//------------------------------// // When Mama's not happy, she's just pissed. // Story: Battle of the Blanks // by HumanSVD //------------------------------// The party was in full swing and Blood Clop was having fun. This was surprising considering the pony heck he went through tonight. All of his friends close friends were gone and so was his one and only special somebody, Crimson Tail. Blood Clop also noted that several of the other ponies never made it back to Sunny Town the most notable one being Skull Mush. Everypony would chuckle here and there about her funny eyes and low IQ, but they all still cared for her. “Every single one of them deserved to be here…every dang on of them. Despite all of that I hope some good comes from all of this and I hope that will prove very useful to Sunny Town. If not…then I’ll be first in line to get rid of him…dang this punch is awesome!” Blood Clop drank the last of his punch and immediately found himself wanting more. It was so delicious and it had a slight tingly sensation to it. The punch had complimented the wonderful cake that Three Leaf made, and he wondered how she was able to whip it up so fast. The thing was pretty tall, and with more than enough for everypony, it made the party even better. Blood Clop had wanted to dance with Crimson Tail but with her death Blood Clop found himself without a partner Setting down the punch cup, Blood Clop slowly walked away from the food table and began to scout for a Mare that hadn’t had a dance partner. He felt slightly bad for wanting to dance with another Mare, but then again he was lonely and now single. He probably wouldn’t be searching for a new special somepony anytime soon, but then again wanting to dance with a Mare didn’t really count as searching. “It is a party after all and dang it, I’m going to have some fun!” As Blood Clop continued to walk around the dancing grounds, he noticed recognized several ponies. Three Leaf and Gladstone were shaking their flanks about in a very dorky manner, and Roneo and Starlet were slow dancing in a corner near the Sunny Town entrance, while a lot of Blood Hooves were doing simply doing the jump trot. One mare in particular was had her eyes closed, on her hind legs while shaking her forelegs about in a silly manner. This turned out to be effective at driving away several Blood Hoof Stallions away in alienation of her bad dancing. Blood Clop couldn’t but help laugh at the Mare’s silly attempt to dance until her eyes opened. The mare ceased dancing and looked at the ground with a sad look on her face. Blood Clop could hear her sad whimper, a sign of a female ready to cry. “Poor Mare, she should be happy not sad. Don’t worry poor Mare, your friendly Blood Clop is on the way.” Blood Clop began trot his way over to mare just in time to catch her attention. Blood Clop put on a friendly, yet charming smile the first one that he used when he met Crimson Tail. She stared at him with a blank face not knowing what to say, and neither did Blood Clop. “Great! Say something you fool! You’re supposed to be helping her feel better!” “Hey.” said Blood Clop. “Umm…hey?” replied the Mare. “Great, now you’re acting like you’ve never asked a girl to dance before! C’mon just do it!” “I saw that you didn’t have dance partner. Mind if I join you?” The mare didn’t say anything other shrug and started to dance with Blood Clop. It was pretty awkward for both of them as they were doing nothing more than nothing more than simple moves. All Blood Clop could do was look into her eyes and give the most sincere look of enjoyment on his face as they danced together. The mare on the other hoof slightly smiled before she collapsed and broke down in tears. Several ponies took notice of the display as Blood Clop immediately waved his foreleg for them to continue about their business. Helping the sobbing mare up, Blood Clop took her to the punch table hoping to calm her down and give her a drink or too. As they cleared the designated dancing grounds, Blood Clop gently set the mare down on the ground as she continued to sob although much lighter in blood tears and sniffles coming out of her nostrils. Resting on her rump, the mare look at Blood Clop as her took a napkin and began to wipe her face with it. The mare ceased crying but the sad look on her face was still there. Blood clop knew he had to find out what was wrong so she could have fun. Seeing how they only had one more night after this before they would rest, it was important that everypony had fun. They were all friends after all. “Hey, it’s okay. My name is-“ “Blood Clop, I know. You stopped the human.” replied the mare with a sniffle. “Yeah, small town isn’t it.” They mare giggle before nodding in agreement and Blood Clop replied with a slight chuckle of his own. “Would you like to tell me what is wrong?” The mare looked at the ground before nodding yes. “Well, you see…my special somepony was put to rest tonight.” Blood Clop immediately knew where she was coming from and replied, “So was mine…I miss her so much even though it was just a few hours ago.” The mare held her hooves up to her rotten mouth and gasped with a bloody gurgle. “You too?! What was her name?” “Her name was Crimson Tail. I personally built her body after we first met. She was a really beautiful and I was hoping to dance with her for the first time tonight.” A single blood tear escaped the undead Mare’s right eye before responding in a sad tone. “That’s so sad! I think I’ve seen her around too, and if I remembered correctly she was pretty new.” “Yeah, she’s only been with us for about two cycles so she really didn’t know anypony very well except me.” “I’m so sorry for your loss…and everypony’s’ loss too.” Blood Clop looked at Roneo’s house in the distance and glared at it with his increasingly dark red eyes as they glowed brighter. “Yes…me too…but we stopped the human and Ruby too. And she will pay very dearly as she always does when we catch her.” The mare's eyes glowed in the same shade as Blood Clop’s upon hearing the name Ruby. “Ruby…what a dirty bitch.” Blood Clop snorted in amusement before responding, “Normally I would chastise anypony using such language but tonight I’m making a big exception to that cursed one. This is all her fault after all.” “That it is…and I can’t wait to make her pay.” “Well, Grey Hoof has a plan in store for that later in the night so it’s best to just wait until he says so…Wait a second! I don’t believe I caught your name.” Blood Clop gave off his charming smile that he gave Crimson Tail earlier in the night and the mare instantly blushed at him. “I guess I am charming after all! Blood Clop you got the magics! “My name is Blood Screech.” “That’s a lovely name if you don’t mind me saying so.” “No I don’t mind at all.” Both of them stared at each other locked into both of their eyes before they turned away blushing in embarrassment and shame. They had both lost their special someponies and they were already flirting with each other. Both of them tried to speak to each other, attempting to recover from the awkward moment. It didn’t work as both of them tried to form a complete sentence only for the other to add on and finish it for them. “I…you see-“, began Blood Clop. “I was out of-“, replied the Blood Screech “-line and-“ “-Shouldn’t have said-“ “-that and…” Both of them ceased talking as they looked into each other’s eyes once more. They needed to ease the pain they both felt and as much as they honored the memories of their loved ones, their emotions were getting the best of them. The Blood Hoof stallion and mare began to slowly bring their muzzles closer and closer before it was too late. The locked in a soft kiss and Blood Clop couldn’t help but enjoy it. He imagined that this mare was Crimson Tail and how it felt when they locked together earlier in the night. Unknown to Blood Clop, they mare had done the same to her special somepony earlier in the night as well before running off to find Ruby. The kiss lasted for about 10 seconds before they pulled away in shock and embarrassment with blood oozing out of their cheeks. “That was a bad idea.” said Blood Screech. “I’m still grieving and it’s not right to do that so fast, I mean I know our special someponies are gone but…” “We should honor them by not doing what he did so fast, so let’s forget that happened.” “Deal…soooo…umm…that punch is kinda nice.” Blood Screech slowly got up on all fours as Blood Clop stared at the mare. He couldn’t believe he had just kissed a mare he barely knew and felt guilty for dishonoring Crimson Tail’s memory. “Sure I’m going to have to move on eventually but I can’t believe I did that so soon! Though…the kiss was very nice!” “Uh yeah it really is…” said Blood Clop slightly scraping the ground with his left fore hoof. “I had some earlier and it was very…” “Tingly.” said both of them in unison. They both stared at each and began to laugh. Despite how horrible this entire night had been so far, there was still something to enjoy and that was the comfort of each other. This was after all what Sunny Town was about. “I thought I was the only one who thought that!” chuckled Blood Clop. “Me too! I guess Three Leaf knows how make it.” “THANK YOU!” shouted Three Leaf as she and Gladstone danced nearby in a goofy trot jump. Blood Clop only shook his head at her spunky attitude and grinned at the odd but loving couple. “She certainly has a “cheerful” attitude if you know what I mean.” said Blood Screech. “Yeah she does, but she’s still a good pony.” replied Blood Clop. Both of them continued to watch the couple dance some more before they began banging their flanks together. “Wow, never seen him do that before! I guess Three Leaf has got him to loosen him up a bit.” commented Blood Screech. “Say that gives me an idea!” “Blood Screech?” asked Blood Clop getting her attention. “Yes?” “Would you care to dance with me?” asked Blood Clop with the same charming smile from earlier. The mare blushed before giving a smile of her own. Blood Clop knew the answer was going to be yes, but he had no clue that she was going to do something else first. “I would love to Blood Clop! But I need to take care of something before I join you.” “Oh?” said replied the Stallion raising an eye brow. “And what would that be?” “Umm…it’s personal if you don’t mind me saying.” replied Blood Screech. “Oh! She must have to take care of some “business”…I’ll just wait until she’s done going to the outhouse.” “Oh well…take your time! I’m not going anywhere.” “Glad to hear that...I promise not to take long.” replied Blood Screech. Blood Clop wasn’t sure but it almost sounded like she had replied in a seducing tone. His suspicions were confirmed as she walked away with a slight swaying motion of her plot. Blood Screech looked back at him as she walked away and gave him a wink. Blood Clop winked back and gave a smile before she walked out of sight. Tuning towards the dancing area that was now increasing with several Blood Hooves and all but two Blanks, Blood Clop began to dance the same fore legs shake that Blood Screech had done. “Sure I look goofy but I don’t care! Blood Screech seems like a nice mare…and hurt like me. Crimson Tail, I will always love and remember you. I hope you can forgive me for trying to move forward. I hope to see you again someday when I will finally be put to rest.” And so began the crazy dance of Blood Clop, having fun and forgetting the angry thought Konrad and Ruby. There was something off however as Blood Clop began to dance, his vision was starting to blur a bit and several times he almost fell down. He wasn’t dancing THAT crazy, but Blood Clop dismissed it as excitement of dancing and possibly a new beginning with a new mare. Unknown to the Blood Hoof stallion, several other ponies were having the same trouble that he was experiencing, most notably an angry Blood Hoof mare known as Blood Screech. That particular mare was heading to Ruby’s former home, ready to show that cursed freak that she truly had lost the battle and more importantly inflict some early justice before the big finale Grey Hoof had planned. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “THAT BITCH! I HATE YOU RUBY! I’ll show you a thing or two before Grey Hoof does!” thought Blood Screech as she walked to Ruby’s house The Blood Hoof mare was furious at the loss of her special somepony and she needed to fully vent her anger before she could move forward. She still felt a bit guilty for kissing Blood Clop especially since Scalped Mane was killed earlier by the human. He was gone and he would never come back, but she couldn’t help herself when Blood Clop had charmed her. They were both hurt by their loss and Blood Screech wanted the pain to go away. “I’ll just go in for a bit, yell and hit her. After that, I’ll go dance with Blood Clop and who knows maybe something will come of it.” Ruby’s house was starting to come into view as she trotted down the pathway from Sunny Town’s back entrance. As she got closer, her view became slightly blurred, and she began to see two of every object in view. He legs became increasingly weaker, and her balance was slightly off. Had anypony seen her they would have mistaken her for a “bad cider” drinker. Blood Screech had no clue as to why she was having trouble walking or seeing for that matter. Undeterred from teaching Ruby a lesson, the mare continued down the path and eventually made it to the house’s one and only door. And that door was being guarded by the same Blood Hoof stallions from earlier, a fact that Blood Screech forgot. “Ponyfeathers! How am I going to get them away from the door?! I guess I’ll just strut my plot and go from there.” Blood Screech gave off her best seductive smile and slowly swayed her plot on their direction. “Yeah girl! Show them watcha got!” And what she was showing them was anything but seductive. Her plot looked like it was shaking with a really bad itch and her smile looked appallingly similar to Skull Mush’s. It also didn’t help the fact that her eyes were even crossed just like the silly mare. The stallions guarding the house were utterly confused as to what Blood Screech was doing and began to whisper to each other. “Pst! What is she doing?” “I…have no clue at all. I think she’s trying to dance walk or something." “Kinda reminds me of Skull Mush.” “Yeah, she does, but hey she’s got a nice plot though.” “Yeah, I agree. Hey isn’t that the same mare from earlier?” “Yeah it is.” “Say something or she’s just going to keep doing…whatever it is she’s doing.” “No you do it!” “Agh…wuss.” The