The enhanced Stallion

by Shenzy

> A long time ago... Double Door System

The brown stallion was in a rage, yelling in rage at his comrades while a bad feeling grew rapidly “Where is she!?”

“I don't know.”

“I looked in every chamber twice! She isn't in any of them!”

An confused looking green stallion came back in with a glass of white held in a hoof “Wasn't in the basement, only mayo... did we look for mayo? You know, Muse makes great sandwiches! Maybe we should ask her!?” the head turned all around till hooves followed for a full circle “Huh... so... no sandwiches?”

As confused their friend might been, he couldn't had overlooked the mare.

All Bottle-Jack could think of was the last thing spiking his attention... and his nonsensical rambling about fat pastry left only one conclusion: Muse wasn't anywhere within the complex.

It wasn't possible for a pony to stay outside for a while, but a mare!? - all alone? This had been tricky during good weather and a storm had just kicked in a couple hours ago... so... leaving all on her own wasn't possible. She couldn't had done it. Unless...

“-by the lights!” Tenet gasped as his suspicion turned onto the unicorn “... you didn't...!?”

Purple eyes gave a merely bored look “Uhh...” it grunted “... leave me out of this”.

“Just tell us that you didn't do it! Spit it out already!”

“I don't have to explain anything” the stallion replied dryly without looking anypony into the eyes.

“Be so kind and share your thoughts” Sledge asked, his voice seemingly thinner “Four stallions. Two of which wouldn't let her leave with a storm on the horizon. The third...” as he gave the chemist a glance which struggled to open his glass with bare teeth “...” his sight came back to the ignorant “...which leaves only one left.”

“Ace. Look at me”

“...” the horse remained mute, giving a bitter glance towards the pegasus.

“Excuse my disrespect, but we have to know... -which was the last spell you cast?”

Pulling the lower lip up the horse simply frowned “she is an adult and i'm not her baby sitter”

This was enough! Tenet simply jumped at him and got into a fight, slamming his hoof right in his face, but quickly received three counter hits into the ribs and was fought back as the two stallions got into a wrangling rolling over the dusty floor.

Sledge quickly got in between them, pushing Swift Move away and kept Tenet in his tight grip. He might was just an slick pegasus, but much stronger than Tenet due his life long work with heavy objects.

“Do you want to kill her!?” the mechanic shouted, while trying to get out of his grip.

The unicorn tapped his bleeding lip “It was her decision. Not mine”.

Tenet was pushed backwards and a hoof got pointed at him, to keep him on distance.

Sledge attention shifted to his side “Ac... Swift Move, when did she leave?”

Now since the pony was out of the box and given the head start “... about six hours”

This meant Muse had left in the middle of the night while they all were still dreaming of better days, crushing their hopes to catch up in time, there also was a storm coming in and who knew if she even made it stumbling through the dark.

“Why!? Doesn't she mean anything to you!?” Tenet barfed.

Bottle-Jack didn't get it. Why where they fighting? It was just one glass but they could share it! He hold on the glass so it wouldn't break and spill the sweet nectar.

“I'm here for the pony's that matter. To earn bits. Not to make friends”

“You heartless – bastard!”

This word had crossed a line “Nopony insults my mother!” he shouted and threw himself on the stallion, to beat the crap out of him – letting his hoof smash down onto him again and again, but not without receiving some in return.

Sledge was still out of commission. The stallion was frozen.

Only Jack slowly got what this was all about. Not quite, but... hitting one another wasn't good, that much he knew for sure! So he put his glass on the ground and quickly got over to them to pull the magician away.

“Let me go!” the beat up earthpony demanded and Jack actually let go.

The magician was done anyway. The mechanic had got a good beating, so family honor was restored. Quick hooves were key for every magic act and this time they got the drop on the physical stronger mechanic which couldn't keep his temper in check, leaving big parts of his body open for attack. Blindly swatting, while taking twice the amount in return.

