The Crow: Red Sins

by 2wingo

II

"Applejack? Applejack? Applejack!"

AJ shook her head and tried to focus on her customer. "Sorry 'bout that, Derpy," she said. "My head's been elsewhere lately."

"Anything wrong?" Derpy asked. She scooped her apples into her saddlebag.

"Nothin' y'all need to worry yourself about," said AJ with a smile. "Here, take few extras and make a batch of them apple coffee cake muffins Dinky loves so much."

"Oh, I couldn't," stammered Derpy, "Please, I can pay for them -"

"Not another word, sugar cube," said Applejack. "This year's crop has been our best in a decade, we got apples to spare. And even if it wasn't, I'm not gonna price-gouge somepony in need. I know work's been slow this week at the post office."

"Oh, you're the best, Applejack." Derpy hugged her tightly, then flew away.

Applejack sighed and closed up her stand for the day. The sun was setting and she'd have to hurry if she was going to make back in time for dinner. Walking back toward Sweet Apple Acres, her thoughts returned to their previous train: the incident with Jason a week before.

What more could ya do? she told herself. Ya cut him down, ya dug a hole deep enough that animals wouldn't find his carcass, ya even said a prayer to Faust to have mercy on his soul. Ya got no reason to feel guilty.

So why did she? Sure, maybe she had been a little harsh when she caught him stealing apples, but it had to be done. Everypony else would think it was okay to just come and take whatever they wanted if she'd let some wild animal get away with it, she had to set a precedent. She'd have done the same if he'd been a pony . . .

No, her conscience told her. No you wouldn't've.

She hadn't told anyone about Jason's suicide, and his absence was starting to be noticed. Not that anyone really missed him, but for a while, some ponies (Snips & Snails, Berry Punch, and Octavia Melody of all ponies) had taken pity on the miserable wretch and deliberately left uneaten food by their garbage bins for him to find. Twilight had put a stop to it, claiming that it only invited more pests from the forest into town, and Applejack had been forced to agree.

"Maybe I should tell somepony," AJ said to herself as she moved her cart into the barn. "At the very least, I oughta visit his grave when I have the time."

"Don't bother. I'll come to you."

Applejack's blood ran cold and she froze where she stood. The barn door slammed shut as the last rays of the setting sun disappeared from between the cracks in the wall.

"Who - Who's there?!" she yelled out, assuming a fighting stance.

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten my voice."

The deep, raspy tones made her shiver. That voice was . . . No, it couldn't be. She'd seen him die, it couldn't be -

"It could, and it is," said the voice right in her ear.

Applejack tried to scream, but a crashing blow to the head stopped it in her throat as she was knocked back into a pile of hay. Moonlight shone in through the barn's upper window, casting a spotlight upon the figure who had struck her.

"It's - it's not possible," she said. The creature looked like Jason, yet it was so different. Jason had been five-foot-six at the most, this being was about five-ten; Jason's hair had been chestnut in color, this creature's was as black as ink; Jason was emaciated and weak, this creature was wiry and strong; and Jason had been tanned brown by the sun, while the creature was ghostly pale and had black markings on its face.

"I know what you're thinking," the creature said amiably, "'Where on earth did he get a gray silk poet's shirt and black leather pants?' Turns out that dying gives you some really nifty magical powers. You should try it sometime, it's very therapeutic."

He held up his forearms, revealing the hemp around them he'd woven into vambraces. "Recognize these? I guess you wouldn't since the last time you saw them, they were part of a single rope."

"Jason . . ." said Applejack, not quite believing what she was seeing but unable to deny it.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, and no. I WAS Jason Calbus Wright. But not now."

He crossed the barn with unnatural speed and picked Applejack up by her throat.

"Now, I'm The Crow."

Author's Note:

I was debating whether or not to post this as is, but my time to devote to writing will be very limited over the next 3 weeks, and you guys deserve something before I have to go incommunicado.

Next chapter: Vengeance begins in earnest.

Comments

[Dark Colt Sabata]

It begins

[Elemental My Friend]

cool!
though honesty i was expecting it to go a little more....slower,
the fact that this chapter focus on applejack's "regret" (not sure how to call that) and then right away ripped to pieces by jason apearing out of nowhere...
in these kind of stories i don't look foward the punishment itself, i look forward how the "victmins" (at least i don't think they are) handle the pressure AND consequences of the action done by them to recieve the punishment.
i felt a little dissapointed by that oportunity was wasted, but i guess that's just me being picky ._.

