Blackwing: God of Humanity

To the discontent of the Legionnaire's stomachs, everyone in the house shared the dinner of potatoes and bread.

They had wasted almost two hours eating and talking and the storm just got worse as the night progressed.

Fluttershy walked to the door as Blackwing and Bloodline accompanied her.

“I really need to get home, storm or no storm; I haven’t fed my animals, they’re probably starving.” Fluttershy insisted.

Blackwing sighed, “Alright, I’ll walk you home...”

“That’s fine, I know my way back.” She replied.

“Alright then, I hope you learned something today.” He continued.

“I did, you guys are so nice...” Fluttershy complemented.

For some odd reason Quicksilver waved to her from the hallway.

She waved back, Blackwing thought it was for him and waved too.

“Night...” Blackwing said to her as he walked towards his bedroom.

“Thanks for joining us, I guess not everypony from your town is bad...” Bloodline said.

Fluttershy smiled and opened the door and walked out into the rain.

Blackwing dreamt a vivid dream of being back home to his earth, the dream started with a white haze, but it cleared up to a picture of his lying on the carpet with two pairs of shoes standing in front of him.

Blackwing couldn’t move, his senses were shocked and his eyesight was hazy.

He rolled his eyes to see where he was, it was his apartment, but the people in front of him were paramedics.

He couldn’t listen to their garbled conversation but he did notice one of them holding something familiar.

Something too familiar.

The paramedic was inspecting Blackwing’s .45 revolver in his hands.

Another uniformed man walked over with a white cloth and a stretcher.

He rested the cloth over Blackwing’s face.

What? Why can’t I move? I’m alive goddamn it, look at me!

And he realized, without the Spirit, he would have joined his mother and the millions of billions of souls long gone under the white cloth.

Your story is one of few that makes me truly sad.

Blackwing could hear the disembodied spirit, as if she was standing next to him, commentating on the dream as he slept.

I brought you to my world because you were a talent wasted on a planet that was already doomed to fail. You were so special... Just like your-

She stopped herself from further rambling.

I understand.

I’m glad that you do, you could be lying in a ditch right now, I could’ve just left you dead, but I didn’t.

I know...

Do not worry Mitchell, you are making exceptional progress...

His brain clicked and the dream ended.

He lied in bed all morning, his injuries caught up to him and his stiff muscles and burning wounds prevented him from moving.

His bandages felt sticky and wet, he felt as if his skin was made of pins and needles.

All he could do was clench his teeth and seeth the pain away.

Bloodline entered his room still wearing her augmentations, worried for her stagnant brother.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

He could only shake his head.

She sat on his bedside, “I’ll go get some medicine, stay put...” she said.

“Thanks...” His words escaped through his teeth.

Bloodline kissed him on the forehead and left his room.

Blackwing enjoyed the rare occurrence of a cozy morning, despite the throbbing pain.

Bloodline had returned with painkillers, they were doing their job and Blackwing was able to get out of bed.

He continued his day in the living room, sharpening his sword and inspecting the jewel upon his gauntlet.

It was oddly quiet, too quiet for comfort.

Only a short while after his maintenance was finished he heard the fanfare of trumpets in the distance.

Oh god, what now?

The music drew nearer and nearer to the front door.

None of his sisters were home to inspect, they had all left to their plans.

He walked over to a window and peered out into the forest.

Colts, a small band of colts, all wearing uniformed pearly white armor.

They stopped in front of the home and before one of them could knock on the door, Blackwing opened it.

“Who are you?” Blackwing asked.

“Fear not beast, we are courtiers from Canterlot, from the royal throne of Princess Celestia.” The head colt answered.

Blackwing rolled his eyes, “Aaaaand?”

“She requests your presence at her royal kingdom at once.” He continued.

“What for? I got sisters to look after, I can’t just drop everything...” Blackwing demanded.

“To discuss terms, for what I cannot tell you...” The courtier finished.

Blackwing sighed in annoyance.

“Tell her I’ll be there soon...” Blackwing promised.

“Excellent, we shall make haste, good day beast.” The colt said and his lackeys followed him as he turned back into the forest.

It sounded promising but Blackwing couldn’t help but feel like something bad was going to happen.

Canterlot... Where is that?

He was about to turn around and go back inside, but he had an epiphany.

Wait, Fluttershy should know...

He quickly gathered his stuff from the living room and left home.

Blackwing looked down below and saw Fluttershy in her backyard, tending to her animals.

He landed with a thud that shocked her.

She jumped backwards and screamed.

Blackwing couldn’t contain his laughter, he stopped when the muscles in his neck started throbbing in pain.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but that was funny.” Blackwing said.

Fluttershy chuckled a little herself, “Hi Mitchell...”

“I had a question, Canterlot; where is it?” He asked.

“Oh, that city right upon the mountain way over there.” She pointed to the snow capped mountains, a city rested on it’s side.

