Commission: Scarlet in the crimson color

by SoulHook

Rating: mature
Tags: Dark, Alternate Universe, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Romance
Length: 20948

Spectrum Slash meets Red Gear, a member from the communistic party of Hooviet Union. She gets introduced to him and his political ideals, something she soon will realize holds more than what she expected...

Spectrum Slash and Red Gear meet each other during a most fateful evening, a meeting that will change their lives forever... as well as ending others...

I'm only going to say this: it's a commission to a good friend of mine. I have personally no political opinion, nor religious one for that matter. Anypony can say whatever they want, I won't judge them.
I name all my commissions with "commission:", it is not that I'm afraid people will reject or judge me, I'm just stating that the credits for this story doesn't go to me.

Published 2013-05-27 12:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-27 12:30:01 UTC

Chapter 1

Scarlet in the crimson color

It is said that fortune and future can be found even at the deepest of bottoms. So much for just a little drink, so little for you to enjoy. These thoughts ran through the head of a lone mare sitting in the farthest corner of the nearly empty bar. She had spent an hour or so challenging her liver on the level of a beginner, only bringing herself to a warm tipsiness. Getting smashed the entire night only to feel your head on an anvil the next morning was not in her interest. The third bottle of medium apple cider hit the table and was forced to the cemetery with its comrades, standing silently without any content now when its mission had been carried out. They wouldn't be seen as failures just because the mission objective had more self-control than your average drinker, no... just another day when you're forced to carry out something half-heartedly and look at yourself in the reflection of spilled cider. She narrowed her eyes and wiped away the spot, leaning her head on a foreleg to put her mind on something perhaps more significant.

But what could that be? Who'd give a bleeding buck about her? Why should she force herself to spend time on ponies that relished in an easy life where you can go unemployed for years without consequences more serious than a low salary? She saw the drunkards far across the bar. They just sat there, drinking and complaining about their perfect life not being so perfect. Ingratitude towards their peaceful country and laziness that practically poured out from their snouts. Lack of discipline was the only thing this mare saw. Her frown furthered with arched eyebrows and crocked lips. Perhaps a dose of...

Nah, why should she care? She already knew where she had herself, no idea going into arguments that only would end with her beating the crap out of a few drunks. What satisfaction and self-esteem is there in doing that?

Suddenly, her eyes glanced over to the bar. She raised an eyebrow, surprised to say that she hadn't noticed that red stallion sitting in a green jacket with a pen in his mouth. For once, she felt her attention had been caught in an instant, far away from what she usually felt when looking at another stallion. Most of them were either bulky bruisers or skinny minors who believed in beauty on the inside when they didn't even have that. This one, however, had the perfect shape that was stuck between the recently mentioned appearances. Even though there was distance between them, she noticed that his eyes were different. Not that snotty ignorance best displayed by a Canterlot pony, nor the indifference of a regular bystander from Ponyville. He didn't even look like he was from around here. That jacket didn't look like it belonged in Equestria either...

Wait, she had seen that sort of jacket before. A long, long time ago.

That was it, she decided to find out more about this male stealing her attention. Thus, she got up from the table and made her way through the creaky bar floor. She stumbled just once because of the slight amount of alcohol in her system and the fact that you should take it easy standing up if you've been sitting for a while. She shook her head and proceeded, soon reaching the red stallion with the dark gray mane and tail.

Without her knowledge, the stallion had already noticed her approach. He had wished to be alone so he could finish this letter, but not everything can go according to plans. A gentle smile spread across his lips as he put down the pen from his mouth and looked over his shoulder. He expected much, but not a fine mare with such striking colors of red on her mane and tail. It was a blue pegasus mare, carrying a set of what seemed to be bedroom eyes or just a stage of intoxication. He waited for her to sit down next to him, keeping the eye-contact even though he usually didn't do that.

“Hi” the mare said as she made herself comfortable on the bar stool.

“Hello” the stallion responded right after getting hit by the stench of alcohol. He ensured himself that this was probably just going to be another mare that tries hitting on him just because he looks a little more exotic than most stallions. But he kept smiling, throwing a glance or two at the body of this pegasus.

A neat hill from the behind to the back, a self-confident look and a well-kept mane. At the same time his eyes ventured down to look at the cutie-mark of this mare, she did the exact same thing on him. They made eye-contact again, only this time they were both interested in each other. However, the female one decided to make a slower approach than jumping to conclusion. She needed something to break the ice with before this got awkward. She glanced at the piece of paper and saw her rescue in it.

“Writing a haiku?” she asked with a hoof pointing at the letter. She hadn't taken time reading it minding how rude it was. In that moment, the stallion covered the paper and looked in the corner of his eyes, asking himself how he could have forgotten to cover that up before she sat down. Now he had to come up with something to talk about just to divert her attention. He chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

“He he... yeah, you could say that. I'm sorry, where are my manners. My name is Red Gear” he introduced with an extended foreleg towards the mare.

“Spectrum Slash” she said and met his hoof in a shake.

That name rang a few bells for Red Gear. He had heard that name before and it only took him another second to remember exactly where. There had been a rumor about a pegasus mare who was constantly kicked around into different weather teams due to various reasons. However, one of them claimed it was an act of rage. If this truly was THE Spectrum Slash, he was in for a mare tougher than any other he previously met. He looked at her hoof stuck in his and thought for a second.

“Spectrum Slash... the pegasus who lives under a rebellious spirit?”.

“Heh, you've heard of me?” she responded with a stain of pride and a smothered will to brag. “That is me alright...”.

Red Gear let go of her hoof and leaned at the counter. He had decided to give this mare an honest chance, and it would be a test involving subtle questions that would judge if she was of any useful material...

“Tell me, Spectrum... have you ever been to any foreign countries in your life?” he asked casually, acting like it was just a friendly question mean to get to know her better. He didn't expect any stunning answer or odd reactions, yet he couldn't hide his curiosity in Spectrum's expression. To him, she just starred blindly. But in her head, a flash of memories struck by. She blinked and shook her head lightly, realizing a little too late that she gave the wrong answer there.

“I mean... yes. I'm not originally from this town”.

“So you grew up somewhere else?”.

Spectrum hesitated one last time. The alcohol had played more than one trick on her now, and that was to be the last one.

“Stalliongrad. I was born there”.

Red Gear inhaled deeply and glanced at his letter. As mentioned, he didn't expect any exceptional answer, but it was looking good so far. Perhaps he was walking the right path on this mare anyway.

“Really...” he said and put his hooves together on the counter, right next to his half-empty glass. He was suddenly reminded of it and took a sip before turning his head back to Spectrum Slash. “Then perhaps you've heard of the sizable labor movement there?”.

Spectrum looked into the corner of her eyes, taking herself back to what she remembered of it. Not much of it served well, but she could speak of the protesting ponies and flyers that there had been some talk about. However, that area hadn't been much of her interest, therefore nothing she really paid attention to. Was hard missing it, though.

“I don't know much about it, but from what I've seen... the ponies partaking in it didn't seem so bad” she answered without reluctance for the first time during this conversation. She even managed to smile without feeling silly about it.

A convinced smile decorated Red Gear's lips. He had taken all the words and reactions Spectrum gave him and made a valuation from it. With any other pony, he most likely would have dropped the talking and turned back to whatever he did at the moment. But when promising things like this mare showed herself to him, it would be an idiot's decision to turn your back on it. There was still a risk that she would fall right before the finishing line.

“I have a confession to make, Spectrum Slash” he stated and emptied his glass. The mentioned mare raised an eyebrow, not afraid to hear anything whatever it might be. Of course, she could always just prepare herself for the worst and ready a counter attack. Not that she expected it from him, minding his already unusual appearance. He looked her in the eyes.

“I'm getting this feeling that you recognize my jacket. It's a jacket only given to those from the communistic party of the Hooviet Union”.

Silence roamed the air between them. Red Gear still expected the worst, even though he only had begun with the finishing line. Things might turn out good, but they could likewise turn out bad... really bad. Spectrum stared at him for a good set of seconds, prolonging them by repeating the words she just heard in her head. The thin whispers of nothingness broke once she made her move.

“Is that your home country?” she asked casually. Red Gear couldn't help but twitch his lips in response. Was this really happening?

“Well, my family moved there when I was very young, so I've practically lived my entire life there. However, I became a member of the communist party in an early age and been working for it since then. I am however here in Ponyville on a goodwill mission, but I plan on returning soon”.

“Really? Do they speak equestrian in Hooviet?”.

“Why, he he.... yes! The Union of Hooviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated UHSR, was from the beginning just a colony that slowly grew into its own country. We don't discriminate our equally minded ones so everything from ponies, griffons, minotaurs and whatever you may think of have over time immigrated and become one single population that united under the same flag during the revolution”.

Spectrum listened with great interest, allowing Red Gear to keep talking. He was happy to oblige, but now was the time for the last step. If this went through, he would be looking at a potential candidate. If it failed, he would be looking at a mare walking away from him, possibly throwing hateful words and names at him. But this was his chance...

“I'll be honest with you, Spectrum. There is no such thing as a perfect government, but the UHSR tries it best to make sure the inhabitants live a peaceful, crime free and compliant life. However, the government is forced to make sure everypony grows strong by reminding them that weakness is a crime that you can get punish for”.

Spectrum kept looking at Red Gear as he leaned in a little closer towards her, looking awfully serious at her.

“We are forced to oppression and violence because the citizens needs it in order to grow strong. We do what needs to be done, and.... well...” he paused and leaned in even closer, gesturing that he wanted to whisper this for his own safety. Spectrum leaned forward so Red Gear's snout touched her mane, something the stallion couldn't complain about. She had a lovely scent, somehow reminding him of his home country.

“I am a part of it. Before I was sent here on my goodwill mission, I worked for the secret police under the KGB. What I do... is something many ponies can't hand-”.

He was interrupted by Spectrum who flew her head away from him. She stared with wide-open eyes like she was in deep shock, yet didn't say a word. Red felt all of his hopes die there when seeing the fine mare's surprised eyes.

“You... y-you kill ponies?” she hissed, unnerving Red Gear. He didn't want to lose his grip, but calmness wasn't his ally at the moment. He couldn't lie and say he was ashamed about his job, but he also understood that ponies who hadn't been in the Hooviet Union didn't know the circumstances.

“Only if necessary, but mos-” he said until he once again suffered the irony of getting cut off mid sentence. This time, however, he turned his head towards the bar door. What came in from there was nothing he liked to see. A group of large stallions walked from the door with the aim to reach the red pony dressed in his green jacket. None of them seemed too kindly, nor very reasonable by the looks of it. Red Gear had seen them before, and he knew what they had in mind. It was moments like this he hated the strict law on prohibited guns in most parts of Equestria. As much as he disapproved unnecessary blood shed outside of his job, he needed a way to defend himself. Sadly, it looked dark this time. He had probably made an enemy next to him and the other ones coming his way were too many to handle alone. He grit his teeth and looked at the empty glass that could serve him well.

“Hello, gentlecolts” he said with a wide smile without turning away from the bar. The stallions stopped right behind the only truly big one. A large earth pony with a dark shade of blue stepped forward, leaving only a hoof of distance between his sweaty chest and Red Gear's clothed back.

“Don't you 'hello' me, you filthy commie” he snorted, giving Red Gear a threatening look before turning to Spectrum. “You. Get away from this red-head piece of shit. All he talks about is socialist crap that nopony wants to hear about”.

