> Pony of Death
>  by Masked_Frenchman
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Time of Cleansing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter One: The Time of Cleansing

In these times, corruption spreads far and wide. Very few remember when everything was exactly as it seemed. No one is pure anymore, even town guards were under the payroll of crime lords. When the corruption started to show it’s horrid face, He started showing up. There is a legend that has it, a pony that travels around the world, slaying the evil in the corrupted ponies, griffins, and changelings. He wore a raggedy black cloak, old and torn. No one knows his true name, only by what the crime lords call him. ‘The Angel of Death’, ‘The Grim Reaper’, ‘The Wondering Paladin’. He had many names that each pony from common thug to notorious Crime boss had a shiver run up and down their spin when heard. Some call him a monster, others call him a savior. Many want him dead, others wish to help him. When he shows up to town, some pony is always found dead. For now, we shall call him Grim.

Grim Looked down at the small town of Ponyville as his face was hidden in shadow from his cloak, a gentle breeze flowing down the hill towards town. “Sixteen years I have been searching around the world, cleansing the fires of corruption. Sixteen years I walked among the earth, killing of this global infection. Now, I have finally found the last stage of my journey. I have come a long way to kill off the final group of evil, but it is now the greatest challenge that stands before me. If I can complete this final task, then I may finally know peace,” he said mysteriously to himself. He slowly made his way to town as he flinched before making it halfway down the hill, his nose twitching.

“This city rekes with filth and decay. It will take quite a while to cleanse this city,” he said to himself annoyed. He took a deep breath and continued on. Once entering the town gates, he took a good look around. Most of the ponies that walked around wore old, torn up rages with a small group of town guards patrolling the streets. the houses were in shambles, stales and some stores staying up by only duct  tape and what appears to be glue. Within in the few minutes Grim spent standing there, he witnessed a small foal clip a coin pouch from a passing colt and ran off. With a hatred sigh, he pressed forward. A few minutes after a small and young filly slowly walked up to him, holding out her two front hooves. She was clearly homeless with dirt all throughout her mane and all over her face. 

“Excuse me sir, do you have a spare bit?” she asked innocently. Grim stared down at her, his face hidden in shadow from his cloak that draped over and around his face to conceal it. She started to take a step back, her eyes filling in tears. Grim reached down and patted the young fillies head, placing a pair of bits in her hooves. Her eyes lit up with joy and excitement as she looked at the pair of shining gold coins that laid in her hooves. She turned back up with a shining smile that would make Celestia’s sun proud. 

“Make sure you get some food in you young one,” Grim instructed kindly. The filly nodded happily.

“Oh, thank you thank you thank you good sir!” she exclaimed in pure joy. She ran down towards an alley, carrying the newly obtained bits in her mouth. Grim grew curious and decided to follow her. When he peeked down the alley, he saw the same filly trot up to a small wooden box. She tapped it open and an even younger foal poked his head out. He seemed very ill but when he saw what the young filly held into her mouth, it looked as if he used every ounce of energy and strength to force a large smile to spread on his face.

“I should have given a bit more, but it is good to see that there is still some good in this city,” Grim whispered to himself as he started to move away when he heard a voice from that ally.

“Hey there kiddos. Whatcha got there?” the voice asked coldly. His voice was rough and raspy. ‘I do not like the sounds of that. I assume this would be my first step towards rebuilding this small town to it’s former glory,’ Grim thought to himself. He took a deep breath and turned the corner, heading down the alleyway. Two earth ponies cornered the two young ponies, the fillie held onto her two bits with a death grip in her mouth. 

“Come on now, you don’t want to get hurt over two little pieces of metal, now do ya?” the other earth pony asked, a twisted smile formed on his face. He was a good bit bigger and taller than the other earth pony he was with. The young ponies’ backs were right up on the wall at this point. 

“These little pieces of metal will feed us for three days!” The little filly barked back, taking a stance to defend the smaller pony cowering behind her. 

“HEY!” Grim shouted out. The two earth ponies turned to him with annoyance.

“Look pal, this is no time to play hero, you’ll just end up getting cut, just keep walking,” the raspy one spoke, turning his gaze back at the two young ponies. Grim walked up to him, making sure his hoof steps could be heard by the two intruders. “Boras, kock his blocks off! Show him what happens to heros in this town!” he ordered his bigger companion. 

“I got it!” Boras exclaimed. He walked up to Grim and cracked his arms and neck. “You’re cruising for a bruising here, bucko,” he said towards Grim threateningly. He pulled his hoof back and charged at him for a swing at Grim. He smiled as he charged at Boras as well. Right before they made contact with each other, there was a flash of glowing red light both from Grim’s eyes and his right sleeve. The sound of a cold blade cutting through flesh was heard and a light thud on the ground. Boras froze as he slowly looked down at his hoof. It was completely severed clean and blood squirted out where his hoof used to be. He let out a blood curdling scream as he clutched his bleeding arm. 

“What the hell?!” the other pony asked alarmed. He turned around and saw his comrade gripping his severed arm, his hoof a few inches behind him, a small pool of blood forming under his friend, and lastly, Grim. He had a black blade extended out of his sleeve of his right arm. The blade was as thick as his arm and curved. It had a waved pattern of blood red designed into the blade itself with a small streak of blood on the blade itself. 

“You both have been judged, and found guilty!” Grim announced with a sudden deathly chill in his voice. The last earth pony took a step back cautiously but stood his ground, grinning. 

“You can’t scare me so easily!” he declared as he pulled out a hidden blade in his sleeve as well, well over ten times smaller than Grim’s. 

“Are you sure that is a wise idea?” Grim asked puzzled. The last earth pony charged with everything he’s got, aiming his knife right at Grim’s heart.

“Lack of size is made up for speed and agi-” he started. Grim took a step towards him and swung his blade down, breaking the blade in half. Before he could react, he swung back up, slicing his arm off from the shoulder and came back down to cut through his chest. Blood splattered all over the walls of the alley, the two ponies staring, watching and petrified with fear. Grim turned around so that he was facing both of the bleeding and screaming earth pony robbers.

“Your crimes are that of assault, burglary, theft, sales of narcotics, and bribery. You are corrupted, your sentence is death!” Grim declared. He raised his blade and striked down upon the first one closest to him who was near death. A small portion of blood spilled out upon impact as the final signs of life slowly left the earth ponies eyes. Boras slowly got up and turned to make a run for it. Grim turned over to him quickly and dashed over to him in three quick steps. He aimed low and cut off the legs. Boras fell onto his back, the air flushed out of his lungs upon falling on the hard ground, he was unable to scream, unable to move. He just laid there, slowly bleeding out as the ground absorbed the blood into the ground. Grim raised his blade once again and stuck it into Boras’ chest. The blade easily pierced through the flesh and ribcage and penetrated that heart with ease. His eyes showed pain as they slowly became extinguished with life. 

“The blood of the innocent flows out of you and has been returned into the earth. What lives you have ruined shall be repaired. Rest now, for your life of sin is over. Rest in peace and may the gods have mercy upon your soul as you ascend to the great beyond,” Grim chanted in a peaceful tone. He closed his eyes and went to the other and did the same. He rose back up on all four hooves and raised his blade back into his sleeve. He glance back behind him to check on the young ponies. “Are you ok young ones?” he asked kindly and softly. The filly glared at him, going back into a defensive position in front of the young foal but he rushed past her and slowly ran up to Grim, hugging one of his legs.

“Thank you so much mister, you saved us from the monsters!” he called up. Grim smiled down at him and patted his head. He reached down into his pouch and pulled out two more bits, handing them to the young foal. 

“Get well soon, young one,” Grim said kindly as he started to walk off. The young foal let go of Grim and held onto the two shining bits he held in his hooves. Grim walked out of the alley with a cheerful smile on his face that only lasted for a brief moment as he looked onto the city. “This city has become so dark with evil. The shadow of corruption shrouds this city and snuffs out any flame of innocence that ever sparks to life. I will not leave here till my work is done!” Grim exclaimed. With a determined look, he walked out into the middle of town, staring up onto the castle of Canterlot. “I’ll get you all you, you just wait!”

> Seven Deadly Ponies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2: Seven Deadly Ponies

As the sun began to set over the smoke covered skies of Canterlot, a group of ponies walked down the halls of of the castle of Canterlot. “Yo Cords, got the time?” the youngest of the group asked the bigger one next to him. He grunted annoyed as he pulled out a pure gold pocket watch out of his coat pocket.

“It’s 7:43 at night, four minutes later when you last asked. So if you ask again, I am gonna shove this watch up your flank. So shut the hell up already!” the big stallion, Cords, replied aggressively. the younger one snickered to himself.

“I get it, take a joke already, don’t be such an prick, geez,” he teased playfully as they made their way down the hallways. After a short walk later, they all made their way to a set of double doors to the left. A pair of guards stood by the doors, looking over as they approached. 

“Gentlecolts. The Boss is already inside,” one of the guards announced. The two palace guards opened the doors for them. The big one of the group bowed while the younger one snickered. Them and four others walked in all wearing mafia suites and took their seats around a large, circular table. One of them sat down, a unicorn with glasses, fixing his glasses with a blank stare on his face.

“Alright, house call. Train Rail?” The unicorn called out. He wore a blue mafia type suit with black strips. He had a very well groomed mane that was dark orange, slicked back behind his ears and a cutie mark of a clipboard and a quill. An earth pony wearing a black suit with green stripes raised his hoof, smiling to himself. 

“Yea yea, Train Rail is here and present, sadly,” he announced as he sat back in his chair keeping his eyes closed the whole time, yawning. He had a crimson red train track for a cutie mark. The original pony had a clipboard out and made a little mark next to his name. 

“Alright, next is, Lust Dust,” the clipboard pony asked out. The youngest pony shook his head with a cocky smile and looked up at the pony with the clipboard. He had a rose red mane with crimson highlights through it. His fur was light blue with crimson red eyes, wearing a red heart with the bottom half crumbling into dust. 

“Yea yea. I’m here, so don’t get your panties in a knot,” the young earth pony joked around, wearing a mafia suit like the rest. Only he kept his sleeves up and his collar propped up. The pony in glasses glares up at him from the clipboard and looks back down, giving it a check mark. 

“Alright, Hammer Hoof?” he called out. A pegasus next to him had his eye twitching, holding back his anger, and failing. He slammed his hoof onto the table, cracking it where it laid impact. 

“Enough of these stupid road calls! I am sick and tired of doing this every single time! You know who is here just by looking at them! I will shove my hoof so far up your flank, that every time you want to have a thought, it is gonna have to tip-toe past my hoof ring, got it?!” the enraged pegasus screamed out, grabbing a hold of the other pony by his collar, pulling him out of his seat. The unicorn held an emotionless stare back up at him as he slowly pried his hooves away from him and setting him back down, then returning to his own seat while Hammer stared him down with much rage. 

“I suppose we could skip it this one time. Please learn to control that rage of yours, please. Now I suppose you all understand why we are here?” the pony with glasses asked calmly, again not showing emotions as he spoke. All of the ponies in the room nodded their heads. One overweight pegasus with a cowboy outfit and a stetson cuckled a bit. 

“Yea, ya’ll are here because Lust Dust is scared all because some pony whacked two of his pathetic thugs” he exclaimed, chuckling as he did, snacking on an apple. Lust Dust turned to him with a stern stare. 

“They were good. They did what I told them and never complained, and now their are dead. Some pony butchered them and impaled them through the chest. This is series! So stop stuffing your face and focus already!” he cried out in anger. The pony across from him stared at the apple, licking his lips. He had a short tealish mane and grey eyes, with a matching suit. 

“Hey Table Top, can I have an apple?” he asked quietly. The cowboy turned to him with a smirk.

“Hell no, Grey Hound, these red beauties are mine!” he declared selfishly as he continued to eat the apple, savoring every bite. A unicorn next to him smiled as he leaned back in his chair and bit into a red apple as well.

“Yea Grey Hound, just take it, like me!” he exclaimed, chuckling to himself. Table Top turned around, seeing the apple and grabbed onto the unicorns collar.

“You son of a bitch! You stole one of my apples!” he exclaimed aggressively. 

“ENOUGH!” shouted a pony in the head of the table, his figure shrouded in darkness. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to him. “You all are so pathetic, squabbling on and on about your own dame problems! We have more important things to deal with!” They all got back into their seats and focused on him. Table Top turned to the Unicorn and glared at him.

“I’ll get you back, Sneak Thief. Just you wait!” he whispered. The unicorn just chuckled at him as he continued to eat the apple. The pony at the head of the table cleared his throat and turned his attention to everyone at the table.

“Now, as I was saying. This pony killed two of our employees. Although that is no real problem, but if we let this pony think they can kill off our little thugs, this might increase in proportion and trouble us later. We need to deal with this problem before it gets worse. The obvious thing we need to do is to place a bounty onto this particular pony” he explained with a stern voice. the other six at the table nodded their head in agreement.

“Yea, these were my colts that got killed, so I am willing to use most of the bounty money from my own personal wallet” Lust Dust said with a confident smile. 

“Good, less money I have to use from my own pocket” Sneak Thief replied calmly. Train Rail sighed bored.

“As long as we don’t have to really do anything, then it doesn’t matter, can we call this done already? I wanna get out of here” Hammer Hoof was about to punch him in the face when the door opened, all of them grabbed a hold of their weapons from their sides besides Train Rail. A pair of mares in a sexy maid outfits came in with trays of tea cups, giving each of them a cup, steam lightly raising from the cups. Lust Dust looked at them smiling seductively, removing his hoof from his side arm, rubbing his hooves together in excitement.

“Come to papa, ladies!” Lust Dust called over, giving them a cat call. They smiled over at him and one of them walked towards him, handing out tea to everyone. Lust Dust gave a rough smack on the one stopping at him, smacking her flank with a wink, she giggled and winked back. He stared at her, glanced down and back up at her, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Table Top saw his cup and looked back up.

“Where are the finger sandwiches?! I was told there would be finger sandwiches!” The maid nodded and headed out the door in a well mannered rush. He sighed in annoyance. “Geeze Lust Dust, your maids can’t do anything right!” Lust Dust chuckled as his face tensed up.

“Naw. . .they are pretty good. . . at what I. . . taught them” he chuckled again and and held a straight face. They all looked at him odd but shrugged their shoulders and continued on. 

“Anyway, I kinda agree with Lust Dust. If this pony causes enough trouble, it could affect my business as well, so how much of a bounty should we put up?” Sneak Thief asked the group.

“Well this is a small matter, so much isn’t needed. How about six hundred?” asked Grey Hound quietly. Everyone took a moment to think about it.

“More” Lust Dust whispered with his eyes closed.

“Agreed! Ya’ll shouldn’t take this pony so lightly in the manner these thugs were killed. Six hundred wouldn’t bring anypony good enough for this job here. Ah think eight hundred should do the trick” explained Table Top, looking around the room confused.

“More!” Lust Dust whispered again. Everyone looked back at him slightly confused and then back around.

“Well, I guess we could raise it a bit more. Nine hundred should do the trick. Just to make sure the job is done, no need to make any mistakes right?” Grey Hound asked quietly. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement once more. Table Top looked around the room once more and then back at the group. 

“Wasn’t there two maids that brought tea over? If one left, where did the other go?” he whispered to himself. 

“Almost there” Lust Dust grunted. Cords looked at him shocked. 

“Wow, you really do not want to screw around with this!”

“Yea, I am a bit surprised with this myself. Lust Dust normally does not take an interest in these affairs so much, and you can see the focus in his face! It is kinda supernatural really” Train Rail commented. 

“So what price will satisfy you then? What are you looking to put a thousand bit bounty on this worthless, piece of shit pony that sacked your colts like they were nothing?!” Hammer Hoof asked angered. Lust Dust tensed up and his eyes shot open wide.

“YEEESSSS!!!”he screamed as he slammed his his hoof onto the table, shaking it with a loud BANG, almost toppling over everyone’s tea. Everyone was breath taken as they witnessed his reaction. The room was quiet except for his panting. the pony with glasses and the clipboard was the only one on affected by his outburst as he was taken notes, but glanced up over at him with a raised eyebrow. The pony at the head of the table chuckled.

“Very well then Lust dust, you will be paying 60% of the bounty’s payoff for his head then, we will pay off the rest. Pretty ballsy of you to put such a high price on a no pony” he explained as he glanced over at the pony with the clipboard. “Four Eyes, do we have anything on the pony in question?”

