Another Life

by Ironwolves21

Chapter Fourteen

“Come on Riot, we need to go.”

The hooves pulled at him, but his own stayed planted firmly on the tarmac. The heavy transport carriage was sitting idle on the concrete, it’s ten pegasi crew having just finished fueling up. Mumbles gave him another tug, looking between the grey stallion and the carriage.

“Come on man, I don’t think she’s coming.”

Riot shook his head. “She...She said she’d be here, I...I gave her the right address right!?” His features grew more worried as he paced about. It felt like somepony was watching him intently, but he chalked that up to some of the other soldiers.

The lemony unicorn nickered in frustration, then sat down on his large military duffel. Mumbles looked at the charred wreckage that was once Dublin and shook his head. “Riot....Come on, we’re leaving. If she hasn’t come yet, she isn’t coming.” The yellow stallion put a hoof on Riot’s shoulder.

Riots shoulders slumped as he nodded. “Yeah...You’re prolly...probably right.” He sucked in a breath, then stood straight. He smirked at the lemon stallion. “I was probably just a convenient fuck for her anyways.” He snorted angrily, slinging his own duffel over his shoulder. “Let’s go Corporal.”

Mumbles nodded solemnly, following the taller stallion towards the loading ramp. Their hooves had just hit the cold bite of the steel.

“Riot! Riot wait!” The grey stallion heard a frenzied voice accompanied by the flapping of wings. Aurora was speeding through the air towards Riot like a fuzzy grey missile.

His eyes went wide, and he dropped the duffel like a hated burden. “Aurora!” He galloped forward across the pavement to meet her.

The mare’s slitted eyes went wide with happiness as she streaked towards Riot; not decreasing her speed. She struck Riot in the chest with a tackling hug, wrapping her dainty hooves around his neck, kissing at his face.

Riot hugged her tightly, stroking the back of her head with a hoof as he stammered. “I-I thought...I thought you weren’t coming!”

“I-I’m so sorry......I got the time wrong...I’m so stupid...” She said, nuzzling the stallion’s chest. “I thought I’d miss you for sure....”

Laughing, Riot pulled back slightly, looking into her eyes. “I..I actually wanted to show you something, but I don’t think we’ll have enough time...” He stole a glance at Mumbles, who could only shrug and look at the nearly empty craft.
Aurora frowned, looking at Riot. “I-I’m sorry.....I wanted to get here earlier, please don’t be mad at me....” She said giving his muzzle a kiss. “How long do you have?”

He cast a solid look over his shoulder, butcould only gauge off of the lack of serviceponies and the flight crew fucking about. “I’d say we’ve got...Five minutes? Tops?” He frowned a bit, then hugged her tightly again. “And I’m not angry...I was just... Yeah.”

She nodded slowly. “Well....What did you want me to see?” The bat mare looked around nervously, and leaned into the stallion’s ear. “I have something to tell you, too....”

The unicorn smiled weakly, shuffling his hooves about like a grade schooler at his first dance. “It’s...Not something I can show, more like...Here, just listen.”

The mare nodded rapidly. “W-what is it?” She asked nervously, as if she was a filly talking to a teacher, or a principal.

He cleared his throat, then looked around nervously. “Uh... Y’en mel’ir ne’k she’vol beu’tea.” He smiled broadly, but it faded slightly. “I butchered it didn’t I?”

She giggled, holding a hoof over her mouth to hold in the rest of the giggles. “N-no, o-f c-c-course no-” She was cut of by her own laughter, giggles leaving her mouth. “I-I’m very f-flattered.....” She said, once she got control. “Really, I’m happy you tried....”

His shoulders slumped. “I butchered it.”

“It’s alright, I got the gist of it...” She said, kissing him on the lips. When the broke apart, The mare swallowed, looking from side to side, and leaned into his ear to whisper into it. “Ash......I-I’m pregnant.....”

Riots eyes went wide, and his hooves gripped her shoulders tightly. “A-are you...Are you sure?” He blinked rapidly, but stayed focused on her. She didn’t speak, but after a few moments, nodded once, her expression seemingly unsure of being either joyful, or sad. His chest quivered in anticipation. “P-please say yes...”

