Heart of Raven Black

by Vin Diesels Go-Kart

Chapter 21: Reciprocity

Trixie stood in a darkened alleyway, her hooves nervously clopping on the damp pavement. Irene was still with her, sitting on top of a dumpster. She was kicking her feet up and letting them fall back down, stopping just short of hitting the dumpster's side. Occasionally, however, she would catch her feet a little too late and cause a fairly loud bang. Whenever this happened, Trixie would cringe a bit, but she'd never scold the girl.

Irene looked at Trixie. "Nervous, huh?" she asked, noticing Trixie's anxious behavior.

"You'd be a little on edge too if the only human you really knew simply took off in the night and left you in a strange city all by yourself."

The girl put her hands on her hips, offended.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disregard you. I guess I'm just scared." the unicorn reluctantly admitted.

"It's okay. I get what ya mean. My first time comin' to this city was all kinds a scary. Most folks just treated us like dirt, but it got a lot worse when we were moved to this place."

The echoes of a barking dog resonated from a nearby street. The drunken shouts of random citizens complimented the various noises of the nearby factory. Trixie didn't know what else to do besides staying put and remaining out of sight. She didn't even know if Daniel was coming back. He hadn't asked her any questions or explained anything. After he listened to the recording of that sad woman, he simply grabbed the device and stormed out, mumbling "Stay here" as he did. Trixie didn't even really know if he was directing it toward her, but without any direction, there wasn't anything else she could do but wait.

The only other alternative was to make her way back to the balloon, hope she didn't get lost on the way, and pray that the humans hadn't discovered her dirigible.

Looking back at Irene, the unicorn noticed just how frail and malnourished the child really was. Daniel and the other Zealots, along with the rest of this accursed city, didn't seem to care at all about the humans they deemed "inferior".

Irene noticed Trixie staring, and became slightly uncomfortable. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing." The unicorn hastily replied, looking in another direction. The girl raised an eyebrow, but didn't call Trixie out on her daydreaming.

"So where do ya think that Crow went off to in such a hurry?"

"I don't know." Trixie responded, becoming worried. "But I hope he doesn't do anything stupid."

At least not until he answers to me for the things he's done. She finished in her mind. How could anyone commit the atrocities that Daniel was guilty of and live with themselves? He was a murderer, and a liar. Daniel didn't save his city, he simply brought it here to let it decay in a different world. This was not a place of safety and peace. It was a shadow of Tartarus, casting fire from its mouth and consuming the world below, plunging it into violence.

Trixie couldn't let that happen. She wasn't going to let what was going on here happen to Equestria as well. She would force Daniel to take her back and explain to Twilight what was really going on. Those two humans who had given her the recording device said that delivering it to Daniel would prevent the destruction of her world, but she would ensure it by taking matters into her own hooves. Irene and her family would be helped, and the Great and Powerful Trixie would be the one to instigate it.

The familiar cawing of Daniel's pet alerted Trixie to the Zealot's imminent arrival. The Raven stood on a nearby gutter, staring at her.

"Where's your keeper, you winged rat?" she snapped.

The bird cawed hatefully at her sudden outburst, but Trixie paid it little mind. She wasn't in the mood for its useless perching. If it wasn't going to do anything other than observe as events took place, then she didn't want it around.

The murder of crows arrived shortly after. Daniel's figure soon formed in front of the girl and pony. The coffin on his back barely fit inside the small alleyway.

"What did you do?" Trixie asked at once, her tone easily revealing her mood.

Daniel waited a moment before responding. "I rectified an issue." he stated flatly.

Trixie waited for more information, already knowing full well that the Crow had finished his explanation.

"How did you get up here, Trixie? And who gave you that Voxophone?" Daniel demanded.

She said, "Wouldn't you like to know."

The Zealot sighed, unwilling to play games with the mare. Looking past Trixie, Daniel noticed a girl sitting on a dumpster. He had seen her only once before, when she and Trixie had first found him in the bar. The girl had been less phased by the Vox bodies then the unicorn had, revealing that she had spent quite a bit of time in Columbia. In order to handle violence, one must first become accustomed to it. Such is the way of all things, he thought. Alcohol was a taste that first required exposure. Few people simply enjoy a spiked beverage on first contact. It is something that must be introduced with potency and consistency. The same can easily be said for blood. This impoverished child had lived in Shantytown long enough to learn how the world truly worked. Her innocence had been taken, replaced with something hollow and unfeeling. Sights that should have made her cringe could now only cause her to shrug indifferently.

