//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 Can You Die Twice? 
// Story: True Black 
// by Leonofsweden 
//------------------------------//


True Black
	

Chapter 8


Can You Die Twice


31th of March.

They both gasped as the ice cold water washed over them. Sputtering Bright Sky tried to take in her surroundings. What was happening? Where was she? Finally her eyes fell on a wet and shivering Zig Zag, and the previous night came crashing down upon her. From the other side of the bars of their cell came a sniggering. 

“Wake up sleepyheads! Can’t be late for your own executions!” Bright Sky heard a masculine voice say through her drug-induced stupor. She looked up and saw none other than Iron Rod standing on the other side of the bars with an empty bucket in his mouth. She glared at him while she tried to get up, and then her eyes went wide at the realization that her body wasn't responding.

“Wait… What is going on? The poison… Why aren't we…” Bright Sky found herself interrupted by Iron Rod, 

“Dead?” Iron Rod finished for her, smiling as he did so.

“That wasn't poison I gave you; it was only a sleeping agent and muscle relaxing drug.” he said while he put the bucket on the floor. Bright Sky couldn't believe what she was hearing.

“Why?” She asked confounded.

“Why not? The other guards were very tired of your earsplitting screaming and hollering last night. You didn't even stop after they roughed you up as a warning, so they decided to come down here and force that stuff down your throat if you didn't drink it of your own free will. That's when I saw a marvelous opportunity. I bet them that I could make you drink it voluntarily, and as an added bonus, I could have you give it to your son as well. Thereby giving us a quiet and peaceful night, and at the same time, making the two of you easier to deal with today. Excuse the pun, but I made a killing last night.” Iron Rod said with a vicious grin while he leaned against the bars of the cell. Bright Sky tried to force herself up on her hooves, but had to give up when she could barely pull her legs in under herself. Breathing heavily, Bright Sky once again looked up on Iron Rod who was still standing there watching her struggle in silent amusement.

“You’re a monster… you stole the last hours my son and I had together for a stupid bet!” She hissed at him while fresh tears started rolling down her cheek.

“It's just business, nothing personal, and you would have gotten knocked out no matter what, so why not make a few bits on it?” he said with a sigh to emphasize just how little he cared for her retort.

Nothing personal?! How can you be so callous and evil?! I thought I killed my son! There is nothing more personal than that!!!” Bright Sky screamed at him as she almost made it up onto her hooves again before collapsing.

“How should I act then? Would you like me to lie on the floor while begging for your forgiveness? Don't make me laugh… I would never get it, and I wouldn't last very long in this business if I crumbled every time a plan went out the window. Besides, it´s much easier to hang a pony when you know they hate your guts. You're not the first and definitely won't be the last mare to be caught on the wrong side of a noble pony’s attention.” Bright Sky gave him a shocked expression, and Iron Rod couldn't help but shake his head at her. “You didn't think it was my idea to bring you in, did you? Young Lord Silver Pot took note of you in the markets, and promptly demanded you be made available for him as soon as possible. Even if you won't believe me right now… I'd say you got the easy way out of this mess if it wasn't for the fact that you're dragging your son with you. What some of them so-called nobles do to you mares up at the officers club even I find… disgusting…” He said quietly. Bright sky looked at him not knowing how to react to what he said. Then she grimaced and forced herself up by clinging to the bar of the cell.

“Up there I would at least have had the chance to take one of them with me…” She hissed venomously at him before once again sliding down on the floor. No matter how much she wanted to, she just couldn't keep herself on her hooves.

“You got spirit girl, I'll give you that. I think it will only be another hour or so before you can stand on your own again, so we should probably get started soon.” He said and disappeared down the corridor. Bright Sky just remained there on the floor of the cell boiling over with anger but unable to do anything about it, and she didn't have enough energy to keep the anger going for long. She had never felt so weak and helpless. Beside her, Bright Sky heard shallow breathing and realized that Zig Zag was still lying in a wet puddle. She rolled over, and with great difficulty, she managed to pull him up onto her chest so that he no longer had to stay on the cold floor. She could see how Zig Zag´s eyes fluttered as he tried to force himself back to full consciousness. But since he was much smaller, the dose he had gotten during the night was still affecting him heavily. Bright Sky looked at her son as he fought to keep himself awake, despite the bleakness of their situation. The easy thing to do would just be to stay asleep all through this horrible ordeal, but not Zig Zag, he was always a fighter.

