//------------------------------// // As the Crow Flies // Story: Supernatural Pony Tales. // by Alchemystudent //------------------------------// What happened to their father on that day Sent two brothers on a quest for answers Now the hunters are in Ponyville, On the hunt for a pony who wants to use The supernatural for his own means One brother is on the hunt to honor his mother The other to avenge his beloved One is destined for war The other for protection         An orange stallion swaggered his way from out of the bar and grill, stumbling with every step, “Stupid bar, stupid barkeep,” said the stallion with a gravelly tone of voice, running his hoof through his unkept mane, “Telling me I had enough. HA! I’ll tell him when I’m done.” Grumbling to himself, the pegasus continued his walk through the dark streets of Ponyville, taking the time inbetween steps to slap his hooves together in a menacing fashion, “Hope something comes along that I can take out my aggressions on.”         Almost as to answer his prayer, the stallion heard the cawing of a bird and the flapping of wings. He twitched his ear to the location of the sound, he swerved his head back and forth to scan the area for where the bird was. It didn’t take him long to catch the sight of a black crow sitting on the lid of a dumpster in an alley, “Hey there little birdy, want your wings clipped?” he said, walking closer to the bird while reaching for a knife hidden under his wing, “Thats it little birdy, Uncle Sharpy just wants to-AHHHH!” He yelled as the crow flew off from its perch and onto the shoulder of a pony hidden in shadows.         The young mare stepped slowly out of the shadows, petting her bird companion with her right hoof, “Oh good, my little birdie caught a wriggling little worm. What does the bad worm have to say birdie?”         “ Who are ya callin’ a worm ya freak?” The stallion asked, watching as the green mare stepped out into the dim light of the alleyway.         The mare chuckled and then said in an almost teasing voice, “Why you, of course! You’re a greedy, psychotic, and alcoholic little worm. The best kind.” she then let out a maniacal laugh and threw back her short cut black mane.         “And what are you, a clown?” Sharp said, looking at the pure white face paint that had adorned her face, clashing with the green coat.         “No, a messenger,” the mare said, the rage in her eyes accentuated by the black circles and lines that ran across them, “just bringing forth the good word down upon scraggly little worms that like to kill mares.” “Oh, a fan!” the stallion said as he played with his knife, “Which little mare are you talking about.” “You killed her in front of her husband a year ago,” she said, not changing the tone in her voice at all as she rushed at the pegasus and slammed him against the wall with her foreleg pressed against his neck, “you and your 4 ‘friends’! Now, tell me their names!” “Oh, yeah, that broad.” Sharp chuckled, “Want to know how the knife I used on her felt?” With a grunt he kicked the mare hard in the stomach, and before she had a chance to react, Sharp slashed across her barrel in a diagonal pattern. Sneering, he rammed his blade deep into her chest, “A little like that! Now, lets see how many ways I can cut up that cute little--AHHHH!” The mare smirked as she walked further into the knife, plunging it deeper into her chest, black blood oozing out of the wound “Awwww, what’s the matter wormy? Lost your nerve? Lets see if I can find it for you!” and with that she swiped his hoof away with her left hoof and punched him hard in the face twice. Reaching down with her mouth, she grabbed the knife in her chest and threw it into the air. Spinning on her forehooves as the knife spun in the air, she bucked the pegasus hard into the wall. As the stallion tried to recover from being slammed into the wall, the mare grabbed his neck with her hind legs and threw him to the ground. Leaping up, she grabbed the spinning knife in her mouth and straddled the pegasus and used the knife to make several deep cuts into his legs, leaving deep bloody gashes behind “Now, Sharpie my boy... let’s talk.” “FUCK YOU, you AHHHHHH,” screamed the stallion as the earth pony mare slammed her hooves onto the pegasus’s wings and began to stretch them out with a loud snap. “I said talk, and I didn’t mean rudely.” the mare said as she held the wings to the ground, stretching them to painful limits, “Now, where are your little buddies, my dear Sharp?” “I don’t--AHHHHH--  know you-- AHHHHH--  BITCH,” the stallion  screamed. “Awww, that’s too bad. I guess then you are going to have to wait for them to come to you, now don’t you?” the earth pony said as she put both of her forelegs to Sharp’s head and twisted his neck into a complete circle. Standing up, the white faced earth pony smiled and began to draw the marking of a crow onto the chest of the pony and ran off into the night. Unknown to her, a white pegasus colt watched the scene from a distance. Supernatural Pony Stories: Ch. 3: As the Crow Flies. The alleyway just outside of Broken Leg’s Bar, Grill, and Cheese Emporium was a bustle with police activity; as was evidenced when the black impala could barely make her way to the police line with a chariot behind her. Getting out, the two Whinnychester brothers walked to the police line, “Excuse me,” Dean said, “I’m agent Tyler, this is agent Jovi, we’re here to investigate the murder.”  “Ah, good to see you agents, come with me,” Police Captain Hard Case said, his blue coat shining in the sunlight. Walking with a stiff gait, he led the two brothers to the body of Sharp, “As you can see, the body has several lacerations and his head has been turned 360, like the pony really had it out for the guy. Also weird is this,” Hard said, pointing a hoof to a crow marking on the corpse’s body. Sam knelt closely to the body, taking a good long look at the way the wounds were done and how the neck was broken before looking up at the police officer, “Any witnesses?” “Just one, that little pegasus colt over there got a good look at the whole thing and even snapped a few pictures for us. You can ask him when Lt. Buzz Kill is done with him,” Captain Hard said. “Thanks captain,” Dean said as he watched his little brother get up from the body and followed him to where the mare in a police uniform was talking to a young pegasus. “Thank you Featherweight, that’ll be all,” the light blue unicorn mare said as she put away her notebook before turning her head to state, “By the way, editorial duties pale in comparison to photography.” “Awww,” the light white pegasus colt said, his head lowering in disappointment. “Hey, that wasn’t nice,” Sam said as the unicorn passed them by. “Sorry, but it’s my special talent: killing fun ideas,” Buzz Kill said walking away. Dean, meanwhile, sat next to the young colt, “Hey little guy, I want you to repeat what you told the mare to me, got it?” “Sure,” Featherweight said with an energetic nod, “You see, last night I was doing some practice flying so I could join my big brother in the ‘Brohoof social’ next week. Well, I soon heard this crow cry and the sound of two ponies talking. Well, as I landed to see what was going on, that was when I saw this mare and stallion talking to each other. The mare must have had said something really bad because the stallion went over and cut her deep and then stabbed her in the heart. Here is where it gets unbelievable--” Dean let out a small chuckle, “Try me.” “The mare just looked at the guy and walked right into the blade without any problems. She then pulled the blade out and killed the guy. Like I said, weird.” Dean put a hoof to his chin and then scratched his head through his short cut brown mane, “Yeah, does sound a little strange. Thanks for the help kid, we’ll talk to you if we need anything more.” He then got up and walked back to Carmine and Sam,” So what do you think, Sammy?” Sam looked down at carriage seat where a brown book laid before looking back up at his brother, “I don’t know, Dean. From the white face paint and some of the pale skin I want to say it’s a phantom,  but it was solid like a ghoul. I don’t want to say it’s a zombie, and a vampire wouldn’t leave such a mess. Even Mom’s journal has nothing on this.” “Well then, let’s go have Carmine drive us by the corner, grab some cupcakes, and then lets go on a hunt through the town,” Dean said as he slid into the carriage. “ Sounds like a good deal to me, I can’t wait to see Pinkie again,” Carmine said as she looked over her shoulder at her two friends before racing off into the distance. A few hours later found Dean standing next to Carmine as he began to overlook the alleyway and streets, “Man,” he growled as he took a drink from a fizzy bottle of cider and ate a piece of his tofu burger, “three hours and no hide or hair of the clown broad.” “Maybe it was a gang killing,” Carmine said looking around. “Babe, I think you met the fiercest gang in the town and I don’t think those three fillies have enough connections to hire private killers,” Dean said, finishing his bottle. “You’re right. They were adorable, but not killers.” Carmine said, leaning her head over to Dean and nuzzling him before nibbling his ear, “Not as cute as you were when you were that age.” “Babe, I was never what you called cute,” Dean said, rubbing Carmine’s black flank, “  I was adorable, Sammy was cute. NoW,” he said with a shrug, “I’m handsome.” “You forgot rugged,” Carmine said, giving a slight kiss on Dean’s cheek and a rub on his head. Dean smiled at the signs of affection coming from his faithful friend, but before he could said anything else, he heard a scream, “That sounds like my cue! Go get Sam!” Dean said as he ran off to the sound. Making his way to the alley, he saw the pale faced figure hovering over her latest kill, “ Stop right there, clownie!” The white faced mare looked up straight into Dean’s emerald eyes, “No.” she said simply as she left behind her kill on the cold ground and jump up onto the side of the wall and ran up the side and onto the roof. “Ok, definitely a ghoul.” Dean said as he began to look through the alleyway for a method to follow her. Seeing a bridge connecting two houses, he ran up the step ladder and made his way to the roof. As he made his way to the rooftop of the nearby house, his eye caught sight of the running killer. Swiftly, he reached to his side and brought out his crossbow and aimed it, firing two bolts at the Ghoul. The ghoul tripped as one of the shots hit her in the left hind leg, causing her to fall to the ground with a grunt, “Oh, talented little hunter aren’t we?” Dean said nothing in response and lifted up his foreleg and readied another shot, his icy green eyes focused only on her. “Checking me out too? Sorry to say this, hunter, but you are not my type,” the