As Missy's airship flew off towards Canterlot, and Ivan's flew off towards places unknown, I took off in a third direction altogether. I was hoping that the freedom of gliding would allow me to calm down. I'm not normally stressed, but the tension that I felt off of Ivan and Missy was palpable, and wound me up.
I took to the sky, and followed one of the roads that lead away from Mustang.
I glided for a couple of hours, occasionally using a thermal to regain height. Random thoughts passed through my head. What color is changeling blood in this reality? What is the perfect knock-knock joke? Does such a thing even exist? Should I ask Violet if she wants to become more than a roommate and teddy bear? Do I want her to become more than that? When should I go see the princesses? Should I make a pilgrimage to Ponyville? What is that column of noxious smoke?
Wait. Column of noxious smoke? Approximately a half hours gliding away from me a pillar of black smoke rose into the sky. I think I'll go check that out.
I put every bit of momentum I could into getting to that cloud of smoke all the quicker. I saw a slightly faster rush of desert scrub and rock move past me. Okay, why bother with just gliding? Oh right, duh. Skimming might cut someone in half, and it's not like this fire is necessarily a bad thing. Someone might just be burning some trash.
I come into view of the blaze not too long afterwards. Someone was burning trash all right. A trashed caravan. And oh look, diamond dog corpses. Definitely part of a trash burning. I dove down to see if I might spot potential survivors. Not. I got to the ground, and flared my glider back to land. I seized the source, and began to start killing the flames, to see what all was left. I checked each of the bodies, and found no survivors. I then began to search the flaming wagons.
I checked each of the wagons, and at most found diamond dog bodies. Huh, wonder why someone attacked this caravan? I don't see any bodies besides the diamond dogs, and they all seem to be defenders or ...traders. Huh, imagine that. Diamond dog traders. Anyways, time to search the rest of these wagons. Each beam I pulled off showed some new bit of evidence that this had been the work of bandits.
I found overturned baskets, remnants of bolts of cloth, and fragments of gems. Aside from what looked to be some broken spears and crossbow bolts, I found no weapons. I then found an oddity amongst the covered wagon type caravan this had been. A charred box wagon that had fallen through its axles, the wheels propped against the sides. A further oddity was the barred door on the wagon.
I shrugged my shoulders, and used my gauntlet-wearing hand to remove the bar. A rush of smoke escaped from the wagon. I backed away to let the smoke escape, choking on it a bit. Nice thing about being a blacksmith is that smoke doesn't bother me quite as much as other people. After a couple of minutes, I was able to see the inside of the wagon.
At first, I could see nothing, but as my eyes became used to the dimness of the interior, my face fell. Five diamond dog females littered the floor, pressed up against the back wall. They were trying to escape the flames! As I got closer, I could clearly see that two of the heat-tortured corpses had been pregnant! Why? Why? Why?Why?! Why can't I ever save them? Why? I was breathing hard, and tears had started to trickle down my snakish face. Breathing hard, I sobbed into my gauntlets.
My tears splashed all over the heartstone of my gauntlets and vambraces, finding cracks to land on my scales. I stood there in that wagon, crying over the bodies of mothers and unborn children for what felt like hours. I slowly stopped my tears, and came to a hard felt decision. I was going to give them an appropriate ceremony, a decent appreciation for the dead.
I started my labor by doing my best to drag their bodies from the destroyed wagon to a spot where I could prepare all of the bodies. As I was dragging the first body out, I noticed that they had been over top of a few infant whelps. Those fuckers had the gall to kill children, too? I would have raged, but my emotional state was such that nothing came.
I looked up, to see how much daylight I had left to finish my task. I saw that it was about three in the afternoon, which meant that I only had so long to set the bodies in state, as well as turn the wagons into appropriate pyres.
*****
Just as the sun was setting, I'd finally finished setting all of the bodies in state. Moving fifty-four bodies, and placing them in state is not easy. Luckily for me, neither rigor mortis or the stench from a dead body had set in yet. I set up my camp, warded my general area, then placed a keeping over the bodies to keep the stench away.
I ate dinner quietly, then went to bed. Whatever dreams I would have, I would consider penance for not being fast enough to save this band of traders.
