“... And of all things, he decides to call me a thief for taking the poor old mare's purse back! Can you believe the sheer ignorance of some ponies these days? It simply drives me mad, grrr!”
Ah laughed ta myself as Ah listened ta Rarity talk about some of the ponies she's put away, specifically some of the dumber ones she's encountered over time. A couple years in this business and you'll run across all kinds of ponies.
“Ha. Sounds like he got ta ya a little, don't it?” Ah replied.
“Of course he did! There's nothing I despise more than someone accusing me of being a criminal. Anyways, I ended up dropping him off in a police car after catching an officer's attention. But enough about me, what about you? Any fun stories of heroics or simple idiocy to share?”
Ah twisted my mouth a little because Ah didn't have any that immediately came ta mind. The more Ah thought about, everything Ah did was pretty routine. “Hmm... That... may be a tougher question ta answer than Ah thought...” Ah pulled my hoof ta my face and started ta think about the ponies I'd dealt with recently.
Nope, that was just a regular guy. Nah, that was just some uppity unicorn tryin' ta make a quick buck. Ah guess there was the guy in the armor, but then again, Ah think she was watchin' me that time... Ah decided Ah might as well give it a shot.
“Well, were y'all watchin' me this mornin' when Ah was dealin' with the guy in the armor?”
She tilted her head, then frowned. “Oh, right. Well, yes, actually. To be truthful, I was hoping you might need help so I could get a chance to speak with you, but obviously, that wasn't the case.”
Ah straightened my lips. “Uh huh. Thanks? Ah guess. Wait a minute. It's been a few months since that first time right?”
Her eyes continued ta wander away from mine. “I-I believe so.”
Ah narrowed my eyes, finally catchin' hers. “Just how long have y'all be watchin' me?”
She bit her lip, and then the tension that had built up seemed ta fade when she sighed. “Ever since then, for the most part, really. Myself, that is, not the guild. Even if that little operation went as sour as it did, you would have been one of the last assets we needed to fill our roster. You were such a perfect fit, I just couldn't bring myself to give up on the idea of you joining us. I suppose my diligence paid off in the end, didn't it? He he.” She made a half a smile like she was proud of some bad thing she'd done.
Ah raised an eyebrow at her. “Ah can't tell if Ah should be endeared or creeped out. So, what even is this guild that y'all've been talkin' about anyways? Ya said a bunch of names earlier, but Ah've just about forgotten what they were. Who are these ponies?”
She smiled and raised her nose. Ah wasn't pleased by that reaction. “Oh? Interested, perhaps?” she said, keeping her tone high.
Ah raised my nose and straightened up. Ah was taller than her, and Ah hate it when ponies look down on me. “Perhaps, Ah might be. If ya tell me what Ah need ta know, that is.”
She lowered her nose, but kept her eyes on me. It reminded me of a cat about ta spring on a mouse. “Well, I'll just have to take you for a visit then. I can't very well tell you the identities of my friends without your swearing to keep it a secret, and they may very well not want you to know who they are to begin with. Of course, if you were to join the guild, then they'd likely welcome you with open hooves, but until then…”
Ah rolled my eyes. Join my guild, join my guild! Is there anythin' else she wants from me? She's bein' real damn pushy about this again. Well… Ah guess if Ah'm gonna dip my hooves in the water, Ah might as well dive in and get it over with. Havin' more friends wouldn't be too bad either…
“Alright fine. Ah might join yer little superhero club if Ah like what Ah see while Ah'm there. Maybe.” Ah didn't want ta appear as desperate as Ah felt. Maybe Ah was just bein' vain, but hell, Ah feel better now than Ah have in a long time.
She seemed ta light up with my words. As well as she could read me, Ah figured she might be able ta see how hollow they were. “Perfect! I'll set up a day for us to go meet everypony this week. When will you be available?” she asked, quickly retrieving a little black book from a drawer in the room with her magic. She realized she didn't have anythin' ta write with and then went about searchin' fer that.
While Ah was left alone, Ah finally took the time ta look around. The Boutique's 'upstairs' wasn't much more than a couple of small bedrooms, a bathroom, and a little livin' area in here. The only odd thing about it was the grand piano that took up the other half of the room that the couch and the staircase didn't occupy. It was covered in random things strewn about the top that looked like they belonged to one sister or the other. Not good fer the acoustics. Looks pretty dusty too.
She must've caught me starin' at it when she came back from wherever. “Interested in my piano are you?” she said as she finally returned with a pen.
“Ah wouldn't say interested as much as confused. The thing barely fits in here, let alone that itdoesn’t look like it's been played in ages.”
Rarity sighed and walked toward the dusty black instrument, leavin' her pen and book behind. “Truer words couldn't have been spoken. When I was younger, I thought I wanted to be a star of some kind. Being the daughter of a double income and well employed family made it relatively easy to get whatever I asked for, as often as my parents were away and felt guilty for it. So, I got smart and asked for a piano one day. I had a knack for it, even won a competition here and there, but then a school play came up, and I was asked to make the costumes for it.
