//------------------------------// // Chappie 6 // Story: Confession of a Soul Mage // by SoothingCoffee //------------------------------// Cold. It was that feeling that I felt as I laid my elbows to the metal table, that, and the utter indignation of being wrongfully mischarged for acting in self defense. A part of me wondered if breaking the laws in this godsdamned backwater world would be worth it or not. I quickly put down that idea like a rabid dog, because just like my mother’s sagging tits, it’s not going to be worth it, what with the immortal ruler, and the anti-magic handcuffs (hoofcuffs?) on my arms. That and my left leg felt like it had been crushed by a pregnant ogre. “I can’t believe this is happening,” Ruby muttered, drifting by in the air, all the while glaring adorably at me. “I can’t believe you threw a fireball at her!” I scoffed, waving an arm as I read an interesting part of the damned tour book that for no reason the authorities hadn’t taken, again. “Ruby, what I did was a self defense, and what they did was technically an assault. I mean, how would I know the pink monster was going to make a party for me? And besides, I don’t like party, especially when the last time ended with me almost being raped by a village of demi-humans.” Or how I almost got raped by a group of vengeful mid-wife midg- gnomes. I ignored her best goldfish expression and Nero’s amused snort as I focused on the more interesting part of the book, more specifically about the Villains of Equestria, namely Discord. It briefly told his history, how he had ruled Equestria (and possibly the world) into his little plaything, that age was called the Discordian era. Then he was imprisoned by the two sisters with the artifact(s) called the elements of Harmony into a stone, he stayed like that for a thousand years, before he was unleashed because three fillies were fighting in front of said prison and wrecked chaos to the world. It was in the last passage that I narrowed my eyes: “Currently imprisoned by the new Elements of Harmony in the Canterlot’s garden. Bullshit.” And I got my newest destination to check after Rarity’s done my request. I ignored the scary name similarity between Canterlot and Camelot, because Canterlot is a city, and Camelot is a kingdom. Camelot’s the land in which Demi-humans, Humans, elves, mages, and non-mages could live in peace. As long as the elves could keep their fucking face covered with chains and metal. It’s not a perfect kingdom, true, but it’s better than being raped, tortured, impaled, stoned, and crucified for showing a simple sign of having magic. Better humans and demi-humans than those elves scum. Nero tilted her head cutely from my lap. “What is it?” “We just got our newest destination. Canterlot.” “Why’s that name similar-“ I cut her off from trying to suggest such offensive thing. “Canterlot’s a city of shitty horse pun, while Camelot’s a kingdom of equality, there’s no similarity between them, Nero.” She rolled her golden eyes. “Sure. Whatever you say, master.” Suddenly, the door banged open, and in walked a very angry Max Grill. His olive brown coat was bruised on the side, a patch of bandage on his right eye, and his left front hoof was covered with bandage. He limped to the chair, glaring at me with deadly intensity that it reminded me of my brother’s vengeful girlfriend after I traded her to the Inquisitors—Imperial’s hunters— for my life. I smirked, slipping the book into my bag, and gave a smile wave. “Hello, Max Grill. How’s your leg doing?” His glare doubled as he took a sit on the chair, careful not to use his right front hoof. “How about yours?” he growled. I shrugged nonchalantly. “Fractured,” that got a vindictive smirk out of him, “nothing a few alignments and a potion can’t heal.” The smirk vanished immediately, before he suddenly sagged a little. “You just assaulted—“ “Self-defense.” He glared at me. “You just assaulted an important figure of Equestria, the first because she ‘surprised’ you and the second because she ‘surprised’ you, again.” His leaned forward, eyes narrowed, and there was a hint of something, in his eyes. “You are threading a thin line, here, human. Tell me a good reason why I shouldn’t just lock you in jail, right now?”   I frowned, leaning back, looking unimpressed at the guard’s attempt to intimidate me. “I stand by my case. It was still an act of self defense,” I said in a dry tone, before I leaned forward. “Because I didn't start the whole thing. The pink devil did. She jumped onto my face like a headcrab, and the next day she attempted to do a surprise party to the aggressive foreigner. I'd think that she's the one who deserves to be in here." He stayed quiet, eyes trying to bore holes into my head. “Did you know?” I idly said, after a moment a silence. “In Camelot, my homeland, she would be in jail by now. Heck, the fact that she jumped onto my face counted as an assault, wherein the punishment depends on the victim. Meaning," I licked my lips in that creepy rapistic way. "I could do anything to her." It was at this point that his brown coat somehow turned into a sick green, “You’re sick.” He growled before he rushed out of the room. I tilted my head to the surprisingly pale looking floating ghost by my side. “Something’s wrong?” She jumped in surprise. “N-No, of course not, why would there be?” she stammered, giggling nervously, before she budged in under my stare. She fidgeted nervously with her hooves, “I-Is it that bad? Your home, I mean.” I chuckled at her words, and she was split between confused and offended. “Home?” I shook my head, “It's not my home, anymore. But to answer your question, no, it’s not that bad as it sounds. Oh, it still has its negatives mind you, but I couldn’t ask for any better. Perhaps it’s because I was sent into the front line, but I'm proud of my country.” Even if they’d betrayed me first. I shook my head,”Gods, I’m still in my twenties. I should be drinking whiskey right now. Not talking about my homeland like a scarred war veteran.” “Technically, you are a war veteran.” Nero not-so-helpfully pointed.  