//------------------------------// // Chapter 39: Lenois Noctem // Story: The Centurion Project // by TheEighthDayofNight //------------------------------// Elias ripped his helmet free from his sweat covered head as he shouldered his way through the castle doors. The Solar Guards to either side flinched visibly at the aggression of his motion, and why shouldn’t they? Elias was a force to be reckoned with on a good day, but it was slowly becoming a not good day. It wasn’t bad, yet, but the fact that he had been questioned in front of his recruits, during their afternoon march, was unbelievable, and if anyone decided to cop an attitude with him, he was going to give them a massive piece of his mind, before quitting in the most human fashion he could imagine; a big middle finger and a fuck you as he walked away without looking back. They were simply lucky that his outstanding officers had been able to fill in for him on the afternoon march. The legion was slated to return any minute, and Elias intended to be with them for the rest of the day, princesses be damned. The Royal Guards at the entrance of the throne room stared at Elias as soon as he came around the corner, though unlike their Solar lessers they did not flinch as he stalked his way toward the throne room doors. They also didn’t bother opening the doors, and instead seemed intent to let him work out more of his anger. Elias did so with gusto. The throne room doors were easily three times his height, yet Elias shoved them open with enough force for them to slam against the walls. The petitioner Celestia was speaking with jumped and immediately cowered as he spotted Elias’ chitinous facial scar. The white alicorn shot a glare at Elias. “General, I am with one of my subjects, please wait outside until we are finished.” Elias stopped before her throne and snorted in disbelief. “I don’t think so Princess. You don’t get to send me a messenger, interrupting my training, and then tell me to wait. You will see me now, or you won’t see me at all.” Elias crossed his arms and looked to the earth pony. “Besides, what world ending threat are you here for? Someone steal your cupcakes?” The pony shook his head, never taking his eyes away from the left half of Elias’ face. “N-no. I w-wanted to ask Princess Celestia for her help improving crop yields.” Elias nodded. “Improving crop yields. Fair petition I suppose, but tell me, has anyone starved in Equestria this year?” The pony shook his head. “N-no.” “Last year then?” Elias asked. “Perhaps the year before that?” The pony shook his head no again. Elias snorted. “Has anyone in Equestria starved in the last five years, or even the last ten? Has there been a hunger crisis, ever in your life?” The pony whimpered and looked to Celestia for support, but Elias didn’t let the white alicorn speak up. “If the answer to all of that is no, then crop yields are just fine,” Elias snapped. “Get out and quit wasting everyone’s valuable time.” The pony turned on his heel and fled. The doors slammed closed as Elias turned back to Celestia with a frown on his face. The alicorn glared daggers back. “You had no authority to dismiss that pony.” “And you have no authority to interrupt my training,” Elias shot back. “Yet here we are. Are we going to stop wasting each other’s time, or are you going to get around to what you want from me?” He could tell that he was pressing her buttons, but Elias could not have cared in the slightest. She had no idea what anger looked like, and if she wanted to avoid finding out, she would leave him well enough alone. The pair glared at each other for awhile, neither budging or blinking. Elias just waited with cool, calm anger. He wasn’t some soft pony, and he wouldn’t blink, no matter what enemy decided to challenge him. He had far too much to protect to be cowed. Celestia sighed and looked down. “Very well General, let us get this done so that you may return to your training. I assume things have been going well?” Elias let his glare soften into a normal stare. “Well enough. The recruits have started formation training, and will soon begin with weapons. I have high hopes, but only they can have the will to succeed.” Celestia nodded, then looked toward her assistant. The white unicorn sent off a letter, and within moments the side doors of the throne room opened. Elias felt his face return to a frown as a line of ponies in gray training armor trotted through. A few of them gave him smug looks, while others seemed to cower away. Elias didn’t remember a single one of them, other than the fact that they had willingly walked