Kill or Be Killed
Celestia's sun shone throughout the cloudy skies of Manehattan as Swirling Line flew through the city with a cheeky smirk on her face. Her "discussion" with Jolt had proved to be pretty informative, and was still fresh her mind even a week later. The stallion had spilled everything he knew in seconds… then he cried soon after that, swearing that the racket on 10th Street would end. She laughed for hours after that!
After that night, she had been using the info he’d given her to put a serious dent in the Reds’ operations all around Manehattan; disrupting drug trafficking, foiling robberies before they happened, rescuing kidnapped ponies being held for ransom, etc. She was thoroughly enjoying being a metaphorical thorn in the Reds’ side.
She was brought out of her thoughts when she reached her destination, though with some trepidation; Lou’s Diner. With the grace of a dove she landed in front of the grease pit. However, right before she opened the door, she heard two voices conversing behind it.
"So, what do you think about this new mystery mare?" a voice belonging to Summer Streams asked. "From what I heard, she took down another gang of those awful Reds last night!"
'Looks like my reputation precedes me! I'm getting more famous with each passing day!' Swirling thought to herself with pride.
'Careful,’ Nevermore snarked. ‘There isn't enough space in here for both me and your ego.'
'Shut up, Nevermore.'
"Yeah, some mare calling herself ‘Raven.’" Another voice said, this one belonging to a male. "I must admit, it's impressive for only one mare to accomplish such a…” The stallion stopped in midsentence, as if pondering something. "Maybe… it's not just one mare…”
"Oh? What do you mean?" Summer asked. Swirling arched a brow in equal curiosity.
"Maybe the Mayor's got a bunch of ponies working under the same alias, like a secret service!" the stallion exclaimed. "They just want us to think that it's one mare!"
In less than a second, Swirling went from curiously listening to desperately trying not to crack up as she shoved her hoof into her mouth to hold in her snickers. She could've sworn she heard Nevermore let out a little chuckle as well. Perhaps now would be a good time to step in.
Opening the door, she greeted her friend and the stallion with a smile. “Good morning, Summer.”
The verdant-green mare smiled a bubbly grin when she saw Swirling. “Swirl!” She embraced the pegasus warmly, which was gladly returned. “How’re you this morning?”
“I’m doing fine.” She let her friend out of the hug. “What were you two talking about?”
Summer’s face took on an eager gleam. “Didn’t you hear? It’s about the Raven. The news said she beat another gang of Reds to a pulp the other night.”
“Did she?” Swirling wanted to smile in pride at that moment, but she would allow her celebrations later on in private.
“She did!” She nuzzled the stallion next to her. “And Page Topper wrote the article about it!”
The earth stallion nodded with a grin. “She broke into an old warehouse that the Reds were using to store illegal narcotics. At least, that’s what the arrested Reds said.” His proud smile became one that bore a mix of admiration and curiosity. “Whoever the Raven is, it seems like she wants to help.”
Summer smirked at her boyfriend while Swirling just tilted her head curiously at Page’s expression. “I know that look.”
Swirling looked between them. “What? What look?”
“I’m going to find out who she is,” Page explained. “I’m going to uncover the Raven’s true identity. One mare or many ponies, there’s got to be somepony behind that mask she’s said to wear.”
‘I never did like journalists,’ Nevermore said in a blunt, serious tone.
Ignoring the shadow spirit’s comment, Swirling said, “What if she wears that mask for a reason? I mean, haven’t you ever read a comic book? She may be wearing a mask to protect the ponies she cares about, right?”
Summer reluctantly nodded in agreement. “She has been messing with the Reds. Those guys don’t like it when ponies mess with them.”
Scoffing, Page said, “Well, it’s not like I’m going to publicize her identity. Not without her consent, at least. I just want to know who the Raven is.”
‘I get the feeling that this guy’s going to be a problem.’
‘You worry too much, Nevermore,’ Swirling assured her tenant. ‘I honestly don’t know Page that well, but he seems like a good enough guy.’
‘That’s completely irrelevant. A problem’s a problem, no matter how nice it may seem at first glance.’
The pegasus mentally sighed before focusing on her friend and the stallion. “I don’t know. From what I’ve heard, the Raven doesn’t seem all too easy to find. If she was, the Reds probably would’ve gotten her back by now, right?”
For some reason, Page’s grin only got wider. “Now that’s just motivating me even more. I’m going to find the Raven, and I’m going to uncover the truth about her.”
Nevermore scoffed. ‘Way to go. You just had to make yourself sound all mysterious.’
Swirling groaned, earning a slightly worried look from Summer.
“You okay, Swirl?”
“Yeah. I think I’m just getting a migraine.”
-o-
A migraine that only got worse the longer she worked. Between Lou’s constant bellowing and the impatient patrons, she was ready to go Raven on all of them. It was a pleasant thought, but not one she’d ever follow through with—except maybe in Lou’s case. She chuckled to herself as she set the plates of food in front of a group of hungry customers.
“Do you need anything else?” she asked as she set extra napkins on the table.
“Just keep these cheesy celery sticks coming! We just won big at the races and we’re celebrating!” The patron and his group of rowdy friends all cheered and dug into the basket like a pack of savage timberwolves over a scrap of meat.
“Delightful…” Swirling muttered as she turned away, rubbing at temple to alleviate her throbbing head. She set the tray on the counter as Lou scrambled to keep up with the busier than usual night. “How’s it going, Lou?”
