Mustang

by InfinitySlayer

Trust

The aesthetically practical chandelier hanging perilously from the ceiling swung gently in response to a nearby door slamming shut. The electric yellow light flickered for a moment as an blue equine trotted cautiously into the sparsely furnished room. Little decoration adorned the white walls and oak floorboards, save for a small square table and two oddly shaped chairs on either side. An alien figure sat motionless in the chair facing the door. The blue of his uniform appeared almost black in the shadows cast by the limited light. His face was entirely expressionless as he eyed the blue stallion entering the room.

A chill ran down the stallion's spine as he locked the door. He only maintained eye contact with the creature for a moment before tearing his gaze from those dark eyes.

After clearing his throat, Maes Hooves addressed the silent Colonel warmly,

"I apologize for the lackluster accommodations. Protocol dictates that standard interrogation procedures be conducted following contact with an unknown, hostile creature."

Colonel Mustang raised an eyebrow,

"You calling me hostile, Hooves? I suppose you have every right to-"

"Protocol also states that at least three officers be present for the interrogation, and that the highest authorities be notified immediately."

Maes Hooves looked into the Colonel's eyes sternly. A flash of understanding crossed the human's features briefly as he replied,

"So I see. You know, I have protocol to follow as well. In the event of capture by hostile forces, I am only to divulge my name, rank, and serial number."

Maes Hooves took an awkward seat in the chair facing the Colonel. Beads of sweat accumulating on his stressed facial features, he addressed the stone-faced human,

"I believe that this will go much more expeditiously if we just cut to the chase. You've placed my garrison in quite the awkward situation, Colonel. For now, they're under strict orders not to divulge any information regarding this incident to the public or the media. I've also refrained from notifying command of our status for the time being."

Colonel Mustang placed his hand on his chin inquisitively, a small grin spreading across his features,

"Seems like you're doing me quite the favor, Hooves. What are you getting at?"

The blue stallion shook his head,

"This isn't a favor, not by any stretch. My garrison and I just witnessed you destroy an entire building with unknown magic. Those two accomplices of yours killed at least five civilians and threatened the lives of my stallions-"

Mustang interjected, his voice low and serious,

"Those aren't my accomplices, Hooves. They're responsible for the deaths of thousands of my kind. While I apologize for the collateral, if I hadn't stopped them, they would've murdered every soul in this city without batting an eye."

Lieutenant Hooves remained stoic as he analyzed the Colonel. While to the passerby he might've seemed perfectly calm, Hooves noticed the small details in his composure: his trembling hands, dark eyes, and void expression.

Boring into the Colonel with his own green eyes, Hooves spoke with a lethal quietness,

"Ponies are dead, Mustang. It was my responsibility to ensure their safety. I can't even tell their families why their dearly beloved were found in a pool of blood on the street. I can't tell them why they won't be coming home. I'm sure somepony of your rank is used to that, but what you call collateral I consider to be the most brutal slaughter in recent history."

Mustang tore his gaze away from the stallion, staring down at the rusted steel table in thought,

"It's true that many people of my rank do get used to...these situations. Let me tell you something, Hooves. Those people who find it easy to send hundreds and thousands of men and women to their deaths are less than human. Those who find every justification to end life for their own selfish plots are lower than animals. I've seen my closest friends murdered on little more than a whim. I've watched a country send innocents to murder innocents. In the end, it's the people in my position that get to decide who lives and who dies. That's the sickening truth."

"That same truth is the reason why I need you to trust me. Those two creatures we encountered are known as Homunculi, variants of my own species that possess supernatural alchemical powers. They are named after the Seven Deadly Sins that plague sentient life, the feminine creature being the living carnation of Lust and the androgynous beast that of Envy. While I myself don't yet understand how or why, they have arrived in your world and will kill anything that stands in the way of their plans."

Hooves stared in abject horror as he considered the human's statement. There was no sign of falsehood in his eyes, as much as Hooves wanted it to all be deception. The human was speaking clearly and honestly, obviously emotionally invested towards towards the two creatures in some very negative fashion.

The stallion replied with an incredulous tone,

"Setting aside the absurdity of these claims, let's assume for a moment that I believe you. It's clear that the...social dynamics of wherever you come from differ vastly from our own. To be clear, Colonel, the concept of murder in our country is so foreign that most don't even know of the word's existence until adulthood. All of this gruesome death and governmental corruption you speak of simply doesn't exist in our society, or hasn't in at least a few decades. I've seen my fair share of monsters and tyrants, to be sure, but not even the worst of them would stoop so low as to take the life of another."

