//------------------------------// // Runaway Part 2 (Spike) // Story: Aftermath of a Fallen Star // by Rated Ponystar //------------------------------// Aftermath of A Fallen Star By Rated Ponystar Formerly Edited by The Unnamed Pawn and Commander X5 Pre-Read/Edited by: Magic Man, Chaotic Note, and Grand_Moff_Pony Runaway Part 2 (Spike’s POV) *** It was like I had breathed fire for the first time in my life again. A sense of passion and desire filled me as I kept seeing Marc’s burning claws in my mind. How easily he took those thieves down and killed them right in front of me. Of course, the fact that I saw death made me throw up a bit when it finally hit me what happened, but I recovered thanks to my desire to find Marc again. He had to teach me. He had to show me how to do that. If I could do that I could be stronger. I searched for hours by the docks, even at the place where I first met him, but to no avail. I sent Peewee to search but he had no luck either. I cursed up a storm with words that I wasn’t allowed to say back home before something ended my search. A roaring stomach. Peewee chirped and pointed to his mouth as well. I had been so focused on finding Marc I didn’t even bother finding us something to eat. Not to mention by the time we stopped it was getting dark and we would need a place to sleep. Of course, we could have slept on the streets having done so in the forest, but after the events of the day I was more scared of finding a knife in my gut and waking up dead. Peewee guided me to a bar and hotel establishment called the Rotten Barrel. It was old, looked rough looking, and smelled like dead rats. I had a feeling most of the establishments in the island were like this. Taking in a deep breath-mostly to cover the stench-I headed inside where I was almost greeted to a beer bottle in the face. Most of the patrons were dressed in armor and carried weapons; some big enough to split me in two. They were all roaring with laughter, getting drunk, or threatening to kill each other over any small thing. Thankfully, my small size prevented them from noticing me. I avoided the broken bottles and passed out drinkers until I reached what looked to be the bar. There was a griffin with a scar on his forehead passing out drinks and meals with an apron along with some leather clothing. He looked to be in charge with the way he was glaring at everyone; almost as if he wanted to kill both them and himself at the same time. I walked around to a small entrance for the bar and knocked on the wood to get his attention. “Um, excuse me?” “What do you want, kid?” asked the griffin bartender, barely taking a look at me. “I was wondering if I could get a room... and a meal for me and my friend,” I answered with Peewee giving a reply. “Got silver?” he asked. “No.” “Then get out.” “Please! I got gems and bits and-” “Silver or nothing. Try to find some other establishment that-” There was a loud explosion from the kitchens that made the entire building shake. I thought at first we were under attack or it was an earthquake, but the rest of them weren’t bothered by it. Well, the bartender was. That scowl of his grew about ten more inches before he shouted, “Grandus be damned!” He stomped towards the kitchen door and, too curious for me own good, I followed. When we entered the kitchen, the chef and clearer in me had to wince. Someone was apparently trying to make pea soup, but it exploded across the kitchen turning into a green colored room with a nasty smell to it. A single lone earth pony in a chefs hat gave a nervous smile towards us, but that quickly faded when the griffin gave a look that could have killed the pony where he stood. “What the ruck did you do you retarded piece of fucking pony shit?! Look at this mess! Do you know how long this is gonna rucking take to fix up?! Your worse then a rucking blind monkey that’s having sex with a drunken donkey! I should take that kitchen knife of yours, slice off your dick, chop it up, and serve it to the guests as pork sausage! Get the ruck out of my kitchen and don’t come back or I’ll send you to Mordum himself wrapped in a nice pink bow with a sign that says ‘bury me’ on your fat plot! GO!” The pony was out faster than you could blink. Peewee even gave an impressive whistle at the sight. “Bloody great. Damn all the gods from Faust to Kubwa. I need a new chef,” grumbled the griffin. A smile came to my face as I got a look at all the ingredients, meats, cheeses, spices, and equipment that was available and wasn’t covered in green muck. “Actually, sir, I have a proposal...” *** “Oi! Rubert! What kind of cook did ya get this time?! This stew tastes like actual food and less like minotaur dung!” “Fourths!” “I’ll take what he’s having with a big old mug of beer!” “Spike! I need six scrambled eggs, a fried steak, and garlic onions!” shouted my new boss, Rupert, who had less of a glare on his face now that I was