Observation and Protection

by Stillmatic

Chapter 1: Not A Drop Left, Until A Visit

"It's hard to say, really. His vitals are perfectly fine, but the readings indicate that his nervous system has suffered extreme and extensive damage. He has survived an emission, yet gains various superhuman abilities because of it? Increased strength, much higher stamina, keener senses and much quicker reactions times. These stalkers, this Merc, why are they the ones being so wildly affected by the Zone? Does it not make sense for them to simply die from what they've been subjected to? Instead they become 'marked'? We know better than this, we created this! Yet look at him! Still alive despite the enormous amount of energy the Zone injected into him... No matter, the young man has no choice in his situation. He'll help us either way, once we inform him that the stalker is the source of the emissions. And with more emissions comes his inevitable zombification. God help us if this continues to be the cycle of the Zone." - E.F. Kalancha.

Princess Celestia reclined tiredly on her bed, ready to finally reach the bliss that sleep provided for somepony as tired as her. The events of the day took its toll on her, leaving her both physically and mentally fatigued. The nobles were acting as childish as ever, the military commanders were blathering on about certain relations between nations, and even her sister had a few complaints that needed to be addressed. Only her precious citizens that she loved dearly were the ones with true problems that needed guidance and her acknowledgment. A few, specifically from Canterlot, each brought the same problem that persisted for the past two days.

There was a knock at the door, prompting a sigh from the sun goddess.

A voice managed to make its way through the heavy wooden door, “Your Majesty, I’d like to speak to you in regards to that certain predicament that’s been presented recently.”

She felt her mane droop just a tiny bit, whether it was from hearing more dark news or having to continue her work, “One moment,” the Princess called out.

The large, immaculately alabaster alicorn turned herself over and stepped off of the even larger bed. She took a deep breath, keeping it as quiet as possible, before using her magic to open the door and greet one of her Generals. General White Mark, a normally gruff and together stallion, bowed and stepped inside the room, obviously troubled and paler than usual, despite his already colorless fur. The alicorn saw through his disguise that he kept in order to maintain his dignity, but she didn’t let it become known.

“General, what can you tell me about the investigation?”

He nodded, a grim and pallid look crossing his face, “The guards did as you requested and have searched the sewers of Canterlot. We’ve come upon…” his eyes averted away from hers, “the bodies of those that were recently kidnapped.”

Princess Celestia felt her heart sink, drilling its way downwards and resting at the pit of her stomach, “H-How? Who? Who could have done this?”

White Mark sighed, “That, Your Highness, we haven’t solved as of yet. We’re currently running tests on the bodies and finding what could have killed them, as well as-“

“What indications were there that they were murdered?” The Princess interrupted, “Marks, scratches, anything at all that could give us something to work from?”

The General began to look uneasy, “Whatever it was that slayed our citizens, it was vicious, but conservative in its tactics. It must have been quite stealthy to kidnap full-grown ponies and bring them to the sewers.”

She hummed to herself for a moment, mulling over his words, “What exactly do you mean by ‘it,’ General? Are you implying it was not of Equine origin?”

The Princess just barely noticed a slight shiver resonating within his stature, “We believe that it was neither Equine, nor any other race in or outside of Equestria. The tendencies and mode of operation that we’ve observed from what evidence we can piece together indicates that this was some creature with an intellect, but more so dominated by its own lust for killing.”
“But what of Griffons, or Diamond Dogs? Both can be just clever enough to do such things, in my experience.”

“There have been no reports of either residing in Canterlot for likely years, Your Highness. The investigators are almost certain that it was a creature who could maintain stealth, quietness, and predatory instinct in a populated environment, something that’s quite rare throughout the world.”

Sighing, Princess Celestia lowered her head down, realizing they came to a dead end for the time being, “In that case, it couldn’t be a Manticore or Cerberus that managed to somehow sneak into the city through the waterways.” Her eyes reached back up towards her opposite, “What did you find there? Among and on the bodies?”

General White Mark nodded, “The creature did not hurt anypony until it carried its victims back to the sewers; that we are sure of.”

The Princess thought for a moment, turning her head away and scowled, “Cunning… quiet… vicious… Anything else of importance?”

