//------------------------------// // Enter Talon // Story: Winds of Change // by dreadbaron //------------------------------// Chapter Three: Enter Talon Back in the city of Las Pegasus, Gustave le Grand was busy recovering from the surgery he had to have done to his beak. The assault from the city guards had left it a terrible wreck, but the Flim-Flam brothers (both masters of technology) were able to give him a mechanical one. “Doctor!” he shouted, in a robotic monotone. “I need a mirror!” The unicorn doctor ran into the room, and passed his patient a mirror with his magic. “Here you go, Mr. le Grand,” he said cheerfully. Gustave looked deep into the mirror, and recoiled in horror at the sight of his face. Scars ran across both sides, and his elegant moustache had been ripped to small strands of stubble. This was all highlighted by the steel mask in the center of his frightening visage, which clicked and whirred with every breath. “Doctor,” he hissed, “what… is this?” The doctor hesitated a moment, and then answered him. “It’s your prosthetic, Gustave,” he stated in a matter-of-fact way. “Quite expensive, but Mayor Ahuizotl was more than happy to pay for it.” “Ahuizotl,” Gustave muttered, “I will curse that name forever.” He stood up, and flung the blanket from his bed off his body. “I’ll be leaving now, Doctor.” “Mr. le Grand, you can’t do that,” the doctor told him. “You are quite unstable in your current condition. Please get back in the bed, sir.” “Get out of my way,” Gustave ordered him, but the doctor would not let him pass. Gustave flashed his razor-sharp talons, and uttered a final threat. The doctor still didn’t let him through, and was killed on his hooves by a swift swipe. “Thank you for your cooperation,” Gustave sneered, as he licked the blood from his talons. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After thanking Rarity for the chance to prove himself, Galeforce took his leave; and began to wander the town. He passed by many shops, watching as the busy salesponies made deal after deal with their customers. There were so many faces in the crowd, he didn’t even notice the one that didn’t belong… Later that night, Galeforce rested with Applejack near a campfire behind the barn. “Thank you for the second chance,” he told her. “It means a lot to me.” “No problem, partner,” Applejack answered him, as she rolled an apple over to him with her hoof. “In spite of everything that has happened, I still like ya.” “Thanks,” was all Galeforce could say. “Hey, I gotta know this,” Applejack began to ask. “Who were you plannin’ to give those jewels to anyway?” “A demon named Ahuizotl,” Galeforce bluntly told her. “The two of us have a massive score to settle.” “What’d he do to ya?” Applejack asked with genuine curiosity. “The beast killed my family,” he answered her. “Every last one, slaughtered by his feral cats. I’m bound to serve him by an old deal, but I wish I had died that day too.” “Oh my gosh,” Applejack gasped, as she started to cry. “I had no idea.” “Nopony does,” Galeforce responded with an icy tone. “That’s why I need to give him his money back: to square my debts before he kills me.” With that being said, Galeforce started to walk back to the house; and Applejack doused the fire. He spoke no more, but the silence spoke volumes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There would be no nightmare for Galeforce that night, for he didn’t have the chance to sleep long enough to have one. Applejack bucked his door in three minutes after midnight, and she started to holler. “Galeforce!” she shouted. “Help me find the girls!” “What?” was Galeforce’s groggy reply. “The girls are missing!” Applejack shouted. “Hurry!” Galeforce and Applejack searched all over the house, looking through every room for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Finally, Galeforce came across a note in the kitchen, which confirmed his worst fears: Galeforce, Your time is up, ‘old friend’. I have grown tired of waiting for my investment to be returned to me, and have decided to speed up this game. I have instructed my agents to seize the little foals you are so very fond of, and they will be executed by dawn. Your only chance to spare them this cruel fate is to turn yourself in, and accept your certain death like a stallion. You have eight hours… see you soon. - Mayor Ahuizotl “He’s found me,” Galeforce muttered. He then spread his wings, and prepared to take flight. He then flew through an open window, and started his roaring rampage acoss the sky to Las Pegasus. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ahuizotl poured himself another glass of hard cider, as his eyes darted back and forth across the horizon. Less than eight hours now, he thought as he chuckled. “Sir!” a voice called out from the hallway. “The fillies are by my side, and all neatly tied.” “Excellent, Agent Will,” Ahuizotl congratulated his Minotaur spy. “Take them to my spare office, and make sure they stay there.” Agent Will carried the girls to their destination, and Ahuizotl turned his attention back to the large window in his office. Suddenly, a cloaked figure crashed through the window, wings spread like the Angel of Death. “Galeforce,” Ahuizotl greeted his intruder, “I’ve been expecting you.” “I am not Galeforce,” the intruder offered in a dull roar. “The name’s Talon, and you are finished… Monsieur Le Maire.” “Gustave?” Ahuizotl asked in amazement. “Is that you?” “I AM NO LONGER GUSTAVE LE GRAND!” the intruder shouted, as he lunged at his prey. He swung his limbs wildly, sending his talons flying to the left and to the right. “I am Talon!” Ahuizotl dodged each of Talon’s moves, until he arrived back at his desk. He pulled the lever in the middle, and dropped through his emergency escape chute. “This isn’t over!” he shouted back at his attacker. “I am the one in control here!” “Let the reign of Talon begin,” Talon chuckled, as he spat down the chute. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Galeforce arrived on the outskirts of Las Pegasus, and was amazed at how much the city had changed in his absence. Large banners hung across the blood-soaked walls, praising the ‘fearless’ mayor and his bountiful fortune. “Some things never change,” he uttered in disgust. He then spread his wings, and flew towards City Hall. In the sewers of Las Pegasus, Ahuizotl began his hasty retreat. He knew he was too old to face the deadly traitor Talon on his own, and he was beginning to doubt he could even face Galeforce. He passed through tunnel after tunnel, until he came to an unmarked door. Ahuizotl recognized it as one of the secret entrances he had arranged to be installed during his reign, though he was unsure which one it was. He opened it with some hesitation, and found himself in the pit where he kept his pets. “Friends,” he stammered, as they approached him menacingly. “This… this is your master!” The feline foes were too hard-hearted (from years upon years of starvation and abuse at Ahuizotl’s doing) to hear his cries for mercy, and soon enough he had been devoured. The mighty Ahuizotl died in the same pit he had condemned the Thieves to all those years ago, begging for his life as they had done. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------