He was in paradise: soft, fluffy clouds carried him through the sky. Birds of light flew past him, skimming the sky with their wings as if it was made of water, and by his side was his lovely companion. It was all he could have ever wished for, all he could ever want.
A knock shook the world and the birds screeched and flew away. Another knock shattered the sky, shattering into a million little pieces that fell into nothingness. He hugged his companion tight, but the third knock dissipated their cloud and they both fell into the abyss, screaming….
Ethan woke suddenly and abruptly, a silent scream caught in his throat and his heart hammering in his chest. He blinked a few times as he properly gathered himself. He was back in their hotel room, the one he, Brawly, and Chii shared. Soft purring noises came from the bottom of the bed where Chii still slept, and the covers next to him slowly rose and descended with Brawly's breath. He had gotten home late last night, both of them had already been sound asleep, tired out by their day of training for the upcoming contest.
Another series of knocks made Ethan jump and his eyes dart to the window where he heard it, and there she was. On the other side of the window hovered his improv partner and pain-in-the-ass, Murphy Mane. She looked just as tired as he felt. He had said that they would meet up tomorrow to continue this case, but he had not expected her to show up that early, nor did he remembering telling her at what hotel they were staying…
But if she was here then he needed to get up too. Ethan took one last look at his lover, before carefully sliding out of the warm, comfortable covers and tip toed over to the window.
“Someone is looking like something a Muk threw up,” Ethan snarked as he opened the window.
“Yeah well… I couldn't sleep much. Too much on my mind.” Murphy retorted, her eyes darting from Ethan to the bed behind him. “So, are you coming?”
“Yeah, yeah, fly over to the front door and I'll meet you there.” Ethan replied, closing the window. Murphy lingered for a few more moments, watching him before flying away.
As he made his way over to the door to their room, he heard small yawn and the bundle of pink that was Chii stretched and looked up to him with sleepy eyes. “Mmh, where are you going?” She asked in between her small yawns.
“I just need to go take care of something, you go back to sleep.” He smiled and patted her head softly.
“Yeah… sounds good,” Chii leaned into his hand and curled back up into a ball. “We… are going to… take first place…” she murmured as sleep once again overcame her. Ethan could not help but smile even wider at the scene before him.
“You sure are, Chii, you sure are.”
“Two coffees please,” Ethan grumbled with as much enthusiasm as his sleepiness allowed.
“I don't drink coffee.” Murphy kept walking in place, she had expressed her disdain for their delay earlier.
“Well, none of them are for you anyway.” That early in the morning, Ethan needed a double dose to get his brain into working order, he did not care for the taste, but he needed it nonetheless . Even then it would take a little while for it to do its startup process. He handed the barista a few bits and took the coffees to go, one in each paw.
“Can we finally get going now?” Murphy complained for the fourth time. “I… I feel like I need to do something. What's the plan anyhow?” Ethan looked down on her while sipping on the bitter liquid. He never cared much for coffee, but he had learned its usefulness when, as a student, it had carried him through some mornings when he had gotten little to no sleep.
“Plan? Plan…” he mulled over the word, did he have a plan? If he did he had lost it between last night and that moment. No, he had no real plan. He had too little information to come up with a suitable plan. “We have the general location, and the `password`,” the colored armbands they had gotten from the Madame, “ as far as I see it, we go there and see what happens.”
He stopped when he noticed the lack of hoofsteps clattering against the cobblestone besides him. Turning, he saw Murphy having stopped a little ways back. “Are you out of your mind?” Would not be the first time, he thought to himself as he resumed walking. “What should I do, what should I say?” She easily caught up to him with her wings.
“You? As little as possible.” He never raised his voice, but the contempt was plainly there. “You almost blew it for us back at the Brothel, you almost blew it for me.” Images of Jenny, bleeding and broken, outside their home flashed in his mind. “You were of great help at the start, but I don't need you anymore, you need me. So you will do as I tell you, and nothing else. You can't get emotional with things like this, so you screw up again, repeat the brothel incident, then we are through.” Like a glass breaking, it was like he could see parts of her innocence breaking. She had to see the world for what it truly was eventually, he might as well be the one to break it to her.
“Who else would guide you then? I know these streets better than anyone, I grew up in them! Without me, you would not have gotten anywhere!” This was not like last night, her inner fire was burning hotter and brighter. She would not take a talking to like that without firing back.
“I would still get where I need, it would just take longer. In such a big city as Canterlot, don't you think I could find another guide eventually?” Time was not something he had in excess tho. He had said otherwise, but he did need her. “But I am grateful for what you have done so far. So, let's see this to the end, together.” He held out his paw.
“...Fine,” she grumbled and bumped his fist with her hoof, making Ethan wince. Hooves were quite hard. “But when I'm writing this story, I'm not giving you any credit.”
“Fair enough.”
It took the duo awhile, but soon enough they were entering the street that the Madame has told them about, each of them wearing the colored armbands as to signal what they were there for. Boxes, crates, sacks and working ponies moving, lifting or opening these could be seen nearly everywhere, it seemed that this place was used for storage. More than a few ponies looked up as they passed, but nothing more than that.
