> Taurus Rises > by YoungQuillMaster > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prolouge > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Humans have already taken some of the dragon’s territory, they are quickly proven themselves to be deserving of their title of ‘Warlords’. We have reports of three minor skirmishes and even a rather major battle inside Equestrian lands. In accordance to their treaty, the zebras have attacked the humans, but have lost more ground then they have gained.” The minotaur finished as he closed the scroll before him. “It seems we are already falling behind in entering the war. I’ve heard whispers of war in the Griffin Council. I never thought I see the day when our proud race would be the late comers to a war.” A larger, more scarred, minotaur said as he eyed the others around the table. “We are not late comers to this war, it has barely even begun to unfold. Sides have yet to be drawn and victors aren’t yet apparent. We may still enter and have a chance at getting the spoils of war.” The crowd around them murmured in hushed tones. “The real question we must ask is if our armies came take up this new war? Did we not have great loses against our republic neighbors during the last battle?” An older minotaur asked, trading glances with his comrades. “Indeed, Jarl Obsidian, Bull Creek was not a kind battle, over ten thousand soldier’s lost their lives to republic blades, but I believe that our armies can handle a war against the nations if we use surprise to our advantage and take a weapons cache before the enemy is aware we have joined.” The scarred minotaur replied. “Jarl Steel Rage has a point. We need surprise to stand a chance. This war is our chance for recognition for the other nations, and a chance to show them all that the Kingdom of Taurus, not the New Minotaurian Republic, is the true minotaur power of the world.” The hall suddenly was deafened by shouts and cheers of the now standing crowd. “SILENCE, LET THE COUNCIL SPEAK!” A large minotaur bellowed, bringing the cheers to an abrupt halt. Steel Rage cleared his throat and stood. “I believe we can all agree that if we join the war now we have a chance at not only riches, but also true recognition by all other nations.” Steel Rage drew his sword and pointed the blade up. “Who agrees that we should join this war, and bring the world back from its sleep, and to see us as the true Warlord of this realm?” At this three of the four Jarls stood and drew their blades in the same fashion as Steel Rage, even Obsidian, who had remained seated at first, joined in. But one minotaur remained seated with his head lowered. “King Iron Fist, shall we go to war?” At this the elderly king rose his head and looked at the standing Jarls around him. He slowly stood up and unlatched his blade’s sheath from his belt. He swung his great sword to the side, causing the sheath to fly off. Iron Fist then raised his blade in agreement. All at once the blades where slammed into the earth before each of the minotaur, followed by an uninterrupted chorus of cheers from the crowd. Two days later, King Iron Fist walked the walls of his great city, accompanied by his most trusted counselor who was spewing his incessant stream of advice and cautions that the king had heard when he had declared war against the Republic. Back then he had only two or three years as king to his name, but now he had over four decades to his title. His long life span had been the constant chagrin of his son, Prince Lapis Lazuli. “Humans have a highly organized and advanced army that the ponies have begun to imitate with some success, while as griffins…” Suddenly a hand was grasping the advisers mouth shut. “I thank you for all your advice, but try to remember, I’m the king who made the nation want war with the republic. I know the ins and outs of war, I am a king born of war.” The counselor nodded and the king let go of the smaller minotaur’s snout. “Have they gathered their troops yet?” The king asked finally. “Y-yes sir, all four provinces have arrived and are ready to pledge their soldiers to the war.” The counselor said as he jogged back up to the king’s side. The two guards beside the doors pushed them open, causing a groaning to echo throughout the castle grounds. “Hale, King of the minotaurs! Long live King Iron Fist!” Steel Rage shouted as the king made his entrance, the other Jarls soon joined in the chant. The King bowed his head and lifted his hand for silence, which quickly came. “When the Jarls are ready, begin the listing of souls that shall fight.” The counselor said, preparing his quill to write down the numbers. “Jarl Obsidian, please step forward.” Obsidian quickly walked up to the king. “The Southern Province pledges twenty thousand well