//------------------------------// // Chapter 9~The Second Contract (PT.2) // Story: Hellfire Dash // by Centurion Pike-Wall //------------------------------// Flams eyes widened in shock, doubly so when he saw the knife emerge from below her jacket. He backed up, hyperventilating, looking like he was about to start running. His brother stepped in front of her, despite the fear prevailing in his eyes as well. He said, "W-what do you mean? What's going on?" "He never told you?", Umbra asked. Flim seemed to grow more and more anxious, while Flam had probably soiled himself by then. Flim said, "Told me what? What in Equestria is going on!?" "Ah, I see. Happens quite often. Almost all of them, come to think of it", she said. Coming off her little rant, she continued, "Your brother over there made a deal with my boss. I'm here to collect the debt." "B-b-but you said his soul!", Flim cried out, panicked. She said, "Yeah. I'm a bucking daemon." With that, she took off her hat, exposing her horns, and tossed it to the side as it evaporated into flames. "Now, step aside. I don't have to kill you, nor do I want to. But, I can if you don't back off." Flim, who had previously been shaking like a leaf, froze stark still. He turned slightly to look back at Flam, who had also frozen. "Flam. What did you do?" "I-I-I", he stuttered. "I, I did it for us! We were struggling. For Celestias sake, after Las Pegasus, we were considering taking a gig at a rock farm! He promised to aid us! He asked for my blood! I didn't think it meant my bucking soul!!" "And you didn't think to tell me about it!?" "Again, I didn't think it was that big a deal! He wanted my blood!" "They're basically the same thing in this business" Umbra said. "Now, also again, step aside." Flim eyed her up and down, eventually focusing on her knife. He said, "Is there nothing I can do to make you stop?" "Not a thing", she said. Flim didn't say anything after this. He just stepped to the side, head down and arms held limply at his side. Flam, realizing the implications, turned and bolted for the caves. Umbra walked after him, stopping just when Flim was out of her sight. She said, "It doesn't help. But, for what it's worth, I'm not exactly a fan of this part of the job. Live a nice, long life." "Just shut up", he said, eyes filled with tears. He walked past her into the tent, closing the flap behind him. Umbra spread her wings, taking off before going into a dive after him. She tried to push aside her guilt at this, and focus on her favorite part of the job: the chase if they chose to run. He was quite fast, for such a skinny pony. Or, maybe she just spent too much time talking to Flim. Either way, it didn't matter all too much as she caught up in seconds. The Diamond dogs putting out the fire turned when they saw their boss run past them. He stopped, catching his breath, and yelled, "Another hundred gems to whoever stops her!", before hobbling into the nearest tunnel. The dogs, about eight of them, turned to face her, grabbing whatever they could to arm themselves. Mostly rocks and boards, however a few had spears on them. She had time, but didn't really want to waste too much of it. She didn't know how deep the mines were, or their layout. She flying kicked the first one right in the face, sending him flying against the wall of the cliff. From the crouching position she ended up in, she used her legs as a piston, shooting up and punching the nearest one under the mouth, sending him flying as well. Another swung a two-by-four sideways, only to smack another one in the face. Another lunged at her with a spear, which she dodged and severed the head of with her knife. From behind, one of them attempted to impale her, only for her to take off and avoid it. "Well, this had been fun, boys. But, my and your boss need to talk." Doing a backflip in the air, she dove into the gaping mouth of the cave. The dogs turned to give chase, but she was much faster. In a flash, she was down at the spot where the cave split into two paths, each leading in a different direction. She shook her head; why did they always have to run? She said, "Nocentibus revelare et occultis tuis", watching as the tunnel complex was laid bare before her. She spotted him easily; down the right tunnel for a bit until a left turn, hiding behind a barrel of what looked like fertilizer in a large, open cavern. When the spell wore off, she sped off in that direction. She soon arrived in the cavern she had seen. It was actually a pretty small cave, with a decent sized hole in the high up ceiling revealing the darkened sky of the early morning. While the walls were stone, the floor was covered in a thick layer of dirt, tilled in neat rows like on Sweet Apple Acres. A rack stood next to the door, filled with