//------------------------------// // And Girls Wonder why Guys Have Such a Hard Time Asking for Directions // Story: A Hiss in the Dark // by Knight Breeze //------------------------------// The Mistress breathed out a sigh of relief as she perched herself upon the two story building. “At last, I finally got her off my tail,” she sighed. As she took a second to catch her breath, however, she couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be a disturbance of some kind on the streets below. She watched with some fascination as a strange-looking dragon was quickly surrounded by several nearby guards, all of which had some kind of weapon leveled at the creature. However, instead of running or attacking, the creature just held up its claws in a placating gesture as it attempted to talk them down. Or, at least she thought that it was trying to talk them down. She couldn't really tell from here, since she was too far away to hear their voices. However, as she sat their watching the events unfold, she felt a claw lightly touch her shoulder, followed closely by a chilled breath on her ear. “This one will be trouble for us,” The Mistress heard her Queen say in her ear. “I understand, My Queen,” The Mistress said with a grin. * * * I'll freely admit when I'm thoroughly lost. There is no shame to it. This is especially true when you're in a foreign city, functionally invisible, no one seems to be heading in the direction you need to go, and you have absolutely no idea where to find a decent map. Now, I could have just decloaked and asked someone for directions, but what kind of first impression would that be? 'Hello, don't mind the fact that I just popped out of nowhere, and that my appearance suggests that I might rip your throat out as soon as look at you, but could you direct me towards the train station? I'd be most obliged.' Yeah, I'd rank that up there right below staple-filled waffles, but above edible speakers on my 'really bad ideas' list. However, I couldn't just continue wandering aimlessly, so with some trepidation, I approached the least likely pony to throw a hissy fit if I asked him for information. That being said, I couldn't help but think this was a really bad idea as I reached out to tap the armored pegasus' whithers. “Excuse me, could you-” Right on cue, the guard pony jumped six feet in the air, then used its wings to spin around and face me, its stance clearly ready for battle. This also triggered a response in the local populace, as they either gasped in alarm, or shrieked in shock as I seemed to materialize in the middle of the crowd. “Who the heck are... oh, wait, you're one of those things, aren't you?” he asked. However, despite his aggressive tone, and battle-ready stance, I could tell that he was scared out of his wits. “I don't want any trouble,” I said, holding my hands up in a placating gesture. “I just need a little information, then I'm out of your hair.” “Yeah, right, and I'm Princess Celestia. You're coming with me to the guard post, buddy. Drop your weapons,” the guard said as other guards quickly surrounded me. “Listen, I really don't have time for this, I need to be down at... the...” I started to say, but stopped as my eyes focused on the shifting shadow behind the guard. “Uh, Wing?” one of the guards behind me said with some apprehension. “GET DOWN!” I yelled, grabbing the pegasus and bearing him to the ground. Right as I did so, a black bolt shot out of the shadow, barely missing the two of us and instead striking somewhere behind me. I heard screams from the crowd, as well as the sounds of ponies desperately trying to get the heck out of dodge. Fearing what I would see, I quickly glanced back, just in time to see the guard that had been behind me stiffen and collapse, a thick black smoke rising from his fresh corpse. “Well, well, well... you have faster reflexes than I thought you would...” I heard a female voice say. I glanced up, only to see a nightmare strut out of the shadows. She was tall, probably around seven feet, and had a vaguely female, bipedal form. And by vaguely, I mean vaguely. Her entire body seemed to be wrapped in a thick, black smoke, making her true form something hard to make out. However, there were a few distinguishing features that I could still spot, mainly the glowing red eyes, the glowing white teeth from her insane smile, and the bloodied dagger that she carelessly flipped in a single hand. As I got up, I was keenly aware of just how outclassed I was. This lady just killed someone with a freaking death laser, how was I supposed to compete against that? “Either that, or you just have crappy aim,” I said as I stepped in front of the guard I saved. “I take it you're The Mistress of Shadow?” “Why, yes, I am!” she said, her grin growing even wider. “However, I'm afraid that you have me at a disadvantage, because I have no clue as