The Darkest of Souls

(Music listened to while writing this, 'Move Bitch' by Ludacris, 'All I do is Win' by DJ Khalid and 'Daddy Discord' by dBPony. If you choose to listen to the music while reading, then enjoy, if not, then enjoy quietly :twilightsmile:)

Chapter 3: Doesn’t Add Up

The next morning, Keen woke up in his home finally. His first night back home in a long time. He got up, put a cigarette and lit it. After taking a big drag and letting the smoked rush past his lips, he stretched himself out and his memories of yesterday came back to him. “Oh yea, that,” Keen whispered to himself. After stretching some more and getting dressed, he started walking out the door when he looked at the calendar. Today was Thursday. “Fuck!” he exclaimed as he rushed out the door. He went down to the barracks cafeteria to grab a quick breakfast when he ran into Issac. The aged guard turned to him and smiled.

“Good morning sir, how are you this morning?” he greeted like he normally did. Keen smirked quickly before forming his usual harsh frown, cigarette still in his mouth.

“I’m fine, I just didn’t know today was thursday,” Keen said to him as he cut the whole line all the way to the front. Everyone he passed didn’t say a word or even looked at him, knowing what might happen if they did. As Keen passed one guard, he put his cigarette out in his water.

“Yes it is, Sir. Shall I tell ‘them’ to get ready?” Issac asked, making sure Keen knew who ‘they’ were.

“Where are ‘they’?” Keen asked annoyed as he grabbed all the best things in the lines and a lot of it.

“They’re in my room. I was grabbing some breakfast for them, but they are ready when you are,” Issac explained. Keen ‘hmph’ to the thought of them, their cute little stares and innocence pissed him off so much he wanted to strangle someone, or just give them a good punch to the face. Keen turned to one of the guards in the line and grabbed a hold of one and pulled him out of the line, socking him straight in the face with all his strength, knocking him clean out.

“Much better,” Keen stated as he walked off to sit down with his tray of food, leaving the unconscious guard on the floor. Keen sat down with Issac following suit and the guards sitting there jumped out of their seats to sit far away from him. Keen took one of the brahmin steaks and took a big bite out of it.“Alright, start spreading the word about them, no need to keep them a secret. I will be bringing them out and test them one by one to see if there is some use for them. They’re smaller than I thought they would be,” Keen explained.

“I was surprised to sir. I will tell them about the test, but their is something you should know sir,” Issac started. Keen glared at him, waiting to hear what he had to say. “Don’t test them as ponies, test them as humans,” Issac explained. Keen raised an eyebrow in question as he said that, then bursted out laughing.

“You want me to treat them as humans?! HAHAHAHAHA, that’s hilarious!” Keen blurted out as he started laughing like a maniac. After a few moments, he took off his goggles to rub a few tears away, keeping his eyes closed, and put them back on, turning back to Issac who kept his face stern the whole time. Keen chuckled a bit more seeing it. “What, are you serious?” he asked slightly confused but still chuckling. He looked around and saw that some of the guards were staring. “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT!” Keen yelled out in a threatening tone and they all turned away. “Hmph, that’s what I thought,” he said to himself, turning back to Issac.

“Yes, I am serious. They are not what you make them out to be. They can do human things. Hell, they can even hold a rifle!” Issac said excitedly. Keen raised an eyebrow again, this time in curiosity.

“Really?” he asked in disbelief. Issac smiled in a cocky smile.

“Hell, I bet my position that you are gonna be impressed with them,” he said, holding his wrinkled cocky smile. Keen finished up his meal and taking another cigarette out and putting it in his mouth, returning the smile.

“So, you would put that much on the line on some group of ponies? You’re fucking crazy old man,” Keen stated, patting his pockets for his matches.

“That may be true, but I know what they are capable of, and you see them as weaklings. I have the advantage here,” Issac explained. Keen finished patting his pockets down till he realized that they were in his room. He looked at a guard across the room smoking and walked up to him.

“You!” Keen called out in a booming voice, the whole room went dead silent. The guard in question turned to see Keen’s icy stare. He stood straight up and still. Keen walked up to him till he was right in front of him.

