Rain fell from the sky like there was no tomorrow. Thunder rumbled in the clouds. The winds were cold and they tore through the trees ruthlessly.
The night had taken hold of the land and a mighty storm was passing over the city of Canterlot. Perhaps it was a sign for the events that were about to unfold.
Two solar-guards were stationed at the castle’s perimeter, a young cadet and his older superior. They were waiting for the night guards to begin their shift.
The two guards stood next to each other, guarding a cellar door that lead to the castle’s medical supply storage. “Lovely weather we are having, right?” The old gray maned stallion asked his young cadet.
They young stallion flicked his head, getting some of his long mane out of his face. “Yeah super duper,” He said in a slightly feminine voice. “Where the hell are those night guards? Their shift started like ten minutes ago.”
The old stallion shook his head and sighed. “Do you have to talk like that? You’re not a mare, so why do you try to sound like one? Also, I can’t believe they allow you to keep your mane so long… Back in my days long, lush, beautiful manes were only for mares. I have said it before and I’ll say it again. You are a disgrace to the solar guards!”
“Like oh my god! Get over yourself and with all due respect, sir. Go fuck yourself!”
The old stallion raised an eyebrow and began to laugh. “Hahaha! Oh, stop it you. You know I’m just messing with you, Petal. I have seen what you can do and I’ll admit.. You got a pair of study balls, whether you want them or not,” He turned to his young cadet and elbowed him in the ribs.
“Omg ow!” Petal said with a snicker.
The old stallion laughed again. “You crack me up, kid. Promise me that you’ll never change.”
“Hehehe! Don’t worry... I won’t. Anyway, where the hell are those batboys?”
“Hrmg!” the old stallion grunted. “Who cares? We don’t need to those nasty yellowed eyed half breeds anyway. We can protect the princesses way better than they ever will be able to.”
“Sir, that’s like totally racist! But I agree with you, they are wimps.”
“Ahem!” A stallion grunted.
The two solar-guards turned around and saw two night-guards standing behind them, with annoyed scowls.
“Honestly? I hope you are joking.” one of the night guards said.
The old stallion walked up to the night guard and locked eyes with him. “Got a problem, batboy?”
The two stallions head-butted each other and began to grunt, like two caveponies fighting over a piece of meat.
Petal and the second night-guard stood nearby and watched the two stallions grunting it out. “Oh my god, is it only me or is it starting to get hot here?” Petal said while fanning himself with one of his hooves.
The night-guard next to him brought her hoof to her face.”Petal, shut your piehole… I mean your sausage-hole.”
“Omg! You’re such a cocktease, Pringle” Petal, gently pushed the night-guard, but his push was a bit harder than he intended.
The night-guard, lost her footing and landed in a mud puddle. “Opsie! Like I’m totally sorry!” petal, said as he helped the guard back to her hooves.
Pringle, grabbed Petal’s hoof and pulled him into the mud. The two of them began to wrestle each other, like two kids in a schoolyard.
Their little competition ended with Pringle, pushing a defeated Petal, to the ground.
“Who’s the wimp now?” she whispered into his ear.
“Oh, I dunno,” Petal said with a roll of his eyes.
Pringle, giggled at him. “It’s you, sugarbum.”
“Oh, really?” Petal, quickly swung his forehooves around her and pulled her into a death-hug.
Pringle, tried to get out of his grip, but he was too strong. “Cheater!”
They stopped squirming around and Petal, released his grip. They looked into each others eyes and allowed the world around them to fade. “You know, I've missed you. We should hang out more,” Petal said.
This took Pringle by surprise. “erhm… Sure how about a move next time we have some time off?”
“That sounds lovely… But I’m doing your hair!”
“Ahem,” The old solar guard said.
This caught their attention and they just remembered that they were supposed to be working. “How long have you been watching!?” Pringle, accidentally shouted.
“Just try to keep it in your pants, kids and get back in line.”
“Oh my god! We were totally not going to do anything!” Petal, whined. “She is not my type.” He turned to Pringle, who was giving him a death stare. “No offense, girlfriend!”
Pringle, groaned at him and walked up to the other night-guard. “Stallions,” she muttered. Petal, got out of the mud and walked up to his superior.
