Returning the Favor
Rarity trudged along, head down, exhausted and ashamed. Every now and then she cast a glance up at this new beast, but the very air around it was hostile enough to cause her to avert her eyes immediately.
This new alien was not inherently evil, but neither was he as nice as the first. Any and all attempts made by Rarity to converse were completely ignored. But, she thought, I should be glad that I'm getting home.
It took a very long time, and soon Rarity was covered in grime and seat, but she was too tired to even care. She had even forgotten what day it was. She simply needed rest.
Rarity's head ran into something solid.
"Ooh!" she exclaimed, rubbing her horn.
Rarity examined what she had rammed into and was surprised to find out that it was her dwelling, the Carousel Boutique.
Rarity cast a confused glance about her; everything looked to be in place.
"How? . . . When? . . ."
The beast was not even looking at her.
Rarity's ears drooped. "Oh," she said, "that's right. You don't talk, either."
The beast simply stood there, arms folded, looking . . . somewhere.
"Well," Rarity said, "thank you. Good night?"
Crickets.
"Well all righty then," she said, swinging open her door and entering her home, nothing but her bed entering her mind.
- - -
"Oh my . . . ."
It was a rare thing, getting Princess Celestia to lapse in her almost-constant stature and prose. But it had been done.
The morning light was bright in the throne room, illuminating the large throne at the end, but the center of attention was not Celestia's envied seat, but a cage in the center. In this cage was a monster. It did not prowl, snarl at its captors, swipe at them or anything of the sort. In fact, it didn't do anything but gaze at its aforementioned captors with what was seemed to be a fascinated and even curious look, its head cocked in an admittedly slightly slightly adorable fashion.
Some may have even found it hard to believe that this was the creature responsible for all of those heinous killings, if it were not for the fact that it was covered in dried blood and that it had several weapons in its possession.
A pair of the guards hoofed through these weapons, pausing and looking in awe at the ones hailing from the alien's world. They were not blades or anything of the sort, but they sure looked scary.
But when the two guards heard Celestia utter her words, straightened up and saluted. Celestia paid them no heed.
"So this is then infamous 'Eye'?" Celestia muttered mostly to herself.
"Yes," Twilight answered, proud.
The creature waved timidly from inside the cage.
"Can it . . . can it understand us?" Celestia asked, eyes still on the alien.
"From what we can tell, yes, but for some reason it never vocally communicates. We've only gotten a couple of written notes . . . . " Twilight explained.
Celestia frowned and said: "Let me see them."
Twilight's magic summed the two pieces of grubby paper and Celestia examined them.
Herro!
Celestia glanced at Twilight.
"I think that's just an intentional twisting of the word 'hello,'" she said quickly.
Fords are terrible; buy yourself a Chevy.
"That, I'm not sure. But most of it seems to be Equestrian."
Celestia returned the notes to her junior companion and gazed at the creature, who simply gazed right back.
"Just what are we going to do with you?"
- - -
The figure sat, bored, on a boulder. The golden-colored unicorn on the table had finally bled out. He died rather well, compared to, well, other things, in the end.
The unicorn had stared him down, using all of his energy to glare into the figure's eyes.
But it didn't matter how well the unicorn was, what mattered was now that the unicorn was dead, the figure was bored.
He didn't have the same senses that his companion did, and no criminal-ponies were actually in sight, and so nothing to do.
Until the figure sensed something. He searched through his feelings, trying to identify the signal. He stopped.
That was what happened.
Suddenly, the cave was empty, the only sound being that of the deceased unicorn's blood, dripping onto the stone floor.
- - -
Swift Eye always found night assignments the most interesting. Yes all guard-duties were quite boring, but at night, the darkness replaced the world that you knew, and allowed you to substitute your own reality. Every night was different, sometimes there was a massive battle, a wide forest, rolling, snowy mountains, or perhaps a vast, distant city.
Tonight, however, he could not imagine such things, for he was one of the four guards tasked with guarding the creature until the Princesses could decide what to do with it.
Swift didn't really know himself.
"Hey Wisp," he said, "what do you think's gonna happen?'
"I don't really know," the other guard replied, "They can't really just execute hit; I've seen how fast it can be. Maybe they'll just lock him up. Maybe Sombra could be his roommate . . . ." Wisp mused.
Swift smiled. He was about to respond with something about how Sombra was probably very thoroughly dead when, true to his name, he caught something with his eye.
Wisp had noticed, too--this is why they were on the job--and the other two noticed their interest in that single dark corner. Soon, all four sets of eyes were riveted onto the shadows, spears lowered and voices ready to sound the alarm.
But nothing happened.
"Well . . . we both saw that . . ." Wisp said.
Swift whispered something back and they began a debate.
What none of the four guards, two conversing and two still slightly panicky, noticed was another movement, behind them and the cage this time.
It was small . . . green.
Inside of the cage, the creature had its head cocked into the darkness.
A quiet click sounded and the cage door swung open soundlessly. The creature, without hesitation, stepped from its confinements.
A green aura lifted the creature's crowbar from its spot and into the creature's hand.
Then, suddenly, a flurry, muffled voices, a cry of surprise, and a few clanks, and none of the guards were left standing.
The creature stood menacingly, watching the rising and the lowering of each guard's breath while fresh blood dripped down his weapon of choice.
- - -
He came upon his destination. The doors were large, so he opened them slowly. He did not do so all of the way, but instead he provided himself means by which he could peek inside. He saw nor heard nothing.
Slowly, he raised his weapon. He tensed and then he let out a battle cry, smashing the doors open, ready to fight.
But he slumped when he was what was on the other side.
Four unconscious bodies, wounded but alive, lay strewn about the marble floor. But he had his attention elsewhere; farther into the throne room was a cage, and sitting a top that cage was the one he was looking for. And sitting right next to him was a mint-green unicorn, clad in dark clothing.
They were sharing a doughnut.