[2wingo]

7492333

Applejack hasn't BEGUN to receive the punishment Jason has in store for her. There will be plenty of time for her and others to face the pressure and consequences of their actions.

[Elemental My Friend]

7492346 yeah, i guess your right

[The Red Butcher]

I can feel a motor starting in my ass that's going to have me bouncing all over my room on it. Now it begins and ho ho they're going to pay for that gunge-ho arrogance.

[yomon7]

Caw *crow noises* (I'm not sorry)

[Grif_Bladefeather]

and the crow is far less forgiving, honestly when it's connected to this story anything goes, I am hoping someone tries there hand at making him spawn at some point.

[Mr Dorito]

SHOW

THEM

NO

MERCY!!!

[HIEfan]

Oooooh, now it's on!

[2wingo]

7493203

Rest assured my friend, mercy ain't in the cards.

[Elemental My Friend]

7493030 could you repeat that?
i didn't understand what you meant by spawn

[2wingo]

7496144

I think he means the character Spawn.

[Elemental My Friend]

7496213 oh! ok C:

[Synthetic Soul]

I think this fits

[HF Fury]

I initially found this while reading the other "sequels" to Ending and I thought I'd give this a read. Honestly I was sort of expecting either the girls to do something worse to warrant the crows active vengeance or someone more vicious to show up. As it stands so far it looks like you're gonna have the character go overkill for the situation. I'll wait to check the next few chapters before I come to my final conclusion. And before people go crazy ranting at me "but they deserve it!" most of the ponies follow the herd as the saying goes, it's their nature. It's a situation where the circumstances of misunderstanding got blown out of proportion. But he has no such excuse while knowing what his actions will do and cause. The Crow picks it's targets for better reasons it doesn't go after people who are repentive. That's probably my biggest problem with this story concept. If it was something else he came back as it would make more sense. The Crow may be a anti-hero of vengeance but he's still a hero not some schmuck that just wants to see the people who wronged him suffer. I'm hoping the story develops beyond what it looks like so far.

[2wingo]

7499626

most of the ponies follow the herd as the saying goes, it's their nature.

The "it's their nature" excuse falls apart when you're dealing with a sapient species that has free will.

It's a situation where the circumstances of misunderstanding got blown out of proportion.

Out of proportion? Did you miss the part where not only the Mane 6 refuse to help someone who was clearly in distress, but actively prevented others from doing so? There's literally nothing that can excuse that.

The Crow may be an anti-hero of vengeance but he's still a hero, not some schmuck that just wants to see the people who wronged him suffer.

You've obviously never read the source material.

[HF Fury]

7499940
1. The follow the herd thing is a reference to most social reactions not just ponies this is a real life common occurrence.
2. Twilight's reaction to him is what caused most of the rest of the town to act the way they did. And the problem was the way the kids were trying to help. In many town's and cities leaving food like that is even considered a crime for the very reasons Twilight gave.
3. I have read the the original source material for both the crow and I've read Ending. To which are you referring for you're argument?

[2wingo]

7500032

1. It doesn't matter. They have the free will to choose, thus they are responsible for the consequences of their choices, whether they knew what those consequences were or not.

2. You're completely missing the point. She did it for the sole purpose of denying sustenance to a thinking, reasoning being which she KNOWS is not just a wild animal. I don't understand how you could possibly see this as anything other than the act of petty cruelty that it is.

3. I'm referring to James O'Barr's original graphic novel, wherein Eric was a deranged maniac who was better than the people he killed only by virtue of the fact that he only hurt those who had hurt him.

[DemonKingAurora]

7500070 Man I hope more comes soon enough.

[Pete100]

What more could ya do? she told herself. Ya cut him down, ya dug a hole deep enough that animals wouldn't find his carcass, ya even said a prayer to Faust to have mercy on his soul. Ya got no reason to feel guilty.

You should be asking Faust to have mercy on YOUR soul, and you do have reasons to feel guilty.

She hadn't told anyone about Jason's suicide, and his absence was starting to be noticed. Not that anyone really missed him, but for a while, some ponies (Snips & Snails, Berry Punch, and Octavia Melody of all ponies) had taken pity on the miserable wretch and deliberately left uneaten food by their garbage bins for him to find.

At least some ponies have mercy.

Twilight had put a stop to it, claiming that it only invited more pests from the forest into town, and Applejack had been forced to agree.

Forced my flank.

[Negativity enjoyer]

10661840
like , SOMEONE is beggin You for mercy and then You send your dog to tear his face apart just for some apples??
and You dare to think that it has to be done??