Red Gear couldn't see what she did or what kind of expression she gave away. He sure felt alone right now, without any comrade to help him or any weapon to fend of his unwelcome crowd. He could only feel the cold touch of death caressing his shoulder, but something had to be done to avoid him from breaking this glass and slice open the stallion's throat. This wasn't his mission, he would be forced to erase all the words in his letter and rewrite that he didn't manage to return without casualties. In fact, this letter might not be able to make it back to his overseer at all.

“And I'm talking to you, commie!” the large stallion exclaimed and grabbed Red Gear's jacket. At that instant, he flipped the glass in his fetlock, aware that there was no other resort...

At once, all the stallions in the crowd widened their eyes in shock as the blue mare kicked away her chair and charged a swift move from below, sending a hoof packed with brutal force straight into the jaw of the large stallion. Stains of blood and broken teeth flew from the bruiser's mouth the moment before he struck the floor like a cut down tree, unconscious and leaking blood from his gums.

Red Gear slowly turned around with a huge expression of shock, unable to not stare with wide-open eyes at what just happened. Spectrum Slash was right next to him, giving him an angle to see what made the other stallions freeze in fear.

A murderous monster roamed inside the mare's eyes. Ferocious cravings for blood circled her pupils and spread contaminant strains of red lines over the white of her eyes. The air grew cold and fearsome, sending waves of killer instincts through he empty spaces between them.

“I... was talking to him...” she said coldly, sounding like her sanity had transformed into the pure madness of a psychopath. The little group of discouraged stallions didn't find any reasons to remain, not after seeing their leader get beaten down like nothing in an instant. But Spectrum's eyes weren't any calmer. On the contrary, a thirst for more blood radiated. The downed pony was still breathing, she intended to make sure to end it. Thus, she took a step forward and raised a hoof over the exposed neck. Red Gear frowned and was just about to jump from his chair...

In a flash, Spectrum threw her raised foreleg to the side, instantly getting blocked by the pony she actually aimed at. Red Gear was only half-way from his chair, thus only able to see who this new pony was. He didn't come from the group of other stallions, who now took their chance to run away.

Spectrum was on the edge of grinning, but once she stared into the dark depths of the tall pony's eyes, she turned the sinister curve upside down. Her world grew cold and lonely, she was abandoned in an unfathomable darkness where the air was thick and a strange pressure grasped her neck. Memories came back, the reasons behind her burst of rage. What made her the one she was. Her own horror grew unstable and leaked out from its hidings inside her head. Suddenly, the anger started to vanish.

Her blood thirst cooled down and her eyes slowly returned to normal as the murderous thoughts disappeared. She finally felt the suffocation end and she put down her hoof that just recently rested in the dark purple colt's grip. Before either Spectrum or Red Gear could react, a beige pegasus mare walked up from behind and looked at the bleeding stallion.

“Rough Knock. Suspect for rape and robbery murder” she said with a tone of satisfaction and then gave the tall pony next to her a glance. Without a word, he picked up the heavy body and laid it over his back. “As a thank you, I won't report your murder attempt to the guards” she finished and walked to the exit with the other one following her tightly. Spectrum kept staring at the door, panting lightly after that bizarre trip into her own head. She didn't look back at Red Gear, yet felt like asking him something.

“Who... who was that?” she asked.

Red Gear was relaxed again, especially when he understood that Spectrum wasn't going to pick a fight with the tall pony. As much as he didn't mind seeing him again, he sighed in disappointment.

“Somepony who would have been one of our best agent if it weren't for that shrink...” he said without making much more sense.

Spectrum shook her head to get rid of the remaining scraps of her recall, she wished to get back on the topic she and Red just talked about. She had unintentionally given the wrong signal after listening to a good portion of Red's story, and now was the time to get back on track and tell him about it. She was fully aware of what he spoke about: a violent regime that used secret operations to keep dissidents in order, all for the sake of a strong country and government. As much as it may involve more brutal methods to get your will through, she didn't consider that as a con. In fact, she loved it.

She turned towards her bar stool again and sat down, all ears to hear more about this ideal behind Red Gear's country. Of course, she saw more than just that, combining such an interesting ideal with good looks was more than enough to attract her. Once she sat down again, Red turned to her with a new sort of look in his eyes. He was impressed by the sheer force this mare used in a single punch, and even more satisfied with that murderous twinkle she practically screamed of during her outbreak. The loss of control was nothing he put much thought to, just a small setback that was easily compensated by several things. One of them was without doubt her undeniable beauty that covered her brutality like graceful petals. A killer beneath the charm, secret and efficient.

This mare known as Spectrum Slash had potential, a good amount of it too...

“So tell me more about yourself... and your government” she said and raised her hoof to order a drink for her and Red Gear from the indifferent bartender. He had kept his eyes on the ruckus, yet kept his calm by glancing at the shotgun under the counter every now and then. Luckily, the fight had ended well so he went back to his job.

Craving to do some impression on his newfound friend, he asked the bartender to put it on his bill, something Spectrum found more as a cliche to do... but none the less felt flattered about it. She was worried that showing the other side of herself would have frightened Red Gear, just like he had worried about his ideal doing the same to her. Against everything they expected, they now sat next to each other, told stories from their everyday life, laughed, befriended and even dared to throw some discreet flirts at each other. After a few hours of talking, Spectrum had to go to the bathroom, giving herself an opportunity to reflect on what she was going into. Red Gear remained on his seat with a smile, following Spectrum with his eyes until she disappeared behind the waving door.

He leaned back with a sigh, only to be caught open by the bartender.

“Looks like somepony is getting lucky tonight?” he asked with his hooves covered by a cloth inside an empty glass. Red Gear looked into the corner of his eyes and chuckled.

“Just making her acquaintance”.

The bartender snorted into a fit laughter. “Right! If I had just one bit for every time I heard something like that, lover boy” he said and put away the clean glass. Red Gear frowned with a blush. He was sure he had been more subtle than that...

Meanwhile inside the fillies' room, Spectrum washed her hooves to the background noise of a flushing toilet. She looked into the mirror and ran a wet hoof over her mane. Right after that, she caught herself realizing that she did it to look a tad better. She raised an eyebrow and asked herself why in Equestria she tried to look better than she already did, a question she didn't feel like answering. Just thinking about that handsome stallion in his green jacket and hearing his sooth voice was enough for her to feel the temptation of going back inside the stall and run a hoof through her warm marehood.

She opened her eyes wide when that though invaded her head, then smacked her cheek before walking out of the restroom. She met Red Gear with an awkward smile, answered by the exact same kind from him. She got back to her seat and cleared her throat, doing her best to stay calm.

“Ahem! So... I planned on asking, but I'm not sure if I should” she began shyly and tapped on her glass. Red Gear looked her deeply in the eyes, waiting for her to go on without assuming anything. “I was just wondering if perhaps, you know all that you talked about? Your job, the operations, the... 'messy' job you had...”.

“Yeah?”.

“Do you think there's... anything I could help with? Like, some empty spots to fill out?” she finally asked, glad with herself to get it out of the bag. She hoped for a positive response, but she had already figured that the government of Hooviet Union probably didn't expect mares to handle jobs like...

“Why, of course!” he answered happily, much to Spectrum's surprise. Red Gear pushed away his empty glass and leaned on the counter again, smiling with satisfaction. He loved the idea of finding a new prospect here in Ponyville even though he always had thought it was farfetched. Plus, if she would like to join him he could travel with her and spend some more time together.

“The HUSR is always welcoming congenial individuals no matter race, origin or gender. And now when I know you a little better, I dare say that I can offer you a job in the Hooviet Union” he assured.

“Really?” Spectrum asked with sparkles in her eyes, hardly believing what she heard. Of course, there was one more thing she had to find out before accepting this offer. “But... does it take long to get accepted? Don't I need someplace to live?”.

Red Gear rubbed his chin and shortly after that realized more about how perfect this opportunity was. He had to restrain a grin when speaking. “Well... if it's not too much, you can live in my home until further notice. I have some useful influence within the KGB so I'm sure they can put your request in the 'urgent-folder'...”.

Spectrum felt her heart beat a little faster when hearing these words. She welcomed the chance to work for such a promising government even though she had a few doubts about moving into the county. Not that she had a problem living in Hooviet Union... it was something else that troubled her. But that had to be put aside for now, she couldn't let the doubt get the better of her. Besides, maybe she could be lucky enough to follow Red Gear on his way home. And that was a chance she really didn't want to miss.

Red Gear glanced at Spectrum's extending foreleg. She smiled with the other hoof resting over her chest as she waited for the male to raise his own hoof.

“It's a deal, Red Gear”.

The mentioned one couldn't help but flashing a little crimson on his cheeks when seeing the adorable thing in front of him. It was exciting to know that she most of the time was so tough and ruthless, yet had the ability to express more feminine sides of herself. She had truly beautiful eyes, even outside of her murderous rage. Thus, he raised his hoof and met Spectrum's in a shake.

“Pfeh! Red love birds...” the bartender said to himself as he took another glass to clean...

Chapter 2

A few days had passed, and after a long and exhausting ride on the train from Ponyville, changing many times between carriage to other means of transportation, Spectrum Slash woke up to Red Gear nudging her shoulder. Her cheek ached from leaning on that hard surface that she had believed was the window or the small table in front of her. She needed a moment to gather herself when she turned her eyes to the pony sitting next to her and saw Red Gear's snout just an inch away from her own. He chuckled and told her she had slept on his shoulder the last hour or so, a fact Spectrum wanted to forget for now, judging by the faint flush on her blue cheeks. Funny as the moment was, Red turned to the window and pointed out, knowing his company would be excited to know where she was now.

Spectrum looked out with wide eyes when she saw the beautiful city in all its grace. The large buildings, the wide river running through, the banners standing high together with the red flags. They were marked with two wreath petals formed into a half-circle holding a horse shoe and a flower crossed beneath a sun. They were just like Spectrum remembered from the last time she saw them.

“Welcome to the Hooviet Union capital of Moosecow, named after the Moose city this beautiful and proud city was built on!” Red Gear said with a true tone of patriotism and excitement. He had seen the city from afar many times before, but no matter how many times he did, it always brought a comfortable vibration up his spine. However, this was the first time he came back with female company, something he never had imagined would make it all more exciting.

They exited the train, stepped out on the large platform and looked around. Spectrum didn't realize until now how wonderful the architecture was in this country, aside from its many cultural legacies such as the Cathedral of Celestia the Savior and majestic buildings like the Seven Sisters. Red Gear would eventually grab Spectrum's fore hoof and show her another majestic part of the city, giving her a big tour along the tall buildings and impressive pieces of work. She had wished to see more, showing great interest not only for the fact that she had a chance to see Saint Basilica's Cathedral... she was also very impressed to see the large variety of races walking around the streets like nothing. The equality was undeniable, you could tell that when you saw a pony and a minotaur walking next to each other like good old friends or a griffon and a moose sitting on a bench with their hands and hooves touching.

There was another thing she also had noticed that Red never mentioned. He was busy showing her around, retelling the old stories he learned about in his youth. Spectrum took the opportunities she found to eye the stallions and mares dressed in army clothes, armed with SKS rifles and an indifferent expression towards anypony passing by. They stood in almost every corner, not far from a poster of the present leader of the UHSR or a propagandist message to the population. She saw the stern look in the soldiers' eyes and what effect it had on the citizens. They knew they were just a step from death if looking the wrong way, any sign of weakness would be noticed and most likely dealt with. But everypony she saw passing through them simply straightened their backs and went on as usual with whatever they had on their agenda. The soldiers turned their eyes away from whoever they looked at and observed another couple, hoping they wouldn't be given a mess to clean up.

