*six years later*
As it usually was on Meinhoff, the weather was pretty hot. But that did not stop the children from playing at their school playground. Fillies and colts ran around playing either tag, or hide and seek. Some others preferred to practice their engineering skills in the sand box. Six colts gathered in a circle underneath a tall oak tree, with disappointed and tired looks on their faces. They all looked at each other, and after nodding in agreement one of them yelled.
"Alright Rust, you win again! Come out!"
A moment later, a reddish-brown earth pony colt with a black mane and yellowishly-green eyes dropped from the tree above them, right in the middle of the circle. He stood up on his hind legs and raised his hooves in the air, as he victoriously announced.
"Still the reigning champion of hide and seek!"
"Man, how do you manage to both find at record time and hide so well?" An orange pegasus with a red mane and yellow eyes asked.
"My dad taught me well." Rust replied as he snickered.
"Wow, I guess he must have been amazing at the game if he taught you so well." A white unicorn with a violet mane and eyes said.
"You have no idea." The brown colt replied, with a smile on his face.
All of a sudden a car's honk made them turn around towards the road. The sound came from a parked APT, a purple earth pony stallion with a gray mane showing his head from the window.
"Rust, you coming?" The stallion called.
"Right away grandpa!" The colt returned as he sprinted towards the vehicle and said to his friends. "Bye guys, see you all tomorrow!"
He received multiple goodbyes in return. Not even a minute after he got in and the car drove off, Rust couldn't hold himself and asked excitedly.
"Is it today grandpa Axon?! Is it?! Is it?!"
The older stallion chuckled and ruffled the youngling's mane as he replied.
"Yes champ, it is."
________________________________________________________________________________
Half an hour later they arrived at the White Light hospital. At the reception Axon asked the white unicorn mare with a blue mane behind the counter.
"Excuse me miss, we are looking for Rain Drop High Ground de Steel Wing's room."
"Of course sir." She replied with a smile, and checked her computer, before giving him the desired destination. "That would be room 302G in the west wing on the third floor."
"Thank you very much." The stallion said as he and his grandson walked off.
"Have a nice day." She called behind them.
Fortunately there weren't any severe cases today, so the two had a pretty calm walk through the building. Well, that wasn't entirely true, as the little colt kept bouncing around his grandpa with excitement. After a few minutes they reached the room. When they opened the door, inside were Rain Drop, lying on a medical bed, and next to her stood Hay Seed and Karn, who looked slightly older since he had detached himself from the void's rejuvenating embrace on his wedding day. Rust ran in and hugged his grandma as he said.
"Hi grandma."
"Hi there dear." The red mare said and returned the hug, after which she turned towards her husband with a smile. "What took you two so long?"
The purple stallion chuckled and replied.
"Traffic, you know."
In the mean time, the gray unicorn wrapped a hoof around his son and ruffled his mane as he asked him.
"Hey sport, how was school today?"
"Pretty good dad. I am still the HaS champ on the playground!" The colt proudly said.
"That's my boy." The stallion said as he gave his son a hoofpump.
"Hey, don't I get a hug or something?" Rain Drop said with a fake offended tone.
The two chuckled and Karn lifted Rust up on the bed, and the colt embraced his mother in a tight hug.
"So, when can she go home?" Axon asked the gray unicorn.
"The doctor said that they would sign Rain out tomorrow morning." Karn replied with a smile.
"Mom, can we go see her?" Rust asked, bearing a grin from ear to ear.
"Now, now Rust, mommy needs some rest, before she can walk. Doctor's orders." Hay Seed said.
"Oh come on mom." Rain Drop began. "I am perfectly fine. Plus I doubt the doctor has had much experience with ponies with zerg DNA." She finished with a giggle.
After that she got off from the bed. After a few troubling shakes she managed to station herself on all fours. She gave an awkward smile to her family, to which they returned with a synchronized sigh. With that done, they made their way towards the room where the newborns were kept. They stopped in front of an incubator and Karn said.
"There she is..."
Rust got up and looked inside to see a small purple earth pony with a black mane and green eyes, sucking on one of its hind legs.
"...your baby sister." His dad finished.
The little colt's amazed expression turned into a large smile, as he leaned in closer and said.
"Hey there!"
In return, the filly looked up at him with surprised eyes, and after a moment she let go of her leg and started to giggle as she reached with both hooves towards her brother's face. That caused both couples to let out a quiet 'aww'.
"She's such a little precious." Hay Seed said.
"Yeah, she looks just like her mother." Karn added.
"And she's also got her daddy's eyes." Rain Drop said, after which she and her husband nuzzled each other.
Then Axon asked the obvious question.
"Have you come up with a name yet?"