“Got a light?” Keen asked calmly. The guard was confused for a split second and pulled his lighter out, handing it to him. Keen grabbed it and lit his smoke, handing it right back to him. “Thanks,” he said quickly and started walking back, leaving the guard standing there confused.

“I expected a different kind of confrontation,” Issac said as Keen sat back down, taking a long drag from his cigarette. “And when did you start smoking?” he added.

“Back in New Vagas. It was a total shit storm there. Conditions were worse than I thought and I ended up smoking just to keep myself from shooting my men,” Keen explained.

“What happened out there? For once you looked like you saw the gates of hell or something,” Issac asked with curiosity. Keen took a slow drag from his cigarette and looked into his eyes.

“A story for another time. For now, I just want to focus on those dame ponies and get it over with,” Keen said with annoyance in his voice.

“I’ll get them ready then, give them a few minutes to eat,” Issac asked politely as he started getting up.

“Fine, I will be up there soon,” Keen declared, smoking his cigarette. Issac quickly bowed and left with the large tray of food. Keen looked at the remains of his food and felt full.

“Grabbed too much again,” he whispered. He looked around and found a guard finished his meal. He got up and walked to him, carrying his tray over with him. When he got close the other guards pointed over and they all got up. “At ease,” Keen quickly said. They all sat back down but kept their eyes on him. “I am full, you want this?” Keen asked with his cigarette in his mouth, handing the tray to him. The guard hesitated but took the tray and placed it gently on the table.

“Are you sure boss?” he asked hesitantly.

“Waist not, right? Now dig down,” Keen said with a smile.

“Don’t you mean dig up, boss?” the guard questioned confused. Keen’s smile changed from friendly to sinister.

“Nope,” was all he said as he launched his right hand to the back of the guard’s head and slammed his face into the tray with a loud BANG! Everyone turned over to the noise as Keen dusted off his hands. “Enjoy,” he instructed as he walked off. After a few minutes Keen walked up the stairs to Issac’s room. Once there, he walked up and opened the door, not even bothering to knock. When he opened the door, he was greeted by the light of the sun coming from the windows, blinding him for a moment. When his eyes adjusted, the six ponies were all ready and look as if they have been waiting for him.

“Hello sir. They are ready for you,” Issac said, leaning against the wall and looking over to Keen with a confident smile on his face. Keen finished his cigarette and flicked it out the window.

“So, they are ready? Good, then listen up!” Keen instructed, his voice booming with authority. The six ponies’ ears perked up and listened closely as Keen spoke. “Alright, this is how it’s gonna work. I will take you of you guys out one at a time. I will test you in every way, shape, and form. Now Issac told me to test you as I would any normal human, so that’s what I am gonna do. Human testing would include shooting range, hand-to-hand combat, observation/investigation fieldwork, and lab work. If there is something you actually wish to try out for that is not listed like medic, team leader, chef, blah blah blah. Anyway, if there is something you want, just ask for it.We all have our part to play. Everyone here does, even eight year olds have duties here,” Keen explained with a stern look on his face. Twilight raised her hoof. “What is it?” Keen asked roughly.

“Well sir, you said any position we want we have to ask for if we want to try it out, but we don’t know what is available to us or what they are. Is it possible to get a list of what all the job possibilities are and what we can expect from the job itself?” Twilight asked innocently. Keen’s jaw dropped for a second and then he went back to stern.

“Look, smart ass. I am not gonna stand here and explain every single opening to you. Ask Issac about it, he knows everything that I do,” Keen explained. Twilight nodded.

“Understandable sir, I will ask him about that later then,” she replied. Keen cleared his throat and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.

“Now, I have your names here and I am just gonna go down the list in the order it is listed here. I will go through you one a day, if you pass and their is something that you are good at that can benefit me in some way, you will be able to start paying me back for the caps it took to raise you six. If you fail and you can not do anything useful, I will kill you, a shotgun shell straight through the crandilum,” Keen explained with a threatening tone.

“Cranium, sir,” Twilight spoke up. Keen glared at her.

“Shut up!” he barked back. He cleared his throat again and looked down to the list. “Alright, we will do this tomorrow. You may travel around the town now, I mean they will have to know about you soon anyway. You may leave this room but you must be escorted by Issac at all times. You may never leave his side, is that understood?” Keen asked harshly.

