//------------------------------// // The party just got real. Part 1. // Story: Battle of the Blanks // by HumanSVD //------------------------------// Gray Hoof couldn't but help chuckle at the human's strange device that was some sort of music box. His grandparents once had one made up of a wooden box, small gears and it only played one song. Back then it was the most advance piece of machinery and he would listen to the same tune over and over again as a young colt. It reminded him of the good times, being around family and friends during the winter season drinking warm cocoa. Bringing a smile to his face, Gray Hoof slowly closed the door to his house and began to trot over to where most of the ponies had gathered. He took a slow look over the place and was proud of what he saw. They were dancing, they were eating cake, they were having fun, and more importantly, they were happy. "I care for all you my friends. I will see to it the party never ends and that nothing will ever change that." Curious as to see who was up to what, Gray Hoof moved over to the party tables to hear and see how his friends were doing. On the way over, he could see Roneo and Starlet going full blast with their romance by muzzle kissing each other. While he was all for romance, he felt that they were taking it a bit too far especially with the pet names. Shaking his head, he was able to spot Gladstone and Three Leaf tearing up the dancing ground attracting a small crowd of ponies cheering them one. Gray Hoof raised an eye brow at the duo who had been seeing each other for a few cycles and was impressed that Three Leaf was able to convince Gladstone dance. Normally the quiet stallion would be a bit shy, mostly moving rocks and doing heavy lifting of the supplies around the town, but it seemed that he had quite the energy within him. And his obvious special somepony had convinced him to go all out tonight. Gray Hoof had always suspected they had a thing for each other, but they never publicly displayed it until now. He wondered why this was so and he immediately reflected on the events of tonight. A filly, a princess, and more importantly, a living being that was assumed to be a myth shaking the town to it's core could have been the main reason why. "A human...I never would have guessed that they were actually real nor suspect that one would show up here. He did a lot of damage to the town, both physically and mentally. He will pay and repent for a long time to come." Gray Hoof's smile slowly decreased as the cost of Konrad's resistance had become clear. Over 20 Blood Hooves had been killed, their existence as a town was now known outside the forest by the royal princess that escaped, and invaders would most likely return in force. Gray Hoof's eyes started to glow a darker shade of red as his anger had begun to rise. He would not allow anypony to ruin the happiness he had worked so hard for his friends, and Konrad was going to be his tool to do just that. "That will be just for starters Konrad, soon you will join us, and you will earn your place here after the wounds you have caused are healed. You will also make Ruby suffer and curse they day that she tried to use you for evil. Damn you Ruby...damn you and your mark!" "HI GRAY HOOF! GOOD PARTY!" said a very loud stallion as he put a hoof on Gray Hoof's shoulder. The leader of the town had jumped in the air in surprise with his eyes widened and dead coat slightly raising up. As he landed, he turned around to see that it was none other than Blood Clop, who looked very odd. The stallion that had been his number one assistant and long time friend was slightly stumbling, eyes becoming crossed, and had a very weird smile on his face that seemed to be unnaturally wide. Gray Hoof was beginning to feel that something was wrong about his friend but couldn't quite put his hoof on it. With concern for his good friend, Gray Hoof asked, "Blood Clop? Are you okay? You seem to be-" "Enjoying the BEStest party so fars! I ThinK I gots A new MAres friend!" interrupted Blood Clop. Gray Hoof was annoyed at being interrupted but that was far from his main concern. What that concern was how his friend was behaving and why he was having trouble speaking the way he usually did. Forcing a smile, Gray Hoof replied, "Really? So soon? I would have thought you would be in mourning for Crimson Tail for quite a while." Blood Clop didn't immediately respond to his question but rather grabbed a cup of punch nearby on the table. The stallion raised it to his mouth and missed his intended destination with the drink causing it to spill on the ground. Gray Hoof's eyes widened in confusion as Blood Clop had a look of satisfaction on his face while saying, "AH! That's teh goods stuff! WElls Gray Hoovsies, I misses Crimson Tailys a lotS butsss I need TO MOVES on. I'll still misses herS and STUFFs but I lives in Sunnies TOwn, not Frownies Towns!" "I see....I guess that makes sense. Are you sure your alright? Why are you acting this way?" "CauSE A NEW mare gots my heart!" replied Blood Clop with both eyes widening in turns. "BLood Schreech got's hot plot! Now hwere is shee's?" Blood Clop began to look around for the mare that he had heavily flirted with earlier, but could not find her. A sad, but goofy look on his face formed as he whined a like a young colt being told no by his parents. Gray Hoof's curiosity had peaked and he began to look around for any clue as to why his friend was acting this bizarre. And what he saw worried him greatly as he looked a the dance ground. There were several couples and friends dancing like they had lost their minds, and a majority of them were starting to speak the same way that Blood Clop was speaking. Every know and then a pony would fall on the ground and struggle to get up while laughing uncontrollably as if they had no shame. Nopony had every acted, or for that matter, danced this terribly before. The only ones that weren't acting like this seemed to be Gladstone, Three Leaf, Roneo, and Starlet. This began to perplex Gray Hoof as only the Blood Hooves not the Blanks, as the original inhabitants called themselves, were acting this strange. "Why?! Why is it that our friends that we have gained over the years are acting this way? There has to be a common link! It just doesn't make any sense!" "NOM NOM NOM NOM!" said Blood Clop as he clumsily and loudly devoured a piece of Three Leaf's cake. This caught the leader's attention and he immediately began look for anything else out of the ordinary aside from bad table manners. As Gray Hoof scanned the table, he began to notice similarities in the Blood Hooves behavior. They were acting like Three Leaf's parents had long ago when they drank that bad cider. "No....don't tell me she made that!" exclaimed Gray Hoof thinking that she had made such concoction. "YEAHS! She defininlies dids!" replied Blood Clop as he devoured the cake. Blood Clop was unaware that Gray Hoof was referring to the punch rather than the cake that he was enjoying so much. Gray Hoof on the other hoof was furious at the thought of Three Leaf making the same drink that his parents had banned long ago when he was a colt and that the mare was doing the same thing. Stomping over to the dancing couple who were getting more risque with their dancing, Gray Hoof grabbed Three Leaf and pulled her away from Gladstone as if she were a filly that severely misbehaved. Several of the ponies that had gathered and cheered for the couple became confused at the scene developing before them and followed the duo to the party tables. Gladstone was a bit confused but also miffed at Gray Hoof's treatment of Three Leaf. Three Leaf began to loudly protest what Gray Hoof was doing while struggling to get out of his grasp. "HEY GRAY! What's the big idea?! What are you doing?! I was getting my groove on!" As soon as they had reached the party tables, Gray Hoof let go over and pointed at the punch bowl. "Explain why our friends are getting drunk off of your punch! Did you think it was a funny thing to do the same thing your parents did many years ago?!" Three Leaf took a step back at the mention of her parents that were killed by a Manticore many years ago. It was a painful subject for her and the mention of them brought up old wounds. She also knew