“No, all we have are what he looks like. The suspect was described as a young male with a dark grey, tattered cloak. His face was hooded so no pony got a look at his face. He appears to be hiding something in his sleeves but no pony got a look at what it could be. He sounds homeless, of little to no worth, no name, and recently arrived here yesterday at 6:47 pm. That is all we have on him at the moment sir” the pony with glasses explained in detail. The leader nodded at him and turned back to the others. Lust Dust sat back in his chair with a pleasant smile on his face. Grey Hound looked at him confused.

“What are you smiling about Lust Dust?” Right before he said anything, the other maid came up from under the table, wiping her lips off and rushed out of the room. Lust Dust looked back at Grey Hound with a smirk on his face.

“Cause I got it made, buddy”he replied, chuckling to himself. Hammer Hoof glared cruelly over at him and finished off his tea.

“Another cup!”he called out. At that moment the first made returned and gave Table Top a small helping of finger sandwiches and a tea kettle. Table Top licked his lips and dug into his food. While he did that the maid poured Hammer Hoof with more tea and left the room. 

“So now that we agreed on this stuff, can I go now? I wanna take a nap” Train Rail said lazily, stretching himself out in his seat. 

“Yea yea, we get it, you lazy piece of shit, why don’t you drag your lazy ass into hell already!” Hammer Hoof yelled over, glaring over at him. 

“Well it seems like some pony has gotten their panties in a bunch today. Is it that time of the month for ya, buddy?” Lust Dust teased, chuckling to himself. Hammer Hoof then glared at him, jumping over the table, pulling out a knife to stab him. Lust Dust smiled as Cords jumped in the way and grabbed Hammer Hoof in mid air, throwing him back across the table.

“I wouldn’t recommend that, Hammer” Cords warned, keeping a steady expression on his face. Hammer got back on all four hooves with a face of pure hatred. He threw away his knife and started pulling out his gun. Everyone saw this and started pulling out theirs as well.

“ENOUGH!” Called out the leader. Everyone stopped what they were doing and put their weapons away. “I am getting sick and tired of your constant, pathetic fighting. We are done here, get out of my sights you worthless bunch!” Everyone hesitated but they all got up from their seats and headed for the door.

“Well that was interesting, as always” Lust Dust called over. Cords sighed annoyed and continued to walk along side of him.

“Please stop bringing me to these places, I know I am your personal body guard, and I am supposed to go where ever you go, but these things get a little too annoying for me. Every pony there is so. . . . odd” Cords explained, looking back at the other with a careful stare.

“Hey, chillax man. With the bounty we placed, we’ll catch this bastard and then we will go back to our everyday lives, just like always. Then we will only have to see them once every few months to discuss money” Lust Dust reassured with a confident smile on his face. Cords looked back to Lust Dust who smiled up at him, giving him a friendly wink and a playful jab. “Come on man, let’s go back to the palace and catch us some nice tail! That’ll ease those tensions away from this stupid meet up” he offered playfully. Cords thought about that for a moment and smiled to himself.

“Well, it has been a few days since I got a little action. Oh fine, I’ll take up on your offer, as long as it’s on the house” Lust Dust chuckled at his demands and swung a hoof around Cords’ shoulder.

“For you man, it’s always on the house!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

“Please. . . we can work things out. I got money, we can work things out! “cried a pegasus crawling on the ground. His legs were severed as well as his wings with a bruise on his cheek. Grim stared down at him coldly through his hood. The pegasus crawled away from him, the stumps on his back dragging along the cold, hard ground. Tears rolling down his face. “I said I have money, how many bits do you want, huh? A hundred? Five hundred? Eight hundred? Name your price and I will give it too you, I’ll give you anything!” he continued to plead. Grim gave no reaction to his cries for mercy as he continued to step towards him. 

“You have been judged and found guilty!” he said coldly at the pegasus. His blade was out of his sleeve and drooped out, blood smeared over it and dripped to the ground. He continued to crawl away till his back was pressed against a hard surface wall, he glanced back quickly in fear and disbelief and turned his horrid stare back up at the approaching threat. Grim continued to follow the trail of blood that lead to his prey at the other side of the alley way. 

“Please, I’ll let you nail my wife too if you want, please! I’ll give you anything you want. I’ll do anything, ANYTHING!” He cried out, tears mixed in with his blood on his chest as he pleaded in vain, the ever glooming shadow of death grazing over his form, blocking off the sun from him. 

“Your crimes are that of theft, lust, assault, physical and verbal abuse, and murder. You are corrupted and your sentence is death!” Grim stated coldly. A light freezing breeze traveled through the alleyway and reached the bleeding pegasus. He stared up at Grim as he pulled his blade back and jabbed it directly into his chest. He grabbed a hold of Grim by his robes and gripped it tightly through the pain, his grip slowly loosening as his life slipped away from himself.

“The blood of the innocent flows out of you and has been returned into the earth. What lives you have ruined shall be repaired. Rest now, for your life of sin is over. Rest in peace and may the gods of mercy upon your soul as you ascend to the great beyond” Grim chanted as the life of the pegasus left his eyes, leaving a lifeless corpse where he once laid. Grim reached up with his empty hoof and closed the now deceased pegasus’ eyes, and laying him down onto the ground. He stood up and his curved blade shot back up into his sleeve. 

“So many corrupted ponies travel through this town, as if this city is the center of the evil in this world. I must put a stop to this as soon as I can, before the plague of damnation can spread out once again!” Grim declared intently. He looked behind him and noticed a grey pegasus staring back at him. She had a blond mane and golden eyes that held an expression of fear. Grim felt a voice in his head speak darkly into his mind. ‘Kill her! She has seen what you have done. Kill her now!’ it chanted in his head over and over. He readied his blade and rushed towards her. The pegasus stood there too stunned to move as Grim charged. He grabbed her and pulled her into the alley way. He brought out his blade and put it to her throat, ready to slice it open. 

“I-I-I promise I won’t t-tell anyone, I-I promise!” she cried softly, trying to keep her voice down. She knew if she tried to call for help it would just get her killed, and as if anyone would come to save her. Grim held his stance and closed his eyes, he released his magic and searched deep into the grey pegasus, searching through her soul. That is when he found something no other pony had in this entire city. . . . . . . . . innocence. Her soul was untouched by all of the evil in this city, she was pure. 

“You have been judged. . . . and found innocent” Grim released the grey mare and placed her back on the ground gently, drawing the blade back into his sleeve. “Just leave. You can speak of this or not, that is your choice. Just leave this place” he added as he turned his back towards her and started walking off. The grey pegasus looked down at the lifeless corpse and then back up at Grim who walked away.

“Why did you do it?” she asked timidly. Grim stopped walking but did not turn around.

“My reasoning is my own, I do not need to explain myself. If you think what I did is unjust, then do what you want. Cry about it, call the guard, fight me, hunt me down, kill me. I can not control you or tell you what to do”

“But I heard you saying the Prayer of the Reaper, why did you do that?” Grim silently gasped in shock and turned to face her.

“How do you know of that?” he asked surprised. 

“Well. . . . I’ve heard of that prayer once before. My mother was killed by my father and he took me away. A few months later you came in and killed him. You said everything that same way. After that I looked for you but I could never find you, no one doesn’t know you, but I looked up those words. That is a chant of some sort, like a prayer or something, right?” the grey mare asked innocently. Grim stared at her for a good long while, both not looking away,both refusing to move from their spots until finally Grim smiled at her.

“I am impressed. You have been looking for me then? Why, to avenge your father?”

“No, to thank you. My father use to hit me and my mom a lot. He was a bad pony. Although I didn’t want him to die, I think he is in a better place now”

“They are, I can promise you that”

“So then you are the Grim Reaper, right? The Angel of Death, the Dark Paladin?” Grim stared at her a little taken back and confused as he noticed excitement building up in her eyes.

“I have heard of those names for myself before. But I just go by Grim, thank you” he explained calmly. The grey mare smiled and took a couple careful steps towards him.

“My name is Dernaty, it is nice to meet you” she said showing a kind smile and bowed respectfully to him. Grim stared back confused.

“No need for such formalities. I need to go, night shall be upon us soon and I yet found a spot for the night so if you-” he started to say. Dernaty looked back up with a concern look on her face and flew over to her.

“Oh, you poor thing! You need a place to sleep!” Grim backed off a bit confused.

“Wait, what, oh no I am fine. I have always slept on the plagued streets of-”

“You have always slept on the streets?! Oh I can’t let this go on any further then! I know you are a good pony, I have heard all of your tales, I can’t let a pony like you sleep in the streets!”

“Look, I said I will be fine, can you please just not worry about me. I will-”

“I can’t just not worry about you, silly! I will give you a warm place to sleep, winter is almost here and I will not take no for an answer!” 

“Please understand that you are very kind but-”

“You are coming up with me whether you want to or not!” Dernaty took Grim’s hoof and started pulling him out of the alleyway. He put up a mild resistance but did not fight it. She started pulling him all around town back to her home. 

“This is all so very nice, but I have never spent the night at any pony’s home before, I normally never accept things from others”

“Well then this is a first time for the both of us!”

“What do you mean the both of us?”

“You will be the first pony that I brought home to my apartment! Since I live alone I don’t get to see many ponies” Grim blushed lightly and gulped down. 

“So you live alone?” Dernaty stopped in front of a large apartment complex and looked up at it quickly before looking back down at him. 

“Yup, I have for years, and here we are!” she exclaimed happily. Grim looked up and the building. It was old and worn down. Some of the windows were cracked and the fire escape for the upper floors was missing large chunks as if it just broke off. “I know it isn’t much, but it looks better on the inside, come on!” she exclaimed and pulled Grim inside. After climbing three flights of stairs she unlocked two locks on the door and opened it, Grim walked in and looked around. 

“Welcome home! Sorry that it isn’t all that pretty, but it’s home and it keeps me warm at night, that's all I can ask for!” Dernaty said cheerfully as she hung her scarf on a hat rack. Grim looked around the room. It was small, three rooms by the looks of it. A bathroom, a bedroom, and a small kitchen/living room. The place smelt of mildew and candles. A couch laid on the opposite side of the window with a small blanket laying on it. 

“It’s. . . well. . . not the worst I have seen before” Grim stated, trying to be polite but stood in the middle of the kitchen awkwardly. Dernaty saw him standing there and giggled.

“It’s ok I know it isn’t all that great. Come on in. This is your home too you know. If you want you can have my bed, I can sleep-”

“NO! I mean it is fine, I sleep on brick walls, a couch is going to feel like heaven to me, thank you” Grim tried to explained. Dernaty hesitated for a moment but smiled.

“OK! You must be starving, let me make you something warm to eat!” she exclaimed excitedly. She flew on over to the kitchen and started pulling out a few pots out and some ingredients from the fridge. Grim sighed and walked on over to the window.”You can take that off if you want, I mean make yourself comfortable”

“I’m fine, thank you. I wish to keep my robes on if you do not mine”

“Oh, OK, if that’s what you truly want!” she called back as she continued to make up something. Grim shook his head and continued to stare out the window. He saw Dernaty’s reflection in the window and blushed a little.

“This would be the first time I have ever gotten close to any pony, the first time I have felt kindness. It is. . . . . soothing. Almost relaxing even. I suppose I can stay here for a day or so. It could be a nice change of pace” Grim whispered to himself. Dernaty looked over from the kitchen with a confused look on her face.

“Did you say something Grim?” she asked slightly concerned. Grim looked back and chuckled nervously to himself.

“Sorry, I am not use to being around other ponies socially, so I was. . . well. . . talking to myself I suppose” he explained nervously. Dernaty giggled to herself and went back to cooking.

“You’re silly!” Grim sighed and shook his head, blushing even more. 

“What am I going to do now?”

> The Hunt Begins 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3: The Hunt Begins

The next morning, Grim felt the warmth of the suns rays on his face, beckoning him out of bed. A smile formed on his face for a brief moment as he stretched out his arms and legs out. As he did he felt something he never felt before. . . . . a blanket. He opened his eyes and looked down at his stomach, a worn out quilt laid on top of him on the couch. He strained his thoughts to try to remember when he had a blanket on him, but failed. He shrugged his shoulders and removed it from himself, getting up and rearranging his robe and cloak to hide behind it properly. He looked around the weary room and chuckled to himself. “That’s right, that pegasus brought me here yesterday. She was so nice, best I retreat from here before she awakens from her-”

“GOOD MORNING!!” shouted out a cheerful voice from the bedroom across from the living room. The sudden shout startled him and made him jump. Wings sprouted from his sides and took off upward, slamming onto the ceiling, leaving a small creak and then landing back down. The grey mare rushed in to see Grim laying on the ground, shaking the dust off. “Opps, sorry about that Grim. I didn’t mean to scare you” she explained innocently. She looked down at the floor embarrassed as Grim got back up, dusting himself off. 

“It is fine. You startled me is all. I am not use to socializing with ponies, so this will take some time getting use to” He chuckled a bit before turning away.

“I didn’t know you were a pegasus, I haven’t seen you use your wings” 

“I don’t tend to use them very often, no reason to. Walking is healthier” Grim explained blankly. Dernaty looked down at the plate of spaghetti and it was clean and back up at him. 

“So how was it? I only cook for myself so I’m not sure how my cooking really is” Grim followed her gaze and smiled.

“Yes, it was quite good indeed. I do not get warm meals such as these. Compared to eating bread, this was a cuisine” he complimented with a smile. The grey mare smiled back at him, lightly blushing, and took the plate into the kitchen. 

“So has life really been so rough for you?” Grim glanced over at her and then walked towards the window.

“No, not to me” he answered blankly, showing a hint of annoyance. A hint which she didn’t catch.

“So where did you come from?” Grim sighed as he looked outside, a gathering of grey clouds headed towards the city. ‘Appears to be rain approaching. I wonder if it’s planned?’ Grim thought to himself.

“Far away from this desolate land” he replied quickly. Dernaty looked over from around the corner in the kitchen with a concerned look on her face. a pair of rubber gloves over her hooves and a bandana over her mane, holding her hair back.

“I am guessing you don’t like to talk about yourself, do you?” she asked innocently. Grim turned to her, keeping his face hidden, only his mouth was ever shown, a small smile flashed from under his hood.

“You are a bit dim, aren’t you?” he asked back bluntly. She giggled nervously and went back in the kitchen. 

“Yea, I get that a lot. I’m not very smart, I admit, but I try my hardest either way. Sorry if I am. . . . well. . . a bit slow” Grim looked back out the window, down the streets.

“It’s fine. I don’t particularly care. We are not born into this world perfect. Perfection is just a blind illusion that drives us to be something we can not. Perfection is a sin, for no pony can become perfect, and is pointless to strive for such a goal” Grim explained coldly, watching Dernaty’s reflection in the mirror. She smiled and looked back towards him.

“But isn’t that what makes us perfect?” she asked innocently, continuing to clean the kitchen. Grim raised an eyebrow confused and turned back to face her.

“And what exactly do you mean by that?” She stopped to met his unseen gaze, lightly blushing and giggled cheerfully at him.

“Well. . . Because we are flawed, it makes us perfect in some way. Perfection is different in everyone’s eyes. A pony who is completely perfect to one pony, is completely flawed in another. So it is true, perfection is an illusion, but only if you allow it to be. For perfection can be as real as you want it to be. For no matter how flawed you are, there is some one in this world that finds you perfect, no matter your flaws” the blond pegasus explained with a bright smile on her face. The dark hooded pony stood there dumbstruck, his jaw dropped as he stared at her.

“How. . . what. . . how did you. . . where did. . . “ he stood there stammering and confused. His mind completely scrambled. Dernaty couldn’t help but giggle. 

“Are you ok? I didn’t break you now did I?” she played around. Grim turned away, looking back at the window has his face burned red, he thought his fur would catch on fire at a moments notice. 

“No, I am f-fine. I am just surprised you could say such a deep and meaningful explanation on the concept of perfection” the dark pony replied. hiding his facial expression. The grey pegasus smiled cheerfully at him and continued to clean up.

“Well thank you. That means a lot coming from you” Grim watched her from the window, smiling as he watched her clean with a bright and cheerful smile on her face. She was the only light in this world that he has ever seen. The whole world is a dark and horrid place, and she was the only light that shined from it. He wanted to protect it, watch over it, guide it if possible. “By the way, your gender was never told, you are a stallion, right?” she asked curiously from the kitchen. Grim thought for a moment before answering.

“That is what they say, right? It would be safe to assume that I am a stallion” he replied carefully. Dernaty smiled at him and then returned her focus to cleaning. 

“That’s nice to hear” Grim turned to her curiously.

“Why?” She giggled, lightly blushing but not looking up at him.

