True Black
Chapter 3
Harsh world
27th of March.
North Bay is a medium sized provincial town, more or less as far north in the Celestial Empire you could get along the coast and still claim to be within its borders. Only Stalliongrad which is situated inland, closer to the mountains, was a small margin further North and not by much. With North Bay being the largest town for miles around the coast, plus the fact that it has a well-protected harbor for larger ships. Meant that it functions as the main trade route, more or less all of the merchandise that ends up going further north to the Griffin kingdoms went through North Bay. Meaning there was good opportunity to be found in town. Even though it was a cold and harsh place to live, it had everything you needed and more.
Unfortunately, during the last two weeks the whole town had been rather subdued because there had been a sudden and tragic death amongst the town’s little fillies. Cherry Blossom had been on her way home when the accident occurred; she had taken a shortcut through a construction site after doing some errands for her mother that evening. One of the support beams must have broken and she was buried by the rubble; the ponies that found her at the scene said it had been quick and painless. Zig Zag however, thought that had just been something the grown-ups said to make themselves feel better. It hadn't worked for Cherry Blossom´s mother, Cherry Tree, though. She hung herself in the woods that same night. Zig Zag watched the empty bench across the street. That's where she had been sitting just two weeks ago, happy as can be while she showed Zig Zag her new Cutie Mark. The two of them had always been friends. One thing they had in common was that neither one of them knew who their fathers were. When they turned out to be the last two around their age not to have a Cutie Mark, their bond became even stronger as they stood back to back against the town bullies.
Zig Zag still blamed himself for not being with her when she had needed him. He had seen her that day around noon, but he was too busy with his work for them to play even though she asked him not to leave her alone and if she could tag along while he worked. But he still had much to do; she would have slowed him down more than he would have felt was worth it. Zig Zag was always helping his mother with delivering and finding merchandise for his mother's store, checking what the competition´s prices were, and also keeping an eye on the harbor to see if any new and exciting merchandise had arrived. He was always on the move, never still, which had made him a very fast and light-hooved colt. Zig Zag took a haggard breath and for the hundredth time that day, he looked down at the only picture of Cherry Blossom that existed as far as he knew. It had originally been a small painting, depicting her and her mother as they smiled out at the world. Cherry Blossom´s green eyes were so happy, complimented by her beaming smile. Her red coat was stunning; it went surprisingly well with her well-kept green mane and tail. Around her neck hung a small necklace designed to resemble a cherry blossom.
That small, beautiful painting had originally been hanging in the main common room of the inn her mother was running. When the time came to clean out their belongings, Zig Zag found the painting torn to pieces in the middle of the room. Once he found a fragment of the painting that almost fully depicted Cherry Blossom, he immediately snatched it up.
Everyone had always noted just how lucky Zig Zag was to have ended up with someone as cute as Cherry Blossom, especially since he was a little small for his age. His coat was light blue, while his short and messy mane and tail were a darker shade of blue. And just like Cherry Blossom, he too had the most stunning green eyes. It was just another of the many things that had always tied them together. She had even confessed to liking the black marking Zig Zag had on his rump. Cherry Blossom thought they looked a lot like the ones on Empress Nightmare Moon´s own flank. The only difference being hers was purple while his was black. He rolled up the picture carefully, and tied it back into its hiding place in his tail. Down the street he saw one of Iron Boot´s soldiers, as he liked to call his underlings. He was trying to get close to Zig Zag without drawing too much attention, though failing miserably.
Apparently two weeks was the allotted time one had to mourn the passing of a close friend before the town bullies saw you as fair game again. Now being the oldest blank flank in the city, they had not wasted any time pointing out the fact. He didn't care about that either, but then they hit the rawest nerve they could. First calling Cherry Tree something awful, and then insinuating that the same happened between him and Cherry Blossom.
He couldn't remember what happened next. Apparently Zig Zag had given a feral cry and launched at Iron Boot with murder in his eyes. Since Iron Boot was taken completely by surprise, he hadn't been able to get the smaller filly off of him. And it was also one of the few times he had ever seen Iron Boot without his gang around him. The next thing Zig Zag remembered was being dragged away from Iron Boot when some city guard arrived at the scene. Iron Boot would of course not let this go un-punished; the whole gang had been chasing him ever since. Iron Boot and his boys had a reputation to uphold after all. Zig Zag wasn't too worried about any of it. He was after all the fastest colt in North Bay. Not even the older colts or fillies could catch him, if he saw them coming. And the one closing in now he had seen coming a mile away. Wanting to impress Iron Boot he obviously thought he was going to bring Zig Zag in himself. Just as the bully reached for what he thought was an unaware victim. Zig Zag spun around, connecting a back hoofed kick cleanly with a side of the bully, using him as a springboard to take off down the street. The bully hadn't even tried to chase after him, he was still lying on the ground clinching his side while Zig Zag disappeared around a corner.