to what your name is!” “You know, usually when a girl asks me my name, I jump at the opportunity,” I said as I waved the guards behind me back. “However, in this case? I don't think I want you to have that kind of power over me...” “Oh, come now, can't we be civil about this?” she asked as she stepped closer to me. “Nope, I'm afraid you lost the right to civility the moment you barbecued one of the guards,” I said, shrugging my spear off of my shoulder and into my waiting claw. “Oooh, self righteous and defiant, I like you...” she said, smiling even wider than before. Quicker than lightning, a thick tendril of darkness shot from her form, trying to take my head off. I dodged to the right, but still caught a glancing blow due to my still broken leg slowing me down a bit. However, despite it being just a glancing blow, it still sent me tumbling head over heels, until a fruit vendor stand finally stopped my backwards journey with its bulk. I slowly slid down, like something out of a loony toons cartoon, before finally coming to rest in a puddle on the street. “Ghah...” I said intelligently as I tried to shake my head clear. “Oh, I hope you can take more than that, I like my lovers to be able to take a bit of a beating...” I heard her purr. Despite my pounding head, I quickly rolled to the side, barely avoiding another one of those black laser things. As I tried to get up, I felt a pair of hooves hook underneath my arms, lifting me and pulling me to safety. Whomever was grabbing me quickly pulled me into an alley and dropped me behind a dumpster. I looked up in confusion at my mysterious ally, only to see the guard from before standing over me, a serious expression on his face. “Thanks for that,” I said, shaking the cobwebs from my head. “Can you fight?” he asked, pointing a hoof at my busted leg. “Yeah,” I said, getting onto my knees. “I'll take care of crazy, here. You get the street cleared out, and see if you can find Celestia.” The soldier looked like he wanted to say something, but quickly though better of it when little miss psycho hurled a fruit stand down the alleyway. With a quick nod of his head, the soldier vanished around the corner of the alley, leaving me to deal with The Mistress. “Ah, come on out, little man! I don't bite. Unless you're into that sort of thing...” The Mistress said from the alleyway entrance. “Oh, don't worry, I'm coming out,” I said with a grimace. * * * The Mistress slowly closed on the yet unnamed reptile's position, then reached out with her tendrils and hurled the dumpster out of the way. “Now, why don't we- huh?” she said, but stopped when she realized that the dragon-thing was gone. “So, are we playing hide and seek, then?” she purred as she slowly turned around. “Well... you know we get to play a game of my choosing when I find you.” No response. “Ooh... no banter? No witty dialog?” she said, slowly turning around to face the direction she came from. “Well, honey, you're going to have to do better than that.” She inhaled deeply, then took off down the alleyway. “I can smell your fear. And let me tell you now, you smell delicious...” she said as she rounded the corner. However, once she turned the corner, all she saw was the blackened fruit stand she had hit earlier. “Huh, you're really good at-” she started to say, but was cut off when she felt something sharp cut across her back. She quickly turned, her dagger raised, ready to blast whomever had the gall to cut her, but stopped when she saw no one. “Oh, is this what we're playing? A little game of cat and mouse? Why didn't you just stab me when you had the chance?” she grunted in pain. “Because I learn from my mistakes,” she heard the lizard say. “Last time I tried that on one of you, I ended up as wall pizza. No, I'm trying something different this time.” The Mistress turned towards the sound, her dagger still pointed out like a gun. With almost no wait whatsoever, the bloody instrument sent out a ray of darkness at where she heard the sound come from. “ Just a little too far to the left,” the voice said from somewhere on her right. Quickly, she turned again, lashing out with her tendrils in a sweeping motion, attempting to snag the slippery devil. All she was rewarded with, however, was another cut across her face. “Honey, dear, why don't you stop playing and come out?” The Mistress said as she ground her teeth together in frustration. “Nope, I'm not done... playing, yet,” she heard him say, right as she felt another cut, this one across her arm. At this point, she started to wildly flail her tendrils back and forth across where she thought the voice was coming from, all in an effort to find the annoying insect. She also breathed in deep, trying to follow his fear-laden scent to its source. However, as she tried to sniff him out, another, stronger scent started to make itself known, keeping her from