A few grasshoppers played their song of awkward silence for a few moments. “Anyway, why are the two of you so late?” The old stallion asked.
“A gardener said that he saw something lurking around in the dark, so we had to check it out,” Pringle said.
“He was too scared to go home and wanted us to escort him,” The second night guard said. The guard shook his head.“Such a wimp.”
The old solar stallion, sighed. “Sometimes I fear for the future... I mean honestly there is nothing around here that is dangerous.”
Suddenly lighting struck at a nearby tree, causing it to fall over. The tree fell on top of a marble statue and shattered it..
“Damn!” the old solar guard said. “I think mother nature wants us to leave,” he said with a chuckle. He turned to the other guards. “Wow, you guys look like you have seen a ghost. What’s wrong?”
None of the other guards said a word. The old guard turned back to the statue. Another bolt of lightning lit up the night and he saw some kind of reptile monster starring at them from where the tree once stood. “What the hell is that?”
The beast leaped out from behind the fallen tree and slowly walked up to them, the moonlight allowed the guards to get a good look at the beast in front of them.
It was huge, at least five times bigger than themselves. The beast’s body was ridiculously well built, it’s arms would put even the strongest minotaur to shame. The beast’s hands and feet were equipped with long sharp claws.
The beast’s body was covered with thick scales in a majestic display of red, green and black.
The beast, rose to his back legs, revealing its scaly white belly. The beast had towered over them before it stood up, but now it was truly a battle between four Davids and a Goliath.
The guards, did not move an inch. Whether it was because of fear or that they hoped that the beast was blind. We will never be known. The old stallion snapped out of it.“Swords out! Take defensive formation now! And proceed with caution!”
The three other guards snapped back into reality and drew their swords. The two batponies, took off into the sky and began to circle the beast. They had never seen anything like it before, but they were determined to take it down.
Venator, glanced at the ponies in the sky, but quickly decided that they were unworthy of his attention. He looked at the two guards that remained on the ground.
Neither one of them impressed him. They were prey unworthy of his claws, but he was hungry and when you are hungry. There is nothing as appetizing as a free meal.
“I don’t know what you are, but take a single step and we will kill you!” the old guard shouted.
Venator, glanced at the old guard. Lightning struck in the distance and he let out a loud, blood chilling roar, revealing his razor sharp teeth to them all.
“Fuck this!” Petal screamed, his voice cracked as he did. He sheathed his sword and ran towards the closest gate.
“No, you idiot! Get back in forma-” the old guard yelled, but before he was able to finish his sentence, the beast had sprung into action.
Venator, leaped into the air and landed in front of the panicking pony. “Ah!” Petal, screamed. Venator, raised his right hand and slammed it into the ground.
Petal, took the opportunity he had been given. He avoided the beast’s massive hand by rolling to the side. The beast’s hand hit the ground with a loud crash, creating a big cloud of dust. Much to Venator’s surprise he did not feel anything under his hand besides dirt. He saw a shadow in the dust and suddenly a sharp pain spread in his hand.
Petal, had jammed his sword into the beast’s hand. He quickly leaped back and rejoined his superior.
The old stallion slapped Petal’s chin with his free hoof.“What the hell are you doing!?” he roared.
Petal, took of his helmet. He grabbed a dagger, from his belt and cut of a large portion of his long pink mane. He put his helmet back on his head and turned to his superior. “You’re right. Long manes are for mares, Sir!” he said in a very deep and serious voice.
The old stallion, smiled at his young recruit. “And all it took was a monster. Nice work, but if you ever do anything like that ever again. I’ll make sure that you never have a single strand of mane on your head ever again!”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
Venator, brought his hand to his face and saw the sword. His eyes narrowed and he roared in anger. He charged towards the two guards and swatted his claws at them.
The two guards dogged his wild swings with ease and ran up behind him. Petal, jumped onto the beast’s tail and ran up its back.
He jumped over the beast’s head and grabbed two daggers, while in midair. He slammed the daggers into the beast’s neck and held onto them.
Venator, roared in pain and began to violently shake to get Petal off his back. Petal, used the beast’s movement to his advantage and let go of the daggers at just the right time. He landed on the ground behind the beast and was about to run back to a safe distance.
