//------------------------------// // Q & A // Story: Battle of the Blanks // by HumanSVD //------------------------------// Konrad was now following Princess Luna to the ruins holding Apple Bloom on his back and Ruby following behind…close behind. "I have absolutely no idea what could be going through Ruby's mind at the moment, but I hope it isn't anything nefarious…ah what am I talking about? She's just a poor ghost who was murdered and for some reason wants to me to fuck her brains out…and that's actually not a bad thing, but Princess Luna though…" Breaking out of his thought before it went anywhere further down south, Konrad now saw the ruins coming into view. He knew there was going to be a lot questions asked about him, considering how damn hard the mares wanted him. And for some reason, he was starting to find both of them quite attractive and it kinda scared him a bit considering his staunch denial of being a brony and horse lover. Aside from being cast into some weird creepy pasta version of Equestria, he was actually doing just fine. He got to meet Apple Bloom, Ruby, and Princess Luna, while at the same time killing a few Blood Hooves like a freaking hero. Unfortunately for Konrad, it was not just some game or cartoon, it was a real life or death situation, and having to put his life on the line for them was a sobering experience. "I just realized that I'm in a freaking cartoon/game version of MLP, A FUCKING CREEPY PASTA VERSION! I lost my car, I have no way of knowing if I can get back, almost lost Apple Bloom, and almost died! What kind of supreme being could condone such irony?" "Maybe a higher being that knows what's best for you." chimed in Konrad's conscience. "YOU! What the hell was all that shit back there about?! Thanks for freaking helping me out! I was fucking lucky as hell that a mare fight didn't break out. Thanks for not giving me any points, and why they hell am I even thinking of that shit?!" "First of all Konrad, you handled yourself pretty well, and you did a good job of distracting Apple Bloom from the adult situation. You also sidetracked Princess Luna and Ruby from fighting in front of both of you. The enemy is still out there and you shouldn't take a break too long." Konrad shuddered at the thought of the Blood Hooves and at the supposed nemesis Blood Clop. At first they were creepy but Konrad didn't consider them much of a threat when he ran them over. That changed when they ambushed him and Princess Luna, which caused his bronco to become stuck until he could get help to pull it out. Keeping Princess Luna safe was tough, but the situation was made worse when Apple Bloom was almost killed by the Blood Hooves and by a near drowning experience. That scared the fuck out of him, and he wasn't sure how he would take Apple Bloom's death if that happened. "But it didn't happen Konrad. You saved her and Princess Luna, that's something to be very proud of and they will remember that for the rest of their lives." "Yeah…I guess that is something to be proud of…but still I don't know why the fuck I'm here! And why the hell was the first thing I saw was Ruby?" "You should ask all the important questions when you get to the ruins and more importantly figure out a way to leave Everfree Forest." "Ruby will know a way out, that I'm sure of but…still…why was she the first pony I saw when I got here?" "Ask her and to make it up to you, I will help you answer the half truths." "Thanks for that, I don't want to be the first Human in Equestria to be seen or be the cause of chaos. I can't let that happen to Apple Bloom or Princess Luna, much less the whole freaking kingdom! I can't believe that Princess Luna actually has the hots for me! The whole 'my' knight thing is making it very obvious, and…" "And what?" "I actually…like it." "You know my thoughts on the subject; I won't bash it any further. But…she is a hot mare either way right?" "Yeah she really is a hot Princess for sure and true to her character as far as I remember. But Ruby on the other hand…she's cute too." Konrad immediately caught what his conscious did and did his best to shrug it off. He did after all have bigger fish to fry. He had to get Princess Luna and Apple Bloom home and try to figure out what to do next. And what better way to that by having a little Q & A session with all of the ladies. Ever since Apple Bloom mentioned the scent from his back, all of them had been quiet. It really was awkward to try and strike up a conversation when you had a little kid on your back, and two women fighting over you. Konrad could tell that Apple Bloom had fallen asleep and could feel her muzzle drooling a bit on him. Konrad didn't really mind this for he was already dirty and wet. That and she was Apple Bloom of course! "I should do my best not to wake her." Princess Luna was the first to walk inside the ruins, followed by Konrad, Apple Bloom and finally Ruby. Konrad was doing his best not to wake up Apple Bloom, and would be sure to give her pop tarts when she woke up. He was glad that she liked them and made it a point to himself to give her a different flavor next time. He also wondered if Princess Luna would like them, but considering she was Princess, it was unlikely that she would. "Probably not, since she most likely eats rather extravagant foods such as…well whatever Royalty eats." As Princess Luna made it into the back entrance of the old castle, she turned her head around at the last second to give him a look. And what Konrad saw captivated him. Her mane waved at just the right moment, free flowing in a direction that showed off her wonderful blue eyes and facial features. This was something that made Konrad go 'wow' into his mind. Princess Luna let a small smile appear on her face before frowning at the sight of Ruby walking up to Konrad's side. Luna then huffed a bit before turning back to the chambers, tail flailing in agitation. Konrad, who was disappointed that she was agitated again, turned to Ruby. She had a cross look on her face at the sight of Princess Luna flailing her tail, but smiled when she noticed Konrad was looking at her. Despite her actions back at the river, he was sure that she was a good gal at heart. Konrad returned the smile and motioned for her to be quiet for Apple Bloom. Ruby at first didn't understand the hand gesture for 'be quiet' but found the meaning as she nodded in acknowledgement. "So she found the meaning huh? Figures, her special talent is finding thing, which means almost anything I guess." Not wanting to keep Princess Luna waiting, Konrad continued to walk into the back entrance of the old ruin. He briefly wondered what it would have looked like back in its glorious days. The layout of the stone work seemed like it was once part of an old Disney story long forgotten. If this place was interesting to him, he then wondered what the Canterlot Castle would be. He concluded that as interesting it might be, it would probably be girly, and that would make sense due to the fact that the rulers were female. "At this point, I'll take girly stuff over stinky and freaky ass zomponies." Apple Bloom was starting to snore on his back, all cartoony like and full of cuteness. Ruby was still walking beside him, smiling the entire way into the chamber until they were welcome by the sight of a cross Princess Luna. She was sitting in dignified Royal like manner next to the throne from earlier. It seemed that she really didn't like Ruby's presence and Konrad wondered how bad their first encounter was when he was helping Apple Bloom. "Great, here comes the Q & A part of my day. You better help me out bro." "I will, but make sure you ask them questions too." "Yeah, I'm still confused about why I'm here, and why Princess Luna was here all by herself." Konrad noticed Ruby was still close by, with a cross expression of her own towards Luna. Princess Luna in response narrowed her eyes and immediately the thick tension was back again. This made Konrad immediately uncomfortable and was now dreading what would happen next. He began to look for a spot to lay Apple Bloom down and found a pillar near the throne. He carefully began to lay her down on the floor, putting the Chem Bag near her. He also began to remove the AKM and SVD from his body, setting them aside not too far away. He decided that it was best to keep the vest on, and keep the Makarov in his pocket. After he was satisfied that Apple Bloom was comfortable, he carefully pulled out two pairs of Pop Tarts from the bag. One pair was Apple while the other was Blueberry, his favorite. He just hoped that Princess Luna would like Blueberry, because if she did, then that would be awesome. He turned back around to see the mares in never ending stare match, and that was good reminder of the tense atmosphere, something he could do without. He approached Princess Luna, who broke the stare off with Ruby, turning her attention to Konrad. Or rather the items he as carrying in his hands. He smiled at her and said, "These are the food items Apple Bloom was talking about earlier. She liked them very much and I hope that you will too." Princess Luna raised her eye brow again at him and appeared to speak but stopped as he removed the wrapper. Ruby walked over to his side again to get a better look at the pop tarts in his hands, and her eyes would have widened if they weren't all yellow. Konrad opened up the Blueberry packet and handed a pastry to each of the mares. Princess Luna took it with her hoof instead of her magic and this surprised Konrad, as he expected her use her magic. She did after all seem tired which made sense for he was sure she would have done the same like Princess Celestia would on the show. Princess Luna observed the pastry with curiosity, as did Ruby. Ruby's facial expressions were all that he could go off of, as her eyes made it difficult to determine her mood…aside from humping that is. And after both of the mares