“Oh, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it” Grim held his stare for a few moments more but shrugged off the thought.

“Anyway, I must go for an enthusiastic walk around town” Grim announced blankly. She looked up at him with a small smile.

“Going to kill off the evil of city?”

“A VERY enthusiastic walk” Grim replied with a smile. Dernaty nodded to him, knowing there was no stopping him. 

“Very well, stay out of trouble, alright? I’ll make sure no pony knows that you are here so that you have a safe and warm place to stay at night” the blond mare offered. Grim smiled and headed out the door, closing it behind. He took a deep breath and headed down the stairs. As he left the door onto the streets, a wisp of cold air greeted him, A feeling that he had to adjust to for a moment. Once done, he walked a few steps out the door and saw a poster on the building. He took it down and looked at it, smirking to himself.

“A bounty already? I have just arrived here and they are already onto me, impressive. They are fast here” he read the bounty to himself out loud.

“Wanted dead or alive, The Reaper! No name available at this given time. Pony is a male with torn dark grey robes and a hood. Origin unknown, age unknown, reasoning unknown, living status unknown. Wanted dead or alive for one thousand bits. Report any sightings said of suspect to authorities or any information. Suspect is reported armed and dangerous. Approach with caution” Grim chuckled as he tossed the poster aside. “So now the corrupted will come to me. Saves me a bunch of time and energy” 

He walked down the streets of the city, seeing into the windows of the homes. Inside he could see families fighting amongst themselves, husbands cheating on their wives and fists fights between sons and fathers. He could feel all of their corruption, all of the evil in this city. The stench that rose from the streets and homes almost made his eyes water. “It reeks of sin in this city. I have so much work to do here, I do not even know where to start my process of cleansing” The dark pony spoke to himself. He felt a strong presence behind him. As he glanced over quickly he could see a group of rugged looking ponies following him a good thirty to forty feet behind him, snickering amongst themselves and most of them keeping their eyes on him. He turned back and smiled. “The blood of the evil shall be spilt today” he whispered to himself.

They followed him for a good thirty minutes, Grim looking around at the streets and signs as if he is lost. After a few moments longer he headed down an alleyway he knew was a dead end streets. Once he was surrounded by brick walls, he turned around and saw six ponies wearing similar outfits. Leather jackets, hard metal bracelets, fingerless gloves, and some carrying holsters for small arms. The one up front stepped up towards him, smirking at him.

“You must be the infamous “Reaper” we have heard so much about. There is a good price on your head, and we want a piece of that!” he explained. Grim smiled back and looked up at him, keeping his face hidden at all times. 

“Is that so? Are you sure you have the right pony?” he asked calmly. The leader put his hoof in his pocket and searched around for something. After a moment he pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to him, holding onto it with his mouth. 

“This is you alright. Dark grey robes, torn to hell, hooded. I am pretty sure this is you” he threw it aside and stared him down with a fierce glare. “You caused some trouble, butchering those ponies like you did, so now we are gonna bring you in for some coin!” Grim looked at the group and counted their numbers. The leader was a crimson pegasus, two behind him were earth ponies, one small but the other large in size, and the last three where unicorns.

“You should know I have no intention on coming with you gentle colts quietly” Grim stated calmly. The leader smiled brightly at him.

“I was so hoping you would say that. One thousand bits, dead or alive. My favorite line to read. I love it when they fight” he looks back at his friends with a confident smile on his face. “It’s one punk, I got this boys. Just stay back and watch how a real bounty hunter takes down a cocky bastard like this!” he exclaimed. As he took his first step to a charge, one of the unicorns stepped forward.

“Wait, the poster reads ‘approach with caution’, maybe you should listen to it” he advised. The leader turned back with a cocky expression on his face, chuckling at him.

“Please, he is one pony. We actually know how to fight, if he starts to over power me some how, just move your flanks over to help, simple as that, got it?!” he snapped back. The unicorn nodded and stepped back.

“Right, sorry. We will back you up, just give the word” he replied and stayed back. The leader turned back and pulled out a bowie knife from his side, placing it in his mouth and tapped his metal bracelet, revealing a dagger.

“Now, let’s begin!” He charged head first at Grim, shouting out a battle cry. When he was a few feet away, he kept his eyes on him as Grim’s eyes turned red, piercing through the darkness of his hood and a flash of red shot out of his sleeve. Before the bounty hunter could change his attack, his arm was severed and quickly to follow his head before he could even feel the pain. Grim stood two steps behind the bounty hunter as his arm fell to the ground, the body following suit. As the group watched in fear, Grim smiled a cruel smile as the head landed in front of him, staring over at them with a face of shock.

“Wh-wh-what the bucking hell?!?!?!” one of them shouted out in panic.

“H-he killed him, just like that! In one swing!!” another cried out. The unicorn who warned their leader fell onto the ground in panic as he kept his eyes locked onto Grim, who pierced through his eyes with an icy gaze of his blood red eyes and sent a freezing shiver down his spine and even into his very soul. Everything was screaming for him to get up and run, but his body refused to move. The smaller earth pony turned to him and tried to pull him up.

“Come on dude! We have to get up, we have to fight him! Our boss would want us to kill this son of a bitch!” he claimed. The unicorn refused to get up, mesmerized from Grim’s death glare. “Dame it, Slug is frozen! It’s just us four now!”

“Then let’s toast this mother bucker! For Boss!” They cried out as they all drew knives, chains, and small pistols. Grim smiled and rushed forward towards them, meeting them halfway. 

“You’re gonna die you worthless piece of sh-” the smaller earth pony started, his head was decapitated before he could finish his own words. The others panicked a bit but kept up their stances. Some swing knives and chains while one of the unicorns cocked back his pistol and aimed it at Grim, getting him down the sights.

“Hold him still so I can get a shot in and end this!” he demanded. They tried to do so but Grim was messing with them, dodging their advances left and right with ease. After a moment he went up to the other unicorn and slashed off his horn, making him scream in pain and back down. Grim turned back around quickly and cut the bigger earth pony down the center with one slash with his blade, blood splashed onto the walls and onto the ground, his body fell in halves. 

“This is too much, I’m out of here!” the last pony cried out as he tried to fly away. As he extended his wings for take off Grim rushed past him and severed his wings, a stream of blood left the wings as they fell to the ground, along with their owner. He crashed onto the ground and screamed in pain and agony, crawling back to all four hooves. Grim came down for a slash through his back but a loud gunshot stopped him. He looked over and saw a bullet missed his chest by a few inches.

“Got ya!” the unicorn called out as he fired his pistol again. The bullet left the barrel and into Grim’s shoulder, pushing him a little to the side. The unicorn fired again into the chest, then again and again until the clip in the gun was empty. “Piece of cake” he whispered with glee. Grim gasped as he felt the pain of the bullet, taken by surprise by the small barrage of bullets. He looked up and smiled as a dark and eerie mist started to pour out of the holes of his body, the surviving bounty hunters staring in horror. 

“No, no no no no NO!” the pegasus cried out in terror. Grim stood back up, the holes sealing up and a black mist swirling around him and smiled menacingly at the last two standing.

“Do you know what they call me in the other cities? The Angel of Death, The Grim Reaper, The Dark Paladin, but you mortals-” he slashed outward quickly, cutting off the pegasus’ legs and stabbed his blade into the unicorns chest, both screamed out in pain and eyes of terror.

“Please, just let us go. Please?” the pegasus pleaded as he looked up to see his friend’s lifeless body tossed aside and the dark, demonic pony slowly turning to him, his blood red eyes gleaming through the shades of his hood.

“You all have been judged, and found guilty!” he took a step closer towards the pegasus, blood dripping off of the blade from his sleeve. The pegasus tried to crawl away from him but Grim grabbed his arm and pulled him up, pinning him to the wall. The blade’s point hovered over his chest. 

“Please, we can work something out, right?” he asked in a pleading manner, his eyes welled up and leaked tears, they ran down his cheeks and fell onto the blood soaked ground.

“Your crimes are that of assault, theft, rape, and murder. You are corrupted, your sentence is death!” Grim stared into his eyes and plunged the blade into the pegasus’ chest, his eyes shot out in pain and horror and slowly closed, the life draining out of them. Grim sighed as his mist slowly faded away back inside of his robes. “The blood of the innocent flows out of you and has been returned into the earth. What lives you have ruined shall be repaired. Rest now, for your life of sin is over. Rest in peace and may the gods have mercy upon your soul as you ascend to the great beyond” He chanted, he pulled his blade out of the now dead pegasus and lowered him gently to the ground. He turned around to find the last unicorn standing up, glaring down at him with his knees shaking.

“Oh my, I actually forgot you were still there. Your judgement and crimes are the same, as well as your sentence” he aimed the blood covered blade at him with a reassuring smile. The unicorn took a deep breath and pulled out two sawed off shotguns out of his holsters and aimed them at Grim with a scared but determined look burning in his eyes.

“You killed my friends. . . . and now I will revenge them. . . no matter what!” he shouted in anger. Grim took a step towards the traumatized pony with a smirk on his face.

“Then shoot me. You have a clear shot at my chest, that will actually do some damage. So do it. Pull the triggers, blast a few slugs into me. Hit me, shoot me, fight me!” Grim challenged. The unicorn took a step back as Grim got closer, but did not fire. 

“Stay back, I will do it!” he threatened. His quivering started to truly show as a tear ran down his cheek. Grim looked his eyes on the scared unicorn.

“You’ve never killed a pony before, have you?” he asked coldly, taking another step towards the unicorn. The unicorn in question struggled to keep his focus on levitating his guns, the guns slightly shaking.

“I will shoot you, I will blast a hole right through your chest!” he threatened again, taking another step back. 

“Then shoot, because if you don’t shoot me-” Grim raised his blade for a swing for the unicorn’s head.”- then I will kill you” he started walking towards the unicorn. The unicorn held his ground and focused on his guns, squeezing the trigger on one of them and shot off both barrels into Grim’s chest, knocking him back and spraying his blood onto the ground. His blood was pitch black, like the night. Grim fell onto the ground, his body still and motionless. The unicorn panted for a moment, staring at his body as the blood left the hole that he left in him. After a moment he sighed in relief and closed his eyes.

“Finally, it’s over” he whispered, relaxing his clenched muscles.

“Not quite” Grim whispered. The unicorn’s eyes shot open and saw as Grim rose from the ground and got back on all four hooves, keeping his blade arm up towards the bounty hunter. “Sadly. . . . that won’t be enough to kill me” The unicorn became frightened all over again.

“NO! Stay back. . . . I’m warning you!!” The unicorn threatened again, this time his voice getting shaky. 

“I am simply an idea, a dream, and ideas and dreams are bulletproof. Those shells of yours won’t-” Grim started. The unicorn pulled onto the trigger of his other gun and blasted Grim’s head apart, black blood splashing all over the walls and the ground. His guns shaking as he panted in fear, staring in disbelief at the remains. The blood sizzled and evaporated from the surfaces on which they landed and turned into black mist, reforming onto Grim. 

“Why can’t you just die!” He screamed out as he started to reload his guns. Grim regenerated and rushed at him, cutting off his arms and pinning the poor unicorn onto the wall. He screamed in agony from losing his arms.

“Because I can not die, not until the world is ridden from the evil it was plagued with. I will not die until the last source of evil has been vanquished!” Grim cried out as he aimed his blade at his chest. 

“Wait. . please. . . I beg of you, let me live! I’ll do anything!” the unicorn pleaded in terror. Grim shook his head.

“You are going to a better place, trust me. Your life of sin is over”

“I can tell you who put the hit on you though!” Grim’s blade stopped as he spoke those final words.

“You know who wishes for my death? Please tell me” The unicorn stared at Grim as hope shined into his eyes.

“Yea. . . yea I know who did it. They run this town, nothing happens without them knowing it. They run everything” Grim released from the unicorn bounty hunter but still held him to the wall.

“Continue” he whispered intently. The unicorn nodded his head.

“Yea. . they control everything that happens. Every crime that happens here they most likely gave the order for. They are as corrupted as they come. They even ran most crime jobs from the other cities. Manehatten, Detrot, Phillydalphia, even Griffondor, the capital of the gryffins. THey control it all. They are known as the seven deadly ponies!” he explained, trying his hardest to prolong his life even further. His head started swimming and was getting light headed from the blood lost. Grim though and processed everything that the unicorn had just said.  

“If this is true, then these are the ponies that I have been searching for. Where are they?” Grim asked aggressively. 

“No pony knows where they all are, just certain ones. I know where one of them is. Lust Dust. He runs the Pony Pleasure Palace up the street. Just go to Stone Square, take a right on Powder ave, and then take a left at Sugar Cup St and you will see it, can’t miss it. I promise it is the truth!” the unicron swore. Grim released him from the wall, letting him go.

“I believe you. Thank you very much for assisting me in my endeavours. You have saved me some time” The unicorn smiled brightly but still winced from the pain. 

“Sweet, so does that mean I can-” he didn’t get to finish his sentence as Grim swung around quickly and shoved his blade through his chest. 

“You still sinned, you are still guilty for your crimes, and must be punished. Your sentence is death either way” The unicorns eyes shed one last final tear as he stared up at him, his eyes open in fear and betrayal until they half way closed. 

“The blood of the innocent flows out of you and has been returned into the earth. What lives you have ruined shall be repaired. Rest now, for your life of sin is over. Rest in peace and may the gods have mercy upon your soul as you ascend to the great beyond” Grim chanted as he lowered the body to the blood soaked ground, gently closing the deceased pegasus’ eyes. He got back up, sheathing the blade back up his sleeve and followed the dead ponies instructions. 

“If this information is correct, then I can track down one of the seven deadly sins, then next, the entire group! I must be shift about all of this before any pony catches on and makes this quest all the more annoying for me” Grim whispered among himself. 

After what seemed like hours of odd stares and verbal insults amongst his walk, he finally stood in front of his target. A large jade building, easily eight stories high. The building had a large neon sign reading “Pony Pleasure Palace” on it. “A gentle colts club. I wonder who this sin is” Grim said to himself annoyed. “either way, this is where I will find my target, and while I am at it, I shall cleanse the entire building in the process. Remove as much sin as I possibly can!”

> Inside the Pony Pleasure Palace
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4: Inside The Pony Pleasure Palace

Lust Dust laid down on his back in his bed at the top floor of his palace. He stretched out comfortably as a mare sat between his legs, her head bobbing up and down on his mid waist section. “That’s it baby. Keep it up, just like that. Make your daddy proud” he encouraged as the mare kept up the pace. He smiled blissfully up at the ceiling. “Oh it feels so good to be me!” Outside the door, two guards with rifles stood outside, standing semi loosely as Cords walked up. He carried a large folder on his back and a stern look on his face.

“Hey guys, is Lust Dust here?” he asked calmly. They snickered back in reply.

“Yea, he is inside, getting some action, if you know what I mean” one of the explained.

“Yea, testing out the new mares who just applied here, and giving them a tour. The first stop was the bedroom, of course” the other added on. Cords sighed annoyed and shook his head. 

“Well I need to see him, no”

“Sorry Cords, the boss told us no one is to disturb him, no matter what. Including business related subjects”

“Well then how about a matter of life and death subjects?!” the large muscular pony stated in annoyance, his voice becoming harsher. The two looked at him carefully, at each other, and then back to him.

“Well. . . . alright, just know that he is in the zone right now,” they warned. Cords nodded and looked forward. They gave a quick combination of knocks and opened the doors. “Boss, Cords says he needs to see you now,” they announced. Lust Dust was mounting a mare on his bed while two others watched lustfully, playing with themselves. He cocked his head to the side but kept his momentum going. 

“Hey. . . Cords! Come on. . . in. I’m just. . .finishing up. . . with the. . . interview” he grunted between pants. Cords nodded and walked on in, making sure the folder stayed on his back. 

“Hey listen, Lust Dust. We have a problem” he started, taking a deep breath, the air in the room smelt of sex. 

“You bet we do. Been in. . .  here for 48. . . .  seconds and no pony is. . . .  sucking your dick!” Lust Dust stated. He looked over at one of the mares watching and pointed at Cords with his tail and continued to ram the mare under him, who was moaning out in pleasure. Cords faced hoof and shook his head. When the mare approached him he held out a hoof in protest and held a firm gaze at Lust Dust.

“No, that’s not it. We have a problem, about that stallion who whacked our two small time thugs” Lust Dust chuckled as he pushed the mares face into the pillow and continued slamming into her, not missing a beat. 