“Something troubling you?” Red Gear asked, snatching Spectrum away from her thoughts like a devil in the night, even though it was bright summer daylight shining on her. She turned in an instant and looked him deep in his eyes, reflecting a clear fraction of her excitement to be here. She shook her head and asked him to go on, her restlessness was going overboard after seeing all this clear success in a strong government managing to discipline its citizens.

She didn't need to be afraid here. As long as she was strong, nothing would threaten her here. It was so different from Stalliongrad...

Before she had time to say something, Red already understood that he had made some nice progress with this mare. Perhaps not to know her better, but indeed to recruit her. Thus, he decided that it was enough about Moosecow's cultural value for today. He actually had more important things to show her. He was about to open his mouth when Spectrum did the same, only faster.

“So... about that job you spoke of?” she said much to Red's appreciation. He laid a hoof over her neck to show that he wanted to walk with her down the street while talking about that. He needed a little moment to prepare himself; for some reason he found it more difficult than usual to talk in this mare's presence.

“About that. The USHR doesn't usually accept ponies to join any filial within the KGB before they have claimed a full citizenship. And that will take you a little while...”.

Spectrum bit her lower lip. Did this mean...?

“But of course, knowing some of the higher names withing the KGB always helps if you want to pull some strings” he finished and blinked at her. Spectrum didn't enjoy this roller coaster made of feelings in her gut, but she was none the less unable to hide her grin when Red gave her the good news.

“However, you must go through some specific training before you can be accepted into the Red Saddles”.

“Red Saddles?”.

“A nickname for the secret police”.

Spectrum noticed that Red was sounding more serious the longer they talked about her recruitment. She was aware that in order to serve under a strong regime, you had to be tough enough to endure it and live up to the name. And that was exactly what she looked forward to... being stronger than what she once was. Strong enough to survive and look her past in the eyes...

The same day in an unknown location, two muscular stallions dragged a pony with a bag over its head into a cold room. She didn't resist nor made any noise to stop it, just like it was a dead body. The stallions closed a heavy door behind them and dragged the pony up to a chair with leather straps on both the arms and the front legs. They carelessly tossed her up on the chair and locked each leg of the pony to the respective strap, making sure they were properly attached. Once they were done, one of the stallions took off the bag over the pony's head.

A strong light hit her face once she could see again, not that it helped her since it was aimed straight at her face. She grit her teeth and tilted her head to get away from the brightness, only managing to disappoint the third stallion walking out from the darkness in front of the heavy door. A thick-skinned pony with several scars across his muzzle and a closed eye with an even thicker scar over it walked up to her. His head was completely bald and the tail was cut short. His cutie-mark was that of a knuckle bracelet, the only thing harder than his cold, judgmental look in the healthy eye. But what the mare noticed first was that he wore a green jacket with a small symbol over the chest.

He raised an eyebrow at the blue mare and looked at her cutie-mark, sighing in a different direction before facing her.

“So you are Spectrum Slash?” he began without moving a single facial muscle aside from his lips. Spectrum noticed that he didn't even move his jaw. What was this, a competition for the most bad-flank pony, she thought while nodding her head. The scarred pony's accent was thick, a pure creation of the Hoovet Union's language that not too many still spoke due to all the immigrations. He started walking around her and the large stallions, taking his time to study the object he had been promised.

“Red Gear tells me you are strong pony. Thick as leather, strong as Ursa, vicious as Timber Wolf”.

She would have liked to agree to all of the mentioned things, but right now she could only feel the pressuring aura in this room. Aside from the strong light aimed at her, she couldn't see anything around her except the floor shaped like a huge iron fence with pipes beneath it. Her breathing quickened, but she still had control over herself.

“Yeah! You could... say that” she nearly hesitated. The only thing she remember before ending up here was Red Gear leading her to The Red Square, then suddenly sighing and reminding her that if her mind was made up, he couldn't stop her anymore. She wasn't dumb enough to question what was going on when the bag fell over her head and the strong hooves restrained her. Now... she was in the middle of her throw, hoping the dice would end on the number she had put her bet on.

“Really...?” he said as he stood in front of Spectrum again, rubbing his rough chin. “You think you are strong like Orlov and Trotter?”.

Spectrum glanced at both sides, understanding he must have meant the big stone-faces next to her that didn't even seem to breathe. She instantly doubted her ability to take down such kind of ponies, minding they surely had more muscles and not to mention more combat experience than your average bruiser of Ponyville. But before she could turn her eyes to the scarred pony, she was greeted by a hard hoof flying straight into her face.

“You hesitate, you die!” he exclaimed while Spectrum's head flew to the side.

Pain thundered from her cheek and teeth as the bald pony struck her with a healthy dose of strength. She was mildly shocked, yet still focused on what was going to happen. She saw from her tilted stance the hoof moving back to the chest covered in green. He was cool again like nothing just happened.

“I am commander Polkan. It is my duty to test you. You fail... you die...”.

For the following month, Spectrum Slash was tested in every way possible both in physical fitness and mental endurance. She was in the beginning trained to withstand exhaustion by running away from trained dogs until her stamina fell flat to the ground. Her lungs were strengthened by constant abuse to her ability to hold her breath under water. Both of these segments collaborated to remind her how valuable every breath you take is and to put maximum use out of it.

Meanwhile, there was the beating. She was chained to a wall and forced to endure one hour of constant physical pain per day, or until she couldn't scream anymore. Commander Polka supervised everything twenty-four seven, making sure his subordinates followed the strict scheme. Sometimes he even stood in the same room and stared silently at the mare getting brutally abused, not letting go of a single expression while doing so. The muscular brutes didn't go easy on her. If it wasn't torture by the means of hooves, they strapped her to a table and either twisted her limbs until they nearly broke or mauled her hooves until they almost cracked.

Polkan was displeased by the display. He saw that something yearned inside the blue mare's eyes. There was a basic instinct he had seen in few ponies, an inner being that struggled for the ultimate outbreak. Yet, all he saw coming from those eyes were tears. Her arrogance only lasted for a few minutes when Orlov and Trotter warmed her up for the upcoming suffering. However, she had lasted much longer than what the average recruit did, a promising fact that perhaps could keep her alive.

Sad fact was.... if she didn't manage to break free from any of the events withing a month, she was going to be killed.

One night, when only a few days remained of her test, she was on the edge of giving up. She was stuck with her forelegs chained to the cold wall again, mane hanging over the half-dead muzzle. She was still dripping blood from some cut wounds on her face, reminders that she was mortal just like anypony else. The dry air strained her already ravaged lungs and the blood loss in her forelegs didn't relax her sore and exhausted body. She feared for the worst, knowing all about the disappointed looks from the commander. Her body was empty on strength, barely able to blink when she tried to sleep. The pain haunted her, reminded her...

“Spectrum?” somepony said from the darkness. She twitched her head up in surprise, immediately stricken by the image of a merciless hoof coming at her. She blinked a few times while the pony unveiled itself to be nopony else than Red Gear. She nodded down her tired head and breathed deeply to say something, but she wasn't able to produce much more than a couple of faint noises.

Red sat down on his haunches next to her, leaning on the hard wall stained with Spectrum's blood. He looked down at her and sighed. He wasn't supposed to be here, yet he felt forced to accompany her.

“You're putting up a real fight. Polkan is impressed that you're not begging for mercy after everything”.

Spectrum didn't reply, Red took that as a sign that she tried to stay focused. He still heard her breathing, so he didn't worry about her health.

“What you're going through right now is just a tenth of what the commander has experienced during his life. It takes a supernatural pony to come out of that ali-” he said before cutting himself off. His eyes glanced down to the beaten mare, lingering long enough for him to see the tears running down the blue cheeks. “I know it's tough, Spectrum, but I also know you can-”.

“You don't know shit, Red...” she said silently but loud enough for the mentioned stallion to hear. He forgot what he was going to say and decided to listen instead. Spectrum took some deep breathes and managed to lean back her head on the wall.

“He might be an experienced soldier on the field. But he doesn't know shit about what a real war is...”.

Red raised an eyebrow, unsure about what that was supposed to mean. He had seen the commander in action and those were some serious days where he trashed through enemies with dead comrades laying in his wake, trained to not hesitate for a moment when fear is chomping on your spine. What could be worse than that?

“Wars... are worst at home. When a young filly can't protect herself from her parents. When they slowly turn their back on you and blame you for everything. When everything seems to be your fault... that moment when your mom and dad tells you they regret you”.

Red widened his eyes.

“I'd prefer to catch a grenade from an enemy I barely know rather than have a liquor bottle thrown at me by my own... mother...” she nearly sobbed and closed her bruised eyelids. “They don't know shit!”.

Red watched as a tear fell from Spectrum's eyes. He felt cold inside, chilled by the fact that this mare had been through worse than he expected. Sure, those eyes must have had a back story, but he never saw this coming. He decided to act, thus laid a hoof on Spectrum's shoulder. She turned her head to him and looked straight into his eyes. Once again, he was locked by the beautiful eyes staring at him, giving the owner of them the chance to say one last thing.

“Those foals... they didn't have to die...” she whispered with gritting teeth. At that moment, even though he didn't understand what that meant, Red found his words again.

“There is a way to deal with your past, Spectrum.... and that is to look into its eyes... and tell it that you're still alive...”.

Spectrum didn't understand at first, but once she gathered the words in her head and thought about it for a few seconds with her eyes towards the floor, she saw the message. Red patted her shoulder with a smile on his lips, wondering if it was too much to give her a friendly kiss on the cheek. He didn't want to hesitate, thus decided to brush back her mane and give her a quick smooch on the forehead. The receiver widened her eyes in surprise but didn't do much more than that. Her wounded cheeks flushed red with heat while the stallion got up on his hooves. He walked up to the door and put his hoof on the heavy handle, only to look over his shoulder.

“There is another way too. And that is to... just... let the monster out”.

With those words, he opened the door and left the room. Spectrum stared at it for a short while before turning her head down again. She could still feel Red's soft lips on her forehead. For reasons she didn't want to admit, it helped her fall asleep...

In the next morning, commander Polka opened the door to Spectrum's room only to find her completely focused. He didn't say anything aside from the muted nod towards her. The large stallions came inside right after him and walked up to the chained mare. As they unlocked the chains connected to her forelegs, they were all prepared to see her die today. She fell lifelessly to the floor and thus forced the stallions to lift her up to the large bucket of ice-cold water. Spectrum opened her eyes weakly the moment they forced her head down below the surface of water.

The strong grips over her neck didn't have to resist this time. She had decided to lay absolutely still and think about yesterday. The chills over´her cheeks quickly spread and cooled down her head into a state of numbness. The words were warmer, though. The message she had been given, the thought about reminding her what she had on the inside. She shut her eyes and concentrated, betting her life on this moment in which she would be found dead in front of Red Gear. She would have him taken away from her, stolen and forever remembered as the only stallion who've shown her respect and appreciation. The thoughts developed into something stronger, much harsher than the outcome she expected. Her eyebrows arched, she grit her teeth and put all her thoughts on the single most hated stallion she knew of.

Then she opened her eyes. Her deep, murderous eyes...

Orlov leaned over the bucket and exchanged glances with Trotter, silently asking if she was dead minding the lack of bubbles. Trotter, who held Spectrum down over the back of her head, shrugged in response.

At that moment, the surface cracked and splashed up water right into Orlov's eyes, stunning him while Trotter experienced the immense strength forcing his grip loose. He fell back but only had time to hit his head to the floor before a blue hoof grabbed his collar and pulled him up again into a hard punch cracking his snout. When Trotter had managed to wipe his eyes, he was stunned once again by the ravenous mare smashing his comrade's face with a rapid series of punches. He shook off the fear and charged her, kicking aside the bucket in the process. Sadly for him, Spectrum instantly let go of her victim and turned around in a flash with her mouth wide-open, going for his throat.

