Everyday Life With Guardsmares
Chapter 104
Previous Chapter Next ChapterArtemis Sparkshower
Specialist Artemis Sparkshower didn’t like the look of this storm one bit.
Like dark clouds gathering on the horizon, the twelve black-cloaked batpony soldiers surrounded her, waiting at the edges of the viewing gallery above the combat arena. They were barely forty hooves away from where she now stood, gathered up with her quaternion in the middle of the sand-pit, surrounding the Royal Engineer for his safety -- Eb in front, herself and Honour on flanks, and Glam in the rear.
What really put Artemis’ ears up was the singular, big black storm-cloud still standing at the top of the main entrance staircase, almost eighty hooves away. Marcos, their Sergeant's brother, was exactly the kind of cyclonic depression that Equestria AWACS Command would send a whole brigade of weather-ponies to break up before it could cause any real damage.
Unfortunately, right then it was just her quaternion plus her VIP.
And the menacing batponies had them outnumbered twelve to five.
To say nothing of them commanding the high ground!
Marcos' great black cloak slowly lifted up at the sides, and then with one lightning-quick wing-pump, he shot up into the air like an arrow, arcing towards the apex of the domed ceiling in the Grand Hall of Stars, over a hundred hooves up.
Artemis made to ready her lance in case he dived down, but before she’d barely even laid a hoof on it, the batpony disappeared in a blur, and she flinched involuntarily when there was a sudden blast of sand before her. Glamerspear, Honour, and even the Royal Engineer all turned away and threw up forelegs or arms to shield their eyes, but Artemis’ bascinet-helm visor saved her from most of the spray.
And when the dusty sand-cloud dissipated, she was stunned by what she saw.
Suggested background music: Paul Ruskay - 'Captain Soban', from 'Homeworld 2' [2003]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txflz0Z_CA0
Marcos was standing in a shallow hole right in front of Purity, surrounded by a small raised rim of sand.
‘Whoa, h-he's fast!’
Behind and slightly to the side of the Royal Engineer, Glamerspear gasped out in shock.
"What?!"
Despite her outburst, Marcos paid no attention to the rest of them, staying focused on his sister before him.
Surprisingly, it was the sergeant who spoke first, stepping back closer to the rest of them, allowing Marcos room to emerge from his small impact crater and face her on an equal footing.
"There is no need for theatrics, Marcos. I know well the techniques of the Swarming Meteors." As he approached to meet her, muzzle-to-muzzle, she continued. "And I know you are more than worthy to be a Sixth, my brother."
Marcos stopped and regarded his sister straight in the eyes for a long time. Still without so much as glancing away from her, he opened his mouth, speaking slowly. "Thees deymonstrration... Thees 'tee-atrrics,' as you say... Eet was not for yourr ayes dat I do thees..."
Throwing back his hood with a single sharp backwards head-shake, Artemis saw his nostrils flare as he took a deep breath. "...Eet was sso that yourr 'battle-siblings' would know also hwhat they face."
Then he nodded in the Royal Engineer's direction. "...Tell heem."
With her attention fixed on her brother, Ebonshield spoke up, addressing the rest of them while facing away. "This is my younger brother, Marcos Ébanoscudo. He is a Sixth of the Temple of the Swarming Meteors, a school which focuses on the dives sudden and violent, as you have seen."
Delicately licking her lips, she continued more quietly. "...And he has said very many rude things about me, and also about all of you."
With what almost felt like a shrug, Artemis saw her bob her head slightly. "I threatened to kill him the last time he confronted me with these insults. Apparently, this message has not been understood."
At that, Marcos smiled. "No, Pureza, eet has been underrstood. Thhat ees why ay am heerre with battle-siblings of my own."
Sergeant Ebonshield whinnied. "You needed such a large escort just to hurl more insults at me, Marcos?"
He shook his head in reply. "To insult, no. The tayme to dissuade you frrom deeshonourring yourrself weeth tallk ees ober." He inhaled sharply before finishing. "...Now, eet ees time to errase yourr shayme."