were done looking over it, Ruby took the first bite. Ruby was starting to munch on it in a weird manner, as if she hadn't eaten in years. This made sense to Konrad, as she was a ghost and was surprised that she could even eat at all. But then again, he did make physical contact with her, one that he would never forget for the rest of his life. "I can't believe an OC pony from a creepy pasta version of MLP humped me like a horny school girl. I mean, I'm a human for crying out loud! How could a pony find me freaking attractive?! I've only been here for about a few freaking hours, and the flirting with Luna was really just for shits and giggles." "Are you sure it wasn't something else?" "Well…" Konrad's thought was interrupted as Ruby spoke. "MMM! So this is what a pop tart is? It tastes like…" Princess Luna then interrupted Ruby, with a muzzle full of pop tart goodness making talking difficult between each munch. "Blu*munch*be*munch*ry." Konrad turned his attention to Princess Luna and found her appearance amusing. She was devouring the treat with the classic 'nom nom' like Rainbow Dash did on the show, only this time is was Princess Luna style minus the grace that she usually had. As Princess Luna was finishing the pastry, bits and pieces of it stuck to her muzzle outside her pony lips, and made her even more awesome. Konrad couldn't but help laugh at the sight, and when Princess Luna finished eating the pop tart. Luna then looked at Konrad with an annoyed look, and asked, "What is so amusing Konrad?" "So I take it you like my food?" replied Konrad. Princess Luna's annoyed look slowly melted away into a neutral tone. It appeared that Luna didn't want to let him know she enjoyed the cheap treat. "It is…satisfactory." "Bullshit! You like it and you know it." "Well, I'm glad that it was 'satisfactory' for you, but you've got some of it on your muzzle still." Princess Luna looked at her muzzle with her eyes and immediately got embarrassed. She raised her hoof just like on the show and began wiped off the bits and pieces of the pop tart. Konrad turned to Ruby to see how she was doing. She was still trying to eat the pop tart and appeared to be enjoying it by taking it slow…very slow. Every single bite was almost like pure heaven to her, savoring the artificial flavor of Blueberry in the treat. Her eyes were beaming with happiness while eating the treat…that is if they weren't beaming yellow already. It was nice that she was enjoying eating food and Konrad started to wonder how long she was a ghost. There really was a lot of this OC that he didn't know about, and when he thought about it, there was little he knew of Luna too. "I guess I'll get to know them a little bit more…I just hope I can get back home though." While Ruby was eating the treat some more she turned to Konrad effeminately winking at him, as it appeared that her efforts to win him were far from over. Before Konrad could react to the gesture, Princess Luna got his attention by clearing her throat and speaking. "Well…now that we're here, perhaps we can discuss our situation. I would like to know where those Blood Hooves came from…perhaps our spirit friend could…'enlighten' us." Ruby stopped eating the pop tart and glared at Luna, who had a smug smile on her face. Ruby did say that she scared Princess Luna, and now he was starting to wonder how bad the fight really was. Ruby took the half eaten treat out of her mouth being held by her left hoof, something Konrad still couldn't wrap his mind around. Ruby, who was clearly uneasy about revealing the origins of the Sunny Town curse, lowered her ears and started to frown. Konrad understood why and when he thought about it, it was a really shitty way to go. He didn't know exactly how she died, other than that her body was in the fire place where Apple Bloom found it. It was convenient to have some insider knowledge of this world, even if it was an alternate form of MLP. He couldn't but help feel some sympathy for the young spirit mare The Blood Hooves on the other hand, he had no clue about at all. The Super Filly Adventure game never revealed the origins of the Blood Hooves, or the Bloody Hooves as they were called. What he did know was that they were not part of Sunny Town and were just a freaking screamer ending made as a nod to Donitz's Story of the Blanks. "I guess I'm about to find out…poor Ruby." "Well…it's not an easy thing to talk about-" began Ruby. "We still require this information 'spirit', and we would appreciate it so we can stop this madness." interrupted Princess Luna in her Canterlot voice minus the loudness. "Don't you think I want it to stop you spoiled-" "Nope. No Mare fight on my watch." "Ladies! We got enough to deal with on our hands." Both of Ruby and Princess Luna looked at him with confusion, and Konrad realized why. "Sorry, I mean 'hooves'." Konrad balled his hands giving the impression that they were hooves. Ruby giggled a bit, while Princess Luna cracked a small smile. "And Princess Luna?" Luna turned her attention to Konrad and smiled a bit with her mane shining a little bit more than earlier. "Yes 'my' Knight?" "More with the 'He's mine' stuff. I like this but it's getting too far." "Don't interrupt Ruby again, let her speak." Princess Luna narrowed her eyes at Konrad as if to say 'How dare you tell me what to do!', but he didn't budge. As much as he thought Luna was cool, there was no way her was going to let Royalty boss him around. Ruby slightly smiled at Konrad sticking up for her but went into a frown as both of them turned their attention to her. Her ears lowered as she continued to reveal the story of the Blood Hooves. "Well…you see…I uh…" "Oh God! Don't tell me I have to calm her down!" As if God was responding to his thought, a paragon symbol appeared in the corner of his vision. It was severely beckoning him to give into it and Konrad wasn't sure what to do. On one hand he wanted Ruby to relax and tell him about Blood Hooves, but on the other hand, he didn't want to give off the wrong impression to Ruby, and at the very least Princess Luna. It was starting to look like Ruby was going to bust down crying, and that is what caused him to make up his mind. He gave it into it and hoped for the best. As if it was a scripted event, he reached for her hoof and massaged it just like he did with Princess Luna and found her coat to be just interesting. It appeared that a ghost's coat was just as soft as Princess Luna's, and that was unexpected. "Okay it's official. I like petting ponies, but why did the paragon option have to be this way?" Ruby then looked at Konrad and let out a cute smile. It was good to comfort Ruby considering what happened to her, but it wasn't the message he wanted to give to her. Konrad might not have made eye contact with Princess Luna but he could feel her glare beating at the side of his face, almost to the point where he would sweat out of nervousness. He let go of Ruby's hoof, and sat down on the ground crossing his legs. Ruby was still looking at Konrad before she snapped out of her stare and sat down as well. She took a calm deep breath and continued again, "Okay...well…I used to live in town not too far away from here in Everfree Forest." "Town? I don't remember there being a town in this forsaken forest! Not even when I used to live here." "Luna, you're interrupting again." Said Konrad. "Hmph!" was all that Luna said while doing her Princess pout. "As I said…I used to live in a town not too far from here. It was called Sunny Town, and as much as I can remember, we were an isolated Town. We had everything we needed so none of us really ventured beyond the forest, and we rarely, if ever, had any visitors." Ruby turned around to look at Apple Bloom who was still sleeping. Making sure that Apple Bloom was safe, she continued to tell her story. "Since none of us had much interaction outside of Sunny Town, news and events that happened around Equestria never interested us in the least. We also didn't know about a lot of things such as magic." Princess Luna appeared to raise her hoof in question, but stopped when Konrad made eye contact with her again. Lowering her hoof, she continued to pout and listen to Ruby. Ruby on the other 'hoof' seemed to know what Princess Luna was wondering and answered her unspoken question. "There aren't any Unicorns in Sunny Town, nor are there any Pegasi. You're the first and only Alicorn I've ever seen in my life, both living and after. We..." Ruby spat out the word 'we' with disgust, indicating that she hated Sunny Town. Konrad couldn't but help get the feeling that he was going to hate the background of Story of the Blanks even more. "…were a simple herd of Ponies, with only the knowledge of simple living, and unfortunately simple minds." Ruby again took another bite of the pop tart before continuing. "Our Town was led by a Stallion named Grey Hoof, like his family had before him. For a while things were great, until the day I earned…this." Using her free hoof, she pointed out her magnifying glass cutie mark. It was weird how it a natural mark on her coat just like Luna's. Retuning her hoof back to the treat, Ruby continued to tell her story. "Nopony in Sunny Town had ever seen cutie mark, and the only knowledge we had of one was a sad tale of Grey Hoof's great grandfather. About four generations prior, there was a plague that infested the town. Everypony was receiving marks left and right, causing them to perform acts that they never have done before." "Cutie Pox…" said Princess Luna. "I figured as much, just like what the wiki said." "Cutie pox? Is that what it's called?" asked Ruby. "Yes, the affliction you speak of is called 'Cutie Pox'. I remember a case of it long ago before my…leave of absence." "Leave of absence? What do you mean by that?" asked Ruby. Konrad knew well what Princess Luna meant and noticed her lower her head in shame. It seemed that it was a sore