Chapter twenty seven
“Don’t worry now Midnight, daddy will be back soon,” Golden takes her son up closer up in her chest with her wings holding him up. As her kin looks at the pictures through the book before turning the page, and his mom starts reading again. The mother in question though looks up at the clock, and finds that it has actually been well past an hour, and he still isn’t home, ‘Where are you Sky?’ She starts to wonder without letting Midnight know of the concern ‘It’s not like you to be out this late…’ Squeezing her son just a tad tighter from reflex. The mother continues to read to her child while keeping her worries under wraps.
The door to their home flies open for a split second, as Sky almost rolls inside, and braces himself against the frame. Though the desperate nature of this action is lost on his wife altogether, “Ahh we’re glad to see you now dear. We were both getting a little-”
“Golden not now…” He answers with a stern glare, cutting her off, and instantly peers out the window to the doorway to see if there are others on the foot path, but in his haste…
He forgets to check the sky.
The realization that something is wrong dawns on her finally after hearing the nature of her usually sweet husband’s words coming out from him now like vinegar on her ears, “Sky now you’re scaring me. What is it? Did something happen while in town?” Golden asks, setting her son down on the couch cushion next to her before trying to get up to look with her husband.
“Let’s just say I ran in to a few old coworkers…”
____________________
“Do you think he went this way Constellation?” Star Chaser questions his own self, while looking down to the small path way that he hopes guided Sky on his retreat.
“How would I know Star? You’re the one that’s the tracker of the group,” The leader Pegasus remarks, while they all fly in formation hoping to make an apology to their friend of years back, after a rather surprising meeting.
“Why do you think he still took off?” a guard at the outer band of their flying V questions to the group.
“What if it’s not a mare but another colt?” Several start murmuring to themselves at the notion of their Lieutenant having turned in to a colt-cuddlier in their time away from around him. Though a single voice stamps that out.
“No that’s not possible…” Constellation answers for Sky in his defense, “Sky is straighter than the spells that fly from his horn, and last I checked his aim is pretty damn good.”
“Then what spooked him?”
“That I don’t even know, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon.”
“Down there!” Star calls out. Pointing with a single hoof to the little cottage down below them. Seeing as it is the only visible dwelling out in these parts there is no other place that he could be “I’d bet my next check that he is in there!”
In sync with one another, they all start to fly downwards to the home in a barrel roll. Though some of them are more adept at flying than others, especially when it comes to the added weight of armor, and how to control ones decent. Unlike a rather small Pegasus, who is about to learn a lesson in physics.
“Twiggy! You’re going in to fast!” Pommel calls out to his companion out in front of them.
“I’m sorry sir! Still trying to get used to-”
_________________
“It’s a little hard to explain right now,” Sky steps a tad away from the door while keeping his voice down so their son can’t hear, “In short… they were friends from back in the guard. However, they never really liked your kind, or relations with lunar guards for that matter.”
A single bead of sweat trickles its way down the back of Golden’s neck as she stands there for a second taking this in, “Do you think they will try to harm… him?”
“I ran in to them, and I could smell the booze on their breath…” Sky answers coldly knowing first hoof how rowdy a bunch of drunken guards can be, after having to break up several fights over the years, “There’s no telling what they’ll-”
A single crash hitting the door, signals the arrival of the guards, and the loss of whatever time Sky had hoped to have for their arrival should they show up. The scrawny Pegasus would have only put a crack in the door frame had it not been for the armor giving him extra weight, and allowing him the gift of a wrecking ball. Tearing clear through the door way, and almost knocking it off the hinges. Now left to lie there with a massive head ache at his actions on top of the few splinters of wood, Sky stands before him while his attuned ears pick up the flapping of several other wings making their way closer, as they land outside the door way and soon help their friend up.
“Damn it Twiggy!” Constellation scolds the young Pegasus in the doorway, as he makes his way to his feet once more, “You were supposed to practice with your fight under added weight!”
“Sorry about that Sky,” The scrawny colt shakes his head for a moment to look up at the stallion of the house, “Didn’t mean to come in and-” Finally an eye glances over towards the mare to his right. The darkened appearance, the fangs, the slit eyes, and the obviously out of place wings cause Twiggy to only shake his head once more, and rethink that hit he just took, “Ugh… I think I hit my head harder than I thought.”
“No…no you didn’t,” Constellation grunts as he realizes what he is seeing is all true, while his eyes catch up with his brain. Sky even steps forward a bit to put his mare behind him slightly, while the ring leader of the rowdy bunch says his piece, or at least tries to, “Sky? What? But why? How even? Is that why you left?!”
