//------------------------------// // The party just got real. Part 2. // Story: Battle of the Blanks // by HumanSVD //------------------------------// As the events in Everfree Forest were coming to a climax, a certain pair of individuals were watching the event unfold very closely. It had been a long time before a suitable candidate had been found to take care of the infestation. Evil was everywhere, all day everyday and it was their job to make sure it wouldn't spread as well. Of course time had no meaning to them, but being assigned to a living human being meant they could not interfere unless approved or ordered to. Due to these reasons, the being that had watched over Konrad since birth was nervous. It was very hard to not be attached to an assigned one, however it was part of the job and it was very rewarding when the assigned individual flourished into a being of good. Out of all the beings that he had been assigned, Konrad was the most interesting which made the situation he was in even more worrisome. "Are you alright?" said the companion. "Nervous. He's my whole work, and I'm afraid he won't make it." it replied. The companion did not speak for awhile as they observed Konrad, Ruby, and Mitta were conversing with one another in cabin. The companion observed Konrad give an explanation on the his plan to take down Sunny Town, before speaking back up. "I see...No matter how long you do this, it never gets easy to see them endangered, especially the good ones." "No it doesn't. I feel bad that I left him there with no explanation at all. I feel like I aband-" The companion suddenly interrupted, "Stop that right now! You did what you had to do and there's nothing else you could have done for him. Besides, he's done just fine this far. You guided him through one of the most confusing and dangerous moments of his life, most others would have freaked out beyond sanity." The being that was the overseer of Konrad sighed before speaking back up. "Yes, I suppose you are right about that....what an annoying trait you have." "You mean all of us have right?" "Yeah, you're...Hey! Stop that!" "Stop what?" "Being right!" The companion laughed before speaking back to Konrad's overseer. "Well I wouldn't be good at my job if wasn't right, and neither would you or any of us really. I mean, who else is going to be the conscience for them?" "Not the evil ones that's for sure....I know that dirty thing is down there corrupting all of them with his copy cat phrases and sinister meddling." "Don't worry, he won't be for long. Princess Celestia's forces are getting very close....heh Spartrota Unit." "HA! I know right? Reading Konrad's mind was hilarious when he heard that from Shining Armor. I swear, that's going to be with me forever. I'm very glad he didn't mess up by killing him." "Very true. It would have been a grand failure for him to fall at that moment." The overseer turned to the companion and said, "Grand failure? Why not epic fail?" "Tis a silly and grammatically incorrect phrase that we refuse to use!" replied the companion in a very Royal and upstanding tone. The overseer chuckled before responding, "I think you've been spending too much time around Princess Luna." "Well, you try watching her being stuck in a moon for over a thousand years!" "Yeah, I don't envy you on that front at all. It must have been very boring." The companion sighed before replying back in a very dull tone, "You have no idea." "Hehe, we'll having to watch an individual in a very interesting universe is always...well interesting." The companion turned towards Konrad's Overseer and gave him a look of "Really?". The Overseer gave the companion a silly smile before they both turned their attention back to the scene in front the them. Mitta was currently ripping off the fallen Blood Hoof Mare's hooves for her own replacements causing Konrad's face to turned green. He looked away from the gross sight as his overseer gave sympathy to him. "Oh Konrad, I feel bad for you......but don't puke like you did earlier!" "Or like Luna did." "Now that was funny. Good thing he had that puke bag, otherwise it would have been a bad date!" The Overseer laughed like crazy while the Companion looked at him with an angry glare. "Hmph! That was NOT funny!" Recovering from laughter, Konrad's Overseer replied, "Oh it was funny and you know it, though it was good save that he pulled off. You do have to admit that." "Yeah, I agree. I really liked how they blushed at each other after that. I think they'll do just...fine...oh no you don't Miss Ruby!" Both of them turned to see that Ruby was wrapping her forelegs around Konrad and nuzzling his neck to comfort him. Her eyes were completely focused on him, not turning away for anything in the world. Konrad's eyes opened up and saw the sight of Ruby staring at him. It was quite obvious she was making her move, something the Overseer of Luna did not like. "NO! NO! NO! I worked too hard to push Luna towards someone good enough for her! Don't pick her Konrad!" "Ah, a team Luna member I see. By the way how is she holding up?" chuckled Konrad's Overseer." "Still in the Hostpital taking care of Apple Bloom in her dreams and wishing Konrad was with her. And course I'm on "Team" Luna! I watched her grow from birth for crying out loud! It's not her fault all of her suitors were really bad Stallions! So yeah, I am on Luna's side. Oh c'mon Konrad, don't let her kiss you!" As Ruby was making her move, Konrad just continued to stand there watching Ruby's lips get closer and closer until he interrupted her. After telling her to hold off about romance for later, Luna's Overseer gave a sigh of relief. "Phew! That was close! I thought all my work would get shot down right there." "What makes you think it hasn't been?" Luna's Overseer looked at Konrad's Overseer with eyes wide open. "Wait a second....What?!" "Heh, I already know who he picked." "Tell me! I need to know NOW! Oh no, he didn't pick Ruby did he?! Dang it! I mean, c'mon already! He's