//------------------------------//
// 20 - Revolution, Part 10 of 10 
// Story: The Last Cutie Mark Crusader 
// by Jatheus 
//------------------------------//

As he listened to the fading roar of the cheering crowd in the center of Ponyville, Swiftlight suddenly became aware of how eerie the playground seemed in the moonlight. It was normally such a cheerful place, but in the darkness there was a sense of foreboding that hung in the air. He was just beginning to believe that the corporal had taken care of Radiant Pyre when he heard hoof steps. The two of them walked up together, both clad in full armor. Swiftlight felt a knot form in his stomach.

"Good evening, Captain Swiftlight," Captain Radiant Pyre said. "Thank you for coming and for picking such a perfect place to meet. One might have thought you knew what was happening, but if you did, you wouldn't be here."

His mind raced to decide what this could mean, and his instincts told him that he was in danger. The three that had come with him came out of hiding, and got onto Swiftlight's flanks in a defensive posture.

"Captain Radiant Pyre, I see you brought a friend," Swiftlight said, trying to be as ambiguous as possible.

"Yes, I have many friends here. It's a shame that you didn't bring any," Radiant Pyre replied.

There was a tone of arrogance or superiority that Swiftlight didn't like. He turned his head to glance at the three behind him. They seemed surprisingly calm. The four of them were in uniform, but not wearing armor. As for weaponry, they only had their combat knives. The other two had spears.

"Oh? And I thought we were all friends here," Swiftlight said evasively as his heart began pounding harder.

Snorting, Radiant Pyre answered, "No. The general wasn't completely sure you were on board with us, so he devised this test to see how loyal you actually are. I have to admit, you had us all convinced when you went straight to him and turned me in. We were going to leave it at that, but he had instructed that we let things play out until he gave the word." Radiant Pyre produced a piece of paper and gave it to Swiftlight.

"What's this?" Swiftlight asked.

"Don't you know?"

He did know. It was his own writing. They had found the note that he had hidden in the weekly report. His feigned repose shattered.

“Looks like you do. I guess nobody thought to mention that the corps clerk is in our circle. He monitors everything that goes up to Cloudsdale. I must say I'm disappointed that you were this sloppy."

The three ponies that were by Swiftlight backed away, and he was now surrounded by enemies. It was five to one, just not the way he’d intended.

"We don't have to do this," Swiftlight said, hoping he could reason his way out of the situation. “Lock me up. I won’t make any trouble.”

“You heard what the general ordered. ‘Take care of it, permanently,’” Radiant Pyre replied coldly.

Swiftlight hope grew thin that there was still a chance to talk them down.

"We may not agree with the way Shining Armor does things, but if Mane Crusher will turn on him, he'll turn on any of us down the road. How can you give your loyalty to somepony who has none?”

"Nice try, but the general is going to lead us to victory. Victory means survival. I for one would rather be alive to wrestle with my conscious.”

The tension in the air only grew stronger in the silence that followed. Swiftlight’s mouth felt so dry. The two in front of him were armored; they would charge first. The three behind were would come in after the attack began. Radiant Pyre seemed reluctant to strike; if Swiftlight could catch them off guard, he might have a chance to run.

“You know what the saddest part is?” the armored adversary continued, “the information you put in that message was all false. That last meeting was a ruse to put pressure on you to act. The hope was that you would make a mistake, which it seems you have.”

Swiftlight was rather alarmed by this; not only had they discovered his true intentions, but they masterfully built this trap for him. They were incredibly crafty. If he could just get into an open space, he might have a chance at outrunning them. But then, Radiant Pyre, and the one directly behind Swiftlight were both unicorns. They’d probably try to avoid using magic so as to not make noise. Swiftlight hoped that would be the case. He decided that he needed to act before they did. ‘Escape? Then what?’ He buried the thought for the moment, ‘One thing at a time.’

”Guys, I'm really tired," he spoke. "Don't make me have to kill you all before I get some sleep. That's bound to leave me cranky."

Radiant Pyre snorted and the others began to laugh at his threat. Swiftlight chose this moment of uncertainty to strike. He leapt backwards, kicking the unicorn officer behind him with full force in the face. There was a snapping sound as hooves made contact, jerking his head around under the strain. He crumpled to the ground.

