//------------------------------// // 05 - Sunset - Red Shirt! // Story: Tales of an Equestrian Battle Mage // by Babroniedad //------------------------------// The next few days were their usual pleasant routine. Celestia’s prize students would wake, get ready for the day, then eat breakfast in the large dining hall with the rest of the castle staff, mostly talking about their studies, but occasionally Twilight wanted to hear more stories about the Battle Mages. Sunset regaled her with what she could, cleaning up and glamorizing what she had to for little filly consumption. One evening Sunset and Twilight were surprised by a knock on her door as they were studying together. Trotting over to the door and opening it, Sunset found an orderly standing before her, scroll in her magic. “Mage Sunset Shimmer! Your orders!” she said, presenting the scroll to Sunset. Sunset took it in her magic, thanking the orderly, who nodded and trotted off. Shutting the door, Sunset opened the scroll, reading it as she returned to Twilight. “What was it?” asked Twilight excitedly. “Are you getting sent out again?” Sunset nodded as she read. A Griffon crew was raiding villages along the Equestrian border, burning villages to the ground and capturing or killing the ponies living in them. According to their spies, several of the missing ponies had turned up on the Griffin slave blocks. Tomorrow, she was being sent in to deal with the raiders and make the border safe again. Twilight wanted to know more, but Sunset reminded her they needed to focus on their studies. The princess was occupied with affairs of state, so the two ate dinner in the common hall again then retired to Sunset’s apartment for the rest of the night. The following morning, Sunset said her goodbyes to Twilight, over protestations. She wanted to come with her. While she might have been fine on that last outing, Sunset had a very bad feeling in her gut about this one, and she didn’t want any dark stains on her sister's souls from seeing what she was afraid she would find on this assignment. She asked Twilight to say hi for her to the Princess, then with a gentle scruff of her mane sent her on her way to breakfast. Bag packed, robe on, and battle ready, she retired to the courtyard to find the Major and the Sergeant wanting for her. Even they were in a more somber mode, confirming her gut reaction to this assignment. “So it’s not just me then,” she commented as she climbed up into the chariot and secured her hooves in the straps. “You feel it too?” “I do,” agreed the Major. “Though I will admit, slavers always leave a bad taste in my mouth. What type of creature sells another for profit?” She shook her head. “I guess the same kind that rapes and kills the others,” Sunset sighed. “The sooner they are stopped, the better. And if not us, whom?” she asked rhetorically. “True that,” agreed the Major as she trotted into place. Together the two Pegusi kicked off, pulling us skyward and towards the border of the Griffin Empire. Several hours later they touched down, a few clicks from the border and a short trot from the sight of their latest raid. While they set up camp, Sunset trotted over to the ruins of the raided village to gather any insight into who was doing this. The bodies had been buried, that dignity afforded them by the guard troops who had found them and reported the incident. Rows of gravestones lined the road into the village, marking their final resting place. She hoped they’d found peace in the next life, peace that had been robbed from them in this one. Turning aside from the rows of graves, she entered the village. The embers had long since burned out, but the lingering smell of burnt flesh and carnage still hung in the air. Blood stains were splashed along the cobblestones all through the village, turned black with the passing of days, but not yet washed and worn away by time. Bits of fur and tufts of hide were caught in crevices, crows picking at the scattered bits in a death's feast. She threw a rock at them, and they scattered, only to return as she passed. Surrounded by death and destruction, there was nothing to learn here. She moved to the edge of the village and circled around, reading the tells of the battle. She saw where the scouts had murdered the village watch, silencing them before any alarm could be raised. She saw where a larger group had come in afterwards, spreading out through the village in mayhem and destruction. She traced the tracks of the larger group back to the main group, where it was clear they had taken to the skies to join the attack. A few stray feathers were scattered among the trampled growth. She picked them up, examining them. “Griffons,” she confirmed. Just as the stories said. Wrapping the feathers in a parchment, she placed them into her bag, continuing her examinations. Sunset scouted around the area, looking for signs of where they had come from. There were no tracks leading into the area, confirming they had flown in and gathered just out of sight of the village to stage their raid. She then examined the marks on the ground, trying to determine from the marks of their landings the direction they had been coming from. The majority of the landing marks suggested they had come from directly over the border, a few