The silence that had reigned supreme during their walk there was still going strong. Both of them wanted to say something, but neither wanted to speak to the other. Murphy was still furious with Ethan, as was obvious by the glaring cold looks she sent him every once in awhile. And Ethan, while knowing that he had gone too far, instead focused his thoughts on the challenge ahead. It was a heavy and uncomfortable silence, and after having walked the streets where they were supposed to meet Hubby and his gang, Murphy finally spoke.
“Looks like they are a bunch of no shows.” She grunted, kicking a nearby can out of frustration. It bounced along the ground and into a trashcan making more than a few nearby ponies look up at the sudden clatter.
“We have to be patient,” Ethan retorted, though he wanted to agree with her, they only had the Madames word to go on, what if she had lied to them? `Then we will go back and get a real answer` he thought. If that mare dared to send him on a wild goosechase, he would dismantle her world. A few right words here, a bribe there, some planted evidence… it was nothing he had not done before. There were several cases where he had gone to such lengths to see criminals put in jail.
Had he payed more attention, he would have heard the ponies approaching, had he not been so tired, he would have spotted the pegasi closing in. Ethan was having a bad morning, and it was about to get worse.
Murphy reacted first, a high pitch scream followed by a muffled thud. Ethan barely had enough time to turn and see two pegasi hovering behind Murphy, each of them holding a leather covered rod, a blackjack. He did not even get two steps towards her or them before an explosion of pain erupted from the back of his head. The world blurred and danced before his eyes, sharp lights seemed like they were going to blind him. He wanted to scream out in pain, but the blow had taken all the air out of him, there was nothing left. Colors and shapes danced before his eyes, everything was just one big blur.
“Oh come on, rookie, you gotta hit harder than that, look, he is still conscious,” one of the colored blobs spoke, filling Ethan with dread. He had to move, it was just a little hard with the world spinning and the lack of motor control he currently had. “See, this is how you do it,” and then there was nothing.
“-old it like this.” Pain, everything was pain. “That way, you get more oomph out of your buck.” Why did his head feel like he had found and drank an entire liquor store, yup the nauseating feeling was there as well. “You gotta use your whole body aswell, not just your leg,” and who was speaking, Ethan decided, or struggled to open his eyes yet nothing changed everything was still dark. He could feel some sort of fabric brushing up against his face, a sack, he had a sack over his head, and he remembered everything.
“Urgh,” he tried to move, but to no luck, he was tied up aswell.
“Looks like pretty boy here is awake,” a voice spoke up, a different one from the one he had heard when he woke up.
Bright lights made his headache redouble its efforts as the hood was quite roughly ripped off. He was in… he had no idea where he was. It was a big room, light was shining in through a few windows in the roof, a roof that was quite high up as well. Blinking the bright dots out of his eyes, Ethan looked down, the room was filled with crates, a storage area maybe? And quite a few ponies were sitting on them, all of whom were now staring at him and the bright red pony who was up in his face.
“Shlept for a while, that you did.” He spoke with a wierd lisp, probably because of the fact that he was missing a few of his front teeth, something that was impossible to miss once he started talking.
“Where am I?”
“Heh, Same thing your little pegasuth asked when she woke up, you two seem to be the same kind of boring.” Murphy, drat, Ethan had almost forgotten about her. He could not see her among the ponies sitting on various crates in front of him, maybe if… “Oh she is fine, just a little wordy sho we gagged her,” the pony grabbed Ethan's head and made him look behind him, where Murphy was sitting on a chair just like him, with a piece of cloth bound in her mouth and positively fuming with anger. “She is no worse for wear, sho don't get your teatsh in a twisht.” At least she was safe, well, as safe as either of them were.
“And where are-” his words were literally slapped out of him, hooves hurt, even if they hit you lightly.
“Ah ah ah, I'm not done talking.” The red pony started slowly walking around Ethan. “Now, your friend would not say much, but perhaps you will be more reathonable.” He leaned in close once again, so close that Ethan could smell his breath. “I want to know whaht two noisy youngsters are doing, walking into my territory, wearing traitors colors on their arms, and why I should not just dispose of you immediately for that insult.”
She had lied to them, that old hag had lied to them. Ethan's mind raced for possible solutions, they had to get out, he had to escape, somehow.
“W-wait, the Madame sent us, she told us that these colored bands were a code so you would let us in.” Maybe they did know each other and the Madame had just given them the wrong colors by mistake, yeah, that was possible.
“The Madame sent you?” The red pony, who Ethan at this point guessed was Hubby, stopped and looked right at Ethan, narrowing his eyes. “You dare menthion that whore’s name in my prethence?” In a flash, Hubby had produced a knife and pressed it against Ethan's cheek.
“Mmmgh, mmmgh,” Murphy struggled against her bonds, she was cursing up a storm under her gag and tears were slowly trickling down her cheeks.
“W-wait, we do not work with the… whore,” after his initial reaction, Ethan did not dare mention the Madames name in front of him again. “We were at her place, offering a business proposal. She was not interested but sent us here, perhaps you would be interested? We are working for a group that excels at procuring rare and exotic creatures, Pokémon included, I'm sure we could strike a good deal.” Ethan spoke quickly, blurting out the same lines he had practiced for their meeting with the Madame.