"Well..." The unicorn began. "...we haven't actually got around to think one." He admitted.
"How about Rain Sight?" Rust asked out of the blue.
All four of the ponies looked down at him with surprised looks. Then he explained.
"Because she looks like mom, and because her eyes are prettier than those of other ponies." He finished with a smile.
The family returned the warm expression as the purple mare said.
"I like it. Is anyone against it, or have a better idea maybe?"
After a moment of silence she turned towards her son and said.
"Rain Sight it is then."
As they walked out, they were met by a familiar yellow pegasus.
"Hey there folks. How are ya?" He asked.
"Hey Rook, I didn't think I'd see you here?" Karn returned as he stepped forward and the two exchanged a hoofshake.
"What can I say, being the new sherif in town has its perks." He chuckled.
"You didn't come here just to gloat about that, did you?" Rain Drop enquired, a sly smile coloring her face.
“No. I came to congratulate you.” Rook replied, after which he asked. “Karn, can I steal you for a second?”
The gray unicorn nodded with slight hesitance, and followed his friend down the hallway.
“So, what do you want?” Karn asked.
“Me and the boys got you a little present.” The pegasus replied as he pulled out a cigar from his coat.
He then said with a smile.
“It’s Nelythian.”
Karn chuckled and shook his head, after which he said.
“Give the guys my regards, but I must decline, I don’t smoke.”
“Oh…well in that case…do you mind if I…?” Rook asked.
“Knock yourself out.” The unicorn returned.
“Anyway…” The pegasus continued. “We planned something for next Wednesday, you in?”
“I just became a dad for the second time. I think I’d be spending my next few months with my family.” Karn replied.
“Suit yourself man. That’s about all I had to ask you.” The yellow stallion said, after which he walked backwards, leaving with the words. “I’ll be seeing you around bro.”
Karn slightly smiled, shook his head and walked back to his family.
________________________________________________________________________________
*three years later*
It was a quiet Saturday. Karn and Rain were enjoying the morning by cuddling in bed. Downstairs, Hay Seed was watching the news, while Rust was playing building blocks with his sister behind their grandma.
Axon passed by the room they were in as he coughed violently.
"Honey, are you alright?" The red mare asked her husband, as he observed the small amount of blood he had coughed out on his hoof.
He wore a very sickly look. He turned around to reply to her, but instead fainted and fell on the ground. That caused Hay Seed to scream in horror. Karn and Rain Drop rushed down stairs to see what was going on. The sight of the purple stallion lying on the ground, without moving a muscle made the purple mare let out a scream as well. All of the elder ponies gathered around him, as Rust and Rain Sight simply stared from the other room, not understanding what was happening.
The unicorn was the first one to regain his composure, so he began giving instructions.
"Rain, go and start up the APT! Hay Seed, help me get him on my back."
Rain Drop ran out to start up the car, as her mother helped get her husband on Karn's back.
"What should we do?!" Rust exclaimed.
"You two stay here. Rust look after your sister and Rain Sight listen to your brother." Their father returned sternly.
That slightly frightened the fillies, and the little mare started crying. Her brother went to comfort her as their parents rushed out of the house. When they reached the vehicle, Karn let Axon lay on the back seat, and the two mares sat there too to look after him, as the gray stallion hopped behind the wheel and drove as fast as possible towards the hospital.
________________________________________________________________________________
When they arrived and entered the building, the staff got the elderly stallion on a stretcher and rushed him into emergency, leaving his family to worry in the waiting room. About an hour and a half later, a white unicorn mare with a pink mane, which wore a blue doctor's suit, walked up to them with a sorrow expression.
"I am terribly sorry, but...we didn't manage to save him." The mare said.
That made the elderly mare cry. Not managing to hold her tears as well, he daughter gave her a tight hug, in an attempt to comfort her. During that, Karn asked the medic mare.
"What caused it?"
"We discovered he had a terrible condition of skin cancer. Probably inflicted by the high UV output of the star." The medic replied, before enquiring. "Did you have any knowledge of that?"
"No! If we did, we would have sent him to be treated." Rain Drop stated, after which she turned towards her mother. "Why didn't he tell us anything?"
Hay Seed did her best to calm down a bit, before replying.
"From what he had told me, stallions from his side of the family tend to be very 'independent', thinking they can handle something, without worrying their loved ones...until it's too late."
After saying that, the tears once found their way out of her eyes. Karn and Rain looked at each other, bearing depressed expressions.
________________________________________________________________________________
Three days later was the funeral. They were laying Axon to rest in the town’s cemetery. The ponies who had gathered to send him off into the afterlife were either personal, or family friends and his family. Pretty much the only positive note of the day was that the sun was being hidden by large clouds, and not roasting everyone alive. Everyone gave their final words, after which the coffin was lowered into the hole and slowly covered with dirt.