“Why?” Fluttershy asked.

“Celestia wants to meet me and I don’t like the idea of that.” He replied, “By the way, if my sisters ask where I am, tell them I may be gone for a while.”

“Of course, I’ll do that.” She said.

“Thanks, I’ll get out of your hair now.” Blackwing said

She waved goodbye before he launched himself back up into the sky.

He soared in the air, the light wind grazing his face as he shot full speed ahead for the mountains under the cold, grey skies.

He had the city in his sights for about an hour, but it took forever to actually reach the place.

Canterlot had a very odd desgin to it, it lied on a small island near one of the mountains many waterfalls, the entire city didn’t even fit on the island, most of its numerous houses, spires, and towers just hung off the cliffside.

The palace rested beyond tall battlement walls surrounded by a deep stream of crystal blue water, it was connected to a large stone trail winding down the mountain by a large wooden drawbridge.

Along his trip several pegasi ran into and said their hellos to the new face in the game.

A game few knew of.

The city seemed somewhat majestic in his eyes, he never saw such a thing in his life.

He touched down near the Princess’s palace, guarded by countless watchmen.

No chance of getting a cheap shot, darn...

He walked to the front gate, two colts stood post.

“Name and business.” One of them demanded.

“Blackwing, the Princess wants to see me.”

They stood aside and allowed him to pass.

The doors opened as he walked forward, just like Luna’s place.

A mare walked up to him with a smile, “This way, the Princess has been eager to meet you.”

He obliged and followed her.

They walked through a tall and wide hallway, lit by the colored light of stained glass across walls of crystal and stone and seas of velvet carpeting.

The mare and Blackwing stopped in front of a tall, decorative door.

“She is through here.” The mare said.

“Thank you.” Blackwing said and opened the door.

It was some sort of study, bookshelves stacked against the wall, and papers everywhere.

There sat the Princess on a large cushy pillow, sorting through letters and scrolls, but setting them aside when she saw him.

“Blackwing is it? Sit...” She said.

He nodded and sat in a smaller pillow across from her.

“I heard of your heroic act yesterday, singlehandedly saving a town and putting an end to my sister.” She continued.

“Yes, that was me.” Blackwing replied.

“Listen, I brought you here to make you a deal.” Celestia said.

“Shoot.”

“Personally, I got sick of Luna myself, but thousands are outraged by letting this happen, I tried to explain the situation but they continue to demand your death.” She said.

“What do you mean, you’re going to kill me?” Blackwing asked.

“No, in an attempt to make them happy, I decided to only exile you.” She said.

Blackwing’s neutral look went to a scowl just like that.

“It’s nothing personal Blackwing, it’s for the best...” Celestia implied.

Blackwing stood up and looked away from her, “Over my goddamn dead body.”

“This is to keep from my reputation from being tarnished.” She said.

Blackwing stopped, he turned around and stared at her with disbelief.

“Your reputation?! That’s all you care about?!” Blackwing yelled.

“You must understand that without Luna, there’s no more possibility for civil war, but only if my subjects still entrust me with power. There is still problems with famine and the Legi-” She was interrupted.

Blackwing drew his sword and pointed the tip of the blade towards her head.

“That was a bad move...” Celestia threatened.

Her horn made a shimmering noise as it glowed with a opaque pink blob of energy.

Suddenly a zap shot out out from her forehead.

Blackwing dropped unconscious, his sword fell with a clang.

She walked over to the door and called for some guards.

The entered the room, standing over the lifeless creature.

“Take him somewhere far, far away.” Celestia ordered.

“Any ideas?” A guard asked.

“Hmm... Raider’s Flats should suffice.” She replied with a smirk.

The other colt grabbed ahold of Blackwing’s legs and started dragging him out of the study while the other confiscated his sword.

Quicksilver and Bloodline returned to the estate in the afternoon, noticing their injured brother was nowhere to be found.

“Hmph, he just can’t stay in one spot for long, must be doing something with that outlander.” Bloodline commented.

Quicksilver scurried to her room, leaving Bloodline behind.

Then a knock on the door stopped her dead, she turned around and opened the door.

“Fluttershy, what brings you back?” She asked in surprise.

“I just wanted to tell you that Mitchell said he was going somewhere and he wanted me to let you know.” She replied.

“Where exactly?”

“He didn’t say, he just asked me directions to Canterlot and then he left.”

“Hmm, thanks for telling me...” Bloodline sounded worried.

“Anytime Bloodline.” Fluttershy said with innocent smile.

She turned around and left and Bloodline leaned on the doorframe.

“One of these days he’s going to leave and he’s never going to come back...” She said in a sad tone.

She shut the door and continued her day.

A quiet wind howled in his ears, dry air flooded his nostrils.

He awoke god knows how long after the blast, he cracked an eye open and was greeted to the grey clouds crowning the sky, the desperate white sun tried to peek through the clouds to no avail.