That was the last thing Orlov saw before the blood splattered from his neck. Spectrum crunched with all her might and crushed his gullet within seconds, forcing the flesh to bulge into a bloody mess after she let go. Orlov covered the lethal wound and fell to the floor with the worst pain he ever had felt, and also his last. He died in a pool of his own blood in the next moment.

Spectrum stood silently on her hindlegs, panting like a nearly drowned beast with her soaked mane hanging over her muzzle. She looked over her shoulder, revealing to commander Polkan the raging demon in her eyes. He stood silently, refusing as usual to show any expression. Spectrum grinned with a light chuckle, behaving like she pleasured the moment like a foal with a bag full of candy. As she got down on all four and casually walked towards Polkan, he remained without loosing his attention to the mare, meeting her cold eyes like an old friend coming his way. He saw the terror in her eyes, what monster he had awakened, the insatiable hunger craving more blood. Soon there was just a few hooves left before she would reach him... and rip his head off.

Suddenly, the door flew open behind Polkan. Spectrum didn't care until she saw exactly who it was.

“Spectrum, that's enough!” Red Gear shouted and got up between him and the commander. Like a lightning bolt just struck in front of her, she halted and looked into Red's eyes. Her own, full with tempered hatred and rage, cooled down in a second. The monster was put back into its cage to rest, giving Spectrum full control of her body again. She was aware of what she had done, yet didn't regret any of it. However, her first will of action was to throw her forelegs around Red and hug him heartily. The embraced one acted on reflex and did the same, relieved to know she was calm again.

“Impressive, Red Gear” commander Polkan said and walked past them. The hugging ponies followed him with their eyes as he ventured to the downed stallions. “You promised me good recruit, and you were right”.

He turned to Spectrum after checking if Orlov was dead, which he didn't doubt for a second anyways. “Assign comrade Spectrum Slash her jacket. Mission is tomorrow” he then said and walked back towards the door. Those words confused Red Gear, causing him to raise his eyebrows and stutter.

“B-but... what about... her real training?” he asked, much to Spectrum's own confusion. Polkan looked over his shoulder, seemingly even colder than what he had given the appearance of until now.

“There is no need. I have seen much in life... but never something like that” he stated and opened the door, changing his tone from the dead serious one. “You will supervise comrade Spectrum Slash and report progress. Take care of Trotter before you go to doctor”.

The door closed behind him, leaving Spectrum alone with Red. She let go of him and looked strangely into his eyes. “What do you mean with 'real training'?”.

Red chuckled and scratched his neck, suddenly feeling awkward about the situation. “Well... you see, this was a test you had to pass in order to start your actual training to become an agent” he said and walked over to the nearly unconscious stallion. “Orlov and Trotter are traitors who were found guilty of aiding a dissident group. They were told they had been given a second chance if they helped us with a new recruit. Buuuuut....”.

He pulled out a handgun from his collar and aimed it at Trotter's head, looking into his narrowed eyes without hesitation. “... there is no second chance” he said and pulled the trigger, sending a twitch through Trotter's body as the bullet blew a hole into his forehead. Spectrum jumped in surprise, staring with wide-open eyes at the dead body Red also looked at. He put back his gun inside the jacket and walked back to his new comrade.

“You were supposed to at least take them down with force, but you exceeded all of our expectations, even commander Polkan's “ he said happily and put a hoof over his forehead, casually saluting Spectrum. “Welcome to the Red Saddles, agent Spectrum Slash”.

The same afternoon after getting fixed at the infirmary, Spectrum was given her citizenship papers and passport personally by Polkan, together with her own green jacket. He bid his farewell with a hint that he knew she would serve the USHR well. With his blessing, she enjoyed the rush of excitement all the way to Red Gear's home. She was quickly shown around his house, learning that only he lived here. Later, he offered her his bed for tonight and that he would sleep on the couch. She accepted the kind offer since she was a guest.

That night, however, Spectrum laid in bed for a long while with the urge to ask for Red to keep her company. Meanwhile, Red pondered on the couch why he didn't take the courage to ask the same thing...

Chapter 3

“Promoted?!” Spectrum exclaimed across the breakfast table with cereals spouting from her mouth. Red was still in a fit shock with his eyes glued to the document in his hooves. He had already reread it a number of times, the hallmark was from the USHR, yet he couldn't help but doubting his eyes. There was no signature, and that was quite interesting, minding that orders usually came from the commander himself or any of his subordinates. They would be forced to write down their name and rank in order to execute an order like this. Unless...

Red put down the paper and pushed it over to Spectrum. While she feverishly read it, Red put his hooves together and looked into a corner of his eyes. He could only think of one sort of position that could leave an order without having to mark it.

“This is big. A higher up wants us promoted to the elite forces of the Red Saddles. You must have made some serious impression on commander Polkan” he said once his eyes turned back to Spectrum. She looked up from the paper and then smirked in self-satisfaction. She wasn't sure if it was just that or also a pleasure to shine next to Red Gear with her competence. No matter what, she was happy to know that she had made this good progress in such short time.

“What does this mean?” she asked, still not all in about what everything meant.

“The elite forces are to move around the Hooviet Union according to orders received. Wherever we are sent, there are known dissidents that needs a more... permanent solution, if you know what I mean?”.

Spectrum wasn't dumb enough to not understand what that hint meant. She glanced at the paper one last time and nodded, still excited to know things were going so well already. That was until she suddenly realized the awkward thing that was written in clear ink on the paper. She snatched it up again, giving Red the correct signal.

“Yes. We are to move out asap” he said and got up from his chair...

Along the streets of Moosecow, several ponies directly from the army kept their eyes on anypony passing by them. Foals and elderly were all patted down by their eyes, checked if their cool would trigger any nervous twitches. A mare and a stallion walked next to each other, weapons resting over their chests as they moved around a block with civilian houses. They had moved down this block many times before just today, but that was their job for now. Not a single incident had occurred here, nor any compromises. Basically just another dead area, but still important enough for their presence.

The mare turned her frowning eyes to a house right next to her. She extended her foreleg in front of her comrade, causing him to turn his head the same direction she looked at. They both saw through the window a male pony around his mature years getting wrestled down in a violent struggle. He yelled and cursed as a mare suddenly jumped at him from behind and held him down so another stallion could cover his mouth with a napkin. A table and several lamps were knocked down before it all fell into a total silence.

The soldiers blinked.

As the door to the house opened, showing the red stallion walking out with his behind first, the armed mare decided to reach for her SKS rifle. She was stopped by the stallion next to her. He didn't say anything, but pointed his foreleg at the green jacket he clearly saw on the red male. In a heartbeat, the mare let go of her weapon and watched the two ponies pull out a large bag from the house. They passed by just a few hooves away from them, receiving a friendly nod and greeting from the red stallion and the blue mare with the bag over her back. The soldiers followed them from their spots until they saw the two ponies walk inside an condemned building they never saw anypony use.

They looked at each other, ending up with the mare nodding her head. The stallion picked up his Walkie-talkie and reported that safe house #11 was currently in use. Then they continued walking down the block...

Meanwhile inside the safe house, Red Gear turned on the light by the flip of a wall switch and lit up the entire room for Spectrum Slash. She opened her eyes wide, looking fairly amazed by the small, square shaped room filled with different tools all sharing one purpose: causing pain. Hanging alongside the walls were traditional instruments such as pliers, hammers, knives, needles, ropes, cuffs and hooks, while the tables by the other wall had an assortment of poisons, acids and other concoctions. In the middle there was a chair with leather straps attached to the arms and front legs, exactly like the one Spectrum sat on when her test began. Luckily, this time it wasn't she who was ending up on the chair, but the drugged pony she found in the bag.

He was quickly placed on the chair and properly strapped to it within seconds. After that, a nice, ice-cold bucket of water splashed his face. The pony gasped in his startled awakening, shocked and confused over his sudden change of location. It seemed to him that he was in his home just a few seconds ago, and now in a strange location with the same ponies that assaulted him. He saw their jackets at once, recognizing them as the last kind of ponies he wanted to be caught by.

“Wha-what is this? Where have you taken me?” he asked with a startled tone. Red Gear wasn't impressed, on the contrary mildly annoyed.

“Don't play stupid, mister Trotsky. Everypony knows why you're here” Red Gear stated as he walked over to one of the desks filled with tools. “After all, you've made quite a name for yourself among the other, rebellious dissidents...”

The stallion known as Trotsky flashed open his eyes, on the verge of a heart attack just by hearing his name and the word 'dissident'. He glanced at Spectrum who smiled at him, then turned to Red. He couldn't move from the wooden chair, only turn his head in some insignificant ways. He was quick to learn that there was no point pretending he didn't know anything. He knew Red Gear and Spectrum Slash worked for the secret police judging by the jackets with their tiny symbols. He arched his eyebrows, trying to put up a more intimidating aura.

“How did you find me?” he asked in a calm and collected manner, breaking a bead of sweat from his forehead. Red looked into another direction, working something in his hooves while answering the question.

“You underestimate the KGB, mister Trotsky. Careful investigations and surveillance is what makes us effective when executing missions and operations” he explained and started taking of his jacket. “And since you wasn't able to predict our strike, I think it's safe to say that we are better at working unnoticed than you do”.

The elder stallion breathed deeply through his nostrils, doing his best to stay cool. “Doesn't matter what you do to me! The information you seek from me has already fallen to the ponies of Hooviet Union! And soon wil-”.

“What ponies? You mean those you speak with through channel 177, 398 and 469?” Red interrupted, once again shocking the pony trapped in the chair. He stared at him like he just had revealed everything.

“Ho.... how did you...” he asked at the same time Red hung his jacket on a nail stuck to the wall he faced.

“Those locations were found and neutralized the same day you started transmitting signals about your rebellious propaganda. Every single piece of information you've given us has been stored and used properly to erase any other groups of dissidents. In fact, several of them lead us to even bigger groups that posed as serious threats that could have done some serious damage to our government....” Red furthered his explanation and then turned around to show what he had prepared the last minute.

Trotsky's eye twitched in rage the more he listened. He was so blinded by anger that he didn't notice the syringe clenched between Red's teeth. He could only sit and watch as he approached him and then grabbed the syringe in his fetlock, leaning towards him so he could look directly into Trotsky's eyes.

“... but thanks to you, they are all dead. Everything you've built for Celestia knows how long has been eliminated by you and you only” he said with a vile smirk, inducing all hate his victim had inside him.

“YOU BUCKING BASTARDS!!!” Trotsky roared in an absolute rage. Red shook his head and held onto the strapped pony's shivering foreleg, carefully sticking the syringe into the soft flesh and injecting Trotsky with the concoction. He then proceeded to another desk with Spectrum sitting obediently back on her haunches as his audience. While the screaming and hollering went on without any break, Red brought out a hoof-screw from one of the desk's large drawers. He gave Trotsky a thoughtful look and a sigh just to prepare himself to go loose on this one. Staying calm and collected most of the time takes it price when you suddenly must change to an aggressive nature...

He frowned and walked back to him, giving Spectrum a little surprise when he for the first time looked really pissed off. “There is however one thing you haven't told us, and that was the last piece of information we wanted. Otherwise we wouldn't be here trying to get it out of you...”.

Trotsky's right fore hoof was placed in the vice, neatly clenched so it wouldn't fall off. Red looked into his eyes and readied his hooves on the handle to turn it when needed, thus pressing Trotsky's hoof with violence.