stadia away. She lit out in a trot in that direction. Coming to the border, Sunset saw the milestones that marked the border between our two kingdoms. She gave a brief thought to the fact that by crossing she was technically committing an act of war, violating their borders, but dismissed it as meaningless given what she had seen in the village already. She wasn’t instigating a conflict here. She was responding to one. And she intended to end it. Crossing into Griffin lands, Sunset continued her quests for any sign of the raiders. About an hour's journey in, she came across signs of a campsite, several days cold, and large enough to have been the party she was looking for. She gathered some molted feathers from the ground around the campsite, comparing them to the feathers she had gathered earlier. They were a good match, suggesting this was the same crew that had committed the raid. She once again took a read of the landing markings, then continued along in the direction suggested. Several more hours of travel, she found another campsite, and more this time. Wagon tracks joined the campsite this time, leading off to a main trail further into the woods. Following the tracks, She determined that there were only three wagons, and they were all heading towards the Griffin village several stadia down the road. The picture was becoming clearer in my mind. She now understood why so many were slaughtered in the village, despite the party clearly being slavers. They were raiding into pony lands, they were traveling light, only taking out what they could carry with them in flight. That was why they only needed three wagons. They could only take as many slaves as the party could carry flying out from the raid. The rest were slain where they stood. So they had rained down upon the village like death from above, taking their prizes then slaying the rest of the village and putting it to the torch, then had flown back here to gather their prizes into the wagon’s pens and off to the market for their bounty. Sunset’s hide crawled with repressed rage for what they had done. Lighting out towards the trail, she cantered swiftly towards the village. As she approached, she pulled the hood up over her head, leaving only her horn showing from under it. She trotted brazenly into the town. Griffins all around her stared in open beaked shock at the pony trotting among them, calling out and whispering to each other as she passed. She headed straight for the central market, keeping her eyes open for any sign of the wagons or a group of griffins looking like a raiding party. Inside, Sunset was still shaking with rage. She half wished somegriff would start something, would give her a reason to lay into everygriff around her. Sunset trotted up to the auctioneers stage, calling out to the merchant griff talking with his associates. “You! Griff, I have some questions!” she called out. He turned, scowling. “We don’t serve your kind here, pony. Buzz off before you lose your head,” he dismissed her, turning back to his associates. Sunset glowered. “I don’t think you heard me, griff! I said I have some questions!” she challenged. Horn glowing in teal, the griffin merchant was roughly spun in her magic, then dragged over to the edge of the stage. A griffin charged her from her right, and was immediately hit by a telekinetic blast, launching him back through a stall into the wall behind it. With a thump and a spray of feathers he fell to the ground, unconscious. At the same time, a crossbow bolt shot toward her from behind, only to be incinerated in mid-flight. The griff with the crossbow was launched across the market, slamming into a wall and joining his compatriot in enforced slumber. Slamming the merchant down to the floor of the stage where she could look him in the eye, she glared at him. “Let’s try this again, shall we,” she growled into his face. “Any other griffs want to get in on this? I can do this all day, and I’ve been spoiling for a fight.” She looked around. No one moved. “No? Okay then,” she turned back to the merchant. “A group of slavers have been through her. They made the mistake of taking some of my ponies. I’m here to take them back, and take the slavers out. Know anything about that?” she asked. “Screw you, pony!” the merchant gasped. “Not the answer I was looking for,” Sunset replied. She grabbed his wings in her magic, pulling them back until his pinions were almost pulled from the sockets. “I heard that dislocating a wing can be horribly painful. Care to find out?” she asked. Sweating and gasping, he shook his head. “Good griff. You can be taught. So answer my question. Did a group of slavers come through here with captured ponies?” “No!” he gasped. “Trick question,” Sunset informed him, pulling harder on his pinions. “I already know they did. I need to know where they went. Want to try again?” “Okay! Okay! They came through yesterday. They only stayed long enough to purchase supplies! I tried to get them to let me sell their slaves for them, but they turned me down flat, saying they could get a better price in the capitol. I swear! That’s all I know,” he gasped. “Thank you!” smiled Sunset. “See, was that so hard? And hardly any time at all, now you can go back to whatever business you had going.” She released him