They ran.

The Chief said very few words before they rushed to the west side of their territory.

“The fairies invaded. They must die!” Everyone roared a visceral, guttural howl. Then the raid of almost two hundred mares and stallions dashed off.

Armel kept to the back with Allitt, still slower than the other quicker adults, cautious now that they were going to see battle for the first time.

Buildings towered on either side as they darted like water down paths both narrow and wide. The raid pushed through buildings, doors and windows all blown out. The tops of some had crumbled into rock structures, The sun winked out above, casting shade across the countenance of everyone’s figures as they ran through the large rooms. Armel shivered at the coolness, his sweat dripping down his face.

Breaking into the sunlight again, the raid scrambled over a crumbled concrete structure, some parts falling and hitting others. They waded through a small camp in their own territory. No one was there. Everyone fought.

Haha!

Some of them roared or chanted.

“Ragebrood!” Allitt shouted, eyes bright and wide, limbs pumping.

“Ragebrood!” Armel cried in reply, flashing a grin at his friend.

Static was in the air, and everyone was buzzed. Fury ran through in waves, feeding itself on shouts, screams, adrenaline. Was it hours they were running? It felt like minutes. Were they really so close? Armel huffed, keeping up with everyone else.

They broke past their territory, still pumped with energy, the yellow boundary strings breaking as some pushed through, tangling in clothing. Someone tripped and was ignored. The rest started to pull out their weapons. Whinnies and snorts started sounding as they slowed down, approaching the edge of the enemy settlement. Some started chanting and yelling.

Armel was vibrating, his muscles screaming, his mind taking in everything, everyone’s fury. Allitt was caught up, too, chanting and shouting and starting to swing his rock above his head. Sweat beaded down their bodies, glistening in the sunlight and picking up dust floating in the air from their stampede.

“Ragebrood!” the Chief howled, raising his metal mallet.

“Ragebrood” the rest of the tribe echoed, and they started to run again, through buildings.

By the time Armel reached the settlement, it was already in the midst of chaos.

Fairies were running out of their shelters. Some of them could fly, flying in the air to avoid the devastation below. Already, some were dead, lying on the ground, their iridescent wings torn off their backs in a humiliating gesture of disdain. A unicorn was dead, too, lying in a strange puddle of green, his limbs melting into the concrete.

The buildings were decorated in bright colors like paint. Wooden planks with strange lettering were everywhere, on every door frame. Broken glass, bottles of liquid, and empty jars littered the streets, glinting in the sunlight and casting tiny dots of light on the sides of the buildings.

The smell of chemicals assaulted Armel’s nose like fire, watering his eyes and burning his throat. He ignored it, focusing on finding someone he could kill.

Allitt was swinging his rock at a fairy who was running away. He followed her into a building, and Armel ran after him, waving his cudgel.

He heard scuffling.

Allitt was struggling with a green-haired fairy, wings too small to allow for flight. The fairy had a large pole and was using it to hit at Allitt, knocking him in the head. The female fairy was struggling to open some kind of box.

Armel ran at the fairy opening the box. She pulled out a blue vial and threw it at him. It splattered against the wall as Armel dodged. He snorted out the acrid smell and hit her over the head with his cudgel. She fell, bleeding. He heard a shout.

The fairy with the pole shoved Allitt into the spot where the blue liquid was letting off a slight smoke. Allitt stumbled, falling backwards and started to scream.

Armel watched as Allitt’s limbs started to shake wildly. His eyes turned white, rolling up in the back of his head. His tongue fell out of his mouth and spit started to bubble up.

The fairy smacked Armel with the pole. Armel roared and ran at him. The fairy blocked his cudgel. Again. Again.

Armel grabbed at the pole. The fairy pulled back, and Armel let him. He stumbled against the wall. Armel pushed at him, pushing the pole with his cudgel and his free hand.

The fairy was ugly. Ugly and colorless. He spit at Armel, landing a glob in his eye.

Armel roared, letting go of the pole. The fairy hit at him, and Armel charged.

Hit.

Hit.

Hit.

The fairy swung high.

Armel ducked low.

Armel headbutted him.

He felt the warm trickle of blood flow down his face. He felt the stomach at his head twist as the fairy tried to get out. Armel pulled his horn out, grabbing at the fairy’s arms. The fairy dropped the pole, falling to his knees. His hands tried to pat the hole in his abdomen.

Armel crushed his skull with the cudgel. The green-haired fairy hit the ground, the red striking a colorful contrast.

Armel pulled out the too-small wings, discarding them and leaving two wretched holes in the back of the male fairy. He checked the female fairy. She was still breathing.

He stomped on her head with his hoof, feeling a rush from the squelch of her brains meeting floor. Her wings were bigger, and he ended up breaking open her back to pull them out, their membranes deep in her spine.

Allitt was dead. Once he got hit with that blue liquid, he was dead. Armel stared at his clanmate, lying in a puddle of blue, still and lifeless.

He left him there.

Outside, the killing was dying down. Fairies were either dead or had escaped. The fervor of earlier had died down, and unicorns were milling around, avoiding puddles of goo and pocketing any useful supplies they found. Fairy wings littered the ground. Unicorn body parts were partly melted into the concrete. Some fairy parts were, too.

Armel waved at Hookjaw who came trotting over to him.

“You get one?” he asked. Armel grinned at him widely.

“I got two.” Hookjaw waved over another unicorn with a stick.

They all went into the small building, and Hookjaw examined the kills.

“Too bad about Allitt. Ah well, he was a little shit anyway,” Hookjaw said, “What did you do?”

“I headbutted the green-haired fuck. Cudgeled the fairy.” Hookjaw grinned at him.

“No shit. Alright. Let’s tell Chief. You tell the story. Looks like you’re gonna get your naming ceremony tonight.”

Armel grinned back.