Hammer hated this mission. It stunk to no end and had so little information to help him. It was a classic situation of get in, do X and Y, get out, and if you get caught, don’t talk. Sure, it kind of rimmed at the end, but it didn’t make this type of mission any better.
Suddenly a pony jumped out and threw a knife out at him. Hammer felt his body being shoved against the wall beside him as his comrade behind him took the knife in his stead. The wounded warrior didn’t stop as he lifted his axe to kill the would-be assassin, but a magical luster shown around his axe, and in an instant it flipped out of his hands and slammed into his back, killing him in an instant.
Hammer looked ahead of him and saw a unicorn that had what was in Hammer’s mind the most devilish of grins that ever existed outside of Cerberus’ patrolling grounds. Hammer drew his knife and threw it at the unicorn, only to have in fly back at him and miss him by an inch, but slam directly into the chest of his comrade that stood ready behind him.
Hammer ran up to the unicorn with his head lowered, intending to run the monster right through, but when he hit it, it felt larger. Hammer pushed it back, and looked into Wrought Iron’s eyes, stretched wide in terror.
“N-no, Wrought Iron, no!” Hammer said as the minotaur slumped in his arms. Hammer cried into the dead private’s fur as his word began to fade.
“Well isn’t that a sight.” A voice said from nowhere. Hammer looked around, still holding on to the corpse. “The great warrior, who slaughtered many a foe with no regret or tears, weeping over the body of a fallen soldier who he barely met; something in this picture doesn’t seem to add up with what you have portrayed yourself to be, or maybe you’re just putting up a front. Yes, that’s it; a façade of what every minotaur strives to be. The honorable warrior who fights for his country to ensure its safety, whose death is lamented many nights, but who’s memory in truth never really stays. In all honesty I’m surprised at you lot, so engulfed in your traditions, not once doubting it is for the best, never once thinking twice about what your leader send you out to do, it’s really quite fascinating.”
“Who are you? Show yourself coward!” Hammer shouted, still holding onto Wrought Iron as tears continued to flow.
“Who am I? What type of question is that for a minotaur to ask? Shouldn’t it be something more like what is your greatest weakness or something of that ilk? Are not the minotaurs the beings forged in the flames of Tartarus, bound by tradition and blood to fight until they give their lives?” The voice questioned in a mocking tone.
“Show yourself coward!” Hammer roared at the nothingness.
“What would be the fun in that, Hammer? But, for your sake, I’ll give you a… representation of who I am.” Hammer turned to see a large snake emerge from the darkness. “Is this better? I do know how much you love snakes.” The creature said as he began to lift itself from the ground. “Or would you prefer this?” Suddenly the snake turned into a satyr. “Yes, I think this form will do nicely, snakes are so last year.”
“Who are you?” Hammer said as he reached for his sword.
“I am you, but more specifically, the more sensible part. At least that is what I think to be true. You would call me your darkest thoughts and deepest doubts, but that is how your limited perspective allows you to see me.” The satyr said as he circled around Hammer. “Oh, so sorry, let me get rid of that for you.” With that the satyr snapped and Wrought Iron was gone.
“Why… why…” Hammer started.
“Why? Why what? Why am I here? That’s an easy one. I’m here to bring a bit of sense to your life… or was that chaos… oh whatever, either way I’m here. And don’t worry; I won’t leave for a long time, so we’ll get plenty of time to get to know each other.” The satyr said with a smirk as he snapped his finger while jumping up. When he landed he fell into a plush cushion.
“If you are my doubts… where’s my security and faith? Shouldn’t you lot be fighting for control, or has that already happened?” Hammer said as he stood up.
“Oh, you’re wandering about those two buffoons? They’re gathered in a team huddle with Perseverance and Self-Will. Quite the team they make, but these last two battles we’ve been in… well let’s just say that it wasn’t very kind. Not to mention the big whopper of the battle at Bull Creek, man-oh-day was that a big strike on Perseverance, and Faith had a bit of scare last night with that private getting killed and all. Not to mention Faith is getting it pretty hard right now with you talking to me and all.” The satyr explained with an expression of false sympathy.