________________________________________________________________________________
*five years later*
"The stars are very beautiful tonight, aren't they?" A yellow unicorn mare with a dark blue mane and color matching eyes asked as she gazed into the deep of space.
"Yeah, I guess they are." Rust replied, as he too gazed up.
Then he chuckled, turned his eyes towards the mare sitting next to him and said.
"But you are far more beautiful Goldy."
"Oh stop it you." Golden Sea sheepishly returned, as she covered her blush.
Awkward gripped the atmosphere. The two ponies were sitting on one of the hills near the town, famous for its great views at the sky, and comfortable structure. A few moments later, the two slowly began to turn and then lean towards each other, closing their eyes. But before they could engage, an unpleasant voice was heard from behind them.
"Well, well, well, ain't this a surprise?" An orange unicorn colt with a red mane and brown eyes stated.
He was followed by two pegasi. One was cyan with a magenta mane and eyes, and the other was white with a blond mane and blue eyes. The mare scowled, before asking, spite obvious in her tone.
"What do you want Brad? I told you we were through!"
"Quiet you." The colt in question stated, before addressing Rust. "Listen here pipsqueak, get lost and start runnin', and maybe I won't beat ya too much."
"Hmm, tempting..." The brown colt tapped his hoof on his chin, then dropped it and continued. "...but how about this - you get lost, and I won't beat you at all."
That earned him a cold glare from the unicorn, as his pegasi underdogs gave out a laugh. Their leader rose his hoof and both of them shut up. Then he said.
"Don't say I didn't give you a chance."
"Come and get it 'Brat'." Rust taunted.
"Please, stop this!" Golden Sea exclaimed. "Rust you don't have to get in trouble because of me!"
The brown colt turned towards her and said with a smile.
"Don't worry Goldy, this guy ain’t so-"
He didn't manage to finish his statements as the orange unicorn's hoof hit him in the face, making him take a few steps back. He wiped a little blood from his lip, and then glared daggers at his opponent, who in turn was giving him a proud grin.
"How do you like them apples?" Brad taunted.
To that Rust returned nothing. He dashed forward, catching the orange colt off guard, and struck him in the face as well, only because of his momentum, the unicorn was knocked on the ground. Just as he was about to make his next move, the two pegasi grabbed him by the sides and stood him up on his hind legs.
"Oh, you are going to be sorry you did that you little bitch." The orange colt muttered as he got up.
"Why don't you call of your straggly dogs and fight like a stallion dickhead?!" The captive shouted as he attempted to break free, but the two larger colts had firmly gripped him.
When he was up, and staring at Rust, Brad brought out a knife from its kevlar, situated on his side, with his magic.
"NO!" Gold yelled, and attempted to pull the knife away with her own magic, but the colt's was stronger, and managed to push her off.
Then he raised the bade, and thrust it in the brown earth pony's chest. Suddenly a yell was heard from behind.
"Alright kids, enough with disturbing the peace around here!"
The silhouette of a stallion in power armor could be described at the bottom of the cliff.
"Shit! Cops!" The white pegasus exclaimed as he and his companion dropped their captive on the ground, and along with their leader bailed out.
That left the mare to pull the knife out, and apply pressure on the wound to slow down the bleeding as she yelled to the officer.
"Help! We need an ambulance!"
When he heard that, the stallion ran up to them. After seeing the bleeding colt, he spoke in the communicator inside of his helmet.
"This is officer Jade! I am on the scene and there is a colt with a stab wound in his chest and he is losing a lot of blood! Send an ambulance here ASAP!"
'Copy that officer! Ambulance ETA six minutes.' Someone said on the other line.
Goldy continued to press down on the wound, and the stallion helped her get Rust down to the road.
'Man, and I thought there were just some kids making noise...' Jade thought.
________________________________________________________________________________
Rain Sight was watching a documentary about the Confederation campaigns against the Dominion.
"Grandma, did grandpa do such things?" She called over to the kitchen, where Hay Seed and Rain Drop were preparing dinner, a note of distain being felt in her tone.
"Your grandfather wasn't a bad person like those ones. When we met, he actually helped save several patients who were in a bad condition." The red mare replied.
Then she turned to her daughter.
"Honestly dear, why do you let her watch these things?"
"We can't stop her. If she wants to watch this, she simply does. We even coded the channels, but she figured out the codes just a day later. She's a crafty one." She replied.
"You know you can forbid her to watch them." Her mother said.
"We tried, we even resorted to punishment for a time, but she just doesn't give up." The purple mare returned with a sigh.