away and quit. Well, save for the last two. Orchid glared daggers at Elias as she and Thunderstorm stalked by, setting themselves away from the rest of the failures. Elias followed them with his eyes, unflinching. This was clearly some sort of play to force him to let the ponies back into his legion, but Elias wouldn’t budge, and he would make sure they all knew that. Luna entered after the last recruit and climbed the throne to stand beside her sister. A small frown decorated her face, but she looked more concerned than angry. Elias didn’t want her to get the wrong ideas about who his anger was directed to, so he shifted his glare back to Celestia. “And what is this supposed to be? Who are these ponies and why are they here?” “You do not recognize the recruits you so recently had in your service?” Celestia asked leadingly. “I do not recognize this batch of failures, no,” Elias replied. “The recruits are soon to be on the training grounds, doing the days drills. The very same training fields that I should be at, and the very same drills that I should be overseeing. Let’s skip this idiotic posturing and get to the point. What do you want?” Celestia’s nostrils flared, but Luna moved first. Her eyes were pleading as she stared down at him. “General, you have been accused of cruelty and unfair treatment, and these ponies have built a case against you that could see you imprisoned. This is not a trivial matter.” Elias’ eyes flicked down to the line of ponies before him as a snarl built on his face. He walked slowly down the line recruits, glaring at each one, daring them to meet his eyes. “Is that so? And just who is brave enough to say such charges to my face, instead of hiding behind the princesses like the pack of worthless cowards they are?” The ponies before him shied away from the intensity of his glare, but one on the end, a unicorn, stepped forward and scoffed. “We’re not scared of you Bright. You’re a bully, and if nopony else will, I will make sure that you can’t abuse anyone else. When we’re done with you, you’ll wish that-…” Orchid stepped forward. “Shut up you stupid failure. You dropped out day one because you couldn’t keep up with the endurance training. Get back in line while the real ponies do the talking.” The unicorn glared at her, but with a light growl from Orchid, he backed down, muttering something under his breath. Orchid then looked to Elias, and gave him a sharp salute. “General, I apologize for this pony’s slander, and for associating with him, but it was the only way that Thunderstorm and I could push this matter higher. Unlike this lot, we did not quit. We have our helmets, and we want to keep training with the legion. Maybe we should have done more to find out our orders, and maybe we failed, but I’ll take a hundred lashes before I quit. Punish me how you like General, but I’m seeing this through no matter what.” She then stepped back and stood at a rigid attention. Elias stared at her for a moment, then looked to Thunderstorm. “And what of you? Are you ready to take a hundred lashes for your failure?” The pegasus met his eyes. “Two hundred if that’s what it takes General. I’ll admit failure, but Recruit Orchid is right; we might have failed, but we didn’t quit. Punish us all you want, but we aren’t finished yet.” The stallion shot a glance to the mare beside him. “Besides, where Orchid is, I’ll always follow. Give me three hundred lashes, four hundred even! I can take it. For her, for you, for Equestria. I’ll take any punishment.” Elias noticed a faint blush on Orchid’s face, but disregarded it. Prior romantic relationships didn’t matter to him save for their use as a motivating force. If he was going to keep one of them, the other would stay. It was simple, and more than mildly irritating. Still, credit where credit was due he supposed, they at least had the balls to stand up to him in the appropriate manner when they thought he was wrong. “Fine, you two want to be in my legion so badly? You’re going to prove it.” Elias pulled out his watch and clicked it open. “It is currently six forty-five. I expect you two to have all of your equipment, and the new equipment from the last three days of training, ready and willing to march in six minutes. You’ve missed far too much work, and I have no doubt in my mind that you’ve been sitting on your lazy asses while you “pushed this higher”.” Elias sneered as he quoted Orchid, but the pony showed no emotion as he got in her face. That was good, very good. She was a strong one, perhaps she was right. She couldn’t know that, he had to appear perfect in mind