• Published 1st Jun 2016
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The Veins Run Deeper - Thunderblast



Four and a half years after peace returned to his colony, Night Shadow has come to a point in his career where he must prepare new recruits to see if they have what it takes to be Princess Luna's royal guardians.

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A Steady Wind - Part III

"All right. You two," Night pointed to the assigned armored thestrals, "Take up watch on that hill, and in that crease," he pointed to the two locations, opposite of each other.

The guards saluted, heading off to either areas to sit and keep watch over their activities. Turning back to the others, he'd noticed Lodestar had taken the reigns of the operation temporarily, Scarlet Iris to his right.

With their specially-ordered and custom-constructed bows drawn, a group of thestrals and two pegasi aimed toward a set of tall, white-barked, and leafless trees. Each drew the string back with their hoof, the strain building up and ready to be let loose and shoot the projectile forward at what ever they were aiming towards.

Every pony on the field shot arrows at their own pace, aiming for individual trees in their line of sight while the Captain and Sergeant observed. At some point not long later, the packs of arrows on their shoulders ran empty, prompting them to move downrange and pluck each one back out to replenish their supply.

"It sure is a useful, and quite efficient thing he made these arrows to be reused over and over. What were they made out of, again?" Lodestar leaned toward Night with a slight grin.

"I forget myself. I'll have to check with him when I order some more," Night turned. "Didn't take those classes with Stormfire, did you?"

The dark cyan pony shook his head. "No, sir. Swordsmanship and hoof-to-hoof combat are my strong points," he responded as he shifted his focus to the others near the small treeline within the clearing. "You didn't either, I see."

"Why use arrows when I've got a sword, and these?" He opened his maw, poking a hoof toward the fangs on his upper set of teeth.

Lodestar chuckled to himself. "Touche. What about you, Scarlet?"

"Hmm?" She snapped from watching the six recollect their arrows from icy bark, eyes darting between the stallions beside her. "Oh, no. Wasn't interested."

Lodestar's eyebrow raised. "Are... you feeling okay? You don't seem like yourself this morning."

Scarlet's grey cheeks began to tint a light pink. "Just feeling a little left out of the action is all," she smiled innocently.

"Shoulda taken those lessons, then," Lodestar gently nudged her shoulder with his elbow and chuckled again.

"Yeah, heh," Scarlet rubbed a hoof over the spot he nudged, glancing around him to Night and blushing just a tad bit harder than prior.

Unnoticeable to anyone else, Night's cheeks also warmed up, eyes shifting to look away in the awkwardness of the current moment. No, stay focused, Night. Now's not the time to remember last night, he muttered mentally.

Returning to their positions, four thestrals and two pegasi faced the trees once more, taking aim and shooting off their bow's ammunition at individual trunks, leaving the poor trees with numerous points of entry that went in a few inches beyond the surface. What these could do to an inanimate object such as a tree only indicated what just one arrow could do to a pony's flesh.

Keeping that out of mind, the cycle continued on for somewhere around a half an hour until there were no more places on the tree that could possibly be hit, having taken much damage from the steel-headed projectiles.

***

In their respective locations, positioned just over the snowy meadow and the Canterlot guard ponies going about their outlined routine, the Hollow Shades guards assigned by the Lieutenant Colonel stood or sat vigilant. From their point of view, all seemed to very well be going to plan, and nothing suspicious appeared to be coming from the other side.

From a distance, the two exchanged glances every so often, checking to ensure their partner was in the same spot each time with not a single minuscule thing wrong.

As both turned to face the guard squad down below, something did happen. Off to the left thestral's side, a shadowed figure sneaked up behind his partner, silently stepping over twigs and leaves not yet covered by snow.

A hoof came forward with a soggy rag in it, holding over the stallion's muzzle entirely to muffle any wails. The bat pony stallion's vision went blurry, and within moments, he was out like a light.

The figure, from cover, glanced to the guard off to the right of the mound, noting he hadn't yet looked in this direction, observing as a second cloaked figure approached, silently taking down the second stallion, each carrying the limp body away on their backs, all without a single eye batting toward them.

***

Yanking the last of the undamaged arrows free from the frozen bark, four thestrals and two pegasi returned to their captain, whom had an impressed smirk crossing his muzzle.