what Gray Hoof was talking about concerning the drink Her parents had made. It was truly an embarrassing day for her family. Showing a hurt look for split second before showing an angered expression at the leader, Three Leaf began to deny his accusation. "I did NOT make bad punch Gray Hoof, I made it the same way as I did earlier in the night. And I do not appreciate being treated like a little foal!" "Well, then why is it that everypony that has drank it been acting like a bunch of bumbling, mumbling nincompoops!" Three Leaf immediately became confused and looked around to see almost everypony was stumbling and mumbling as Gray Hoof said. She then asked everypony, "Raise your hoof if you've drank the punch!" Almost everypony raised their hooves, and a few fell down from their lack of coordination. Three Leaf became even more confused as to why her special punch was making everypony act weird. Turning around back to Gray Hoof, whose eyes were getting darker, the Blank mare began to defend her self by claiming ignorance. "Gray Hoof, I swear I didn't make bad cider or bad punch or anything to make it bad! I made it just the way I always do!" "It's true Gray Hoof. I was with her the entire time she made it." said Gladstone. The Blank mare turned to the Blank Stallion and smiled at him defending her. Gray hoof began to study the couple and looked back at the punch, attempting to find any more clues. Then something clicked in his head as he remembered a certain mythological being near them not too long ago. "Three Leaf, when you were making the punch, did you happen to walk away from it? Just even for a minute or two?" The mare's eyes widened as she realized what Gray Hoof was getting at. "Yes...now that I think about it, I left it for a minute while I went to borrow something from Gladstone." "I can attest to that, I was near Roneo's house when she got my attention and took me over to her house. That was also where..." "THE HUMAN! HE MUST HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO IT! MY PUNCH! NOOOO!!!" shouted Three Leaf, who was now fuming at her drink being contaminated. Several ponies gasped as they realized that they might have been poisoned by the human. The town was silent, nopony said anything and nothing could be heard except Three Leaf's snorting of anger. Gladstone put a fore leg over to calm her down and the mare began to breathe at a slower pace. Grey Hoof narrowed his eyes at the drink that Konrad somehow messed with. Gray Hoof had no idea what the human had done to the punch and began to ask Blood Clop for any hints of what it could be. "Blood Clop, when you drank the punch did you taste anything out of the ordinary?" The stallion that was acting simplistically clumsy appeared to be doing his best to concentrate on the question as his face when through a series of expressions. The first one was anger, then seriousness, and the other one was fear, something that Blood Clop rarely, if ever showed. "I...thinks it was t-tinglies?" replied Blood Clop. That stung Gray Hoof a lot for his friend had suffered quite a bit in the night. He had lost his special somepony and witnessed many of his friends be put to rest. Gray Hoof knew he would do right by him and allow Blood Clop to transform Konrad when the time came assuming he was even capable of doing the task. Gray Hoof pondered Blood Clop's answer trying his best to make sense with the little information he had. And then it hit his mind with full force as the last piece of information fell in causing the puzzle to be finished. It was the bag of flowers that Konrad had in his possession and it was obvious they weren't a welcoming gift. They had to be some form of plant that contained poison, but he had shrugged it off because never before had their protection been compromised by any element whatsoever. Then again, a human had come and this was anything but ordinary for Sunny Town. "This Konrad is the greatest threat Sunny Town had ever known, aside from the cursed mark plague that Ruby almost spread. It's time to talk to the human and end this now." "Roneo, do you have the key to your house?" The young Blank Stallion walked forward way from Starlet making it he didn't want to be away from his special somepony. Gray Hoof rolled his eyes at the puppy love before his eyes. "At least it's genuine. I promise when this is over you too can spend all the time you say things like... Schmoopy Do...blegh!" "Yes, Gray Hoof. Here it is." replied Roneo producing a key and hoofing it to Gray Hoof. "Good. Okay, Gladstone and Roneo, follow me. I think it's time we have a chat with our human visitor." "Let me go in there too Gray Hoof! I want to give that human a piece of my mind." said Three Leaf rearing up in anger as she flailed her forelegs in attempt to look intimidating. The sight was a bit humorous as Gray Hoof and even Gladstone himself couldn't suppress a chuckle. Not realizing how silly she looked, Three Leaf looked to Gray Hoof for an answer which turned out to be, "I think you'll be a bit to much for him to handle Three Leaf. Now Roneo, did you hear anything coming from the house while Kornad was in there? Surely he would have met Mitta by now." Roneo and Starlet chuckled a bit before Roneo responded. "Yes, we heard a lot of screaming and the human tried to get out earlier too. I guess Mitta put him in his place despite not having a full set of hooves." "Good! I hate that stupid plot head already!" interjected Three Leaf as she stomped the ground in anger. Everypony laughed at Three Leaf's name calling of the human which served to ease the tension in the town. "Well, then I guess Mitta might come around after all. I hope she didn't hurt him too bad, because I would like put a few punches-" said Gladstone before he was interrupted by Gray Hoof. "Okay everypony that's enough. Roneo, open the door. Three Leaf and Starlet, take care of the sick ones while we fetch the human." Starlet immediately obeyed Gray Hoof while Three Leaf gave him one last pleading look. This only caused the stallion leader to return a stern look to her as she lowered her ears and began to catch up with Starlet. Gray Hoof turned to see Blood Clop sulking in a corner, clearly with his attitude down in the dumps. Giving a look of sympathy before turning to Roneo's house, Gray Hoof put the key in the door and turned it. The door made a soft clicking sound before Gray Hoof opened the door. It was, as always dark inside, but being protected still had it's many advantages. Gray Hoof was the first to enter followed by Roneo with Gladstone taking the rear. From the moment had walked in, Gray Hoof knew something was wrong. The house was silent, too silent and considering the noise that was made earlier, a scared human begging for safety is what Gray Hoof expected. But there was nothing, and the leader called out to Konrad. "Human...are you in here? You can't hide from us you know. We only want to talk for a bit. Please, just give us a chance." said Gray Hoof doing his best to sound sincere. There was no response however and this only served to increase his worries. "Mitta couldn't have killed him. She doesn't have the odds in her favor despite her fury. No, something isn't right here." "Mitta, are you hiding the human? You do know that were are still your friends and that we will give you another chance. Just tell us where you are and where Konrad is." said spoke Gray Hoof. And yet, there as still no response and Gray Hoof's patience was at an end. Stomping on the floor in anger, Gray Hoof gave an order. "Roneo, you know your house better than anypony, find them and Gladstone follow him. I'll watch the door." Nodding to their leader, the two Blanks ran around the house that was filled with boxes, searching every inch of the house. The search didn't take long to conclude that Mitta and the human were not in the house seeing as how Roneo knew the layout and all the hiding spots. The two stallions came back to see their leader with a look of fury on his face, the same one that he had used on Blood Clop when he had acted out earlier in the night. Exchanging nervous looks, Roneo and Gladstone slowly stepped forward hoping that Gray Hoof wouldn't hurt them for being a failure in finding Konrad. "Umm....he isn't here Gray Hoof. Mitta's