//------------------------------// // Chapter 41: Broken Bodies // Story: One Shot, One Chance // by SpeederClaw //------------------------------// The wind rivaled Gray Shark’s speed as he rushed through the outskirts of town with his jacket flicking at the dawned sky. ‘Pride…’ Gray Shark continued striding through the open field with memories of the Sins stinging his brain. Scanning the field, he found nothing but barren green. “If Pride is this close to town then there really is no holding back for me.” Gray Shark felt himself slowing down. He stomped the ground before dashing again. “For now I need to focus on finding Blitz.” The masked pony spotted something tainting the greenery and approached it with caution. “Bodies? Out here?” He eyed the slash marks on each of the stallions and sighed. “Must’ve been the scouting squad. Pride took care of them alright.” Gray Shark finally stepped into the forest with a growing anxiety. “If I remember, this is the path to where we were yesterday.” He nodded firmly at the imprints of hooves on the ground. “Now I just have to-” Gray Shark paused and shuddered at the stench of blood. He spotted a stray limb hanging out from under a bush and gasped inaudibly. The odor grew intensely as he neared the bush. Feeling his heart sink, Gray Shark stood glaring at a pile of armored bodies each with a face of dread. “So this is where the royal guards ended up,” he said sickly. “But, how-” Gray Shark gritted his teeth under his mask. “Slash marks again. Means that Pride must’ve…dealt with the guards too. Of course.” He sized up the blood trail leading to the corpses and sighed. “And I can’t be following clues either. I have my own priorities; I have to find Blitz.” Gray Shark ignored the bodies as he continued to search for Blitz. “As much as I want to pursue my enemy, I need to focus on other things.” Gray Shark noted how deep into the forest he was and clicked his golden hoof reassuringly. “I have to make sure Blitz is safe. That’s a promise.” ~~~~~~~~~~ Blitz licked the roof of his mouth to combat the drying sensation eating at him. His breaths were short and his heart pounded to escape his chest. But nothing could stop his spirit, his eyes lay stretched open as he glided through the forest. One name kept forging itself in his mind. ‘Fuzzy Fry.’ “Yes this is it!” Blitz skidded to a stop and inspected the area around him. He smiled in spite of the situation he was in. “The bullet marks from that crazy guy…yes!” Blitz ran across the darkened spots imprinted on the ground with increased confidence. “Agh, this is the last place I saw Fuzzy Fry…where is he? Fuzzy Fry!” The stallion called out in vain as his newly gained confidence started to drop. Still running, he screeched louder. “Fuzzy Fry!” Now losing track of his location, Blitz felt himself breaking down. The effects of constant running took its toll as the unicorn felt his entire body burn. With his vision blurring, Blitz wandered off astray. He almost fell over as he spotted sanctuary for his pains. A glistening patch of water smiled upon Blitz, the sun reflected its warmth off the clear surface. Blitz thanked Celestia before reaching for his saddlebag and scooping up the liquid. “Even if it’s dripping, it’s still good,” Blitz said as he slurped down his refreshment. He sat down and took another sip, his body started to drift into a deep sleep as every part of him became numb. “No!” The unicorn shook his head rapidly. “Fuzzy Fry. There’s no time to-” “Oh little boy…” Blitz jumped up and screamed behind hi m. Two spinning guns stared straight into his terrified eyes. “Are you ready to get penetrated?” Bull It Buster cackled. Blitz gulped hard, but shifted his face into anger. “Where’s Doctor Rivet?” “None of yo bee’s ass wax,” the deranged gunner responded. “Tell me or I will hurt you,” Blitz said with his horn glowing. Bull It Buster stopped spinning his hooves and looked at Blitz with a solid smile. He let his hooves slam into the ground before falling and laughing hysterically. Blitz did not falter and kept his guard up. “I’ll die from laughter that’s what! You can kill me like dis!” Blitz took initiative to hurl his saddlebag at the flopping stallion. Bull It Buster spat before getting up and smashing the bag into the ground. Water coated itself all around the pony’s hooves. “Are you trying to make me a wet man?” Bull It Buster asked cracking up again. “Arr, me guns have wet powder,” he said making clicking sounds with his hooves. Blitz shook his head before letting his magic surround the two guns. A cyan aura sifted around them as they started to recolor into a steel blue. “Lawl-wait huh?” Bull It Buster said eyeing his changing hooves. “Oh, that’s ice cool! Now my hands are all glittery and shiny.” “You really are a crazy bastard,” Blitz said with disbelief. “Say goodbye.” Bull It Buster revved up his guns, but stood with confusion as nothing happened. He stared at his hooves and then thrust them forward. Bits of ice sprinkled off. “Well holy anal beads, I’ve been creamed and iced over!” “Now, tell me where Doctor Rivet is. Please!” “Wow hold the phone’s dinkus, the sultry test of manhood isn’t over. I’m still gonna peen you!” Bull It Buster said shaking his frozen blasters. Blitz’s eyes grew wide. He sidestepped away from a full swing launched by Bull It Buster, barely dodging the massive piece of metal-ice. Bull It Buster’s hoof smashed against a tree, causing the ice to shatter and the machinery underneath to explode. “What?” Sparks began to fly, Bull It Buster’s body jolted as his gun fell apart. “If you want