Chapter Four: The Blood Hunger
The sleeping quarters were empty, save for one yellow Pegasus. Fluttershy sat on her bed, her dark steel armor hung carefully creating a phantom soldier to stand guard for her. A boiled leather vest covered her upper body and her wings clutched around her lower body, revealing only the edge of the dark circle of blades on her flank. In her solitude, she muttered to the parchment trapped between her hooves, its frayed edges and the creases in the paper made it clear the papyrus was aged several years, and tiny flakes of the wrinkled parchment had rained down around her the moment Fluttershy touched it.
"May you keep our wings straight and our flights above the clouds." She prayed half-heartedly. "When the time has come for our final landing, bring us to your infinite sky and protect us from the fall to the cold earth." The words came naturally, but even after all the years she found it difficult to speak them with the conviction with which most others had spoken it.
She paused when the customary praise and words had been given, hesitant to ask her personal salvation. "I...I had only one thing to ask for; they say you never make any mistakes, everypony around me says so." She licked her lips evidence that even talking made her uncomfortable, let alone to such a temperamental deity. "I don't doubt that... it's just... you made me this... this thing. I'm not fit for such a... a... gift." Fluttershy had to force the last word. "It would be far better used on somepony stronger, or more willing... so, please... reconsider... thank you."
Her eyes flickered open slowly, and she stared down at the parchment now, taking in the image upon it. A blinding white Pegasus faced away from the tumult below her, instead focusing on the black horse before her. The artist had captured the eyes as the best feature, red blots filled with hatred. "I don't want to be a monster." Fluttershy whispered to the white figure that had turned its back. "They say your brother was a... was like me. I just don't want to hurt anyone." Words failed her quickly. She sighed, folding the thick paper into a bent clump before tucking into the uniform bedside table that everyone in her regiment had.
The bunks were evenly spaced apart, giving only a modicum of room for possessions. Most of the space had been set aside for the armor stands and the small side table. All of the beds were made neatly, looking almost identical, but it was clear that they were in constant use. The flattened pillows, the threadbare blankets and the scuffs about the floor were obvious signs that the space was shared. Two areas stood out easily from their surroundings, places that hadn't yet been used. At the foot of the beds were plaques, dull bronze in color that bore the initials of resident. The two beds had been set aside for a "RD" and a "G".
Fluttershy stood from her bunk, collecting the rest of the leathers to wrap around her legs in attempt to fight back against the more pronounced chill of the day. Stopping by the first of the two beds, the one that was dedicated to "RD", Fluttershy smiled. "Rainbow will be leaving the hospital today." Her lips played up her face, but reminded her of the grim smile that was ever constant beside them. The grin died then, and she made her way to the door. The bed nearest to the door belonged to "G", but she breezed past it, not giving it a second thought.
She was greeted with a pleasant surprise outside. The eternal cloud cover had split slightly, allowing a few minutes of
pure, unfiltered sunshine through. After a moment spent basking, Fluttershy moved on, away from the barracks.
She passed by a few other buildings, mostly barracks built in the exact same fashion as her own. Small fields of clouds separated the constructs, and all were in use. Young pegasi were training under the orders of scattered sergeants. Some were moving supplies back and forth for strength training, while others, mostly the younger ones, were in the air practicing their flying. To the left of the strength trainers was the sparring zone. Pairs and, in some cases, groups fought against one another. The fights were ruthless as had been instructed. They were to show no mercy to their opponents, and not to stop fighting until they had been instructed, or the other had stopped breathing.
Fluttershy smiled at the young ones who had been brought to fight. They flailed wildly at each other, never landing any hits, which was to be expected when they all tended to keep their eyes closed. Fluttershy couldn't help but reminisce about her own training.
The drill sergeant barked an order at her, his face was only inches away from her ear. "Whelp! I told you, no food or rest until you actually fight a match!" Fluttershy shrunk away from the imposing stallion.
"I'm sorry sir." She breathed; her eyes clenched shut, tears running down her face. "I can't."
"You can, and will." He stood firm, blocking her exit and nudging her forcefully with his nose.
"Hey, sir." A young male voice called to the officer, it was shrill, even for a child's. "She doesn't want to fight me, can you blame her? I mean I am pretty intimidating." There was a joking tone to his voice. "They don't call me Ankle Biter for nothing."