“Heh you think, ahahahahaha,” Hubby started laughing as did all the other ponies and Pokémon surrounding them. “Y-you think that we need thomepony elthe go geth what we want?” The knife pressed harder against his cheek. “When we need something, or want thomething, we take it.”
“Okay, um, you see,” Ethan's options was running out, he got out of sticky situations by talking and manipulating, nothing of which was working right now. “Okay I was lying, you see we are looking for a group that kidnap and sells Pokémon, we have no quarrel with you, we were just trying to get info on the other group.” He was panicking, the knife had broke the skin and he could feel some blood starting soak into his cheek fur.
“Hmm,” Hubby removed the knife and eyed Ethan, Murphy had gone quiet and was watching the intense scene before her. “You lie quite a bit pretthy boy.” With a flick of his hoof, the knife was sent flying, right into the floor between Ethan's legs. “I don't care much for liars. What's the name of this group of yours?”
Ethan hesitated, should he tell them? Maybe they were working with them, in which case they were doomed.
“I doubt you would have heard of them, why don't you just-” another slap, and Ethan felt a metallic taste inside his mouth, the stallion hit hard.
“Don't play games with me bunny, name, now!”
“The Weavers!”
Hubby took a few steps back and eyes Ethan closely. He knew the kind of pony Hubby was, no matter what he told him he would take it as a lie or ignore it. So, in a last ditch desperation he had told them the full truth.
“You must be even more deshperate than I thought, spouting out a lie like that. Nopony looks for them, that whore will regret sending two spies as incompetent as you two.” Ethan had a bad feeling before, but now he started panicking.
“We are not spies, I told you, we was sent here to do business!” If Hubby heard him however, he did not let it show.
“Now, what do we do with spies, boys!” Hubby turned to the crowd.
“We show them the terror of Hubby!” They excitedly cheered in unison.
“That’s right, now go get my equipment, let's teach them a lesson they will never forget,” several of the ponies got up and started to leave, yet their boss, Hubby remained.
Now Ethan redoubled his efforts as he struggled against his bonds, he pulled and flexed his arms yet they did not give in the slightest. As a Lopunny he had way more power in his legs, and he could hear the wood creak in protest as he struggled with them, but Hubby was already walking towards him, knife in his hoof and a wicked grin upon his face. He had to get away, it could not end like this, he refused to let it. He summoned all his strength and pushed with his legs, yet nothing happened, the wook just creaked some more, but it held.
“Shorry, bunny, nothing personal, but I got a image to keep up. You and miss temper insulted us with the colors you bore, so you gotta pay. Though I will enjoy this a little, speaking of your little sidekick, why don't we start with-”
“Boss, look out!”
Like Ethan had learned earlier, hooves hurt, even if you were just slapped with one. Hubby however was struck with one at the full speed of a flying pegasus. Teeth cracked and the red stallion was sent flying.
Ethan had no idea how she got loose, but there she was, Murphy. She was still gagged, but in her hood, she had a small knife. Everypony was stunned for a second, from their boss being sent flying, had it not been for that second, Murphy may not have had time to cut Ethan loose. Or at least some of him, she had freed his legs when she had to fly up to avoid being dogpiled by all the hench ponies rushing her. Instead a bunch of them crashed into each other, while a few of the pegasi took to the air after her.
“Fheth hath bithc!” Hubby pointed towards Murph, after spitting out a mix of blood, saliva and some tooth pieces, Murphy however was speeding around the room, narrowly avoiding the other pegasi who kept cutting her off.
They were focused on her, not him. His arms were still tied behind his back, fastened to the chair, but he had his legs free, that was more than enough.
He tensed his legs, his thighs swelling up with power as he leaned forward and got ready. He was battered and tired, but they would not break him, not before he gave them hell.
One of the ponies in the dogpile looked over and noticed the Lopunny leaning forward, crunched up like a coiled spring, he was about to call out to the others, but it was too late. As one of the pegasi passed over Ethan he unleashed all the power and showed everypony in the room exactly what Lopunny's are known for. He leaped straight up with such speed and force that the impact against the pegasus broke the chair he was tied to and surely knocked the poor bastard out at the same time.
Finally free and high into the air, as gravity settled in again and started pulling him down, there was really only one thing to do, “Jump Kick!” The ponies underneath him had witnessed enough Pokémon attacks to know that they did not want to stand in the way of one, but one of them was too slow, he had been pulled down by his companions as they scrambled to get away. Ethan's kick came down upon the earth pony's back leg and the bone simply shattered.
No piercing scream of pain came from the male earth pony, as he simply stared at his own twisted leg after Ethan stepped off it. He was in shock: it was bent in such an unnatural way, and small pieces of bone was sticking through the skin. When a limb gets mangled to that degree, it's unlikely that it will ever heal completely even with proper treatment. But despite that, as nearby ponies were already throwing himself towards him, Ethan could not help but let a small smile creep onto his face. It had felt good.