“Are they all satyrs, or is that just your bit?” Hammer questioned as he walked towards the jolly satyr.
“Nah, they prefer figures that are a bit more recognizable, mostly minotaurs, but some are other creatures. You should really see Despondency; he’s a sight for sure. Big old Cerberus, accept even more grizzly if you can imagine.” Hammer then drew his sword and plunged it into the satyr, only to find a puff of smoke in its place. “Oh my, can’t kill the crazy satyr, oh shame.” The creature chided from behind Hammer. Hammer turned and saw the satyr sitting leisurely on his plush cushion, now with a glass of wine in his hand. “Look buster, I’m your DOUBTS, I am the uncertainty in the back of your mind that now grows ever stronger. How can you kill something that isn’t fixed, something that isn’t CERTAIN? You really aren’t the most intelligent thing out there are you?” The satyr huffed at him. Hammer snorted, feeling anger slowly creep up on him.
“And what of the old saying ‘lay to rest any doubts that plague your mind’?” The satyr sputtered at this, spitting a bit of his wine on Hammer.
“Wait, you mean they still use that? Man, I haven’t heard that line in years. Look, when they said lay to rest they meant to put it to sleep because doubts aren’t killable. Doubts are immortal, but in some they are just dormant, waiting for something to wake them up. I’ve been up ever since you answered to your lord’s summons. That day really was a great one, Self-Will took a hard hit during training; ah, good times, good times.” The satyr reminisced with a smile and a swirl of his glass.
“I’m just going to guess this is a dream and ask when I can wake up.” Hammer seethed. The satyr just eyed him lazily as he sipped from his glass. After a little more drinking and refilling from an invisible bottle, the satyr sat up.
“I guess you really are serious. Alright, you’ll wake up whenever the outside world does something to merit you getting out of bed.” The satyr then leaned back with a sip from his glass. “Now I think I need a real name.” The satyr said with a devilish smile. Hammer looked at him while raising an eyebrow.
“And where did this topic come from?” He asked as he inspected the satyr closely. The creature simply shrugged as he swirled his glass a bit more.
“I don’t know, go ask the writer or something, but since we are going to be getting to know each other much better over the next long while I think I’ll need a proper name beside Doubts that you can refer to me by.” Hammer raised an eyebrow.
“How about the name Nail, sound good enough to you?” Hammer said bluntly, brushing off the first comment as another one of this thing’s odd little quirks, not to say there weren’t some larger quirks that weren’t apparent enough.
“I’m actually warming up to your sense of humor, but no, Nail just sounds… dumb to be honest. No let me see. It has to be something memorable, something that you can think of in an instant, and something that can interlock with your name just as I am interlocked in your subconscious. Hmm… something interlocked with a hammer… something that could interlock with Hammer. Oh… OH! Something that interlocks with a hammer, a sickle, yes sickle that’s perfect, my name is Sickle, absolutely perfect!”
“Sickle? Are you serious or is this another irrational joke of yours?” Hammer asked cautiously. Sickle eyed him curiously as his crazed smile grew.
“Oh don’t you know? Hammer and sickle, and the red, and… oh why do I even try to explain these things to you?!” Sickle exclaimed in frustration. Suddenly the world shook around Hammer. “Whoa now, what was with all that shaky business, are you waking up already?” Sickle questioned as he inspected the blackness around him. Slowly the world settled around Hammer and Sickle. “Bah, I don’t much care actually. I’ve done a good bit of damage in this one run. You can go ahead and… WAKE UP!” Sickle shouted with his eyes growing suddenly wider in crazed happiness.
Hammer slowly woke up from his dream. The tent around him was the same as it had been when he had knocked off for the night, except now it was a bit lighter outside, and all of the privates were gone. Hammer looked over to the far side of the tent, watching Jet organizing her things in silence.