I rolled my eyes in response. "Tomato, toe-mah-toe." The door slowly opened, and in walked a very concerned Celestia. It wasn’t the kind of concern that a brother would show when his sister was defiled and impregnated, but more of a concern that a person would show when his friend was giggling like crazy. Her horn lit up in a golden light before it dimmed. “Are you fine?” The question was a tentative one as she approached where Max sat earlier, not bothering taking a sit. The chair would probably break first under those fat flanks. “I'm as fine as my father's attempt to kill me.” She looked at me confusedly. "So that means-" "I'm okay." She chuckled a bit at that- much to my surprise- before her eyes went serious, looking at the empty space next to me, which coincidentally where Ruby was before she perched onto my head. “Who are you talking to?” I felt Ruby flinched on my head. “A ghost.” Her eyes widened, “A ghost?” before it narrowed at me, making Ruby flinched harder. “Are you sure you are fine?”  “She’s harmless.” “That’s what they usually say when a ghost haunted them.” “They?” “The possessed,” There was a real concern in her eyes as she shuddered slightly, surprisingly. “At first they would say it’s harmless, but it will slowly eat their souls, but they would still say it’s harmless, until it’s too late.” She shook her head sadly. Ruby was now trembling at the intensity of Celestia’s eyes. “Please,” I rolled my eyes and scoffed. “I would know if I’m possessed, or haunted. You can see her, if you want to.” I took off my bone necklace as carefully as a man could with handcuffs on their hands, and offered it to the Immortal in front of me. “Wear it.” She took it with her golden magic, scrutinizing the necklace before she raised an eyebrow at me. “Is this?” “Yes, it’s bone. Her bone,”I said, putting a calming hand to Ruby’s trembling back. “Just wear it, and get this done with.” She narrowed her eyes to the invisible air between my hand and head, before she wore it to her neck. Her eyes went cross-eyed for a second before it focused back into the ghost on my head; they widened slightly in… recognition? Before they softened. “I see…” She smiled at Ruby. “Hello, what’s your name?” She asked in that motherly tone she had used yesterday. “Ruby.” She meekly answered. There was a glint in her eyes— Recognition? Guilt? — Before it was gone as quickly as it showed, a new mystery, mayhap? Whatever it was, it was something in which I had to solve, sooner or later, especially when it involves my companion. She nodded, taking off the bone necklace with her golden magic and gave it to me. I wore it over my neck, and gave Ruby a double pat to the back. “You’re much calmer than I thought you would be,” I idly commented, stroking Nero’s back. She raised a delicate eyebrow, “What do you mean?” I suspected that she knew well what I meant, but I just shrugged. “Well, considering I did do harm to your subject. I thought you would do something harmful to me in return.” She shook her head in what I thought an amused manner. “Even though I do love my ponies, exceptionally so, that I would do anything for them, I’m still a fair ruler. I know which is right and wrong, and even though you’ve harmed one of mine, you’re not fully of fault,” she paused for moment of hesitation. “And Pinkie Pie’s not heavily wounded, just a burned patch, while Max Grill knew the hazard of his occupation.” The message was clear: Even if I try to be fair, I’m still going to hunt you if you do too much. I hesitated for a moment. There’s something I could do to help the Pink menace, even if I was not of fault, there’s a benefit in helping Equestria’s national hero, but in doing so, I would waste a single red potion. It wasn’t much, but a single potion could save my life in the future, and I had only six left; three small, two medium, and one large. “Does that mean I could leave now?” In the end, it was my greed and self preservation that won the fight. “Yes, you could. But I want to ask you,” I raised an eyebrow, “I want to invite you in Canterlot.” Well, ain’t that convenient? It was tempting, but I got something to do in here first. “Sorry, Celestia,” she raised an eyebrow at that. “But I have something to do in here. There’s picking my new apparel, can’t wear this crappy one,”— and I’d die with it—“and there’s visiting the library.” Plus some stuffs. She nodded. “Understandable I suppose, I could send you a carriage for the day after tomorrow in the evening. Where are you staying?” Her horn glowed for a moment, and with a click, my handcuffs were unlocked. I dropped them to the metal table with full of hate. That got a small smile from the immortal in front of me. “Sleepy Eyes Inn. Can’t be hard to look, it’s the only one in here.” I slowly stood up, giving Nero time to jump onto my shoulder, favoring my right leg as I limped