trained soldiers and two hundred thousand new recruits to the war.” The Jarl then stepped back among his comrades. “Jarl Iron Heart, please step forward.” The King smiled as his brother stepped up to him. His most loyal supporter, who in reality was part of the reason he was now king; surely he would deliver the largest number. “The Central Province pledges one hundred thousand well trained soldiers and four hundred fifty thousand new recruits to the war.” Truly he did not disappoint, causing the king’s smile to grow as he stepped back. “Jarl Steel Rage, please step forward.” The bulky warrior strode up to the king with a serious expression. “The Western Province pledges seventy thousand well train soldiers and a hundred and fifty thousand new recruits.” The King nodded as the former general stepped back. “Jarl Topaz, come forward.” The king’s smile slowly died as his second son stepped up to face him. “The Northern Province pledges fifty thousand well trained soldier and three hundred thousand new fighters to the cause.” Topaz turned and walked away. “Jarl Titanium, please come forward.” The king looked at his uncle as he slowly approached. The king knew that he was no longer with the republic, but a feeling of unease always crept up on him when this gigantic, yet cautious, minotaur was around. Only Obsidian was more apprehensive about this then he. “The Eastern Province pledges sixty thousand well trained soldiers and three hundred thousand new warriors to the war.” The king nodded and looked expectantly at the minotaur who whirled his quill on the paper, drawing up calculations as fast as possible. “The Kingdom of Taurus as a whole pledges… one million six hundred and eighty thousand troops to the war.” The advisor said with a final stroke of his pen. The King’s smile grew ever larger as he looked on his Jarls. “Today we set sail for Equestria, and tomorrow we show the world that Taurus is as strong as Tartarus’ gates!” With that all of the minotaurs shouted in unison. “Tell the foreign minister of the Griffins he has full permission to use up to one hundred thousand gold coins to acquire a company of griffin mercenaries.” Iron Fist looked at his Jarls with an ever growing smile. “The world will soon know our might once again. Taurus rises!” “Taurus rises!” All the assembled minotaurs roared in a terrifying choir of voices. A minotaur placed his thing beside his bunk. He touched the picture of a small minotaur hugging his leg. He stood up and gently pushed it under completely. “We set sail in three hours!” A roar echoed through the belly of the ship, causing him to look over at the stairwell at his company’s commander, who was already climbing back up to the top deck. “Hey you, what’s your name?” A voice said behind him, causing him to turn and look. A large minotaur with an equally large bag on his shoulder stood looking down at him. The smaller minotaur put a hand on his chest while raising an eyebrow. “Yes you.” To large hulk of a beast said. “Hammer, Corporal War Hammer.” The smaller minotaur said. “What’s your name?” The larger minotaur sighed at Hammer. “I’m Private Wrought Iron, and you are standing in front of where I need to go, Hammer.” Hammer quickly backpedaled, allowing Wrought Iron to place his things in the compartment above the top bunk. “Say, Hammer, weren’t you at Bull Creek?” Hammer nodded slowly. “Yes, I became a corporal because of it.” Wrought Iron chuckled lightly as he shoved his pack deeper into the hole. “Thought so, you’ve got the look.” When he saw that Hammer was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, he sighed and explained, “I know quite a lot of good warriors who were there, and they all have this… aura emanating from them. Sort of like… a piece of the battle is still happening inside of them… bah, I’m horrible at explaining these types of things.” Hammer didn’t say anything. He was too consumed in though as he sat down on his bunk. Wrought Iron might not have realized it, but he had actually struck home on that description; Hammer really did feel as if the battle never truly had ended inside of him. The fleet of Taurus ship coursed through the water at a breakneck speed, Wrought Iron and Hammer rowed for all their worth as the minotaur who pounded a drum set a tempo for the whole crew. “Imagine,” Wrought Iron began, “When we start taking prisoners, they’ll be down here rowing away for us.” wishful grunt and sighs echoed throughout the rowing section. “Hey, Hammer, how do you think we got until next shift?” “They said they’d switch shifts every half hour, we’ve been at it for around… twenty or so minutes, so about ten or so minutes.” Hammer said, pouring every ounces of strength into rowing. “And lunch is next on the schedule right?” Wrought Iron