SGM. Clare:

I could tell we both didn’t really truly hate each other but yet we were going to fight to the death for a simple cause that didn’t really pin us as foes. That’s war for you.

The Apache charged at me but now I had remembered a few tricks about hand to hand combat, and a few things that she showed me recently. As she charged I quickly side stepped and then threw a high kick to the face but she quickly blocked it and grabbed hold of my leg.

I quickly overpowered he grapple by forcing my leg back down to the ground. I rolled over top her body and landed on the opposite side of her body. She swiveled her body towards me but as she did I reached my right arm around her head and kicked out her hind legs with my right leg, slamming her to the ground.

I quickly backpedalled and waited for her to stand back up. She quickly spun herself up and landed on her hooves perfectly then began to circle me like a wild animal quarrelling its prey.

She quickly lept at me, leaping through the air like a pouncing tiger but I simply fell back onto the ground and gave a mighty kick to her stomach as she pounced. She was stopped mid-flight and fell to the ground as my sudden kick knocked the wind out of her.

I rolled backwards and to my feet then took a step back as The Apache once again spun up to her hooves. She stood to her hindlegs and charged at me but as she was a few feet away, she lept into the air and gave me a powerful spin kick to the side of the head.

The force knocked me to the ground but unlike my methods, she lept atop of me and began to slam punches into my face. She had my arms pinned down with her knees and I was almost helpless.

Her punches sent jolts of pain through my entire face and it got me enraged. With a show of brute strength I simply rolled over, knocking her body off of mine. If she was heavier and more muscular that may have been harder to do.

She lept up just as I was getting to my feet and charged me. I was ready for this one though. As she went to slam a knee into my face I grabbed her hindleg and began to spin our bodies. The negative gravity forces made her helpless as I spun our bodies in a circle. I felt her body tense up as she tried furiously to find a way out of this almost childish hold.

I released my grip on her leg and sent her tumbling across the ground. The constant spinning had made me dizzy but I quickly regained my balance and steadied myself. She however was less oriented and staggered to her feet.

I charged forwards and lept through the air, slamming a quick straight punch to her face and knocking her to the ground again. I landed on my feet and took a few steps forwards then turned around and waited for her to stand up.

She was a little less talented now and I could tell fatigue was getting to her. She got to her hooves and steadied her balance as she lept up to her hindlegs. I let out a deep exhale and she did the same.

She stood there for several moments and we simply stared each other down. Finally she took the first move and stepped towards me. As she got close enough she threw a punch with her right hoof. I grabbed it with my right arm then stepped under her now extended foreleg and twisted her arm, stepping behind her, then flipped her body to the ground with a THUD.

She winced as I went to deliver a kick that was intended to break her neck but stopped just inches from her neck then stepped back. She just lay there, not able to comprehend what just happened.

She looked over to me as I stood there and she gave a look of uncertainty. “What are you doing? Kill me” she ordered but I shook my head. “If you do not kill me than I will most definitely kill you, I would not have spared your life” she told me and I nodded. “I guess that’s what makes us different” I replied and she staggered to her hooves then readied herself for combat.

She gave a disappointed sigh then charged at me, she may have been able to beat me at one time but now she would no longer be able to best me. As she charged at me I quickly stepped forwards, slamming a punch into her gut that made her double over then dropped her to the ground.

She groped in pain as she stood up. I was beginning to feel fatigue as well. I hadn’t done hand to hand, or I suppose it would be hand to hoof, combat in some time and it was more exhausting than anything I knew.

She looked to me with weary eyes and charged recklessly at me. I quickly reached my right arm past her head, keeping my right leg in front of her legs, and tripped her into the ground. I stepped back cautiously and waited for her to get up.

She staggered to her hooves. “Stop this… it’s over. You can’t beat me and, despite my hatred for you, I won’t kill you” I told her and she let out a sigh. “That is not how war works. It doesn’t matter if you hate someone or love them. If war has pitted you against another then you must fight to the death. And until the other is dead than the war will continue on until one of us have died” she told me. I let out a deep exhale, I knew she was right but I still didn’t really want to kill her despite all she had done.

“Now… let’s put our thoughts aside and finish this” she said as she charged forwards. She threw multiple punches that I blocked with my arms then threw a quick punch into her face. She staggered back but as I went to punch her again she spun in a complete 360 motion and hammered me with a powerful round house kick to the chest that sent me staggering back. She took no time in charging forwards and power housing me to the ground.

She managed to stay standing and tried to land a punch on me while I was down but I rolled out of the way and lept to my feet. She crept towards me then threw a punch, but I wrapped my arm around hers and spun her to the ground but she was able to roll with the momentum and quickly recover back to her hooves.

I threw a punch that connected with her face but it didn’t faze her as she slammed a powerful punch to my chest that sent me staggering back. As she went to throw the second punch I grabbed her foreleg and twisted her into an arm lock. She quickly twisted her body away and hammered my face with an elbow from her free foreleg that made me release her locked leg.

I stumbled back as she threw another spin kick that knocked me to the ground. Okay maybe she still had a few tricks up her sleeve. I rolled backwards and landed on my feet. She charged at me and I tried to get her in a grapple but she powered a knee to my gut that sent me to the ground.

As she went to finish me off I rolled over and kicked her in the side of the head then quickly staggered up to my feet. She took a deep breath then charged at me like lightning. She threw lightning fast punches that I tried to block but every so often she’d get a lucky hit to my ribs or to the side of my face.