“Y-yes, I’m sure....” She said, looking away. “W-we d-d-don’t need t-t-to keep i-it if you d-don’t w-w-want it....” The mare said, stuttering in a mixture of fear and nervousness.

His head shook rapidly as he drew her in. “Nonononono, I-I....” Exhaled roughly, then smiled at her. “I would give anything to have a little filly with you Aurora.”

She brightened, it was like every cell in her body turned a light on. “Really? You mean it? W-we can keep her?” She asked, bouncing on her hooves.

He nodded ecstatically. “Of course!” He hugged her, kissing her as she squeed. “I...I just don’t know how we’re gonna make this work though, I don’t even know where you live, or how we would...” Riots face became muddled in confusion and sadness.

The mare frowned slightly. “W-well.....W-where do you live? I-I could stay in that town until you get home....”

Riots features grew sadder as she spoke. “Well...I don’t really have much of a home right now. I just go where the army needs me, they provide a place to sleep.” He sighed, rubbing his temple with a hoof. “Maybe you should go back to your home, just give me an address.” He stood up straight, placing a sure hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you when she’s born.”

Aurora gave out a short whine of sadness. “I-I....L-Lost my house in the flames.....I’ve been living in one of the shelters....”

Riots mouth move up and down, but no words formed within it. He whined quietly, looking at the tarmac. “I...Maybe...” He raised his hoof, but promptly dropped it. “I...” He sighed heavily, hugging the mare to his chest; holding her tightly.

She hugged him back, closing her eyes tightly. “Unless you’ve got some sort of shrinking spell so you can take me with you.....I think I have to leave....I swear, I’ll get a job, and at least an apartment before our little darling gets to be too much to manage...” She said, running a hoof over her stomach.

Riot nodded slowly, sniffing at the cold. “I could...Leave some money, to help you get started.” He dug through his duffel, and produced a small envelope. “That’s...That’s my hazard pay.” He pressed it into her hoof. “Take it...Please.”

A tear left her eye as she looked down at the bit of paper. “Y-you’re giving me this...J-just like that? W-what if I was just c-conning you, and ran off with your money?”

He shrugged sadly, looking back at the ponies who were filing into the massive carriage. “Well...I’d just be another dumb grunt then, wouldn’t I?” He smiled weakly, before looking at his hooves. “Even if you are just doing this for the money...I’ll...” He swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I’ll know… I won’t forget what I felt.” Riot clamped his lips together as he wiped his eyes.

The mare fully burst into tears, but smiled through them as she wrapping her hooves around his neck, giving wet, teary kisses to the stallion. “Thank you, oh thank you.......I’ll be right here waiting for you when you get home....”

Riot sniffed loudly as he grinned like an idiot. “I sure hope so!” He forced a laugh as he kissed her again. “And please, whatever you do, don’t hook up with anypony whose name has ‘Spyder’ in it. Please?” He forced another laugh, but it came out as a wet chuckle.

“I won’t ‘hook up’ with anypony you silly stallion!” She said, giggling through her tears as she kissed him again. Mumbles tapped his hoof on the floor, but was still smiling, his eyes glistening as tears threatened to fall. “I-It looks like you have to leave now.....I-I love you...” Aurra nuzzled into his neck, which wasn’t covered by armour or uniform.

Riot nuzzled her back as he embraced her as tightly as he could. “I love you too Aurora...I-”

Mumbles tapped him on the shoulder. “Come on Boss, time to wake up.”

Riot blinked, looking back at the stallion. “What?”

“Time to wake up.”
________________________________________________________________________

Riot sat up on his squeaky mattress, groaning angrily as he rubbed his eyes. He looked over at the shoddy little alarm clock, but quickly swore and got up. “Gon’ be fuckin’ late...”

He cursed loudly, trotting into the bathroom to quickly freshen up before he went out the door. After an impromptu five minutes of TLC, Riot had only accomplished splashing water on his face and sticking a toothbrush in his mouth. He scrubbed rapidly, staring at his visage in the mirror.

The stallion staring back at him was looking better, he’d been sleeping more, and his ‘episodes’ had been few, far between, and short. He smiled at the face in the mirror, and left the bathroom quickly to prepare for the night.

He glanced at the clock, then quickly threw on his flight jacket as he cantered for the door. His room key jingled in his pocket, and the poke from his personal defence knives sheath comforted him as he walked away from the motel.
___________________________________________________________________

The walk to Vinyls was short and uneventful, thankfully. He approached the club door and knocked.