gone too." said Roneo, who felt like a small colt in front of the leader. "It-it's true, he isn't here and neither is Mitta. We can see that she moved about all over the place, and there's a small blood trail that leads to here, but....that's where is ends." Gray Hoof didn't respond at all for a good ten seconds, increasing the tension in the air. Without warning the leader smashed a nearby box with a strong buck causing a smaller one on top of it to fall down and spill it's contents. Moldly hay was spilled all over the place causing a mess that Roneo would later have to clean up. That was nothing compared to a leader that could control all of them should he see fit, especially that he had a cold temper when provoked. "I don't know how he did it...but I want both of them found. He must have done something to Mitta to convince her to help him. It's the only thing I can think of." "Uh...are you sure?" asked Roneo. Slowly nodding, Gray Hoof answered. "I'm positive. It would appear the she has made her choice to assist the human and aid her cursed daughter. She has chosen to abandon our friendship and destroy our happiness despite the gift that she we have given here." "N-no! That...." said Gladstone. "I know it's difficult to believe but that's the truth my friend. They couldn't have gotten far, lets get out and find them. At least he doesn't have...." Gray Hoof's eyes widened in fear at the possibility of Konrad walking around with his weapons and an angry mother ready to assist him. He ran out of the house towards his own, causing Roneo and Gladstone to follow. Several of the Blood Hooves waiting outside were expecting to see a scared human being paraded around, giving them hope. What they saw instead was their leader running to his house in fear and that had undone the comfort that Starlet and Three Leaf were giving them. Gray Hoof immediately bucked his door open to find that the human's weapons were nowhere to be seen. He frantically searched the entire house with no luck in finding anything, not even the small music picture box. Gray Hoof let out a frightening scream that chilled even the most brave stallions to the bone. When he was done screaming Gray hoof noticed that his window was left open. He took a look outside and noticed hoof marks on the ground. It definitely couldn't have been the human for he didn't have hooves, and it certainly wasn't Mitta since she only had one. This perplexed Gray Hoof as he tried to figure out how somepony would have know or even want to help the human. "Nopony would help him that's part of the herd, Mitta's out of the question, Konrad wouldn't have even known which one was my house and those marks don't even match him at all! No outsider would know that and we would have seen them coming into the main entrance...unless it was...NO!" The only pony that he could think of was none other than the marked one named Ruby. She knew where he lived, and she always had a knack for ruining things. As far as he knew she was still in custody at her old house, but the leader remembered seeing the two guards that he chose to prevent her escape around the party. He didn't think of it at the time, but now that things were going to pony heck, Gray Hoof was going to question why they left their post. Stomping out of his house in anger, he cantered over to the guards near the party tables. One of them was looking at Starlet's plot when she wasn't looking and this caused Roneo to give him an evil look. The guard chuckled before Gray Hoof smacked him really hard causing his head to turn 90 degrees to the left. As his head corrected itself, with bones snapping into place, the Blood Hoof guard cowered in fear at Grey Hoof's anger. This caused Roneo to snicker as the Gray Hoof began to berate him. "YOU STUPID MORON! Why did you leave Ruby's house?!" The Blood Hoof began to look back and forth hoping his buddy would assist him somehow. The other Blood Hoof guard simply looked away silently telling him, "I told you so!". "B-but...she said-" "WHO!? Who said what?" shouted Gray Hoof. Roneo at this point was doing his best to prevent himself from laughing at the Blood Hoof's berating as he was glad that the stallion was getting what he deserved. Stumbling to answer, the Blood Hoof answered, "B-b-blood Screech. She said t-that you allowed us to join the party and that she would take over." Gray Hoof remembered the upset mare earlier and he remembered the look fury on her face. It would seem that she had lied to the duo to get to Ruby, most likely to hit her. While he couldn't blame her for being upset, he disappointed that she would jeopardize the safety of Sunny Town like that. There was a reason why he had two guards stay with Ruby, as she always seemed to find a way to ruin things. Blood Clop gasped in fear for Blood Screech's safety, confirming the location of his new mare. "B-blood schreechees saids that's where she'd bees! Oh NOEES!" "And apparently this mare gave her a way out. I hope Blood Screech is okay." Giving a sigh of frustration, Gray Hoof ordered the Blood Hoof, "Go stand with the others. When this is over, you and I are going to have a talk later." Cowering away in shame, the Blood Hoof did as he was told. His friend appeared to be relieved that he had beaten the rap but Gray Hoof knew better. "You too. You should have know better as well." The other Blood Hoof ran over to his friend, almost tripping on the way over. Everypony was silent, waiting on what Gray Hoof would do next. Blood Clop on the other hoof walked over to the the leader, and said, "I'm sORries Gray Hoofies. I knews she went somwheres but I did nots-" "It's fine Blood Clop, you didn't know what she was going to do and you've done a lot for this town tonight. We will stop him and it will get better, that I assure you. Relax for a minute and we will be back. I will let you convert him, that is if your up to the task." Blood Clop's eyes widened and a small smile crept on his face. "Thanks you Gray Hoofies!!" replied Blood Clop with his speech still degraded. "Ugh, my mother's nick name for me. I can't wait to fix this mess." Making a note to interrogate Konrad concerning the strange flowers, the stallion turned to everypony and said, "Everypony listen up! The party is on hold until the human has been converted. To those who have drank the bad punch, do not drink any more and hang tight. Is there anypony besides Gladstone, Three Leaf, Roneo and Starlet that have NOT drank the punch?" One lone stallion in the back slowly raised his hoof in the air, afraid not of Gray Hoof, but of his friends' condition. "Y-yes Gray Hoof! I haven't drank it yet." "Good. Now Rotting Eye, I want you to wake the others." "The ones resting? How many?" asked the young stallion who had only been with the for ten cycles. "All of them." "All? But what if they-" "Complain about their sleep? They won't complain when they hear that a potential friend is trying to leave." The young blood hoof stallion's eyes went dark red as the thought of a new friend trying to leave got him angry. Another thing about the protection of Sunny Town was that it made their desire to gain friends and protect others into a zealous frenzy. It also made rejection of said "friendship" into a zealous frenzy to do what what best for the unprotected. That was how every Blood Hoof saw things once they joined the herd, and it was another gift that kept on giving giving as Gray Hoof would put it. "Another wonderful attitude to have to save others, thank you my friend. Without your protection, we wouldn't have what he have today." Wasting no time, the stallion ran off to the area just outside of Sunny Town's main entrance. It was where the others would rest due to the softer, more comfortable soil, and the easiest way of accessing Sunny Town. It was also where every visitor came through, and it made sense to put the Blood Hooves there as Gray Hoof learned over the years. When Rotten eye was out of sight, Gray Hoof began to reassure his friends. "Now everypony remember, everything will be fine. We won't let the human escape and we will fix everything. The party will not stopped!" The a few Blood Hooves gave a few hoof stomps of approval but it wasn't as enthusiastic as it had been earlier when Konrad was caught. They were all scared