//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Killer // Story: Improbable Truth // by Charon the Chronicler //------------------------------// Warning: Mild Gore As I stared at the corpse of the strange bird creature, I pondered on whether or not it was a wise move. Yes, it looked like a spawn of an ill-fated union between a bird, a dog, and a dying human being, and it was shooting at everything that moved, and yes, I sort of panicked when it started shooting at me, but I had to wonder what it really was, and if I was right for what I had done. Its strange skull had been obliterated by a stone I threw with all of my strength, a testament to either how much energy I had managed to absorb and properly store, or how frail it really was. Its brains had been spread across my clearing, bits having been blown through the skull from the impact. If one had approached the corpse from its left, they would have wondered what could have been the cause of its death. Getting closer, they would notice a third of its face gone, its lifeless eye staring up to the sky, as if wondering if there was a heaven or a hell, and hoping it would get into the former. Its jaw was intact, its snarl etched into my brain. Its last expression was one of hatred. My gaze wandered across the body, hoping for a sign, a clue. Was it for me? Was it someone I’d hurt? Oh? My eyes found a bit of chrome behind its eye ridge. Hello…what is this? With some effort, I managed to wedge it out using my dexterous feathers. It seems like it was fitted into a hole behind the eye ridge. Wait. I brought it up to my ear and listened. Voices. This is an earpiece! And there are others… “They may be just as hostile as he was.” I realized. I nervously paced about. Stepping over the corpse, I ran over to my cottage and grabbed the spear that lay by the door, the only thing inside the house aside from the Bui-Bui mattress. It’s possible that it’s nothing more than a criminal, one that had been properly monitoring the authorities. I surveyed the weapon in its three-fingered hand. It looked like a ‘ʊ’ with white ends that nearly met. The rest of the strange weapon was a crimson red with a glossy hexagonal pattern. With some difficulty, I picked it up in one wing and managed to push down on the trigger with a hoof. A green glow lit up the ends of the weapon with a buzz, and a ball of energy came into being. I tried to let go of the trigger, but my hoof was stuck to the inside. Shit, shit, shit! The energy ball’s growing, and I’m stuck! This thing’s going to explode! I wiggled my hoof around, waving it about, but it was stuck on the trigger, and I didn’t want to use my teeth, because it might blow up in my face. Suddenly, the ball stopped growing and started undulating. Oh shit, there goes my arm. I clenched my eyes shut, and the buzzing stopped. There was a distant sound, and I looked down to see my hoof intact. Using my teeth, I pulled off the weapon and dropped it next to the body of the creature. I couldn’t fire that thing at all. I glanced to a tree that now had a smoldering crater deep in the bark. Whoever they are, they have weapons. This one could be a scout. I turned to study the body. I could leave this for Steel, but… I felt uneasy thinking about the possibility that someone would come to my home and see the corpse. A small prickle settled down in my spine. I’ll set the body on fire. Then I’ll try to find others like…it. The prickle left me as I started to gather branches for the pyre. I made sure none of the bits were visible, and I wet the grass in a circle around the body so that the grass wouldn’t be consumed by the flames. The branches were set up, and with a flint, the pyre took and the evidence began to burn. Leaving it burning, I picked up my spear once more and headed in the direction the thing came from. And as the sun began to set, the flames receded behind me as I headed into darkness. <><><> “I’m so excited, Shiny!” Cadence exclaimed as she pranced in a very unprincessy manner. “First time you get a break and we’ll explore the best the known world has to offer! First Fillydelphia, then Manehatten, and then…” Cadence paused to look back at Shining. “Where are we going after that?” Shining was still smiling at Cadence’s manner. “Well Cadence, I thought it would be interesting if I won the Canterlot Chess Tournament in your honor. Then we’d go visit Vanhoover so we can go do some skiing, and maybe do that stuff you’ve always liked to do.” “Wow, Shining,” Cadence smirked, “I didn’t know you were so…old-fashioned.” “Anything for you, Cadence.” Shining said with a straight face as he blushed. Cadence took notice and nuzzled him affectionately. “Don’t worry, Shining. I don’t mind. I think it’s very sweet of you.” She gave a small peck to his cheek, and his alabaster coat reddened further. “Plus, getting to drink hot chocolate in front of a fire while we snuggle is something I really look forward to.” As they approached the train to Fillydelphia, Shining turned around and looked towards Ponyville. “What’s wrong, Shiny?” Cadence trotted to the worried stallion’s side. “I can’t help but feel as if somepony’s in distress. And that a lot more trouble will be coming our way.” Cadence