“Better if yer not yammering in my ear,” the gruff cook groused as he worked in a frenzy. “Get them drinks to table ten and clean up table seven. We’ve got customers waiting!”
With as much dignity as a waitress in the greasiest hole of a restaurant in Manehattan could have, Swirling Line continued her shift, ignoring Nevermore’s snide comments whenever she slipped, tuning out Lou’s ranting whenever she could, and tolerating to the best of her ability the occasional leer from the male patrons. All the while, she just kept reminding herself that her shift would soon end. Any minute…
“Now,” she muttered to herself as she finally headed outside the diner. As always, she embraced the slightly chilled air of Manehattan over the stuffy heat of Lou’s Diner.
She looked up at the sky, seeing the orange tint of dusk above. She heaved out a sigh as she quickly realized that Nevermore was going to put her through one of his drills again. Yippee. Another virtually sleepless night, justified only by the fact that she’d be able to do some heroing as she practiced with her powers.
She trotted along the street, letting her hooves take her home for her. She would fly, normally. She couldn’t honestly say why, but she just felt like walking instead of flying. Maybe her subconscious was trying to get her relax or something. Maybe she was overthinking it with that theory. Either way, walking just seemed like a good idea for some indiscernible reason.
Her hooves carried her as she milled her way through the always-crowded streets of Manehattan, her mind wandering occasionally, artsy images sometimes popping into mind, but disappearing before she could get a solid grasp on them, as per the norm.
Soon, however… something was sticking. A vague idea at first, like when one sees a pony one knew a long time ago, but can’t quite place who that pony is or why one knew them. Something… it was gradually becoming clearer and clearer.
‘Okay, how can I see that?’ she heard Nevermore say in confusion. All that did was fuel her hopes for this. It was there! Something was finally there!
She pranced in place as fast as her legs would let her. “I gotta get home! I gotta get home! I have to get started, or I’ll—”
The thought was destroyed when she was suddenly and unceremoniously yanked off the sidewalk and into an alley, then tossed roughly onto the ground, landing atop a bag of trash that had been torn open by some animal. She could feel what she hoped was only melted ice cream, but most likely wasn’t, clinging to the fur on her back and sticking to the feathers at the bases of her wings.
Standing over her was the biggest, burliest, baldest earth pony stallion she had ever seen in her life. And she’d seen some of Summer’s ex-boyfriends.
“You’re Swirling Line, right?” the stallion asked with an accent that sounded like he was from somewhere in the Broncs.
“W-Who are you? What are you doing?”
“Answer the question, you little nag!” He slammed a hoof into the wall next to her head. Cracks formed under the pressure.
Reluctantly, and with her eyes darting toward the sky and ground, Swirling nodded. She was in sunlight right now. She wouldn’t be able to transform unless she could get into the shadows in the alley, but she doubted she’d be able to get out of this guy’s reach fast enough to get to them.
The stallion smirked. “Good. Just wanted to make sure I got the right mare. Boss’d kill me if I got the wrong one.”
“Boss?”
His answer was to grab a broken bottle off the ground and make a jab at her with it. With a yelp, the two-toned mare rolled out of the way, scrambling up to her hooves in an attempt to make a break for the shadows.
Her head snapped back viciously as she felt her mane pulled from behind. “Where do you think you’re going, nag?” Jerked off her hooves, the thug flung her at the wall of the building where she crashed into another trash can. Refuse and other things rolled around her as she tried to shake the darting lights from her vision.
‘Fight back!’ she heard Nevermore yell.
“I’m try—” She felt the air blasted out of her as she was kicked in the midsection. She slumped over, gasping and coughing for air.
The thug wiped at his face with a dirty hoof. “Tch, the hero of a little burning apartment building?” He grabbed and slammed her against the side of the building, easily holding her up with one hoof. “How’s the glory of being hero going for you now, huh?”
Before she could utter a word, he slugged her across the muzzle, sending her sliding across the pavement. She looked past the tears of pain to see that she was within reach of the shadows of the building. She dragged herself forward, only to be dragged back again by her tail.
‘No, no, no!’ she screamed in her mind, reaching desperately for the shadows that lay beyond her grasp. She could hear Nevermore practically howling at her to get up and fight.
A hoof slammed into her ribcage, bringing an sickening crack that made her gasp in agony as the reality of at least two broken ribs struck her like a freight train.
She couldn’t think. There was too much pain. An orange glow turned black. Then, before she knew anything else, she heard a splatter, right after the sound of something hard shattering. Why did her foreleg feel so… warm and wet?
The rush of agony died away. Her breaths were heavy and ragged, but she was breathing. That was good. Breathing is good. But why was her foreleg…?
Lucid thought soon returned, though a very large part of her wished that it hadn’t. She knew she was in her Raven form. Her coat was jet black. Her left foreleg was stained red.
Her left foreleg was shoved right into the barrel of the stallion who had been trying to kill her, his body pinned to the wall by her supernatural strength. Her eyes went wide in horror as her mind struggled to process what she was seeing. The stallion, gasping and weak, reached with a hoof towards her foreleg, only for it to fall limp to his side. He looked directly into her eyes, and she saw the fear and hatred in them before he spoke. “F-Freak…” He slumped over, the light in his eyes fading away.
She was frozen. Realization rapidly dawned on her as she stood there, staring at the body that was once a living, breathing pony.
