A Bhaalspawn in Equestria

by Thadius0

Chapter 8 - Wait for it...

Fortunately, I had the one weapon that could possibly dissuade Twilight from asking a thousand questions at once:

Lyra. Oh, not as she was originally. But after ten seconds of being petted and scratched behind the ear, she was enjoying my stress-relief treatment more than I had and actually started to whine when I stopped for any length of time.

The sight was so adorable that Twilight actually paused before asking any questions to let out an 'aww' at the scene. Which let me quickly sneak in a question of my own.

"So, if I heard you properly, Pinkie is going to gather the rest of your friends to meet me here, correct?"

Not quite paying full attention, Twilight merely nodded at my statement. I grinned and managed to get another question out, one that would snap her back to the land of the living. "Well then, why don't we wait on the questioning until they get here? I'd like it if I only had to explain things once."

At this point, it was Twilight's turn to whine. "But- science!"

"No."

"It would be a great boon to-"

"Nuh-uh."

"And there are so many things you could answer-"

"Lyra, give her the cute face," I said, pulling my hands away from Lyra's head.

I didn't actually look, but Lyra turned towards Twilight and let out a sniff. "Why are you stopping him from giving me attention?"

Twilight actually cringed at the look Lyra was broadcasting, which I refused to look at. I know my limits. "I...I....I...Oh fine! You win! But once they're here, I expect your full cooperation!"

I nodded at that. "Can do! But until then..."

I resumed petting and scratching Lyra, to her approval and Twilight's bemusement.

-----

It was barely half an hour later when Pinkie bounced into the library, trailing four unfamiliar ponies behind her. "Heya Marky! I'm back, and these are my other friends I was talking about!"

I nodded at Pinkie and poked Lyra in the ribs. "C'mon, off you. I need to go greet the ponies Pinkie picked for my perusal."

Lyra giggled a bit and hopped off my lap. "Try saying that three times fast."

I stood up and stretched, cracking quite a few joints in the process. "Ooooh, that never gets old."

All the ponies winced as I rolled my neck and cracked my knuckles. All of them save the cyan pegasus that is. She flew into my face and gave me a quick once over. "Sheesh. You look like you're ready for just about anything." She looked from me to Pinkie with a slight frown. "Are you the one that injured Pinkie?"

Injured? Oh CRAP! "Pinkie, c'mere! I wanna try something."

Pinkie bounced over and I knelt down, clasping her injured leg in my hands. I focused my thoughts...and found what I was looking for.

Since I'd acted in a 'good' manner when dealing with another Spawn, or perhaps in my conversation with the Slayer earlier, it had been reflected back at me. My powers...had begun to awaken. The basics were now mine. Which is good, they were all I needed right now.

"Blood calls to blood,
Kith calls to kin,
I call to you,
Be whole once again."

My hands glowed light blue, and the wound on Pinkie's leg also glowed. The glow receded quickly, and when it vanished, all the ponies in the room were astounded at what I had done.

Pinkie's wound was no more. Fitting, really. I'd given it to her, it was only right I take it from her as well.

I nodded once and stood up. "Now that that matter has been taken care of, let us proceed with this meet 'n greet. Pinkie, will you do the honors?"

The pink party pony flexed her leg with a wide smile. "Sure thing Marky! And thanks, I wasn't really looking forward to another hospital visit. Lemme just wash the dried stuff out of my coat and I'll get right on that!"

After a minute of looking at the new ponies' shocked faces, Pinkie bounced back out of the bathroom with a freshly-washed and dried leg. You wouldn't be able to tell that she'd been injured now unless you really looked for it. She wandered over to the four ponies she'd brought with her and put a hoof to her chin in contemplation. Evidently she was having trouble deciding who to introduce first, and eventually one of the ponies got fed up with it.

"Aw, the hay with it!" The cyan pegasus with a rainbow for a mane and tail was back in my immediate line of sight. "The name's Rainbow Dash, and I am only the fastest flier in all of Equestria!"