grabbed her coltfriend’s muzzle with a hoof, and turned his head to look her in the eye. “Sweetie, the Princesses have got this.” She closed her eyes and kissed him. “Relax. It’s our time now.” She turned and entered the train, and Shining followed. He couldn’t help but glimpse over his withers and bite his lip. “Be safe.” <><><> I crouched low on the tree branch, thankful that my dull turquoise coat provided a good camouflage in the dark trees. I had been sitting there for the past five minutes, spear in hoof, waiting for the last rays of sunlight to finally disappear so that I could explore the sinking wreck in the bog. At first, I backtracked the footprints of the creature, which I had decided to name ‘Tweety’, until I noticed a large shadow against the dusk sky. Deciding to investigate the new landmark, I made sure the footprints led back to it before I flew underneath the higher branches to get there. The massive construct of metal was blocky, had a few windows, yet seemed…incomplete. It only took me a minute before I realized that it was sinking at an incredible pace, and it would be too risky for me to explore the inside. When the day’s last light finally disappeared, I flew down and walked to the construct. I looked down to see loads of footprints. And not just Tweety footprints, but big ones with three toes. As I observed the towering build, it slowly dawned on me that it was a ship right out of sci-fi. I walked closer to it, and began asking myself questions. Where are the thrusters? And the main deck? It looks like a piece was cut off and just thrown here without care. What ̶ “Ooof!” I had tripped over something lumpy, covered in mud. Picking myself up, I wiped a part off and noticed it seemed to be a cloth of some kind. Curious, I dug the mud off of the armor until an entire body was revealed. A human body. My legs trembled and collapsed under me. Not again. I stared at the corpse, lying face down in the sludge. It has something on its back. I shakily got up and got close enough to see a perfectly vertical line filled with mud in the armor. Carefully, I scooped the mud out until I reached cauterized skin. He was stabbed. I walked back a bit to look over the body. It was burned through, like the bolt did to that tree. Except this wasn’t a bolt, it was like…a sword. A sword of energy…a plasma blade. I looked to his hand, which seemed to be holding something. Clearing off the mud, I managed to wrest the pistol out of stiffening hands. Still useless, but maybe I can salvage it for parts. I’ll pick it up later. I turned my attention back to the body. I want to see your face…but it’ll only hurt me more. I’m sorry. I planted the spear in the mud and grabbed the dead man by the arm to drag him to the ship entrance, where mud was pooling in quite slowly. I dropped him just inside the entrance and stared at him. I’m sorry. But you have to go down with this ship. If others come to recover the ship, it should have all of the victims on board. With that, I walked out, paying attention to the footsteps of the other survivors. Noticing a few mud stains on the side of the ship, I flew up the side of the ship to where one of the creatures had climbed. I followed the mud tracks until I reached the highest point of the ship. I could see Canterlot from here. I looked down to the tracks. Logically, if they wanted help, they should have been going directly to the mountainside city. But they seemed to veering off to the right of the mountain. But that’s the blind side of the mountain. They would only go to that side if they were planning on…attacking. Holy crap. These guys are definitely the ones who killed that man. And they plan on taking the city. I flew back down, wondering if I had to get involved. If I do, there’s a chance I might get hurt, and an actual military would be able to take care of them. But if I trust my senses, then I know that they far outclass any nearby militaries. I took a deep breath. Okay then, what do I know for sure? These guys are dangerous. That much is true. From what I’ve seen, they attack any civilized life. And if they stumble across a group of innocent people…shit. I felt that familiar feeling in my spine. I’ve got to act. I looked across the forest and the far off Rambling Rock Ridge. I’ve lived here for a few weeks now. I’m in home field. It’s time to use that to my advantage. An hour later, I had finally found the group. As I had suspected, they moved in a straight line towards the right side of the mountain. This had given me the chance to set a couple traps along their predicted path. Most of the time, it was nothing more than simple snares and swinging rock combos, but there were two traps that I knew would eliminate a good majority. As I watched the group of thirty-two Tweeties and six Saurians, named so because of how they were two times the size of the Tweeties, with different sets of armor. Obviously higher rank. They’ll be harder to kill. It’s a good thing I set up the swinging rock traps appropriately. I watched on and grinned maliciously as the creatures began to wade through some bog. Time to enact phase one: Boys are Back in Town. I redirected some flow generously to my wings so they could provide