Revenge is Bittersweet

by P-Berry

Ch.5: A new fire sparks

Chapter 5: A new fire sparks

The night slowly faded and the orange morning sun began to rise at the Equestrian horizon, bathing the country in its warming light. Taking a deep breath of the cold, moist morning air, I looked up and saw the silhouette of the Republic’s embassy appear in the distance. As I quickly approached, my heavy breathing and blurry vision gave me an unmistakable reminder that I hadn’t slept properly for days. But sleeping could wait: there was something that had to be done first.

A few seconds later, I stopped in front of the big gate sealing the entrance to the fort and looked up to the round path. A passing pegasus-guard -a sturdy stallion in his late forties, dressed in a light, purple armor with multiple emblems of the Republic fixed to it- looked down and noticed me.

His orange eyes narrowed and he gave me a harsh glance, shouting: “Stop! What do you want? This is the territory of the New Lunar Republic! Supporters of the tyrannical Princess are not permitted!”

I gave him a determined look: “I’m here to join the Republic! I want to come out of my shells and live my life in freedom! And I want to make the Solar Empire and all of its supporters pay for what they have done to me!”

The stallion gave me an inspecting glance, then lifted himself into the air and landed in front of me. Flicking his right foreleg, he made a small sword appear from a sheath fixed to his hoof.

He stepped closer and carefully scanned the area; an icy breeze came up and slightly unkempt his grey fur. I shivered from the coldness and, intending to calm him, bitterly said: “There are no enemy troops around. I don’t plan to assault you or anything like that; I just want to fight Celestia … and her allies.”

Apparently being finished with searching the area, the guard gave my body a closer look and finally flicked his leg again, making the sword disappear in the small sheath. Giving me a serious glance, he asked: “You wish to join the Republic?”

I nodded approving: “Yes. The tyrant has tortured this country for far too long; it’s time to do something about it! I will join you and fight against her reign! Against all the ignorance and secretiveness in her system! And I will fight against the government of Cloudsdale, and against-”

“Draw it mild, will you?” he interrupted me dryly, “Even though your determination is laudable, I don’t have the permission to decide whether you are allowed to join the Republic. Only Luna herself has.”

Giving him an impatient look, I demanded: “Then can you take me to her? There’s no time to lose!”

He gave my bruised body another inspecting glance and soberly noticed: “You don’t seem to be armed.” Turning around and facing the Embassy again, he dryly commanded: “Follow me!” before taking off and heading back towards the round path.

I sighed: after the events of the past days, I was surprised that my wings hadn’t fallen off yet. Still, I saw that there was no other way than to fly, for the stallion didn’t look like he’d open the entrance door for me, so I hesitantly stretched my wings.
Instantly, I felt the sharp pain flash through my body and tense every single of my muscles. Looking up and noticing that the guard had already arrived and gave me an impatient look, I clenched my teeth and slowly took off.

It took me longer than expected to approach the round path. Upon arriving there, I feebly dropped myself onto the cold ground next to the guard. My breathing had gotten even heavier, and my wings certainly looked like if they had been plucked, but the guard didn’t seem to care.

A second guard -a pale yellow mare, dressed in a midnight black, much heavier armor than her companion- came through a wooden door in the dark blue wall and looked at her fellow. An excited, but serious look on her face, she said: “Stormtrotter, you called?”

The stallion -apparently named Stormtrotter- made a bow towards me and explained: “Yes, Rose: this stallion here wants to join the Republic.”

Letting out an exhausted groan, I slowly got to my hooves.

“Please take over from me while I escort him to Luna.” Stormtrotter added.

The mare, seemingly named Rose, nodded approving: “Yes, brother!” she gave me a friendly bow with her head and added, “Good luck, contender.”

I nodded gratefully and followed Stormtrotter through the small door, entering the embassy and leaving Rose behind to continue with Stormtrotter’s duty.

As soon as the door had closed behind us, we walked down a set of narrow stairs that led into the big chamber of the embassy’s main floor.

The walls of the dimly lit room were covered with armory or torches; the wall opposite to me was filled with the huge gate I saw from outside the embassy. Several ponies, dressed in armor altogether, were either practicing their combat-skills on mannequins or sitting on a large table in the middle of the room and chatting; the few ones of them who were looking up gave me an interested glance and greeted their fellow with a silent bow of their heads.