Stallion on the right glared at him before turning his attention to Blood Screech. The uncoordinated mare had finally made it to the house’s entrance and was greeted by the unfortunate stallion. Blood Screech gave a small smile and fluttering of her eyes as he approached her. “Excuse me Miss?” “Blood Screech.” “Blood Screech…um…what are you doing?” “Just here to tell you that you are requested at the party! We got punch and cake!” “Cake? Yeah right, quit lying!” “It’s not a lie! Look handsome, the cursed one isn’t going anywhere, so why not take a break and go have some fun! I’ll take over for both of you.” The stallion looked over at his friend near the door, who just shrugged in return. “That’s right! Just walk away and…” “Grey Hoof said that we-“ “-Can join the party! C’mon go have some fun! I promise the cursed freak won’t go anywhere.” said Blood Screech. The stallion appeared to be at an impasse in his mind. Nopony wanted to disobey Grey Hoof as everypony witnessed earlier, but then again the party was always awesome. Blood Screech began to sweat a few blood drops before the stallion smiled and waved his partner over to him. “Sounds good to me! Just keep the door closed until we get back. Thanks a lot Blood Screech!” “Yeah thanks!” said the other stallion. “No problem boys!” smiled Blood Screech. The two stallions quickly ran off towards Sunny Town and Blood Screech gave a sigh of relief. “That almost didn’t work…now to take care of some unfinished business. Beat the crap out of her and go back to Blood Clop. I’ll probably get a few more hits in for him too.” Wasting no more time, Blood Screech made her way over to the door ready to beat the snot out of Ruby. She would take much pleasure in beating the cursed one and with her restrained, there was nothing Ruby could do about it. Unfortunately for Blood Screech, she would be wrong about that in so many ways. And it all began with the simple task of opening the door. Either way, Blood Screech was doomed before she even knew it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruby was making significant progress in untying her legs bound by Three Leaf’s rope against the sharp edge of the log holder. In the past five minutes each thread of the thick rope was snapping and relief was slowly coming to her legs. The Blood Hooves made sure that her bounds were very tight, fully aware that she could still feel pain. This was nothing compared to her death and the pain of seeing her former friends carry on their hatred for her. “Pain…even when I’m dead, and as a ghost, I can still feel it. None of this is fair but at least I have some hope.” Another thread of the rope made a light snap as Ruby rubbed it against the sharp edge of the fire place log holder. She couldn’t but help see the remains of what was once her body. The bones had been burned many times, scattered across the fire place. The one thing that stood out was her skull. Grey Hoof had personally stuck the killing blow fracturing her skull. Ruby still remembered the sound it had made just before the pain over took her and seeing nothing but black.           And for that, Grey Hoof would pay, they all would pay. “When I get Konrad out of Roneo’s house, I’ll help him get his weapons and this whole place will finally be destroyed…but what will happen to me when it’s over? Will I be able to leave Everfree Forest? I just want a good ending to all this, especially with him.” SNAP! Ruby’s bounds were finally broken and the ghost mare quickly backed away from her undignified resting place. She never understood how the fireplace prevented her from escaping only Grey Hoof did. She had seen him control the others with a wicked voice and even have the ability to hold others in the air without the horn of a Unicorn or Alicorn.  “Could Konrad’s suggestion that it was a demon have anything to do with it? What is a demon anyway? Whatever it is, Konrad will stop it. Now let’s see if I can find a way out of this house.” Slowly getting up on all fours, Ruby quietly walked around the dark cabin. She knew the place from the back of her head, and silently wished that her mother had installed an escape tunnel underneath the floor. But that wasn’t the case at all, because nopony had any reason to install such a thing since they were all surrounded by friends. “Pfft! Some friends they were! BUCK! Even after all these years, there isn’t any hole in the wall? Nothing at all?! I guess I’m going to have to fight my way out…oh no! Somepony is coming!” The door knob to Ruby’s former home started to rattle about, as if somepony were struggling to open the door. Not wasting anytime, Ruby hid right beside the door ready to make a run for it, but her prospects weren’t looking good. The cabin was dark, but everypony was used to looking in the dark and Grey Hoof and his ilk were no exception. The only thing Ruby had over their observation skills was that it was her special talent and her experience of hiding from them. The door kept rattling and rattling, but it didn’t open. Ruby could hear somepony on the other side curse, and she became confused. “How can somepony have trouble opening the door? Whatever, I don’t care about it. More time for me to come up with a plan.” Then the door slowly opened and walking in was Blood Screech stumbling about. Ruby was greatly confused as to why the same mare from a few moments ago was having trouble walking, but more importantly why she was here. The door was still open and Ruby kept pressing herself against the wall standing on her hind legs with her fore legs hanging down in an attempt to prevent herself from being seen. For anypony, standing on hind legs was already hard enough, but trying to move side to side while on hind legs was even harder. It was the first time in her life, living and dead, that Ruby wished she was a human. “How does Konrad even do it? And what the fuck is Blood Screech doing?!” Blood Screech began to stumble about obviously looking for Ruby and in the process mistaking her old dinner table for her. “Theres youse ares you stupid curses you!” said Blood Screech in a drunk like tone. Ruby had once seen Three Leaf’s parents drink some form of cider long before Grey Hoof’s parents punished them over it. Ruby didn’t understand what it was at the time, but her mother later explained it to her when she got older right around 14 or so. The drink made anypony who indulged in it act incredibly stupid and downright mean at times. It also made them puke if they drank too much. In the end, their drink was taken away and Ruby’s mother told her never to drink such substance. And here was the same mare that unleashed a few punches on her earlier, taking it out on her table. The Blood Hoof mare struck the table several times, doing nothing more than make a few clank noises and cause a few cracks in the table. Clank! Clank! Clank! “Take that youse bitches youse!” “I think it’s time for me to leave before she regains her senses and realizes that I’m not a table.” Ruby took a quick peak outside and was surprised to see that there was nopony outside. Normally when she was caught, there would be a few guards outside to prevent her from escaping the house, which was a rare occurrence. “Think you have every taken care of everything don’t you Grey Hoof? Arrogant bastard! Okay, just move to the side like that, and get outside quietly…oh no!” The ghost mare did her best to sidestep on her hind legs but unfortunately she just couldn’t do what a human could do. The mare fell on her side making a thud on the wooden floor. THUD! “OOF! Oww!” said Ruby before covering her mouth with her fore hooves. It didn’t make a difference as Blood Screech turned around and noticed Ruby on the ground. The Blood Hoof mare glared angrily at her as her eyes went to a dark crimson red color. “There you ares! I’ll enjoys beating…youss…*BLUAGH!