Up in the air, Murphy had finally gotten her gag off, but she was not doing so well. She kept trying to get to the roof, to the windows to escape, but every time, the other pegasi dived her, or a lone unicorn from the floor fired a magic beam towards her. The unicorn was pretty shotty at magic, but the pegasi were fast, and they had gotten more than a few hits on her. It was classic pegasi tactic: hit and run. And it was pissing her off. They were too good fliers for her to take them on and they outnumbered her, so they could just keep this up until she got too tired to dodge.
“Son of a-” she dodged yet another slow magic beam that fizzled when it hit the roof. That unicorn was really getting on her nerves, he was also looking quite scrawny, unlike those pegasi.
Murphy dodged yet another dive from her airborne attackers, and dived straight for the pink unicorn whose eyes widened when he realized what was happening. “See how you like it!” Nopony could hear her over the chaos, but it felt good to yell it nonetheless before her front hooves smacked right into his side, sending him sprawling to the floor, gasping for air.
They were holding their ground, but only because of the initial chaos and surprise. They had to get away; it was not a fight they could win, for every pony they threw away or knocked out, another was there to take his place. There was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.
Ethan lunged forward into a roll to avoid a humongous earth pony who barreled through where he had just been and smashed through his own teammates and crates like they were made of paper. However, from within one of the crates that had been so viciously smashed, a small familiar object rolled down onto the floor and towards Ethan whose eyes lit up. He had an idea.
The room they were in had three escape options, the windows in the ceiling. The sky however was so crowded with pegasi, so that was not an option. That left the two doors they had seen, one was at the far right corner of the room, a metallic black door they had seen some ponies left through earlier, and a grey door with a few steps leading up to it. There was no real decision, the closest one would have to do.
Ethan grabbed the purple orb in his paw, wincing as he could already feel the telltale poison within the toxic orb start to tingle his skin. It was not the first time he had handled one of those, being familiar with them because of Zoey. The orbs were usually quite tough, made to take a hit without breaking when used in a battle. However, these ponies were not so thorough in their craftsmanship. So, before the poison could fully set in, Ethan reared his arm back and threw the orb with all his might.
The purple orb sailed through the air, towards the earth pony with the monstrous strength who had just dislodged himself from the wreckage he had caused. He just had time to shake some debris off himself, before the toxic orb struck the ground between his front legs, and exploded in a cloud of poisonous smoke.
Chaos erupted within the room, ponies coughed, and fled from the rapidly expanding smoke. Those caught within soon began coughing and felt a mild poison begin to set in, they had not experienced anything like it before. The shouted and called out for help, but it was everypony for themselves, and that included Ethan and Murphy.
As soon as the panic and chaos had set in, Ethan made a beeline right into the poison cloud, holding his breath and covering his mouth and nose with his paws. The door was on the other side. Visibility was not good, but manageable. The poison stung his eyes, but he pressed on. A pony bumped into him as it scrambled to get out, nearly knocking Ethan down in the process. To his luck, he found the door, and it was unlocked, so he ripped it open and fell through, gasping for air, clean delicious air. He had ended up in a hall, a short one, filled with all sort of junk, but most important, it was empty. The ponies had ran away from the poisonous smoke, not into it like he had. The poison had stung, of course and his eyes watered from the irritation, but it would soon pass. A toxic orb is so harmful because of its concentrated poisons, when dispersed over such a large area, it would leave no lasting damage on him, nor on the ponies.
Ethan had just gotten up when a pair of hooved slammed into his back and threw him into the wall across from the door, where a few soft metal pipes caught him.
“M-Murphy?” As he looked up, that's who stood there in the doorway.
“Yes, it’s me, you ass!” She was not happy. “Why, you had the nerve to-” Murphy however, had not been very quiet, and other voices now could be heard from within the poison cloud.
Before Ethan got back on his feat, Murphy pushed him out of the way, grabbed a lean metal pipe, and slammed the door shut, jamming the pipe in between the handle. It was a crude lock, as the door opened outwards from the hall they were in, it would not last long after the poison died down.
“Now…” Murphy turned back to Ethan who had gotten back on his feet now. “What were you doing!?”.
“I was creating an opening,” Ethan groaned, his back hurt, his face hurt, but worst, he had hit his left leg kinda badly when Murphy sent him into those pipes, every step made him wince slightly. Even so, he started walking down the hallway, and Murphy followed, they had to move. Ethan also noticed that she kept scratching her throat with one of her front hooves, somepony had not held their breath while flying through the toxic cloud.
“Yeah, and what about me?” Murphy screamed, too angry to care about her own volume. “You said nothing back there, you just left me to fend for myself. I was lucky I saw you run into the smoke and put-” she stopped and started coughing, she was probably going to need some medical attention or a Pecha berry in the near future. “-and put two and two together. You just ran, I thought we were supposed to be in this together.”
She was right, Ethan had just made a beeline for it. It had not been a conscious decision though, in all that chaos, he had just seen an opportunity and went with it.
“I know, sorry,” it was not sincere, or even faked to be. Ethan was simply too tired and hurt to care. He knew that he should have felt bad about it, he simply did not have time for that, they still had to find a way out.
“...That's it huh?” Her voice was lowered, but shook with the anger and frustration that had been building up.