got a beautiful Princess that wants him for crying out loud! Granted she's a pony and he's a human but I know it can work out. "Well, good thing he's open to interspecies relationships, granted they're female and compatible enough." "Ugh, doesn't he like those other females called Quarry, Quaren, Querey..." "Quarians, and yes he does like them." "Why? Don't they live in suits and what not? Never seen on before really other than what you told me earlier." "Yeah, they do, and he likes them why? Two words...Dem Hips!" "Pft! If I have anything to do about it, he's going to like plots! More specifically Luna's Plot. I mean, she comes with so many benefits, he'd be stupid not to take her! The only thing Ruby has to offer is baggage of a zombie mother and the inability to leave the forest." "Well then, you'll just have to wait and see!" "That's not fair! C'mon just tell me already! It's not fair that I can only read Luna's mind!" "That's right, you can only read your assigned one's mind, and boy has he picked a good one who is....nah you'll just wait and see." "AAGGGH! Fine I'll wait. Hey, where's Ruby's overseer?" "Same thing we are doing, watching from a distance. You'd think others on our side would be more open to being friends, but I guess some just want to be loners." "Going to have to open up soon, I mean Ruby's is a volunteer for this job. Don't know why though." "Not sure but unless her overseer comes out and talks with us, we aren't going to know anything about it. Weird how that works right? "I know right? Wait a minute what's your assignment doing?" Konrad's Overseer saw the young man walk towards the severed head of the fallen Blood Hoof Mare which was near Ruby's skeleton. He just stared at the fire place for a bit before raising his leg and stomping his boot down on the head with extreme force. It smashed like a watermelon with bits and pieces of flesh and bone strewn all over the place. "Wow, I guess he's mad." "He just saw Ruby's remains and you are right, he really is mad. I'd hate to a be a Blank or Blood Hoof right now." Konrad then walked towards door, speaking to the mares. He raised his gun towards the door and opened it with his gun aiming for any threat. Mitta and Ruby followed close by as they slowly made their way towards Sunny Town. If Konrad's Overseer wasn't worried already, he definitely was now. Luna's Overseer then asked, "Wait a minute, what if he dies?! You worked so hard to help him and I want him to survive too! Princess Luna needs her knight! We need to help him." Konrad's Overseer replied in a worried tone, but did his best to refuse intervention. It was after all against the rules, several of which they already broke so far. "We can't, that's going to far." "What do you mean we can't?! Look at what we've done so far! Heck, he almost died earlier, several times in fact and now we are just realizing the big what ifs?! Oh great, we've become too attached to see the bigger picture! Imagine the bigger trouble we'll get into if he dies in Equestria and not his own home!" "He won't die! Looks he's got three guns, two mares, and an army to help even the odds...and-" As they both observed Konrad, Ruby, and Mitta walk forward, several Blood Hooves appeared with Gray Hoof in the center. There was something incredibly different with Gray Hoof compared to the others, and both Overseers could tell immediately what was wrong. It was the Evil that was their sworn enemy, and both Konrad and Luna's Overseers had dealt with this specific Evil Entity before. Not wanting Konrad to perish, and more specifically not want to feel the repercussions of Konrad dying away from his home, his Overseer immediately came to a conclusion. "Now that I think about it he may need a tiny little bit help. We only got one problem though." "What?!" "If I go down there it will attract a lot of attention from the higher ups and our plan will get busted, more specifically us!" "Well, if he dies we will get busted! Can't you think of anything?!" Konrad's Overseer began to think of some options but all of them would have resulted them being caught. That is until one idea popped into his mind. It was definitely a cop out plan, but it was a plan nonetheless. "Okay, I got something, but I'm going to wait until the perfect opportunity. I just hope he doesn't die before I can do it. I'm starting to think this was all a bad idea." "Me too, but we'll just have to work with what we got...oh no! Look!" Several of the Blood Hooves ran towards Konrad as he began to fire at them. Both of the Overseers could do nothing but watch until the moment when they could intervene with the least chance of getting caught. Glued to the sight before them, they watched as close as they could without intervention. And what folded before them was certainly a sight to watch. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Konrad stood in front of Gray Hoof, the mastermind of Ruby's murder and architect of Sunny Town's Blood Hoof Herd. The Story of the Blanks game had portrayed him as a creepy and fast enemy, something Konrad hoped would not be the case in this otherworldly encounter. When Konrad had played the game, he was cursed by him numerous times and when he finally escaped Gray Hoof in the game, he celebrated by giving him the finger towards his computer screen. Unfortunately for Konrad, the game's portrayal of the villain was nowhere close to the real undead pony before him. "I can't believe I'm standing before Gray Hoof and holy shit this is creepy as fuck! I can't wait to blow his head off right now, but there's seven total. I'll have to blast them pretty fast and precise if I want to kill them all. I wish my gun was fully automatic. Now why the hell is there a black haze around him?" Konrad kept his AKM aimed at Gray Hoof's head who showed no ounce of fear. This caused a bead of sweat to drop from his head and down towards his neck. Not wanting to show fear, Konrad responded to Gray Hoof with as much defiance as he could