Before Hay Seed could suggest something else, her granddaughter called again.
"But he was with those who caused their bad condition, and didn't stop them from doing so, did he?" The filly returned.
Often at school some of the other kids would call her names, push her around or stray from her like she was some sort of monster. From what she had watched about Confederates she was wondering if she should blame them. As much as she loved him, she simply couldn't accept the fact that her grandfather used to comit such atrocities, even if he was slightly exceptional compared to other soldiers. The constant reminding of that by her peers made her hate her heritige even more. For her it was a mystery how her brother had managed to make it through that and actually have friends.
'Probably his "buck-whatever-others-say-and-live-your-life" policy.' She thought.
But for some reason she couldn't apply that policy herself. Whenever she tried, others always managed to somehow get to her.
Her words had left her grandmother speechless, and she simply looked down at the floor with saddened eyes. Making note of that, Rain Drop called back to her daughter with a stern tone.
"Young lady, sadly me and your father can't keep you from watching these documentaries, but I swear, regardless of my love for movies, I will tear that TV off and sell it for scrap if you don't stop bothering your grandmother like that! Am I clear?"
"Yes mommy. Sorry grandma." The filly returned with an apologetic tone.
That made Hay Seed chuckle, before saying.
"If anything I have managed to teach you how to handle a naughty girl."
"Oh shut up." The purple mare said jokingly, returning the chuckle.
Then the front door opened and entered Karn.
"Okay, the new orchid is freshly dug." He stated, before asking. "Honey is dinner ready?"
"Almost. Give us ten minutes." She replied.
With a sigh, he walked up stairs to get a shower, when the phone on the ground floor rang.
"Sweetie, can you get that?" Rain called.
"Yeah, no problem." He returned with disinterest.
The phone rang a few more times, before Karn got to it. He picked it up and said tiredly.
"High Ground Reneema de Steel Wing residence." 'We need a shorter answer for the phone.' he thought.
"Mr. High Ground, this is nurse Mint Breeze from White Light hospital." A mare spoke.
"Yes...what is it?" He hesitantly asked.
"Well...I don't know how to tell you this, but...your son..." She continued.
Karn's expression turned to one of cold fright as he listened to the mare.
"Who was it dear?" Rain Drop asked.
The stallion put the phone down as he replied with horror in his voice.
"Rust is in a hospital..."
________________________________________________________________________________
Rust laid in a bed, when he heard someone yelling from outside the door.
"Sir stop! You need to arrange a visit at registration first!" Some stallion yelled, but apparently his words fell on deaf ears.
Not a moment later, the door of the room burst open. His father entered and embraced him in a tight hug as he said.
"Thank the void you're okay!"
"Yes, I'm glad to see you too dad, but can you loosen it a bit?" The colt barely managed to say, but his words did not have any effect.
Suddenly a purple hoof grabbed the unicorn's ears and pulled him back several feet, as he let out multiple 'ows'.
"Mister, who do you think you are, leaving us like that in the middle of the lobby and rushing off?!" Rain Drop enquired with a good amount of anger in her tone.
"Sorry honey...never again...promise!" Karn said through quiet yelps of pain.
The scene made Rust and his sister giggle. That's when the colt noticed that not only his parents, but his baby sister and grandma were here as well.
"You sure?" The purple mare sternly asked.
"Yes! Yes! Absolutely! 100%!" The unicorn yelped.
Nodding her head in satisfaction, Rain let go. The stallion rubbed his ear to ease the pain. When it subsided he addressed his wife.
"Was that necessary?"
"Yes." She casually replied, before turning her attention to her son. "Rust, how are you? What happened?"
"Well..." He rubbed the back of his head, before replying. "I sort of got in a fight because of a girl and I was stabbed."
The look on his mother's face would have made death itself pale in fear, so the colt quickly attempted to ease her wrath.
"Buuut I am okay now! Doctor gave me a shot of nanites..." His next words came out as a quiet mutter. "That combined with some other natural bonuses I have..." Then he finished speaking normally. "...and said that I'd be out in a day."
"You forgot to mention that the knife missed you heart by a couple of inches." A stallion said from behind them.
The family turned around to be greeted by a beige stallion with a black mane and beard, and dark brown eyes. His statement caused Rust to awkwardly chuckle.
“You are very lucky young man. Not only the blade missed you, but you also survived the massive blood loss. I am doctor Bernard.” He said as he extended a hoof.
“Pleasure…” Karn said as he hesitantly shook it.
“I believe you will be glad to hear that the ones responsible are apprehended.” The doctor said.
“Okay, that’s the good news. What’s the bad?” Rain Drop asked.
The doctor pulled Rust’s chart with his magic, flipped a page and answered.