“I never really thought much of my ability to sew at the time since it was just a hobby, but with every costume I made, I just found it more and more enjoyable to do. A new project that needed to look a certain way, but I had the liberty to do whatever I wanted as long as it fell within the fabrics I had access to.
“The costumes became more and more extravagant and I simply fell in love with making them. Lo and behold, my cutie mark shows up shortly there afterward. I instinctively learn a spell that makes me a genius gem hunter and suddenly I'm born to sew. I wanted to keep up with it, but the piano eventually just fell out of view. I try and play every now and again, but since my powers showed up and business here hasn't been enough to make end’s meet, I've had to take up being a bounty hunter.”
She pulled the bench seat at the keyboard out until it hit the rounded wall and sat on it. “The sad truth is, even though my cutie mark compels me toward fashion, I simply can't make a living off of it with the business I'm getting here, and it's not the only thing I like to do with my life.”
She gave a weak laugh. “Ha, here I sit at my piano again, pondering what exactly I should be doing with my life when I have a magical tattoo that tells me so. Have you ever wondered, if maybe… you don't agree with it? What your cutie mark supposedly 'tells' you to do?”
Ah reached fer the back of my neck without meanin' too. You don't know the half of it. Ah couldn't help but let out a laugh myself.
It must've made her mad because then she went off on me. “Oh, you find my plight funny, do you? Then maybe I'll just have to laugh at your inner machinations when you decide to just spill them out!”
Ah stood up and took a seat on the bench beside her. “Naw, it ain't like that. Ah just get exactly what yer sayin' is all. Ya see, my family, or, Ma’s side of the family, is pretty well about themselves and their bloodline. They're The Apple family. All they do is apples, and everythin' about them or that comes from them is apples, and when they breed, they breed more apples.
“When Ah was real little, late three or so, Ma died in labor with Applebloom. Ya see, Ma was the one who was supposed ta inherit the farm Ah was born on after my granny passed, but she didn't make it that far, and granny ended up out livin' her. So, an attempt was made ta get the will ta have my Pa put on it in her place, but then granny passed away.
“The apples did not like Pa, and when they saw the chance ta get him out of their manes, they took it. Kicked him off the farm and with him, my brother, sister, and me. With nowhere else ta go, we moved in with our uncle fer the first time until Pa found a job. He came into a whole lot of money, bought a house, and we lived well fer the next four years. But... well, then he died.
“Ah couldn't stave off the depression, and Ah fell apart mentally fer a while there.” ah shook my head and let out a dead laugh. “Heh, I probably tried ta take my own life half a hundred times before my Uncle finally managed ta calm me down. He got in touch with the Apples and after a long argument, they agreed ta let me stay with them in Ponyville until Ah got better. Ah am an Apple, after all, so they figured my special talent might be with farm work. And ya know what? It was. It was fun, it came easy ta me, and Ah liked it.
“But at the same time, Ah hated myself fer it. Ah got my cutie mark and Ah knew that I should be doin' exactly what Ah was, but somewhere deep inside, Ah felt like somethin' was wrong. A month passed after they'd accepted my into their clan, but the more time Ah spent with them, the more bitter and jaded Ah felt about my siblin’s not bein' there with me. These ponies, the verysame ponies that kicked my own father out because he wasn't 'one of them.'
“The hatred just kept buildin' up and eventually Ah was sick of 'em. The smiles and open hooves just felt like a false reality ta me. So, Ah came back. Ah took care of my clumsy brother and my baby sister, and helped cheer up my Uncle because his wife died a few years before Pa did. The family Ah had was a broken one, but it was my family, and Ah just couldn't stand the thought of bein' away from it.
“Every now and again, Ah wish Ah could go back. Live on the farm, do work that suits me, work that Ah enjoy. But they don't want my siblin’s, and my siblin’s don't want them. Fer that matter, neither do Ah. The three of us are Apples, but only in name. Ma expected us ta be welcomed inta a happy family, and that just didn't happen.
“Ah do what Ah do now ta survive because Ah just don't have the skills ta live any other way. At least y'all get ta exercise that thing you're 'compelled' ta do. Me and my siblin’s though? We'll be lucky if we can get ourselves through school ta get a job that we aren't 'compelled' ta do.” Somewhere in my speech, Ah must've let my eyes drift up to the ceiling because Ah was just about leanin' against the wall by the time Ah finished.
Ah finally looked at Rarity, and she was horrified. “Oh sweet goddess…” Ta my surprise, she hugged me. At first Ah was confused, but it felt like her eyes were wet. “You've been carrying all of that for so long… It's a wonder you didn't break.”
Ah couldn't figure out why she was cryin' over me. It was just a story about the past. It's over, done with. “Are, uh… Y'all okay? Ah mean, there wasn't really anythin' in there ta cry about anymore…”
She looked up at me, even more mortified now than before. “How… How can you say that!? You… you were just a child and you tried to kill yourself! That's just so… so, disgusting!”
