//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Inn // Story: September // by TheBronyMatrixFilms //------------------------------// September Written by: TheBronyMatrixFilms Edited by: TheDarkAngel Chapter 1: The Inn         “Come on guys!” yelled Thunderwing, “I saw a hut or something, about half a mile away!”          “Half a mile away!?” complained Gentle, “Might as well be ten miles away!”          “I agree with her, bro,” said Odysseus, “We all don’t have wings like you. Well, except for Mike. Speaking of Mike,” said Odysseus as he turned his head towards the dark silver alicorn, “why have you been so quiet boss?”          Mike turned and looked at the western horizon of the San Palomino Desert. As the sun started to set Mike started thinking to himself. “What the hell did he release from Tartarus? And how did he do it?”          “Uhh... boss?” asked Odysseus, “You alright?”          Mike snapped back into focus and looked at the light brown unicorn, whom was covered in soot due to his recent usage of his magical portable forge.          “Huh?” said Mike, “Oh, I’m ok, it’s nothing,” lied Mike.          “You sure Mike?” asked Gentle, “Is it what we saw in Los Pegasus? Because it was pretty gruesome. I regret even casting the spell that allows non-pegasi and alicorns to walk on clouds,” Gentle shuddered at the memory.          “I’ve seen worse” said Mike grimly, “trust me.”          Thunderwing, Gentle and Odysseus were about to protest, but the look on Mike’s face told them to drop it.                  “Sooooo...” said Thunderwing to break the awkwardness, “It’s about to be dark in couple of hours, about two hours at best. So if we are going to the “hut” we better hurry up so we have time to set up camp.”          “Uhg! Fine!” complained Gentle, “But if I pass out from exhaustion, YOU will have to carry me the rest of the way there.”          “I won’t mind,” chuckled Thunderwing.          As they raced towards the shelter, a million thoughts and questions went through Gentles head, wondering about what Mike meant.          When they got closer, they noticed that it was an old west style inn called “The Lone Wolf”.          “We need to go in and make sure it is clear,” said Mike, “I don’t want to wake up next to those monsters.”          “Sure, you and me can go check the perimeter,” said Thunderwing, “Oddy, you and Gentle can check the inn to make sure it is cleared.” “No problem, Sparky,” grinned Odysseus. “I told you not call me that in front of anyone.” hissed Thunderwing.  Odysseus snickered as he and Gentle walked into the inn. “Sparky?” said Mike trying hard enough not to laugh. Thunderwing rolled his eyes unamused, then pointed to his cutie mark: a loaded bow with a lighting bolt behind the arrow. “I know, I know,” said Mike now regaining his composure, “that thing you do with bow, now lets check the perimeter.” He then unfurled his wings and took flight with an annoyed Thunderwing following him. Inside the inn Gentle and Odysseus slowly creeped down a corridor. Gentle then unsheathed her magical double-edged flaming sword, Odysseus followed her lead and unstrapped his double-edged battleaxe. “Nice inn,” said Gentle to break the awkward silence in between them as they checked each room. “It’s quite nice but, I’m uneasy about this place considering we-” “-found it in the middle of nowhere?” said Gentle finishing his sentence, “Well we may be in a popular route for merchants as they go from Los Pegasus to Appleloosa or somewhere more east.” “Well it doesn’t matter now,” said Odysseus while he looked inside a room, “Now that with this crap going on the reason it is here won’t make it matter on why it’s here, what will matter is that it IS here” “True enough,” concluded Gentle, “Now lets finish checking the rooms” After checking every room they went outside to talk with their friends. “We checked every room. There is nothing in there.” “You sure?” asked Mike skeptically, “I don’t want to get ambushed in the middle of the night.” “We’re sure boss,” reassured Odysseus, “not a single soul or demon in this place” “Okay, who will take the first shift?” asked Gentle. “I’ll take it.” volunteered Mike. “Oh no!” argued Gentle, “We are not letting you turn into an insomniatic zombie tonight Mike-Mic!” “You are never careful enough to take care of yourself, even if it is to protect us,” Gentle said with a worried look growing on her face, “we won’t let you hurt yourself again” “But-” “No buts,” interrupted Odysseus, “look we know we consider you the leader and stuff but you aren’t helping yourself or us, now go and pick out a room and settle in for the night Mikey, you need to rest” “Fine” Mike trotted into the inn annoyed then realized that Odysseus called him Mikey “AND DON’T CALL ME