lift, and silently flew high above their heads. From what I could tell when I approached them somewhat, they had some sort of motion sensors that reached within ten meters. It really scared me when I tried to get a better view and half of them turned to face me. Let’s get them something bigger to notice. I landed on some rocks I the middle of the bog, far enough behind the creatures that they would not notice what I was doing. The second time I went to the Bog for some ingredients, I had to stop for a bathroom break. Not having anywhere else, I just let loose into the mud. Now apparently, one of the creatures in the Bog had a sense of smell similar to that of a shark. And pissing in his swamp was basically an invitation for him to eat me. Luckily for me, I’m not a moron, so the second I saw one of his heads start to breach the surface, I flew out of there fast, before he got a chance to fully pull himself out. This time, I was going to act like a moron. As his heads breached the surface, I decided a taunt would help me. Or kill me. “Hey, fat, stupid, ugly, and Clarence!” I pointed to each of the heads in turn with my spear. Oddly enough, the rightmost head seemed almost happy to be given a name. The other three growled and worked harder to pull themselves out of the slime. “You’ll never catch me if you stay that slow!” I jumped into the air and flew at a manageable speed, careful not to burn too much energy. With a triple roar and a whine, the hydra chased after me. It was time to thin the numbers. <><><> “So all of thou understand thy mission?” The assembled guards nodded. It was simple enough: travel across Equestria as civilians, ask ponies about strange occurrences or beings, find Lucid, and bring him in for questioning. “Are there any questions?” Hawk Eye raised a claw, and Luna nodded in his direction. “Princess, if you end up finding more information on Lucid, how are you going to update us?” “Thou asks a very good question, Hawk Eye. For that, I have prepared a Starswirl Crystal Screen for us.” There were some gasps. Luna nodded. “You know now how important this mission is for us. Be careful, there are only four left in existence.” Thunder Strike rose a hoof, to which Luna nodded. “I’m sorry if I don’t quite understand as well as these nerds do, but what is this Starswirl contraption again?” “The Starswirl Crystal Screen, or the SCS, is one of Starswirl’s last achievements. Using space distortions, it transmits images and sounds between two linked SCS’. Thus, we can speak face to face, allowing us to properly coordinate. Thou shall be given one, and we shall keep one, so we can communicate without lugging about bottles of green dragonfyre. And thou hast a question, Midnight?” The bat-pony put down her hoof. “I’m wondering what our duties on the team will consist of. I know a lot of you from reputation, but I am unaware of how it’ll work.” “Actually,” Hawk Eye put in, “I can answer that. I chose this team because we could work great together. We have all the necessary ponies for all manner of operations, from survival to stealth. If we need to split up, I would lead Midnight, Titanium, and Strong, where the second in command, Lake Lily, would lead Thunder Strike, Tron, and Red.” “What!” exclaimed Midnight, “For what reason does she get to be second in command? She scored average in everything, I was surprised she was even here!” Lake Lily noticeably bristled and opened her mouth to retort, but Hawk Eye beat her to it. “The reason,” he began with an edge to his voice, “is because her aptitude tests scored her as phenomenal in a surplus of other skills, including leadership and tactics. She knows what she’s doing.” “If I may?” asked Strong Recovery, “Why did you choose somewhat unbalanced teams? Our team has no strong magic users, and Lake Lily’s is somewhat lacking in the strong-hoofed. Thunder is strong, but I could tell from his musculature that he is built more for speed and flexibility, and Tron is just…pudgy.” “Ech.” Confirmed Tron. “Ours is a striker team.” Rumbled Titanium. Everyone else turned to Titanium, surprised that he would talk. “Titanium is correct.” Hawk Eye cleared his throat. “Strong Recovery is a good enough healer to cover us all, but if he is paired with Titanium in battle, he could heal the damage Titanium takes as he tanks through our enemies. In the meantime, Midnight and I would attack quickly from up high, or stealthily. Lake Lily and Tron know enough about healing to help, but I expect you to try to avoid harm. Tron and Red would be a superb magic attacking team, Lake determines strategies, and Thunder will have the skies to himself.” “Are thou all satisfied?” Luna asked. The team members looked at one another and nodded. “Dismissed. And good luck.” The guards saluted and filed out. <><><> Crunch. Another one of my traps had been tripped, and four rocks swung into one of the remaining four Saurians, reducing its head to red paste while causing massive damage to its midsection. This trap was a deviation of the manticore trap Zecora had taught me. With heavier rocks swinging together, as well as another pair of rocks situated lower in case the one who tripped it was a Tweety, the trap designed to stun was