//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 In to The Garden of Shadows // Story: True Black // by Leonofsweden //------------------------------// True Black Chapter 6 In to the garden of shadows 30th of March. Bright Sky looked at the Sun as it neared the horizon much too fast for her liking. Soon she would be expected to appear at the officers' club to be used as a plaything by whoever wanted her. She steeled herself. All she had to do was survive this night. Bright Sky had managed to gather as much money as she could without raising suspicion during the day. She would try to get a lot more tomorrow as they fled from North Bay. Bright Sky had first thought to flee before this terrible night happened, but she realized she and her son would not get enough of a head start to make it over the Silver-seas’ Duchy border if somepony was sent to capture them. When they left tomorrow, it would hopefully be two days before somepony in the city guard missed them. She let out an exhausted sigh. Zig Zag was out somewhere doing the normal things he was expected to do. His mother had not told him they were fleeing, so he was acting the same as always. Bright Sky herself had struggled during the day, jumping at every little sound, and constantly feeling that somepony was watching her even though she was alone. She looked up at the door to her shop as it opened; the bell jingled its little tune. In came three rough looking city guard ponies. Two were earth ponies, with grey coats and Indigo manes much too similar not to be brothers. The third one following behind them was a rather young looking pegasus with a beige coat and black mane. Bright Sky´s heart got caught in her throat as they slowly walked up to her, giving her very sultry looks. Were they here to collect her? That can't be right; it's got to be one if not two hours until the Sun sets. The apparent leader of the group, stood across from her at the counter. Without taking his eyes off her, he placed something on the counter between them. “Hello beautiful! Me and my boys here would like to play with you for a couple of hours.” He said with a grin. The color drained from her face as she looked down at the square coin between them. It had a dagger halfway out of its sheath on it. She grimaced and looked closer at the coin in front of her. There was something wrong with it; she couldn't put her hoof on it but… Oh buck no! She glared up at three stallions in front of her. “What do you think you trying to pull?! This is fake!” She shouted at them. The Pegasus backed up a bit, but the two brothers stood firm, narrowing their eyes at her. “I paid good money for this coin, so you'd better put out!” The ringleader stated unwaveringly, while he glared at her. Bright Sky flipped the coin over to reveal the flat surface on the other side. A real coin should have dagger images on both sides, and were also of much better quality, both in regards to material and hoof work put into them. “Then you've been duped, this is a fake, and a bad one at that.” She said and shoved the coin back towards him, thinking that was that. He raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Really…” He said as he looked at her. Then his hoof lashed out and struck her across the face. She reeled back and hit the wall behind her with a thud before sliding down to the floor. She looked up at the stallion in shock. He was now peering down at her from behind the counter. “How long have we been doing this?” He calmly asked his brother. “Little over a year now.” The brother answered as he too looked down at her where she sat clutching her snout. “How many times have one of these dumb tail lifter noticed that the coin is fake?” The ringleader wondered. “I think she's the fifth.” His brother answered with a smirk. “And how many of them were stupid enough to voice a complaint?” He wondered sarcastically. “Two!” The brother answered gladly. “Whatever happened to those two?” He said and looked at his brother. “The first one is only having soup for dinner nowadays, and I believe the second one is dead.” He said coldly as they both looked back down at Bright Sky who was pressing herself against the wall, as the taste of her blood draining from her snout began to flood her mouth. “Did you hear that? I hope you did. Because if you start mouthing off again, or complain in the slightest, I won't be held responsible for what I do to you.” He stated as he walked around the counter. Bright Sky desperately tried to crawl away. “Oooo we got a live one! I love it when they resist in the beginning!” He said with a laugh and grabbed her by her back hoof. He quickly dragged her out from behind the counter, not releasing her until she was lying on the floor between them. The ringleader unclasped the straps that were holding his breastplate in place and let it fall down to the floor with a clang. Bright sky jerked at the sound, and as she looked up at him, she could see a vicious, raw scar run across his chest. Around his neck dangled a silver necklace resembling a cherry blossom. Immediately she knew who was standing