To Artemis’ surprise, Ebonshield growled. She hadn’t heard her do that since she had to face the Royal Engineer's shadowy sand-clone almost a week ago in this very pit.
And that had seemed like a real battle of life and death.
"My shame! My shame! Your foolish and outdated ideas have no place anymore, especially not on this world, Marcos!" Snarling, she spattered his muzzle with spittle as she carried on. "Everything I have done, I have done at the will of the Mother-of-Stars herself, commanded in Her presence by Her very flesh and blood!"
But the darker-colored batpony standing in front of her didn’t so much as flinch or move to wipe his face. Instead, he waited, breathing slowly, a drop of spit running down his leather chanfron.
Then, at last, he opened his mouth, and spoke words full of loathing. "That surrface-dwelling abomeenation ees not ourr Grreat Motherr."
Inhaling deeply, he narrowed his eyes almost lazily. "No trrue Child of the Starrs hwould eber follow that eempostorr."
Artemis was almost shocked that the Sergeant hadn't given him a head-butt as she did when he first showed up in her quarters. Back then, he was just insulting the three of them, her quaternion-mates.
But now he was disparaging Her Majesty Princess Luna!
Glamerspear whispered from behind. "Bastard."
Glancing behind her, Artemis saw her horn was fully lit up, and there was a teal outline of a spear, half-materialized above her head. Then Honour turned around as well, and gave the zealous unicorn a stern head-shake. With a barely-audible grumble, the partially conjured spear disappeared, but Lily's horn stayed lit. After all, there was de-escalating a situation, and then there was letting your guard down!
Wanting to avoid violence or not, Artemis wasn’t going to let these 'Swarming Meteors' get the drop on their group.
In front of her, she saw Ebonshield swallow. "If not for the Edict of Blood, I would have slaughtered you..."
She leaned in closer, almost pressing her brow against his. "...Instead, I must pity you, Marcos..."
With a sigh, she raised her eyebrows, staring into his dark eyes. "...You have never felt Her presence. You have never seen Her open up the heavens above, raining down the stars like Her tears. You have never felt them envelop you, filling you with Her warmth..." For a moment, Ebonshield closed her eyes and reveled in the memory of Princess Luna's powerful presence. It had been an incredible experience, and Artemis was reminded of the beautiful scene herself.
But what a risk to take with her murderous brother standing right there!
"... You have never accepted Her star-dust, bathed in Her spirit, breathed in Her passion..."
Opening her eyes again, she met Marcos' impassive gaze with a kind of tenderness. "If you had, you would never speak such blasphemy."
Marcos barely showed any emotion. "Eet ees no blasphemee to rreject a false God."
The Sergeant pulled her head back slightly, relaxing her stare. "Our own mother has affirmed also the Edict of Blood."
He just shook his head. "Worrds spoken by a false God rremain always false, no matter who rrepeats them. Eet ees ourr duty to deesobey."
Ebonshield snorted. "Carmen will be upset nonetheless."
"Ay weell endurre herr temperr..." Marcos curled his lip up into a sneer. "... Een the end, eet will be worth eben her angerr to errase the stain you habe mayde."
It seemed like there was just no stopping this storm with words. Was this going to come to blows after all?
Purity surveyed the forces ranked against them in the gallery. "Thirteen Swarming Meteors against the five of us. These are odds quite slim, Marcos. Are you so certain of victory?"
Marcos tilted his head slightly.
"No. Not thirrteen against fibe, Pureza. Thirrteen against one."
‘What?’
Is he suggesting that they won't fight alongside their quaternion's sergeant? As if that was going to happen!
But Marcos only nodded towards the Royal Engineer. "You arre sworrn to prrotect heem with yourr life, Pureza. Eef he fights weeth you, he dies weeth you. But eef you fight alone..."
The menacing batpony looked to one side. "...Then he may leabe herre, alibe."
Ebonshield stiffened. "And the others?"
"Tweested as you arre, you arre still hwan of the Childrren, one of us. And they..." He nodded towards the quaternion. "... They will neverr assept you, neber lub as we deed, Pureza. Thees ees your mistake, to habe forrgotten yourr true Motherr, and to habe shunned yourr people for these surrface-born."