Stormtrotter looked over his shoulder and focused me with a serious glance, asking: “What’s your name, applicant?”

Not wanting to mention my embarrassing name, I rolled my eyes and reluctantly answered: “Fippo.”

He raised an eyebrow: “Fippo? That’s a quite … uncommon name.”

I shrugged: “Blame the bastards I once called my parents. I hate it too, believe me.” I cut myself off, “But enough of that. When will I see Princess Luna?”

His eyes narrowed: “Soon. … But she doesn’t want to be called ‘Princess’ any longer – too many bad associations. No, when you approach her, just call her Luna; treat her like a fellow. In the Republic, we all are equal; we all are brothers and sisters.” He explained. I nodded understanding.

We passed another landing of stairs and arrived in the Embassy’s basement: a small, dark chamber that was completely filled out by something that looked like an arch. Made of black stone, it was about two meters in length and height; its inside was enlightened by a purple shimmer, forming a wall of violet light.

As Stormtrotter stopped in front of it, I curiously asked: “Is that the portal ponies were speaking of? That thing that takes ponies to the moon?”

Stormtrotter nodded without looking at me: “Yes. Please stay close to me; traveling for the first time can make you feel a little dizzy.”

I raised an eyebrow: “What do you mean with ‘dizzy’?”

He gave me a sober look: “You’ll see when it’s over. Now come on, I can’t leave the embassy for too long.”
Without a further comment, he stepped into the arch and quickly was absorbed by the violet wall.
I hesitated - that was exactly what I never wanted; what I tried to avoid from the beginning: become biased; join a side in the war, and fight.

But what choice did I have after all? My daughter was somewhere out there, and the Republic was the last possibility for me to get help; the last party that would support me. And of course: the crimes committed to innocent foals had to be avenged; those responsible had to be found, and the Princess had to be brought to justice for simply ignoring the crimes of the society!

Looking up and focusing the portal, I felt my determination grow stronger: I had no other choice; there was no other way; this certainly was the right decision!

Stormtrotter´s head appeared in the violet wall and he gave me an impatient glance, snarling: “If you don´t wanna pass the portal, you can leave by now! The republic isn’t a place for wimps!”

I nodded hastily: “Yes … of course. … I’m right behind you.”

The head disappeared again; I took a deep breath and hesitantly stepped forward, diving into the bright light of the portal.
For a moment, I was completely absorbed by the violet light. It was everywhere; it seemed to seize everything around me, and there seemed to be nothing but that magical light: no ponies, no war, no sorrows; there was nothing but light.

Then, there was a short flash that forced me to close my eyes.

---

As soon as I opened them again, I found myself in the middle of a small settlement: around me, there were four huge buildings and one smaller house, looking plain, grey, and simple altogether. The ground was made of grayish dust and the impressive sight of a huge, blue planet presented behind the horizon.

The surprisingly cold temperatures made me shiver as I looked towards Stormtrotter, who now stood next to me. “Are you okay?” he asked, not making an effort to hide his indifference.

Letting my glance wander over the settlement, I mumbled: “I guess that’s the moon…?”

He gave me an annoyed look: “No it’s the sun, you jerk! Of course it’s the moon! Where did you expect we were going?”

“Sorry, it’s just … quite impressive.” I looked to the ground in embarrassment.

Stormtrotter nodded, showing sympathy for the first time: “I know it can be. But believe me: as soon as you live here for a longer period of time, you see how monotone and boring this planet actually is.” He hastily shook his head: “But I’ve digressed. Follow me; Luna’s accommodations are in the main building over there.” he said and pointed to the smaller house.

As we departed, I looked around the big place - it seemed to be the main square of the settlement: there was a small platform in the middle of the place; ponies who mostly wore armor were either hastily walking around on the square or going after their daily routine by working on several requirements like armor, food or weapons. Behind some of the buildings, I saw several foals play with each other and oppressed a sorrowful thought of Firespark.

Stormtrotter looked at me and dryly asked: “So, do you have any idea of how things are running in the Republic?”

I slowly shook my head: “No.”

He sighed deeply, making an effort to hide his annoyance, and said: “Okay, then let me explain you the basics - you shouldn’t face Luna as a total greenhorn. As you know, the Republic has been formed as a nation of liberty: every citizen of it is free in his or her actions, and nopony has the right to set themselves over any other citizen. Got that?”

I nodded understanding.