above her. These stallions were the ones who had brought about Cherry Tree´s and Cherry Blossom´s tragic death´s just a few weeks ago. The fear running through her was beyond anything she had ever felt before. “No! Not you!” She wailed and tried to crawl away again. The second brother quickly stamped his hoof down between her wings pinning her to the floor. “No! No! No! Ahhhhhhh!!!” She cried as he increased the pressure on her back, causing her wings to spasm. She was barely able to breath with his weight pressing down on her. The doorbell suddenly chimed again in its marry little tune as it opened. Bright Sky looked towards the door hoping there would be somepony to help her, only to realize it was only the youngest guard leaving. “Where is he going?” The brother pinning her to the floor wondered. “Let him go. He's still a green horn; he doesn't have the balls for this yet.” The older stallion said with a laugh. “So how should we do this? Should we take turns? Or just go both at once?” The brother pinning her to the floor wondered as he took off his helmet and let it fall to the floor. Just as it landed the doorbell chimed a third time. As one all three turned towards the entrance thinking that the young guard had decided to come back, only to see a stunned Zig Zag standing there. His eyes worked frantically to take in the scene before him. Then his face curled into a snarl so vicious it was hard to believe it was a colt that was standing in front of them. “Let go of my mum!!!” He yelled shrilly as the door closed behind him. Both of the brothers looked rather surprised, but then they laughed and looked at each other. “Are you having the same feeling of déjà vu that I am?” Wondered the older brother. “Yeah… This is just like with the inn owner a couple of weeks back, when her daughter walked in on us.” The younger brother answered and chuckled cruelly. Zig Zag´s young mind was absorbing every minute detail he was just given, but he couldn't really make all the connections that were needed. Still he knew he had just heard something important. Although he didn't have time to think about that right now, all that mattered right now was helping his mother escape from the two stallions. Just as he was about to charge the stallions, the leader who had just removed his breastplate drew his sword and pointed it towards his mother. “Now you just sit down quietly in the corner and enjoy the show, or your mum won't live very long.” He warned Zig Zag, The coldness in the eyes that were looking at him told him the guard wasn't joking. Zig Zag just froze where he was, he didn't know if he should obey, flee or attack the guard. When the ringleader saw him hesitating, he pressed the point of his sword onto Bright Sky´s shoulder, making her cry out. “No stop!” Zig Zag yelled helplessly where he stood. “Then get your ass into that corner!” The ringleader ordered pointing into the furthest corner of the shop. Slowly and hesitantly Zig Zag moved over and sat down. His mother was looking at him through tear filled eyes, and then she gritted her teeth. “I'll do whatever you want… just please… don't make my son watch this.” She pleaded and looked up at her captors. They both looked down at her, then each other. The brother pinning her to the floor nodded. The older brother stabbed the sword into the floor just beside her head. She looked into her own startled eyes as they look back at her through they reflection in the gleaming surface. “You’ve got yourself a deal.” The stallion said as he released the sword then trotted over to Zig Zag. “Let's go take a look at your room shall we?” The stallion ordered as he loomed over Zig Zag. With fearful eyes, he looked over to his mother. She reassured her son that he should do as he was told. Slowly he stood up and walked into the kitchen. Just as he turned up the stairs, he cast a glance towards the back door, seeing that it wasn't locked. With somewhat of a plan forming in his head he walked up the stairs, turning right, he walked in to his room, and then sat down in the middle of the floor. The stallion came closely behind him carrying one of the chairs from the kitchen. He eyed the room critically as he walked up to the window to peer down at street below. Satisfied that that wasn't a way out he just turned around. As he closed the door he shoved the chair under the handle, preventing the door from being opened from the inside. Before the stallion was even half way down the stairs, Zig Zag was standing in the open window looking for the quickest way down that wouldn't involve him breaking his legs. After dismissing some terrible ideas, he found a route that might just work and took a deep breath. He leapt towards their neighbor’s lantern holder. Barely managing to hook his front hooves over it, he swung under it and released just as the lantern gave way. The forward momentum managed to carry him to the flatbed of the wagon their neighbors had always parked there when they were not using it. He landed and rolled twice, before crashing into the front of the wagon. He gritted his teeth as he