“Morning, Jet, had a good rest?” Hammer said as he sat up in his cot. Jet looked over at him and gave a brief salute before going back to her organizing.
“Yes sir, last night went rather well.” She said as she began to place her armor’s various pieces in their positions on her chain mail shirt.
“Uh, you know… when we aren’t in an active positions the formalities can be dropped a bit. We are the same rank after all.” Jet looked over at him as she secured her shoulder pad.
“My company’s commander put me under your command. If you want that to be changed send in a forum to headquarters, if not I’ll be here for a while. As for formalities, Sir, This as informal as I’m allowed to get according to protocol; in reality I’m surprised that you minotaurs, being the ’world renowned’ race of warriors, separate from almost every part of protocol. Referring to your superiors by ‘sir’ is the easiest, and still I hear your soldiers refer to you as ‘Corporal’, something only a superior of yours should do.” Jet Stream replied flatly
“In my army protocol is rather lax in field unless the Jarl or the King is present, then things become much more strict and formal.” Hammer shot back as he stood up.
“So until the highest authority arrives to watch over your actions you just act relaxed? That is highly inefficient. It is much more reasonable to continually keep a rather consistent level of order of respect.” Jet commented as she attached her other shoulder plate. Silence fell over the tent once again.
“So where is the rest of the squad?” Hammer asked as he buckled his belt that had his sword and knife looped on it. Jet strapped her chest plate on, not even looking at him.
“They went to the main gate with everyone else. The platoon leader called from the troops to assemble for a siege.” Hammer’s jaw dropped.
“You mean to tell me that the platoon was summoned and I wasn’t woken up?” Hammer asked as he grabbed his axe, secretly sending a glare towards the gryphon for not interrupting his shenanigans with Sickle.
“I thought it would be better to let you get your rest. Besides, we aren’t in the presence of the King or a Jarl so it doesn’t matter.” She said with a smirk while she tied her cloth belt on, along with the dagger that was attached to it.
“Very funny, now you better wait around long enough for me to follow you to the area.” A smirk crossed Jet’s beak. Hammer quickly put on his armor and headed out the tent, then waited for Jet to come out. When she did she was flying with two swords, one in each of her front leg’s fists. She looked at him for a second before flying towards one of the larger gates that had a swarm of minotaurs and gryphons standing, or flying, around it. “So how long was the summons given exactly?” Hammer asked as he jogged to keep up with Jet.
“I’d say about three minutes before you woke up, sir.” Jet responded without looking over. Hammer sighed, at least they wouldn’t be too late, those three minutes could be excused, and if anyone asked, he could probably make a rather valid reason why he had come after the majority of his squad.
“Hey, Hammer, over here!” Hammer heard the voice he recognized as one of the members of his squad. He and Jet turned to see the squad waiting in a siege ram. It appeared to have been, at one time maybe not too long ago, a whole wagon train that now was combined into one solid piece, having two wagons placed side by side, then putting more and more in front of them. The wheels were now replaced with smaller, thicker wheels that made the bottom of the cart almost touch the ground. The rim of the wagon had been built up to be walls, and a roof with some steel plates on it looked high enough that Hammer could probably jump as high as he could and still not touch it. The ram proper was suspended by some chain from the walls with an opening in front of it to allow the spiked ram head to actually hit the structure in front of it, and running parallel were two benches, one on either side, where the minotaurs sat waiting. Two of his squad members and several other minotaurs stood outside of it, under a sheet of metal that gave them some more protection while they would push it. Hammer looked over at Jet, and then nodded towards the contraption.
“So what’s the story behind all this?” Hammer said as he took a seat at towards the rear, followed by Jet who closed the door behind her, causing the interior to go dark, and it would have gone completely black if it hadn’t been for the barred window on the raised ramp.