white faced mare said as she swung her hooves at Dean, trying to strike him, “now if you don’t mind I have some more important things to do.” “Yeah, yeah. I get it: a bunch of teens knocked over your sacred grave or some other bull crap like that and now you are hunting them down.” Dean said, grinning, “Tell it to some stallion who cares.” “This isn’t something as simple as desecration, this is about justice! This is about making some bastards PAY for taking away my husband’s happiness,” she said, her voice losing its usual calmness, “and you are not going to--UGGH!” Dean smirked as his three bolts struck the face of the mare and dug deep into her skull, “Guess what, clownie... it ain’t happening. I don’t care what they did to you, but I won’t let you kill them.” Dean then opened his eyes in shock as the ghoul smirked and chuckled. “Salt tipped arrows, impressive,” the mare said as she broke the shaft of the three bolts with her hoof, “but I am more than a specter, little hunter.” Smirking, the mare ran up to Dean and punched him repeatedly with her hooves. After using an uppercut to daze him she went to his side and used her hind legs to kick him hard. Shen then spun around in place and delivered a hard buck into Dean’s barrel, sending him flying over the edge of the rooftop and to the ground below. “Dean, where are you?” Sam called out as he walked around on the ground, “Dean? DEAN!?” His last call was responded with sound of a body hitting a dumpster hard. Turning to the source of the sound, he watched in horror as his brother rolled off,” DEAN! Oh Celestia no. Dean, come on Dean talk to me.” Sam said as he slapped the sides of Dean’s face gently, “Tell me you’re all right. Please, tell me you’re ok.” “I’m fine, Sam.” Dean said, getting up but then letting out a yelp of pain and then putting a hoof to his ribs, “But I think the bitch bruised my ribs. It’s a little tough to... ahhh” Dean let out another yelp of pain as he tried to move his legs. “Oh, Is that a crow that flies tonight? I fear for those who are in her sight.” a zebra said as she walked to the Whinnycesters, looking up at the white faced mare as she ran off into the night. Sam leaned down and helped his older brother to stand as he looked to the zebra, “Excuse me, miss, but are you saying you know what that thing is?” “Indeed I do.” the zebra said, taking a good look at Dean, “But before I tell you, let Zecora heal you with some brew.” After a short ride on Carmine, the two brothers were led to a hut within the Everfree forest. Once inside the tree sized hut, Zecora led them to some seats near a black cauldron where began to stir and mix a bubbling pot of a red liquid. After a few minutes Zecora poured two cups of the red liquid, “ Here, this potion will do the trick and will you up, quite quick.” “Thanks,” Dean said, taking the drink in hoof and putting it to his lips. As the sweet tasting liquid hit his throat, he could already begin to feel the magic heal him. Sam looked up from his cup and at Zecora, “So you were going to tell us about this crow?” “The crow is an old legend from my tribe, as it was told by many a scribe. It is said that the black bird, is the gate between here and the next world. Upon black wing and mournful crows, go all of our innocent souls,” Zecora said as she took a drink of her own tea, “However, if this soul is violently taken from this life, then it will forever be filled with strife. In one years time does the crow bring the soul back, to seek the justice that the pony’s crime lack. Immortality and Invincibility will be the boon that the bird will bestow, To be able to take down her sworn foe. Thus the soul will always crave vengeance, until it will take the lives of those who have wronged it hence.” Slowly, Dean finished his drink and placed it down onto the floor, “So, how do we will kill this bitch?” “It is not a ghoul, spirit, or zombie, so killing it will not be easy,” Zecora said, “ Do you have a demon killing blade, or a dagger of alicorn’s bane?” Sam looked down, his mind deep in thought before looking back up at Zecora to answer, “Yeah, we got a demon killing dagger. It was... ” Sam then smiled at the memory of the dagger, “a gift from a friend.” “Then there is your answer, the demon killing dagger,” Zecora said, “It will kill the angel of vengeance, and make sure that it has its penance.” “Thanks for the help, Zecora,” Dean said as he got up and went to the door, “Lets go Sam.” Sam was shaken out his reverie and looked towards Dean, “Uh, right, coming Dean. Thanks for healing Dean Zecora.” “It was the least I could do for you two sirs, as thanks to Mary Whinnychester,” Zecora said. “You knew Mom?” Sam asked, his eyes wide in happiness. “ She was an old friend of mine, she came to me for help many a time,” Zecora said with a smile. Sam smiled back at the zebra before giving her a hug and walking out the door. As he headed towards where Camine sat in the area in front of the hut, he could hear his brother talking, “So, tomorrow we should head to the library and check out the... oh hey Sammy!” Dean said as he looked to his brother, “We were making some plans on how to get the living dead girl.” “Uh, Dean... I don’t think we should stop her,” Sam said, looking down. “What?” Dean asked in a deadpan tone. “Well, you heard what Zecora said:” Sam said, “the reason why she is doing all of this killing is because she was murdered violently.” “Yeah