laid there and caught his breath again. That was one of the most awesome stunts he had ever pulled. He stood up and jumped down from the wagon, then hurried over to their back door. Slowly and quietly he opened the door just enough for him to slip in. Looking at the kitchen counter he could see a frying pan and the handle of a knife within easy reach for him. As he neared them he could hear voices from inside the store. “So that's it. If you stick to our rules we all walk out of here happy.” One of the stallions said merrily. “I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt Zig Zag...” His mother sobbed in desperate defeat. “Don't worry. The only reason we killed those Cherry girls was because that bitch was stupid enough to cut me. You can’t blame me for losing my temper after that; all I did was asked how much it would cost to fuck that pretty little thing when she walked in on us.” The older brother said. Zig Zag´s eyes went round at hearing those words. “No… They couldn't mean... Cherry Blossom!” He thought as anger started to well up inside of him. Then he remembered what he had heard earlier. “Are you having the same feeling of déjà vu that I am?” The one with the scar on his chest had asked. “Yeah… This is just like with the inn owner a couple of weeks back, when her daughter walked in on us.” The younger brother had answered. Something clicked in Zig Zag´s mind. Slowly he released the handle of the frying pan and grabbed the chef’s knife instead. Silently he snuck up to the doorway and looked into the shop. The two stallions were standing side-by-side peering down at his mother who was lying sprawled on the floor in front of them. “Well I'll go first this time. Besides I really want to feel how tight that sweet little ass of hers truly is.” The older brother said and grinned horribly down at Bright Sky. She shuddered at his words. When she didn't move, the younger brother roughly grabbed her by the tail, and lifted her flank up so that she was now easily accessible for the older brother. Although he only had time to take one step towards her before his eyes went wide, and he cried in agony. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Get it out!!! GET IT OUT!!!!!!” he screamed so loudly that all of North Bay must have heard him. When he fell down on the floor, Zig Zag yanked the knife out of his rear. The older brother was now lying on the floor clutching his own flank as blood started to pool beneath him. He was still screaming his lungs out. The younger brother was dumbstruck while he looked at Zig Zag standing behind his brother with the bloody knife in his mouth. “Let go of my mum!” He growled fiercely around the knife handle. The younger brother cast a quick glance towards the sword, which was still impaled in the floorboards between him and Zig Zag. But before he could even make a move towards the sword, Zig Zag was standing in front of it daring him to come closer. He released Bright Sky and took a couple of steps backwards. “Now, now there is no risen this has to get unpleasant for any pony.” He said with an uneasy smile plastered across his face. “Unpleasant… Unpleasant!!! You were going to rape my mum! How is that not unpleasant!!!” The colt growled at him. Silently the younger brother cursed himself, for having left his own sword at home, thinking he wouldn't need it. They were just coming here for a quick rut before turning in for the night. Nothing special just some fun and games, now here he was, standing face-to-face with a psychopathic colt, with a knife in his mouth. Bright Sky had managed to get up on her hooves again. She was still in a haze as she looked around. She saw that the last guard had backed up halfway to the door. Zig Zag was standing with a bloody knife in his mouth. And when she turned back to the now quiet and still guard on the floor, she could see how large the pool of blood behind him was starting to get and how pale he was looking. Around the injured brother’s neck rested Cherry Blossom´s silver necklace; it still gleamed in the setting sun that streamed into the shop through the windows. “Why did you kill Cherry Blossom…” Zig Zag suddenly asked the guard. The guard gulped and eyed him carefully, then backed up another step. “What's it to you…” He asked. “Cherry Blossom…” Bright Sky said from where she stood. Slowly she bent down and retrieved Cherry Blossom´s necklace off the dying guard with a snort of disgust. Then walked over to Zig Zag and hung it around his neck instead. She wiped a little blood splatter from his muzzle, and then looked up at the guard again. “…Was his mare friend.” She finished shooting daggers into the guard with her eyes. Zig Zag was staring down at the necklace, now hanging around his neck, finally realizing why it had looked so familiar. It was the necklace Cherry Blossom had in his picture of her. This meant that these two must have stolen it off of her dead body. He felt anger flood into his being once again. Just then the door flew open, in came captain Iron Rod, followed by three other city guard ponies and the young guard