“We got assigned to ram duty along with several other squads.” Replied one of his subordinates as he patted the ram happily, causing Hammer to shrug in indifference. He had never been a part of a siege, so he could only guess how this would go.
“Hey, what’s a gryphon doing in here?” Hammer heard a voice ask from farther down the massive apparatus. “Shouldn’t it be out there with the other mercenaries?”
“She’s on my squad!” Hammer yelled back. “This is where she’s been posted so you’ll just deal with it until we get out!” Silence fell over the interior of the ram.
Time dragged on, the interior of the ram getting hotter and hotter, and still no movement. Hammer had pondered taking a nap, but he didn’t want to risk having to be woken up by Jet, which, by what he could tell through his own experiences with it, wouldn’t happen, even in the thick of battle, not to mention running the risk of meeting up with Sickle.
“What? Am I already that despised?” Sickle’s voice asked him in his head, the smile on his face evident in his voice.
“What if they called of the raid and forgot to tell us?” One of the minotaurs farther down asked a loud. A piercing silence followed as each one in there thought on that for a few seconds. Suddenly a loud horn blared through the air, and soon the ram was moving, admittedly it was slow, but moving none of the less.
“Finally!” A voice shouted out. A collective sigh of relief spread through the ram’s benches. Suddenly a ‘plink’ was heard coming from above them, then another and another. Slowly the rate of the taps on the roof grew more numerous and more frequent.
“Arrows hitting the roof,” one of the minotaurs commented, “Nothing to be worried about.” Hammer looked up and saw a few tips poking through the thatch roof. A few harder strikes resonated, something Hammer could only guess were either more powerful bows landing hits or stones that were being thrown down at them. Suddenly Hammer noticed a part of the ceiling glowing a tad, then another patch, and then another.
“We’re receiving magic bolts! Put your shields against the roof!” A minotaur from the front yelled, and with that all of them were standing with one hoof on the bench and the other on the ram as they put their shields as close to the roof. Hammer could feel the heat from the spells seeping through the roof and into his shield as more and more bolts struck the roof. Arrows were beginning to pass through the roof and slam into their shields.
“How much farther do we have until we get to the gate?” Hammer asked the minotaur who were pushing the gigantic ram.
“Not much farther to go. I suggest you start trying to figure out how to latch your shields on the roof.” The minotaurs inside immediately began searching for ways to attach their shields to the nearly destroyed ceiling, but it didn’t take long until the ram stopped, the ramp was opened and the minotaurs that had been pushing entered.
“Keep on hand on the shield and swing the ram with the other!” A minotaur farther up shouted as the ram began to sway slightly as the minotaurs grabbed the poles coming from the ram and began pushing and pulling in unison. Hammer put his all into making the ram move, and then he felt his shield missing. Looking up in horror, expecting to see it had been destroyed, he noticed Jet pushing up on it with her talons.
“You need two hands to make this work, sir.” She said as she continued to flap her wings to keep herself aloft. Hammer stepped down from the bench and found his grip on the pole was much easier. He tightened his grip on the pole and began pouring all the strength within him into the ram, and soon it was swaying back and forth as they slowly weakened the doors of the inner city.
Dull thuds echoed from ahead of them as they slammed the ram into gate and as rocks flew from the catapults behind them. A minotaur ahead him gasped in pain, causing Hammer to look up, and to his horror, saw that a part of the minotaurs shield was glowing. Hammer looked ahead to the hole on the far end of the ram to see the gates were beginning to give a bit. Hammer gave a surge of strength as the ram went forward. The ram slammed into the gate with a gigantic ‘thud’. Several other minotaur’s shields were glowing. Hammer looked up to his shield and found it was glowing as well.
“We need more power; those farthest back drop down and give it your all!” Hammer shouted the order. The five minotaurs closest to him dropped down and revealed the charred remains of what one time had been the roof. “Jet, cover us, you five, give her your shields! They might be trash, but they sure will buy us a bit more time!” The minotaurs nodded, and each unlatched their shields and gave them to Jet, who quickly raised them in groups of two, with three on each arm, at a slight angle. The ram crashed into the gate once more with a crash.