Vinyl opened it, a absurdly-ugly christmas sweater hugging her furred form. “Hey, Tiger, you made it!” She said, giving him a quick hug.

He wrapped a hoof around her shoulder, giving her slight frame a squeeze before nodding. “Yeah, nearly slept in.” He chuckled. “First time in years I’ve been able to say that. Hah.”

She giggled. “Come on! A few ponies are here already, but you aren’t late.” The mare said, turning to head up the stairs. Riot noticed she was wearing a tiny red and green thong tucked under her sweater. The thong was stretched taut around her wide flanks and housed a little white fluff ball.

Teeth bit against his inner cheeks as his eyes stared for a moment, but he managed to avert his gaze in time to look her in the eyes as she looked back at him. Riot smirked, nodding slightly. “I haven’t missed anything important eh?”

“Not quite yet....” She said, giving her rear a little wiggle. She knew he had looked, and was probably looking now, what stallion could resist that view? The mare acted as if she didn’t realize his gaze, sweeping her flank from side to side as she went up the stairs, her cheeks jiggling slightly around the thin fabric.

Riot nodded, following her up to her home. He could hear the music playing and conversations, but he couldn’t tell who was talking or what was playing.

She opened up the door to reveal what looked like all of ponyville in the midst of semi-drunken revelry; either chatting, eating, or dancing.

Riot stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the thick crowd of ponies. “How in Tartarus did you fit this many ponies into your house!?”

“Well.....You could say I’m good with getting big things in small places.....” The mare said, flicking her tail once or twice.

He rolled his eyes, trying to keep his mind on the amount of alcohol he was going to down to make it through the night. “No shit.” He looked around for somepony he could talk to, but the only thing he could make out in the crowd was Vinyls ass. He huffed in defeat, following her to what looked like the remains of the prefab bar.

The mare giggled, stopping in place so the large stallion’s face ended up between her cheeks. She put on a look of mock disgust, looking back at him. “What do you think you’re doing, you disgusting stallion?! Putting your face in my asscheeks, you dirty colt!”

Riot was too focused on the little white ball that had gotten stuck to his nose when Vinyl had pulled her maneuver. He was practically cross eyed as he tried to snort it off. He gave his head a shake, then nickered as the ball stayed put. “I think your butt ball’s stuck...”

The mare snorted, looking back at him. “What, no reaction to having your face in the best ass in equestria?!” She asked, giving it another wiggle, right in front of his eyes.

He shivered involuntarily. “Sorry, brain full of butt fluff.” He snorted again, but to no avail. Vinyl laughed, before pulling the ball off his muzzle. She wrapped her forehooves around his shoulders, and started swaying with the music. “Are we dancing? Fuck I haven’t danced since...Years.” Riot nodded quickly. “Years.”

“I guess you could call it that...”She giggled, curling her hooves around his neck as she drew herself in closer.

Riot suddenly clued in at what she was doing, and he felt like a very, very stupid pony. You’re being seduced you git!

That such a bad thing?

Need alcohol. Now.

Riot smiled weakly, separating himself from her as gently as possible. “I’m gonna grab a drink, alright?” Vinyl whined, letting her flank fall to the floor as she looked back to the retreating stallion. She frowned, and sat behind the bar, propping up her head with a hoof.

Knowing that the good stuff would be all gone from the topside bar, Riot was headed towards the downstairs bar. As he trotted, someone knocked on the front door. Riot sighed, and made his way towards it. He finally reached the door after some skillful ducking and weaving through the crowd. Riot popped open the door, sticking his head outside. “He-”

“Hey buddy!” His shoulder was slapped by a small pony, who was jittering off his hooves. “Heard the sick party, just wanted to head inside!” The pony grinned like a madstallion; a dangerous one at that.

Come on Ash, we finally went to a party after seven years, don’t let this shithead ruin it!

Riot frowned. “Invitation?”

The stallion frowned back. “I don’t need no stinkin invitation pal!” He poked Riot in the chest as he spoke. “Don’t you know who I am!?”

Riot stood at his full height, looking down on the possibly drugged out stallion. “No, and I don’t want to know. Now piss off. If I see you trying to get in I’ll break your legs off and shove them up your ass.”

