After two days of sailing, with absolutely nothing happening, I was bored. In fact, everyone was bored. With Sheytan sailing in a straight line again and everything on the ship finished with their duties, everyone was bored. So, to kill time, I started chatting with Sheytan about my Djinn abilities. Turns out my skin wasn't really magma plates, but in fact a self modifying armor. The way Sheytan explained it, my skin was kind of like Spawn’s. In fact, most of my powers sounded like Spawn. Every Djinn, even Sheytan, could create objects using our Essence. Essence was something like chakra. Every Djinn had a set amount of chakra and the only way to extend our chakra was to absorb another Djinn’s.
“So.” I started. “The rule of the Djinn is, there can be only one?” I asked playfully, sitting on her head.
I could practically hear Sheytan’s brow furrowing.
As I was saying, not only can we absorb other Djinn, we can also absorb minor creatures. The only thing that matters is whether or not the creature is of this domain. What is also important is you know how far you're shapeshifting powers go. You changed some of your limbs to a what was it? A turian? Try going a bit further. Try changing to that half-breed examining the ballista, she ordered.
I swiveled myself around and stared at Nightheart who was looking at a mounted ballista. After staring at him for a few minutes, he noticed my stare and nervously waved at me, blushing.
Oh, he’s gonna be freaked out after this, I thought. I closed my eyes and started imagining in detail, his features. His blue fur, his green, his wide pony legs, his toned body- woah! I opened my eyes feeling the blush on my face but wasn't compared to Nightheart’s expression looking at me.
I made a confused face right back at him. “What?” I asked, clamping my hands around my mouth at the sound that came out. My voice had become extremely masculine. in other words, like Nightheart’s. I looked down to see two scaled hands but unlike Nighthearts, were blood red.
I was sure my blush wasn't showing but I could still feel it. Turnbackturnbackturnback! I thought frantically, changing back to my humanoid demon form.
Sheytan’s laughter rumbled my mind and by the time I had turned back around, Nightheart was gone. I hate you, I thought at the Djinn figurehead.
---
Later on the crew deck, I spotted something I hadn't seen before, a new room. This room was covered wall to wall in blue. From the wide blue bedspread to the navy blue dressers, I could already tell who had claimed this new room. The question was, where did it come from.
You know what? Screw this. I’m done trying to make sense of things. From now on, every explanation shall be labeled magic. Or, it could just be Sheytan creating rooms for people. Which would make even less sense, I thought, moving along the crew deck.
I moved toward the training room, listening to the sounds of someone beating the straw out of dummies. I looked inside to see Vito going to town on a stuffed dummy. His punches were almost lightning fast and every single one of them were controlled enough to force power into the hit and bring it right back to his stance. There was no particular style to his move set aside from striking vital areas. It was obvious that he had taught himself this fighting style and had been practicing ever since.
He finished another combo with a punch to the heart area. He let out a deep breath, wiping his feathered brow. “30 seconds, 32 hits. A new personal best,” he said to himself.
I leaned against the doorframe, crossing my arms. “What is that?”
Vito jumped, reaching behind him and pulling out the set of knuckle dusters I saw him with in the last fight with Arige. He turned around and softened his stance the moment he saw me. “Oh, its you,” he said calmly, putting away the brass knuckles.
I chuckled. “What the hell was that?”
Vito frowned. “That my dear, is the reason why most creatures call me the paranoid hurricane,” he responded coolly.
I let out another laugh at his demeanor. “So, I've got questions,” I said casually.
Vito groaned. “How many?” he asked impatiently.
“Just two,” I started. “And you can answer them all at once. 1. Where did you learn that fighting style? 2. To put it simply, how did you start mercenary thing?”
He walked past me and sat down at the banquet table. I followed and sat across from him. “To answer the fighting style, if you want to call it that, it's something I taught myself very early in life. See, Mastodon and I grew up in a slave mine. Just to clear it up, most mines are different. Some are lead by griffons, others by dogs, but a rare gem is a mine run by ponies. Our mine was run by a real dick of a earth pony. His name was Blue Eye and he ran his mine like a run down castle. I was born into the miner’s life and I was forced to work at the age of four. I did not take to that as a cub, so I fought against the guards when they pissed me off. Oh, I got my ass kicked alot, but I started noticing as I got older, if I hit certain places, ponies go down faster. So, I started paying more attention to the bodies of ponies and other people. And what do you know? If you hit someone with enough force somewhere, they stay down."