****
Black Star looked up from her paper work. She was almost done with the report to Chief Decurion Avarice, when the spirit stirred in the corner of her research tent. It was actually bigger than the command tent Decurion Lightning Strike stayed in. There were bookshelves along the walls, two work benches with different experiments bubbling away and of course the big steel cage in the corner. Black Star rose from behind her desk, and trotted up to the cage. The spirit rose up with his back to her, obviously not understanding where it was.
“Good morning.” She said in a pleasant tone. The next thing she knew the spirits teeth were clamped around the bars just in front of her face. She gave an involuntary screech and fell backwards. Glaring up at it, she snorted.
“Well if you're not going to be civil… Sit down!” She commanded. The spirit gasped, trying to fight the command, but it felt like shards of glass were being pushed around in his now physical head. After just a few seconds he sat down, with a breath of relief. He opened his yellow eyes, and through them shone everything he wanted to do with his tormentor. Black Star couldn't help but shiver; she stood up and approached the cage a little more carefully this time.
“Good… Now that we know that you do what I tell you to, let's have a little talk, shall we?” She said calmly. The spirit didn't answer, or give any indication that he wanted to talk with her.
“I'm trying to be nice here… What's your name?” She asked as sweetly as she could. The spirit didn't even react.
“Well this isn't working.” Black Star thought.
“Have it your way. Answer my questions truthfully.” She commanded. “Now what is your name.” She asked again. The spirit once again started to shake and grimaced in pain. He resisted almost thirty seconds this time, before he broke.
“Ahhhh! It can't be expressed with sound!” He burst out, and collapsed to the floor. Black Star raised an eyebrow at this.
“Really… Well I guess I'll name you then. Mmmmm… Lobo? Yes! Lobo will do nicely.” She said. “And what species are you?” Now it was Lobo who looked a little bit annoyed at her.
“Okay… so I'll name your species as well then.” Black Star said while she rolled her eyes. After some consideration she looked back at him. “Your species will be known as Dire Wolf's.” She announced happily. “Now then, instead of me asking you questions you can’t answer, why don't you just tell me what you can about your realm.” She said. Lobo looked unhappy about telling her anything about the realm of light. Then he realized she hadn't commanded him to tell her everything. This meant he still had the option to choose what he told her if he acted quickly.
“We the… Dire Wolf's, we are the protectors of the realm. As such we are allowed to siphon energy from all the other species in it.” Lobo said while he grimaced. She started to scribble down what he said on a piece of parchment.
“Siphon energy… Could you elaborate on that?” Black Star asked. Lobo sighed and continued.
“When we hunt for energy, we find our prey, corner it, and then absorb what we need from it.” He said.
“Absorb what you need… Does this kill the prey spirit?” She asked and looked at him.
“Not very often. It is seen as bad manners to absorb all the energy from someone else.” He answered. “If we don't weaken the prey too much, it will gather energy for itself again. And we will be able to hunt it some other time.” Lobo continued.
“Well that sounds…” She was interrupted by a large rumble. At first she thought Lobo had growled at her. But he was looking just a surprise as her. Then his stomach rumbled loudly again. Lobo looked quite perplexed as he spun around, trying to figure out what was going on with his new body.
“Well speaking of energy… It seems you need some.” Black Star said with a smile.
“What is wrong with me… what are you doing?” Lobo asked and looked accusingly at her. She shook her head, turned around to fetch some food for him when she suddenly realized something she'd overlooked. Lobo was a carnivore, he needed meat, and that was something they were woefully short on. She looked apologetically back at him.
“You are hungry… If your stomach is growling, it means you need to eat, to gather energy, so to speak.” She said putting a hoof to her chin as she tried to figure out what to do.
“The trouble is you don't eat anything we ponies eat, probably the closest place to get meat… would be a Griffin village, it would take a couple of days to get that here though.” Black Star calculated in her head. Lobo would probably not have any problem surviving without food for a while. But another's thought occurred to her. This could be a very good test.
“Follow closely behind me, and do not attack any ponies, unless specifically ordered to do so by me. Do you understand?” She commanded.
“Yes…” Lobo answered glaring at her. Satisfied with the answer, Black Star´s horn was surrounded by a black aura, and the door to the cage swung open. Lobo looked at the open door, and then he cried out and crumpled to the ground. Black Star grinned and looked at him.
“Thinking about hurting me where you?” She asked knowingly. Lobo just gave her a flat looked.
“Yes.” He answered. She chuckled a little.
“You probably shouldn't do that. It will hurt quite a lot if you thought's linger too long on the subject.” She stated.
“I noticed…” Lobo said dejectedly.
