Equestria Under Siegeby Öthnæar
Chapters
Equestria Under Siege
Shadowfire never wanted to be in the military. But the Loshadian government had decided to wage war on Equestria for what seemed to be no reason, other than conquest. Since war requires troops, Shadowfire had been drafted, particularly for his knack with pyrotechnics.
The first strike had been quick, and caught the entirety of Equestria off guard. Trottingham and Hoofington fell within a day, and Fillydelphia lasted but a week. Now the Loshadian war machine is outside of Ponyville, where Equestrian forces have regrouped and dug in. If Ponyville falls, Canterlot will be but a stone’s throw away.
Shadowfire awoke to the sound of a horn being blared. He rolled out of bed, donned his uniform, and formed up with the rest of his company for morning role. Immediately after role, the commanding officer assigned the day’s orders. They will be attacking Ponyville at noon.
Shadowfire filed into the mess tent alongside his comrades, but he was too nervous to eat. His platoon commander, Haynor, noticed his distress and asked after him.
“This your first time in combat?” he asked.
“Yeah,” replied Shadowfire.
“Just remember to watch your back and you’ll do fine. You know, you’re one of the few unicorns who can even use your magic in combat. I sure can’t. My magic is all related to oat farming.”
“Yeah, and it’s only cause I can conjure fire and work pyrotechnics that I’m even here.”
‘Don’t go beating yourself up over things you can’t control, kid. Just go out there and try to stay alive. It’s about time to ready ourselves, anyway. See you on the field.”
With that, Haynor left Shadowfire to his still untouched breakfast. Shadowfire, still unable to eat, cleaned his tray and went to his tent to ready himself.
Now armed and armoured, Shadowfire formed up with the rest of his brigade for the briefing. Loshadian intelligence had reported that Ponyville was heavily fortified, much more than any other city they had attacked. Because of this, the battle plan was for the unicorns and earth ponies to attack the town’s apple orchard, while the pegasi attacked the town of Cloudsdale. This attack was supposed to cut off the town’s food supply, as well as establish air superiority and condense the Equestrian forces.
After the briefing, the ponies formed up at their stations and prepared for the attack. When the horn sounded, Shadowfire and his brigade rushed forward toward the orchard. When they were about 500 metres away, a warning cry of “Get ready y’all! Here they come!” could be heard from somewhere towards the back of the orchard.
The orchard itself proved to be undefended, but the accompanying farm was well garrisoned. Shadowfire was among the front of his brigade, and consequently, among the first to engage in combat. Concentrating intently, he conjured a fireball and sent it hurtling towards the opposing forces, burning a hole in the defensive line. He then rushed forward and slashed at any ponies left standing before him. Suddenly, he felt a burning pain along his flank as his flesh was torn open. A second blow to the head was his last sensation.
[Author's Note: Weapons aren't the same as we have. How can a horse use a gun? Or a sword? Weapons in this story attach around or onto the hooves. The closest I can describe them is bladed crampons. Also, the other characters will appear in later chapters.]
Prisoner
Shadowfire woke with a pony in Equestrian armour standing above him.
“Applejack, we got a live one over here!” shouted the pony.
“Ah thought we moved all the wounded already,” responded an orange mare, trotting over to assist. “Well ah’ll be. Looks like we got ourselves a prisoner. Knock him out so he don’t fight ya much.” A hoof descended and everything went black.
When he came around again, Shadowfire took in the unfamiliar surroundings and began to panic. Loshadians didn’t take prisoners, and as a result, many Loshadians would rather die than allow themselves to submit to their enemies. I have to find a way out of here, he thought. And then what? Go back to Loshadia? I’d rather stay here.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching hoofsteps. The door opened, and in walked a unicorn bearing a tray of food. The pony set it on a table, turned, and left without a word. Shadowfire looked at the tray and realized how hungry he was. He hadn’t eaten in... How long had it been? Since before the battle. How long ago had that been? He didn’t know. He only knew he was famished.
An indeterminable amount of time passed before he again heard the sound of hoofsteps approaching. Again the door opened, revealing the same pony as before. This time, however, he was empty-hoofed. Instead, the unicorn simply uttered, “Come with me.”
Shadowfire hesitated, not knowing what to expect to come, but finally complied, as he wasn’t in a position to do otherwise. Leaving the cell, Shadowfire found himself flanked by two stallions, both in Equestrian armour. Together, they led him outside the building and into… a treehouse? Indeed, it was a treehouse, which Shadowfire found rather strange. Inside, however, was a library, which appearances suggested had been made into the Ponyville Headquarters. In the centre of the main room, studying what appeared to be various maps and books, was a purple unicorn whom the guards addressed upon entering.