Ah shrugged. “It's pretty hard ta commit suicide when jumpin' off of sky scrapers doesn't hurt.”
At that one, she backed off, but still had tears runnin' down her face. “Wha...? You... you actually?”
“Weren’t ya listenin’? Ah tried several times. My powers have been around since Ah was little. My body is tough enough ta withstand most things. Ah did lose some skin on a few attempts, but never enough to cause any infections. Honestly, Ah'm still around because Ah'm just too hard ta kill. Ah think the only real drawback ta my power is that Ah sleep a lot sometimes. Ah heal quick, my bones haven't ever broken after all this time, and Ah build muscle real fast.”
She started to wipe tears away. She looked kinda mad now. What happened next, Ah was thoroughly unprepared fer. She socked me across the face.
“Ow, what the hell!?”
She grabbed my head and made me look her in the eyes. In those pools of vibrant blue, Ah could see all kinds of emotion swirlin' around, but most prominently was fear and anger. Ah couldn't break away.
“How dare you put so little value on your own life! Do you know how much you mean to everypony? How much you mean to the other heroes? How much you mean to your sister? If your family lost you, what would they think? That it's all pointless, and just to give up and go with you? Is that what you want?”
She let go of me, but Ah was still entrained by her gaze. Why is she so mad? All Ah did was tell her about my childhood! “What? Why would anypony think that? Ah was a kid, so Ah get me, but there ain't no reason fer anythin' like that ta happen. Look, Ah just don't see what the problem is. Ah'm not dead, and Ah've spent most of my life tryin' ta help support my family. That past is done and gone, so there ain't no point dwellin’ on it.”
She shook her head in amazement, like Ah was the one who punched her. “What? Done and gone? Applejack, this is a serious issue! You don't just 'get over' things like the death of your parents! How can you be so nonchalant about this?”
Ah shrugged. “It's a non-issue. Ah don't bother with it anymore because it just gets in the way of everythin' else.” Somehow, Ah felt like she was on ta somethin', but at the same time, Ah couldn't bring myself ta admit it.
“I don't believe that. As a matter of fact, I'd say those bags under your eyes tell an entirely different story. Not but a few hours ago, you looked like somepony who was desperate for anypony to talk to. You can't simply turn off your emotions! If you bottle things up, then you'll eventually overflow. Surely you can tell me, can't you?”
Ah frowned. Something felt like it was screamin' at me in the back of my head. Ah felt like Ah wanted ta, no, needed ta say somethin', but my body just wouldn't comply. “Well, y'all can believe whatever ya want ta. It's gettin' late. Ah've got bills ta pay and work ta do, so iffin' ya don't mind...”
Ah turned ta get off the piano bench, but then she put a hoof on my shoulder and let out a heavy breath. “Very well. I can at least understand that. But first, I need to make our appointment. Twilight is a little crazy about her schedule, and she can't stand it when things don't go according to plan. Which happens… always. When are you free?” She levitated her book and pen from ta her side.
“Ah'm free every night after six. But uh, Applebloom has a school thingy on Thursday, so not then,” Ah said, tryin' ta recall the other things about Applebloom's schedule that I'd forgotten. That was the only thing that came ta mind though. School had only been in session for a few weeks now. She scribbled somethin' down on one page, then somethin' else on another and ripped it out of the book.
“Alright then, I'll see if I can't get us scheduled for Monday. Here, take this.” She set the scrap of paper down on my hoof. “Please, give me a call if you need to talk. This is my cell, so I should be able to get it even if I'm masquerading around for extra money.”
Ah shrugged and stuffed the page inta my jacket pocket. We headed down ta the first floor, and Ah said goodnight to my sister and her two friends. It didn't look much like a party with just those three girls, but at least she has them. It's more than Ah've got, anyways. Ah exited the boutique and waved goodbye ta Rarity.
“Ah'll see ya later then.”
“Goodnight, Applejack. Be safe.” Ah froze fer a second. The words hit me like knives in the neck. They stung. They hurt. They were painful to hear. My eyes suddenly felt dry. Ah needed ta get as far away from here as Ah could. With one solid leap, Ah was in the air and on top of the buildin' just across the street. Ah don't think it was rainin', but it must've been misty.
“Son of a bitch! Brightness, is there anypony around here? Did y'all evacuate the nearby buildin's?” Citrus asked, mid flight from the last rooftop he'd hopped from. Brightness and Star Slate lived on the eastern edge of Manehattan, and getting from their house on 500th and 453rd to Blood's apartment in less than ten minutes was going to take more power than he wanted to use right now.
"Evacuate? Why? We have him cornered. There is no way he could get away with all of you surrounding him," the filly replied.
“Damn it! Tell the other heroes to search the near by areas and get the normal ponies out of here! This guy ain’t normal, even fer us!He has more than one power!”
"He has what!? How? Is that even possible?"