“You are such a brave little colt… You never given up, do you…” She whispered. To her surprise she heard a weak answer.

“Save… promise… won't… let them… hurt you…” Zig Zag croaked out as he looked through foggy eyes at his mother, not really comprehending where he was. She felt so much love for her son then it hurt in her chest. Bright Sky wanted to cry, to scream, to just do anything to try and express how much she loved him at that moment, but she was so emotionally and physically exhausted that she couldn't. In the end, Bright Sky just hugged him tightly; it was all she could do for him in this dark and cold place.


**** 


Hammer Song squeezed her eyes together as she tried to ignore the beam of blinding light that was aiming straight for her. With an annoyed grunt, she gave up and looked for the source of the irritating light. The first rays of the morning sun were shining straight in through the open door of the forge, and then across to the bed when she was lying.

“What idiot left the door open?” she wondered out loud. She was just about to go up and do something about it, but Hammer Song noticed that somepony was holding onto her. Somepony big, warm and comfortable was pressed up against her back. It wasn't a blanket that was keeping her warm despite the open door; it had been the embrace of Bender still sleeping behind her that had kept her cozy through the night. She let out a pleasant sigh.

Oh… it was that idiot. She thought happily, and all of a sudden the light in her eyes didn't seem so annoying any more. Hammer Song settled down into Bender's comfortable embrace again. The next twenty or so minutes passed pleasantly, then she could feel him stirring behind her. He nuzzled in even closer and started to tentatively nibble on her ear.

“Morning my little Hammer…” he whispered softly, or at least as softly as he could. Just then, a trumpet blast was heard outside bringing the both of them to look up.

“Are we expecting new troops?” Hammer Song asked.

“No… But then again I'm not Lightning´s secretary. And besides, it's nothing to us anymore. We should just pack up and start heading for Everfree Forest.” Bender answered in good humor while Hammer Song got out of the bed to have a look outside at what was going on. Halfway towards the door she came to an abrupt halt.

“We?” She said in confusion as she looked back at Bender, who had an annoyingly goofy smile across his face.

“Yeah… I've never actually been there. Thought I'd see the sights; they do say there is some beautiful… art and stuff down there.” Bender said while his eyes glided over her curves in quiet appreciation. It wouldn't be long before she strapped on her armor again, so he had to take his chance to really look when he could. She gave him a smug smile and swayed a little extra with her flank as she walked out. But when she stood outside, she felt a bit confused. Why had she acted like a little filly when Bender tried to be all lovey-dovey? Normally she would have stomped a stallion into the ground if he said something like that to her, without a second thought. Hammer Song hated such blatant flirting because it felt so insincere, but for some reason when Bender said it in his gruff voice, it made her feel all tingly inside. Before she fell asleep last night, she had convinced herself that she had only needed the emotional support then and there, and that she wouldn't put too much value in it. But now that Bender told her he wanted to tag along, Hammer Song found the idea very appealing.

I hope he isn't turning me into some sissy mare. Then again I could always fix that by just breaking his neck.  She thought more or less as a joke. She looked down at the camp of neatly laid out tents, and through the wide path in the middle, a column of six guards were following some high-ranking officer. She tried to get a good look at the crests on his helm, and before he disappeared into the command tent, she was quite sure it was the crest of a Chief Decurion. What was a pony of such rank doing way out here in the middle of nowhere? And why were there only six soldiers in his honor guard? There should be at least ten; did they come under attack on their way here? Hammer Song looked closer at the soldiers still standing outside the command tent.

No… They don't look like they've been in a skirmish. That's odd.  She thought to herself just as Bender came out of the forge. He walked up to her and nuzzled her lovingly. As a thank you, he received a sharp elbow in the ribs.

“Lay off it lover colt… Can you find out what's going on down there while I get my equipment together?” Hammer Song said and indicated the ponies by the command tent. Bender just nodded and started to walk down towards the camp.