*” Blood Screech all of a sudden puked up what appeared to be remains of cake and punch. It was absolutely disgusting but really unexpected. For some reason, the Blood Hoof was appeared to be very sick, something Ruby had never seen before. The vomit on the floor was also sparkling for some reason to and it reminded Ruby of something she had seen in the forest that her memory failed to recognize. Whatever the reason for this strange oddity, Ruby realized that she had an advantage against her, and whether she wanted to or not, she was going to fight her. Ruby quickly got up all fours and began to snort in anger, preparing to charge her opponent. The Blood Hoof mare did the same thing, but instead puked a bit more and almost fell to the side. Anger was replaced with shock on the mare’s face and the Blood Screech began to panic. “What’s wrongs with mees?! I feellss sickss!” “Not my problem Blood Screech! I’ve been waiting to do this to one of you freaks for a long time.” “Oh yeahs! Wehlls I hopes youse enjoys blahableh!” “What was that bitch? I didn’t catch that?” said Ruby with a smirk. Blood Screech attempted to repeat the same sentence but quickly found that her tongue was swelling, making it impossible to form a coherent sentence. “Blabhel beh! Behbeoollo hadbe d!” replied an angry Blood Screech as she stomped on the ground infrustration. And what Ruby saw next made her eyes go wide in surprise. Blood Screech’s hoof snapped right off as it made contact with the ground as if her legs were very brittle. SNAP! Somehow, Blood Screech managed to stay on all fours despite losing a hoof. Normally when the Blood Hooves were hit with a good amount of force, their bodies would bend in unnatural directions, but they would otherwise be intact or connected. It all had to do with the “protection of Sunny Town” as Grey Hoof put it, but as of now there was nothing for the Blood Hoof standing before Ruby. And Ruby immediately knew that her fight was going to be very easy. “Go ahead and scream Blood Screech. Nopony is going to hear you.” said Ruby in a very menacing tone. Blood Screech attempted to scream but instead her own tongue fell out. This brought laughter to Ruby as she charged head on towards the Blood Hoof. With all her might, Ruby bucked Blood Screech in the head and off it went towards the fire place. The body immediately collapsed on the floor becoming nothing more than a pile of flesh and bones that crumbled on its own weight. The Blood Hoof’s head hit the floor and rolled right towards the log holder in the fire place before coming to a stop. The head laid upright, staring right at Ruby with fear plastered of its face. Blood Screech’s eyes were still glowing before slowly fading away giving the tall tale sign that Blood Screech was no more. Satisfied that she had for once brought fear to one of her tormentors, and with a renewed confidence in herself, Ruby trotted over to the door before looking back. “Bitch.” said Ruby before closing the door. Ruby slowly walked away from the house intent on finding Konrad’s weapons and more importantly Konrad himself. She was slightly worried about her mother meeting Konrad as Ruby was aware of her mother’s view on courting. Now granted Ruby never had a special somepony when she was younger but her mother was very clear that should a young colt or stallion come along, he better be perfect or else. “So what if Konrad isn’t a pony! He’s nice, sweet, caring, strong, and I love him! Hopefully they’ll get along just fine.” And Ruby carefully made her way towards Sunny Town, using her years of experience in sneaking. Even though Ruby knew that first impressions were vital for stallions meeting a mare’s parents for the first time, the situation at hoof was anything, but good for a first impression. And both Konrad was setting a horrible example in from of Mitta.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The situation was not good at all as almost every young male with a penchant for swearing would say in a very vulgar way. Konrad was still scared out of his mind as he was pressed back against the wall. This entire night was one huge mind screw for the young man, and he was doing his best to keep it all together. Konrad didn’t have that luxury as he was not only being held captive by the Blanks and Bloody Hooves, but Ruby’s mom as well. “OHHH FUCKETY FUCK FUCK! Ruby’s mom wants to tear me a new one and I like my old one!  Ian, what am I supposed to do?!” But Ian was not there to answer his cry for help. His conscience had clearly left the building for good and Konrad wanted to kick his ass that is if he ever could. Unfortunately for Konrad, the voice in his head was not real person and Konrad had begun to wonder about his sanity or lack thereof.   “Okay, you can get out of this one Konrad, just like you’ve gotten out of Blood Clop’s attempts to kill you. Besides, Ruby won’t be happy about her mom killing somepony she…” “SPEAK TO ME HUMAN! NOW!” interrupted Mitta. “ALRIGHT! Geez give it a break zombo mom!” snapped back Konrad. SMACK! Konrad’s eyes widened in surprise but more importantly pain. Mitta had back hoofed him pretty hard like a stern mother would to an unruly child. Holding his hand up to his face, Konrad responded like an angry child would have, with more swear words. “OWW! THAT FUCKING HURT LIKE SHIT! SMACK! Another hit came from Mitta and this time it was even harder. The pain surging through Konrad’s face was pretty bad, and he was sure there would likely be a good bruise later. Quickly learning that swearing wasn’t going to get him anywhere, Konrad did his best to revert to his resistance training, something he had hoped to never have to use. “I’m like a freaking POW! Terrorists, enemy nations…nope! Fucking Blanks! What the fucked up shit is this!? Goddamn a fucking hoof hurts like fuck! They say meeting a girl’s parents for the first time is always a delicate matter but this is just bullshit!” “Do NOT swear again human boy! I hate that type of language! Now answer my earlier question, how do you know my daughter and how did she find you?” Konrad’s anger was now slowly rising at Mitta’s harsh treatment of him. Taking a deep breath, Konrad began to recount the events leading up to his meeting of Ruby. He told her of how she brought him to Everfree Forest as best he and Ruby understood it. He recounted the events of saving Princess Luna and Apple Bloom of which upon hearing, Mitta’s expression of anger softened. It almost seemed as if she came close to smiling when he told her of how he saved her from drowning. Remembering how Princess Luna and Ruby misunderstood how he had used CPR on Apple Bloom, Konrad made sure to omit that piece of information lest Mitta accuse