quite effective at killing. When I had flown over the creatures, they were curious as to what had just passed over them. When they heard the thumping, they looked around in confusion. And when the hydra burst through the foliage, it had caused utter chaos. Instantly, they fired upon the beast with bursts of green and blue plasma, one even firing from a pistol. While damaging against smaller foes, it proved to be ineffective against the behemoth, only enraging it further. Stomping about, it flattened about a dozen Tweeties, Its four heads swung around, chomping up the creatures who tried to flee or fight. It had managed to swallow a blue-armored saurian whole, and had grabbed the golden-armored one when the gold Saurian pulled something out and stuck it in the head’s right eye. In a bright blue flash, all four heads wailed in agony, the one chomping on the gold Saurian thrashed about, blinded, until the gold Saurian’s arm was torn at the shoulder, sending it flying in an arc dappled with violet blood. Deciding it wasn’t worth it, the hydra retreated back to the depths of the bog, leaving little more than a dozen Tweeties and four Saurians; three blue ones and one red one. As they trekked through the ends of the Everfree, it became increasingly apparent to them that there was a force opposing them. Fallen tree branches would squish two Tweeties, a marauding timberwolf would maul another, and beehives would endanger them by falling precariously close to them. I’m pretty confident that by the time they set off my first rock swing trap, they were sure there was someone trying to stop them. And as they walked through a rocky valley within Rambling Rock Ridge, I revealed myself. Of course, they failed to notice the brambles of fire briar hidden underneath the dry grass I had carefully spread. Fire briar is pretty much a plant that really deserved its name. Its vines are a vivid red, its thorns are a warm orange, and its toxins felt like fire underneath the skin. The first time I had nicked myself with fire briar, I had to go to Zecora holding back tears. Now all I need to do is send a flow to the afflicted area and apply aloe at some point. But fire briar doesn’t just act like fire, it relies on it. Fires allow the seeds to spread easily, breaking them out of the thorns and leaving them in the fertile ashes that the fire leaves behind. As a result, fire briar is incredibly flammable, so it would end up lighting everything else nearby on fire. That’s why fire briar patches are the first things to grow in after a fire. So when I appeared behind a corner, spear held by my wing, a ball of fire brambles in one hoof, the creatures stopped. I looked back at them. They tensed, a few raising their weapons, preparing to fire. But I acted first. I threw the bramble at the closest Saurian, a blue one, and jumped behind a rock. Instantly, he started firing back, and one of the shots hit the ball, setting it alight a second before it impacted its chest and burst into flames. It fell backwards into the dry grass, setting it alight as the other creatures began to fire at me. Save the two unburned Saurians and a Tweety, the group failed to notice the fire take and immolate at a devastating pace. The three smart ones started running out of the fire as I flew in towards them, spear in hoof. I managed to catch the last blue Saurian in the throat, using the flow to send it deep into his throat. Too deep. Shit, I have to let it go. I abandoned the spear, bucked the last Tweety into the raging inferno behind it as it turned to fire on me. I’m starting to run low here. A small retreat is necessary. I jumped into the air, flapping quickly, hoping to escape without injury, and flying by the walls of the small valley to escape. A few shots to the rocky wall ahead of me sent dust flying into my eyes, tripping me up midair, giving the red Saurian ample time to get a good shot in. A flaring pain arched through my left wing, and I found myself spiraling out of control. Sending flow there only made it burn and I couldn’t seem to catch any air. Spiraling downwards, I directed the flow to the front of my body to lessen pain and damage of the impact. With a loud thud and a couple bounces, I managed to land by one of the valley’s nooks. Weak and nearly out of my flow, I crawled into the cranny and set on trying to heal my wing. Looking at it, my heart sunk. At least my bones are completely intact. My bones were visible underneath a thin layer of burned muscle and sinew, my secondaries were gone, a few primaries had burned off, and my tertiaries were mostly intact. However, there was a hole in my wing, a few centimeters from the bone. Crap. That is not good. A bit higher, and my wing would be gone. Will sending flow there help? I pulled the last vestiges of my reservoir and sent it towards my wing. The pain doubled and tears streamed down my face. I would have stopped, but I noticed that slowly, the wound started shrinking, leaving a bit of scar tissue, exuding a bit of steam. I whimpered as the flow began to slowly heal my wing. My ear twitched. I stymied my whimpering, but was unrelenting in the flow. Something was approaching. Something on two legs. Shit, the red Saurian! He