Marcos licked his lips. "Fayce us alone, and they may all deparrt alibe."
Glamerspear had had enough, and angrily stamped her hind hooves on the ground, swaying her neck left and right. "Buster, if you think for one instant that we're going to abandon our sergeant and hoof her over to be executed just because she's a batpony, you've got another thing coming."
Artemis’ helmet rattled as she gave a sharp nod. "That's right! Equestria is the land of 'From many ponies, one,' and we don't give up our own!"
Looking to her corporal for reassurance, Artemis saw her hesitate for a moment, but then she forcefully stamped a forehoof down as well. "You won't take the sergeant without fighting all of us."
‘That'll show him!’
Sure enough, Ebonshield smiled as she glanced back. "I am glad to hear your support, mi cuaternion. Never have I been made to feel unwelcome among you."
The smile turned into a menacing grin when she faced her brother once more. "Do you begin to see how mistaken you are, Marcos? You are wrong about the Equestrians, you are wrong about the Mother-of-Stars, you are wrong about me, and you are wrong to think that you can win. There is still the time to reconsider."
But it didn’t seem their show of solidarity had impressed her brother very much. "Thees chaynges nathing. Eben with the many treeks and applayances that yourr school so lobes, you will not ween. Thirrteen against fourr..."
He shook his head dismissively, and Artemis had to admit, the numbers were not in their favor. But if they worked together, after what they saw of her last week, Artemis had no doubt that Sergeant Ebonshield could eliminate these aggressors all by herself -- provided they kept the others at bay long enough for her to face them one or two at a time. Even Lily could probably shoot most of them down, if Artemis only held them off her long enough to manage it. It was just a matter of coordination...
"... Surrenderr and sparre yourr compañeros, my seester. Thees ees more than thrree against wone."
Artemis heard a voice from above and beside her. "Not when there's five of us fighting you."
Peeking out the side of her visor, she saw the Royal Engineer menacingly pound his right mailed fist into his open left gauntlet.
Instantly, Honour looked up at him. "Sir, this isn't your fight. We're the soldiers, let us take care of it."
Pulling his helmet down to cover his face, Anonymous shook his head. "I'm not going to stand by and watch others fight to the death on my behalf, just because I wanted to do some combat training."
‘That's not really fair!’
He wanted to learn to fight, sure -- but it was the sergeant who chose to hold the training down here. Not that Artemis was blaming her, of course, but if it wasn't for that decision, then they wouldn't be in this situation.
Although, her brother would probably still be trying to kill her...
But at least the Royal Engineer wouldn't be involved.
Corporal Bound pleaded with their VIP. "You can't blame yourself for this situation, sir. And we're sworn to defend you, not the other way around."
Even Ebonshield dared to look away from her brother to speak back at the Royal Engineer. "The caporal is correct in this; we are here because I thought to use this Grand Hall. Your concern is appreciated, but you have no responsibility to join us in this fight."
To Artemis’ surprise, Marcos chuckled. "Heh. And eben eef you join, hwhat can you do weethout yourr club and yourr sheeld?" He nodded up towards the section of the gallery where the Royal Engineer's equipment still lay from before they began this exercise, watched over by one of his Swarming Meteors.
It hadn't seemed like an unsafe place at the time, but now they were dangerously out of reach. Even powered by the thundering speed of Bradamante Lance, Artemis doubted she could grab them and bring them back before the fight began in earnest. It probably wouldn't be worth trying, not until at least a number of the attackers had already been dealt with.
Anonymous banged both of his armored fists against his blackened-bronze breastplate with a loud CLUNG.
"You and your 'Swarming Meteors' don't scare me, Marcos."
He pointed a menacing finger at the batpony. "This doesn't have to end in violence, but if it does, I've got everything I need to fight you right here. And you'll be thirteen smashed meteorites lying in pieces on the ground if you think otherwise."
Then he clenched his hand back into a fist, and let out a growl. All Artemis could see in the shadow of the T-shaped slit of his helm were the whites of his eyes and his big, sharp teeth.
