//------------------------------// // Chapter LVII: At War // Story: As I'm Falling to Pieces // by Pinkamena Diane Pie //------------------------------// Chapter LVII: At War “This wasn’t what you were expecting, was it?!” Phoenix yelled as he ran after Lightning, firing over his shoulder. He saw two Death Hunters hit the ground, but didn’t care if they were dead or not. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a flash of metal. Tucking his head in, he dodged to the right. He could hear the blade that had been thrown hit a tree nearby. He turned and shot in the direction the blade had come, and he heard a body hit the ground. “Not at all!” Lightning yelled back, just trying to keep himself from tripping. They were crashing through the forest, not even trying to be stealthy anymore. Looking over his shoulder, he could see a group of Hunters, maybe ten or so, chasing after them, blades grasped in their mouths. Looking back ahead, he saw a small clearing coming up. He pointed at it, and Phoenix nodded. “Go right.” he said. “I’ll go left.” Lightning nodded, making sure he had a full magazine in his gun. When they reached the clearing, he tore right, not daring to look behind him. Phoenix took off left. The Hunters kept going straight, startled by the sudden change. Phoenix jumped into the air and began to pick them off. “Keep running!” he yelled at Lightning. “I got this!” Lightning shook his head, but kept running. he circled the clearing, while the Hunters began to panic. Whenever one would stray close to the edge of the clearing, Phoenix would land a hit on it. The smell of hot metal and smoke started to fill the morning air. Lightning turned and saw bodies littering the ground. Only two of the Hunters were still alive. He turned around, shooting them both down before he had even stopped. His back legs planted themselves in the soft ground, and he came to a stop. Phoenix landed next to him, folding his wings back into place. “Nice one.” Lightning said, breathing heavily. “Did you just think of that?” “No.” Phoenix said, leaning against a tree. “I had to use that one time before I moved in with Celia. Works on either the infected, or the Hunters.” “Good thinking.” Lightning said, bumping his hoof against Phoenix’s. The two smiled, proud of their small victory. They looked out into the forest, and Lightning saw a flash of metal. “Here we go again!” he yelled as another group burst into the clearing. Phoenix smiled as he jumped into the air. “Work, work, work! We aren’t done till we’re done!” ***** “Bring the tape over here!” Cora yelled at one of the medics. The pony galloped over with a roll of surgical tape in her mouth. She dropped it into Cora’s waiting hoof. Cora took a deep breath, closing her eyes and pressing her horn against the ponies wound. Slowly, it started to seal, the sides coming together again. But about halfway though, she removed her horn, starting to wrap the gauze around the wound. She couldn’t completely heal every wound that came her way. She would pass out before she even got through twenty ponies. Even as it was, only healing them halfway, she was feeling lightheaded and queasy. “How you doing over there, Fluttershy?” she yelled over her shoulder. Fluttershy whimpered something as a response. Cora looked and saw her hooves covered in blood, just as her own were. She had started to look a little green in the face, but she kept working. She had to. It seemed like every minute, air support brought in more wounded. They were in a makeshift camp half a mile away from the Hunter base. Large tents had been set up to accommodate the wounded. Medics were running back and forth, tending to the injured ponies. But there simply wasn’t enough of them. Cora found herself wishing twilight was there to help her. Any extra magic would do miracles. She bit down on the tape, breaking it off from the roll. she reached behind her, grabbing the ponies gun. “Get out there!” she yelled, and the stallion saluted, galloping out through the tent’s flaps. She turned to the next pony, and began to pour her magic into him. When she was finished, she did the same as before. Cover the wound in gauze, and tape it. She had begun to fall into a rhythm. Magic, gauze, tape. Magic, gauze tape. It was simple, yet she found herself wondering if she would be able to heal the next time. She just wasn’t sure. She handed the pony his weapon, and he too galloped out of the tent. As soon as he did, Lunar walked in. He looked around until he spotted Fluttershy. he flew