"I don't know for sure if every bore circle you were aiming for was where you hit, but I must say, First Sergeant Stormfire sure has done his part. Good work, Zodiacs," Night nodded once. "Though, I suppose we will not be using those trees much longer."

"Now, before we move on, are there any questions you may have about your weapons?" Lodestar added.

No hooves raised for a few moments, until eventually, Shieldhunter's did. Lodestar nodded to him.

"Er..." Shieldhunter smiled sheepishly. "It's not a question about my weapon, but it's similar!"

Night stared blankly. "Might as well say it now. What is it, lance corporal?"

"When's lunch?"

Night facehoofed, shaking his head into his hoof. Lodestar rolled his eyes and grumbled something inaudibly. A few tiny chuckles came from the others around Shield.

"Not for another two or three hours, I'm afraid," Night answered Shield's somewhat-important question.

A thought quickly crossed his mind seconds after. Shifting to look toward where Norealis' guards went, Night's eyebrow raised when he didn't see either of them. Typically, his first instinct is to find out where they had gone.

He turned back to the others with a faint look of concern. "Before we move on, Zipline, come with me."

As ordered, the white pegasus moved up to Night's side, walking with him toward the small hills surrounding the meadow. "Where are we going, Captain?"

"Just going to speak with those guards. You check over there, I'll be right over here," Night pointed to a small ridge far to the right of them.

"Yes, sir!" Zipline briefly saluted, wings springing out and lifting him into the air and over to the watch point.

Night took off into the air as well, floating above where one of the guards had set up a makeshift post out of a snow mound. He scanned all around, even through the forest. Suspicion grew when no pony could be seen.

He turned, flying over towards Zipline, landing a few feet from him. "Find anypony, Zippy?"

"No, sir. Not even a compressed spot where they would have been sitting or standing. Where did they go?" Zipline glanced up from the snow-covered ground with a look of bewilderment.

"Hmm... Very peculiar," Night's usual instinct would be to search for them. That instinct didn't come, replaced by an assumption.

"Maybe... they were called back," he said.

Zipline blinked at the statement. "You don't think we should look for them, sir?"

Unsure of himself, but simultaneously confident with his guess, Night bobbed his head in a nod. "These are their woods. They might have moved someplace else, or like I said before... Perhaps Norealis called them back."

"Wouldn't we—" Zipline's hoof raised, his maw remaining parted. Slowly, he lowered his hoof. "Never mind. What ever you say, Captain."

Night nodded again, starting back toward the others. "We will check again in an hour. If they haven't returned, well..."

"Will we search?" Zipline questioned, tailing Night.

"I will assign somepony or two to take over for them. When we go back to town tonight, we can check with the Lieutenant Colonel," he responded.

"Yes, sir," Zipline then faced forward, feeling somewhat suspicious of Night's decision.

***

Gradually sliding a polished steel-bladed sword free of a dark leather sheathe, Halfmoon's shamrock-green slit irises locked on to the mint pupils of Stellar Star, standing opposite of her but with some distance between each other. He had already brought his sword out, preparing inside and out for the spar.

To keep track, the squad members had gone one-on-one, the others sitting back to watch along with Night while he judged their performances.

"O-okay, so..." Stellar began, glancing off nervously toward the Captain. "H-how long do we go for?"

"Until one of you is down and out," Night replied, clapping his hooves twice. "Begin!"

"Okay, but—"

Cutting him off mid-sentence, Halfmoon let out a bellowing shout as she lunged toward him with a flap of her wings, sword tightly grasped in her hooves. Within a moment's notice, she was on top of Stellar, their swords clashing and sparking to the touch.

Stellar let out a half-frightened screech, thrusting his sword back against Halfmoon defensively, slowing her force as she slammed into him a second time. Halfmoon brought herself back, swinging her blade at Stellar, as well as a hoof aimed at his hooves to bring him down.

Recoiling back and narrowly avoiding the swiping hoof, Stellar then ducked beneath the swing of the thestral mare's sword, its steel grazing the tufts of his ears. He rolled down into the snow and out of her line of sight just briefly while she readjusted to the movement. He took this opportunity to strike, his sword slicing through the air, once more colliding with Halfmoon's in a brief show of sparks.