point with her and Ruby wanted to know about it. Princess Luna merely replied while raising her head back up and said, "I'll explain later, but for now please continue." Ruby raised her eye brown in a typical pony manner, and continued to speak. "As I was saying, the Cutie Pox caused all of the afflicted to be banished by Grey Hoof's Great Grandfather. It was apparently a very painful event and Grey Hoof very much feared that it would return on day. I remember the whole town, or what was left of us feared the Cutie Pox to return once more. Since none of us really understood what Cutie Marks were, everypony was afraid of it." Ruby then took another big bite of the pop tart, and quickly munched on it. Konrad then took the opportunity to offer the mares something to drink. "Would you ladies, like something to drink? I have some water and Red Bull." Both of the mares looked at him in confusion and he didn't know why. Was it something he said? "Uhh…what is it?" "You said 'Red Bull'. What do you mean by that?" asked Princess Luna. Ruby just looked at him slightly puzzled but was apparently intrigued at what he was talking about. "Of course, they don't know what Red bull is. I wonder how they'll react to it." "Oh! Sorry about that, it's an energy drink similar to a soda pop. It's like…coffee's energy put into a soda if that makes any sense. The 'Red Bull' is just a name we humans call it." "I do not drink this commoner's ambrosia, but nonetheless I will try it." Ruby turned to Princess Luna, whose head was tilted up a bit again, and shook her head in disgust. She turned to Konrad's direction and whispered, "Spoiled Princess…" "What was that?!" "Both of you settle down! Besides…you'll wake up Apple Bloom." Konrad turned around to make sure she was still asleep which she was. She was starting to snore like she did at Fluttershy's house during the 'Stare' episode. It was really cute when he thought about it, and he couldn't but help smile at the cute sight of the filly dreaming away. Konrad turned back around to see Princess Luna smiling a bit at him. Why she was doing that he didn't know as he did pretty much told her to shut up. Ruby spoke up again and said, "Konrad, I would like to try this energy drink of yours. I'm sure it will be just as good as this pop tart." "No problem, I'll get one for both of you." He got up and slowly made his way to the Chem bag and began to quietly open it. He pulled out two red bull cans, and noticed that the chilled temperature had long turned warm. Taking another quick look at Apple Bloom again, who was still doing her cute snoring, he closed the bag. He set the Apple Pop Tart pack right next to her, and began to walk towards the mares with the Red Bulls in hand. He first handed one to Ruby, and the other to Princess Luna. Both of them were looking at cans, not knowing what the hell to do with him. Konrad face palmed himself for not realizing that none of them had ever seen a can before. He first went over to Ruby and opened her Red Bull that was in her hoof. He then went over to Princess Luna and did the same for her. The can was still in her hoof, and she was just looking at it. Konrad turned to Ruby, who was looking at it still as well, apparently more fascinated with the can that the drink itself. He turned back to Princess Luna and whispered to her, "Allow me 'my' Princess." Luna looked at Konrad with a slight smile on her face while he tilted the can to her mouth. Her eyes lit up with a surprise as she didn't expect him to, but carefully began to drink the contents on the Energy Drink. Her eyes went from surprise to one of a puzzled look, and ceased drinking the Red Bull. Apparently, Equestria didn't have an equivalent of the stuff, and hoped that Princess Luna would like the drink. She raised the can to her mouth again and began to drink some more…a lot more. Konrad was surprised that she apparently liked it a lot, and was expecting her to complain about it. Konrad went back over to his sitting spot and saw that Ruby had drank all of the energy drink in one sitting. His eyes lit up in surprise looking at the empty can on the floor, with Ruby letting out a pony belch, similar to Apple Bloom's on the show. *BURP*! Ruby then blushed cutely and said, "Excuse me. It was really good I've never had anything like it." "No problem I'm just glad that-" *BBBUUURRRPPP!* Was all that Konrad heard when his sentence was interrupted by a very loud belch coming from Princess Luna. He turned around to look at her with is eyes wide and mouth slightly open in surprise. That was a very loud cartoon like belch that he never would have expect to come from Princess Luna, and could never hope to match one with such intensity. She immediately lowered her ears in embarrassment and started to blush greatly like he had never seen before. And it was freaking hot as hell to him, and he began to smile at her. As Luna noticed Konrad's reaction, her ears perked back up again with the blush still on her face with a smile slowly turning up. "I know this is a cute moment and all, but should you be trying to find out more about the Blood Hooves?" said Ian. "Whoops! Yeah you're right." Konrad then sat back down and for Ruby to continue with the story. "Where was I? Oh…my cutie mark. I remember the day I earned it…it was the day I died." Both Konrad and Princess Luna got very quiet listening to Ruby as she spoke of the day she died. Konrad in particular knew he was going to hate the unspoken background details of Ruby's death. The wiki said she was murdered for the mark and it made sense to him now that they were afraid of the cutie pox. But what none of the game failed to mention was how she died, along the emotions of all the ponies, save for a few deviant art pictures. "That day I will never forget what happened to me, the day that was supposed to fun for all of us. Grey Hoof was planning a party to celebrate the town's 'solidarity'. It was something he always went on about as he liked to plan celebrations, something he would obsess about." Konrad was now paying close attention to every single detail he could gather. So far all of the knowledge he had of the Creepy Pasta story was true. However, being here listening to the actual victim of the tragic story took it to a whole new level. His anger at the Blood Hooves and the Blanks was now rising steadily, and he was doing what he could to keep it in check. "Easy now Konrad. You don't want to renegade right now do you?" "Only if there was a fucking Blank or Blood Hoof nearby." "When I was younger, I was good at finding things, whether they were objects, solutions, or…'something' else." Konrad definitely caught the 'something' part as she looked at Konrad. He could feel Luna glaring again without even look at her. Ruby continued to divulge about the Blood Hooves and Konrad was grateful for it too, for this subtle flirting was getting a bit overboard. "Before the party started, a stallion known as Roneo lost a gift that he planned on giving to a mare named Starlet. When I overheard that he lost it, I began to look for his gift. When I found not too far from the town's center something happened. I felt my cutie mark appear and it was immediately spotted by another pony named Three Leaf." Ruby then took the time to completely devour her pop tart and continued after munching the remainder if the treat. "Heh…this really is good Konrad. Anyway…after my cutie mark was spotted all pony heck broke loose. The townponies panicked and began pointed their hooves at me, saying that I had the mark and that I was cursed. They were afraid of the cutie pox, and Grey Hoof initially banished me from Sunny Town." "She was banished? Why didn't she just leave? I would have fucking left immediately." thought Konrad. "Listen to the rest of the story Konrad." replied Ian. "But I didn't want to leave and neither did my mother Mitta. Sunny Town was all that I knew about and I would have left with nothing. Sure I might have found something eventually but it's easier said than done when your whole life revolved around working together with your friends. Hay, we didn't even use bits for crying out loud, and we never had to save up any for we never left the town. As a young and scared Mare, I was hoping that a solution would present itself." "Well, that explains why she didn't want to leave. Hard to step into a new world that you know nothing about." "But it didn't…the rest of the townponies just kept panicking about my cutie mark, pointing and hollering at me as if I was evil. Nothing happened to me when I earned my cutie mark, no uncontrollable acts or the spreading of the mark to anypony else. My mother pleaded with Grey Hoof to let me live a little bit away from the town, enough so that the 'Pox' wouldn't spread, and that way I could still be near the ponies I cared about." Konrad turned to see what Luna's reaction to all of this was and noticed that she was listening intently at Ruby's story. Hopefully the Selene Alicorn would have a bit more sympathy for Ruby, as Konrad was starting to feel very sorry for. "Instead, he said no while the other ponies, with the exception of my mother, demanded that Grey Hoof end the so called curse. He then ordered everypony to murder me, and that was when I ran. I ran as fast as I could to the only place that could keep me safe, or so I thought. I barricaded myself in my house and they did their best to get in." Konrad then noticed Ruby's eyes start to tear up as she continued, doing her best to maintain composure. "The only thing I could do was sit in the corner, unable to find a way out. I remember the fear that was in me, the fear of what my friends would do to me or my mother. Then my fears came true when they opened the door. My mother had the key and they must have figured that out. They…" Ruby's was now barely remaining stable as she was shaking and her ears were even lower. A single tear escaped from her