Citrus shook his head. “Ah don't know, but that's the case! He hit me with some kinda fire ball after turnin' his hooves inta blades. Ah only managed ta avoid getting skewered because he coughed somethin' up before attackin'. Ah don't know if that's it or what. Regardless, this could get ugly so get the citizens out!” With a thundering landing, he bounded on past the next six streets.
"Okay, I'll let everyone know what's going on. Red Hoof... are you sure you're gonna be okay?"
He could finally hear the filly come out in her voice, rather than the mare who'd organized over fifty Power Ponies today. He bit his lip underneath the mask. “Ah… look, if anythin' happens, you tell Pepper ta blow the place sky high. Whether Ah'm still in it or not. This guy must be stopped.”
Citrus galloped across the next rooftop and looked at the street signs as he leapt through the air. 400th and 325th? Damn it! Ah need ta move faster! As he came to the next rooftop, he readied himself to run as soon as he landed. With so much force that each roof nearly buckled underneath his hooves, Citrus shot off from one corner to the next twenty streets away, leaving a trail of wreckage behind him.
"Red, ya can't just talk like that! You're the symbol of peace around here! If we lose you, this whole city is gonna go up in flames!" The interference of the ponies around her seemed to stop.
“This isn't up fer discussion! If he can hurt me as badly and easily as he did, what do ya think he could do to a normal pony? Not ta mention what he did ta…” Citrus started to taste blood from his own lip. “He killed three of us, Brightness. This has ta end here.”
A few minutes of silence passed as the wind rushed by Citrus. He checked the street corner again and finally he'd come close. 202nd and 161st. Almost there! Oh goddess, please let them be away. He could see the warehouse and all the brightly colored ponies that were surrounding it. Nopony was moving. Somethin' ain't right.
“What's wrong?” he asked as he approached an earth pony mare clad in black and green. Her eyes were emitting some kind of green light.
“He took a hostage. Said if anypony goes in, the mare dies,” she said, not taking her glowing pupils away from the building.
“A hostage!? Damn it, Ah knew this was gonna be a problem. Wait... A hostage? What does he want?”
"He wants you, Red Hoof," Brightness answered, in an unusually quiet tone.
Red Hoof managed to keep himself from chomping down on his lip again. “Alright, then what does he want from me?”
"I... I don't know. There's something interfering with my powers around that warehouse. I can't tell what's going on in there. Beam is the only one who can see inside."
“Beam? Who is that?”
“That would be me,” said the mare he was standing next to.
“Oh. Sorry, Ah don't know too many of y'all. Who does he have in there?” The mare frowned underneath her suit.
“Some pale yellow-orange coated mare with a bright orange mane and tail. I'm not quite sure, but I can sense three souls in there, but I only see two bodies. She might be pregnant.” Citrus felt blood trickle down his chin.
“Shit!” He yelled out as he jumped through one of the warehouse windows.
"Red hoof wai-"
Brightness toppled over and fell off the table she was sitting on. As soon as Red Hoof entered the window. Her connection to him had been completely severed. The backfire of sudden loss was enough to send a shock through her body. She buzzed her wings to pick herself up and then desperately tried to get back in contact with Red Hoof.
“Brightness!? What happened!?” Star called from across the room.
The filly's eyes widened and her whole body slumped against the table. “I… I can't see him anymore...”
When Citrus crashed into the warehouse, he suddenly felt very heavy. His whole body was like soggy iron. Just standing took most of his strength.
“Finally! Oh, you have no idea what a hassle it has been just trying to get your attention, but now you're finally here! And just for me! It's a dream come true! I absolutely love the new suit, by the by. So… dark,” said the voice of a stallion near by. His inflections were flamboyant, and his tone bubbling with confidence, dripping with enthusiasm. If Citrus ever had a voice to put to a rabid dog, this would be it. The strange pressure that made him feel heavy disappeared, and so did all the natural light coming from the windows. The scent of blood was thick in the air.
“Where are ya!?” Citrus barked out, turning his head everywhere he could look to find what he was looking for. A tan-brown young stallion with a dark brown mane and tail stepped out from behind a shipping container.
He tilted his head and gave a bladed smile. “Hi there, mister hero.” Citrus froze in place. He'd seen this kid before. He looked so familiar, but Citrus couldn't match the face before him with the one he remembered. This stallion was giving off an entirely different feeling now than he had when they first met.
“You…” Before saying anything else, Citrus remembered that he wasn't in costume when they first met, and he had his daughter with him. “What do you want from me? Where is the mare!?” The thought that this creep's captive might be his brother's wife had his blood boiling.
“Oh, there's no need to rush, mister hero! Your sister in law is sitting nice and cozy on the ceiling. Give her a wave why don't you?” He looked up to the center of the warehouse and Citrus followed his line of sight.Just as the stallion had said, there was Glistening Dew, gagged and restrained, chained in some kind of ethereal magic to the ceiling.
“You bastard! You let her go this instant!” Citrus demanded.
The stallion took a single step forward and let out a laugh. “Oh, how... Charismatic! I simply adore everything about you! The heroics of champion justice, Mister perfect hero, the one and only Red Hoof! But, where would any of the fun be if I simply-” He started to cough, and Citrus took the opportunity to strike.