locating the irritating iguana by using that particular sense. “You like it?” “What... what is that?” she asked as she gagged. “Sewer. I opened one while you weren't looking, figured you would have trouble finding me if your nose was busy with something else,” he said, smugness radiating from his voice. She took a couple of steps back at that. “You clever piece of...” she started to say, but stopped when another cut slashed its way across her back. She grunted, then turned, but knew already that she was too late to get him. She fired anyway, if only to feel like she was doing something to the lizard. “You know, earlier, you said you could 'smell my fear',” the lizard said, his voice oddly neutral. “Do you even know what fear is?” “Of course I-” she started to respond in a sweet, sing-song voice. She was interrupted, though, by another spike of pain across her thigh. “No, I don't think you do,” the lizard said, his voice suddenly becoming much more serious. “I heard about you taking hostages down at the train station, about how you threatened to eat them if Celestia hadn't arrived.” “So? What does that have to do with knowing what fear is?” she demanded impatiently. “Everything. If you truly knew what fear was, you wouldn't be so eager to inflict it upon other people,” the lizard said, right before making another cut across her brow. “True fear is probably something you've never felt in your entire life.” “And why would I have felt fear?” she said, sending another laser up towards where she thought the voice was coming from. All it did, however, was turn the unyielding stone wall black. “Fear is for the weak!” “And here is where you show your ignorance. Fear isn't a weakness, it is a strength,” the voice said as he inflicted another cut across her shoulder. As he talked, however, The Mistress started to notice that something was wrong. Despite the fact that she no longer had blood to bleed, she still felt woozy. The streets around her seemed to pitch and shake, and it seemed as if the lizard's voice was coming from everywhere. “You see, without fear for the lives of his children, a man would never find the courage to face the robber that broke into his house,” the lizard said as he made another cut across her cheek. “Fear turns people into quivering wrecks!” The Mistress said, sending a sluggish tendril out towards the far wall. “No, you're thinking of terror,” the lizard said from somewhere above her. “However, terror, too, is finite. Terror eventually becomes the norm. Eventually, a victim decides to stop running, decides that enough is enough, and turns to face his fears.” The Mistress of Shadows just smiled maniacally at that. “I love it when they stop running. It is so hard to eat their souls when all they do is run.” There was a beat of silence at that, then a faint rustling sound. “You did what?” he asked in horror. Her only response to this, however, was to open her mouth, and inhale deeply. A multitude of dark tendrils shot from her mouth, seeking out something to latch onto, until it finally caught and pulled something invisible from the wall above her. The lizard's invisibility fell as he was pulled free, his struggles becoming quite amusing as he was brought closer to face The Mistress. “You see, I wanted to keep you as a pet, but I'm afraid you're more trouble than you're worth,” The Mistress's voice echoed from her open maw. “Don't worry, though, you'll live on. At least, you'll live on for a couple of weeks.” Before he was able to answer, though, she began pulling and tearing, doing her best to separate the lizard's soul from his body. As she did this, he began to thrash and choke in obvious pain, twisting and pulling this way and that, trying to get free. The Mistress watched with great anticipation as the silvery soul-stuff started to flow up her tendrils, filling her belly with the delicious taste of fresh strawberries. The lizard's struggles became weaker and weaker, until he finally stopped, and just looked at her with a despondent glare. “Any last amusing quips before I finish my meal?” The Mistress said with a purr. “I'm sorry,” he said. He then opened his mouth, revealing that he had wrapped his tongue around something bright and silvery. Then, before she was able to comprehend what that thing was, the tongue lashed out faster than the eye could follow. She felt a deep searing pain in her chest as the tongue retracted, causing her to drop the lizard in alarm. Her arms felt weak, and she unsteadily looked down, only to see the green hilt of a dagger sticking out of her chest, right where her heart was. Mutely, she reached up and grabbed it, but found that she was too weak to pull it out. She wasn't sure when it happened, but somehow, she found herself on her knees, prostrate before that arrogant, self-righteous prick who had stabbed her. Deep within, she heard the echoes of the