muster. "Oh, you want to chat do you? Do you have punch by any chance? Because I'm VERY thirsty." Gray Hoof's eyes darkened considerably before turning back to their normal red haze. Konrad knew he had struck a nerve and smirked at his little jab towards the Blank Leader. Gray Hoof simply smiled in return and responded, "Why yes, we most certainly do but we it's been removed until further notice. There seems to a bit of a problem with it. You wouldn't happen to know why right?" Konrad gave Gray Hoof a slight grin before responding in an innocent tone while rolling his eyes, "Oh I don't know....well maybe. Was it in a glass bowl by any chance?" Gray Hoof's eyes narrowed as well as his backup Blood Hooves. The young man knew he was pushing the Blank Leaders buttons and as far as he was concerned, he was going to hold it down as much as he could. Gray Hoof spoke back to Konrad with a tone that clearly indicated that his patience was being pressed to the max, just as he intended. "Yes, as matter of fact. Would you kindly tell me more?" "So you want to know more eh? Sure I'll tell you!" "Sure thing bitch! You see when I came to your crappy ass town, I thought the bowl on the ground was the community comode, so I did my business in it. I'm SO very sorry about that, it was an honest mistake really. I hope nopony actually drank it." His jab towards Gray Hoof caused Ruby and Mitta to giggle like little fillies. Konrad chuckled a bit too but otherwise kept his focus on Gray Hoof. It would have been for a more funny moment had it not been for the fact that they had a whole village of zombies to face. They were already outnumbered 7 to 3 already, and had it not been for his guns, they probably would have been attacked already. Gray Hoof's face contorted into scrunched expression of rage before returning to the calm and collected leader that he usually was. "I find it hard to believe you could not tell the difference between a punch bowl and a device for bodily relief." "Just call it for what it is you cliche piece of shit with cliche villian voice! A fucking toilet!" "Well in my defense that bowl had so much shitty stuff in it that it was kinda hard to not mistake it for a punch bowl. Buuuut in the end it doesn't matter now does it? It still would have tasted like shit." Ruby and Mitta were laughing really hard while the Blood Hooves near Gray Hoof were growling very similar to Timberwolves. Had it not been for Gray Hoof holding his right hoof up in the air to calm them down, Konrad was sure they would have rushed them right there. Gray Hoof continued to stare at Konrad very hard, and this sent chills down his spine. He definitely did not want to become on of them, and he was sure a simple tag wouldn't be the way he would go down as it was in the game. "Woah! That's creepy. At least Apple Bloom isn't here. I'm she and Luna are okay. Now what is Gray Hoof going to say?" "Unless you've tried it Konrad, you have no right to talk about Three Leaf's creation like that." "Course I can! I'm a free man and I can do whatever I want. And Three Leaf can cry me a river, but if she did that she would die. Just like your friends from earlier!" Gray Hoof didn't respond to his jab at Three Leaf or his insult to those that died for a good 10 seconds. Holding his grip on the AKM as tight as ever, Konrad was trying to formulate a plan to take all 7 out as fast as he could. He was pretty confident he could kill all of them, but he couldn't but help get this bad feeling out of his mind as that something wasn't right. Unable to see or figure out what it was, he continued to stand his ground with Ruby and Mitta. After quiet with an exception of a few snorts from his sidekicks, Gray Hoof finally spoke up. "Yes, our friends that we care for so much. You really didn't have to do that you know." Konrad gave Gray Hoof a look of "WTF!?" before Ruby stepped in on the conversation. "You mean like murdering me? Some friendship you showed me! This is nothing more than sick twisted way of trying to relive the past Gray Hoof!" "Tell it like it is Ruby!" replied Konrad. Konrad gave Ruby a quick smile before turning his attention back to Gray Hoof. Ruby saw this and smiled as well while Mitta refused to divert her attention from the enemies before them. Two of the Blood Hooves on Gray Hoof's right were eying Ruby with murderous intent, while the others kept their eyes on Konrad, including Gray Hoof. As the exchange of smiles was concluded, Gray Hoof jumped back into the conversation and tried his very best to plead his case for Konrad. "You don't understand Konrad. We didn't want to do that, but seeing as how she would not leave, that "filth" over there posed a great threat to our town. We did what was best to stop the situation. While I was initially content to let her leave I also realized that she posed a threat to other towns. I did what was necessary." Ruby snorted in anger and and reared back while rolling her forelegs. Konrad knew she was going to charge Gray Hoof, but was stopped by Mitta before she could do anything rash. "No my daughter, hold the line!" shouted Mitta. Not taking her eyes of Gray Hoof, Ruby slowly returned to all fours. Her eyes glowed a very dark yellow color similar to when the Blood Hooves, something thought Konrad was cute. If there weren't any Blood Hooves nearby, he'd probably tease her a bit. Sweat was starting to collect on Konrad's forehead, and as much as he wanted to wipe it off he simply could not afford to lose his aim. Konrad responding to Gray Hoof's reason with disgust, he began a poke holes in his reasoning as best as he could. "Yeah, because a magnifying glass is REALLY going to hurt you and everypony." "The strange disease from my-" "-Great grandpa's time, strange marks, they couldn't control themselves, yadda yadda blah blah. Ruby told me all about that and everything else you sick fuckers did. I have to say, I've never met a bunch of crazies like you in my entire life. If you ask me Grandpa went past his mental