him of being foal molester. “Ugh, I’ll still never get rid of that image of me being a Pedobear chasing Apple Bloom! Then again, I’m going to need a lot of booze to forget this entire bad dream. This is a dream right Ian?” No response came from his conscience. “Asshole!” “Is that all you have to say human? Surely that isn’t the entire story.” “Umm…no it isn’t, after saving Apple Bloom…I met your daughter for the first time. Earlier in the day I only saw her in the distance before she ran off before two blood hooves showed up. That was just after she brought me here.” “I see…continue human boy.” Ignoring the title of “Boy”, Konrad became nervous about proceeding with the story, as his meeting with Ruby was very awkward and downright embarrassing. Should he divulge the true nature of how Ruby pursued him and his reaction to her advances, it would not go well for him. “Telling about what a nice plot she has is DEFINITELY out of the question. Still, that plot of hers!” “Well…after making sure Apple Bloom was safe and sound for the time being, your daughter Ruby met me by my truck that was stuck in the river.” “Truck? You mean that ponyless carriage?” “Yeah, that thing that I already told you about. You heard me say that right?” Mitta growled at his snappy remark but nonetheless didn’t say anything. She only continued to listen to him and this time, she was going to be even more scrutinizing. Realizing his error, Konrad began to tell of how he carried Apple Bloom across, and how she hugged him the entire way across. He couldn’t but help smile at Apple Bloom’s innocence and how she was a really good girl. Mitta immediately caught on to his expression when he described Apple Bloom and nodded in silent approval of his treatment of young filly. Unknown to Konrad he was starting to show a good redeeming quality to the mother Ruby. That was until Konrad remembered the event of carrying Ruby across and decided to skip that part. Mitta slowly raised an eye brow but didn’t say anything. Konrad took this as a good sign to continue. “Yeah, telling the Blank Mare that you held on her on your back while she basically got fresh with you isn’t going do well. I think I’ll just continue forward.” Konrad then recounted the tale of meeting Princess Luna sans the fight between the mares in the ruins. He told her of how Blood Clop and Crimson Tail later came to the ruins with 20 Blood Hooves and how he pretty much killed them all minus Blood Clop himself. This seemed to impress Mitta even further about his combat skills and it made her proud of her daughter protecting Apple Bloom. It also caused Mitta to think that perhaps Konrad was a good protector after all. Konrad then told Mitta of how he and Ruby carried Princess Luna and Apple Bloom to the edge of Everfree Forest and how Princess Luna planned of brining Royal Guards to burn down Sunny Town, a fact that Mitta most certainly approved of. That was until Konrad told her of the botch first contact between Shining Armor and the Royal Guards. The look of angry disappointment was clearly plastered across her face as he recalled in good detail his fight with Shining Armor. Mitta, as if she wasn’t already good at getting angry at everything Konrad said or did, expressed her anger at his mistake of fighting Shining Armor. Her expression didn’t change as he told her of how he ran away from Princess Celestia and the army of Royal Guards reigning down on him. It got even worse as he told her of how Ruby was taken by Blood Clop and how Konrad pursued after them only to get caught by Blood Clop himself after puking on Gladstone and Three Leaf. Mitta’s eyes began to glow a dark crimson red and Konrad knew that meant she was getting angry, very angry. “Shit! C’mon tell her your plan!” “So, you managed to save this Princess Luna? That’s her name correct?” “Princess Luna…what a fine mare she is!” “Yeah.” replied Konrad thinking of Princess Luna. Then the image of Ruby popped into his head, with a cute smile on her face as her orange highlighted mane swayed to the side as if moved by a slight breeze. His decision from earlier started to replay in his mind as the image of both mares kept coming closer and closer him. It really sucked having to choose, but now he was starting to have second thoughts. “Would it even work out?” wondered Konrad. “Are you paying attention boy?” asked Mitta waving hoofless leg in front of him. “Geyah! Yeah I’m paying attention just get that hoofless leg out of my face!” Moving her fore leg away from Konrad, Mitta began to proceed with her questioning. “And you got her and Apple Bloom away safe and sound correct?” “Yeah, that’s what I said.” replied Konrad with annoyance depicted in his tone. Ignoring Konrad’s annoyed attitude Mitta asked Konrad, “And somehow in the course of doing so, you managed to anger not only the sister of this Princess Luna and ruler of Equestria, but the entire Royal Guard as well?” Konrad began to sweat from his head and slowly began to move to another wall in an attempt to get some distance away from Mitta, who was currently getting too close to him. “Umm…pretty much yeah, eheh.” replied a nervous Konrad. “And in your pathetic attempt to rescue my daughter, you managed to not only get caught without a fight despite those weapons of yours Grey Hoof and Blood Clop droned on about, you also managed to lose all of them. Is that correct?” “Well…when you put it that way…” Mitta growled like a true zombie and slowly tried to drag her way over to him making the same bloody squish noise from earlier. “After reading about you humans to my daughter for so many years when she was just a young innocent filly, you are by far the biggest disappointment I have ever seen in my life.” Konrad’s fear suddenly came to a halt as the honor of his species was being thrown in his face like it was nothing and that pissed him off. “Come again?” said Konrad as he balled up his right hand into a fist. SQUISH! PLOP! The sound of the bloody squish was made as Mitta took a step closer to him. “You heard me, with all the tales of hearing how great humanity’s technology is and your species supposed honor and valor, you are nothing more than a great disappointment. You see Konrad you aren’t very bright at all. You should have surrendered when they surrounded you as you would have been able to show them that you weren’t a threat at all, than perhaps you would have had a greater chance to save my daughter.” “Well, in my defense it didn’t help that I had a-“ “Silence! I am not done yet!” shouted Mitta. “Of course you aren’t because you wouldn’t listen just like that serpent faggot.”  “And then you get caught by gaging like a sick colt? You could have not looked when you were watching Three Leaf and Gladstone.” “Shit! I could have turned my head away now that I think about it, but still!” “And you fell down without a single fight at all. You are by far the most vulgar, dim minded boy I have ever met in my life! I cannot believe that my daughter has a silly filly crush on you! She can do so much better and deserves better! You do not deserve my precious Ruby at all!” Konrad’s anger was now rising to boiling levels and Ruby’s mom or not, Mitta was really pissing Konrad off. Despite that Konrad knew he wouldn’t get anywhere having her as an enemy and he had no plans of having his face eaten off just like he envisioned earlier in the night. “If you will let me explain a little bit more-“ “My daughter has suffered years and years of pain and the first glimmer of hope she sees is you, a big massive disappointment! I will not let her heart be damaged as that’s the last of her innocence she has left. She has zero experience in romance and I will not let her attach herself to the first boy that happens to be nice to her. And that’s another thing, how did you help her across the river!?” Konrad’s face went pale as Mitta instantly made her earlier suspicions known that Konrad had not told her the entire truth of his interactions with Ruby. “Oh fuck…how did she know?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Liar! I never taught my daughter how to swim and she’s never been in the river before. I KNOW you helped her across the river and I want to know HOW you did it! My daughter doesn’t have wings as far as I recall, and I saw her hours ago. So tell me…NOW!” Konrad was visibly sweating his ass off and he knew she wasn’t going to let up. It was tie to face the music concerning him holding Ruby. “Well…” began Konrad as he got up on his legs. Konrad was now towering above Mitta but for some reason, she was still pretty intimidating, even as a disabled Blank. Konrad then bent his arms backwards in the same position as he had held Ruby earlier in the night. Konrad tried his best to not look Mitta I the eyes, but it didn’t work as her glared was like Fluttershy’s with a touch of death added to it. And then Konrad finally put the nail in the coffin as he showed how he held Ruby’s with his hands which happened to be where her plot was. “And this is how I held Ruby while crossing the river.” said Konrad. Without warning Mitta kicked Konrad in the knee and he immediately fell backwards. Konrad suddenly found himself leaning against the wall again while sitting down. “You held her with your hands down there?! How dare you sully my daughter!” shouted Mitta. “Oh god! Ruby I think this might be a deal breaker.” And a flurry of smacks came across Konrad’s face with pain surging through it like never before. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! Konrad instantly held up his arms and began to block every strike after the initial flurry of hoof smacking. “OWWW!! STOP!” yelled Konrad. “Why should I!? You have defiled my daughter and you’re not even married to her! And…what is that smell?” “What smell? You mean the one coming from your dead body? I would have asked what crawled up your plot and died, but then again I can see that it’s just you.” Another flurry of hoof smacks came from Mitta, but Konrad was tired of being tossed around like an unruly teenager as he blocked every single strike. This went on for a good few seconds, but Mitta suddenly ceased and began to sniff Konrad intent on finding the scent. Konrad began to sniff himself and realized just how dirty he had become in a matter of hours. He had dirt, sweat, and blood all over him, but noticed a new substance on his sniper suit. It turned out to be vomit, specifically his vomit. Konrad had a look of “WTF” on himself and Mitta turned her head back a bit finding the scent disgusting. Konrad noticed this and wondered why Mitta found the puke scent more disgusting that hers. “She’s been a round dead ponies for such a long time, she’s desensitized to it. Seriously, how the fuck did my puke get on me? I know I puked but it hit…OH THOSE BASTARDS!” “You…have vomit on yourself. Where did that come from?” “Uh…that’s mine Mitta. When I got caught by Three Leaf and Gladstone, I puked on them because…well sorry to say this but you guys REALLY stink, I mean the scent of a dead body is the worst thing I’ve ever smelled.” Mitta simply glared at Konrad before she began to laugh out loud. This caused Konrad to ease up a bit, for dealing with an angry Mitta was both nerve racking and old. He started to find himself laughing along with her as the memory of seeing two Blanks covered in his puke was very funny. The laughter soon died off as Mitta began to sniff again all of a sudden and it did not look good at all. She got closer to Konrad and began to sniff his arm until she started to make her way towards his shoulder. “Okay, way too close! I need to preserve my man space; do not want zombo mom near me!” “I smell something…” “I can see that considering I have been through almost everything this night can throw at me.” “No…I smell something else…and it’s coming from your back.” Konrad’s heart immediately started pumping fast and the fear of being hit by Mitta was again starting to creepy up again. Konrad knew exactly was she was referring too and he greatly wished that he had a can of Axe to cover himself in just as he had done in High School. It was the scent that Apple Bloom asked him earlier in the night and Konrad was glad to deflect the young filly’s innocent question. Mitta was not a filly but an angry zombie Blank that just happened to be Ruby’s mother. “Shit! What do I do? Crap, she’s gonna know what it is! And NOO!” Without warning Mitta threw her forelegs around Konrad and yanked him away from the wall when he was busy in his thoughts. His body was tossed to the side and his backside was exposed for Mitta to sniff. The mare immediately began to sniff his back and backed away from him in shock. Konrad could hear her do the typical pony gasp that her heard on the show knowing that Mitta knew exactly what it was. “Oh fuck…Now she thinks I probably banged her too. I think I need to get my guns and go.” Konrad turned around saw Mitta with a looked shock on her face. It was probably the first time he had ever seen a blank have twitchy eye similar to Princess Luna’s. This was not funny however and Konrad slowly began to back away from the undead mare. A look of unease slowly plastered his face and Konrad said, “So…how about that cider? I could go for some, how about you?” “You…Ruby…mated?” asked Mitta. “Uhh no you see…” “YOU…BUCKED…MY…DAUGHTER!?” shouted Mitta. Mitta’s eyes glowed a dark crimson red while glaring her sharp zombie like teeth that he had seen on Deviant Art many times. She stared at him as if he was a fat cupcake ready to be eaten. “NO! That didn’t happen! You see when I was carrying Ruby across the river she simply went into heat and rubbed her Marehood across me while panting and moaning. So you see I didn’t actually you know…fuck her. So all is good right?” said Konrad with a smile. And Konrad immediately face palmed for being not only blunt but being insensitive to Ruby’s mom. “Oh Goddamit! You know what fuck it! I’m already fucked and no matter what I say or do I’m screwed.” “THAT’S WHAT THAT WORD MEANS?! YOU’RE A LIAR AND YOU WILL PAY FOR STEALING MY DAUGHTER’S VIRTUE!” Mitta began to crawl her way towards Konrad intent on causing him pain, nothing but pure pain. The only thing that Konrad could do at that point was get up on his legs and say, “GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME ZOMBO MOM!” “RRRAAGGHH!” screeched Mitta. And so began the crazy chase inside Roneo’s house with a scared shitless young man and an angry Blank mother. It was the beginning of a very complicated relationship. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Doctor Stable was busy going around the hospital checking the various charts on the patients that came in from earlier in the night. It was pure chaos and not only did they receive a large amount of hurt ponies, but they were very high class ponies. The most important was Princess Luna and Shining Armor, though all patients were equal as far as he was concerned. After conferring with the Royal Guards, notices were sent by selected Night Sentinels to notify the loved ones of the patients. Another reason the Sentinels were selected was to remind the relatives of the patients the sensitive nature of the situation. The Royal Guard was content on keeping things under wrap lest unnecessary news were to spread causing chaos and uproar. If this situation had gone public very fast, the citizens of Equestria would panic at the news of some unknown creature capable of taking down the Princesses of Equestria. It was bad enough that everypony heard about Princess Celestia’s defeat at the hooves of Queen Chrysalis, but even worse that the Royal Guard failed to prevent the situation from occurring in the first place. And that’s what made Doctor Stable’s disdain for this night increase even more. “I understand why they want this kept quiet, but this is a hospital, not a secret base. I hope they will wake up soon so this madness can end. There is one silver lining to all this, none of their injuries are serious. It would be a shame if that were the case.” “Where’s mah youngin’ Apple Bloom!?” asked an elderly mare down the hall. “Halt! Identify yourself!” ordered a Night Sentinel. Doctor Stable facehoofed and trotted down the hall to greet the relative of Apple Bloom before an unnecessary incident could occur in his hospital. Upon getting closer to the elderly mare, Doctor Stable noticed a Big Red stallion that he had failed to see, mostly due to him standing behind an a corner of a connecting hallway. He immediately recognized the duo as Granny Smith, and Big MacIntosh the immediate family members of Apple Bloom. “Don’t you go hollerin at me you youngster in a tin can getup! Show some respect to yer elders!” replied Granny Smith. “Now hold on Granny Smith, he’s just doing his job. Now Mister, we’re just tryin’ to see a family member, not cause a ruckus.” chimed in Big MacIntosh. This surprised Doctor Stable as Big Mac, as most ponies called him, was very little on words. The Royal Guard replied, “Where is the message that was sent to you? You know to keep-“ “Quiet, yes they know, delicate matter and more importantly they are here to see a loved one. Thank you for being diligent but I think I can take it from here. Apple Bloom is just down the hall. Now if you both will follow me.” Doctor Stable then led the elderly mare, and stallion down towards the room where Princess Luna and Apple Bloom were being held while earning a glare from the overly zealous Night Sentinel. Doctor Stable simply ignored him as he led Apple Bloom’s family into the room. “Apple Bloom is in stable condition and she’ll be just fine. She’s suffered some minor head trauma, a few scrapes, and…a bite from what appears to have been caused by somepony or something.” explained Doctor Stable. The reaction from the Apple Family was heart wrenching as he had never seen an elder mare cry before. Or for that matter, a huge stallion that could probably take him down with one buck cry even harder. Both of them ran over to the little filly and began to stroke her mane with their hooves. “We almost lost our precious little apple!” cried Granny Smith. “Eey*sniff*yup!” replied Big MacIntosh. And then a third set of sniffles was heard from the other side of the room and Doctor Stable turned around to see a young Unicorn Royal Guard crying. The Doctor remembered the guard’s name as Private Greenhorn and was curious as the why this stranger to the Apple family was crying. His superior Sgt. Darkwing looked at him with a disapproving look when the Unicorn realized he was being watched. Quickly wiping his eyes, and sporting an embarrassed smile, the Royal Guard said, “Sorry, was thinking about what if that was my little sister on the bed.” “Well, I guess these guys do have a heart after all and it’s perfectly understandable why he would cry.” “Private, your military discipline is terrible and you are an embarrassment to the stallion race everywhere!” “Well, I guess some of them do. I really don’t like that Sgt. Darkwing.” The young Private simply lowered his head and shame while the Sentinel had a look of contempt on his face. The Doctor simply shook his head at the scene and went back to the Apple family. “If there is anything we can get for you, just let one of the nurses know. You’re welcome to stay until she wakes up. When she does, we’ll do one more check up on her and she’ll be discharged. Do have any questions before I leave?” Both Granny Smith and Big MacIntosh simply shook their heads no and continued to simply stay by Apple Bloom’s side, showing no signs of letting their loved on out of their reach. It was a very touching scene for the experienced Doctor and it reminded him of why he became one in the first place. Taking one more look at Princess Luna’s chart and IV, the Doctor began to make his way to the room across the hallway to check up on Prince Shining Armor and his fellow comrades. Just as he walked into the hallway, he bumped into somepony that he did not notice. BUMP! The Doctor quickly backed up and adjusted himself before taking notice of who he bumped into. It turned out to be none other than Princes Cadence. Doctor Stable quickly cursed himself in his mind before immediately bowing down. “My apologies your Majesty! I did not see before I-“ “It’s quite alright I know it was an accident Doctor Stable. Please rise.” replied Princes Cadence. As the Doctor got back up he noticed a smile was on her face, but it almost seemed as if it was forced. The Doctor could tell it wasn’t a genuine one, but it became clear what was on her mind when she said, “Would you kindly show me to my husband’s room? I can’t seem to find it.” “Oh dear, she’s worried about her husband.” “Why yes you Majesty, he’s actually in this room right here.” replied Doctor Stable pointing his right fore hoof at the room. The Princess wasted no time getting into the room and ran right to her husband, who was still asleep. Doctor Stable couldn’t blame her at all for nopony liked the sight of their loved one hurt and unconscious. The Princess began to nuzzle him and gently planted a kiss on his muzzle. If he was not mistaken, he could have sworn he saw a tear slowly escape and slide off her face. Then that sad expression slowly became stern as the Princess turned away from Shining Armor and made her way over to the Doctor. “Oh boy, here come the questions.” “How is he?” “He will make a full recovery I can assure you. He suffered from massive magic exhaustion, it’s as if he-“ “I know what it means Doctor Stable.” replied Princess Cadence clearly indicating that she was not happy. “Oh no, tread carefully Doctor, do not anger the Princess.” “What I want to know is how did it happen? I know he got into a fight Doctor, I can clearly see the bruise that is bearing.” “Pardon my interruption, but Ah’d like to know mahself what happened too.” said Big Macintosh who