The blanket of night draped over the White Tail Woods as the Battle Foals finished their much needed dinner. Greensprout found herself impressed with Fire Fight’s culinary ability and was delighted to know that she’d still have wonderful meals despite being away from home, which the fiery colt was happy to hear. Zebota was able to help Shrapnel grab a nice and lean deer to snack on before helping himself to some stew.
“A delicious meal as always, Fire Fight. Now then, if you’ll excuse me…” Shroud said as she donned her mask.
Fire Fight nodded. “Stay safe, Shroud.”
Shroud giggled as she made her way towards the bushes. “I’m always safe in the cradle of night.” She disappeared into the darkness beyond.
Zebota shook his head. “Nothing nature gifts us with is meant to cradle us.” Shrapnel grunted in agreement.
*****
Shadow Shroud had minimal issue sneaking through the forest and reaching Bullseye’s house. She wasted no time taking cover in the bush on the house’s side. Looking out into the street, she could see that the town was pretty much asleep. A few businesses were just now closing, but other than that, it was quiet. It didn’t surprise her that Trifectown wouldn’t be too lively at night unless there was a big match being held, which there clearly wasn’t.
When she decided that the coast was clear, Shroud peered into a window just above the bush she was in. Through it was a living room next to a small dining area occupied by who she presumed to be Bullseye’s parents, both of whom had Cutie Marks in archery. The stallion, a unicorn was on the couch reading a newspaper while the mare sat at the table completing a complex puzzle. With how late it was, Bullseye must have already been asleep, so Shroud decided to search through other windows.
She carefully crept over to another window a few yard over towards the back of the house and peered through it. It was a dark, unlit room that was only illuminated by what little moonlight shone into it. From what Shroud could see, there was little else than a bed that had only a loose sheet for a blanket. Other than that, it seemed to be empty. However, when Shroud looked more closely, she could see what looked to be broken trophies and plaques and the like scattered throughout the room. “Talk about a junk drawer.” She muttered.
Suddenly, she could here somepony approaching! She silently leapt back into the bush and looked out. Much to her surprise, it was Bullseye looking as disgruntled as ever even with the medal that she had received earlier. Shroud could hear her mumbling to herself. “F****** c**** from Ponyville trying to make me their friend…Tch. We’ll see who’s friendly when I volley about five arrows down their throats!” If it wasn’t made clear by her interaction with Greensprout, it was clear now that Bullseye was not a happy filly, and Shroud was afraid she was about to find out why. She took out the Shadow Eye that Dark Veil had given her and held it up to the living room window. She could hear Bullseye heavily sighing before entering her house.
“Well, isn’t she a ray of sunshine?” Shroud commented.
An ominous silence seemed to slam down on the room along with the front door as Bullseye entered, paying no heed to her parents. Her father put his newspaper down and looked at her. “Where’ve you been?” he asked in an angry tone. It was understandable that he wouldn’t be happy about his daughter being out so late.
Bullseye stopped and just barely glanced over at him. “Where I always am…” she muttered. Her tone wasn’t quite so menacing this time. She started walking into the hallway across the living room presumably towards her room when her father used his unicorn magic to grab her by the tail.
“I’m not done with you!” he growled. He forcefully pulled her back towards him as he got up from the couch. Bullseye’s mother approached them with the same angry glare that her dad had as he held her suspended above the floor. “How’d that little competition today go, huh!?”
Bullseye desperately struggled to fly her way out of her father’s grasp, but to no avail. Her mother then grabbed her medal. “First place again, huh? Of course…” she hissed. She ripped the medal right off of Bullseye’s neck and threw it across the room. “And then you just spent the whole rest of the day at the damn archery range, huh!?”
Bullseye mustered a glare at her parents, but the terror in her eyes held back any ability for it to take effect on them. “Wh-Where else!? Here!?” she stammered angrily. She glanced over at the thrown medal, silently lamenting its broken lanyard.
“What? You want that back?” Her mother taunted. “Mind letting us have it for once!?” she said as she forcefully smacked Bullseye across the left side of her face.
“We were gonna be the biggest stars in archery this century, but we just had to have you, didn’t we!? The second you picked up a bow for the first time, you stole every spotlight, trophy, interview, everything from us!” he dad exclaimed. “Everypony lauded over you while we became chopped liver!” He hit her left eye with such force that Shadow Shroud could feel the shock from her position.