A scream tore her eyes away from the corpse. A mare at the entrance to the alley stood with a look of pure terror. Several ponies quickly joined her, staring in horror at the sight in front of them.
Swirling pulled her hoof out of the dead thug’s barrel, his lifeless form falling to the ground. “I-I…” she stammered, with no idea of what she could possibly say.
“Murderer!” a pony cried out. That did it. Everypony immediately began hollering out that word and its synonyms. “Monster! Somepony, call the authorities!”
Almost instinctively, the Raven sank away, vanishing into the shadows and fleeing the scene long before the police ever arrived.
-o-
Without warning, she retched onto the floor of her apartment, heaving out everything she had eaten that
day. The acidic taste burned Swirling’s throat as it piled on the carpeting. It wouldn’t stop until she felt emptier than she had ever felt before.
What had happened? Today had started like any other. It seemed like it would be a fairly ordinary day. Then…
She leaned into the wall beside her, panting raggedly as the taste of bile drowned her tongue. That sickening flavor, however, was nothing compared to the stains she saw on her hooves. She weakly limped her way into her bathroom, running water over her hooves to the crimson liquid off of her person. She practically buried her hooves in soap to get rid of the stains.
The red just wouldn’t go away. It wouldn’t leave. It refused to be washed away.
She hung her head low, choking back sobs as she struggled to process what was happening to her now. This wasn’t what she thought she’d do with the power that Nevermore gave her. She didn’t want to… she couldn’t…
“Oh, Celestia…” she muttered gravely as reality set in. “I… killed a pony… I… Oh, sweet Celestia…”
‘It was in self-defense,’ said Nevermore. ‘He would’ve killed you if you hadn’t killed him. You’ve done nothing wrong.’
She glanced up at the mirror in front of her. Nevermore’s image was plainly visible in the reflection, but the sight of him only built up a rage in her chest.
“‘Nothing wrong’?” she quoted the spirit. “Nothing wrong!? I killed somepony! It doesn’t matter if it was self-defense or not! I… I’m a murderer.”
The bird was silent. After several moments, Swirling bent down, pulled out several cleaning supplies from the cabinet beneath the sink, and left the room, returning to the spot where she had involuntarily emptied her stomach.
After cleaning up the mess she had created for herself, she deposited the washcloths in the sink to wash. As she ran the water over the cloths, she looked at herself in the mirror. She saw the same pony she had always seen in the mirror, her mane still bearing the purple and white it always had. Her coat was still the same—albeit still ruffled from the “fight” earlier—but it was her eyes that gave her pause. The yellow irises were still the same as they always had been, but now, there was something different there. Like a light had gone out, a light that she had lost.
She closed her eyes, but the sight still haunted her. The sight of her own hoof, stuck deep within the barrel of a another pony, his lifeblood spilling out across her shadow-covered foreleg, the sound of his final curse at her name, and the light going out in his eyes and his body growing still. No matter how she tried to justify it, tried to rationalize with herself that what she did was right, she always saw the blood. The blood of a pony she had killed.
The water ran from the sink, but all she did was watch as it swirled around and continued down the drain. She looked at her hoof. She could swear she could still see the blood. It was there, staining her fur. She grabbed her soap and roughly scrubbed at her fetlocks. She scrubbed viciously, but the blood was not going anywhere. Why couldn’t she get rid of the blood?
She scrubbed harder, sobs escaping her. The tears fell from her face, joining the soapy water as it swirled down the drain. Why wasn’t the blood going away!?
‘Swirling, stop.’
The bar of soap broke in her grip but she grabbed a half and scrubbed harder. The blood was not going away!
‘Swirling!’
“Leave me alone!” She scrubbed harder, bits of fur tearing off.
‘Enough!’ Nevermore’s voice tripped through her mind. ‘You are hurting yourself!”
Her tears fell in streams from her face. “Why won’t the blood go away?”
‘Swirling, it was not your fault. You know that.’
She slumped, her face inches from the falling water of the faucet. “Why?” her voice cracked.
‘You couldn’t have done anything different. Don’t do this.’
She fell to her haunches, burying her head under her forelegs. Her shoulders shook with sobs. “I just… I just…”
His voice was quiet for a time. ‘You wish you could take it all back?’
She closed her eyes and continued to cry. “Why did this have to happen to me?”
‘Because… as much as we prefer making our own decisions… we’re not always given a choice.’
She sat there for a long time, the running water completely forgotten.
‘Get some sleep. It’ll be clearer in the morning.’
She dashed at her eyes and quietly turned off the running faucet. She looked back at the mirror and at her haggard appearance. She closed her eyes and turned away for her bed, hoping, but not expecting, sleep to come to her tonight. Or any night… for a long time.
-o-
THE RAVEN: VIGILANTE OR CRIMINAL?
Swirling wanted to tear up the newspaper, throw the shredded remains right in Lou’s face, and storm out of the diner the instant she saw that headline. She wanted to just go back home and go back to bed. She wanted to lie under her covers and wait to die, Nevermore’s protests be damned. She didn’t want to be at work, she didn’t want to see anyone, but she had to work.
“What are you staring at, Line?” the stallion said. “Set up those tables before we open, already!”
She looked away. “Whatever, Lou.”
Her boss’s face got as red as the tomatoes he was cutting. “Watch yer mouth, girl! I don’t need yer sassin’! Keep that up, and you’ll be out on yer flank in nothin’ flat!”