****


As soon as Lightning Strike heard the trumpets sound, she immediately started strapping on her armor and cursed while doing so. She had been spoiled lately, Black Star helping her every morning with her magic. She was barely able to get all of her equipment on before the tent flap was pushed to the side, and a quite regal looking pony entered. His custom-fit armor gleamed like polished obsidian and looked even darker black against his grey coat. His pristine, indigo mane and tail contrasted sharply against his armor and coat. But his most startling features were his pink eyes. As they regarded her, she felt a chill run down her spine; she had never thought that pink eyes could look so… cold. Upon seeing the crests on his helmet, Lightning Strike knew who was standing before her. She didn't even need to see the King chess piece cutie mark on his flank.

“Chief Decurion Avarice… What a pleasant surprise.” She said and saluted.

“As you were Decurion Lightning Strike.” Avarice said and trotted into the tent, still inspecting her quite closely. She was truly a fine looking Pegasus. Her yellow coat had an almost golden shine to it and went very well with her two-tone blue mane and tail, and her stunning blue eyes looked as if they came from the depths of a glacier. Once again Lightning got a very uneasy feeling about being so closely scrutinized. Even with her armor on, Avarice could see she was even better looking than the reports on her had indicated. There was no way Black Star would be able to resist her, especially since she had a weakness for Pegasus ponies. Although… where was Black Star? Avarice had been certain he would find both of them in here upon his arrival. The fact that she wasn't here didn't sit well with his future plans. He had picked Lightning Strike to be the leader of this camp for two reasons. Sooner or later Black Star would realize that her work would not be for her own benefit, and when that happened, he would need something to keep her in check. Since she had no family he could threaten, he hoped that her lover would be a viable option. The same went for Lightning Strike who, unbeknownst to her, was one of his main rivals for future advancement in The Grand Army. But unfortunately Lightning had no family on record that he could use as leverage against her, so if he could get the two fillyfoolers to fall for each other, he would be killing two birds with one stone. He came to a stop in the middle of the tent and looked over at Lightning Strike who was still standing at her map table.

“Where is Black Star? I hear congratulations are in order.” Avarice said with a smile. There was a small flash of apprehension written on Lightning Strikes face, one which most ponies would probably not have seen, but it was as obvious as the sun on a clear day to Avarice.

“Yes… Black Star was quite successful in summoning Lobo. But unfortunately we've had a complication since then.” She said calmly keeping her nerves in check.

“Lobo?” wondered Avarice.

“The dire wolf spirit that was summoned, he´s managed to escape.” She said flatly. Lightning could see the jawline on Avarice clenched tightly for a split-second, but otherwise he looked like he had been told what they would have for lunch.

She's lost my best chance for immortality! If it gets away, I'll skin her alive, roast her slowly over an open fire before I bury her still screaming in her coffin! He thought and tried to figure out how to keep her alive throughout the whole experience while he continued the conversation.

“That's very unfortunate… How did he manage this?” Avarice asked calmly.

“We actually don't know. But he managed to break free of Black Star's strongest mind control spell, and then he knocked out the Pretorian as he escaped. There are some positive developments however. Black Star has already worked out that he is heading for North Bay. She and a contingency of ten soldiers will leave at any moment to chase after him.” Lightning Strike informed him. Avarice turned away from her and closed his eyes; she could almost see the gears starting to turn his head. 

Of course Black Star was already on the spirit’s trail, she'll never let him escape. But I still need her and Lightning Strike to grow close to each other. That will not happen if they're separated.  He thought.

“That will not do… You will accompany Black Star as well, and you will bring a contingency of twenty soldiers. I will not have it been known later that he escaped simply because we didn't send enough pony power. Now bring Black Star here immediately. I'll have a look at who's going with you in the meantime.” He ordered and waved Lightning out of her own command tent. 

This will actually make my other errant here easier… Avarice thought with a small smile and started looking for the names of ponies he had made sure were stationed at this camp.

Lightning Strike frowned a bit at his rather rude behavior but gave a salute and walked towards the exit. All of a sudden there was a bit of shouting outside. Then a meaty smack was heard, followed by silence. Oh this can NOT end well. Lightning thought to herself. There was a roar that Lightning recognized as Bender's, and then all hell broke loose.

“What is going on out there?” Avarice shouted in annoyance. Lightning Strike gave a short laugh and looked back at him.