who had left them earlier. “Back Stab! What do you think you’re… doing……” Iron Rod just stopped mouth hanging open, while he took in the scene in front of him. Zig Zag with a bloody knife and Bright Sky standing behind him now looking absolutely terrified. The brother of the dead guard spun around. “They killed my brother!” He yelled and grabbed the sword of the guard nearest to him, spun around and charged Zig Zag. With a feral cry he swung at the colt with all his might. Even though Zig Zag managed to block it, the knife went flying from his grasp. As the stallion swung down, Zig Zag rolled away a second too late. Half of his right ear was cut off. Screaming as he came out of his roll, he clutched the side of his head and looked up to see the stallion standing above him, ready to deliver the final blow. But the blow never fell, since a sword came shooting out of the younger brother’s throat from behind. Bright Sky let go of the handle and scooped up Zig Zag into her embrace, while the stallion collapsed on the floor. She backpedaled into the far corner of the shop, still holding her son firmly in her grasp. Iron Rod just couldn’t believe his eyes. Two of his guards had just been killed by a colt and a mare. And what was worse, ponies in the street where locking in on the mayhem from all of the noise. He gritted his teeth as he knew what he had to do. “Take them!” He ordered. As one the guards closed in on the mother and son. There was nothing they could do to escape. Zig Zag was yanked out of his mother’s hooves and ruthlessly pressed into the ground. Behind him his mother was given the harsher treatment of the two, roughly tying her hooves together. Zig Zag screamed while he tried to fight his way loose. Iron Rod walked up to him and kicked him across his snout. His head snapped back from the force the blow, but he could still hear his mother scream while he sunk down in the black oblivion of unconsciousness. **** Bender was pacing around the forge. The girl had been gone for almost twenty-four hours. In the beginning, he hadn't been worried at all. She was a Praetorian, so she could definitely take care of herself. Now at the end of the day though, he was starting to get... well, worried. He didn't think she just up and left, or at least he hoped she wouldn't have. Especially when Lightning claimed he was in love with the mare a day or so ago, though this did annoy Bender quite a bit. As always, it seemed that his sister knew him better then he knew himself. It wasn't until Bender started suspecting that she truly was gone, that he understood how much it hurt his feelings that she just left him without a word. He grabbed a hammer and smashed it against the anvil. Then he did it again, and again, and again, until he felt his temper started to settle. So it really does work without metal in between… Bender thought as he looked at the hammer and realized something. “This is her mythril hammer! She wouldn't leave without that!” He said loudly to himself. “You got that right.” Bender heard an unmistakably beautiful voice say behind him. He spun around to see that the mare, who had been consuming his every thought for the entire evening, was now standing in the entrance to the forge. “GIRL!!! Where have you been! Everybody's been looking for you! They think you ran away with Lobo!” He bellowed as loudly as always, while he trotted up to her. But before he could continue booming questions at her, she stumbled in and almost collapsed in his outstretched hooves. She was breathing heavily, and now that she was in proper light, Bender could see the battered up state she was in. She looked up at him with an annoyed expression on her face. “Stop calling me GIRL! My name is Hammer Song…” She said as she was finally able to relax in his hooves. Bender stared down at her but couldn’t help smiling widely. “That's a lovely name…” He whispered, probably for the first time in his life. Hammer Song looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Wow… When you whisper you actually sound like a normal pony.” She heckled him. He chuckled, but then he looked at her with concern in his eyes. “What happened to you Hammer?” He asked. She just smiled at him without saying anything. Bender looked confused. “What?” He wondered. “You called me Hammer… Everybody else usually goes with Angel Song or Songbird or some such nonsense. But not you… I like that.” She said and put her head against his chest. “That still doesn't tell me why you look like you do…” Bender said accusingly. Hammer Song sighed understanding that he wouldn't let up. “I fought with Lobo… and lost badly.” She answered. “What! But he can’t hurt a pony! Black Star did something so that he experiences extreme pain when he tries to injure anypony.” Bender stated in disbelief. “I thought so as well, but it seems he's just been playing along, or he managed to break the spell’s hold on him. Whatever the case, he really did a number on me.” She said with quite a bit of annoyance. “I should have known something was off… He just sat there waiting for me in the middle and forest, and