I heard. The girl was murdered about a year ago and now has been revived to take revenge on the ponies who killed her. That is why I think we should head to the library tomorrow and find out who was killed last year.” Dean said. “The thing is Dean,” Sam said, looking at his brother with sad eyes, “I don’t  think we should try and stop her.” “Wait, are you saying we should let this girl KILL those guys? That we should let this undead witch go and kill whoever she wants? That’s not how we do things Sammy. We go and find these monsters and kill them so we protect innocent ponies.” “But Dean, these ponies aren’t innocent, they’re murders,” Sam said as he got into the chariot, “maybe we should let her kill them, so she can find peace.” “No, Sam!” Dean commanded, a slight growl in his voice, “ We’re not about to let this chick start acting like judge and jury just because she was killed!” “She just wants justice for her crime.” Sam said. “THAT ISN’T JUSTICE SAMMY!” Dean yelled, glaring his green eyes at Sam in rage, “It’s vengeance, and who gave her the right to dish that out others?” “Isn’t that what we do,” Sam asked as Carmine began to walk out of the forest. “No, it isn’t,” Dean said calmly, “We’re hunters, we kill undead bastards to protect people from being killed like Dad was.” This last word caused Sam to pull back and look away from his brother, “ and I am going to protect those people... even if I don’t like it.” “Guys, please, lets not fight about this,” Carmine said, a motherly tone in her voice, “Lets just head back home and we can look over the newspapers at the library in the morning.” Sam and Dean silently agreed, deciding not to say anything the rest of the way home. The next morning, as Sam began to cook some breakfast for his older brother, Dean began to read over the newspaper, “That no good witch, she got another one,” Dean said. Sam overheard his brother as he carried in the two plates of food, one on his head and the other in his mouth, “Are you sure it’s her?” Sam asked as he placed his food onto the table. “Yeah, apparently after her little run in with me,” Dean said, eating some toast, “ witnesses reported seeing a white faced figure leaving a house where a mare was found hanging by her forehooves with her hind legs in her mouth. I swear, the moment I find this witch I’m stabbing the dagger so far through the chest thats it going to leave a clear hole to the other side. Even if I have to do it alone.” Sam looked up from his plate at this and smiled softly, “Dean, look, I know you don’t think I agree with you on this, and I don’t. I still think that she should be allowed to seek her peace, but you should know... I’ll have your back no matter what.” Dean only could smile and put away the paper as he got off the chair, “Come on, let’s head to the library and see what we can find.” With a nod, Sam followed his brother out to the chariot and rode to the library. Once at the massive tree Sam knocked on the door, “Excuse me, are you guys open?” “Yeah we’re open,” said a young male voice from inside, “Just give me a minute to get there.” After a few moments, the door opened to reveal a tiny purple dragon standing before the brothers, “Sorry if you’re expecting Twilight, but she and some of other friends had to go off and do something big. Something about five enchanted crystals, fate of the emerald islands, and a giant part dragon, part griffin, part bull, and part unicorn monster attempting to blow it all to kingdom come. Leaving me to take care of this place by myself, so... what do you guys need?” “Well, little guy,” Sam said, looking down at the little dragon. “The name’s Spike,” the purple dragon said. “Well, Spike,  we’re here to check out the newspaper archives. We need to see something,” Sam said. “Oh sure, follow me,” Spike said, “I should warn you though,” he added as he led the brothers to a very big room with at least 35 filing cabinets arranged in alphabetical and numerical order by length, “Twilight can be a little.” “OCD?” Dean asked as he looked up in awe at the size. “Yeah. Twilight wanted to make sure she had backups of backup in case there was anything she wanted to recheck that happened in the day,” Spike said as he left the two brothers in the room. For a few hours, the two brother began searching and looking over the newspapers for any signs of murders that happen the year before. It wasn’t until it was near nightfall when they had discovered something, “Dean, look at this,” Sam said, waving a hoof to Dean and pointed out the article in the paper. The police are still searching for suspects in the killing of a local mare. The mare in question, one Rain Melody, was found brutally murdered next to her husband at 1:00 A.M this evening. The only leads that the husband was able to give out in his traumatized state was the group’s number. Please be on the lookout and if there are any clues please send a report to Police Commander Hard Case or Lt. Wet Blanket. Dean looked over the paper and took it into his mouth, “Then let’s go and pay Mr. Melody a visit. Come on, Sam.” Dean said as he walked to towards the door. As Sam followed Dean out the door and to where Carmine stood, he let out a sigh, “I still don’t know, Dean, you read the report. The mare was eviscerated and the husband was left a broken wreck. How can you say that you want to protect people like that?” “I don’t care what they did. If the people said