//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Urban Jungle // Story: The Interrogation // by Reik //------------------------------// The yellow pegasus shifted uneasily in her position before Franz, like a child cowering beneath the gaze of an angered parent. Franz, still retaining his annoyed expression, started to rise, pushing against the wall on his side and forgoing the use of his legs as a stable support. combined with his aching gut and a sudden rush of exhaustion, the stallion slid back down the wall, slashes of blood following his descent each time his aching nose connected with the wall. Fluttershy whimpered softly at the miserable display, her eyes swiveled in their sockets, examining every aspect of the room except for the groaning being before her. for several seconds, the room was just that, the stallion groaning upon the earthen floor and the mare standing before him yet not addressing him. Franz, after a short fit of coughing, casted a quick glance at Fluttershy who, noticing the stallion suddenly cast this gaze upon her, gave muffled squeal and took a shaking step backwards. **she's a cute one.** *I think my ribs cracked, this blood flow is starting to pester me and you are thinking about mares?* **Hey, I'm just a voice in your head, so technically you are the one thinking of mares.** *When this is over i'm killing you with booze* **What are you, gay?** "Nevermind, i'll kill you with a toothpick." The mental assertment came out instead as a a verbal statement, unnoticed by Franz who continued to lay in a moaning mound of pain. Upon hearing the odd proclamation, Fluttershy allowed a slightly louder 'eep' to slip over her lips and take another shaking step back. Franz noticed the odd gesture and momentarily was at a loss, only moments later realizing that the thought had come out as a verbal statement. Gritting his teeth, Franz gathered what strength he could muster and once again pushed against the cold wall, inching upwards slowly. As he pushed upwards, he called out, eyes shut. "Help would be appreciated." At first there was on response, just an incoherent backdrop of mumbling. Had he not been so hell bent on standing, Franz would have wondered what possible purpose this mumbling mare could possibly serve. After several painful seconds of almost stagnant movement on the wall, the stallion let out a loud groan and pulled his eyes open. "Perhaps its better if I just sat here." Gently, he allowed the lower half of his form to drop until he reached an awkward sitting position, once confident in his new stature, the stallion shifted his position so as to face the silent mare directly. He was unsurprised to see the yellow pony shrinking under his gaze, looking at anything but him, and bursting into fits of mumbling every few seconds. *Can this night get any weirder?* **I think she's kinda cute, and how exactly do you know its night?** *We may end up a corpse in a ditch in the next few hours and you are concerned about my internal clock or getting mares, how the fuck did you manifest again?* *Maybe too many bumps to the noggin, sure a shit got plenty of those tonight.* Pushing the mental conversation from his thoughts, Franz decided to speak first, not knowing what exactly to say, he decided to start simple. "Hello, my name is Franz, your partner is a bitch, however i'd like to make at least one friend here, what do ya say?" He extended a hoof towards Fluttershy upon finishing the sentence, a bloody grin spreading across his features as well. *Who the hell says shit like that?* **I'm tired, my head hurts, and she doesn't look like the type you could have a complex conversation with.** *Sounds like you're quoting a fucking how-to manual on friends, you sound like a creeper* Oddly, the yellow pony stiffened her back slightly, mumbled a short phrase that Franz thought might have been a motivational quote, and spoke. "I'm Fluttershy, and-" That was as far as she got before her speech descended into mere squeaks and mumbling. However, she still extended her own hoof and shook Franz's. His patience already at zero, Franz interrupted Fluttershy. "I'm sorry dear, but you are going to have to speak up." His tone was of suppressed annoyance. It took the mare another few seconds to respond, her voice slightly louder than the last speech. "W-we don't, know why you-" Knowing how the sentence would end, the stallion interrupted her, putting emphasis on each word. "I don't remember anything from last night, you know just as much as I do, hell probably more." The room fell silent as he spoke, snapping his vision to the rooms only door, Franz noticed the outlined of a pony's