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.] Next Chapter: Prisoner Estimated time remaining: 10 Minutes