//------------------------------// // Chapter 24: An enemy revealed // Story: New Beginnings // by Black Alicorn //------------------------------// "Sounded more like a nightmare." "Oh, trust me, this one was nowhere near a nightmare for me." He lied. This was one of the worst nightmares he had ever had, yet another scar on his already scarred mind. He tossed away the covers and got out of bed. He looked around the room a bit. The window caught his eye. The sun was a lot higher than he remembered. "How long was I out?" "Eight hours." "Damn..." He stretched out his arms as he asked Twilight: "Where's Nyx?" "School." His closed eyes shot open as the answer eached his ears. "Alone?!" He burst out of the balcony door. He scoured the platform for a weapon. He grabbed a pistol from right below his chair. He grabbed it and cocked it. He would have preffered a the PDR or the SR, but it would be better to take a more...subtle weapon. He vaulted over the platform railing. It took him roughly a second to fall to the ground. His timing would have to be precise. His strong legs absorbed the force of the impact on the ground and he leaned forward, sending his body in a short roll, expending the kinetic energy from the fall. He stormed off into the distance as Twilight raced on to the balcony, only to see that she was too late. "Didn't even let me tell him Celestia is sending some guards over..." - - - - - Wolf ran towards the schoolhouse. At least where he was told it was. A red building came in sight, the red flag in front of it fluttering aimlessly in the gentle breeze. The bell was swinginga bit, but not enough for it to make any noise. The playground caught his eye. He stopped dead in his tracks staring at the swings...the slide, all with a great ammount of nostalgia. He remembered the time before he was taken, turned into a weapon. A time where he still had his innocence. Something he lost years ago... A single tear rolled off the corner of his eye and fell to the ground, kicking up a microscopic ammount of dirt. He quickly regained control of himself and bolted into the door. Ten sets of eyes met him, nine of them from startled students, while the last set from a very confused purple earth pony with a pink mane. A single voice broke the awkward silence in the room. "Oh look, the freak is back." Wolf shot a look to the one filly that could have said that and immediately shut her up. He lifted himself back up. "Sorry about that..." "May I help you mister..uh...?" The teacher asked him, obviously not knowing him despite the reputation he had built. "Name's Wolf." "Well, Wolf...I'm Cheerilee, I'm the teacher here. Can I help you with something?" "I'm just here for Nyx..." He looked around the room for her. He found her slowly sinking onto her chair, obviously trying to hide. "Is there something wrong? Does she need to go home for some reason?" "No...I'm just here to make sure nothing happens to her..." "Like what?" He looked back to Cheerilee. "You mean you haven't heard about what happened?" "How she was attacked? Of course I heard about it. But why are you so interested about-" Cheerilee immediately realised who she was talking to. "You...You're the one who saved Ponyville...First from the Diamond Dogs...then the Hydra...and then the parasprites..." She paused for a moment, catching her breath. "And the night Nyx was attacked...You...You..." The tone of her voice fell to a whisper, she obviously didn't want her students to hear waht she was about to say. "killed her attackers..." "Yeah, that's me." "Children, would you excuse us for a minute?" She nodded to Wolf, who immediately followed her outside. She closed the door behind them, and loud noises instantly emerged from the other side. "Look...I recognize why you're here, but I'm not exactly comfortable with having somepony whose...killed before in my classroom with my students." "Ma'am...If I wanted to harm them, I would have done so already. I just want to make sure Nyx is safe..." Cheerilee's eyes fell to the pistol on Wolf's hip. She recognized that it was his weapon. "I'll let you stay..." "Thank-" "On one condition..." She cut him off. "That..." She pointed at his sidearm. "...goes in my desk until class is over." "I..." "Do we have a deal?" "Fine..." He unholstered his pistol and gave it to her. She grabbed it with her mouth and opened the door. A paper airplane flew over her head as silence filled the room again. She gave off a dissapointed glance at her students, then trotted up to her desk. With her right hoof she opened the drawer and dropped the pistol into it. She closed it immediately. Wolf rested his back against the wall in the corner, his eyes scanning the interior of the building while Cheerilee resumed the lesson. 