said hopefully. Hammer looked over at his comrade. “No, first we go on watch, after that we go to the ship’s cargo hull and do maintenance on our gear, and then its lunchtime.” Wrought Iron was visibly disappointed at this. “Besides if we did go to the chow deck there would only be some cold stew. It takes the time we are on watch and doing maintenance to warm it back up.” Wrought Iron huffed as they continued to row in rhythm. “ALL OARS FULL STOP!” The drummer minotaur shouted as he placed the rod on the drum canvas. Immediately the oars were raised. “Stow oars!” Iron and Hammer quickly began pulling in their oar as the sound of wood against wood filled the deck. “Battle positions everyone!” With that the soldier began filling out of the deck and to the cargo bay, the next deck down. “Is this a drill or is this it?” Wrought Iron asked as he put his chest plate on. Hammer shook his head as he fitted the last strap in his armor. “I don’t know, but we need to be ready for anything.” Hammer grabbed his rank insignia and slipped it on. “I kind of hope it is the real deal. Rowing all day isn’t my type of work when there’s a war on.” Wrought Iron said as he latched on his rank insignia to his arm. “Personally I can’t wait to bash some skulls in.” Hammer just shook his head as he grabbed his battle axe and handed Wrought Iron his. “We better get up there quickly if we want to hear what’s going on.” Hammer said as he started for the stairs with Wrought Iron behind him. On the top deck they both could see why they had been ordered to stow oar and prepare for battle. In front of them was a fleet almost as large as their own. Hammer looked closer and saw some flags he knew were human. A long boat was approaching their ships quickly, laden with human guards and officials, all dressed in their fancy armor. Hammer still had a hard time imagining why their ‘knights’ wore both chain mail and a full suite of plate mail. He had always found with chest plate and shoulder coverings to be sufficient in battle. The boat drew up alongside his ship and a ladder was quickly lowered. The humans quickly scaled up and soon stood on the deck. “I am Rear Admiral Ritter of the U.H.R.S. Dragoon. And as representative of the third human naval division, I request you state your business in these waters in such great numbers.” The military officer stated to the ship’s commander. “We are here to continue the honorable tradition of our people. We are here for war.” The commander stated flatly, which caused cheers to break out around Hammer. “And I’m certain that King Iron Fist wouldn’t mind making war against humans as well as ponies.” “King Iron Fist, huh? So you are from the ‘mighty’ Taurus Kingdom? Go back home bull; don’t you have a war against that republic or something?” The minotaur only smiled at the smaller human. “Aren’t you forgetting something, human?” The officer merely looked at the gigantic minotaur. “You’re on my ship.” Hammer’s commander leaned in closer to the human. “So get off of it and back on yours if you want to back demands.” With that several minotaurs guards swarmed the humans and threw them unceremoniously back onto their small boat. “You realize you have made a declaration of war against all humans?” The human officer as the soldier took their places at the oars. “I’d do it again, and then declare the same to the rest of the world if I could have my way, now get back to your fleet before we flip your boat.” The men began to slowly move back towards their fleet as the commander of the minotaur fleet walked over to the minotaur operating the ship’s ballista. “Aim at their boat, when they get about a hundred yards, sink them in one shot, no misses.” The ballista operator swung the machine into place and took aim and kept it as best as he could. “Tell the rest of the fleet to prepare for battle.” The messenger nodded and immediately began to relay the signal via flags. “So this is it.” Wrought Iron said calmly. “Funny, it’s a bit less tense then I imagined.” Hammer snorted at his comrade. “What?” “This is nothing but the calm before the storm. Tell me have you ever been in battle?” Wrought Iron shook his head. “Well this is just the calm before the storm, we aren’t in battle yet.” Suddenly the twang of the ballista letting its bolt loose pierced the air, followed promptly by the splintering of wood as the long boat began to sink under the waves with its armor clad occupants. Suddenly the human ship turned to a broadside position and the sky became a few shade darker as arrows were let loose. “Set a course to ram the lead ship.” the commander back as the arrows began to fall, but fortunately they were a few feet short. “Pass out shields, ballista, I need you attacking any and every ship. Come on warriors, let’s