was making his way into the room. “Oh great, questions that I can’t answer! Help!” The Doctor could feel the questioning glare from both the Royal Mare and the Big Stallion, neither of which he didn’t want to anger. Both of them continued waiting for him to answer and the Doctor had no choice but to tell them, “I simply don’t know, but one of the guards said something about a Ponynapper being seen by a Sea Serpent.” Big Mac showed a look of disgust on his face as the thought of somepony trying to Ponynap his sister got him angry. Princess Cadence simply narrowed her eyes but showed no other signs of anger. Her eye certainly did a good job of expressing her anger at this unknown individual and Doctor Stable certainly was glad that he was not that pony, whoever he or she was. “Well then…I guess I will simply wait by my husband’s side until this criminal is brought to justice. I just hope no other pony becomes his or her victim.” “Eeyup.” agreed Big MacIntosh with anger in his voice “Okay, now I really feel sorry for the fool that decided to try and Ponynap Princess Luna and Apple Bloom. That pony has no idea how much trouble it’s caused.” All of a sudden a set of hooves could be heard rushing through the halls and all three ponies went to investigate. It turned out to be a Royal Guard from the Spartrota unit as his impressive uniform indicated. The runner that had been sent from Everfree Forest recognized Princess Cadence and bowed down before her. “Greetings your Highness, I was not expecting to see you. It is fortunate that you are here however-“ “It would be fortunate if my husband, aunt, and subjects were not the victims of some strange ponynapper.” “I…uh…” Princess Cadence immediately put her hooves to her face before saying, “I’m sorry. Please accept my apology, I’m just upset that is all.” “I understand your highness, Princess Celestia and the Element bears are currently pursuing the culprits responsible.” The Princess put her hooves down and raised her eye brow upon hearing the word,” “Culprits? You mean to tell me there is more than one ponynapper?” “Well…a sea serpent reported spotting a strange biped male wearing a green outfit carrying Princess Luna.” “Biped? You mean a Diamond Dog?” “No your Majesty…we…you see we actually don’t know what he is only that he has a Ghost Mare companion with him.” “Excuse me, did you just say Ghost?” asked Doctor Stable. The Guard then noticed Doctor Stable and Big MacIntosh, nervous about sensitive information leaking. As if she could read his mind, Princess Cadence reassured the Guard, “They won’t go galloping to the press, this I can assure you.” Turing to both Doctor Stable and Big MacIntosh, she asked both of them, “You won’t do that correct? I know my neither of my aunts would like panic spread through the Kingdom.” “I will not do such a thing your majesty. I will treat this as I treat all of my patients medical history, completely confidential.” assured Doctor Stable. “Eeyup!” was all that Big Mac said. “Very well then, please continue.” And so the Guard told them of how Shining Armor had come across the strange biped, fought him and lost, whose name was revealed to be Konrad. He then told them of the dead Blood Hooves that were found in the forest, and this caught the attention of every pony within an earshot. And the runner did not leave out any of the details, which cause Nurse Tenderheart’s face to turn green as she walked away unable to stomach such news. As he carried on, Princess Cadence’s facial expression did not change, but Big Mac’s jaw was open in shock. The runner also told them of the strange carriage that was found and how they were currently following a trail that was no doubt caused by the mysterious Konrad. He also mentioned the suspicions of Twilight Sparkle who believed that Konrad may have aided Princess Luna and Apple Bloom instead ponynapping them as the Sea Serpent initially reported them. After pointing out in detail of why Twilight Sparkle believed this was the case and why the fight between the two was a misunderstanding, such as the green rag used as a mane bow, the guard ceased speaking. The guard also told them over Princess Celestia’s orders concerning the capture of Konrad as well as her opinion of him. Finished speaking, the Guard realized that his throat was sore and began to wish he had a glass of water. Nurse Redheart, who was nearby for the whole update, quickly gave the Guard a cup of water. The guard quickly gulped it down before turning his attention back to Princess Cadence. The Princess didn’t say or express anything during the whole speech, as she only listened in great detail. “Is that all?” asked Princess Cadence. “Uh…yes your Majesty. That is all.” “Well, that would explain why mah little sister has a green rag on her mane.” said Big Mac as he began to process this new information. “It seems this Konrad is quite the character stopping Blood Hooves, and saving Princess Luna and Apple Bloom in the process. I’m glad that your sister is fine, I remember her being a flower filly during my wedding.” “She was a cute youngin’ if Ah say so myself.” replied a proud Big Mac. “That she most certainly was and still is!” smiled Princess Cadence. “Yes she still is…as for that Konrad I really hope my Aunt finds him. It would be a shame if he really did assist them only to be petrified by the Elements of Harmony or worse, slain by the Spartrota Unit or the rest of the Blood Hooves.” “Eeyup.” agreed Big Mac. For the most part, the Doctor had been silent through the whole explanation as the entire thing looked like it had come out of a bad horror movie. “Ghosts? Blood Hooves?! And…other things too?! I swear I need to take another vacation to Los Pegasus.” “Well, I shall stay near my husband until he wakes up. Hopefully, when he does, he will tell us more about this…Konrad. I most certainly wish to meet the male that gave my husband a plot kicking, so I may do the same in return.” Everypony’s eyes went wide before they turned away and went their separate business. The Guard assigned to receive the update from the Hospital conferred with Doctor Stable on the patients’ condition. Seeing how there was essentially no change, other than the arrival of Princess Cadence, the Guard took another drink of water before running off towards Everfree Forest to inform Princess Celestia. Doctor Stable went back to checking on the newly updated charts. As he did so, Doctor Stable could only think about the odd turn of events that occurred tonight. “Ghosts, Blood Hooves, and some unknown biped…I guess Nightmare Night has arrived early in Ponyville. This is going to be one crazy Night, but at least the innocent party to all this have been save. I hope that if all of this is true, the Blood hooves will be stopped. I can only imagine how much trouble that Konrad is going to be in if he gets caught by anypony. I imagine he’s better off with the Blood Hooves for I know I wouldn’t want to be on Celestia’s bad side.” The Doctor didn’t know that Konrad was severely wishing that he had surrendered to Shining Armor earlier and that he was not in fact safer with the Blood Hooves. He was trapped like a rat cornered by the cat that was not only a Blank but a vengeful mother out for his blood. And yet, the night was still young.