Bullseye let out a scream upon being hit and clutched her eye. A mass congregation of frustration, fear, anger and hate swelled up with her eye. “That’s just your favorite spot, huh!?” she growled.
“We’re open to exploration!” her dad growled. He flung her into the wall with such force that it left a hole where she impacted.
Bullseye crumbled to the floor clutching herself in a heap. “Rnnnngh…..” She gritted her teeth and glared up at her abusive parents. “I’ll just be going to bed now…” she growled as she staggered to her hooves before limply walking into the hallway.
“Fine. Just don’t bother getting up in the morning.” Her mother hissed.
Shadow Shroud was on the verge of drawing her kunai out of sheer anger of what she just witnessed. The snooty fillies in Hoofington pissed her off, but Bullseye’s parents inspired within her the fury of a thousand dragons. Oh how she wished that she could get the rest of the Shadewalkers to help her torture them to a slow, unimaginably painful demise. She had to take a few deep breaths in order to calm down.
It was then that she remembered the Shadow Eye. She smiled as she took it away from the window as she crouched beneath it and giggled deviously. “Well, Dark Veil, it seems as though you have more untapped potential than I gave you credit for.” She whispered. She put the pitch-black gem into her cloak. “I should rescue her ASAP, but I’d have to wait for them to fall asleep. Hmm…..Maybe I should go tell the others first.”
*****
“Kickback, might I see one of your guns for a moment?” Quantum Tech asked.
“Now why’s that?” Kickback asked.
“Well, I’d like to augment them to be more effective if I can, at your discretion, of course. Despite the current lethality of your bullets, they pale in comparison to everypony else’s arsenal......sorry.” Quantum said.
“Aw, shucks. Yer not wrong, but do ya think y’all can do something that wouldn’t make ‘em bulky r’ nuttin’?”
“I should be able to, but I’d need to examine it a little more closely.” Quantum said.
“Well, alright. Hang on a second.” Kickback pulled out one of his guns and carefully unloaded it. Once he was sure it was empty, he handed it to Quantum. “Now you mind yer manners with Ms. Quantum Tech, Sound.”
Quantum giggled. “I’m sure he’ll be a delight if you’re the one <giggle> calling his shots.” She squeaked. Kickback just rolled his eyes in annoyance, which made Quantum even giddier as she began examining his gun. “You have just the most adorable face, Kickback.”
Kickback sighed heavily and held his hat over his face. “Mama, if yer there…..please tell me this ain’t how you met Pa.” he muttered to himself.
Just before Quantum could begin to think, Shadow Shroud emerged from the nearby bushes. “Guys, we have something of an emergency.” She said.
A wave of concern blew over everypony. “What do you mean?” Fire Fight asked.
“Greensprout, you said that Bullseye’s left eye was injured as a result of a training accident, right?” Shroud asked.
“That’s what she told me anyway.” Greensprout answered.
“Well, she was lying to you….horribly.” Shroud said. She explained in thorough detail what she saw of her parents and how she wanted to get Bullseye out of there immediately. Her anger towards them was made very clear by the tone she constantly spoke with throughout her report.
All of the foals looked at her in complete disbelief. “Shroud…..are you serious?” Spiral asked. Her own anger swelled as Shroud nodded.
Air Slash drew his swords with his teeth gritted. “I wouldn’t mind exploring the creed of the Shadewalkers for one night.”
Kickback held his hat slightly over his glaring face. “Well they sound like the type o’ folk that Sound n’ Fury would just love to have a little chat with!” he hissed.
Turf War turned to Shrapnel. “Yo, Shrapnel, feelin’ like a li’l midnight snack?” he asked angrily. Shrapnel huffed calmly.
“He says ‘Hush, children. This is no time to vent our frustrations’.” Crazylocks said.
“He speaks the truth, ponyfolk. We can express our anger once this ‘Bullseye’ is safely with us.” Zebota said. “Besides, vengeance only begets further pain.”
“Zebota and Shrapnel are right, guys. Once we get Bullseye out of there, she won’t have to worry about them anymore.” Fire Fight said. “Though, I do feel like we should figure out a way to get them found out.”
“Leave that to me.” Shadow Shroud said as she smirked. It was the familiar smirk that Fire Fight knew said ‘they’re screwed’.