“Good… Let's go.” Black Star walked away without a second glance back. She levitated the tent flap out of the way as she walked out. She was greeted by a glorious sunny day, realizing she'd been working through the night and more or less the whole day as well. She should probably also get something to eat. Black Star turned around to see what was taking Lobo so long, ending up staring into his yellow eyes mere inches away. She jumped back and almost fell over. Her eyes wide as saucers and quite a bit on nerved. How can something so big move so quietly? She looked down at his paws, they were probably a lot better for sneaking then hooves. She frowned at him.
“Don't sneak up on me like that.” She ordered him. Lobo just looked at her.
“I wasn't sneaking. I just walked behind you, like you told me to.” He answered. That was even more unnerving for Black Star. Realizing Lobo hadn't even tried to be quiet. A shiver went down her spine as she thought about being stalked by him. Whatever creature he set his eyes upon wouldn't stand a chance. And she was about to let him loose in the forest to hunt. She gathered herself again.
“Well don't do that again. Now follow… On second thought, walk beside me when in my presence from now on.” She ordered and set off through the camp. As she walked through the camp it ground to a halt. Every pony was staring at Lobo, while he moved silently beside Black Star. Every pair of eyes that Lobo met quickly looked away. He cringed his nose at the smells that constantly assaulted it; they were repulsive he thought. And the physical feel of everything, was disgusting to him. He started to growl menacingly at everything.
“Lobo be quite.” Black Star ordered.
“So I'm not even allowed to express my distaste for this prison of flesh you have bound me in?” Lobo asked with a snort in Black Star's direction. She looked flatly at him.
“There is nothing wrong with your physical form.” She stated as if he was criticizing her work.
“It's physical! It's completely wrong! It's repulsive! It's disgusting! And I can't take the smell of AHHHHHH!!!” Lobo screamed out and collapsed on the ground.
“If you continue thinking about killing me… I might not let you feed tonight.” Black Star stated as she turned around to look at the Dire Wolf who was still twitching on the ground. Lobo snarled and forced his thoughts away from massacring every living thing around him at the moment. The pain stopped. He opened his yellow eyes and let them bore in to Black Starts.
“You tear me from my home, my world… And I'm not even allowed to fantasies about killing you?” He said with his words dripping of malice.
“No. Now pick yourself up; you still have to hunt, and I need something to eat as well.” She stated. As he stood up, a pony with wings came up beside Black Star. This made Lobo raise an eyebrow. He had never seen a pony with wings before. Of course he had never seen a pony with a horn either, but there were many hooved creatures with horns and antlers. Wings though, that was a new one for him.
“Is it safe to let him wander around like this Black Star?” Lightning Strike wondered.
“Absolutely, the mind control spell on him is one of the strongest I know. Even though something is going on inside of him that I do not fully understand yet, I have been able to establish that he cannot actively use magic. In which ways a Dire Wolf differs from a normal one will still take a little research to confirm.” She answered. Lightning looked up at the Dire Wolf who was once again standing. Their eyes met. And for the first time since coming to the material realm Lobo thought he actually saw something in the eyes that were watching him. It was not the cold look of ownership, which met him when he looked into Black Star´s eyes. It was not pity either, but a sense of sorrow at what had been done to him. This surprised Lobo somewhat; of course he knew every pony wouldn't be like Black Star, but it would make it easier if he thought they were like her. Especially when he was ripping them all too pieces later. Lobo cried out, and forced his thoughts to cool down. Lightning looked at him with concern.
“Is something wrong with him?” She asked. Black Star chuckled.
“No… He just thought about killing us again. And the fact that he's hungry is makes him a bit touchy.” She answered and looked at Lobo with that smile he was starting to hate very much.
“We don't have anything for him to eat do we?” Lightning wondered.
“Of course not, he's a carnivore. I thought about going to the griffins for some meat, fish or whatever it is there eating. Then I realized it would be much easier just to let him hunt.” Black Star said triumphantly. Lightning nodded, but still looked a bit concerned.
“If you think it’s safe, I'll go along with it. Have him come to the command tent when he's done. I would like to talk to him.” Lightning said and walked away. Black Star nodded and walked up to Lobo.
“You heard Decurion Lightning Strike. Go hunt, and then find her in the command tent. When she releases you, come back to me.” She ordered him. Lobo had never thought he would be glad to follow one of her orders, but since it meant leaving these wretched creatures for a while, he was all for it. One second he was standing in front of Black Star. Then in less than ten seconds flat. He had disappeared out of the camp, passed the forge where Bender and the Praetorian barely caught a glimpse of him, before he disappeared into the shadows of the forest. Black Star like most of the ponies in the camp was staring after him, and then they started looking nervously at each other. The speed at which he moved was breathtaking. And the way he effortlessly glided over the ground without making a sound. It was absolutely, terrifyingly, beautiful. She was grinning again, something she found herself doing a lot lately.
