Lunatics

by GottaLovePinkiePie

Staff Meeting

Scar Ace happily munched on the broccoli, eyes occasionally darting between the two ponies awkwardly sitting side by side. The polished mahogany table was chock-full with silver plates and exotic dishes, lined up in a neat row. Tricky glared at her uncle over a plate filled with alien flowers; Her face twisted in an almost comical grimace. Blaze, on the other hand, merely stared down on his untouched plate.

The broccoli cracked between his lips, Ace sighed contently with such extravaganza that Tricky had to roll her eyes. He snickered and dramatically let the last bit of the vegetable fall to the floor. Like a real business-colt, he rested his hooves against each other and moved to the border of his armchair, an amused look stretching over his face.

"Would you like some more Cheshire Cheese, Blaze?" Ace cracked a flashy smile at Blaze, who abruptly woke up from his melancholic trance. He cast a scared look at the grinning unicorn, then at the flying plate of cheese that had been stuck under his nose.

"Um, no thank you. I'm fine..." he swallowed.

"Please, I insist," Ace watched as Blaze nervously cut a small piece of the cheese and put it down next to his daisies. He looked down on it, his glassy eyes frozen on the plate. Ace expectantly raised his eyebrows at the stallion, but as he understood that he was too absorbed with the empty plate, his eyes flashed red in irritation.

The cheese plate cracked into a hundred pieces as he broke the levitation spell. Bits of china and cheese scattered all across the table, Tricky flinched and Blaze jumped in his chair, shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm. His terrified heart stopped at the sight of Ace laser-eyeing him, a spark kindling at the tip of his horn. Ace let his stare stay on the poor stallion just a little too long, before taking a deep calming breath. He flashed another, more forced smile at Blaze and said,

"Didn't your mother teach you any manners? Come on now, I'm sure it'll put a smile upon that grim face of yours."

Blaze seemed to fade away under the devilish tone Ace used. The comment about his mother had the expected effect. Ace’s grin burned with a self-contentment that Tricky desperately wanted to erase from his face, even if she'd have to do it with a plastic fork.

Blaze sank down in his chair, but not before he'd grabbed a hoof-full of the cheese and stuffed it all in his mouth at once. Ace sighed, satisfied, and now turned towards Tricky.

"I must say, I'm surprised. Because of you, being here and all..." he vaguely motioned to all of her, whilst taking a sip of wine. Tricky watched him as he swallowed. Her ice cold eyes indignantly fixed on the small pulse in his neck.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Ace choked on his drink. Tricky cocked an eyebrow when he started shaking in giggles.

"Oh, right I forgot... Eeehh, phew," he wiped away a fake tear of happiness from the corner of his eye, and let out an amused sigh. "You forgot all about everything… Ironic really, if you want my opinion. It adds just the right amount of cheesiness to this little tale of woe.”

Ace smacked his lips and smirked at Tricky. She restrained herself from throwing her plate at him, but before she got the chance to even consider it, Ace continued.

“Or maybe it’s just your face.”

Tricky flew out of her chair, Blaze let out a small welp, spitting out bits of partially digested cheese over the table. Ace didn't even flinch as the furious mare skid through plates of salad and hay. With her nose pressed against his, Tricky hissed like a snake.

“How about you just SPILL your beans: WHAT do you want from me?”

“To be perfectly honest, you're the one who spilled the beans. And,” he turned away from Tricky to take another sip of wine, “ as for why you're here, it's simple really, but then again, so are you...”

More satisfied than ever in the murderous glare that Tricky pierced him with, Ace reached for the broccoli-plate, which luckily hadn't been run over the edge of the table by the rabid mare.

“I don't know how you make ponies hate you so much, but it is really working,” Tricky spit out between gritted teeth as Ace bit into the crunchy vegetable.

“Let them hate, as long as they fear,” Ace said to the broccoli. Tricky straightened up where she stood on the table.

“You know, I’d love to be able to see things from your point of view, but I don’t think I’d be able to put my head that far up your arse.”

Ace frowned.

“Now that would be rather uncomfortable.”

Tricky's laughter echoed through the dining room. The cold sound made Blaze sink a little further down in his chair, even Ace felt goose-bumps forming along his back. Her wretched features were eerily outlined in the golden light of the chandelier, but even though the poignant laugh shook her body, there was something so... wrong about her. The psychotic look in her eyes, the frantic behaviour...