of use to him. “Coming right up!” I shouted, wiping the sweat I had on my forehead while making sure none of it got into the banana pudding I was also making. You might think making so many different meals for a bar was tough for me, but I once helped cooked at Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding, Twilight’s Coronation, and a few times at Princess Celestia’s birthday. When I learned I was going to be Twilight’s Number One Assistant, I wanted to be the best at everything. Cooking wasn’t originally one of the things I was going to learn, but after learning Twilight would occasional skip meals to study, I decided to learn how to cook for her. Besides, I loved cooking and Rupert was offering free room if I managed to impress him. With Peewee gathering ingredient for me, as well as using his fire abilities to keep thing just at the right temperature, I was able to deliver food faster, and better, to the point where I was even getting tips. After finishing the last of the meals, I heard Rupert say the kitchen was now closed much to the disappointment of the crowd outside. Of course, the bar was still open, but sometimes you want a good sandwich to go with the right beer. Sighing in relief, I sat down on some barrel for pickles and gave Peewee a high five for his help. Rupert entered the kitchen just as I was helping myself to some ruby soup that I made for myself. “Not bad, Spike. I think this is the first time I’ve had customers come in here for the food and not my bar. You got quite a talent for a small dragon.” “Thanks, so are we in agreement?” I asked with hope in my eyes. “I never back down on a deal. You can stay here as my new chef and get free room and food. Tips you get are yours to keep.” A big wave of relief washed over me. I had a place to stay. Not to mention some silver to spend. “Man, I’m beat.” “Take the attic room. It’s got two beds and it’s not that dirty. Perfect for your size,” said Rupert as he exited the kitchen. After finishing the soup, me and Peewee headed towards the stairs and made our way to the top where we found a single door. Opening, I coughed at some of the dust that came out before entering. It was mostly filled with empty bottles and junk, but there were two beds, a drawer, and was next to a window that had a view of the moon. I didn’t know if Luna could dreamscape this far from Equestria. From what Twilight told me, she had a limit to how far she could enter a person’s dreams. I had to buy the Dreamless Sleep potion before I left Ponyville knowing that if Luna found me in my dream, she could find out where I was in real life. A pain in my chest made me realize just how far away from home I really was. All my friends, Twilight’s family, the princesses. All of them were an ocean away. Yet at the same time, that was a land without my mother. A land where Friendship and Magic was wasted by those who didn’t want it because of their selfishness and greed. I couldn’t go back. I don’t ever want to go back. Yet I couldn’t help but wonder why it hurt every time I thought that. Peewee cooed and nuzzled my neck upon sensing my anger and sorrow. I smiled softly and petted him on the head while handing him some corn I swiped from the kitchen for him. He tweeted thanks and began to eat it on the drawer. Resting my head against the pillow, I looked at the moon one last time before sleep came over me. *** When I felt the sun’s rays hit me, I almost groaned. Stupid Celestia having to raise the sun everyday. I just wanted to sleep more since I never felt as comfortable as I did at the moment. I felt warm and feathery for some reason. My claws were wrapped around some kind of fur, which I thought was a blanket at first, but it felt too solid to be such a thing. “Ugh... who's grabbing my butt...” groaned a voice. My eyes widened upon hearing this and I soon found the source of the voice, feathers, and fur at the same time. A young griffin, about my height and looked to be my age, was sleeping right next to me in bed. I had one arm wrapped around her waist with my claw at her rump, pulling her in, while she in turn had her arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me in. Our faces were literally close to touching so I had a good view of her face. She was of dark grey in terms of feathers and from the fur that started up front to the halfway point of her chest. The rest of her body was a light brown, similar to Gilda. She had a strange marking on her cheek, that looked like chains wrapped around a letter to a language I didn’t know. Her mane was wild too, almost like Rainbow Dash’s but a bit longer up front and colored gray. I didn’t even breath as I stared into her and wondered what the hay was going on. However, before I could slowly remove my claw, Peewee woke up and whistle upon seeing us together. After swearing to kill that bird, the amber eyes of the griffin girl opened up and stared into my