Quashed

"Are you absolutely certain that she's coming this way?"

Steelhorn and his shield-brothers huddled behind a row of bushes on the side of the road. They'd spent all of yesterday and half the night running from Hornburg Castle to Equestria, and despite their soreness, they all knew that this was no time to rest. Their situation would become far worse before it would improve.

"This is according to the map the priestess gave us," answered Scrimshaw. "This road is the least patrolled on her route, as it's basically a throughway from Manehattan to Canterlot. There's nothing really on this road, and it's too long to be actively watched. Most travelers will take the slightly longer routes through the cities, but Celestia feels safe taking this one."

"What a fool," grunted Steelhorn. "Feeling safe should be reserved for civilians. Soldiers and kings should always be on their guard."

"Undoubtedly, she'll be surrounded by a guard escort. About a dozen stallions."

"That's no excuse. One must always be in peak condition."

"Hold your voices," called Ironblood, who was looking through a spyglass. "There's a grand-looking carriage being escorted by what seems to be a platoon of royal guards. They're headed this way."

Steelhorn grinned. "All of you into position. Ironblood, Scrimshaw, cross the road. I want bolas prepped on either side in case she tries to fly off. That means you, too, Hardtusk. You and Boneshatter take up positions behind me. Full silence means no call to charge. When I take the field, you jump in behind me. Failure is not an option." With a salute, his men fell into position. "And remember, we need that princess alive."

They sat in silence, waiting for the carriage to inch closer to them. This was not their first ambush, as it was a common tactic for their clan. Being among the smallest armies meant that fighting smarter and harder was necessary in order to stay alive. Especially when you were outnumbered. They sat perfectly still, erasing their breath, so as not to be heard by the guards.

As the guards drew nearer, Steelhorn was appalled by what he saw and heard. Several of the guards were chatting amongst themselves, making jokes and laughing as if everything was going to be fine. How could they be so blasé about this? The trees were so close to the road that an ambush was certainly something to be concerned about.

Just before the carriage passed in front of him, Steelhorn charged. Two of the guards donned shocked expressions as they were gored by his horns and slammed into the side of the carriage, knocking it onto its side. This incapacitated the two guards pulling it, bringing down the count of soldiers by four in a single, decisive blow.

The guards scrambled for their weapons, cursing themselves for not being ready, and rightly so, as by the time they'd prepared, Steelhorn had already brought out his mace and clubbed in the skull of one of the foe soldiers. The other minotaurs had leaped onto the road by now, save for Scrimshaw and Hardtusk, who were hanging back with their bolas. Their job was to watch the carriage and block the escape of the princess.

The remaining guards were quickly dealt with. The minotaurs were bigger, stronger, and more seasoned with battle than the Equestrian forces. Once Boneshatter had appeared with his maul, and Ironblood with his battleaxe, the fight had been over in less than a minute.

"That's all of them," said Ironblood, stowing his axe. "Unless there are more inside the carriage with the princess."

Boneshatter tied up the last two stallions, the ones that had been pulling the cart. "These two will serve as fine leverage, I should think."

Steelhorn shook his head. "Equestrians aren't Hornburgers. She may not care about her soldiers deaths. Hold onto them just in case, though. They may be useful to us down the line."

With Hardtusk and Scrimshaw trained on the doors, they stood the carriage back up. Still concerned that there were hidden soldiers inside the carriage, Ironblood opened the door. He was immediately blasted in the chest with a fireball, sending him a few steps back. Celestia bolted through the opening she'd made, flying off as fast as she could. She didn't make it far before a cable wrapped around both of her wings, knocking her out of the sky. As she careened to the road below, Ironblood rushed to catch her, only just able to make it in time as he slid on his back. Celestia kicked and jabbed at him, hitting repeatedly the burn she'd left on his chest, but Ironblood held tight, knowing the consequences would be far worse if he were to release her.

With Celestia now tied up and her magic sealed tightly away by a horn ring, courtesy of the Hornburg priestess, Steelhorn allowed his heart rate to slow. "Well done, boys. That's one princess down. Only two more to go. An extra half-ration to Hardtusk, for his excellent aim with a bola!" Cheers from the minotaurs rang out. "And double rations for Ironblood, who took a fireball to the chest, and still managed to ensure that the prize remained undamaged!" Even louder cheering erupted form their mouths. "Now, it's time we disappeared for a bit. Hardtusk, take the carriage back to the camp, and don't let them out for any reason."

Hardtusk saluted his chief. "At once, sir." Grabbing the yoke for the carriage in both hands, he began carting it off, the two spare guards and the princess tied up inside it.

"The rest of you, let's clean this place up. Dump the bodies in the forest nearby. We'll let the scavengers enjoy the feast."

Over the next ten minutes, the minotaurs did just that, with Ironblood being sent back to camp early due to his injuries. Steelhorn, carrying the last body to the corpse pile, was gifted with the sight of a pack of wolves, already hard at work destroying the evidence. They stopped to watch him toss the final body onto the pile, but went right back to eating as soon as he turned to leave. What adorable little creatures they were.

Once they were all back at camp, Hardtusk and Scrimshaw guarded the prisoners while Boneshatter lit the fire and started to prepare the rations. Steelhorn, despite his rough nature and strong attitude, cared very much for his subordinates, and helped to make sure that Ironblood was properly bandaged on his back, and even treated his burns with a poultice made from wild herbs. They knew they were just tools to him, but he was a good leader, and knew that he should take good care of his tools, lest they become rusty and break. If they were dead, or even horribly injured, they wouldn't be any use to him. Even if it was for selfish reasons, they knew he'd take good care of them.