//------------------------------// // Chapter XVI: Betrayal // Story: Downfall of Equestria // by Shadow Storm //------------------------------// I should have known that he was up to something. A part of me knew, but I didn't think he would ever do something like this. Wolf had betrayed us all, leading us into an overwhelming ambush that had massacred nearly half of our soldiers. Eagle and I took cover near a large blockade of rocks along with at least four other survivors. The others were either lying dead somewhere or getting slaughtered by countless arrows getting shot into their bodies. I took an arrow to my right shoulder when it started, the sting suppressed by my shock. It had only been a few minutes since the start of the ambush and chaos had already taken over. We had no clue where they were due to the heavy downpour of the rain. We had hoped it would die down, but the storm only raged on like a never-ending nightmare. Despite their small numbers, this storm was apparently giving them the advantage. "I can't take this anymore, I'm going for it!" One of our surviving squad members shouted, immediately taking off into the sky attempting to escape this bloody onslaught. For a second I thought he would have made it, but as I had feared, he was shot down like the others, the gravity pulling him down back onto the rocky surface with a loud thud. It took a moment to realize that he had been the one to engage me in a conversation earlier, the stallion who had been married to a mare named Rose Pedal. I started to think about how his wife, now a widow, would take this news. I suddenly got angry, wanting vengeance for my fallen comrade. I turned to Eagle, who had already prepared for what reckless action I would follow up with. Gripping my blade tightly, I turned the corner of the boulders and dashed straight forward, the sound of arrows zipping past me faintly audible to my ears before discovering one of the archers looking horrified at my sudden offensive motion. With one swipe I cut his neck, watching the blood mix with the rain as his body fell to the ground. Immediately I turned looking at another archer who was frantically trying to load his arrow. I stopped him short by piercing his eye with my blade, which had penetrated deep into his head and out the other side. Eagle had begun his attack too, killing the others with as much success as myself. The other survivors were merely shot down one by one, none of them surviving the attack. It wasn't long before all of the archers were killed, the rain washing away the blood off my blade. I looked up the mountain and found Wolf flying away. "Eagle! He's trying to escape!" I screamed before bolting up after him. After his traitorous deed, I sought nothing more than his slow and painful death. My eyes screamed with hate, growing ever closer before swinging my blade just close enough to pierce one of his wings. He screamed in agony before slamming into the side of the peak. I pressed his entire body into the mountain with all the force I had, not letting him escape as he struggled to get free from my grasp. I could no longer control myself, being lost in hate and anger. I repeatedly stabbed his head, his body going limp before I stopped, watching his body slide down the mountain side. Eagle flew up to me, looking down at Wolf's now lifeless body. "That traitor... he got our entire team killed." Eagle stated as I looked down at my hooves, then at him. "He paid for his crime." I replied back, holding my shoulder as the pain seeped back into my consciousness. "We need to get that wound wrapped up." Eagle told me, grabbing some cloth from his bag, tightly wrapping it around my shoulder. The pain grew immense, but like any other wound from the past, I fought it and stayed strong. With any luck I could still use my arm, but for now my shoulder needed to heal. By now the attack had already begun and our ambush had been countered. The only advantage we would have now is larger numbers. No surprise attacks from the back or sides, but head on. . Luna probably expected her counter force to eliminate us, but since there would be nopony to report back to her on that status, she would be left clueless. There were only two of us here, and that was an opportunity I couldn't let go. "Eagle, we still have the element of surprise." I started, catching Eagle's attention as he finished bandaging my shoulder. "If we keep pushing forward, we can still get them from the back. It may be just us, but I'm sure we could at least manage to do something." With a nod, he looked towards the direction we were originally headed towards. Luckily for us, there was a path built by the NLR that lead straight towards where the battle would most likely be taking place. We started to follow the pathway, the rain suddenly dying down a bit, but the thunder still roaring fiercely. The real fight was about to begin. __________________________________________________________________ The battle had already started, the New Lunar Republic and the Solar Empire clashed for what would be known as the final battle. The two armies already engaged in combat, spilling each other's blood. Shouts of rage and horror muted the thunder's growl, the smacking of metal being heard miles away. Never before have I seen something like this, and to make it worse, Rainbow Dash was in there somewhere. Looking up at the sky I saw our airforce battling with the NLR's. Frantically scanning the skies, I attempted to find Rainbow Dash among them. If anything had happened to her... "Shadow, are we going to go or not?!" Eagle growled while nudging me hard, waking me up from my dazed state. "Y-Yeah.. sorry." I exclaimed, blinking a few times before looking at him. "You already know the objective?" "Find Luna, and kill her." Eagle responded simply, pulling out his sword before floating down to the ground. I soon followed, sneaking past their wall now behind enemy lines. Luckily for us, we served Luna and knew the location of her tent. We decided to check there first, and upon discovery, quickly entered the tent. The tent was empty, however Luna's possessions were still there. Eagle sheathed his sword and glanced towards the entrance. "Okay, keep a lookout for anypony who might wander over here." I commanded as he nodded, before I began to scan through her documents. File after file, I looked for anything I could find useful. Halfway through my investigation, a book fell out of the files. I looked down upon it and picked it up, my eyes widening at the title. Eagle's eyes wandered over to my discovery and trotted over. "What is it, Shadow?" He asked, trying to read it upside down. I slowly lifted the book and showed him. "It's Luna's Diary."