“I would say your personal escort just picked a fight with the camp´s smith.” Lightning Strike answered.

“Well if he’s stupid enough to pick a fight with six soldiers, he deserves a good beating.” Avarice said just as one of his soldiers flew in through the tent´s opening and landed in a heap in front of Lightning hooves. After came Bender with a happy grin across his face. There was a small streak of blood running from his nostril, and a faint imprint of a hoof could be seen on the right side of his muzzle. Avarice looked at the enormous brown stallion, with his fiery red mane and tail. As Bender turned towards them, he noted that the smith’s eyes were red as well.

“Sorry about that Lightning sir, I'll just pick up the trash for you.” Bender said while making his mock salute and walked over to the soldiers sprawled on the ground. The soldier was currently occupied with looking around himself, not understanding what had just happened. Bender got a good hold on his armor straps, and then hoisted him up like he was a little colt. He then proceeded to send the soldier flying towards the tent’s exit just as two of his friends were trying to come in from the other way. There were cries of confusion and anger as the three soldiers came to a crashing halt outside the command tent. Bender made a move to step outside again but was halted by Lightning Strike.

“Let them be, we don't want any permanent injuries out there, and that will definitely happen if this continues.” She told him with a harsh voice. Another one of Everest soldiers came in to the tent, this time with a drawn sword in his mouth.

“Halt! What do you think you're doing! Coming into my command tent with a naked blade! You better put that away or I will have your head on a spike by the end of the day!” Lightning Strike roared at him. The soldier hastily put away the blade and back about again. Avarice looked a bit annoyed as he took it all in; that soldier was supposed to be loyal to him and him alone, yet he had followed Lightning Strike’s order without even looking towards Avarice for confirmation. He could clearly see now that she was a threat towards his future endeavors and career advancement. There were only two options he could see, either bring her to kneel before him, which would be very beneficial for him, or if she proved troublesome, he would have to get rid of her permanently.

“But that was fun! You sure I can´t play some more?” Bender bellowed out quite joyfully.

“Why are you here, smith?” Avarice asked in quite an annoyed voice. The earth pony smith looked over at him without a hint of fear at the tone of voice Avarice had used, which made him even more annoyed at this no rank earth pony smith.

“Well I was ordered to be here in the morning, so here I am.” Bender answered and turned away from Avarice like he wasn't there. He stopped and gave his miserable excuse of a salute to Lightning Strike, even though Avarice was the highest ranking officer in the tent.

 It's just a stupid earth pony that doesn't know any better… So why is he so intimidating! Calm down…  Avarice thought while he took a deep breath, although he was unable to stop grinding his teeth. Lightning Strike grabbed a saddlebag and hoisted it up across Bender's back.

“I'm sorry that I'm losing you Bender; you're the best smith I know. Still, family is family, and I wish you all the best luck with yours. Here's your back pay and the rest that was promised, and you're welcome back to my service any time you like.” Lightning Strike said when all she really wanted to do was give Bender a fierce hug to send him on his way. Bender gave Avarice a rather annoyed look now, since it was obvious they couldn't let it be known they were brother and sister in front of this pony.

“Thank you Lightning Sir… I will always keep that in mind.” Bender said and then quickly left the tent with quite a sour expression on his face. Lightning sighed as her stepbrother disappeared for what would probably be a long time, without being able to truly say goodbye.

“I'll go get Black Star then…” Lightning Strike said and felt her mood lighten up a bit at the thought that she would not actually be alone this time.


****


Bright Sky was now able to stand on shaky legs. The first thing she did was to get Zig Zag up on the plank bed, where he was lying on his side and quietly taking in his surroundings. She staggered up to him and coiled herself around his tiny body, trying to give as much warmth to him as she could. He was now completely awake, but still paralyzed by the drug. One would think that when they were once again conscious they would start talking to each other non-stop, telling each other how much they love the other and that everything would be all right. But they hadn't. They already knew they loved each other more than words can express, and to say everything would be all right would be a lie. Deep down they had started to accept that they were both going to die very soon, and there was nothing they could do about it. Zig Zag managed to turn his head towards his mother with a loud grunt. Seeing this, Bright Sky looked down at him lovingly and gave him a tender nuzzle to encourage him, showing him how proud she was of his accomplishment. Then there was a loud squealing sound as the door to the cell block was opened. They could hear many hooves moving across the stone floor, getting nearer to their cell. As to sound got closer, the two of them started holding onto each other harder.