“It isn’t giving, we need more!” A minotaur from the front shouted back at them. Jet looked back at Hammer with worry.
“I don’t think I can cover any more of you! I might be able to hold more shields, but I can only cover so much area!” She stated with concern painted across her face.
“Alright, minotaurs farthest back, let’s move up! Next two rows give your shields to Jet and prepared to get crowded!” The minotaurs quickly gave up their shields to Jet and moved up as close to the minotaurs in front of them as possible.
The ram slammed into the gate, but this time it stuck fast. Hammer strained as he pulled back, trying to set it free, but it wasn’t budging. Fragments of the walls around them fell over them as more boulders were launched and crashed into the walls.
“We’re stuck! I think we need something more of a direct approach!” A soldier near the front shouted back. Hammer gave a mighty heave, but nothing was accomplished.
“What did you have in mind?” Hammer asked as he took a few gasping breathes before pulling once again.
“How about a few of us go out there and hack away at the door with our axes? It would help speed things along a bit I would think!” The minotaur shouted back.
“Yeah, as soon as you figure out how to get out without getting dead within a few second you tell me!” Hammer yelled back before attempting to pull out the ram head again. Hammer gasped for his breath while noticing that everyone was pulling at different rates. “Everyone, stop pulling, we need to do this at one time!” Hammer shouted. “Let’s pull, in three… two…” Suddenly a boulder slammed the wall above the gates, sending rubble down on them. Screams were heard as several of the minotaurs fell under the weight and others behind them were struck with arrows or killed instantly by a beam of magic.
“Move forward, quickly!” Hammer shouted, immediately the minotaurs went forward, stopping the onslaught. “Status report, what’s going on up there!?” Hammer asked as he grabbed the ram again.
“A good bit of ruble fell in here, but it isn’t going to be a problem! The debris that actually landed on the ram dislodged it, we’re good to go!” The reply came. Hammer pulled back on the ram before pushing with all his might in unison with the rest of his comrades. The ram broke through this time and the doors swung open with a loud groan.
Hammer turned around and saw the line of minotaurs charge the fortress with a mighty roar. He looked back to those with him.
“The platoons are coming in fast! If we hold on a bit more we’ll be charging in with them!” Hammer shouted over the battle cries.
“Sir, our orders are to break the ice! We need to get in there and secure the walls!” A soldier shouted back to him. Hammer looked up to Jet.
“How many of those shields are still good do you think?” He asked her. Jet looked back at him and shrugged. “Well I guess we could always charge in there without them.” The other minotaurs sent him worried glances. “Jet, can you separate any of those shields?” Jet attempted to pry one of the shields apart, but it was stuck fast.
“No sir, they appear to have bonded!” She called to him. Hammer hissed under his breath. He looked towards the part of the wall he could see. Ponies were shooting their arrows and beams of magic with deadly precision.
“Alright… kick out the front wall, the front most two lower shields to protect the front, those behind, move up as close as you can, we don’t want any gaps whatsoever!” Hammer shouted his orders. The front wall came crashing down with a mighty crunch as the two front minotaurs kicked it out and then fell back in with the others with shields lowered in front of them. “Alright, march in as one, no one get separated!” The minotaurs all snorted in acknowledgement. With that the group began to march towards the broken gate as one. The group moved on as the arrows and beams became more frequent.
“Sir, we are passing through the gates now! What are your orders?” one of the foremost soldiers asked. Hammer thought up a plan as quickly as possible.
“Jet, give me one of your shields!” Jet quickly passed him one of her shields. Hammer looked to the four minotaurs behind him who were pushed up as close as possible to him. “Go along the right wall, we take that side of it first! When you can, those with shields go farther forward while those without are to stay behind their cover!” Another snort passed through their ranks as they approached.