Venator, swung his tail at the pony behind him. The impact sent Petal flying in the air. He was mere seconds from slamming into a statue, but luckily the two Night-guards caught him. “What is your condition?!” Pringle, yelled.
“A few broken ribs, but I’m too pumped on adrenaline to care!” Petal, broke loose and ran back to his superior’s side. “We need to do something about that tail. Cause that hurt like a bitch!”
The old stallion, whistled at the night-guards. “Listen! Me and the kid are going to keep him busy. You two need to cut the tendons in the beast’s legs. Am I making myself clear?!”
“Loud and clear! Pringle, shouted back”
The old stallion looked at Petal. “Stay back! And observe the master.”
The old stallion, sheathed his sword and grabbed a bottle from his pocket, the bottle was filled with a green liquid. He ran up behind the beast and threw a pebble at him. “Hey, Shitface!”
Venator, growled in annoyance and turned around. He took a deep breath and let loose a long, primal roar.
The old stallion, smirked. “Just as planned, you idiot,” He took the opportunity and threw the bottle at the ground.
Venator, charged at the old stallion. He rose his claws into the air and slammed them down, breaking the bottle. The old stallion dodged the attack. Venator, growled and tried to pull his claws out of the ground, but much to his surprise, they were stuck. He struggled to get them out, but he was totally trapped.
“Now!” the old stallion yelled.
The two pegasi, swooped down towards the trapped beast, swords at the ready. Venator, heard them coming and a smirk spread across his face.
They were just about to strike, when suddenly, the beast performed something that looked like a handstand. The night-guards, were unable to stop their descent and crashed into the ground.
Venator, planted his feet on the opposite side of the crashed pegasi and stood like a bridge, with his belly up towards the sky. He kicked with his legs and slammed them into the guard’s backs, the impact stirred up a lot of dust. The two solar-guards were unable to see what happened and perhaps that was for the best.
Venator, forced himself to vomit. His stomach acids successfully dissolved the ground that held him. He stood back up and grabbed the barely alive guards with his hands.
He opened his mouth and bit the guard’s head off. The guard’s thick armor was torn to pieces, by Venator’s strong teeth and powerful jaws. He shoved the remaining part of the guard into his mouth and chewed violently.
Pringle, witnessed the whole thing. She wanted to scream, but no sound made it past her throat. She felt how the beast slowly brought her to its mouth and once she saw the beast’s teeth, she started to cry.
Her spirit was crushed and she lost all hope.
The dust cleared and the two remaining guards looked in horror as the beast slammed its jaws on Pringle’s body.
“Pringle!” Petal, shouted.
Venator, swallowed her and pulled one of the daggers out from his back. He proceeded to use it as a toothpick.
Blood dripped from the his mouth as he licked his lips. He grinned menacingly at the remaining guards and growled contently.
Lighting struck and Petal, fell to his knees. “Pringle, he said in between sobs. The Surge of the adrenaline faded and his body began to grow cold. His emotions were out of control and he lost all will to live.
“Snap out of it, Petal!” Suddenly he got slapped in the face by his superior. “This is not the time for mourning!”
The sudden pain snapped him out of the depression and back into reality. “You, Motherfucker. I’ll kill you for this,” Petal growled under his breath. He reached for his sword, but the pain was too great.
Without the adrenaline to numb the pain in his body, he was useless.
His superior walked up to him.“Run, Petal. I’ll handle this.”
“What?!” Petal, rose to his hooves. “I’m not leaving you to fight this beast alone!”
The old stallion, elbowed Petal in the side and Petal fell to the ground again. “Argh!”
“You are in no condition to fight… Listen you are young and I don’t want you to die here. Run to the barracks and report this,” tears formed in the old stallions eyes and he had a hard time talking.
“Then I wa- then I want you to get some medic- medical treatment,” tears streamed down his face and he did not try to hide it. “I order you to live!”
Petal, rose to his hooves and tried his best to hold back his tears. “Yes, Sir. But please… Kill that son of a bitch.
The old stallion, turned to the beast. He could hear Petal’s hooves against the ground as he ran away. He grabbed his sword. “Come at me you, monster!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.