expiration date. I guess it must run in the family since you went insane so freaking early." The Blood Hooves right next to Gray Hoof took notice of his low growl, something that was even more creepy than Mitta's growl. There was true loathing coming from the leader being projected towards Konrad and a slight black haze thickened around the area near him. The Blood Hooves gave themselves little bit of breathing room between them and their leader, while Konrad had no idea what to make of the strange haze. To the young human, it looked like it was part of some strange thing coming from a movie. '"Okay, that is creepy as hell, as if this whole night wasn't creepy and fucked up enough beyond all reason. Screw it, might as well go all in." In a voice that was the epitome of evil, Gray Hoof glared at Konrad while showing his sharp bloody pony teeth. If getting bit by a regular horse was bad, Gray Hoof's was definitely going to be worse. "How dare you speak of my Grandpa that way! He was a very wise and caring stallion for his fellow friends! That disease Ruby had would have spread! Don't you understand that? How would you like it if your friends and family were forced to do things against their will and were unable to live?" "Oh, you mean like killing ponies and forcing them to become undead against their will? You mean like that?" Gray Hoof did not respond to Konrad at all, instead he looked dumbfounded at Konrad's logic. The leader hadn't even really seen the similarities of the their fear of the disease, and how it was shockingly worse than his Grandfather's tale. The other Blood Hooves stare at their leader hoping for him to correct the human's comparison. What they saw was something unbecoming of their leader. Gray Hoof suddenly kept murmuring "No no no no" while Ruby whispered to Konrad and Mitta, "Konrad, your the only pony that's shown him how wrong he was all those years ago and stood up to him no matter what. Thank you for standing up to him for me. I will always be yours forever." "Heh, she called me a pony! That's cute, and forever?! Wow, that's just wow!" Ruby got close towards Konrad making sure his right side would not be vulnerable to a surprise attack. Mitta noticed this and did the same as well while whispering, "D'awww! My widdle Wuby is in love! I know you'll be a good husband to her Konrad." "Mom!" whispered an embarrassed Ruby. Both of the mares turned their attention back to Gray Hoof and his Blood Hooves while Konrad was left in the middle of the mares with a big red face. Apparently, it had already been decided that Mitta fully supported Konrad marrying Ruby and having foals with her. He never felt more awkward and embarrassed before in his life. Then Gray Hoof stopped his miniature freakout as he ceased shaking his head back and forth and stared right back at Konrad with the same evil smile/ "So your fully willing to believe the lies from the cursed one are you? The one who would have destroyed us all-" "That's it, I'm tired of the same fucking reconding coming from this guy! It's like replaying the same lines from them in the game hoping for them to say something else!" "OH MY FUCKING GOD! IT THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!" shouted Konrad. Using a very goofy yet similar voice, Konrad began to make fun of Gray Hoof by doing a very poor impression of him. "The one who would have destroyed us all, lies from the cursed one, Hi I'm Gray Hoof! The biggest moron to ever run a town! I only killed one mare so the rest could live because of a disease that my crazy grand daddy told me about-" "Silence! I will not have my wise grandfather belittled in such a manner!" "Why not? Did he actually say that those who were infected died?" asked Konrad. Gray Hoof was again taken aback at Konrad's question and from the look of confusion on his face, the young man could easily tell that the answer was a no. "The disease-" spoke Gray Hoof before Konrad interrupted. "I'll take that as a no, otherwise you would have flat out said yes. You see Gray Hoof, you panicked and in doing so viciously murdered a friend. Those from your grandpa's past didn't die, and neither he nor anypony else from his time bothered to see if they were still alive. They most likely moved to other towns and got help and were too saddened to come back. You fucked up big time, and now your all freaks forever!" Konrad then pointed at every undead pony in front of him. "I mean look at yourselves! No, this is not what a normal pony, or hell, any living being is supposed to look like. Good job Gray Hoof! What a wonderful crappy ass party you got going on." Gray Hoof began to twitch his left eye while the other Blood Hooves were looking at themselves reflecting on what they had become. Gray Hoof began to twitch a bit around his legs and head, and it was really a creepy sight to Konrad. This went on for a few more seconds until Gray Hoof ceased his twitchy tirade. The other Blood Hooves ceased looking at themselves and focused back on Konrad in unison. "Woah, they did that at the same time?! Fucking creepy! And Gray Hoof's head looks like it was going to pop off. Okay, what are you guys up to?" Instead, Gray Hoof began to laugh with pure insanity. He stepped for ward but stopped when Konrad shouted at him with the AKM still pointed at his head. "That's far enough!" Both Ruby and Mitta were ready to fight any stallion that was stupid enough to try and hurt Konrad. Gray Hoof stopped walking as Konrad ordered and began to laugh some more before ceasing with an ominous silence. He merely smiled at Konrad before he began to talk some more. "Oh you! You silly human. You really just will never understand will you?" "I understand that your fucking insane. What else is there to know?" "Well, I'm going to tell you what you need to know. You see, your not going to leave here alive. Your going to join our herd whether you like it or not." "No he's not Gray Hoof! You took my life and my mother away from me! You will NOT take