‘Gosh, that's a little unnerving.’
Who knew their VIP could be so intimidating?
From the back row, Glamerspear laughed. "Bucking right! You want to go up against Their Majesties' Royal Engineer and his quaternion, you'd better bring a whole buckin' army!"
As Marcos sneered disdainfully, Ebonshield got up in his face again. "You see? You should have brought more Meteors, Marcos. Or could you find only twelve who were willing to violate their oath to protect the Palace at night?"
He angrily barked back his reply. "Ay found morre than enough who werre weelling to do hwhat needed to be done!"
Artemis heard hoofsteps coming from the outside hallway, and Marcos' anger turned back into a sinister grin. "... And ay have not brrought only twelbe... Ay have brrought fourteen."
Two black-cloaked batponies, indistinguishable from the other twelve already in the room, entered through the doorway and, after a brief pause to nod to each other, they fanned out to join their comrades in the gallery above and around the pegasus.
"Theese two arribe late only because they werre mayking cerrtain that yourr other students would not interferre weeth us."
‘He doesn’t mean that little foal and filly who helped rake the sandpit and set up the targets last time, does he?’
Ebonshield looked sharply at the two newcomers. "What have you done with them?"
Her brother settled back into his detached stance. "You Estellares habe too many treeks and secrrets; eet would be too easy for them to eenterrupt and spoil ourr plans. My Meteors deed what needed to be done, queek and payneless."
Artemis’ heart sank when Ebonshield reared her head back, her eyes wide with shock. "They were children, Marcos! Initiates! Not even of the first rank! Shadows take you, murderer."
But her brother just looked down his muzzle at her. "Theirr blood ees on yourr hooves, Pureza, not mine. You filled theirr heads with blasphemies, and you filled their hearrts with corruption. Ay am merrely cleaning up yourr mess."
‘Oh, no.’
Their batpony Sergeant, who had been such a good friend as well as a good soldier ever since Artemis had met her, stood aghast, speechless. Then her expression hardened, and she lowered her head once more, meeting her brother brow-to-brow once more.
"I will avenge their deaths, Marcos."
He gave a slight nod. "Then ay weell die, but ay weell have done my duty to the Cheeldrren."
Marcos tilted his head slightly, still looking into the Sergeant's eyes. "Eef yourr conscience botherrs you, then choose to fayt us alone instead. My offerr to let these others leabe still stands. Ees that not what yourr Maestro Romà de Balj prreached as his 'Trruth Stellarr'? That therre was no goal higherr than to die forr the Grreat Motherr?"
Taking a step back, he used one wing to brusquely fling his cloak aside, revealing that he, too, had blades on his wing-arms. But unlike Purity's ensemble, his outfit actually had normal-looking metal sabots, with no complex spring-loaded blades strapped to his legs. He had a metal peytral, too, styled not unlike those worn by ordinary Royal Guard.
Now that Artemis could see him without cloak or hood, she saw that his chanfron head armoring was heavier, too, with blackened metal plates riveted to the leather strips, though it was still not up to Royal Guard standards. No doubt the heavier armoring was required for the 'Swarming Meteors' to endure their diving attacks. That was something to keep in mind in a few moments, when she had to fight the rest of them as well.
Still stepping away, Marcos called out. "Die forr the Grreat Motherr, Estellar Siete Pureza Ébanoscudo, mi hermana, eef that ees who you trruly believe the wone who walks on the surrface to be. Yourr temple weell rememberr yourr sacrrifice fondly, meesguided as eet ees."
Suggested background music: BenDanProductions - 'Battlefield Theme, Acoustic Cover (Mariachi Style)' [1993], original composition by Joel Eriksson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbC5mUU_z8s
As Ebonshield stood there, shocked, Artemis looked over at Corporal Bound.
‘She won't let Marcos' final words change things, will she?’
Honour exchanged glances with Artemis and Glamerspear, then whispered. "Everypony, protect Glamerspear and the Royal Engineer. Glam, get ready to gun them down, but watch out for Eb in the crossfire."