He continued, “It didn’t spill a single drop of blood.”

Celestia turned back to the General, “None? At all? How have they died then? Surely it would have eaten-“ She shuddered at the word, “the victims, wouldn’t it?”

“Eaten,” White Mark began, “Isn’t exactly the word we would use in these cases, Your Majesty.” Her confused look prompted him to continue, “They were dry, Ma’am. Not a single drop of blood was dropped, yet nearly none was left in the bodies. Whatever this creature was, it sucked almost all of the blood from each of the victims’ bodies, leaving husks to rot.”

Princess Celestia paled, suddenly feeling faint at the idea of some horrible monster attacking her sweet, beloved ponies and draining them of their life. She battled to maintain her composure, and eventually won out, only to be rewarded by dizziness. Shaking her head, the Princess looked down at the General and frowned.

“Please, if anything comes up, tell me.”

“Of course, Your Highness,” White Mark said, “… But what of the families of the victims? Shall we inform them?”

Princess Celestia sighed, knowing what she had to do, “No, I’ll be the one to do it. After all, I’m expected to make sure their lives are in constant safety and breaching that trust makes me liable for what happened.”

“I don’t believe that’s true, with all due respect, Your Majesty.” The General puffed up his chest, “That is our job as Royal Guards, and we shall catch whatever creature is terrorizing the citizens we protect.”

She smiled warmly at him, “Thank you General, you’re free to go.”

He nodded before exiting, but was nearly trampled by Princess Luna, who suddenly rushed in, panting heavily and sweating. A look of surprise struck both original occupants of the room, but they allowed the Night Princess to gather her composure.

“Luna, what’s the meaning of this?” Celestia said with a slightly motherly tone.

“I-I had a dream! *huff* O-Of a m-monster! *huff* It w-was in the sewers, *huff* running quickly f-from something!”

Princess Celestia gave a knowing look to White Mark, who stepped towards the darker Princess and asked the most important question, “Your Highness, do you possibly know where you might have seen it?”

Both knew that Princess Luna was capable of having “premonitions” during her sleeping throughout the day, but they were usually quite negligible. Of course, this time, it was far from it and held the key to solving their current serial-murder problem.

Calming down fully now, Princess Luna pulled herself together and stared at the General with dead eyes, “Underneath Mauve-Mane Avenue, past the sewers and in the waterways beneath there. It was bleeding, dying possibly. Something was chasing it and not giving up in the least. I-“ she shuddered, “saw the monster approach a young mare I didn’t recognize. It was going to feast on her for nourishment.” Her eyes began to water, signifying her more emotional outlook, “Please, you must get there before anypony else is hurt!”

The stallion stood tall and nodded, “Of course, Your Majesty! We will capture this creature before it can do more harm!” He motioned to gallop out the room but stopped short, “Should I alert all guards to be on the lookout for any more kidnappings?”

Celestia nodded, and pulled Luna in for a hug, letting her neck absorb the tears that fell on it. White Mark left, giving the two their moment in each other’s comfort. The door closed behind him and he found himself heading to the courtyard, where he would round up his subordinates and have them send messages to other guards. The stallion growled, wanting nothing more than to annihilate the creature that would kill innocents or make even one of the Princesses cry. Little did he know that his job of hunting the monster was already being taken care of, by an unlikely visitor.

The mare, a cross-eyed one, scrambled and galloped fruitlessly across the stone pathways running along the sides of the Canterlot sewers. She attempted to fly away, but her wings were injured, bleeding and leaking the crimson substance in a trail. Had she known she would end up in this situation, she would have never decided to cover for a friend in the massive city as a mailmare. Tears ran down her face, with the memories of her filly being the only thing keeping her running from the predator that swiped her. Her dull, blonde mane flowed behind her, catching the air well. As it turned out, the pristine hair proved to be her downfall as whatever was chasing her grabbed it and tugged back, nearly ripping the follicles out of their roots.

She screamed out in pain and reeled back. Setting her hooves firmly back on the stone floor, she attempted to buck behind her, only for them to hit air and drop her to the floor from her miss. The mix of pain and pure fear was evident on her tear-stained, disheveled face. Crying was no longer enough, and she openly sobbed at her soon to be demise as the creature lifted her up by under her forelegs. She attempted to use her wings to block the creature away, but it simply clawed at her once, tearing through muscles, veins, and tendons.