to the door. I paused, looking back to Celestia. I gave her a smile. “I hope we’ll meet in a better circumstance, next time.” I opened the door, not waiting for her reply, and ignored the concerned eyes when they fell to my fractured legs. Max Grill was outside the door, sitting on the bench, his previously sick coat turned back to brown. He glared at me with all the hate my ex-girlfriend’s could muster after I broke his dad’s nose. “You won’t get free next time, Human.” I stared at him, and his glare faltered. "Don't play in the field of blood, Max Grill." I said coldly, getiing a shiver and a weak glare from him. I limped to the exit door, getting glares from the guards/officers inside. I ignored them, obviously. I looked up when I stepped outside. The sun had set, and the crescent moon was already in the sky. ”What a waste of time.” Warm Bed gave me the cold stare once I arrived at the inn. I ignored him, limping to my room, dropped my bag, and slept off, ignoring my fractured leg. I was going to fix that in the morning. ()_()_()_() Whimper. It was that painful whimper, a whimper that had succeeded in becoming my first nightmare, in the middle of dawn that woke me up. I snapped my eyes open as Lily writhed on top of my lap. “Lily?” I warily asked. “Shit, shit, shit. Who did this, Lily?” She whimpered in response. I cursed, laying her carefully to my bed, before I searched into my nightstand. “It’s going to be okay, Lily, nothing a universal antidote can’t slow, and then we’ll go to the hospital.” I assured her, more to me than her. I pulled out a green vial. Antidote, bingo. I quickly went to her side, giving her a big smile. “You’re going to be fine.” I slipped my hand behind her head, pulling the cork with my teeth, and slowly tilted the vial into her mouth, letting the liquid dripped into her mouth. To my horror, her throat suddenly bulged as it drank the antidote, she gurgled, vomiting out the antidote. “No, no, no, NO! Dammit!” Tears turned into blood as it streamed down to her cheeks, blood began to leak from her ears, blood poured from her nose, and blood began to force its way through her pores. She let out a choked scream, and that was what broke the camel’s back. I let the power of Ice took control my vein as I set my lap under her head. “Lily?” I asked calmly, perhaps a bit too calmly. “Who did this to you? Is it anyone in your class like Jericho? He’s that little psychopath you like to talk about, right? Is it him?” She gave me a gurgled mix of whimper and choking as an answer. I gritted my teeth, staring calmly to her windows of soul before I closed mine. “Okay, Lily, it’s going to be alright.” I said, my right hand reached to my belt, wherein my emergency dagger was hidden. I aimed them just right on her neck, angling it slightly upward as it targeted the brainstem, per my short time in the military training. “It’s going to be over soon. Just think about happy things.” I plunged the blade deep, deep enough to sever the brainstem as with the jugular and the carotid. I choked a sob, my left hand gently stroking her head as I stared at her lifeless eyes. “See?” I strained a smile, a tear fell down to her face. “You’re fine. It’s over now.” I said, chuckling slightly, releasing my bloody right hand from the dagger’s handle, before I took a shuddering breath. “It’s not fair, you know? I should be the one who died first, not you. Heck, you shouldn’t even be dead for another twenty years… you’re still fucking thirteen for gods’ sake, you should be playing like other thirteen years old do, not visiting your goddamn brother.” My left hand fell over her eyes, closing them for the last time as I let the control of Ice to fade, and at that, something which therein lay within my soul, something dangerous within every mages, something that had made the Gods running, Chaos to crow, Harmony to scream, and Madness to joy. I felt anger. Not even my father and brother's plot to kill me by sending me to the frontline even did this much, not even my mother's disgusting act to get me to her bed had done this much, and not even my girlfriend's madness of trying to made me her love slave even made me felt like this. Mayhap, it was because she’s the only human that I’d truly cared for, that I’d spent almost my whole life taking care of her. I remembered the time when she was naught but a scared little girl, where she would go into my room while our parents fucked each other like rabbits and Jaime was sleeping like a piece of shit. Then she’d asked me for a bed time story, and I’d chuckled once more, dropping my book as I retold how Camelot was built while I gently stroked her hair as she slowly drifted to unconsciousness with an innocent smile on her face. That was perhaps how she had begun taking the habit of visiting my room at night, asking me for other bedtime stories while she would sleep on my lap. Heck, I’d even argue I was more of her parent than the supposed biological ones. There’s an irony in it. That the last time she did this turned out to be her last sleep as well. A meow from the side made me turn my head to the noise. I frowned; dangling on Nero’s neck was Nagini, dead by the contract between the Mage and the Familiar. For one to take a Familiar, their lives are bonded and bounded together. For if the Mage, handler of the contract is to die, then the Familiar, creature gifted of sapience, will die as well. If a Familiar is to die, then the Mage, handler of the contract, will lose a part of their power.  