“Just look for a way out,” yeah, that was it.
The hallway they were in started to feel like a prison, the walls were made of metal sheets, thick enough that nor Ethan or Murphy could punch or kick through them though, they had both tried. Small amounts of trash, and some minor tools were strewn about the floor, this gang was not very organized. Murphy still carried her knife, Ethan had picked up a ball point hammer he had found along the way. They had turned two corners when they came to a staircase and without much choice, began their descent down.
“Where'd you get the knife anyway?” Ethan asked, listening intently to the distance they had left behind. It was faint, but he was sure he could hear some banging against a door, probably the one Murphy had barred.
“Always carry it with me. You never know what kind of creepy, shifty, untrustworthy characters you might come across in Canterlot. A mare needs some extra security.”
“Smart,” it had been much the same back on Earth.
They stopped in the middle of the stairs, as Murphy got yet another coughing fit. She leaned against the railing to steady herself, and spat out a few globs of purple goo.
“W-what’s wrong with me?” She asked, wiping her mouth and looking at the strange color she had just spit up.
“You are poisoned.” In truth, it was kinda fascinating to Ethan. To see how poison would work on a different species, ponies. She had started sweating lightly already, a slight case of poisoning he rationalized, or the symptoms would have been way worse already.
“P-poisoned? Is this from that shitty escape cloud of yours back there?”
“Yes, but don't worry, it's easily curable. An antidote or a Pecha berry is all you will need, or even another Pokémon with the right move can cure you when we get out.”
“Great, another thing I have to worry about.” Perhaps it would even pass on its own because of how light a poisoning she appeared to have gotten. “This won't have any lasting effects, right?”
“No,” probably not at least, but Ethan decided to keep that part to himself, she was already pissed enough at him, “it will be fine.”
At the bottom of the stair, Ethan and Murphy came to a doorway where a door definitely should have been, but just some tattered hinges remained. Inside the room, a few rays of sunshine shone through a broken window in the ceiling, it was much smaller than the room they had previously been in, and if they had to take a guess from the stairs they had just walked down, they were probably below the ground.
Various equipment filled the room, workbenches with various tools and schematics scattered around. Metal tanks with pipes running to and from, they twisted and curled as they ran from the huge metal tanks down to smaller ones, or connected with bigger pipes leading to places they could not see, various colorful liquids dripping from leaks, hissing when it hit the stone floor. This was a workplace of some sort, where Hubby and his goons had, or were making various things. Perhaps it was here they had made that shitty toxic orb, Ethan wondered.
There were even several pots and wooden tubs that were being used as makeshift gardens to grow plants, he even spotted a few ones with berries in them… sadly no Pecha berries but he would gladly take a few Oran ones.
But there was one main problem, “there is no exit.” Ethan had hurried into the room but as far as he could see, the only way into or out of the room was the way they had come in, a dead end.
“There is one,” he thought she meant the way they had come in and suggested backtracking, but as he turned Ethan could not see Murphy anywhere, other than a flapping above…
“There is no way I can jump that high,” even if his leg had been okay that would have been a no go.
“I know,” Murphy simply answered as she continued to rise towards her exit.
“Can you carry me up there, or find a rope or something to throw down?”
Murphy halted in the air and looked down on Ethan, the rays of sunlight blinding him slightly, so he could not look directly at her.
“Maybe I could, but I won't.” W-what was she saying? “You left me without a second thought back there in that brawl, left me to fend for myself, even after I saved your ass.”
“I said I was sorry, it all happened so suddenly!” This was not good, Ethan's mind raced to find a solution. “What about what we have been through?” Maybe he could appeal to some other part of her.
“What we have been through? I joined up with you because I wanted a story, I wanted to make my breakthrough. But also, because it seemed like you wanted to do some good.” She took a small break and he could hear her sigh. “Well, I have my story now. Maybe not as good as what I could have gotten, but a damn good one nonetheless. About the Canterlot gangs and the rivalries between them. And you,” she started laughing, a hollow and humorless laugh, “You don't care for ponies who suffer as you trot towards your end goal. I would call you cruel, but no, you simply don't care.”
“You can't help everyone!”
“But you should be able to help somepony!” She screamed. “Or… you should at least try. Maybe I'm naive, or my way of thinking is. The real world is not all pretty colors and sunshine, I grew up alone in Canterlot of course I know that! But I would rather be naive, than live in the same world as you do.” She started beating her wings harder again and rose. “Maybe you will get out of here, perhaps not… I don't care.”
“Wait, tell somepony, a guard, anything, don't leave!” He cried out with all his soul, desperate, clinging after something, anything.
“...Bye,” and the window slammer shut, she was gone.
Gone
Yet another of these ponies had betrayed him, what he had done in the brawl was not a conscious decision it was just a split second reaction, what she had just dont had been thought through. His eye twitched. First that whore the Madame, now Murphy…
“Son of a B- AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,” Ethan just screamed with anger and frustration. A flask of something was within his reach, he had no idea what it was and he did not care. He chucked it against the wall, watching it smash and its contents slowly drip down. Everything was going down the drain, he was trying to help, why could she not see that? Why could she not see the good he was trying to do!?