Never had Blaze seen something as disturbing. But then again, it didn’t surprise him anymore.

Murderer.

Tricky’s fit went on forever. After a while, Ace even gave Blaze a suspicious look, as if to make sure that this wasn’t normal behaviour. Tricky gasped for air, eyes tearing, and a grin etched into her face. Blaze stared at her. After swallowing the last bits of cheese, he tentatively rose from his chair.

“Tricky…”

“GET AWAY FROM ME, TRAITOR!” The sudden snarl severed her laughing fit. Instead of the glazed look, her eyes were now burning with the purest hate. “You-... I-if I want to hear shit from you, I’ll just squeeze your head.”

Tricky staggered on the table, eyes darting between the two. Blaze indignantly waved a hoof, as if to say “suit yourself” and sat back down. Ace, on the other hand, curiously watched as Tricky backed into a plate of freshly prepared potatoes.

“Why don’t you sit down, dearest?” Ace’s own soft voice surprised him. Blaze scoffed.

Tricky stared at him, unwilling to submit to a simple request. Instead she started pacing over the spoiled meal and cracked china.

“Tell me what you know and I might.”

Ace smashed his hoof into the table, a sudden dark aura around his eyes thundered at the obstinate mare ruining his subtle, but charming, dinner party.

“Must you always make things so much more complicated,” he snarled at her. “Can’t you ever just quietly thank me for what I do for you? NO, the weak constantly rebel to their feeding hoof,” he composed himself and brushed away a misplaced lock of hair.
“After all, your ignorance is killing you, and I just happen to be the only one with the cure!” he almost sang out the last word, clearly content with his masterplan.

“Who’s saying I even want the cure?” her snide remark instantaneously caught Ace’s attention.

“Of course you want it, why else would you be here?”

“YOU KIDNAPPED ME, REMEMBER?”

Ace took a moment to think. His eyes wandered off to the other side of the room, before he let out a distracted sigh.

“Oh, right… Well there’s nothing to be done about that now, Might as well join the herd, Tricky. And no need to shout, spare an old stallion’s hearing, will yo-..”

“I CAN SHOUT AS MUCH AS I WANT!” Tricky defiantly yelled into his face, her eyes shooting arrows of hatred.

“Please, do not resist me. I’m only here to get you off the wrong path-”

“WHICH YOU PUT ME ON IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!”

“I said, DO NOT resist me. It was bad enough the last time, and now that we finally have that cleared up, we can start again!”

“Start again?!” Tricky snarled. “There is nothing but death for me here, nothing but death and sin!” she stopped pacing and turned around, glaring offensively at Ace. “What was so bad the first time anyway?”

“Oh, your damned father mostly, but that’s settled now.”

“Wh-What do you mean settled? Where is he?”

“Oh he’s in his room,” an evil glint flashed in Ace’s eyes as he took another sip of wine. “Although, his head might be someplace else.”

Blaze didn’t notice the look on Tricky’s face as he was only half-focused on the quarreling family. His thoughts wandered back and forth between his fight with Tricky in her cell and the conversation he’d had with Ace right after.

“She’s delusional, my dear fellow, nothing to pay too much attention to.”

“I want to see her, please let me see Millie.”

“Don’t overstep your bounds, servant. You will only get paid for your profitable actions, not your pleas and whining!... I promise you, you’ll see her tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? What’s tomorrow?”

“Oh keep quiet! You’re giving me a headache with all your oblivious inquiries. I’m beginning fear that you must think of me as some lying crook! How doltish of you! I’m a stallion of high standards. I always keep my word…”

Blaze was snapped back to reality by the commotion in the room. Tricky was currently kicking the plates off the table, whilst Ace yelled at her.

“HOW DARE YOU? YOU UNTHANKFUL GREY PAUPER! ONE COULD BELIEVE YOU WERE RAISED BY GRIFFONS!”

“I WASN’T RAISED AT ALL, THANKS TO A CERTAIN FEATHERBRAIN!!!”

“OH, DON’T BE SO FOALISH! I GAVE YOU A HOME, A PLACE TO SLEEP!”

“YOU KILLED MY FATHER! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?!”

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? STAB THE POTATOES?!”

“SOCIOPATH!!”

“LUNATIC!”