saw where I fell. He knows I’m screwed. The steps were slow, methodical. Like a predator that knew it had its prey. I raised my eyes to see it, standing at the entrance, far-off flames reflecting on its red armor. It raised its weapon, aiming for a kill shot. Woozy from lack of flow, I closed my eyes. A snarl, a shout, something hitting the ground. I opened my heavy eyes to see Steel Fang, one paw holding down on the weapon as his jaws tore into the Saurian’s throat. The Saurian struggled, but couldn’t do anything underneath Steel’s massive frame. Finally, with a mighty jerk, Steel managed to rip out its throat, coating himself in purple blood. The Saurian convulsed once, twice…and lay still. A purple puddle expanded underneath the corpse as Steel turned around, maw purple with blood. I faded into unconsciousness, my last sight was of him opening his mouth as he approached me. <><><> Steel Fang licked his chops and approached Windell. He growled in anger at the sight. Gently, Steel picked him up by the nape of his neck and managed to sling Windell across his back. The one he saw once as prey had proven to be anything but. Instead of killing him, Windell had helped bring him back to health. Instead of letting him starve, Windell had brought him fish. Instead of running away, Windell stood by him. Steel Fang saw what Windell went through to get him food, to care for him. Even when Steel growled at him, Windell did not back away. When Steel snapped at him and nipped hard enough to draw blood, Windell did not stop caring. Steel gave him nothing, but Windell showed him a new way how to live. Steel only began to understand Windell’s importance as he saw what he did to the band of marauders. He had first noticed them as he stalked the undergrowth. They moved in a group, and walked like them, but they weren’t them. They were far worse. Creatures that had approached fell to bursts of blue and green. And, despite the fact that Steel knew they were speaking to one another like the ponies, they killed without remorse. Without purpose. Not for food, not out of fear. But from nothing more than a desire to destroy. And they were heading to the city-on-the-mountain. Then Steel observed Windell, setting things up, trapping the monsters, killing them, one by one. The wolf couldn’t help but feel impressed by his efforts, stopping the creatures before they had a chance to inflict harm. Steel followed the pegasus’ progress from afar, watching, lurking, thinking. Steel saw as Windell set an inferno that resulted in the deaths of all but one of the creatures. Steel watched as Windell was injured, watched as he fell from the sky. And he felt something new. The direwolf approached the cliff leading down to where Windell lay. And when he saw the red creature, Steel Fang decided. With a leap, he sent it to the ground. With both of his paws pinning down the creatures arms, Steel snapped his teeth onto its throat. It managed to struggle free of his grasp, but another bite on its throat and Steel pierced its skin. Crunching down, the predator tore out the abomination’s throat, a gruesome death for one who led a gruesome life. Steel walked by the blaze, the smell of burnt flesh invading his nostrils, laying heavy on his tongue. Windell was on his back, where Steel Fang could protect him. You truly are one of my pack. <><><> The gold-clad creature climbs up the cliff, a series of vines hastily placed around its chest to ebb the flow of his purple blood. The being watches as he climbs up the incline, his beady eyes blazing with fury. It muses that the ascent of the foreigner is futile, but it chooses to let it do so. After all, it would indeed help cover up the cause. When the creature finally climbed to the top, it can’t help but look at back at the forest it believes it has conquered. It is likely that he is planning how to get back to his subordinates, which, unbeknownst to him, were already dead. He would soon be joining them. The Entity sends a minor kinetic burst across an invisible tendril touching the creature’s back, sending him flying back down the cliff in a series of tumbles, before he lands deep into a pit of boggy quicksand. “~Who dare attack me from behind?~” he rages as he struggles to get out. The being internally winces, surprised that he could survive the tumble. It was supposed to both kill the creature and hide the body in quicksand, but he was more durable that it thought. Mimicking another sigh, the being descends and shapes a form that would be best suited to dealing with him. Appearing before him as a member of his own species, it steps forwards. “~Betrayed by one of my own!~” He screeches, “~Have you no honor?~” The consciousness reaches an invisible tendril through his mandibles, into his throat before it moves upwards, towards the brain. “~No honor for the damned.