“I love my work.” Black Star thought. They would have to assess his combat abilities soon. And she was truly looking forward to it. Even though he had no magic, she suspected it would be a thoroughly entertaining event.
****
Zig Zag was walking briskly through the alleys and the shadows in North Bay. He had lost Iron Boot, Second Wind and Gale Force after they had bumped into each other at the market. As a precaution he had also taken a roundabout route to his home. He had seen Iron Boot´s older brother Iron Helm looking at the front of his mother's store earlier in the day. He was always more than happy to help his little brother kick some flank. He came to the end of the alley. For most ponies, especially a colt, this would be a dead end. Zig Zag was a very agile and spry colt. He took a running start, turned towards the corner where the high wall met the left house. Jumped up and bounced off the house, then the wall, then the house again, and finally grabbing onto the top of the wall, and pulling himself up on top of it. He looked back smiling. He didn't know anybody else who could do that. If that wasn't a special talent, he truly had no idea what was. A bit annoyed he looked back at his blank flank. Just then something smashed into the side of his head. Blinding lights fill his vision, as he tumbled over and fell down on the other side of the wall. With a heavy thud, he impacted the ground. He moaned painfully, slowly he raced a hoof to the side of his head. As he looked at it he noted that there was quite a lot of blood. He tried to get up, the world started spinning so much he just tumbled right over again. He heard a vicious laughs coming from down the alleyway he'd landed in. At the end of the alley he could see the back of his house. If you went in the front you would come into his mother's store.
“HAHAHAHA!!!! Did you guys see that throw! That was worth a second cutie Mark! Told you we didn't need to run after the blank flank, not when we knew where he was going!” Iron Boot said mockingly as he stepped up to Zig Zag and glared down at him.
“How is the blank flank feeling? Did you hurt your little head?” He asked with mock concern before slamming his front leg into Zig Zag stomached. The air was knocked out of him, and he started coughing and wheezing. Iron Boot wasn't even close to being finished with him. He roughly grabbed Zig Zag´s throat and pulled him up to his knees.
“You really shouldn't have pulled that stunt earlier today. Making me look bad is going to cost you... A lot!” Iron Boot hissed through clenched teeth, and hit Zig Zag across the snout while holding him up. Blow after blow whipt his head from side to side, without him being able to do anything about it. When Iron Boot finally stopped it was mostly because his hoof was starting to hurt too much. Zig Zag was hanging limp in his grasp. Behind Iron Boot both Second Wind and Gale Force were looking worriedly at each other.
“I think he's had enough…” Second Wind said carefully. Iron Boot just glanced back at him with two pinpricks for eyes. The glare actually made Second Wind jump back. Iron Boot smiled manically at him before returning his attention to Zig Zag. He shoved Zig Zag against the wall. Slowly he glided down into a sitting position, with his head lolling to one side. Needless to say he was unconscious. His entire face was puffy, and blood was flowing freely from his head wound, nose and mouth.
“We should go.” Second Wind said as he and Gale Force turned to leave. Then they heard something scrape against the ground behind them. As they both turned back to Iron Boot they saw him holding an old wooden plank over his head. With disbelief and horror they watched as Iron Boot started his wild swing towards Zig Zag. As fate would have it, just as the swing started, Zig Zag began toppling over to the side. The rotten plank connected with the wall where his head had been just a second before, then exploded into a shower of splinters. For the onlookers, it seemed as if Iron Boot´s swing had connected to the side of Zig Zag´s head, sending him flying to the ground. Iron Boot looked at his now useless stick, and then threw it on top of Zig Zag with disdain.
“Damn blank flank.” Iron Boot said and turned towards the exit of the alley. He walked past Second Wind and Gale Force who were both staring at Zig Zag´s unmoving body. Second Wind took a tantalizing step towards the unconscious or most likely dead colt.
“Come here now!” Iron Boot´s voice commanded from behind them. Both Second Wind and Gale Force watched each other worriedly, and then they turned to follow him, not wishing to suffer his wrath. As the trio came out of the alley a sharp voice halted them.
“What have you been up to?” It asked. Second Wind and Gale Force looked up with terror written across their face´s. They looked as if they had just been caught red-handed at the scene of a murder. Iron Boot just glanced up at the city guard who was standing at the entrance to the store of Zig Zag´s mother. He had plain steel armor covering parts of his legs, back and chest. On the chest the insignia of the city nobles was painted. It depicted a ship with full sales in silhouette against the rising sun. The stallion was grey with a white main and tail. The most noticeable thing about him was his iron grey eyes. Upon seeing who it was Iron Boot put on a crooked smile he answered.
“Nothing father. Just kicking some blank flank.” He said and walked towards his dad. Iron Rod nodded with a smile spreading on his own face.
“Was it the one that lives here?” He asked. Iron Boot nodded without a second's hesitation.