own. “Um, good morning?” She shrieked and kicked me of the bed, making me land on my head pretty hard. I groaned but soon froze as I felt one sharp looking curved knife against my throat and a second one pointed... well... let’s just say I wouldn’t have any children if things went south. “I should castrate you right now for what you did, but I want answers first!” she shouted, teeth clenched in rage as she looked ready to kill me. “Who the ruck are you and what the ruck are you doing in my bed?!” “My name is Spike! I was offered a place to sleep if I cooked for Rupert! You can ask him! He didn’t say anything about this being your room! Besides there are two beds! Why didn’t you just go in the other one?!” I shouted as fast as I could. “Oh, please. Like Uncle Rupert would hire a brat for a chef-Hey!” shouted the griffin girl as Peewee, ever my faithful companion, pulled on her mane and dragged her back. Seeing a chance, I took her front claws and forced her down with me on top. The three of us struggling until the door opened. “Spike, Aquilina, my morning chef just arrived would you two like-” Rupert paused upon seeing us in a very... compromising position. He just grinned and leaned against the door. “I see you two getting to know each other quite well. But I’m not ready to be a grandfather, Aquilina.” Roaring with annoyance, Aquilina kicked me off and shook Peewee away. “First of all, Uncle, you get your mind out of the gutter. Second, you would be a grand-uncle, not grandfather. You aren’t my dad. Third, who the ruck is this guy so I can kill him?” “First, you're not allowed to kill him. Second, he’s Spike, my new evening chef.” “Pudgy blew up the kitchen again?” asked Aquilina with a deadpan expression. “Like the Bombardment of Styx.” Rupert shook his head. “So make nice with the boy. He’s now part of the establishment.” “Why didn’t you tell me when I got back from the guild?! And why was he in my room?!” cried out Aquilina as she put her daggers on one of the dressers. “Slipped my mind, and you should have greeted me when you came back. Maybe if you stopped working so late you’d see things with a clearer mind when you get home,” said Rupert as he turned away. “Breakfast is ready. Come down when you are.” This left us both in an awkward silence as Peewee rested on my shoulder while Aquilina avoided my gaze. “Um...” I shifted my foot. “Look, sorry about-” “Three rules,” grumbled Aquilina, glaring at me. “One, go near my bed or stuff again and you die. Second, do anything perverted and you will die a thousand times. Third, don’t speak unless spoken to or I’ll cut your tongue out and feed it to a hungry beggar. Now let’s get something to eat.” Just like that she walked away from me and down the stairs. I turned to Peewee who looked at me with a raised eyebrow, as if saying this was my problem. “Why do I have the worst luck with girls, buddy?” *** After a quick meal of eggs and porridge, I was left to ponder what to do for the rest of the day. I thought about finding Marc, but I figured it was best to ask Rupert instead of searching senseless for him. “Hey, Rupert?” I asked, calling him over. There wasn’t a lot of customers so it didn’t take him long to find me at his bar. Aquilina was just a few seats away from me, eating her bacon while glaring at me from time to time. “What’s up, Spike?” “You ever hear of a dragon named Marc?” I asked. Just as I said that, Aquilina started coughing up her bacon in shock as the two of us watched on. She now had a brown vest on with a belt for her knifes, a money pouch, and a few other things. She took a deep gulp of water before turning to me with disbelief. “How do you know Master Marc?” “Um, I just know a Marc. Not sure about the ‘Master’ part,” I answered. “Blue scaled dragon with yellow eyes? Wears a red trench coat and talks in a funny accent?” asked Aquilina. “Yeah! That’s him!” I asked excitedly. “Why do you want to find him?” asked Aquilina, raising an eyebrow. “Because he saved my life yesterday. He did some... fire thing with his claws that I want to learn from him!” I said, thinking my luck had finally changed. Oh course, that was until Aquilina started laughing like a madbird and banged her claw on the table. After calming down, she shook her head. “You know nothing, do you?” She cleared her throat. “Marc is the Guild Master of the guild I’m part of. The Red Lightnings.” She then showed a patch on vest. A dragon skull shooting red lightning out of it’s mouth. The same one that I saw on Marc yesterday. “We’re a mercenary guild that does jobs for money. I’ve only just recently joined myself. Marc is the head of that guild. He’s one of the best fighters in Judecca. No way he’s going to let a wimp like you into the guild and teach you.” “Hey, you’re the same age as me! Why are you in!” I shouted. “... that’s my business,” growled Aquilina before shrugging her shoulders. “Don’t know why you think he’ll