I just walked straight up to him.” She berated herself. “Hear you go Mr. Giant Wolf!!! My neck is particularly vulnerable if I look away like this!” She continued her self-criticism, and mimics the way she had been looking off in another direction just as he attacked her. Bender’s eyes went wide as he saw the bite marks on her throat. “By the moon Hammer! How did you survive that?!” He asked, with both anger and worry in his voice. Hammer Song looked back at him. “He didn't want to kill me… That's the only reason I'm here now. I was completely caught off guard. Didn't have a chance to think about defending myself before he'd put me through the ringer. I actually think he enjoyed letting loose on my sorry flank, but in the end he told me he liked me for putting a dagger in Black Star´s leg. Lobo also indicated that it would be a waste of energy to kill me if he wasn't going to eat me; apparently he wasn't hungry last night. Wasting energy is a big no-no where he’s from.” Hammer Song said and groaned a bit when she tried to get up again. Bender knew better than to offer her a hoof in assistance. She would have just glared at him. “He even buried me a bit under twigs and leaves in order for me to stay warm while I was unconscious. Quite thoughtful, if you disregard the fact that he had just smashed my head against a tree.” She said as she stood up. Bender cringed as he now understood why Hammer Song had such a big bulge on the side of her head. She limped over to Bender's bed and fell on to it, for she was quite clearly exhausted. Rolling over in the bed so that she now faced Bender, she looked at him thoughtfully. “I'll have to leave tomorrow. Central command needs to be informed about what's happened here. Black Star really has to be on a shorter set of reins… Chief Decurion Avarice is an idiot if you let her continue on like this. Or this is all…” Hammer Song didn't finish her chain of thought. Carefully she looked over to Bender, trying to figure out how much she could or should tell him. She sighed and turned around. Bender hadn't really been listening though, looking over at her he felt a bit empty inside, knowing that she was going to leave tomorrow. It almost made him feel sick in the pit of his stomach. She gave an irritated snort from the bed. “Do you need an invitation? I'm still freezing cold from lying in the Woods for almost twenty-four hours. Would it be too much to ask for that you to get your flank over here?” Hammer Song wondered as she looked over her shoulder at Bender. He grinned sheepishly at her and walked over to the bed. “Not at all ice cube.” He said as he lay down beside her, wrapped his hooves around her carefully, and then held her tightly to his chest. He sighed contently. “No funny business.” Hammer Song warned. Bender raised an eyebrow behind her, huffed and then settles in for the night. Just as he was about to fall asleep he heard a voice. “Why aren't you feeling me up?” Hammer Song wondered. “You said no funny business.” Bender answered bluntly. “You're an idiot.” She retorted. He gave a little laugh and then tentatively started kissing her on the back of her neck. She sighed blissfully while a shiver ran through her. Bender settled his head on one hoof and looked at her. “I'm not stupid you know… I'm just a little bit unlucky when I think sometimes.” He said in a tender voice. Hammer Song couldn't completely quell the laugh she tried to suppress. Then she turned around and looked up at him, while he gazed down to her. “Yeah… Very unlucky…” She stated before their lips locked in a passionate kiss. **** Zig Zag groaned as he once again joined the world of the living. He was vaguely aware of screaming and banging on metal as he started to take in his surroundings. He was lying on hard, damp planks, which was a very uncomfortable bunk, in a wet and cold cell. He realized It was pitch-black, dark enough that it didn't really matter if his eyes were opened or not. He groaned again and wished that whoever was making the noise would just quit, so he could sleep. Then his eyes flew open when he recognized that it was his mother screaming after him. “Ma’am…” He croaked out. “Zig Zag! Are you okay?!” Bright Sky called out to him desperately. “My head hurts…” He said and sniffled a bit. “Don't worry, I’m right here honey.” She said a little more at ease now that she could finally hear him. Zig Zag rolled over and immediately smacked into the ground as he fell out of his narrow flatbed. He grimaced as he felt the soreness in his joints when he staggered up off the floor. The memory of him being pinned to the ground in the store came back to him. The city guards had not been holding back just because he was a colt. Slowly he looked around in the darkness. “Ma’am… Where are we?” He asked even though he knew the answer. There was silence for a while before his mother responded. “We are… We are in the dungeons honey.” She answered. Zig Zag was finally starting to pinpoint where his mother's voice was coming from. He staggered towards it, but he was stopped when he hit the bars of his cell. He