and that angered Gray Hoof inside. "Oh yes Konrad, you will earn your place here unlike the others." As Three Leaf and Starlet continued to comfort and watch over the poisoned Blood Hooves, Roneo and Gladstone went over to their special someponies. They each nuzzled them with love as if they were heading off to fight a war. The mare's gave their "I love you"s to their stallions' as a few newly awakened Blood Hooves arrived next to Gray Hoof. The leader wasted no time on giving them a brief rundown of the events that had transpired. Nearly all of them went wide eyed in confusion at the news of a human being in Sunny Town, but even more confused that humans were actually real. Assuring them that they WERE in fact real and the threat that Konrad posed, they snorted in anger at the thought of the human hurting their friends. At this point a few more Blood Hooves showed up but instead of the zealous fervor they were known for when they were awakened, they had a look of fear on their faces. As Gray Hoof went to assure them that the human would be caught, a Blood Hoof mare began to speak in a frenzy. "GrayHoofGrayHoof!Somanyguardscomingthiswaysalicornand-" "Hold up! Say that slower this time. I know the human is a threat but we can-" "NOOO!!! There are Guards coming this way! And they got some Alicorn with them! Were are being invaded Gray Hoof!" Every Blood Hoof within an ear shot heard the frantic mare's news and a huge panic began to set in. "NO! Invadieees!" said a poisoned Blood Hoof mare. "Don't lets them gets the cakes!" said a poisoned Blood Hoof Stallion. "OH THE HORRORS!!" said another Blood Hoof mare that fainted melodramatically. Everypony began to scream and run around as they bumped into each other and turned their heads around in a mess of flesh and bones. Gray Hoof couldn't believe it, his town was now in severe jeopardy and every pony was panicking like crazy. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, and Gray Hoof knew he had to do everything to save Sunny Town. If he could convert Konrad then his weapons would utterly destroy the Guards coming this way. While Gray Hoof was disappointed that the Alicorn Princess had got away, and that she had come back with full force, he knew that he still could save Sunny Town. Not letting chaos take reign over his herd, Gray Hoof shouted and at the same time used the power that his conscience and friend have given all those years ago. "ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL!" In an instant everypony ceased moving and stared right at their leader. The black haze being cast from Gray Hoof swept over everypony, effectively calming them down and focusing their thoughts as one. "Good, now listen to me everypony, WE WILL STOP THE HUMAN!" shouted Gray Hoof in his booming voice. "WE WILL STOP HUMAN!" droned on everypony. "WE WILL BRING HIM INTO THE HERD!" "WE WILL BRING HIM INTO THE HERD!" "WE WILL STOP RUBY AND THE INVADERS!" "WE WILL STOP RUBY AND THE INVADERS!" "AND WE WILL PROTECT THEM....FOREVER!" "AND WE WILL PROTECT THEM....FOREVER!" Everypony began to hoof stomp as their eyes glowed a bright red, ready to stop the invaders as well make them their new friends. "Konrad...we are coming for you, and there's nothing you can do so stop us. Ruby will cry her heart out year after year and you'll be her permanent executioner...FOREVER!" Not wasting anymore time, Gray Hoof began to order everypony in defensive positions around the town, making sure that nopony or human would be able to making through to Princess's forces heading to the town. Gray Hoof knew that there would be a few friends lost but he was sure that they would prevail. Sunny town would survive and the he was going to make sure of that. And when it would all be over, he would throw an even bigger party, with Konrad torturing Ruby as the main event. "And what a great party that would be!" thought Gray Hoof as he began to organize the town's defenses. When everypony was set, Gray Hoof sent the messenger mare to assist Rotten Eye in raising the rest of the Blood Hooves. When that was done, he, along with a 6 non-poisoned Blood Hooves, set towards Ruby's house in hopes of stopping the trio, and more importantly converting Konrad. Gray Hoof couldn't only smile at the anticipation of converting Konrad and setting a new tradition of repeating Ruby's murder. It would be a good party indeed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Konrad had almost lost his footing as Mitta dragged him inside while she laid on Ruby's back. He still had no clue as to how she even could get a decent grip on him considering that she didn't have fingers or hooves for that matter. "I swear nothing in this night makes any fucking sense, but this apparently isn't a dream or else none of those hoofless squishly smacks would have hurt. And yea! I'm in Ruby's house! As if creepy things weren't enough for me." Doing his best to regain his bearings after the surprise yank from Mitta, Konrad took notice of his surroundings. It was difficult to see the interior of the house due to the darkness and the only thing that allowed him to see was the combined glowing of Ruby and Mitta's eyes. Doing his best to accept the fact that he was in Ruby's house, Konrad could it smell it and it just as bad as Roneo's house, if not worse. No matter where he was in the night, a part of him still couldn't believe he was indeed in Equestria and much to his dismay, Sunny Town. He couldn't help but compare the cartoon and the Story of the Blanks game to what he was witnessing with his eyes. "This is really weird, they look just like they do on the internet, minus the 8-bit graphics. Why did this have to happen to me?! I'm in Ruby's house with Ruby and Mitta!? Man, I hope I can wake up from this weird shit, but it's real...fuck my life. At least Ruby is here with me, because her mom is just...whatever, look around, come up with a plan and help them." As Ruby and Mitta walked towards the center of the one room house, Konrad noticed that the table had been severely beaten on by a pony. There were small horse shoe marks all over it and this greatly confused Konrad as he didn't remember this being part of the game. "Uh Ruby, why has the table been beaten silly?" Mitta turned her head away from Konrad, whom she had been watching the entire time, taking notice of his observation. She raised an eye brow as Ruby gently set her down on the floor board. Ruby held a hoof to her mouth and giggled a bit before turning towards Konrad with beaming smile. Konrad could see the genuine love and happiness being projected towards him with her eyes glowing a soft yellow and he felt his heart flutter for a split second. "Oh lord....Ruby really freaking loves me! Oh man oh man!" "Ruby! He asked you a question and I too am curious so please answer him my child." said Mitta as she waved one of her hoofless legs in Ruby's face. Snapping out of her loving trance, Ruby shook her head and slightly blushed saying, "Sorry about that was thinking of something." "Me no doubt...not that I mind it." "No problem" replied Konrad with a smirk. "Now what happened to the table?" "Oh well, you see when I broke free of the rope they were holding me with, this Blood Hoof bitch-" "Ruby! Do not swear like that!" "Does it really matter at this point Mitta?" asked Konrad who rolled his eyes. Mitta turned to him and glared at him with the same motherly stern minus the homicidal rage. Not wanting to loose his newly established dominance over Mitta, he stood his ground expecting her to cave in on the question. To Konrad's relief she did and Konrad cheered on the inside at the small victory. "No...I suppose not." "Good." "For now..." replied Mitta with her eyes glowing dark. "No matter how many times I kill a Blood Hoof, or act though in front of them, the glowing eyes will always creepy me out, except Ruby's of course!" Laughing with a bit of nervousness, Ruby immediately continued her explanation as she noticed the tension between the two. "Heheh, well you see after this Blood Hoof Bit-I hu mean, Blood Hoof Mare came in, she started to hit the table thinking it was me." "Wait, you meant the one that fell apart?" "Yes, that's her! Anyway, she tried to hit me after that once she realized that I wasn't a table. She tried to