glowing yellow eye, as she recalled the memory with perfect detail. "They came in…all of them including my mother, who stood by helpless and in shock at what they were going to do. I pleaded with them one last time; I mean…all I wanted to help Roneo find his gift! And then they…they…clopped me to death." Princess Luna then held her hooves up in shock, doing her best to cover mouth while a slight gasp escaped. Her eyes were in shock at the mare divulging her death by her friends, and Konrad could only wonder what was going through her mind. Konrad on the other hand now glum at learning how Ruby died. And then it got worse as Ruby broke down, speaking between slight sobs, making the story even more painful. "They *sob* clopped and clopped for what *sob* seemed like forever. I could *sob* remember each hoof strike me *sob* in pain. That was until *sob* I couldn't move *sob* anymore. Then I stared at *sob* Grey Hoof, unable to beg for *sob* mercy." Ruby ceased sobbing and lowered her tone, staring in a random direction as if she was just lost in deep thought. Konrad waved his hand in front of her to bring her back to reality, which was unfortunately a shitty situation. Ruby jumped slightly and looked at Konrad and Princess Luna with a blank stare. "Oh god, she's going to break down again I'll bet, and she still hasn't told me how the curse was brought about." "S-sorry…I just stared at Grey Hoof, unable to beg for mercy…then the last thing I remembered as a living pony was…him raising his hoof and bringing it down on my head. I remember the pain very clearly, and I remember hearing my head crunch." Princess Luna's hooves were still covering her mouth in shock, while Konrad balled his fists up in anger. If there was anything that solidified his hatred for zombies, and creepy pasta, it was this. He could feel his face contort in anger at the stupidity and cruelty of the Blanks. The mood around the two mares and human was very glum. No jokes or one liners could break this mood. "What happened next?" asked Princess Luna? "I died." Said Ruby was if it was a plain fact with no importance. "I remember waking up in a field after I had a very terrible dream. There was a voice that asked me if I wanted to take revenge on them." "Voice? What kind of voice?" asked Princess Luna. "I don't know who it was or what it was for that matter, but…I felt that it didn't care for me or anypony in the slightest. I said no to it, and it got angry. All I could see was blackness, but I felt different somehow, as if I was alive but not alive at the same time. It said that I was fool and that the blessing of Sunny Town was inevitable. It also said that I would never get to rest as along as the blessing was in effect." "Sounds like a demon or something." Said Konrad. "A what?" both Ruby and Luna. "Never mind, it's not important…well what happened next?" said Konrad. "After it told me of my fate, I woke up not too far from Sunny Town. At first I thought it was just a bad nightmare and that I had a bad case of sleepwalking. But when I got to the town…" Ruby lowered her head again and tears began to start flowing. It was really a sad sight to witness, and Konrad wasn't sure what to do other than continue listen to the unspoken background of Story of the Blanks. "…it was completely changed. The houses looked like they had succumbed to old age, trees and plants were dead, but the worst part was my former friends…they were zombies! That voice did something to them as if it brought out the true monsters within them. And what made me even more furious was the fact that they were acting like nothing happened, with Grey Hoof and the others having a party, as if my death was the best thing in all of Equestria!" "Ruby I'm-" spoke Princess Luna before Ruby interrupted. "Those bastards! How could they just have a party like that as if nothing happened!? In my rage, I ran into the town and destroyed everything I could. I hit Grey Hoof numerous times before the others got a hold of me and took me back to my house. They showed me my burnt corpse in the fireplace of my old home. They clopped and crushed me again just as they had before, and threw my body back into the fire place." Ruby's face was now fuming red with a very cartoon like manner but without the humor. Her tears were now being steady almost like Pinkie Pie's whenever she cried. "After being forced to reenact my own death, I woke up again in the same spot. I was furious and went to Sunny Town to ruin their party the best way I could, but there was something different. They were all gone, nowhere to be found, and I was greatly confused at what happened. The town was appeared the same as it was when they caught me, just a sore, dark, and hollow memory of my home, and friends. I tried to leave the forest but every time I tried something just kept pulling me back, as if I was anchored to this place." "So you can't leave? That sucks…" said Konrad. "It's almost as if that voice wanted it that way." Replied Ruby. "What did you do after that Ruby?" asked Princess Luna. Ruby's ear rose a little bit before going back down. It would seem that she appreciated being called by her name instead of 'foul spirit'. "Hopefully Luna won't be so hard on Ruby or at the very least, keep the insults down." "There was nothing I could do really. I just wandered around the forest the rest of that year and for a while I thought it was over. That was until they…appeared again. But this time there was something different…they had another pony with them!" "Let me guess, somepony walked into the town and got cursed." Ruby was immediately surprised at Konrad's accurate guess, and said, "Yeah, how'd you know about that?" "Shit! I got to be careful with what I say, I'm the ignorant human after all." "Lucky guess, anyway please continue." Ruby then raised and eye brow at Konrad before continuing. "Well…when I found out that they cursed a stallion who wondered into the town, I got really furious that they brought an innocent into their fold. I went there again in hopes to just cause a nuisance and ruin their party, something Grey Hoof does every time of this year." "So Grey Hoof really is obsessed with his parties, what an asshole." "At first I destroyed their party tables, food, and bucked them here and there before I ran away. I found out that that they couldn't leave Sunny Town, as they were stuck to it just as I am stuck to Everfree forest. But not the outsider stallion, he was able to leave Sunny town and he chased me all over the forest. He eventually caught me and dragged me back to Sunny Town, where Grey Hoof told me what his plan for Sunny Town was." "And what is his plan?" asked Princess Luna. "To save all ponies from the 'mark' and protect them as he calls it. He pretty much decided to use any outsider that was unfortunate enough to wander into Sunny Town. He also called them the Blood Hooves, based off of the old tales." "Excuse me Ruby, but may I ask a question?" asked Princess Luna. Ruby was surprised at her increasingly non-confrontational manner, and appeared to be suspicious of the Alicorn. "I guess…what is it?" "How long ago did your…your…" "My death?" replied Ruby while raising another eye brow. Princess Luna nodded and Ruby answered as Konrad listened intently. "It happened 100 years ago, and he's been building his herd of Blood Hooves ever since." Both Konrad and Princess Luna's eyes widened at the revelation of the Blood Hooves. It appeared that based off of Ruby's description, there were more Blood Hooves, A LOT more. And as to how many there were Konrad had no clue and was starting to fear that he might have to fight his entire way through Everfree Forest. The fact that Ruby would be left behind was something he didn't like at all, but she was already dead and would be around for a little while longer. Konrad's nervousness was starting to kicking more intently and was dreading to ask what was on his mind. "You need to ask Ruby how many there are Konrad, it's important not just for you, but for Luna too." said Ian. "Yeah your right but…" Replied Konrad. Doing his best to muster his courage to ask the question on his mind, he calmly asked Ruby, "How many Blood Hooves does Grey Hoof have exactly?" Ruby again lowered her ears again, knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer. "Please Ruby, we need to know." Said Konrad. "He's got at least 50 Blood Hooves, maybe more. I've pretty much lost count over the years." Konrad's eyes widened at hearing how many Blood Hooves there were. The situation he was in was really screwed up, and now more than ever did he just want to get the fuck out of there. "So there are 50 Blood Hooves or more with a few more in Sunny Town, plus that one freak called Blood Clop who likely eat my guts my guts for breakfast, am I correct so far?" "Ummm yeah…" said Ruby. "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! This is definitely the hard version alright, and now I go to get the hell out of dodge! "Wait, who is Blood Clop?" asked Princess Luna. "Oh he's that 'Hu-man and Alicorn' guy. He's mad that I shot his Marefriend's hooves off from what Ruby told me earlier, and what was her name again?" "Crimson Tail." Replied Ruby. "Yeah, the freak that wanted you to abandon me and be one of them." Princess Luna rolled her eyes and said, "Ah yes that evil mare, I remember her alright. Konrad, I wish you had done more than shot her hooves off." "Kinda hard to shoot and drive at the same Luna, perhaps you would like to try next time?" Princess Luna smirked a bit and joking spoke, "If it will get me more points, then yes." That put Konrad a bit at ease, and it was nice that she was joking a bit. Not wanting to be up staged, Konrad threw his own joke back at her. "Well, if you can figure out how to aim and shoot the damn weapons, your more than welcome to your highness. Good luck with that though, you need these wonderful things." Konrad