“Yes sir!” They all barked back at once, giving a crisp salute. Keen looked back up at them and chuckled slightly and looked back down at the list.

"First up will be Pinkie Pie," Keen stated calmly.

“YAAA!!!” she called out jumping into the air in excitement. Keen glared her down.

“SHUT UP!” Keen yelled. Pinkie Pie stopped and sat back down.

“Sorry,” she said as she calmed down.

“Anyway, so go ahead and do what you need to to get ready, I do not plan on going easy on any of you. So remember that,” Keen declared. He folded up the piece of paper and put it in his pocket and started walking out.

“So, they may leave as long as I am with them?” Issac asked. Keen gave out an annoyed sigh as he stopped and turned back to him, glaring at him.

‘That’s what I just said. Get your hearing checked old man,” he said as he walked out the door and slammed the door.

“He isn’t quite a gentleman now is he?” Rarity pointed out sarcastically.

“He is a little bit of a grumpy pants, but I am sure he just needs a good party!” Pinkie Pie declared as she jumped around the room cheerfully.

“Yea, he is a bit mean, but I am sure he’ll warm up to you guys, just give him time,” Issac explained hopeful.

“B-b-but what about the t-tests? I mean, I don’t know i-if I can do anything useful,” Fluttershy whispered quietly as she lowered her head. Rainbow Dash flew to her side and placed a hoof around her shoulder.

“Relax Fluttershy, We so got this in the bag. I know I am gonna beat his stupid tests in ten seconds flat!” she declared, flexing her muscles to show them off.

“That’s the spirit Rainbow Dash! You all can do this, I just know it!” Issac joined in with her, putting his fist out in front of her, which she placed her hoof up to connect to his fist.

“How can you be so sure? I mean he really seems like he wants us to fail,” Twilight asked with doubt in her voice. Issac took a knee in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking her right into her purple eyes.

“I know you guys can do this, and I know Keen. He is stubborn but I know that he won’t be able to deny your guys skill, just trust me,” Issac explained with a confident smile. Twilight nodded back, returning the smile.

“So, what are we up against? Ah reckon we should study up what we’re gonna be going through,” Applejack asked Issac. He smiled and stood back up, leaning on a wall.

“I have been training you girls exactly for this day. I will still tell you, but trust me, you girls have already passed, now Keen just needs to realize it,” he explained as he looked out the window. “Where have the years gone. It felt like it was yesterday when I first started serving the Eye family,” Issac said quietly to himself.

“What happened?” Pinkie Pie asked. When Issac looked back to her and then to the other five, they were all looking at him concerned. He smiled as he looked back out, taking out a cigarette and putting it in his mouth.

“That is a long story without an ending,” Issac replied, looking for his lighter. When he looked to his right, he saw his lighter floating with a purple aura around it. He turned to Twilight who had a sympathetic smile on her face. He smiled as he leaned forward, the lighter sparkle to life as a little flame sprouted out and danced around. He ignited his cigarette and the flame died right away. “Thanks Twilight,” he said with a small smile on his face.

“Of course, just try to cut down a bit. With your age, smoking is very hazardous to your health and can shorten your life spane by a couple of years,” Twilight explained. Issac chuckled to himself.

“I know that, but thank you for caring,” he replied.

“So why is his story neverending?” Rarity asked curiously.

“I didn’t say it was neverending, I said it doesn’t end. At least not yet. I’ll tell you one day, but for now, let me show you around since you are allowed,” Issac said, changing the subject, they all got excited as they got ready to leave. “Now as a warning, you will be getting a lot of stares, so try not to pay much attention to it, alright?” Issac warned.

“Ok,” they replied. With a smile Issac opened the door and lead them down the stairs.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Keen looked through his paperwork as he sipped his whiskey. “This isn’t right, the migration study says they should be leaving the area around this time, why am I getting reports of increased activity?” Keen asked confused. He looked through his paperwork again and got up to pull some more out, scanning through it, looking for certain ones. “No, no, no, no, yes!” he said, talking to himself. He scanned through it quickly, looking for a certain report now. “July 18  2274 1:09 pm, the super mutants population dropped 83% as they have appeared to have just up and left,” Keen read out loud. A buzzer sound from his desk.