bother teaching you. He rarely ever interacts with us. Mostly he ever shows if he wants to drink with the gang or we have a serious mission. Usually against one of the other Big Four.” “Big four?” I asked, realizing I was really out of my element here. This time it was Rupert who answered. “Most of the islands are ruled by either warlords or various armies. Each trying to gain control of territory for whatever reason. Some are good, some are bad, some are just plain raiders who like to kill and rape.” Taking a glass out he began to clean it. “Of course, they like to hire various gangs to help them out. There are literally hundreds if not a thousand of these kind of guilds all over the Erebus Islands, but there are four that stand out.” “The first is our guild, The Red Lightnings!” shouted Aquilina with pride. Puffing her chest out, she continued, “We pride ourselves on getting jobs fast and efficient. Each of us is a specialist in something or another rather than just focus on one specific area like most guild do. Sometimes we work alone, sometimes we work as a team, but we always get the job done faster then you can pay out of your wallet.” “The second big one is The Legion,” said Rupert. “They’re more of a private military than anything. Very spartan like that focuses on squad tactics and small wars. They’re as disciplined as any army you’ll see here and they got the armor and weapons for it too. Not so much great as individuals, but they are some of the best group unit tactics you’ll see. Although they only accept males into their group for some reason. My guess is because a minotaur is their leader and you know how sexist their society is.” I nodded. From what I remember, all that was expected of a female minotaur in their home islands is to just breed. It’s why a good number of females came to Equestria for a chance at equality. “Third is Ars Arcanum,” listed Aquilina, grumbling with anger. “Those guys are an all magic based group. Anyone who can use magic like unicorns, zebras, kitsune, and dragons are welcomed. They’re a bunch of bastards who think themselves better than anybody else because they can use forces ‘beyond the mortal realm’ as they so nicely put it.” Aquilina took a deep drink and slammed it on the ground. “Of course, I can see why others would hire them. Their magic is powerful... but they’re also big on the slave trade. They use their magic to bind them to their masters and make sure they obey without question.” “Slaves?” I asked in disbelief. “They actually have slaves here?” “This Erebus, kid,” said Rupert, shaking his head. “Slavers. Raiders. Thieves. Murderers. Rapists. Cannibals. Every crime you can think of you got it here.” I suddenly felt my breakfast coming up. I knew it was bad here but... this bad? “Who's the fourth?” I asked, trying to get my mind of what I heard. The two griffins went silent before Rupert answered, “The Masks of Mordum.” My eyes widened. Mordum was the God of Death, the one who took all the souls of the departed and judged them. While every race was created under their own god, there were three gods that created creation itself: Tempus, the God of Time. Nora, the Goddess of Destiny. And Mordum, the God of Death. “They’re assassins. And not just any assassin guild. THE assassin guild,” continued Rupert. “Mostly because any guild that tries to become an assassin guild like them ends up dead in a day.” “Not much is known about them other then they worship Mordum and always have one assassin for one job. The rest are either rumors or the aftermath of their work,” whispered Aquilina. “They’re one of the oldest guilds too. They were around even back during the Great Uprising that freed Erebus from control of the other nations. Nobody knows who they are, where they are, or how much it is to pay them. They come to you with an offer and you take it or not.” “How good could one assassin be?” I asked. “There was once an Elder Dragon who ruled all over the Island of Pandora,” said Rupert. “He was found dead with a face that screamed utter pain and suffering. Nobody saw anyone who did it, but rumors go that it was an assassin from the Masks of Mordum.” Now I was feeling the chills in my body. An Elder Dragon was a being older than a thousand years, some of the most powerful beings in the world. Even Princess Celestia and Luna would have a challenge against them. For one assassin to kill such a being... “Ah ruck it!” shouted Aquilina as she looked at the clock nearby. “I’m gonna be late for job picking! See ya, Uncle Rupert!” Just like that she rushed out of the house. “Hey wait!” I shouted as I got up and chased after her. “Where are you going?” asked Rupert as Peewee flew beside me. I turned around and answered, “To join this guild! To find Marc! To get stronger!” I didn’t even wait for a reply, I was already out and about. I didn’t care what Aquilina said, I was going to join that guild or die trying.