She was ignorant, foolish, and he would show her, he would show them all. The real enemy here was Shady, and the organization he worked for; The Weavers, they were what's important. How many ponies, Pokémon and innocent creatures did they hurt? When they were gone, all would be better off for it. She had not understood that, but he still knew what he had to do.
His ears twitched as he picked up a faint sound, the hammering of hooves against a metal floor approaching, The door had fallen and his only exit was effectively cut off. His eye twitched again and, head shook slightly and he started stroking his ears, why did everypony have to be so problematic. The Madame for tricking him, Hubby for not listening, Murphy for abandoning him.
The group of ponies were getting ever close by the second, and to get out, to show them all the error of their ways, he had to get through that group.
He just had to…..
It was not long before a ragged looking group of ponies came down the stairs and reached the entrance to the room at the bottom. Quite a few of the ponies were bruised or limping, and a few were looking quite sick, possibly poisoned. In front was a very familiar red stallion, now with a swollen cheek and fire in his eyes.
“They cornered themthelves,” Hubby started laughing before stopping with a whimper, his hoof moving to rub his swollen cheek. “Thspread ouht, ain't many placthes here in the workshop they can hide. Find them, and beat them shenseless!” He shouted with as much power and fury as he could with his mouth hurting.
“Um, boss?” The group had just gotten into the room when they all stopped. “He is just standing there,” and so he was, in the middle of the room, Ethan stood, his eyes burning with a fury only matched by Hubby.
“Nowhere tho run, so ya gave up eh? Well, donht think that will do ya any good.” The Ponies started slowly approaching Ethan, fanning out to cover any escape options while Hubby remained by the entrance, smiling with a sick glee.
“Didn't give up.” Ethan picked up a lantern that stood on a barrel next to him. “Just not running anymore.” He stared them down. “I want you to let me leave peacefully, just walk out of here. If you don't,” he looked around, “I will destroy all of this. Looks like it took quite some work to set it all up too.”
The ponies stopped and looked back to their leader who had started to laugh.
“He is bluffing, don't listen to a dang bit he has to say, get him!” Ethan sighed, at least he had tried.
“Very well.”
“Um boss, what that smell?” One of the henchponies asked, he looked down to see a clear brown liquid, “I-is that?”
“Yes,” Ethan let the lantern fall, it hit the floor and the room was illuminated with such intensity it made everypony jump back. The fire ran across the floor, licking against everything and everypony that came within its all consuming reach. Several of the ponies screamed, the liquid on the floor was also on their hooves and the flames had them in its grasp, eating away at their hooves, and starting to climb up their legs. They continued screaming they ran, it was a scream like no other, not only of pain, but of fear, the fear of something primal and ancient. One unlucky soul fell and his scream intensified. Several ran past him, but a few ponies who had outran the fire grabbed him and dragged him out.
Ethan hoped that pony would be okay, he had no intent on hurting anypony with this stunt of his, not unless he had to. He just needed to scare them away, they had no reason to stay and risk everything.
In just a few heartbeats the entire workshop was transformed into a raging inferno. Hissing and popping came as the flames invaded storing crated, consuming its contents in it impartial road of destruction. It found its way into the metal tanks, where the contents were already nearing their boiling point.
Within this raging inferno, only two souls remained. Ethan still remained in the middle of the room, The flames trashed and clawed at the floor, but a circle around him remained clear. His fur heavy with sweat and a unsettling smile on his face.
The henchponies had escaped, but the leader remained, just like he had thought. Hubby had a stake in all of this, much more than anypony else, it was his gang, his workshop, his creation. There would have been no chance with a fight versus all of them, but with just the two of them… once the leader falls, the rest might lose their fighting spirit. That was his gamble.
Hubby shook with primordial anger, reason told him he should follow his gang in their escape, there was plenty of volatile things within the workshop. But he no longer heard those thoughts, there was only a want, a need to hurt the one that had caused all this, the rabbit that continued to goad him by standing unharmed within the firestorm his precious workshop had become.
As if fate wanted it, clear spots started to spread on the floor as the fire had consumed the that had started the fire in the first place. And soon enough, a path had opened up, a path between the the furious sadist and the tired soul who had let go of his gentle nature.
There was no moment of silence, no staring each other down like you might see in a movie. Hubby just roared in rage, threw his head back and galloped forward.
Ethan thrusted his hand into his fluffy ear and withdrew two large flasks, they contained the same oily liquid he had used to set the workshop aflame. In rapid succession he chucked them at the approaching earth pony. The first flash hit Hubby right in his face, but the bottle was too thick and it simple bounced off. The second hit the ground in front of him and the nearby fire jumped on the nearby fuel immediately creating a small explosion.
It was something that would have stopped most ponies, but Hubby had already left his senses behind and the ball of flame did not even slow him down. Small patches of flame tickled his fur, yet he cared little, he only saw his target.
“Fuck,” Ethan muttered, spinning the ballpoint hammer in his hand. Unicorns had their magic, all kinds of tricks up their sleeve. Pegasi their speed and mastery of the air. But on a small path, few things were as frightening as a massive Earth pony with no sense of self preservation barreling towards you.