him from me ever!" shouted Ruby. Gray Hoof turned his attention to Ruby and sported a look of disgust on his face towards her. Konrad was able to smell his stench from far away, as it drowned our Mitta's scent. If Konrad were to stay here any longer, he swore he would have the nose of a dog by night's end. Ruby stared at Gray Hoof with defiance and was ready to defend the man of her heart. Gray Hoof saw this and was not about to let an opportunity to rub salt in the wound go to waste. "So it IS true, he's chosen you to be his mate. How lovely that must be for you cursed one." "MY NAME IS RUBY! AT LEAST CALL ME BY MY REAL NAME YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Gray Hoof turned his attention to Mitta and said, "You have one more chance to change your mind Mitta. Kill Konrad, convert his body and leave your daughter's side. She's done nothing but try to ruin the party every year and she brought this human to hurt us! You don't want to hurt your real friends do you?" Mitta gave Gray Hoof a look of pure anger and said, "I'm going to enjoy watching Konrad blow your head off! You will leave my precious Ruby and my future Son in Law alone!" "D'awww! Mitta your not bad at all......wait, what?! Future Son in Law?! Again, when did this happen?!" "So you two are to be married? Wow, I guess Ruby is just desperate for anything that comes her cursed way. You could have done better Konrad, like that Princess for starters. It won't happen either way Ruby, you'll be forced to die over ad over again and this time, Konrad will be your executioner." "SHUT UP GRAY HOOF! JUST SHUT UP!" shouted Ruby who was shaking in anger while a few tears were pouring out of her eyes. "Oh I don't think so. You see, even if you somehow manage to survive this Konrad, you've got nowhere to go. I mean you do have a home to go to right?" "Shut the fuck up!" shouted Konrad. "No longer going to see your parents or other human again? Now who was the one who did that? Oh yes, I'll bet it was your precious Ruby." said Gray Hoof while taking yet another step. "I said shut the fuck up and don't take another step!" Gray Hoof again stopped moving forward as orders but continued to get into Konrad's skin as best as he could effectively doing the same thing that Konrad had done earlier. The young man's heart was pumping fast full of anger. "Now who is the one in denial? Ah yes it's you Konrad. Ruby stole you away from your home, fed you a story full of lies, made you fight her battle and stole your heart to do so. Is that a real friend?" "SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE FUCKETY FUCK UP!" shouted Konrad while nearly blowing out his vocal cords. Gray Hoof smiled at the human's outburst and continued to press it further. Konrad's finger was slowly starting to squeeze the trigger of the AKM and kept it aimed straight between Gray Hoof's eyes. "Oh Konrad, admit it! You have absolutely nothing to gain by standing with them. Blood Clop wants to hurt you but you don't have to worry about that! I can protect you and show you around the place! You've got so much to learn from me and so much you can teach us too! Think about it, you'll live forever and have fun forever!" "NO! FUCK YOU!" "No Konrad, you need my help and you need real friendship. You'll stay with us..." At that moment Gray Hoof's voice changed to a very creepy, and loud very familiar voice. "...FOREVER!!! Konrad couldn't take it anymore, and with that he decided to show it the best way he knew how. And that was a bullet to the face. "That's it! Eat-" "Konrad! Watch out!" shouted Ruby. As Konrad had his gun aimed at Gray Hoof, a Blood Hood had come out of nowhere to his right. It seemed that in his anger he failed to notice that Blood Hoof on from Gray Hoof's left side had broken the formation and took it upon himself to make a lung at Konrad. Just as she said earlier, Ruby stuck the stallion as hard as she could with a strong foreleg strike. A loud snap was heard and the Stallion's head twisted a round in an unnatural direction. SNAP! "Ha! Take that you....Konrad! His head didn't fly off! Something's wrong!" The stallion that whose head was struck corrected itself back into it's natural position. The stallion smiled and showed it's sharp pony teeth while laughing at Konrad. "Did you think it was going to be that easy Konrad? You can still give up. Protection from us is the best way to having fun forever." Konrad turned his AKM towards the next to Ruby and said, "My DICK is the best way to have fun!" Furious that Gray Hoof had tried to kill him with a sneak attack, Konrad pulled the trigger. A very bright flash was made as the gun recoiled back into Konrad's shoulder and a very loud noise was made. BOOM! Bits and pieces of flesh were splattered all over Konrad's face as well as Ruby's face too. The stallion's corpse collapsed on the ground lifeless as Ruby her up her fore hooves to her ears and shouted, "AAAHHH! My ears! Konrad watch out!" "Shoot them Konrad! Shoot them all!" shouted Mitta. Konrad didn't need to be told twice as the rest of the Blood Hooves charged towards them. Three of them went towards Konrad as the other remaining two went towards Ruby and Mitta separately. Konrad immediately raised his AKM and shot all three of them as fast as he could. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The first shot struck the Blood Hoof on the left as it entered his head and shattered the back of it. As the first Blood Hoof stumbled and fell on the ground, the second had tried duck low and continue moving forward. As good but futile attempt as it hit his neck and blew out his underbelly making a mess of guts and shattered bones. The third one had actually made it to Konrad as he stood on his rear legs preparing himself for a strong buck using his forelegs. The bullet had struck his neck and the neck was blown in half causing the head to lean to the side. The stallion's body fell forward onto Konrad causing the human to stumble back in struggle to regain his balance. "Shit shit! Gross gross! Stinks worse than Mitta! Don't want to fall down!" As Konrad was having the unwelcome waltz with the corpse, the Stallion that ran towards Ruby attempted to grab her mane. As he lunged towards Ruby using his teeth to grab her highlighted orange mane, she duck down and gave a quick buck to his pony forelegs. The stallion stumbled to the right giving Ruby an opening to hit him in the head. As usual, his head twisted backwards and attempted to correct itself, but Ruby did not stop. Normally this attack would give her an ample chance to run away but not this time as the Ghost Mare hit him again in the neck. The stallion lost his balance as he attempted to strike back at Ruby but having one's head in the wrong position made hoof and eye coordination impossible. As he fell on the ground, Ruby jumped on the Stallion and stuck his head numerous times with the loud sound of her hooves clopping violently against flesh and skull. CLOP! CLOP! CLOP! CLOP! "Do you like it?! Want some moar?! Take it you bastard!" The Blood Hoof tried to scream in fear but the sound and force of Ruby's hooves made it impossible. As Ruby continued to unleash her pent up rage, Mitta dealt with the stallion her own way. "So you think you can take me you little foal? I'll show you the wrath of a furious mother!" "Traitor!" shouted the Blood Hoof Stallion. He too attempted the same attack as the stallion that attacked Ruby, but Mitta was true to her word about her wrath. As the stallion lunged for her mane, she bucked him stronger than Ruby did with her attacker. After using her honed skills over the years as a zombie, Mitta performed an expert buck with her stronger back legs causing the Stallion's head to snap backwards. Aware of the the response time the Blood Hooves had in body fracture corrections, Mitta then bucked the stallion again in the neck and in the chest as the stallion had reared up from her previous attack. He flew onto the ground from the shear forced expended from her legs and landed on his back as Mitta wasted no time in jumping onto him. As his head was attempted to correct itself, she opened her mouth and bit down on his neck devouring the bodily portion that attached his head and body. The stallion screamed for about three to five seconds before his voice devolved into nothing more than loud gurgles. Mitta bit and chewed on the stallion's neck with a vicious speed and soon his head was severed and rolled onto the ground with the glowing eyes fading into nothingness. As Konrad threw the Stallion off himself, Ruby ceased pounding her attacker to death leaving nothing but a mush of flesh and crushed bones. Konrad took aim at Gray Hoof only to notice that he wasn't around anymore. "Huh, most likely ran back into the town. Fucking pshyco coward! And...holy shit!" Konrad had taken notice of Ruby's attack on the stallion's head and was shocked at what he saw. Ruby had smashed his head into a bloody pulp and he could see her breathing heavily as she stood next to her attacker. If there was never a moment where he thought she was awesome, it was now. He put his hand on her back causing her to jump but instantly calmed down as she recognized the touch of his fingers. To her, they were pure bliss and to Konrad it was the same. He realized that touching ponies was really something he liked. It felt weird in away that it was kinda similar to touching an animal yet she wasn't at the same time. It felt more natural to him and he as glad to give Ruby some comfort in her time of stress. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, and he felt compelled to giver her a hug. Recognizing his offer, Ruby stood on her hind legs and wrapped her forelegs around him. She buried her muzzle in his neck and continued to cry. As she cried, Ruby squeezed her grip on him tighter, not wanting to let him go for anything in the world. She loved his touch and felt guilty for pulling away from his world. "I'm ss-sorry for taking you away *sniff* from your home! *sniff* I'm so sorry, so-" Konrad put his right hand on the back of her head and stroked her mane down to her neck several times while saying, "Shhh...It's okay. I already said I forgive you. I'm not mad at you. Don't listen to him anymore you got that?" Ruby didn't say anything to him other than nod her head up and down on his neck. The feeling of her muzzle was slightly ticklish but other wise a great sensation. As they let go from their embrace both turned to notice Mitta smiling at them, causing both to blush in embarrassment. As Ruby turned her head away from Mitta, Konrad took notice of Mitta's work done on her attacker. He could clearly see the bite marks on the Blood Hoove's head and his jaw lowered in shock. Wondering where the head went, he notice it right between his legs, staring right at him. Creeped out, he kicked it away as if it was a football. The head went flying in the thick brush of forest creating a blood splatters all over the place. As the head was gone, Konrad looked at Mitta and said, "So that's what you were trying to do to me earlier! Remind me never to piss you off ever again." "Treat my daughter like the treasure she is and I won't." smiled Mitta with a bloody set of teeth. "What?! MOM! You tried to hurt him?! Why?!" shouted Ruby. Konrad stepped in between Mitta and Ruby not wanting an argument to break out. "It's okay, Ruby. Your mom that I had a disagreement and some...regretful things happened before you came to Roneo's house. But that's all behind us now, so promise me you'll drop it okay?" Ruby looked into Konrad's eyes hoping for the truth. See that however vague he was she came to the conclusion that he was indeed truthful before looking at her mom with a disappointed look on her face. It was probably the first time Konrad had ever seen an embarrassed look on her face and he briefly wondered if Mitta did the same when he helped her through the window sill. As he looked at Mitta, he could see a bit of flesh between