Had Daniel been an emotional individual, he might have felt remorse or guilt for exposing children to this world, but any feelings he had on the matter had decayed away long ago. Now, looking at the girl who was harmlessly sitting atop a dirty waste disposal container, the Crow merely felt annoyance.

"Perhaps it would be better if you run along and play somewhere else, girl."

Irene looked up in surprise, clearly not expecting to be addressed by either of them, especially not the Zealot. She had learned a lot about the gutter life from living in Shantytown, but one of the most important rules of the slums was that if a Founder told you to do something, you would do it with enthusiasm.

The girl hopped off the dumpster and made for the end of the alley.

Trixie quickly spoke up, "Stop, Irene. You don't have to do anything this man says."

Both the girl and Crow turned to the pony. She stared at Daniel with palpable intensity. "Where exactly do you get off telling Trixie's friend to take a hike?"

If this had been any other day when Columbia's future wasn't at stake, Daniel might have broken down laughing at the sight of Trixie defending some gutter rat. However, this particular day was not any other day, and Columbia's future was indeed up for grabs, so the Zealot did not surrender a laugh.

"Strange. I didn't expect someone like you to grow attached to some random girl."

Trixie's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Now Daniel did laugh. He said, "Please. I've known you long enough to learn that you don't care about anyone but yourself. The only reason you chose to bring me to Ponyville in the first place, aside from utter terror, was because of some pitiful dream of making me into a sideshow attraction. You've never looked out for anyone but yourself before."

Trixie looked away, and Daniel's eyes widened. "Ah, now I get it. You've heard about me and the group I belong to. So what? Suddenly, you think your better than you were just because you were told about what we humans are capable of doing to each other? Forget it, Trixie. You're no better than me. Your body count might be lower than mine, but we both care very little for others."

He laughed again. "In fact, you're even worse than me. At least I do what I do for the sake of others. Columbia has survived because of me. I've done horrible things in my life, but all to protect the sanctity of this great city. You, on the other hand, are nothing but a washed up magician who refuses to retire from a dull life of maintaining her greed."

Trixie's anger steadily rose. She could feel her temples pulsating and her heart pounding.

He was wrong.

Yes, the unicorn would concede that she wasn't the kindest pony in Equestria, but to even suggest that she and Daniel were anywhere near the same level caused her face to go red with anger.

"You torture and murder people for fun. How can you even suggest that we're the same?"

The Zealot's voice got lower. "Because if you were in my shoes, you'd do exactly the same thing."

"Yes, because it's a slippery slope from taking over a town while under the influence of an amulet, to murder for sport." she scoffed.

Daniel shook his head. "Listen, I shouldn't have said anything in the first place. The fact is that this girl is being put in harms way every second she's with us, so unless you want to be responsible for anything that happens to her, I would recommend sending her away."

Trixie considered his logic. While she didn't like the idea of simply leaving Irene here after all the help she'd been, he was probably right about the danger of sticking around. She didn't know what had happened to the Zealot, or what he was planning to do, but if he came back for her, then that must mean he's trying to help. Teaming up with a murderous psychopath didn't sit well with the show mare, but Equestria was in danger and the two strange humans had said that he was needed to help save it.

The pony was about to respond when a floodlight suddenly filled the alley. All three of them had to shield their eyes from the intense light while a voice blared from a megaphone.

"This is the police! Relinquish your arms and lie flat on the ground or you will be fired upon!"

"Shit."

Trixie looked up in alarm. "What's going on?" she asked the Crow.

"This isn't possible. How could they have found me so quickly? They would only have just discovered the body." the Zealot muttered in disbelief.

"What body?!" the unicorn demanded. She felt it was a silly question considering the blood bath he had left in the bar, but the way he said it made it sound like this particular corpse was significant. "What body, Daniel?" she repeated.

The floodlight was quickly complimented with muzzle flashes as its owners began to open fire.

* * *

The Friendship Express steadily chugged along the tacks, bound for Canterlot. The only passengers on the train were the two Elements who had talked the conductor into taking them to the capital. It had taken some work, but Rainbow Dash and Applejack had managed to convince him of the need to get to the city. Now the two sat in the second train car, which was directly connected to the engine.

This particular compartment was beautifully decorated, usually reserved for first class passengers. During the train's normal runs, there would be a constancy of train attendants, who would go back and forth along the car serving beverages and ensuring that the wealthy passengers had everything they needed. However, no attendants were on staff this day, and the two friends were alone, sitting across from each other.

Rainbow Dash stared out the window at the passing trees. She had taken many trips on this train to various parts of the country. It was crazy to think how exciting her life became after meeting Twilight Sparkle and forming such a strong bond with the rest of her friends. They visited numerous places in their adventures, helping to settle disputes and stop evil doers.