The officer snorted. "A clown? The last thing we need is a joker in our ranks." He paused, narrowing his eyes in recognition before letting loose a spluttering laugh. "Wait a tick, I know you! You're the one who... Oh, this is priceless!" Still laughing, the sergeant nudged the cowering Pegasus from his path and walked into the ring. Fluttershy opened her eyes, compelled to watch now. "I think this runt is the perfect match for you whelp. He's, what is it? Three years older than you? And still half the size!" He still laughed, sending spittle into the colt's face.
"It's two, and don't call me runt." The colt's voice had changed now, a darker edge to it.
"What's the matter? I thought you were supposed to be the joker of your family." He taunted. "Don't you want people to laugh?" The officer let out a dramatic sigh. "Maybe, had you been training rather than joking, your family wouldn't have lost that dear sister of yours, eh, runt?" The sounds of the children nearby became null at his last comment; Fluttershy herself could barely stifle a gasp.
"She died gloriously-" The colt's voice had gone from dark to pitch black, stilling the hearts of everyone in earshot, "-In battle. I owe her my life." He assured the officer. "She fell as a true warrior. You, on the other hoof, are standing in front of me mocking a great mare." Fluttershy looked between the officer's hooves, staring at the pale green colt. "Tell me," Confidence crept back into his voice. "When did you fight last? Was it when you dozed off on your shift and let half a dozen unicorns through the breach?" The sound of the gasps was only shut out by the thud of hooves on skin and the sharp "Oof!" The colt let out.
A second later he was face down next to Fluttershy, wheezing after his lost breath. "Hi." He turned his head to face her. "Name's Gallion....tell my uncle I went down bravely." The clouds let out a wet thump as the officer landed beside Gallion, glowering down on the struggling colt. "So that's it?" He coughed. "You can fight, but only the young ones?" The stallion kicked him again, sending him rolling into Fluttershy and breaking a few ribs. "Ferocious!" The stupid colt still mocked. Repeatedly the sergeant kicked him, bruising his underbelly and shattering most every rib.
"Cut it out!" A rainbow blur appeared suddenly between the two.
"Thanks, but I don't need your help." Gallion groaned, clutching at his ruined stomach.
"I couldn't care less if you were dead right now; I just want to get something done today." The filly with the rainbow mane told him, turning her head slightly to face him. "Matter of fact, might be better, not have to deal with your shi-" A sharp kick to the face silenced her and sent the filly soaring over Fluttershy's head. A thin line of red followed her, dribbling from her torn up mouth. Fluttershy felt a few drops land on her and glanced down to see small specks of the blood had pooled on her hooves. She felt her head get lighter and lighter progressively until all she could see was darkness.
She shook her head, and forced her eyes open to marvel at the frightening sight before her. The officer twitched on the ground in front of her, his blood falling through the clouds and to the ground hundreds of feet below. "Look away!" A ragged voice called from beside her, willing her away from the body. "Trust me, if you don't want to set yourself off again, look away." She recognized the voice; it belonged to the green colt. "Are you ok?" He asked, concerned.
"Y-Y-yes." Fluttershy was trembling and could feel the familiar tweak of tears at the corner of her eyes. "Wh-what h-ha-ha-" She couldn't force the words out, but he could tell what she meant.
"Once Red started bleeding, you sort of lost it. Lunged at the guy and wouldn't let up off him." She was staring now at the groaning green colt. "You sure you're ok? Look kind of sick." He questioned.
"I'm f-f-f-fine." She muttered, and then let loose a stream of vomit, sending a shower of sick onto the ground, miles below them.
"Yeah, sure." He chuckled. "What's your name?" He asked abruptly, extending a hoof toward her. "I'm Gallion if you forgot." Fluttershy realized she had.
"Fluttershy." Taking the hoof, the two shook a greeting.
"Nice to meet you." The two spoke for a short while before the medics arrived and took him, the officer and the rainbow pony away.
It wasn't the happiest memory, but it was one she held close to her heart all the same. Fluttershy moved on, leaving the bustling field, and onwards to the infirmary. She remembered that day vividly as it yielded her only two friends. Had it not been for either of them, she was sure in the fact she would be dead, if not by a rogue unicorn than by her own hooves. Then, Gallion left.
