//------------------------------//
// Killing in Style 
// Story: The Watchful Eye 
// by Mr Anomalous 
//------------------------------//


Killing in Style


"Now, you're obviously not a pony, so this may take some . . . time."

The creature, who now sat cross-legged on the floor of her boutique, cocked its head at Rarity. She found it rather cute, actually.

"And . . . I might need something to go off of."

The creature cocked its head to the other side.

"Is that an inquisitive look?" 

The creature nodded.

Rarity sighed and said: "Your sweater. I need it."

The creature immediately stood up and, in one fluid motion, pulled its grimy hoodie off and over its head, and then discarded it onto the floor in front of his hostess. 

Rarity goggled when she saw that the creature wasn't wearing anything underneath. The beast was rather . . . fit.

"A . . . are you a stallion or a mare?"

Another head-cock.

"Uh . . . you know . . . male or female?"

The creature, believe it or not, seemed to think about it for a second. Then it promptly held up a single index finger.

"Does that mean the first one?"

Nod.

"Male?"

Another nod.

"Interesting . . . "

And there they were, silent, the strange beast staring at Rarity. Needless to say, to Rarity at least, it was a tad awkward. 

"Well . . . like I said, making some new barding will take a while, so . . . off you go?"

And then he was gone.

Rarity only shook her head in wonderment and, taking the old sweater with her, she went back to her work room. Somehow, this was preferable to everything else that she had planned.



[/hr]

Tempest entered the Royal Guard recruitment center feeling both nervous and excited. How long had it been? Two months? Unfortunately, before he could remember, Tempest heard his name being called out in gusto.

"Tempest!" said the voice, exceptionally deep and masculine.

The dark Pegasus whom of which that name belonged too smiled sheepishly as Technical Sergeant Boulder burst into the room from behind the recruitment desk, the secretary baffled as to what exactly was going on, and drew him into a hearty embrace.

"You're back, Airman!" suddenly, the large Pegasus's demeanor changed, going from joyous to complete seriousness.

"Is the wife okay? You okay?"

"Well, good enough to start work again, at least."

"Good, good, glad to hear it. Now. Do you remember your locker number, soldier?"



[/hr]

It took literally minutes after Rainbow Dash walked in until she was flying again, clearing the skies of the scant clouds. It may have been an arduous task before, but Dash was glad to get back to work, without the pressing memories and guilt attacking her mercilessly.

Yes, she did have to fight those memories back more than once whilst on her first day back, but, overall, she was happy to be flying again.



[/hr]

Golden Mind entered his manor and stretched, having just returned from a business trip in Canterlot and, once again, hung his accessories. This particular meeting had proved quite fruitful, and Golden had just bought another business, though small it may have been.

As a matter of fact, the good luck had left him in such a positive mood, that he had all but forgotten about the strange marks in his kitchen. That, sadly, did not last as Golden entered the room and flicked on the light. Golden recoiled at the sight, but not because of the fact that it was still there, but because . . . well, because rather than three "I"s, there were only two.

Golden dashed forward and stared at the wall. There were no signs of removal, none, no signs of an extra layer of paint; it was as if the first of the three marks had simply vanished. And what could it mean?

That was it, Golden was hiring a guard, now.

The unicorn trotted hastily back to the door and snatched his cape and hat, and then leaving his home in darkness.



[/hr]

The heavy wooden door to Zecora's door thudded heavily as it swung shut, the sound marking a beginning to the zebra's day outside. She had spent the first quarter or so reading some ancient texts and preparing herself for her next project. Which, by the way, was a Manticore repellant. 

Now that she had all of the knowledge required, Zecora simply needed the actual, physical ingredients. 

Zecora knew the Everfree forest well enough, seeing as she had lived there for quite some time, but everyone makes mistakes.

Somewhere on her way to gather the seeds of a Leopard Vine, Zecora had been talking quietly to herself when she found herself straying from the path.

Zecora caught her mistake and simply turned around, her muzzle still buried in an old map. That was when a resounding thump quaked the ground and threw Zecora a good half-foot into the air. Finally, she looked up from her map just in time to see a Manticore, a very large one at that, rear up and roar.