“Great.” He said dryly, “We will have elections as soon as the struggle with the Solar Empire is over. Until then, Luna is the president - the head of the state: she represents the Republic towards her sister and decides what is done and when it’s done. She however doesn’t want to be seen as our leader, so don’t act like a subordinate subject when talking to her. Like I said: treat her like a fellow.”

Again, I silently nodded my understanding.

“If there’s something or somepony that bothers you, try to solve the problem verbally. If you can’t, approach Luna about it - she will judge about who’s right. As I said before: this is just the martial law; we’ll have an independent court as soon as we kicked those imperial flanks!” He announced confidently and gave me an asking look.

“Alright.” I said and, taking a look around the settlement, quickly added: “But tell me: how does it come that there are so few buildings here? Most of them look like depots to me.”

The grey pegasus approved without loosening his look from me: “Actually, only one of them is a depot; the three other houses are used as accommodations for the population and therefore contain apartments.” Hesitatingly, he added: ”I admit: it doesn’t look that glorious, but we won’t win a war by sitting in big-flank palaces like the Princess does. Benefit is more important than luxury.”

I hesitantly nodded, trying to hide my skepticism about the idea of living in small, tight apartments.
Stormtrotter looked forward and focused the small house: “So, now let’s get down to business. With applying for a citizenship, you grant the Republic your loyalty: you’ll live in our community and -if necessary- do what you’re asked to do.” He made a bow towards the crowded square next to us, “At the moment, most of the population is used as guards or armorers in order to be prepared in case of an attack by Celestia.”

He looked at me again, paying special attention to my broad shoulders and strong forelegs: “With your build, Luna will probably use you as a guard - it would be a waste to have somepony like you working on a forge.”

I shrugged carelessly.

“As a guard, you’ll be provided a sword, as well as a custom armor. As you’re a pegasus, you’ll get a light armor that is constructed to provide you the highest possible agility.” He droned out, “Unicorns’ armors are slightly heavier; earth ponies -like the beauty you saw at the embassy- wear the heaviest armor in order to be protected the best when it comes to a fight - a situation we have to be prepared for all the time. But along with many other things, this will change as soon as the threat by the Empire is defeated and we can disarm our forces.”

His eyes began to shine: “Luna aims at expanding to Equestria and, by applying the principles of liberty and democracy to the former Empire, forming an ‘Equestrian Republic’ - a united nation where everypony can live together in peace and harmony. … Nopony will have to fight any longer.” he said, melancholy swinging in his voice. He hastily shook his head: “But before that, there are some places to be destroyed and some flanks to be kicked! Are you ready for this?”

Making an effort to look eager, I turned my head towards him and said: “Yes.”

A sly grin appeared on his face: “Good,” we arrived at the main building and he entered, gesturing me to follow him, “then here we go.”

I passed the narrow door behind him and he stepped aside, revealing the view of the room: the windowless walls were plain and white; a small door at the other end of the room seemed to lead into a bedroom. My look fell on the object opposite to me: a massive, wooden desk with a map of Equestria on it; over it was leaning a pony with cobalt blue fur -slightly darker than mine- and a dark blue mane; she wore a light, black armor and seemed to be completely focused on the map in front of her, not noticing her guard and me.

“Luna!” Stormtrotter finally spoke up, making the former Princess look up.

Her dull look focused on her fellow, she asked: “What?”

Stormtrotter made a bow towards me: “We have another applicant.”

Luna’s expression brightened slightly; she turned her head towards me and gave me a gentle smile: “Great. Please step forward, applicant.”

Obeying my new leader, I made a small step towards her. She gestured Stormtrotter to leave; he nodded stiffly and left the room through the entrance door.

Luna gave me a critical, yet interested glance and began: “So, you wish to join the Republic?” she rounded the desk and slowly walked into my direction.

Hanging my head low, I nodded silently, my face contorted with bitterness.

She approached me, asking: “And why?” she gave my bruises a closer look and gasped, “What has my sister done to you?”

Gulping in discomfort, I looked up and said: “The bruises weren’t caused by royal guards if you meant that.”

Her face showed a touch of curiosity, mixed with a minor amount of concern, as she asked: “Then who has battered you that extremely?”

Letting out a groan, I mumbled: “I guess you know what the flight test is?”

Luna nodded hesitantly, obviously reflecting: “It’s this ritual in Cloudsdale, right? Where foals have to show their flying-skills in order to live a life in the city.”