over to her, a somewhat worried look on his face. “We need you to snipe.” he said, taking her by the shoulders. “But...I...I am working here..” she said, not meeting his gaze. “I know that, but we need you. We can’t fly pegasi over, or they will be attacked. We need your support Fluttershy!!” Fluttershy’s eyes flashed back and forth between Cora and Lunar. She didn’t know what to do. “Go Fluttershy.” Cora said. “I can hold the fort.” Fluttershy bit her lip, but nodded. Lunar let her go, and she walked over and grabbed her rifle and saddlebags. “Just tell me where to go.” ***** Rarity was in the closest thing to heaven. Her lungs gasping for air. eyes stinging from the rain and wind. But she was happy. Finally, after all these years, she could have her revenge. And she was taking as much of it as possible. She laughed, the type of laugh that made her seem crazy, but she didn’t care. Lightning flashed overhead, and the rain poured down relentlessly, but that was beyond her concern. She bound through the forest, the twigs and shrubs scratching at her, and the muddy, rain soaked ground coating her white fur. She looked over her shoulder, seeing the group that was following her. Her gun floated in the air in front of her. But she hadn't used it yet. She had found other ways of getting revenge. Before they left camp, she had Twilight teach her a few new spells. Just simple spells, but she had been able to turn them into weapons. And these were weapons the Hunters were not expecting. She looked ahead, seeing a large tree with a low hanging, but thick branch. She got and idea, and her eyes narrowed. She picked up the pace, gaining some ground on the Hunters. She quickly ducked under the branch, circling around the tree. She circled a couple times, the Hunters following her every move. Finally, she was ready. Her horn glowed soft blue, and so did the branch. She circled one more time, trying to get her timing right. There were two Hunters side by side, at the back of the group. Three of four feet separated them from the rest of the group. Rarity smiled. This was going to be fun. She waited until the right time, then acted. The branch, bending to her magic and will, lowered itself in front of the two. At the same time, she caused it to snap forward. She heard two impacts, then two more as they fell to the ground. But that wasn’t what she was happy about. She was happy about the loud snaps that rang out when the branch collided. The sound of broken necks. she laughed again, breaking away from the tree and fleeing into the forest. Over her shoulder, she could see the rest. A now smaller group of three Hunters. Up ahead was what she had been waiting for for this whole time. Lunar had shown her this little feature of the forest. And he had planted the idea in her head. From the angle they were running, it looked like nothing. But from up top, it was obvious what was going to happen. One vine, that was all she needed. a single vine, at the very end. And she knew exactly where one was. She turned and saw that she had been losing speed. The Hunters were gaining, their screeches growing louder. But that didn’t matter. In fact, it was just what she needed. she slowed down even more, until she could practically smell them. Then she saw the vine. She took a single leap, her own adrenaline, and some magic, aiding the jump. She flew through the air, grabbing the vine with her teeth. She let out a groan as the vine pulled at them, but she stayed put. Under her, the Hunters ran by, surprised. They crashed through the brush, and the next second, Rarity heard screeching. The screeches echoed back up to her, and she smiled. She dropped back down onto the ground, and walked towards the brush they had run through. She moved it aside, laughing as she did. A ravine, carved from the river that flowed at the very bottom, stood there, like an open mouth. She leaned over the edge, but she couldn’t see any bodies, nor could she hear any sounds. She let out a sigh, looking down into the ravine. “That was for Sweetie Belle, you heartless bastards.” ***** “I did not sign up for this!” Rainbow yelled at the sky. She was sagging under the weight of Pinkie. Her wings, especially the injured one, were burning. And the worst part was, she didn’t know how much longer she would have having to do it. “Why aren’t you fighting?” Rainbow whined at Pinkie. She was carefully following Twilight with her eyes, watching her back as she ran through the forest. She seemed able to take care of herself, shooting or using