“She… is the only reason I needed to leave,” He says confidently, not ever breaking eye contact with that and his accuser.
“But the guard, your friends, all of us…” The fumbling colt remains baffled for a moment, before finding his tongue once more, “You left us all, and a life for this…this… leathery winged whore!”
Although Constellation may be an up, and coming guard in his own command, respected by those that are his counter parts, subordinates, and even superiors. He never really did learn when to shut his mouth, as a single hoof flies through the air, and socks him in the jaw with one forceful upper cut. The hit causing him to fall over backwards on the ground on his back, while the others stand there for a moment and look at one they used to call friend, seemingly standing over top of them.
“You are all blind two what is right before you…” Sky takes a deep breath. Brushing off the glare that Constellation gives him after wiping blood off the end of his muzzle, “…Princess Celestia herself has always preached tolerance, and love to us all. Even to her guards, who would have to set aside such things from time to time, to think and do what is right. However, even with all these teachings that have been beat in our heads sense basic training. There are still those, like yourselves, who can’t see that sometimes happiness is in the form that others see as beautiful…”
“And what?!” Constellations words echo through the room in the moment of silence that follows for a second, “You gave up everything, for one such as the likes of her?”
A single nod from Sky answers his question.
“You could have had any mare in Canterlot! They were practically beating down your door when you started to show your potential as a leader. Heck even several of Celestia’s closest assistants wanted a piece of you!” He finishes for a moments now while fuming at the betrayal. The feeling is becoming almost infectious to those around him, as the others behind Constellation also start to shoot Sky a piercing gaze that strikes right at his heart. All of them bewildered by the fact that he could pick up, and leave because of once such as her. The opposite of anything a Celestial guard stood for in their mind. Even though the two still followed the same orders that were passed down to them. Constellation asks but one more question, “Why choose her, when you could have had so many others?!”
Sky looks down at his hooves contemplating it all. He has gone against everything that the guard has thought as a social norm. It has kicked many guards out in the past after their chain of command found out, and would find any reason to get rid of them, while never admitting it was because of the relation with Luna’s on guard that was the cause of it. On several other occasions, the participants have been shunned by their friends, and even families…
Just for following their heart.
‘And that’s exactly what has been done…’ “I did it because none of them were... Golden,” Sky says confidently as he stands tall, “Sometimes you have to break away from what you can only see, look past everything else before you, to find what you truly need…” A single tear makes its way up, and out of Golden’s eye as it runs down her cheek.
The soft hoof grazing her own beckons the mare to look down, and finds Midnight standing there in wonder at the others that have come in to the place he calls home. Though the sight of one so out of place among other foals, only causes even more silent anger in the guards that have come in, and are now witness to the off spring of the pair. None of this is lost though on the father in the room, as he eyes the ring leader.
“…The eyes are blind, you have to look with your heart… and I have found what I wanted in life,” The lobbing of a helmet in to Sky’s face causes him to pause for a second, before catching it in his magic. Only to hurtle it back at its owner, and leaves the subsequent yelp to follow from both the guard that threw it, and Sky’s wife.
“You are a traitor to the guard!” Constellation bellows at the top of his lungs, “The practice may be allowed, but that in no way makes it right!”
“Constellation… you and your friends are drunk. I would appreciate it if you would kindly leave my home,” Sky motions for Golden to back away with a wink as he tries to talk some sense in to them, “Think about what you are doing, before you make a mistake.”
“The only mistake that has been made is to allow an… abomination such as that,” He points to the kin of the couple in front of him, “To be allowed to walk the earth!”
And with that any sort of reasoning to him, or the group has been crushed as Constellation darts forward with a bout of liquid courage, and attempts to tackle his once superior. Though to no avail. Sky was always better at this game, and with a simple side step, and a trip. He sends the would-be attacker in to the wall with a rather nasty bump atop his unprotected head. Sky now gives his full attention to his wife, and child, giving but only one order for them to follow.
“Run!” And that she does. Snatching their son up in her wings, she leaps over the dazed guard, and down the hallway.
‘Please Celestia, Luna…’ Golden prays to the regal sisters that have been revered as almost gods to some, ‘we are good ponies please let no harm come to our son. Sky, and even myself can live with if one of us gotten hurt, but if anything happened to him…’ She dares not finish. Golden only slams the door behind herself to the bedroom that she, and Sky have shared with one another for years. Not wanting to leave his presence entirely, sticking to the vow of ‘till death do us part’.
