It was time. Eventually midnight came upon us.
Everypony gathered at the East entrance of Ponyville, to listen the speech Shining Armor prepared to lift the spirits up. And when he finished, we quickly retreated to our positions.
"Good luck." Rainbow whispered to me before flying off.
My father decided it was a good idea for Shining to cast a second shield, so that left me to retreat to the center of the village, following the group I was assigned to.
We were six soldiers, and my rank among them was neither higher nor lower, but they still treated me like a superior, being my father a former Captain. I told them to let that aside, and treat me like they treat each other.
We decided to make some patrols inspecting the nearby streets, while I would go up and search from the roofs.
They split in two groups of two and three respectively, and started the vigilance while I would look from up.
Around half an hour later, it started. The sound of steel clashing could be heard in the distance. It's something really frightening to hear it in real life, the screeching sound of swords.
It is something it sends shivers down my spine. But I had to focus, I couldn't let that sound distract me. So I acted quickly and searched for the other soldiers in my group, to gather to the center again.
But on the process I found one Red that sneaked in.
"Already? This guys are faster than they look." I told myself.
I moved silently through the rooftops, and analized every opportunity to pin him down. I finally found one and let myself fall over him.
I made sure to grab his head to slam his face to the ground. He was instantly knocked out.
"We can use him for interrogation, I don't want to kill when there's not need to." I thought.
I disposed him of his clothes, and with them I tied him to a nearby pole, and continued to search for the other five soldiers of the group.
We gathered back to where we were firstly assigned, and made sure to protect every corner.
"Hey, why don't you look from above? You can warn us when one of them comes." one of them told me.
"I don't know guys, I could, but that means that you're left with one less soldier." I told them.
"So? There's still five of us." another said.
"Yeah, and when one is missing, we fight for him, so we don't lose power." the first one explained.
There wasn't time to argue, so I left them again and went up to the roofs.
I watched carefully the two main sides where the Guardians should show up. And a few were already coming from the East.
"Watch out! East side is being overrun!" I warned to my group.
They quickly looked at that side, and unsheated their swords.
Half a dozen of Reds penetrated the East side, it shouldn't be a problem for my group, they can take on at least two enemies each. They took care of the invaders.
Then almost ten more Reds appeared, and it was harder for the party to deal with them.
"Need some help?" I asked the team over the yelling and hollery of the fight.
"We can hold them off! But it would be nice!" one of them answered.
I looked around for any Red separated from his group, to attack on surprise, so the enemy doesn't know of my presence.
Another dozen arrived, it was time I helped with something. So I searched for the last ponies on the wave and attacked them. I jumped off from the roof and stabbed two of them in their necks with my two hidden blades, blood was splattered on my hooves. I ran to a dark corner, and waited.
I finally killed, not one, but two ponies at once! I had a disturbing feeling, and seeing the blood on my hooves made me feel another shiver through my back. But I couldn't stay there, I had to keep helping.
I got out from the corner and slained two more Guardians from behind. There was that feeling again, but I was somehow getting used to it.
I reunited with my group again.
"I thought you were going to attack with surprise!" one of them told me when I arrived.
"I can't attack on surprise with so many Reds! I would never finish!" I answered.
Three invaders faced me, I unsheated my sword quickly, and waited for them to attack.
One of them slashed at me, I dodged and counter-attacked, I managed to make him a cut on his shoulder. He was replaced by another that attacked downwards, which I parried with my gauntlets and with my right hidden blade stabbed his left forearm, incapacitating him to stand up normally.
He attacked again horizontally, I blocked with my sword and with my left hidden blade stabbed him through the throat. He fell down inert, and as fast as he fell, I leapt at the third one and stabbed his chest with my sword, and kicked him in the stomach forcing my weapon out.
This was the third time that that feeling came back, I was not only getting used to it.
I was starting to like it.
Three more times I killed three more soldiers, with my sword, my blades, my martial arts techniques, all combined. I was putting all my combat knowledge to the real test.
I used the environtment to my advantage, I leapt to walls and bounced back, I climbed to roofs and let myself fall on the Reds, I even used their own equipment against them, be it counter-attacking with their own swords, or launching said weapons to another of their brethren (if the first guy was already dead).
Everytime I killed one of them, I remembered what they were responsible of.
The assassins, they eradicated them, my inspiration. I never wanted to join them anyway, but still they were like heroes to me.
They killed Swift Slash, one of the most talented assassins, and quite a great friend of Rainbow.
They filly-napped Fluttershy. The pegasus I love. And thanks to that, she lost her voice.
She lost her voice.
I left out a yell, and killed one Red that was right in front of me.
"It's not enough." I said with clenched teeth.
And so I ran to the East side.