to hit me, go right ahead. I won’t be responsible for your sick toys breaking,” Blitz said getting to his feet. “Ohhh, mama-mia!” Bull It Buster said shaking his broken gun. “That is quite an amazing feat, Blitz.” The sudden voice sent chills into Blitz’s heart. “You,” he said turning to Doctor Rivet. The doctor withheld a faint smile. “Where’s Fuzzy Fry?” “Blue!” “Fuzzy-” Blitz ducked in time to avoid getting his head cleaved off. The orange beast tumbled next to Bull It Buster who whimpered in defeat. “Remember what I said,” Doctor Rivet insisted to his creation. “If you do not kill him this time…” “Blue must become…red!” “Fuzzy, stop this!” Blitz said. Fuzzy Fry responded with another swipe. “Can’t you remember?” Blitz yelled rolling out of the way. “Bluebelle, Manehatten, your bestest friend?” “All I know is Blue!” Blitz growled. “Fine, so be it!” The unicorn pounced for the saddlebag lying harmlessly on the ground and began to surround it with his magic. Fuzzy Fry snarled before leaping for Blitz. The blue pony swung the now frozen bag at his attacker, pelting the orange beast in the face. As the bag shattered, Blitz grabbed a chunk and tackled the dazed Fuzzy Fry. Landing on top, he held the block menacingly over Fuzzy Fry’s skull. “Don’t make me do this!” “Must…kill.” Fuzzy Fry started to raise his claw. Blitz thought of his own flesh being torn apart by his best friend. “No!” Blitz hesitated before bringing down the chunk on Fuzzy Fry’s face. He could feel ice against bone. The orange stallion’s face turned red as the gash on his forehead began to bleed. Blitz felt the ice dripping with blood as he screamed in terror. “I hate you.” Fuzzy Fry ignored the blood dripping down his face and kept raising his claws. Blitz’s heart broke. “Damn you! Damn you for making me do this!” The unicorn swiftly sent another blow to Fuzzy Fry’s face followed by another and another. The orange pony sobbed under the crushing force of the ice. “Kill…me.” “No, no, it can’t be me. It won’t be me! Not me!” Blitz still kept smashing in Fuzzy Fry’s face. All restraints were broken. All senses within the unicorn were numb. All he felt was rage. “Kill me!” Blitz screamed before breaking the ice into a shard and aiming for Fuzzy Fry’s eye. He left his hoof drop and felt no regrets. Seconds passed and his hoof was still hanging in the air. Blitz looked behind him to spot Gray Shark firmly holding his arm. “Don’t.” “Let go of me,” Blitz cried. “I need to-” “To be a murderer?” Gray Shark glared at Blitz decisively. “Look at him, he’s got nothing left.” Blitz looked back to the beaten, bloodied pony that withheld a broken smile. The tears in his eyes finally registered, the coldness stung hard. He let the shard slip and watched it stab the ground. “I-I did this,” Blitz said. “Anger will do that.” “Doctor Rivet,” he whispered. “Where’s Doctor Rivet?” “Gone,” Gray Shark replied casually. “When I heard the screaming I only found you.” Blitz’s body slumped next to Fuzzy Fry’s and the tears finally burst out in full force. “Why did this ever happen.” “Because bad people always exist in a pure world to corrupt it.” “It’s your fault.” Gray Shark was taken back. “Excuse me?” “Because you and your stupid friends created a portal here! All the badness followed you! You’re the real reason why my friend suffered!” Blitz screamed through his sobs. Gray Shark grabbed Blitz by his arm and jolted him up. “Do you honestly think that?” Blitz looked Gray Shark straight in his crimson eye. “Yes-” “Then you’re a damn fool,” he said dropping the unicorn. “I’m not a fool,” Blitz defended crawling towards Fuzzy Fry. “It is the truth-” “So had we never have been here, things would’ve been fine?” Gray Shark asked irritably. “Yes, me and Fuzzy-we would’ve lived out lives like normal. He wouldn’t have gotten kidnapped!” “You can’t say that as a fact,” Gray Shark said. “You have to take into account the actual-” “I just want my friend back!” Blitz cried reaching for Fuzzy Fry. Gray Shark started to regain himself. “Fate is a cruel bitch,” he stated with his eye closed. “She toils with you and makes you stray from what you really want.” “I just want him back…” “Alright-here.” Gray Shark walked over to Fuzzy Fry’s unconscious body and pulled out a long string from under his jacket. To Blitz’s dismay, the masked pony started to tie up the crazed pony. “What are you-” “We’re bringing him back,” Gray Shark said hoisting the captured Fuzzy Fry on his back. “Why? What else can we do?” Blitz asked frantically. “Get Twilight and see if she knows anything about this-” “But his brain was physically altered-” “Or we could take him to the hospital.” “But how would they know what to do?” Gray Shark just stared at Blitz before nervously breaking out in laughter. “Why am I hoping for you?” He shook his head at the astonished Blitz. “I guess you really do see things the way I do.” “Huh? Like what?” Blitz said wiping away his tears. “Like hell. Cynical.” Blitz cringed at the word. “Seriously though, do you want to save your friend or not?” Blitz nodded. “Yes.” “Then let’s go.” Gray Shark led the way with Fuzzy Fry slumped over his shoulder. Blood dripped down his hind legs, but he disregarded the feeling. Blitz, however, uneasily watched his friend sway back and forth. The bloodied face made Blitz’s stomach churn. “If I could go back in time…I would. Travel dimensions like you,” Blitz said faintly. “We’re virtually brothers. My damn brother and now he might as well be dead. All I can do is hope.” Gray Shark sighed. “All anyone can do around here is hope. That’s not ethical.”