“Good! I think I can use that to my advantage right now.” He said as he walked in leaving the three colt's behind him. Just as he was about to close the door he called out.
“Boot´s if you see Short Sword anywhere, tell him to come here.” He told his son and closed the door firmly, and then he flipped the open sign to closed. As he walked further into the store, he heard a familiar voice call out.
“Just a minute I'll be right out!” Sounded a cheery cry from the back of the store. A couple of seconds later Bright Sky trotted out to stand behind the counter. She was a very nicely formed Pegasus. Her coat was sky blue, the mane was well-kept and framed her face very nicely with its two tone purple shades, and the tail was cropped a bit shorter than what was considered stylish. She didn't like too much wind drag when she flew. And it was easy to see where Zig Zag had got in his eyes when you looked into her bright green once. As Bright Sky saw who it was she faltered for a second, before she put on her smile again.
“Good day captain Iron. How can I help you?” She asked. The smile that answered her was not a pleasant one.
“I'm here to collect the tax” he answered. Bright Sky just stared at him.
“But… They have already collected this month taxes.” She said nervously. Captain Iron dropped to smile and walked up to the counter, and fixed her with his gaze.
“The old one yes… But you see… a couple of months ago the taxes were raised. And even though you have received many warnings to pay them, you still have not done so.” He explained. Bright Sky couldn't believe what she was hearing, and frantically shook her head.
“No no no… This is the first I've heard of it.” She said. Captain Iron raised an eyebrow in mock surprise.
“Really… It says in our records you have received ten warnings now.” He said grinning. Bright Sky´s nearly collapsed at being told this. She looked at the captain with terror across her face.
“No please! You have to believe me this is the first time I've ever heard of it! Please!!!” She begged. Missing ten payments meant she was basically a criminal. And everything she owned could be claimed by the nobles. The captain grinned at her, and walked around the counter to stand snout to snout with her.
“Well… Since you never been a criminal before, the city guard might be able to look the other way this once.” He said and grabbed her under the chin.
“There is after all… Many ways for you to show your appreciation for the services the city guard provide.” He said letting his eyes linger on her flank, at the same time as he started to caress the side of her head. Bright Sky´s eyes widened in shock. All of a sudden she realized what was happening. She was basically being offered the choice between losing everything she ever worked for, and on top of that joining a forced labor camp, or becoming a tail lifter for the city guards.
“NO!!!” She shrieked and tried to get away. Iron Rod yanked her back and slammed her into the wall behind the counter, one hoof on either side of her so she was securely pinned there.
“Now calm down. I haven't told you everything yet. There are of course some very good benefits for you in this.” He said calmly. “One, you'll never pay taxes again, not even the old ones. Two, you and your son will get even more protection from the city guard in the future, you'll most likely never have another shoplifter in here again. And three… Little Zig Zag won't have a tragic accident.” Captain Iron informed her. Upon hearing the last thing Bright Sky´s heart almost stopped.
“What… What do you mean accident?” She asked while a chill was running down her spine. The captain was smiling sweetly at her.
“You see… you are only offered this opportunity since we just had a spot on our staff open up. Cherry Tree was unfortunately not very cooperative in the end. And here you are without a husband, and still so young and beautiful.” He said while his hoof caressed her chin. She tried to pull away, but he held her in place.
“Now don't be difficult… We would hate having to make another example of you.” He said with a very stern voice. Bright Sky looked at him through tear filled eyes, as she asked the question she was dreading the answer to.
“What happened to Cherry Tree?” She said while fighting to keep her composure. Captain Iron looked pleased.
“Glad you asked. You see she was being difficult. We try to keep her on the straight and narrow. Every so often she would lash out on some poor guard with something pointy and sharp. Unfortunately she didn't really care much about the punishment we gave her for it, at least not until we started punishing her daughter instead.” He said with an evil grin. Bright Sky was now staring at him, mouth open, as the implications started to align in her head.
“The first time we only gave Cherry Blossom a good old-fashioned beat down in front of Cherry Tree. That kept her in line almost half a year if memory serves. The second time we broke Cherry Blossom leg while Cherry Tree had to watch of course, her daughter was desperately pleading and screaming for mercy right up until the leg cracked. That bought us at least two years of fine manners from her.” he said as if he was reminiscing about the good old days. Then his eyes turn to Iron as he looked straight into hers.
“But then that bitch actually cut one of us quite badly. So as you can see we needed to make a good example of her. After we beat Cherry Blossom until she was unconscious. We dragged the two of them to the construction site. You should have seen Cherry Tree face ass the roof collapsed on her daughter. We actually had to knock out quite a few support beams for that to happen. After that all we had to do was give her a bit of rope and lead her to a tree in the Forest, she took care of the rest willingly.” Captain Iron said with the coldest smile she'd ever seen. Tears were streaming down Bright Sky´s face as she tried to comprehend what she was hearing.