and sound in decision, but still, Elias could admit his mistakes to himself. Only once his legionaries had full confidence in him would he admit to being wrong. Then it would be a matter of teaching them to think for themselves, but they needed to act first. Thinking came later. “After you get back,” Elias said, switching his glare to Thunderstorm, “you two will stand guard, again, and this time you will be in formation with your armor shining for inspection. Failure at any point will mean five hundred lashes, then as many laps around Canterlot as it takes for you to quit or die. Am I clear?” Both ponies snapped into sharp salutes. “Yes General!” “Then go.” Both sprinted from the throne room without another word. Elias shot another glare toward Celestia as he waited for the doors to close. She had adopted her normal, regal posture, and was doing a phenomenal job trying not to look absolutely enraged. Luna on the other hand looked quite pleased that Elias hadn’t publicly beaten the recruits for challenging his decision. He hoped she would forgive him for what he knew was going to come next. He looked toward the much longer line of failures, and scowled. “As for the rest of you, I gave no orders for you to quit, yet you did so anyway. You failed because you wanted to fail, that is no fault of mine. If you take issue with that, then I suggest growing a backbone and toughening up, because Legio I Equus has no place for the weak.” The unicorn from before stepped forward again with a sneer on his face. “Say what you like about us Bright, but you are in the wrong here, and the princesses know it. I care not for what you, or those other two weirdos think, your little farce as a “leader” ends now.” “Is that so?” Elias replied calmly. He took a few steps forward, and suppressed a smile as the stallion flinched. “And who’s going to enforce that ultimatum of yours, you?” The stallion snorted. “Of course not, the princesses will-…” “Do nothing,” Elias finished as he took another step. “I don’t know why ponies seem to have such short memories, but it appears as if everyone has forgotten who the fuck I am.” Nobody was fast enough to stop Elias from grabbing the pony’s armor and yanking him forward, slamming the unicorn’s muzzle into his forehead. A satisfying crunch caused most of the ponies in the throne room to flinch, while Elias just smiled the pain away. The stallion yelped and clutched at his bloody, broken nose, then stared at Elias with fear as the human got in his face. “You remind me of a piece of shit named White Shine. I beat his face in, and nobody stopped me then, who’s going to stop me now?” The stallion gaped and his mouth flapped without a sensical answer, so Elias shook him. “Nobody,” Elias growled. “The only regret I have with White Shine is that I did not keep enough control to beat him half to death in private. Trust me when I saw that I no longer have such control issues.” “THAT IS ENOUGH!” Celestia bellowed. The pony in Elias’ hand whimpered as the human’s eyes flicked up, his anger not dimming in the slightest as he glared hatefully at the white alicorn. She matched his furious gaze with her own, and Elias swore he saw sparks as her mane flickered. “Put him down,” Celestia said with a low growl. “Now.” Elias snorted dismissively. “Or what?” he spat. He raised the unicorn off the ground, then dropped him, making sure the motion was visible to all. The stallion yelped and scooted back toward the throne, and away from Elias. The human and the solar princess continued glaring at each other for a moment, before Elias sneered and turned his back on her. “You won’t do a damn thing to me Princess, because you’re at fault for all of this. You put me in this position, and if you don’t like how I run things, I already showed you where I keep my resignation letter.” He put on his helmet as he walked away. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have actual work to do to ensure this march of yours succeeds.” Elias slammed out of the throne room doors and began walking toward his office. He would need his equipment if he was going to lead the two recruits on their night march. He mentally sighed. It was going to be another very long night. Longer still given the sound of heavy hoofsteps approaching his rear. Elias paused his long strides and half turned to find Luna racing after him. She looked irritated, but not angry, so that was likely a good sign. Elias rested his hands on his sword belt as he waited for the blue alicorn to catch up. As she did so, he began walking at a slower pace, an easy one that matched