The fog had finally thinned enough for me to get my bearings, which was in vain as I was standing in the middle of a cobblestone street. I just stood in shock as the fog continued to lift and reveal a city that I couldn't recognize. Lampposts jutted out the pavement and struggled to light the area around them, the dull yellow orb lit up the haze around it to reveal the building behind it. I could then see another yellow haze and another and another, a path of yellow orbs that dotted the street and lighting the way for travelers in the dark and fog. Yet I didn't see any other ponies, but I could hear something that was very much not a pony.
Two bright balls of light appeared from around a corner down the street and it looked as though they were coming towards me, but I couldn't move and it felt as if I wasn't even breathing. I could feel the ground beneath my hooves rumbling, the rumbling only growing more intense as the lights came towards me. Then two more lights appeared, behind the first two, from around the same corner. It was almost like they were chasing the first pair. Oh how I hated being right sometimes.
RATTATTATTATTATATTATATA!!
A third orange light came from the second pair of white lights, and the noise that came from it was so violent and startling that it brought me to my senses just in time to jump away from what I believed to be a pony less carriage. Whatever that orange light had done caused that carriage to weave to and fro through the streets, it was no longer controllable. The carriage's front right wheel mounted the sidewalk to only pop violently and send the carriage into a horrific roll. Pieces of glass and metal were launched from the whirlwind of destruction as well as other items that I couldn't identify. When the carriage finally came to a stop, it was inverted and completely wrecked. I had wanted to go over to the carriage in that instant but the second carriage had already passed me.
RATTATTATTATTATATTATATA!!
The noise was so horrible and violent, my ears felt as though they were going to rupture. I then heard the scream. I had never heard something so horrible in my entire life, until that moment. The street became eerily silent as I heard the tinkling of metal on stone fade into the darkness around me. My blood then ran cold as I heard voices from the second carriage.
"Ya t'ink we gots 'im, boss?" The first voice obviously was not that well educated if he spoke like that. "Ah ain't seein' nothin' from da car."
"It doesn't matter if you don't see anything moving in the car, you oaf," However the second voice was definately of a moderate degree of intelligence. "just make sure that the driver won't be making this mistake twice."
"Sure t'in dere, boss. Oh," The first voice sounded like he had thought of something, and it must have hurt. "can Ah use da 'splosives, boss? Dat'll keep dat pony down fer good!"
I could almost feel the joy from the first goon as he got his answer. "Yes. I think that would send a very good example to those that try to go against us. But just two sticks, we don't want to run out before the big heist." They were going to blow up that other carriage, even if there was somepony still inside. My heart began to race, what kind of pony would do something like that. It was murder, MURDER! Ponies don't kill one another, there is no reason for such a horrid act. The second carriage then back away from the first, I could hear laughter coming from inside. As it passed me for a second time I looked at the side of it and picked up what looked to be a cutie mark on it, or perhaps it was just a logo. It looked to be a magic wand with a wisp of blue sparkling magic coming from it.
KRABOOOOMM!!!!
The first carriage was enveloped in flames, the light now showing me even more of the street than I could see before. I watched in, what I could only consider at the time, amazement but that quickly turned to horror and panic. I heard a wet thud as something fell past my face and landed at my feet. When I looked down, I was sure that my face had gone pale. It was a pony, or at least what has left of the poor things hindleg. I could see part of a cutie mark but I wasn't able to figure it out before I heard screeching from up the street. The other carriage had come to an abrupt halt and I could hear yelling. "'EY! YOU DERE! WHACHA DOIN'!" The chase was on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was doing everything I could to elude my pursuers, but the carriage they had kept cutting me off at almost every corner. The alleys had also proven to be against me as the vehicle was slender enough to enter in after me.
RATTATTATTATTATATTATATA!!
I was scared out of my wits. I didn't even know what was happening other than I was being chased by what seemed to be murderers, which I wasn't wrong about either. Damnit. It became clear to me that the light I was seeing was some sort of weapon, capable of spitting out objects at amazing speeds. I only managed to think about that when I saw chucks of brick and cobblestone being perforated.
I could tell that my legs were getting very tired from all the running, but I didn't know where I was or where to go. Hope was fading away as I continued to attempt to lose my pursuers. I failed miserably, or wonderfully depending on your point of view, as I managed to get myself stuck in a dead end alley. I had turned left when I should have gone right, a sort of recurring motif in my life up til then.
The carriage came to a stop, it was blocking the entrance to the alley and my only exit as well. I fell to my haunches and backed up to the wall. I just kept on pushing with my hooves, hoping that I could maybe push myself through the wall or knock the wall down. Two dark figures then walked towards me, their silhouettes casting massive shadows on the cobblestone before me and the wall behind me. One was also hovering an object I hadn't seen before, but I had definately heard it.