Grunting deeply, Stellar pushed back against Halfmoon, his opponent doing just the same against him. For a mare slightly smaller than himself, she had the physical strength to match that of a Lunar Marine. Not that he didn't, as well.

"Come on, Half!" Duskbloom cheered from the sidelines, clapping his hooves to her effort.

Glancing off to the side, Halfmoon's eyes briefly met Duskbloom's. Stellar caught the distraction immediately and redirected his strength from his hinds to his forehooves, managing to knock Halfmoon backwards.

She stumbled back a few steps, quickly regaining her posture as Stellar Star barreled toward her this time, swiping his sword. Halfmoon returned the swing, their swords meeting halfway with a powerful clang. In spite of his advantage, Halfmoon was forcing him back, their forehooves and swords trembling as their strength pushed on.

Stellar stepped back twice to avoid falling down, doing everything in his power to ensure he wouldn't fall to her. She is strong, he knew that by now. I am strong, too. Why do I want to give up? he mentally mumbled.

He shifted his eyes to the ponies off to his right, groaning and beginning to sweat as he continuously put out all of his strength to keep himself upright. Stellar caught a glimpse of Night Shadow nodding to him, immediately turning back to Halfmoon as he attempted to recollect his energy and throw her back.

As he did, however, their swords slipped. Halfmoon's blade narrowly grazed his shoulder, whilst the tip of Stellar's sword quite nearly cut her throat, missing by mere hairs, a relief to the both of them.

But, with a final thrust, Halfmoon shoved Stellar down into the snow, his sword dropping from his hoof. She stood atop him, sword pointed to his muzzle as he leaned his head up, signaling a victory for her, and total defeat to Stellar.

Hooves clapped to their side. Halfmoon turned to the group observing and stepped off of the stallion, bowing her head in thanks, before returning to the downed thestral.

Stellar grunted softly, easing up onto his elbows. Opening his eyes, he stared right at a greyish-blue hoof, fitted with an armor shoe. He glanced up to the mare before him, reluctantly taking her hoof and pulling himself up to all fours, shaking some snow free of his coat.

"Hey, you did good," Halfmoon began. "You almost had me."

Her words were far from reassuring, though Stellar refused to let her see that and instead put on a smile. "Maybe next time, eh?"

Halfmoon nodded, returning a small smile. Facing the others again, she had noted Duskbloom clapping slowly, glaring sharpened daggers directly at Stellar. His ears pinned back, and slowly he moved away from Halfmoon, smiling innocently at the seemingly-angered pony.

Standing up on all fours, Night too shook some snow off of his hinds and the rear of his armor. He turned to face the makeshift posts up on the surrounding hills, once more finding Norealis' guards absent, his smile immediately dropping into a frown with concern building up inside of him.

Tapping his chin with a hoof, he pondered some more. Surely something was not right, but what could it be?

Looking up from the ground, he turned to Duskbloom and Midnight Blade. "Midnight, Dusk, I would like for the two of you to keep watch, there and there," Night pointed to the small snow mounds against the tree lines. "We will rotate throughout the day, perhaps before every quarter-til."

Nodding and saluting the Captain, Duskbloom and Midnight Blade turned tail to head for the spots Night had pointed to, both flying up the hillsides and resting against the mounds the previous guards had set up for cover.

"So... Cap, where did those guards go?" Shieldhunter questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Beats me, Shield. My guess is they went back to town. I would have thought we would be informed of their recall first, though."

***

Yawning in boredom, Midnight Blade watched over the rest of the squad from atop the hill, Duskbloom doing just the same a short distance to her right. Even with thicker fur for coats, chills ran up their spines at every brief gust that struck them.

Duskbloom, aside from the occasional shiver, remained perfectly still like a statue. His gaze remained set on a certain dark greyish-blue mare on the field, watching as she sparred with Zipline, a much-preferable match than the last. A small smile curved his lips seeing her combat moves from above.

Suddenly, a large hoof tightly wrapped around his throat, holding him in place. Dusk's eyes opened wide with surprise, one hoof swinging backwards in an attempt to knock whoever had grabbed him away.

Before it could reach, however, a cloth that smelled of fruit mixed with a strange chemical pressed against his muzzle. Within mere seconds, his whole body had gone limp and eyes shut. The figure let go of Dusk's neck, slinging him over his back and carrying the unconscious stallion away.