“TOFF!”

“DONKEY!”

“CHICKEN!”

“BIMBO!

“DEMON!”

“OH BUCK EIGHT GENERATIONS OF YOUR MISERABLE ANCESTORS!!!”

Silence fell over the room. Tricky and Ace simultaneously turned to Blaze. His chest shook in anger, but as the two family members glared at him, imagening the most painful ways for him to die, he shrank back to his normal deflated position in his chair.

“You know, I do agree.” Ace unexpectedly declared. He sighed at Blaze and Tricky. “I must apologize for my brute behavior. I have even failed to welcome our guest of honor!”

He glared at Tricky, before standing up, gently brushing spills of food off his golden coat and walking over to a large wooden cupboard. Blaze furrowed his eyebrows, surely he couldn’t be talking about-

Ace turned around, a big glass jar in his grip. He nonchalantly threw it at Blaze who caught it out of mere reflex. However, as soon as he saw what it was, he shoved it away, a heartbroken wail echoed from his quivering lips.

Tricky looked at the jar, now rolling across the table. She squinted her eyes to observe the sickly green liquid that swished about inside it. It started rolling back towards Ace when a pale shape suddenly appeared inside the jar. Tricky stretched out a hoof to hinder it from falling to the floor. The ominous shape turned, and, suddenly, two big eyes stared back at Tricky. She felt the contents of her stomach rising up her throat. She gagged as the rotting face of Millie stared blankly back up at her.

Blaze let out another sob and curled up in his chair. He couldn’t take his eyes of the severed head that stared out into space. Ace quietly sat back down.

“Who’s the monster now?” his quiet remark buried itself deep inside Tricky, she desperately blinked at the jar, unable to believe what she was seeing.

“I-I… You…” she took a deep shaking breath, eyes filled with a mix of hatred and uncontrollable fear. Ace quietly listened to her stammering, peering over his glass of wine.

“Now, will you, PLEASE, sit down?”

Tricky’s lips quivered. Her knees gave out under her and she sat down where she had been standing, knocking away his plate of broccoli. Ace’s eyes twitched. He watched the pieces of broccoli roll on the floor. A furious grimace spread over his face. Tricky blankly stared at Millie, eyes tearing, her throat closing up. The first tear fell from her cheek, beat, abandoned and all alone. Ace put his head in his hooves and sighed. What a disaster. He opened his eyes to the weeping Tricky. Her usually cold and beautiful features were wretched in the grimace of sorrow. Her body shook with every sob. But she made no sound. A sudden surge of guilt washed over Ace. This was not a familiar feeling, and, to be perfectly honest with himself, he had to admit that it scared him a little.

“Would you like some cheese with that whine?” he blurted out.

Tricky didn’t even look at him. She just shook her head and stared at her victim, tears still flowing from her eyes. Ace sighed, irritation mixing with his guilt.

“There there,” he whispered to her whilst covering the jar with a handkerchief he magically produced. He’d lost his cool. This awful mess was entirely a consequence of his short temper. He patted his niece’s shoulder in a, what he believed, reassuring way.

“It’s all behind us now, my dearest. Let the past lie dead where it’s buried,” he gently stroke away her tears. Tricky stopped breathing the moment he touched her, but couldn’t gather herself enough to do anything about it. Ace seemed to relax. He repeatedly dried her tears and whispered over and over again, “What have they done to you? Oh, what have they done to you, dearest?”

They sat like that for ages: Ace reassuring his favorite niece who had finally returned to him, Tricky, frozen in shock and confusion, and Blaze, who lied deflated in his chair with a quickly emptying wine bottle in his hoof.

Tricky blinked at the covered jar; her dead heart fluttered. Gently, she turned to look at Ace, her red doe-eyes still watering with sorrow.

“Tell me,” she whispered. “Tell me the truth.”

Ace looked into her tearing eyes and sighed deeply. A small wrinkle appeared on his forehead. Would she be able to take it?

“I guess… I owe you that much,” Ace sat back down. With a swift movement of his horn, the table was cleared of pottery shards and food. He produced a deck of cards and slowly, whilst laying them out one by one, began his tale.

Comments

[GottaLovePinkiePie]

3728546 Thanks, I've started noticing a lot of faults here and there, but I'm too lazy to go through all chapters and edit

And thanks for the watch too