move.” Hammer took his shield, which could only provide decent cover if he were crouched. The sails came unfurled, and soon the Taurus fleet was moving towards the humans. “Begin rowing now, we need all the speed we can get.” “Are we actually going to run straight into those ships?” Wrought Iron asked cautiously. Hammer nodded as the ship suddenly jolted as the oar pitched in. With a crash, a ballista’s shot made its mark, and punched a hole through the side of the enemy ship. Hammer raised his shield as another volley struck at the ships, but this time actually landed. A few arrow heads punched through the wooden shield, some even jabbed at his forearm, but fortunately most of the impact had been absorbed by the shield. Suddenly the ship shook violently as the Taurus ship’s front slammed into the side of the human ship. With a yell, the warriors charged toward the front and crossed to the other ship. Hammer jumped across the gap, serendipitously tackling a human. He quickly slammed his fist into the man’s face, knocking him out cold. Hammer stood up and entered the fray with a mighty roar. He swung his war axe, which caught a human knight in the side, and opposed to the armor, it sunk deep into the knight’s side, letting a stream of blood to trickle down the steel suite. Hammer took the man’s knife and looped the sheath around his belt as he looked for his next target. Suddenly Hammer felt a bit heavier. Reaching to his back he felt the smooth skin of a human. Hammer smiled and jumped up and landed on his back, ending his enemy’s battle for the rest of the day. Hammer swung his axe and set a human’ head free from its placement on the man’s shoulders. Hammer wiped the blood from his axes blade onto the man’s shirt before standing up again. He soon realized that all the other minotaurs had already moved on to another ship. Not wanting to have no part in this day’s inevitable victory, Hammer charged to the side of the ship. Cutting a rope with his axe, he swung across to a neighboring ship. Hammer slammed into the deck, causing the ship to groan a tad under his sudden addition to the weight on it. Hammer looked around and found only a few minotaurs fighting on this ship against a horde of humans. Hammer charged with a bellowing cry. He slammed his axe into a man’s shoulder, causing the man to cry out in excruciating pain. Suddenly a man in lightly armor ran up to Hammer, and while in mid-jump, sliced his blade across the minotaur’s snout, earning a yell of both surprise and pain. Hammer removed his axe and took the fallen man’s sword in his left hand. He charged the human, who jump to his right. Hammer slammed both legs into the deck and twirled in mid air, slamming the sword into the man’s foot. Hammer came to a halt and swung his axe at the man, who quickly ducked out of the way. Hammer then delivered a punch to the stomach then an axe to the back, which hit with such force that it went clear through and into the deck bellow, sending blood splattering all across the deck. Hammer pulled his axe from the wooden deck and faced the other humans, some of which had stopped fighting to stare at their fallen comrade. Hammer let out a roar, which sealed the deal, and made the men who had looked to charge at him in mass. No exactly what he had been aiming for, but it worked for something. Hammer removed the sword from the foot of the half-man, and charged the human fighters that were quickly coming closer. Hammer lowered his head as he charged, and when he met the first human, there was a meaty squish and a loud shout of pain and horror. Hammer raised his head and confirmed the location of the next fighter before he swung his axe to devastating effect. He then swung his sword at the other human, who blocked it expertly, but was for a loss when an axe came screaming down at him. Hammer quickly shoved the limp corpse from his horns and tried to wipe of the blood hat had fallen across his head. Suddenly heard a familiar cry, the cry of victory, and after looking around quickly, Hammer realized he couldn’t see a human that was moving on his own. Hammer roared as he raised his axe high and proud. “Clear the ships of anything valuable and get back to your ships. If there is any oil spill it over anything that isn’t worth keeping. We’ll give then a pyre worth remembering tonight.” The commander’s voice rung out above the cheers, bringing the soldier’s back to reality. Hammer smiled as he bend down and searched the bodies of the men he had killed moments before. Patting the man’s shirt, he felt the distinct feeling of chain. Hammer quickly grabbed the part of the small chain he could see poking out of the soldier’s collar, and pulled it out. He soon was looking at a locket made of a white metal, most likely polished