talk and scream at me but her tongue fell out!" said Ruby as she giggled. "Tongue fell out? Not that I'm complaining but that's just plain weird." "Plain weird huh? Well, minus the zombies, ghosts and oh I don't know, being in EQUESTRIA and specifically in Sunny Town!! Yup, that's weird alright, not the others things...I need a drink." "Yeah," replied Ruby," I've never seen that happen before, but like you said, I'm not complaining. And like you also said, it's going to make things easier! Now my simple attacks are fatal to them! I've been waiting to do that to them for a long time." Konrad nodded in sympathy and replied, "Must have been though for you all these years, but that's going to change now that I'm here!" Konrad raised his weapon above his head and yelled, "WOLVERINES!" out of excitement of killing the Blanks and Blood Hooves. Mitta and Ruby exchanged confused glances before turning back to Konrad, fully expecting an explanation. Realizing that he looked silly in front of the mares, he blushed and said, "Heh, sorry about that. It's a human battle cry that a group of human warriors used to do. I'll tell you about it later, but right now we need to hurry up and come up with a plan." Mitta cleared her throat catching her daughter's attention and motioned for Ruby to carry on with their plan. Ruby then spoke up and said, "Oh right mom, I'll push her over here." "Push her over here? What are you talk-" Konrad was interrupted as he saw Ruby push a body of Blood Hoof Mare across the floor with her head. As if that wasn't gross enough, Konrad noticed that it was missing a head. The stench from this particular Blood Hoof mare was incredibly bad, far worse than Mitta's scent. As soon as Ruby was done pushing the mare's body across the floor, Mitta began eye it with a smile that Konrad had seen before. He knew that something disgusting was going to happen but curiosity was strong within Konrad. "So...you're not actually going to rip those off are you?" asked Konrad. Mitta smiled at Konrad before she clamped down on the mare's hooves and began chewing them off. CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! "And you did...I can't watch this." The sound of Mitta biting off the hooves was too much for him and he covered his ears as well as closing his eyes. Ruby gave a look of sympathy to Konrad, immediately realizing that he was not used to such gory details. She walked over to Konrad and began to stand on her hind legs. She then wrapped her fore legs around him and began to hug him while nuzzling his neck. Konrad opened his eyes as he felt Ruby and saw her eyes looking into his. They eased Konrad's worries and he smiled at Ruby as she did to him. The sound of Flesh and bones connecting didn't faze him at all as her yellow eyes soothed his soul. They were getting closer and closer, and Konrad realized what was happening, she was going to kiss him! A range of emotions flooded through Konrad's mind, as well as his heart pumping really fast. "Oh shit! What do I do?! Now I'm conflicted as hell! Luna or Ruby? Princess or Ghost? SHIT! I need to tell both of them! FOCUS ON THE FIGHT! Romance can come later." "Uhh Ruby, thanks for comforting me but I think we need to get back to coming up with a plan." A look of disappointment came across her face, but it was immediately replaced with a smile. Ruby nodded and said, "R-right. We got to take care of them first....and after that perhaps we can talk later?" "Might a well, I can't keep holding off telling them of my decision later. So nervous as hell about telling them. I wish I could have Luna here as well, she deserves to hear it too. Damn, I hate choices." "Y-yeah. After this, we can talk, you and me." "Are you going to propose to her already? You two should at least go on a date first." teased Mitta. Ruby immediately let go of Konrad and stood on all four legs. A look of extreme embarrassment went on her face as it went red, and ears lowering. "MOM!" Mitta chuckled at her daughter's expense with a smile. Konrad merely face palmed before turning his attention to Mitta, who now had a full set of hooves. "Well, that was a bit...gross." said Konrad. "You'll survive Konrad. I know you are not used to seeing this, but you better suck it up and-" replied Mitta. "MOM! Please don't do that." interrupted Ruby whose face was still red. "It's okay, Ruby. She's right, I'll just have to get used to it." said Konrad as he reassured the ghost mare. "I can try but it's still fucking gross!" Nodding in approval, Mitta began to walk around in a circle and stretched her legs, clearly checking her new hooves. Satisfied of the new hooves, Mitta turned to Konrad and asked, "What is the plan Konrad? I do assume that you have one." "I do have one as a matter of fact and while I'm at it I can explain why that mare Ruby killed fell apart." Mitta sat down and nodded for Konrad to continue as Ruby sat down as well. Still standing, Konrad went to explain what his plan was. "Okay, you see before I got here, I found something in the forest that had an effect on the Blood Hooves. It was a plant, for reasons I don't quite understand, had some negative effect on them. It was a blue oak-like plant that cause them to...well crumble into a mishmash of chaos. They were chasing me when they ran through it and I heard it make a slight humming noise. As they were chasing me down a hill, one of them crashed into another. Their legs became all mangled, they cried about their protection not working, and one of them had their, I kid you not, head on their plot." Mitta and Ruby stared at Konrad in confusion before both of them began laughing out loud. Konrad couldn't but help laugh himself remembering the funny sight. Ruby was the first to stop laughing and asked Konrad, "Wait a minute, how did you avoid it but they didn't? If you went around it, wouldn't that have allowed them to close some distance on you?" "Shit, I can't let them know that I already knew about it. Poison Oak similarities! Yeah, that's a good one truth bender." "You see Ruby, back when I was a kid, there was a plant called Poison Oak that looked similar to it, except it's green not blue. When you come into contact with it, it causes the poor sap to have severe itching and bumps when scratched. I had an encounter of it when I was a kid and it was a miserable experience, so when I saw the plant, I did my best to avoid it thinking that it was similar to it. My instincts were right, but it's effect was WAY different." Showing them his gas mask, Konrad then went on to explain his previous plan in further detail. "After I killed them, I realized that it would be a good idea to take some to use against them, and if it worked just like the way Poison Oak did, then I thought to myself, "Why not use it?". So I went back, grabbed a towel and picked a few up. I did my best not to get it on my skin and I wore the Mask in case it could be transmitted to by airborne means. When I got to Sunny Town, I saw some mare named Three Leaf making a punch." Ruby and Mitta grumbled in displeasure at the name of Three Leaf. Mitta was the first to speak, "That mare is always concerned about her "Punch" all the time. She's just as annoying as Gray Hoof." "Ugh, Konrad please kill her!" said Ruby with a pleading eyes. Konrad gave a salute and said, "No problem! That was the plan anyway. So when she left her punch unguarded, I put some of the plant in the bowl figuring that everypony would drink it later. Apparently it worked." finished Konrad. Mitta raised an eye brow before saying, "I'm impressed by your ingenuity Konrad. I take back what I said about you earlier." Ruby's eyes went wide in surprise, confused at what her mother was referring too. "Mom, what did you say about Konrad?" Mitta looked away from her daughter, unsure what to say as well as being ashamed of her treatment of Konrad. Not wanting to get distracted from unnecessary details, Konrad interjected and said, "It's nothing Ruby. Mitta and I had a little disagreement earlier, but we resolved that." "After I punched her face off that is." Looking back and forth between Mitta and Konrad, Ruby sighed and nodded for Konrad to continue. Mitta turned back around to Konrad and gave a light smile to the young man. Konrad knew that she was grateful for leaving