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// Chapter 11 
// Story: Dusk Rises 
// by The-rogue-shadow 
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The sounds of fierce battle and the cries of the fallen filled Twilight’s ears as she galloped through the park where her small team of five was defending a group of scared citizens from a horde of city guards. Their armour flashed in the ever diminishing sunlight, while Twilight’s white hood and cloak gave her the appearance of some sort of spectre, an ethereal spirit of rage and vengeance. The thrust of spears and the slash of swords did nothing to slow her down, her mind was set on one target; Councillor Ignatius of the griffin council. She could just make out the flapping of the green robes through the constantly moving wall of feathers and flesh. Her breathing was deep but calm, the pain from the wound in her stomach being forced back by nothing but her own force of will. 

Sliding between the legs of a guard, Twilight slashed at his ankles with her hidden blade, causing him to scream in agony and fall to the ground, his back legs now all but useless. She leapt to her hooves, colliding with another guard’s chest and knocking him over. The guard became a springboard for the purple unicorn, launching her into the air and over the heads of a group of astonished griffins. Twilight rolled as she hit the ground, continuing the chase. Ignatius was much faster than she thought, always managing to stay ahead of her as he ran in circles around the park, cackling manically. Twilight’s scowl grew wider as she watched the green robes swirl around in sync with Ignatius’ exaggerated movements. Every so often, a white shape would catch her eyes, and despite knowing that her team could really use her help; she felt compelled to continue chasing Ignatius. He turned to face her, running backwards through the crowd. The sudden sound of a screaming Jean made Twilight break eye contact with Ignatius. She stopped, searching for the white hoodie that Jean was wearing, while at the same time ducking and dodging that multitude of angry griffin guards that were all looking for the glory of taking her down.

Twilight finally spotted Jean as she climbed up onto a guard’s back, pressing her blade against the back of his skull. Jean was being pushed back toward a bonfire by three guards; she had taken possession of a spear, and was using it to block the swords of her attackers. Twilight started galloping toward her, only stopping to take down an attacker of her own. When she did finally arrive, Max was already there, tackling his former comrades and taking them out. Jean, however, was using the distraction to take a rest, wiping some sweat from her brow. Twilight made her way over to Jean, quickly checking her over for wounds, as Max got back to his feet, pulling his sword from the body of the other guard. 
“And where the hell have you been?” asked, giving Twilight a dirty look. 

“Now is not the time Max,” Twilight snapped, bucking an approaching griffin. Max ducked under the swipe of a blade, punching his assailant in the face before quickly slashing the griffin across the throat with his hidden blade. With a flick of his foot, a discarded spear flew into his hand. Giving it a twirl, Max blocked the sharp end of a spear, deflecting the attack. The back end of Max’s spear spun about, colliding with the side of the guard’s head. The guard recoiled, stumbling from the force of the impact. With a small flap of his wings, Max lifted himself into the air slightly, lifting the spear over his head. With a grunt, he brought the spear back down on the guard’s head, caving it in slightly.
“I don’t care,” he yelled, spinning the spear again and flicking the blood off. “I need you to get your head in this fight Dusk. You and I are both warriors, we know that when we are on a mission, we have to focus. I can’t have you going off on your own, leaving us high and dry. You are our leader, so lead,” He ran off in the direction of Archangel, who was standing in front of the group of citizens.

“Don’t mind him,” said Jean, bending down to pick up her dagger. “He’s just scared.”
“Well that doesn’t give him the right to question me. I know what I am doing,” Twilight told her.
“I know that. But you have to understand that Max and I… this isn’t just a fight to defend these people. This is a fight to defend our first home. His heart is just so big, and no matter what, he has the urge to defend those that can’t do it themselves. But that dedication comes with a price; he is always in harm’s way, always fighting,” Jean explained as they both headed toward David, who was calling out for help.

***

The platoon of guards was slowly diminishing as the blades of the five assassins flashed in the light and became slick with blood. Twilight had instructed the others to injure rather than kill if possible, the reasoning being that it would take two guards to drag an injured one off the battlefield, thereby eliminating three potential threats from the fight. Some of the citizens that had huddled against the wall were beginning to cheer for their saviours, even stepping forward to help them, until Twilight set up a magical barrier between the people and the fighting. Twilight herself was bleeding heavily from her earlier wound, creating a large, dark red wet spot on her belly. Max had taken a spear to his right shoulder, leaving his strong arm almost useless. David’s face was covered in his blood, a deep gash resting just above his eyebrow.  Jean’s hoodie was almost torn to shreds on her left side, the tell-tale signs of talon slashes. Finally, Archangel had been cut across the muscles of the hind leg on his right side, causing him to limp around as he fought. The guards had taken many casualties, but throughout the entire battle; Councillor Ignatius had been standing at the other end of the park, always making himself visible to Twilight and the others. His constant smirk had done nothing but irk the unicorn, adding to her already high feelings of stress and frustration. The assassins had drawn an exhausted line in front of the magical barrier, as still more guards advanced. It seemed like an endless sea of feathers and metal, and Twilight shot a quick glance at her friends, the determination on their faces belied the fear that she could see in their eyes. Twilight felt certain that that same look was in her eyes as well. More guards advanced on them, heavily armoured and with spears outstretched. 
“Hold!” came the voice of Ignatius from across the park, the dark, serious voice that sent a chill down Twilight’s spine. “Leave them; I think they have had enough for now,”
“But councillor, our men, they killed so many,” shouted a guard.
“Silence! I am in command here; and if I say that this fight is over, then it is over,”
“But we have them outnumbered,”

