Prologue: Marx POV
It was a casual day for me; I just finished my weekly murder. I mean, I killed him really recently. It was nighttime, and I was alone, except, of course, for the stallion’s bloody corpse. It ain't like I didn't like him or anything… It's sorta weird, but sometimes I get this urge… an urge the kill other ponies. It's pretty fun, watching them bleed out everywhere, and hearing them scream. It's all just so wonderful!
Anyway, I was heading home when I saw the weirdest thing. Well, I hadn’t seen anything like it before. I don’t think. I saw two ponies, but something about them was… odd. One was pure white, and the other one had a slight yellow color. Both of which were slightly… transparent, it seemed. I wanted to assume they were ghosts, but I've never seen a ghost before, so I couldn't really tell. But that white one did look kinda familiar…
They were huddled together, and seemed to be talking to each other. They kept glancing over in my direction. It was weird. It sounded like someone was singing electro, and it was coming from the two. And I noticed when the white one glanced at me, that his eyes were pure white. No pupils. The yellow one was snapping his head from one side to the other, back and forth. I seemed like he was arguing with himself… and talking to the white one at the same time? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if he was. Mental illness has become more and more common recently. Even I argue with myself, sometimes. They were also looking behind me at the dead stallion, and they looked almost… interested. I blinked; trying to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating again, and found them right in front of me. Apparently ghosts can teleport. The white one was just staring at me with dead, white eyes, and the yellow one was twitching slightly.
“Why did you kill that stallion? What did he do to you?” The white one asked, pointing at the dead stallion, his eyes still locked on me. His voice sounded like he was speaking into a computer that made his voice sound electric, like a techno voice. It must have been him talking that sounded like electric vocals.
“‘Cause I could, and it’s fun,” I said, in a casual tone. It is a pretty casual activity for me, so it would be weird not to say it in a casual tone.
“Oh, really?” An ominous smirk grew across his translucent face. “How… convenient.”
Wait, convenient? Why convenient? How is murder supposed to be helpful? Well, to the victim, anyway. He must have seen the confusion on my face, because his eyes shone and he continued.
“You see, I find it convenient because me and my partner here, Polaris,” he stopped and gestured to the twitching yellow one, still smiling like he was hiding something, “have been in need of someone with your… let’s say… talents.”
“What do you want me for?” I questioned. I had never seen or heard anyone talk so casually about murder. Well, he was a ghost. Maybe it’s not as unusual for them. They are dead, after all.
“We need your help in… removing… someone.” He chose his words carefully. “You see, I have a score to settle… and if I went in alone,” he shot a glance at the apparent Polaris, who still looked completely mental, and actually rather unhelpful, “I would be defeated in seconds. Could you spare the time to help the two of us?”
“Who do you want me to kill?” I asked. I was curious about their intentions. I'd never killed some pony for some pony else before! I wondered if it was any different than my usual kills.
“Well, I can’t tell you just yet, but I can tell you this. You’ll get your fill of death, don’t worry. The path to The Grand Prize is a long one, but you won't regret it,” The white one snickered, eyes shining evilly, but tone kept calm and casual.
“Sounds interesting enough,” I considered. “I usually do my killing solo, so it’d be cool to try something new.” I always enjoyed killing others for sport, but this ghost sounded serious. Like his future peace depended on it.
“You will?” his eyes lit up, being awfully active for a pony with no pupils. “Honestly? Haha!” he nudged Polaris, “I told you he’d be the one. We got lucky eh?” He sounded happy enough, for a ghost.
“What’s Y'all's name?” I asked, using my southern slang.
“Beyond, at you service. And this here is Polaris,” he introduced himself, bowing at his own name, and poking the yellow one afterward.
“Nice to meet Y'all. I'm Marx. So, when can we get started?” I asked, excited to get the chance to kill again.
“If you'll follow us to our base of operations, we can get started on the plan.” He said as he turned around, gliding away, with the yellow ghost chasing him.
“Plan?” I asked. “We don't need no plan! Just go in there in murder!” I said, chasing him and Polaris, wanting to kill someone as soon as I could.
“Ah, right. Of course. You see, this won’t be your average murder. Our target isn’t just your average pony,” he elaborated, still walking. “We need a plan, trust me. But, like I said before, the path to The Grand Prize is a long one. You will not be disappointed,” he commented, not turning to face me. I could see a small, contented, cryptic smile upon his face. I guess he was happy that his plan was being put into action.
“…Fair enough….” I said, disappointed in the postponed killing.
“Ok,” he came to a standstill in front of a small, green building. Polaris didn’t notice him stop, and bumped into him. Beyond turned around, irritation spreading across his features. “Now, follow me and we can get started,” he gestured to the door, knocking his hoof into Polaris on the way.
“Alrighty then,” I replied, entering the tiny base, eager to get the plan into action.
It's sorta weird how quickly I accepted the request, but I guess my murderer side just got the better of me. And it’s a new experience, isn’t it? And there’ll be killing! So, for now, I'll go with it.