that they were guilty and sentenced them to die fine, but what I do know is that there is an undead wench out there killing ponies. Now, I don’t care what they did in this life, but they deserve a chance to fix things just the same as any pony,” Dean said as he got into the chariot. “And what if it was me, Dean?” Sam asked as he got in with his brother, “What if they killed me like that? Wouldn’t you want revenge on those guys?” “Just get in the chariot Sam,” Dean said plainly, “Carmine, take us to Sky Melody.” Carmine looked back at the brothers, “Sure Dean,” she said sadly. Having known them for most of their lives, she never did like to see them argue and fight as it always tore her up inside.Turning her head, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the many roads and streets that made up Ponyville. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated and made her horns glow a bright blue. For a few moments, she stood there with her horns glowing brightly as if she was making a connection to the entire world. After a minute of waiting, the impala opened her glowing white pupiless eyes, “Found him! Hold on boys, we’ll be there in a few seconds,” Carmine then reared her black legs as her eyes returned to a normal yellow. Setting down on the ground, she took off in a black blur across the town, leaving behind only a flame trail behind her and within in moments, she wound up at the front door of Sky Melody’s house. Sam was the first to knock on the door and to see a pink pegasus mare open it, “Oh, hello.” Sam looked at the mare questionly, “Uh, hi ma’am, we’re wondering if this is the home of Sky Melody?” “Sure, I’ll go get him.” the pink mare said, turning to the house, “Sky, sweetie, there are some stallions here to see you. Sorry for the wait, but he’s kind of busy getting things for our newcomer,” the pink pegasus said, looking down at her bulge on her stomach. “Congratulations to you both ma’am,” Sam said as a green unicorn stallion came to the door. “Thanks Pixie Dust.” Sky said as he watched his mate walk away, “What can I do for you two.” “We want to talk to you about your former wife murdering the guys who killed her,” Dean said plainly. “DEAN!” Sam yelled. “No, it’s alright,” Sky said, looking down with a sigh, “I figured it might have been her when I heard about the killings. Come with me and I will tell you the story.” Sky said as he led the two brothers to a sofa, “You see, after Melody died, I spent some time learning about this world and the next. I had heard a story about ponies coming back with the aid of the crow and how they would look like ghosts. When I had heard reports... I knew it was my Melody.” “What can you tell us about the killing, sir?” Sam asked, a sympathetic look in his eyes. With a sigh, Sky began, “It was about one year ago, on the day of our wedding. We were busy making important plans about our future, you know the kind. If we should buy a house, the breadwinner... children.” A small tear escaped his eye at the mention of children, “We were at the outskirts of Ponyville when we were attacked by a gang of five ponies. The first thing they did was take my wife to the side and beat her, breaking her legs. Then, as two of those... monsters were busy cutting my wife’s ears off, three of them went over to me and,” he trailed off, the memory hitting him hard. “They raped you?” Dean asked. Sky shuddered, not trying his best to hold back the tears and the horror, “It was the most horrible thing I could imagine. As they were,” another shudder escaped his lips, “ they walked over to my wife and carved her face like it was a pumpkin. THEY laughed at my wife’s pain, THEY LAUGHED! They then left me and my wife to die by the side of the road. Then, through luck or some sick joke by Celestia on high, I survived . I was too scared and traumatized to tell the police at what I saw, but I got the cutie mark and name of one of the thugs--Broken Glass.” “Why didn’t you kill him yourself?” Dean asked. “Well for one, I had met my lovely Pixie. I didn’t want to ruin our potential of having new life together ruined by a lifetime in jail. It would be unfair to her.” Sky said, “Second. I found I couldn’t, as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t. I guess I’m not brave enough to be a killer like my wife,”  he let out contented sigh. “Look man, we are going to end up killing your wife in order to stop her.” Dean said, not a bit of remorse in his voice. “I know, I know,” Sky said, “But, when you fight her, could you do one thing for me? Tell her that it took me a long time to fall for Pixie, but I will always love her and I will always keep her in my heart. I long for the day we meet again so I can tell her how I lived and all of the things that have happened to me.” Sam looked at Sky, a sympathetic look in his eye as he remembered somepony close to him, “We will.” As the two brothers got up, the unicorn quickly wrote something down on a piece of paper, “Here, take this. It’s the address of Broken Glass, he might be her next target.”          