Under the Moon and the Sun

Darkness.

And the taste of blood in his mouth.

His body was shaking, the ears were ringing.

He tries to get up, but his hooves are too weak and the equipment is heavy. While fighting for breathe, he slowly open his eyes. He doesnt see anything at first, blinded by the light. He needed several seconds before his view improved, revealing the place where he was... a small room, probably a kitchen, the furniture was still attached to the walls, abandoned.

The kitchen itself was full of debris, with chairs revolted to the ground and an old table, cutted in half. There were old paintings attached to the walls, full of dust and mold, like the room itself.

He slowly gets up on his hooves, he immediatly checks his equipment, his rifle, a BAR-1 was just near to him. He grabbed it, and after that, he opened his bag, searching for some bandages and munitions. He was short on both. And there wasnt much time left, his unit needed to breach in the building and secure the position and to capture the objective. The war was ending, but the objective, the general Zadrusbal Zarca, was crucial for the High Command, and he wanted that promotion.

The noises from outside were becoming more loud, even for a threstal with one ear like Shining, he lost it during a fight in Aris, some years before, for a grenade launched by the desperate Hippogriffs. Still, the other ear was optimal, and he could perfectly hear the screams and the explosions coming from the streets.

His unit was stuck fighting at the seventh floor of this building, because of a machine gun nest, installed by the Colthagians, when a grenade trap was pressed by one of his companions, while many died for it, or for the bullets of the machine gun when some of them tried to exit the room, he managed to run from the position for another room.

Unfortunately that room hadnt a floor anymore, maybe for the previous fights in the structure, and he fell from it, hitting with the head the floor below and remaining unconscious for that, until now. He walked through the door, rifle in his hoofs and looked outside.

There wasnt any sign of enemies through the corridor. They are probably defending the general at the last floor, Shining sighed and walked throught the corridor, trying his best to dont look at the corpses and to the blood that painted it in an apocalyptic scenario.

Eventually he found the stairs for the next floor, when he stopped They are probably waiting just near the stairs, i need to find the emergency stairs, they shouldnt be guarded like the main ones, especially after our assault.

He decided to return back to the previous corridor, he remembered that he saw an emergency sign that indicated where the emergency floors where, he turned the angle and found the sign. After following it and after turning 2 times he found the emergency exit.

He rushed to the door, grabbed the handle and pulled. The door opened, screeching while doing so, not like anyone would have listened to the sound of a door in the middle of a battle. The view that welcomed Shining showed the principal road of Colthage, that leads directly to the Parliament where the Sufrit was elected for countless year.

A magnificent structure, built on an area of 100 metrees, and high 90. Built in white concrete after the victory of Colthage in the North Zebrican War in the year 1014, was a magnificent example of modern architecture, it had 3 major entrances with a giant statue of the Sufrit itself in the adiacent square just before the principal entrance. The structure should express the power of the Republic, and the power of the Sufrit, it should have been the principal point for all the zebras.

It was now burning.

The battle did not spare the structure, hit by artillery shells and fighting in the streets, causing the left wing to collapse with the fire raging from it onto the rest of the building. The Colthagians were defending that sybol with fanatism and tenacity. They didnt want to lose their simbol, their last hope of survive this, even if it was burning.

He took the stairs, and started to go up, running as fast as he can, he is a easy target for snipers.

BAM

The stairs ringed, The bastards are shooting me!. He accelerated, the door was close, he opened it...

BAM.

This time the bullet hit Shining on the front left hoof, while still managing to close the door he sat, with a grimace of pain on his face. He opened the bag, grabbing some bandages and starting to medicate himself, The important is that im alive, and im lucky the bullet is out.

He took his rifle, and, limping, he continued through the corridor. I must be close to the machine gun nest, we counted atleast 40 zebras in the entire building during the briefing, and since that is the last defence in the structure, there shoud be atleast 3 zebras remaining.

He arrived at the end of the hallway, at his left, there was the machine gun nest, he could hear the noises from the zebras in an unknown language.

Shining grabbed his rifle, waited for the moment where all of the zebras where distracted by the complex reload of the machine gun and exited the corner.

His rifle started to sing, with the bullets running through the little space that separated Shining from the zebras, totally umprepared for this little ambush. The first zebra that was reloading the machine gun, had the bullets piercing his skull, digging a furrow through his brain, causing blood and fragments of gray matter to spray out of his head. Before he had even had time to fall before he was already dead.

The gunner instead, had the bullets to dig their way through his neck, perforing the artery and leaving the zebra to drown in his own blood. The third zebra was a bit more lucky, instead of vital parts the bullets perfored his vertebral column and his hooves, he shouted before collapsing on the floor, almost dead.

Shining stopped the fire and turned to the other way, expecting more enemies that didnt came, they were probably dead. Instead of continuing, he turned to the only zebra that was still alive, he looked at him, he could have had not more than 19 years.

The zebra was scared of the Chiropterrian and tried to not look at Shining with his hooves covered in blood. However, Shining moved his hooves and looked in his eyes "Where is Zadrusbal Zarca" he asked. The zebra looked at him with fear and terror, and then pointed his hoof to a door, not different from the others.

Shining looked at him, a young soldier, fighting for his country, it was honorable and brave and he should be grateful to him for not making it difficult.

Unfortunately the High Command didnt wanted prisoners.

Shining reloaded his rifle, looked at the zebra, and shot the Colthagian in the face.

"Im sorry little one", Shining said to the corpse before leaving the position and limping towards the door.

He placed himself right in front of it, if there was someone in the room he would have been dead. But something told him to not worry about this. He placed his bandaged hoof on the door, and opened it.

A corpse welcomed him inside.

The room was clearly a deposit before the battle, it was different from the other by being larger and without any connection to other rooms, it was filled with radio equipment and a little table, full of orders and reports from the army. But apart from the corpse there wasnt anyone else.

He looked at Zadrusbal Zarca, General of the 1st Colthagian Army, relative of the Sufrit, standing in the middle of the room, with a pistol next to him and a bullet hole in his head.

"Coward", there was contempt in Shining expression, risking his life, only to know that the general choose this way to die. Better to warn the High Command, Shining went to the radio equipment. Luckily it was still functional, he adjusted the frequency and talked.

"Someone hears me? the target is dead, I repeat, the target is dead!", he waited.

"This is the General Batton, do u confirm that the target is dead?", his superior, his voice was cold and calculated.

"Yes General, the target is dead", he replied trying to be as calm as possible, he needed to make a good impression.

"Roger that, ur identification soldier?", he was waiting for this report.

This was the moment he was waiting, his promotion will secure his career and will help him to reach his dream, the High Command of Chiropterra, he couldnt let this chanche go away.

"Corporal Shining Night, of the 1st Imperial Auxiliar Division", this was the beginning of something incredible.

Or so he thought.