“Who funded your operation, mister Trotsky?”.

“Buck you!” he spitted, sweating like a pig due to the strange condition to his body after the injection. Red sighed... and turned the handle.

Massive amounts of pain screeched through Trotsky's body as the vice clenched his hard hoof. The cold iron squeezed harder and harder until the hoof cracked, breaking his future of ever walking correctly again. He screamed out in agony, tensing every muscle in his body as the ache melted his brain. Blood seeped out from the crack and stained the floor, much to Red's indifferent frown. But he didn't stop there. The handles were turned even more, crushing the hoof further, crack by crack, until nothing but a crumbling mess remained. The loud screams confirmed every inch of pain he caused.

Trotsky panted and twitched his head, failing to escape the pain. The mere though of losing one of his hooves turned his stomach, giving him retches that wanted to come out. Red wasn't satisfied, such ignorance deserved another hoof, to be precise. He loosened the vice and proceeded to the next hoof resting beneath the straps. Trotsky saw what was happening and cried for mercy. Ignoring him, Red clenched the simple contraption and forcefully turned the handle.

“No, no, no, n-AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”.

Blood splattered out as Red slowly let the vice crush this hoof too, relishing in the fact that he could hear such horrid screams from his victim. The iron bar went lower until just an inch was between it and the lower bar. The vice was loosened, and then brutally smacked in Trotsky's muzzle, breaking a few teeth and mauling his cheek.

Beaten and massacred, the elder stallion breathed like his lungs were about to collapse. Blood ran from his lips and carried a tooth from it. His eyes were open wide and trembling with pain and fear.

“Doesn't matter how loud you scream, these walls are soundproof” he stated and walked away to get another tool of his choice. The victim was stuck in his stuttering panting, unable to look at Red Gear as he came back to him. A lath hammer was now in his grip, and he got up on his hindlegs with the tool resting over Trotsky's left shoulder. His right, vacant hoof grabbed the old pony's muzzle and forced him to look into his eyes.

“And the drug I gave you doesn't help either, since the only thing it did was heightening your reception to pain” he said right before raising the stainless hammer over the exposed shoulder. “Now... tell me who funded your operation”.

The beaten stallion shut his eyes, preparing for the pain to come straight at his shoulder. He still had some strength to resist. Not that Red admired the loyalty, he was just glad to know he had only begun.

The hammer fell from its height... in an arch and charged straight into the victim's ribcage. He opened his eyes and coughed up a muffled scream, splattering blood from his mouth as the shock prevented him from understanding what just happened. He was so sure his shoulder would take the pain that he had completely forgotten to think about his other body parts. The ribs Red hit broke instantly, nearly piercing the lungs.

“Tell me who funded your operation!” he repeated, then struck the hammer down on Trotsky's knee, cracking the leg and injuring the muscles. “Tell us!”.

Spectrum, who had silently watched the show, was amazed by Red's sheer force of brutality. She didn't expect him to have a side like that, minding after all this time he had been so calm relaxed. Now he had turned into a merciless torturer with a hammer soon to be covered in blood in his hoof. Done and done, Red Gear had grown tired and thus threw the hammer from below, straight up like a boxer's hard punch, into the victim's jaw. Blood erupted and rained over the hammer as Red raised it again. He repeatedly bashed his guts, aiming for the innards so Trotsky couldn't help but throwing up his stomach content. And all everypony heard now was Red's angered voice.

“Tell us!” he yelled before striking the blood beaten stallion in the snout, crushing it into complete disfigurement. “I can go on all day with you! Keeping you alive and piece by piece breaking you down into a freak, and I won't stop even when you're nothing but a bloody pulp!”.

Angered as he sounded, Red Gear was in fact under complete control of himself, sure not to go overboard and kill the poor thing at his mercy. Spectrum was fascinated... and strangely warm.

After a few seconds of breathing and incoherent mumbling, the severely beaten stallion tried his best to move his lips. Red raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, flapping up his ear to listen. He narrowed his eyes at him and soon let go of a satisfied smile. The interrogation had finally given fruit. He leaned away and walked back to the desk to return the hammer where it belonged. A decided look was shot at Spectrum, and an even viler grin.

“He's all yours, Spectrum. We have no need of him anymore” he said, causing Trotsky to twitch his head up, knowing this was probably going to happen, still scared about the fact that he was going to die. Spectrum got up on her legs and approached the suffering pony. She went up behind him and rested her hooves over his nearly untouched shoulders. She leaned in close, nearly stroking his bruised and bloody chin with her snout. She could feel the suffering, the excruciating pain, all thoughts that probably went through his head, everything he had endured until his loyalty only reached so far.

“You know.... you remind me a lot about my father” she whispered and grabbed him with the speed of a cobra. One foreleg was around his neck while the other one held onto his head, jamming him completely. Her voice grew into a sinister hissing, her chance to let out what always had been inside her. “Isn't everypony supposed to love her father? Well I didn't. I hated him... he used to be there for me, but then he changed. Then he couldn't stay away from the booze. He joined mother and took out his anger on me, threw me out after countless times of abuse. And since then, everything I wanted to do...”.

She slowly bended his head to the side, twitching it further until not much was left before the stop.

“Everything I wanted to do...”.

The resistance began. But she pulled further, going past the limit so his body started to shake.

“Just one thing...”

Trotsky opened his silent mouth, tortured by the mental pain that she hadn't snapped his neck already. But she moved towards it, just very slowly. He could feel his muscles give way, how the neck came close to snapping off from the spine. She squeezed his head and neck harder, grinning wildly in pleasure.

“Was just...”.

Merely a centimeter was left.

“This!”.

With sheer force, she cracked his neck in a loud snap. Spectrum widened her eyes in ecstasy. An endless rush of endorphin filled her emotions, stinging her with joy and satisfaction, yet a hunger of sexual needs. She bit her lower lip and let go of the dead pony's head, letting it hang lifelessly while she enjoyed the rush. Red was impressed by her choice of execution; a usually quick and painless death turned into a slow and surprisingly agonizing one. This amusement prevented him from seeing what was going to happen now.

Spectrum turned to Red, silently groaning her excitement. She had seen pain and death just like she craved, but now she only saw something she wanted even more. Her lustful instincts got the upper hoof and forced her to charge straight at Red Gear who only had time to grimace in shock.

In a clatter of tools falling to the ground, Spectrum jumped at Red and pinned him to the desk he stood in front of, pressing down his forelegs so she could attack him in the way she preferred. Her open mouth fell over his and connected them in an instant. Due to pure reflex caused by the sudden act, Red grabbed Spectrum's flanks and massaged her cutie-marks in an intimate way. She raised her eyebrows in enjoyment and gasped inside Red's mouth. She didn't signal she wanted an end to it, just that this was something neither she had predicted to its fullest. Yet here she was, laying on top of a stallion with her tongue deep in his mouth and his hooves fondling her ass.

She disconnected the kiss and dived her snout into Red's gray mane, taking deep inhales so she could get his male fragrance up in her brain. Her fore hooves ran through the gray hair, massaged the scalp and sampled more softness for her to sniff on. Red was quick to understand that this mare probably had a thing for comfortable manes and apparently tails too. He felt his short tail resting between his legs getting humped on. For a moment he was a little surprised to think that Spectrum actually had gone so far as to ride his bone already, especially since he couldn't deny that his physical pride wasn't really resting right now...

She kept rubbing her soft labia against his tail and rolled back her eyes while doing so. Getting a sweet kick of ecstasy was enough for her to lose grip in a different way than she used to do. This was a grip she more than happily lost, a feeling she could give into any time of the day. Or at least that was what she felt right now.

Red had joined her euphoric state of sweetness. His hooves didn't only move to grope her well-shaped butt, as much as their soft, squishy feeling made him melt like a leaf in a pool of lava, he also started going towards Spectrum's erect wings. Their stiffness attracted him to caress and stroke the beautiful things. And like that, his female partner couldn't contain herself. Her tongue lolled out as she groaned lustfully, her hips shook together with her wings and the scent massaging her snout pushed her over the edge in a grand display of female satisfaction. Spectrum shot at Red with her lips, forcing them together as her cheeks lit up with red heat. Her tongue wrapped itself around his, and she was ready to completely let go.

At first, Red didn't understand, but that could have been because he was trapped in the delicious feeling of having his hooves touching another mare's wings. These fascinating things had always this attractive appearance, an appearance he couldn't resist. The thick muscles covered in soft fur and mostly feathers felt so especially fluffy for some reason. He knew there was physical strength in them and an ability he never would have. It wasn't jealousy, just a pure fascination for something so simple and yet fantastic.

What Red was about to find out was also that some mares are very sensitive at certain spots when exposed to some of her strongest fetishes.

Spectrum moaned out loudly as her wings stiffened even more. She let go off Red's mouth when she ultimately came all over his tail. He gasped at the opportunity before him. Just like sniffing manes was Spectrum's fetish, so was the sweet nectar from a mare his. A desperate craving for the warm stickiness to be on his tongue broke out, but just as he was about to try break free from Spectrum's grip, he saw the dizzy look in her eyes.

“Ugh... t-tired” she mumbled and collapsed on top of him with her snout still in his mane. For a moment, Red was a little disappointed in the situation, but soon he decided to think about it. He had found out that Spectrum's abilities to hurt and kill definitively came from a past that nopony should have to live through. All the latest events must have put lots of pressure on her memories and thoughts, most likely tuckering her out for each passing day. And now when she finally had the chance to let out some steam, it all broke loose way too fast. She would sleep well tonight, that was for sure.

Thus, Red smiled and forgot about the psychological facts for a moment. He was after all lying on a desk covered in torture tools after a hot session of what he hoped would be something more than just 'an accident'...

It had been two days since the mission, and things had changed for Red Gear and Spectrum Slash since then. The supervising male had taken his comrade back to his house while she was asleep, making sure she was okay once he got back home and tucked her down in his bed. She was fast asleep for over twenty-four hours, finally waking up only to find Red sitting by his kitchen table, reporting that the mission was a complete success. Sure, there was the awkward moment when they finally looked at each other again without saying a word. Everything seemed obvious but still not clear at all. In the end, after several attempts to start any kind of conversation, they both decided to simply say it straight out, admitting they regretted nothing.

Piece by piece, they dared come close to each other over the table and finally do the thing both had longed for so much: having somepony to hold hooves with and nuzzle intimately. Their snouts were ever so close to each other, slowly moving towards the soft lips they both sought for. It was another thing when the brain suddenly was aware of what happened, but it didn't stop her from moving towards her goal. They connected tenderly and dared grasping each other around the head. Once they both felt the ambiance of security surround them, the full flavors from both ponies could drench their tongues and excite them in a much more tender way.

But like any couple that is on its way to become passionate, they gradually used more strength in their grips and moved in aggressive ways when going further. Suddenly, Spectrum jumped up in Red's grasp and clenched her legs around his body, forcing him to stand up on his hindlegs. Not that he felt suffocated or in discomfort, minding that he was fully allowed to support her weight by holding her buttocks in a firm grip. They moved clumsily towards the sofa, ending up with the forward mare laying on her back among the soft cushions and the stallion about to spread her hindlegs in a lustful display of mouth to cunt...

That was until the phone rang.