“You’re going to pay for that!” Constellation whips back around, and strikes at him with a drawn out dagger.
The sharpened blade cuts deep in to his soft uncovered skin, and coat while the crimson blood color that he knows his son by, stains his own. Though such a thing is only a paper cut to him compared to the past injuries that he had. Sky simply lifts up the attacker with a magical aura, and tossing him in to a few of the others, knocking them down like pins at a bowling alley.
“You still have time to leave you know?” Sky says calmly, taking up his own stance as Constellation does the same along with two others on either side of him.
“Not until that thing is removed from this earth!” The Pegasus next to the leader shouts in his drunken haze, while they all three dash forwards.
The hits are taken in stride by the ex-guard, as Sky Streak back pedals once to avoid a body slam, while another side step allows him to forgo a head butt. Though the final kick that the third guard lands square in his chest, sends him in to the wall. Having the wind knocked out of you can cause a great deal of pain at first. Though getting the edge of a blade held against your throat is even more painful, as Constellation brings Sky’s muzzle back up to meet his gaze.
“You brought this upon yourself, Sky…” the guard mutters to his once comrade, “we all used to consider you a brother.”
“And I used to consider you all good ponies,” Sky spits in to his face.
The action giving the momentary advantage he needed before casting a frost spell. A singular block of ice forming in the middle of nowhere, thrusts itself in to the face of the two attackers on the leader’s side, and knocks them over before being hurtled in to Constellation, knocking him out cold for a second while he lies there on the ground.
If it had been for a moment longer, Sky may have delivered enough pummeling to the ringleader to get them all to back off, and scamper away with their tails between their legs. But Constellation recovers fast enough to see the unicorn blazed with anger, leaping right at him with blood lust in his eyes. Two instincts kick in between the colts there. Sky’s protective instinct that he has for his family, leaves him with tunnel vision to the one that is wishing to do them harm. While the defensive instinct that the guard has taught Constellation, kicks in finally even through the daze of alcohol, while his mind processes only one command to his hoof still holding the dagger…
Lift up.
“Constellation?!” Pommel yells out to his friend who sits there still drenched in blood, “What did you do?!”
“I-I-I didn’t mean to,” He stammers out. The act of plunging the blade in to Sky’s gut snapping him out of any drunken bliss he might have had, and in to the land of cold hearted sobriety once more, “It was an accident! He lunged at me!”
“After we tried to beat the crap out of him!”
“And basically invaded his own home!” Twiggy backs up, to the loss of their defense.
Though the leader is still baffled at the actions of his own hoof, “What-t are we going to do now?”
“Well there isn’t much we can do! Now is there?” Pommel all but slaps him in the face. Every single one of them coming to the realization of what just happened as the alcohol leaves their systems in the sweat that starts to flow, “You just killed another pony without cause or reason! Even if we may have not liked his life choices. Here’s some news for you, it wasn’t illegal!”
“We’re all accessories though now…” Constellation tries to back himself up at the fate of those around him, “After all I wasn’t the only one here who tried to throw a punch… plus you all saw, and did nothing!” That fact dawns on all of them just as fast as it did him. Even Pommel, who just wanted to go out, and have a good time before getting hitched, knows full well that this will likely just land him in jail.
That’s if he his lucky.
The silence among them, only furthers the power in the leader’s hooves as he tries to reason with them, “We can’t go back, and undo what we did… there is no way to fix that,” Constellation shakes his head, full of guilt, “Though there is only two others here that know our faces, and they probably even know our names from Sky talking to them before we came in.”
“…The wife, and child…” A lone Pegasus mutters the answer that none of them wanted to hear.
“Exactly… They seem to have kept a low profile out here. So if those two are gone?” Constellation forms it as a question. Though has to put it together for them as they all give a blank stare, “Then no pony can tie us to the crime.”
Although none of them are ready to admit it. They all know he is right, the two still around here are the only ones that can tie them to the events of tonight. Seeing as none of them will likely talk. Without another word they all silently agree to the terms, and turn around to see Sky’s trail of blood across the floor leading down the hallway.
The stallion that once stood proudly as a leader, and a father. Now reduced to fighting for every breath he once took for granted as his chest cavity pains itself with every inhale. With a lone hoof outstretched to the bedroom door to his lover and kin. A single hoof cups around his muzzle to muffle any more sounds, bringing him up to the face of Pommel himself, as he looks down with only a few tears from his eyes.
“I’m sorry about this, old friend…” The blade slides cleanly through Sky’s throat, severing arteries and veins that run along the neck line. Soon enough only the cold eyes of a colt that had the life snuffed out of him, meets the killers own as he is laid, or more so dropped, to rest.