“Please, nothing to worry. . . .  man. We put up. . . . the bounty for that punk. . . .  yesterday. It won’t be long. . . . raise your plot higher. . . .  before we get the bastard for. . . . .  killing them. So sit back and relax. . . . .  and come get some head, these mares know. . . . .  what they are doing!” Cords slammed his hoof onto the wall to get his full attention.

“ENOUGH!! This is serious! Now will you get off of her and fucking listen to me already!” he yelled out in a loud, booming voice that almost shook the whole room. It startled everyone in the room and they all turned to him. Lust Dust and Cords stared at each other for a good while before he sighed and dismounted his partner. 

“Very well, my friend. You want my full attention, you got it” he turned to the mare beneath him, who was panting, staring up at him lustfully. “Will you ladies excuse me and my friend for a moment? We have some business to discuss” he asked them. They nodded and slowly made their way out of a different door to the side. Lust Dust sighed and jumped back onto the bed, clapping his hooves. A different pair of mares came in with a tray of drinks, placing them on a table next to him. 

“Thank you ladies. Now please give us a moment” he shooed them away and made sure the door was closed before he returned his focus on Cords. “Alright, what is the meaning of interrupting me of my fun?” he asked bluntly, pouring himself a twister glass of whiskey, sipping at it. Cords took a quick look around the room for a moment and chuckled.

“I see you did some remodeling in here. About time” he commented. Lust Dust took a gaze around the room himself.

“Yea, the old style was getting a little old for me. I like to mix it up every now and then. So I told the modeling crew to give me something smooth and hot, and I think they did their job perfectly!” he exclaimed with a pleasant smile on his face. The room was a large penthouse, master bedroom. a circular bed with a line of curtains made of a thin, see through fabric. The room was dimly lit with red lights that surrounded the room. The bed was a dark pink with silk, heart pillows on the headboard and a bar at the other end of the room lined with fine wines and hard liquors. Looking around the room made them both chuckle lightly.

“It is your touch alright” Cords commented, chuckling to himself as he looked around them dimly lit room. 

“I always try to keep it that way” Lust Dust replied back with a coy smile, then returning a calm stare back at Cords. “So what’s up?”Cords sighed and returned his gaze back to Lust Dust. He picked up the folder and dropped it onto the table in front of him. The folder opened up on impact and spilled out some paper work and photos. Lust Dust looked at Cords questionably and then at the folder.

“What’s this?” he asked plainly. 

“This is everything I could dig up about the pony who killed Boras and Snipper” he answered calmly. Lust Dust’s eyes opened up in surprise as he looked at the folder. His eyes darting around at the contents that has spilled out. In one of them he could see a photo of the pony they put a bounty for.

“Then why are you giving this to me? You should have given this to Four Eyes. He could have then told everypony else about this stallion” 

“Already have and I made a copy so I can understand what we are up against, and I have realized that the bounty we placed for him, is far too low!” Cords explained sternly. Lust Dust picked up a small stack of papers that were stapled together and took a brief look through it. Newspaper articles and photos were also in the cluster of papers. 

“So. . . why are you showing me this?” Lust Dust asked slightly confused. He read one article about how a group of ponies that were part of the mafia in Detrot were butchered into a bloody mess. A few photos were attached to the article showing the same killing style that was shown to his hired thugs. He looked up in disbelief at Cords who nodded back. 

“This isn’t the first city he has paid a visit to. In fact, every city in the world has seen this pony enter, and when he leaves, someone was butchered. Most of the time he focuses on large criminal groups. The mafia in Detrot was slaughtered by this pony. The underground rebellion movement in Griffendor, wiped out. The large criminal gang “Tunnel Moles” in Manehatten, decimated. Everypony died. This stallion is taking out everyone who is in any sort of criminal activity!” Cords explained in a stern voice. Lust Dust thought about his words as he continued to look through the sickening pictures and articles of all the criminals that laid in the photos. Their facial expressions frozen in horror and shock. After a moment of looking through he pushed them away.

“We have done a lot of business with these ponies. All of them were a big part of our group. It would have taken this pony many years to have taken them all out like he has” He stated. Cords nodded at him blankly.

“Exactly. . . that is what bothers me” He pulled out some files from the folder and pulled out some drawings of their target. “He has records stating back long ago. Back before the age of industry! He has been seen throughout time. Back from the ages of legends! For the past three thousand years there has been records of him. I do not think we are dealing with a pony. . . . . this pony is an alicorn!” Cords declared. Lust Dust looked up at him with a sign of fright as he looked back at the drawings.

“That is impossible! Do you know how crazy you sound?! There is only two alicorns, and they work for us! To even think that this pony-”

“There are legends of an alicorn for everything! The alicorn of War, the alicorn of Knowledge, the alicorn of the Ocean, the alicorn of Dragons. Why not an alicorn of death? Obviously we have one here. For eons this pony pops up in news and police reports, history, and legends as ‘The Grim Reaper’. Is it really that unbelievable?” Lust Dust opened his mouth to comment against it but shut his mouth, looking away embarrassed. 

“Even so, even if this stallion is an alicorn. . . . what makes you so sure that this is really him? What if it isn’t even an alcorn? What if this is just an organization that is bent sent on ‘purifying’ the world?” Cords looked at him in interest as he thought about it. 

“I suppose that is possible, but every single one of these events have had the same killing methods. If it was an organization that dress exactly the same, the members would most likely choose different methods of assassination”

“I suppose you are right there. The methods are the same by the looks of this” Lust Dust agreed. He looked through the files, skimming through the articles and photos. “Each one was done by a long blade, curved, almost like a scythe. No one has ever confirmed ever spotting his blood. All blood ever gathered up has been identified as the victims. . . . if these reports here are true  that is” Cords nodded his head.

“They are, and I have also looked into legend about him. The stories talk about him as a god like being” Cords reaches into his saddle and pulls out a book. Lust Dust looked at the book titled “Myths and Legends of The Grim Reaper” and then back up at him.

“And what exactly is this?” his look of interest turning into a look of concern.

“That is the book that talks about him. It says that he is a being of the darkest of magics” he opens the book and flips through a few chapters. “It explains what sort of powers he has. He has the ability to steal the souls of his victims and strengthen his own power with every soul. He can heal his physical being with them and launch devastating and destructive magical attacks. For example. . . . he can turn his form into mist and travel great distances faster than the wind. He can slash out a particle attack with his scythe that can cut through buildings and ponies alike like butter! He can also produce magical barriers that can block-” Lust Dust held out a hoof to get him to stop.

“I think I heard enough, dude. Listen to yourself speaking, you said crazy as hell! There is no way any pony can do that. You are stressed the buck out! All these murders are getting to you when they shouldn’t. Look, no pony would ever dare try anything on us directly. There is no ‘Alicorn of Death’, there is no ‘Grim Reaper’, or any ‘Pony of Death’. He is just some naive stallion who thinks he can change the world” 

“Do you not see the proof I spent hours to gather up! Open your eyes and look! We are not dealing with a normal pony here, we are dealing with a god here! You need to listen-”

“No, YOU need to listen! Look, you are just stressed the hell out. You need to relax, take a deep breath and chill the buck out! Look, he is a no pony. No one is gonna miss this pony once we shoot his ass out of here. So chill the hell out, take a deep breath, and have a drink” Lust Dust picked up a bottle of whiskey and poured him some in a different glass. Cords looked up in frustration and looked at the glass, slowly reaching out to take it.

“ I guess so. . . I don’t know man, something isn’t right here” Cords explained. Lust Dust placed a hoof on his shoulder, smiling assuringly.

“Look, you have been working like crazy lately, what you need is to relax a little and get some rest. Tomorrow afternoon, we will call for a meeting to raise the bounty for you, I will pay for most of the money for it, just for you” Cords looked up and smiled brightly at him. His mood slowly changing from his friend’s assurance.

“Thanks. . . I guess you’re right. I am not thinking clearly I suppose. You’re right!” tips the glass back, downing the drink. “Once I am down with the new inventory check up and arming the guards, I will go ahead and get some sleep. Thanks Lust Dust, you really helped me out” Lust Dust nodded at him with a friendly smile.

“Anytime Cords, and if you need some tail, let me know. I got them primed and ready for a good bucking at your call” Cords shook his head as he stood up and chuckled a bit. 

“That won’t be necessary. I am good”

“You never did except my offers. Too good for that, huh?” Lust Dust laughed at his own words as Cords nodded to him and started heading out the door. Lust Dust watched him for a moment as his smile faded a bit. “Hey. . . . thank you for sticking with me for so long. It’s gonna be five years in about a week, right?” Cords stopped in his tracks and turned towards him.

“About that, I sorta lost track of the time” chuckled nervously to himself. “But it has been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Indeed. You stuck with me for so long, and you were never just my bodyguard, you were like a friend to me. The only friend I have ever had. Even if you are faking it, I still appreciate it. I read up on your file before I hired you, I know you tried to become a guard many times, so you became a bodyguard for hire. I am sorry” Cords looked at him surprised, knowing he had never spoke such words before. A smile formed on his face as he shook his head.

“I regretted becoming a bodyguard for you when I first started out, but now I am happy to be your personal bodyguard and chief of security. There is nothing to be sorry about” Cords smiled cheerfully one last time and walked out, closing the door behind him. Lust Dust smiled and shook his head.

“I swear, that pony knows exactly where to hit ya every time!” he clapped his hooves once and his previous sex partners came out. “business is done ladies. It was dreadfully boring, so I think I might need a bit of. . . . . motivation to get going” they giggled and walked over to him, rubbing his shoulders, his back, and his chest slowly, caressing his body. One of the mares gently pulled the chair out a bit from the table and walked out in front of him, waving her flank at him. He smiled at her as he gave her flank a hard slap, making her quietly moan to him. 

“Shouldn’t we take this to the bed, master?” one of them whispered into his ear.

“Yes master, we should go to bed” another one added. Lust Dust smiled at them as as he sighed in content.

“I suppose that would be a bit more. . . comforting. Alright ladies. . . let us go to bed, although sleep will be the last thing you naughty mares get tonight!” They giggled in delight as they rose off of him, letting him get up. They walked over to the bed, making sure to stay in front as they swayed their hips from the left and to the right as they walked, glancing over to him to make sure he could see. Lust Dust rubbed his front hooves together with a lustful smile. “Oh it is good to be me!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  

Cords walked around in one of the storage spaces. A unicorn mare with a silver mane, a smoke grey body, and bright silver eyes followed closely behind him. He glanced over at a long row of guns all lined up on gun racks. “So this is the new shipment then?” The unicorn nodded as she kept her eyes on the list.

“Yes sir. These are the guns we ordered/ Train Rail said that there was no problems smuggling them in here. They are the latest models from the Gryffin Empire” Cords looked around at the guns, inspecting a certain one ever so often. 

“I see, so these will be able to replace the ones we have now?”

“Yes sir. They are better in every way, shape, and form” 

“Has anyone been in here yet?”

“No sir, I made sure to keep every one out until you arrived to make sure the shipment is to your liking”

“I see, good work then!” The unicorn glanced up at him with a shy smile, her cheeks blushed a little as her eyes went back down at her check list. 

“Th-thank you sir. I’m just d-doing my job. . . . sir” Cords glanced over at her for a moment before returning his gaze back at the weaponry. 

“This is some good stuff, truly state of the art. Make sure to have our colts here get armed up with the new guns ASAP!”

“Yes sir, I will make sure it is done!” Cords got to the end of the line and looked around confused.

“And. . . ummm. . . where is my special order?” The unicorn looked up from her list and looked around the room. 

“Right. . . . ummm. . . I think I put it in here” She scanned the room until she saw two large metal cases leaned up against the wall. “Ah yes, it is right here sir!” Cords followed her gaze and walked over to it, laying them down on the floor and opening them up. “Train Rail wanted me to give you a message when he dropped these off. His exact words were: If you ever make me grab something like this ever again, I will send my colts over to pound you a new one. End of his message” Cords smiled as he tried to get the straps off.

“Figures, sending his goons at me instead of himself” he gave a hmph at the thought of how easy it would be to punch his lights out in person.

“Well he would never came here himself. He is too lazy for that” Cords froze at her words and the unicorn herself covered her mouth as soon as she said that. “Oh my! Sir I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. . please forgive me, I didn’t mean-”

“To speak the truth? Relax-” he turned to her with a cheerful smile, laughing at her” I agree one hundred percent!” he slapped his knee as he laughed, melting her worries away as she joined him in laughter. “Oh that was a good laugh. Thanks for that Checks, I really needed it” the unicorn calmed her laughter down as she looked over at Cords, he was still laughing. 

“Of course sir, and if you do not mind, my name is Silver Light, not Checks. In case you forgot” she calmed himself finally and looked up at her.

“Yea I know, but Checks is just a lot easier to remember” She was about to protest but stopped when he looked into his eyes as he looked into her’s with a bright smile on his face. She stopped herself and smiled back, the redness returning to her cheeks.

“If that is what you want to call me sir, then so be it. Just don’t forget my real name sir” Cords nodded and returned his focus on the metal cases, struggling with the straps. “Do you need any help with that sir?”

“No no, I got it” She looked around quickly to make sure no one was around and her horn flashed quickly. The strap unhooked and opened without him noticing. “See, I told you I got it!” She giggled and smiled at his cluelessness. 

“It appears so sir. Good job!” Cords opened up the cases and a faint silver light shined from it, his face sparkled in amazement as he stared into them. 

“They are so beautiful! I can’t even believe that they even make these!” Silver looked past him and looked into the container.

“They are pretty big, are you even gonna be able to hold both of those sir?” Cords smiled and closed them shut.

“I guess I will be able to find out soon enough. The inspection is done, everything is in order here. I need you to gather the guards and arm them all up with these new guns. No pony will be able to come in here to stir up trouble” Silver nodded at him as she made a check mark on her list.



“Sounds good to me. Make sure these bad boys are delivered to my room. I need to make a small run through to make sure everything is in order and I will be going to bed. See you later Silver” He winked at her and walked out. Her face fired up in red as a shiver ran down her spine.

“Oh my! He makes my heart run wild! I am so glad that he left!” 

“But I can still hear you!” Cords called out. She froze in fear as he poked his head in with a smile. Her eyes locked onto his as her face got deeper and deeper of red. “And by the way, you are cute when you are embarrassed” he chuckled to himself and waved at her good bye and left, leaving her there in the room. After a few minutes she fell to her knees, dropping the check list. She looked down highly embarrassed and disappointed in herself.

“Dame it!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Outside of the palace, a large earth pony with a side arm and a business suit stood outside of the front door. A pair of earth ponies stood at the door in front of the bouncer. “Do you guys have your membership IDs?” The two pulled out a red card from their pockets and showed them to the bouncer. He nodded his head and opened the door for them. “Enjoy your stay gentle colts” Grim was standing a ways back from them as he watched them enter. He smiled as he walked up to the bouncer. He see’s him coming and turns his focus to him.

“Hello there sir, I do not think that I have ever seen you around here before. Can I help you?” Grim looked around to make sure no pony was around to see him. 

“Yes, I was wondering what sort of facility” The bouncer chuckled as he looked up.

“This is the place to relieve tension and stress. This is the place to express yourself openly with no worry of being judged. This is the place to find temporary love. This is. . . the Pony Pleasure Palace!” Grim chuckled at his sales pitch. 

“I see, sounds quite heavenly. How would one enter such a place?” The bouncer returned his gaze to him with a friendly smile.

“Well if you have never been here before, entry is free for first timers like you. You still have to pay for. . well. . .service” the bouncer winked at him. Grim nodded to him kindly. 

“I see, I would like to try this place out then” The bouncer nodded and opened the door for him.

“A wise choice good sir. I hope you enjoy-” Grim walked past him a little and shot out his blade from his sleeve, stabbing him in the chest. The bouncer stared at him in disbelief and shook as the life faded from his eyes. Grim pulled out the blade from his chest and pulled it back into his sleeve. 

“Don’t worry, this will be a good night for me” The bouncer fell to his knees and slumber over, falling to the ground. Grim smiled down at him and walked in. The room was filled with ponies all around. Mares on poles while stallions watch them from booths. A few mares walked past him, smiling seductively at him as they passed. He walked up to the counter who was a pegasus wearing lingerie and wore a seductive smile. 

“Hello sir, how is your evening?” Grim smiled from his hood as he faced her. 

“I have a feeling it is going to be good” He kept his sleeve hidden behind the counter as his blade shot out from his sleeve. “I think it is going to be a VERY good evening!”