“Now do we have an understanding miss sky?” Iron said while looking down at her body like if he was inspecting cattle. She desperately tries to cover herself using both her wings and hooves. The captain looked annoyed, and started to push her wings back out of the way. Before she knew what had happened. Bright Sky had slapped Captain Iron across the snout. He was no glaring angrily at her, slowly he turned his head back to face her fully.
“I see you don't quite understand yet. This will cost you your son's first beating, but since you're new to this I won't make you watch it.” He said with a crooked smile.
“No! Please leave Zig Zag alone... I will do what you tell me... I promise….” Bright Sky said and forced herself to spread her wings for him. He drank her in and looked pleased, as he ran a hoof along the edge of her wings.
“That's very smart of you. Now unfortunately I have business elsewhere that I cannot postpone. But when Short Sword arrives later, you better take him to cloud nine. He’s been a real rock for me these last weeks. So I really want him to have a good time.” Iron said and gave her a light and playful pat on her cheek. Bright Sky couldn't look at him, but she nodded.
“Good… You'll probably find your son out back soon. One last thing Miss Sky, if you’re thinking about going to the nobles and voice your complaints about this. Don’t bother, most of them actually see this as a good and cheap morale booster for the stallions in the guard. So try not to make us angry again. Neither of us will like it… Or at least you won't.” Captain Iron said and started walking towards the front door. As soon as it closed behind him Blue Sky was running towards the back. She flung the door open and stepped out into the alley. At first she was relieved to see that there was no one there, but then she heard labored breathing a bit further in amongst the shadows. As she came upon the battered body of her son she froze at the horrible sight of him. Zig Zag was lying so still, and fighting for every breath. Bright Sky´s whole body was shaking so much she could hardly lift him up onto her back. He was bleeding, and his whole face was completely puffed up. Tears were streaming down her face as she carried him into their home.
“I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry… I should have listened… I shouldn’t have hit him… this is my fault… why did I make him angry?“ Bright Sky said through her sobs to the unconscious Zig Zag. Had her mind not been so clouded emotionally at the moment, she might have wondered how somepony was able to beat him so severely, in such a short amount of time.
****
Lobo came gliding through the shadows under the canopy of the forest. The fur around his muzzle was dripping with the blood of his last kill. He was both disgusted and exhilarated by his need to feed. The pleasure he had felt when tearing into the red succulent meat, was more or less beyond his comprehension. Up until that instant he had only experienced pain in this world. The insight that there was such a thing as pleasure, made his continuing existence slightly more bearable. He was nearing the edge of the forest, having been gone from the camp for quite a while.
Black Star had ordered him to feed, but not to be quick about it. So he had been a picky eater to say the least. Beginning with hunting down two small rabbits, just to get a feel for this new body. With a new understanding of how his body moved, Lobo began the search for a meal that would be more fitting for him. After turning his nose up at many of the forests creatures, he found something that perked his interest. It was a great bore. And looked to be in the prime of its life, the bore had longing gleaming tasks that would pose a threat to most predators. For Lobo this made the bore a hunt worthy of his time. Unfortunately it had ended too quickly. Because of the bore being as fit and strong as it was, it never expected to be the target of a hunt. There was no predator large enough in this forest, nothing that could pose a threat to him, at least as far as it knew. So when Lobo attacked, the bore was caught completely off guard. He had torn out its throat before it even knew he was there. Lobo sighed as he thought back on the hunt. He would have to find something more challenging next time. Perhaps one of the… He stopped dead in his tracks and growled fiercely at the pain that shot through his head. He shook himself then pressed on.
After just a few more minutes the edge of the forest was insight. Despite being a spirit from the realm of light. He had found himself to be quite comfortable in the shadows. The darkness easily pierced by his eyes. Many times the only illumination under the canopy was his two glowing orbs. As he stepped out of the forest he felt a new, but at the same time old sensation. He shuddered as energy began to pour into him. His true self that was trapped inside of this shell of flesh was feeding. He turned around, and gazed at the sky. There hung the source of this exquisite light. Light more or less exactly the same as the light of his home realm. It was moonlight. He felt it coursing through him. Just as when his physical body had eaten, some of the energy had been transferred to his spirit side. Now that his spirit was feeding, it also shares its meal with his physical aspect. Some small bruises and cuts he had on his body from the hunt began to heal more rapidly. Also scars and injuries from the summoning that had healed badly began to fade and realign better. Lobo stood there swaying in pure bliss for a while. When he finally had his fill of moonlight, he lifted his head towards the sky and gave the moon a long song ass thanks.
