//------------------------------// // Taint // Story: Antecedent // by Anonymous Pegasus //------------------------------// Raindrop crept down the tunnel, keeping to one side, and keeping her new gem tucked neatly in the feathers of her wing to keep the glow from revealing her. She could hear movement all around; Diamond Dogs going about their daily business, whatever it was they did. She heard the sounds of digging to the right, the kind of rapid scratching associated with any canine’s digging efforts. To her left, she heard the sound of footsteps, muffled through the wall. It was surreal, creeping down a tunnel, with nothing but a glowing red gem for company, walking towards Discord himself, with the intent of stealing a key from a guard to release a guard from his shackles that she would quite happily watch suffer. And when she summed it up like that, Raindrop actually paused, turned around, and began to head back down the tunnel the way she had come. Why was she even trying to save the stupid guard? He could just rot down here with the Diamond Dogs as far as she was concerned. And then she caught sight of him again, strung up like that on the cross. And she smiled. It filled Raindrop’s heart with an odd satisfaction to know that the guard was completely at her mercy. Without her, he was done. He was utterly powerless, and she held all the cards right in her hoof. She controlled what happened with his very life from that instant onwards. And that scared her. Raindrop took a deep, shuddering breath, and then turned around, bounding a few steps back down the tunnel, her head held low, her breathing a little faster than normal. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel like this? Never one for cruelty, Raindrop was more known for acts of random kindness than acts of malicious intent. She was the kind of pony who would pay for a strangers drink if she saw they didn’t have enough for it themselves. She was the kind of pony who would go out of their way to help someone, and then leave before they had a chance to offer something in the way of thanks. It was how she was wired. And here she was, delighting in Sentinel’s suffering. She actually wanted to prolong his pain! The sheer knowledge of it disgusted her. Shuddering in disgust at her own emotions, the young pegasus stepped back down the tunnel, lightening her hoofsteps as she did so, keeping to one side of the tunnel, where the shadows could keep her hidden. Every now and again, she would splay her wings a little so that the glow of the red gem would light up her path, making sure she wasn’t going to trip over something. Up ahead, she could hear snoring, and the glow of torches were visible around a bend in the tunnel. Muffled voices murmured from the room around the bend, and Raindrop crept right up to the corner, not daring to peek around it, listening with bated breath. “Come, Spike,” A smooth, feminine voice was saying. Raindrop’s ears perked; Spike was the dragon she had been sent to find! “I need you to activate it again.” There was the scrabble of claws on stone, and then a low, soft humming. The light of the torches was suddenly overshadowed by a much brighter light, red in colour, pulsing in a firm rhythm. Raindrop blinked once and turned to look at her wing, her brows furrowing. The stone clasped in her pinions was growing hot! Even as she watched, the stone was beginning to glow and pulse in time with the one around the bend, brightening so much that it actually became visible through the thick layer of her feathers covering it. Quickly, the pegasus threw her other wing over it and held it to her chest, gasping breathlessly at how hot it was against her, gritting her teeth and riding out the burning heat until it began to dissipate. Raindrop gasped once as she released the gem, baring her teeth and rubbing at her chest with a hoof, wrinkling her nose at the scent of singed fur in the air. “Good, my little Spikey-Wikey. I think you’ve earned yourself a reward,” the feminine voice purred, and it was followed by the smack of a kiss. “Yesss....” a male voice hissed in return, vapid and eager. Obviously, Spike was fraternising with the enemy. Raindrop entertained the idea, for a moment, of a dragon and a Diamond Dog together, until the mental image made her stomach churn and she forced it from her mind. She sincerely hoped it wasn’t a female Diamond Dog that the dragon had become entangled with. Maybe...maybe it was Discord himself? Or herself as it were? Raindrop had heard that Discord could do that kind of thing. And as the god of Chaos, it was perhaps not such a giant leap of faith to think he could do so. Hearing footsteps leading away from the tunnel, and deeper into the earth, Raindrop risked a peek around the corner. There was a rather bare room ahead, and a glowing red gem on it, like the one in her wing. Except this one was somehow better. It was more lustrous, brighter, and infinitely more beautiful. Raindrop crept forwards into the room, and cast her gaze about. She blinked once in surprise and balked as she caught sight of a Diamond Dog sitting in a chair by a tunnel entrance ahead. A loud snore made her sigh in relief, and she relaxed visibly. Carefully, the young pegasus eased forwards, and looked the guard over. He was larger than the others, and looked to be rather, well...stupid. Biting her bottom lip, Raindrop reached down with a hoof and began to, very gently, and very carefully, disentangle a keyring from the guards hip. The keys jangled once, and the guard snorted, sitting up a little bit straighter. Raindrop held her breath, eyes clenching closed, standing stock-still. The guard lapsed back into sleep, and Raindrop heaved out the breath she had been holding. Her hoof shook violently as she slipped the keyring off its hook, and then turned around, walking with steps that seemed light and weightless to her after the massive surge of adrenaline. On instinct, she made her way over to the glowing gem. It was sitting on a black three-pronged, twisted holder of some kind that actually looked kind of cool. Trust the bad guys to get the good furniture. A hoof reached out to gently touch the gem, and then snatched back as the gem went dark. Mist seemed to coalesce inside the gem, and then explode outwards until it reached the surface of the gem, turning it to stone. Raindrop frowned, looking left, and then right, and then snatching the now-stone gem, placing it in her other wing. Casting one more glance about, she turned and then began to quickly, but quietly, make her way back to Sentinel. Sentinel was still hoisted up in his restraints when Raindrop returned, and she entertained the idea, for a few moments, of placing the keys on the stage in front of him, just out of reach. Raindrop then swallowed down the dark impulse, and made her way over to him. She didn’t know why she was being so mean all of a sudden? Maybe it was the Changeling blood resurfacing inside her. Maybe it was just stress? Would the changeling traits even change her personality? Goddess knew she was a much more short-tempered pegasus since all of this had started happening. Sentinel’s face told her that. “I’m here,” she whispered gently as she slipped up behind the guard. “Can you walk?” “I don’t know,” Sentinel spat in response, scowling slightly. “I haven’t exactly had a chance to test it, have I?” Raindrop’s eyes narrowed slowly. Leaving the key on the stage in front of him was seeming like a better idea with every second. “A simple ‘I don’t know” would have sufficed.” “Whatever,” Sentinel responded with a short huff. “Just get me out of these damn things.” Raindrop stared up at him for a long moment, before drawing away. “No...actually, I think I’ll leave you there.” Sentinel watched with narrowed eyes as the young pegasus laid the key to his manacles on the stage in front of him, just out of reach of his hooves. “Don’t go anywhere honey, you make a nice wall ornament,” she stated flatly, as she turned and began to stride away calmly.