With one ground shattering leap, he lunged across the warehouse floor at the stallion. The kidnapper wiped at his mouth and flashed a bloody, toothy smile at Citrus before disappearing into thin air. Citrus landed with his hooves scraping against the concrete floor, only to find the hero-killer he'd just attempted to close the distance on in the same spot he just left.
“Ah, ah, ah. You're breaking the troupe. The villain first has to give the hero the monologue about how he's supposedly going to take over the city, and then they fight. I'll not have you ruin the performance I've so painstakingly set up over these past two weeks!” Citrus took a few deep breaths and lowered his body.
“It don't look like yer in the shape ta be monologin' ta nopony. You ain't no unicorn, how are y'all doin all this?”
The young stallion stamped his hooves like an excited foal. “Ooh, perfect, you asked exactly what I wanted you to! Now I get to explain my power! Okay, here it is. My power is to steal the powers of other Power Ponies!” Citrus didn't react, which made the abductor smile even wider.
“You see, If I consume another Power Pony's blood, I take on their abilities. I've become quite the vampire these days. I have so many powers now… like this one!” His eyes flashed bright green and he stood on his hind legs with one hoof pointing at Red Hoof. The wind around him started to swirl and spin violently. Before he knew it, he was in the air trapped in a tornado. The winds suddenly stopped, and Citrus was thrown into a wall. Dazed, he managed to bring himself to a stand quick enough to see the villain right in front of him. He quickly threw a right hoof toward the body, but just as it should’ve connected, her vanished.
“What in the hell!? That was…”
He finished citrus' sentence. “Curtsy of the rising star, Wild Cyclone. Or, well, fallen star, I should say! Hahaha!” The stallion belted out another laugh, and Citrus went after him again. Citrus charged, and then the kidnapper warped beside him, delivering a kick that ignited once it made contact with Citrus' ribs. The explosion sent him crashing into a storage container, causing it to warp and collapse. Citrus could feel something start to well up from his stomach, and he ripped his mouth free of his mask.
“Oh my, was that too much? I'm not quite ready to break you yet, we've only just begun!” The abductor said after spitting some of his own blood on the floor. Citrus wiped the stomach acid from his mouth and got back to his hooves. He'd been knocked around before, but this wasn't the same. His whole body hurt. Everything felt like it was on fire.
Citrus managed to get up again and stood atop the ruined container, eyes trained on the villain. “What's yer game, boy?” As things were going now, there wasn't any way for him to even get close to somepony who could just pop in and out of existence like that.
“My game? How haven't you figured it out yet? Ooh, this might help. I'll let you in on a secret. Do you know what the name of the last mayor was, oh, say, two years ago?” He asked, turning his neck so his head was just about upside down.
Citrus thought back. Two years ago? Gold Tassel? What does this have to do with him? “Ah believe his name was Gold Tassel.”
The stallion whinnied with delight. “Yes, that's the one! You see, Gold Tassel was a crook. He stole money from his own treasury to build his personal fortune along side supporting a local mob boss. I believe you knew him as Brute Force, correct?”
Citrus frowned. “Yeah. What about him?”
The kidnapper took a step forward. “About a year ago, said mob boss broke out of prison and you know what he did?” Citrus thought back, and finally, it occurred to him where he'd seen this stallion before.
“Oh, Goddess… You're Copper Tassel.”
Copper clapped his hooves together. “Bingo! Brute Force escaped and murdered my father! But between you and me? The guy was an ass and he deserved it. Not to stereotype donkeys or anything.” He shrugged innocently, then trained one wild eye on Citrus. “Dad deserved farworse than what he got, but I just laughed when it finally did happen. You even came and picked up Brute Force again yourself! I watched the fight, it was amazing! You taunted and bullied him until he couldn't think straight, and then you beat the living daylight out of him when you got the upper hoof! Truly, only one who calls himself a hero could have done that.” His tone went from bubbly and excited to dark and sour.
Citrus scratched his neck. His earlier fights may not have been very heroic, but the tactics worked. “Ah might've found a specific weakness ta that particular pony, and Ah might've exploited it. What of it? Ah saved yer sister from him two years ago. What about that makes me a target?” Citrus had been creeping ever so slowly toward Copper, and he had yet to notice.
“Well, if you must know, I thought the world of you when you first showed up. You were the ‘bright shining star’ that the city needed to illuminate it's dark alleyways and finally expose my dad for the criminal he was. I hated him for his dirty tricks and his wrong doing.”
Copper took his forehoof and curled it tightly. “Did you know that he gave Brute Force my sister? That is what sealed his fate. I was going to kill him myself, but then you showed up and saved Silver. I figured I didn't need to kill him anymore since he was still a wallet for me.” Suddenly, Copper turned his head to a 90 degree angle. “But something changed when I finally saw you in the flesh. The way you acted, how high and mighty you presented yourself, oh so righteous. I thought about you and my father in the same light.