Her eyes widened. It was that sound again! The snapping! She hung her head, knowing that the creature was preparing itself to devour her. The elongated, inward-spiked tendrils reached around her neck and latched on. The pegasus screamed out in pain as the teeth sunk into her neck, nestling themselves in and injecting a mix of anti-coagulant and morphine-like liquids. The pain died down to a numb feeling and her body soon turned limp. Her eyes remained lucid, completely aware of what was happening to her.

At that moment, she felt it. Her blood, her life-force, her very own liquid-soul, was being drained from her feverishly and dangerously fast. Sounds of the skin belonging to the creature mending, with miniature pieces of metal being ejected from within its body, could be heard clearly. The mare knew what it was doing. It was healing itself by consuming her blood. Consciousness began to fade quickly and soon she was left nearly dead. But then, she heard something. Something she had heard before that had scared the creature that was attacking her, something so beautiful and soft that it rung clearly through her ears despite the massive blood loss.

The mailmare felt the impacts against the body of the monster, the screams of agony and more importantly, its dying gasps. The incredibly strong grip around her neck was released, dropping her to the floor deprived of massive amounts of blood. It was quite obvious that she wasn’t going to survive the ordeal and more memories of her daughter flooded her mind. At least the sight of the creature falling next to her, still alive and snapping its tendrils at her, gave her some satisfaction and eased her mind. The glowing ocular orbs stared into her soul, hinting at an intelligence shrouded by a severe hatred towards other living things.

She wasn’t able to properly shiver from the look before she saw something, some kind of large metallic foot, plant itself on the chest of the creature, snapping ribs and forcing a scream from it. Her eyes widened in shock as what she recognized as a hand (from her encounter with a young dragon) grasped the neck of the monster, easily strangling it and holding it in place for whatever reason. Then, it spoke. Not the monster, but whatever it was that had saved her. The voice sent chills down her spine as it spoke as if preaching. It was monotone, but there was definitely a hint of fanaticism hidden beneath it.

Before she was able to see what happened, she blacked out from blood loss.

He stared at the bloodsucker within his grasp, the weight of his exoskeleton easily keeping it down for a kill. Their eyes met and he could see the fear within the ones that stared back at him. It was normal. No mutant, or human for that matter, dare cross him for fear of their lives being in danger. Its predatory glint washed away under his calculating eyes, clearly already on the verge of death soon. He took a deep breath, lowered his head, and clasped his hands together.

“Oh Holy Crystal, I cannot hear your wisdom… Your sweet guidance is deaf to my ears and I fear I may have angered you to receive such a punishment… One of Your children has strayed from the flock and taken to slaughtering those You choose not to hold Your Holiness over… By Your decree, I shall take its life, so it may pass on to Your Glorious Heavens and live with its own… I thank You, Infallible Monolith, for this rite You have vested and bestowed upon me as Your Voice, as Your Medium… I shall not fail Your Design and will continue to hunt those that have taken blood from the innocent. Please… Holy Crystal, hear my pleas…”

He exhaled and set his eyes back on the bloodsucker he kept his foot on. Taking his knife, he slit the throat of the mutant, returning the blood it stole back to the earth and ending its life. Using the serrated edge as a saw, the mysterious visitor severed the bloodsucker’s head from its neck and lifted it up in admiration. It soon found its place as a trophy on his belt, where barbed wire was tied to it in order to keep it in place. As the last step in the ritual, he wiped the blood from the knife onto the victim and sheathed it.

The interloper removed himself from the carcass of the bloodsucker and kneeled before the wounded pegasus, taking in its features.

“You are so silent, Your Holiness… Shall I save this innocent? Is it mandated and ordained that I am to do so? Or am I to merely prevent Your offspring from slaying them?” Hearing nothing in response, he reached into his belt and retrieved his most precious artifact, “Shall this Soul provide the sustenance to this child so it may live..?” No other sounds other than the running water from the waterways were heard, “I understand. I truly understand what You are doing for me. I thank You for the opportunity to exhibit my worth and the test You are putting me through. I will not fail, no matter the circumstances.”