“We have brought the prisoner, as you asked, ma’am.”
“Good. Bring him in.”
After roughly pushing Shadowfire over the threshold, the guards exited the building, leaving him and the other unicorn in the room. Brushing her books aside, the purple unicorn acknowledged Shadowfire and spoke.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Twilight Sparkle, commander of Ponyville’s defense. Who might you be?”
“What do you want from me?”
“We’ll get to that, but first, I would like to know who it is I am addressing.”
“Shadowfire.”
“Good. As you may be aware, you Loshadians are a very proud group of ponies. Too proud, it seems, to accept defeat when one has clearly lost. As a result, you are our only captive.”
“Where are you going with this?”
“We here at Ponyville are not sure exactly what we’re up against. You may be able to help.”
“How?”
“Information is a necessity if Equestria is to survive.”
“I’m not sure I know anything that could help you.”
“Perhaps not. However, you were with the forces stationed outside Ponyville. How many would you say there are?”
“I do not know.”
“Surely you could give an estimate. Even that is better than nothing.”
“I do not know. I do not know how many were lost in the attack, nor how many were lost at Cloudsdale. I also do not know how many there were originally. After all, I am but a soldier. I do not have access to the information that you seek.”
“As I suspected. I have other matters that need to be addressed, and I must send you to your cell again. The guards are waiting for you outside.” Shadowfire turned and left the library, where indeed, the guards were waiting to escort him back.
Shadowfire let his mind wander. Several days had passed since his meeting with Twilight, and he did not find being stuck in a cell particularly entertaining, so he found himself thinking more and more about what he would do if he was ever to be released. I won’t go back to Loshadia, he thought, not after what they’ve done. He tried not to think of that, but was unsuccessful. Reluctantly, he relived the day he lost his parents.
Ponies had been going missing for months, specifically ponies who spoke out against the tyrannical Loshadian government. As time progressed, the disappearances increased in frequency. One day, his parents had left for work, as they usually would, but they never returned home. Shadowfire waited a few days with his younger brother, but still his parents didn’t return.
He shook his head to dispel the thoughts. They were still too painful, even though that was over a year ago. Hoofsteps approaching the cell door prevented further thoughts. The door opened, revealing his jailer, the only pony whom he had contact with while in his cell. Instead of placing a tray of food on the table, as he normally would, the jailer informed Shadowfire that Twilight wished to speak with him again.
”Ah good. You’re here,” said Twilight as she saw Shadowfire enter the library. “I wish to speak with you on a matter of more personal interest, if you would be willing.”
“And what would that be?” replied Shadowfire.
“Based upon what I have heard, you are not like most Loshadians.”
“What makes you think this?”
“Throughout the time you have been our prisoner, you have not resisted or fought at all. You were also fairly straightforward about your answers to my questions earlier. I am told it is not like you Loshadians to be submissive.”
“Generally, we Loshadians aren’t. I’d rather stay here than die trying to go back to those bastards, though.”
“Why? Why would you want to stay with your enemies?”
“I don’t see you as enemies. You didn’t kill my parents. Loshadia did. Loshadia is my enemy.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a scraped and bruised cyan pegasus barging into the room. “Twilight, Cloudsdale has fallen,” stated the pegasus.
Siege of Ponyville
Cloudsdale has fallen. The words hung in the air between the three ponies. Finally, Twilight broke the silence. “Rainbow, how many pegasi do we still have?”
“About 30 that are still fit for combat. We don’t have a hope of retaking the city,” replied the cyan mare.
“Take them to Canterlot. They’ll be of more use there.”
“Canterlot? How will they be useful there? The fight is here!”
“By the looks of yourself, I’d say it’s rather evident you need a good rest. The other pegasi are probably in about the same condition. Go to Canterlot, get a good rest, and help set up any defenses.”
“But Twi! We ca-“
“Go. That’s an order.”
“Fine.” The cyan pegasus left without another word.
Twilight began to pace around the room, thinking aloud to herself and seemingly unaware that Shadowfire was still in the room. This suspicion was confirmed when she almost bumped into him with a rather surprised expression.
“Oh, you’re still here. I have a favour to ask of you,” she said.
“A favour?” replied Shadowfire, taken aback slightly.
“Yes. I would like you to check on the defenses and report to me their condition.”
“Alright… But I’m your prisoner.”
“And prisoners require guards which take up ponies that could be helping keep the Loshadians out of Ponyville.” She hastily scrawled something on a piece of parchment. “Your guards are outside. Show them this scroll and they’ll escort you throughout the town.”
Puzzled, Shadowfire took the scroll and left the library. Sure enough, his guards were standing right outside. He showed them the scroll, which the guards eyed with suspicion but didn’t question. They then walked throughout the town.