“Well, during the accident his adrenaline and other hyping chemicals’ quantities highly spiked. It caused slight mutation in some cell strains, making them hyperactive regarding their functions.” He explained.
Rain Sight and Rust stared blankly, while the older ponies’ eyes slightly widened in horror.
“It’s nothing serious, but it may cause overtiredness, so don’t push him too hard with work or anything.” Bernard calmed them down.
“Yeah, thank you doctor. So when can we get him home?” The gray unicorn asked.
“You can come and pick him up tomorrow at about one or two in the afternoon.” The medic replied.
“Thank you.” Rain said.
After that, the doctor left the family. Several minutes later they let Rust rest. Through the night however, he felt some strange tingling around the wound. It wasn’t anything too bothering, so he just let it slide and tried to get some sleep.
________________________________________________________________________________
The next day his dad came to pick him up and drove him home. Everyone was very happy that he was back, and healthy enough to at the very least stand, but just as the doctor ordered, he had to rest, and not allowed to do any heavy labor. However the tingling around the wound had begun to intensify, but Rust decided to keep it to himself.
Several days later, in the middle of the night, Rain Sight got up and went to the bathroom. When she tried to open the door, it was locked. She could hear grunting from inside.
“Rust? Rust are you in there?” She asked.
“Rain I’ll be a while. Please leave me.” He said with a grunt.
“Rust I really need to go! Come on out of there!” She exclaimed.
“Rain, I said leave me!” He raised his tone.
“What are you even doing in there?!” She enquired as she pushed the door.
Her brother was no longer telling her away. In a few more attempts, the door gave in and she entered…but the sight made her regret that. Rust was hanging on the sink, his wound was covered by what appeared like a carapace, and it had slowly begun to spread. Also, there was a strange lump on his back. During that time he was still grunting, with a little saliva dripping from his mouth.
A moment later he managed to get a hold of himself. He slowly got up and walked towards his sister, who barely kept herself from passing out from stress.
“Rain…” He grumbled as he placed his hooves on her shoulders.
He looked into her eyes, put on a serious expression and said sternly.
“Sis, I want you to calm down. I’m fine, now go back to bed.”
“You didn’t seem fine! You need a doctor! I’m going to tell mom and dad-” She was cut off, as Rust shook her violently and exclaimed.
“NO!”
He saw that she was on the brink of crying, so he took a deep breath and spoke again.
“You can’t tell anyone about what you’ve saw now! Not mom, not dad, not anyone! Can you do that for me little sis? Can you promise me that you won’t tell anyone?”
“Uh-I-I don’t know-” She stuttered.
“Promise. Me!” The colt said sternly.
Still bearing a worried expression, the filly slowly nodded its head.
“Good. Thank you very much sis.” Rust said.
After which his hooves wrapped around her in a hug, and kissed her on the forehead. He then let go and walked out, closing the door behind himself, leaving a very confused and frightened Rain Sight.
________________________________________________________________________________
Several days passed, and somehow, Rust managed to keep his condition from his family, with the help of his sister, but things had begun to intensify.
*eight days later*
It was a very hot evening, and sharing a bed with someone definitely didn’t help Rain Drop in the aspect of keeping cool. She got up and went downstairs to get some water. As she splashed some of it over her face, she heard some strange sounds coming from her mother’s room. She walked over to the hallway which was right at the bottom of the stairs, where were the rooms of both Hay Seed and Rain Sight. Under the moonlight, coming from the only window in the hallway, she opened the door to her mother's room, only to be horrified by the sight of a brownish creature, it’s back covered by a carapace, each of its legs was adorned with a trio of claws, and there was a limb coming from its shoulder, and ending with a scythe like claw, gnawing on the red mare’s flesh.
After a brief moment she screamed loudly. As she did, the creature turned around to reveal its blood covered maw, filled with sharp teeth, and its glowing green eyes, and then lunged at her.
The scream woke Karn, and he rushed downstairs, only to see how some creature stood over the ripped open corpse of Rain Drop.
"RAIN! NO!" He shouted, tears making their way out of his eyes.
Then he looked at the creature above her. The sorrow was quickly replaced by rage. The unicorn shouted as he galloped and tackled it. They rolled over a couple of times, after which the creature pushed the stallion off of itself. Karn did a back flip in mid air, and landed once again ready to attack, staring down the beast.
For a moment his glance passed though his mother in law's room. His heart filled with regret about not being able to protect his family. He shut his eyes, letting out some more tears, before snapping them open, with a burning rage blistering in them.
Then the door, right in front of which stood the creature, opened, revealing a scared Rain Sight. She looked up and saw the monster in all of its glory. Then she noticed it had a black mane and the color of its eyes, after which she barely manage to utter questioningly.