“Yes…” I sighed deeply, “My- my daughter failed her test.”

She raised an eyebrow: “And?”

Contorting my face in outrage, I yelled: “And!? Don’t you know what happens to ‘failures’?”

Hastily shaking her head, she affirmed: “No! The pegasi take care of those things on their own! My sister may know it though, but I’m not inaugurated into that procedure.” In a softer tone, she added, “What happened to your daughter?”

I groaned in pain, recalling the memory: “They … abducted her. They took her and threw her into a carriage. I … tried to stop them, but …” I sighed, “I was too weak. I got my wings seriously injured and fell to the ground.”

Gasping in disbelief, she asked: “Are you serious?”

“I don’t joke about those things.” I said dryly, “Apparently, this is the usual procedure with ‘failures’ … and a regular event in Cloudsdale: foals who can’t fly are expelled mercilessly. I approached your tyrant of a sister and begged for help, but…” I clenched my teeth, feeling my anger grow, “Hell, she knows about the whole process! She even supports it!”

Luna contorted her face in disgust: “Are you serious!? That’s … just awful!”

“Indeed it is. That’s why I’m here. I want to join your army; I want to find the ponies that abducted my daughter and make the tyrant pay for her ignorance!”

She let out a thoughtful sigh and walked back to her desk, certainly unsure whether she could trust me and believe what I said.

A few awkward moments of silence passed until Luna finally turned around. Her look beaming with cold determination, she focused me and said: “You will have your chance! I hereby declare you to a citizen of the New Lunar Republic; with all the rights and duties coming with it!”

Sickness crawled up my throat as I heard this: I did it. I became biased; I joined a side. It now was sealed that I had to fight … and maybe kill - everything I wanted to avoid became true. But it was a necessary step: the support of the Republic should make it easier for me to find Firespark and take action against her abductors, not to mention the support in my newly inflamed fight against Celestia.

I looked at my new president and nodded appreciatively, saying: “Thanks, Princess Luna.”

The leader stiffened and furiously span around, focusing me with widened eyes: “This is the first thing to remember! Never; never ever call me ‘Princess’! It makes me feel like my sister! No, to you and every other citizen, I am j u s t Luna!” she yelled.

I nodded again: “Alright … Luna.”

Loosening her look from me, she turned towards her desk and asked: “So … what’s your name, brother?”

“Fippo.” I dully answered.

Luna turned towards me again, apparently not affected by my uncommon name: “Okay, Fippo. You can count on the Republic: with you on our side, we will end Celestia’s megalomaniac reign and free the ponies of Equestria!” she looked away, “…I hope you understand that we can’t use all of our force to look for your daughter“ her look focused on me again, “but we also cannot accept the abduction of innocent foals! I will assemble a group of ponies to look for the place they are brought and take care of those poor creatures and their abductors. Do you have any hints where they might have taken-“

The president got interrupted as the door got pushed open powerfully and a guard hurried inside the room, shouting: “Luna! Luna, I have important news!”

She gave him a surprised look, but calmly asked: “What? What kinds of news?”

The guard must have sprinted recently, for he needed a few seconds to catch a breath until he looked up and breathlessly shouted: “The embassy is getting attacked by Celestia’s troops! We need immediate backup!”

Luna’s body stiffened and her eyes widened: “A-are you serious?” Before the guard could answer, Luna stammered: “B-but how can she…? That’s just…”

She slowly exhaled and, lowering her head, said: “I knew that this day would come…” She looked back up and focused the armored pony with a determined look, “Round up all available guards at the main square, tell them to prepare for combat!” she soberly commanded.

“Yes, Luna!” the guard hastily answered and turned around.

He was just about to leave the room as Luna added: “And, please do me the like and…” she sighed and looked to the ground again, “Please send a declaration of war to Canterlot. She has to know what she gets herself into when attacking our embassy.” she explained bitterly.

The guard nodded approving and hastily disappeared through the door.

Luna looked at me again, her expression changed into determination: “We don’t have much time! You said that you wanted to be a guard? That’s your chance to prove yourself!”

I hesitated: “B-but … I-I”

“There’s no time for doubts!” she interrupted me, “I’m afraid we can’t offer you armor in the few time we have, but I won’t send unarmed ponies out there!” She loosened something that looked like a bracelet from her right foreleg and placed it on the ground in front of me, gesturing me to place my foreleg in it.