1 hour, 3 minutes later... Wolf continued to stand in the corner, his eyes closed. While they were closed, his other senses were working double time. He listened to the lesson Cheerilee was giving. He wasn't sure what lesson it was. - - - - - So this is how 'normal' kids go to school? Booooring..... - - - - - "Well class, that's all for today!" The room suddenly filled with excited yells from the children within. They now had the whole day in front of them, free to do anything they pleased. Wolf wondered if they appreciated the freedom they had. He never had his... The children nearly kicked down the door in their excited rush. Wolf noticed that Nyx was the only student left in the room. He looked back to Cheerilee. She was getting ready to leave as well. He walked over to her desk. He then audibly cleared his throat. Cheerilee got the message and opened the drawer, motioning for him to retrieve his weapon. He picked it up and put it back in it's holster. Nyx happily trotted up to them, ready to leave. "C'mon Nyx, let's go..." - - - - - They had barely been walking for five minutes when they ran into Twilight. "Hey Twi..." "You sure left in a hurry..." She turned to Nyx. "How was school today sweetie?" "Just great Mom!" Nyx replied enthusiastically. "I'm glad to hear it!" She turned back to Wolf. He had turned around, and was looking into the distance. "What do you all say we take a walk?" "Yeah!" Nyx obviously wanted to take a walk. "I'm up for it..." Was all Wolf said. It was obvious he had other things on his mind. "All right then!" With a quick glow of her horn and with a bright flash Nyx's filled school bag teleported into the library. "Let's go!" - - - - - Normally Twilight avoided walking near Everfree but Wolf was with her. When he was by her side, she knew she was safe. Wolf took a deep breath. He was really enjoying himself. A loud voice ripped through the air. "LOOOOK OOOUUUT!!!" Acting on instinct yet again, Wolf took a step to the left. He closed his eyes and smiled, knowing that he avoided an incoming Rainbow Dash successfully. A brief moment of terror set in as he opened his eyes and was knocked down to the ground. Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously. "Uh...Sorry..." "You have a habit of crashing don't you?" Wolf lifted himself out of the pit dug with his back. "Ooh...that's gonna be sore in the morning..." Another voice rang in the air. "You alright Dash?" A brown Pegasus gently glided down to the ground and landed softly. "Yeah...I'm fine..." "Thanks to me...the human landing strip..." Wolf dusted himself off before looking to the new arrival. His blue mane flowing in the gentle breeze. Wolf could tell just by looking at him that he was very confident in himself. Something out of place caught Wolf's eye. A cut on his right forehoof. His suspicion grew. "Where'd you get that?" "This? Uh...Rough landing in a tree. Wouldn't be the first time I've crashed into one..." "Don't I know it." Rainbow Dash added, trying to tease him. "Rainbow, are you two..." Twilight cut in. "Together? Well, I guess we're busted..." "It was gonna happen sooner or later Rainbow..." "I was hoping on later Zeph..." "You always have to spoil the fun don't you?" A small insect flew into their direction. It hovered around Zephyr's ear. He scowled at the little pest. "Ugh...I hate these things..." Wolf's eyes darted to the cut on his forehoof. Then back to his face. He looked at his forehoof again, and it hit him like a rock. - - - - - Wolf grabbed the kitchen knife he took with him and threw it at the Pegasus. It hit it in the right forehoof, causing it to yell in pain. It took a few steps back. It then scowled at Wolf, and jumped off the ground, and dived for the bottle. It grabbed it, then quickly recovered as he flew out the balcony door. - - - - - In the blink of an eye, Wolf had gotten his pisto out and was aiming directly at his head. "Whoa, Wolf! What are you doing?!" "Rough landing on a tree? Bullshit. Good luck finding a tree with serated branches." "Put the gun down!" Twilight commanded. "No! Don't you get it?! It's him! He slipped through my fingers last week, I'm not letting him escape again!" Twilight realised what he was talking about. "What's he talking about Zeph?!" He ignored Rainbow Dash's question. He then took a step forward. "Oh, I knew I should have let that Hydra finish you when I had the chance but nooo, I had to do the good thing." "What?!" "I'll admit Wolf, we underestimated you. You've caused us a lot of damage, but it won't make any difference in the end." "Zeph, what is going on?!" Rainbow Dash yelled at the top of her lungs, tears forming in her eyes. "Oh hush Rainbow. My cover's blown, so you might as well know that our whole 'relationship' was just a plan to kill you off." "WHAT?!" "And don't call me Zephyr again. My name...Is Darkmane!" He looked back to Wolf. "The final phase of our plan has begun. Nothing can stop us now. Not even you, Wolf." "And nothing can stop me from putting a bullet in your head!" Zephyr scoffed and looked into the forest. A dark figure stood there, staring at him. A horn could be seen on the top of it's head. It nodded to him. He turned back to Wolf. "Good luck." As the bullet left the barrel of his pistol, Zephyr turned into a cloud of smoke and plowed over Wolf. Wolf turned around to see him revert to his true form. He took aim and emptied his clip into the sky yet again. His gun clicked empty after unleashing a hail of deadly rounds. "Damn it! That's twice." He turned back around to see Twilight and Nyx with their mouths hanging open. Rainbow Dash collapsed to the ground. She had been betrayed by the pony she loved the most. A loud thunderclap startled all four of them. It was followed by a veritable monsoon. As the rain hit his face, Wolf looked up to the now dark grey sky. He sighed as he looked back down to the ground. He brought his hand up to his face and rubbed his forehead. "Everyone back to the library..." A louder thunderclap rang through their ears. A sign that the worst was yet to come. "NOW..." ENd chapter 24.