As he turned around and gazed down at the camp, he could see many ponies staring up towards him. He growled a bit and started walking towards the camp. Immediately almost every pony scattered into their tents. Lobo gave a short laugh. Then he noticed two silhouettes that stood in the shadows outside the camp by the forge. They had not moved at all, and were definitely aware that he was heading towards them. This peaked his interest, when he came up alongside he stopped. The two ponies calmly look back at him. The stallion was quite a large specimen of the pony breed, almost as tall as he was. The mare was smaller in stature but held his gaze with even less on ease then the stallion.
“You're not going to run away?” Lobo asked.
“No…” The mare answered. There was no uncertainty in her quite charming voice. An image flashed in front of Lobo´s eyes, he had seen this one before. All his memories of that summoning night were quite fuzzy, but yes she was there. And she was angry at someone… Black Star…
“So you're not scared of me?” Lobo said and grinned a bloody smile.
“Of course I am… Only an idiot wouldn't be scared of you, but if I were to run from you now, I would only trigger your hunting drive wouldn't I.” The mare answered. The light emitting from Lobo´s eyes flashed a bit bright.
“You seem to know a lot about Dire Wolf's, at least for a pony.” He said as he studied her intently. The great stallion at her side noticed this, and obviously didn't appreciate what he saw. He took a small step to stand in front of the mare. She looked at him quite annoyed, then shoved him aside. The stallion look back at her, snorted and went inside the forge.
“I know about predators. I have studied many of their techniques for killing. And I can tell every fiber of your body wants me to run and give you a good chase.” She said with the same calm voice as in the beginning of the conversation, but Lobo could hear her heart racing. If it was out of fear, or excitement at the prospect of testing herself against him, he couldn't tell. His smile grew wider as he walked off into the camp, leaving the fascinating mare behind him. He slid silently between the tents, and tracked the scent of the winged pony back to its origin. As he neared the opening of the command tent he could hear voices coming from inside.
“I'm telling you I don't know where it is. I told it to go hunt, but I sure didn't expect it to take this long.” He heard Black Star say, and she was quite annoyed.
“Why do you insist on calling him it? You told me his name is Lobo, this it stuff you’re doing is starting to bug me.” The other pony answered.
“Don't start with that again. He is my experiment, and once my research is complete the Army can have it. Until then I'm in charge of IT.” Black Star said darkly, then she sighed. “Can we please stop talking about this. I came here to relax a bit, and all we've done is bicker back and forth. I thought we were on the verge of starting something… Nice.” She continued sadly. Lightning didn't answer but Lobo could hear that they were both moving further into the tent.
“Perfect timing.” Lobo thought. He had been ordered not to sneak up on Black Star, but she never said anything about sneaking around her. He stepped in through the opening, and immediately saw that two mars. They were heading towards a rather thin looking bed in the furthest corner of the tent. He raised an eyebrow, they wouldn't both fit on that little thing unless one was on top of… Ooh! He silently lay down in front of a much cluttered wooden table and watched them. They had still not noticed him as they came up to the side of the bed, they looked at each other a little bit timidly.
“We might get in trouble for this.” Said Lightning while their muzzles were getting closer to each other.
“I don't care…” Answered Black Star and they locked into a kiss. Lobo couldn't help but grin.
“Now that's just adorable.” He said in his deep voice. Both Lightning Strike and Black Star yelped while they tumbled over the bed to fall in a heap on the other side. Black Star flew up to her hooves as she realized who it was.
“I ordered you not to sneak up on me!” She yelled furiously at him. Lobo snickered a bit.
“I didn't sneak up on you, I'm lying in the middle of the floor. I came in here almost a minute ago, neither one of you noticed me, since you were otherwise occupied.” He answered calmly. All the while Black Star was literally shaking with rage. She sneered quite viciously at him.
“Pain!” She suddenly called. Lobo immediately felt pain starting to pulse through his body. It wasn't much compared with other thinks he'd already felt, but it was still hard to keep a straight face. Noticing this Black Star narrowed her eyes at him.
“That would have most ponies rolling on the floor, but don't worry we can fix that for you to tough guy.” She sneered and then called out. “Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain!!!” Lobo was now quite literally rolling on the ground screeching and crying out. Every time she had called out pain, the agony Lobo felt double. By the sixth time he was almost back in the summoning circle again. There was nothing he could do as he shook and jerked on the floor, unable even to gather a breath and beg for mercy.
“Stop this! Stop this now!” Cried Lightning Strike from where she stood on the other side of the bed.
“Why!?” Black Star asked, then her eyes went round as she felt something cold against her throat. She glanced down and saw a dagger being pressed against a flash. In the corner of her eye she could see the Praetorian mare standing with the handle in her mouth.
“Because someone who doesn't know pain should not inflict it upon others. Now stop hurting him.” The Praetorian hissed at Black Star.
“Cease pain!” She called out. Immediately Lobo became still, he continued breathing heavily where he lay on the floor.