She sighed, deciding that today would be a day of remembrance. Once that was determined she became lost to memory, entertaining herself as she walked across the grounds and on the long journey to the hospital.
The air swirled around the two as Gallion and Fluttershy snuck by the unsuspecting captains. Gallion was fighting back laughter as he laid on the thin cloud behind the congregation of captains. "Now," He whispered in his slightly deepened voice. "We make ourselves scarce... but not before this." The two scurried off as Gallion let out a cry. "You feathered barbarians! Face us like the soldiers you claim to be!" Gallion expertly mimicked the pronounced, posh accent of upper class unicorns. The group jumped to their feet as one and bolted towards the voice, blood already boiling. Before they could reach the pair the clouds gave out beneath their feet, sending them dropping a few hundred feet before they could snap their wings out to stop their fall.
She and Gallion were already half a mile away, Gallion still laughing as he surgically cut through clouds, waving and rolling through the slightly warming air. "If only we could see their faces!" Was the only thing he could manage to say against his laughing. After a few moments he calmed down enough to continue, "But the shouts were worth it!" Fluttershy nodded along, but didn't join in with the laughter. It was her fear that had brought her along with the stallion rather than a desire for pranks. The two had made quick friends since that day four years ago. She trusted him like a brother, and loved him in much the same way. He found the same solace in her, playing older sibling and protector.
She had tagged along with many of his pranks, only to watch over him and play look out. Fluttershy was the only one who would; many of the other's in her regiment hadn't taken to him as well as she had. Most harbored unhidden scorn and contempt for the stallion, some going as far as to threaten his life.
Gallion was coming down off his chuckles as they landed at the barracks. "Of course you were behind this." Rainbow was leaned against the doorframe of the barracks, a condescending glare cast at Gallion. "You're going to get her killed." She shoved off, a lethal calm in her expression.
"Lighten up, she's fine, I'm fine, most of the captains aren't going to be able to fly straight for a week. Everyone wins!" Nonchalant, he tried to step past the silently aggravated mare.
Rainbow put herself in front of him, blocking the entrance completely. "Yeah, this time, but what about the next? Or after that?" She demanded."You can't just take her with you down the drain!" Rainbow was on the verge of shouting now, the fact that the rest of the platoon was asleep keep her from the true rage she felt. "You may be going nowhere, but you're going alone!"
Gallion glared back now. “I’m going nowhere? Says you, Ms. Black Blur. What other garbage have you bought that those lying scumbags sold you?” They were close enough to touch noses, the hatred jumping like lightning between the two.
“They aren’t liars, they are patriots.” She told him, sending her own arc towards him. “They’ve been fighting for your freedom since before you were even born.”
“By killing villages upon villages of ponies who couldn’t tell the sharp end of a blade?” He retorted, planting his hooves into the clouds, the sparks flying from his own gaze now. “Yes, real patriotic.”
“Please you two…”Fluttershy begged quietly, but her words were lost in Rainbow’s speech.
“They were stopping supply lines, any trained general will tell you that an army travels on its stomach.”
"Come on Red, you can't honestly think-"
"You aren't being clever with the names."
"Please...just stop…" Fluttershy tried to make them listen, but her feeble voice was still drowned out, by Gallion this time.
"What? They fit! You're Red, Blue, Orange, everything!"
"And you're clever for pointing that out?"
"I'm clever because I'm smarter than you."
"Yet my family wanted me."
“Stop it!” Fluttershy pulled Gallion away from the mare before he could strike. “You two are fighting like children-“
“We are children, forced to give our lives to this stupid war!” She felt the stallion trying to shove by, but not as forcefully as she knew he could.
“Like children.” Fluttershy stood firm on this, staring into his eyes. She knew that her stare held a special effect on ponies, which is what she was hoping for now. “Now stop it and go to bed.”
“You swore you would never use that on me.” He snarled, trying to meet her gaze but failing. "I'll be out of here soon anyway... hell with you guys." Gallion shouldered past Fluttershy and made his way to the barracks, giving Dash a shove and sending her stumbling. The two watched Gallion barrel into the whelp's sleeping quarters, receiving a clamor of complaints as his welcome.
Fluttershy glared at Rainbow, her usual meekness forgotten temporarily. "You had no right." She grumbled, following her disgruntled friend.