“Disgusting. So much better than everypony else aren't you? You can get away with anything because you're untouchable! The city is just your plaything to milk for cash! That's right, I know how much each and every bounty you've racked up is worth. Over the course of two years, you made just under two million on bounties alone! And what do you do? You give it all away like some sort of saint!” Copper took a step toward Citrus, his speech increasing in speed as he did, blood and saliva falling out of his mouth as he became more intense. “Oh, Mister Hero is so generous, oh Mister Hero is a blessing to the city. Silver Tassel adored you and anything you did! Her hero, Mister Red Hoof!
“Did you know that my sister was a Power Pony? She could feel the locations of other Power Ponies and tell you exactly what they could do. The cost for this power, however,deteriorated her body a little bit more with each use. Brute Force took advantage of this and forced her to use her power over and over again, ever so slowly killing her.”Another step forward, Citrus stopped moving as Copper started to close in.
“She was hospitalized just before Dad was killed. And when he died? The moneystopped. All his stolen assets were frozen, and Silver and I were left out in the cold. She. Got. Worse! I had to start working to keep her alive, but she just. Kept. Getting. WORSE!” He was beginning to tear up. One of his nostrils started to bleed. He wiped at his nose, then started to laugh when he looked at the blood on his foreleg.
“Ha! Look at this! It's my blood! Do you see it? I know you want to take if for yourself, but you simply aren't in my league, mister perfect hero. Two weeks ago! Do you remember? I know you saw me. We looked right into each other's eyes!” Citrus remained silent. “Don't you give me that!Tell me the truth!” Copper warped beside Citrus and clicked his hoof against the ground. Sparks flew, and Citrus leapt away just before the area where he'd been standing exploded.
“Look at me!” Copper had warped behind Citrus and put his forelegs together, forming a fireball in between them. Fortunately for Citrus, he was just close enough to be kicked. With a quick twist of his torso, Citrus' hind leg collided with Copper Tassel's shoulder. The young stallion flew head first into another storage container, causing it to collapse with the shrill crunch of metal. Citrus landed and waited for the dust to settle.
From Copper’s new hole, laughing echoed through the warehouse. “I have to give Mister Hero some credit, he managed to hit me! My head hurts so bad, it's hilarious! Hahaha!” The young stallion stumbled down from the newly warped storage container and stood back in front of Citrus. He flashed another twisted smile, then threw up a pool of blood. “He he… I haven't finished the story yet! But mister Hero looked at me, didn't he? Citrus Root.”
Citrus scowled. He debated even responding, but all things considered, Copper clearly knew who he was, as far as the rest of the world is concerned. “How do you know my name?”
Copper smiled again. “It wasn't easy to get, but I'm sure you can piece this one together. On that day we locked eyes two weeks ago, Silver Tassel died. But before that, I had just stolen enough money to get her treatment. I managed to escape the police for some time, but then I almost hit a pale yellow stallion with a brown mane and his little pale yellow daughter with a red mane. I thought I was gonna kill those two ponies, but the strangest thing happened. That Stallion threw his daughter way up in the air and then looked like he was gonna punch my car.
“I thought, 'There's no way…' but then, he did! He punched my card, and my. Car. Lost!” Copper turned his head about fifteen degrees with his last three words. “Dazed and confused, I pushed the airbag back and looked for the stallion, but he was nowhere to be found. The sirens were getting closer, and Silver didn't have long left, so I grabbed the money and ran. The hospital wasn't far away and I could make it if I ran. But when I got there, she was already on her death bed.
“Her final words to me were that she could feel that I was a Power Pony, just like her. She said she left me one last thing back at home, and then… she was gone.” Tears started to stream down Copper’s face. Before long, the clear tears turned red. “The monitor screamed, the lines stopped zig-zagging, all the numbers went to zero!” He pulled at one of his eyelids, smearing blood all over his cheek. “I ran out of the hospital, I didn't even take the bits, I just left them there. When I finally made it to our apartment, my first thought was to look for her note. Hidden, just where she said it was, was a detailed guide on how to use my powers.
“I drink blood of another, and suddenly their power is mine! But, the cost of such a strong power is my own body. Just like Silver, I deteriorate a little more with every use. What a family trait, right? She even left me a little bottle of her own blood to test it out. Wasn't that sweet of her?” He wiped his hoof down his face and stood up straight. The strange hysteria in his voice suddenly disappeared and went flat.
“You never know how a carnivore feels until you dig your teeth into another pony's neck. There's a certain flavor to every blood type, but I think Silver’s blood was the sweetest I ever tasted. I killed my first victim shortly after taking Silver's power.” The smile returned, as did the flare in his voice. “Her blood changed me. I felt alive for the very first time! I finally had the power I'd always wanted, the ability to be great! I. Needed.To feel that way again, and again, and again! It was like being bathed in the most divine silk one could find!” Copper said with a moan. “But after the first three, the feeling wasn't so good any more. I'd acquired a few powers, some weak, some strong, but they just didn't taste as good as the first one.