Glamerspear's grin grew twice as large, and she tapped the side of her helmet to lower the visor with a close-range targeting reticle. "'Bout buckin' time."
As Honour pulled a javelin off her back and snapped it together and Anonymous raised his fists up in a fighting stance, Artemis turned her body to face outwards from her VIP and her Anti-Air unicorn, eyes darting between the six cloaked batponies in front of and above her. Her armor was heavier than theirs, she was certain, and their diving attacks should be unable to penetrate it. It was just a matter of making sure they didn't bludgeon her anywhere important, like her head.
They couldn't possibly know what the 'Bradamante Lance' was capable of, so that was an advantage as well.
Expanding the weapon with a loud ka-CHONK, and partially mounting it with her hooves on the ground, Artemis resolved to let them make the first move, then harpoon them once they had given up their mobility by landing in the sandpit. Ideally, she should be able to spear one and body-check another in the first charge, if she could line them up properly.
To her right, Artemis saw the musicians finally decide they wanted no part of what was about to happen, and they scrambled to take refuge at the outer edge of the gallery. Artemis hoped Ignacio would be okay, sleeping up in his wooden pulpit...
If he was even still asleep.
Maybe Honour should have told Lily to watch out for him, too.
To Artemis’ left, she saw Marcos pull back the other side of his cloak, exposing both of his wings, and the shining 'steel' blades on them. He and Ebonshield both raised their wings up, and the pegasus could hear the scratching of metal on metal as the blades slowly extend.
‘It must be some kind of batpony ritual way of starting a duel…’
The pegasus didn’t think Ebonshield was going to be tackling any of the other batponies until she dealt with her own brother.
In the galleries around her, the other Swarming Meteors all started to lift their cloaks up with their wings, preparing for their ballistic ascent and subsequent dynamic entry into the sandpit.
‘Any moment now…’
Suggested background music: John Barry - 'Inflight Fight', from 'The Living Daylights' [1987]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEwkcIJkgf8
Suddenly, two foalish voices shouted in unison from above, ahead and behind.
"¡Gran Madre!"
"¡Gran Madre!"
In the blink of an eye, one of the batponies located in the middle of the group -- one of the two foal-killers to have arrived late -- whipped a forehoof out from underneath their cloak. To the shock and surprise of the other Swarming Meteors, the batpony -- whom Artemis now noticed had two bed-pillows strapped to their flanks -- slammed that same forehoof back down on the stone floor.
BANG-BANG-POOOOOFFF
There were a pair of deafening blasts from in front and from her back, accompanied by a blinding flash of light. Momentarily stunned, Artemis only heard Marcos cry out to her left.
"¡Trampa! ¡Mata el unicornio primero!"
Shaking her head, Artemis cleared the haze from her eyes, only to see the gallery level and the ceiling above her completely engulfed in thick, black smoke. She heard coughing and choking noises coming from where the Swarming Meteors had been standing, but she could see nothing through the impenetrably dark cloud. Then, a moment later, the same shouting batpony tumbled out from the darkness and opened her wings to coast towards their group, letting out another battle cry.
"¡Estelaaaaaareeeees!"
‘Wait, isn't that 'Stellar' in the batpony language?’
Just when Artemis put it together, she heard Glamerspear shout out one of her own in reply.
"SUCK ON MY SPEARS, BATPONY SCUM!"
Still facing forward, Artemis threw out a preventative foreleg towards her overeager comrade.
"Wait, Lily, they're on our side!"
Glamerspear scrunched up her snout in confusion, and she turned to see the same scene repeated on the other side, including the arrival of another, small-looking batpony. Both new arrivals threw off their cloaks and landed, revealing the rest of their outfits. Standing somewhat awkwardly on sabots that had been padded with what looked like bedsheets, the two had bed-pillows strapped to their sides to bulk up their bodies. And, although Artemis was no expert in batpony wing-blades, she was certain the ones they were wearing were several sizes too large. Once they discarded those clumsy devices and kicked off their padded horseshoes, Artemis recognized the two newcomers as 'Carto' and 'Águila,' the foal and filly students of Ebonshield.