She extended a hoof, which I met with a fist. I'd seen this greeting before and had a way to mimic it. "Interesting. I'll have to see your claims to determine if they're true."

"You sayin' I'm not?" She got real close then. I merely chuckled and pushed her back with a hand.

"More like...I'm saying I'm well-traveled, and seen a lot of pegasi in my time. I'd be able to determine where you fall as compared to them if I see you flying."

"Ah." Comprehension flitted across her face before she nodded and landed next to the other ponies. The next one to come up to me was an orange earth pony with a blonde mane and tail.

"Th' name's Applejack. I run Sweet Apple Acres with mah brother Big Macintosh and my sister Applebloom. Granny helps with all the bakin'."

I blinked at that: some fruit markets had claimed to sell Sweet Apple Acres merchandise, either the apples themselves or things made with them, across Equestria, and it had always been worth the bits. Here was an opportunity to get at some of these goods from the source. "My dear, your farm is well-known. I do believe your food has been one of the bigger investments of bits I've made lately."

At this, she chuckled a bit. "Does a pony good to hear that. Thanks fer that."

Applejack stepped back, and the white unicorn with a rich violet mane and tail stepped forward. "I am Rarity, owner and proprietor of Carousel Boutique, Ponyville's leading fashion hub. Now, correct me if I am in error, but you did say you were well-traveled, yes?"

I nodded at Rarity, taking note of her accent as well. "I am indeed. You would be hard-pressed to find a corner of Equestria I have not explored in some fashion or another. And if I haven't, then I have plans to do so at some point in time."

Rarity merely smiled at me. "Fantastic! Have your journeys ever brought you to Canterlot?"

I sighed at that. "Alas, no. My travel plans dictate that shall be the last stop on my wanderings." I winked at her then. "Save the best for last, am I right? Besides, there's still a bit of Equestria I've not seen out there still. I'll get to the center of Ponykind's civilization soon. Perhaps in a few years, when I've finalized my journey."

Rarity nodded at that. "Still, all that culture you must have seen, first-hoof! The art, the music, the clothes!" Here, her eyes flitted over my clothing, which had remained surprisingly intact. "Speaking of..."

I held up a hand to forestall her. "We can go over what I know and what I'm wearing at a later date. I believe there is still one more I have to meet?"

Rarity nodded, and the ponies parted to show me a canary yellow pegasus with a bubblegum-pink mane and tail. Upon seeing that there was nothing between her and me anymore, she squeaked and curled into a ball.

"This is Fluttershy, dear. She's quite shy, but has a way with animals, and is in fact the local caretaker of them. Fluttershy, this is..." Rarity trailed off as all the ponies realized that I hadn't quite given them my name. I smiled as they came to the same realization at the same time. Sure, Pinky had called me Marky, but that wasn't my real name. Time for a bit of grandstanding.

"My name is Marketh Shadeblade, and I have a long and shadowed history. My heritage is nothing to sneeze at, but it is for that reason that I walk these lands. If you ladies would be so kind? Pinkie's already undergone my treatment, so she's exempt, but I would like to shake hooves with you three." Here I pointed at Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack. Rainbow caught on that I'd already hoof-bumped her, so she wasn't left out of whatever I'd planned.

"Treatment? What are you planning?" Rainbow was up in my face again, and I carefully pushed her back.

"A test. A quick, non-invasive test to determine if a crucial fact is true or not. They need to undergo it, but I don't need to test Fluttershy."

At this, said mare poked her head up, and I continued. "I already know the reaction I'd provoke, and it's likely the reason she's hiding now." At this, I got a shaky nod, and I kept going. "However, the other mares in this room should make contact with me so I can determine this fact."

At this, Lyra stepped forward and placed a hoof on me, probably to show that there was nothing wrong with what I was suggesting. "See? Nothing happened. And he's been doing this amazing thing with his..." She shot me a questioning look, one that was directed to my hands, as though she didn't know what to call them.

"Hands," I filled in. Lyra let out a little hum at that and smiled.