hoes, billhooks, and other farming tools. Stacked against one wall were several large boxes and crates, bearing labels like 'Fertilizer' and 'Gems-Assorted colors'. Speaking of which, it was by those crates she imagined he was hiding. Like Jet Set in Canterlot, she decided to enjoy herself a bit, as well as scare the crap out of Flam. So, she began marching over to the crates, deliberately and firmly, but most importantly, loudly. The thick heels of her boots didn't create all that much noise due to the soft dirt, but were nonetheless still pretty loud. She trotted up to one of the larger ones, peeking over it to see if he was behind it. From behind her, she heard soft depressing of the dirt. She said, "You clever bucker." At the same time, she sidestepped a clumsy downward swing from one of the billhooks. Flam had somehow gotten over their without her seeing him; an impressive feat few can claimed to have accomplished. He tugged the blade free and tried again, but this time she caught it, before yanking him forward and smacking him with the pommel of her knife. He fell the ground, a small cut on his forehead, groaning and rolling around. "Next time, swing sideways. Less momentum, sure, but you got a bigger chance of hitting me, as well as it being much harder to dodge", she said, bending down over him. Before she could do anything, however, a pair of diamond dogs ran in. Unlike the others she had fought outside, who had likely just woken up and wearing simple vests, these ones were in the full plate armor with spears. She knew from experience not to try and fight them straight up, so she just grabbed the con-artist and said, "Sorry, mutts. But, we have business to talk! Night!" She shot up with him in tow, aiming for the hole in the ceiling. Beneath her, Flam had changed from groaning to screaming, but she didn't really notice too much. Instead, she was focused on the hole, and hoping it was big enough for her to fit through. It was, despite the fact she had to tuck in her wings in order to fit out. In the air above the hole, and tossed Flam to the ground. He attempted to rise, only to be halted when she landed next to him and swung her hoof into the bottom of his muzzle. His head flew up, before falling back down, head partially in the hole. Now began her least favorite part of the job. She said, "Why do they always run?" Flam recovered surprisingly quickly, looking up into her sunglass covered eyes, likely very terrified. He said, "W-where is your boss! I want to re-discuss my contract!" "Sorry, bud. Not my department. Now, where were we?", she said. "Mortal Flam. Your time has come, and your debt is being collected. Do you have any final desires, before it is done so?" "Please, you must be willing to make some form of reconsideration! I'm a businesscolt, and I-" "Just shut up already. 1, I'm not in charge of contracts; that's another departments job. I just collect the debts of the poor unfortunates like you. 2, did you really just try to bribe a daemon? How much of a scumbag are you? 3, even if I could re-work things, we'd have to go through all the channels, and all the representatives and all that. Bureaucracy is a nightmare in Hell. So, no." He, like Jet Set, tried to scramble away, kicking her leg in the process. She hissed at the slight pain, before flipping the blade of her knife over and throwing it. The blade hit him square in the back, sending him sprawling on the ground, hat falling off in front of him. She hissed in pain, but soon overcame it and trotted up to him. He writhed pitifully under the blade, clawing at the dirt in front of him. She knelt down, yanking the ornate blade free with a faint *shink* and a quite whine from him. She said, "Remember. This is your own doing, sinner." She then placed the tip of the knife against the back of his neck, and shoved it in until she felt the resistance of the dirt beneath it. From the spinal damage from the previous wound and the blood-loss from the two of them, he was dead almost instantly. She went about the usual deal after she killed the target. Feel guilty about it, before collecting the soul carrying blood with the words, "Et redde creditori tuo tu maxima culpa. Nunc, redde tu cum sanguine." As the blood collected into the small crystal, a shadow loomed over her. She yanked the knife free, holding it in a defensive posture, before relaxing at the stallion who greeted her. "Boss." Sure enough, Lucifer himself stood before her. He was clad in his usual attire, with the addition of a black suit jacket that seemed to ripple and have various faces push out of it. He looked tired, if it was possible with such a naturally thin face and fireballs for eyes, hidden behind a pair of aviator sunglasses. He said, "Indeed, Venandi. And we have much to discuss."