Mr. Druggy stallion scowled, cursing loudly at Riot. “Fuck you pal! Fuckin hearths warming parties are shit anyways!!” The tweaking pony spat at the ground around Riots hooves, then stormed off. Riot stood in the doorway, watching the pony disappear into the night.

Riot let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. After a moment, he closed the door and returned to his original plan.

Trotting downstairs, Riot ran face first into Berry. The stallion lost his hoof hold on the smooth stairs, and the pair went tumbling down to the bottom. Riot let out a wheezing moan as they came to a stop. Berry coughed as she sat up on the stallions stomach.

The pair stared at each other for a moment, before breaking into a laughing fit. Berry wiped her eye before smirking at Riot. “I could get used to the position.”

Riot snorted. “In your dreams Berry.”

“So you’re ‘getting drink’s’ huh?” The pair looked up to the top of the steps at Vinyl, who was positively livid.

Berry scrambled to her hooves, surprising Riot with her swiftness. “Vinyl! I was just down here grabbing more drinks, and I bumped into Riot on the stairs.”

“Whatever.” Vinyl snapped, before turning about and trotting away.

“Shit.” Berry rubbed her face. “She’s pissed….”

Riot cocked an eyebrow at her. “Yeah, what was that all about?”

The mare waved a hoof at him. “Sorry, I gotta get these drink up stairs.” At that, she scampered back upstairs, leaving Riot confused and winded. Getting to his hooves; Riots muzzle scrunched in thought.

Shiv popped up from behind the bar with a bottle of hard alcohol and smiled. Or at least, his mask contorted in such a way Riot could swear he was smiling more. “I know we ain’t big on Mule drinks, but Tequila never hurt anypony right?”

Riot sighed before shrugging. “Eh, fuck it. It ain’t a party till the mules show up.” Shiv gave a little ‘hoorah’ and poured a pair of shots for the both of them.

The masked stallion lifted his shot glass and spoke. “To schizophrenia, spousal abandonment, and poor life choices!” Riot laughed, and downed his shot glass.

“Which are you Shiv?” Riot asked, before sucking back the second.

“It ain’t schizophrenia, you’re too dull to imagine me.” Riot smirked, taking the bottle in his telekinesis. The four shots of tequila sat comfortably in his stomach. Shiv looked about at the empty club. “Why don’t you go ask fat ass if you can open up the club, its tighter than Luna’s plothole up there.”

“Well, let’s take this party upstairs then, I’ve spent way too much time drinking in the dark with you.” Riot said, before trotting towards the stairs, barely a stumble in his his step. Popping up through the door, Riot strode into the pony filled room. Kepler was trotting about with a tray full of food. Riot held up a hoof, getting her attention.

Kepler weaved her way towards her older sibling, a smile on her muzzle until she saw the bottle of tequila. “Ash? Are you-”

“Drinking tequila? Yeah, it sucks but it’ll do.” Riot smirked, before gesturing towards the club door. “We should get everyone to move downstairs to get some more room. For activities.”

Kepler gave him a look of uncertainty, before nodding. “Alright Ash, I’ll get everyone moving downstairs.”

The taller pony shook his head. “Nah, I got this.” He turned away from his sister and yelled. “HEY! GO DOWNSTAIRS!”

To Keplers amazement, the crowd did as he ordered, moving down to the club in short order. Nearly every pony that had shown up went down to the club, leaving just Riot, Berry, and Wild in the apartment. Riot looked about, amazed at the near instant transition. “Damn, just think of the activities...”

Wild stuck his head in from the kitchen. “Where did everyone go? Did Riot tell a joke or something?”

The stallion snorted at the jab, then shook his head. “Nah, figured it work better if all the ponies were downstairs in the club. Make it easier to operate and all that jazz.” He glanced over Wilds shoulder. “Kepler’s eating all of your pie.”

Wild turned around, and cried out, galloping back into the kitchen. Kepler was pushed out, her rear being swatted with a broom. “Out out out! I won’t have you eating all the pie before it gets to the guests! I’m supposed to be the one who eats your pie, anyway.” He said, smirking with his last sentence.