The pegasus shuddered. This most recent adventure had taken a turn that the others never did. The danger of getting hurt was always a factor in her life and Rainbow was no stranger to visits to the hospital, but this time was different. Applejack refused to tell her anything about what happened after she blacked out. The earth pony's hesitance to explain the events scared the pegasus more than not remembering what happened in the first place.

She remembered Daniel, and she remembered feeling anger towards him, but then the rest was murky. She had assumed that her temper had gotten the better of her and she charged the human. He was probably stronger than she anticipated and countered her attack. The injuries she had suffered at his hands must have been why she woke up in the hospital.

However, the more Rainbow Dash thought about that scenario, the less she believed that was actually what happened. Why wouldn't Applejack just tell her that's what happened if it was that simple? Something happened to her that her friend was unwilling to share, and it drove her crazy.

Looking over at Applejack, the blue pegasus tried to read her emotions. She could see the farm pony's reflected expression through the window, but nothing was revealed. Applejack had always been the most mature of her friends. She was able to take control of a situation and keep a level head. She was also able to hide her emotions well, and not reveal her thoughts easily. Looking at her now, Dash wasn't able to read anything from Applejack's face, seeing only that she was deep in thought.

Other than her mild amnesia, Rainbow Dash was also worried about her other friends. According to Applejack, they were all supposed to meet at the hospital. So why weren't they there? Dash knew that her friends wouldn't simply go off on their own, especially during this time. All of these happenings pointed to the greatest threat that Equestria had ever faced, yet its champions were no shows. As soon as they finished talking with Twilight, Rainbow planned to fly back to Ponyville and search for the others.

Her train of thought was cut off as the train she rode on suddenly screeched to a halt. Applejack turned to her and the two exchanged worried looks. Both ponies knew they hadn't been riding long enough to have made it to Canterlot. When the train came to a complete stop. They made their way up to the engine's cab. Sliding the door, the two were surprised to find the cabin empty. The wind gently blew through an open door on the side of the engine.

"What do ya suppose happened?" Applejack asked.

Rainbow looked around worriedly and replied. "No idea."

The two exited the train through the open door, finding both the conductor and the engineer staring in opposite directions. Applejack looked at the conductor, then followed his gaze back toward Ponyville. Rainbow Dash did the same with the engineer, looking forward to Canterlot.

Dash's eyes fell upon the capital just in time to see a ring of fire appear underneath the city. A series of explosions traveled from one side of the mountain to the other, as if a giant knife was cutting across the throat of the mountain.

Applejack didn't witness the events in Canterlot, for she was distracted by the armada of warships descending on Ponyville. In the distance, other warships flew toward unknown destinations.

While both Applejack and Rainbow Dash were looking at very different things, the effects of these events had the same impact. Dash felt herself go numb, her knees slightly shaking. Mouth going dry, she tried to tear herself away from the scene to grab Applejack's attention, but then the city started to descend down the mountain. Dust and debris kicked up as the structure slowly made it's descent, towers collapsing in the city proper while it picked up speed toward the mountain's base.

No words were spoken between the four ponies. No words were needed.

Comments

[Xomniac]

Hehehe, they think that's bad, I can't WAIT for them to meet the Songbird! Those Luteces have finally lost their minds, they can't stop this invasion! According to Multiverse Theory, at least, at the VERY LEAST, one Equestria MUST be successfully invaded by a Columbia. PLEASE let it be this one.

[Neverheardofhim]

one more time, with feeling. DUMB. FUCKING. CONSTRUCTION. SITE. right were, not only is it likely to fall, but if it does, it'll have just enough time to do a buttered toast and land people side down. other than that, nice chapter. still waiting for danny boy to ride songbird.

[MadFluttershy]

DeWitt and Elizabeth to the rescue?

[Vin Diesels Go-Kart]

3031981 Yeah that always confused me. I mean who would put a capital city on the side of a mountain, and almost at the top, no less. Granted, I doubt the architect would be thinking about possible attacks via demolitions, but still...

[Zeynelse]

D:

[Vin Diesels Go-Kart]

3047469 >:D

[Zeynelse]

3048331 at first I thought this story was going to be about how he (grumpily) learns to make friends, but theeeeeen... This.

[Vin Diesels Go-Kart]

3059353 Yeah, that's usually how these fics play out. haha

[Zeynelse]

3059413 this is good though, the kind of good that reminds you just how well you can make the omgcat face.

[Vin Diesels Go-Kart]

3064789 Good to hear.