leaned against them and peered into the inky blackness. “What's going to…” Was all Zig Zag was able to say, before they heard a key turning in a door further down the gloomy corridor. Both Bright Sky and Zig Zag turned away from the light spilling in from the now open door. A dark silhouette came walking down between the cells towards them at the end of the hallway. As it stopped they could finally see that it was captain Iron Rod. Bright Sky was lying on the ground leaning against the bar of her cell, just like Zig Zag. He himself wasn't too worse for wear, even though he spotted a big new bruise covering the left side of his face where Iron Rod had connected with his kick, and half of his right ear was still missing. Bright Sky, on the other hoof, had been roughed up pretty badly. She had scratches, bruises and sores covering her body. Her wings were tied down tightly to her back. She looked pleadingly at the captain through the bars of her cell. Iron Rod only looked down at her and sighed. “You two just had to kill them… You should have just let them have you. I would have punished them severely afterwards.” He said as he stepped up to Bright Sky´s cell and looked down at her. She looked up at him, her eyes burning with hate. “Like you did after they killed Cherry Tree and Cherry Blossom? If I recall correctly you were there as well.” She answered as if her words were venom. “I wasn't aware of the situation until it was too late… When I arrived on the scene Cherry Blossom was already dead. Cherry Tree was a raving wreck, so I did the best I could out of a bad situation.” He said coldly. “So you killed Cherry Tree as well? That was the best way to solve the situation? Don't lie to me in here! you guards were just protecting yourselves!” Bright Sky stated. “Yes we were… The killing of Cherry Blossom was an accident. Apparently she struggled too hard and broke her neck in the process, so we made it look like she had an accident. But believe me when I tell you Cherry Tree was completely crazy by the time we let her hang herself, and we did let her hang herself.” He said the last sentence with a bit of extra force to underline that he was sincere. “What kind of monster are you! It wasn't noble or something of you to let her kill herself?! You were the cause of her pain! You killed her! You killed them both!” Zig Zag was smashing the bars of his cell at this point, infuriated by Iron Rod’s words. Iron Rod didn't even spare him a glance, while he continued talking to Bright Sky. “Unfortunately the two of you won't have that luxury.” He stated and looked away down the corridor. Bright Sky felt like she’d just been hit by thousand gallons of ice cold water. And Zig Zag was staring wide-eyed up at Iron Rod after understanding what he had meant. “No! No! No! Blame it on me! Hang me! But let Zig Zag go!!!” Bright Sky wailed. Iron Rod at least had the decency to flinch. “Can’t do that… There are too many witnesses, so you are both going to hang in the morning. The laws are crystal clear on the punishment for murder, especially when the ones you kill are from the city guard; there is nothing I can do about that.” He stated flatly. Now Bright Sky’s anger flared up and she threw herself at the bars. Behind Iron Rod, Zig Zag had started to wail loudly as the despair inside of him was starting to overwhelm him. He had only been protecting his mother, how could that be punishable by death? “Buck you! It is your fault we are in here! You and all your bucking guards! You all should hang! Not us!!!” She screamed while she jerked at the bars trying to get at the captain. “Be quiet or I'll just leave you in the dark again.” He said. She glared at him. “Go!!! I never want to see you again!!!” She screamed in his face. “I don't think so! Since I'm here to deliver a small bit of mercy!” He said sharply. Bright Sky stopped her frantic struggle, and looked searchingly at him with something akin to hope her eyes. “You… You’ll let us go?” She asked uncertainly. Iron Rod lifted an eyebrow at her question, and then shook his head. “No… can’t do that. But I can give you this; and I’ll allow you both to be in the same cell this last night.” He said as he showed her a small flask with a green liquid in it. She looked at it for only a second before she turned away with her hooves at her mouth. “You have to use it pretty quickly. The next guard that comes in here and see you two together will probably separate you again. I'm just the captain of the merchant district after all, and the high commander and the rest of the guards are quite rallied up about you two killing two of us.” He explained as he looked at her while holding the flask between them. She looked back with tears flowing down from her eyes. She knew he was telling the truth; it was a kind of mercy, a sick and degraded kind of mercy. She had only been to one hanging in her lifetime. It had been while she was still young and curious. Bright Sky had only needed to see one to know that she never wanted to see another. The thought of her and her son ending up on the short end of that rope