The death of an assistant [Closed]

[Kunnia]

Nov 11, Year 4

A cloud of smoke leaks out of the bar as Kunnia and Grayscale leave the bar and enter the cold night.
It was typical evening: Kunnia has played accordion to earn some money and Jack once again drank too much and had a debate with other ponies.
Kunnia fastens her saddlebag. Their two axes, which are wrapped in a cover and her accordion are rather heavy. Then she follows Jack, who has disappeared quite weaving into the darkness of an alley. After a short sprint she catches up with him and trots behind him. If he would fall down, she would be there to catch him.

[Grayscale]

Jack weaves from one side to another and almost falls onto the ground, but he could catch himself.
"I can’t stand these ponies, who say they are neutral. Bisonshit! That would be like they said ‘we don’t like to be free’ !" Jack almost yells.

[Kunnia]

Kunnia sighs. "Jack don't be so loud or the griffons will hear us."
It will be enough work to get Grayscale home safe without any griffons.

[Grayscale]

"Well, let them hear us. I’ll beat his ass, if I see one!"
Jack always gets aggressive after his verbal fights at the bar.

[Kroll]

Kroll was in a nearby dumpster, about to drift off to sleep when he heard Grayscale's drunken rambling. He was peered out of his impromptu home and stared at the two ponies coming his way. He looked at the position of the moon, noticing that it was definitely past the designated curfew. He looked out at the two again, weighing his options. Though he had no jurisdiction over them, the least he could to is give them a friendly reminder. He grabs his old saratov machete, hoping he wouldn't need it before heading out towards the two.

[Grayscale]

Jack draws back a little as the griffon lands in front of him and almost falls on his side.
He notices that the griffon has a machete and smirks. "At least it will be a fair fight." he says and grabs under his wing to get his knife.
Jack turns to Kunnia and says:"Could you just step back a little? I don't want you to get hurt."
Then he turns back to the griffon. "Lets see how good you can handle that machete."

[Kroll]

Kroll clicked his beak in annoyance at the pegasus holding the knife, realizing that perhaps it was a bad idea to bring along his machete. "Do not try anything stupid," he began to say slowly. "It's bad enough you're out past your bedtime, I would hate to think what would happen if you ran into a griffon who actually gives a damn." He leans up against the wall of the alley, his brief lecture seeming to have winded him slightly. "Now put that knife away, son. I don't want to humiliate you out here in front of your girlfriend."

[Jury Rigged]

Fuse made his merry way down the street twords the bar, he was getting there alot later than normal because he had been busy with some odd jobs. he spotted a griffon turned around and facing what he assumed was a poor helpless pony. Fuse cracked a little smile and hid in a spot where he could watch what was going on and not worry about any sneaky griffon reinforcments coming up behind him.

[Grayscale]

"Humiliate?!" Jack snorts. "I promise you won't humiliate me."
Jack feels the adrenaline rushing through his veins as he gets ready to attack the griffon. It's a good feeling. It's the same feeling he had before the raids with his comrades as he was still in the army.
Jack takes a deep breath and for a short moment the time slows down. Everything seems to be in slowmotion. Then he charges to the griffon, his knife ready.

[Kroll]

Kroll sighed as the pegasus charging at him, waiting until the last possible moment to retaliate. With a swift motion, he redirected Grayscale's momentum, sending him face-first into the alley wall. He gives the pegasus a tired and disappointed look. "Close, but no cigar. Points for trying, though..." He reaches down and picks up Grayscale's knife, looking it over a little before tucking it away. "I don't think you'll be needing this anymore, my friend."

[Grayscale]

Jack can feel how his nose breaks as he hits the wall. Warm blood flows down his face. Everything around him is getting dark and he falls into unconsciousness.

[Kunnia]

"Oh no, Jack!" Kunnia yells and puts her saddlebags down. Her horn lights up in a light magenta as she grabs her two axes. "How about you fight against a worthy opponent, you prick of a griffon!" she yells as she throws her first axe at the griffon.