The mare smiled, swatting him with her tail. “If I can’t have your pie, you can’t have mine.” She stuck her nose in the air and trotted towards the basement door. She smirked at Riot, eyes filled with satisfaction.

Wild let out a breath, and huffed. “Fine then, be that way. Somepony isn’t getting any of her special ‘horn massages’.” He said, crossing his hooves.

Riots muzzle contorted in stifled anger, and he took a pull off the bottle in his magic. Wilds head popped up at the sight of the bottle. “Is Riot drinking?” His eyes went wide. “Is he drinking tequila!?”

Kepler cocked an eyebrow as she nuzzled against the red stallion. “Yeah? What of it?”

Wildman waved his hooves at her erratically. “Tequila Riot’s a lunatic!” At the mention of his name and a neurotic disorder, Riot threw a pile of empty paper plates at the stallion.

“Either I drink this and enjoy myself sergeant, or I pull your nuts out through your throat for making quips about what you do to my baby sisters nether regions.” Riot snarled at the red stallion, who shrunk immediately.

“Y-yessir!” Wild did a sloppy little salute, before scampering back into the kitchen. After giving Riot a displeased look, Kepler followed her significant other.

Riot smiled to himself, before taking another drink.

He felt better already.

As Berry followed the group downstairs, Riot found himself alone again. Shiv trotted out from behind Riot and whistled. “Man, you’ve turned driving ponies away into an art form.”

“Shut up Shiv.”

“Oh-ho, tequila-tough stallion over here, watch out everypony!”

Riot snorted, and went to shoot a slur back at the unicorn as Vinyl trotted into the main room. “Riot, are you talking to yourself?”

The stallions head snapped back, locking onto her. “Oh, uhh, no! I was just thinking out loud about how this drink is made in a little villa just outside Lendisa.” He smiled broadly at the mare, who glared at him heatedly.

Vinyl stared him down for a moment, and soon found her glare matched by the stallion. “Whatever. If you need anything I’ll be trying to salvage my night.” The mare turned away from him, and started down into the club.

Shiv chuckled. “Hoo, she’s pissed with you boyo!” Riot deemed a reply beneath him, instead taking another drink from the bottle. The other stallion frowned for a moment. “I’m all for binge drinking, but don’t over do it alright? I don’t want a Detrot repeat.”

Riot snarled at the mentioning. “I won that fight didn’t I? So you can fuck off!”

“That was just at the bar! I’m talking about what happened with those military police officers and the police wagon that ‘magically’ caught on fire! And that was all after you pulled that one bookie apart for Kepler.”

“You told me to do it!”

Shiv smiled, holding his hooves up. “I’m a sucker for a good bloody fight. What can I say? You were always so willing to oblige me.”

Music started downstairs, drawing Riots attention away from Shiv. “I suppose I should go join them.” He waited a moment, but no answer came. “Shiv?” Riot turned his head, but couldn’t spot the other stallion. “Hmm.” As he started towards the door, Vinyl came up through it, stopping Riot for a moment. Riot smiled at her. “Hey Vinyl, how’s-”

“Riot, shut up.” The mare started towards the kitchen, but Riot moved to block her.

“Woah, hey hold up.” Riot held a hoof up in front of her. Vinyl stopped for a moment, giving him a fiercely hateful look. “Vinyl what bug crawled up your ass? You’re acting like-”

“Like a grey ashole whose done nothing but cause me pain ever since he showed up in my life?” She snarled at him. The venom in her words cut deeply, even through the alcoholic haze.

Riot blinked, pulling back ever so slightly in his stance. “What?”

Vinyl snorted. “You heard me! I’ve done a lot of thinking, and I realised something about you.” She steadied her breathing before continuing. “I should have never hired you. You’re a mess! You’ve got more problems than this place has leaks! You’re dangerous, and every time I think that there’s a good pony beneath all that soldier, you go and break my heart!” Vinyl steadied herself. “You’re a parasite.”

Riot stood there for a moment, his features locked in place. Kepler and Wild watched from the kitchen, listening in silence. The white mare let out a breath. “I’m going back down for a few to check on everypony. When I come back up, I don’t want to see you here.” Riot didn’t dare voice an answer, instead only giving a short nod that almost looked like a mane flick. The mare turned away, leaving Riot to his thoughts. Kepler and Wild stepped out, the pair stealing a look at the frozen stallion; after a moment, they too followed after Vinyl.