~” It releases a kinetic pulse and his brain is reduced to mush inside his skull, without damaging any bones. If any were to find the remains in the bog, one would logically conclude that he fell down the cliff and lost consciousness in quicksand. The corpse sinks deeper into the bog as the Entity leaves. The decomposers would take care of the rest. <><><> Windell collapsed on his friends couch. It was almost over. The end of the school year was fast approaching, and he could finally get into a college far away from everyone else. His only regret was that he and Benny wouldn’t be able to see each other very often. It hurt Windell to think of that, but he knew that Benny would do fine without him. He just hoped college wouldn’t be as bad as high school. The jeering, the mocking, the snide comments…Windell has always wondered what he’s done to annoy them. Why, just that day, he was ambushed by a volley of spitballs. It couldn’t have been his hair abnormality, which he had long since dyed over. Why, then? “Seems like someone’s having a crappy day!” Benny said in a sing-song voice. “Cookie?” He offered one to Windell. “Thanks Benny.” Windell grabbed one, but instead of eating it, he just scrutinized it, flipping it over and over in a hand. “It has been a pretty crappy day. My only solace is that it’ll end soon.” “Oh?” Benny’s smile fell somewhat, “How so?” “School year’s ending. I’ll be out of this hellhole. Father wants me to go to a good college, and with my grades, I can go to Duke, or WU. After all of the…engagements of the student body here, I’ll be happy to go far, far away.” “Yeah,” Benny conceded, “You’re one tough nut to crack.” Windell squirmed at the icy undertone and the odd connotation of those words. “Thanks…?” Windell rose an eyebrow, “I…guess?” “It wasn’t a compliment” his voice was flat, devoid of his usual happy tone. Windell turned to look at his friend with a worried expression. Benny casually threw his phone down onto the couch. “What are you saying, then?” “I’m saying that after everything I’ve put you through, you haven’t snapped yet.” “Put me through?” Windell’s eyes widened as he felt a coldness seep throughout his body. “Was it you…?” “It was easy enough,” Benny paced about, a sick perversion of the smile he usually wore etched on his face “Scott and I started out by telling Roland how much of an ass you were. Of course, we had to get creative, but once we got going, we couldn’t really stop.” Benny let out a dark chortle. “After that, that dumbass started seeing dick moves where you acted completely normally. And being the blabbermouth he is, he told all of his other friends. Scott got really creative with spreading the rumors. It spread like wildfire over the years, your future actions giving them truth.” Windell stared at the teen with a gaping mouth, Benny continued onwards, ignoring his reaction. “Veronica was just a whore Scott and I convinced that you would be an easy lay. By then, we knew you were a pushover, but would strike back if pushed too far. So we started stress testing you. I told Ferris and Jessica you were rich, so you wouldn’t miss food or notes that you could sell.” Windell felt cold tears flow down his cheeks, but he was frozen. “Then the masterpiece. We wanted to break you, so I devised the perfect trifecta. I manipulated Julian into a relationship with Glenda. Then it was all about stoking the flames. I got Glenda to bitch at you giving her a few of the personal tidbits you told us, which pushed you too far, which led to Julian retaliating. Of course, I had to subtly convince him to bring Robert along as a false witness. Hell, I even convinced Lenner that he was a mutual friend of both of yours by just mentioning it in passing.” Benny let out a sharp laugh. “I hadn’t expected for you to beat the shit out of him, but it worked just fine. Hell, even if you had let yourself get beat up, it’d still be on your record. After that, you befuddled the fuck out of Scott and I. You refused. To. Fucking. Break. So here we are.” Windell finally managed to wipe his eyes with his forearm. “Why?” he croaked. Benny leaned in with a sadistic smile. “Because I could. Because I have all of you tied around my little finger. Because it’s funny.” Windell got up, his knees shaking. “…bastard.” He lunged forwards, grabbing Benny by the hem of his shirt, and cocked his fist back to punch him. But stopped. “No…” “Of course you can’t, you freak.” Benny laughed. “You really are a mistake.” Windell closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let Benny go with a small shove. “I can’t believe Benny did this to me…I can’t believe I didn’t remember this. Wait. How am I thinking? This is a memory…” Windell opened his eyes once more, but his posture was off. “Bye Benedict.” He began walking out, ignoring the chuckling teen, but the things he did, the things he said…they were not from Windell. “‘Through me you go into a city of weeping; through me you go into eternal pain; through me you go amongst the lost people.’” “Dante’s Inferno…” Windell left the slightly confused Benedict behind as he hopped on his bicycle to home. Once home he waved to his father. “I’m going to bed. Maybe play on my computer a bit.” Amadeus nodded as he went to his room. He set up a Civilization V game between five computers and left his mouse on his phone, which was connected to the charger as it played a ten hour loop of some video. Locking the door, he grabbed his mittens and slipped out by the window as the sun began to set. He got on his bike once more and rode back. There was no fatigue. No emotion. Just the