"I'm not wrong am I?" Dash muttered and gave slow chase to her friend, eager to get out of the darkness. A sudden cold snap was freezing her blood.
Fluttershy was sure that one conversation had set off the events in both of her friend’s minds. Rainbow's obsession with being the soldier Gallion was never to be, and Gallion's dreams of escape, were catalysed by the same events. She was half way to the infirmary now. She took long, slow steps, still trapped in her own world of memory. Clouds once again shaded the sun, suffocating the natural light.
A decade had passed since they had first met, and still the trio acted the same. All that had changed was the location. Since then they had grown, but Gallion remained the smallest of them all, waiting on his growth spurt even now. The tension between him and Rainbow had only grown with them. Even now as they made toward the training field through the cascade of wet snow, Fluttershy had to stand between them to prevent murder as tempers ran hot enough to keep all three more than warm.
“I’m telling you,” Rainbow insisted, hovering a few feet off the ground. “There was only one way to do it!”
The stallion snorted, a cloud of his frozen breath momentarily shading his violet eyes. “Of course it was. I mean, when isn’t torture the only method?”
Fluttershy sighed between them, forgotten again in their bickering. She had suffered the brunt of most of their complaints about the other, constantly torn between the two warring worlds of her only allies. Though, at this point the pretense of friendship had been dropped. They were siblings in all but blood at this point, Fluttershy and her two companions.
"What'd you think, sis?" Gallion's ever friendly voice invited her from her detached state.
"Um...." She hesitantly responded, thinking back to the morning and who she'd agreed with last. "I think you're right." She offered, hoping that would keep the delicate balance between them.
"Of course I am!" Gallion sneered, sticking out his tongue to mock his streaked adversary. "I always am. At least 'till you lose count, right Fluttershy?" She gave a squeak, startled that he had noticed. "Don't worry, I don't blame you." He gave a sideways glance at Dash and noticed her surprise. "You didn't notice? Well, not much of a surprise, really..." Rainbow swung at him, cracking him over the side of his head.
She shot off, vanishing from sight in a second, leaving the pair behind. "Hey sis," Gallion had started calling her by the pet name two years ago, and now it held more sway than her given name as she was rarely addressed by it anymore. "You're kinda quiet today," Fluttershy gave him a skeptical look, managing to look comically quizzical. "More so than normal!" He laughed. "What's up? Boy problem? Is it me? Sorry, I'll try and turn the sexy down a smidge." He chortled still, even with the grave look that marred her usually peaceful face.
"They know." It was the only thing that needed saying; he knew exactly what she was talking about.
"How?" This was the only question that he needed to ask. Gallion's laugh had fallen off, replaced by a monotone grumble. "Better yet, who?" Fluttershy was never more afraid than when his voice had lost emotion, an alien event for the sporadic pony. "Who told them? We are the only ones who are supposed to know!" He was biting back his rage now, sending tremors quaking about his body. "Don't worry," He was speaking now, trying to reassure somepony - more likely than not, himself - but still failing dramatically. "We'll think of something."
"No, we won't." Fluttershy had stopped walking and now sat on one of the frigid clouds of ice. "We never do." She blubbered now, terrified. "They had to find out today, of all days."
Gallion sat beside her. "It's going to be fine; you're going to be fine, because you've got a genius for a brother. When's your grinning? I need to know my schedule." He asked, somehow producing a friendly, reassuring tone.
Fluttershy laughed meekly through the budding tears. "Tonight. You call yourself my brother. I'm fifteen today."
Fluttershy shook herself, not wanting to relive the terror of that grisly day. Out of the drowning pool of memory she had sunk into, she looked around, momentarily lost. The street was familiar to her, but she couldn't yet place it in her current mental state. Turning in a full circle, she got her bearings, drawing in her surroundings. The barracks around her shared similarly fashioned symbols, from the seventh to tenth regiment. The constant reoccurring image was the dark hoof print that took up most of the sigils, whether surrounded by the burning frontlines of the seventh, caught in the hail storm of squalling eighth, gripped in the talons of the bloody griffons that the ninth brought back, or lost amidst the night sky of the silent tenth.