“We have had them outnumbered for the entire fight, and yet a force of over a hundred has been reduced to you twenty useless featherbrains by five injured do-gooders. Now back off!” He screamed shrilly. He then walked forward through the remaining guards and stood in front of Twilight, the smirk on his face extremely unnerving.
“Well Dusk, I would like to be the first to congratulate you on a stunning victory. You and your team fight extremely well, and it was an honour to see you all in action. Now, we shall make our leave, and I hope that we get to meet you in combat again. Now come on guys, let’s roll,” Said Ignatius happily, turning to leave, until Twilight shot a bolt of magic at his feet. It detonated with the force of a small firework, causing Ignatius to jump in fright. He turned again to face her, the smirk turning into a scowl.
“So that’s it? You’re just going to run? What will Gilda say when she finds out you failed?” Twilight asked, her voice full of malice and confusion. 

“Does it matter? You are injured, and in all honesty, I want to see you all fight when you are at your prime,”
“Well I disagree; I want to finish this… now,” shouted Twilight, taking a step forward, and charging her horn with magic. Ignatius raised an eyebrow, the quizzical expression only intensifying Twilight’s anger. He stepped closer to her, but made sure to stay out of range of her hidden blade. 

***

“Well I don’t. I have plans Miss Sparkle. And my plans involve you and your little group of killers. Oh, but don’t get any ideas, I’m not going to join you, not at all. But sometimes, when you play the game of thrones, you need to obtain outside help,” he whispered cryptically, giving her a little wink. Twilight’s scowl grew, and she poured more magic in her horn, creating a magenta fire that engulfed it. Ignatius let out a low chuckle, shaking his head as he walked back to the guards, all of which were still standing at the ready, waiting for the order to attack. Twilight soon felt a presence beside her, and turned to see Max, his right arm dragging uselessly along the ground. 
“You psychotic idiot! You honestly think that we are going to just let you go after all of this? You think I will let you go?” he shouted, advancing on the councillor. Ignatius, for all of his big talk and arrogance, visibly shrunk down as Max approached him. 

“And what are you going to do about it Max,” Ignatius asked, and Twilight could hear the uneasiness in his voice. “Yes, I know who you are. You are quite famous among us politicians. I mean, COME ON, how could you not be?” Ignatius then turned to address Twilight and the others. “Here was a griffin that, despite the occasional reprimand for not following orders, had a perfect service record. He was a strong, intelligent soldier that had the respect of every single one of his superiors. But then he gave it all up to join this band of murderers,”
“Assassin, not murderer,” Max snapped. “I’m protecting those that can’t do it themselves.”
“Oh? And what was it you were doing before? As I understand it, the poor aren’t the only ones that need protection. They aren’t the only ones who can’t fight for themselves,”
“And yet, they do nothing to help the people that got them to where they are today,” Max said and Ignatius just nodded once, all traces of his happy, over the top demeanour gone and replaced with the rage filled, serious one. He leaned in close to Max’s face, giving him a look that would have even scared a dragon.

“Do not try to fight me boy. You remember the time of the plague do you not?” He asked angrily and Max barely moved his head to acknowledge him. “You remember that it was I that had to come into this worthless little suburb and burn the corpses of the dead, that it was my responsibility to put the infected to death. What do we call that time boy?”
“The great tragedy,”
“Do you know what I call it? The time when I realised that I just don’t care about the lives of others, that it is only through the elimination of my enemies that I survive,’ He revealed, and Max took a step back. 
“I remember you now… The griffin that dragged away my parents and left my sister and me orphans. They didn’t even have the disease!” He shouted, extending his hidden blade, which was still attached to his useless right wrist. Ignatius looked at it and chuckled.

“Really? Go on then, I’m an open target,” He said, standing upright and spreading his arms wide. Max twisted his body to allow his arm to get momentum, before throwing it with a cry of pain. Just before it hit, the arm was grabbed from the air by the councillor, and wrenched backward, causing Max to be forced onto his back. Twilight stepped forward to drag him off, but it was too late; Ignatius had done continually punched Max in the chest, and Twilight could hear every sicking crack of his breaking ribs. When he saw her approaching, Ignatius jumped back, holding his hands in front of him in a mock plea of innocence. Max was on the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. Blood was almost flowing from his open mouth but he was still breathing, meaning that none of his ribs had punctured a lung. 

“I gave you the chance to leave, to come back and fight when you were in better form, and you just spat in my face. Well no more. Guards! Kill them all!” He ordered, and the remaining guards smiled, lowering their spears once more. Twilight stared into Max’s eyes, her friend that had been the first one to join her, the first one who truly just wanted to protect others.
“Do it. I’ll be fine,” he told her through gurgling breaths. Twilight nodded, before standing and facing the attackers. She poured all of her magic into her horn, causing her mane and tail to burst into golden fire and her eyes to glow white with all the intensity of Luna’s moon.
“You have no idea what kind of trouble you are in,”