Nodding, Sam took the note in his mouth and put it into his satchel and walked out with his brother. Once outside, Sam looked to the side of a house, “Dean, what’s that?!” Pointing his brown hoof to the building’s side, he pointed to a pony on fire. The pony was pinned to the wall with three metal spikes in her hooves in a cross shape. As the fire began to burn away the coat, leaving behind blackened flesh, Sam could see the flames that surrounded the crucified pony forming the shape of a crow. “ It’s a message Sam,” Dean said, looking at the slowly burning pony, “It’s saying that we aren’t going to save the last guy.” “YOU STILL WANT TO SAVE THE GUY?!” Sam yelled as he looked to Dean, “Did you see what happened to Sky? He was a traumatized and broken mess, he could barely think about  the incident without breaking into tears and you still want to protect the guy. Why!?” Dean could only put on a stern look, his eyes narrowed as he said, “Get in the chariot Sam. Unless you want to let me kill this bitch alone.” Sam lowered his head, he knew his brother would stop at nothing once he had his mind set to it, “Ok,” he said, getting into the chariot. He knew Dean would have his reasons and he would find out soon enough. It only took Carmine an hour to find the location of the stallion and only a minute to arrive at his house just a mile outside of Ponyville and near Whitetail, “Well, here’s the place... it’s not what I expected,” Sam said, looking at the rather well decorated blue two story house with a fence around the yard. The yard contained a nice garden with various tulips and daisies. “What were you expecting? An old decrepit warehouse,” a small chuckle escaped Dean’s lips as he said this, getting out of the chariot. Walking through the field, the two brothers noticed the way that the field sat and how tidy the area actually was. As they made it to the door, Dean knocked on it, “Excuse me, anypony home?” “Yes?” Asked a soft feminine voice as she opened the door, “Hello sirs, may I help you with something?” “Broken Glass?” Sam asked, his eyebrow arched curiously.         “Oh, you want my husband,” the blue pegasus mare with the light green mane said, smiling, “I’ll get him. Broken, sweetie there’s--oh!” the mare then giggled as she looked down at her very large belly, “she wants her daddy too.”         Sam’s eyes opened wide in shock as he looked down at the mare’s very large stomach, “How... far along are you?”         “10 months,” Lavender Scent said, rubbing her belly gently, “then our little girl will come.”         “Yeah, Lavender, coming,” Broken Glass yelled as he came to the door, giving his wife a gentle kiss, “Whaddya want?”         Dean looked sternly at the red stallion, taking note of the broken bottle cutie mark, “We’re here to talk about your old gang and the recent murders.”         Broken’s eyes opened wide in horror as he stepped back and then looked to his wife, noting the look of worry in her eyes. Changing the look in his face to a calm one, he gently pushed his wife to the side, telling her not in words that it will be ok and to stay in the house. Lavender nodded and walked away. Walking outside, the stallion took a deep breath and closed the door, “I knew this was coming. Ever since the second murder I knew somepony wanted all of my old friends dead.”         “But we’re not--” objected Sam, reaching his hoof out.         “Look, I’m not going to make any big speeches about how sorry I was or I regret my actions,” Broken sighed, “What I did in the past, I was proud of. I raped, murdered, robbed, and did other monsterous things that you could barely think about and laughed the entire way. I know that the light at the end of my tunnel is nothing more than a hot furnace, and that I will NEVER spend eternity with my Lavender.But I--” he let out a shuddering breath before continuing, “-- want to do things differently now. After that last kill last year, I decided to change and a month later... I met Lavender. She was a waitress at a bar I visited a lot, and I had been falling for her ever since I started going there. One day, I asked her out. Then month later I found out that I had gotten her pregnant. This was it for me, I could do the cowardly thing and run away, leave that sweet thing alone, or I could redeem myself in the only way I could... by staying behind and helping that girl raise my daughter. It is obvious what I chose, isn’t it.”         Sam said nothing, he could only look down in a slow realization of why Dean had been adamant in protecting the stallion. Dean looked back over his shoulder at a bird in the distance before turning his head back to the stallion, “Look, buddy we’re not going to kill you. We’re here to protect you.”         Broken looked down, a bit of sadness coming to his eyes, “Thank you. Look, I know I deserve everything that’s coming to me, but please... I beg you, let me make up for my sins in this way. Let me redeem myself by taking care of my foal and make her better than me. She’s my hope, my dream, and my world. Give me ten years with her at least! Let me see her gain a cutie mark, hear her first word, get her first scrape; let me remove her nightmares and all of that other fatherly crap before I go. Please!” pleaded Broken as tears came to his eyes.         Dean continued to watch as the black bird fly overhead, noting what type of bird it was, “We’ll do all we can. You just get inside, now!” He commanded as he turned to the crow before him, and then turned to his little brother, “Well, Sammy, do you still want to go and let that bitch kill that stallion? Do you want that little girl in there to grow up without a dad like we did? Make that poor mare suffer just because that stallion murdered somepony.”         “No, Dean, I don’t,” Sam said, his eyes lowered in a bit of sadness. He then raised his head and narrowed his eyes in determination as he could see a shadow in the distance, “ I get it now, I really do. You want to give that a guy a chance to redeem himself, to make things right for both him and that foal.”         Dean turned to his little brother and smiled, “ It’s more than that Sam,” he began as he started to walk to the figure in the distance, “I’ve just got to be sure that even if a pony did something horrible, there has to be a least one chance that he can fix it. That he can redeem himself in some small way. No matter how bad his crime was.”         As Sam watched his older brother walk ahead of him, his eyes opened wide in realization, “You want to...” he then stopped himself as he remembered a time not too long ago, when he could have been in the same position as the stallion. He then quickly caught up with his brother as they met the white faced mare leaning on the side of a tree.         “Hello boys,” Rain said, a devilish smirk came to her, “ Come to pay Broken his last respects?”         Dean did not respond to the mare’s question, he only looked to Sam, “I’ll keep Clownie busy, you go get the knife.”         Without a second thought, Sam ran away from Dean and towards the chariot; however, Rain crouched and swept her hind legs at Sam causing him to trip. With a smirk, she bucked him in the shoulder to cause him to roll across the ground. Before she could do anything more; however, she was hit with two bolts from Dean’s crossbow in the neck.                  Turning her head with a smirk, the pale faced mare ran straight at Dean and punched him hard in the chest before knocking his forehoof to the side and to the ground and slamming her foot down on it, shattering the crossbow. Grunting with pain, Dean watched as the mare punched him hard in the face, following it up with a uppercut to the jaw and a swift hard buck into the chest, making  Dean fly back. As he laid on his back, gasping for air, Rain walked up to Dean and reared back her forehooves before slamming them down onto Dean’s chest. Raising her hooves again, she began to beat him repeatedly with her hooves, only stopping when she felt a sharp pain in her side.         Turning to where the attack came from, she saw a brown hoof slam itself against her face and another slash against her chest that made her stumble back. Sam, holding a silver knife in his hoof marked with enchanted writing, turned to his brother and helped him up, “Dean, are you ok?”         “I’m,” Dean coughed a little, wiping some blood from his lips, “fine, just fine.”         Rain wiped some of the blood that was dripping from the gash on her chest, and watched the blood trickled from the slash in her side, “ So... you boys came prepared? Naughty cheaters!” a chuckle came from her lips as she ran to Sam and kicked at his forelegs, making him buckle down to the ground. The slasher smile never leaving her lips, she turned to Dean and hit him in the left shoulder and foreleg. She then slammed both of her forehooves at Dean’s chin and and then bucked him hard, making him fly into the front wall of the house, leaving a dent.         Sam, trembling on his forehooves, slashed the blade along the flank of Rain and cut deep into her cutie mark.  As the mare yelled in pain, Sam then cut into her stomach’s side and then into her foreleg, severing the tendons within. As the blood oozed from her foreleg, staining the coat with the red liquid, Rain let out a scream of pain and rage. Turning to Sam, she used her good foreleg to punch Sam hard in the face before back hoofing him and kicking him with a hind leg, “My you boys are-” her voice was cut by a thrown dagger by Dean.         “Persistent? No, just too stubborn to quit!” Dean yelled as he got up, his breathing now ragged as he felt his chest on fire.         Suddenly, Broken opened the front door to look outside, “Are you two guys all right? OH Celestia... it is you.”         “Yeah, it’s me...and now it’s time to--Ugggh!” Rain then let out a gurgle as Sam cut deeply into her neck, making her turn her head in rage. Her eyes opened wide in pure anger, she rammed her head against Sam’s head and then kicked him hard in the chest, making him fall to the ground in pain and drop the dagger. As Sam laid there, moaning in pain, Rain raised her hind legs to crush Sam, only to feel the dagger slam itself deep into her side. Turning to her right she saw Dean holding the demon killing dagger in his mouth.         “GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!” Dean yelled as he made a few more cuts into Rain as Rain began to lay blow after blow onto Dean. Dean looked at the mare before him, panting hard, favoring his left side and his breathing ragged. He winced at the pain that he felt in the cuts in his side and back, as well as the pain in his hind leg.         “Broken, what is-- AHHHHH!” Lavender screamed from within the house.         “Oh, Celestia no,” Broken looked outside and to Carmine, “Quick, you there, get the doctor! My wife’s gone into labor!”         “W-wife? Labor?” Rain said in shock, her anger fading as she watched Carmine race off into the distance.         “Yeah, a wife.” Dean said as he got up, speaking through the pain, “You’re about to deprive a mare of the same thing that you want to kill Broken for.”         