held up his fingers and began to do his best spirit fingers. "These are my fingers. They're very fingery." Princess Luna chuckled at his stupid joke, and turned her head looking at him and said, "I know what they are Konrad, and I know they are very, how did you put it? Fingery?" Konrad couldn't but help smirk a bit before Ruby chimed in an said, "Yes Princess Luna, his fingers are indeed fingery." "Oh god not again." Luna turned to Ruby and narrowed her eyes at Ruby who in turn did the same. The tension was back again, which Konrad did not like. Before Konrad could think or do anything Ruby decided to ask Princess Luna question of her own. "I have a question of my own your highness." Princess Luna's tone was now one of ice as she spoke to Ruby. "What is your question…Ruby?" Ruby then gave off an obvious fake expression of curiosity and asked her, "Earlier you spoke of a leave of absence. What did you mean by that?" Princess Luna glared at Ruby for bringing it up and Konrad knew what Princess Luna meant by it. She was referring to her imprisonment on the moon during her time as Nightmare Moon, and no doubt it was going to be a sore subject about. Then again, he did want to know more about the background story of her, and Nightmare Moon. And now he was going to find out whether she wanted to tell it or not. "I don't remember saying such a thing." Lied Princess Luna. "Would it have anything to do with why you are here Luna? I still don't understand why you are here without at least a few guards with you." Princess Luna looked at Konrad as if she was embarrassed and afraid to even speak of it to him. Her ears lowered slightly as she blushed, seemingly embarrassed about telling her tale. "Well…I'm not sure where I should begin." "Oh anywhere is good your highness! Please…I have all the time in Equestria on my side." "Ruby…don't make me come over there…actually, definitely don't make me come over there." "Very well then…my family and I used to live in this ruin that was once our home well over a thousand years ago. They ruled the land long before my sister and I took the throne. This place used to be our capital long before Discord…spread chaos to this place." Princess Luna's eyes glared at the thought of Discord and was starting to snort a bit. If Konrad thought Princess Celestia's tempter towards Discord was bad, Luna's was worse. "Wow, she really doesn't like Discord does she?" thought Konrad. "Makes sense doesn't it? And might I suggest you ask her who Discord is? You need to pretend to be he ignorant human here." replied Ian. Following his advice, he raised his hand as asked Princess Luna, "Question! Who is Discord and what do you mean spread 'Chaos'?" "Discord is a Draconequus." replied Luna as if it was a common fact. "And that means what exactly?" asked Ruby "Makes since that Ruby doesn't know, being isolated in a town does make you ignorant." thought Konrad. "Just play along Konrad, and pay attention." replied Ian. Princess Luna huffed in frustration before she continued to explain to Ruby and Konrad. "He has the head of a pony with his body made up of various parts of other creatures. His body represents chaos and pretty much fulfill that part with his annoying personality. And when I mean he spreads chaos, he uses his chaotic magic to make the lives of everypony miserable. He appeared long ago and began to spread chaos to the land, making clouds pour chocolate rain, animals with unnatural bodies, and throwing the cycle of night and day into disarray." "Damn, this guy must be pretty powerful if he could do that." said Konrad. "Indeed, he was so powerful that my parents were unable to defeat him. I remember the battle from so long ago, and it was very destructive to this place. My sister and I had not earned our cutie marks yet, and all we could do was evacuate our subjects from the area while my parents fought Discord. When we returned, we found no trace of them, only a smug Discord sitting on our throne." "What did he do to them?" asked Konrad. Princess Luna narrowed her eyes and said, "When we confronted him as to where our parents were, he merely said…"All gone". "Wow, just like Q on Star Trek. I hope Discord isn't actually Q that would really suck ass." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Discord had learned a lot about this Konrad in past few minutes. He found out that his potential apprentice was not a pony, but a human! "A human! I don't believe it! An actual real human!? YES! Another biped for the win, and he's even got Celestia more riled up than I could ever dream of! Now I wonder what her parents would think of such a man, or the fact that he AND Princess Luna have an affection each other. Let's find out!" It was rather brilliant move he pulled off long ago, when he was in his much younger self. Princess Celestia and Luna's parents fought him with all of their magical strength, but in the end just couldn't defeat him at all. They only understood magic, magic that made sense, and what fun was there in making sense? But Discord never killed King Cosmos or Queen Galaxia for that wouldn't have been much fun. Instead, after battling them into submission, he decided to turning them into animal plushies was the way to go. It was as he liked to put it, a souvenir of the past that he always wanted to keep. Nopony knew their true fate, and he would never reveal it to anypony, except his potential apprentice. Discord snapped his fingers in his mind, and out popped the plushies of the former Equestrian rulers. The soft yet cuddly King and Queen had a very irritated look on their faces, unable to do anything. Discord immediately began to force the toys to kiss ( much in the same manner spike had during the royal wedding). The look on their faces could only change between a few expressions and not in a fluid manner. Discord then turned the Royal couple to face them in his mind. He began to speak to them as if they were children. "Well hello again King and Queen! It's been a while since I've played with you now has it?" They did nothing but glare at him, and Discord found this to be very amusing indeed. "Aw what's the matter? I know how much both of you enjoy hearing the news on the outside so I'll tell you something about your daughter Luna." Both of the plushies were now sporting an anxious look on their faces, for they wanted to know how their children were faring. "Now that I got your attention, I have just found out that your daughter has the love bug for a wonderful stallion! Isn't that great?" The Queen Galaxia plushy had look of joy on her face, while King Cosmos had a 'not amused' look on his face, just like his daughter's. "Yes Queen Galaxia, your daughter is in love, and of course King Cosmos in not amused, but I've got even better news!" Both of the plushies were at their previous expressions and that was what Discord wanted. He was going to throw another curveball at them and how wonderful it was going to be. "The stallion is not a stallion at all! He's actually a…" With another imaginary snap, a set of drums appeared and he began to rapidly make a drum roll, building up the suspense. "HUMAN!" The King and Queen had a look of shock on their plushies faces and Discord felt immediate satisfaction. Their daughter was head over hooves for a human, a being that was once thought of nothing more than a myth. "Yes, your daughter is in love with a human. Isn't that just wonderful? When I get out again, and I will, I'm going teach this human the wonderful ways of chaos. Bipods are after all are full of win and I'll be sure to bring you all to the wedding of your daughter and the human. I'm sure they'll have wonderful mutant foals, and I will be their god father while you two can the their toys!" King Cosmos and Queen Galaxia were now extremely angry at the thought of their daughter marrying some…human. Even worse was the thought of them having mutant foals, taking up the same characteristics as Discord and being raised to cause chaos across the land. If there was one other thing the former rulers could do in their plushy form, it was having their toy manes light bright with anger. Discord found this all to amusing and said, "I think you two have had enough play time for now, and daddy Discord will play with you later. Now, off to bed the for the both of you!" With a snap of his claw, an imaginary crib appeared out of nowhere, and the toy King and Queen found themselves covered in diapers and toy foal pacifies in their plush muzzles. Discord them set them both down in the crib and snapped them back into his mind. He was certainly going to look forward in anticipation of being a God Father, or at least he hoped he would be. "I certainly do hope they wind up together! That would just be full of win now wouldn't it be? Konrad and Luna FTW! Now who is this Q he thought of? That could be his chaotic name for all I know, but whatever it means, it's certainly full of win." And so Discord continued to play the waiting game, eagerly listening for the thoughts of this human called Konrad. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Luna's eyes were starting to twitch again at the bad memory of her loss. "My sister and I fought Discord ourselves, but we were unable to do anything to him. His chaotic magic was too strong against us, and so began his reign chaos across the land." "How long did he rule?" asked Konrad. "Man I'm getting the scoop on a whole lot of unknown MLP lore!" "Long enough." Was all that Luna said. "Well, more than most at least." "What happened next?" asked Konrad. "My sister and I were able to defeat him with the Elements of Harmony. They were and still are powerful relics of magic, and harmony. When we confronted Discord, he laughed at us thinking the magic of Friendship couldn't possibly stop him. It was the last thing he did before Celestia and I petrified him." "That explains the pose he did but I was hoping for more information on Discord and the Elements of Harmony oh well." "With Discord subdued, Celestia and I were forced to move to the Capital to a new location. Discord's chaos had left a never ending scare of this place, and a forest that acted on its own without magic was something my sister and I just couldn't salvage. Since then, this place has been nothing but a sad reminder of the past." Princess Luna lowered her head in obvious mourning of her parents. Ruby on the other hand slowly hoof clapped and said, "Cool Story sister! It doesn't answer my question though or his for that matter." Princess Luna raised her head immediately back up and glared at Ruby. Ruby in return just shrugged her pony front legs. Konrad made eye contact with Ruby as a silent reprimand for her being insensitive to Luna's loss of parents. As obvious as it was that they didn't like each other, he would have expected some sympathy from Ruby directed to Princess Luna. "She did after all try to apologize…at least that's what I think Luna was trying to do." Princess Luna lowered her tone on a near growling manner while addressing Ruby's statement. "Yes…it doesn't." Both of the mares were back at the stare routine before Luna continued. "After Discord was banished, my sister and I took the throne together and quickly did our best to undo the chaos Discord left behind. It was during that time we discovered our special talents. My sister had the ability to raise and lower the Sun, while I gained the ability to lower and raise the Moon. Before we learned our talents, the Sun and Moon rose and lowered on their own. However, Discord's chaos threw the balance off, it was up to us to maintain the cycle. Because of this responsibility, the Elements of Harmony gave us immortality to maintain the Equestrian cycle of Day and Night." "Wow! I just learned how they earned their Cutie Marks and how they became immortal! Though, I'm about to learn more of Luna and Nightmare Moon. I hope Ruby doesn't act up later." "After we controlled the cycle of Day and Night, Equestria slowly rebuilt and Harmony once again returned. The first few years were wonderful, with our subjects enjoying the day and…sleeping during the night." "Yeah, that's what everypony normally does. Why is this a bad thing?" asked Ruby with and annoyed tone. Luna was starting to show signs that her patience with Ruby was wearing thin. It wasn't just the eyes narrowing, it was her teeth gritting a bit more and her throat making an noise similar to a Klingon growling. Konrad immediately became discomforted. "Damn, Luna's definitely scary when she wants to be. Ruby, you better ease up on Luna." Princess Luna continued to talk while giving Ruby the evil eye. Ruby in return did nothing wave her hoof off as if it was nothing. "During that time, everypony would pay tribute to my sister by giving her praise and glory, while I received none. Not one little thank you at all." "So you were jelly right?" asked Ruby. Luna gained a surprised look on her face before returning to her previous tone. "YES! I was very 'jelly' indeed. During this time, I grew resentful of the attention my sister received, as if she did all the work and everypony forgot about me. This continued for a few more years until I just couldn't hold my bitterness in. Then a spirit known as Nightmare Moon appeared to me one night. She claimed that she had the power give me the attention that I deserved and that all I need to do was let her possess me for a short period of time." "So you agreed?" asked Ruby. Luna turned to look at Konrad before lowering her head in shame. "Yes…and it was the biggest mistake of my life. The spirit took advantage of my bitterness and used my magic to brink eternal darkness to all of Equestria. She never wanted let the Sun rise again, and my sister pleaded with the spirit to let me go, but the entity would not, and my sister was forced to banish her…me…inside the moon for a thousand years." "Damn…1000 years? That had to be very hard, I mean, I was thrown in a box for 5 hours and I couldn't take it at all." Said Konrad. Both of the mares looked at Konrad completely confused at his statement. Konrad mentally face palmed when he realized he shouldn't have told them about his resistance training. "Uh…it's umm…a story for another time." Both of them still had a look of confusion on their faces before Princess Luna continued with her story. "A thousand years later, Nightmare Moon, who still was in control of me, broke free from the prison we were banished to. She intended to bring eternal darkness to Equestria once more, until she, uh we, were defeated by the new wielders of the Elements of Harmony. And that happened right where were are sitting." "How long ago did this happen?" asked Konrad. "Two years ago, and Nightmare Moon was purged from my once and for all. At first I thought my sister would punish me, but instead she showed me offered me Friendship. I gladly took it and I was happy to be home once more. Because of my bitterness, I lost a 1000 years of my life, and the respect of my subjects. Or so I thought." Princess Luna looked over at Apple Bloom and smiled a bit before returning to her story. Why she smiled at Apple Bloom, Konrad had no clue but continued to listen. "In my absence, an annual festival called Nightmare Night was thrown, and when I found out about it, I wasn't sure what to think of it. It was based around my former image of Nightmare Moon, and it was really nothing more than a simple excuse for foals in costumes go to door-to-door asking for candy and have…fun." Princess Luna smile a bit more the mention of fun, and Konrad knew the meaning of it. Ruby on the other hoof did not. "So again…what does this have to do with you being here?" "I'm getting there!" said Luna while instantly pony snorting. It looked just like Rainbow Dash's pony snort when she was all gray during that one episode. Luna's patience with Ruby was beginning to wear even thinner and Konrad was unsure of how to proceed next. It would seem that the threat of a mare fight was far from over. "Part of the celebration is to make an offering of candy to a statue of Nightmare Moon, which was put in this forest by somepony from long ago. After the offering was put there, ponies would feel assured that she or I technically would not eat their foals…what ridiculous lie that I would be a cannibal!" "Well…you technically were a villain…" said Konrad. "That may be true, but I would never do such a thing! How would you feel if ponies you fought for thought of you as a foal eating monstrosity?" "I guess I wouldn't be very…" replied Konrad. "Content? You are correct about that Konrad. All I ever wanted was just to be loved by my subjects and be given respect that I deserve. And that brings us to why I am here." "Which is?" asked Ruby. Princess Luna looked at Ruby and did her growling even more with her eye twitching again. "LET…ME…FINISH!" That brought some fear into Konrad and he definitely didn't want to cross Luna after her got out of this, assuming he would at all. "I didn't want to return to Ponyville to carry out the celebration, as I had the year before. My sister and I had a fight over this and demanded that I return for the celebration, which is tomorrow. So in my rather emotional state, I left our Castle in Castle in Canterlot to come to the statue in the forest. I could feel nothing but hate disgust for what the spirit had taken from me and I used my magic to destroy the last reminder of my past." "So that's why she is here. Good thing it wasn't because she was banished to this place or something like that." "But something happened to me…" spoke Luna. "And that was?" asked Ruby. "As I shot a spell at the statue, a bright light with a loud noise came out of nowhere. It split my attack half, causing one half to strike me. It was very painful indeed and it left my wings and mane is a terrible state, hence my rough appearance." "That explains why you didn't just fly away, and why you were walking here all by yourself." "Yes and that's when I ran into the Blood Hooves from earlier…until you saved me from them." Princess Luna smiled at him and that made Konrad's ego get a little bit to his head. Jokingly casting it off as it was nothing, he replied while stretching his arms. "Well, I am a soldier after all and I do hate zombies…plus saving a Princess in distress doesn't hurt at all." He gave off the same charming smile that he did earlier and Luna blushed a bit at him. Ruby on the other hoof was not enjoying the rapport between them. Konrad could see in the corner of his eye that she was starting to pout a bit, and that reminded him of the something. "Wait, you said a bright light and boom right?" asked Konrad. "Yes, it was quite strange and I've never seen anything like it before. Did you happen to see it as well?" replied Luna. Before Konrad could answer, he noticed Ruby perk her head up at the mention of the boom, and was developing a nervous look on her face. Curious of why she was starting to get nervous, Konrad turned his head to while answering Princess Luna. "Yes I did…it happened while I was training with my weapons. It scared the hell out of me and I thought lighting had stuck me at first. But when I noticed that it wasn't lighting, the first thing I saw after the light was…you!" Konrad pointed at Ruby and she had a look on her face, similar to when a child just got caught stealing cookies form the cookie jar. All she could do was give out a nervous smile in return, but Konrad was not amused and nether was Luna. He knew there was something familiar about that flash and seeing Ruby right after it meant something. And why that was Konrad was going to find out. Princess Luna got up and walked closer to Konrad on his left side, staring accusingly at Ruby. "Could you explain to me what he is talking about Ruby?" Ruby was now back into a corner so to speak, and was now forced to come clean. She