She snorted and went to set up the tables before her boss could yell at her more. She went about her daily routine in a state of obliviousness. No matter what she tried to do, she always saw the moment the thug’s life had drained away at the end of her hoof.
It wasn’t long before Summer Streams arrived, the green mare wearing a long, yellow scarf around her neck. She was holding a newspaper with the same front page headline as Lou’s in her magic, almost making Swirling want to scream. Summer set down the paper on the counter by the cash register, removing her scarf before sharing a greeting with Swirling Line.
“Good morning, Swirl,” the unicorn said with cheerful grin, which faded when she saw her friend’s dour scowl. “You don’t look so good. Did you sleep okay last night?”
“Like a baby,” the pegasus lied halfheartedly.
Summer narrowed her eyes at the other mare. Swirling knew what that look meant: her friend was both curious and determined to know what was going on. The two mares stood quietly for some time, Swirling slowly setting up the table in front of her while Summer continued giving her that suspicious glare.
“You sure you’re okay?” Summer asked.
Swirling sighed and turned to her friend with a painfully fake smile. “Yeah. I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
The unicorn frowned and put a hoof on the pegasus’s shoulder. “Swirl, you’re not okay.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then look me in the eye and tell me you’re all right.”
She did as she was told, looking the other mare square in the eye… and she hesitated. She hated lying to her best friend. She wanted Summer to be in the loop. She deserved to know. But as she played the scenario in her mind, she could just see what would happen.
“I’m the Raven! You know, that creepy, ghost pony thing that killed that guy? Yeah, that one!”
Her faith in that working out was shaky at its best. So, instead, she looked into Summer’s eyes with the most serious, falsely honest face she could must.
“I’m fine,” she bluffed.
-o-
Bright watched with concern as Swirling Line sat on a chair in the corner of the sweets shop, her head low while she sullenly chewed on some taffy. The pegasus seemed more than a little out of sorts today. While Bright admittedly hadn’t known Swirling for all that long, she believed she knew the younger mare well enough to know that this wasn’t normal for her. She looked as though she were ready to punch somepony.
Finally, she decided that she should at least try to get her to talk. She sat across from the mare and waited for her to notice she was there. After a while, Swirling’s eyes drifted upward and widened.
“Oh, Bright. Sorry.” She rubbed at her face. “I didn’t see you sit down.”
Bright waved her away. “Don’t worry about it, Swirling. I only just sat down.” She tilted her head. “Are you okay?”
Swirling looked away. “Why is everypony asking me that today?”
“Because we’re worried about you. This whole gloomy-gud thing isn’t like you.” The store owner passed her a chocolate mint, knowing it was the pegasus’s favorite. “Tell me what’s bothering you.”
Swirling looked at the piece of chocolate for a second before looking at the earth pony. “Is this a bribe?”
Bright smiled some. “Only if you consider it to be one.”
The pegasus smiled sadly, but she did scoop up the candy.
“I’ve never seen a sadder smile than that,” Bright remarked, trying to get the pegasus to come out of her unusual shell.
Swirling looked back at her for a long moment before glancing back down. “Bright… have you ever done something you really wish you could make go away?”
Bright’s head snapped back in surprise at the question, her eyes widening at the implications. What is it that was hurting Swirling so much to ask a question like that?
When she looked back at the pegasus, her words caught in her throat. The sadness in her eyes, the hurt that she saw, told Bright that Swirling was hanging off the next things she said.
Bright took in a breath and let it out slowly. “We all have, Swirling. We all have. All you can do is to learn to accept it and continue on.”
Swirling sighed and lowered her eyes to the table again, the tears threatening to fall again. “How… How do you do it?”
They both turned as they heard the store’s bell ring and in ran Sunny Day. The filly squealed joyfully and ran and hugged her mother.
Bright ruffled her daughter’s mane and gave Swirling a warm smile. “You just enjoy the better parts that much more.” She excused herself from Sunny’s grip, and the young filly made her way out of the room, leaving the adults. “Whenever I feel like I’ve done something terrible, I just remember my daughter’s smiling face.” She turned to Swirling once again. “Even when you feel like you’re at rock bottom, you should always find something to live for. Something you’d always fight to protect.”
The younger mare glanced down at the floor, eyeing her hooves. She could still see the blood, the eyes of her assailant dimming and losing all trace of life. She could still hear the frightened screams and exclamations of the crowd that had gathered that night. They had called her a monster, a murderer. That thug had called her a freak.
“Something to live for…” she whispered to herself. She thought back to that fateful night just a few weeks ago, the day she had leaped into an inferno to save an innocent foal from the blaze. The night she met Nevermore, who would save her life. Then the days after that, the nights she’d spend learning how to use her newfound abilities.
She thought back to the night of her first heroic act. She had proclaimed herself to be the Raven, protector of Manehattan. She had been so thrilled to assume that role, and was only just beginning to love it.
‘I’ll be honest,’ came the voice of Nevermore. ‘I don’t understand why you would stick your neck out to help ponies out of situations that aren’t your problem. But you’re going to a dark place right now, and that’s not good for either of us.’
‘I thought you loved dark places?’ Swirling asked.
‘Shadows and darkness are two very different things. Don’t let yourself fall into that darkness. It’s impossible to come back once you do. I’d rather burn in the light than have my host suffer that kind of fate.’