mission. “What am I doing? What did I do?” Windell parked his bike a block away from Benedict’s house, close enough to see the lights. He leaned against a tree and waited. The stars came out, and slowly, the lights from the houses on the street began to turn off. And Windell stood there, still as a statue, until the lights in Benedict’s home went out. And he waited some more, about another hour, before he walked towards the house. Underneath the potted plant by the door lay the spare key that Windell had spotted ages ago. It was used to quietly open the door, letting in the emotionless young man. He headed directly to the kitchen, careful to not make a noise as he slipped on the mittens. He reached towards the lights of the kitchen and unscrewed the lightbulbs. Careful not to damage the inside, he broke off the bottom of the bulb and left it on the table as he went to the alcohol cabinet. He picked up the Everclear and soaked the kitchen rag with it. After having put it back in its place, Windell ripped the rag into strips, stuffing one inside the lightbulb gently. Screwing the lightbulb back in, he repeated the process with a number of other lightbulbs around the kitchen and the adjacent living room until there were no strips left. He grabbed a pair of scissors and manipulated the nozzles of the oven a bit before they began releasing a steady stream of gas. “What are you doing? You know very well that Benny and his family didn’t bother to replace the batteries on the detectors!” Picking up the phone that Benedict had discarded earlier, he easily unlocked it and set an alarm for three hours from then, two hours before dawn. Setting it to the highest volume, he laid it face down on the couch. He looked about and began whispering to himself. “Benedict must die. His parents are the cause for his behavior. They most likely failed with his little sister as well. This lineage must die.” “What? No! What did I do…no…When that alarm goes off, someone will come downstairs…and turn on the lights. No, no, no! They had to have escaped. Right?” The young man left the house and locked the door behind him, putting the key back exactly where it was, as if he hadn’t even touched the potted plant. He casually walked back to his bike and rode back home. He looked back in the direction of Benedict’s home. “And in the coldest depths of hell, I will bring the purifying fires of salvation.” He whispered. Putting his bike back, he climbed through his window once more, removed his mittens and watched the AI play the game for a few hours. He peeked out the window and saw a faraway fire burning. He gave a wide grin and shut off his computer. “So I’m in a whole new world now, huh?” he said aloud, his eyes glazed over. “That’s neat. I’m going to have fun!” /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Amadeus knocked on the door, worried for his son. “Windell, come on! I know you’ve been grieving for your friend, but you haven’t left your room in two days! I know you can’t survive off your secret stash for long!” He put an ear to the door and listened. Instead of sobbing he heard something odd. Chatter, giggling, talking. A spike of fear flew through Amadeus. “No, no, no…” He tried to open the door. Locked. “Sorry Windell,” he muttered, “but your old man needs to get in.” With a mighty kick, the door burst off the latch and opened in a loud bang. The room was a complete mess. The drapes had been ripped, the bed tossed, the desk was in shambles. There was a pile of excrement in the corner of the room. Windell was babbling and giggling as he waved his arms like a bird in flight. “RAAAAA!” He roared, “I’m a dragon!” Amadeus watched on as his son continued speaking nonsensically, as if what he saw was different from what was real. Amadeus fell to his knees, breath shuddering. He stared at the scene before him for an hour before he tried to get him out of delusion. “Windell, wake up! Snap out of it!” He shook him, but his gaze remained empty, and the father’s heart fell. “Windell…” he sobbed, “You’ve lost it.” He took his son into his arms and cried as the oblivious teen rambled. “I won’t let them take you away from me. You’re all that I’ve got left.” He caressed his son’s black hair. “I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry.” He said weakly, voice dying. “Shhhhhhh. Everything will be alright.” Tears flowed as he rocked back and forth. I screamed. “Amadeus, no! Get away from me! I’ll hurt you! I’ve already hurt you! I’m dangerous, get rid of me, kill me!" I bawled. "I’m a murderer.” <><><> Steel Fang was curled around Windell as he struggled in his dream. And then he started crying. Steel didn’t quite know what to do then. Why is he crying? Was it a terror of dreams-a nightmare? What could frighten one that had gone headlong into danger to prevent the deaths of many? Steel Fang curled closer to his packmate. Sometimes he is as wise and as caring as a venerable oak that has seen many winters and housed many creatures. But as far as I know, he is but a pup. No matter. He needs me, I need him, and together, we are strong. Together, we are a pack. Windell opened his wet eyes and sniffed. “Oh god…” he rasped, “I’m a murderer. I killed those people because