her teeth and he felt compelled to tell the undead mother. "Umm Mitta? You got some uh....stuff in between your teeth." said Konrad while putting his hand in the back of his head. Mitta put a hoof to her teeth and noticed that Konrad was indeed correct. Embarrassed that she had left over flesh in her teeth, she pulled and spat it towards the corpse of the Blood Hoof stallion. With her face still blushing with oozing blood, she replied to him, "Thank you for that Konrad, but I fear that there will be more of that before the night is over. Now where is Gray Hoof?" All three of them looked around making sure that Gray Hoof was not waiting for another ambush. They ceased searching after Ruby gave the all clear, and huddled together to discuss their new plan of action. "So Konrad, what is your plan now? They know we are here." "Yeah, that sucks we lost our Element of Surprise, but those gunshots are very loud. Somebody definitely would have heard them." Ruby turned to Konrad and gave him an annoyed look while going, "Hmph! Yeah, I heard them alright!" "Heh, sorry about that Ruby. I'll make it up to you later okay?" Ruby's eyes lit up and a slow smile was creeping up on her face. It seemed that she had her own idea of what "making up" meant coming from him. "Oh great, now I got her thinking most likely dirty thoughts, and in front of her mom?! Can't I get a break from the awkwardness?" Seeing the smile on her daughter's face, Mitta interrupted Ruby and Konrad by waving a hoof in between them. As Ruby snapped out of her thoughts, Mitta spoke up and said, "Keep focused on the task at hand you two. And when this is over, we are all going to have a talk. Understand?" Both Ruby and Konrad spoke up to address the motherly order that was given to both of them while nodding their heads. "Yes Ma'am." "Yes Mother." Smiling and winking in approval, Mitta turned back to Konrad and asked him, "So what is your plan of action now Konrad?" Konrad turn his head towards the pathway that led towards Sunny Town and put his thumb and index finger to his chin. He pondered for a few seconds trying to come up with a plan. At that point he realized that, although their Element of Surprise had been lost, they still could to damage from afar. Konrad turned around and a good look at Ruby's cutie mark. Ruby noticed this and blushed a bit while giving him wink. It seemed that no matter what, she would never cease flirting with him. He smiled before turning towards Mitta and gave her a quick look over. Mitta was confused at why Konrad was examining her, and made it quite clear that she wanted to know what he was up too. "Would you mind telling me what is going though that human brain of yours Konrad?" Konrad smiled and replied, "Yes, I'll tell you both as a matter of fact. You see I think I got a plan so listen up." Ruby walked towards the mother's side as Konrad told the mares what his plan of action was. "Okay, this long gun I have on my back allows me to shoot farther, and with this suit I can blend in with the forest to make detection a bit harder." "Not if I'm looking for you." replied Ruby with a smirk. "Ruby, don't interrupt please. We need to hear what he has to say." "Sorry!" said Ruby while giving Konrad an embarrassed look. Konrad smiled again at Ruby before continuing with his plan. "Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, so anyway my plan is hide in spot that will give me a good overview of the town and then I can use that to make careful shots from far away. This allow us to thin their numbers a bit, and hopefully take out Gray hoof as well without getting too close. At least until we are discovered." Ruby jumped up and down with excitement like young girl in a doll store saying, "Oh! Oh! Oh! Konrad, I know of a spot that I can show you. It's got some thorns and thick brush but if should be what you need to shoot all of those-" "Ruby, don't swear and stop jumping like a little filly!" "I wasn't going to swear and...okay I'll stop jumping." Ruby ceased her energetic jumping and said, "But yeah I know this spot. It's actually not far from here, and I can help you spot them too!" "Just what I was thinking too. Ruby is the best spotter. I wish I had her help trying to find Waldo in those damn books as a kid." Konrad gave Ruby a salute and said, "Good! Every sniper needs a good spotter. And Mitta?" "Yes, Konrad?" "In case we do cause some of them to run all over the place, you can blend in and perform some hit and run attacks on them as they scatter about. With your appearance you can blend in and hit them before they realize what's going on." Mitta held a hoof to her her lower muzzle and thought it over. As she was trying to find any potential flaws in the plan a few questions came to her mind. "I have a few questions Konrad. What is the plan if they discover your location and try to attack you? You don't exactly have much room up there to maneuver as I know the spot Ruby is talking about. Also, you said somebody would have heard those shots?" Swapping his AKM for his SVD, Konrad made sure the sniper rifle was still loaded, as he told Mitta what his backup plan was. "Well, if they discover us, we'll get away from that spot, meet up, and watch each others' back. We only need to hold out as long as possible for Princess Luna's or should I say her sister's forces to get here. They were pretty close by when I ran from them earlier, and I know for a fact that they heard those shots. It's only a matter of time before they get here and boy did she bring a lot of Guards with her!" While Mitta nodded in approval, Ruby looked at the ground with a worried look. It was quite obvious that she was still worried about that the Princess Luna's sister would do to Konrad, as well as her mother. Even though her mother was cursed, she did want to loose her anytime soon. She wanted to be with her and hold just as she had with as a filly when she was scared. And just as importantly, she wanted to hold onto Konrad. He was her only love