> The Cleansing of The Palace, Part One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Cords walked around to inspect the final preparations of the security squads, every pony was equipped with the latest weaponry he had ordered. He smiled to himself confidently as he instructed everyone to their posts. The unicorn Silver Flash followed him closely, checking off everything she saw. All of the security personnel were armed to the bone with the latest firearms and new bullet proof vests. They were prepped for war. 

“All units stay sharp and alert. War comes right after peace, remember that!” Cords exclaimed into a head piece around his ear. With a tired sigh he looked over to Silver Flash and smiled. “Alright, I’m gonna get some shut eye. Make sure that these guys stay awake and they don’t shoot themselves with the new toys, got it?” The unicorn in question looked up from her glasses and smiled cheerfully. 

“Of course sir. I’ll stay on top of these guys,”

“Make sure you do that when you’re not on shift,” Silver Flash blushed wildly and shook her head and check board at him.

“N-n-n-no! I d-didn’t m-m-mean l-like th-that!!” She stuttered embarrassingly, her face burning red hot. Cords got a good laugh out at watching her panic like that. 

“I’m messing with you, alright? Relax a bit. I’ll see you tomorrow,” The unicorn assistant nodded her head nervously as he turned around and started walking down the hallway.

“C-Cords!” He turned around curiously. She stood there, rubbing her front hoof into the carpet shyly. “Umm. . . di-. . . did you. . . want to. . . grab a c-coffee. . . sometime?” Cords smiled warmly over to her and slowly nodded his head. 

“Yeah, that would be nice. How about first thing in the morning?” Silver Flash’s ears perked up excitedly, her tail flickering from side to side.

“Yes! I-I mean, that would be great,” Cords laughed softly to himself as he nodded and started walking down the hall again.

“Alright, nine am sharp! Don’t be late, Checks!” 

“That goes double for you, mister!” Cords laughed some more and waved good bye to hear. Once he was out of sight of her he stopped, smiling to himself. 

“This would be the first date I’ve ever been on. I’m a little. . . anxious,” He smiled victoriously to himself. “She’s cute too,” He walked up to his room, humming a cheerful tune. Silver Flash leaned against the wall, smiling like a little school filly, putting a hoof onto her chest where her rapidly beating heart was.

“He said yes,” She looked up to where Cords walked away from and bashfully smiled to herself with bliss. “He actually said yes!” She clapped her front hooves excitedly and started making her usual runs, checking the security posts before turning in herself. “All I have to do is check the bottom two floors and I will be all done for the night!” 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

“So how may I help you today, mysterious gentle colt?” The front desk clerk asked slowly and seductively. Grim looked around the front entrance. He counted eight armed guards that he could see, and they appeared to be heavily armed with automatics and light body armor. 

Are they expecting me? No, the front guard would have turned me down and tried to kill me. What’s with all of these heavily armed soldiers? Judging from their stance, they know how to use those guns. 

“Sir?” The mare asked  patiently. Grim looked back over to her with a wicked smile. 

“Yes, I’ve heard about this place but I myself have never been here. Do you get a lot of business?” The mare giggled flirtatiously towards him.

“Yes, actually. We have many frequent customers who visit often. Sometimes three times a day. We provide a warm, welcoming atmosphere for all who come through our doors. Is this your first time?” A mare walked by Grim and rubbed his shoulders in a gentle, but firm caress. He glanced over to her to see she was wearing illusive lingerie and gave him strong bedroom eyes. 

“Yes, this is the first time I have ever visited,” Grim looked over and noted a mare walking down a flight of stairs to the right side of the building. She wore round, clean glasses and wore a business kind of suit. She didn’t look like a dancer or prostitute, she looked like a financial advisor or something along those lines. She seemed to be carrying a small pistol at her side. “This will also be my last visit,” The mare leaned over the counter, licking her lips at him.

“I bet we can change your mind on that,” Grim smiled, readying his blade.

“I highly doubt that,” He swung upwards, through the counter, and cut the desk clerk clean in half. She never saw it coming, both halves of her face still held the seductive look she last gave to him. Blood sprayed out all over the counter and around it. Everyone turned towards him and started screaming. All of the guards spun to him and drew out their weapons, taking the safety off.

No, they didn’t expect me, or else those guns would have been ready. This is their actual security. This is more than I expected. Grim smiled menacingly and lifted his head to speak to them all, his demonic voice now calling out to them all. 

“Mares and gentlecolts, welcome! Tonight-” A black mist rolled away from him and shot outward to all of the doors and windows in the building. “-you all have been judged, and have been found guilty!” The ponies inside, both the customers and the workers shouting at him in fear and anger. The business suit wearing mare gasped in horror and turned right around to run upstairs.

“You have no right to judge us!”

“Who the hell do you think you are?!”

“Why are you doing this?!” Grim ignored all of their questions and continued his speech. 

“You all have been found guilty upon many sins: Lust, greed, murder, wraith, betrayal, and dishonesty! Your punishment. . . is death!” One of the guards ran up to him, a shotgun at the ready aimed for his shoulder. He stopped a few feet away from him for safety.

“Leave now, or we will all shoot!” One of the customers ran past them and slammed into the door, only to bounce off of it. He got up and pulled with all of his might, but the door would not budge.

“The doors are locked!!” The guard glanced over to him to give a command but suddenly found Grim had rushed past him, blade fully extended outward. He spun around and aimed his rifle at him. 

“Why you litt-” He suddenly felt blood run down his body and suddenly pain in his chest. His eyes went dead and he tipped over. The top half of his body fell over first then the bottom half followed. More screams were made at that and everyone started panicking and running all around the place. 

“Everyone, get to the fourth floor! We have an emergency exit up there, hurry, run!” Everyone not security started making their way to the staircase. Grim smiled and didn’t even try to stop them. He knew no one was escaping from this. 

One of the security guards levitated two rifles at him and opened fire. The bullets rushed right through Grim and into the wall in front of him. Black blood splattered out with every shot, coating the carpet with it. After a solid minute the guard emptied his guns and Grim fell over onto the ground. 

“Damn man! A little overkill don’t you think?” One of the guards asked from the stairway. The guard walked past Grim’s still body and glanced up at him with a cocky grin. 

“I’ll admit, yeah. I guess I did get a little carried away, but he was kinda freaking me-” 

“Behind you!” The guard spun around to see Grim grinning sickening at him. He looked down to see the holes reforming. 

“Shit!” Before he could pull out his sidearm, Grim slashed up through his chest and stuck the blade into his mouth and in his head. He lifted him up off the ground, blade still inside the corpse, and tossed it aside like a rag doll, slamming into the wall and collapsing lifelessly onto the floor.

“Shoot! Shoot!” They all opened fired but this time a purple aura stopped all the bullets from hitting him, only ricocheting off of him like there was some sort of shield up. Grim smiled cruelly at them all as they fired off their guns.

“Mortals and their guns. How pitiful,” Grim readied his blade and leaned forward. 

“Kill him already!!”

“Why won’t he go down?!”

“He has some kind of barrier up!” 

Grim dashed forward in incredible speeds, faster than the security guards could see. The group he charged at tried fruitlessly to shoot him, but all of their bullets just couldn’t hit him. 

“He’s heading this- AHHHH!!!!!” Grim stabbed him through the chest and pulled out from the side, blood splattering onto the pink carpet. The others tried to fight him off but he was too fast. Grim slashed around like it was a dance, spilling large quantities of blood with every swing. One he slashed across the chest but he merely fell over, trying to reload. 

“Damn it, I need help!” Two guards ran over to fire but Grim slashed at them. A thin, purple wave of magical energy was shot outward at them. They froze at the sight as they tried to shot at it, but the energy slash cut off their heads effortlessly and exploded on impact of the wall behind them. Their bodies fell to the ground, blood oozing out of their necks were their heads were once connected. Grim looked at the ground at the fallen soldier and impaled him with his blade before he could start shooting. 

“What the hell is he?!?!” One of the guards screamed out as he tried to shoot him down. The bullets just simply bounced off of his shield without him having a care in the world. “Come on, just die alre-” Grim dashed at him and severed his legs. He fell to the ground screaming, holding onto his gn for dear life. He tried to aim it at him but Grim slashed outward at him and cut the rifle and his arm off, making him scream more. Grim aimed his blade at him and shoved it through his gaping mouth and out the other side, silencing him. 

The last small group shivered in fear at the bodies that now laid all over the floor and the blood splattered all over the walls. One stallion who seemed to be a trampled customer seemed to have had his ankles twisted crawled onto the floor. Grim removed his blade from the dead guards mouth and approached him. 

“Please sir, I am unarmed. I was just here visiting a friend of mine who is a guard! I swear! Please, let me go. I promise I won’t say-” Grim walked over and stabbed the man in the back, making him cry out in pain. He quickly pulled it out and severed his head. It fell onto the floor and rolled towards the guards. They tried hard to reload as fast as they could but were shaking too much out of terror. 

“Stump Hoof! Run upstairs and warn all of the guards! We need everyone to take him down!” One guard nodded, finished reloading, and ran upstairs while the last three finished their own reloads and aimed at Grim who walked calmly over to them. 

“Alright you! Y-you can’t win here! We have over forty armed guards in this building! You can’t win!” They started firing but then he suddenly disappeared into black mist. “Where did he go?! Did anyone see where he ran off?” They scanned the bottom floor from the stairwell, trying to find their cruel attacker. 

“Alright, who’s ready to go find this scum bag?” Out of nowhere, they heard a dark, sinister voice whisper right behind their ears.

“Right behind you,” They sharply turned with their rifles at the ready but Grim swung his blade right through them. Their blood washed all over the stairs and their screams shortly cut off as they fell to the ground. Blood rolled off of the dark butcher’s blade, dripping onto the ground. “One floor down-” he looked up with a confident smile. “Another five to go,” 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Upstairs Cords pulled back the covers and settled himself into bed, sighing pleasantly to himself. His room was pitch black and quiet. He made sure that his walls were extra thick to help block out the sounds of the sexual nightclub. He hummed joyfully as he pulled the covers over him, snuggling into his pillows. 

“Tomorrow morning, I go out for coffee with a cute mare. Who would have thought my first date would be with my personal assistant. Lust Dust better not have anything to do with it or else I’ll give him the black eye of his life!” Cords whispered to himself peacefully. With one last sigh of peace, he slowly started drifting off into sleep.

“Cords!!!” There was a scream at the door and some loud, hard knocks at his door. Cords growled in anger and threw the covers off.

“I was almost asleep, ass hole!” He got up and walked over to the door, mumbling swears to himself. “This better be an emergency or I will have your hide!!” He threw open the door and glared down to his it was Silver Flash, breathing heavily and look of fear filled her eyes. “Checks? What are you doing here? What’s-” 

“We are under attack!” She gasped out in shock. Cords’ eyes shot open in alarm. He froze for a second but then dashed inside his room. The panicked, young unicorn peered in but did not enter. Cords threw on his chief security uniform and grabbed the two large, metal cases and tossed them onto his back. 

“Come on, I need you to carry these for me and bring them to the checkpoint upstairs. As soon as you do come find me immediately! Do you understand?” Silver Flash quivered where she stood. 

“But. . . but. . “ Cords glared at her. 

“I don’t have time for you to freeze up now, just run!” Silver Flash flinched at his sudden tone but she followed his orders and levitated the guns in her magical grip and made off with them, running as fast as she could for the top floor. Cords slipped on his headset and turned it on. 

“All units, this is head of security, Chief Cords. Give me a status report, now!” Cords waited for a moment until he heard someone click onto his line. He heard screaming and lot’s of gunfire.

“This is Charlee team on the second floor! We are under attack!”

“Who is attacking us? How many are there?” There was silence on the other line for a brief moment before it was switched on again. Now there was less gunfire in the background. 

“Only one, sir! We have no idea what the hell this freak is! He’s too fast and anything that does hit just bounces off of him!” Cords glared at the ear piece. He saw a large squad of armed guards running past him towards the stairway. 

“What does he look like?! Answer me quickly!”

“He has a black cloak on, we can’t see his face! He is cutting us down with- no, no! Stay back, don’t come any closer!!” Cords heard panicking breaths and close up gunfire. “No! get back you fucking freak! Get back! I said- NO!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” There was some more screams of terror and pain as Cords heard the man get slashed apart. He could hear something splatter and gurgling sounds on the other end. 

“Hello? Charlee team respond! Is anyone there?” He only heard silence on the other end, and some wet foot steps closing in. “Charlee come in! What’s going on?! How many of you are left?!” There was no response. He gritted his teeth in anger. He was about to end the line when he heard steady breathing. 

“Hello head of security. Lovely building you have here. I hope you don’t mind me redecorating it. Your welcoming committee is helping me greatly. Do you like red?” Cords punched the wall next to him. 

“Damn you bastard!” He heard laughing on the other end.

“You all have sinned and you must pay for your crimes. I’m coming for all of you, and no one can escape the cleansing tidal wave that is upon you,” 

“Listen you piece of shi-” The other end was dropped and he heard a loud stomp before the line went dead. He gritted his teeth in rage and shook his head violently. “I told you, Lust Dust!” He switched to another line on the head set.

“This is head of security, Chief Cords. Does anyone from third floor read, over?” He got a response quickly.

“This is Echo team, positioned at the stairway. It got quiet downstairs,”

“Listen, you have permission to use explosives. We are dealing with top grade, I repeat, top grade intruder. Use of any and all weaponry is permitted. Destroy the intruder at all costs! He does not leave this building alive! You got it?” 

“Sir yes sir! Alright guys, use of explosives is granted. Light the bastard up sky high!” Cords formed a small smile across his face, feeling a little relaxed.

“Target is extremely dangerous and hostile, kill him at all costs! Tell the whole building, over and out!” He ended the line and radioed in fourth floor. “All units, set up mounted heavy guns at the center and end points of the area. Protect the civilians that are heading up that way. They should be there soon anyway,” 

“Some have already started making their way up here. We’re trying to get them out of the emergency exit but the door won’t open,”

“Well force it open. We have to get them out of here, ASAP!”

“Yes sir! We will get it done!” Cords nodded at that, his smile getting bigger. 

“Good, make sure you get it done quickly. The intruder is cutting our men down and i is only a matter of time until he reaches you guys. Third floor is gonna hold him off as long as they can,” 

“We won’t let you down, sir!” 

“Good to hear. Over and out!” He ended the call and took a long breath in. “I better make it to the fifth floor. I need to get the Alpha and Delta teams suited up and ready. We are gonna need the big guns!” He turned around and made his way towards the stairs. Groups of men were placing down mounted machine guns in strategic locations. He ran past them and found Silver Flash running down them.

“Cords! I got the cases upstairs like you asked!” 

“Good, now make your way to the emergency exit. My men are gonna blast the doors open!” 

“No, I’m staying with you!” Cords shook his head aggressively.

“No! It’s too dangerous! You have to get out of here,”

“But Cords-”

“No, listen, you will be safe. Just go down there and get out of here. I have to defend Lust Dust. I promise you will be safe” Silver Flash did not move. Her scared eyes were locked onto his, her lips quivering. After a minute she slowly nodded to him.

“Ok, if you’re sure,” She leaned over and kissed his cheek* Please. . . please make sure you get out of here alive,” Cords smiled down at her confidently.

“Come on. I can’t be killed so easily!” The frightened unicorn smiled weakly and ran off to the fourth floor. Cords stood their for a moment, his eyes closed tightly and his front hoof shaking. “Please. . . please let her live!” He put his game face back on and ran up the stairs. Once he reached the very top he suddenly got a call on his head set.

“Sir! This is Echo team, position two! We are under attack! Position one was over run instantly! They didn’t even get to fire their guns! He’s slaughtering us like animals!” Cords could hear the heavy gun firing of constantly and panic shouts and commands coming from the back ground. He felt an explosion coming from down below.

“Hold him off! Throw everything at him! Kill him!”

“We are trying, sir! He’s not slowing down! He’s about to reach- NOOO!!! AHHH! PLEASE NO!” Suddenly the line went dead. Cords stood their in fear. He could feel himself shaking. For once he felt something he hadn’t in a very long time. True. Blooded. Terror. He was mortified to think of what is happening to his guards.

“What in the hell is going on here?! Why is this happening now?!” Cords could faintly hear the heavy gun on the third floor stairway going off.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

“Shoot him down, now! Don’t let up!!”

“I can’t, he’s too fast!” Grim zipped through the wave of flying bullets, only a few actually hitting him. The group of guards were firing off everything they had at him, but they weren’t doing anything against him. A few of them threw grenades in front of him. As he ran past they detonated, creating a large cloud of smoke. They emptied their guns into the cloud and fired the mounted machine gun a little longer. 

