Aaah, the Everfree. One of the few places I feel truly at ease. And I'm never quite certain as to why.
Perhaps it's because I appeared here first in this world. Maybe it's due to my half-elf nature, putting me a bit more at ease in wooded areas. But maybe, just maybe, it's because no pony ever comes here willingly.
...Of course, I never like to dwell on the second reason. Mainly because of what the other half is.
Most people like to claim that they're good, or if not wholly good, then mostly well-intentioned. As did I!
...But after so long of listening to that little voice, of staring into the hole in my mind and soul...One that I'm certain didn't exist before I came to Equestria...
...I'm able to drown it out by doing minor evil things. Like setting up thieves guilds. And it silences itself fully when I commit to doing good things, like actually looking out for those under me, or giving money back to worthy organizations.
...Or stopping something terrible from happening to a town, like a diamond dog raiding party. Hundred years ago, that was...useful. Silenced that little voice for seventy-five years. Could have been more if some of them hadn't managed to flee.
Nobody said being transformed into a son of Murder would be fun or easy, and if anyone did, I'll punch their lights out. I have to shut the voice out, either by being too 'good' for it to break through, or by doing enough 'evil' that it'll be sated.
...I know what'll happen if I don't.
...And look at that, just as I get lost in my melancholy thoughts, the forest obliges me and gives me some targets. Or at least, some rustling that promises targets. Fortunately, I can blend into the shadows very well, and it allows me to get the drop on most any foe I face. I wonder what it'll be? Maticore? Cockatrice? Basilisk? Chimera? Hydra?
I smile and draw my short blades, one in each hand. This...is gonna be fun.
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(POV - Shining Armor)
Shining groaned and thumped his head into his desk. Reading the report from the investigators had turned up nothing new or useful. Whatever manner of creature the grandmaster of the thieves guild was, it completely defied all known understanding.
A knocking at the door drew Shining's attention and he raised his head to see one of the many couriers of the palace nearby with a scroll in his grasp. "Missive for you, sir, from the Princess."
Shining grabbed a hold of it with his magic and nodded to the courier. "Thank you."
As the pony left, Shining broke the wax seal and read.
To Shining Armor-
I believe I may know where the grandmaster of the thief guild you disbanded will show up next.
Over the years, I have made it a hobby to disband thief guilds, and have noticed a curious pattern emerge as of late.
Any guild in which the guildmaster is talented enough to run before being caught sets up shop in any town once...and only once.
It is therefor unlikely that the guildmaster will return to its den in Manehatten. However, there are a few cities that have never been beset by such intense crime.
One is this very city of Canterlot. The second is Appleloosa. And the final, most likely one, is Ponyville.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
As Shining Armor read the note, his fur bristled more and more until, finally, he let out a yell that caused all nearby guardsmen to drop what they had been doing and run to his office.
Upon seeing an angry Shining, the guards moved to escape before one opened his mouth and began to ask a question. This drew the Guard-Captain's attention and he refocused on the new arrivals. Which had been exactly what they had been trying to avoid.
"Get a contingent together! Discreet, silent, powerful! We're going to find this guildmaster if it's the last thing I do!"
One of the guards raised a hoof. Clearly, he'd not been through survival training yet. "Sir, where are they to go?"
"PONYVILLE!"
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(Marketh POV - 995 years ago)
The moment the world stopped spinning around me, I bent double and vomited out my lunch. Gah...That 'brunch wrap' had been a better idea going down.
Once I'd voided the contents of my stomach, I wiped off my mouth, only to pause as I felt my clothes shift. Clothes that I had been quite certain I had not been wearing a moment ago. I held my arm up to see that I was clad in dark grey, form-fitting clothing.
These are not my clothes. What...
I clapped my hands to my head in an effort to try and keep myself stable, to make the world stop spinning. That was when I felt the slightly-pointed nature of my ears.
Those aren't my ears. How...
I looked up and around to notice I was in the middle of a forest, not just in my backyard or something of the sort. A forest that seemed to exhude an aura of...wrongness, it being twisted somehow.
This is not my home. This isn't even anywhere I know of. Where...
And then a growl sounded from behind me. I stiffened and slowly turned around to see...
Manticore. Body of a lion, tail of a scorpion, wings of a bat slash dragon. Though some of the proportions are all wrong, its murderous intent is clear.
I slowly drew myself up and started to back away from the beast before me, and it matched me, step for step. I would have to deal with it in some fashion or another. And as it roared in a typical threat display, my mind suddenly shifted gears.
Paws are dangerous laceration weapons, due to his reach. As are his teeth, though those would cause puncture wounds first. Both are somewhat limited to his front. Side and back would be an angle of attack, were it not for the tail. Plan is, dodge or parry the claws, slip around the side, deal with the tail, and go in for the kill.
Before I could even process the last bit, I had drawn two swords and held one in each hand. I...flowed, is the only way I can put it. It wasn't just moving, it was like I knew where those claws were going to be, where the teeth would snap, and moved just enough to put myself out of reach. The tail came down, but a blade dealt with it by knocking it off to the side, leaving me behind the temporarily defenseless manticore. I moved in for the kill when my brain kicked back down a notch.
Wait, kill?! No!
I altered the trajectory of my blades and, instead of plunging them through his heart, I aimed for his shoulders instead, pinning him to the ground via the steel. The beast yowled and withdrew his tail, but another blade drawn from my back saw to holding that appendage off. I then leaned in to his ears and whispered.
"Consider this, beast. I could have killed you now. I could have ended you. It goes against my morals to kill mere animals, because they don't know better. I am not to be trifled with. I give you this one chance. Prove me wrong. Show me you know better, and walk away. Otherwise, I won't restrain myself next time."
The tail lifted, I sheathed my long sword and withdrew the shorter blades from the manticore's body, and we looked at each other for a moment. Then he snorted once at me and turned around, walking weakly off, clearly feeling his injuries.
What...was that? It was like I knew what to do, like I had been in combat a thousand times before, like I'd fought more foes and drowned myself in blood...
And then my mind pieced it together. I looked the way I did for a reason. I had been doing something before appearing in this wacky forest. And it was looking awfully like...
I'm...I'm my character? I'm Marketh Shadeblade? But...how?! Why?!
Then I heard two different things. One was from my self. It was a growling noise, but it wasn't from my stomach. It was as though someone had put an angry dog in my head. I had a sneaking suspicion as to what it was.
The second thing I heard drifted through the forest, and caused me to weep at what it said.
"The Lord of Murder shall perish, but in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny. Chaos shall be sown from their passing. So sayeth the wise Alaundo."
So...my doom is sealed. If I truly am Marketh now, then my fate is to either survive and make a terrible choice, or die to one of my half-brothers or sisters.
I blinked the burning tears from my eyes. I'd never believed in fate or destiny back home, and I wasn't going to start now.
No. No! My doom is not sealed! All I have to do is be well-informed! I just have to watch to see if there are any other Bhaalspawn in this world, and avoid them for as long as possible! But...
My mind turned over the various possibilities. Who dealt in information? Who stayed out of the way? Who knew more about his foes than his foes did?
...A thief guild's master, especially if what they deal in...
Is information...