She processed this and oriented herself, turning on her heel to make way, slightly embarrassed that she had missed her target. On her way back to the hospital, she saw that her isolation had ended. Two more Pegasus had joined her on the path. Nodding at the stallions, Fluttershy walked parallel to them, feeling intrusive as the pair had stopped their chatter the moment she had arrived on the road. In her discomfort something about the two caught her eye, though she couldn't have said what.
They strode on in lock step; each crunching stride made the uncomfortable silence all the more unbearable. The snow fell onto them as they traveled, and Fluttershy noted their shivers. They shook harder than any trained soldier, but it was a very chilling day she tried to reason. Then it dawned on her what had drawn her attention. Their armor did not fit in the way Pegasus armor did, especially the helmets. Slowing herself down, Fluttershy started to examine the pair in more detail and saw more discrepancies on them. Their wings were drawn to far back on their bodies, and the cantor they moved with was a mixture of dainty and nervous, like they were unused to the nimbus street beneath them.
"Well," Fluttershy bumped into one of the stallions, they had stopped walking while she had examined them. "It seems you have come too close for your own good." He spoke in an accent that she had heard Gallion parrot with ease. "And perhaps learned something that had best remain a secret?" The two stared down at her now, grins on their faces at the upcoming slaughter. Their scars were a wonderful counterfeit, looking almost natural until they smiled. The lines vanished for a moment, needing the time to reform in their new locations.
"No," She whispered, taking a few steps back. "I don't want to fight you." She begged with them, taking hurried steps away only to have them close the gap.
"Ah, pues bien!" The second one spoke in a accent similar to his compatriot, but the words were cut sharply and the slang was unrecognizable. "We'll just leave you be then? Don't think so, Cáscara, we've got us a cover to keep." His grin showed black, stained teeth. A hoof darted out and caught the yellow pony under the chin, sending Fluttershy reeling. The taste of iron flooded her mouth, along with a burning pain in her check were her teeth sunk into the soft flesh.
Spitting onto her hoof her words were garbled now as the blood pooled in her mouth. "I'm sorry." Her hoof was stained red one moment, and then painted up to the joint the next. The time had been lost along with the life of one of the stallions. The other was nowhere to be found, but a trail of blood told his tale of a narrow brush with death. Averting her eyes, Fluttershy jumped and took off at her top speed, making way to the nearest officer’s tent to report what she had just seen.
An hour later the body had been gathered and Fluttershy investigated thoroughly, every aspect of the day gone over to determine the provocation of the unicorns. Only once the interrogation had concluded and she was free to go, did Fluttershy remember what she had intended to do that day. "May I be excused?" she softly asked of the stallion taking the report. "If you don't mind, that is."
The stallion was a darker yellow than her, and his mane a raging fire of red. "Of course, thank you for your time, Blood Hunger." She stiffened at the name, shyness and shame locked her body. The stallion looked from his report. "Something wrong?" He asked, regarding her casually.
"No, nothing... have a nice day." Flutttershy swung her wings back, covering the symbol too late. The black ring of six blades surrounding a "B" of the same color had left its hiding place under her wing. It was obviously burnt into her side, the intricate overlapping blades burrowed a few centimeters into her flesh. She was marked as the next Blood Hunger, a true one in the drought of the past generations.
The name had been given to the god Manocouses, the story of his thirst for blood told to scare foals since before anypony could remember. Whenever the violent deity witnessed battle or bloodshed, a hunger awoke within, sending him into a fit of blind rage and making him ten times as strong. He was revered for this, even after his descent to the stone and the stripping of his powers. Still, the trait still shone through, rearing its head most every generation in varying strengths. Fluttershy's had manifested much stronger than recorded, rivaling the devil's own rage.
She stood with the rest of her month, shivering harder than the others. "So that is how it must be." Feather Foot addressed the group as the armored pegasi closed the circle around the cluster of young ones, regretful looks plastered across their face. "I wish it hadn't have come to this, but some things can't be avoided." Fluttershy felt the rough twine of the rope slide through her lips and the weight of the stone drag her down.