(((She can only controll them with her magic in a one meter radius around her, but she can throw them several meters with a good precision)))

[Kroll]

Kroll hit the deck as fast as he could, trying to flatten himself against the ground as best as he can to dodge the oncoming axe. He grimaced as he felt the tip of the blade graze his back, cutting him slightly. As he got back up, he unsheathed his machete, glaring at the unicorn with steadily increasing anger; he had defended himself only after the pegasus charged at him, but the unicorn's attack changed the situation entirely; it was now clear in his mind that these two were to harm, if not kill him.

Putting his machete in his beak, Kroll crouched low to the ground, spreading his wings outward before snapping them shut as he pounced, launching himself at Kunnia in a tight corkscrew pattern. The gauntlet had been thrown, and Kroll was hard set to come out of this fight alive.

[Kunnia]

Kunnia can't risk a direct impact, even if she could block the machete with her remaining axe, the pure force of the impact would devastate her.
She jumps behind a dumpster to dodge the attack. If Kroll would pass her she would try slip besides him and try to reach her second axe. With both axes equipped she'd at least have a slight chance.

[Kroll]

Kroll narrowly missed his target and continued to hurtle down the alleway as a result. He snapped his wings open stop himself from going any further, and quickly turned around, trying to stay on guard; by missing Kunnia, he had inadvertently given her a chance to retrieve her axe. He started running back, hoping to catch her in while she was coming from her cover. He had come up with a solution to his problem. One that should put his opponent out of commission for good.

[Kunnia]

Kunnia's plan seems to work. The griffon missed her and she has a chance to reache her axe. She rushes to her axe, the griffon right behind her.
She reaches her axe, but hasn't a real plan how she could survive this fight.
"Think,think,think, there must be something I can do to win this fight."
Suddendly she has an idea. She takes a deep breath, then she focuses on her magic and brings her axes in a defensive position to block the griffon. After that she makes a 180° jump and awaits the impact of the griffon.

[Kroll]

There is a dull thud as Kroll smacks his face on the axes. He backed up slowly, staggering about as he rubbed head. He looked around blindly as he tried to locate his attacker, his vision full of stars.

[Kunnia]

Kunnia gets pushed back a little as the griffon hits the blades of her axes, but the plan worked. "That worked better than expected". She gets a bit more realaxed and brings her axes in a offensive position and starts to spin them.
"Time to die, griffon scum" Kunnia yells as she throws one of her axes at the griffon.

[Kroll]

Kroll heard the unicorn shout something at him, but he couldn't quite make it out, his vision and hearing still dulled from hitting his head. He saw a shiny blur coming at his face and tries to teeter to the left to avoid it. There's a sharp pain as the axe grazed the side of his face, taking off feathers and a thin layer of skin. He jolted slightly, snapping out of his daze.

His gaze bored onto Kunnia as charged at her, his brain piecing together a technique that he had come up with during the invasion. It wasn't efficient in a warzone, but it was definitely effective in a one-on-one situation. He lunged at his opponent,ready to end this fight for once and for all.

[Kunnia]

This time Kunnia can't hide behind a dumpster or anything like that. She hast to bear the impact and that with just one axe remaining."This won't end well" Kunnia thinks and tries to focus on her magic again to absorb the impact.

[Kroll]

Kroll grabbed ahold of Kunnia in a tight bearhug before spreading his wings and giving the a hard flap to take off. He began to fly vertically, counting backwards in his head from twenty as the ground started to become further and further away.

[Kunnia]

Kunnia gets grabbed and pulled up into the sky. She struggles to get free.
"No,no,no,no this can't be. This can't end like this." she thinks and watches the ground getting further and further away.

[Kroll]

Once he reached zero, Kroll closed his eyes and folded his wings in, stalling for a moment as he rotated himself so that he and his opponent were staring down at the ground below as they began to plummet back down to earth.