my senses told me they were dangerous! How can I trust myself?” Steel answered with a long lick to the side of his face. Stunned, he looked around to see where he was. He gave a wry grin. “I guess I trusted myself with you…but..." he stares to the ground dejectedly. "I still killed, even if they were dangerous.” He studied his surroundings and noticed the pyre that he had cremated one of the creatures in had long since burnt out. “I suppose we should bury the rest of the bodies…” he turned to Steel Fang, “Unless you want to eat some of them?” The direwolf shook his head similar to how he saw some ponies do when they denied something. The creature’s blood tasted awful. “Come on then,” Windell got up to his shaking hooves, “I’ll grab a few veggies to eat while we get the non-burned bodies into the bog.” He stumbled over to his cottage to get his sack of food before he set off to bury his victims. <><><> “So, sister, how was the Grand Galloping Gala?” Luna said with a barely restrained grin. It was well-known by the two how dull the Galas were, even in Luna’s day. “Actually, quite fun,” Celestia smirked, “I knew giving Twilight and her friends those tickets would liven up the Gala, but they really exceeded my expectations.” “What?” Luna exclaimed, “Thou made the Gala entertaining? Impossible!” “It’s true!” Celestia chuckled as she poked Luna, “Rarity even yelled at Blueblood!” Luna gawked. “It was glorious!” “Can we invite them next Gala?” “I don’t know Luna, they might have angered the nobles somewhat…” Luna gave her best pouty face in response. “Of course we’re inviting them next time! And this time, you’ll be there!” “Huzzah!” the younger princess yelled ecstatically. “Now, sister, can thou tell us what thou did for thy demonstration?” “Demonstration?” Celestia blinked. “Yes, the demonstration.” Luna insisted. “We felt a magical disturbance of great magnitude earlier this evening, obviously a show of power.” Celestia tried to find the words, but stood there, gaping like a fish. “Luna, I thought you were the one performing advanced magic as you prepared the team. I wasn’t the one who was responsible for the disturbance.” The two looked at one another for a few seconds. Silence. And then they scrambled about in panic. “Preparing Thaumatic disturbance detection Array!” “Where is the SCS!? We must warn the team!” “Wards have been set, Luna, help me supply the aether runes with more power!” “Aye sister! Thou hast our horn! Let us work into the team’s SCS frequency!” “Got it!” they chorused. “Hawk Eye, we have news. It may or may not be related to Lucid, but there has been a magical disturbance.” Luna spoke into the flat crystal. Hawk Eye’s head nodded. “Where did it happen, Princess?” the lieutenant asked. “Sister?” Luna inquired. “The image I’m receiving is of the area before the magical disturbance ended. It seems to show some sort of swamp.” Luna turned back to look at Hawk Eye. “Did you hear that?” “Affirmative, Luna. If I had to guess, a hotspot would be in the Hayseed swamps, considering their proximity to the Badlands. Should we investigate?” “’Tis the best lead we have.” “I understand, Princess. We’ll head that way.” His image blinked out. “We hope you find it, whatever it is.” <><><> I pulled the last body past the pile of ashes that had once been a trap for my foes. Now it was a graveyard, cinders barely hiding the blackened bones. In three days, the first hints of fire briar would show. In a week, it would be sprouting all over. In a month, the bones would be completely hidden by the young fire briar patch. By then, the skeletons would be unrecognizable. I was hauling the blue Saurian that I had stabbed through the throat with some effort, because I was still diverting a lot of my energy to my wing so it would heal. It was slow going, but the hole had closed completely, and healthy muscles had begun to cover what was once a devastating injury. My other wing was holding the spear I had to wrest out of the corpse’s throat. After an hour trek with Steel Fang following as he dragged the red Saurian by the throat, we had finally arrived to the sinking vessel. The entrance had once been big enough to stack three Saurians in it, but we now had to slip them horizontally through the gap. I pushed the red Saurian in after I had pushed in mine, barely able to make it fit between the top of the hole and the mud. I walked back, admiring my work. We had collected all the corpses, along with their weapons, leaving nothing more than a few smudges of blood that would easily be passed off as a spot a predator had caught its prey. I don’t quite know why I feel the need to hide the bodies. I suppose it’s better safe than sorry. I don’t want to be sent to the asylum again. Noticing a misshapen lump in the mud, I lumbered over to it, only to realize it was the pistol I had pried from the human’s hand. I can use it for spare parts…or I can learn to use it to ensure my security. I looked back at Steel Fang. When he saw me staring he started wagging his tail and he walked over to slurp the side of my face. Smiling, I decided I was safe enough, and I kicked the gun into the closing hole of the ship. “Come on, let’s get us some fish to eat.” End of First Arc