//------------------------------// // Fanning the Flames // Story: A Spark of Insanity // by Scourge012 //------------------------------// "... How are you, Sophie?" "That's not my name." "Shh..." "Is this your brother and sister?" ... "I asked you... a question." "Yes." "Okay, you and me... We're gonna play a little game. It's kinda like... wheels of fortune. Except, there's no wheel... and I aint gonna give you no fortune." "Come here... come here. Okay, here's what we're gonna do." ... "You're gonna choose... which one lives, and which one dies." ---------- "You bastard!" With that, the white one with a purple mane straight up charges me. You've gotta hand it to these ponies, they've got balls. Hm? Oh, yes. I picked the purple one up and was going to carry her to a safe place, when this crazy bitch with a british accent attacks me out of nowhere. She must have been stunned by what I had just done and just got over it. Also, why she didn't just attack me with magic I'll never know. I guess blind rage can do that to people. Anyways, a pair of my guys tackle her to the ground and come up holding her a few moments later. She's yelling something I don't understand at them, so I cut her off. "Yeah, uh... take her back to the camp. Make sure she's tied up. Separated from our other prisoners." I hold purple bitch up. "Take her too. Same deal." They carry her off as Razor Blades walks up to me. "Any plans boss?" He asks while wiping some of the blood off his knives. "Well, I could go for some cake." I smile. "There's a bakery around here, isn't there?" ---------- Pinkie Pie was scared. That was quite unusual. Normally she'd just giggle at the ghosties, but that didn't really work against scary ponies. They weren't just scary, they were mean, too. She'd seen them hurting over ponies and stealing things.. "Don't worry Pinkie." Her friend Applejack whispered. "Everything's going to be okay." The two of them had decided to hide behind the counter of the bakery until they could come up with a plan that could solve this mess. Granted, it was a horrible hiding spot, but every time the duo had tried to find someplace better, a red pony had run by the door, scaring them back into hiding. They weren't alone, either. There was at least five other ponies hiding under tables or whatever other furniture they could find. The Cakes were among them. "What're we gonna do?" The pink mare asked. "What if they come in here? What if they-" Her ramblings were cut short as a boot collided with the door of the bakery, sending it flying open. They ducked down as several beings entered the building. They couldn't see them, but they could hear them. A long sniff was about the first thing they heard. Followed by a single voice. "Oh... god." There was a short pause. "It smells fucking amazing in here, doesn't it, hermano?" "Sure does, boss." "I can see cupcakes right there, in the counter." Another pause. "Those look good, can you get me one?" "No problem." As the hoofsteps got louder and closer to them, the two mares held their breath, praying that they wouldn't be spotted. There was a shattering of glass, then the steps faded before loud chewing was audible. "Wow. This... this is fucking great." More silence, them shuffling and a gasp. "Oh, fuck. I'm sorry! I had no idea I was with... a lady." Scrambling. Muffled yelling. "Where are my manners?" A chuckle. "It was so rude of me to talk with my mouth full." The muffled yelling became whimpering. Another male voice spoke up. "Don't hurt her! Please! I'll give you anything! just don't-" A loud smack was heard. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" "You son of a- "I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Whoever was yelling took a few breaths to calm down before continuing. "What's your name?" "C- Cup Cake." Pinkie gasped before quickly covering her mouth, fearing she had been heard. There was a short burst of laughter that confirmed her fears. "What did I tell you? Where there's one, there's always more." Realizing that her hope of escaping had been lost, Pinkie quickly turned to her friend and wispered. "Applejack, he knows I'm here. I'll distract him, take the back door. Get to Sweet Apple Acres." "But-" Pinkie shook her head, eyes intense. "Do it." Applejack waited a few seconds before nodding. The voice continued. "Okay, whoever's behind the counter can come out, or I'm going to hurt this lady. Badly." Another pause, Pinkie could swear he was doing it just for dramatic effect. "I'll count to five." "... One." "... T-" "I'm coming out!" As the earth pony slowly stood up from the counter, she took in the scene around her. A bipedal figure was clutching Ms. Cake and holding her off her hooves, a blade at her throat. Mr. Cake was in the process of getting up as blood ran from his nose. Several tough looking ponies were holding the other ponies who had taken shelter in the bakery at knifepoint. "Hey!" The tall being exclaimed, dropping the mare and pointing his knife at her. "I've been looking for you." The pink pony didn't answer him. "What the fuck?" He asked. "You deaf?" Upon hearing this, she sprinted forward, catching her oppressors by surprise. She easily got by the first two, and knocked the tall guy off balance as she sped out the door. "Shit!" She heard a pony call from inside. "Get her!" She looked back to see the group filing out of Sugarcube Corner and into the street after her. Everything was going according to plan. Or at least it was, until she tripped. She only caught a glimpse of what it was, but it looked like a pony. More specifically, a dead one. She should have watched where she was going. Anything else was cut off as the mowhawk man attacked her. He was on top her in a flash, trying to hit her with something metal. "Mother fucker!" He growled as she blocked his weapon with her hooves. "Making me run!" "Stupid little-" She never heard the rest as whatever he was wielding collided hard with her forehead and the world went dark. ---------- "Little pink..." I paused and took a breath. "Cocksucker." I turned my head to see a group of five at the group of pirates looking at me, stunned. I guess they were surprised I beat a mare without a moments hesitation. Or something like that. I don't know. These guys are kinda pussies. "Thanks for the help... shitheads." I spat. I swear a few of them flinched. Okay, that leaves... only one more, and then I'll have all the element bearers which will greatly reduce my chances of getting stoned again. With that risk out of the way, I'll be free to do what I want. At least for the next day or so... until Celestia decides to come looking for these mares. But, first things first. "We're still missing one." I said as one