“Now get that thing away from my throat!” Black Star demanded. The Praetorian mare obliged her, but still looked at her with loathing.
“You're a sadist. Maybe not to ponies, but everything else is fair game for you isn't.” She spat at Black Star while she walked over to Lobo. He didn't say anything, but in his eyes shone the “thank you” he would not voice.
“No one talks like that to me! This isn't personal! There is always sacrifices needed in the pursuit of knowledge!” Black Star said defensively.
“That's okay if you're the one paying the price!” The Praetorian answered angrily. “But you're not are you… And what did you learn from this?” She wondered. Black Star didn't miss a beat.
“I have learned that it has a high threshold for pain.” She said with a grin. The Praetorian glared back at her.
“Threshold? You idiot! Let me teach you something!” She hissed and walked up so she was right in front of Black Star.
“Pain is something that is measured against what you already experienced!” The Praetorian said as she reversed the grip on the dagger, and then unceremoniously stabbed it into her lower leg. She let it stay there as she lifted it in front of Black Star who was looking at her like she was mad.
“For me this is quite annoying, but nothing more really. To someone who hasn't experienced much pain though.…” She said as she is fluidly yanked the knife out of her leg, and quickly drove it into Black Star´s. She screamed out and collapsed to the floor clutching at the wound while tears were flowing from her eyes.
“It would probably be the worst thing that they ever felt in their life.” She scoffed as she recovered her blade, and started to head for the exit without any signs of discomfort. When Black Star was finally able to think straight again, she cast a menacing glance after the Praetorian who still stood at the opening looking back at her. She was about to say something when the Praetorian cut her off.
“That was your first lesson about pain, bookworm. Don't make me give you another.” She warned and trotted out from the tent.
“Bitch!!! Come back here!” Black Star called after her. She struggled to rise and hobbled towards the opening on three hooves while her horn was surrounded by a black aura.
“Stop.” Called Lightning from behind her. Black Star turned around and looked at her.
“She's stabbed me!” She cried out in disbelief. Lightning once again gave her that look that said she had expected more from her.
“And it was a good lesson for you… You shouldn't be so callous about what you do with him. You seemed so intelligent, dependable and warm to every pony, don't tell me I've fallen for a front.” Lightning words cut a lot deeper in Black Star than the dagger had.
“No, no please… This here is... just work, this is not… Me…” She stammered as she wobbled back towards Lightning. Lightning Strike looked sadly at her.
“I'm a soldier Black Star; I've never hurt someone just because I can. What you just did was completely on called for. Now go get that scratch looked at.” Lightning said and pointed Black Star towards the exit. She looked perplexed, and then she heard a little chuckle. Both mares turned towards the forgotten Dire Wolf in the room.
“Well there might be one or two of you ponies that I would not kill immediately if I had the chance… Or maybe not…” Lobo said and showed them a toothy grin. Both mares felt a shiver run down their spines at the sight of it.
“I know you've had a bad time here…” Lightning didn't get any further.
“BAD TIME!!! I was torn from my world! My pack! Forever! End you’re calling it a BAD TIME!!!” Lobo growled fiercely as the now familiar pain started piercing his skull.
“We are not all… We didn't know it was going to turn out like this.” Lightning said apologetically.
“And that means what to me! You think that makes it all right! That some of you didn't know what was going on! NO!!! She knew exactly what was happening!” Lobo growled as he glared at Black Star, and even through the stabbing pain in his head he somehow managed to get to his feet.
“I didn't know that it was going to be that bad…” Black Star defended herself.
“Liar… I will… Tear you limb from limb… One day… With… a smile... while I'm doing... it!” He grunted out through the pain. As the last word left his tongue his eyes rolled up and Lobo fell unconscious to the ground.
“You really don’t know when to quit.” Said Black Star and hobbled up to the Wolf. She tested her injured leg and found it to be too painful to support the weight. Then she frowned as she realized she would have to carry him back to his cage. She sighed and enveloped him in her black aura.
“Don't, let him sleep here until he wakes up, and get him a place of his own.” Ordered Lightning. Black Star looked surprised.
“But my research… I need it close to me. I need to keep an eye on him.” She said pleadingly.
“He's no threat to us, you said it yourself. He really doesn't even need any more reason to hate us. The first thing he sees when waking up every day shouldn't be metal bars. Now leave him, and go see to that scratch of yours before it gets infected.” Lightning ordered. Black Star was about to protest, but Lightning cut her off with a stern look. Black Star muttered to herself and hobbled out of the tent. With a heavy sigh Lightning moved over to the bed to lie down. After staring off into space a couple of minutes, she slammed her hoof down.
“Buck!!!” She yelled. “This had almost been such a lovely night to.” Lightning thought, and turned around to try and get some sleep.
****
Thanks to Meeester for the Pre-read/Edit