I staggered back and she tried to throw another round house kick but I saw it coming. I grabbed her hindleg then brought a swift strike down on her knee that made her yelp in pain. I released her and she staggered back in pain. I hadn’t broken her knee joint but it would hurt.

I rushed forwards and threw quick punches at her face. She brought her forelegs up to block her head but I kept pummeling her anyways. I spun around in a 360 and gave a nasty back hand that made her lose her balance. Then I slammed a powerful kick to her side that knocked her over.

I stepped back and waited. “Fool, you should be finishing me off” she scowled as she staggered to her footing. We were both breathing quite heavily and sweating profusely, my sweat stung the cuts on my face.

She charged forwards and I gave her a spin kick to the head but her body momentum outmatched my powerful kick and she ended up clumsily tackling both our bodies to the ground. She managed to land on top of me and quickly slammed an elbow to my face that ricocheted my head of the ground. I was beginning to have a head ache.

As she tried to rearrange herself I managed to punch her in the face and send her stumbling back. I quickly got to my feet and she staggered to her hooves. We were both becoming heavily exhausted.

She charged at me and we began to throw punches at each other yet these punches were considerably slower than our first punches we had thrown at the beginning. We both threw a heavy haymaker punch that spun me around to my knees and knocked her back. She staggered back over to me and held my head back then slammed an elbow into my throat.

I fell to the ground gagging from the painful elbow strike. As she went to finish me with another curb stomp I grabbed her hindleg and twisted it. She howled in pain as she fell to the ground. I rolled away from her and got to my feet as she did the same. She slowly approached me and threw wild punches that I blocked with my arms. She got lucky with a quick punch to my gut that made me groan in pain.

As she went to hit me I grabbed her forelegs and held her in a grapple then slammed a powerful knee to the side of her ribs. She grunted in pain as I released her then I lept forwards and slammed a superman punch to her chest.

She stopped staggering backwards and began staggering forwards as she hit me in the head with a head-butt. It was a somewhat weak head-butt but then she regained her posture and hit me a second time with another head-butt that made me stumble back.

She went to give a third head-butt but I gave her a round house kick to the chest. She groaned in pain and staggered back then re-postured herself in a fighting stance. We both curled our lips back and gritted our teeth as we charged at each other.

Our punches connected together and our punches were negated by the other’s punch. We both threw another punch but once again it connected with the other’s punch. We both winced in pain then she threw a high kick. I followed suit and slammed my own kick against hers. As our legs lowered we connected our legs together in a low kick meant to hit the other’s side.

We both staggered back from the sudden imbalance that resulted but then pushed ourselves forwards and both hammered a punch into the other’s stomach. We stood there in pain for a moment then rushed forwards and hammered a final blow into each other’s faces.

We both fell forwards into each other’s hold as we tried to keep ourselves up by using the other as a support but we ended up both falling to our knees. “And… I thought… you hated me” I chuckled. “I never said that… I… just needed… the money” she stuttered in pain.

We both fell over next to the other. I winced in pain then slowly and painfully got to my feet. My body was shaking from pain but I could manage to walk, barely. It would take some rest for me to be able to do that again. I stepped back and waited for her to get up but she didn’t.

“Come on… get up” I grunted through painful breathing. “I can’t…my body refuses to move” she replied. I stepped towards her and fell to my knees. “I didn’t paralyze you did I?” I gasped but she shook her head. “No… but that doesn’t matter” she whispered as she lifted up her custom Model 29, handing me the grip handle side.

“What? Why are you giving me this?” I asked as I gently took hold off the handle and observed the gun. She pulled out a scrap piece of paper. “Take this… if you ever find it in your heart… then please help them” she coughed. I looked at the piece of paper. It was coordinates. “Your village?” I asked and she nodded.

“You’re… their only hope” she whispered. “I don’t suppose if I ask you real politely that you’ll join forces with me? Please?” I asked and she let out a painful laugh. “No… I’m sorry… I cannot” she replied. “But why?” I asked and she let out a deep exhale. “One must live… and one must die. That’s how it has to be” she told me as she winced in pain.

“Don’t give me that crap… we could take down General Kim Yung together” I offered but she gently took hold of the Model 29’s barrel. She brought its aim over to her head then let her hoof fall to the ground. “Clare… or should I say Sarge? You’re a wonderful man… you fight not for orders but for honour and love” she whispered in pain.

Was she dying? It sounded like she was dying. “I… I can’t” I whispered as a lone tear trickled down both our faces. “Do it…” she whispered.

Wind blew through the jungle as I stood to my full height and pointed the revolver to her head. A tear trickled down my face. “There can only be one Sarge… and one Apache” she whispered. I manually cocked back the hammer on the revolver. I stood above her as the wind blew past us and grazed along the grass. I pulled the trigger and the revolver thundered in the seemingly peaceful air.

I stood there, the barrel of the revolver still smoking as I lowered the revolver to my side. Birds flew about and it seemed like the jungle took on a seemingly sadder colour tone, but it was probably just my imagination.

The Apache’s body seemed to simply degrade into ashes and blow away in the air. I would say it was my imagination but then again here I was fighting in a war between magical horses and zebras so I suppose a zebra degrading into ashes and fluttering into the air wasn’t too ridiculous if I thought about it. All that was left was here skull pendant. I gently grabbed it by the string and placed it around my neck as I grabbed my equipment then gave one final look to her final resting place. “Goodbye…” I whispered.

Author's Notes:

Damn, well that's a buzzkill