picked up the mare and carried her off. "The farmer. We need her." One of my guys piped up. "I heard she lives on the outskirts of town. By a big orchard." "Then that's where we're going." I replied, a smirk growing on m face. "Lead the way." ---------- Applejack had never run so fast in her life. Every instinct, every synapse of her mind, every fibre of her being was screaming at her to go back and help her friend Pinkie Pie, but she fought them off. She had to get to her family. She had to protect them! As she burst through the front door of her home, she could already tell that there had been some sort of commotion. Her kitchen had been totally ransacked. Pots, pans, and cutlery of all sorts littered the floor. She was about to go upstairs to check her bedroom when she heard yelling from her backyard. "Where the hell is she!?" When this question was answered with nothing but silence, she heard a loud smack. Wasting no time, she galloped to the back door which was wide open. With her eyes as wide as the doorway, she took in the scene before her. Her brother was being held by a stallion about the same size as he was while a smaller colt with a red headband hit him. Oh, and her sister was being held by a third goon and forced to watch. So there was that. Applejack saw red. She immediately charged at the pony hitting her brother and bucked him with all her might. Years of hard labour had made her legs powerful, and she was almost sure she heard ribs breaking as the blow connected. The bigger stallion dropped her brother and tackled her, using his weight to pin her down. After struggling for a moment, she freed her left hoof and delivered a satisfying punch to his jaw. Which he answered with one of his own. As her head snapped back and hit the earth, her vision swam. He was too heavy. She couldn't fight him. As he raised his hoof to strike her again, something collided with his face, knocking him off her and onto the ground beside her. The sun was in her eyes as she looked up at whoever saved her from her attacker, but she could tell he or her was... very tall. "You look like you could use a hand up, hermana." ---------- I hold my hand out to her. Come on you stupid blonde bitch. Take it. I can tell she's hesitant. But that doesn't make any sense. Why should she be? "Come on!" I exclaim, spooking her a bit. "There's more of them coming... I can get you to a safe place." She's still thinking about it. What does it take? "Your brother and sister can come too." I say, attempting to inject as much warmth into my voice as possible. It isn't really my strong suit. "What are you waiting for?" Finally, she takes it. Grasping her hoof, I pull her up. And promptly punch her in the nose as hard as I can. She falls on the ground, holding her face while crying out in pain. Seriously, how stupid can you get? I can't help but laugh. In between bouts of giggles, I manage to get some words out. "You- you fucking ponies..." I'm bent over laughing at this point. "G- get more- more gullible every day.... I swear!" Motioning for the goons I had brought with me to come out of the house. Honestly, I'm surprised that my goons could get I walked over to the stallion I had kicked in the head. "Look at me. Hey!" I get his attention. "Look at me... okay, do you know why I did what I did?" Blank stare. Goddamnit. "Hey! You fuck!" I swear to god. He's pissed me off. Let's see if another kick to the ribs will loosen his lips. "ANSWER ME!" "Y- yeah I do." He finally gasps. I can tell he's already got a black eye. "You told us not to hurt them. I- I should have listened." He doesn't deserve an answer, so I don't give him one. Turning away, I take a look at what's going on. Let's see, I've got one element bearer, and by the resemblance these three have to each other, her brother and sister. "Grab them." I order as a pair of my guys pick up the two siblings and place them side by side in front of Applejack. I drag the mare of the hour closer to me. She's still a little dazed, and she looks exhausted, not to mention the bruises on her face. I gently brush a strand of hair out of her face. "... How are you, Sophie?" ---------- "What!?" She exclaimed, eyes flying open as I explained the rules of our game. "You can't do this! I- you- please!" Her red brother was loudly making pleas for the lives of his family while her younger sister simply cried. "Hey. Hey. Shh. Just stay quiet." I say to the pair before turning back to Applejack. Grabbing one of her hooves, I place it over mine, which is holding my pistol. She's fighting my grip, but she's still weak. That, and there's another stallion holding her in her place. "Don't- please! no no no no- STOP!" She's getting more and more terrified as time passes. I'm slowly moving my hand to the left and then the right, alternating between pointing the gun at her brother, then her sister. Chances are, she doesn't even know what my gun does, but she can probably guess that it's going to do something bad. God damn, that crying is really annoying. BANG! The gun goes off with a crack as a single casing falls to the grass and the filly slumps to the ground. Her siblings both cry out in unison as it happens. I can feel the pain in their voices. And I love it. What? I never claimed to be a good guy. Quickly twitching my hand to the left, I pull the trigger again. The recoil briefly snaps my hand back. At the same time, the red stallion is thrown backwards onto the grass. Applejack is screaming at the top of her lungs now. I look at her, faking surprise. "You- you... greedy, you!" I laugh as I push her away. "I give you one and you take two!" If she had any fight left in her, it's long gone now. She curls up into a ball, cradling herself while sobs wrack her body. "Grab her." I say before a few stallions pick her up and carry her off. She doesn't even fight back. I turn to Razor Blades. "Okay, we're done here. Let's bounce." He nods before fallowing me. I could've sworn I saw something flash across his face before he nodded. It was either regret... or disgust. ---------- Spike had never written so fast before in his life. His writing quill danced across the paper, creating a messy, scared script. The message wasn't very thorough, but he hoped it would get Ponyville the help it needed. The knocking on his door was getting louder by the second. There! I was done. He quickly rolled it, and lifted it in front of his mouth, preparing to send it. Just then, the door was knocked off it's hinges by a group of three ponies. Quickly sending the scroll in a brilliant burst of green fire, he leaped under Twilight's bed. As the stallions entered the library, he prayed to the sun and moon that the letter would reach it's destination.