from her magic. “Just one thing though,” she smiled as he pushed himself up off the floor. “If I ever hear of you selling pony slaves, I will personally come back here and make you wish I had just done to you what I threatened. If you ever sell pony slaves, I will make sure you never walk again, and forget flying.” She spun and trotted back out of the marketplace, heading back to camp. She needed to check in. As she galloped out of the town and back to the border, she didn’t see griffin skimming through the treetops, following her. Several hours later she trotted up the hill towards her camp. She paused, her every instinct screaming danger. She listened, and realized she couldn’t hear or see any movement. She cautiously entered the camp. To her horror, she saw the sergeant laid out in front of the tent, neck slit ear to ear, blood soaked into the ground under her. She spun around looking frantically, and saw the Major laying shot through with two crossbow bolts, barrel struggling to draw a breath. With a gasp, Sunset raced over to the Major. “Major, hang on! I’ll get you some help, hang in there!” she cried. The Major looked toward her, then her eyes rolled up in her head and she laid still. Sunset’s eyes shot open in raw panic. As she leaned over to call out to the Major, a crossbow bolt shot past her neck, nicking her fur and tearing her hood. If she hadn’t just lowered her head then the bolt would have shattered her spine. A griffin leapt from the tent, talon blades bared ready to rip her to ribbons. Only to disappear in a flash of fire with a scream as she blasted him out of the air. From the back of the tent another griffin took off into the air, flying at top speed back towards the border. “Damn it!” swore Sunset. “Damn it damn it damn it! They must have followed me back here!” She put her cheek down next to the Major and felt for breath. “Oh sweet Celestia, thank the Maker! She’s still breathing!” she sighed. “Hang in there Major! I’ll get you some help!” Throwing her saddlebag and torn robe into the chariot, she used them to make a place to lay, and gently lifted the Major into the chariot. Tying her down as best she could so she wouldn’t fall out, she hurried back to the front of the chariot and harnessed herself into the lead position, then as fast as she could lit out for the nearest guard outpost, pulling the chariot behind her. Several hours later, shaking and covered with sweat she trotted up to the gates of the guard output. “Halt, who goes there?” called out the guard on watch. “Open up!” she panted. “Sunset Shimmer, Mage Corps! I have wounded!” The gates were pulled open. She dragged the chariot into the compound and collapsed. The regiment surgeon was treating the Major. Sunset laid in the bed across from him, watching as he worked on the Major. “Will she be okay, Doctor?” she asked. “She’s in a rough spot here, mage. She’s lost a lot of blood. She’s a tough mare though, and I think she’ll pull through. That’s an old griffin battle trick though,” he noted as he worked. “They kill everyone outright, leaving just enough left wounded, too damaged to do anything themselves. They know we are too kindhearted to leave our injured to die, so they use them against us to slow us down and burden us so we cannot come after them. Makes my blood boil to see it,” the surgeon commented. “Mine too,” agreed Sunset. “What happened to your third? Don’t you mage units travel in threes?” asked the doctor. “The sergeant was dead. They had slit her throat ear to ear,” said Sunset sadly. “There was nothing I could do.” “I’m sorry to hear that,” nodded the doctor. Sunset dragged herself over to the side of the bed, and shakily got to her hooves. “Woah woah woah, just where do you think you’re going, miss!” barked the doctor, heading over to her and pushing her back into bed. “I haven't released you yet!” “You don’t understand, I have to go back!” Sunset tried to get up again, but the doctor held her down. “I have to go after those ponies! I’m already a day behind them! If I don’t hurry I may never be able to get them back!” she protested. “And if you go after them in the shape you are in now, you never will,” the doctor finished. “Get a good night's rest, and get rehydrated. That run took too much out of you, you need to recuperate. Come morning we’ll see how you're doing and you can make a more intelligent decision then. You’re just running on nerves now. Get some rest, doctor's orders!” He tucked her in. Sunset struggled briefly, then fell completely asleep. The camp commandant sent his fastest flier with a dispatch for Canterlot detailing what had happened, and a scout team to gather the remains of the sergeant and what was left of Sunset’s camp. The next morning, Sunset did feel better. While not fully recovered, at least she was no longer shaking and too weak to stand. She was relieved to find that a report had been dispatched to Canterlot, and that a team had been sent to her camp to recover the sergeant’s body and clear up the camp. Requesting permission to leave, the camp commandant gave her a new robe and wished her good hunting. Putting on the robe and her saddlebag, she left the camp and headed back for the border, determined to track down the ponies that had been captured from the last village raid.