head snap out of view as soon as his vision centered on the door. Aware of the possibility that his suffering was being silently observed by others brought a momentary spike of rage to swell in his chest. Unlike her partner, this seemed to satisfy the yellow mare who simply shifted her footing and stared at the ground after his response. As he gazed in annoyed boredom at the yellow pony, Franz felt his head begin to throb in agony. The pain in his limbs was replaced by a splitting headache. His head slowly lowered and his mind began to blank, in the corners of his vision, he noticed the mare was gazing directly at him, worried curiosity painted on her features. "Is this place, uh, legal?" Franz mumbled as the cloaked stallion called Echo closed the door behind him. "Not exactly my friend." said Echo, who stepped past Franz and towards the rooms center table, removing his cloak as he did so. As he tossed the cloth onto the table, Franz was looked upon the ponies true appearance for the first time. He was of similar height and build to Franz, his mane was dark blue. His hair was cut short and colored flat black, tail of similar color. his cutie mark was an odd symbol, a circle with an arrow through it, bent in the center but regaining its course quickly after the bend. As the colt turned to motion for the stationary pony to approach, Franz noticed his eyes where neon green. Taking a step forward, Franz examined the room further. There was a thick metallic smell in the air that stung the nostrils and upon closer examination, this room wasn't meant to exist. The walls where natural, carved rock instead of smooth stone, a wooden ceiling that leaked water in several locations. It had the feel of a hideout to Franz, like in his childhood, he even felt a sudden urge to be silent, taking slow precise steps and slow breaths. Upon reaching the table, Franz observed but made no attempt to interpret the numerous papers and scrolls. some where maps, others where simply filled with quickly scrawled words. As Echo shifted through the mound and discarded some papers while pulling others to the light, Franz spoke in a hushed whisper. "Well, what now?" Echo ignored the question, instead increasing his pace as he searched through the papers. It was only after withdrawing several maps that he finally spoke. "Now, we move, we need to link up with the others and continue the operation." His tone was quick and he came to an abrupt stop, snapping his eyes to Franz. Upon seeing the confused expression on the stallions face, he sighed deeply. "Grab what you need, we're not done fighting tonight, pack light." He rolled up the small collection of maps and left the table towards the wall of weaponry. Franz looked upon the stallion with new found curiosity, either he hadn't explained, or he couldn't remember, but the true nature of his new path seemed far away and out of reach. He quickly shook of the thoughts, they where useless to him, this path was new and different, there would be time to wonder in the future. With a deep inhale, he advanced towards the assortment of arms. First, he snatched at the essentials, a leather harness that Franz adjusted to his frame, a small curved dagger that fit snugly onto the harness. As for a primary weapon, Franz was at a lost, he had never utilized a weapon in his lifetime, his only real experience in combat being the odd street brawl. Knowing that a sword required legitimate skill to use, he ruled out the group of weapons sadly, those long-swords where pretty badass. Ruling out exotic blades and bows, Franz was left with but one option. A small, scratch built crossbow. As he pulled the ranged tool of death from its place on the wall, he examined the weapon. It had no strings, it was obviously homemade, and was entirely metal. It had a general Y shape, two tension springs located at the top and connecting at the bottom. Becoming immediately attached to the inanimate object, Franz smiled down at the construct and pulled a quiver of bolts from the wall. As he slung the crossbow over his back and fixed the quiver to the harness, Franz heard the creaking of metal on metal and felt an sudden rush of cold air. Scanning the room, Franz was surprised to see Echo kneeling in the far corner of the basement, a panel of wood at his hooves and the gaping maw of a trap door beside him. Advancing towards the black hole, Franz felt his pulse increase, he felt light, powerful, he felt free. Stopping at the edge of the opening, he looked into its maw. His searching vision was met with darkness, however his sudden euphoria could not be stemmed. With a sharp inhale, he leaped into the abyss.