*****
I found myself as a pegasus, trotting up to Celestia's palace. As I got closer, I noticed that I could no longer channel, but thought nothing of it. I walked past various ponies, and heard them talking to themselves. "Has anypony seen Princess Luna lately?" "Firebox, has anypony seen him?" "Marachette, anypony seen her?" "Where is Chivalric Emblem? He said he was going to the palace?" On and on, I heard various ponies asking after missing loved ones.
I got to the door guards in front of Celestia's throne room, and introduced myself as Curled Operator. They noted my appointment on the list, and sent me in. I walked respectfully before the throne, and bowed low before Princess Celestia. "Milady, I have come to beg your aid in a matter of great importance."
"Oh? And what is that, my subject?" She asked gracefully.
"Ponies have been disappearing, of late. Your esteemed sister is among the missing. I humbly entreat you for your assistance in any way that you see fit." I still had my eyes to the floor.
"I see. Curled Operator, was it?" She said, in a slightly odd tone.
"Yes, milady. That is my name." I was getting confused, and so looked up at her. "Why do you ask, your excellency?"
"I am curious, Curled. Do you like bananas?"
I sat back on my haunches, really confused now. "I do, milady, but what does that have to do with the missing ponies?"
She smiled a cruel, insane smile at me. "That's good, because you will go bananas where I'm going to send you." She pressed a switch on the wall with her magic, releasing a catch on a trap door underneath me, and landing me in the barrel of a cannon.
I heard the press of another button, and felt the cannon raise up, and tilt. "Have fun going bananas, ON THE MOOOOON!" With this, the cannon fired.
I flew up and out of the cannon, headed towards what looked to be the upper atmosphere. "CELESTIA! YOU BIIIIIIITCH!
As I flew upwards, the lack of air began to get me, and I started to asphyxiate. I also started to heat up. As I passed out, I felt my body go up in flames.
*****
I woke up the next morning, and thought back over my dream. Huh, that was fairly pleasant as far as my dreams go. I set about taking down my camp, and eating breakfast. I then start the arduous process of turning the caravan into a suitable pyre for forty-three adults, six adolescents, and five infants. Each hunk of wood I stacked, or drug, or moved with the power, until I finally had gotten the pyre built.
I then moved each body into place, gently placing them with the power. I took off my keeping from each body, making sure that each was in a respectful position.
"I am sorry that I was not in time to stop your killers. You did not deserve this, and you shall be avenged. This I swear." I drew my sword, and saluted the sun, then began to channel multiple weaves of fire.
Each part of the pyre went up at once, like it had been dipped in oil. I increased the heat of the fire, enough that I had to shield myself from the heat. The bodies turned into ashes, the bones splintering in the heat. Though it was tiring, I kept the fire hot until all that I could see was a mixture of glass and ash.
I then turned to the trail that I had found yesterday, which was partly cold by this point. I took a swig from my emptying canteen, then headed for the skies.
I flew low enough that I could keep the trail in sight, but not so low that I would be forced to land so as to not obscure the trail. I kept at it until the end of daylight. Rather than risk overshooting them, or letting them know that they were being followed, I did my normal camp routine for the evening, going to sleep again.
*****
I stood next to the viewport of the Dauntless class cruiser Leviath, looking down at the hive world Akhelium. A planet of half a trillion, and the holder of my leash had decreed it was to die.
The foul follower of chaos undivided, Inquisitor Herakstrom, had found me in a bar, unafraid of his badge or authority, but willing to work for him all the same. That is, until he broke into my mind, and found my memories of destroying a planet. He bound all but a portion of my will to his sorcerous ways, and had been using me as a weapon ever since.
Now we waited in orbit until my leash holder commanded me to destroy the planet beneath us.
Destroy it, slave. Break the back of that world. Let none survive! The Inquisitor's nasally voice came through my mind.
I looked down at the world, the one part of my mind still mine in tears, and took hold of the source. I began making gateways into the planets core that lead into space, then tying them off. First one, then three, then a dozen were made, all ejecting the molten material of the planets core.
The planet below began to seemingly shrink, wisps of atmosphere breaking off as the gravity of the planet changed. The planet beneath began to implode under the weight of its own crust. Several ships tried to escape their planet's demise, but the Leviath destroyed them before they made the warp.
Through it all, my mind is screaming, as I began to fade...
*****
I woke up, tense from the nightmare from the night before. Two minor nightmares in a row? Oponn really is looking out for me. I thought sarcastically. Anyways, on to catching those killers. I quickly ate and broke camp, readying myself to go hunting for my prey.