With that, he pressed the Soul to the mare, letting it work its magic on the body. He knew full well that as soon as she recovered, she would need to eat some sort of food. Any artifact that increased bodily functions consumed energy en masse, leaving it deprived of nutrients if not properly fed on time. She would starve if she didn’t receive sustenance after the Soul healed her. The visitor sat back, still amazed at how the Zone and Monolith birthed such an awe-inspiring creation. It mended broken strands of muscle, recreated blood, and healed all wounds within only a mere few minutes. It was miracle, without a doubt. Once the process was finished, he stowed the artifact back on his belt and began to walk away, at least, until a groaning from behind forced him to turn back to the mare.

The pegasus lied on her side, barely conscious, “W-Who… are you..?”

His mind came up blank at how a small creature, non-human, was speaking English. It quickly came back to speed as he recalled that some mutants were capable of such things and one really shouldn’t question how the Zone worked with its children. Then again, this wasn’t one of the Zone’s children. Being the Voice of the Monolith, he knew a multitude of languages, with English happening to be one of them. He thanked the Monolith for bestowing the knowledge of the language, clearly connecting his ability to speak it as a sign that he was doing as the Monolith wanted him to.

The mare met his eyes and he spoke with levelness, “A Voice among many, one who speaks for the Glorious Crystal.” She seemed extremely surprised by the fact he could speak “Equine”, “I know of your blasphemous deity, but I shall not purge your life from this world for being ignorant of the One.”

He turned to walk away again, but stopped as the weak voice called out to him again, “W-Wait! P-Please, wait!” The human turned back around patiently, “Y-Your name! What’s y-your name?”

Without a single drop of emotion, the massive man answered, “Charon.”

The mailmare smiled weakly, extending a hoof out from the ground, “D-Derpy…”

She could see it took him a moment to realize it was meant as a hoofshake, which he promptly conducted after kneeling down to her level (after all, as a representative of the Monolith, manners were a must. At least, with non-humans it was). Obviously knowing that this creature had saved her, she felt an immense sense of gratitude towards it. That thought was immediately replaced by fear once she saw another one of those monsters silently creep behind it, ready to attack.

It was said in times of extreme stress, a pony will experience a slow-down in time, something that allowed for better thought, strength, and speed. Of course, she wasn’t able to move as of yet, but it happened nonetheless. The pegasus watched as the large creature moved in one swift motion, using its knife and twisting to its right to embed the blade within the skull of the bloodsucking monster. It fell on its side dead, red liquid spurting awkwardly from a fresh hole within its head. She watched as her savior removed the cranium and jaw from its shoulders, then strapping the head to its waist. The sight was sickening, but she didn’t make it known it made her so. Still, passing out from seeing it didn’t quite send the right message either.

The Monolithian turned back to the female pony and lifted its limp body upon its broad shoulders. It was still breathing, a good sign of its health. Beginning to walk to his temporary hideout, Charon, the Highest Priest of the Monolith, kept his eyes open for any more mutants.

His eyes shifted to the mare, “The Monolith demands I prevent lives lost, and so it shall be. The kin of the children still stalk these paths and safety is far too much a rarity.”

He nodded, coming to the conclusion that he would protect the creature until it was able to head back to the surface. Normally, he would leave anything, even his own subordinates, to perish should they be dying in front of him. But there was something wrong. Terribly wrong.

Memories began to poke holes through his head ever so slightly. They weren’t clear, but a message was desperately trying to be conveyed. He ignored it, considering it to be his own greed disarming his resolve towards serving the Monolith. One word rang out clearly though, one that sent shivers down his back.

Him! The most fearless human to have ever walked the Zone, having his thoughts disrupted by a single word? In his brainwashed mind, it was a sheer moment of pure blasphemy.

But that word still resonated from the recesses of his mind. It whispered seductively and didn’t let up, repeating itself over and over. Just once, he allowed himself to clearly hear it. It frightened the man who felt no fear since becoming one with the Monolith, and scarred his mind once again, causing it to falter heavily.

“Merc.”