//------------------------------// // The Hunt // Story: Crackshot: New Beginnings // by Cold Cuts the batpony //------------------------------// A din of excited voices roused me from my slumber. I heard the whinnies of ponies and the sharp chatter of the Griffons' foreign tongue. "Vogel," I said, turning to the Griffon sitting guard in the corner. He and his squad mates had tended to me since the accident, and I was not yet fully recovered, "What's going on out there?" "I do not know, Herr Cracks-shot," the Griffons seemed to struggle with the pronunciation of my name, but I gave up trying to correct them. "I shall go and see." With that he rose and strode to the door and inquired of one of the Griffon orderlies. "Das ein flugel pferd, frau Belle," he turned to me, "has been found unconscious, zey know not vat has happened." Suddenly alert, I sat up, "Where is Delta at? What's he doing about it?" The Griffon shook his head. "No-Bird knows where das Einhorn is, he is nowhere to be found,” I flipped back the sheets and slid out of the bed, hooves clopping on the tile floor. Vogel stepped forward to stop me. "Herr Cracks-shot! You shouldn't!" I felt a sharp pain in my belly where the wounds are still tender. "Belle needs somepony with her," I growled through gritted teeth,"help me get to her, or get out of my way." I took a few steps before Vogel came alongside, lending me the support of one of his wings. Together we hobbled down the hall and to Belle's room. A flurry of doctors and nurses greeted us. "Doc, What's going on?" I shouted over the commotion. Through the press of bodies, I could see Belle lying limply on a gurney, her prosthetic wing seemed to be malfunctioning, twitching and jerking sporadically. "I'm sorry, I don't know, Mr. Crackshot. One of the guardsponies found her on the floor of the lab like this," the doctor replied impatiently. During a momentary lull in the activity, I caught a glimpse of her face. Sunken cheeks and pallid lips gaped at me from beneath unseeing eyes, and my heart stopped in my chest. Breaking free from Vogel, I rushed into the room, plowing through the assemblage of nurses. Leaning close, I sniffed her breath, and my worst fears were confirmed. Feather Fern. Grabbing the nearest orderly by the collar I snarled in her face, "Bring me my saddle bag from the top drawer of my work station!" I released her roughly. "Do it NOW!" I below and she scurried off in fear. "Mr. Crackshot!" The doctor exclaimed, "I will have you removed if-" "Listen to me, doc!" I rounded on him, panting heavily and twinghing at the pain in my belly, "I know what's wrong, and there isn't a damn thing YOU can do about it, so clear the room!" The doctor stared at me a moment before ordering the rest of the personnel out of the room. At last, the orderly returned with my saddle bag. Snatching it from her, I dumped it on the floor, strewing its contents around. Finally locating the bottle I needed, I gently tilted a few drops of it's clear blue liquid into Belle's mouth. "C'mon, c'mon..." At last she gasped, taking in a deep breath of air, and I released the breath I didn't know I was holding. "Care to explain?" The doctor said at last. Weakly helping myself into a chair, I sat down and mopped the sweat from my brow. "It's Feather Fern," I explained, "one of the Tirekian trio. It suppresses a pony's magic, and we all have magic in our right, not just unicorns. And if you couldn't guess, Feather Fern is the anti pegasus magic. But Belle knew that. I don't understand why she would've taken any, let alone the amount she did." I pondered dubiously. "And what's worse, it's not even there," I'm greeted by confused looks, "her magic is completely gone, feather fern just suppresses it, bottles it as it were. But why would she take it in the first place?" "Unless frau Belle vos poisoned," Vogel supplied. "But the only other pony on the base who knew about their existence was...." sudden realization dawned on me, making me sick, "Delta... where is Delta?" "To my knowledge, nopony has located him yet," the doctor said, confused, "but why would he do this?" White fury filled my vision, "I know exactly why." All pain forgotten, I rose from my seat. "Vogel, get my rifle and bandolier." ====== The ecstasy of flying left me more suddenly than it had come. And in its place was left an empty hole, greater than had been present before. My wings faltered and I plummeted briefly. The tears that stung my eyes were no longer from wind shear, but from sorrow and guilt. Landing heavily on a rocky outcropping, I howled my woes to the sky in a fit of remorse and regret, and there, I wept bitterly, for I had betrayed the one pony that had always been there. ====== I was tracking Delta across the skies, his false wings leaving a clearly identifiable wind trail. Despite the clarity of trail, it took all my willpower to block out the pain of my injuries, screaming for attention. Vogel and Lowe accompanied me, grim and worried expressions fixed to their faces. They exchanged quietly, and at intervals, in their foreign tongue. "Keep your eyes sharp," the harshness of my tone disguised the underlying strain in my voice, "He is close." "Understood, Herr Rote Jaeger." I knew not what they meant, nor did I care to ask, for I was hunting. ======= Exhausted from my wailing, my senses and faculties returned. I was disgusted with myself. Wrenching the infernal device I had created from my back, I threw it upon the mountainside and reared, poised to pummel it into scrap. But I stopped, and realized with horror, I could not. Not yet at least. If I destroyed it now, with no way to contain the magic within, Belle's magic, what made her a Pegasus, would disperse, unable to be retrieved. Carefully and with great reverence, I donned the contraption once again, and began winging back to the base. ====== Suddenly I sensed a new set of wing beats in the air and I looked around. There, to the southwest and 50 yards beneath our current altitude, was Delta Wing. I stopped, mid flight, and hovered, the two Griffons whizzing past, before wheeling around in confusion. My heart beat loud in my chest demanding vengeance. Pulling my rifle into my shoulder I aimed, pulling the trigger, just as white hot pain flashed across my vision, wracking my body in convulsions. The shot flew wide. Abandoning the hope of a rifle shot, I plummeted in a stoop towards the unicorn, eyes, unseeing to anything but my target. ====== A sharp report broke the air and I turned my head seeking its source. Above me and to the northeast were two Griffons. A shadow passed over me and I glanced up in time to see a streak of red, rocketing towards me. "Oomph!" The object struck me full broadside and we fell together. We grappled for a moment before pulling away long enough for me to recognize my assailant. "Crackshot!?" The ground rushed up to meet us with ever increasing speed, and we broke apart to avoid crashing into it at full speed. We both land heavily. "Let me explain!" I exclaimed, but my cries fall on deaf ears, and he closes with me again. It took all my limited skill to avoid his advances. A flash of movement in the corner of my eye drew my attention, and I felt scaled claws close around my wrists, slamming me to the ground. Crackshot's rifle butt pressed against my windpipe, and he leaned down to whisper in my ear, his moustaches tickling. ====== Bending down, I could feel blood, hot and sticky, soaking my bandage, I ignored the pain, focused solely on interrogating my prisoner. "Are you aware of what you've done?" I asked, cool as ice, and I watched the blood freeze in his veins, as he tried to choke out an answer. "Shhh..." I whispered quietly, pressing firmly down on the rifle, "don't worry, I won't kill you, I have my vows. These fine gentlebirds however..." He struggled against his captors trying to speak, "Hh-wait!" Delta choked out. I straighten, releasing the pressure on his throat, slightly. "I know I've messed up, but I can fix it," he said hoarsely. "I know, and you will," I said, "I know you took her magic-" I leaned down to speak some more, but am interrupted by a flutter of wings. Vogel, Lowe, and I turn to see the approach of a third Griffon. His wings were ragged and he began to converse quickly with the other two. Their feathers wilf. After a moment I asked, "What's happening?" Lowe turned to face me expression grim, "Griffonstone has fallen."