Chapter Forty-One: Confrontation

Coal ran up the street as far as she could and held. The guards stationed there only leapfrogged the barriers once more and listened to the sounds of battle, almost nervously. Finally, when she was worried they would never break, she heard “All hooves, advance forward we've got them!” from the air.

They all sped off forward, but someone had commanded a few to remain behind. She cursed.

An explosion from what Coal could only guess was Guardian magic echoed off the walls and rang in her ears. The sounds of metal and magic skidding off stone stacked with the ensuring wind being fabricated. She had left them to die, to be buried under the rubble of her failure.

“What are you doing?” she yelled running up, her left leg uselessly training behind her. Her hair was charred, signs of battle on her face, the helmet scarred. “They need help, they're all in there,” she called then collapsed. They both ran up to help her.

“Are you okay?” he said helping her up being careful not to cause more injury.

“Yeah,” she said spitting blood. She cursed her own stupidity but they didn't notice how it splattered black on the ground. “I just-” her voice shattered in an explosion of coughing.

Another crack made them cringe and they saw the plumes of dust. “They're tearing us apart, there were so many, I... We-” she said holding her side. “Help them.”

Two other guards from the nearby barricade came over and helped her up but she screamed in pain and them dropped her. They all flinched back as she whimpered on the ground then tried to stand.

“I didn't mean to I just, uh...” one stammered as he was passed glances. It was perfect, she had broken their moment of resolve and clarity.

“Get her to medical help, you two with me let's go,” he ordered and they sped off trying to reach the fray in time.

Coal limped with his help past the second line of barricades that now lay deserted She was surprised how serious, and how easily tricked they were. The noises in the background had died, and it worried her, it meant her underlings were dead, or worse, captured. The thought of Lance, of The Tree as she was brought before it filled her with dread. She was would death upon them before she wished that.

'Fang,' she thought. If not for him she would have still been bound chain and collar. It had been him that brought her though so much and now he could lay dead behind her. How much they had to sacrifice.

Before they approached the small barricade where others gathered she dropped the guard helping her. With the deserted streets it was easy, and his lifeless body was slid into an alley. There were a few guards still scattered at the entrance, some wore red markers on their legs designating them as medics, or other specialty services. They all paced around nervously trying to envision the battle as it unfolded. A few pegasi came back to relay information, and one such instance sent a couple running toward the center. There were no other Guardians here, they were all supposed to be forward, catching those the guards corralled.

It was without a second thought she slipped past them with disguise and headed toward the center of all the districts, the glade and it's cloverleaf walls.

It wasn't far, and required only meed subterfuge. She of course stayed hidden, she wouldn't risk disguise alone in case she did run into a detector. Whether it was luck that was on her side she was unsure. A quick glimpse back to the now silent distance told her that a little luck could have gone a long way. 'Luck for them perhaps,' she thought.

She trailed along the buildings noting the guardians that stood there stoically. Two guarded each entrance but she was sure there were more around. If that wasn't the case it was possible they were summoned to the center. It was clear they had no idea of their numbers, how many had been sent for only two of them? She was proud of their abilities, there were few others in history stacked against such odds.

The loop around the glade took more time then she wanted, it wouldn't be long before they noticed she wasn't really there and she had no idea how long Fang and Claw had really stalled them. Soon they would surround The Tree with more soldiers then she could get past. She only needed a few seconds, but still. Perhaps it would be easier with more soldiers, easier to slip into the fray? No, she had wasted time enough already, there would be no more second chances.

As she approached District Six, on the opposite end, explosion and light filled the air. It drove her scales up and she dove into a shadow. Fireworks scattered the night, and she wasn't sure to be thankful of their boisterous cover, or regret their revealing light.

As she reached the far entrance the two guardians stood there, one asleep against the wall. She crept out in Valor's form and thundered, “What are you two doing!?”

They immediately jumped to attention. “Oh, uh, Matriarch,” he said. She approached closer, and made ready to put them both down instantly but held her ground, this was too similar.

With a twist of her head she pulled a shield up. The impact still sent her sliding backward on the slick cobblestone. The dust settled and in the grey green roar of fireworks that painted the light Coal could see the last obstacle standing between her and The Tree. The expression on her face almost seemed to change with the colors, dying again to lamplight before another burst above them.

“You play a terrible me,” Valor said.

The stone felt suddenly hot beneath her and the buildings edged closer, as if to crush her. 'No, focus Coal,' she told herself looking for avenues of escape, methods of deception. But inside those eyes she saw no wavering. If she was going to get through it was going to be head on.

Voices cried in the background, children playing, a few boxes toppling, she didn't flinch once. Both of them stood, ready, eyes locked. Unicorn soldiers advanced toward her, and she instinctively retreated back until she felt the stonework of a building touch her. The cool of the rock sent a shiver through her spine, a warning, a threat of what could come. She was so close! The leaves spread over the wall gently, as if not daring to reach any further outside it's comfortable home. The sweet smell that came from inside the glade washed over her, making her temporarily woozy, sick, excited, and relaxed all at once. She brushed it off easily and flicked her head from soldier to soldier. Each seemed ready to lash out, to strike her down with a nod from the all-mother standing behind them. This was how they had hunted prey when it roamed the sands still. They backed it into a corner, waited until it lunged in attempt to escape, then took its life with a hunters efficiency.

The surrounding area gave her nothing, it held it's secrets and told her lies. 'There's no escape, you're going to die here, Coal, your screwed.'

“Damn,” she cursed under her breath looking for something, anything before the fatal moment when they would wait no longer, when she would deflect the first and maybe the second attack before they ripped her body from her bones.