Swirling had to fight the urge to tilt her head in confusion, not wanting to have to explain her reaction to Bright. Nevermore was being weirdly considerate right now. Well… as considerate as Nevermore could be anyway. She made a mental note to inquire about that later. She faced Bright again, a small, more real smile on her face this time.
“Thanks, Bright. I… thank you. I guess I just needed some advice.”
Bright nodded with the kind of smile that would be worn by an older sister who had just had a special moment with her younger sibling. “Anytime, Swirling. Why don’t you go and spend some time with Sunny? I’m sure that’ll cheer you up.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll do that.” She stood up and gave the other mare a thankful hug. “Thanks again. I’m lucky to have you as a friend.” She released her friend and headed to where Sunny had scampered off, while Bright nodded and returned behind the counter.
The earth pony mare felt good about herself right now. With luck, Swirling Line would get out of her abnormal funk sooner rather than later. Doubtless, Sunny would pull the pegasus back to her old self.
-o-
Swirling’s smile still remained when she pushed open the door from the stairwell of her apartment complex. After spending the evening with Sunny Day, playing with dolls and even coloring, Swirling felt uplifted. For a while, she had forgotten her troubles, lost in the simple joys of a filly’s smile and her childish games. It was just the sort of thing she needed to lift her spirits.
As she walked down the hallway towards her apartment, her mind did drift back to her reality—though it didn’t find a deep purchase as it had before. The Days had helped her see something that she hadn’t seen before, and she would hold on to that feeling.
‘It’s a step, at least,’ she heard Nevermore say. ‘It’s like I told you before. What you did was acceptable.’
“I still killed somepony, Nevermore. I can’t change that,” she whispered aloud.
‘No, but you can accept what you’ve done and continue to move on.’
“I won’t kill again…”
Nevermore snorted. ‘If you want to make that choice, it’s yours to make. Not much I could do to stop you. But you may find it a hard promise to keep than you might think.’
“Then I’ll work extra hard.” Her mind drifted back to her evening with the Days, and she felt her smile grow again.
‘Hold on to that feeling. When you feel your mind take a dark turn, remember what you feel. It could save you.’
She smiled inwardly and reached for her keys as she reached her door. The key turned the lock and she pushed her door open.
“Home, sweet home,” she uttered and closed her door. She tossed her saddlebags over a chair and went to dig in her ice chest for something cold to drink.
Her ears flickered as she heard a noise. It sounded like a floor board creaking.
She scowled. “Hmm. Must have be rats again.”
‘Again?’
“When you make as much as I do, you take what you can get.” She huffed and closed her ice chest, sitting at her table. She took a drink of her juice when her ears flicked again at a sound.
“I’m gonna have to leave a nasty note for my landlord. I shouldn’t be sharing a room with rodents.”
‘Mm…’ She then felt something different from Nevermore. Something that put her at ill ease.
He felt… almost worried.
“What is it?” She asked, looking around the dim apartment.
‘Something is… Get out! Get out now!’
She started when she felt something heavy hit her in the back of the head. She crashed through her table, spilling the mug of juice all over her.
Her blurry vision saw her ruined table and a set of hooves approach her. “The boss wants to have a word with you… hero,” she heard a deep voice say to her.
She only vaguely heard Nevermore crying out for her as she blacked out.
-o-
“Wakey, wakey, hero girl,” she heard right before a bucket of the coldest water she ever felt splash over her.
She gasped in shock and fear, as much as the rag stuffed in her muzzle would allow, as her consciousness returned in full force.
“Seems our little hero has decided to join us again.” The burly pegasus leered at her. “Enjoy your little snooze, doll?”
She struggled to get away from him, but found that her forelegs were tied behind her chair and her hind legs tied to the legs of the chair. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t loosen the ties to her bonds. She looked up to the stallion who had spoken. He was large for a pegasus, with a brown coat and a sloppy, blond mane. He had the look of a troublemaker all over him. His cutie mark looked like a bunch of rings all melted together.
“And where do you think you’ll run to, doll? Ain’t no one around who’s gonna save ya.” He laughed and stood tall. “Hey, Knives, check this one out! Thinking that she can run, what do you say to that?”
A lanky, dark red unicorn looked up from sharpening one of many knives that he had laid out on a table. “I’d say she doesn’t stand a chance in Tartarus.” He chuckled eagerly to himself, pushing his orange mane out of his eyes. From where she sat, Swirling clearly saw the unicorn’s knife cutie mark, making it blatantly clear to her what he was preparing to do.
She panted through the dirty rag as her her eyes widened in panic when she looked to those wicked-looking blades. She tried speaking through the cloth, but all that came out were muffled pleas.
The pegasus turned an ear her way. “What’s that? Hey, Knives, what do you think she just said to us.”
Knives held up one of the blades in his magic and eyed the edge keenly. “Sounded disrespectful to me, Brawn.”
“That’s what I thought.” He smacked her sharply across the face, his hoof leaving a bright red mark on her face. “I’d learn respect if I were you, hero.”
Tears of pain welled up around her eyes as the pain flared in her cheek. Why did they keep calling her ‘hero?’ A part of her instantly theorized that they must’ve somehow found about her being the Raven. Were these guys Reds? If so, they weren’t wearing any red accessories or clothing. What were they after?
‘They must be friends of that thug you killed,’ Nevermore suggested. ‘If I remember correctly, every member of the Reds wears something red. That thug in the alley didn’t, and neither are these guys. They must work for someone else.’
Okay, that made sense, she supposed, but who could these two be working for? What could they want from-?