[Kunnia]

Kunnia struggles harder as they begin to plummet down to earth.
"Think, Kunnia, think. I need a plan to get out of here alive or otherwise the impact will kill me." she thinks and suddendly she has an idea. Her father once taught her a spell how to creat a shield to block enemy attacks. She never really practiced it and was really bad at it, but maybe it could safe her today. She'll definitely breake some bones, but it would prevent a broken neck. She concentrates on her magic again to produce a little shield in front of her, but she feels how her magic gets weaker, caused by her panic.

[Kroll]

Kroll counted backward in his head from five. Once he reached one, he shoved Kunnia out of his grasp and spread his wings open, tilting them so that he did a tight loop to before landing on the ground, a yard away from his opponent. He begins to approach her silently, his tail swaying slightly in anticipation.

[Kunnia]

With a thud sound Kunnia hits the floor. Her shield could prevent a broken neck, but she has some open fractures at her forehoofs. She tries to breathe, but everytime she fills her lungs with air it feels like she would fill it with dragon breath. Some of her ribs drilled into her lungs and tapped her heart. She takes another breath and coughs blood.

[Kroll]

Kroll looked down on the injured unicorn in satisfaction; it had been a while since he'd used the Skycrash Technique, but was glad that it was still effective. He tilted his head slightly as he rolled the wounded unicorn onto her side so that her cutie mark was facing him. Taking out the knife he acquired from Grayscale, Kroll set to work, meticulously cutting the pony's cutie mark from her body.

It was a habit that he had developed during the war, but it's purpose was twofold: to prove the successful killing of a target, and to rob his prey of the one thing that symbolized their individuality among their peers.

Once his handiwork was completed, he held up his new trophy in the air, admiring it for a moment. He then looked at Kunnia one more time before turning around and walking out of the alleyway.

[Grayscale]

Jack slowly recovers consciousness and with a taste of blood in his mouth he tries to figure out where he is. The only thing he can remember is that Kunnia and he left the bar after an evening with too much alcohol. He looks around, suddendly he notices Kunnia lying on the ground. Heavily wounded, but still breathing."Oh no. Oh Celestia please, no!" he says with a sobbing voice and tries to walk to her,but he hasn't regained controll of his body yet and collapse. With tears in his eyes he crawls to Kunnia."Hang on Kunnia, everything will be ok" he says as he reaches Kunnia and puts his arms around her.

[Kunnia]

Kunnia is in a state of shock. She couldn't feel the pain as the griffon cut out her cutiemark. The only thing she can think about is how she got here, dying in a dark alley. She had such a safe life in the north in her peaceful town and now she won't see it ever again. Her family, her friends, everything she left to visit Manehattan and to become a rebel. She could scream, but her lungs are slowly filling with blood and it's hard to breathe. But she also had a good time. She experienced a lot on her trip about who she really is and made many new friends. "Why couldn't I just stay at my town. Now I'll miss so many things. Finding the love of my life, raising a family and watching my kids growing up. All this, just because of some rebels I've never met." Kunnia is frustrated and wants to cry, but her body doesn't let her.
Suddendly she hears the voice of Jack."Hang on Kunnia, everything will be ok."
He puts his arms around her and she's happy that he's here. He accommodated her on her first day in Manehatten and cared for her. He's a good pony and his affinity makes her feel secure. She gathers all her strength and with a weak smile she says:"Thank you Jack."

[Grayscale]

Jack strokes Kunnia's long blonde mane. "Shhh... Don't say a word and try to rest. I'll take care of you and get you out of here safe."
Jack knows she won't make it out here alive and tears course down his face.
He just sits besides her and keeps stroking her mane.

[Kunnia]

Kunnia closes her eyes and tries to rest for a while. She can feel how she breathes and how her heart pumps her blood through her vains.
Thu-thump..thu-thump..thu...thump....

[Grayscale]

It's now half an hour after Kunnia took her las breath and Jack still sits besides her crying and stroking her mane. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you" Jack says and kisses her very gently on the forehead. Then he grabs her things and puts them into his saddlebags. After that is trots back to Kunnia. He sighs. "But I promise, you'll get a proper funeral." and with this words he puts Kunnia on his back and disappears in the dark night.

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