“Sir, I found those reports you wanted, shall I bring them up?” asked the voice from the buzzer. Keen looked at it stupidly and pressed the button to speak back to him.

“Well yea, Kalvin. Why the fuck are you asking permission you fucking idiot?!” Keen yelled out harshly.

“Well boss, you told me to,” Kalvin replied. Keen thought for a moment and remembered telling him that.

“Right, uh, come on up then,” Keen finished, going back to his reading.

“Right away sir!” the voice replied back and the other side then fell quiet. Keen continued reading where he left off.

“‘July 19 2275 8:21 am, the super mutant population dropped by 77%. All traces of the larger groups seemed to have disappeared without a trace. Recommending a thorough background search on the event.’ Again it has happened. same month almost same day, what the hell?!” Keen said to himself as he dug around for more reports. as he pulled another one out and scanned through it, he found the piece he wanted. “‘July 19 2276 4:33 pm, a large group of super mutants consisting numbers around 60-150 charged through the old church outpost near Big Town. Reports state that they stood no chance and were over run with in seconds upon arrival. Requesting information on anomaly for future confrontation.’ What the hell, that is to the north east of D.C. What the hell is such a large group doing outside of the city?!” Keen continued to question himself. “‘ July 16 2277 4:20 am, all signs of super mutants have completely ceased. Last sighting was April 28, 2276 at 12:33 pm. A search through the wastelands and in D.C has confirmed that they are no longer a problem. Party has been scheduled for July 29 2277 all day event. Looking forward to getting wasted.’ Why the hell would you put that?! God I hate my men, but I know for a fact that whenever you think you take down a group of super mutants, there is always that one that you missed that shoots you in the back. Did they really take them out, or are they just jumping the gun here, but this all sounds so familiar, I wonder if-” Keen started on his thought when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Keen raised his new SMG at the door. “Come in,” he called out. The door opened and Kalvin came in, staring at the gun.

“It is good to see you haven’t lost your touch,” Kalvin pointed out with a small smile. Kalvin was a much younger guard around the age of 24 who was bought from a slave trader. Keen bought him when he was seven due to the fact that he was much stronger than the other kids his age, he showed promise. When the trade went bad, Kalvin pick pocketed a gun from one of the traders and shot them. Kalvin saved Keen’s life, and in return, Keen brought him over to his town, making him a guard and trained him personally. Once he hit 16, Keen made him one of his personal bodyguards. Kalvin was around 5ft 9in and very toned. He didn’t look like much, but he could take on a super mutant by himself with his bare hands. He had dirty blond hair that went down to his shoulders and a faint mustache with brown eyes. Keen lowered his gun.

“Why would I have? Now let me see those reports!” Keen ordered. Kalvin scanned through them quickly as he flipped a paper over every 15 seconds.

“So, why are you so interested in our killstreak all of a sudden, boss? Scared we beat your record?” Kalvin asked playfully.

“Can it, kid! This is serious,” Keen barked back. Kalvin snapped to attention and stood straight up and still.

“Sorry sir, it won’t happen again sir!” Kalvin exclaimed like a true soldier. Keen scanned through the paper work and his eyebrows narrowed.

“782 super mutants were killed in total amount of time I was gone including the area in D.C,” he stated. He dropped the stack of paperwork onto his desk and looked through another stack of paperwork quickly till he stopped at one page. “Total sightings while I was gone that were not engaged and tagged at the time, 2452, including D.C,” Keen stated. He put that stack down and looked over to Kalvin. “It states in report #7431 that all super mutants have been wiped out and all traces of them are gone. Then where the hell did the other 1670 go?” Keen asked Kalvin but mostly to himself. Kalvin shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe we scared them off?” he said optimistically. Keen shook his head and looked at the paperwork again.

“They don’t know fear. That emotion was left out along with their humanity. I think they are getting ready for something. with these kind of forces, they could wipe most of the survivors out in one shot, so why are they hiding?” Keen asked disturbed. “I don’t like this, I don’t like this one bit!”