Venator, roared and charged towards the stallion.
The stallion, held his sword hard and braced for impact. He saw the beast coming and he took a deep breath. `As long as Petal gets out of here I don’t care about what’s going to happen to me,´ he thought.
Venator, reached the old stallion, but instead of crashing into him. He leaped away from him and landed in front of Petal.
The old stallion, quickly turned around.
A bolt of lightning illuminated the night and he could clearly see what was happening. It was as if time itself slowed down.
He saw how the beast grabbed a hold of Petal. The beast, ripped him limb from limb. It tore open his stomach and eat his guts like spaghetti. He heard Petal’s agonising screams of pain. He wanted to run over there and do something, but his body refused to move.
It was as if something forced him to watch it. He cursed himself for his ignorance. It was obvious that the beast would go for Petal, he was limping for crying out loud.
The imagery of Petal getting eaten would haunt his dreams forever and his screams would never leave his ears, but worst of all was the beasts smirk. That shiteating grin and sadistic laugh.
Suddenly something snapped in the old stallion’s mind. He could only see, the monster. The rest of the world faded into darkness. He heard nothing, but the beast.
Before him stood not a beast. Before him stood a monster. A monster that he had to kill. The mistress of vengeance had caught him and he was now her puppet.
He could feel death’s cold hand on his shoulder, but vengeance slapped it away. Death had to wait his turn.
His heart was beating faster than ever before and his entire body longed for the blood of his enemy. This was no longer a battle between a stallion and a beast.
It was a battle between two monsters, who acted on nothing, but instinct. He, grabbed his sword and ran towards the only thing in his field of vision. His foe, his hated enemy.
Venator, felt how the air around the stallions changed and he could smell his bloodlust.
He found the whole thing humorous and it caused him to laugh, but he decided to humor his prey. He spread out his arm and started running towards the charging stallion.
Lightning struck and the two began to fight. Venator, slashed at the stallion with wide swings. His claws dug into the stallions face, but the blow was too shallow to kill.
The stallion ignored the blood in his eyes and jumped into the air with all his might. He slammed his blade into the beast’s forehead and it fell to the ground with a loud thud. Or at least that’s what he thought happened.
However in reality he had only pierced the roof of Venator’s mouth and completely missed his forehead. Venator, had slammed his jaws on his back legs and he had fallen to the ground with a thud.
“That’s for Petal, you son of a bith-” his words were cut of by Venator, who had slammed his left hand into his back. His claws dug themselves into his flesh and the stallion felt how the beast’s claws were crushing his ribs.
The old stallion, screamed in pain. “How are you still alive?! I destroyed your brain!”
Venator, held the stallion close to his face and looked into his eyes. He brought his right hand to the top of his head and pulled out the sword. He held the stallion close to his mouth. He watched in delight as all the the color faded from the stallion’s face and how he lost all hope.
The beast’s wound had closed in mere seconds. The stallion could not believe what he was seeing. “What...the...fuck...are...you?”
Venator, brought the stallion in front of his face and stared into his eyes. “Your worst nightmare,” he whispered into the stallions ear, in a cold voice.
“Petal…” The old stallion said with his last breath.
Lighting struck in the distance and Venator feasted on the last of his preys. He swallowed the last piece and walked towards the castle. “Look at the bright side…at least you’ll be together forever now,” he laughed maniacally, into the night.
Venator, reached the castle wall and began searching for the entrance leading to the storage. He found it and tore it open. He crouched down and walked into the basement.
This basement was part of the castle’s hospital wing and he knew that if he followed it long enough, he would arrive at his destination.
After a few minutes of walking he arrived in front of two huge doors, the sign above the doors read “Rehabilitation Center and swimming pool.”
This place had been his private oasis many times, when he was a doctor. And this time would be no different. Steam always rose from the waters and the whole place was a lot warmer than the rest of the castle. He pushed the doors open and enjoyed the wave of heat hitting his body.
All the water came from an underground hot spring, beneath the castle. He closed the doors and locked them, with a big silver padlock.
Once the door was secured, he crawled into the biggest pool. He laid his head on the raising stairs and closed his eyes.
“I’m stuffed,” he said to himself, moments before falling asleep.