"Rust...?"
It turned its head towards her, making her father exclaim.
"NO!"
Karn then surrounded himself in back smoke and vanished, reappearing between the two in a two legged stance, with his forelegs spread to the side. For a moment the creature's eyes widened, then it turned around and jumped through the window. The unicorn eyed it as it ran away. He was about to give chase, when he heard his daughter angrily whisper under her breath.
"No, no, no! This is my fault! I should have told mom and dad!"
He knelt down, and placed his hooves around her head, making her look at him, and asked.
"How is this your fault? What was that thing?"
Tears began to pour from the filly's eyes. It sobbed a few times, before explaining.
"About a week ago, I walked in on Rust in the bathroom. *sniff* There was something wrong with him. His wound had some strange covering and on his shoulder there was some sort of bubble, *sniff* and he was in pain. Then he said he felt better, and said that he would be fine, but he asked me to promise not to tell anyone, *sniff* even you and mom. You told me to always listen to him, so I promised."
She couldn't say anything else, and began crying. Her father bore a stunned expression. He pulled the crying filly into a hug, and began to gently stroke her mane and hush, attempting to calm her down.
"Shh, shh, shh. Don't cry honey. It's not your fault." Karn said, but there were other things going through his mid.
'Rust...that was you...?'
When Rain Sight calmed down a little, he got up and spoke to her.
"Rain, I want you to go to your room, and don't go out untill I tell you."
Then he headed for the basement.
"Where are you going daddy?" The filly asked, rubbing her eyes.
The stallion sighed, before replying.
"I'm going to get your brother back."
Once his daughter went in her room, Karn made his way down in the basement. He opened a crate, and stared at its contents with slight hesitation. But the moment soon passed and he put on his dark templar attire, and a warp blade gauntlet on each of his forelegs. With a deep sigh, he vanished in a cloud of smoke.
________________________________________________________________________________
"Think you can get away easy, don't you?" A familiar night blue pegasus muttered to himself as he made his way towards the de Steel Wings' farm.
He flied a few feet off of the ground, while in his forelegs, equipped with precision gloves, he loaded bullets into a gun. He could already see the building, but he quickly hid behind a rock, when he saw the stallion he was after appear out of nowhere. He mentally praised his fur coat for its color, because the gray unicorn ran to somewhere, without noticing him, so he thought he hadn't seen him.
He brought out the gun and aimed, but a strange shine, coming from something his target wore on its legs, made him lower the weapon.
"What the buck?" He said.
Since the unicorn was galloping away, he decided to follow.
________________________________________________________________________________
Karn followed his son's tracks, barely paying attention to anything else. In about half an hour he found himself on the outside of the city. He moved through the shadowy back alleys, avoiding anyone seeing him in his work suit. Soon he heeard the loud talk of ponies. He neared and saw that many different ponies had gathered around the torn body of a mare. The unicorn looked around and noticed that there was a barely visible trail of dried blood on the ground, leading away from the scene. He turned on his invisibility and moved through the ponies, following the trail.
It led him on the outside badlands around the city, so he became visible in order to save his energy. Not long after, the hard rode ended and he found tracks once again. As he followed them, he found a hole behind a large rock. He jumped down, landing in some rot of cave. It was quiet, so he used his void magic to enhance his hearing. Suddenly he heard a rock move. He dropped on the ground as Rust flew over him. The mutated colt slid a couple of feet after landing, and roared while glaring at his father.
"Rust, please, you are not a monster." Karn said, after which he moved to the left, dodging a rock being thrown at him.
But it was only a distraction. The colt had ran up to him, and slashed with his claws. The unicorn did not stop his fall, and ended up with his back on the ground, dodging the strike, after which he grabbed his son's extended limb and pulled him down, wrapped his hind legs around his head and threw him over, then he got up.
As the mutant once again stood up, Karn made another attempt of reasoning with him.
"Rust I'm begging you, I don't want to fight you! Come with me, you need help!"
Sadly his words flew away with the wind, as the colt just stomped the ground, letting out several hisses and grunts, before charging. The unicorn closed his eyes, his expression showing his sadness, regarding the fact that every last bit of his son had been converted into a mindless beast. Rust jumped in order to slash with every sharp appendage he had at his disposal, but just as he was about to hit Karn, the stallion vanished in a cloud of smoke.
The colt stood in one place, looking around in confusion. Then suddenly his target appeared right in front of him.
"I'm sorry." Karn quietly said, as he wrapped one hoof around his son's neck in a hug, activated the warp blade on the other, and stabbed it in Rust's chest.