didn't like the fact that she would have to tell Konrad the truth in front of a rival mare, and feared what his reaction would be. "Well…you see…I want the curse to end and…" "Oh no…don't tell me she brought me here!" thought Konrad. "Just pay attention Konrad, and be calm." replied Ian. Doing his best to follow his conscience's advice, he continued to stare at Ruby's yellow eyes, waiting for an answer. "As do I for the sake of my subjects Ruby. Now explain yourself! He deserves the truth." Said Luna in a stern manner. Ruby just gave off an annoyed look at Luna before turning back to Konrad. Her expression rapidly changed to one of guilt and Konrad knew he wasn't going to like this answer one bit. "I…I'm the reason why you are here Konrad." "I fucking knew it! Urge to strangle Ruby…rising!" thought Konrad "Konrad! Hear her out and don't you dare do such a thing! replied Ian. "But she freaking…agh!" "And I'm so sorry! I just wanted somepony…someone to help end the curse. You have no idea what it's like not being able to talk to anypony, being forced to run away from those bastards, and being forced to feel pain and death again when you get caught by them. You know that I'm good at finding things right?" Konrad understood what she meant by that, but he still wasn't happy about it. Slowly nodding while doing his best to control his anger, he motioned for her to continue with his hand. Surprisingly, she understood his meaning and Konrad wasn't sure if the ponies had a similar one with their hooves or if it was just her talent again. Ruby's ears were now lowering with the look of guilt on her face ever so sincere, and it was almost heart wrenching like Apple Bloom's…almost being the keyword. "Well…I was running away from Blood Clop and a Crimson Tail all day, trying to lose them and avoid being dragged back to Sunny Town. I just couldn't take it anymore and I began to look for way to stop them. And then I saw you, shooting those weapons of yours and saw what they could do. I saw you giving out a battle cry as you were destroying those targets and knew that you were my best bet to end the curse...by killing every single one of them." "Okay, that doesn't explain how she found me though, she is after all a made up character." "That's when Blood Clop and Crimson Tail found me, forcing me to take a chance with you. I don't even know how I found you at all…I kinda…just did…I guess I'm just good at finding things." Konrad's mind was now full of confusion, as how could Everfree forest be in Silent Hill? "That doesn't make sense Ruby. I wasn't hanging outside of Everfree forest, I was near a public park area close to a town called Silent Hill." "Silent Hill? I've never heard of such as place before in my kingdom." said Princess Luna. "I've never even heard of Equestria or Ponyville for that matter." Replied Konrad. That was a flat out lie of course, but it was completely necessary for their protection. They just couldn't know the true nature of their existence, but that still didn't explain Konrad's situation. How the hell could he go from being in Silent Hill's outskirts to Ponyville's like that? Princess Luna was now just as confused as he was, not fully understanding the whole picture in this nonsensical night of terror. "But…if you've never heard of Equestria, then how did you get here? And does that mean there are no ponies where you are from? What about magic as a myth?" This was a huge ass question that he was trying to avoid and he wasn't sure what to at this point. Should he tell them that ponies are just wandering animals eating grass, or should he lie? It seemed like a no win situation and hoped that his conscience would help him out. Fortunately for him, it would come to that all for Ruby spoke, acting almost as a beacon out of this explanation mess. "I uhh…think my talent might have something to do with that." Princess Luna and Konrad turned to Ruby hoping she could answer a bit of this confusion. "I think I might have brought Konrad into the future on accident." Konrad's eyes widened greatly at this, and questions immediately began pouring into his head. "What the fuck? How can a freaking Hasbro cartoon be the future?! Did the Rapture happen and as a joke God decided a cartoon would be the new world order?" "Not quite Konrad" "What the fuck do you mean Ian!?" But his conscience went silent, leaving him even more confused. "What?! I don't even…explain now." Said Konrad. "Well…humans are a-" "Let me guess myth." interrupted Konrad. "Yeah, how did you know?" asked Ruby "I told him that Ruby, and I was greatly confused by his presence when we met. And I don't see how you could even use magic at all." said Luna. "Well…I can only guess that it has something to do with my special talent and being a ghost might have taken it to a whole new level. I merely just looked for way to bring him here and…he just appeared in Everfree Forest. It's how I was able to get Apple Bloom away from Sunny Town." "What?! Why was that poor filly even near that place?!" asked Luna. Konrad knew why, but Luna didn't and it was sure to make her dislike Ruby even more. "Apple Bloom…saw me as I was watching her and her friend along the main path of Everfree Forest. I was curious and afraid of their safety since the Blood Hooves were roaming about. When she saw me, she began to look for me, walking away from her Unicorn friend. I didn't want to get her involved but it was too late as she walked into Sunny Town, and straight into Grey Hoof's presence himself." Even though Konrad knew all of this back ground information, hearing Ruby say it in front of Princess Luna was sure to get her riled up. And sure enough it was, Luna's eyes were casting a look of disapproval towards Ruby, but surprisingly she did nothing else. Then Konrad started to wonder how much Grey Hoof knew about them, and how close the conversations were in Sunny Town. "So...she just walked straight into Grey Hoof and the other freaks and you did nothing?!" asked Konrad. "It was an accident Konrad. I thought she was still following me but she walked off into another direction when I wasn't looking. And when I noticed where she went to, I kept an eye on her the whole time. I heard all of the conversations she had with them, and I intervened when she was in danger." "Okay…I'm willing to accept that it was an accident with Apple Bloom, but you deliberately brought me into this Ruby. I understand your reasons, but I'm still not happy about it. As far as I know, I'm no longer home, and potentially not in the same time period. I take it there aren't humans ANYWHERE in Equestria?" Ruby just nodded and so did Princess Luna, confirming that he was indeed the only human in this place. "Great…just fucking great!" exclaimed Konrad, while clinching his teeth, making a Klingon growl of his own. "I'm sorry…I just…" "I don't want to hear it Ruby. I just found out that I'm the only human in this world, the ONLY one! Chances are I'll never see my family or friends again thanks to you! Right now, the best that you can do is answer my questions." Ruby's eyes were starting to tear up again, and he felt like a dick for casting her apology off like that, but dammit, he was mad and he had a right to be! But tears did not flow from her at all, and all she did was nod at him. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he raised his pointer finger in the air and said, "Question number one, what does Grey Hoof know about me?" "Well, he's aware of you and Princess Luna. I can only guess that he wants you brought to Sunny Town. I think he is interested in making you one of them just so they can use your weapons for them. As for you Princess Luna, he most likely just wants you as another Blood Hoof." That caught his attention for sure, as Ruby pretty much told him they wanted him for his stuff. He couldn't imagine himself as a Blood Hoof and a Blood Hand going around shooting any pony that happened to wander into the forest and bring them to a horrible fate of zombie life. Luna on the other hand gave off an expression of disgust at the Blood Hooves. "Okay…no doubt his fetch and step Blood Clop ran back to talk them about where we are. Too bad for them we're on this side of the river and the bridge is out. Question number two, you mentioned something about them disappearing and then reappearing?" asked Konrad. "Yes, it's some sort of cycle they run on. They are only awake for 4 days a year, and tomorrow night is the last night they will be awake before they lay in the ground or something." Said Ruby. " A Cycle? Almost like the reapers if you ask me." "Nightmare Night!" exclaimed Princess Luna. "They are active on Nightmare Night!? That means my subjects could wander to the old statue to give an offering, and could be at risk! I cannot allow this at all!" "Probably another reason why he doesn't want you to escape." Said Ruby. "You mean Grey Hoof?" asked Princess Luna. "Yes, Apple Bloom told Grey Hoof all about you Princess Luna and Nightmare Night. No doubt he will want to use your magic to lure other ponies while Konrad shoots them." said Ruby. "Grey Hoof can go fuck himself! I'm not going to hurt innocent ponies! What kinda sick fuck gets off of that shit!?" "I would rather die than be used as a tool of evil against my subjects! I won't let the same thing happen again!" exclaimed Luna. "Another reason to get you out of here. I still have to get Apple Bloom out of this place." Said Konrad. "Correction…'we' have to get her home. And when we do escape from this forest, you and I have things to discuss." Princess Luna gave a small smile towards him and this made Konrad feel a bit better. Ruby's ears lowered again at the sight of Luna's determination, and with the Konrad's berating her earlier, she felt even more blue. Konrad noticed this and was starting to feel like shit for earlier. It was quite understandable why she brought him here, even if it didn't make