her stride. They walked in silence for a moment, then Luna sighed. “Elias… I must ask, why did you try to provoke my sister like that? And for that matter, what about the charges those ponies brought against you? It will not simply go away because you attacked one of them and decided to ignore it.” Elias shrugged. “Sure it will, because their claims are valueless; simple as that. I can recognize that, you can recognize that, and I should hope that your sister is intelligent enough to recognize that. If she can’t, that is her problem, not mine.” Luna whirled about in front of him, forcing him to stop as she shot a mild glare at him. “It is your problem Elias! Cruelty is a punishable offence in Equestria, what do you have to say to defend yourself from that charge?” Elias took a step toward her and spread his hands. “I agree completely; I am cruel, but that’s the point.” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as she continued glaring at him. “Princess, please do not belittle your own intelligence like this, think! Is the enemy going to be kind when they are calling for the blood of your subjects? Is the enemy going to be kind when they are ripping ponies in half? Is the enemy going to find it anywhere in their hearts to be anything but cruel as they butcher your ponies by the hundred?” Luna flinched at his words, and her eyes flicked down as her irritation vanished. Elias sighed again. He didn’t want to push her away, but she had to understand. “The simple answer is no, they aren’t. They don’t care about ponies, but guess what? I do. I care enough to inflict as many torments as my ponies can stand so that they can take a look at a truly cruel enemy and not waver. I am not making cuddle buddies; I am not making friendship. I am making soldiers, and I am preparing for war. For death. The crueler I am now, the less potential there is that ponies die later. That’s the game I am playing, and if I’m the only one who understands that, then we are doomed to fail.” Elias shook his head and walked around the alicorn, more than ready to leave her to her thoughts. “Now, I have work to do Princess, I hope you’ll excuse me.” He stalked away from her without looking back. He had no doubt she would protect him, would make the accusations of cruelty disappear, but he almost wished she wouldn’t. He didn’t need anyone watching his back, he was his own man, and if his actions met with consequences, he would tackle them head on. He made only one stop, ducking into his office to grab his ruck, then he made his way to the training yard. As he walked into the yard, he regarded the setting sun with a scowl. Their normal route took them through the Everfree, and while he hadn’t encountered anything dangerous during his night in the woods, he imagined that the myths surrounding the place had more truth to them than most imagined, and he had a gut instinct that their night march would be interesting. Elias’ eyes drifted down from the setting sun to rest on the two returning recruits, or rather, the small group surrounding them. Elias’ face fell into a scowl as he walked toward them, making note of the group of ponies that were decked out in their full marching equipment. Ice Blossom cast a glance over her shoulder as he approached. “Evening General, just making sure my recruits are all squared away for their makeup march.” She tightened a strap on Thunderstorm’s back, cinching his scutum in place. The pegasus shuffled slightly under the extra weight, but he settled quickly, letting Ice Blossom give him another once over. Elias outwardly kept a frown on his face, but he was glad Ice Blossom was taking the initiative in seeing necessary work done without orders. No doubt, as soon as she had heard his intentions for the two would-be recruits, she had snapped to work to make sure they were squared away. His eyes, drifted, however, to the other members of the cluster of ponies. Night Flash and Anyon were busy giving Scarlet Shield a once over as the gryphon ensured that his legionnaire armor was properly fitted. His outward frown became complete as he walked toward the red pegasus. “Scarlet Shield, I don’t recall giving you orders to gear up.” The pony snapped to attention, and Elias could tell that he was barely suppressing a grin. “Apologies General! I had just submitted my medical release form with Adiutor Binder, and I overheard Centurion Ice Blossom discussing a make-up march. I thought that since I have been resting for so long, a trot through the woods would do my body some good. Warm myself up for the real training, so to speak.” Elias