“Move, move, move!”

I couldn’t hear the sound of my commander’s booming screams. The noise of explosions drowned it out, dulled it to only be added to the other screams on the battlefield. Soon enough, his voice had already died beneath the waves of the river of uproar that was war.

I ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding a sword’s keen blade from slicing into my side. Blood dripped into my eye. The sharp sting of pain reverberated from my right cheek, but I chose to ignore it. Just like I ignored the blinding of my eye due to blood. Blood wasn’t important right now. In fact, it was too plentiful to think about.

All around me bodies thudded to the ground. The mud of the field ran red now, brown splotches a rare sight where blood did not fall. To my left was a pony, too many arrows to count sticking out of his chest. He seemed surprised.

I jumped over the body of a diamond dog, his limbs broken so they jutted outward at odd, unnatural angles. His face was stuck in the mud, so I couldn’t tell whether he was surprised or not.

I covered my nose, tears welling up at the stench around me. Smoke drifted up in the air, soot replacing any oxygen available. Probably from the fires that burned on all sides. The distant din, followed by another explosion, told me well enough the fires would only continue. Grow in numbers. Add more bodies to the ground.

My limbs were like fire as well. Burning, coaxing the flames with more fuel. My body was a raging inferno, but all it would take was the smallest of breaths to blow me out. Or else I’ll just turn to ash, anyway.

In the distance, oh yes, very, very far away, I could see it. What my commander had been yelling about, before he drowned. Down there, so tantalizingly close yet so impossibly distant, was my target.

A mortar.

I ducked just as arrows rained down from overhead. I didn’t know whether they came from pony or diamond dog. Didn’t matter now. The battlefield was too confused to care. Fire, shoot, attack, stab, strike, blow, defend… it was all just so jumbled.

I could taste my own blood. Iron and salty. That’s what fear tasted like, I suppose. I was terrified enough as it was. Everything around me wanted me dead. But I just kept on moving. Better than staying and dying, I supposed.

Down trenches, up past piles of looted armor and weapons, skirting around blazing bonfires and ducking under overturned wagons, I ran. Because there it was. Just relaxing in the light of the setting sun, so infinitely far that not even the stars could compare, was my mission. And like a good soldier, I did my mission to the letter.

My pack grew heavier each step I took. It wasn’t far now. No, it was just close enough to keep me hopeful. Because why even bother then, if there wasn’t that left?

I jumped over a floundering diamond dog, left in his last death throws. His killer stood triumphantly above him, sword gleaming in the weak sunlight. He glanced at me, grinning, before a boulder buried him under the muk. Mud splattered on me, but I just kept on running.

So close. Another few steps. It wasn’t so far away now.

I just…

Barely…

Got it!

“Finally. We got ammo!” one of the soldiers yelled, spotting me.

I threw my pack into his claws, the heavy burden done. He pulled out a round, and nodded to several other soldiers around him. They readjust their trajectory, working as a well-oiled machine.

I drew back, too exhausted to stand. The soldiers load the round in, kneel, press their claws against their ears, then fire. I glanced up as the arch of the mortar round reached high in the sky.

I look to the distant pony army. Unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, all arranged to invade and destroy. But now there was something different. Down in the ranks there was confusion. Death. Cries and woes, similar to here. The round had found its mark.

The soldiers are congratulating each other. I just sit there, looking over to the setting sun, leaving this horizon for the next. It was only when it disappeared did I notice the fireball falling from the heavens, aimed directly towards us.

I was still too tired to stand up.