Red and Spectrum moved away and sighed in unison, because they knew it could be important. Thus, the red stallion silence his thirst for her love juice and got up from the sofa. Spectrum didn't know what to be more furious over, the fact that she just got blown on a muff dive or that she nearly came just by the mere thought about getting one. She turned her eyes to Red's back, observing his reaction while he answered the call. She didn't listen to what he said. She was stuck in the thought about what just nearly happened. It felt just like back at the safe house, only difference was that this didn't come close to the extreme heat she had back then. Something had awakened in her after that display of violence and death, something that brought out her innermost needs and desires. What did this and the earlier moment had in common? She still loved both of them equally...

“... right, we'll be there in ten” Red finished and put down the phone. He turned to Spectrum and explained that Trotsky's funder was supposed to meet him today for an exchange at a local warehouse. They were to set up an ambush and abduct the ponies for more information about the roots of the dissident organization.

Right when Spectrum was about to get up and declare herself ready to go, Red nearly glared at her from the distance. He explained that this was a most important missions only given to the elite forces of the Red Saddles, failing this could very well be the end of whoever was appointed the task. Spectrum didn't understand why he went so serious all of a sudden, but Red had all the best reasons to be worried...

Chapter 4

They had arrived to the scene, wearing their green jackets with pride over getting this mission. The locale they were in was a large warehouse just as they had been briefed. Red had told Spectrum to be on her guards since there were lots of open space and ladders to higher levels of the building for snipers to hide. Hundreds of both big and small boxes covered most corners of the warehouse, followed by shelves placed in a symmetrical order to form dozens of avenues so the forklifts could get around properly.

Swift moves and tempo helped them getting in place while waiting for whoever was going to make the exchange. It was moving to five minutes before the scheduled meeting, and Red took a glance from the cardboard boxes he and Spectrum hid behind.

“They are here...” he whispered and got down to the hard concrete ground again. “Let's move”.

Spectrum was to be right behind Red at all time except when engaging the targets, an order she more than happily followed. As much as she was prepared for what this job gave, she never expected to be promoted so soon. Getting jobs that adventured her life and probably the entire government she now worked for too was a little more than she had asked for. Not that she was afraid, she had just never imagined any of this happening, especially not meeting Red Gear.

He stopped behind another large crate, this one bigger than the previous one. He got up on his hindlegs and looked around the corner. He could now see the targets, but he was not satisfied about what he had been given to do. He sighed in order to tell himself it would be alright, but then glanced at Spectrum who also stood pressed to the crate, only to realize that this could be a serious challenge.

“Alright... there is a pony about your size over there with a brief case”.

“Uhu?”.

“And there is also a minotaur about three times my size guarding him...”.

“Oh”.

“Don't worry” he said and laid a hoof over her shoulder, giving her a reassuring look. “I'll distract the guard while you go for the pony. But we must be synchronized, meaning you have to move exactly at a time after I go, okay?”.

He was giving her that serious look again, but she didn't doubt about it. She trusted that Red Gear knew what he talked about and would follow his own plan perfectly. The only thing she could do was following him perfectly. And thanks to the fact that it was him she worked with... gave her all the confidence there was to get. They took another minute to plan their strategy, and soon they were both ready to get this show on the road. The most important thing was that the targets were to be taken alive. They sealed the deal with a quick smooch, then separated to each end of the crate.

“I go” Red stated and charged around the corner on all four.

Spectrum waited. She heard Red taunt the targets, soon having the minotaur chasing him through the avenues of shelves and boxes. Once she saw him and the large beast disappear, she jumped out from her hiding and scanned for the pony she was to chase down. She saw him hurrying towards the large door just a few meters away from him. Spectrum flapped out her wings, knowing she was faster in the air than on the ground. In a few seconds, she had charged through the air and thus reached the pony before he even noticed her. In a violent collision, she knocked aside the pony. In a split second she touched ground with a hindleg just to build up another momentum, then jumped at him again and used the force to deliver a punch straight into his face.

The pony was dressed in a trench coat and armed with not much more than the horn on his forehead. Spectrum understood that since he was a unicorn she had to knock him out before he could channel any magic. The handgun she had been given as standard sidearm was pulled out from her collar and a bullet was loaded into the chamber. But just as she was about to bash him in the head with the handle, she was suddenly assaulted by the very brief case she had been assigned to get. After a strong hit across her muzzle, she dropped the gun and fell on her back. The unicorn jumped her and pinned her down, staring at her like he was going for a kill. Sparks emitted from his horn.

“Move and I'll electrocute you, commie!” he shouted and pointed his horn at her. Spectrum was locked even though the unicorn wasn't that physically strong, but his horn sure hid more power than what she could see. However, she couldn't give up here, she couldn't fail Red Gear on her second and most important mission so far. By the time she understood it was hopeless to resist, she heard a clatter from the side.

A bunch of boxes blew away as Red Gear landed on the hard floor with a hard thud. He was bruised but not beaten, thus back on his hindlegs to meet his foe. Unfortunately, the minotaur he faced walked out from the mess like it was his scene, cracking his knuckles in an intimidating manner. Red waited for him to move, but was too slow once the muscular thing dashed at him. This beast was much faster than he looked and packed a punch that would send Red Gear to the ground again. Like a flash, he grabbed the green collar and held his overpowered foe up in the air, posing that he was ready to beat him to death.

“Tell me who sent you! Where is Trotsky?!” he roared with his deep voice, trying to get something out from Red, who sadly enough for them didn't plan on saying anything if it so cost him his life.

But somepony wasn't ready for that price...

Spectrum looked at the scene with wide, terrified eyes. She saw Red in the minotaur's grip, hanging like he was already dead from his collar. The loud voice demanding information that never would be told. The pressuring aura, the threat of death, such fading innocence gathered in one place for her to witness. She remembered the scene. She remembered the foals. Those foals that played outside when she was younger. Back in her days when her parents had united in their torment towards her, ending up calling her the worst of thing she could imagine before giving her the beating she never would forget. She was then thrown out after all the years of constant abuse and misery, told never to come back again. But that wasn't the end of it. She was forced to recall her past once she saw them.

The playing foals...

It was all fun and games, imitating what they had seen and heard from a game. A child's innocence to turn it into a hunt for cutie-marks. One was pinned, forced by his friends to tell them how to get their cutie-marks. Spectrum didn't see the game. She didn't see the play. She only saw her own father holding her down for her mother to look at. They laughed at her, mocked her, tortured her, abused her, and finally struck her.

They were dead...

She had barely realized what she had done before she sat in a pool of foal blood. Ripped body parts and cracked skulls surrounded her presence, showing her the work she had pulled through. Their empty eyes stared at her, blaming her for everything she had done. All that once happened in her home was her own fault. They spoke through their cold, silent lips. They still laughed at her for who she was and what she had done. In a last attempt to wrest control of the havoc in her mind, she grabs her head and screams at the top of her lungs...

From the depths of her pitch-black pupils, the monstrous being broke loose and screeched out the echoes of pain. The vibration shook off the sparkle in her eyes and replaced it with a murderous instinct. In an instant, Spectrum grasped reality again and broke free from the unicorn's grip.

He was shocked by the sudden change in her eyes, thus vulnerable for a brief second. However, he was back on track fast enough to unleash the charged electricity in his horn. What he wasn't fast enough to comprehend was that Spectrum embraced his head with her left foreleg and grabbed his horn with the other one. The charge attacked, electrified her with thousands of volt pumping through Spectrum's body. Her fetlock around the horn served as a perfect conductor, but only for so long. The unicorn was sure she'd die withing the next seconds, but he was surprised to see that she struggled without hesitation, grinning like a psychopath during the ordeal. Suddenly, he felt the pressure from her fetlock around his horn. He widened his eyes and started struggling back, understanding that he dealt with a full-fledged maniac who didn't give a damn about herself. But it was too late for him...

In a crumbling snap, the electrified horn broke in Spectrum's grasp. She held it in her hoof and relished in the painful screams from her victim. Blood squirted from his broken appendage, and even more splattered once she swung back a foreleg and punched him like a sledgehammer. Red turned his head toward the awful noise, only to suddenly see a blue pegasus dash like a bullet through the air. With littler remorse and self-preservation, she headbutted the minotaur, lucky that his large horns were on the sides, and followed his downfall by jumping at him with the horn in her grip.

He had barely any time hitting the floor once Spectrum gathered all her hatred in a single stab. The horn she had ripped off plunged into the minotaur's neck, forcing him to yell in pain and shock. The horn disappeared in his blood covered flesh and sealed his destiny by piercing his throat. As much as the magic in the horn was dead, its pointy tip served Spectrum's purpose more than well.

Red got up on his legs, fairly okay minding what he just went through. He then locked his eyes at the scene next to him. Spectrum wasn't satisfied with the impalement, on the contrary, she obeyed the urge to raise her hooves and repeatedly punch the minotaur without rest. She ravaged his face by violently crushing it with brutal strikes mauling his snout into a pulp of blood, continuing like she had all the energy in the world to massacre her victim. His life force drained away for each passing second and soon left him unable to even breathe.

This was exactly what Red feared. The mission was to bring back everypony from the exchange to the safe house, but Spectrum was on her way to ruin it by taking the minotaur's life. But it wasn't that. It was the fact that he couldn't stop her.... wouldn't stop her...

He stood silently and watched in awe at the smoking mare who used all means of excessive force to take the life in her hoof. Her talent for this job was astounding, and he couldn't help but getting turned on by it. Never before had he seen a female comrade excelling in brute force and merciless killing. What was the problem? He was supervising Spectrum Slash, and thus responsible for any of her actions. Sadly, he was unable to resist the turn-on caused by this.

In the end, Spectrum raised her hooves and finished with both of them slamming his skull one last time. Blood spurted from his crushed nostrils, staining the ruthless hooves in a display making it impossible for the murderer to deny her crime. He was dead. And she was damned well pleased with it.

“Spectrum....” she heard from her back while she got up from the dead body. She looked over her shoulder and met the eyes of her supervisor. She was aware of what she had done, so she was sure Red would tell her the sad news that this was most likely her last mission. Yet, he gave her a surprise by the look in his warm, lustful eyes. His deep breathing made it clear to her that he was turned on by the moment. She was utterly grateful she wasn't the only one...

Red closed his eyes, using all of his discipline to focus on the mission. He glanced at the pony Spectrum had knocked out. She noticed that he was quite alive, judging from the painful whimpering and protection of the the stump on his forehead. The brief case was next to him, seemingly unharmed.

“We must finish this mess. Our lives and the safety of our government are at stake...”.

Chapter 5

Cold water splashed the unicorn's face, forcing him to wake up and see his dire situation. He was instantly met by Spectrum Slash who already had taken off her jacket. She stood silently just a hoof away from the chair he was strapped to, watching his shocked expression as his eyes locked onto her. The unicorn looked around in desperation, asking himself over and over what just happened. It was not until then he realized his horn was gone, a horrifying discovery he more than happily had forgotten if possible. The room he was in had all the things he never had hoped to see, covered with different tools made for sadists when used correctly. He tensed all of his muscles and strained the leather straps. It had suddenly dawned upon him what was going on.

“So you're awake now?” Red Gear asked ironically and caught the empty bucket Spectrum tossed to him. “Good.... then maybe you can help us”.

The unicorn grit his teeth and frowned. “I'll never help you! What did you do to Steel Vault?!” he then yelled. Red smirked and put aside the bucket so he could sit back on the edge of an empty table. The question was easily answered but he needed time to skip the parts where that package of muscles nearly had him killed. A few bruises were still on his face, but he was glad the jacket hadn't sustained any damage.

“You mean your body guard? Well, he died thanks to your generous donation of a horn. Luckily for us, it will now look like you killed him even if somepony would bother to get in the way of the secret police.... which I'm sure nopony will” he chuckled at the end and gave Spectrum a glance. She was still facing the strapped victim, waiting for the signal.