hated when the ponies were thinking ahead of him, yet he couldn’t help but feel cautiously happy. They were thinking, pushing themselves without being asked. Maybe it could work. Maybe. He didn’t let anyone know they were right, and instead remained short with Scarlet. “Make sure you keep up then Chief Strategist. I will be setting a brutal pace,” his eyes flicked to the pair of would be recruits, “and anyone found lacking will no longer be a part of my legion.” All three nodded silently and fell into a line. Elias looked to Night Flash. “First Centurion, you will also accompany this march; keep the recruits in marching order, and educate them on as much as possible. All three have missed out on important training, and all three will be brought up to par by the end of tonight, am I clear?” The pegasus saluted and nodded. “Of course General. What should the rest of the recruits do this evening?” Elias looked to Ice Blossom. “Inform Adiutor Binder that you and Granite shall be running formation drills until lights out. Binder shall observe and make corrections as necessary.” He jabbed a finger at her. “Don’t let them slack off. Just because I’m not watching, does not mean the standard slips. I will be checking personally for progress when I get back.” Ice Blossom and departed swiftly toward the barracks. With a nod to Anyon, Elias waved his little marching party toward the training yard gates. As they departed, the sun slipped below the horizon, casting a shadow over Canterlot. ***** Elias squinted hard as he tried to stare into the darkness of the Everfree. On his orders, he had made the small group travel without torches, and with no unicorns, they had no other means for light. The sun was long gone, not only had night fallen, but a thick cloud layer had formed as they had moved toward Ponyville. The trio of pegasi and the solitary earth pony walked behind him in a block of four, keeping a close formation. So far, none had complained despite his brutal pace. His long legs already made them trot, but with his fast tempo, the ponies were essentially forced to jog to keep up. They were sweating hard despite the cool night air, and while he could silently commend them for their effort, things were about to get worse in an unplanned way. He hadn’t bothered checking the weather schedule before leaving Canterlot, and even if he had, it wouldn’t have mattered. Ponyville was on a completely different weather schedule, and if the earthy smell in the air was any indicator, it was going to be a torrential downpour any minute. Still, he hesitated to push the ponies any harder. Night Flash had already done a day’s worth of training, yet here he was on the same hike, pushing himself at a much more difficult pace. Scarlet wasn’t faring much better, whether from his lack of activity due to his time in the infirmary, or the residual exhaustion of his time in the changeling pod, the pegasus was sweating hard, and his breaths were becoming shorter. Thunderstorm fared the best of the three pegasi, though he too was sweating hard under the weight of his new shield. That left Orchid, who seemed non-plussed about the situation. She was by far the most alert of the ponies, and the least exhausted. No doubt a result of her earth pony physiology. She matched Elias’ pace with focused ease, with only the occasional shrug as a sign of discomfort. Elias dropped to one knee and held a hand in the air. The ponies stopped and crouched behind him, their eyes focusing outward as they caught their breath. Night Flash broke from the formation and saddled up next to Elias’ right ear. “What is it General?” he asked breathlessly. Elias shook his head in reply, tuning all of his senses outward. He had seen something with his bad eye, a hint of movement. The creature was a master of stealth, clinging to the darkest of shadows with ease. Had it not been from the strange abilities of his bad eye, Elias imagined he wouldn’t have noticed a thing. His hand inched toward his shield, grasping a pilum. As he withdrew it with painful slowness, he whispered to Night Flash. “Take the recruits back up the road fifty feet. Wait until I signal an all clear. Should I come under attack, escort them to safety first, then return to aid me, am I clear?” Elias could practically feel Night Flash’s need to protest, so he cast a glance over his shoulder, glaring at the pegasus in the darkness. “Am I clear First Centurion?” he growled, leaving no question that his words were to be followed to the letter. Night Flash sighed, but nodded silently and he withdrew. Elias remained still