It took less then a second before Zecora was off. How could she have been so foolish? But it didn't matter; what was done was done. If she could get back to her hut, some of her short-range wards could . . .

But then there was another noise, something zipping across the leaves, and a shout that came from neither Zecora nor the Manticore in pursuit of her.

Zecora skidded to a stop and jumped behind a tree, heaving and trying to catch her breath. Then she peeked just in time to see a creature, one that Zecora had never seen or heard of or read of anywhere in her entire life raise some sort of weapon.

There was a long series of loud pops and cracks and flashes of light and Zecora ducked back down into her spot, too terrified to move.

Where they fighting over her? The newcomer seemed to have, well, technology, unlike the Manticore, so that must mean that it is somewhat civilized, but not necessarily . . . .

All was silent. Zecora opted to look once more, only to get a muzzle-full of alien. Once more, Zecora found herself to frightened to move. She sent the commands to her limbs, but none of them obeyed.

The creature was tall and mostly dressed in very dark clothing, save for its torso. It appeared to have on some sort of mask and . . . and it was not attacking her. It was simply staring down at her.

Zecora began to smell a slight scent of burning flesh, and leaned to the left a bit, just to see what had happened to the predator that had been chasing her just moments ago. It was dead. A lot.

Zecora returned her attention to her impromptu savior, only to see that it, despite the fact that it had literally been right in front of her, had vanished.

Zecora could not stop herself from shaking, and she opted simply to go back to her hut, and try this another day.



[/hr]

Much like his mate, Rainbow Dash, at one time or another, Tempest had found his job to be arduous at times. And, also like his mate, Tempest was glad to be back. Heck, even the boring prospect of guarding a local unicorn's manor seemed at least relatively exciting!

And so Tempest couldn't stop humming a tune to himself as he followed Golden Mind back to his home.

"Now, Senior Airman Tempest, was it?"

"Yes."

"I know this may not be a job for you to enjoy much, but . . . "

"It's not my job to enjoy jobs, simply to do them."

"Ah, yes, serve and protect and all of that."

"Indeed."

"Continuing, Airman Tempest, this may be a task a bit below your skill set, but I believe it necessary. You see, I don't really fear for my life or anything, but there appears to be a vandal or two about my house. They have somehow been managing to get into my house and out without any trace, and are only leaving Roman Numerals above my kitchen sink." 

Tempest frowned. That was certainly odd. He voiced this, and Golden Mind, agreed, just as they reached the entrance to his manor.

"Now, kind sir, I would simply like for you to stand guard here for the night. Until then, would you like a cup of tea?"

Tempest grinned. "Got any ale?"



[/hr]

"So how does one go about summoning a strange alien when you are finished making their clothes for them? . . . " Rarity mused. One had to admit, it was a perplexing question.

And so she simply opted to wait. it - he - would probably come back soon. 

To fill that time, Rarity decided to write a letter to Twilight; she, Twilight, that is, had been looking for evidence regarding the creature. And so Rarity did just that, secretly hoping that this wouldn't mean that she couldn't finish her job.

It was a rather lengthy letter that spoke of her fear, the creature's strange innocence and odd adorableness, and how it did indeed have a sense of fashion. Rarity, as anyone would, found the whole situation rather perplexing as she stamped the envelope and set it aside for later.

Just then, Rarity felt a breeze and she was suddenly overwhelmed with a shadow.

"Ah, back just in time."

She turned around and saw the beast hopping up and down in excitement.

"Oh? Excited, are we?"

The creature nodded as he jumped eagerly.

"Well, I hope you don't mind, but I did a little extra than what you asked for!"

Rarity pointed to the set of clothing and eagerly awaited the beast's response. He stood, frozen in mid-jump, oddly enough, and drew in a long gasp.

And then squee'd.

He dashed over and pulled the dress shirt, suit coat, tie, and thick trench coat on, and donned the dark trilby. He turned around and gave Rarity a double thumbs-up and couldn't seem to stop nodding.

"And no extra charge!"

The beast punched the air, and then withdrew the pouch and handed it to Rarity. And then, unsurprisingly, he was gone.

Rarity smiled and then opened the pouch. Her smile froze. And then fell.

"Bottle . . . caps? . . . "