The door to the room opened suddenly. A gray, dark-maned earth pony stallion walked in, almost strutting as if to say “I own everything and everyone in this room.” He looked between Brawn and Knives and Swirling Line, his cobalt eyes giving the mare a piercing glare. He faced the other two stallions.
“It’s about damn time you finally got her,” he spoke in a gruff, commanding voice.
“Sorry, boss,” said Brawn. “After that hitman we sent let himself get killed, we didn’t want to take any chances.”
The boss scoffed derisively, shaking his head without a word. He faced Swirling again, his eyes narrow like spears. It didn’t take Swirling long to figure that this guy was dangerous.
“Why is she gagged?” the boss asked. Brawn was about to answer. “Forget it, I don’t care why. We may be criminals, but I’d prefer to remain as gentlecoltly as possible. Get that rag out of her mouth.”
With only a brief second’s hesitation, Brawn obliged, undoing the rag’s knot and pulling it away from Swirling’s head. The mare glanced up at the boss, both confused and feeling rather intimidated. “Who… who are you? What do you want with me?”
The boss grinned. “I was hoping you’d ask. My name is Mafioso, and I run this organization. You’ve already met Brawn and Knives.” He motioned to the other two stallions, the latter of whom was too busy sharpening his blades to concern himself with the others. “As for what I want, well… to put it simply, I don’t like heroes.”
“Wh-wh-what makes you think I’m a hero?” Swirling stammered. “I-I-I’m just an ordinary pegasus.”
‘Smooth,’ said Nevermore. ‘Like sandpaper.’
‘Now is not the time!’
“Don’t play dumb with me,” she heard Mafioso almost growl. “Think back a few weeks. You jumped into a burning building to save some snot-nosed brat you didn’t even know. Admirable, truly, but that fire was supposed to kill a few ponies who owed me money. I’ll admit, the whole thing didn’t go quite as planned.” He mumbled something about good help. “Anyway, I’m not about let some hero walk around town. It’s nothing personal. More about business than anything else. One pony becomes a hero, then some others think ‘Oh, I can do that, too!’ and try being heroes themselves. It’s bad for business, capische?”
Swirling had to admit, while there were holes in Mafioso’s logic, it more or less made sense. Still, though, this was just little over the line. “Y-you can’t do this! Why would you want to hurt ponies who’ve never done anything to you?”
Mafioso simply shrugged. “Like I said, it’s nothing personal. Business is business.” He looked her up and down for a moment. “Shame, though. You’re not too bad-looking. Probably would’ve liked a night or two with you, honestly.” He shot a glance towards Knives. “Do try to keep the screaming to a minimum. We have ponies pulling all-nighters around here for Celestia’s sake.”
Knives gave a shrug of his own. “No promises.”
The boss seemed to accept that answer as he turned to Brawn. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. I’ve got a date to see Hinny of the Hills, and I’m not missing this one.” He left the room with Brawn following, closing the door behind them.
Just before they left, however, Swirling could almost swear she saw Brawn giving her a half-sympathetic look, a glance that said, “Sorry, but I’m not that sorry.”
Knives grinned ominously as he carefully examined each blade laid out in front of him. He began humming a low tune, a song that sent chills up and down Swirling’s spine. He levitated each knife into the air in front of him, making quick jabs and slow, slicing motions with each of them. He put away a scalpel, a butcher knife, a steak knife, and several other blades before finally settling on a dagger that had a jagged, curving blade. One that looked well-used.
The unicorn turned to her, slowly shifting his chosen blade through the air experimentally. “I’ve always been partial to snake knives. They’re a classic for guys like me. They cut nice, deep, and wide. Only problem is that they tend to get a little… messy.” He gently place the edge of the blade on Swirling’s chest, licking his lips in anticipation. “Let’s see… jugular… carotid… ulnar… So many nice, warm choices.”
Swirling couldn’t even bring herself to gasp as she felt a sudden tug in her mane, feeling the cold steel of Knives’ blade slowly running just under her jaw line. The dagger slowly made its way up her face before its tip settled just under her left eye. Knives’ smile was broad, looking as if he was getting off on this.
“Or maybe I’ll cut out those pretty, little eyes of yours?” he mused aloud, giving out a sinister chuckle. “Who knows? You might look cuter without them. Of course, there’s only one way to know for certain, isn’t there?” The blade lifted away, its point never drifting too far off-target. “I hope you’re a screamer. It’s always best when they scream.” The dagger moved back just a few inches more. “Now… scream for me.”
The world slowed. Swirling could see nothing but the jagged blade making its way towards her eye. The slowness was maddening. The fear was unbearable. This stallion was insane.
She needed to act.
‘Swirling, do exactly as I tell you. When I take out the lights, I want you to scream, then change form. You can handle this guy. Don’t let your fear control you.’
She saw the blade inch that much closer to her face. ‘He-he’s… he’s going to kill me!’
‘No he won’t! Focus!’
A black tendril escaped from the Swirling Line’s shadow, and the sound of shattered glass preceded the bursting of the light bulb above. The room fell to complete darkness and Swirling felt the pressure rise off her neck.
“What in Tartarus?” He growled. “Stupid, cheap lights. Eh, whatever. I don’t need light to—”
Swirling’s scream cut off his words and she felt herself change into the form of the Raven, that bizarre sensation of something climbing across her body briefly filled her senses.
‘Now!’