After a while they stopped firing and all was quiet. They dropped their empty clips and reloaded fresh ones. They looked at each other in concern and focused back at the cloud, waiting for it to clear. They looked down the barrels of their rifles, waiting to shoot him. All of them shook a bit with fear and anxiety. 

“Do you think he is dead?” One of the security guards asked timidly, keeping his eyes on the cloud. No one answered, they were all just waiting. Suddenly, the clouds burst forward, showing Grim charging at them with his blade ready. 

“Shoot him dead!!” They all opened fired but it was too late, he was too close already. Grim slipped past the heavy gunner, his blade cut right through the large gun with ease and cut the gunner down with it. He twirled around, slashing all the guards too unfortunate to be too close to the barricade they had set up. Two dropped their guns and started running. The rest held firm as they were cut down one at a time. Their blood flew outward everywhere, coating their checkpoint with the thick, red liquid. One guard had his eyes slashed out, leaving two gaping holes and a deep cut where his eyes use to be. 

The last of the security team were cut down and Grim watched as the two tried to run for the stairs. Grim smiled and lifted up his left sleeve towards the one further ahead. They turned back to see him like that. 

“What is he doing?” One asked fearfully.

“The fuck if I know, and I don’t care. Let’s just run!” They ran until they reached the stairway when suddenly one of them stopped. The other turned to him sharply.

“Dude! Run, don’t stop, keep moving!!” He stopped when he saw something pierced into his back. A large, spiky handle looking thing had stuck itself in the back of the unfortunate guard. He looked down at the thing and saw a black handle reaching all the way to Grim. The attack came from his left sleeve and seemed to be endless. Grim smiled and pulled sharply at the black metal robe and the guard went flying over to him.

“NOOO!!!!!!” The guard cried out, reaching out for his friend, but it was useless. Grim pulled him in and once he got to him, he thrusted outward and stabbed him through the chest upwards, holding him in place. He was still alive as he was suspended into the air, the blood running down his body, staining his vest. The last remaining guard teared up at the sight, but willed himself to get out of there and run. 

“That’s right, run! You can do that as much as you want, but you will only buy yourself a little more time,” He tossed the now lifeless body aside against the wall which slide down to the floor. The hallway was soaked in blood. Bodies littered the floor of those who tried to run. Bullet shells were scattered everywhere, laying in puddles of blood. Grim’s cloak and robe did not have a single drop of blood on it, but his blade was drenched with the gorey red color, dripping down in a small stream. 

“Now. . . onto the next floor,” He walked over but stopped when he felt an arm grab his leg. He looked down to see the guard he cut the eyes out of. “Oh, completely forgot about you. you’ve been so quiet,” The guard smiled painfully. “Are you happy to die?” The guard chuckled a bit but ended up coughing.

“No, I was just imagining what your face would look like after I did this!” He let go of his other hoof to reveal a pair of grenades with the pins already pulled out. Grim sighed in annoyance.

“You ponies just never give up, huh?” The guard held his victorious smile as the pair of grenades rolled under Grim and exploded right under him. Once the smoke cleared, Grim was against the wall, most of his body blown apart. “These puny ponies just never learn to give up, but it is almost admirable, really,” His black blood evaporated and the mist rushed back to Grim, reforming his body. 

Once Grim’s blood returned to him, he slowly got up and stretched his legs and body. After a few cracks he pulled back out his curved blade and made his way to the stairway. 

“Next stop, the fourth floor!” 

> The Cleansing of The Palace, Part Two Final
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“He’s coming! Go go go!!” The security guards cried out. A barricade was set up in front of the emergency door, allowing the last of the civilians to get through. Once done, they blocked it off with a large, wooden table and set up a defensive position. One turned around to see the door with a glowing sign reading “Fire Exit” in glowing, neon red lights. 

“We have to hold him off long enough for them to break the door down and get out of here!” The rest of the team nodded and made sure their guns were ready and aimed their sights down the hallway. On the other side of the door. Dozens of people fought with the emergency door, trying to pry it open. With every attempt, they panicked more and more, the door refused to move a muscle. One of the guards pushed through the crowd, a large, heavy machine gun at his side.

“Make way, make way, I got this!” The ponies turned towards him and backed away from the door. The guard walked right up to the door and aimed his rifle at it, pulling back the spring to load the first bullet. 

“Firing in three. . . two. . . one!” The guard opened fire at the door, holding down the trigger. The bullets spread out and hit dead on against the door. As he fired, the bullets bounced off the door and shot all around in every direction towards the walls, the ceiling, and even the ponies in the crowd behind him. The door shimmered with a dark purple aura were the bullets hit. They screamed as some stray bullets ripped through their flesh and into the ones behind them. The guard stopped and turned around after hearing them scream and spun around. 

Seven ponies laid dead right behind him, and more injured. The guard gritted his teeth and slammed his hoof into the wall. He holstered his gun onto his back and made his way to the injured. 

“What are we going to do?! The door is completely sealed off!” One frightened pegasus asked, limping to the wall. 

“We have to stay calm. If we are quiet, maybe the attacker will pass us by without even checking,” The others did not believe his words, nor did he. The door opened and the two in the very back drew their guns. Silver Flash stopped dead in her tracks seeing the weapons in her face. 

“It’s clear. It’s just Checks, stand down!” They lowered their weapons and allowed her in. She slowly and hesitantly walked in, closing the door behind her. The same guard who told them to back off walked up to her, wearing a weak smile. “So what is the situation like out there?” Silver Flash felt her eyes starting to water as she shook her head. The pony sighed in defeat. “So we aren’t doing so well. Alright, get into the back, we are still trying to-” 

Gun fire was heard down the hallway, shortly followed by screams of terror and pain. The guard’s ears perked up at that, staring hard at the door. The team right outside were getting ready themselves. Everyone else could hear the noises and they all started whispering and cowering behind or under anything they could find. A couple little fillies were all hiding in a box, both of them wearing similar outfits as the dancers. 

“Everyone calm down. The attacker is after the employees of this facility. He won’t attack unarmed civilians. Hey, Silver,” The mare looked up at him. “We are gonna get you out of this, alright? You’re gonna make it!” She nodded at him, trying to put on a brave smile. He smiled back at her, guiding her through the crowd. “Alright, colts! He is not gonna lay a single hoof on any of their heads, got that?! Protect them at all costs!” One of the guards grabbed his shoulder, making him stop.

“Our priority is to get them out, and we failed. We were told to ditch them or use them as shields if he came,” 

“Not on my watch. Rat me out if we survive, but I am not abandoning these ponies!” He shook his hoof off of him and allowed Silver Flash to walk over on her own. “Miss Flash, we will be at the door if you need us, alright?” She nodded as calmly as she could, her knees shaking.

“Got it, th-thanks,” He smiled and noded once last time and made his way back to the front. The poor unicorn assistant turned around to see a pair of earth ponies moving aside some dead bodies. They looked as though they were shot. She gasped at that, feeling her stomach riding up her throat and her heart started racing a million miles a minute. One of the dancers grabbed her shoulders and gave her a good shake.

“Hey, hey. Shhhh, it’s ok. They didn’t mean to, it was an accident,” She pulled her to the wall and helped her ease down. “I know, hunny, I know. We’re all feeling it. We’re all scared, but we have to work together, alright? What’s your name?” Silver Flash looked at her with shaky eyes and gulped down her upcoming vomit.

“Silver Flash, I’m Chief Cords’ assistant,” The exotic dancer smiled kindly to her. 

“I’ve heard of you. You’re really pretty, dearing. My name is-” 

Right outside the door they heard gunfire. Everyone went silent as they heard the team outside shooting and screaming out commands. The gunfire was heard for a while, followed shortly after a few explosions. Silver Flash finally started shedding her tears as they started flowing down freely.

“H-he’s here!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Upstairs Cords heard the gunfire and grinded his teeth in distress. He saw a group pass by him and he group their leader by the shoulder. They stopped dead in their tracks and turned to face him. 

“Listen, I don’t care where you’re going or who told you to go there. You go downstairs and redirect the intruder away from the fire exit, got it?” The guard gave a crisp salute and nodded.

“Yes sir!” He turned around and started running down the other way, his team following closely behind him. Cords took a deep breath and continued his way down the hall. He made it to the top floor and went up the elevator, the only way to get there, along with a pair of guards who were guarding the elevator from the inside. The doors opened shortly after and found over a dozen guards aiming pumped action shotguns at him.

“Put your fucking guns down, it’s me!” The team backed off and lowered their weapons, giving him some space. “Good work, keep doing that though,” They waved him good bye and relaxed a little but stood at the elevator as it closed and went back down. Up the last floor, where Lust Dust’s penthouse was, were well over twenty heavily armed guards, a couple wielding double barrel rocket launchers and other heavy fire power. Cords was taking no chances with this one, and will tear down the whole building if it meant taking Grim down with it. He walked past them all until he reached Lust Dust’s metal double doors. He took a deep breath and opened it without warning. 

“Sir, we have a-” Lust Dust was in the middle of having an intimate moment with four mares, all under the covers. The whole room smelt strongly of sex and the moans of his partners were anything but quiet. He sighed in annoyance, rubbing his forehead with his hoof.

“LUST DUST!!” One head that belonged to Lusts Dust popped out from under the covers. He had lipstick kiss marks all over his face and neck.

“Cords! Hey, my good friend! Come on over here and join the fun!”

“Sir, we have a serious situation on our hooves right now,” Lusts Dust looked at him confused and slightly concern.

“What kind of situation? Ran out of condoms?” He laughed a bit at his own joke, but Cords’ expression did not change.

“He’s here,” Lust Dust’s expression started turning grim. “That stallion who took our our thugs, he is here and he is killing all of our guards,” Three more heads popped out from under the covers to look over at Cords. 

“He’s making his way up here?”

“As we speak. I’ve put up defensive positions at three key areas on each floor, but it’s not slowing him down much. It won’t be long before he gets here,” Lust Dust threw off the covers and jumped out of bed. Cords started walking up to him but stopped when he saw a little filly sitting at the table, red faced and really timid. “What’s up with the filly? Don’t tell me she is-” 

“Yes, new recruit, hasn’t even been touched yet. Customers would pay a fortune to have sex with a virgin,”

“You know how I feel about that,”

“It doesn’t matter now!” The little filly looked up with pleading eyes, fear washed over her face. “We need to get up on the room, I have an escape route all ready and planned out, we just need to reach it!” Cords shook his head.

“All the doors are locked by some unknown magic caused by him! We have to find a way to-” 

“Chief Cords! This is Beta team, we have intercepted Echo team and found them all dead,” Cords glared at his ear piece. 

“Say again? Did you just say they are all dead?” On the other side he could hear controlled burst fire. 

“Yes, I repeat, all dead. We found the target near the emergency door and are currently leading him away from it,”

“Good, now make sure he doesn’t turn back, lead him upstairs,”

“Roger sir, we will make sure tha-” The line suddenly went dead. Cords waited a minute for him to continue but the other line was dead silent. Cords shook his head and hung up himself. 

“He is on the fourth floor. All but the stairway team are wiped out,” Lust Dust smiled to himself. 

“If he get’s up here, we will be ready for him,” Cords rolled his eyes and looked at the mares in the room. 

“I’m gonna have to ask you mares to leave. Go into the panic room, and Lust Dust, I advise you to do the same,”

“I would never! I will wait here for him and talk him down!” Cords glared at his lustful boss with concern and frustration.

“There is no talking him down! He is here to kill you and is dead set to do it!” Lust Dust chuckled a bit at that, walking over to him. 

“My dear friend, you must have trust in your boss and see just how smooth of a talker I am. Everyone has a price, you just need to find it first,” Cords gritted his teeth, placing his hooves at his temple. The allusive earth pony turned to the mares with a charming smile. “Could you fine mares give me and my friend a minute to deal with this misunderstanding. Love Lost, could you go as well?” 

The mares nodded in understanding and made their way to the other room. The little filly hesitantly followed suit. Cords watched the poor, innocent mare walking over and once she was gone, he returned his attention to Lust Dust.

“Please tell me you didn’t,” 

“Relax, I didn’t yet. She is still a virgin. I was trying to show her the ropes and show her what being on the job looks like before I. . . . let someone give her the ‘job’, if you know what I mean,”

“All too well, sir,” He shook his head in disapproval but said nothing else against it. He hated what Lust Dust doesn for a living, but tries not to say anything against it. 

“Look, we don’t have a lot of time, I need to figure out what happened to the teams downstairs or else-” Cords suddenly heard his earpiece open up and heard gunfire on the other end, but it sounded different from the other times. This time it only sounded like only a couple guns were going off. 

“Sir, this is the last remaining members of Beta Team. He has found the fire exit and is breaking through. There is only three of us here, we can’t hold him off for long!”

“Stay there! I’m on my way!” Cords shouted in reassurance. He ended the call and turned sharply for the door but felt a hoof grab onto him. He turned around to see Lust Dust holding him firmly with a sadden look on his face, shaking his head. 

“By the time you get there, it will be all over,” Cords broke his grip and glared at him.

“Are you telling me to abandon my team and leave them for dead?!”

“What good would it bring to get yourself killed?

“I need to try! Silver Flash is-” Cords stopped his words as he realized he broke Lust Dust’s rule. The only rule he had for the chief of security was that he could not date anyone inside the workplace. Lust Dust tilted his head with firm eyes locked onto him. 

“So. . . you have feelings for her. You two aren’t dating are you?” 

“Sir, that isn’t important!” 

“But it is! I told you not to, but that command didn’t process, now did it?” Cords pressed his hooves firmly into the fluffy, romantic red carpet. 

“Sir, please, I can’t just abandon her. I promised that she would make it out!” Lust Dust stared at him cruelly. 

“Don’t make a mare a promise, if you know you can’t keep it. Look Cords, I understand, but right now I can’t let you throw your life away for nothing,” A unicorn guard walked in levitating two large, heavy metal cases. 

“Chief Cords! We lost contact with the fourth floor unit, all of them,” Cords turned sharply back to the door.

“What?!” He cried out fearfully, tears welling up in his eyes.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The ponies in the emergency door hallway watched in horror as the final security guard was lifted off the floor with a large, curved, sickly red blade prodding out of his back. He dropped his gun as the life was drained from his body, his blood dripping onto the floor. The ponies tried to back away from the intruder who took down their protection right before their eyes. Grim tossed the lifeless corpse to the side and glared down at the unarmed civilians with a hateful gaze.

“You all have been judged, not just the criminals here!” The ponies cried out in horror and fear as what was next to come. Grim took a slow step towards them, followed by another. His foot steps echoed in the tight hallway, implanting more and more fear with every step. 

“Please, we are innocent!” Cried out one pony. Grim Smiled harshly to himself at that. 

“Innocent? No, none of you are. All of you have been judged, and you all are guilty. Your punishment-” He showed them the blade that had blood running down the edge. “-Is still death!” Some ponies screamed in terror as he readied his blade. Silver Flash was in the back, hiding behind a cardboard box along with the exotic dancer she meet up with recently. They held onto each other for support and comfort as they heard every panic. 

Grim pulled back the blade, his first target in his sights. Some of them fell down to their knees and started praying and some begging for mercy. Grim held a firm stare down at them, no emotions showing on his face. Finally he stepped forward and made the first attack, starting the massacre. 

The first slash took out a poor pony’s arm that was held, trying to keep the monster at bay, in a clean cut. He cried out in agony as blood started squirting and the fallen limb landing on the ground in a soft thud. He jumped forward and came down in a downward chop, finishing off the pony with a deep gash slashing down his chest. Grim continued to step forward towards the unarmed ponies, his blade ready for another attack.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“I have to get down there!” Cords cried out in desperation, going into a full sprint past the double doors.

“Stop him!” Lust Dust commanded quickly. Three guards near the door grabbed Cords before he could make it three steps past the door, holding him in place. He fought hard to break their grips, even clocking one upside the head with a free hoof. A couple extra guards came out and tried to hold him in place as well. Lust Dust shook his head and slowly made his way to him. 

“Let me go! Damn it! I need to get down there!”

“AND WHAT GOOD WOULD THAT DO?!?!” Lust Dust screamed at him. Cords stopped struggling and turned to his friend, shock on his face. He never yelled, he was always a chill, relaxed kind of pony. Cords could see tears building up in his boss’ eyes. “Do you think you need to die too? Is that it?! ‘My marefriend is in trouble, I better off myself too’, is that what’s going through your mind?!” Cords hung his head low, a single tear drop falling to the ground. 

