something differently?”

“No. From what I was able to see, her indecisiveness is what killed her. It is very common in younger troops. The wounds were too great to fully heal, and even if you did, her internal bleeding would have taken her life,” she explained. Phaze didn’t respond and only thought on her words once more.

“Come. The faster we halt the reinforced Greifen army in the area, the faster you and I get to have a chat. Now, let us—”

“Lunar Contingency, do you copy?”  a female voice called out in a muffled manner.

Luna quickly answered her in-helmet radio:

“This is Princess Luna, Lunar Contingency. Identify thyself,” she said curtly.

“This is Lieutenant Rainbow Dash of Shadowbolt Squadron. It’s been a while, Luna!”

Luna perked up immediately:

“Rainbow Dash?!” she eagerly asked in confirmation. At that moment, eight Equestrian jet fighters flew low over the valley and banked off into two separate groups. One of the contrails of the twin-engine fighters was distinctly, but lightly prismatic in color.

“The one and only, Princess! So, I hear you’ve got some issues on the ground. They’ve got a nice bit of force concentration due north of the valley. Need some air support?”  Dash asked, banking the aircraft right and circling the advancing Equestrians. Luna only looked to Phaze and both of them smiled determinedly.

“One million times yes, Rainbow! We’ve got an army to halt!”

“Now that’s what I like to hear! Did I ever tell you that you were my favorite Princess?” Dashie joked as she straightened out the aircraft and banked upward.

“No, but although that’s nice to hear, it shall not land thee a promotion!” Luna quipped right back, looking straight at her plane as if having a conversation with it. Rainbow Dash laughed heartily on the other end of the transmission.

“Damn! I guess I’ll actually have to work for it then, won’t I! Alrighty then, we’re fully armed to the teeth and will passively engage any targets within range that we deem necessary, air or ground, until called upon. We’ll be in touch, Luna! Shadow 1, out!”  

“Copy that! Lunar 1 over and out!”

Luna then turned to Phaze once more, and both of them reloaded their weapons.

“We hath got some work to finish here.”

Up in the sky, Rainbow Dash was eagerly piloting her craft:

“Close up, formation. We’ve got a division to cover!”

“Copy that, Rainbow!”

“Yes Ma’am!”

“Roger that, forming on your wing!”

The eight aircraft formed up with their own confirmations as they flew towards the enemy army which was moving, but still rather entrenched at the same time. They had to estimate at least 25,000 troops in total with armor and even air support, in which the main air force was still engaging above them.

“Give ‘em hell, guys…” Rainbow thought to herself as she looked up to the raging battle in the sky.

“Princess Luna’s division is cresting the other side of the valley and is approximately three miles out from the front of the enemy, Lieutenant. What are your orders?” one of the wingmen asked.

“It looks like we’ve got retreating Greifens making their way back to their larger force. Let’s see if we can take care of them first and soften everything up. Prioritize and engage ground targets at will!” Dash ordered.

“You got it! Going after the armor and troops!” the second in command stated as the entire formation broke off into random directions, chasing their targets.

“Alright boys and girls, let’s kick some fucking ass!” Rainbow shouted as she adjusted a lock of her hair back into her flight helmet.

“YEEEAAAAH!”