She snapped the bonds holding her legs and she wasted no time in punching the unicorn away. He skidded back and lit his horn to see the Raven dropping the last of the rope to the floor.
“What the…? What have you done with my plaything?” he snarled at her.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she said, taking some pleasure in the fact that the unicorn flinched at her drastically altered voice.
Knives scoffed. “No matter. After I’m done gutting you, I’ll find that little nag and make her sing.” He grinned maliciously. “To think, I get to gut me a walking freakshow tonight. The joys never cease!” His horn flared brighter, and he brought his curved blade to bare and rushed at her, his speed impressive for a unicorn.
She choose to meet that charge, raising a hoof to punch at him again. When she swung, he feinted to the side, her hoof missing his face by mere inches. Before she could recover, she felt his blade slash against her barrel. Despite the protection of the shadowy hide around her, she felt the cut reach to her skin and draw blood.
She quickly rolled away before he could follow it up with another stab. Her hoof reached down to the cut, and her yellow eyes widened at the sight of her own blood.
‘This one is no average thug, and he’s quick. Be extremely cautious.’
‘You don’t say!’
Knives looked at her, his evil grin still present in the low light of his horn. He lifted his blade to his muzzle and took a satisfying lick of the blood that coated the blade.
“Mm… you are tasty.” His grinned widened. “Now I want more than a taste!” he shouted, and again charged at her. This time, she kept moving, dodging and sidestepping his attacks. Despite her enhanced speed, the unicorn kept pace with her. The number of minor cuts kept growing despite her many attempts to keep him at bay.
“Why are you running? Stand still so I can cut you!” He redoubled his efforts, and she found herself in full retreat. She leaped over the table to get some distance from the deranged unicorn.
“You’re sick!” she screamed at him.
The insane look in his eyes never faded. “You have no idea!” Quick as the wind, he threw his snake bladed knife at her, and she ducked at the last second—the knife ripping through her ethereal mane.
‘Swirling, I have an idea, but you’re not going to like it.’
‘Anything to get rid of this creep!’
‘Next time he gets close… let him stab your front hoof.’
If she could, she would have strangled Nevermore. ‘Are you insane?! I’m not about to let him stab me!’
‘Just do it! It’ll provide the opening you need to put him down.’
She darted to the side as Knives levitated more of his blades and hurled them at her. She ran as fast as her hooves could carry her, the blades sinking into the stone walls behind her.
‘It’ll hurt!’ she protested.
‘Not as much as it will if he gets his hooves on you! Just do it!’
She swore and whirled on Knives just as he lunged at her, his snake blade leading the stab. “Now you’re mine!”
She threw her left foreleg up in a block and gritted her teeth for the upcoming pain. The blade sunk into her foreleg, and she hissed as it pierced her flesh. The moment it did, the shadows swirled around the blade and held it fast. Knives’ eyes widened in surprised and he tried to yank back the favored blade.
‘What are you waiting for? Now!’
She brought her right foreleg back and, before Knives could register what was happening, she hit him with a fierce haymaker that sent the unicorn flying across the room with a pained grunt. He slammed into the far wall and slumped to the ground, blasting the wind out of him. The magic surrounding the knife faded and the shadows wasted no time in tossing it aside.
“That actually worked?” she said aloud, wincing at the stinging pain her her front leg.
‘See what listening to me gets you?’
She snorted at that and approached the prone unicorn. He grunted as she lifted him up and slammed him against the wall, bringing her hoof back again. Before he could get off some verbal shot, she slugged him. Her eyes blazed in rage as she held this sicko, this murderer against the wall. How many times had he killed other innocent victims with those blades of his? How many ponies screamed for mercy or their loved ones, only to find there was no help coming? These thoughts rushed through her head as she slugged him again and again. Each punch left welts and bruises, but she didn’t care. One eye was forced shut, but that didn’t lessen her ire.
‘What are you doing?’
She slugged him again.
‘Swirling Line! Get ahold of yourself!’
“No! Not until I make sure he doesn’t hurt anypony else!” She brought back her hoof again, meaning for it to be the last punch she was going to throw and the last he’ll ever take.
‘What about your promise?’
Her eyes widened and she held the punch by her cheek, the hoof starting to waiver.
“But…”
‘Have you so quickly forgotten your resolve? Think about Sunny Day, or her mother. Think of Summer Streams, or even that Page Turner guy. What would they think right now if they saw you?’
She didn’t move but her hoof started to shake and she felt the beginnings of tears forming around her eyes.
‘Remember how you felt. Don’t let the darkness in.’
Knives grunted painfully and glared at her with his one good eye. “What are you waiting for, freakshow. Finish me.”
Her eyes blazed but she held her hoof.
He spat in disgust. “Pathetic. Don’t have the guts for that sort of thing? Funny. I thought you enjoyed killing our man?”
Her eyes narrowed and she screamed in rage, bringing her hoof back to strike.
‘Swirling! No!’
Knives grimaced and felt the hoof smash down—right next to his face. The stone behind him cracked and chipped away from the blow. He looked at the hoof then back at her, and for the first time, he felt the start of fear.
She panted heavily, tears streaming down her face, hidden by the shadows covering her body. With a growl, she pulled him close, almost pressing her muzzle into his. “You listen and you listen good. Tell your boss that he’s finished! I will see him, you, and all of his little gang put behind bars, so help me Celestia! Your days of running the streets of Manehatten are over!”