___________________
“Stay there dear…everything will be alright,” Golden kisses the top of her son’s head while he sits in the now cleared closet.
She heard the shouting out in the living room after the fighting died down, and the hoof steps getting closer, followed by a single thud outside the door. After closing the closet door, she knows the time is now. The bedroom door cracks open as the group piles in to the master bedroom. Each one in line with one another, as they face the mare before their gaze.
Having broken open the closet in the room, Golden stands there clad in her lunar armor that she kept. The darkened purple metal, complementing her own coat as she wields the blade as such. Constellation steps forth again as their leader, now running off of fear for his own life, and future, not just booze.
“Golden did he call you?” He waits for the mare to nod, “It would seem that we and Sky were… at an in pass.”
“He’s dead isn’t he?” She says without even batting an eye.
“Yes, yes he is.”
Although her demeanor may be calm, and collected. At heart the mare is ready to do what she can to take them on as best she can, or die trying. She, and Sky talked about this day coming, and although they never wanted to believe it. They both knew it could happen given their life choices.
“Now where is your-” Constellation gets out from his muzzle. As the mare’s blade whips through the air in a flash in front of him. Though before any of them are even able to respond. The sword is back at her side once more, as their leader stands there with a star struck look, although unable to say a word.
“You…will…not…harm him,” Golden answers with frost collecting on her words, and with every passing second, droplets of blood start to bead their way around Constellation’s neck line.
With a single breath leaving the guard’s lungs, the head of Constellation falls off of the body as the blade cut through between the platting on his neck. Rolling off between the group, with the same face on him before he died. The other guards are shocked to see the mare dispatch a fellow guard so easily. As his body soon follows, and starts to soak the floor with fluids, even staining some of their own hooves.
“If you know what’s good for you… then you will leave… now,” ‘but they don’t,’ Golden tells herself in her head before she is proved right.
The first guard throws himself at the mare, followed by the second, and third.
Midnight sits inside the darkened closet, only hearing the sounds of metal upon metal contact, and the occasional insult being called out in reference to his mother. Having heard though the first part of the new ponies speaking. He knows in his little heart that something is not right with dad. Curiosity gets the best of him though, as it does most young colts, and with an eager hoof he points it to the door latch.
‘I know you can do it…’ He tells himself, ‘There’s no such thing as bad magic… just try.’
With a slight glow of his hoof a green aura around the latch forms, and the door swings freely a bit as he pushes it to just a crack. Having never seen ones mother harm so much as a fly, to now going on to see her drop one colt by slicing up his middle. Stabbing another through an eye socket. To even going to the extent to tear out another’s throat with her own fangs. The entire transition can take quite a toll on a young colt’s mind in sheer surprise, especially as you see the mother that you adore covered from snout to hoof in the blood of another.
“M-mommy?” Midnight manages to mumble out, as he quivers there.
The soft sound of her son’s voice, punctures through her blood lust. As only four colts remain there standing. The others having already met their own demise among the leaders corpse, while Golden turns around to meet her kin, “…Midnight…” She says from only quiet lips, mouthing the word.
That single break in her stride, doing the mare in.
A single blade thrusts in to the side, and with enough force, punctures through the violet armor in to her chest cavity to the vital organs. The bright red blood she cherishes to drink from most, now coating the weapons edges as it slides back out, and in to the hooves of Pommel. While the mother drops to the ground.
“Mom!” The young colt yells out to her as she falls. Her body hits the ground painfully, though all that, and even the pain of having been stabbed is lost on her, as Golden watches the fearful eyes of her son come up to her own. The weakened rising, and falling of her chest is all he sees at first, though even as he looks in to the eyes that he inherited, all Midnight can see is love from her, “Mom…W-w-what happened? You-u-u said everything was going to be alright!” A few tears start to stream down his face as the young colt whimpers.
A gentle hoof, that he has come to know from the years, wipes away the waterworks that he spills before they fall on her. Golden still puts on her smile for her son, even as every word she says spurts more blood from her chest, and out on to the floor between them. As Golden puts a hoof on to his cheek so her son can still feel the warmth of her heart while it lasts.
“Everything will be alright my dear…” She kisses his little forehead once more for the last time, leaving an impression of her blood on his coat in the shape of her lips, “…Even if your father, and I aren’t there. We both love you, and will always be there,” Golden can feel the light fading from her eyes, “Be strong… my little… Midnight.”