Hesitantly obeying, I did so and, after hearing a brazen ‘click’, lifted my leg again, curiously eyeing the mysterious bracelet: it was made of metal, midnight blue, with maybe two inches in diameter and ten inches in length.

“Do you know how to handle it?” Luna asked soberly.

Not loosening my glance from my foreleg, I asked: “What the hell is that thing?”

Luna dropped her face into her hoof and sighed: “When this fight is over and you’re still alive, you’ll need an elementary course in combat. Flick your foreleg!” she told me.

I did so and, with another brazen ‘click’, a short, dark blue blade appeared from inside the bracelet.

“A sword!?” I yelled recoiling.

Luna nodded impatiently: “Yes,” She walked towards the door, “now come on, we have to go!”

After putting the sword back with a quick movement of my foreleg, I hurried after her and left the small house through the entrance door.

Stopping in front of the entrance, I took a look around: the formerly quiet square now was filled with hundreds of armored ponies, running around and taking position in front of the portal.

Remembering the dialogue between Luna and the guard, I looked at my president and stuttered: “Did- Did you mean that? Did you really declare war to your sister?”

She nodded determined: “Yes. It was a hard decision, but my sister knew that an attack on the embassy would result in a war. She knew it and she did it anyways!” her voice quavered as she departed, heading towards the portal, “Now if you’d excuse me…” She dived into the mass of armored ponies and disappeared; I spotted her a few seconds later as she stepped on the single platform in the middle of the square. The guards noticed her standing on the pedestal and instantly froze, looking at their president in expectation as she began a short speech.

“My brothers and sisters! We don’t have much time! Celestia has decided to take the final step and attacked our embassy in Ponyville. She ignored our warnings and ruthlessly assaulted our territory! I tell you: we will not watch this idly! Step through the portal and defend our last territory in Equestria! Support your brothers and sisters! For Equestria! For! The! Republic!” she shouted encouraging.

Aroused cheer came from the masses of guards and the first few ones of them stepped through the portal. Luna stepped down from the platform and I hurried towards her, approaching her again: “Luna, I’m not sure whether I can do this! I-I’ve never fought before! I’ve never killed before!”

She gave me a critical glance while walking towards the portal: “Then you’ll do it now. I won’t force you to anything, but one of your duties as a civilian of the Republic is to defend you homeland!”

I nodded understanding: “I know, but … those ponies down there … they are guards! Soldiers! Ponies with families; maybe with foals!”

Luna coldly shook her head, correcting me disparagingly: “You should stop thinking like that. Stop believing that those we fight are ponies - they are our enemies, that’s the essential! Either they kill you or you kill them! I know it’s not easy, but the last thing you’re allowed to do when facing an enemy is hesitating! Hesitate and you’re dead!” she incisively said and hurried forward, leaving me behind.

I gulped: what the hell did I get myself into? Certainly, I wouldn’t hesitate to use force when facing Firespark’s abductors or even Princess Celestia, but the ponies attacking the embassy were guards; they hadn’t done anything to me personally! They were just pawns in that giant chess match called war; just like me!

Only a few seconds later, I approached the portal in the mass of other guards and hastily stepped through it. This time, there was no violet shimmer, and no flash: my whole mind was filled with the certainty that I would have to fight; that I would have to kill.

Swimming in the mass of guards, I arrived in the small basement of the embassy and got shoved up the narrow stairs by the crowd.

Completely disoriented, I floated in the stream of black and blue metal and finally found myself on the round path of the embassy.

While the pegasi hastily flew over the ceiling, the unicorns, along with the earth ponies, simply jumped over it, apparently not affected by the ten feet of free fall.

I stepped out of the mass of guards and walked towards the ceiling, carefully taking a look over it. My jaw dropped: the embassy was surrounded by a mass of Imperial guards, heftily fighting with the guards of the Republic. And the results of the fight were clearly visible: the meadow that usually surrounded the embassy had taken on a deep blood-red; the ground was paved with fallen soldiers of both, the Republic and the Empire, and the unmistakable scent of blood had spread all over the place, while the air was filled with the sounds of screaming ponies and swords colliding with metal.

Sickness crawled up my throat and I choked: I’d thought that war was horrible? I hadn’t seen anything yet!

A husky voice came from behind me: “You there! Don’t just stand around, move your flank and get down there!”