tomorrow was just unthinkable. She put her back to the bar as she slid down to the floor again. She held her hooves around herself, in an attempt to contain the sobs wrecking her body. Taking several deep breaths in the effort to regain control of herself, she had to do this a couple of times before she had composed herself enough to try and speak again. “Will… Will it hurt?” She wondered. “Not too much I believe… I've never used it myself after all.” He said. “Pity…” Bright Sky answered absentmindedly. Iron Rod just snorted behind her, and put the flask down just inside the bars of her cell. He then went over to the door and put a key in the lock. He looked down at her. “Don't do anything stupid.” He told Bright Sky as he open the door. Leaving it wide open he proceeded over to Zig Zag´s cell. He looked in at the little colt. If looks could kill, Iron Rod would have been dead instantly. He put the key into the lock then looked down at Zig Zag and met his gaze squarely. “You get one chance to be with your mother.” He said as he opened the door wide so that it was a straight run from one cell to the other. Zig Zag slowly walked out of his cell. When he was just outside he kicked the cell door as hard as he could. Iron Rod not expecting this was hit by the door straight into his muzzle. Cursing loudly at the split lip he received, he glared at Zig Zag, but he was already inside his mother's cell, with the two of them clinging desperately to each other. Iron Rod licked his lips, then walked up and locked the door behind them. “Remember you won't have long… an hour or two at the most.” He said, and then turned around and walked away. Bright Sky and Zig Zag couldn't get close enough to each other. They were holding on so hard it actually hurt, making it almost impossible to breathe. It’s just not fair. He’s so young, and already he’s going to die. Bright Sky thought as she clung to him. Then their cell was once again plunged into an inky gloom, but the light didn't disappear completely this time. Iron Rod had left the door at the end of the corridor a little bit open, just so that a small ray of light ran down the length of the corridor. It wasn't much light, but as her eyes got used to the darkness, she could once more make out the shape of Zig Zag in her hooves. Beside her she could also see the light reflecting off the surface of the glass vial. Apparently Zig Zag was able to make out where she was looking. “Not yet…” He said softly to her and rested his head on her chest. Bright Sky tentatively kissed him on his forehead and then laid her head on top of his. For the first time since he was let into her cell, they were both able to relax a bit. Just sitting there, wrapped in each other's embrace. Listening to each other´s breathing in the darkness. Zig Zag having his head on his mother's chest, also listened to her calming heartbeat. Padump… Padump… Padump… Padump… Padump… Padump… He didn't know if he´d been listening to his mother's heartbeat for ten minutes or an hour when he felt a vial being pressed to his lips. It was tilted back, and a sweet liquid filled his mouth. He swallowed it down, and then once again clung tightly to his mother with trembling hooves. Bright sky suppressed a shuddering sob before she drank down the rest of the liquid in bottle. When it was empty she flung it out of the cell hearing it shatter against the floor in the corridor. She embraced her son again and started to rock from side to side, as she tried to calm both him and herself. “I'm scared…” Zig Zag whimpered in her embrace. “Me too…” Bright Sky answered through her sobs and gave him a quick squeeze. Holding Zig Zag tenderly in her hooves, with tears streaming down her face Bright Sky began to sing, as the poison started to take effect on them. “Come now my child I'll take thee away, into a land of enchantment… come little child, the times come to play here in the garden of shadows…” Bright Sky sang as she started to feel pain in her stomach. She looked down at her son, seeing him gritting his teeth. “Follow sweet child, I'll show thee the way, through all the pain and sorrow…” She continued as tears flowed down Zig Zag´s cheeks. He pushed in further into his mother's embrace. “Weep not poor child, for life is this way, murdering beauty and passion… Hush now dear child, it must be this way, too weary of life and deceptions…” She sang while she felt how Zig Zag slowly went limp in her embrace. “Rest now my child, for soon we'll away, into the calm and quite…” She continued, her voice barely holding together. Zig Zag opened his eyes, to glance up at her one last time. He smiled such a content and sad little smile before his head lulled against her chest. “Come now my child… I'll take thee away… into a land of enchantment… come little child… the times come to play… here in the garden… of shadows……” Bright Sky finished as her head fell down on top of her precious Zig Zag, and all that was left was silence. Come now my child… **** Thanks to Meeester for the Pre-read/Edit If you want to hear my inspiration for Bright Sky´s song, listen here!