Tenet on his side still wasn't done. He got up and charged one more time towards Ace, stubborn as a mule “You want more!?”

The horn sparked up bright blue and blew the charging bull right of his hoofs against the wall behind, after which he fell flat and lifeless to the ground to get burried beneath clothing, falling from several hooks above. The chamber had one hook for each of them, yet one hadn't any close to fell off it.

A last checking glance was given if he finally would stay down... - apparently.

Ace grabbed his newspaper and left the room, heading towards his private chamber.

Those pony's and their problems... why ever was he dumb enough to agree!?

The magician should had known that this would backfire on his family somehow... he just should had known that caring for 'friends' caused nothing but trouble! Now he could take his precious bits and pretty much threw them away! They were useless once you were chained up. It wasn't like he could use them to flee with his mother anyway. Mom never would leave their house... and even if he lied to get her moving... it would make him feel so rotten.

Jack took a short look on Tenet, which was winding himself painfully.

The chemist ran for off and came back with a bunch of bottles just a minute later to drop all sorts of funny looking and bitter smelling liquids over him. Cold, burning and stinging! “Arg!”

“That's good, its good!” he cheered and combined something yellow and green to once again rubbing on one of the wounds “Better? Better!”... the stallion got up and ran back and forth a phew times, till he was satisfied with the result. Mixing disinfecting and pain allaying medicine within minutes. Now the wounds were clean and could start to heal, allowing for bandages to be put on. If only he could remember how to move hooves now?

Chemistry was so easy. It was so fun! But a ribbon... ughh... under... over... around... and... then? He shrugged and just did it one more time... and... ended in a tight knot. Eh.

Now all he needed was some smelling salt. Luckily he always had a hoof full hidden in his mane. Just in case. He hold it right under Tenet's nose and the stallion's eyes snapped wide open! The head went up and hit just the edge of the table for another “Ouch!”

“Are you okay? Maybe hungry? Mayo?” the nurse rapidly asked.

Tenet got up and dragged himself around his friend, towards the door.

It almost looked like he didn't go to his room. His room was somewhere else, wasn't it?

“You want to go? Like outside? Out in the snow... I... i don't think... uh...”

“It's okay Jack... I- be back eventually...”

His cyan eyes blinked a phew times and his head tilted.

This sounded kinda familiar. “... be back...”... he could had sworn a mare had said something like this, not to long ago. Of course. Bonbons, she had given him bonbons. That was nice. A nice midnight snack... Hmnn! To bad they were gone and the bonbon Mare too.

A last glance was given towards Sledge “Don't you come with me?”

The pegasus sat silently on his flank with wings hanging loose from his back. A vegetative state of deep thoughts, yet this time it wasn't so much looking for an answer, as more trying to accept the one given. Taking in the news that Muse was long gone, knowingly that it was most likely his fault. If only he had paid more attention towards the signs given.

“She is your wife!”

The answer came depressed and muted “You heard him. Six hours. There is a storm outside and we got work to do” Sledge got up and felt the cold wind blowing from behind, as he made his way back to the work chamber.

The snow layer outside was knee deep. The temperature far below freezing point and the wind cut harsh over the land causing the air to feel three times as cold. Thick cloud layers blocked out the sun and even more snow was blowing into his face to get stuck in fur and mane causing it to stick wet and soon after frozen to his body. It was so cold! Tenets body felt numb within moments and sight could helped with glasses! But there was no time for any of that! If only he could push through long enough and reach the borders of...

... a bright flashlight up in the distance. Wind changed direction. Snow stopped falling.

Like a wave of realization the effect of the explosion washed over the freezing stallion, before the world began to turn again and time moved on. Snow landing once again on the horse, as if the world already had forgotten.

“No..... ! NO! NOOaaaaaahouw!”

The brown stallion lost all hope. Stopped fighting the storm. Legs gave in.

He landed on his knees and fell flat on his side. There was no point in going on.

Author's Note:

Everyone got their own way off mourning, that isn't to say they feel less.