A few yards away, Midnight Blade blinked slowly, yawning a second time. Her ear flicked twice, and a strange chill forced her wings out. Somewhere near her, a twig cracked beneath a hoofstep. Midnight's eyes opened up all the way, and she snapped her head in the direction assuming where it was coming from.

Next thing she knew, in a flash, she had been knocked into the mount of snow with a great force. Midnight yelped in shock, immediately scrambling back up to her hooves as a half-masked figure lunged at her, tossing down a cloth and whipping out a small blade instead.

Out of pure reflex, she lurched out of the way of the pony, dodging its attack as it now embed its front half in the snow mound, kicking its hooves in an attempt to get free.

Growling, Midnight approached the pony, now set on pulling him or her out and arresting them. Before she could, another figure struck her in the side, sending her sailing over the mound and tumbling down the side of the hill with an audible grunt.

The second, more sizeable pony eased the smaller out of the mound, then smacked them for their incompetence, eventually following Midnight down the hill as she regained her posture. She glanced up, briefly sighting the larger pony preparing to tackle and rolling just out of the way as his hooves crashed down into the snow where Midnight previously stood.

"Come here, you!" The larger pony, a stallion with a rough voice, snarled, flicking a knife handle out of his black combat vest and twirling it in his hoof before stopping it, the blade thrusting itself out of the handle with a click.

The stallion began swinging his knife at Midnight, the blade sharply slicing through the air as it came closer to her. Midnight simply ducked and dodged backwards from the knife as the stallion continued to approach.

At the right moment, she caught his hoof in her own and stopped it mid-swing. He grunted, straining to break free of her grip. Midnight began twisting his hoof, knocking the blade away and into the snow with a quick hoof, then brought the stallion by his hoof over her shoulder, slamming him in the side onto the ground before jumping on top.

Midnight took hold of the all-black mask, ripping it right off of the stallion's head and uncovering him completely. Her eyes opened wide, staring right down the barrel of another thestral pony's eyes. She froze in place atop the larger pony, right as he returned to his senses.

"You're..." She began, only to have the train come to a screeching halt in her head. "Y-you're...!"

"What? Never seen another bat pony before?" The stallion growled, grabbing the purple mare with both hooves.

Midnight let out a yelp, worming and kicking at the assailant that now had her caught. Her struggles were to no avail as the stocky thestral sat upright, gripping her with a deadly, toothy smirk.

"The General will be proud of our work today," he chuckled, effortlessly keeping Midnight in his grip.

"Hey, you! Put her down!" Came an approaching shout from above.

The stallion glanced to his side and up, eyes widening as a hind leg was driven directly into his muzzle, sending him crashing to the ground and letting go of the distressed mare. With a single flap of her draconic wings, Midnight soared up and away from her captor, beside Zipline.

"Thank you," Midnight panted with a hoof over her chest. "Seriously, thank you."

"Forget that, are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Zipline turned to Midnight with concern, his hooves out to check for any injuries.

"I'm fine— Zip, look out!" Midnight screeched, tackling him out of the air.

Zipline yelped as he was taken down into the snow by Midnight, only to have his pupils shrink to pinpricks as he caught the reflective glare of an arrow slicing the air where he just was.

The purple thestral landed atop Zipline, standing up off of him immediately after they hit the ground and the white pegasus easing up onto his elbows. "Where did that come from?!" He looked around in a slight panic, Midnight pulling him to his hooves.

"Over there, watch out!" yelled Night Shadow from afar, galloping towards them.

Night's eyes were locked onto not one, nor two, but an entire army of ponies on the far hill, some charging down toward the Zodiacs. Three or four others appeared to have crossbows, and moments after, high-speed arrows came soaring down in a rain around them, disappearing beneath the snow as they impacted.

Zipline grabbed Midnight by the shoulder, yanking her away in a gallop toward Night as more and more attackers took to the skies. They were all coming seemingly from out of nowhere!

Reaching them, Night brought Midnight and Zipline back to the others, who had broken off to different positions of attack. Zipline snatched his bow and sack of arrows up out of the snow, flying up to perch in a tall tree along the edge of the forest for a better vantage point. His experience in scoped rifles would pay off at this very moment, he prayed. This was the real deal.