“So when I’m doing my rounds around the caves, I notice these guard laying into a small dog. So, I kick their asses and the dog thanks me and starts following me around. That, is when I met Mastodon. So, I get to thinking, if I do favors for other people, they’ll follow me. Thats how I got the idea on how to take over the mine. Longer story short, with the help of two dozen or so dogs and griffonsand Mastodon as my lieutenant, I took over an entire slave mine and gained quite the reputation on the way. That, my girl is how you mercenary” he explained. “You prove you can lead and make a name for yourself out of the blue. That way, you’ll have you're men’s respect and more people will come to you for help.”
I kept making grunts and nods throughout the story, completely at attention. When he was done, I gave him another acknowledging nod. “Another thing, why are you on the ship? I mean, yeah, you're town and house are burned to the ground, but that doesn't explain why a former mercenary leader like you is taking my orders.”
Vito chuckled. “Babe, there are two things I believe in this rotten world; revenge and destiny. That deadbeat pony owes me my army and for making them turn on me. That and well the lost city of Omar is told to have hidden treasures beyond comprehension. And...I guess its an aura about you. I can tell when theres going to be a wild ride and I want to be on that ride, from start to finish.” And with that he went back in the training room.
I was going to leave it at that, but remembered someone else who was on board. “Wait! Wheres Arige?
---
Arige stood on the observatory deck, staring at the full-sized ball of energy that floated in the center of the room. He seemed mesmerized by it, not ever taking his eyes off of it.
I walked up behind him, slowly. “Hey,” I greeted simply. Arige didn't react. “SO...What's so special about this place that we’re going to?”
That caught his attention. He turned his head to me and smiled, “Ah, Miss Idilah, you have no idea. The lab is where I was created. And the mountains around the laboratory are simply amazing. It sits on top of the mountain, directly overlooking the town of Frosmonth. Its a small town famous for its hot springs. You can say that it is like ponyville in a way-” I stopped his story with an audible gasp.
“You’ve been to ponyville?” I asked in disbelief.
Arige chuckled. “Yes, I was there with the professor when she was visiting her friend Twilight Sparkle. The Professor and her went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns together. Best of friends. As I was saying, Frostmonth is a lot like ponyville because of...Well the strange occurrences that happen there. But unlike ponyville, most of them are...accidents caused by the Professor. She likes to help ponies, but also loves experimenting on things. You’ll see when we get there,” he explained ominously.
I stared at him curiously for a second, extremely interested in what he said. Unfortunately, an announcement on the intercom (AkA a tube that ran from the combat deck all the way to the cargo bay) saved Arige from my questions.
“Um, ‘Dila...We um, got some news you need to hear. Come to the crew deck when you can,” Terk announced.
I groaned. “I’ll barrage you with questions later,” I said, walking to the elevator lines.
---
“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN WE’RE OUT OF FOOD?!” I yelled in Terk’s face.
Terk calmly wiped a few drops of spittle off his beak and flicked them to the ground. I quickly apologized and calmed down. Apparently, even the stores of dried meat and veggies we’d collected over the last few days were gone. I suspected Mastodon, since he had been on board, I’ve spotted him in the fridge a half a dozen times and each time I’d have to swat his nose just to get him away from the damn kitchen.
He immediately admitted he hadn't done it and along with everybody else on the ship.We had a strict eating schedule ever since Terk nearly burned down the kitchen. (Yes I know you can't ‘burn down’ anything on boat, but believe me, its relevant) It didn't make any sense why we ran out of food.
I groaned and turned to the waiting crowd sitting at the banquet table. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. “Um...Yeah. So, we’re out of food. Um....” I had literally no idea to say.
Vito saved me from embarrassment. “How about we just land and hunt. Worked out before,” he suggested slyly.
Crow frowned at the suggestion. “Dude, we have no idea what's in the forest down there. We’re passing over the Black Marsh right now. Now, from experience, anything with a ‘marsh’ in it dangerous,” he said, nervously.
Terk snorted. “Papi please. Them ain't nothing but stories. We got bellies to feed and from some stories I hear, the Marsh is teeming with exotic game,” he explained excited.
“Another suggestion. The Marshes are also home to some ancient pony ruins. If we touch down anywhere close to the north Marshes, we’ll hit a SaddleArabian ruin. The closer to Gallopoli the better,” suggested Herpy, which surprised me.