Using a quick attack with a damaged leg was not the smartest thing Ethan had done, he had meant to pass Hubby and hit him from behind, but instead they slammed into each other. Ethan had the speed, but Hubby was several times heavier and his momentum continued. They rolled forward, a tangle of limbs. Hubby had not expected that move and faltered, while Ethan raised his arm and brought the hammer down on the nearest things he saw, his opponent's ribs. A muffled crack as a rib gave under to the force of the hammer, but stopping was no option. Ethan hit again, and again with as much strength he could muster, yet the moment of surprise would only last so long.
His head was yanked back, and a powerful leg was forced around his throat. He nearly dropped the hammer and feeble scratched at the leg with his free hand, he was choking him. Panic started settling in and he started hitting randomly with his hammer, he could not see anything, but he was too weak to pull the leg off. His chest started burning and he was kicking wildly with his legs, spots started to appear in his vision. He pulled and scratched with all his vigor, but it just would not let go.
Suddenly though, Hubby slacked his grip and Ethan rolled over to his stomach, gasping for breath. He was alive, he had no idea why Hubby had let him go but he was alive. His eyes wandered to the hammer he was still clutching in a death grip and notices the blood that was now dripping from it. Before he had any time to think further on it, he heard somepony next to him start moving and groaning in pain and Ethan forced himself up on his two feet. He swayed, and got a little too close to the fire, for a moment before he regained his balance, then he saw why he was still alive and what he had struck.
One of Hubbys eyes were closed, his coat color made it hard to see, but blood dripped down from the side of his face onto the still steaming stone floor. He took a step towards Ethan, but staggered having a hard time just keeping his balance. Sensing an advantage Ethan stepped forward with his hammer, but nearly tripped again. He was running on fumes, hurt, tired, the only thing that carried him on was his will, the will and knowledge that he needed to get out and do what he needed to do to get revenge for Jenny.
“Everything I worked sho hard on, in flames, becauhse, of, you.” Hubby spoke slowly as he took one step at a time towards Ethan. He raised his hoof, and slugged Ethan, who at this point had no chance at dodging, right in the stomach.
“If you had just let us go in the first place, none of this would have happened!” There was no strength in his arm, Ethan just twisted his upper body, letting his arm swing free. Yet it was good enough as the hammer smacked into Hubbys muzzle with a crunch.
His nose was bleeding, but he was not backing away. He put his hoof into the nearby fire, ignoring the intense heat and in a moment of insane brilliance, swiped his hoof against the floor, sending specks of flaming liquid right at Ethan who had to cover his face to protect his eyes. As he did that however, Hubby powered through, ignoring the new burns from his hoof as he tackled Ethan down to the ground once more. This time however, he had the upper hoof.
Ethan continued to shield his face as Hubby slugged him over and over, bruising his arms and ribs. An opening presented himself and Ethan swung his hammer once more, but Hubby caught lunged forward and caught the handle with his mouth. He grinned down at Ethan before he bit down, crushing the handle with his teeth like it was cardboard. He spat out the remains of the weapon and delivered another hit into Ethan's ribs, and he was sure something cracked at that point.
Without a weapon and without an advantage, Ethan had to play dirty. He threw himself to the side, it did not remove Hubby from him, but it did throw him off balance and have him just enough room to knee him in his most sensitive area.
A whimper was all that escaped his lips as Hubby rolled off Ethan and clutched his crotch.
“In your words. Buck, you!” Ethan forced himself to his feet once more and kicked the downed stallion in his jaw.
He fell back into a sitting position breathing heavily while Hubby still whimpered and cradled his precious goods.
“Was this,” he gestured to the inferno around them, “worth it?”
“Buck you!” The earth pony replied, his voice significantly higher than normal. “This is what your whore of a boss wanted anyway.”
“Why won't you listen!” Ethan fell back and stared up onto the smoke filled roof, for some reason he could swear he saw a cloud inside all the smoke. “I told you, I am not working for her, I never was.” He took deep breaths, his chest hurting every time it rose. “She tricked us both.”
“So… this was all meaninglehss?” he forced his head up and saw Hubby looking up at him. “All this work… buck you man, did you have to thet it on fire?”
“Hey, you tried to kill me.”
“Only because you seth fire to my workshop. We were just gonna rough you up before that, to thend a message,” in a strange turn of events, Hubby started laughing, and Ethan could not help but to join in. It was a infectious laugh, filled with despair and sorrow. “Hey, where ith your cute sidekick?”
“She bailed, left me to fend for myself.” Ethan scoffed as the laugh died down, it hurt to laugh anyway.
“Mares, right?” Hubby continued to laugh a little more at his own comment before he too stopped.
“What's the deal with you and the Madame anyway?” Ethan found himself asking.
“She wanths my territory, to expand her shit,” a grunt came as Hubby rolled over on his side and looked up at the roof. “Looks like she finally got what she wanhted.” Both of them blinked as a few wet drops splashed against their sweat drenched faces, and in just mere seconds it was like a thunderstorm, sweet refreshing water flowed down in masses. “My boys finally got here… you know that we can't just let you go right? Working for her or not, you still did this.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ethan started to think again, and an idea sparked to life. “What if I gave you the Madame? Delivered to your doorstep.”