Sam struggled to get up, holding onto his shoulder with his hoof, “Please, I know you are in pain and you want vengance for everything’s that’s happened to you, but hold off on killing him for just a little longer.”         Before Rain could answer the question, she watched as  Carmine cameback with a pink maned earth pony in tow, Rain quickly jumped into the shadows as the nurse ran into the house. She rested there for only a few moments as she watched Sam and Dean move aside and allow Broken and his wife run outside and to the waiting chariot. As she looked down at the young mare, her thoughts began to go back to when she was alive. She began to remember the talks she and her husband had about children, the new lives they wanted to bring into the world.         “How many,” Sky asked as he helped to paint the wall.         “Well, let’s see. How about three to start, and then we’ll work our way from there,” Rain giggled, walking over to her husband and nibbling his ear.          As she began to remember this, a small tear came to her eye while she watched Carmine run off into the distance. Sighing, she leapt down and landed behind the Whinnychester brothers, “You know... there’s no guarantee that he’ll live up to his word that he’ll be a good father.”         “I don’t know, he might be father of the freaking year. Heck, you might be right, he’ll turn out to be an abusive asshole that’ll deserve a slow and painful death.” Dean said as he turned to face the white faced mare, the seriousness never leaving his face, “But he at least needs to try and atone.” he then looked to Sam, “No matter how bad his sins are.”         “Then what am I supposed to do?” Rain asked, looking broken.         “I don’t know. I know you won’t know any rest until he dies, but if he turns good,” Sam said, getting up and standing next to his brother, “then killing him will make you no better. And if he can’t change, then not killing him would be pointless.”         She let out a sigh, “But he looks like he wants to.” Rain then turned to the brothers and thrusted out her chest, “All right, do it.”         “What?” Sam asked.         “Stab me in the heart with the dagger, send me to heaven or hell or wherever my soul is going to go now. I don’t care, but I am going to just trust in him and believe that he actually will change. If he doesn’t,” Rain then smiled devilishly, “Then I’ll be there to make him pay.”         Dean nodded in agreement as he walked to the waiting mare, but Sam interjected, “Wait, I have something to tell you. Sky says that he still loves you, that he always will. He’s waiting to go to the afterlife with you so he can you all about his life and you can meet his new girl and you can all be a family.”         “I know,” Rain said, “I’m glad he moved on. I’m happy for him and I know he’ll make her happy. I can’t wait to see him again. I wanted him to, so I have no regrets.” With that, she  smiled as Dean took the knife and ramed it into her heart, making her dissipate in a flash of light. All that was left of the crow was a pile of ash. _____________________________________         A few hours later, Sam was waiting on top of the hospital, looking over Ponyville while he waited for his brother to come out. Though his legs were badly hurt, his wounds were less severe than Dean’s were. Placing his forehooves onto the railing of the roof, he began to think about the new life that was coming out in the hospital and the young mare that they had sent off to where she belonged, “Feeling good, Sam?” Dean asked as he walked out from the door.         “Legs are sore, and it hurts where the Crow cut me, but I’ll live,” Sam then looked at his brother concerned. “How about you?”         “Fine, it hurts a little to breathe though and I’m not going to be kicking anything for a while.” Dean said, walking next to his brother and watching the sunrise with him. “Hey, Sam?”         “Yeah Dean?” Sam asked, looking to his brother as the soft morning wind blew through his messy mop top brown mane.         “Remember when you asked me, if it was you that was killed like she was, would I try and stop you from taking vengeance?” Dean asked as he continued to look straight ahead, “I didn’t answer because... those guys would never have the chance to kill you. Because, they would have to go through me in order to get to you. And I will never let them lay a hand on you and I would die before I let anypony take you away. You would never become the crow, because I would become one on the spot to stop them from killing you.” He then smiled softly at his little brother and walked over to give him a hug.         Sam let out a small chuckle as he hugged his big brother, “Thanks Dean.”         “Oh, I checked on the foal. The mother and little filly are doing fine,” Dean said, breaking the embrace.         “That’s great!” Sam exclaimed.         “Yeah, and the parents were so grateful for our help in saving him... that they named the kid,” Dean then rubbed a hoof through his short cut sandy brown mane, “Samatha Deanelle, nice name huh?”         “Yeah, but I think that Deanelle Samatha would be better,” Sam said as he and Dean walked to the door. ________________________________________         Outside of the Broken house, a tall gangly stallion walked to the pile of ashes, “The ashes of a spirit of vengance,” the blue stallion smirked as he  scooped up the ashes in a little glass vial, “two down, two more to go. Oh Whinnycesters, I can’t thank you enough for this gift.”