The unicorn shut his eyes and breathed. He accepted the fate of his friend since he knew what he was getting into. However, he simply couldn't forgive them for killing him. He had now decided to resist anything they would throw at him, endure and let himself be killed before he'd say something. Once he looked at Red again, he glared with all the hatred he could summon. Red raised an eyebrow.

“I take it by the look in your eyes that you won't cooperate very well. Like, for example, tell us the combination to the lock on your brief case?” he stated and pulled out the mentioned brief case from beneath the table and laid it on his lap. “Tell us the combination and you can leave”.

“Buck you!”.

“Very original. Spectrum?”.

And that was the signal for her. She had already planned what to start with. No silly attempts to make him talk, that was Red's job. He had insisted that she took the lead this time and used any means to loose the unicorn's tongue. Of course, he was to be able to talk, in other words nothing involving throat or vocal cords. Other than that, she was free to do whatever came natural. In all secrecy, Red Gear had taken the opportunity to watch Spectrum ravage another living being again. That raging hard-on he had forced himself to hold back was exactly what he wanted to feel again.

Spectrum proceeded directly to the table with the unicorn staring at the back of her head. She looked around and finally saw what she needed. A thin knife with an extremely sharp edge, perfect for what she had in mind. But suddenly she laid her eyes on something much more interesting. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she reached for the heavy tool.

The victim widened his eyes in worry, but Red simply raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. What was Spectrum planning with that electric drill?

She walked back with her tool of choice and got up on her hindlegs, taking the drill in her right hoof while the other one took a sturdy grip around the unicorn's head. She flipped the switch, causing the drill to buzz audibly as she moved intimidatingly close to the stump of his horn. A sinister grin decorated her face as the spinning tip licked the broken surface.

A scream so loud you couldn't imagine it being caused by anything else than extreme pain filled the room. Loose crumbles of the stump fell off and dust sprayed at first, but the blood started splattering within seconds once she had cracked the surface. A messy display of blood and horn dust stained Spectrum's face as the drill moved deeper towards his skull. No magic could venture through the horn, only excruciating pain and agony. The unicorn screamed and struggled for his life, unable to hold back the tears due to the knowledge of how close the drill was to his brain now. The physical feeling of having a large hole in the remains of his horn didn't settle his mind either. It was wide enough to fit a straw in it now, a fact Spectrum ignored. Sure, she could have brought some lemons and poured it down in the finely shaped orifice, but she was excited to try something else. The rush of sadism had only started in her head.

Red nodded his head, impressed with the decision to go for the old wounds. It had started out good, and it would hopefully improve by each passing event, or at least that was what he hopped for. But for now he had to stick to his mission.

“We are aware that this brief case contains vital information about the dissident group. At first we wanted to open it, but I know this model. It's reinforced and has a booby trap that springs when you try to force it open, causing a small detonation capable of destroying its content. So we need the combination...”.

The unicorn hesitated for a second, incapable to envisage the pain he suffered. He had made a fool of himself. This pain was so much more than he expected it to be. By the looks of it, this was only the beginning. The mare who had caused him this had put back the drill where she found it and was already occupied with the search for her tool. He gave up. They wouldn't quit until he told them the combination. If he did he could also just send a message that his allies had to move from their current location. And to be honest... he didn't want to die.

“Okay... o-okay, I'll tell...ghnn... I'll tell you” he groaned due to the pain, suffering an agonizing nightmare just by the feeling of blood pouring down from his forehead.

Red blinked. Was it already over? Did it only take that much to make him talk? A little disappointing, really. He had looked forward to see Spectrum torture this unicorn until he hardly could talk anymore. However, the mission was first at hoof. Thus, he sighed and told Spectrum to hold on for just a moment.

“6....1....8” he said between the gasps. Red rolled up the three numbers and gave the unicorn a serious look.

“And?”.

“That's all I know” he said with a grain of satisfaction. He spoke the truth, he had only been given half of the code, the part he was to tell the receiver of the brief case. They could do whatever they want to him now, he would only insist that he didn't know anything else. Red smiled.

“You thought you were so clever now, huh?” he said and, to the unicorn's great shock, flipped up the three other numbers. With a click, the brief case opened without setting off anything. The visible trap on the inside of the brief case was untouched and now easily removed by Red Gear's careful hooves.

“Wha... WHAT THE BUCK?!” the unicorn yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Too bad for you that mister Trotsky was so helpful with the information we needed to even give us a random set of numbers that was half the password to this brief case” he explained without spoiling what he had done even though it was obvious. The unicorn opened his mouth without making any noise. Red met him with a kind smile. “Thank you for your 'cooperation'. If you just had done what we said from the beginning, it didn't have to end like this”.

He was aware that was not the entire truth, but the orders said that the dissidents were to be disposed off in a way they found appropriate. And minding that Red still had some cravings for violence...

“Take care of him while I check the content, Spectrum” he said and sat down with the brief case.

The mentioned one brought up the knife she held earlier and approached her victim again. He begged for mercy even when she grabbed his jaw and flipped up the knife in her grip. She forced his mouth wide-open as she stabbed his cheek. The screams and splatters of blood returned, covering Spectrum's hooves. She wasn't done. Anypony could stab a cheek and walk away with it, but she demanded more of it. This fine little idea she had worked on was too inviting to be skipped.

She turned the knife, gored up and twisted the impaled cheek. The thin blade tore out pieces of flesh and enough blood to cover all of the unicorn's teeth. He struggled for his life and screamed. The harsh reality of his mortality came with a most terrifying insight, showing just how easily constructed his body was and why it was even easier to just tear I apart.

A slight glance from the brief case gave Red the image he wanted. He was however not as impressed as he hoped for when he saw the preparation for a Chelsea grin. But once again, he was surprised by his new comrade. Spectrum didn't slice his cheek open as he expected. Instead she pulled out the knife and proceeded to stab the other one the same way, carefully carving up a small hole in all the flesh and blood. Then, she suddenly threw away the knife and dashed over to some of the tables with drawers beneath them. One after another was opened until she found the perfect piece of material she needed.

Red lost focus on the brief case and stared at the barbed wire Spectrum had in her hooves. He knew it was used to wrap up ponies and thus causing significant pain, but what he didn't know was Spectrum's true intentions with the dangerous wire.

The strapped unicorn trembled in pain and mental suffering. All this blood in his mouth brought out the worst imaginations from his mind, giving him a good dose of fear the moments before Spectrum grabbed his jaw again and forced it down. The reflection in his eyes showed the barbed wire getting carefully untangled from the blue hooves. It hurt clenching the barbs in her grip, but she knew the pleasure in her next step would compensate for it. She forced the wire in through the newly formed hole. The barbs cut up his cheek in a most agonizing way, rippling through his mouth and piercing the other hole as well. She let go off his jaw and grabbed the end that just came out, pulled out a little more and then started pulling the wire back and forth.

Red almost grimaced. The pure sadism in each rip radiated so much blood thirst that he didn't know where to place it. The unicorn screamed so loud that it hurt his own ears. He couldn't bite, knowing his teeth would get shredded from the gum and thus cause even more grievous ache. Spectrum was like possessed, intent to kill this pony slowly. She enjoyed watching every inch of the victim's flesh bulging and giving in to the brute force, moving towards his mouth in such a slow and sweet pace. In the end, she had shredded all the way to his lips, thus using all of her force to finally slice open the messy Chelsea Grin she had worked on for a while. The wire was completely covered in blood and pieces of flesh, dripping it over her hindlegs.

The victim simply sat still in terror. His wide, disfigured grin leaked blood and revealed most of his teeth in a gruesome display. He couldn't dream himself away from this, the reality was too real. He just wanted to go home...

In a flash, Spectrum smiled from the bottom of her murderous heart and struck the unicorn in his face. The brutal punch damaged his gums, the second one loosened the teeth, and the third one displaced some of them. Once the fourth and all the others assaulted him, teeth and blood splattered the chair and more of Spectrum's body. She got it in her hair and on the muzzle, continuously covering more and more of her in the slaughter. The endless blows didn't stop, nor did her will to continue.

The life in her hooves seeped away so slowly. The light in the unicorn's eyes died, slipped away to never exist again. The strength in her punches took it, they killed his fragile life and proved how weak it was. What once lived and breathed on the same earth as she did... was dying. She brought his life to the edge of death, and she longed for the moment to push him over it. For each punch she delivered, her own pain subsided and let loose a relishing feeling in her system. She felt the power, the strength to do as she pleased. It overjoyed her, brought her the happiness she always wanted. It was in her grasp, and noting would take it away from her ever again.

By the time she felt the tire in her forelegs, the unicorn's jaw had been punched clean off, the skull had been disfigured and his neck had snapped due to the constant strain from each punch. He was dead by far, and probably unrecognizable to anypony who knew him.

She looked at her hooves, astonished by the incredible relief she just went through. The exquisite taste of some other pony's blood in her mouth. The sate of her thirst was so engulfing that she couldn't find the words to describe it. As she turned to Red Gear, she saw a frozen pony consumed by his own lust. He had scratched the table in sexual frustration, wandered on the thin line between holding himself back and falling into the basic instincts of need.

She licked her blood stained lips with an alluring smile.

And that was it for Red Gear...

In a sexual rage, he leaped over the table and dashed at Spectrum. To his great amusement, she instantly ran towards the stairs leading out from the room. She reached the door and flew it open, entering the regular living room that nopony had used for a long time. The safe house was a regular looking home aside from the reinforced door leading to the interrogation room she just came from. In the next moment, she managed to take a single step before she was violently overpowered by the red stallion that had chased her the short way here. The thrill of being hunted by somepony who wanted you so badly was a whole different thing than being chased by ponies who wanted you for the crimes you had committed. And by that, she was more than glad to feel his weight on top of her.

Red tore of his jacket, for once ignoring if he damaged it. He then grabbed her hips and brought her closer to his throbbing stallionhood that screamed for her. Spectrum couldn't stop smiling, she loved the clumsy strokes on her wet labia, and then let out a most pleasurable moan once she felt the passionate penetration. She was so wet that her inner walls barely made any resistance when letting him in. His hard flesh went deeper and deeper inside her, ending up stuffing her full of cock and ecstasy.

Her flesh convulsed and squeezed Red's member, sending strong signals of pleasure to his brain. He had no control of his body for the moment. Right now he just had to mate with this mare if it so cost him everything he had. Not that he had much to pay, minding the mission was a success. And as much as relationship between agents weren't a recommended thing within the KGB, he simply didn't care anymore.

Spectrum didn't shoot back her hips, Red was doing a proper job slamming her behind with each thrust. His fitting stallionhood slid in and out, massaging her sweetest spots and widening her horizons of pleasure like a harbinger of innocence. This extreme feeling of having somepony you wanted more than anything was enough to bring her climax, and that her partner was passionate brought a spice that would force her to roll back her eyes in enjoyment. She clawed her hooves to the wooden floor and squeezed out her maximal satisfaction with a loud moan. Love juice poured out from her cunt and drenched Red's member. He shivered with excitement, imagining the taste of it on his tongue. This delicious nectar had to be in his mouth soon, else he would go mad and come already. He didn't want that to happen just yet, this was too good to end so soon.

He mustered additional strength and penetrated Spectrum balls deep, jerking her body as some saliva dripped from her lips and mixed with the stains of blood from her victim. Red then pulled himself out, splattering female cum all over the floor and turning the giggling mare around so he could see her on her back. She expected him to just change position, but he had a much more interesting thing in mind. He clenched his hooves around her thighs and spread them, revealing the warm flower drowning in nectar. His hunger brought out the beast, his need forced him to drink, nothing stood in his way to drag his tongue all over the tasty cunt he had wanted to feel.