MIKEY!” “I’ll take the first shift guys,” Thunderwing volunteered, “you guys go pick out the rooms you want to crash in. I’ll keep watch ‘till midnight, then I’ll switch shifts        with you ,bro, if you want the second shift that is” “Sure thing, bro” said Odysseus while looking at the last rays of the sun vanish under the desert horizon and the moon rise in its place, “I’ll switch with Gentle after my shift.” “Well guys lets go in and settle in I’ll come back out after I pick out my room” said Thunderwing. _______________________________________________________________________________________         As the moon rose high in the night sky, Thunderwing waited for his friends to fall asleep. It didn’t take long for them to fall asleep, so he went outside to start his shift. When he walked passed a mirror he stopped and looked at his reflection. Staring back at him was a dark-grey pegasus with blown-back black mane with a silver stripe down the middle. The pegasus looking back at him had agua-blue eyes and on the right side of his face had a long scar that went over his right eye. When he looked at his cutie mark it had a bow with a loaded arrow with a bolt of electricity that intertwined with the arrow. On his back he had a sleek bronze bow and a quiver full of arrows, and hidden behind the quiver was a hidden sheathed knife.          When Thunderwing saw his scar he quickly turned away from his reflection and trotted away from the mirror to the exit. “No need to remember your failure,” he said to himself. When he exited the inn he closed his eyes and tried to calm his mind of his memories. When he opened them he looked around to take in the beauty of the desert night. Thunderwing then unslung his bow and took a few seconds to admire his little brother’s blacksmithing skills, “The kid’s always had that talent and always is generous to give away his masterpieces,” he muttered. After plucking the bow string a few times, he spread his wings and flew up onto the roof and notched an arrow. He steadily aimed at the farthest cactus he could find, that was about a couple hundred meters away, and let the arrow fly. When the arrow was halfway to the cactus it suddenly burst into electrical sparks, sending waves of electrical arcs when it hit the cactus, frying it in the process. Satisfied with the fried cactus, he lied down on the roof, putting his hooves behind his head and gazed at the star-filled sky. He stared in awe at the night sky. Growing up in Baltimare, he had never seen so many stars in his life. He stayed up gazing at the sky until a flash of light blinded him for a second. “Beautiful night isn’t?” Unfazed despite the fact he had been momentarily blinded he continued to gaze at the stars, “Surprising that with this shit going down that we still can see a beautiful night sky,” Thunderwing replied back, “Doesn’t surprise you, Oddy?” “What? The night sky or what has been happening?” asked Odysseus as he walked towards Thunderwing. “Both.”         “Well the night sky doesn’t surprise me much but is still amazing, but on what has been going on, I guess it took us all by surprise.” “Still thinking about what happened in Baltimare?”         Thunderwing turned to look at his brother. What Odysseus saw in his older brother’s eyes was sadness and anger. “Thunder?” Odysseus’ face was filled with concern, “You okay, bro?” Thunderwing shook his head to try and get get rid of the memory, then cleared his throat, “Ahem... Yeah, I’m alright,” Thunderwing lied. “You sure, Sparky?” asked Odysseus skeptically, “Is it because what happened in Baltima-” “I SAID IT’S NOTHING!” snapped Thunderwing. Odysseus recoiled in alarm at this. It wasn’t the first time Thunderwing snapped at somepony about his past. Odysseus usually was the one to take the brunt of his brother’s sudden outbursts. “He’s been spiteful since we left Baltimare.” Thunderwing sighed and regained his composure, “Sorry about that man. It’s just that I’m stressed out.” he then turned to the eastern horizon. “It’s okay” reassured Odysseus, “We all are, we’re still lucky to be alive” he added, “Go to sleep, I’ll take over from here and get some rest man” “Ok, bro,” yawned Thunderwing realizing how tired he was, “See ya in the morning.” And with that he flew into the inn. “When will he forgive himself?” sighed Odysseus. When Thunderwing walked past the mirror again he caught a glimpse of his scar. As he flew away towards the room he picked out earlier a single tear rolled down his face. When he got to the room he unslung his bow, quiver and knife from his back and hung them on a coat hanger on a wall. He then walked over the bed that was next to a window. After looking at the moon one last time, he climbed on the bed and fell into the limbo of dreams.