With much of the enemy pack out of sight, including where they were flooding out of the forest from. Not yet had anypony seen him or the direction he'd gone. Perfect, he thought.

The first enemy in his sight was short and slim. Quick, too. Closing one eye to focus the other on his bow's tiny crosshair, he eased the string back and held in a deep breath. At just the right exact moment, he exhaled, his hoof letting go of the string, the steel-headed carbon-construct arrow accelerating down, becoming caught in a strong breeze and turning, striking the galloping pony in the shoulder.

A brief glance to the fallen pony was given, before Zipline's gaze shifted to the next target: a slower-moving, larger stallion, not unlike the one that tried to nab Midnight moments prior. Taking aim, the process cycled once more. One down, another to go, and so on.

***

Tugging his sword from the brown leather sheathe strapped to his side, Stellar Star stood in a defensive stance, his wings half unfolded and focus set on a pair of masked thestrals around his size, though evidently slightly smaller, charging in his direction with swords and knives.

He knew two opponents were well out of his park for fighting. On top of his will to defend against them, taking both of them on would be a major challenge. All others had split up to take on their own enemy ponies. Any luck of assistance was dangerously low, but he could not back down now. They were right in front of him.

Both ponies swung their bladed weapons together to converge on Stellar, only to clash together as he sprung upwards with a powerful thrust of his knees, wings flapping to keep him airborne throughout the dodge, before coming back down with one hoof on top of them, knocking one of the two into the snow while colliding his sword with the other's knife.

Stellar began to back up, continuously swinging defensively as his now-sole opponent swiped and cut at him, growling and hissing with frustration of so far being unsuccessful at catching the guard with the small blade.

The assailant suddenly reared on his hinds, preparing to slam Stellar down and stab into him, only to have the knife smacked away and vanishing into a nearby bush. Now forced to use just hooves for defense, Stellar blocked hits with his sword, bombarded by the second, previously-downed pony attacking from both sides.

Shoving one off and away to buy some seconds, Stellar returned to holding off the other by cutting downwards, slicing through the mare's mask and cutting it in half, catching a slight of her muzzle as well. She yipped at the sudden sting, a warm, red fluid dripping down into the snow. Without much hesitation from the pain, she whipped out a curved dagger and once more slashed at the grey thestral stallion.

Tilting his sword, Stellar blocked a hit, followed by another, then a thrust that scraped the tip of the mare's dagger against the cold steel in a drum-piercing metallic screech, comparable to a teacher with no regards for chalkboard or ear integrity.

Both winced at the noise, providing the now-standing second thestral the opportunity for attack, charging Stellar from the side and sending him sailing to the left, his sword flying out of his hoof but miraculously landing at his side and within reach.

His opponents rushed for him, Stellar whipping his sword up out of the snow and scrambling to stand, only to be grabbed by a third pony and pinned by the forehooves and sword taken away before he could do anything else. The rest gathered around him while the mare picked up his sword with sinister plans in mind.

As the mare went to swing, Stellar tightly shutting his eyes in preparation for what was to come—the end. Moments passed, but the end never came. He'd also noted the pressure on his forehooves had released, no longer holding him against his will to the freezing ground.

His green eyes shot open, sitting upright and discovering all three ponies now lying dead or dying on the ground in a circle around him, each with arrows sticking out from their sides with blood oozing from the wounds and pooling in the snow around them.

Stellar writhed and trembled, breath quickening at the sickening sight. Panic set in immediately, forcing him up to his hooves and stepping back away from the bloodied bodies, tuning out the war occurring around him. He had never seen blood this intense. He had never seen a dead pony outside of a funeral. This was too much for him to take in...

"Stellar!" Shouted Halfmoon from a distance, slinging her bow over her shoulder and locking it over her back with a simple nudge. She zipped through the snow to him, his attention snapping over to her from the bodies. "Are you alright?!"

Stellar panted, heart pumping heavily in his chest and raising a hoof up to the plate of his armor. "I-I'm alr—"

"Perfect, come on! Get back in the game, we're being overwhelmed!" Halfmoon grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him away past more injured and dying enemies, each with stab or arrow wounds that had been pulled out.