I span around: one of the guards had stopped and looked at me impatiently; his face was contorted with stress and anger.

Unable to bring out a word, I stiffly stared at him; my face was ashen.

He furiously stepped towards me and yelled: “Your brothers are dying down there! Now go on and help them before I make you!”

I stiffly shook my head and stepped back from the ceiling: “I can’t do it. I-I don’t want to become a part of that! Joining the Republic was a huge mistake!”

The guard pawed the ground; the artery in his neck was swelling. “I’ll show you a huge mistake!” he yelled and dashed forward, catching me off-guard.

Before I managed to dodge his sudden attack, I felt his body colliding with mine and giving me a powerful shove forward. I stumbled over the ceiling and instinctively stretched my wings in order to regain my balance.

But it was too late: mercilessly shoved forward by the guard, I slid over the ceiling and felt the thrilling feeling of free fall coming over me.

Fortunately, I managed to slow down my fall with my wings, but nonetheless landed hard on the grassy ground in front of the embassy.

I looked over my shoulder and up to the round path: the guard now lifted himself into the air and landed next to me. “There we go! Still a greenhorn, huh?” he asked derisively and drew his sword.

Unable to answer him, I stiffly took a look around: fighting ponies seemed to be all around me; small squirts of blood were flying through the air, and the deafening sound of swords colliding with armor seemed to blow my eardrums.

Just as he was about to head forward and hurl himself into the fighting mass of ponies, the guard noticed my stiffness and said: “Stay close to me, I’ll try to-“ his voice suddenly got cut off as his chest got pierced by a sword.

The guard let out a painful groan and collapsed; a constant stream of blood ran down his chest and formed a small puddle underneath his hooves. Stiffly looking upward, I focused the assaulter: a royal unicorn-guard. Dressed in a bloodstained, golden armor, he stretched his right foreleg out and smiled complacently.

“That was for the Empire, you motherbucking rebel!” he shouted hatefully and pulled his sword back, making his limp opponent let out a last groan before finally closing his eyes.

The royal guard focused me with a determined look. Grinning with pleasant anticipation, he announced: “Your turn!”

I didn’t manage to loosen my look from my dead fellow. The world around me seemed to blur as my brain internalized it: he was dead! That guard had killed him! And he would kill me too if I wouldn’t act soon!

Without thinking, I loosened myself from my stiffness and instantly ducked, feeling the air draft of the sword over my head.

Showing no sign of confusion, the guard quickly re-adjusted his strike and thrusted his sword downward.

Once again, my survival-instinct saved me: without hesitating, I rolled aside; the sword pierced the grass right next to my head. Nausea crept up my throat as I noticed that I was lying directly next to my fallen companion; the blood from the small puddle began to soak my fur.

But I tried to ignore my sickness and desperately thought about what to do - I couldn’t dodge forever!

The answer came right away as I felt the metal bracelet around my ankle. Without thinking further, I flicked my leg; the dark blue sword slid out of the sheath with a silent, brazen sound.

Giving the weapon a short look, the guard grinned derogatorily, obviously not impressed. He raised his hoof in order to strike again, but froze in his movement. I’d thrusted the sword forward - it had pierced through the thin layer of metal in his armor directly into his stomach. The guard let out a painful grown, then turned limp and fell to his side, a consistent stream of blood coming from a large cut in his belly.

Shivering hard, I tried to resist the urge to vomit: I had just killed somepony. I had taken a life.

Trembling, I got to my hooves and pulled the sword out of the guard’s body. I snapped it back in and stiffly stared at the two corpses in front of me; the battle around me seemed to be gone.

With shaky legs, I whispered: “No. No, this can’t be true!” I hastily shook my head, “This can’t have been done by me!” I hastily turned around and stretched my wings, “No! No! No! This isn’t what I wanted! I-I have to get away from here!” I shouted and quickly took off, heading upwards; away from the battlefield.

After only a few seconds of flying upward constantly, I suddenly saw something approaching me from the corner of my eye. I hastily turned my head and saw that it was a pony: a royal pegasus-guard - and he quickly came closer. His look teeming with determination, he shouted: “There’s no escape for rebels! We’ll get all of you!”

A split-second later, he ran into my body from the side, his heavy-armored head colliding with mine. I could let out a quick scream of pain before I blacked out and dropped to the ground.

I still felt the impact though.

Comments

[Cocaine]

Mmmm...You write combat pretty decently. ^_~