RATTATTATTA!!
The shots from this new device put 3 holes in the wall next to my head. "'ho are you!"
RATTATTATTA!!
Three more holes in the wall on the other side of my head. "'ho are you!!"
RATTATTATTA!!
Again three more holes but there were in the cobblestone, very near to my nether regions. "'HO ARE YOU!! ANSWER OR I BLOW YOUR FUCKIN' 'EAD OFF!" The unicorn, he was obviously a unicorn as he had levitation magic, placed the object against my temple. It was still hot from being used and it burned into my coat and skin with great ease. I couldn't stand it any longer, the pain finally pushing me over the edge.
"MIDNIGHT! MY NAME IS MIDNIGHT!!" My voice was quivering and full of fear, and those two thugs could almost taste it. I could hear a tinkling sound from below me. I looked down, as did the thug with the weapon, to see that I had urinated all over the stone. This only seemed to make the thug happier.
"Ya see dat, boss? The li'l pony has gone pissed 'imself. Ah musta scared 'im right good." I noticed him look down, still not able to make out their faces. "Ya wants dat I kill 'im now? Please, boss, let me kill 'im." His weapon levitated down to my face, it was placed right between my eyes.
"No," The weapon wielding thug grunted most disappointingly and moved the weapon away from my face. My body then went limp as I slumped onto my side, I was so relieved. "blindfold him and muzzle him, we'll take him to the warehouse and get all the information we can from him." My body began to tense up again, the panic quickly beginning to take hold again. "If we don't get anything useful out of the poor bastard, then you can kill him in any way you choose." Oh, sweet Celestia, no.
The thug gave a more than happy grunt." Dat's mighty generous of ya, boss." He walked over to me and smacked me with the heavy end of his weapon. My world faded to black once again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
My head was pounding and the world around me dark. I was sure I could hear someone talking but the ringing in my ears made it hard to focus. It seemed like a lifetime had passed as the ringing finally subsided. Then the panic set in again.
"Well well, look't dat. Sleepin' Beauty 'as just woke up." The voice of that thug sent shivers down my back, the headache I also had grew in size as the blindfold was torn from my eyes. I found myself sitting under a very bright light, tied incredibly well and tight to a very sturdy chair. "Ah'm so glad ta see ya all bright eyes 'nd bushy tails. So, shall we get to what ya was doin'? Why was you dere at dat 'splosion? And most o' all, 'ho sent ya!"
It was all so much, the questions. The chase. The explosion. It had all happened in such a short timespan that I couldn't get it all straight in my head, and I was a mathematician. All I could do was look around with fear in my eyes and this look of complete confusion. It didn't help at all.
The thug came up to me and smashed the left side of my face with his hoof, toppling the chair and forcing my head to say hello to the floor. There was an iron-y taste in my mouth, so I spit it out. Blood. My own blood. "ANSWER DA FUCKIN' QUESTION! 'HO SENT YA?! WHY WAS YA DERE WHEN DAT CAR BLEW UP! TELL ME OR YUR AS GOOD AS DEAD! GOT IT! D-E-D DEAD!"
I began to sob uncontrollably. "I-I-I'm M-M-M-M-idn-n-night T-T-T-T-Tempest a-a-and I-I..." It wasn't good enough for the thug.
"'Nough wit' dat cryin'. Whacha t'ink ya is? Ah big ol' baby, dat's whacha is! Tell! Me! Why! Ya! Was! Dere!" His forehooves came down on my chest repeatedly, like he was trying to play the drums with my lungs. It was getting very hard to breathe but he stopped when the sound of a rib breaking stopped my sobbing, only to replace it with a scream of pain. "Dat's whacha get fer not coopperatin'. Which o' da uddah families sent ya, if ya tell me Ah'll make sure dat you go good 'nd quick like."
"I-I-I don't k-k-k-now what y-y-you're tal-k-k-k-ing a-b-b-bout..." Yet again, not the answer he wanted to hear.
"DONCHA PLAY DA TOUGH STALLION WIT' ME!! YA GOTS TA BE ONE O' DA UDDAH FAMILIES BOYS, NOW SPILL DA BEANS BEFORE AH SPILL YAS GUTS!!" The thug was now levitating a very large, serrated knife as he continued to pound me into the ground with his fore-hooves.
My eyes widened at the blade now hovering slowly towards my midsection. "N-n-no p-p-p-p-please! I d-d-d-don't know anyt-t-t-thing! I don't even k-k-know where I am! I don't want to die like t-t-t-this!" By the look on his face, his patience with me was finally gone. All he wanted to do now was cut me open and leave me die.
"Ya had yer chance boy'o... Shame ya had ta be so damn stubborn, now ya gonna die like a piggy..." The blade of the knife was now against my stomach. "Ah'm gunna enjoy making ya squeal." It was frighteningly sharp. The blade pulled back from my stomach, but not without leaving a large cut.