S̴̤o҉͉u̴͓̭͎̻n̲̮̟̭̜̼d͉̣͔͟s̥̰͠ ̞̤͈̀l̜̰̪͇͝i͙̦ḵ͓͉̪̲e̯ ͇̮͠M̺̖o͏͖t̠͈͚h̫̼̪̯̀ͅe҉̲̜r̪.

Riot twitched at the thought, his fur standing up on edge. He took a long chug from the bottle still in his magic.

“You’re a fucking parasite, just like your father.” He mimicked the thought in a gravelly tone, his lips narrowing to a sneer. “Completely useless, send ‘em to the front!” He stomped the floor roughly, just to feel the tingling sensation. “Shoulda fuckin-”

A rapid knock from the door drew his ire. The stallion treaded towards the door, fulling intending to keep going, despite whoever was at the door. Riot stopped at the door before opening it. Shaking his head in an attempt to rid himself of his dark thoughts, Riot opened the door. His thought process came to a grinding halt when that somepony at the door slapped the side of his head with a wood bat.

Riot stumbled back, his eyes going wide as his thoughts were scrambled like eggs. A trio of stallion trotted in, wearing balaclavas. The lead one, with the baseball bat spoke, and he immediately recognized the voice of the shady stallion from before.

“This is the fucker I told you boys about.”

“Let’s give him a lesson.”

The music downstairs changed as the first pony charged.

Time slowed to a crawl; Riot could feel Shivs hooves on the side of his head. “G͔i͔͎͙̞̳͇̳͢v̪̹͍̬̦͡e̢̯̯͙ ̤̟͍ṃ̤͕̜̖̞e͏̼͚͍͔̩̠̤ ̡̭̗̰̪̲c̖͙̱͇͍o͈̥̘̻̯̬̙n̥̠̮̥̙̬̞t̮̪̗r̬͙̱͍ò̳͎̖l̺̻͉.”

Riot shuddered, ducking his head just in time to avoid a heavy swing. “NO!” He snarled loudly, his horn blazing brightly. A kinetic blast ripped away from it, blowing one of the stallions off his hooves. The pony who had charged him bucked, catching the soldier in the side. Riot let out a displeased howl, before turning on the other pony. Ducking his head, Riot threw a hard left hook, catching the stallion square in the jaw.

A baseball bat slammed into his flank, eliciting another howl. Riot’s knife came out in an instant, slashing across one of his assailants cheeks. The razor sharp SOG blade passed through the ponies cheek, and cut off a bit of his tongue. Said pony screamed in pain, his hooves going to his face as he tried in vain to staunch the bleeding.

The lead stallion swung at Riot again with the bat, but the hunk of wood was parried by Riots blade and magic. “You piece of shit! I’ll bash your skull in!” The stallion swore at Riot again, taking another hard swing for the unicorns head. Riot weaved out from under the swing, allowing a lamp to take his place. He couldn’t dodge the strong buck from one of the others, which caught him across the jaw.

Riot barred his bloody teeth at the other pony, but his eyes locked onto the other one who had pulled a switchblade from his hoodie. Riot smiled as he set himself into a low stance. The switchblade wielder charged. Catching the ponies knife in his magic, Riot shifted his weight, allowing the pony to run into him. Introducing the ponies leg joint to his hoof was easy, and the pony sagged with a cry. Taking advantage of the moment, Riot wrenched the blade from the pony, and plunged it into the stallions underbelly past the blades hilt. With a heave and kinetic kick, the pony went flying against the wall, taking a hunk of drywall down. The stallion landed on a small table, crushing the thing under his weight

The lead stallion balked, holding his bat as a shield. “Who the fuck are you!?”

“Riot.” He snarled, taking an aggressive step towards the bat wielder. The pony screamed, taking a wild swing. Riot caught the bat with his magic, and ripped it from the other ponies grip. Bringing the bat around, he caught the other pony; the one he had slashed earlier; across the mouth, sending teeth and blood across the living room. Riot dropped the bat, and started towards the final stallion.

The pony roared, charging Riot.

Downstairs, Vinyl swirled her drink, staring sadly into it. Berry tried to give her an apologetic smile, but failed. “I know you’re angry Vinyl, but he didn’t deserve that.”