as the pegasus crept back to the recruits. He listened as Night Flash whispered his commands, then he listened to the ponies creep away. Then he waited in dead quiet. Wind began to whistle through the trees, and gusts of wind set the branches alive with activity. Like an orchestra of toneless noise, the leaves blocked out all sound, leaving Elias to rely on sight alone to seek out their potential ambusher. Too bad he was looking the wrong way. Elias heard Night Flash cry out as a heavy mass of a creature attacked him from behind. He suppressed a cry of pain as sharp claws tore at his spine. Though his armor largely protected him, the sheer force of the blow sent him rolling forward. Elias gritted his teeth as he skated through a briar patch, then he was on his feet and staring down the manticore that dared think him prey. The scorpion tailed beast growled as it glared at him with shining green eyes. It hesitated a moment as Elias set his feet. It almost seemed surprised that its “prey” wasn’t running for the hills. Elias adjusted his grip on his pilum, ready to throw it straight into the beast’s eye. An eye that flicked to Elias’ right; toward the ponies. Elias roared as the manticore tried to turn toward smaller prey. He raced forward, forgoing throwing his pilum. Instead, he tried to jab it into the beast’s flank. The steel tip pierced its thick hide quite easily, but before he could truly drive it home, the beast whirled on him, lashing out with its tail. Elias sacrificed his pilum to save his shield, clutching on for dear life as the beast tried to swat it away. Elias spun with the force of the hit. He faced the beast and made to draw his gladius, but for a creature of its size, it moved far too quickly. The beast was on Elias just as his gladius came free from of its sheathe, and it drove him to the ground, batting both Feather, and his scutum away. Elias shouted in its face and punched at its muzzle. The manticore answered his roar with its own, momentarily deafening him. Before he could register the spittle on his face, or the smell of death emanating from the beast’s mouth, Elias found himself begin shaken like a rag doll. The manticore’s teeth bit at his cuirass, doing little damage, but finding plenty of grip to toss him about like a ragdoll. It lifted him into the air with ease, quickly slamming back into the dirt. Elias couldn’t get air in his lungs as it dragged him through the dirt, slamming him into the ground over and over again. He did his best to fight back, attacking its face with his fists, trying to kick its legs out, but the beast ignored his attempts. Its iron neck muzzles wrenched the human through the air, and slammed him into the ground once more, giving him a moment to breath as it reared back with its tail. Elias rolled away from the strike, acting before his mind could even get a full grasp on the situation. His helmet was long gone, and as he rolled from a second strike, Elias noticed blood in his mouth. That likely wasn’t good. He rolled away from a third strike, finally managing to get his feet under him. Elias reached behind his back for his dagger, only to find nothing. He blinked stupidly as the manticore pounced toward him. Instinct took over again, and Elias threw himself to the left, rolling just barely out of the reach of the manticore’s claws. Where the fuck was his dagger?!? He had used it on the changelings during the invasion, and then he had… Elias gritted his teeth as his mind clicked. His dagger was gone, and he couldn’t see any of his pilla, nor his gladius. He needed to kill the fucking beast attacking him before it got its damn teeth near his throat again. It was pure luck that it had decided to seize his armor, but Elias knew his luck wouldn't hold. The manticore growled as it turned around again, and it wiggled its hips. He had less than a second. As the beast leapt into the air, Elias felt his toe catch on a large stone. He managed to grab it as he dodged again. This time however, he did not jump free of the beast, and its claws bit deep into his arm. Elias cried out in pain as his grip on the stone failed for a moment, nearly letting it fall free. As the beast slammed him into the ground however, Elias solidified his grasp, and as the beast reared back to claw him, he slammed the stone across its face. He felt cartilage crumble under the stone, and the manticore reared back, wailing in pain. Elias took the moment of weakness to scramble backward. He didn’t make it far. The manticore was on him in an instant, and this time its claws found plenty of purchase, tearing