The thug smiled such a wretched smile, it made me sick knowing he was going to enjoying killing me in the worst way I thought possible. The knife drew back, ready to sinking itself into my flesh and drink my blood, as I heard hoof-steps in the distance. "Stop now, Raz. You haven't given the bastard the proper chance to come clean." If there were any other beings looking out for me, I was praying to them at that moment.
"Aww, come on, boss. Ya said Ah could kill 'im if 'e didn't 'ave any info, and 'e doesn't. All 'e could do is cry like a babe." The thug, now known as Raz, seemed to be very upset with his 'boss'. But he quickly backed down when he was given a very aggressive look. I had also hoped it may have helped with his horrible speech. How could someone not be able to pronounce H's?
"Enough, Raz. We want to talk to him. He can't talk back if you send all his ribs through his lungs, now can he?" Raz took some sheepish steps back, looking down at the ground. "Now, let us get you sitting up straight shall we?" This other thug, this 'boss', lifted me and the chair up so I could see right into his eyes. They were evil eyes, very evil eyes. "Let's try this again from the start, maybe a bit more civilized. You are Midnight Tempest, correct?" I slowly nodded, not wanting to startle him but also not to anger him into hitting me. "Good, I am Griff. Don't bother asking what kind of name it is, it's a nickname and that's all you need to know about it."
I sat with Griff for the better part of an hour, trying to explain how I had come to be in that place at that time. "Look, Midnight, kid... you can't seriously think that I'm going to buy that story. It's one hell of a story too, you should'a been a writer kid." He turned from me and paced around slowly. "But I can believe that you ain't one of the other families goons, you're too smart to be like Raz." Raz nodded then looked at Griff with a 'Whacha mean by dat?' look. "Unfortunately, you know about us now. You know our names. Sorry kid, but your little story ends here."
"W-what? No... you can't... please d-d-don't..." Tears began to well up in my eyes again, Raz had started levitating the knife again and was walking towards me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
My body had been cut up, very slowly, by Raz. He was enjoying his fun far too much as well as my screams. Though they weren't really screams anymore, more like faint whimpers. I was beginning to feel weak, it was obvious that I had lost alot of blood and it was only a matter of time before I would be meeting with the Grim Pony.
Sirens. There was a cascade of sounds pouring through the warehouse and the sirens were the loudest of them all. I could also hear the sounds of several ponies yelling, some sounded like Raz. The others sounded more professional, more police-like. Raz stopped paying attention to me at that moment, dropping the knife into the blood pooling beneath the chair. From the table he levitated the weapon that spat fire and pointed it to were the yelling came from.
RATTATTATTATTATATTATATA!!
I did not miss that sound at all, it was horrible.
Blam! Blam!
More of the same sound, but from further away and a different weapon but I could tell it was aimed at Raz as he lowered his head. I was having trouble just keeping myself awake at that point, but I did manage to see the knife just below me. I only had the one chance, whatever was happening was giving me a way to escape and no matter how weak I was I needed to take it.
I started focusing my magic but it was so difficult with everything happening at once, but if I didn't I was as good as dead.
The blade began to lift, held by the green light from my horn. I just needed to cut the ropes that held me in place. It was probably a massive mistake to try it in my condition, as I tried to cut the rope I had little control over the force I was placing on the knife. It made it through the rope very easily as well as cutting deep into my right leg. I would have screamed but I my blood-loss was making it hard to feel anything anymore, I had only moments before everything would be over. I shuffled my hind-legs free of their ropes and tried to stand, it didn't work.
I toppled forward, out of the chair, right towards Raz. He never expected me to even be conscious or alive at that point. His eyes were as wide as mine were when he lifted his weapon to my face for the first time. His lips began to move but nothing came out but a stifled scream. My magic had failed and the knife was no longer floating in front of me, I had placed my two front hooves on the hilt of the blade and began swinging it down into Raz's chest. Over and over and over, I just continued to swing the knife even after the light in Raz's eyes had vanished.
I was sure I heard voices from my left but I was too tired to even look over, they may have been yelling at me or for someone else but I had already toppled over from exhaustion. Just laying there in a pool of mixed blood, mine and Raz's. I thought I felt tears rolling down my face, but it may have just been more blood.
"Mac! We got a live one over here! And this one is in a bad shape." One of the police ponies called to his commanding officer.
"Git one o' the doc's over here right now, see if'n he can help this poor bastard." The voice sounded so far away, but it was also so very familiar.
The pony returned with a doctor and turned to Mac. "Do you think he'll make it through, sir?"
"Nnope, but we gotta try anyway..." It was the last thing I heard. My body was so cold, it was then that I knew I was going to die as everything faded to black. I hate being wrong.