“I love you so much honey…” Bright sky said in a whisper.

“I love you too mum…” Zig Zag answered as three ponies came into view in front of their cell. It was the three hang-ponies of North Bay: an earth pony, a pegasus and a unicorn. They were all covered in black, from muzzle to hoof. All three stopped as they looked at the occupants of the cell. The unicorn hang-pony looked at Bright Sky and then saw Zig Zag. At seeing the young colt, she more or less did a double take. The unicorn looked questioningly at her fellow hang-ponies and then back to the colt in the cell. Looking as perplexed as one could through a black mask, they seemed to be having a silent conversation between them with little nods and grunts. The pegasus hang-pony disappeared out of view and returned shortly after shaking his head. There was a miserable sigh shared between them, and then they moved up to the cell door. The heart rates of Bright Sky and Zig Zag were now skyrocketing.

“No, no, no, don't get any closer!” Bright Sky cried out as the three hang ponies entered their cell. She tried to wrap herself around Zig Zag in a futile effort to protect him. He was quickly yanked away from her in a blue aura of magic. With a feral cry of rage, Bright Sky managed to jump after him but was slammed down onto the floor by the pegasus and earth pony.

“Mum! Mum! Mummmm… mmmm… mmmm… mmmm…” Zig Zag continued calling for his mother even as his jaw was being tied shut with rope. 

“Get your filthy hooves off of my son!!!” Bright Sky screamed, while she desperately tried to get out from under the two hang-ponies. Then she completely froze as she saw Zig Zag being lowered to the floor just inside the door. What had made her freeze up was the image of her son on the floor in front of her, jaw tied shut and a noose secured around his neck. Zig Zag was staring wide-eyed down at this plain-looking piece of rope that would soon end his short life.

“Noooooooooooooo! You can’t do this! He was just protecting me! He's just a colt! You can do this!!!” Bright Sky wailed as she tripled her efforts to get free from the hang-ponies. When she had totally spent all of what little strength she had left, she could only lie panting and covered in sweat on the floor. The unicorn hang-pony moved to stand in front of Bright Sky; beside her floated another hang noose and a small piece of rope to tie around her muzzle.

“How can you do this?” She asked pleadingly, but the unicorn did not seem to notice the question as she moved forward.

“For buck sake answer me!” She roared at the hang-mare, giving her an angry look filled with hatred and contempt. The unicorn finally met her eyes, but in those empty blue eyes, Bright Sky only saw indifference towards her. There was, however, a small flicker of remorse when the hang-pony cast a quick glance back at Zig Zag. Then as an answer to why she would not speak to Bright Sky, the unicorn hang-mare opened her mouth to show that she had no tongue. Bright Sky jerked her head back from the empty mouth in front of her. And in those few seconds when she was utterly shocked, for not remembering something, she already knew, the unicorn hang-mare had tied Bright Sky´s muzzle shut and slipped the hang noose over her head in a fluid well practiced motion. To become a hang-pony, one would have to be sentenced to death while there was an empty place amongst the current hang ponies, one which corresponded with your species. You would then be offered to have your tongue cut out and then be sterilized, after which you would be allowed to live on as an executioner. 