Despite his pain and fear, he chuckled. “Freak, you have no idea who you’re—”
With a scream she hurled him back across the room, he crashed through the table and lay there, groaning in pain.
Letting her rage out through deep breaths, the shadows swirled around the Raven and she disappeared from the room.
“Don’t ever call me a freak.” Her voice echoed in the room as Knives drifted to unconsciousness.
-o-
‘You need to learn better self-control.’ The spirit’s chiding voice came to her like a disappointed parent. Swirling hung her head low as she entered her apartment again, this time being extra wary for any other surprises. She didn’t need another unplanned trip.
‘You’re much more powerful now than you think,’ continued Nevermore. ‘If you want to keep your promise not to kill anyone again, you need to be able to calm down quickly once the fire dies down.’
The pegasus sighed with a nod as she approached her bed. “Yeah… I don’t know what came over me tonight.”
‘You were in the heat of the moment. Anyone would’ve lost sight in your position. Take pride in knowing that you were able to come back before it was too late. Not everyone could have.’
Swirling nodded again with a small smile. She gave a light chuckle. “You know, you’re much nicer than you let on.”
‘Go to hell,’ Nevermore rebuked, earning a laugh from the mare.
“There’s the Nevermore I’ve come to know,” she said. With a wide stretch and a long yawn, she plopped onto her bed. “This week has been beyond stressful. I… need…” She trailed off as she drifted to sleep.
Nevermore, inside Swirling’s mind, shook his non-corporeal head as the mare’s thoughts dimmed. She had a lot to learn about the world. In fairness, so did he, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. For now, she had earned a night’s rest. An exhausted host was almost as bad as dark one.
-o-
“What do you mean ‘she got away!?’” Mafioso bellowed in rage. Knives flinched at his boss’s volume. This was definitely not one of the unicorn’s best moments. His face felt like a freight train had rammed into it repeatedly, then the conductor kicked him for good measure. The worst part of all: he didn’t even get to cut anypony open tonight. That, and Mafioso didn’t often tolerate failure.
Knives tried to verbalize an apology, but his face ached too much. Even if he had been able to apologize, he doubted Mafioso would want to hear it.
“You had one job! One! How can I expect my men to handle big heists and hit jobs when one of my top guys can’t even finish off a tied-up mare!?” He slid a hoof across his face, his punishing glare never leaving Knives’ position.
With some struggle, and no small amount of pain, Knives managed to say, “It wasn’t my fault, boss. That freak from the papers showed up and took her away before I could even start.”
“Freak from the papers?” said Brawn, who stood next to Mafioso. “You mean that Raven thing?”
Knives shrugged. “Guess so. She’s the reason I look like this.”
Mafioso snarled and turned away in his chair, looking out past the blinds of office. How he hated heroes. Always disrupting business and making things unduly harder on him and his men. How is an honest dealing stallion to make a living in a city where pesky ‘heroes’ interfere with business because of some pointless moral high ground? Disgusting.
He watched from his window as the citizens of Manhattan went about their daily lives, never knowing that they all belonged to him. Their precious livelihoods hanging on his decisions. Decisions that needed to be made right now.
Of course, if the papers were to be believed, the Raven was a force to be reckoned with. And everypony has a price, even freaks.
He swirled back in his chair, and both of his henchmen flinched at the sudden movement. They were even more unsettled when their boss’s apparent rage had suddenly disappeared.
“Find this Raven, and bring her to me. Force her to come along if you need to.” He gave a small, sly smile. “I’m not about to let a potential resource be used against us. I’d like to see if we can make a deal. If not… well…” He looked to Knives. “Let’s just say you’ll get a second chance.”
Knives blinked at first, then grinned with an eager nod. Mafioso turned in his seat again, looking out over the Manehattan cityscape. One way or another, he’d make sure that the Raven would no longer be a problem.
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The next chapter is titled "Kill or Be Killed"?
Well the shit is going to hit the fan isn't it? I better take my coat off, the universal sign of "It's on."
I can see why heroes struggle with internal and external conflict to decide what is right or wrong, that chapter added the drama and action needed.
Very good chapter.The inner conflict really pushed the story forward. Just one thing really bugs me.
Mafioso's actions make literally no sense here. His reasoning behind attacking is because he doesn't want heroes in the city, because he fears them to interfere with his work. But actually, rescuing a filly out of a fire and fighting crime are two very different things. He doesn't even know whether she really wanted to be a hero or just reacted to the situation.
By his reasoning he would have to murder every firefighter and police officer first. Most of those guys actually want to be heroes, or they would have picked a different job.
Going after random civilians instead, who have never expressed any intend to fight crime is not only senseless, but also the best way to get some ponies bend on revenge, who then might really interfere with his profession.
5543326 Yes. I'm sure by now that you may realize that Mafioso is just as nuts as he is cruel.
Recommending your story for the Godhood library... thing. I think you need two recommendations, however... I'll ask Eris what on earth I'm supposed to do next.
If you want to see the review, it's on my decision thread. It's a bit vague, but that's because I was confused.
5572427 Don't suppose you can offer us a link to said review? Would be glad to see it.
5573732 Here it is.
Congratulations! You got in the Olympus Library. Huzzah! Drinks all around.
Now I have to find another story in this mess to look at...
5575129
5575129 Double
Her? I could have sworn he was a stallion.
5594169 I can't believe that got through. Thanks for spotting that.
I'm getting serious Spiderman vs. Kingpin vibes here. I like it.