iron. He pressed the small button on the end opposite of where the chain connected to the pendant, and the small circle of metal popped open. Inside it was a picture of this soldier and his family smiling merrily. Hammer removed the small black and white image and slipped it inside the soldier’s hand before clasping it shut. Hammer wrapped it around his neck, his fur concealing it perfectly. Hammer silently promised the fallen man that when he got back to his bunk he found put his picture in the place where the man had put what was most precious to him. > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hammer listened to the soft mumble of waves as the landing party slowly approached the shore of Equestria. Suddenly the boat shook, signaling they had hit ground. Hammer and the rest of the warriors jumped out into the frigid, knee deep water. Hammer helped pull the boat fully a shore, and soon there group was joined by others that had landed soon after they had. Hammer crouched and walked over to his platoon commander, who was quickly being surrounded by his other soldiers “Alright, we are about two miles south of our target, just as we planned. Remember that this is a sneak attack; try not to alert anything to your presence. The First division is coming in with us while the third and fourth divisions are going to being staying outside in case one of us is caught and things get hot. Remember who’s on your squad and listen to your CO’s orders as if the king himself gave them.” Hammer sighed, he, unfortunately, had been given his own squad to lead. He would have protested, but he was one of the only corporals on the ship that was stocked to the brim with privates. “Hammer’s squad, follow me.” Hammer said as he moved off to the side, followed by ten other minotaurs. Hammer laid out his map of their target. “This is the city; we’re entering from this area.” Hammer said as he placed a finger on the southeastern entrance of the city. “Our designated targets are the barracks here, here, and here.” Hammer said while pointing out the locations. “If any of us gets caught we still play the objective, no running. Remember, the streets are thirty-fourth and third, twenty-second and sixth, and nineteenth and seventh.” “Why are the streets named in numbers?” One of his privates asked as he eyed the map. Hammer shrugged at this. “Ponies are weird, what can I say. But we’ll be sure to give every one of those streets proper names when we take the city. Now let’s get going. Remember, no loud noises and no alerting ponies or anything else.” The soldiers around him nodded as they began moving out towards the city. Hammer ducked into an alley way, promptly followed by his squad. Hammer watched as the police pony walked by slowly. Hammer moved down the alley a good bit before sticking his head out of the shadows to see the road sign. Thirty-second and fourth, they were a few roads off, but they were closing in on their target. After confirming where thirty-fourth was, Hammer went back to his squad. “Alright, we got to cross two streets over to get to the first street in the set. Follow me. ” With that Hammer went over to the edge of the alley’s shadow and looked around for any more officer, but finding none, he nodded to the private beside him, who then darted across the lighted street to the shadow on the other side. Hammer looked around cautiously, but there still was nothing, and after a signal, the next private crossed. Hammer then spied two officers walking down the street perpendicular to their street. Hammer stuck his arm out to stop the next Private from going as he watched the two ponies closely. “I still can’t believe they instituted a curfew, it used to be so lively at night, and now it’s all dead as a ghost town.” The first pony said wistfully. “Personally I like it when it’s quiet like this, gives me less headaches.” The second officer replied as they turned the corner to the street the squad had been crossing only a few moments before. Hammer quickly looked around, hoping for some way to distract them when suddenly the clinking of a can came from a few streets over. “Hey, what was that?” The first police pony questioned as he turned, but his friend was already charging down to see if he could find the source. “H-hey, wait for me!” The first exclaimed as he galloped after his partner. Hammer looked back at his squad, who now was pointing at the private in the very back. Hammer sighed, then after a quick look around, shoved the next private through the gap, then the next, and then another. Hammer then saw another patrol of ponies walking down his street. Hammer stuck his arm out and waited for them to pass, which they did eventually. Hammer pushed the next soldier through the gap, and then waited for a