She dropped with a yelp, feeling the harsh grip pull into her cheeks. The wind whistled by, the only indication that she was moving as her eyes were held shut. "Look up," Feather Foot flew incomparably fast, keeping pace with her descent. "Look up or you will die and you can't die. It would ruin everything." Fluttershy opened her eye a crack, her eyes must have been more tear soaked than she thought, since the captain had lost every feature. Only a shadow of the horse fell beside her. "Fly! Open your eyes and fly!" His voice was seductive, enticing her to obey. "Fly! Fly you foal!" The sticky lifeblood landed on her face, its fading heat sending disgust in shudders through her. She couldn't help but look now as the air became noticeably thicker and harder for her to breath. A crimson coating obscured her vision, but the color was enough since she had no doubt what it was. Her wings snapped taut, and she hung in the air, growling like a rabid animal. Spinning, she wheeled in a few full circles, releasing the rope on the upward arc of the fourth spin. The rock cleared the cloud easily, and on its way back down met briefly with her rear hooves, shattering into pebbles.
Fluttershy awoke from her trance to six strong horses holding her in place. A whistling shriek pierced the silence on the out of the way cloud bank. She twisted her head around, groggily searching for the origin of the noise. An old Pegasus stood next to a pit of coals, impossibly suspended on the dark grey clouds. A metal rod stuck out of the pit which, at least as far as Fluttershy could reason in her impaired state, must have been whining. "Hold her still; we cannot afford to have her loose." The voice was one she heard every day, but couldn't place yet. The old horse withdrew the rod, fully exposing the white, blisteringly hot metal to the frozen air. "That's funny," Fluttershy thought, a relaxed smile coming to her face as the screaming metal moved through the dancing rain she had just noticed. "It looks like a firefly." The rod hissed with every drop, creating a chorus of its angry battle against the water.
The old horse closed the gap between them, his decaying teeth clamped down on the cool end. "I wonder what he's doing with that." Fluttershy nodded her head, and giggled for no reason. "Funny, looks like he is walking to me."
"She's awake?" The flame bearer's lips moved around the metal.
"She's in no state to fight back now, and even if she was my elites would be more than a match." The everyday voice told him, urging him on. "Hurry, else she may regain some of her senses."
The old horse moved to her side. "Funny, it's like he's lining up with me."
He aligned the poker with her flank. "Funny, looks like he wants to poke me with that."
The scent of burning filled the air. "Funny, it's like he actually-" She woke up then, feeling the intense pain on her flank, shrieking loud enough to mask the cries of the boiling rod.
Fully awake now, she fought against her captors, but without the same vigor she had mustered against the boulder. Feather Foot stepped into her line of sight, cracking her across the face with his hoof. "Calm down, it's over." He commanded her attention, his voice an odd mixture of anger and satisfaction. Fluttershy realized that the gray clouds were not airborne, but piles of rock piled onto a mountain range. "You are the new Blood Hunger; this old coot was our old one, and you're replacing him." The old horse nodded in agreement, "Now, you listen and you listen good: you belong to the title, not the other way around. It's been stamped on your flank, do you know why?" Fluttershy shook her head. "It means that no matter what your mark is, no matter when your talent reveals, you are the Blood Hunger. Nothing else, understand?" She nodded in understanding, biting her lip still to stop herself from screaming in pain. "Good. If it's any comfort, the plan is perfectly in motion." He told her, a sinister shadow creeping over his face.
Fluttershy sighed, she had hoped to forget that memory, but it clung to her mind like a foal to its mother’s teat. She had covered much of the distance now, arriving at the hospital at last. The day had hardly gone the way she had hoped it would; the sunshine in the morning had been a good omen, but unable to predict the things to come. The friendly nurse who presided over Rainbow's ward waved her in excitedly. "You'll never guess what has happened!" She grabbed Fluttershy by the wrist and dragged her into Rainbow's room, still babbling with childlike enthusiasm.
Fluttershy gazed in, seeing the only pleasant surprise of the day. Rainbow was out of bed, doing pushups on the floor. "49, 50, 51..." She counted in a voice that had grown hoarse from disuse. Sweat rolling down her face and hitting the floor. She was completely oblivious to the intrusion.
Unable to keep the glee from her face, Fluttershy jumped at her, tackling her as Rainbow rose from the push position. She hugged her surrogate sister for a few minutes, and Rainbow begrudgingly hugged back, but Fluttershy knew that her sister was more than happy to see her alive and well. Fluttershy hung tight onto her, not wanting to release her, in fear of what she had to tell the multicolored mare next. It was time to reveal the secret that only two had shared since the day the plan started those months ago.
Thanks again to Bob for once again editing and for the cover art.