Nero walked to my side, letting out another meow as she nuzzled it. There’s a mourning tone in it as she stared at the dangling viper. I gave her a sad smile, grabbing the viper before I draped her onto Lily’s chest. We took a moment of silence for the respect of my dear sister, as I hummed the song she wanted to be sung when she died, “Song of Merlin”. As it was, I wasn’t given such privilege because the moment I was about to over, there was banging and shouting on the front door. I gritted my teeth, slowly standing up, giving Lily a final smile before I walked to the door, grabbing my staff in the way with Nero following my tail. I didn’t get the chance to open the door before it was forcefully busted open as guards, a squad of them, barged inside to my house with Jaime following them from behind. The spider’s mask of determination slipped a smirk as he passed my surprised self. “By Gods, she’s dead!” Shouted one horrified guard, a recruit, if his horrified voice was any sign. I turned around; facing Jaime’s another mask, frozen shock, before it quickly changed into righteous rage.”You killed her! You killed my sister!” I stood there, feeling slightly numb. There it was, standing in front of me, the killer of Lily, just within my staff. But I couldn’t, not because I don’t want to, but simply because the amount of guards in the house would probably killed me before I reached to him. And if that barest of smirk was any sign, he knew it as well. I let the power of ice took control again as I calmly gazed at his eyes as the guards were about to capture me with their swords, personal wands, and anti-magic handcuffs. “Don’t threaten a runesmith in his house.” I tapped my staff to the wooden floor. Thousands upon thousands of runes, carved for five years glowed brightly across the walls, floors and even the ceilings. All of them froze, paralyzed in place, and the Spider’s eyes widened. I couldn’t do anything yet. Mayhap, if he’s alone I could kill him right there, but there were guards around me, and a simple touch would make them move. So I turned around and ran outside. I quickly turned to a corner the moment I was open in the street, I slinked into a particular dark alley. I needed help to kill Jaime. I can’t kill him without a help, especially when there will be guards guarding the mansion.   I was in need of a help that will help me, regardless of my current false status. I needed a strong ally, to help me assassinate— No, to make the Spider understood the very meaning of hell. I was going to ask the most fearest warlock in town for an attempted assassination. ()_()_()_() “This is going to painful,” I muttered out as I sat on the bed, looking at my wollen fractured leg. “In hindsight, not immediately healing my leg after I got here wasn’t the best of idea.” I took a roll of bandage from my bag, and immediately began bandaging my leg with a tight knot. I hissed at the pain. I quickly took a drink of the medium-sized health potion, before I sagged to the bed, letting the blessed liquid to do its work. I looked at the ceiling for a while, rubbing Nero’s belly as it was splayed atop my chest, eliciting her to purr in pleasure. “All of my coins say that Warm Bed is going to kick us today.” Ruby looked down from her ceiling-gazing, before looking back up. “If his face from yesternight was any sign,” she said, and I got the feeling that she was rolling her eyes. “No doubt he would.” I blinked; a random bright idea suddenly entered my mind. “You know, Ruby. If we’re going to get poor, we could gamble. It’s going to be easy, what with you being able to look at other players’ card.” She frowned. “Isn’t that cheating, though? And I don’t think Princess Celestia will be happy if she found out that you were not only gambling, but also cheating especially by abusing this little ghost filly.” Briefly, I reminisced the last time I gambled. It was when I was captured by a crazy psychopath, who forced me to play dice. Get double number, I’m free, get else, he’d cut a piece of mine until I was naught but a sad pile of torso. I got a double one on the first try, and set me free. Albeit, in a grudging manner. I blinked, hoisting myself to my feet as the potion finished its work. “You know what, you’re right. Gambling is bad, and besides, I don’t think I have enough luck to survive it.” Nero jumped immediately from being a mass of cute and purr, into just a mass of cute as she perched onto my shoulder. Ruby watched inquisitively as I checked my previously fractured leg, and upon feeling no wrong in it, I loosened the bandage, rolled it and put it back to my bag before I went to the main room. There was a stifling silence not unlike the time I caught my ex-girlfriend masturbating to my sister, as I entered the main room, with the only pony, Warm Bed, standing behind the desk, keeping a cool stare at me. Definitely gonna get kicked. The moment I walked to the desk, his horn glowed and five coins—the same I had used to pay him— floated and dropped onto the desk with that clanging sound when metal humped wood. “I want you to leave.” He said gruffly, “Now.” I gave myself a pat to the back for my perfect divination. I gave him a grin as I swiped the coins and walked outside. A part of me whispered to give the Innkeeper a single coin for the stay and breakfast, while another part argued that, no, he gave us all of the coins. If he wanted profit, he could’ve just given me four coins back. The other part fell silent. The sun was glaring when I stepped outside; unimportant ponies that had wandered by paused to glare at me before returning to what every unimportant pony do.  