bit before sending out the next. Hammer looked back, three more to go before he went. Hammer pushed the next one in, only to have a second private to go out with him at the same time. Hammer rubbed his temples in frustration, these really were fresh recruits. Hammer pushed the next soldier out and prepared himself for his own crossing. After looking around, he darted across, the pendant softly tapping him on the chest as he ducked back into the shadow. “Alright, one more street to go in the same direction, then we got to go across… one more. After that we’ll be on the same intersection as the barracks.” The privates around him nodded. War Hammer nodded back and pushed his way through to repeat the cycle. Hammer looked around for what seemed the hundredth time that night. The signs indicated the right numbers for the first barracks, but he couldn’t see any buildings nearby that could be a military instillation, but then something caught his eye. A building a few doors down from the corner had a sign that in big black letters said ‘Recruitment Office’, one of the only buildings with lights on. Hammer looked around again, but finding no other building that might be the target, he charged across the street, followed closely by with squad. Hammer stood to the side of the door as he waited for all his troops to make it across. “Alright, we’re going to take this place by storm, but try to make it at least a bit more quiet than usual. No battle roars, but quick surgical precision.” With that Hammer twisted the knob and found it open. Hammer shoved it open the rest of the way and rushed inside. “Welcome to the Manehattan Recruitment Center, how may…? Uh, what are minotaurs doing here?” The pony behind the desk stumbled. “Stay quiet and I might have you stowed away in a closet. Start yelling and you make yourself a liability.” Hammer stroked the edge of his axe at the word liability. “And I only know one way to deal with liabilities.” The pony’s mouth was suddenly clamped shut. “You, tie him up real good and gag him, then throw him in the closet.” The private nodded as he began his work with the rope. “The rest of you start pouring oil over anything and everything. Be sure to use extra on the cabinets and the desk.” His soldiers nodded and began drenching everything with oil. “Sir, we have three other fires across the city already. The enemy doubtlessly knows our presence, and if they don’t they will soon.” Hammer nodded at the news. “Alright soldiers, light her up, we got two more targets to go before the nights over.” The squad members nodded as they threw the last oil container on the various objects and began lighting the several pools as they exited. “Alright, next target is… twenty-second and sixth.” Hammer said after a glance to his map. “Fall in; we got some distance to cover!” Hammer shouted as he started into a jog towards the first number in the address. Hammer kicked in the door of the barracks that had actually been a barracks this time. A guard immediately sprang to his hooves, only to find an axe’s blade come down on him. Hammer put a hoof on the dead pony’s back as he pried his weapon loose. “Spread out and take out any ponies you find. I want this place cleared and on fire within the next ten minutes!” With that the privates quickly saluted before branching out in several directions. Hammer ran up the stairs and kicked open the first door he came to, which ended up to be the living quarters of some of the guards who had just settled in for the night. Hammer swung his axe and caught a pony in the shoulder and carried him along with the blade until it slammed into the wall. Hammer pried his axe out of the wall as the first pony came out of his stupor and charged him with a sword clenched in its teeth. Hammer slammed his hoof down on the charging pony. Suddenly Hammer found his axe being taken from his hands by a purple field. Hammer turned and saw a unicorn with the same glow around his horn. With a snort Hammer let go of his axe and drew his knife before slamming it down into the small creature’s skull. Hammer pulled the dagger out, only to find something hard smash him in the back. Hammer burst through the railing and down to the floor below. He looked up and saw a pegasus pony fluttering above him while drawing its own sword. Hammer threw his knife, which caught the pegasus in the wig, causing it to draw its wings back in shock, making it quickly fall down. Hammer slammed his fist into the pony’s head before retrieving his knife from its wing. After a quick glance, he decided to take the sheath and sword from his defeated foe, adding to his arsenal of useable weapons. Hammer sheathed the knife and lifted the sword as he went back up the stairs to get his axe back and clear the rest of the