“I needed something more… satisfying. So, I decided that I wanted to drink your blood. After all, who would have sweeter blood than the strongest hero around? But I didn't know where to start. That pony that broke my get away car was still an unknown father at the time, so I decided to find out who Red Hoof really was.” He coughed more blood again, this time, sitting down and coughing harder. Citrus was about to make a move when he yelled.
“Don't take another step! I'm running out of time, and I still need you to know my story, Mister Hero!” The chains around Glistening Dew tightened and she started to float down to the ground beside Copper. One of Copper's hooves was glowing with a bright green aura, just like a unicorn's horn would, while the other had turned silvery and into the shape of a blade. When Dew finally landed, he rested his bladed foreleg on her neck.
“Sit… down,” he managed through coughs. Seeing the blade dip further into Dew's neck and the fear on her face, Citrus complied.
He figured he might be able to get some information out of him if he just let Copper go on, so he asked a question. “Fine. But tell me this; If ya want me dead so bad, then why haven't ya done it already? Ah figure that whatever ya did ta my friends woulda been the first thing ta hit me with.”
Copper pursed his lips, as if he’d been asked a strange question. “Want you… dead? No, no, I just want to make you suffer! If I wanted to kill you, then we'd just go together! That wouldn't be any fun at all. You need to feel just as hopeless as I did trying to keep my sister alive to no avail. I want you to experience the depths of despair! Just. Like.Me!”Coppers voice dropped and his tone settled. “Besides, it takes stealing about an entire city block's worth of electricity to kill a pony the same way your friends went out, and another day to charge it.” he laughed. “I won’t ever be able to use that power again. A shame really. Your friends had such delicious blood.” Citrus started to grind his teeth.
“Like that do you? I might as well continue with my story. If you don't have any more questions, that is.” Citrus didn't say anything. “Perfect! I started to track down the heroes who'd worked closest to you. A trail of dead Power Ponies and one such who just so happened to be miss Wild Cyclone's brother eventually drew her to me for revenge. Did you know that Cyclone was a virgin? I found that one out myself!” Citrus bit into his lip. It started to bleed again.
“Ooh, there's my favorite expression! Keep that up, I want to see that face when I finally go out. After I'd gotten everything I wanted from her, I figured that one of the heroes would know where you lived, so I thought I might keep going. Of course, I knew you would eventually find the body, so I decided to make a fun little puzzle for you.
“Did you like it? It was a stop light! It was so perfect to commemorate our last meeting, I just needed to finish it. Burst was attracted by Tornado's disappearance, and it just so happens that he can’t use his power in the presence of hers. No sparks, no explosions. He didn't know anything, being as useless as he was, so I just killed him took his powers for the yellow in my little stoplight analogy. I left my last message to try and get you to lead me to your home, but finishing up with Light Bringer just had me ready for another round. When I jumped at you, I didn't think you had a bunch of friends in the area waiting for me though. That was where I made my mistake.
“As powerful as I am, I knew better than to try and take on ten heroes at once, so I improvised. You disappeared after our encounter at the streetlight back then, so I figured there was something there for you. Heading back that way, I just so happen to overhear this one talking about how her brother in law, Citrus, was going to be the god father. I wasn't getting away any time soon, so I took a hostage. As it turned out, I was right on the money wasn't I, mister hero?” Every muscle in Citrus' body was tense and ready to spring. He stood up.
“Oh, did I say something you didn’t like?” he cooed with a pout on his face. “No one said you could get up. I am not done yet.” Copper pressed the tip of the blade into Dew's neck. She yelped and a small bubble of blood started to form at the wound. “Why don't you just stay seated, hmm? I don't have much time left anyways. Considering the anemia I'm feeling, I've only got about ten minutes before I pass out, and I'll probably die shortly there after.” He smiled sweetly at Citrus, and against the will of every inch of his being, Citrus sat back down.
“There see? We can be civil about this. I haven't even told you what I want just yet.”
Citrus couldn’t keep silent any longer. “Civil!? Ya call killin' ponies and… and… deflowerin' corpses civil!? If you didn't have my brother's wife, you'd be a dead pony!”
Copper giggled and pawed his free hoof at Citrus. “Aww, what's this? The great Red Hoof is angry at little ol' me? Who could have predicted that? Come now, I'm already a dead pony! As soon as I took Silver's power, I knew I wouldn't last very long afterward. Her deterioration mixed in with my own? Even if I didn't take any more powers, I still would have died within the year. But what left did I have to live for? My mother was some whore that dumped me at my father's door step, just like Silver's was. My father was the scum of the earth, whom I'd planned to kill anyways, and the only thing keeping me going died in my hooves!”
Copper stared desperately at his free hoof, like he was watching sand fall from it. “So I thought, why not go out with a bang? Nearly twenty, a virgin myself, well, until recently that is…” he said with a twisted smile, “and with absolutely nothing but a cursed future to look forward to! If I am to die, why not take share my despair with the pony who doomed my sister? After all, if you never let Brute force get away, she'd at least be alive still.”
