//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: I Should Kill You. Slowly. // Story: A Ghost And A Roach // by Delta 727 //------------------------------// "Alright, I'm gonna give you guys three seconds to give me back my mask." Ghost lunged for his signature ghost mask, which was being tossed about between three Changelings. The three were left by the Queen to keep an eye on Ghost, but they ended up messing with him instead. They were floating a couple inches above his head and out to his sides, and were now playing catch with Ghost's mask. After several failed lunges, he finally managed to reach up and grab his mask from them. The three just laughed at him as he slid it back on. Then, laughing, the three floated up into the dark abyss that lead almost endlessly up above Ghost's head, leaving him alone once again. He was starting to get frustrated. "I hope Roach shot that bloody Queen the moment he saw her," Ghost mumbled to himself. "Roach, you better come get me soon. I'm gonna go insane down here." He sat down on the ground, leaning against one of the crystals in the wall, resting his head against it. "And if that Celestia doesn't show her face around here soon at least, I'm gonna put one in both your knees." The room fell silent as Ghost stopped talking. In fact, it fell so silent that it was almost maddening to Ghost. After a while, he had begun to stand up and pace around. Then, he counted each step. Then each breath. Then each second he felt he would slip into madness. The exit was just footsteps away from him, but he knew he'd be killed almost instantly if he tried to leave, or so the Queen said. He didn't care as long as he was out of that room, but he had to stay alive. For Roach. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, something appealed to Ghost. If that Queen really wanted to kill Ghost, she would've done it by now. No, she wanted him alive. Which he hoped meant that she was bluffing when she told him leaving would mean instant death. Deciding to risk it all, he stepped up to the exit of the cave. He stood there for a few moments, weighing his options. Walk into the tunnel and either die instantly, releasing him from that darkness forever, or live, and either miraculously find Roach or get lost in those tunnels where he'd either wait until he was found or die. Not a moment after figuring all this out, Ghost decided that anything was better than sticking around in that room any longer. He took a deep breath, and stepped out into the tunnel. He was just inside the darkness, and everything in front of him was black. He'd left the room, and entered the cavern. Nothing happened. He took another step. Still nothing. Finally, he began a slow walk down the tunnel, and nothing stopped him along the way. He held out a single hand and touched the cold wall, feeling his way down the tunnel. He had no idea where he was going, but the tunnel had to lead somewhere. So he kept walking. --- "Look, I don't know who you are, but if you're trying to scare me, then you need to take a few more acting classes." Roach was barely phased by the pony standing half-shrouded in darkness only a few yards in front of him. She was clearly not amused by his comments. "How about this, okay?" Roach went on, "You tell me where my partner is, give us our guns back, and we'll leave without hurting anyone. Sound good." The pony only began a low laugh. "What a pathetic little creature you are," it said. "Resorting to meaningless negotiation when cornered." "Good one," Roach replied. "You just gonna insult me all day, or are you at least gonna give me a reason for why I'm here? Oh, I've got an idea! How about you tell me where you've locked up my partner?" "Oh, I can assure you," the pony said, "Your partner is far from 'locked up'. But my Changelings have a close eye on him. He is not going anywhere if he is smart." "If that's the case," Roach pretended to check a watch on his wrist, "Then he should be here any second now. He's not one to sit still if he can help it. But I'm just gonna quickly change the subject and ask again, why do you want someone like me so bad?" "Oh, well," the pony said, "I may as well humor you if you are going to be a guest with us." The pony took a few steps further into the light, revealing herself only a little more. "It is very simple, really. You are very skilled and powerful soldiers where you are from, I'm aware. Imagine if every one of my Changelings was a copy of you or your partner. My army would be a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, they cannot be whatever they wish at any time. They need an original, a model. So with a little help, I brought you here. Now you and your partner are going to help me retake Equestria." The pony began a maniacal laugh, but soon died down as she heard Roach laughing almost as much. "And what are you laughing at?" "That is the single worst plan I've ever heard!" Roach replied. "Do you really think if we were good enough soldiers to make into an army, we would've let our own commander kill us in the first place? We ain't here because we just magically teleported. Back in our world, we're dead. You got two quite literally deadbeat soldiers to fight for you, and now you want two thousand of them or something like that?" Roach started to laugh so hard that he was bent over, supporting himself on his knees. Then, he looked up and pointed at the pony. "You're even dumber than I thought you were!" Quite suddenly, Roach was thrown off his feet and slammed against the back wall. He grunted in pain, and started to cough a couple times as the pony approached. "You need to be taught when to keep your mouth shut," the pony warned. "Or do I need to shut it for you?" "Sorry, Mom," Roach replied, "I'm just not feeling very obedient today. Just kinda born with it, y'know?" "If it were my choice, I would silence you permanently," the pony said. "Wait, what's that?" Roach held a hand to his ear. "It's not your choice? Ohohoh, the Queen's answering to someone else, huh? I thought you were in control of an empire, but you're no more than a pawn yourself." The pony didn't respond. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? Too sad to admit you're not the one in control? How's it feel, huh? Answering to someone else?" Roach started to slowly stand up. "It's rich, isn't it? We blindly follow orders, but we don't even ask who they're coming from. That's what got me and my partner killed. So let that be a warning to you. Don't get yourself killed following someone else." Roach's tone switched from challenging to casual. "I was in the same position you were. A thousand men at my back, and I was still cut down by one man. Killed all the others, too. And I just walked right up to him and gave him exactly what he wanted before he did. Oh, that's right. You're surrounded by your 'children'. Ain't no way anyone's gonna mess with you or them. Well, news flash, honey. Because of that man, I'm never gonna see my kids again. So go ahead, clone us or do whatever you're gonna do. You're not gonna have an army. You're just gonna have thousands of broken men. But do you know what all of those broken men will have that you and your kids don't?" The pony was genuinely intrigued by Roach. "It doesn't matter. You and I, we are both fueled by a passion for revenge. I don't need your mind. I only need your body." "Well, that's exactly what you don't have," Roach said. "Our minds. Which means you'll never fully control us, and therefore never your own army. Well, that, and you're too stupid to see that my colleague is right-" Roach was cut off as Ghost grunted loudly behind the pony as he brought a large rock straight down on her head. She was knocked to the ground, extremely dazed. "-behind you with a very heavy object," Roach finished. Just as the pony was drifting in and out of consciousness, she saw two armed figures standing above her. Ghost had come, and brought their weapons with him. Ghost leaned down to look her straight in the eye. "A pleasure seeing you again," Ghost said. The Queen only barely managed a low growl. "Yeah, kinda hard to talk when you've probably got a concussion." He started to look around. "Last I checked, you said your little Changelings were gonna kill me if I so much as step foot out of the tunnel. But you don't wanna kill us, do you?" Roach nudged his arm. "She wants to use us to make an army," he said. Ghost only laughed once. "An army of dead men," Ghost continued. "I got some news for you, then. We're not some toys you can throw around and act like we'll keep working if you do. We learned the hard way that if you're gonna go down, go down fighting. I tried to, and I ate a bullet for it. If I was a split second faster, Shepherd would be lying in a pool of his own blood right alongside us. But I have to stand here and know that it's gonna be him standing on our families' doorsteps saying that we committed treason or some bollocks like that. Our time there is over, but here, we're needed. I've gotten some bad news that you wanna hurt a lot of innocent little ponies to get what you want. I'm not much of an animal lover, but I think protecting them is a pretty good priority. Now, I'd kill you right here and now, very slowly and very painfully, but I don't want all of your precious children to lose their mother right in front of them. I'm no monster. Unlike you." The Queen physically felt her blood run cold with fury, and her pupils dilated as she began to lose consciousness. "What's the matter, 'Queen'?" Ghost asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost." And then she blacked out. --- About twenty minutes later, Ghost had led the two of them back to one of the mouths of the cave. He pointed off in one direction. "That way," Ghost said. "Great," Roach said, and began to walk. "You can tell me the whole story of how the heck you got us out of that when we get back, but for right now, we gotta get back around some familiar faces-" "We're not going back there," Ghost said. Roach stopped, and without turning around asked, "Why not, Ghost?" "I've got someone else waiting for me," Ghost replied. "He says he can help." Roach slowly turned around, then paused before saying, "Good luck with that." Then he turned around and headed in the opposite direction. Ghost crossed his arms. "Where are you going, Roach?" "Back to Canterlot," he said. "It's not that way." Roach stopped, then turned a different direction. "Or that way." Roach went another direction. "Not that way either." Roach finally gave up. "Oh, really now?" Roach said. "I didn't realize you've studied this planet your whole life." "I'm not saying I know which way it is. I'm just saying it's not any way you went." Before Roach could go on, Ghost spoke up again. "You've got to trust me, Roach. He's helped me once before. I can explain on the way." Roach sighed. "You know, normally I'd say this is a crazy idea and it's only gonna get us killed, but it's your job to say that. So if you're not saying that, then you must know what you're doing. I'll take your word on it this once. Once. But only because you saved my hide. Lead the way, O' mighty captain. 'Tis your vessel now." Ghost said nothing, only shook his head and began to walk. Roach followed after. "When this is all over, drinks are on you." "Roach," Ghost said as they left throwing distance from the cave, "I've got a bad feeling that we're never gonna have another pint again." As they were walking away, they neglected to notice the whole of the Changeling army amassing behind them, and every single one was headed for Canterlot, with their battered and very angry Queen just behind them.