at any bit of exposed flesh the human had. Elias swung the stone again with all his might, but the manticore ignored the pain of its shattered muzzle in its anger. A paw knocked the stone from his hand, then another slashed across his face. Elias cried out in pain, and though he tried to fight back, he could tell he was losing. He just hoped Night Flash was smart enough to move the recruits away. ***** Night Flash watched in horror as the manticore tore apart his friend. He, and Scarlet Shield stood side by side, watching the scene unfold in silence. Despite being dropped on, Elias seemed to initially have the situation well in hand. He had even got in a solid attack against the manticore’s flank as it tried to turn on the ponies. After that though, things had gone rapidly downhill, and it was clear to everyone that the human was outmatched by the seven-foot-tall wall of muscle and fur. Night Flash glanced at Scarlet nervously. Both of them were twitching, unsure if they needed to honor Elias’ orders, or dive in and save their friend. Flash gulped as the manticore tore the stone from Elias’ grasp, and as another scream of pain split the air, Flash made his decision. “Recruits!” Night Flash called out, pointing his hoof at the wild beast. “Spread out and distract the manticore, Chief Strategist Shield and I will attack it!” Scarlet shook his head. “Flash, we don’t have weapons. What are we going to do to that thing? What can we do?” Night Flash growled and grabbed the pegasus’ wing forcefully, drawing a sharp yelp from the pony. He then manually extended Scarlet’s feathers with his hoof, and shifted them so that their hidden wing blades would deploy. Scarlet stared at the glistening blades in awe as Night Flash spoke harshly at him. “Even if we didn’t have our wing blades built in, we would still fight for Elias. Either pony up or go home Scarlet, because I’m not leaving him to die here, and nopony in the legion should even consider doing so.” Without another word, Night Flash raced forward, scanning the ground for pitfalls as he ran. While he spotted no potholes, Night Flash did catch a glint of steel, and he altered his path toward Elias’ fallen sword. “General! Sword!” Night Flash called as he kicked the blade. Elias’s hand fumbled about for the blade hilt as it skittered over, but as soon as he grasped it, the blade went to work, plunging into the manticore’s mane again and again. Night Flash couldn’t tell if the sword was actually doing damage, but he didn’t care. His wing blades lashed out like lightning, biting deep into the manticore’s flank. The beast roared, and its rage shifted focus. A paw lashed out toward Night Flash, but the pegasus dipped back with ease. The manticore growled, and before Night Flash could even move to stop it, its tail lashed down, stabbing deep into Elias’ thigh. The man gasped wetly, but his gladius came across with frightening speed. The stinger came free with a spurt of goo, and the manticore let out a pained howl as it staggered back from the human. Night Flash pursued the beast, lashing out with his wing blades. Long scores of blood appeared on the beast’s body, and it continued to roar in agony as it tried to drive the pegasus away. Between swipes, Night Flash looked back to Elias to find the human being helped to his feet by the recruits. The man said nothing about their flagrant disobeying of his orders, and instead he wordlessly pointed at the manticore with the tip of his sword. Night Flash saw stars as he flew backward. He had looked back for too long, and the manticore did not let the moment escape him. Night Flash felt blood roll down his face as he was launched back by that massive paw, and he heard Elias roar in rage. Night Flash slammed into a tree, knocking the wind from his lungs, but he immediately found Elias with his eyes. The human was up close with the manticore again, stabbing away as he screamed at it. The human’s gladius plunged into the beast’s chest as Scarlet sprinted up to Night Flash. “Are you alright?” the red pegasus asked. Night Flash grunted as Scarlet helped him to his feet. “That’s “Are you alright First Centurion,” Night Flash said. “If General Bright catches you not using rank, you’ll get the whip. Don’t make me warn you again Chief Strategist.” Scarlet stared at him in shock, then nodded slowly. Both pegasi looked to Elias as the man let out a loud shout, followed swiftly by the manticore collapsing atop him, burying the man. They both stared with wide eyes for a moment, and Night Flash felt a tinge of fear. Had Elias won? The manticore wasn’t