The ghost by my shoulder threw her forelegs up, glaring at the sky cutely. “Great. Now where do we stay?” I walked down the road, planning to check if Rarity wasn’t such a professional. “Well, looks like we’re going to see whether or not ponies have a policy against resting in public. Doubt it, but I’ve been wrong before.” A sigh came from the ghost. “So we’re going to sleep on parks?” “Hey,” I said, mildly offended, as I easily ignored the glares from various background ponies. “It’s better than sleeping on the road. There’s that one time when a homeless guy accidentally got his body crushed by a passing chariot.” She gave me a horrified look. “What?” she asked, wide eyes staring in shock. “Yeah,” I said, nodding to myself as I recalled that particular job. “I was doing my job that time, told to kill one of the noble inside, something about the noble laughing at my client’s joke.” “What about the homeless guy?” I shrugged. “Eh. He’s dead thereafter, got his ribs broken, lungs impaled, and his heart explode, somehow. Funny thing is, he was a spy from the Imperial, but he got kicked from the place he was going to stay for trying to fuck the keeper’s daughter.”   She gulped, looking a tad pale for a ghost. “How did you know that much?” She tentatively asked. I chuckled, before blinking as I spotted the Carousel Boutique. I gave my legs a mental pat on the butt. ”I was the coach.” “Oh.”  I entered the brothel-ly looking boutique. The bells clinked against each other, and as if on cue, Rarity skidded to my view. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is— Oh, it’s you.” There was a quite strange, unfitting tone in her voice, something akin to disappointment that made me raised an eyebrow, and even Ruby seemed to notice it as she slightly narrowed her eyes. “Please, follow me.” I shrugged as she led me to a table, the kind of table wherein noblewomen would group up together and gossip how bad each other’s husband was at bad. “Tea?” She offered with a smile, a teapot floated beside her covered in… green aura. Inwardly, I was questioning the intelligence of the not-Rarity smiling in front of me. I smiled sweetly. “Yes, I would like a tea.” Check the house. I mentally commanded my familiar. She looked at me, then at Not-Rarity, before nodding and jumped away from my lap and looked around the boutique. Not-Rarity’s eyes flickered to Nero in worry. “Is she going to be okay? I don’t want her causing a mess.” She asked worriedly, pouring tea from teapot to my teacup. I grinned, mayhap a tad more predatory. “No worries, Rarity. She’s trained,” I lifted my teacup, tilting it to my lips and made a sipping sound before placing it back to the table. “Besides, I want to talk about my request.” She looked confused, tilting her head. “Pardon, but which request was it? There have been so many requests this past week.” Yep, definitely not Rarity, even my ghost companion decided that a hoof to her face was the best description upon the Not-Rarity stupidity. I would do the same, but that would mean I have to beat the snot out of Not-Rarity too early. Slowly, I stood up from my chair, walking to her side. She flinched at the movement, but didn’t do much.”Is there anything wrong, human?” My eye twitched, sighing as I mentally questioned her intelligence once more, before my hands snapped out to her neck and slammed her back to the table. In instant her whole body was covered with green flame, passing harmlessly at my hands, and as the flame vanished, the not-Rarity transformed into a new creature. It was shaped like a pony, with black carapace, dragonfly-like wings, some kind of green shell on its back, Swiss cheese of legs, and blue pupiless eyes.  Its blue eyes stared at me wide in shock and fear as she quivered under my calm gaze. “Who are you, what are you, why are you here and where is Rarity?” It gave me a silent treatment as it struggled under my grip; fortunately, I wasn’t raised as a gentleman so I got to punch it twice on the muzzle; effectively breaking its nose as it bleed a green liquid and her, whimpering in pain at my not-so-gentle treatment. “Answer me.” I growled out, tightening my grip on its neck. “Now.” “M-my name’s Spectre, I-I’m a Changeling,” She –according to her voice—stammered, before taking a huge gulp of air. “I-I was sent here by Q-Queen Chrysalis to keep a-an eye on the-the human, a-and th pony is in the basement! Please don’t kill me!” I gave her a vicious smile as I stared straight at her eyes. “I would ask other things like who is Chrysalis, but when I found a spy, I would torture the information out of him,” her eyes widened in panic as she desperately struggled under my choke. “Unfortunately, Celestia wouldn’t be too happy with it.” There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes as her struggle lessened in effort. “Fortunately, I could just kill you.” Her eyes widened again in panic. “I’ll be your spy!” She blurted out. I blinked, staring at her curiously. “You’ll be my spy?” She nodded quickly, “Why would you be my spy?” “I was planning to go rogue when Chrysalis sent me here. She was planning to kill me by sending me here!” tears began to leak from the corners’ of her eyes. “Please, I don’t want to die.”  