her magic to keep the Hunters off of her. “I told you! I don’t know how to fight! And plus, isn’t this more fun for you?” she asked, laughing. Rainbow just looked at her. She turned back to Twilight, who had decided to take a complete turn and head back the way they had come. Sighing, Rainbow turned as well, still following her. But then she saw something that made her gasp. Twilight, who was only watching the ones behind her, was heading right into a second group. The second group was just waiting, like they knew she was coming. Rainbow looked for a way out, but she couldn’t find any. “Twilight!” she yelled, as loud as possible. “Twilight watch out!” But she didn’t hear. She just kept running in the same direction. “What are we going to do!?” Pinkie asked, voice filled with fear. “The only thing we can do.” Rainbow said, picking up the speed. She dropped close to the tree line, depositing Pinkie on a treetop. She poured on the speed, but she knew it wouldn’t be enough. She had been too far away. she watched at twilight broke through the brush, and right into the second group. Rainbow could hear the gasp where she was. And she watched as a blade sunk itself deep into Twilight right shoulder. her scream pierced the air, spurring Rainbow on. She unholstered her gun, taking aim as she flew. She reached the small clearing, just as the Hunter was raising his blade, the tip coated in Twilight’s blood. Rainbow pulled the trigger, and the Hunter fell to the ground. The others jumped back, letting out surprised screeches. In that moment of confusion, Rainbow rushed in, grabbing Twilight and flying back up into the air. She heard a knife fly passed her ear, but she didn’t dare turn around, she just kept flying. She could feel the blood from Twilight shoulder seeping into her fur, and she looked down at her friends violet face. Her eyes were closed tight against the pain, but she was alive. “You’re going to be alright.” Rainbow said, flying back to Pinkie. “We are going to get help.” She hovered above Pinkie, wagging her tail at her. She got the idea and grabbed hold. Rainbow lifted her up and flew away, heading towards the hospital. She prayed she would make it in time. ***** “How much longer do you think we have to do this!?” Lightning yelled as they continued through the forest. They had run into another group of Hunters after a couple hours of silence. They had hoped it was over, but they still had to fight. Phoenix looked up at the sky. The brightest patch of clouds, where the sun was, was closing in on the west horizon. “Well, considering it has almost been a day, I would think not long.” he said, blinking and shaking his head to get rid of the rain that was falling on their already soaked fur. Lightning looked back at the Hunters. “We have to get these guys off our tails.” he said, breathing hard. “I am not sure how much longer I can last, we literally had no ammo left.” Phoenix nodded, looking around the forest. There was nothing, no clearings or anything. “Plan B?” he asked, looking at Lightning. “Which is?” “We get as much space as possible, then just turn and shoot.” Phoenix answered, that crazy glimmer back in his eye. Lightning smiled, nodding. He pointed at a tree about a quarter mile up the path. “Plan B.” he said. Phoenix smiled, pouring on speed. Lightning did the same, ignoring the pain in his thighs and calves. Looking over his shoulder, he could see the Hunters falling behind. He counted seven of them, but that couldn’t have been right. He had counted eight a moment ago. He shook his head, turning around. It was not the time. They reached the tree, and Phoenix flared out his wings, bringing himself to a halt instantly. Lightning had to skid to a stop in the mud, but her turned around, taking aim as Phoenix started to fire. One by one, the Hunters fell. But they didn’t fall easily. They ducked and dodged, but they weren’t fast enough. Each one fell, landing in the mud with a splash. The mud began to turn a slightly darker color, a dark maroon. Lightning lowered his weapon, breathing heavily. Phoenix did the same, turning to look at him. “Well, that was exciting.” he said, smiling. Lightning nodded. “How long do you think we have before he have to do it again?” Phoenix laughed. “I don’t know, but--” his voice broke off mid sentence, and his eyes grew wide as plates. “Watch out!” he yelled, rushing forward and pushing Lightning over. He fell into the mud, and he couldn’t see anything. The next second, he heard a gunshot, and a body fall to the ground.