moving, but was the human alive? Night Flash and Scarlet moved at the same time, sprinting to the massive corpse. They pushed with all their might, but the manticore barely moved. Night Flash shot a glare over his shoulder at the pair of recruits, who had yet to do anything useful. “Will you stop standing around and do something useful you useless fucks?” he bellowed. Orchid and Thunderstorm snapped into action, and they joined the pair of pegasi in shoving the manticore from atop Elias. As it inched forward, they all began to hear a low tone, one that built in volume as the human’s head came free of the wall of meat and fur. Elias was chuckling lightly, and as his eyes opened to behold the group of ponies, it elevated to loud laughter. Night Flash glanced at the recruits, who looked bewildered beyond comprehension. He knew they had never seen the man so much as smile, let alone laugh, yet here he was, cackling like a mad man as the ponies paused in their effort to catch their breaths. Night Flash looked back to Elias and chuckled nervously. “I- Is everything alright General?” The man looked to the pegasus and chuckled. “Y-you said… f.. fuck.” The admittance set the man to laughing again. “I- I can’t believe! Of all the ponies, coming from Night Flash, it was…” His words choked off as his laughter reached a fevered pitch. Night Flash blushed and looked away in mild embarrassment as his fellow ponies grinned at him, but before they could join their general in his laughter, the human began to choke. A wet sound came from deep in Elias’ chest, and with a loud series of coughs, blood sprayed from his mouth. Elias began to convulse. A white foam formed around the edges of his mouth as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. This time there was no hesitation from the ponies. The manticore corpse was pushed away with all speed. Night Flash rifled through his saddlebags, searching for the emergency bandages Elias made them all carry. Orchid moved faster however, and she pulled a long bundle of rope from her saddlebags. She quickly tied it around Elias’ leg above the sting and began to pull it tight. “What are you doing Recruit?” Night Flash asked nervously. “Something my dad taught me for snake bites,” came the short reply. “A manticore sting is the same idea, and it’ll be better he loses a leg than his life, right?” The earth pony gripped the rope in her teeth a yanked, drawing a groan from Elias. Night Flash took the sound as a good sign, and he moved quickly to cut off the excess rope. Pointing to Orchid, he ordered; “Get him on your back. We’re closer to Ponyville than to Canterlot, and there’s got to be somepony in town that can help him.” Scarlet stiffened for a moment, then shook his head. “No,” he said firmly. Night Flash opened his mouth to bark his orders again, but Scarlet met his eyes with surprising steel. “We have to make it back to Canterlot. It’s the only place guaranteed to have manticore anti-venom.” Night Flash narrowed his eyes. “And how do you know that? With Ponyville being right next to the Everfree, I’m sure that their hospital will have something.” Scarlet stomped his hoof. “First Centurion, we don’t know that. The infirmary in the castle has anti-venom, I know that for a fact.” He helped Thunderstorm lift Elias onto Orchid’s back, taking some of the remaining rope to tie the human down. “Let me remind you that I was stuck in there with Scalpel for two months, I know what he keeps on stock, and we can’t take the chance that Ponyville General doesn’t have anti-venom. We’re wasting precious time making this decision, so let’s make a choice, now.” Night Flash scowled as Scarlet scooped up Orchid’s saddle bags, then looked to Thunderstorm. “Recruit, remove all of your equipment, then fly as fast as you can to Canterlot. See if you can’t get somepony to meet us en-route.” Thunderstorm was out of his wing binders in an instant, and his helmet and saddle bags quickly followed. Then the pegasus was gone, flapping hard into the sky in the direction of Canterlot. Night Flash quickly scooped up the fallen equipment, making a mental note to have it cleaned before the next inspection. There would be one, and if Elias found out that it had been thrown into the dirt on his orders, the human would be furious. Night Flash settled the extra set of saddlebags on his back, then looked to his fellow ponies. “Alright, let’s move as quickly as possible. Stay close, and if anything attacks, run. I will buy time, then fly away, clear?” Both nodded, and without another word, the ponies began their race toward Canterlot.