The defenses of Ponyville seemed to be in good repair, with the exception of the apple orchard. It seemed as if Loshadia had not attacked since failing to capture the orchard. That had been 2 days ago. Surely now that Cloudsdale was in their control another attack was imminent, and although the town’s defenses were in good condition, they would not hold for long against the Loshadian army. Having completed his task, Shadowfire made his way back to the library.
Shadowfire was met with silence after he gave his report. It seemed as if the inadequacy of the defenses disturbed Twilight, for she kept pacing back and forth, muttering to herself. Finally, she stopped and addressed Shadowfire.
“What kind of magic do you posses?” she asked. “If I had to guess by your cutiemark, I’d say you’re some sort of pyromancer.”
“Well you got that right. I can conjure fire at will and control it. And if it weren’t for that ability, I might not even be in this mess,” replied Shadowfire.
“How powerful is your ability?”
“I could melt the door you have on my cell if I wanted to.”
“… Oh. Well as you are aware, the situation is not looking good for Ponyville, and I am in need of all the troops I can get my hooves on. A unicorn with your abilities will definitely be helpful on the battlefield. Now, I don’t actually have the authority to grant you status as one of our soldiers. Or even citizens. But if you help with the defense of Ponyville, I’ll put in a good word for you with the princesses if you wish to remain here.”
“You’re taking one hell of a risk here, you know.”
“Yes, I know. My books all say that this is a stupid idea, and I have no clue as to how the other ponies will react, but I’m at a loss here.”
“Alright. I’ll fight here today. After that, I never want to have to kill another pony again.”
“That’s understandable. Now I need you to go to into the town and help in any way you can to prepare. If anyone questions you, just show them this scroll.” She hands him a scroll. “Oh, and your equipment is in the back.”
After retrieving his weapons and armour, which Twilight cast a spell on to make them look more like the Equestrian standard issue, Shadowfire wandered around the town, finally arriving at the apple orchard. Upon arriving, he was greeted by an orange earth-pony, who introduced herself as Applejack.
“Name’s Applejack. How can ah help ya?”
“I’m Shadowfire. Twilight told me to help how I could with any defenses, and this is probably the area that needs the most work.”
“Darn right it is. Those Loshadians tore right through our barricades. It’s a miracle we managed to push them back.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of horns coming from the Loshadian camp. A split second later, Applejack was giving the alarm and hundreds of ponies started to gather. However, the Loshadians no longer wanted to gain the orchard. The invading army rushed past the orchard and straight at the town. Another army seemed to be pouring out of the clouds above the town.
“Quick! Back to the town, y’all!” shouted Applejack.
Instantly, the ponies responded and ran for the town. Beating the Loshadian force by barely a minute, the ponies from the orchard hastily bolstered the force defending the main town. Shadowfire conjured a wall of fire in an attempt to hold off the enemy ground forces. At first, it seemed as if the idea had failed as the Loshadian army charged right through it. However, they quickly halted as screams of agony came from those who were past the wall, as they were now on fire.
Though stopping the ground forces in their tracks, the wall gave no protection against the pegasi raining down from above. Trying to ignore the battle raging around him, Shadowfire concentrated on maintaining the wall that now split the enemy forces. However, his concentration soon failed as a hoof glanced off his armour. Quickly turning, Shadowfire found himself staring at an enemy pegasus, with barely enough time to block the next strike. Shadowfire struck back with his other hoof, but to no avail. The opposing pony was quick as lightning, blocking Shadowfire’s attack and unleashing two of his own, catching Shadowfire on the flank. Realizing he could not defeat this pony with his hooves, Shadowfire set him on fire, and grimaced as his opponent screamed in agony.
Turning around, Shadowfire saw that the Loshadian army had reached the town. Throwing a fireball, Shadowfire turned and ran further into the town, and saw many Equestrians alongside him doing likewise. He soon found himself in the town centre, with what was left of the defending ponies.
Bursting out of the library, Twilight ran in front of the Equestrian forces, her horn glowing. She turned her head and shouted to the gathered ponies, “Go! I’ll hold them off! Get everyone to Canterlot! We can’t hold them here!” She then proceeded to do the most extraordinary magic Shadowfire had ever seen. The entire Loshadian army was flung backwards several feet. However, he didn’t have time to see more, as he was pulled away by another pony.
“Y’all heard her! To Canterlot! We’re retreating!” shouted Applejack to everyone still around. The remaining ponies ran off in the direction of a distant city on a mountain.
[Author's Note: I apologize for taking a while to get this chapter up. It was a combination of the holidays and writer's block.]