‘Oh, thank Celestia -- they must have overcome their original attackers and then decided to impersonate them!’
As the two enterprising students bound their way towards Artemis’ group, no longer disguised, Carto, the foal in front of her, spoke up. "Today these Meteoros Idiotas taste two smoke-bombs of the Estellares! Her fumes shall strangle them to sleep, but a few may escape, so we must guard!"
Honour nodded in acknowledgement, and Artemis and the corporal both expanded the defensive formation to admit the two extra participants. "Okay, Glam, you heard them -- strafe the gallery."
Anonymous interrupted the increasingly-agitated unicorn before she could start firing. "Wait! We can do this without bloodshed -- Specialist, shoot up the place, but use your training rounds instead. We'll aim to knock out anyone who resists the smoke."
With nobody else objecting, and with an enthusiastic shout, Lily started to step around in a small circle, rotating in place as she let fly spear after spear without further delay.
CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
From inside the cloud, Artemis heard some of the dull-headed training rounds impact on flesh or armor instead of rock, accompanied by grunts of pain -- and all overlaid over the continuing sounds of coughing and choking.
"¡Uf!"
"¡Ay!-COUGH"
-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
"¡OH!"
Keeping her ears up and facing forwards, Artemis waited anxiously for any sign of movement inside the obscuring gas.
-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
"¡Yaa-Aaaa!"
With a high-pitched scream and a glimmering green, blunt-nosed spear ricocheting off his helmet, one of the hostile batponies tumbled in confusion over the gallery-edge, collapsing into the trench around the raised sandpit.
-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
To Artemis’ surprise, Carto immediately ran forward and leapt into the trench, heading for the rack of wooden weapons, and seconds later, she heard the sounds of somepony getting thoroughly thrashed with a wooden stick.
SMACK WHACK SLAP
-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
"¡Ayaaa!" One of the Swarming Meteors came flying out of the cloud, screeching with rage, eyes shut but forehooves held out in front of him and wing-blades extended to the sides.
-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
Glamerspear was busy shooting up the other side of the gallery, so it looked like this one would be up to the pegasus; she lined up the target with the guard-side of the Bradamante Lance before stomping a hind hoof into its stirrup.
CLICKA-FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHHH
In a split second, Artemis slammed the lance's hoofguard right into the blind charger, and she braced for the inevitable impact with him against the wall--
BONK-FWOOOOOOSHHH
--Only to be completely dizzied when, immediately after the pegasus flattened her target into the wall, instead of crashing right into him afterwards, there was a flash of blue light all around her, and the pegasus suddenly found herself hurtling at full speed in almost the exact opposite direction. Releasing the stirrup and flipping her visor up, she dry heaved from the nauseating experience.
TSSSSSSsssssssss
Accompanied by the now-familiar noise of the deactivated Lance, Artemis struggled to regain her senses.
‘What just happened?’
One moment, she was about to slam into stone at full speed, the next, she was heading for the exact opposite side of the ring. Slowly turning her head, she saw her target behind her, still plastered against the vertical slab of rock. After a moment, they slowly slid down it and crumpled into the trench.
-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
Glamerspear was still filling the smoke-obscured gallery with spears, and Artemis resolved to figure out just what happened some other time. Surveying the scene, she saw another two knocked-out batponies down in the circular ditch, with Águila, the other initiate of the Stellar Dance, floating over them, gleefully rapping their wing-arms, knees, and shins with a stick held in her forehooves, to a small duet of moans and groans.
-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
Looking over towards the main body of her group, Artemis saw that there was another batpony still standing, currently struggling to bring his wing-blades to bear on Corporal Bound, who was holding him at bay with one of her javelins. But while the cloaked attacker was occupied with Honour, the pegasus watched the Royal Engineer dodge around behind him.
-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
Before the Swarming Meteor could react to being swarmed himself, Anonymous fearlessly seized the batpony's right bladed wing-arm in his left gauntlet, and then delivered a punishing body-blow punch to the exposed flank with the other.