Swiftlight spun and lunged away. The others were surprised, but they charged onto him before he could get clear. With a front hoof he punched one in the head, and a third reared back, grabbing hold of Swiftlight’s hind legs. He fell hard, biting his tongue. Blood filled his mouth as he rolled over and back onto his hooves. The other caught him, and they wrestled around, standing on their hind legs a moment. Swiftlight managed to get free enough to send an uppercut hard into his assailant's diaphragm. He fell away just as the armored two came at him.

A spear was thrust directly at Swiftlight’s head. He dodged and slapped it aside. Another came from his right. Vaulting left, Swiftlight crashed into Radiant Pyre, striking his armor ineffectively but causing him to topple over. At the same time, sharp pain shot through Swiftlight's hind left leg in multiple spasms that made him completely lose balance and tumble. With a push from his right, he spun around as a spear skewered the ground. He rolled on top of the armored foe he'd just been fighting. Another was about to jump on him, but a stiff kick utilizing their momentum sent them crashing into some playground equipment. Swiftlight scrambled back up and bolted away on three legs in the only direction available, drawing closer to the schoolhouse. At least with it behind him he could have a safe back. His hindquarters gave searing pain with every movement, and he couldn’t put weight on his left hind leg.

Two of them closed cautiously on either side as the wounded stallion backed away. Spears were aimed menacingly at their prey; Swiftlight drew his knife. They kept their distance, giving him a moment to breathe. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he was panting already from the brief struggle. A cold sweat had formed on Swiftlight’s forehead. He felt ill, as if his stomach were churning. Glancing back, he was rather distressed to discover that it had been a knife attack on his hindquarters that had hurt so much. The muscles in his flank had been shredded with multiple puncture wounds. They were deep, and he was bleeding freely. Turning back to his attackers, Swiftlight noticed that one of them seemed to be out cold at first glance; it was the other unicorn. Even in the dark, the captain could tell that the angle at which his head lay indicated a broken neck. Another was writhing on the ground, trying to get his wind back. The other three had cut off any hope of escape, but they were not advancing... yet.

"What, need a break? I'm just getting warmed up," Swiftlight taunted them, knife at the ready. In truth, he knew it was going to be a hard fight to get out of there.

Radiant Pyre snorted, "No; we're waiting for you to bleed out."

That was a problem. He didn’t have to look at his flank again to know how bad it was. So much damage had been done already that they only had to wait. Win or lose, Swiftlight needed to get to a medic quickly. He’d also be hard pressed to outrun them. Short on better plans, he decided to make the attempt before he had no strength to fight them. He just had to go far enough to be spotted by the crowd of towns ponies.

"Show me what you've got," Swiftlight taunted again.

As Radiant Pyre began to answer, Swiftlight threw his knife. It flew silently through the air, finding its mark in the shoulder of the stallion on his right, the one that was unarmored. He went down, and Swiftlight charged in that direction simultaneously, but he didn't get far. Radiant Pyre was on him, and as Swiftlight deflected the point of the spear, the shaft of it had him pinned against the schoolhouse wall. A flurry of fore-hoof kicks went back and forth before the other armored stallion struck Swiftlight from the side, knocking him to the ground, flat on his back. A brief struggle ensued, but within only seconds he was completely pinned down by three ponies. Swiftlight twisted and turned, but their grip on him was too strong. He wasn't able to wriggle free. 

"For what it's worth, this is nothing personal. I'm sorry it has to be this way," Radiant Pyre panted as he drew his knife. 

Having no other options, Swiftlight spit in his face.

Radiant Pyre ignored the insult, and almost looked sad as the bloody insult ran down his face. He added, "I didn't enlist to kill ponies."

Swiftlight lay there, muscles struggling in vain to overpower his assailants. His injury pounded sharp pain through his body. The scent of blood and earth mixed with fresh cut grass filled the air. This struck Swiftlight as odd considering that nopony would be cutting the grass at this time of night. For a moment, he thought he heard something, maybe somepony approaching nearby. He was just about to cry out when Radiant Pyre covered his mouth. Swiftlight continued to struggle against them as his mind raced for some way, any way, to survive this... even as Captain Radiant Pyre slashed his throat and the life drained out of him.