“Sir, I’m sorry, It’s just-”

“That you really like her, I understand, but please don’t throw your life away like that,” Cords clutched one of the guards’ arms tightly for support. Lust Dust waved them away and they let go of him one by one. “If this pony had gone through all these floors so far, I doubt anyone is alive. I’m sorry, I really, really am,” He walked over and wrapped his arms around him, giving him a gentle hug. 

Cords was shocked, surprised, and confused. His boss never showed a gentle side of himself ever. He leaned into him, tears slowly starting to leak from his eyes. He was never attached to anyone until she came along. At first he thought of her as a little sister, but for the past week he could feel strong emotions arising from his heart. 

“I’m sorry, I just. . . I just. . . I just don’t-” Lust Dust let go of him and Looked into his eyes. “I’m truly sorry, but let us deal with the situation at hoof here,” Cords took a deep breath, golding it for just a moment, and let it out.

“Yes, sir, I understand. I’m fine,” Cords reassured calmly, shaking his head. He took a quick glance around at the three guards around him and of the room before returning his attention back to Lust Dust. 

“So. . . are we fucked?” Lust Dust asked almost jokingly. Cords shook his head and gave him a small smile.

“No sir, I don’t think so,”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“We are so fucked!!” Shouted one of the guards downstairs, shooting off his rifle. Grim dodged the shots coming through, dashing sideways over and over again. He left a small trail of black mist as he teleported over and over again to keep them guessing and to maneuver around the bullets flying around him. The small group tried hard to fight off their gruesome attacker, only to see that they couldn’t slow him down much. Grim smirked as he jumped over the barricade and slashed outward in the air. 

The blade made contact with one of the guards up front and severed his head effortlessly. His head shot off into the air and his body started to fall. Grim landed gracefully and shot forward at them as they started spinning around to face him. Grim slashed off another one’s head, spun on his back hooves and jammed his blade through another’s throat then turned half way to slash across two of their chests, cutting through the flesh and bone and cut into the heart. The last two panicked and started firing, one ran out of ammo and started reloading while the other watched as a red blade was stabbed through his eye, poking out through the back of his head. 

“So tell me, do you regret your life yet?” Grim asked menacingly towards the last armed pony. He tried backing away while reloading, unable to get the clip in. Grim chuckled lightly as he watched for a moment, only to lunge at him and swung his blade down at his head, splitting his whole body clean in half. His blood gushed all over as the two pieces fell to the ground away from each other. Grim examined the bodies to make sure he got them all and then nodded to himself. 

“After this floor, there should only be one more before the penthouse. I assume that’s where they are saving the best for last,” Grim laughed darkly to himself, stepping over the freshly done in corpses, talking to himself like nothing was wrong. He looked back down the hallway to admire his handy work. Blood was splattered all over the walls. Some organs laying on the floor either cut apart or  “It matters not, they will all fall no matter what they throw at me. No one has ever been able to-” 

“Die, mother fucker!!” One guard screamed out in behind Grim. He turned to see another pony with a grenade in his hooves, the pin was already pulled out. He chucked it at Grim and it landed past his front hooves and under his hooves. Grim signed and shook his head, looking up at the desperate creature who stood confidently in front of him. 

“You know, you guys are really cute sometimes,” Grim stated calmly, smiling at him. He took a step back confused while Grim just stood there smiling, staring at him. The unharmed guard couldn’t see his face but could feel a pair of icy cold, dread filled eyes staring back at him. The grenade exploded, creating a cloud of smoke and dust. He was a bit too close to it as he was thrown to the ground onto his back. He slowly got up and smiled at where Grim once stood. 

“Hey! Let’s see you get up from that!” He exclaimed with pride.

“So that’s what it looks like from this angle,” A dark voice said calmly behind. He froze in place, his body over encumbered with fear. Before he could move, a red, curved blade shot through his chest and lifted him up in the air. “I grow tired of this game. I think I am gonna have to start being serious with you ponies!” Grim smiled as he threw him to the side with his blade. Looking at the staircase behind him that the pony must have came out of. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In the penthouse, the last of the guards were preparing for a final stand. They moved around desks and chairs for a barricade and were equipping heavy weapons. Cords was inside Lust Dust’s room with four other security guards, all unicorns with two automatic assault rifles and Cords placed his two large metal crates onto a table. 

“Alright, now we have to get ready, he will be here at any moment. Sir, are you ready yet?” Lust Dust chuckled as he pulled out a 44. revolver, loading in each bullet in it one by one. 

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Are those your new guns?” Cords smiled proudly at his cases, unlatching them. 

“Yes, yes they are! I spent all my money on them. After doing some research I had them customly made to deal with an intruder like this one,” His expressing turned to sadness as he thought about everyone they had lost so far. “I just wish we had enough time to equip everyone with these weapons,” 

“Look, I don’t know what you think he is, but he is not some mythical demon or something. He is just a pony who’s got some skill, that’s it. A normal bullet will kill him like any other pony,” Cords rolled his eyes at that. 

“Yeah yeah, I get it. You don’t believe what I do, but this is real. Just humor me and play along, will ya?” 

“Ok, fine fine, I’ll play along,” Lust Dust said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he placed the last bullet in his revolver. “But I still  think you’re crazy,” He jerked his revolver to the right and the wheel went in the gun, locking it in place. 

“Alright, I think we still have one team left guarding the elevator. I gave them our explosives and told them to set up traps, so that should slow him down quite a bit. I also have a small recon team going through the building to find any sort of way to get out of here. There is no way he could have sealed off the entire building! Only an alicorn could seal off a whole building AND cut through our entire staff. So for now, we just have to wait and-” 

“Chief Cords! The elevator is coming up!” Cords snapped his attention to his earpiece.

“Did anypony call you first?” 

“No sir, it just started moving,”

“Then get ready to fill that elevator with everything you have! Don’t wait for the doors to open. Once that thing gets up there, you blast it to hell and back! I don’t want there to be an elevator anymore once you are done!”

“Sir yes sir!” Cords hung up the call and opened up his metal cases. 

“Alright Lust Dust, it’s show time!” 

“Already? I was hoping I’d have enough time for a quicky,” Cords shook his head, smirking. He turned to him with a teasing smile.

“Sir, with all due respect, there is no such thing as a ‘quick session’ with you. You always go back for seconds and thirds,” Lust Dust burst out into laughter at that, slapping his knee.

“Oh that is so true. It’s a little fearful on how well you know me,” 

“Well sir, I have been under your service for five years now, so I think I would pick up a couple things here and there,”

“I guess so,” Lust Dust agreed passively. Cords studied him carefully, and for once he could see some fear revealing itself inside of him. It must have finally hit him, knowing there is a chance none of them are gonna walk out of here alive.

“He’s here!” A voice cried out from behind the double doors of the penthouse as well as gunfire. 

“What the hell?! How is that possible?! I didn’t even hear the gunfire from the elevator!” Cords looked over to the inside of his case and finally pulled out his brand new toys. Two powerful light machine guns that had a silver trimming and seemed to naturally glow. Lust Dust looked over in awe. 

“What the actual fuck are those?!” Cords smiled proudly as he wrapped some straps around him for support and put in a barrel magazine in each gun. 

“This, my dear friend, is the latest, state of the art, Dsi belt fed RPD light machine gun. These bad boys use belt fed barrel drums for magazine clips, red dot reflex sights, holy steel outer trim, and uses 7.62x39mm round ammunition forged with holy steel bullets and holds a hundred rounds per drum. These babies fire 650 rounds per second and are armour piercing. I don't think this pony is going to walk out of here unharmed!”

“Well, somepony likes to brag,” Lust Dust said teasingly. He shook his neatly styled mane around a bit and walked over to the doors. “You guys build us some cover, and Cords? Get those puppies ready, we are gonna need them,” Cords smirked back at him and placed the clips in. Cords perked his ears up and noticed that it was quiet, the gunfire seemed to have stopped. 

“Looks like he finished them off, every-” The doors exploded open, slamming against the walls and cracked the door. A dark, inky black mist started pouring in slowly, completely covering the entrance of the now open door way. Cords steadied himself, readying his new guns. 

“Come on! Come on!” Cords chanted to himself furiously. He had a score to settle, and he didn’t plan on screwing it up. Lust Dust took longer to collect himself but within a minute, he had his pistol aimed at the open doors now. 

A chain shot out from the inky shadows and hit a guard in the chest. The chain stuck to him with spikes that appeared to be coming from the end of the chain, which looked like the handle of a demonic looking weapon. The chain pulled back and pulled forth the unlucky guard with him, disappearing into the inky void. His screams could be heard shortly through the darkness but was ended by the sound of a sicking slash through flesh.

“FIRE!!!” Commanded Cords in a battle cry like scream. The remaining forces shot outward their guns but were quickly ruined when Grim appeared right behind a pair and slashed their heads off, disappearing once again. The last guard spun around and opened fire blindly were the deviant attacker went. A roll of mist stopped behind him and ripped through his back side, the blade poking out of his chest. “You damn bastard!” Cords cursed in panicked anger. 

Lust Dust took careful shots at him, trying not to waste his ammo. Cords aimed his guns and smirked cruelly at him, Grim turned to meet his murderous gaze. 

“I’ll send you straight to hell!” Cords fired and his bullets missed wildly. Grim dodged left and right and flew over in front of him, knocking the guns aside with skilled and graceful kicks. They flew out of his hooves and slid across the floor a few feet away from him. Cords glared back up and felt a blade enter his side.

He looked down to see the long, curved blade just barely in his left side. He squeezed his eyes shut from the pain that washed over his body like a raging tidal wave, blood trailing down his uniform and onto the floor. 

“Hey, I’m over here!” Lust Dust called out angrily. Grim turned just in time to see a flying chair aimed at his head. He pulled out the blade and slashed the chair into pieces. Lust Dust panicked as he tried to reload his revolver, slowly putting one bullet in at a time. Grim smiled and tossed Cords aside. He hit hard against the wall and fell onto the ground. He looked up to see one of his new machine guns laying on the floor. 

“Well done. . . well done. You have defeated me and all of my henchman. What now?” Grim lunged forward and grabbed Lust Dust by his neck, pinning him against the wall all the way on the other side of the room.

“You have been judged and have been found guilty. Your punishment. . . is death!” Lust Dust smiled weakly and clapped his front hooves.

“Well done, I thought this day would never come, but why stop here? Or better yet, why not just not kill me?” Grim glared down at the weak earth pony struggling against his grasp. 

“Why should I spare your life?” Grim asked coldly, readying his blade at a moments notice. 

“Because. . . . Grim is it? I mean that is your- oh it doesn’t matter. Anyway, because I can make you very rich. More rich than you could possibly imagine! I can get you all the mares in the city in your bed! A year working for me and you will live like a king for the rest of your life. Come on, let’s work something out, huh?” Grim stared at the crime lord blankly, raising Lust Dust’s confidence. 

“I’m not interested,” Lust Dust chuckled lightly at that, patting his arm softly. 

“Oh come on, think about it! You will have as much money as you will ever want or need. You will be the strongest most well protected stallion in- AH!” Grim’s blade had met Lust Dust’s chest finally as it was forced in. Lust Dust stared down at the blade in shock and horror and back up to Grim. 

“I can not be bought, I can not be bribed, I can not be reasoned with. Your money can not touch me, nor can your corruption!!” Grim cried out in anger. He lifted Lust Dust up from the wall and slammed him into the floor, making a small splatter of blood. Cords watched in horror as his former boss was looking up at him with pained, weary eyes, life fading away from them.

“Sir. . . “He called out weakly. He lifted a hoof out towards him, and Lust Dust did the same, extending a hoof out to meet his. They were a good twelve feet apart what seemed like an endless distance of soft, blood stained carpet. Grim walked over slowly while they helplessly reached for one another. Grim stopped in front of Lust Dust’s body, looking down at his helplessness, and slammed the tip of his blade into his back ruthlessly. Cords watched as the life vanished in his friend’s eyes instantly, his hoof fell lifelessly onto the floor with a soft thud.

Grim looked down at Cords now, lifting the blade out of the corpse’s back, pulling out a stream of blood with it, trailing back towards the source. Cords slowly brought his hoof forward to grab the gun. 

“It’s pointless, mortal. Your weapons do not hurt me, your bullets could never slay me-” 

“No-” Cords interrupted with a smirk, grabbing the large gun and unsteadily aimed it at Grim who stood there unimpressed. “But this sure can!” Cords stared down the iron sights and held down the trigger. He sprayed a wave of bullets towards the darkly figure. A single bullet grazed him  across his face and that’s when he felt it. A small trail of red blood leaked out of a small cut given to him by Cords’ mysterious weapon. Grim was frozen for nearly a moment before he lunged at him, placing the blade at his throat, ready to slash it gaping open at a micro second’s notice. 

“How did you do that?!” Cords smiled smugly, coughing up a bit of blood.  

“My secret. . . I will carry. . . to my grave!” Grim glared down into his eyes and started searching for all of the crimes he had ever committed within his soul. 

“You have been judged. . . and have been found. . .” Grim squinted towards the side as he looked through his soul where he normally found monsters, shades, and demons, but this time it was quiet. He felt warmth from his soul and saw a blazing, blue fire glowing brightly in the sky. Grim eased the stallion onto the ground and gazed at him dumbfounded. 

“You. . . have been found. . . . innocent!” Cords looked up at him confused. “You posses no evil, no sin. Your actions were only done through an element I thought long to be gone!” The little filly from before walked out of the doorway leading to the panic room, and into the open. She looked around in horror as Lust Dust and four of his greatest body guards laid on the floor, their corpses bleeding away. 

“You posses a very strong presence of loyalty, something long forgotten here. You stayed with your boss for all those years not because it was your job, but because you thought him a good friend, and swore your loyalty to him personally. You hated what he did but overlooked it in the meaning of being friends, and for that I can not kill you!” Cords leaned against the wall, painting and glaring up at The cloaked figure.

“You can’t kill me? Because I had a friend? So you just kill that friend, the one thing I held dear? Is THAT my reward?!?!” 

“I do not expect you to listen or understand, but he was painted with sin, so many at once. It is my duty to remove the corruption in this world, and he was a source of it. I had to kill him,” Grim left Cords on the ground, walking away from him. He looked over and noticed a little pegasus filly standing by an open door. Grim smiled at the little filly with kindness. 

“I am glad to see there is a filly here not touched by this infection of corruption. I found some little fillies down stairs and they were filled with sin and corruption. In fact I found a lot of that here. Who would have guessed that I would find innocence here of all places!” Cords glared furiously up at Grim, putting a hoof up to support him. 

“What did you do to them?!” Grim turned back to Cords and gave him a firm stare in return. 

“Their very souls were buried in sin. Regrettably they had to be put to rest,” Cords gritted his teeth, his vision turning red. “Do not be consumed with wraith, or you too will have to be put to rest with the others. Now, I must tend to the remaining three sinners in this building in the other room,” Grim turned towards the filly and walked towards her. She cowered in fear from his approach, her eyes shaking with panic. Grim stopped in front of her and patted her head softly, kneeling down to her eye level. 

“Would you mind tending to the wounds of that kind stallion over there? I have to wrap things up here. The med kit should be near the bar over there,” He turned over and pointed to the bar which now had no one tending it. The little filly looked over to it curiously then looked back at Grim, giving him an unsure knod. Grim rubbed her mane softly and got back up, walking into the doorway and disappearing. 

“Damn it! Damn it all to hell!! Damn it!” Cords repeated to himself in anger, tears dripping down onto the floor. The little filly came over to him with a little red box and placed it down next to him. Cords stopped her and opened it himself. “I got this, little one. Just stay by me,” She nodded and sat down next to him, looking back towards the room that Grim had walked into. “How did you get out? I thought it the panic room was closed,” The small pegasus shook her head. 

“No, they left it open. They said they were waiting for Lust Dust,” She explained innocently. Cords’ eyes shot open in horror, now facing her. 

“You left it open?!” Distant screams were heard from the hallway, but for only the smallest of moments before it went to silence. The quiet atmosphere was almost sickening to him. Before all of this he would do anything for such peace, but now it only meant that everyone he had ever known and worked with is now dead. 

“Wh-what happened?” The little filly asked fearfully, her body shaking. She leaned over and hugged his arm loosely as if seeking permission to touch him. He didn’t make any move against it, only glaring over at the open door. Grim walked out of the hallway, slowly walking to the middle of the room and dropped to one knee and held his head down low.

“The blood of the innocent flows out of you and has been returned into the earth. What lives you have ruined shall be repaired. Rest now, for your life of sin is over. Rest in peace and may the gods have mercy upon your soul as you ascend to the great beyond” Grim chanted softly to himself. 

