//------------------------------// // Chapter 91: Selection // Story: The Reader // by GnollReader //------------------------------// "You want what?" Berryshakes tilted her head in confusion. Around her, those ponies that hadn't met the gnoll yet looked around themselves nervously. "Out. Gnoll wants ponies to leave. Now." Scar set down his maul with an audible thump, making several ponies shudder. "But princess Luna said we should meet here!" Berryshakes tried to argue with him. Something about his mood unnerved her. She had seen him angry before, but she had never been the object of his anger and it was definitely something else when the gnoll wasn't staring down rats or diamond dogs but them instead. "Scar doesn't care. Ponies leave now or it makes them leave." the gnoll lifted his lip, exposing his front teeth to them. In the back, a few ponies already started to retreat towards the door with worried looks on their faces. "But the princess said..." "Scar doesn't care what Lulu said." the gnoll interrupted her. His eye narrowed, "Scar has no patience today." "But..." "Listen, Berryshakes. Scar hates to repeat itself..." a soft grumble escaped the gnoll's throat as he lifted the maul a few inches off the floor, "Scar and Purple Haze work hard, and deserve some peace." the maul dropped onto the floor with a loud thump, making the ponies shudder on their hooves. "Scar hasn't had enough sleep..." the maul dropped onto the floor again, "Ponies disturb Twilight." again, the maul dropped onto the floor. The gnoll stepped closer to Berryshakes, "And what is even worse..." his brow furrowed, "Ponies step on books!" this time, the maul actually cracked the floor when the gnoll set it down once more. The first ponies took it as a cue to leave. Berryshakes frantically tried to come up with a solution. Marshall Purple Haze would probably have been able to calm him down, but she was still upstairs. The gnoll really did seem in a bad mood, and Twilight had been nodding the whole time as he had counted down what angered him. She looked around herself and at the concerned faces of the remaining guards, they had come for an audition, not to be mauled by the... she froze, and a smirk crossed her features. "This is a test, isn't it?" The gnoll raised an eyebrow, "Test?" "You're trying to scare us to see which one of us has guts, aren't you?" behind her, several guards took up on the idea, determination replacing the worry on their faces. Berryshakes put her hoof down defiantly, "Well, we're not leaving!" she smirked, "And I know that you would never hurt a pony!" behind her smile, she silently prayed that she wasn't wrong. Scar stared at her and the remaining guards for a lingering moment, were they really thinking this was some kind of game? He didn't want to be feared by the ponies, but he was no pup either... "Twilight." he spoke up without looking away from Berryshakes. "Yes?" "Can Twilight do tag spell?" Twilight tilted her head, "Sure I can, but why would you..." a small, mischievous smile spread her lips. Ever since Purple Haze had told her about it, she had been craving for a chance to try it out herself. Her smile faltered though, as she realized a small problem, "I can't. Tag doesn't even respond to my spells." "Mmmm..." the gnoll thought for a moment, "Tag?" "Yes, master?" save for a few, most of the guards' eyes became big as the realized that a voice was coming from the maul. "Let Twilight do tag spell." the gnoll said with an even voice. While most ponies' faces only showed confusion, Berryshakes' face started to become pale. She had heard of the story. But it couldn't be true... surely Purple Haze would never have agreed to something so... and the gnoll... sweat started to form on her forehead as she realized what was about to happen. "I see... Very well then, mon amour. Let's have that spell so I can finally get to work!" "You can decide on that?!" Twilight asked with a frown before her horn lit up, "We'll have a talk about that later, you hear me?" she cast the maul an annoyed glare, "Wait... where do you want them to end up?" A toothy grin appeared on Scar's face, making the guards present shudder in their hooves as they saw his teeth, "It has just the place in mind..." "Alright, but no wrecking the library." Twilight's horn started to glow, "I just got finished cleaning up down here!" --- Sleep. Beautiful, relaxing sleep. It was Luna's favorite time of day. After her duties of the night, a good breakfast and the mind-numbing hearings and councils of the morning, she craved nothing more than her bed. The deity of the moon cuddled herself deeper into her countless cushions, enjoying the velvety feel of her luxurious bed. This was her moment of peace, her moment of rejuvenation. Her guards would not dare disturb her sleep, and even her sister knew how much she needed to rest at this time of day. Luna's happy dreams came to an abrupt end though, as a loud puff sounded above her, followed by a yelp and something heavy landing on top of her. "Who dares interrupt my sleep?!" Luna's head shot up from under her covers, but before she could make sense of the situation, another puff could be heard, something landing on her head a moment after. Then, another puff sounded... followed by another... and another... --- Celestia looked up from her cup of tea with worry, whatever was going on in Luna's room? Until a moment ago, everything had been peaceful and quiet, but then, strange noises could be heard through the doors. At first they sounded like popping balloons, then there were yelps, followed by shouts, groans and even louder shouts that only her sister was capable of. She stood up and headed for the doors, hearing Luna on the other side. "Get off of me at once! What are you..." Another puff could be heard, followed by a groan, "Sweet Celestia, that hurt..." Celestia opened the door, her thoughts full of concern for her sister, but all coming to a halt as she saw the scene before her. There, on Luna's bed, at least a good dozen guards were piled up in a groaning and disorganized heap. Dented helms and chest plates hanging loosely from them. Beneath the guards, and struggling wildly to escape the pile, she spotted a shouting and huffing Luna. "Sister?" Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow, making Luna freeze, "May I ask, what it is you are doing with those guards... in your bed?" "I am not doing anything!" Luna shouted with red cheeks. "I can't feel my head..." a guard from the lower part of the pile groaned. Another puff sounded through Luna's room, and another guard fell onto the squirming pile, making Luna's eyes bulge under the weight. --- In the Ponyville library, five heavily-breathing guards remained, taking cover and hiding behind shelves and furniture, waiting for the gnoll to make his next pick and for them to jump to another cover. "Let's see now... Who should be next? Eeny meeny miny moe... Catch a pony by its toe..." "We don't even have toes!" Berryshakes shouted from behind a couch, losing her common sense under the maul's ceaseless blabbering for a second. "And we have a winner!" Berryshakes swallowed hard, this was not what she had been expecting this day to turn out at all. But getting tagged was out of the question at this point. Princess Luna was still way more scary than the gnoll when she was angry enough, and Berryshakes was sure that she would be very, very angry by now.