"¡Huuf!"
With the wind completely knocked out of him, the batpony collapsed to the ground, and the Royal Engineer jumped on top, wrapping a left arm around the wheezing pony's neck.
-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
From within the now-clearing smoke, Artemis heard a gasping cry from a collapsed Meteor in the gallery.
"¡Rendimos! ¡Rendimos! Wee surrender! Wee surrender!"
-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
Whether she couldn’t hear the cry of surrender, or whether she didn’t care about it, Glamerspear continued to fill the gallery with shimmering teal blunt-nosed DPICM training rounds, laughing maniacally the whole time.
Anonymous delivered one forceful knock-out punch to the back of the Swarming Meteor's head, and then another, and Artemis saw the batpony's limbs go completely limp.
-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-CHUKA-
Finally, Honour called Glamerspear off.
"Cease fire! Cease fire! They're half dead and giving up, Glamerspear!"
-CHUKA-CHUKA!
Panting with excitement, Lily finally let up her barrage.
Floating back down to the sandpit, still feeling disoriented from whatever just happened with the 'Bradamante Lance' and that wall, Artemis turned to look over at Sergeant Ebonshield. She was quickly joined by Honour, Lily, the Royal Engineer, and the two Stellar initiates as well.
Twenty hooves ahead of the pegasus, Marcos was lying on his back, with Ebonshield on top of him, their wings and legs locked together in a clash. While the Swarming Meteor tried to twist the blades inwards to strike his sister, Purity struggled to bring one of her forehooves up to his face.
"You have lost, Marcos! Your Meteors have surrendered or been defeated! Give up!"
Marcos answered in a snarl. "Ay am not yet een the shadow! Geeving up ees how we lost our trrue Motherr!"
The struggle continued, but while the wings barely moved, Ebonshield managed to get her forehoof almost to his neck.
"My blade is soon at your throat -- give up!"
He only growled in reply, but that quickly changed when the rest of their group surrounded the pair. With his limbs tangled up in the Sergeant's own, Marcos soon found Honour's spear levelled down at his head, followed quickly by Artemis’ own lance. Even the two initiates took to hovering in the air, their two training sticks raised high. Then Glamerspear summoned a trio of spears -- real ones, with glittering sharp tips -- even higher up above him, and pointing straight down.
Faced with weapons on all sides, Artemis saw the fight drain right out of him. When he let up with his wings, Ebonshield quickly slammed them aside, pinning them with her hind hooves as she stood menacingly over him. Marcos looked wordlessly up at his sister, who remained furious.
"You were my brother, Marcos! I loved you, as family should!"
He didn’t reply, and she snarled down at him. "Curse you to the Shadows for breaking your oaths to the Great Mother, and curse you twice again more for making me wish to break my own!"
The defeated Meteor only swallowed. "Leabing me alibe weel end nathing."
Gritting his teeth, he raised his neck. "...Do hwhat must be done."
"Never!"
In a flash, Ebonshield slammed her brow down into his muzzle. When she lifted it up again, Artemis saw a trickle of red running down her face.
Marcos spoke, his mouth full of blood as he spat fury and a few loosened teeth up at her. "Do eet! Eet es our way! The only way!"
Ebonshield lifted her right forehoof, and with a sharp jerk, extended the blade attached to it.
‘She's not really going to kill him, is she?’
‘After everypony else has already surrendered or been knocked out?’
‘With barely a scratch on any of us!’
The sergeant shook her head. "No, Marcos; I obey the Edict of Blood -- I will not kill another of the Children, here in the Rookery." She grit her teeth and nodded, slowly.
"...But I will make sure you cannot threaten us again."
Jerking the foreleg forward, Purity Ebonshield jammed her blade into Marcos' left eye, then slashed outwards in a savage attack. Like a lightning bolt against a dark sky, bright red blood sprayed across the sandpit, accompanied by a thundering scream from the victim.
Suggested interlude music: Klaus Doldinger - 'Inferno', from 'Das Boot' [1985]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iOuxGT66vQ