A final breath, a final act of love, and one final tear rolls down her muzzle, and drops on to her sons out stretched hoof as he whimpers. Holding a hoof on to her cheek just as she did his own. All the while the commotion of the bunch arguing in the background, is lost on the child, as his mother parts ways with this world, and on to the next.
“W-we only have one more,” Pommel mutters under his breath, while eyeing the little colt who is still by his loving mother.
“But he’s just a little one,” Twiggy tries to reason with him to at least spare the colt’s life, “He won’t even remember our names, and if all else fails I’m sure we can scare him in to keeping quiet?”
“And what! Years later all of this could be brought up with a simple spell…” Pommel, now acting as ring leader after the death of Constellation, finishes, “…he has to be dealt with.”
With that final word. He extends out one hoof to try, and grab the colt. Halfway expecting him to flee in fear. The Pegasus is surprised to find that Midnight in fact doesn’t even move in the slightest, but instead looks up at him with seemingly the same golden eyes from the mare that he just put down. Now looking in to his very soul, and breaking the last strand of hope the guard had left to have a normal life.
“You…Killed… THEM!” The foal shouts at the top of his lungs.
The anger, and rage infuse with the words from the young colt’s viper like voice, as latches on to the magic in his system. A shockwave thrusts its way out of Midnight’s throat, and in to the chest of Pommel as it hurtles the Pegasus past the other murderous guards in to the wall, leaving a dent from his hide. The tell tail energetic glow of magic still falling out of his mouth like a mist, leaves all of the guards there baffled and shaking at the knees, while Midnight shakes his head wildly from a storm of thoughts buzzing about his head. The other Pegisy in the room not knowing what to make of it, while the fuming young colt is quite literally foaming at the mouth of pure energy.
“But… this isn’t possible?!” One turns to try and take off through the doorway.
However, a green aura around the door slams it shut, and traps them all in there with what they could only guess is the work of a demon. Midnight stands atop the bed, green pulses of energy flowing through him in waves as it starts to radiate outwards while the colts back pedal as best they can. Plastering themselves against the wall to put as much distance between them and the foal standing there with an eerie glow in his eyes.
Tendrils of energy protrudes from the walls as they wrap around the guards, and hoist them up against the wall, even choking some of them in the process, as the bands pull harder on their necks. All the while their pleads for mercy at the hooves of what they thought was nothing more than a foal, only fall on deaf ears as something else has leached its way in to Midnight’s mind.
‘Good… they have wronged you, and taken what you loved…’ the voice drives him forward, nudging the young foal in the right direction, ‘now take the same of which they value.’
“W-w-what is that?” he asks under his breath to the voice he hears.
‘Their lives.’
Those final words, seal the lives of those that Midnight has pinned against the wall, as his golden eyes glass over with not a shred of mercy for their pleads of life.
“GET…OUT!” The foal bellows from his throat as the tendrils hold them in place on the wall while running along its surface to stretch out the colts before him.
Each limb being pulled out to their furthest, and then well past their breaking strength as the sounds of tissue, cartilage, muscle and bone ripping and tearing apart fills the air along with the screams of his victims. Painting the walls in fluids as the colts split along the seams, and are left there only to meet their maker at the hooves of a four year old. With one final tug each of the legs, and heads of the murderers are plucked off like pedals on a flower from their torso. As the center piece seemingly hangs there for but a moment, until gravity takes over and, upon the dispelling of the enchantment. All the limbs and body parts are left to fall to the ground in a pile of nothing more than spare parts for a Doctor Frankenstallion to use.
Though all of the gore is ignored by the colt that remains.
All Midnight does is jump down from the bed, and on to the floor that still holds his mother’s body, untouched by the destruction that he unleashed. Without even a drop of their blood on her. Everything he loved is gone, everything he cared about has been taken away, and for now all the foal can do is rest his head down on to the no longer lively chest of his mom. Golden’s warmth that he would adore to have near him on a cold night, lost in her as he listens to the voice in the back of his head. While the energy starts to fade around him, and so does what light in his eyes.
‘You did well Midnight, you did very well…’ A slow creeping feeling on his flank starts to immerge, and in a flash. The appearance of a grey shield covers his hind with a green flame in its center. Along with a line of green hair, now running down along his mane, and tail. A shield from his parents past as a guard, and Midnight trying to protect them even after their demise. An emerald flame for the Dark magic inside of him, from his mother’s bloodline mixing with his father’s.
And finally, a voice to keep him company, from the magic starting to corrupt Midnight’s broken mind, ‘Everything will be just fine.’