the previous incident behind, something that Konrad would have liked to forget about. "Okay then, moving on. Well, since they clearly drank the punch, a good number of them are clearly weak which will make fighting them easier. I also left a trail for Princess Luna's guards to follow and I also....um saw her sister too. They were chasing me." Ruby's eyes lit up at the name of Princess Luna and the guards that Konrad had tangled with. She also remembered the one Guard that Konrad beat up and a look of anger was plastered on her face. "Stupid Princess Luna and her guards! They just assumed that it was all Konrad's fault and-" "I know my dear, Konrad told me about it earlier. And while he could have handled things differently, I'm glad that he defended your honor. Again Konrad, you have my approval." Konrad's face slightly blushed as Ruby smiled with happiness at her mother's approval. "Uhh...th-thanks Mitta." "You're welcome Konrad. Now could you continue please?" Clearing his throat and trying to regain his earlier composure, Konrad continued explaining his plan. "Okay, well you see since I well....ticked off the Princess and her guards, I left a trail for them to follow. They also saw the bodies of the Blood Hooves that I killed by my truck. That's the place where I killed them, and unfortunately, I know they're probably trying to break into my truck and....okay getting off track. Anyway, point is they're ticked off like a hornets nest and they are on their way here. All we have to do is kill as many of the guys back in Sunny Town, and wait for them to show up. When they're all dead, I'll surrender to Luna's sister and the guards." "What?! WHY?! Why don't we just kill them and run when they show up and let them handle it?!" asked a worried Ruby. "Ruby, I can't live as a fugitive, besides once I explain myself to them and talk to Princess Luna and Apple Bloom, they'll realize that I'm not an enemy. Besides, maybe they can find away to...you know help you somehow?" Ruby looked at Konrad and then her mother, clearly afraid of what the aftermath would be. Her mother had the same look of concern too. "But...I don't know, and what if they try to hurt my mom?! She can't leave here and I can't leave the forest and-" "Then I'll stand in front of both of you if they try anything to hurt either of you." said Konrad as he gripped his AKM. "No Konrad, it will be time for me to pass on. I don't deserve to continue my existence and-" "Fat chance Mitta, I can't believe I'm going to say this." "Mitta? Shut up. You're going to live while you and Ruby do some catching up. I'm not going to let anypony do anything to harm you guys, so please, just drop that subject." Mitta was taken aback as well as Ruby. He had just told her to shut up and was swearing to protect a zombie. He never though he would do such a thing, but if it meant having a sappy and happy ending for Ruby, he would do it. Mitta's mouth was open in shock as well as Ruby, and Konrad couldn't but help smirk. Struggling to respond, Mitta shook her head and said, "I...very well Konrad. Thank you for doing this even though you don't have to." Holding his rifle over his shoulder and smirking, Konrad said. "Hey, I took care of your daughter, might as well take care of you. Nobody likes crappy endings am I right?" Both them giggled like true mares, and Mitta said, "Ahaha! No, nopony likes bad endings. Well, then are both of you ready? There's no turning back once we step out of that door." Konrad looked at Ruby who gave a nervous smile before nodding. Konrad went over to Ruby, held her hoof in his right hand and began massaging it just as he did with Princess Luna. Ruby's eyes lit up, unsure of what Konrad was going to to next. "Don't worry, I promise I won't die and we will end this nightmare. Your suffering is over Ruby." Ruby stared right into his soul and smiled with her worries completely melting away. Letting go of her hoof, Konrad chambered around into the gun and said, "Alright everypony, let's kick some plot!" Both of the mares got up with a look of determination on their faces. They were going to see this though to then as mother and daughter and nothing would stop them. "I'm ready to protect you my precious Ruby. I love you." said Mitta as she hugged her daughter. Ruby began to cry and whimper with happiness as she felt her mother's embrace. "M-m-mommy! I l-love you too!" As they began to cry holding each other, Konrad's eyes started to tear up a bit at the heart wrenching display. Konrad wiped away a few tears of his own, wishing that he could hold his own parents one more time as well. "Damn, right in the feels! I love you mom and dad! I wish I could see you one last time." As Konrad wiped away a few tears, Konrad noticed something behind the mares. It was a fire place and out of curiosity he walked over to it. And what he saw disturbed him and pissed him off at the same time. It was Ruby's skeleton and it looked pretty much the same as it had during the game. He also noticed the Blood Hoof mare's head that was missing and rage went through him. Konrad raised his boot and smashed the head in anger, completely squashing it like a bug. He turned around saw Mitta, and Ruby with their eyes staring at him. Feeling the anger surging through him he walked towards the door and the mares parted out of his way. He stopped at the door and took a deep breath to prepare him for the battle that laid ahead. "This is it Konrad, you last possible moments. Don't back down now, you got ponies to save and souls to avenge." "Alright, Ruby and Mitta stick close to me. Ruby, if you see anything tell me. Mitta, I'm counting on you for information to exploit our enemies, so give me any advice if you feel it's necessary for me....alright, let's do this!" "LEEERROOOY JEEENKKINSS!" The mares quickly got close to him and wait for him to make the next move. He aimed the AK at the door with his right arm and slowly opened it with his left doing his best to be ready for anything. His conviction to see this nightmare through with a full arsenal at his disposal, and two trustworthy mares watching his back, he was ready to lay waste to anything that stood in his way. Making sure the coast was clear, Konrad slowly walked out with Mitta and Ruby close behind. All of them were quietly walking outside, with Konrad in the center, Mitta on his left and Ruby on the right. They slowly began to move towards Sunny Town until a black haze began unfold before them. Ruby was the first to spot it and silently motioned for them to hide. It was too late as seven pairs of glowing red eyes came out of the strange black haze looking directly at them. "You've got to be fucking me! We just left and we already lost our element of surprise?! What the fuck ever, this is it!" thought Konrad as he gripped his AKM tightly. Konrad really couldn't recognize any of them until the one in the center spoke up in quite possible to most creepy voice from any Blood Hoof or Blank that he met. "Well, well, we meet at last Konrad. Welcome to Sunny Town! We have a wonderful party just waiting to kick back up! But before we start it, let's have chat shall we?" "Gray Hoof..." muttered Ruby as she got into a fighting stance as well as Mitta. "Gray Hoof?! Fucking Story of the Blanks! This party just got real!" thought Konrad. Nopony did anything as the two sides stared at each other waiting for other to make the next move. Unknown to both parties, a new one was just arriving, one that was larger and more united. Princess Celestia and the Elements of Harmony were arriving for the party and what a surprise it was going to be! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Celestia, along with the Element Bearers, were walking through the forest following the trail the that Vigilant Sight had found earlier. The Princess hated wearing her old Battle Armor, remembering how uncomfortable it always was. She had not worn it since she and her dear sister had fought Discord with the Elements of Harmony. It was a terrible thing to engage in combat, and it was something that she hoped would never happen again. Unfortunately, some things never went to the way she hoped they would and it seemed that ever since the recent Changeling attack on Canterlot, more and more strange things became frequent. It was terrible that she had lost her sister long ago, but this time it was different considering that her sister was merely banished last time. Her little sister had almost died tonight, and Celestia wanted nothing more than to make lesson for the individuals responsible for harming Luna. And it wasn't just her sister that almost had been lost, but her very own personal student as well as an innocent young filly. "I've never been more furious in my life, not since Discord stole my parents away from Luna and I. I will burn them off the face of the planet, but this Konrad on the other hoof, I'm not so sure what to think about him." The group of mares surrounded by the line of the Elite Royal Guards, turned around another corner as the trail took a sharp left. The air was getting colder, and more ominous as Princess Celestia could feel it in the air. It was extremely chill, as if fear it self was trying to seep into her own heart. The Princess began to look at the Element Bearers and took notice of their expressions. Twilight Sparkle was wide alert, taking note of every single detail that she could. Celestia was very proud of her student, who showed not only courage for the monsters she had faced, but an open mind concerning the strange new being that was seen earlier. Even when that strange being was actively fighting her very own brother, she was willing give it the benefit of the doubt and even show it friendship. It very much reflected the lesson that she had learned a year ago she and the Element bearers mistook Zecora for a curse caster. "She's progressing along better than I've ever imagined. Soon the time will come for her ultimate test and I have no doubt she will succeed. I hope she is right about this Konrad, I've learned not to doubt her just as I did during the wedding. I definitely will not make that same mistake again." After casting a warm smile to Twilight, she turned her attention to Fluttershy. The poor mare was slightly shaking in fear, but she still pressed on knowing the threat they faced. It wasn't easy for such a timid young mare, but none the less she pressed on, something the Princess admired. It was, however, a bit disturbing that the strange Konrad's food was discovered and it's diet was almost on par with that of the Blood Hooves. She felt a pang of sympathy for the mare crying for the poor cows that were slaughtered for it's sustenance. This was something the Princess would question Konrad later on should he be captured. "Is it normal for his kind to eat sentient beings? If so, why did he spare my sister and Apple Bloom? Did he truly save them or is he just trying to curry favor to cover his rump for his own crimes? If this truly is the case then he will have to face murder charges. I find it very odd that a being could murder a living being like that and package it in a cold heartless way only to save my sister and Apple Bloom. I have to know more and I wish my sister was awake to tell me about him." Princess Celestia knew however, than when push came to shove, she would stare down any intimidating being that dared hurt her friends. Fluttershy, while kind hearted, was not a mare to taken lightly. Princess Celestia then turned her attention to Rainbow Dash who was hovering over her friends in order to keep a better lookout for any trouble. Princess Celestia nodded in approval for the Pegasus mare's fierce loyalty to her friends and country. While the Princess was aware that she could at times be a braggart and overconfident at times, she none the less would face danger where ever it presented itself. And she would never let, as the young mare would say, "Never leave them hangin'!" "I hope that when the enemy presents itself she will be level headed and stand firm with resolve. I have no doubt that she will do fine, but it's obvious that she is scared. Don't worry my little dashie, all will be fine." Turning to the young fashionista, Princess Celestia was impressed at how the overly immaculate mare was holding up. Princess Celestia was very much aware of Rarity's disdain for dirtiness, but despite the environment around her, she too stood strong while maintaining elegance at the same time. Princess Celestia also remembered how Rarity was able to handle her self during her brief capture by the Diamond Dog gang and how she was able outwit her canine captors. Suppressing a giggle, Celestia also remembered her generosity towards others. "Always generous to others more needy while maintaining class. And she is grateful when others show the same towards her...sometimes a little too much." Princess Celestia immediately remembered the awkward hoof kissing a few months ago when she stayed as a guest at the castle. She never had met a guest that show that much gratitude before but it was nice that it was appreciated nonetheless. At the thought of generosity, Princess Celestia remembered how Twilight Sparkle pointed out Apple Bloom's new mane bow. This strange being known as Konrad had given it to her and that much was obvious. "Why would he give her a new mane bow? It's not exactly a thing anypony must have, but it's very contradicting of the horrible being we've heard all night about. If he was generous to give the young filly such a thing, what else is he capable of? Perhaps Twilight was indeed right, there must be more than meets the eye with him, but I still can't ignore his actions towards Shining Armor." Satisfied that Rarity was holding up, Princess Celestia turned to check on Apple Jack. The country mare had a stern look on her face, no doubt ready to coral those that harmed Apple Bloom The Princess could only feel sympathy for the honest country mare as she too almost lost her sister earlier in the night. That did not excuse her attitude towards her friend Twilight Sparkle, however, and it was certainly just as much as lesson for her as it was for Apple Jack. "It is good that she is honest about her feelings and is willing to put her stubbornness aside to do the right thing. I can't believe that I almost considered casting this Konrad into stone without knowing the whole truth. I hope to find the truth just as Apple Jack is. It's also good that we have an honest pony among us." After Princess Celestia was satisfied that Apple Jack was holding up just fine, she then turned to check up on Pinkie Pie. The mare had ceased hopping as soon as the air got colder, and more ominous, possibly getting to the cheerful mare. This wasn't the case as she began to hum a common tune that was popular among everypony, clearly showing that she wasn't fazed in the slightest. While the Princess was glad that Pinkie Pie was able to see good and bring laughter to everypony, there were times where she just couldn't understand the over energetic mare. "Her so called Pinkie Sense for one, but then again somethings are better off not understood. It's actually wonderful gift and if it protects others from harm, then party on Pinkie Pie! Speaking of parties, I wonder if Luna will be up for the Celebration tomorrow night. If not, then she doesn't have too. I just want her to be safe and happy, but I will make a note to get her some of that moon cake. I wonder if Pinkie Pie had a hoof in it?" Despite being a little silly and confusing at times, Princess Celestia was glad to see such a pony capable of bringing laughter to others and had done so to the Princess several times. She was a true bringer of laughter, worthy of the Element she wore. In fact all of them were worthy of the Elements of Harmony and together they would vanquish this foe that foolishly threatened and brought harm to her subjects. Never before had Celestia or anypony for that matter had ever seen such horror before, especially one that was thought to be a myth. Princess Celestia wasn't sure how she would have reacted should Luna, Twilight Sparkle, or Apple Bloom had become one of those vile creatures of evil. It certainly would have scarred her for the rest of her immortal life, and she was very grateful that it had not come to that. She would make sure that nopony else would suffer a terrible at the hooves of the zombie ponies, even if she had to sacrifice herself to do so. "Hopefully it won't come to that, but if it means protecting my subjects from then so be it. I know we are close to them, I can feel my coat starting to raise." And to confirm her suspicion, Pinkie Pie went into a frenzy of involuntary body movements which caught the attention of everypony. "OH NO! NO NO NO NO NO!