“...I’m lithening.”
“The stuff you had here, you got more of it stored somewhere?” He would need some tools to work with after all.
“Yeah, several placeth.”
“Good, then I believe we have a deal, oh one more thing…
Ethan did not bother to knock, he just opened the door to the Madame's office and stepped into the room of a very surprised looking Mare.
“M-Mr Ethan?” He had not seen the Madames facade crack at all during their first meeting, but this, was not what she had expected.
“Sorry if I don't knock, but I'm tired of games.” Just like last time a chair materialized by her desk and Ethan saw down. “I beat your little, test,” he made no effort to hide the venom in his voice, “and I do not care for it.” He breathed deeply, straightened his back and ran his paws through his hair. “So, I am expecting some major compensation for such a task, one presented to me without my compliance.”
“But of course,” the pen that was levitating over a scroll on the desk was put down and the Madame leaned back in her chair, gently tossing her hair so her mane laid down elegantly on one side of her face. “But first, let me congratulate you and apologize for thrusting such a rude task upon you. Backstabbing is so coming in this business, and I had to make sure that you were truly who you said you were. If you were, as I am now convinced that you are, I had no doubt that you would have the resources to handle such a nasty business.”
“Yes, Hubby and his gang truly gave me a rude welcome. Luckily, they also had some berries stashed over after the... unpleasantries was over so I recovered somewhat.” He still looked like shit though, there had been no time to groom or the like.
“I am pleased to hear this, but I have to ask, why didn't my assistant, Snow, show you in? She is usually so diligent with her tasks,” the Madame asked, not noticing the small smile that started to grow on Ethan's face.
“She is just resting a little, sleeping soundly, just like you will in a few moments.” The Madame blinked. There had been no aggression in his voice, just the pleasant polite tone he had used when they had first met.
“What are you-” and that's when it hit, a wave of dizziness came over her. She had to grab her desk just so she would not fall off her chair and onto the floor. She tried to use her magic, to teleport away, but her concentration was failing her, and all she got was a few sparks from her horn.
Now, Ethan grinned fully. He reached into his ear and pulled out a Chesto Berry, grimacing as he bit into it.
“I never liked the taste of these, but, you can't deny the effect they have.” He said while munching away
“..at… d...you do?” She had not slid off her chair and was struggling to keep awake on the floor.
“I have picked up many useful tricks over the years.” Ethan spoke after swallowing his latest mouthful of berry. “A friend of mine, is a rather brilliant herbalist and alchemist. With the right ingredients, one can make a odorless and almost invisible sleeping gas.” Now on the floor, the Madame did notice a small fog like mist. “It does not work long, but it does not need to either.” He pushed the chair back and stood up, walking around the table before kneeling down beside the struggling mare. “You crossed me. Things would have been so easy if you had just played along.” He got up and walked back to the door, opening it to reveal two ponies wearing masks, one of them carrying a huge burlap sack. “Know this, you brought this upon yourself….
“Like we agreed,” the pony next to Ethan jumped onto the wagon the other was pulling, and threw down the now moving burlap sack. He brandished a knife and cut through the rope that held it closed, revealing a gagged and bound mare; the Madame.
“Amazing,” Hubby smiled like a boy on his birthday. He was still looking rough after their little tumble, but at least he had gotten some bandages on in the time Ethan had been gone. “You and I will have so much fun…” He teased and the Madame tried to shriek and trashed against her bonds, though it did her no good.
“You won't hurt her workers or employees, right?” Ethan asked, feeling a sense of joy as he watched the mare squirm.
“Not unless they come afther us, no, we have no reason to.”
“Good enough, now, you found what I asked for?” Hubby nodded and pulled out a folder, which he handed to Ethan. He opened it up to see the one page that was within.
“The pony you want is Hock Flynn.” Hubby told him as the page said the same thing. “A shady nopony without a thpine that does anything for bits. But he is the most well known informant in Cantherlot. He works for everypony to thome degree, delays orders, and is the negotiator between gangs when they want to talk or settle something. He knows everything that is worth knowing.” Ethan nodded and stored the folder in his ear fur.
“Thanks,” he turned to leave but Hubby's voice stopped him.
“He works for us too… does good work, so, I would rather he remain in one piece if you know what I mean.” They stared eachother down for a few seconds before Ethan nodded once again.
“Yeah, I'll try.”
“Good enouth.” Hubby nodded. “May we never meeth again, bunny boy!” He shouted as Ethan started to leave.
“Sounds good to me,” he agreed, that was a pony he never wanted to see again. As for what they would do to the Madame, he did not care. That was their business. “Hock Flynn…” He finally had a real solid lead. From a pony, despite all his shortcomings, he saw as trustworthy when it came to things like this. The file placed several large areas where Flynn used to roam, but it was too big for him to cover on his own.
It seemed that he would have to get some help once again.
He looked down on himself and sighed. But before that he would have to freshed up, the berries had helped a ton, but he needed a good scrubbing, his well trusted brush… and he was late for the Contest where Chii and Brawly would be performing.
Damn it.