*****
With some discreet infiltration through the window above the bush, Shadow Shroud managed to silently enter Bullseye’s house. The negative energy of the earlier spectacle weighed heavily within the living room, but she wasn’t about to let that hinder her. It didn’t take long for her to locate her sleeping parents in their bedroom. She pulled out the powerful sedative that Quantum prepared for her without a hint of hesitation. “I’m gonna enjoy this.” She hissed with a devilish smile on her face.
She wasted no time creeping towards the slumbering stallion and spiking him with a nice and healthy dose of sleepy time. “Gruh!.....ugh…..” His body tried to react out of shock, but the sedative took effect immediately.
No less immediately did Shroud ready to strike Bullseye’s mother, but she realized that what she thought was her mother was only a mass of blankets covering a long pillow. “Hmm?” It was then that she heard the sound of a toilet flushing. “Nrgh! This is what I get for being impatient.” She whispered to herself. She quickly leapt onto the ceiling and held her position until Bullseye’s mother entered.
Being an experienced archer must have been a good way to heighten once awareness, because as soon as Bullseye’s mother entered the room, she could apparently sense that something was amiss. She curiously scanned around the room as she slowly made her way to her bed. “Why do I….” Her train of thought was suddenly derailed when she felt something strike the back of her neck with such force that it thoroughly disrupted her senses. She could feel herself being forced to sleep as she collapsed to the floor. When she looked up to see what had hit her, she was met with two amethyst eyes viciously glistening down at her. “Who…….are…….you?......” she asked as the sedative finally overtook her.
Shadow Shroud began making her way to Bullseye’s room as she glared back at the mother’s drugged form. “A prodigy.” She hissed.
Just as she suspected, the nigh empty room full of broken trophies was Bullseye’s. Shadow Shroud found her laying in her bed with no pillow and only a thin sheet to shield her from the nightly chill. To her surprise, Shroud could see that Bullseye was clinging to a high-grade hunting-style bow as though it were a teddy bear. Her parents surely would’ve taken it from her if they knew about it, so maybe they didn’t. Shroud decided to keep her guard in case she had any arrows hidden, especially with what an aggressive attitude she’s demonstrated. She lightly tapped the sleeping archer. “Hey.”
Bullseye didn’t respond immediately, and it took Shroud a few attempts to coax her awake. When she did, she was still holding onto her bow and saw a black figure her size with shining amethyst eyes. “Huh?.....Wh-What the!? Who the f*** are you!?” she whispered.
“Oh, just your new fairy godmother…in a sense.” Shroud answered. “Look, I’ve seen what you go through here. I can get you out of here and take you to a place where you’ll be safe.”
“F*** you! I don’t even know what you look like!” Bullseye hissed. “Now get out of my house before my parents wake up, or they’ll tear you to shreds before I do!”
“Oh! Where are my manners?” Shroud removed her mask, and Bullseye immediately got the feeling that she had seen her before somewhere.
Bullseye scanned her face for a moment. “Wait…..You’re not that ‘unknown’ filly that’s been in the news lately, are you?”
Shroud giggled. “Sorry. I don’t give autographs.” She teased. “And don’t worry about your…<ahem> ‘parents’. I sang them a little lullaby that put them to sleep for at least a few hours. If you’re so inclined, we have plenty of time for you to pack up and leave; I’d advise you bring that impressive bow of yours. I swear to you that my friends and I will give you a safe home.” Shrouds tone became both serious and comforting.
“You mean those other foals that are in the paper too?” Bullseye inquired.
“My, my. Aren’t we perceptive?” Shroud said. “Of course, you are something of a celebrity in this town, so I don’t blame you if-”
“I don’t give TWO S**** about this g******, m************ town or all the stupid c**** that live here!!” Bullseye interjected. “All they want to see is the prodigy archer. Well, you know what being a prodigy did for me!?” She lifted her mane up to reveal her swollen eye. “THIS!!” she let her mane back down. “So, yeah. I’ll go with you, but let me take care of something first.” She hissed as she jumped out of bed.
Shroud was off put by how viciously she cussed, but decided that it wasn’t her first priority. “And what’s that?”
Bullseye glanced back at her. The glare in her eye was bloodshot with boundless hatred, and her gritted teeth made her words hiss with lethal venom. “I’m gonna kill my parents!”