The First of the minotaurs began to form the shield wall as those without streamed into the door to the watchtower that connected to the wall. Hammer inched along, his shield filled with arrows and hotter spots where magical beams had continually hit it. A minotaur in front of him roared in pain as an arrow pierced through not only his shield, but his forearm, he lowered his shield for a second as the pain overwhelmed him. Hammer saw what would happen, and began to shout a warning, but it came too late as another arrow slammed through the warrior’s skull, ending his scream in a crack. Hammer closed his eyes against the blood and the horror which he had just seen.
“I just love this,” Sickle’s voice whispered in his ear, “Such pain and suffering for your own kind, but none for those whose life you end so freely. I find it to be so… delicious!” Hammer shook his head violently, removing the last traces of the voice as he moved up to fill the gap. Soon enough the entire force was inside the tower and the door was shut behind them.
“Alright, I’m going first, the rest of you will cover our left side while the one farthest back needs to get in close to protect our rear and not expose their side.” Hammer said as he moved up to the stairs that were in the center of the room.
“I’ll do it, sir.” Jet volunteered quickly. Hammer nodded as he began to ascend as fast as he could. At the top were two doors, one leading to the wall that went over the gate and the other going away from the gate, the latter being the one Hammer had singled out.
“Alright, I’m going to kick in the door, and once I do we’ll need to stick together. Is that understood?” Hammer asked as he approached the door. A snort passed through the ranks, done by all except Jet, who simply nodded. “Alright then, making the breach in three… two…ONE!” With that Hammer drew back his leg and slammed it against the door, causing it to fly open and detach from its hinges, falling away to the side. Hammer lifted his shield quickly as three arrows quickly met his sudden appearance.
“Minotaurs are on east side!” A pony shouted in its native tongue from in front of him. Hammer signaled for the others to duck down, an action he did as well after checking over all of his squad-mates.
“Raise your shields; we’re entering the thick of it!” Hammer shouted back to his comrades as he began to move forward. “Keep together, no gaps!” Hammer shouted back as he sheathed his axe on his back and unsheathed his more precise sword. The door behind them burst open with a flurry of arrows smacking against Jet’s shield.
Hammer lowered his shield and swung his sword out at the pony before him, you quickly found a deep gash across their throat as they fell backwards over the wall. Raising his shield again he continued to advance. A few orders were shouted in Equestria, but were given so fast he couldn’t make them out, but he quickly figured out what they were as a mass of beams and arrows slammed into his shield, only stopped by the fact they were comprised of several shields that had been bonded.
Hammer drove his blade forward, catching another pony in the chest, but as he pulled it back an arrow hit him high on the left shoulder. Hammer gritted his teeth as he put his shield up, receiving a few more arrowheads that pierced through the weakening sheet of metal. He quickly smacked the shaft of the arrow with his free hand, snapping off most of it, leaving only a small piece behind poking out from his shoulder.
Hammer once again lowered his shield to attack, but this time didn’t raise it back up after killing one of his enemies, but instead took another pony down before once again retreating behind the cover of his shield.
“We’re taking heavy damage in the rear, sir! Corporal Jet says her shield probably won’t hold on much longer! What are your orders, sir?” The minotaur behind him asked as Hammer continued to inch along.
“Tell Jet to take the four minotaurs behind her and start taking the wall behind us! We need to cover as much area as possible! Also tell her to swap her shield with the minotaur behind her!” A snort came to his ears as he continued on. Hammer looked to his side to see the platoons nearing the gates, their shields having so many arrows sticking out of them that they could double as a quiver and not run out of ammunition any time in the predictable future.
Hammer pressed on, using his shield to push the ponies back the wall. A sharp pain shot up his arm and through his body as an arrow pierced the shield and cut flesh. Hammer lowered his shield for a second, slashing out at the ponies before him as an arrow whistled by his head, replied with a gurgling cry behind him. Hammer slammed his shield into the next pony, and then lowered it once again as he drove his sword into the next pony. Hammer lowered into a complete crouch and looked behind him at the rest of his squad and the other minotaurs. The minotaur that had been just behind him was no longer there, but was propped up against the wall with an arrow piercing his throat, blood still oozing out. Hammer clenched his eye while turning his head to face his shield.