tormented souls she had devoured. She felt their joy as their prison weakened, their elation at their captor's demise, and it made her... To be honest, she didn't know what this feeling was. “Will... Will no one mourn my passing?” she asked, unsure what made her say that. The lizard weakly shook his head at that. “What you're feeling is what everyone you ever terrorized felt. Pure, unadulterated fear. What we do with fear, however, is what separates the coward from the courageous,” he said. He than went down on one knee next to her, putting a claw on her shoulder. “By using fear to do nothing but harm others, you have shown yourself to be nothing but a coward. No one mourns the loss of cowards.” He then stood up, and took a couple of steps back. “Good-bye,” he said, just as The Mistress of Shadow's world exploded. * * * Celestia sighed in frustration. That blasted shadow had led her on a wild goose chase, only to disappear right when she had cornered and caged the thing. “I overestimated her,” she said with a grimace. “I should have blasted her through the heart with a Solar Cutter when I had the-” She was interrupted, however, by what sounded like hundreds of voices, all crying out in joy. She quickly turned back towards Manehattan, just in time to see a swirling vortex of souls rise from somewhere in the uptown area, and slowly make their way towards the downtown train station. At least, most of them made their way downtown. Celestia quickly spotted a few others break from the pack, some racing south towards Fillydelphia and beyond, while others headed west towards Canterlot. Celestia let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, her relief palpable as she watched the escaped souls return to their bodies. “I don't know who did that, but thank goodness,” she said as she charged her horn. She then reached out with her magic, found the source of the maelstrom, and teleported herself there. She was immediately met with a welcome, but confusing sight. There, standing above the rapidly decaying form of The Mistress of Shadow, was Ammon. He turned as soon as he heard Celestia's teleporting noise, his face breaking out in a tired grin when he saw that it was just her. “Ammon, I-” Celestia started to say, but stopped when he held up a single finger. “Yeah, that's going to have to wait until after my nap,” Ammon said, his eyes drooping shut. He then keeled over backwards, and would have hit the ground had Celestia not been their to catch him. “I gotta say, having most of your soul torn out of your body takes a lot out of you,” he mumbled. Celestia just grinned at that as she laid the reptile across her back. “Come on, hero, you need your rest.” “ng- not a hero...” he mumbled incoherently. Celestia just shook her head at that. “Whatever you say, hero.” * * * The Queen of Shadows grunted in frustration over the results, her mouth turned down in a frown. “You got lucky,” she grumbled angrily. “Who do you think you're playing?” Fate said, raising his eyebrow in apparent merriment. “However, at this point, luck had nothing to do with it. You're the one who thought it was a good idea to conscript that psycopath as your champion. Your defeat was fated the second you laid your eyes on that pathetic excuse for a human being.” Gorthok nodded his head at that. “I may not always think things through, but even I know not to send a crazy into this kind of game,” he said with a wide grin. “Oh, shut up. You're in no better position than I am,” she said, folding her arms in frustration. “That is where you are wrong. I still have pieces left. Because you made your 'Mistress of Shadows' the key piece in all of your plays, everything you've done has unraveled. Every neutral you've enslaved has been set free, and all your little machinations have been undone,” Gorthok said with a grin. “It was a grand ploy, but you shouldn't have put quite so much faith in your little nut case there.” “He's right,” the Storm of Storms said with a grin. “Just like Igneous, you put too much faith on a single piece. As it stands, you have no more plays left, and are out of the game.” The Queen of Shadows just grunted at that, then fell silent. “So, who's turn is it now?” Gorthok asked. “It is mine,” The Herald said, raising his hand. “And I already know what move I want to make.” “Are you going to try to take out the new player as well?” The Storm of Storms asked gleefully. “What? Why? He's not in the way of my objective. In fact, he may prove useful as the game progresses. No, I'm going to move right... here,” The Herald said, pushing his small, armored piece towards the spot with the blue alicorn and the sand golem. Desolation looked at the move suspiciously, trying to figure out what The Herald was pulling. “You know your piece isn't strong enough to take mine on, right?” “Oh, I'm counting on it,” The Herald said with a grin.