Spectrum jumped as Red dived his mouth into the treat, jolts of excitement raped her mind in overwhelming waves that instantly sent her to a shock.

“Ooohhhh, shit! Ahh.... aaahhh! How... hah... what are yo-AAHHHH!” she yelled between the moans. This hadn't been the first time somepony had gone down on her, but this was most certainly the first time somepony made it feel like a ferocious beast mauled her marehood in a crazy scavenge for what was past her labia. Red's tongue flickered her pearl rapidly, drawing the alphabet with swift moves, painting the image of her sweet, sweet orgasm. Spectrum flailed her forelegs and jerked her thighs, finding it impossible to think about anything else than that tongue spreading her labia. She instinctively started thrusting, shaping the image of Red's cock being inside her again. Her eyes opened wide together with her mouth, and she came once again.... and again.

Red shut his eyes as the squirts of sticky cum filled his mouth. The warm nectar drowned his teeth and completely covered the tongue that had blessed him with this wonderful scenario. He gathered all of it that didn't hit his cheeks and chin and swallowed it audibly, a sound Spectrum loved to hear. She was sure he wouldn't continue now that he had received two orgasms from her in a row...

That was until he shot his tongue inside her. She couldn't understand why she still was so turned on and even less why she still felt so sensitive down there when it should be nearly numb. Red knew what he was doing. If he wanted his pussy juice, he would get it. He pierced her tight hole and rolled his agile tongue within the tight walls. She screamed her pleasure like it was killing her in a good way. Not that she knew how that was, but she knew deep within her that she could die happy now. With Red between her hindlegs, she didn't want anything else that what happened right now.

Uninterrupted swirls and twists brought out sweet vibrations through her soaked walls of pleasured flesh. She squeezed him, milking his tongue like it was the very stallionhood she recently had inside her. Red enjoyed it just as much as she did, if actually not more. This perfect fragrance of a mare in her mating session, spilling warm nectar right into his mouth. Whether orgasm or just love juice, he wanted more of it. He wanted to smear it all over his face and rub his stallionhood in it again, feel the incredible source of excitement in this very glorious liquid. He didn't plan on stopping, not even when Spectrum came for the fourth time. He just sucked it all up and gulped it down like the greedy beast he had turned into.

“Please....p-please... no more” she panted and grabbed his head with her fore hooves. “I'm gonna... hah... faint soon... hee hee”.

Red leaned up from the sore marehood and looked her in the eyes, chuckling back when understood what she meant. It was a little funny, but even more satisfying to hear that he hadn't lost his touch. He was about to ask what she wanted to do now when he had gotten what he wanted. Of course, he hadn't cum yet, but that was of little importance right now. However, he wasn't fast enough to ask, thus heavily overpowered by the mare who now wanted to practice her own fetish. She jumped at him and knocked him down on his back, leaving him vulnerable for her fetlock around his member and her tongue on his hind hooves. Red wasn't prepared for this, but none the less pleased by the gentle strokes on his erection.

Spectrum focused directly at Red's lower hoof, opening her mouth wide to get the whole thing inside her. She sucked hard and tried to move her squeezed tongue around as much as possible. Even though it now was crammed in her mouth due to the hoof, she didn't want to pull it out. Her need for it was way more than she could control, thus given all the attention it wanted. At first she was worried that Red would think she was weird just because not too many mares were into hoof fetishes, but once she opened her eyes and look at Red's face, she saw his amazed look on her. He didn't know what to say, jammed in the unexpectedly exciting surprise. He had never considered hoof fetishes, but now he knew that it wasn't so bad at all. In fact, the combination of jerking his dick off and sucking his hoof was a sensation he could get used to, but also way more exciting than he thought it'd be.

Spectrum groaned. She was so joyed to know she had found somepony who appreciated her fetish. She was actually so glad that she wanted to show her appreciation she knew every stallion loved. Thus, she let go off Red's now sticky hoof and decided to do something she never had given anypony before.

“Whew... that was ni- HOLY BUCKING SHIT!” he yelled and dropped his head to the floor. Spectrum had his cock in her mouth. She was embarrassed since it was her first time doing it, so she wasn't sure if she did a good job. Of course, listening to Red's sudden attack of gasps and noticing his extreme twitches like he was being electrocuted tipped her off that she wasn't doing a half bad job. Her head bobbed up and down along the shaft and covered it in rich saliva. The whole act was getting on personality, so she decided to suck as hard as she could on the tip and jerking him off again, only this time using all of her strength in it. Red grit his teeth to hold back the orgasm, cursing himself for trying to think about something else. He grabbed her head and tensed all of his muscles, enjoying the painfully sweet ecstasy until he felt it was going overboard.

He quickly pushed away Spectrum down on her back again, only this time taking control again by throwing himself over her and instantly guiding his dick inside her cunt again. It had taken too much on him now. The orgasm was soon impossible to hold back and he wanted her more than ever. Spectrum was there too. She had waited for him to cum, but he had proven to be way more persistent than that. But now was the time to go for the last move, so she spread her hindlegs and let him have his way with her.

Red shoved himself deep inside her, sending her through another highway of pleasure with his thrusting. He snorted for each slam and soon let his stomach touch hers. Spectrum embraced him with a foreleg and let the other one reach for his cutie-mark, massaging it carefully with a squeeze every now and then. She let him take her with all of his might and leave nothing but a numb, pleasured mare drenched in ecstasy.

“Yes, Red! Yes... feels so good.... feels so... hnnn.... good!” she moaned and answered his thrusts with her own towards him. Red laid down completely on Spectrum so he could reach down to her own cutie-marks. Now they mated lustfully while massaging each others signs of talent, sharing passionate kisses in which they both wandered deep into the opposite mouth.

Spectrum was gone in the thick mist of pleasure. Red's cock pulled out almost all the way and then went balls deep again and again, tensing her body enough to produce one last orgasm before she would finally lay limp on the floor. Red was on his border too, just a few seconds from losing the last wall in his mental defense. Spectrum moaned rapidly in a high pitch. She had never gone this far in number of orgasms, so now she couldn't hide the excitement from getting her fifth and best climax so far. The sweet noises gave Red his last kick to let it all go. His sweat poured, his muscles cramped, and his dick was filled to the brim with will.

A giant ocean of fire lit up their minds, drained the heat in a tornado of chills and cooled it down to a thick layer of ecstasy. Everything cracked in an explosion of immeasurable power, sending both mating lovers into a rage of heat that combusted their souls into one being. Suddenly, they embraced each other around the waists and screamed out the final moan.

A gush of semen rushed from Red's stallionhood and filled Spectrum's inside at the same moment her own orgasm met his. All of it first entered her womb, then overflowed and filled her tight inner walls only to finally splatter from her cunt in a perverted, filthy show of mating. Their climaxes had united and now poured from the blue mare's marehood. She absolutely loved it, just like Red did. They never let go of each other, not even when the cum slowly dried on their bodies together with all the blood...

Hours later, way past the shower they had taken together, when Luna's night had taken over the sky and bathed Moosecow in a healthy glow of lunar light, Red Gear and Spectrum Slash laid in the bedroom of the safe house. They had taken time cleaning up the mess and disposed the body of the pony that had been in the interrogation room. The mission had been a success, that was what commander Polkan had told them through a call. They had been given the rest of the day off and told to keep a low profile until further notice. An order they more than happily obliged to.

Now they spooned in the bed, resting comfortably under the warm blanket. Red had his hoof over Spectrum's cutie-mark, moving it smoothly just to remind himself of the nice feeling. The mare looked into the corner of her eyes, seeking contact with words she had wanted to say since the end of their lovemaking.

“Red?”.

He was still awake.

“Yeah?”.

“Thank you”.

“For what?” he asked curiously. Spectrum didn't hesitate. She didn't feel the need for it in Red's presence.

“For everything. I never imagined that we would meet a that bar in Ponyville, nor any of this happening. It feels like... I've found my reason to live now. And it's all thanks to you”.

There was a blush on her cheeks. Red smirked, agreeing that all of this felt unreal. He was grateful too, knowing this was probably the first and last mare he ever would fall in love with... for real. Thus, he leaned over her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. He had something to say too,

“Spectrum?”.

“Yeah?”.

He licked her cheek.

“I love you”.

She turned her head and looked into his eyes. Silence. Then a smile drenched in tears.

“Love you too” she managed to say before she had to turn around to him and embrace this wonderful pony. “Me too....”.

Epilog

The harsh winds blew through Spectrum's mane. Winter had roamed this place for a few months now and the chilling winds filled with snow would in most cases bothered her. This sight in front of the house she looked at and the ponies she could see inside through the windows was nothing new. The elder male brought the bottle of strong cider to his mouth, soon tossing it away without caring the slightest. Through the other window she saw an elder mare staring angrily at the stallion, holding a bottle of her own that was empty. Spectrum had seen this before. She had seen it up close and from a distance. Not even the weather wanted it, the strong winds told about the truth that this home was not welcome.

It was her old home and parents.

She glanced over her shoulder covered by the warm winter jacket she had been given. Behind her she saw the red stallion waiting in the stormy wind. He didn't say anything, everything had already been said. He had asked her if she was sure about this so many times that he didn't doubt her anymore. She turned back to the house and took her first step towards it. She had reached the door. She got up on her hindlegs. She pulled out the gun from her collar....

Red stared in silence as the door opened carefully. At first there was nothing but the sound of cold breezes in the wind. He didn't have time to get used to it, because soon he saw the stallion through the window raising his head, right before a gunshot cracked the air and the window got covered in scarlet splatter. A ruckus broke out, and soon the elder mare ran out from the house, screaming in fear as she rushed towards Red. She was panicked and couldn't say anything coherent.

Another gunshot, and the mare fell to the snow-covered ground.

Red watched as the wounded pony tried to crawl away, refusing to die while Spectrum walked up behind her. The mare turned around and looked in horror at the pony holding the gun. She looked deep into her daughter's eyes, then faced the barrel.

A last shot, and Red saw the mare's foreleg fall limp to the ground.

Spectrum lowered the gun and looked at Red. Their eyes met just like they had done so many times before. She put away the gun and walked past him, hoping he would follow her soon so she didn't have to stay here another second. The stallion followed her with his eyes until she was way past him. He then gave the corpse another look and took up his walkie-talkie.

“We have a tragic case here in Stalliongrad. Judging from the looks of it, a husband killed his wife shortly before committing suicide. Send somepony to clean it up at my coordinates...”.

The end

Author's Note

ALLOW ME TO SAY THIS...
I didn't put the word “commission” in this story's title just because I'm afraid people will judge me as a communist. In fact, I don't have any political nor religious opinions at all. Just don't shove it in my face and you can do whatever you feel like with it. Anyhow, this was a commission for a good friend of mine, and I don't judge him because of his political opinions. All I cared about was that I didn't fail him when he asked me for this. As a GOOD FRIEND like every other brony should be.

Now back to what I wanted to say ^^
A lot of you who follow me have asked when I will update “Ponyville's Lusts” and “Whorse!”, so let me explain by saying that this is what has kept them away. This commission took me way longer than I expected it to take, but at least it is finished. So now I can go back to my old work and try use my new way of working to get things done.

In case any of you wonders, this commission cost 15 dollar, resulting in 21000+ words. I'll happily take any commissions as soon as I get time for it, but until then, everyone is free to send me their ideas and I can tell that I will answer all of them.

Brohoof on ya all!