It didn’t look like she was lying, as she closed her eyes crying and repeating “Don’t kill me” in that pitiful, squeaky, tone. I released my hold against her. She blinked looking at me, watery eyes full of hope, too much hope. “Wait for me in the park, we’ll talk there.” She blinked again, before nodding quickly. “If you’re not there, I’m going to tell on Celestia.” She halted when she neared the door, before looking back at me, giving me a strange smile. “I won’t.” She promised, before she changed into some unimportant pony and left the building. I turned around, straightening my ruffled robe. “Right, let’s save the captured princess, shall we?” Ruby just gave me that shocked expression whenever I did something she didn’t expect to do. I huffed, walking to where Nero was calling me, just what did expect of me, anyway? A barbarian? Preposterous! Just when did I do something barbarous? Soon enough, we found Rarity, fortunately, unconscious with her bitchy- as Nero described her- cat. I just carried her up, with some effort— these ponies are heavy— and dropped her off in her room, and left the building while mentally explaining what just happened to Nero. ()_()_() Richard, or more commonly known as, Mr. Richard is, without a doubt, the most dangerous person in Meredith, with the Addams taking the most scariest house, and with a good reason too. In fact, he was so dangerous that even his blatant display of Necromancy in public didn’t send him to jail, mad bin, or torture. There was one stupid guard, a new recruit from other city who tried to reprimand him. Tried being the keyword, as he was immediately turned inside-out the moment he walked to Mr. Richard.   The only good thing about him was that despite of his common display of violence— He killed small kittens and families daily, for fun!—he wasn’t trying for world domination, because if he did, Camelot and the Imperials would’ve been fallen by now. And I was going to ask him for help. His house, set on the outskirt of the city, was actually a normal house that you would expect from a normal newlywed couple, or one that a rich pedophiliac hermit would build on his personal island with a dainty paved road reaching down to the main street. And it made it even scarier. The thousands of gravestones surrounding it didn’t help either. I gulped as I began questioning my current deteriorating sanity whether or not I wanted revenge or suicide, or volunteering into a painful magical experiment in which would cost me all of my skin. Even Nero was trembling on my shoulder, her claws piercing my robe as she tightened her grip on me. “Well,” I finally said, looking at the normal-looking residence of the most feared warlock ever. “The worst thing that can happen, he’ll make us into his eternal subservient servant.” Nero gave me a glare, and an annoyed meow. I shrugged, walking on the paved road into the, both literally and figuratively, house of doom. I knocked on the door, ignoring the ominous growling from the cemetery. The door was soon opened, and stiffed as the man I was going to ask for help stood in front of me. His deathly pale skin was obscured by his black cowl, facemask, long robe, gloves and bracers, though there’s a streak of red on his cowl. The only thing visible was his glowing yellow eyes, his deathly pale skin, and two green scars across the left part of his forehead. He’s also the same man that had people fearing for their lives for two centuries and counting. “Hello, Mr. Richard—“ I let out a— I assure you— manly yelp as he gripped my wrist and pulled me into his house before slamming the door close. All thoughts were gone as I was treated to the sight of his house. Potions of various colors were laid on tables, almost cluttering against each other, and a large black cauldron stood before it, a suspicious green bubbly concoction in it, but that wasn’t what caught my eyes, no. The one that did was the books, illegal books, lined up upon various shelves. It was then that Mr. Richard lived his name as the worse psychopath, as he ripped my right arm. We both, Nero and I, screamed, yowled in Nero’s case, in shock, terror and pain as I stared at my bloodied stump. “You ripped my fucking arm! And it’s my fucking right arm!” He scoffed and rolled his eyes. Scoffed and rolled his eyes! Before throwing my right arm! Aside like it was some sort of a defected baby orc. “Big deal, you took too long awning my house, you’re not even in the torture chamber yet!” he threw his arms exasperatedly.  I ignored the fact that he was going to take me to his torture chamber, or that he had one, and instead glaring holes at him. He rolled his eyes again. “Oh, please. I could take your heart and you’ll be still alive.” To prove his point, he suddenly pierced my chest, and pulled my still fucking beating heart. I shrieked, staring at the gaping hole on my chest before at my beating heart at his hand. I think Nero was unconscious at that point. “What the fuck!?” I shrieked again, pushing my body to the wall. He examined my heart like it was a fucking fruit, rotating it around. “Hm.” He let out a thoughtful hum, while placing in left hand to his chin in a thinker position. “Strong, and has a good potential. You’ll be a great mage, I know that already. If I didn’t, I would’ve thrown let my zombies to eat you.” If I wasn’t losing a plenty of blood and that I was staring at my beating heart, I would’ve been flattered that I was being complimented by the most feared mage of the city. As it was, I could only slowly breathe in and