The mares exchanged a quick glance before Twilight stepped up and gulped. "Here goes, then..."

Twilight touched me, and there was no reaction. I smiled and shook my head. "You're clean." I looked to Applejack and Rarity. "Next?"

The apple mare strode forward at the same time as the unicorn and both touched me together. This provoked a reaction, and I studied it, frowning. "Not you...but your lines...at some point in time, they met someone of great power...someone evil...it's skipped a few generations here and there, but it's slightly manifesting now...in those close to you."

The two backed off at that about to protest my accusations, when I held up a hand to them. "Don't bother. The blood knows. It's manifesting in your family, probably in your generation, just not in you."

I drew closer to Fluttershy and knelt in front of her, and she merely squeaked and curled up into a ball again. Rarity finally found her voice. "Why of all the nerve! Who do you think you are, telling us about our family lines?"

I drew a short blade with my right hand and cradled the tip with my left. "I am Marketh Shadeblade. Doom of the Diamond Dogs, Forestwalker, Ageless. But most importantly, I am a Greater Spawn of Bhaal, Lord of Murder. It is his blood that flows in my veins, and I am determined to not give in to its corruptive allure of power. However, his blood does carry a few gifts, and one allows me to find any of my half-brothers or sisters, no matter how removed from me they may be."

Fluttershy had looked up at those words, and I reached behind her ear and scratched it, earning a soft coo from her and an instant reaction from the Slayer. A Spawn had been in her family line at some point, and a spark of his 'divinity' now rested within her. I continued with my explanation even as I took a hold of one of her forelegs.

"My goal for most of my very long life has been simple: gather information and see if I can find any of my distant relations before they manifest their powers, then remove it from them. I got a chance to try it with Pinkie, and it works wonderfully. The taint of Bhaal's blood is not meant for mortal kind. Much less pony-kind. The only issue is, of course, the initial wounds I must make, but I am perfectly capable of handling that matter. That is, as long as the pony in question trusts me."

Fluttershy looked me in the eyes with those words, and I returned it, before she gave the tiniest of nods. I gave a similarly small smile and made the smallest of wounds on her leg, just enough to get the blood flowing. I clasped my still-wounded hand over her leg and talked to her in a low voice.

"Focus, miss Fluttershy. Concentrate. Think about your Stare, about that voice you sometimes hear, about those sensations you sometimes get when you're truly upset with a misbehaving animal..."

Just as the world around us faded, I heard a shout and a door opening...

-----
(Twilight POV)

She didn't know what to think anymore.

First, Pinkie drags a new creature into her library, after she shows it around the entire town. At least, knowing her, she probably showed it around the town. Twice.

Then it manages to dominate and divert the conversation in such a way that she can't ask any questions of it at all. And she had so many!

And for a topping on this sundae, it spouts off some crazy talk about how it's ageless and has been seeking some sort of spawn of a Lord of Murder. Whatever he meant, it couldn't be good.

Now he's involved in some sort of freaky blood ritual with Fluttershy, because he thinks she might be related to him?

Could this day get any worse?!

"ROYAL GUARD! FREEZE!"

...Apparently, it could. Twenty-odd guards in armor showed up, followed by a stallion in gold and purple armor. The stallion took one look at Marketh and Fluttershy and tried to separate them, only to be thwarted by their grasped appendages. They just could not be forced into letting go.

...It probably didn't help that Flutter's and Marketh's eyes had turned to a solid black and their mouths were locked open in a silent scream. The stallion snorted and motioned for some of his guards to surround the scene. "The moment they come out of this, whatever it is, take this creature into custody. It's done enough for one day."

"But Shi-"

"Not now, civilian," Shining Armor cut her off with. "I have a mission to do, and I will not be stopped by anyone. Even you."

...Yes, this day could get worse. But surely that was the extent of it, right?

-----
(Marketh POV)

Once again, black was the order of the sky, and blood was the order for the ground. The surroundings weren't empty, however. A forest populated this place, and I could hear weeping from somewhere nearby. I followed it to find a house that would not be remiss if it were in the Shire. But something was wrong.