The Colonel raised an eyebrow, inquiring Hooves further,

"Aren't you an officer in your nation's military? You must serve for a reason beyond-"

"-Policing? The garrison stationed in Manehatten does little more than that, and even then we rarely deal with more than petty theft. Even her Majesty's Royal Guard is mostly ceremonial, although it has been beefed up since the Changeling incursion. I don't believe that Equestria has dealt with anything quite as lethal as you have described since the Wendigos of ancient folklore."

The Colonel folded his hands together, staring intensely at the twisted reincarnation of his best friend. From their discussion, it was clear to Mustang that the creature ironically identifying himself as May Hooves had no knowledge or memory of his Amestrian counterpart, or prior life, or whatever version he paralleled. For this reason Mustang refrained from discussing that complex topic entirely, clearing his throat as the addressed the stallion seriously,

"Then you're in for a rude awakening, Lieutenant. The Homunculi and I have a...complex history. In short, by siding with me, you're putting your life and the lives of your soldiers in jeopardy. However, I'll be perfectly clear, without my assistance, you'll be fighting a losing battle against them. They cannot be reasoned with, and they cannot be imprisoned. We were lucky to make the bargain we did, even though it put the lives of additional civilians at risk."

"The only option we have is to kill them. If you can offer any assistance, I'll see to it that it's taken care of."

___________

"Well this sucks."

The articulate statement had been made by a rather scrawny creature hunched over a small fire, the sparks and embers providing a small amount of warmth in the chilly rain of the twilight. Under rather thin leaf cover, the androgynous Homunculi's counterpart rolled her eyes in response.

Leaning against the rough bark of a nearby oak tree, Lust replied with clear annoyance,

"What tipped you off, Envy? The fact that we're being hunted down by the man who already killed us once or that I'm stuck with you for all of it?"

Envy scowled at the lascivious Homunculi,

"I had been talking about the rain and stuff, but that little problem isn't exactly the highlight of my day, either."

For a long moment, the pair sat in silence, neither willing to look into the eyes of the other. The rhythmic pitter-patter of the rain falling against the leaves overhead filled some of the stillness, but failed to distract the two from the real problems ahead.

"I never really had a chance to ask, Lust, but how did your, experience, with the Colonel go?"

The odd question dredged painful memories from Lust's unconsciousness. For a moment, the Homunculi considered refusing to answer, but at last replied to her jealous counterpart,

"It certainly wasn't a pleasant one, but I'm sure you already figured that. Right when I thought I had him and his allies in the palm of my hand, he surpassed my wildest expectations. I had just impaled him and his friend just minutes beforehand, yet he not only stopped the bleeding by cauterizing his own wound, but also managed to kill me shortly afterwards. I never thought I would ever see such raw determination in the human race, but there it was, in its purest form."

Lust chuckled as Envy stared deeply into the cracking fire, the orange glow reflecting off its magenta eyes.

"We've got a lot to learn if we want to survive."

Comments

[InfinitySlayer]

8166586
Without revealing too much, Truth has a larger purpose than just punishing Envy and Lust. He/she/it can accept the collateral for the damages caused by sending the Homunculi to Equestria, if the process results in the outcome the Truth desires.

Good point, though. 'Tis a bit malicious of Truth to get Equestria wrapped up in such a complex and lethal issue.

[vampnyx]

Will there be another chapter?

[InfinitySlayer]

8242023
Absolutely! Sorry about the wait, I've just been busy with my other stories.

[Caldoric]

8242049
So, this is technically a Displaced story, but with someone not of earth being displaced to Equestria instead. Would you be willing to do a crossover, or would that throw off your plotline too much? (Asking for the sake of knowing)

[stephen51991]

8267668
Oh for fucks sake. It's not a Displaced fic! Even disregarding the strict rules set in place by the Displaced group admins, it's obvious that this story is an ordinary crossover fic. Just a crossover fic. It follows none of the conventions usually used by Displaced stories, and the author even had it removed from the group when it was added without their knowledge early on, thereby implying that it was never intended as such. So stop calling it that.

[Caldoric]

8270086
Sorry, man! No need to blow up at me... It's been a while between when I read this chapter and the previous one, and I've had a lot of things to deal with irl. Sorry that I re-asked the question, apparently. I've been dealing with moving, job stuff, story collaboration complications, and somewhere over a hundred other stories i had up in the same browser that I've been bouncing back and forth between in the interim.

TBH, ya could'a just said "hey, you already asked that, and he said no." Not my fault I don't have a perfect memory...

[stephen51991]

8273412
Sorry about that. To be honest, I didn't even realize you were the one who previously asked until you brought it up.

I guess I should clarify that I wasn't upset with you specifically. Rather, I was simply frustrated that this was the third time I've had to make this correction, the first being when I originally brought it up to the author. When I said "stop calling it that", I was directing it towards everyone who did so, not just you.