Sun Skimmer stared at the retreating backs of the humans after their hoofshake. Off to his side, a pale cerise unicorn mare said:

“They don’t look very threatening to me.”

Sun Skimmer turned, meeting her gaze. “Yeah, big and lumbering. Noisy. Not scary at all, Sparky.”

Bright Spark chuckled. “That’s right. They’ll be so visible, we’ll nail them when we see them!”

“That’s not what I meant,” Sun Skimmer said, frowning.

His second-in-command patted him on the shoulder.

“Oh, we’ll be fine, Skimmer.”

[hr]

Sun Skimmer led the loose formation of ponies, his head barely poking through the tops of the trees. His wingpony, Stratus Cloud, darted in lazy swerves amongst the leaves below him. The rest of his team trudged through the underbrush of the forest, earth ponies in advance guard, unicorns in the back. They moved with exaggerated care, mindful of dried leaves and twigs. They didn’t want to alert the enemy, of course.

Their objective was simple: capture the flag. The humans were holed up in a half-crumbled castle, the flag stuck onto the grass of the central courtyard. Their plan was also simple: keep the castle to their left and sneak all the way to the back. The thicket on the far side of the castle was too dense for a human but perfect for the smaller ponies. This gave them cover all the way to the convenient backdoor of the castle, which in the usual case, an escape route for the defenders. But now, it was their way in.

Sun Skimmer and Stratus would provide covering fire with their crossbows while the earth pony twins, Cauliflower and Broccoli, charged in, spears raised. They would be supported by the shields of Bright Spark and Lily Vane. All-in-all, it was a decent plan, Skimmer thought. Now if only he knew what the humans were up to. There had been no sign of them at all.

[hr]

Bright Spark kept her head on a swivel, her eyes scanning the trees in her sector. For the umpteenth, she let out a soft sigh. For the past twenty minutes, there had been not a lick of sight, sound and smell of the humans. Maybe they were all cooped up in the castle, just waiting for them to come in. If Bright Spark had one of those super repeating crossbows the humans kept bragging about, she would do that.

A yawn threatened to split her face open but she bit down on it, squeezing a couple of tears out of her eyes. Their plan was going along smoothly, judging by the lack of humans. [i]Silly humans, leaving their backs uncovered![/i] Victory was virtually guaranteed if this kept up.

“We are coming up on Checkpoint Bauble. Turn left,” Skimmer’s voice floated down.

Cauliflower and Broccoli swiveled on their hooves, facing towards the thicket. Just as Bright Spark prepared to do the same, there was a staccato of splatters and a scream from Lily Vane. Bright Spark’s heart leapt into her throat. Honed by countless engagements, her horn lit at once and shields sprang into existence around Cauliflower and herself.

Sparing a glance at Lily, whose red, green and orange splattered body lay two feet from her, she swallowed a mouthful of spit into her suddenly dry throat. Another staccato of splatters rang out and Broccoli toppled, his cloth tipped spear clattering onto the ground.

[i]No…[/i]

“Target, front left, fifty yards!” Stratus’ voice boomed.

Bright Spark heard the twip of the crossbow bolt and the quiet puff of the powder charge of its impact. She stood rooted to the ground, uncomprehending what had just happened. The human had been right in the middle of her sector and she never saw him.

[i]But how…[/i]

“Sparky, [i]move[/i]!”

Her legs pumped, pushing her in the direction of the thicket. The humans wouldn’t find her there. Her heart now threatened to burst out of her chest. Her world a cacophony of erratic wingbeats and thudding of her heart.

A pressure built behind her horn, consequence of holding her spell for so long but she dared not lower the shield. Lest another burst of splatters ended up on Cauliflower or her.

“Target, front, thirty yar—” A burst of splatters cut him off.

“Oh, ponyfeathers! Stratus!” Skimmer’s voice rang out.

Then another splatter.

“Sunny, no!”

Bright Spark scarcely registered it as her voice. And then her vision filled with an explosion of yellow.

And all she heard was the umpire’s whistle, declaring the round over.