Arrowheads were scattered across its surface as well as growing spots of heated metal. Hammer looked back at his warriors, and saw the door lying on the ground by the hole it once covered, an idea coming to him at its sight.
“Send the door up this way!” Hammer barked the order, a minotaur immediately picking it up and throwing it to Hammer. Hammer placed it in front of him and took a running stance! “Push me!” He quickly was sent forward, ramming into the ponies ahead of him as he began to run as fast as he could, with ponies tumbling off the walls as he barged on through. Several arrows pierced through the wooden surface, and piece of the thick oak door began to smolder as he continued his charge, but he wouldn’t relent as he gained precious ground.
Hammer finally threw his burnt, useless shield, at the ponies, causing several to be knocked off the wall or simply unconscious. Suddenly, a bolt of magic slammed into his chest before he could lift his shield, sending him skidding backwards before falling to a knee before another bolt gave him a devastating blow that slung him into the city. Hammer felt the air rush by hiss fur, cooling his burn before suddenly being stopped by a wooden roof, that didn’t hold out for long, caving in under his weight, letting his hit the attic floor, which didn’t appreciate the roof’s generosity, and so gave the honor to the first floor, whom took the gift thankfully, an let the minotaur stay.
He looked up and saw a group of startled ponies that sat around a dinner table, unaware of the battle around them, though the sounds were clear as crystal. He rose up, noticing his sword was gone, so he drew out his battleaxe. His pelt covered in splinters, pain blasting through every inch of his being as he snorted at the ponies, steam swirling up into the cooled air. He tensed his strong arm, taking a step towards the ponies, who looked absolutely terrified.
“And why shouldn’t they?” A voice asked him, one he didn’t recognize. “You are a fierce minotaurian warrior, bringer of death and destruction to all those whom oppose the Kingdom of Taurus. Show them your power. Show them that even falling from their wall into this house won’t stop you.” Hammer took another step towards the ponies, warm blood matting his fur.
“And what have they done?” Sickle asked simply. “They are just civilians, and by the looks of it, don’t have a violent bone in their bodies. Look at them, their trembling more than the gelatin they have on their plates!” Much to Hammer’s chagrin, Sickle was very much right. These ponies were terrified at his appearance in their home and his appearance in general.
“Don’t let doubts control you, soldier on through, let your courage guide you!” The first voice, Courage, Hammer assumed, shouted. Hammer glared at the ponies at the table, and then looked around at the room, and spotted an open door that led downstairs.
“In the basement, now,” Hammer ordered, “Stay out of the fight and you might not die.” The ponies left the table and charged down towards the basement, shutting, and, by the clinking sound that followed, locked the door behind them.
“On the bright side of this, that’s five fewer faces that will scar your dreams for all of the rest of your short life.” Sickle pointed out. Hammer huffed before charging out the door into the streets, several guards turning to gaze in astonishment at the bloodied minotaur. Hammer gave a mighty roar and charged at the ponies, his axe slicing the head off of the first pony before it came down once more and cleaved the next pony in two.
The last pony jumped back and shot a bolt of magic into his chest, his chest plate growing ever hotter. Hammer removed it and slammed it into the pony, wrapping it up tight like a present before hefting it up with one arm and sending it soaring through the sky, towards the wall.
“I’d suggest looking away before the memory of what happens to that pretty pony projectile.” Sickle commented, Hammer snorting in agreement, turning toward the center of the inner city, gigantic towering building touching the very essence of the heavens and, maybe, even a bit beyond. Hammer rolled his shoulder before charging towards inner districts, the sounds of battle roars flooded the air as minotaurs broke in past the ram’s wreckage, causing a smile to break out across his snout as he charged onwards.