floor. As he reached the top he found himself face to face his an earth pony. Without time to react, the pony twirled in place and bucked Hammer straight in the face, causing him to lift into the air and slam against the far wall before sliding down in a daze. Hammer shook his head, trying to remove the stars from his vision. He wiped his face off with a hand and found red looking back at him. A quick examination revealed that he had cuts on his brow that now stung like mad from the sweat that was beading in his coat. Hammer shook his again in time to see the earth pony pile drive into his chest. Hammer tasted the metallic taste of blood in his snout, but he wasn’t down for the count. Hammer smashed his fist into the pony’s face, and then delivered a kick to its stomach. Hammer stood up quickly while drawing his knife and lunging for the pony, which surprised once again as it ducked to the side. Hammer quickly turned, only to receive another kick in the chest that knocked him down to his knees. Hammer swung wildly at the pony, attempting to gain some advantage, but found his blade only cutting through air. The pony expertly jumped over Hammer, causing Hammer to grow all the more frantic. He turned and watched as the pony grasped the blade in its teeth. Hammer got to his hooves and assumed a battle stance, then charged his opponent, who again jumped out of the way. The pony kicked of the stairs and landed on Hammer’s back, but Hammer was a bit more prepared than before as he slammed the pony against the wall in a half fall half roll. The pony fell to the ground unmoving with the sword nearby. Hammer sheathed his knife as he picked the sword back up. “Sir, the oil is set and we are ready to burn this place to the ground.” A private said as he threw one last bottle of oil, which ended up shatter on the wall above the pony, drenching its limp for in the flammable. “Very good, now let’s light this place and get over to the last target.” The private saluted as he moved back through the building telling his comrades their orders. Hammer looked back upstairs, wanting to retrieve his axe, but there was no time. Soon the multiple pools of oil were lit. “Alright, last one is on nineteenth and seventh, let’s…” “Sir, watch out!” One of Hammer’s privates shouted abruptly as he shoved his officer away. Hammer looked back and saw an axe’s blade sticking through the front of the soldier’s chest. The minotaur slowly fell to the ground and revealed a partly on fire earth pony holding the axe’s handle in its teeth with a look that spelled death. Hammer raised his sword as the axe swung at him. After a quick flick of the wrist, the axe came out of the enraged pony’s mouth and replaced by the blade of a sword. Hammer crouched beside the fallen soldier who slowly bled to death, with no chance of survival. Hammer grabbed the soldier’s hand in a firm grasp. “What’s your name soldier?” Hammer said to his dying comrade. “My name is p-private Tungsten of the lineage of Steel Gaze, s-sir.” The dying soldier said in a low raspy voice. He fell into a coughing fit that sent bits of blood onto Hammer’s coat. “Well, Tungsten, you proved yourself this day. Your family will be honored by you bearing their family name with such dignity. Rest now in confidence that you will be accepted among your kin that have gone before you.” The Tungsten smiled at Hammer as he gave one last breath as he closed his eyes for the last time. Hammer placed his hand on the dead minotaur’s eyes. “Go now, warrior, to the land beyond, see not this world of pain that surrounds the living, but rejoice in the greatness of your last, and greatest, achievement.” Hammer removed his knife and cut a lock of the soldier’s coat off before placing it in his locket. He then stood up at looked at the corpse of the soldier that had saved him from death. “Sir, do we perform burial now or do we leave him here to do it later?” One of the privates asked cautiously. “We will give him the warrior’s farewell, and then we must move on with his memory empowering our every strike against the enemy.” The soldiers around him nodded as they began using their axes to cut planks of wood from the barracks that still had not yet been entirely consumed in fire. Hammer stood at attention as the pyre that held the body of Tungsten continued to burn. Hammer and all of his soldiers slammed their right hand in a fist against their chests in the minotaur salute. Hammer stood there for a few more moments before dropping the salute and walking away towards there next objective. He stopped as he came to the where his axe lay on the ground. He lowered himself and picked it up as he sheathed his sword again. “Come on, we got another objective to take on before we’re done.” The soldiers of his squad