For a split second the mutated pony looked at his father's face. His eyes were squeezed shut, tears dripping from them. In the next moment he felt a burning sensation as the blade slid down his body.
"I'm so sorry!" The unicorn repeated as he felt his son's body falling limp in his embrace.
He slowly left him to lay, and then sat on the ground, bringing his hooves to his face, as his quiet sobs filled the darkness.
________________________________________________________________________________
"So...that's your secret, eh?" A certain stallion said, as he pulled his head out of the hole, and then flew off.
________________________________________________________________________________
*two hours later*
Karn returned home, carrying his son on his back. He called Rain Sight out of her room.
'At least she listened and stayed there.' He thought.
After telling her what had happened, both of them got all three bodies and wrapped them in bed sheets. After that the stallion made a platform of wood and hay out in the back yard. They put the bodies on it, and Karn used his warp blade to light them on fire.
"May your spirits find comfort in the void." He said, as he looked into the flames.
Rain Sight looked up at her father's face with worry in her eyes, after which she gazed into the flickering light as well.
Once the flames died down, the two returned into the house. It was deathly quiet. As Kan headed to leave his clothes, the door bell rang, followed by Rook's voice.
"Karn, come out! We know!"
The unicorn's eyes snapped open. He then walked towards the door. If they knew about him, it was best if he cooperated. He opened the door, to be met by Rook and several other stallions in power armor, equipped with gauss rifles, as well as a few other townsponies who were friends of the family. All of them eyed him and his attire. It was an awkward silence, which the sheriff broke.
"You? Out of all ponies you were the last one I would think is a dark templar." His voice was filled with a mix of dread and disappointment.
"I suppose I'll be meeting the executor now, aren't I?" The gray unicorn asked with indifference.
The yellow pegasus sighed, before saying.
"Not just you. Rust needs to come with us too."
"He's already taken care of sheriff." A night blue pegasus said, as he stepped into view, bearing a proud grin.
It was the stallion who came at Rain Drop all those years ago. Who swore he would get it back at Karn. When he saw him, the unicorn heard something clicked in his head as his rage build up.
"You..." He said.
"I kept my promise, did I not?" The stallion sneered.
In the very next moment, the templar had him tackled to the ground, and began to beat him in an outburst of blind rage. The pegasus did his best to protect his face with his hooves, but his defense was failing. As Karn pounded at him, Rook grabbed one of his hooves, before it could land a hit, and loudly stated.
"Enough!"
That stopped the unicorn's outburst. Then the sheriff turned to one of the stallions in armor.
"Get this scum out of my sight."
"Yes sir." The stallion saluted, after which he picked up the beaten pegasus, and dragged him away.
Then Rook looked down at the knelt stallion, whose hoof he still held. Karn bore a blank expression as he stared at the ground.
"If you had killed him, that wouldn't have made things any better for you." The yellow pegasus said.
"I had to burn my family. All I have left is my daughter. Why can't I have revenge?" The templar said as he looked up at his friend's face.
"Because you still have a daughter." Rook replied.
Then both of them turned they gaze towards the front door. Standing there was Rain Sight, shaking with fear, because of she had just seen.
Suddenly Karn felt like his mind was broken to pieces and then put back together. Then he asked.
"I know what's going to happen with me. What's going to happen with her?"
"Either put in an orphanage, or some of the scientists on the planet or in the sector would want to research a Khalai-Confederate hybrid." The sheriff replied.
The unicorn engulfed himself in smoke, and appeared between his daughter and the gathered ponies, activated his blades and said coldly.
"Over my dead body."
"Don't make this any harder than it is Karn." Rook said, as he and the other armored ponies raised their weapons.
Neither party made any move for about a minute. Then the yellow pegasus sighed and said.
"No one but the ponies here and that guy know about what's happened. You have 24 hours to get off world. After that I'll have to report about it, and probably the whole planetary militia will come after you."
Then he lowered his gun, his men following suit, and gestured for all ponies to leave. As he walked off, Rook managed to hear the quiet 'Thank you.', but instead of turning around and saying something, he just continued walking.
Karn and Rain went back in the house.
"What are going to do now daddy?" The filly asked.
The stallion took a deep breath, before replying.
"Pack our things. I need to do a little work."
________________________________________________________________________________
Axon brought a suitcase, and left it on the table in front of Karn. He opened it, revealing various documents.
"What's this?" The unicorn asked.
"Karn, I'm aware that I won't be around forever, so I want you to know about this. These are the documents for selling the farm. Everything is pretty much set up, the only thing required is the signature of the owner of the property, and for them to be delivered at the 'Meinhoffian Contact' facility in town. The land has been estimated to be worth 6000 bits. If you ever find yourselves in a crisis situation, this should help you stay afloat." The older stallion explained.