Glancing to her back, some blood coated Halfmoon's bow that had rubbed against the head of the arrows. They evidently worked better than anticipated for all appeared to be accounted for to be reused. Anxiety and panic returned, bursting through his heart through mental ache and exhaustion when reality hit him that more than just those three were down for good.

***

Side by side, Lodestar and Night Shadow fought, watching over each other's backs as the mass of enemy bat ponies focused on them, mission set to eliminate their leader. Both strained in effort to hold the attacking thestrals back, steel colliding with steel and hooves meeting flesh in horrid, painful sounds as damage was taken.

"Where are... they coming from?!" Night shouted above the fighting.

"Not a clue!" Lodestar answered, swinging a hoof that decked a knife-wielding mare. He grunted to himself, wincing at the unconscious thestral at his hooves.

Glancing back up, Lodestar was met with a hard, strong hoof to the chin, head snapping to the side as the same stallion from earlier knocked him down. He groaned painfully, motioning his jaw circularly to ensure it wasn't broken and stood slowly, glaring daggers at the stallion.

Lodestar entered a defensive stance, brushing his hoof across the ground, like a bull preparing to charge, eyes meeting those of the bulky bat pony a couple yards from him.

"You know, only one of us is going to go home," Lodestar called to him with a slight huff to his breath.

The stallion grinned, turning to a chuckle. "I guarantee it won't be you."

Teeth clenching, Lodestar sprinted at the moderately larger stallion, the two smashing into each other with great force that stunned either one of them momentarily. Weaponless, the two went at it in an intense hoof-to-hoof battle, rolling around and alternating who was on top after every few moments and hits.

***

Finishing another take down, blood spilled across the chest plate of his armor, Shieldhunter caught a flash out of the corner of his eye. His ear swiveled, followed by his head turning in the direction of the sun glare. His face filled with dread at the sight.

A bat pony archer had flown up above the treetops, a crossbow in both hooves and pointed directly down towards Scarlet Iris. He gasped, quickly turning to her and shouting, "Scarlet, five o'clock!"

His words never reached her ears over top the heavy sounds of combat, swords clashing, agonizing screeches and cries of pain as arrows pierced skin and/or impaled some of the attackers from above, shot directly from Zipline perched up in a tree. Even he had not yet seen the shooter in the clear of the sky.

Eyes darting back between a preoccupied Scarlet and the enemy from above, Shieldhunter made a last minute decision—defend Scarlet. He dug his hooves into the soft, cold powder, gaining deep and heavy traction within moments as his body propelled forward in a gallop, breath steaming through his nostrils as he hurried her way.

Oblivious still to the archer from above, Scarlet dodged thrusts and swings of her opponent's sword and a knife in his other hoof, her own weapon scratching up to the other's steel in numerous ear-piercing screeches. A distant shout above the ambiance caught her attention, left ear swiveling slightly toward the source of the noise, but her focus not once left the fight.

Above, the lone bat pony reloaded his crossbow, taking final aim for Scarlet's neck, a sure and immediate kill upon impact. Shield's mud-brown irises shrunk to pebble-size, forcing more of his energy and strength into reaching Scarlet, who remained unaware.

"Scarlet!" He let out a lungful scream, wings opening and flapping to bring him up, right as the arrow came down.

Scarlet just managed to knock her opponent down and kept him so, weapon knocked away, when a figure's shadow crossed over her. She turned slowly, eyes opening wide as Shieldhunter soared to her side and above. In a brief flare of sunlight, she caught on to the fast-moving projectile coming right down at her.

Holding in a breath with shock and fear, Scarlet shut her eyes. This was it. She was either going to die immediately, or painfully bleed out on the ground. But, right when it should have hit, there was another cry of pain—and it most certainly wasn't hers.

Pattered twice by what felt like warm water or sweat that slowly dripped down her forehead to her muzzle, she opened her eyes, reaching a hoof up to wipe the fluid away, only smearing some of it across both her forehead and hoof, trembling at the new sight—Shieldhunter's blood.

Dropping her hoof, the dark grey mare screamed and ran to Shield's aid, where he now came to a full rest in a rapidly-filling pool of red that painted the snow around him and gradually spread.