Bright Sky had now been dragged to her hooves; to keep her from struggling, Zig Zag was placed across her back. This made it impossible for her to put up any resistance without throwing her still partly-paralyzed son on to the floor. After Zig Zag had fallen off the first time, she realized this and meekly walked behind the hang-ponies as they led her towards the exit of the dungeon. As Bright Sky staggered out on the courtyard, the two of them could see that it was a gloomy morning that held a quiet promise of rain. It all looked so utterly beautiful for the two of them that they couldn't fathom it as they stared at the beautiful world around them. They were promptly ushered to the infamous black wagon. It had a pretty simple design. A flat wooden bottom with an equally simple flat wooden roof, thick wooden bars was all that held the roof up. The entrance was a hatch that could be raised at the back of the wagon. It had four wheels and a harness at the front for a pony to pull it. Finally it was, of course, completely painted black. The only ones who ever occupied it were criminals sentenced to death. And now here was Bright Sky and Zig Zag roughly being shoved inside to be given their last ride, up to Mass Grave Hill and the gallows there. The two of them quickly made their way to the center of the wagon where Bright Sky sat with Zig Zag protected between her front hooves. It was customary to drive the wagon one lap around the city so that all could see what happened to those who did not follow the laws of the Empire and the nobles. A tradition that was quite common with being transported in the black wagon was for onlookers to throw everything from rotten fruit to stones at whoever occupied the wagon. At the one hanging, she had seen herself; she had, with deep regret, been one of those young idiots throwing trash at the stallion who had occupied the wagon that particular day. And now she was the one looking out through these bars, waiting in pure terror for the first stone to be cast towards her and her son. From the entrance to the guard barracks, several guards now came out. At the head of them came captain Iron Rod. Both Bright Sky and Zig Zag glared at him. He met their eyes for a few seconds before having to turn away.

“Sorry about the gag order… You two just know too much.” Iron Rod said and walked off.

“Okay! Get ready! And stay sharp during this one!” He bellowed to the rest of the ponies gathered in the courtyard. The three hang-ponies took their positions. The earth pony in front pulling the wagon, with the Pegasus on the roof keeping a lookout, and finally the unicorn helped along behind it with her magic. Then the city guards encircled the wagon. Three up front, three to either side, then three to cover the rear. This was unusual; normally only six guards followed the wagon, but Bright Sky wasn't thinking about this. All she did was lean protectively over her son while the rest of the world faded into a blurry nothing around them. With a jerk, the wagon started moving forward, and the first raindrops of the day fell from the sky.


**** 


Lobo woke up rather abruptly when something hit him on the front of his nose. It didn't hurt anything, but it was quite a surprise as he looked around. Nothing… That's when he realized there was a lot of noise coming from above him. He looked up into the branches of the tree he was sheltering under and was rewarded with a big water droplet right in the eye. He growled viciously and stood up on all fours, while he once again looked up to see if there was someone throwing water at him. But he couldn't see anything, and the noise was getting louder and louder up there, while the water droplets were starting to rain down around him more quickly. He looked around himself in confusion. Water was falling everywhere, and even though he didn't know what was going on, a word popped into his head explaining what it was.

Rain… It's raining... So this is what those soldiers were talking about when they said they had been lucky not having much rain so far while being this far north. Lobo thought as he started to take in his surroundings. This rain stuff was fascinating to him. How could so much water materialize out of seemingly nowhere? He got up and moved out to study it closer. As he walked around, he took a deep breath, realizing that he really loved the smell of newly fallen rain, but Lobo found himself frowning when he thought about what this would do to a trail if you try to follow it during a hunt.

I can’t smell anything except the rain. If I tried to follow a trail in this, I would lose it quite quickly. He thought and looked about himself. And all of a sudden rain wasn't such a fun thing anymore when he thought about it; he had to agree with the soldiers that rain wasn't always so pleasant. With a sigh he looked towards the city in the distance. Being wide awake now, there was really nothing to it. He started to head for North Bay.


****


The black wagon was rolling out of North Bay, and it had gathered a lot of ponies behind it. Curiously enough, almost no pony had thrown anything at them. There had been the occasional rock or fruit lobbed against them along the way, but whoever had thrown at them, had stopped immediately upon seeing Zig Zag shivering between Bright sky´s hooves. The one group of drunken stallions who had tried to throw rocks at them in earnest ended up on the wrong side of a bad beating from the mob now following the black wagon. The ponies following them weren't paying much attention to Bright Sky, though it was quite clear they were all shocked to see Zig Zag sharing her fate. Subdued mutterings and hushed conversations could be heard around them, wanting to know the story about why there was a little colt in the black wagon. Slowly, they rolled up towards Mass Grave Hill, and the end of their journey together. Bright Sky could now see the stage-like execution area in front of them. It was raised up about a meter from the ground, and all its sides were covered so no one would have to smell or see what lay underneath. In the middle of the ten by ten meter square stage stood the gallows, two thick, wooden pillars with a simple beam across the space between them. Between the pillars was a black square painted on the floor. As they both could witness their end approaching; Bright Sky and Zig Zag clung desperately to each other. The black wagon was being backed up towards the side of the stage. The wagon and the stage were more or less perfectly level with each other. When the gate was raised, the three hang-ponies stood outside, motioning for the two of them to come out. Bright Sky just looked back at them, wondering if they were actually so stupid as to think she would aid them in anyway. The three black-clad ponies shook their heads and then got to work. Zig Zag was once again enveloped in a blue aura and floated out to hover beside the hang-mare unicorn. Bright Sky came charging after him, but was easily reined in by the pegasus and earth pony. Now standing there on display being soaked in the ever-increasing rain, Iron Rod came up on the other side of the stage. He looked out over the unusually large crowd of ponies before he started the announcement.