Karn took another glance at the documents, before stating.
"I promise you Axon, I'll do my best to keep this family from ever needing to use this."
"I know you will boy. I just want you to have this in case of emergency. Let's hope there won't be one though." The purple earth pony chuckled.
________________________________________________________________________________
'I'm sorry Axon. I couldn't keep my promise.' Karn thought as the mare behind the desk he leaned on worked over the documents.
"Everything is in order Mr. High Ground. Your currency will be transferred to your account immediately." The mare said with a smile.
"Sorry, but I have emptied my account. Is there any chance for me to get the bits on hoof?" He asked.
She gave him a questioning look, before saying.
"Of...course." She took a sheet of paper, and quickly wrote down something, after which she handed it to Karn while saying. "Go to the exchequer down the hallway on the lower floor. Present them this, and you can receive your bits."
"Thank you very much." He said as he walked away.
"Thank you for using the services of the Meinhoffian Contact!" She stated.
As he walked, Karn's phone rang. He picked it up and was greeted by a friendly voice.
'Hey Karn, it's me Starburst. Look I heard about what happened and I am very sorry for your loss.'
"Thank you Star, I appreciate it." He lied, mimicking an interested tone.
'Yeah...look I will be making a delivery to Augustgrad on Korhal, and I was wondering if you and Rain Sight wanted to take a ride?' The stallion on the other side of the line asked.
Karn thought about it for a moment, before replying with a question of his own.
"How much do you tax dark templar and their children for such travels?"
'Usually pretty high, but friends in need can ride free of charge.' Starburst replied.
"Alright then, I will give Rain a call and tell her your boys will come to get our things." The unicorn said.
'Wait, won't you be there?' The stallion asked.
"I have a little more work I have to do. I will meet you at the star port." Karn replied.
'Okay...see you there.' The stallion hesitantly said.
Next Karn closed the phone and called at his now previous home.
________________________________________________________________________________
Rook was sitting in his office, with Jeff as company.
"Man, who would've thought that Karn..." The silverish pegasus didn't finish his sentence.
"I know." Rook returned.
Then he looked up at the clock.
'20 hours...' He thought.
"Rook, I don't know about you, but I need to get stoned, pronto!" Jeff exclaimed, after which he exited the office.
"I feel ya. Wait up!" The sheriff said, as he too walked out, turning off the lights in the room.
Several minutes after they left the floor of the police department empty, the computer on Rook's desk turned on. It began to open up folders regarding criminals. Several password requests were made, and after their satisfaction and a few more opened folders on the monitor appeared the picture of the night blue pegasus, holding a sign with his name - Brian Clover. The screen was scrolled down to a text which showed Brian's current address.
A pen lifted itself and wrote it down on a piece of paper, which vanished in thin air. Then the computer shut down and darkness once again engulfed the building.
________________________________________________________________________________
Karn walked up the drop door of the shuttle. There he was waited by a blue earth pony stallion with a golden mane and eyes, and his daughter. The stallion was dressed in a pilot's suit, with a pack of cigarets showing from a pocket on his chest.
"What took you so long?" Asked Starburst.
"I had to make a delivery." The unicorn replied. 'I hope Rook likes that package.' He thought.
"Well, alright...are you ready to go?" The earth pony questioned.
Using his magic Karn pulled out a cig from the pack, placed it in his mouth, lit it with his warp blade and took the smoke in. When he exhaled it he said.
"Yeah, ready."
And the three of them walked in.
________________________________________________________________________________
As the ship left the planet’s orbit and set on its course for Dominion space, Karn and Rain Sight were accommodated in the cargo bay of the ship, given the lack of beds. Even the crew didn’t have the luxury of a pillow. The unicorn had leaned on a large crate, and was stroking his daughter’s mane as she laid on his chest.
“Daddy…” She said.
He looked down at her with a ‘hmm’.
“I’m scared.” She finished, burying her face in his fur.
He sighed and put on a smile as he pulled her head up so she would look him in the eyes and said.
“Don’t be. I promise you I will protect you at any cost! I would lay down my life for you to be okay. And I promise I won’t die until I am certain that you are in good hooves. Deal?”
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded happily and wrapped her hooves around his neck. He in returned the hug. After about a minute he said.
“Try to get some sleep. It’s going to be a long flight.”
She just nodded. The events which had happened in front of her, exhausted her emotionally, so she welcomed the sweet embrace of sleep, and dozed off, her dad serving as the perfect bed.
“Goodnight daddy.” She said before completely falling asleep.
“Goodnight honey.” He returned, giving her a kiss on the forehead and commencing his watch over her.