looked at each other, and then fell in line behind their officer. The last objective had been an easy one; it hadn’t been a barracks again, but a supply depot. Hammer had used the excuse of standing guard when he didn’t enter, but in reality it had been to think. He had just been saved by a fellow soldier who had died because of it. This had been the first true battle of the war for the minotaurs, and he already knew of one warrior who had died. He hadn’t expected to have everyone you entered come out of it on the other side, but having a fellow soldier die so close to you was different than seeing the casualties report on a flimsy piece of paper. On paper each death could be counted and reconciled by how many enemies fell in comparison of how many the enemy took down. Hammer heard the crackling of the fire starting behind him as his troops made their way out and back into the street. Hammer nodded, and signaled for them to follow him. After taking out the targets they were supposed to move in on the capital building of the city. In the distance Hammer could already see the tents of the Taurus forces readying for a full out assault on the city’s greatest stronghold. All across the city fires burning in key locations of either military interest or were parts of the mailing service, and by their destruction the news of Taurus’ involvement in the war would be delayed by at least a few days if not a week. Suddenly a group of shadow landed near Hammer’s group, causing him to jump while preparing to strike out at whatever had just arrived. “Whoa whoa, friendly, didn’t you guys hear about the griffon mercenaries that were in bound?” Hammer peered into the shadows, and sure enough, he made out the very distinct shapes of griffons. “Yeah, but how about announce your arrival before landing; I doubt some of my comrades would show the same amount restraint that I did.” Hammer said as he lowered his axe. The lead griffon shrugged as he walked out into the light. “Well we couldn’t exactly tell if you were friendly or not from the air.” The griffon said nonchalantly as he and his band walked up to the squad. “Really? It’s hard to tell if something is really tall or really short or walks on two or four legs when you are flying? I think the only hard part you might have is telling what weaponry we have.” Hammer stated with a smirk as he began walking again, followed closely by his squad. “Whatever, we still are on the same side, so we’re all good.” The griffon commander said with a shrug as he fell in beside Hammer while his troops formed up with Hammer’s troops. “I was sent to help any incoming troops. Tell me, have you had any casualties?” Hammer stiffened slightly as he continued to walk. “Yeah, we lost one. He died honorably and did his family name proud.” Hammer said, picking up the pace a little more. “Well, I’m instructed to give any units that lost a soldier an immediate replacement from my unit. Jet, get up here!” At that a griffon soldier flew up beside her commander before landing without missing a step. “Corporal Jet Stream reporting as requested, sir!” The griffin said while keeping eyes forward. Hammer looked over at the new griffon arrival. Yet another thing he didn’t understand about other species. First it had been the bulkiness of the human knight’s armor, and now it was the griffons having females as recruits, something that had never been done, or even considered, by the minotaurs. It seemed that the world just loved throwing new differences into the mix at every turn. “You are here by transferred into this minotaur unit. You will respect the commands of your squad commander. Do you have any objections?” “Sir, no, sir!” Jet replied quickly. “Good, then I officially give you over to this unit. And Mr. Minotaur, try to not get her killed in the first week. Griffons on me, we’re moving out!” with that the griffons shrugged into the air and began their aerial patrol once more. “Corporal Jet Stream, huh?” Hammer began, trying to engage in a bit of idle conversation with his new team member as they walked down the darkening streets towards the capital. “Yes sir that is my name.” Jet said with the tone of a true military officer. “I’m Corporal War Hammer.” Hammer stated, “So, how long have you been in the service?” He said glancing over at his new comrade. “Three years, sir.” Jet replied in a monotone voice. Hammer sighed. He had been used to getting this kind of talk near bases and the like, but when he was in the middle of a mission he felt a certain sense of that certain parts of the formalities instituted in the army could be bent a bit. Clearly this griffon hadn’t gotten the memo, and Hammer was sure now that this was going to be a long night. > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.