that she ever experienced and she did not want to lose him. Because of him, he helped save Apple Bloom, set in motion the events of ending her torment and had earned her mother's approval. As her mother called her a treasure, Ruby saw him as something more than a treasure. To her, he was something that couldn't be bought and was something incredibly unique. He was a human, a being from the glorified and apparently factual past. He was everything she imagined that humans were; brave, strong, and always outwitting the bad guys when faced with greater odds. To lose this great treasure would be too much to bear for her soul if something were to happen to him. She would never forgive herself should he die or worse suffer the same curse as she had all these years. Even if Ruby were to meet his parents by some extremely slim chance, she could not face them and tell them their son died because she took it upon herself to have Konrad fight her battles. As a tear started to form in her eyes, Konrad put a hand to her face and said, "I'll be with you every step of the way Ruby. Don't worry, whatever happens know that I forgive you for putting me here and that I will never blame you. Even if I become one of them know that it's their fault. not yours and if I can help it, I'll blow my brains out to prevent myself from hurting you. I never want to do that to you ever. Do you understand?" Ruby got up on her hind legs, wrapped her forelegs around Konrad and cried her heart out. Konrad could feel her strong her grip on him, not wanting to let him go for anything in the world. He never felt wanted more in his life and his heart was beating fast for the ghost mare. It brought him back to his decision again making him wonder if her had made the right decision. Either way, he was going to end the Blanks and Blood Hooves and save Ruby just as he had with the beautiful Princess Luna, and cute Apple Bloom. Ruby nodded her head up and down and looked at him with her glowing yellow eyes. Taking a sniff and wiping her own eyes, Ruby smiled at Konrad before letting him go. She looked towards the path of Sunny Town and said to Konrad, "Follow me Konrad, the spot is this way. I hope you kill all of them for me." As Ruby slowly walked ahead, Konrad spoke to Ruby, "I'll move mountains to end your suffering is if I have too, and I'll never leave your side Ruby." Ruby stopped and looked at Konrad as she gave him a heartfelt smile, one that caused Konrad's heart to skip a beat. He knew that he would end her suffering even if it meant ending his own life. "She deserves a happy ending and I'll make sure she get's one." Returning a smile and a salute, Konrad began to follow Ruby but was stopped by Mitta with a hoof preventing him from moving forward. As Konrad looked at Mitta's eyes, it was no longer the look of a zombie scaring him but rather the look of a stern mother. As this caught his attention, he knew he was about to receive a warning from Mitta. She had the same look on her face that any mother would have concerning a child that was about to do wrong, and it was something that he paid attention close attention too. "Konrad, I'm very glad that you've comforted my daughter. I don't think any boy, pony or human could have done such a better job of doing so." This took Konrad by surprise as he had expected Mitta to give him a warning about Ruby. In his opinion, no mother that wasn't sane, would let her daughter be involved with any guy that was short of normal and for Konrad, he was anything but normal to a pony. "Uh....thanks?" "No, thank you very much Konrad. My daughter has suffered greatly and you are the best thing that's come across her path in years." "Let me guess there's a "but" somewhere." "But-" "I knew it." "If you hurt her or do anything break her happiness, you'll be answering to me!" As soon as Mitta said her piece, her eyes glowed a very bright but dark crimson red. Konrad knew this as the tall tale sign of a Blank or Blood Hoof being angry or just plain aggressive, and he had no plans of pushing Mitta's limits. The internet was nowhere close to her portrayal of her anger and considering his close call to her anger earlier, he had no plans of finding out what else she was capable of. A Mother's wrath was bad enough but amplified at as a zombie? He had enough of an example to know what would happen. "Konrad? Are you coming? The spot is just up ahead." said Ruby, completely oblivious of the exchange that just happened. Konrad could do nothing but give his biggest, yet nervous smile yet with sweat dripping from his forehead as if it was a fountain. Bad enough it was to anger a mother, but worse when she was a zombie! Wiping his forehead and backing away from Mitta, Konrad turned to Ruby and walked towards her. "Yep! Wait up a sec!" said Konrad was he jogged towards Ruby. As Ruby smile at Konrad's close presence, Mitta smiled on her own, happy that she had instilled the fear of a true mother in him. It seemed to he that he himself was raised by a mother that new what was good for her own son. Now that Mitta had made it clear that he would treat Ruby with respect and love, she had no doubt that he would be a good husband to her precious Ruby. And with that thought, the undead mother made her way towards the duo up ahead, happy that her daughter had chosen a good boy. At this point, whether he was a human or pony, it didn't matter to her. Only her daughter's happiness meant anything to her. Back in Ponyville, however, a young country filly and Princess of the Night dreamed of the same young man, both yearning for his attention and company. Ruby had yet to completely earn his total attention and the Princess and the filly tossed and turned in their beds for it. Even more important was the fact that a big battle was taking place not far from them, as Princess Celestia and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. were doing their best to Battle the undead. It was going to be a long night indeed for everypony involved.