“I see we have gathered quite a crowd today! Not surprising considering we are executing the youngest murderer in North Bay history!” He bellowed out over the crowd. Both mutterings and cries of disbelief could be heard throughout the gathered ponies.

“The colt Zig Zag stabbed and killed a city guard while he was doing his sworn duty! He was about to arrest the criminal Bright Sky when the colt Zig Zag ended his life!” Iron Rod shouted out to the crowd. There were some much muffled murmurings running through the masses at hearing this.

“Bright Sky who happens to be the Zig Zag´s mother was being arrested for refusing to pay her taxes! In a desperate attempt to avoid her debt to the Empire, Bright Sky offered to lift her tail as payment to the city guards who came to arrest her! To their everlasting shame and stupidity, they accepted! In the moment they had let down their guard, Zig Zag killed one of them, while Bright Sky killed the other!” Iron Rod continued to bellow out his accusations. Bright Sky, who was standing between the two hang-ponies, was shaking with rage as she listened to the lies Iron Rod fed to the crowd. Zig Zag was also struggling to escape the magical hold keeping him aloft. All of a sudden a voice cut through the air.

“That's not what happened! One of the guards was about to kill the colt when she defended him!” It rang out from somewhere in the crowd. Bright Sky immediately recognized the voice of her neighbor. He had been one of the witnesses who had seen the end of that fateful evening. Now even more voices were raised that this was wrong and somebody should do something. Iron Rod looked a bit annoyed as he tried to locate the source of the voice that had challenged his account of what happened.

I thought all the witnesses had been taken care of… He thought.

“I don't know what you think you saw Citizen! But the fact is still crystal clear! They have both killed city guards, no matter how you cut it! And the punishment for that is hanging! The Empire's laws are absolute! No exceptions! It doesn't matter if you're a young mother or a colt!” He bellowed at the crowd and waved for the hang ponies to get on with it; they would have to do this quickly or things might turn violent. There was a murmur of disapproval, but still, nobody dared do anything. There were, after all, twelve armed city guards standing between them and the stage. And even though they felt sorry for the colt for having such an awful mother, many in the crowd still believe the mare deserved to hang when they factored in all of her crimes into the equation. So it all ended up with some half-hearted shouts of disapproval, and a lot of shuffling about.

Bright sky was now being shoved towards the gallows. She tried to resist, but there was nothing she could do. Without much difficulty she was pushed onto the black square, and then the rope was secured to the beam above her. There she was left standing, rigid as a board and shaking like a leaf while she looked wide-eyed out at the crowd, who were just standing there, staring back at her in silence. 

How can this be happening to me? I have always been a good pony. Diligent, hardworking and caring, but now I'm about to be hanged, as a common criminal. All because some young Lord ling I've never met had an itch between his legs. This just isn't fair, this just couldn't be happening. Bright Sky thought desperately.

Tears welled up in Bright Sky eyes as she looked towards Zig Zag. He was now fighting savagely to escape no matter how pointless his struggles were. Desperately trying to come to his mother's rescue. Just when their eyes met, the floor disappeared from beneath her hooves. Bright Sky´s wings strained against her bounce, but to no avail. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. And finally there was the absolute look of horror she saw in her son’s eyes as she started falling; it was indescribable.

Don't look please don’t lo- SNAP! CRACK!!!


**** 



Thanks to Meeester for the Pre-read/Edit