Cords was stunned at the sight. It sounded like a prayer of some kind. He thought this unknown being was simply killing for the very sake of killing with a delusional sense of religion, but here where he sat, he saw a stallion who prayed for the poor ponies he had just slain. Kindness dripped from his words, not that of a careful act, but that of true care. 

Grim rose back to all four legs and steadily walked past Cords and the filly and towards the large double doors he had previously stormed through. His black mist was gone and any sign of battle was gone from his being. 

“Wait!” Cords called out. Grim stopped but did not turn towards the two. “Why did you do all of this? Who told you to do it?” Silence replied back to him, bothering him further. After a few moments of silence Grim turned slowly to him as if time had slowed down. From the darkness of his hood, he spoke back to him. 

“No one sent me, no one hired me to do this. I am here because I choose to be here. I vanquished the sin here because it is my job, my destiny, to do so. I have been created to remove the evil of this world, and I will never die until it is done,” After he had spoke, he turned back and walked out of the doorway. 

“Wait!” Cords fought with everything he had left to pick himself up and unsteadily walk over to the doorway. Once there, he placed one hoof on the frame to steady himself and looked past the doors, only to see a sea of bodies and blood spewed over the floor and walls but the mysterious, dark figure had vanished without a trace, as if he was never there.

> Call To Arms in The Shadows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Here’s another one, another guard of ours,” Called out a stallion wearing a leather vest and blue jeans, a cowboy hat on his head and a shotgun by his side. Another pony wearing similar clothing but his jeans wear brand new and his hat had a golden medallion on the front with a pair of rifles crossed. He was an overweight pegasus and his blond mane was messy, eating a sandwich. 

“Well, that’s thirty three we found dead. So far no survivors by the looks of it. Is this our target’s handy work?” The other stallion looked up and nodded.

“Yes, sir. They were butchered, and some are cut to pieces. Perfect match to the killing styles of our stallion. This is without a doubt Grim Reaper,” The southern pony chuckled, shaking his head.

“Well, sounds like this was as much of a fight as a rabbit fighting a dragon then. Looks like he doesn’t just target us, he killed all the customers too. I wonder if any of the youngins survived this blood bath,” He turned to look behind him at the bodies littering the floor in the hallway, the blood long dry and still smelt of gunpowder. 

“Over here sir!” The pony called over, opening a door labeled ‘Emergency Exit’. They looked inside and found dozens of corpses of those who tried to escape. The bodies piled upon one another as if they were killed while climbing over them. The fat pegasus leaned down and pushed one aside, revealing a little filly dressed as one of the dancers. An open wound showed that she was stabbed in the head, through a body that seemed to try to protect her.

“It’s a filly! Looks like we got ourselves a cold hearted bastard stirring up trouble in our town. Get word to the Princesses, this should be good enough to get the guards to come into play now. I want a meeting with the others, we need a higher bounty on this one,” He looked up to him, biting into his sandwich. He nodded at him and ran out. Once alone, he stood up and shook his head in shame.

“Damn waist. We should have taken his more seriously and maybe fortified his place more. I hope Lust Dust made it out with his hide, or else we’ll lose money! I don’t want a lesser pay check just because this little punk died,” He walked out of the room, munching on his sandwich, looking up and down the hallway. When he looked where he came from, a small, shadowy, dark unicorn now stood there, smirking at him. Making the pegasus jump.

“So. . . what’s the deal here?” The cowboy pony glared at him.

“Damn you, Sneak Thief! You scared me!” He glared at him for a moment then looked down the hallway. “So far, we haven’t found any survivors, not even the children were spared. I think Lust Dust is also-” Sneak Thief pushed him aside with his magic, levitating his sandwich away from him and took a bite out of it.

“I don’t give a flying fuck what happened to the ponies. Did they take the safe? Can we salvage anything and still get a profit? I only care about money here, so get to the point, Tabletop, or we can add a fat pegasus to the deceased list!” The pony in question glared at him furiously, getting back up and clutching his right hoof. 

“How dare you! You come in here, take my food, and disregard the dead here like they are just dollar bills to you?!” 

“Yes! That’s all any of you are to me. I will keep you guys alive and work with you if it means I get a pretty paycheck at the end of the week. Now answer my question, you fat slob!” Tabletop was getting ready to jump up and clobber him but another pony walked around the corner, surprising the both of them. 

“Four Eyes! What are you doing here?” He took a couple steps towards them and pulled out a clipboard and quill out in front of him using his magic. He took a quick glance over at the hallway and wrote some notes on it, his emotions completely extinct. 

“The Boss heard about the matter here, and it is worse than we thought. Lust Dust is dead, only two ponies survived this whole mess. The names of those survived are Cords and a filly named Shiver Shambles. There is a total of eighty seven ponies who were killed here. Tabletop, you are in charge of cleaning the bodies.  Sneak Thief, you will be finding Lust Dust’s secret stash and salvage anything that is in there. You are allowed a fourteen percent for yourself by worth,” 

Tabletop grunted in annoyance and started to slowly walk downstairs. Sneak Thief shot his hoof in the air victoriously with a proud smirk. 

“Sweet! I get the cool job! I’m on it!” He gave a quick nod and teleported away. Four Eyes looked around and looked through his notes, flipping back and forth between two different pages. 

“Odd. . . . There was ninety one bodies present during this shift and time. . . Two are upstairs. . . eighty seven are dead and one is our target. . . We are missing one. . . 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

The rain started to pour down on the streets of the town. Grim ducked into cover, panting heavily. He looked down at his side and noticed the red blood gently trickling down the cloth of his black robe. He grunted at the pain and looked past him.

“Never in all my years of service, I have never felt pain. . . it’s. . so distracting. . . an annoyance really. I have to get back. . . and tend to the wound myself!” Grim said to himself in the darkness of the alley way, holding his side. He stumbled around the alley way, cutting through short cuts, twists, and turns to get home as quickly as he could. He stopped around a corner to watch a group of royal guards rush down the street, wearing golden armour. A pair of guards flying in the air with more dark, purple armour flew above them. He watched them past and continued to make his way.

“Those are the royal guards of the alicorns who dwell here. If they have been called, then things could get messy if I were to get caught. Currently I am easy to spot out of a crowd,” He made another turn and found himself in front of the apartment complex of his newest, and only, friend Dernaty. 

He looked down the roads to make sure no one was watching, then ducked into the building, closing the door behind him. He sighed and looked up the staircase. He sighed in annoyance, shaking his head.

“Had to be the third floor. Not the first, not even the second, the THIRD floor! Such a nuisance,” He took a deep breath and started climbing the stairs slowly, step by step. Every step seemed to be a small jab of a dagger directly into his side. He chuckled a bit as he walked up, muttering quietly to himself. “I wonder if this is what it feels like to be mortal?”

He finally got to Dernaty’s door and opened it slowly. She was laying on the couch, reading a book. He closed the door behind her and walked in a few steps before she called out. 

“Hey Grim, did you know that some places have actually started throwing out machines and are started relying on magic more? Sounds kinda crazy to me,”

“it’s a form of purification. They realized that those machines are causing more trouble than good. They have been freed of corruption, and so they are making sure that it doesn’t happen again,” Grim explained roughly, walking for the bathroom. Dernaty turned to look over at him and spotted the wound.

“Oh my Celestia! What happened?!” Grim smirked under his hood, shaking his head.

“They had some sort of special round and a couple grazed me. I think I might have one inside me,” Dernaty dropped her book and rushed over to him, trying to help him. 

“Take it easy, let me see,” She tried to looked at the injury but couldn’t get a good look. “I can’t see it that well. Let me take off the cloak and-” As her hoof reached for his cloak, he grabbed it with his magic, holding it firmly in place. He looked down at her with a serious face.

“No. I can handle this. I am paying for my lack of caution, and now I must tend to it alone. Just let me use your bathroom and I will get myself cleaned up,” Grim explained firmly, his voice darkening into a deeper pitch. Dernaty was a little shocked by his tone but let go, taking her hoof back. 

“Are you sure? I really don’t mind. that’s what friends-”

“I can take care of myself. I have been doing it all my life, and I can still do it today,” Dernaty took a step back and nodded slowly. He nodded back and walked over to her bathroom, closing the door behind him. She took a deep breath and walked over to the door, putting her head to the door.

“I’ll get you a towel. There is a first aid kit in there by the mirror,”

“I see it, thanks,” Grim replied back quickly. She heard the water turning on and she went off to fetch a towel for him. Inside Grim stripped himself from his cloak without lighting a candle, placing it on a hook on the wall. He sat down on the toilet seat in the darkness, his eyes glowing red. He levitated the first aid kit over to him and opened it, seeing the standard sewing needle, thread, disinfectant, and bandages. He levitated it all and started getting to work on his wound, levitating the bullet out and placed it on the counter, the blood on it was sizzling.

“Such a nasty little thing. No normal criminal could have gotten their hooves on such a thing, let alone think about getting it. Who is this Cords? Such a curious fellow,” He smiled to himself as he disinfected the opening and started stitching it up. 

He looked at the bullet and studied it as the blood sizzled and bubbled on the mysterious metal. He poked it with a free hoof and burned it the tip of it, pulling it back.

“Triple folded Templar holy alloy. . . strong, powerful, and very useful against beings of dark magic. I thought this metal was destroyed long ago. I butchered the last known family who could make this. Did I miss one, or is there somepony else that I might had missed?” His voice dropped it’s darkness as he smiled down at it, becoming soft. “That was shortly after I turned. . .” 

Dernaty opened the door to the bathroom, a towel in her hoof with a smile.

“Hey Grim, I have-” Grim jumped by the sudden intrusion. His flinching made him stab himself and he levitated the cloak to cover himself up quickly from his mouth and down to his knees. She swear she could see something behind his back. Like a pair of black wi-

“Knock first!” He shouted in a panicked, softened shout from his usual dark voice. He levitated the towel from her grasp, pushed her out, and shut the door quickly, leaving her there speechless. She remained in that spot surprised and her mouth gaping open. She shook her head and tapped the door.

“Umm. . . Grim? Look I’m sorry, I just didn’t think about it! If It makes you feel better I didn’t see anything!” There was a moment of silence between the two, not a sound could be heard except for her steady breathing. 

“Are you sure?” She smiled softly, placing her back against the door and sitting down, her wings unfolding and wrapping them around herself.

“Yes. . . I promise I didn’t see anything bad,” She lifted her head up a bit, thinking. Although I think I was seeing things. . . but did he have wings? No, he has a horn! Only alicorns have wings AND a horn! On the other side of the door. Grim sat in darkness, holding his knees up. A pair of black wings wrapped around him with his back to the door.

“You didn’t see anything odd. . . perhaps behind me?” There was a pause for a moment before she spoke again.

“No, it was too dark to see. Why?” Grim smiled, sighing in relief. He turned towards the door and smiled faintly, his voice softening. 

“Thank you, I don’t like any pony seeing me without my cloak,” Dernaty giggled a little at that, making his cheeks blush at the sound of it.

“It’s ok, I use to be the same, but I got over it. Maybe one day you can too. There is nothing to be ashamed about, I won’t judge you,” Grim smiled at that, a bright smile. “Hey. . . what happened to your voice? It’s sounds like you have a mare in there speaking for you. Grim’s ears perked up as he darkened it back to the way it usually was.

“Sorry, it’s a spell I use. I’ve always had a feminine voice so I changed it. Hard to intimidate my prey if I spoke so softly,” 

“I like it, it makes you sound. . . . pretty,” Grim laughed deeply at that.

“Yes. . . because pretty is the way to go with my line of work,”

“Well I’m just saying, it’s kinda cute is all,” Grim shook his head and got back up, returning to his stitching. 

“Well I got some cleaning up to do and I need to focus. I don’t want to mess up with something like this,” Dernaty smiled faintly and got up from her sitting spot.

“Alright, I’ll go ahead and make dinner. I got a bunch of stuff from the market today, did you want to have a salad?” 

“I’m ok with whatever you make,” Dernaty rolled her eyes playfully and walked on over to the kitchen. Grim listened for her to leave and sighed, tucking his wings onto his back neatly folded up. If she were to find out my secret, I don’t know what I would do. For now I have to keep my guard up and make sure another slip up like that doesn’t happen again! 

* * * * * * * * * * * 

The boss walked down the halls of Canterlot Castle, a firm expression frozen on his face. All the guards saluted him and he ignored them all. His personal assistant, Four Eyes, trotted by his side with his clip board floating in front of him.

“And so the only two survivors are Cords and the filly, he killed everypony else. Made quite the mess at the palace,” The boss looked down at him with a firm glare.

“What are we looking at for losses?” Four Eyes did a quick math equation in his head. 

“Roughly a twelve percent drop, but we are able to pick up the slack from the others if they cooperate,” The boss smirked, looking back forward.

“I want everypony working double time to pick up the slack then! This one killed off not only my guards but civilians as well. We will be able to force ‘them’ to tend to this matter,” Four Eyes looked up at him with his blank expression and then back at the clpboard.

“Yes sir, we still have that. Also Cords is recovering at the hospital. Once he makes a full recovery, we can question him-”

“No! no pony makes ME wait! We will go to him once we are done here. I want everything out of him and I will personally question him, myself!” 

“Yes, boss!” Four Eyes said with firmness, writing stuff down right after. They reached a pair of large, double doors which two royal guards stood by at attention. They opened the doors for him, allowing him to enter.

They entered a large, narrow room where on the other side sat the two princesses, Princess celestia and Princess Luna. They glared at him as he approached, walking like he owned the place.

“Sir Cold He-”

“DON’T you dare address me under that name! You know what to call me!” Luna sighed, shaking her head. Celestia flinched at his harshness but overlooked it. Luna held dark eyes on him almost sneering down at him.

“Why does though disturb us from our duties. . . Boss?” The Boss glared up at her, stopping a couple feet away from them and held a strong glare back at them.

“One of my co-workers were murdered in cold blood this night, and many civilians were killed as well. Most of them weren’t even part of my work force,” Their expressions softened up to concern and interest. 

“So innocent ponies have been killed? Who did this?” The Boss pulled out a bounty poster of ‘The Grim’.

“This stallion right here! I have proof that he did it and he has been killing ponies on the streets, both yours and mine. Now I tried to offer bits for his head, but no one can do it. I need you to send out your military after him and kill him before he bothers me any further!” Luna glared down at him again, stomping her hoof and shouted at him, blasting him with her royal canterlot voice.

“You insolent fool! Does though think though can command us, alicorns of the sun and the moon! You have no control over us!!” 

“but in fact I do,” The Boss pulled out a piece of paper with the title reading in bold letters ‘The Treaty of Industry’. “This little piece of paper states that as long as my men occupy the streets and this city, you are under my control. I could have destroyed you long ago, but you surrendered to me, offering this treaty. So you will do as I say, or else you are looking at another civil war, and well over half the city will turn against you with me but uttering two words. Do you wish to test me?” 

Luna and Celestia looked at each other hopelessly, Luna stepping back from her spotlight. Celestia closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and looked back down at him.

“If he is killing innocent ponies, then I suppose we must. I will send an elite squad to search for him,” The boss smiled victoriously, placing both sheets of paper back into his jacket.

“I’m glad we could see through this peacefully. Keep me and my men informed on any information that you uncover. Do this, and you won’t have to worry about any sort of war. . . for now,” He smirked cruelly at them and turned around, walking out. Luna bit her tongue, trying hard not to say anything, Celestia watched every step the Boss made until he was out the doors and they were closed.

“This is quite the situation we have found ourselves in now a days, Luna,” Luna narrowed her eyes over at Celestia.

“How could this have happened?! We were rulers! Commander of armies that crushed our foes! How did we allow ourselves to be as low as dogs! It isn’t right!”

“I know Luna, but for now we must play along. His reign won’t last forever,”

“And to make matters worse, the monster known as ‘Discord’ is still creating chaos throughout the southern lands, and we can’t send our armies outward to stop him!” Celestia softened her eyes over at her.

“Luna, calm your anger, do not let it control you, or you will lose control of your magic,” Luna’s stare softened faintly, taking a few deep breaths to allow herself to vanquish her rage. 

“Thank you, sister. We lost thyselves for a moment. We will try to keep that in check,”

“Thank you, dear Luna. Now we must send a unit of each of our forces. I would like your team to watch over the Seven Deadly Ponies and my units will look for this ‘Grim’ pony around the city,” Luna smirked at that.

“Indeed. . . I know just the ponies to send for such a. . . misleading mission!”