Citrus spat. “Doomed yer sister? How can ya even think that? There wasn't nothin' Ah coulda done ta prevent Brute from escapin' unless Ah was there at the time. Not every act of violence is preventable, otherwise, somepony woulda already killed yer sorry ass. Scum like you… you make yer father look like a saint.”
Copper's wicked smile reversed itself, the veins in his neck bulging, then he stood up and approached Citrus. His chains drug Dew behind him, and he started to wave his bladed foreleg around. “'Nothing I could have done' he says, 'No one could have prevented it' he says! She'd dead because of your inability! You disgusting creature, just like my father! Untouchable saint! Refuse! Filth! Everything I had is gone and it's all your fault! You both took her away from me!” Just as Copper got close enough to Citrus to cut his neck with the blade, Citrus stood and backed away. Then, Copper smiled the most sinister grin he'd put on yet.
“What are you up to!?” Citrus shouted. Copper ignored him and let Citrus' blood drip down his blade. He lapped at it until it was clean. Dew's chains disappeared, and Copper's eyes started to change colors rapidly, visiting every hue in the rainbow.
“He he he... HAHAHA!! I can feel it! All of your power! Everything about your being, oh, how sweet the taste!” He slammed one of his hooves into the ground, causing a crater to form at the point of impact. His bladed smile returned.
“I'm going to die, and I'm going to take you with me! Who needs to suffer when I can kill you with your own powers!? We'll go see Silver together, just you and me! She'd always wanted to meet her hero!” With just as much speed as Citrus, Copper lunged at the red and black clad hero, a raised hoof ready for a slam. Citrus dodged and slid underneath Copperthen twisted around to kick Copper into the floor, then the ground cracked and shivered as Copper sank into a crater made by the impact.
He got up quicker than Citrus was prepared for, and warped behind him. Citrus only had enough time to block the in coming bladed hoof before having a deep slash in his left foreleg send him across the room. He crashed into the wall and shattered it on impact. As the wall started to fall apart, Citrus was quickly alerted to the fact that he was no longer in down town Manehattan, but what was more akin to a black, shadowy void. The pieces of wall started to fall, and without much time to think, Citrus kicked off one to another and managed to catch the edge of the floating warehouse.
“Do you like it?” Copper asked as blood ran down his jaw. “At one point in my search for that sweet taste that Silver had, I thought it was foal's blood that would do the trick! Alas, that ended up not being the case. This child's blood was nasty, but this power is one of the more unique ones. Speaking of, I still haven't used the latest power I've gotten! Oh, what was it she liked to call out? Ah yes, Light Brigade!”
For once, seeing a power he knew was helpful because he knew the draw back associated with it. Citrus threw himself up from the ledge to nothingness and curled into a ball to hide his eyes. A warm beam hit his body, but it more or less just singed at his suit, which was holding rather well.
“Gah, my eyes!” Copper reeled from using Light Bringer's ability, and Citrus took the chance to rush him. He came in with a right to the stomach. The sheer speed and friction of Citrus' punch seared Copper's coat as it twisted into his gut. He then followed up with a left to Copper's face, knocking out a tooth and letting a resounding crack echo from Copper's jaw. Finally, Citrus reeled his right foreleg back for a last hook to the jaw. Blood started to fly from Copper's face as he was sent skyward across the warehouse, landing with a resounding thud.
Citrus didn't waste any time making his way to Copper, and stood just over of his body. Copper was bleeding seemingly from everywhere, but he wasn't dead just yet. He coughed four times, adding massive amounts of red liquid to his slowly growing pool.
“Congrats, Hero! He he…” His eyes were shot and his body soaked in his own crimson. He couldn't even see Citrus anymore, and still, he tried to taunt him. “You beat the bad guy! You let his sister die, you helped kill his father, and finally, you put him down! Aren't you glad!?”
Citrus shook his head. “None of that was my fault. Y'all made yer own damn choices, all Ah did was try ta help ponies. Not even the first bounty Ah collected was fer the money. All Ah did was help out a kid, just like y'all, rescue a sister he couldn't protect. The bounty just happened ta be a bonus.” More disappointed than disgusted, Citrus shook his head at the dying stallion.
“Not… your… fault? I know!” He coughed again and started to sit up. “Let's make something your fault! My original plan was better anyways, ha ha ha!”Copper started to laugh hysterically, and suddenly, Citrus felt heavy again. He couldn't hardly move. The world around started to shake and rumble. All the windows shattered and shot shards of glass inside the warehouse. The building was collapsing. Copper stared him down with a big bloody smile on his face as the void world started to bleed into the real one.
The warehouse came toppling down, and with one glance toward Dew, Citrus realized exactly what Copper meant. Across the street, about to enter his complex, was his brother. Dew was stuck to the floor like she was being pressed against it, and none of the three ponies inside the warehouse could move as it came down upon them. One last scream was heard before crash.