I took off, and examined the terrain. Up ahead, I noticed that there was an earth pony laying with a spear next to a cliffside, who was playing with some rocks. Not wanting to spook him, I landed well back of him, and started to slither up behind him. I took great care that my coils didn't move any loose rocks. Thinking about it for a moment, I wove an eavesdropping ward about my lower half, to keep the noise from moving to nil.
I got up to the pony, and lowered myself to the ground, ready to pounce. I coiled up my various rib and vertebral muscles, and then sprung my lower body onto the pony. I wrapped both hands about his muzzle, then brought all of my coils about his body as quickly as possible, rendering him immobile.
"Hello there, little one." The pony's eyes had grown with terror. "I have a few questions for you, and your answers will determine how I treat you." His eyes somehow grew bigger. "I'll let you nod your answer. Up and down for yes, side to side for no."
He looked at me, and nodded his head yes. "Alright, first question. Are you a member of the group that attacked that caravan?" The terror in his eyes told me more than his nod of yes. "Well that was easy. For my next question, is the rest of your group in the cave over there that I just now noticed?" His eyes had flickered to the side, and I had followed them. He nodded his head yes, again. "Are all of your friends inside that cave?" He signaled that yes, they were all in the cave. "Now, for my final question. Do you want to die now? Or with your friends? No for now, yes for with your friends."
He nodded his head no, and I jerked his head to the side, breaking his neck. His eyes dimmed, and a bit of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. "Rest in hell, you bastard."
I slithered down the cliffs, and stood at the mouth of the cave. I checked over my armor, and yelled into the cave. "Hey murderous bastards! I killed the asshole on the cliff!" I heard a great deal of squabbling from within
I heard cries from within of "Kill the blighter!" "Put it's head on a pike!" and other assorted statements declaring a desire for my demise. Wanting to see my opponents fully, I turned tail and scurried down to the banks of a small stream. The bandits stirred from their hole, and saw my form standing next to the banks of the river.
Two gryphons took to the air, followed by a pegasus, and came at me like they were going to dive bomb me. A little bit out, I singed the feathers from their wings off, watching as they fell hard enough to break legs. "That's three down! How many more you got for me?"
A large collection of ground-bound ponies and other creatures came streaking down the hill at me, avoiding their now lamed friends. I saw six unicorns in the group, all with glowing horns and levitated weapons. I wove air to create near invisible blades at the bases of their horns. Six horns sheered off, along with a decent amount of blood.
The only threats I was worried about neutralized, I wrapped each of them, one by one, in flows of air, stopping them were they stood.
I looked my captives over, and was disgusted by the examples of the various Equestrian races shown. All of them were filthy, covered in muck. They smelled of sweat, blood, and feces, though that was partly because the unicorns had shit themselves when I cut off their horns. Though the thing that disgusted me the most was the presence of two diamond dogs amongst the bandits. I lifted them all into one group, and tied off all the weaves keeping them trapped.
"Don't you beasts worry, I'll return for you in a bit. I'm just going to make sure that you didn't leave anyone in that cave of yours. All of them started to protest that they were all that had been in that cave, and that there was nobody left. I flipped them off, then slithered towards the cave.
As I looked in, I saw that the cave was quite filthy. There was all sorts of detritus inside the cave, bits and pieces of food, thrown about game pieces, rusted armor, and other broken odds and ends. I slithered carefully through the mess, and found several wounded bandits. Each one that I found, I wrapped in flows of air and lifted to the front of the cave. I then got to the back part of the cave, where I found nothing.
I left the cave with the rest of the bandits in tow. I placed them next to their comrades. They sat, and looked up at me.
"I suppose all of you are wondering why I'm doing this." I said to the bandits. A few of them nodded, and I continued. "It was for killing that caravan of diamond dogs. And it wasn't because you killed the adults, but because you killed the young in a purposely horrible manner. That is why I came after you."
"As for why I came alone, I have lived longer than your civilizations. I have destroyed planets. I have killed trillions. You pitiful mortals, you committed one of my cardinal sins, and so you are going learn what happens to those who have pissed me off." I stare at them intently, hate playing across my features. "They die horribly."
I took hold of the power, and then began to weave together earth, air and fire, creating several bars less than a meter wide, and a little less than three meters tall. They emitted a high-pitched whining, and I had surrounded the bandits with them. I amplified my voice. "Make peace with your gods, as you will soon be meeting them!" I boomed across the valley.