"Shield!" She shouted, sitting at his back and hooves taking hold of his form, rolling him onto his back and removing his armor to better examine the wound.

Hearing the scream, Zipline turned quickly, swiftly taking down the airborne attacker with a single arrow, his corpse colliding with the ground a distance from them.

Surrounded by a red ring on the skin was the arrow itself, half-pushed into Shield's flesh after having pierced through his armor. The bleeding slowed, but only temporarily. When the white pegasus coughed, blood followed, signalling more-than-extreme damage to much more than to what met the eye.

He breathed slowly yet heavily, one of his hooves lifting to rest against his upper stomach, just below where the arrow punched through. More coughs came moments after, again tailed by more blood that now covered his muzzle and spattered across Scarlet's chest plate.

"S-sorry..." Shield weakly smiled, now even blinking his lids gradually and squinting. His vision was rapidly fading in and out, as if he had taken a sleeping pill and attempted to find out how long he could stay awake for.

A new wave of excruciating pain in his chest that surged throughout the whole of his body, Shieldhunter grunting deeply and tightly shutting his eyes until it died down. Reopening his lids, the blurred silhouette of a thin, half blood-coated object hovered away in the hold of Scarlet's hoof, later replaced by something cold and wet that stung against the wound.

"Shield's down!" Scarlet shouted, snapping up and around her for somepony to hopefully hear and come over. "I need help!"

Shield's sight weakly returned, only briefly, his ears beginning to pin back. Scarlet's eyes were glassy, and tears were gathering up in the ducts. She may have trialed with every last bit in her to convince herself that Shield would be fine with proper and immediate medical attention. Although, Shield knew by now, very well, in fact, that his time was almost up—and there would be nothing she or anypony else could do to stop it.

"S-Shield," Scarlet panted out softly in a light panic. "Keep your eyes on me. You've l-lost blood, but you're going to be fine. It looks like the arrow went in clean," she snapped up once more. "Night, Lodestar, anypony!"

The white pegasus' heart began painfully thumping in his ears, beat irregular and far out of rhythm. It was failing. The thin layer of clouds in the sky formed a circle of the color spectrum as it met the light of the sun. It seemed to even reach down toward him, like a staircase, nice and slowly. He could only have minutes. It was as if the bridge was giving him this time to try and calm Scarlet.

A small, weak smile crossed his reddened muzzle, his hoof gradually moving to rest on Scarlet's. She gazed down to him with wide-eyes, chest heaving in the panic of the moment. Her deep, red eyes met the brown ones of Shield, his smile a blatant lie to comfort her from her fears of losing him.

His maw parted, making a final attempt to speak. No words left his mouth, finding no breath to mutter. He started to briefly struggle to catch a last breath, choking and gasping softly, just narrowly for Scarlet to hear, a more-than heart-wrenching noise.

"Please, S-Shield, stay with me. Please... Fight it, fight your mind, fight the wound, fight everything! Please!" She begged, tears falling from her cheeks down onto the wound and his hoof that remained on hers rather tightly.

A fog developed around them slowly, her head collapsing down onto her hooves that rested across Shield's body. Scarlet buried into him and her hooves, bawling every last tear she had audibly.

Everything around her went eerily silent, beyond her sobs and that stinging, terrible pain that burst in her chest and echoed throughout her veins. A chill ran through the fore of her body, fading as it lifted away. When she raised her chin to look at the wounded stallion, she found no life. His eyes peacefully shut, the tiny smile remaining. He was gone.

"S-Shield..." she whimpered out, slowly resting her head on her hooves, on top of his now-lifeless form. She continued to silently sob, the fog conforming around them tighter.

Beyond her tears, drowsiness fell across her. She, herself, was falling asleep. Perhaps she was struck, too. Perhaps she was already dead. Why did she still feel emotional pain? Something was going on around her. Something very strange...

Her body carefully went limp, and her eyelids met one another, and all around her went totally dark.

Author's Note:

You thought this was gonna be an easy-going, laid back chapter, didn't you?

You were wrong.

I'd like to apologize for this taking so long. I've been busy with other interests as well as school lately, and writer's block hit me hard as of lately. Unfortunately I will be putting this story on hiatus soon to work on Millennia: Eye of the Storm, as well as other stuff. So sorry everyone.