sense at all. He couldn't quite understand how this is was the supposed future of the world, and wasn't going to accept that at all, not unless he got more proof, or anything for that matter. Perhaps he really was dead or maybe this was just a dream he was experiencing after being hit by lightning. "Ruby?" asked Konrad with a calm tone. "Yes Konrad?" replied Ruby with her ears still down. "Question number three, and Luna?" "Yes 'my' knight?" said Luna in cheerful tone. Ruby's eyes started to tear up again, and Konrad noticed a slight smile come across Luna's face. Apparently, the mares thought his favor was going towards Princess Luna, and the Selene Mare was quick to rub it in her face, taking advantage "Feel free to add any input as well. Now, my question is you said humanity was a myth; can you tell me what either of you know about my race?" Ruby was the first to answer his question, happily interrupting Luna before she spoke with her ears back in their normal position. "Oh! I can tell you all sorts of things! Most of what I remember was from the stories my mother told me as a young filly. The stories said that humans had great technology, couldn't use magic, and you could to places without the use of wings! And your carriage-" "Truck." Interrupted Luna, as if his honor was on the line. Ruby gave of another annoyed look at Luna before enthusiastically continuing. "Truck…is proof in my eyes, just like that black box thingy you used earlier!" "Black box? Konrad what is she talking about?" asked Luna. Konrad instantly became nervous and started to wonder how the hell Ruby knew of his IPod. He was starting to worry that she might have seen or heard a bit of the video footage he frantically deleted. If they found out… "Well, if the fourth wall or the time continuum has been broken than something would have happened already." Thought Konrad. "I'll show you in a minute, but is that all you know Ruby?" asked Konrad. "Well…yeah, most of it were stories, not a complete breakdown of human myths." Said Ruby. "I'm afraid I don't remember much as well Konrad, perhaps we can consult the Royal archives when we get back. Now was there any merit to her…'claims'?" asked Princess Luna. Ruby gave another annoyed look at Luna, before turning to Konrad, eager to find out more of her Konrad and his people. "Might as well show them some non-sensitive stuff, Ruby could use morale boost" "What she said is pretty much true. We can't use magic at all, but we are aware of the concept, just none of us have ever seen it before. And yes, we were able to go to places without the use of wings on our backs, we used these inventions called 'Airplanes'. They allowed us to travel across the world in hours for what would take days or even weeks to reach, depending on the location. We also were able to reach the moon several times using space craft." Both of the mares were shocked at the claim humans reaching the moon and back. Nopony had ever heard or contemplated such a thing, at least without the use of magic, and only Luna had ever been to the moon. "T-that's impossible! I was banished in the moon, but…to go there without the use of magic is impossible! And I wasn't able to even walk across the surface at all! Do you have proof of this?!" Konrad could do nothing but smile at Luna's reaction and so did Ruby. He did in fact have proof of this as he had conveniently a compilation of the Moon landing, plus the takeoff as well. Holding up his pointer finger, he said, "Wait just a second, I'll show you real quick." And Princess Luna's face was one of shock with her jaw lowered, unable to even say anything further. Konrad got up and saw Ruby with an excited smile. He hoped this would make up for his rude, but justified reaction to her confession. He turned around and walked towards his Chem bag and saw Apple Bloom still snoring away. He reached inside the Chem bag and pulled out his IPod, beginning to look for the video he had planned. Once he found it, he prepped the video to play for Princess Luna and Ruby. Ruby was excited to see more of the black box while, Luna was still in shock and in great anticipation of humans on the moon. He walked to the mares and sat down, motioning for them to come close for a better view. "Ladies, this is one of our greatest inventions. It's called an IPod, and we use it to show videos which are moving pictures with sound. And here is the proof of Humanity reaching the moon." With a push of the screen, the video began to play and both of the mares' eyes widened at what they were seeing. "This is so freaking awesome!" Konrad then performed his mental image of Rainbow Dash's awesome face, and felt good despite the weird situation. The break of fighting the Blood Hooves and keeping two mares from killing each other wasn't over yet, as the night was still young. So young in fact that the worst was yet to come, and it was hanging out on the other side of the river. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blood Clop was trotting along with Crimson Tail, was the other Blood Hooves followed close behind. When he saw where the bridge was supposed to be, he ceased moving and the others followed his example. Blood Clop looked ahead and was expecting to see a bridge but was unable to due to a strange fog up ahead. This immediately got him wondering what was out of place. "A fog…we can't see the bridge and it may still be there but…I don't want to risk it. Maybe somepony would like to volunteer." Whispering to the closest Blood Hoof behind him, "You! I want to you go forward and check the bridge's condition." "But…what about his weapon that you spoke of?" Blood Clop could feel the fear come from this young Blood Hoof. He was one of the less experienced of the herd and when the news of the human's killing ability reached them, they were nervous. "And why shouldn't they be? He did put to rest several of our good friends, but it needs to be done." "I understand how you feel, but Sunny town will be in danger if we don't stop this human. Do not worry though, he is not invincible and there are more of us than there are of him. All I want you to do is check the bridge's condition and report back to me. The fog is thick up ahead, and I'm sure that he can't see through it. Do you understand?" The young Blood Hoof confidently nodded his and carefully proceeded forward. Crimson Tail whispered to Blood Clop, "Do you think they are still there?" "I'm sure of it as it's the only place they could be. If the bridge is out, well make another one with Three Leaf's tools. And don't worry, you will make a new friend tonight." Crimson Tail gave an evil smile and did the Blood Hoof version of a pony squeal. They both turned their heads to see how the scout was doing and noticed that he was no longer there. Blood Clop immediately ran forward, while Crimson Tail and other just watched ahead, not sure of what was going on. "Where did he go? I only wanted to him to…" Blood Clop found his answer when he almost lost his hoofing. He had come very close to falling off the edge, and hear a faint cry for help below. "Help! Blood Clop! Help…" and nothing more but the sound of faint splashing, which ceased very quickly. Blood Clop lowered his head, and mourned the loss of another Blood Hoof. He had almost made the same mistake as the same mistake as the young stallion did, and that was something he was sure the Human was behind. "Konrad…you're awfully tempting me to break Grey Hoof's orders. You will cower before me!" Blood Clop's eyes glowed a dark red before he carefully backed up. Turning around he ran to his friends and informed them of the scout's fate. "As I feared the Bridge is out, and our friend has fallen to his watery grave." Everypony gasped at the news that they had lost another friend. Crimson Tail lowered her head for the lost Blood Hoof and that compelled Blood Clop to do the same. He made sure to give them a morale boost before carrying out his plan. "Listen my friends! The Human has cut the bridge and the Alicorn might have created that fog. Because of this, we have lost another friend, but fear not they are unaware of our presence. We on the other hoof are prepared, and we will stop them! And once we do, will return to Sunny Town and enjoy Grey Hoof's party. Now…let's build this bridge and make some friends!" All of the Blood Hooves immediately went to work using Three Leaf's tools in order to construct a new bridge. Crimson Tail walked over to Blood Clop with a concerned look on her face, "Are you okay?" "Yes Crimson Tail, it's just…I almost fell down too, I should have been more careful." "But you were! You didn't fall down now did you?" "Yeah you're right about that." "Well my stallion…are you going to help the others?" "Of course I will. We do have Princess Night Flesh and Reaper's Hand to welcome." "And Poison Apple, can't forget about her!" "Yes…" said Blood Clop while turning his head towards the ruin. "We can't forget about her now can we?" Blood Clop's eyes immediately glowed dark red before turning around again to help the other Blood Hooves assemble the new bridge. ============================================================================== Uh oh! Mommy and Daddy aren't happy at Konrad! He just can't seem to stop making enemies without meeting them now can he? This took a lot longer to complete than the other chapters and this was mostly due to being sick and drunk while watching some season 1 and 2 episodes. Also, making the the Q & A session between the Konrad, Luna, and Ruby was kinda hard but I was able to get through the writer's block and I'm happy to report that work on the next chapter already has 2,500 words! WOOT! Expect shit to explode next chapter, and expect to hear more from our MLP gang. Sorry that I keep delaying on the action part, but I Pinkie Promise to have it in the next one...oh god what have I done? Anyway, let me know what you guys think and whatnot.