All of them burst into tears, and started to beg for mercy. "Ask your gods for mercy, for I have none for you!" I added a touch of air to all twelve of the bars, and they blossomed into a flower of death. Flames gouted from each of the bars to a total size of ten meters across. Smoke flew from the area inside, and I heard a cry, followed by a hissing sound.
The smoke from the area cleared after a bit, along with a newly dug pit. All that remained of the bandits was ash. I released the power, and then fell over. Whew, I think I overdid it there. All that lifting, plus gliding, plus twelve blossoms of fire at once? Yeah, I need to take a break for a bit.
I slithered over to the stream, and stuck my head underneath the current of the water. The cool of the wet soothed my head, and got rid of the sweat I had built up on my head from moving everything. I then decided to check the cave for anything valuable to sell, either to the market at home, or the next time I went to a big city. Looking over it, I found a few hundred gemstones, along with a goodly amount of nice cloth, and what looked to be whiskey.
Having rested for what I felt to be enough, I began to learn the area to return home. I signaled, waited for five minutes, then opened the gateway. I tied it off, and yelled to Violet. "Hey Vi, could I get some help here?"
Violet came trotting up to where I had made the gateway, and slapped me across the face with her hoof. "You asshole! I thought you were coming straight home after that meeting?!"
I brought my hand to my cheek, and then sighed. "I'm sorry, Violet, something came up afterwards that I had to take care of. But on the bright side, we now have enough gems to keep us in bits for a decent amount of time." And I can get my hands on some gold bars to replace what I got changed into bits. "We also have a goodly amount of fabric, if you want to have Silvered Needle make you a dress or something."
Violet stepped through the gateway, and gasped at the state of the cave. "Marty? What did you do? And why do we now have all of this?"
I looked at her, and noted the anxious look in her eyes. "Violet, I'm going to be honest with you here. The reason we now have this stuff is because I righted a grievous wrong. I'll tell you about it tomorrow evening after work. Right now, lets take what's valuable from here so I can shut the gateway, and go take a bath. I'm sore, and I stink to high heaven of ash." I flicked my tongue at the end of that statement, and winced.
She looked at me, a bit of irritation playing across her features, then acquiesced to my request. "Alright, I can work with that. Let's get the stuff through, and you can get rid of that stink.
*****
As we got ready for bed that evening, Violet looked at me, and gave me a hug out of the blue. "And what was that for?" I asked sincerely.
"I missed you. You chase away my bad dreams. You make me feel safe. Also, you keep my grocery bill down." Violet said with a snide smile.
I smiled back at her. "I'm glad. I missed you too. Thankfully, I found a good place to set up as a range."
Violet looked at me, confused. "What?"
"Don't worry about it. It's a bad human joke."
"Ooooookay. I'll just ignore that." With that, she got into bed, becoming the little spoon as we fell asleep.
*****
The next day, we went through our normal morning routine, with me slithering off to work, while Violet tuned up her instruments. Steel wasn't happy that I hadn't come in for four days straight, but understood that traveling, especially for government work, could take quite a bit of time.
Work went well, and I slithered on home to Violet. We had pleasant dinner conversation, then we adjoined to Violet's music room to talk about the extra days I had used.
"Violet, after the two of them met, I was feeling quite tense, so I decided to go off and fly for a bit before coming back.
"Okay, with you so far. But that doesn't explain what took you so long."
"After a few hours of flying, I came across a pillar of smoke that was coming off of a burning caravan. The work of bandits. The entirety of that diamond dog caravan had been slaughtered as well, including the young they had with them."
Violet covered her mouth with her hoof in horror at this, and I continued on. "I gave them a proper cremation, and then set off to hunt down their killers. Long story short, I destroyed the bandits, and took what they had stolen."
"Shouldn't we return what was stolen to the survivors? I mean, it technically isn't ours either." she said, after a bit of contemplation.
"That had occurred to me as well, but I have absolutely no idea what warren they were a part of, or even if they were part of a slaver warren. I like thinking that I avenged only innocents, rather than slavers and innocents." I said back evenly.
"That makes sense. You'll just have to put what you got on your taxes, when it comes closer to tax time." She said back, just as evenly.