out, leaning against the wall as my liquid life was drizzling like cum in a wild orgy gone wrong. It was only when I was slipping between unconsciousness and consciousness that he noticed my situation. He let out a scoff, before flicking my heart, somehow returning it to my chest while also healing my chest. Then he picked my floppy arm, and miraculously connecting it to my bleeding stump. Then he stood in front of me, his hands both on his side, his head slightly tilted to the side. “Sometimes I forget that other people are easy to kill.” Unfortunately, by some cruel machinations of fate or gods, I didn’t pass out. “Are… you going to help me?” His head snapped from whatever morbid thoughts running in his head as he looked at me. “Oh, you’re not passed out?” he shrugged in a ‘oh, well’ manner. “Hmm. Suppose I could help you. Revenge on your brother, is it?” Suddenly, there was a curious gleam in his eyes. “Although, I do have to wonder if you’re using your sister as your reason to have revenge against him.” I narrowed my eyes at him, forgoing the fact that the being in front of me could kill me at any moment. “I loved my sister.” He waved his hand dismissively. “I didn’t say you don’t love her, quite the opposite really, granted, it’s not enough for you to sacrifice your life to her, it’s enough to kill anyone at her request. Though are your only reason of having revenge on him is just because he poisoned your sister?” I hesitated, briefly recalling all of the dirty acts that my brother had done to save his skin. One of them was coercing my idiot father into applying me, without my knowledge, to the army and immediately assigned into the frontline right after I was out of training.”… Alright, maybe I have many reasons to make his life a living hell. But this one was the one that broke the camel’s back.” He made a raspy chuckle at my answer. “I always like you, Redfield dorks. Did you know how your house is called Redfield?” he didn’t wait for my answer, not that I knew that answer. ”The House of Redfield came from an old house simply called the Field. One day, the three sons of the 4th generations fought for being the heir of the Field. Talks devolved into arguing, to shouting, and soon they became a civil war. “The three were separated into three factions and with their own supporters and soldiers. The youngest one fought methodically, using strategy, and his faction became the Copperfield. The second, his army fought courageously, despite the fact that he was losing, and his faction was known as the Greenfield.” Then, his voice took on a nostalgic tone, a sadistic gleam on his eyes. “Then there’s the oldest, my favorite one, he and his army slaughtered the others. The youngest’ tactics were useless against when one of his captain was captured, tortured, raped and broken into becoming the eldest’s own spy. The second’s courage and bravery was pitiful when his army was effortlessly crushed with the forces of the elements. In fact, he was so strong, that the second and youngest made an alliance, though in the end, they failed when your ancestor ambushed them in a meeting. “The only reason there’s a Copperfield and a Greenfield today was simply because your ancestor spared them out of spite, thus born the House of Redfield.” I blinked as the sudden history lesson of my house ended with a dreamy sigh, and I didn’t know whether or not I should be proud at my family’s history or disgusted, though in the end, I decided it was the former. Mr. Richard snapped from his disturbingly dreamy look. “In fact, the civil war was so bloody that even I’d remembered it.  So yes, I’ll help you on having revenge over your brother. I always like the Redfield, bloody bunch all of you.” Then he backslapped me to the face so hard, that I immediately passed out with a broken jaw. ()_()_() “So, why do want to betray you queen?” I asked after a brief bout of silence, crossing my legs as I stared at the disguised changeling beside me as we sat on a bench. There was indecision on her face, before she sighed. “To be short and simple: Queen Chrysalis in an incompetent ruler,” she said in a neutral expression, and a mix of distaste that would do well in a cocktail. “She’s… different from her predecessors, and not in a good way, either. She’s simply too prideful; she wants us to dominate, to rule and to fight.” She shook her head with a scowl that could possibly break her vagina. “But we’re not built for any of those. We’re built for subterfuge, to spy, or even for assassination. When our first Queen ruled us, she made an alliance with the Gryphon. When she passed, the 2nd broke those alliance and we worked alone by secretly gathering love. That method was used until the 19th queen. Chrysalis is the 20th. “The Elders had tried to persuade her from changing it,” Her face turned grim. “They were executed for treason. And it just got worse from there. She immediately stopped sending changelings to gather emotions in secret and instead making us invade small villages in Griffonia, making us their enemy,” then she paused, looking beyond exasperated, and half scared. “She’s also making an army, and considering that she’s probably the stupidest Queen, she’s going to doom us all.” Simply put, Chrysalis is a ruler with too much ambition, and too less self preservation. “Why can’t you all changelings assassinate her if your race hates her that much?” She scowled. “She wants us, a spy and an infiltrator, to train for an open combat without