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she did numerous backflips along with a twitchy tail and flapping ears. "What is it Pinkie Pie!?" asked Rainbow Dash as she flew over to her friend. "A DOOZY! A MAJOR WOOZY DOOZY!!" shouted Pinkie Pie as she did a major back flip before stopping. Everypony went into alert mode as the Spartrota Guards raised their polearms ready for anything. The Element Bearers huddled together and stayed near Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia gave orders to the guards as she extended her wings and readied her horn for any attack spell should the need arise, "Stay alert my Guards, the enemy is near us! Do not hesitate to use lethal force if necessary!" All of the Guards nodded in acknowledgement, gripping their polearms, as well as a few unicorn guards readied their own horns. Several of the Pegasi guards extended their wing blades open as well to prevent any foe that attempted to break up their ranks and get to the Element Bearers and Princess Celestia. Everypony was nervous, especially Fluttershy, but they held together for what seemed like an eternity. Nopony said anything as there was nothing but cold air around them attempting to chill fear into their hearts. This went on for another tens seconds before something extremely weird and very disturbing happened. The ground started to glow dark red, the plant life started to turn a dark shade of black, and a rusting sound was heard up ahead. Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! "HALT!" Shouted Vigilant Sight," in the name of her majesty Princess Celestia, identify yourself!" Princess Celestia used her horn to shine some light ahead for everypony to see and a dark silhouette of a pony was seen in front of everypony. It did not respond or move at all as it just stood there waiting for something. Nopony was able to make out the gender of the pony and nopony was willing to step forward to find out. Princess Celestia's heart was starting to pump with adrenaline, perhaps even stronger then when she had faced Queen Chrysalis. The memories of her parents telling her and Luna the horrible tales of the Blood Hooves during her young filly days came surging through her head, fully remembering every detail of the myth. And here she was, quite possibly staring at one of them. Despite her fear of the myth, she stood firm determined to protect her subjects. The Elements of Harmony bearers weren't doing any better than Princess Celestia, with Rainbow Dash sporting the palest face a pony could ever have. Not even Pinkie Pie could find the courage to make funny faces towards the pony in front of her and the thought of making a new friend was simply impossible for the friendly earth pony. After several more seconds of silence, the creature in question spoke up with the coldest and frightening voice she had ever heard. "Hello my friends! What brings you to our lovely town I might ask?" The being in question was no doubt a stallion, and a very creepy one at that. Vigilant Sight snorted in anger and replied, "I will not ask again! Who are you and where are you from!?" "Oh my name? Perhaps I should ask yours instead. You know it's not nice point dangerous weapons towards anypony. Somepony could get hurt." Princess Celestia could not tolerate this stallion's creepy attitude, and demanded him to answer her personally. "My name is Princess Celestia, and I do not appreciate your attitude. If you fail answer the question, we will take you into custody, and I will have you locked away in a dungeon for as long as I deem necessary." "And she'll banish you at the same time too!" said Fluttershy. "Fluttershy.." "Oh um sorry Princess." said Fluttershy. The stallion in front just merely chuckled and it did nothing but rub everypony the wrong way. When the strange stallion stopped laughing he spoke back up as more rustling sounds were heard coming from behind him. Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! This served to only create an ever bigger source tension among the Guards, Element Bearers, and Princess Celestia herself. "Dungeon? Oh please don't be like that! We have a party going on right, and you're all invited! And-" "OHH! A PARTY?! I like parties and do have cake too?" "Pinkie Pie! Can't you see this guy's a jerk? Geez!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "Now, now, we can't have that attitude, especially one that had a cursed mark on their flank." This caused Rainbow Dash to fly right over to the pony in question effectively breaking away from the group. "Rainbow Dash! Get back here! I know that type of voice, it's a-" "Alright bub! Just who do you think you are to call my cutie mark a cursed...." Rainbow Dash's eyes went as wide as they could and her face went extremely pale, almost to the point where it matched Rarity's coat. Right before her eyes was a bloody rotten stallion with no eyes at all in his sockets. All of a sudden his eyes glowed a bright red, and everypony gasped in shock at the sight before them. "WWAAAAAOOOHHHH!! BLOOD HOOF!" screamed Rainbow Dash as she flew back to the group with a speed that nopony had ever seen her fly before. Everypony immediately went into a combat stance, readied all of their weapons as several vices called out to them. "Don't be like that!" said a creepy mare's voice with a pair of eyes glowing up next to him. Another Blood Hoof appear next to his right side before another voice spoke up too. "We only want to protect you from those marks!" said a Blood Hoof Stallion now showing up on his left side. Every new voice that spoke up, a pair of red eyes would appear as well, effectively chilling everypony to the bone. "We only want friendship." "And have fun-" "with all of you-" "you'll never suffer like the other marked one-' Then a complete chorus of voices spoke up at once with a dead droning tone carrying though the dark forest. "FOREVER!" Then all of the eyes began to move forward towards the line of guards, intent of converting not only them, but Element Bearers and Princess Celestia. Rarity let out a loud scream in terror, Rainbow Dash's face was still pale, Apple Jack's mouth was opened in shock, Pinkie Pie looked like she was about to cry, Fluttershy merely shouted "EEEEK!!" while Twilight Sparkle looked to her mentor for answers. Before Celestia could react, Pinkie Pie did a major backflip in the air catching the attention of everypony, even the Blood Hooves themselves. "A goodie boom boom is on the way!" shouted Pinkie Pie. And echo of booms could be heard coming from the area behind the line of Blood Hooves and that caught the attention everypony. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! "Yea! He's here and he's stopping the baddie zombies!" "You mean that Konrad guys is close by?!" asked Twilight Sparkle while keeping her eyes on the Blood Hooves. "Of course silly filly! But he needs our help too!" "GUARDS!" shouted Princess Celestia in her Canterlot voice, "DESTROY THESE FOUL CREATURES! GIRLS STAY CLOSE TO ME BE READY TO USE THE ELEMENTS ON MY COMMAND! THIS ENDS NOW!" Normally everypony was nervous when the Royal Canterlot voice was used, as evidenced by Princess Luna's usage. This time however, it had the complete opposite effect as it served no only to rally the guards but it served to bolster the resolve of the Element Bearers. "Right with ya your highness!" shouted Apple Jack. "Time to kick zombie plot!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "I won't let those meanies hurt my friends! Time to be assertive" spoke Fluttershy. "Yeah, no more meanie beanie zombies!" shouted Pinkie Pie. "This is totally unlady like but I'm going to rip their heads off!" shouted Rarity. "Together we can stop anything!" shouted Twilight Sparkle. "I'm proud of all of you. NOW TO END THIS MADNESS!" Princess Celestia then shouted, "CHARGE THEM NOW!" "THIS IS SPARTROTA!" shouted all of the Elite Guards as they reared on their hind legs in unison before running towards the enemy. And so it began with a shot heard around Everfree Forest as the Battle of the Blanks had begun.