It felt...wrong for a forest like this to be so quiet. I walked up to the door and opened it, finding an interesting, yet immaculate house beyond. At least, until I got to the kitchen.

...Even I balk at what seemed to have taken place in the kitchen.

The sobbing came from upstairs, and I found a bedroom with Fluttershy in it. She was weeping on her bed, and nearby was a large, circular mirror. It was criss-crossed with cracks, distorting the image of the room it was supposed to reflect...

...And from that reflection came a voice.

"Oh yes, Fluttershy. Take care of the animals. Especially the meat-eaters. What's that? Not enough fish? Not enough meat for them? That's fine, we can always find some. All you have to do is get one of your friends alone and Stare at them, then your carnivore friends won't be hungry anymore. It might even be painless."

The voice grated on my nerves and I held a hand out, placing it on the mirror. I felt the Spark recoil at my touch. "You...no! You can't be a Greater Spawn! That just doesn't happen in Equestria!"

I snarled at the mirror, willing it to mend itself from the outside in. "Believe it, I am. And you've tortured this poor soul LONG ENOUGH."

The cracks melted as the mirror began to fill itself in, and the voice on the other side started screaming at me. "You think this changes anything, Spawn? Chaos is meant to come, whether you act to prevent it or not! Even if you hunt down all your distant relations and remove their taint, CHAOS SHALL STILL RETURN!"

With that, the mirror was mended, and the link was cut. No longer did it reflect a distorted world, and as such, the Spark had no more hold in her mind. The world around us came to life in a big way, and the mirror dissolved into a ball of green power. I whisked it away with a thought, and then I heard the two most important words in the universe.

"Thank you."

I turned to look at Fluttershy and smiled at her. "My dear, I would do this for anyone, because they do not deserve this curse, no matter who they are."

And then she looked up at me and asked the most damning question of all in the most innocent of ways.

"Then who will help you when the rest are gone?"

The shock of the unexpected question knocked me out of the mindscape...

-----

I gasped and blinked a few times, making sure everything was in working order, before noticing the contingent of guards that had appeared in the library. I slowly looked around, making sure that what I was seeing was in fact reality, when a large unicorn stallion (well, for a unicorn anyways) cleared his throat. Judging by the armor and attitude, I'ma say that's the Guard-Captain.

He pointed a hoof at me and said a simple phrase that nearly caused me to laugh.

"Come with me if you want to live."

Author's Note:

Bhaalspawn powers unlocked:
Cure minor wounds - may use once per day.

Comments

[SeventhBrony]

Incompitant fool but hey, at least he brought 20 other guards along to watch as he's skinned alive. By Twilight
So, Sweetie and Applebloom are hellspawn? Well, THAT explains a few things, now check Scoots.

more please

[Slayer 10321]

"I'll be BACK!!!!"
Please let Marketh qoute some Terminator 2: Judgement Day in the next chapter and maybe do a little Gandalf channeling in the next mindscape!
"YOU! SHALL NOT!!! PASS!!!!!!

[TSLsmokey]

I think Marketh probably could find the perfect time for the line from TF2: "Right behind you". He'd be one of the few OCs that I've seen that could probably pull that one off.

[buster_Bro]

4603294 it might be big mac you don't know but yea I say sweety is a hellspawn for sure and I wonder if there is a fight next chapter

[AktoDK]

i think the CMC are Bhaalspawn with how much chaos they make

[Archmage Ansrit]

"So long as you are willing to let the apocalypse happen. Ball's on your court."

[RazorWing_GB]

YES! Update!
Fluttershy is cured and Shiney is gonna get his ass handed to him in "public"(in front of his unit).
I'll be watching for the next chapter...

[NoLongerSober]

Oh so help you god if Shining doesn't get punted super-fucking-hard...

[Greatazuredragon]

And then she looked up at me and asked the most damning question of all in the most innocent of ways.
"Then who will help you when the rest are gone?"