I rubbed my chin in thought considering our options. I snapped my fingers and made a decision. “Alright, let’s head towards the edge of the rainforest. We land in the river and dismark from there. Terk, Tick-Tick. Boom, you guys hunt as many animals as you can. If it breathes, it gets cooked. Crow, Gh0st, Nightheart and I will search for some ruins. Both groups will have 10 hours to bring back anything we find. Sound fair?” I asked.
Everyone at the table nodded.
I grinded. “Sheytan you heard me. Change course and speed it up. The rest of you, bedtime.”
---
After another foodless day, Sheytan had brought us to the Black Marsh border. Here, was the river that made the dividing line between the Black Marsh and Equestria. As I looked over the railing, I could almost see the change in the river. While the side of the river that closer to the black marsh was dark and murky, the side closer to the equestrian mainland was clear and alive.
On our descent I spotted a small building made of stone. It sort of looked like a small scale ziggurat, which, given our search, was a beautiful sight. We touched down on the river and lowered the gangplank. Crow, Nightheart and Gh0st gathered around me, while Terk, Tick-tick and Boom strapped on their saddle bags and hunt gear. Thought I was a bit worried about Boom’s hunting gear as her bag was filled to the brim with nothing but homemade grenades.
I stepped onto the gangplank and loudly cleared my throat, getting everyone's attention. “Okay, our objectives are simple; my group will search the nearby ruins and Tick-tick’s group will hunt and bring back as much meat as they can. Allons Y!”
---
“I’m just gonna say it, this sucks,” complained Gh0st, earning a groan from Nightheart.
Nightheart made a grunt and lit another cigarette which was starting to freak me out considering we hadn't been in a town for almost a week! Remember Idilah, magic...
Walking sucks. Walking through a marshy forest was even worse. We had been walking for at least 3 hours and the forest humidity was unforgiving. Well, for my teammates of course. All through the walk, the sounds of the jungle kept us on edge. Chips, chirps and the occasional growl kept us on our toes. We passed by some huge looking flowers that kind of looked like tulips but had a sort of sickly black tint to them. They clung to two large trees in a cluster overhead, just looking menacing.
And Gh0st decided to touch them.
He walked up to it, a blank look in his eye, creeping me out and making Crow forcefully turn him around. “What the hell are you doing?!” he asked.
Gh0st snorted. “What? Its just a flower?”
Crow faceclawed. “Dude we are in a place called a The Black Marsh, looking for ancient ruin. Did I mention the fact that everything is magic?” he asked Gh0st angrily.
Gh0st pushed off Crow and snorted. “Man, its just a plant! What's the worst that can-,” he replied touching a tulip petal. The entire cluster of tulips started spewing thick purple gas, encasing us in a bog. The moment that it connected to our noses we all went down, clutching our throats.
Right before he blacked out Crow uttered, “Mitchell, you idiot!”
---
When I came to, I felt...not right. Everything about my body was...Different. The first difference was that my face felt hot and in pain, as if I got smacked with a blunt object. I rubbed my cheek and realized why I felt so weird.
My hand was wet. My skin was covered in blood. I was human again and I was covered in fucking blood!.
“What the fuck?!” I shouted while feeling my face and arms. I was in a panic. I hated my human body. I hated it with a burning passion. I felt a pain in my arms and noticed cuts and scrapes appearing on my arms, forcing me to scream at the top of my lungs.
I hugged myself, trying to come to terms with the pain but heard a voice that I never thought I’d hear again...
“Idilah come on, you have to help me move this!” said my brother’s voice from behind me. I turned around ready to tackle him in a hug but stopped as soon as I saw him.
He stood over me, standing at about 6 feet tall. His formerly brown skin was a pale grey. His eyes were completely blank as if he were blind. He was wearing his camo jumpsuit but it was riddled with bullet holes with blood pouring out of them.
“Get your ass over here! We need to get him in the backyard, come on!” Asad yelled at me standing in front of a body.
The body on the ground was a middle aged man. His skin was grey and lifeless like Asad’s. He was wearing blue jeans and a wife beater that was torn to pieces, his blood pooling on the floor. His head turned to me, his eyes opening to reveal empty sockets. “You heard the boy Qaby, come clean up this mess!” his voice sounded high-pitched and hollow.
I was nearly ready to crap my pants at the sight of the creatures in front of me. I realized who the man on the ground and curled into a fetal position, rocking myself. The man on the ground was my father. The blood on my hands was his...
This was the night I killed him...