"Wait, I have to declare what I took from bandits on my taxes? Really? That's a bit silly." I said, with a snort of annoyance. "Oh well. Cel's government needs money too, especially with Luna back."
"Marty! How can you speak of the princesses with such familiarity?" She said with shock.
"Think about who you're talking to for a moment, how old I am, and what I can do for a moment." I said with a smile.
It took her a couple of moments, and then she laughed. "I see your point. But I don't think you should be quite that informal at first with them the first time you meet them in this Equestria."
"A point, you have one." I conceded.
"I should think so." She said with a triumphant smile.
"Just remember-" I booped her on the nose "-I can make several points, too."
She looked at me with an odd expression. "You're insane."
"Yup. Life's a lot more fun that way." I laughed back.
We chatted on for a bit longer, then went to bed.
*****
Three days passed, with me working at the forge, and Violet playing at a gig in Canterlot. The night of the third day, I decided I was going to ask her if she wanted to start dating.
"Violet, honey, I have a question I want to ask you." I said, feeling tense.
She obviously felt my tension, so took on a serious mien. "What is it Marty? What do you want to ask me?"
"Violet, do you-" A knock on the door interrupted what I was about to ask. "Who could that be?" I asked, bewildered.
"It might be my brother, anyways, go check the door would you, Marty?" She nicely asked.
"K.'" I slithered up to the door, and opened it.
A pink coated pegasus mare with a blue mane and tail stood in front of the door. A quick glance at her flank showed her cutie mark to be a pair of lightning bolts that matched her mane. Slightly annoyed, I asked the mare. "Good evening miss, what can I do for you?" A brief look of hate flashed over her eyes, which she quickly schooled.
She shocked me with her reply. "Hello Marty, my name is Firefly, and I have to speak with both you and Violet before you do something you'd hate yourself forever for."
I seized the source, and answered her coldly. "Alright, miss Firefly, you can come in and speak with the both of us. But if you try anything, I will be contemplating pegasus fricassee for breakfast."
"Understood, Marty. I will pass on my message, and answer your questions as best I can." We came to the music room, and I motioned for her to sit down, across from the couch were Violet and I had been sitting.
Violet looked at me. "Who is this?"
I looked back at her. "This is Firefly, and she says she has a message for us both. Now if you would be so kind as to relay it to us?"
"Alright, my message is actually from both myself and from your future self. He told me that I should mention that Luna forgives sins done in her name. Whatever that means." She looked confused, but looked to me.
I cringed at the code, but knew it was in fact a message from my future self. I let go of the power, and motioned for Firefly to go on. "Please, continue."
"Alright, I was bid by your future self to come back in time to stop what you are about to do, and to tell you of what your species is."
I sighed slightly in disappointment, but motioned to her to get on with it. "You are in the body of what is known as a Tirek-spawn to everyone who knows what it is. All knowledge of them has been wiped from literature, and I know of only three beings besides myself who knows of them. A dragon sage, and the princesses of the sun and moon."
I rolled my eyes. "Alright, what evil did my race commit, and why is it so important that I not ask Violet if I want to date her?"
Violet gasped and blushed. "I would've said yes..." We looked at Firefly, a look of some anger passing our faces.
"You best have a better reason why I should not date her other than racism." I said coldly.
"I wish that racism was the only reason I didn't want you with her. I'd have less friends that had died horribly. Anyways, the Tirek-Spawn were a race that the dark god Tirek created as a tool to cause pain and anguish upon Equis. They would corrupt the land as they spoke their foul spells, creating swamps and deserts in place of forests and grasslands."
"I have a feeling that you have more to it than that." I said blithely.
"Yes. The males of your species would also force themselves on any females that they could catch, impregnating them with a horrible spawn. The creature within would mature, safe against all methods to rid themselves of the beast within. They would give birth to more of the race that raped them, and then die. That is why you should not be with Violet. At least, not without trying to keep her from getting pregnant." She looked at me slightly sad.
She got up, and prepared to go out the door. "Oh, and to forewarn you. Ten days from now, you will meet me in a field exactly halfway between here and Canterlot. I will attempt to kill you by kicking you in the back of the head, and you immobilize me. You tell me all that has transpired here, and what I need to tell your past self. Understand?"
I look over at her, and still shocked, I reply. "Yes."
Violet and I look at each other, and the two of us wrap each other in a hug as we begin to cry.