Vinyl sighed, before shrugging. “It’s been said now. No going back.” A heavy thud sounded out from upstairs, causing a bit of dust to fall from the ceiling. Vinyl swore loudly, standing up. “That bastards destroying my house!” She charged towards the stairs, fully intent on showing that big stupid asshole what anger was.

As she slammed the door open, all the anger in her system was replaced by horror. Her home had been ruined, but her eyes were locked on the pair of ponies in the center of her home.

Riot sat on top of another pony, his hooves pistoning up and down onto the ponies head. Tiny dollops of blood flew every which way with each blow. The other pony wasn’t going anywhere, not with the knife in his foreleg pinning him to the floor. Riot smiled broadly, showing way too many teeth for somepony sane. Sickening crunches and an odd noise accompanied every blow, filling the house and Vinyl ears.

Riot was laughing. Every time his hoof came down, it was accompanied by a barely audible “HAH. HAH. HAH. HAH. HAH!”

Berry must have followed her up, because a mareish scream sounded out from behind her. “SOMEPONY CALL THE POLICE!!”

The scream broke Vinyl out of her mental slump. Taking a tentative step forward; Vinyl tried to swallow the lump in her throat. “R-Riot… What did you do?”

The stallion looked up at her, then back down at his handiwork. A small smile broke out on his drunk muzzle. “Dealing with a home invasion.” He pulled a four inch sliver of exploded baseball bat from his shoulder and tossed it to the side.

Vinyl shook her head, still in shock. “I… Faust…. Riot, I don’t know what to say-”

“How ‘bout thank you?” Riot cocked his head, a dangerous sneer spreading across his muzzle. “I mean, who would have stopped them? The one winged coward who left his commander for dead? The mare who threw away a large portion of her life with a needle hanging out of her leg? I don’t fucking think so! It was a PARASITE.” He ran his tongue over his bloody teeth, his eyes locked onto the mare.

By now, Vinyl had been joined by Wild and Kepler, who stood behind her, leary of the imposing scene in front of them. Kepler took a step forward. As she started to speak, Riot pulled his knife free from the pony and floor boards; wiping it clean on the other ponies fur. “Ash, put the knife down and think about what you’re doing, think-”

Riot snorted loudly, not even looking at the mare. “Don’t you fucking preach to me about thought! I risked my career to pull your ass out of the frying pan! You fucking begged me! And you know what was stupid? I fucking listened! I went AWOL to help your strung out ass, and you promptly stole everything from me! And then you went to FUCKING MA.” He snarled at her.

Kepler pulled back, her eyes growing wet from the venom in his voice. “Ash… I’m not like that anymore… I said I was sorry! I didn’t-” She sniffed, no longer able to look at him. Her eyes went to Wild, who looked between her and her older brother with a mixed looked of confusion, anger, and betrayal.

“You didn’t fucking think. You’re a fuckin junkie!” Riot stood, despite his hind leg protesting in pain.

“Cap, you need to calm down man, the cops are gonna get here, and they’re gonna see all this, and the knife, and-”

A still bloody knife whizzed through the air, embedding itself in the drywall near Wild. “Shut up you gorram coward!” Riot spat a glob of blood onto the floor. “I almost got my head cut off cause you wanted to be a hero. And you left me behind! YOU LEFT ME FOR DEAD!” Riot fumed, all his emotions and past aggressions coming to a head. He took a step forward, and everypony in front of him took an involuntary step back. He was a battered and blood spattered madstallion who had bloodshot eyes and bits of wood poking out from his left side, why wouldn’t they take one step back?

“POLICE! GET ON THE FLOOR!”

Riot whirled around, coming face to face with the squad of officers who had stormed the home. His bloodshot eyes narrowed, and he took a combative stance. Unfortunately for Riot, The officers had drawn tasers.

A trio of taser lines streaked out, striking Riot in the chest and neck. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably; Riots body shuddered as he took another unsteady step forward, his teeth grit in a predatory snarl.

Another pair of lines streaked out, and the world went black for the large unicorn. He wasn’t conscious for the baton beating.

Comments

[Lord Legion]

I actually like where this is going. Redheart seems like a great mare for Riot.

[GodOFInsaNity666]

FINALLY BROKE