a combat specialist, I’m not going to be if all we can do is to head butt enemies if we’re in combat. And we can’t assassinate her. We would if we can.” “Why?” I prodded, storing the first part being a proof of the stupid Chrysalis. “Because we simply can’t, even if we want to; it’s in our nature to follow the queen… however reckless the commands are, unless she broke the rule, but we doubt that she’s that reckless.” I narrowed my eyes, peeking at her soul through her windows of soul, confirming whether or not this will be worth it. She fidgeted uncomfortably at my stare, until I stopped. “Why are you sent for a suicide mission?” She winced, her mouth twitched into a smile of distaste. “It’s because I’m special, more of a defect, really. You see, we communicate through the Hive mind. They’re connected through the Queen—” "But you're not." She nodded, smiling wryly. “Fortunately, it’s quite a boon for us right now. She can’t read every mind of her subject, fortunately, because if she could, half of our race will probably be executed. But she could sense our emotions. She couldn’t sense mine, thus I was a liability. And what better way to kill your weak spot than sending her to the violent-rumored human?” I rolled my eyes. “I’m rarely violent; I just like using psychical confrontation, they’re more efficient, but how can I trust you?” She sighed tiredly, looking at the blue sky. “I expected this conversation, really, only idiots trust a changeling.” she grimaced, looking rather constipated. “You could bind my soul to prove my loyalty. I could teach you how to do it.” I raised an eyebrow. Soul binding wasn’t the most pleasant ritual out there. Not only that the risk is high, but sometimes, the result ends with the victim being turned inside-out while still alive. I shrugged. “Fine, but you don’t have to teach me. I already know how to do it.” She looked at me in shock, before shaking her head, a little smile on her face. “I don’t know whether to be horrified that you know such magic, or scared that you know soul magic.” “Both. I also don’t do well with betrayal, they usually ends up broken.” I answered coldly and she shivered at that.”And I have a plan.” I added. She blinked, her ears perked up. “I’m listening.” “It’s simple, really. After we finished our ritual, you’ll go back to your hive, and give the queen false information about me. After that, you try being on her good side, and you send me information through the soul binding contract, and when the time is right, I could kill your queen.” She made a thoughtful hum, before she smiled at me. A genuine smile filled with hope and relieve that would make every whore to wail in their tears instead of using their mouth. “It’s not perfect, but we can work it out later. If this plan works, our race will be in debt to you, Human. We’ll separate for now, and meet again in here at dusk, and then we’ll search for a cave.” I nodded, before offering her a hand for the sake of courtesy. She looked confused at the offer before smiling, and shook it. I stood up, looking around the park that was oddly devoid of ponies before shrugging—none of my concern— and walked away. The rumbling in my stomach made me stop for a moment and remember that I hadn’t eaten anything this morning, thus I headed to the market place while reading the rest of the guide book. It was oddly devoid of ponies when I arrived to the market place, lines of stands, from vegetables to flowers were still there except for the seller. I furrowed my eyebrow, swiveling around as I walked to an apple stand. Idly, I bit one of the red apples while grabbing a few of them into my bag. I waited, looking for an ambush, but upon seeing none, I just shrugged and ate my apple like the thieving bastard I was. It was surprisingly good, juicy, crunchy, and sweet with the perfect amount of sour. It reminded of that farmer in Meredith, who sadly died after inserting his penis into some eldritch abomination. His family maybe full of inbreeding, but it’s the good kind of inbreeding. I walked through the stands, occasionally grabbing the free food. Carrots, apples, and such. Ruby kept giving me a disappointed and frustrated stare as I put a batch of cherry into my bag. “Just how much can you fit in there?” She asked; her tone full of disbelief. I chuckled, munching a sweet carrot while Nero nibbled on a pear. “More than you think,” I cryptically answered, patting my bag. “The only good thing about today is we have a month worth of supply.” I paused, before adding, “For free.” My ears perked when there were plenty sounds of clopping down the road, signifying the return of ponies, from gods’ knows where. “Well, time for us to leave.” I quickened my pace, ditching the marketplace. I heard a scream from behind me, about how their carrots were mostly gone. I chuckled, biting the carrot in my hand. “Old habit dies hard.” “You’re stealing.” Ruby deadpanned. I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “Stealing is such a weak word. I call it robbing.” She looked like she wanted to pull her mane off. “That’s even worse!” “I’ve heard it both ways.” In the end, she groaned and just threw her forelegs up. “I give up.” I just hummed in response, throwing Nero’s leftover pear to the side as I just wandered, taking in the scenic view of Ponyville. I didn’t know how long I was frolicking around like a stupid dirty whore, but by the time I looked up, the sun was settling down. “Well. Let’s meet our spy, shall we?”