He clenched his hands and sand leaked out of his fist.

Sand?

He opened his eyes and yawned as he sat up.

Sand, sand, and more sand was the landscape around him.

He was stuck in a perpetual sea with no sight of life.

He inspected himself, no cuts, no bruises, nor was he robbed of anything.

Celestia must’ve felt so very generous to let me keep my gear, pfft.

He stood and tried to shake out loose piles of sand from his boots.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, he was truly exiled from the rest of the world.

He walked his way to a tall sand dune ahead of him, trying to get any clue where he was.

Still nothing, only mirages of water and small dust devils covered the land.

But he saw a silhouette in the distance, not far from him.

Of course it was a pony shaped figure, but he was happy enough to see anyone.

He waved his arms in the air, the figure didn’t react but continued it’s way towards him.

The figure became more clear, it was wearing cloth robes and goggles, usual desert survival gear.

The mysterious pony stopped in front of him, staring up at him.

“Thanks for stopping, can you help?”

The samaritan removed a section of cloth and revealed a mare’s face.

She had an odd, teal colored haircut that reminded him of seaweed to his amusement.

Blackwing noticed a black stripe in the middle section of her above her horn, a coincidence more than likely.

He noticed long curved eyelashes, as she lifted the goggles from her eyes.

Her dark cobalt colored face was dirty and scarred, as was her horn.

He was so busy at learning her face that he hadn’t notice she held up a dagger at him.

“Your money, all of it.” She said.

Blackwing raised up his arms, “I have nothing for you, no money, no use.”

She scowled at him, “Don’t play games with me, I know who you are, word travels fast, even in the middle of nowhere. Being the hero you are, you must be loaded...”

“I haven’t made any money since I first arrived here, I don’t ask for anything either.” Blackwing explained.

The bandit lowered her guard, “Is that so, what a waste of publicity if you’re not going to milk it dry...”

“Why would I, what could I possibly buy that I want?”

“If you knew what I’ve been through, you would know financial security is key in this world, providing for your family... But being a monster like you, you couldn’t possibly know what a family is...” She said bitterly.

“You don’t know the half of it...” Blackwing said.

In the moment of silenced, Blackwing shot his legs back and kicked her in the hoof, punting the dagger out of her grasp, sending it flying into a casket of sand.

“Now... If you help me get back home, I promise you all the money you could want.” Blackwing offered.

The bandit rubbed her kicked hoof and fitter her goggles back onto her face, “How much?”

“Soon, Equestria will have a new leader, I guess that’ll mean I’ll get some sort of reward, more than you could pocket.”

The bandit laughed, “New leader? You may have killed Luna, but don’t get cocky, Celestia could turn you inside out with her magical powers if it meant defending her kingdom...”

“I don’t need you antagonizing me... My luck’s been good so far. Are we going or not?” Blackwing demanded.

“Yeah, yeah follow me, there’s an oil drilling settlement somewhere near here, Raider’s Flats they call it.”

“Do you hold up innocent people there too? Criminal...”

“Criminal is a dirty word, I would call myself somewhat of a minstrel or a courier, I travel town to town, go about in secluded towns and villages spreading around news, and I mug people to buy myself food. When you look at it from my perspective, it’s a noble calling.” The bandit explained.

“I guess, but you could make your money some other way...” Blackwing said.

“Around these parts, the only way to make money is oil drilling, stealing, or prostitution. Oil drilling is too tough and I would never whore myself out, I have standards to live by.” The bandit contradicted.

Blackwing laughed, “You remind me of my sister...”

“There are more creatures like you?”

“No, I live with some girls and I guess they consider me as family.”

“Huh... Lucky you, I lost my sisters several years ago.” The bandit said in a sad, reminiscent tone.

“Sorry to hear that... Uhm...” Blackwing unintentionally asked for her name.

“Sharp Shade, I’m Sharp Shade.” She finished his sentence.

Blackwing silently gasped and swallowed nervously.

“What’s wrong?” Sharp Shade asked.

“Funny coincidence, that’s all...” Blackwing denied.

“What coincidence?” She asked.

“My sister told me she lost someone named Sharp Shade a long time ago.” Blackwing laughed in denial.

Sharp Shade’s jaw dropped.

“You live with my sisters?! How are they? Where do they live?!” She bombarded him with questions.

She screamed in excitement and jumped around.

“Calm down, they’re doing fine, we live in a pretty big house in the Everfree Forest.” Blackwing said.

Sharp Shade sighed, “It’s such a relief knowing that they’re safe and happy...”

Blackwing patted her on the back, “If you want, that’s where I’m heading, you could come live with your sisters again.”

She sighed again, this time it was in disappointment.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I can’t... I thought I’d never see them again, I had to make a new life here...” She answered.

“What do you mean?” He asked again.

“I met a colt a couple of years ago, we got married and now we have a little filly to call our own. I can’t leave because I’d be leaving them...”

“Could you visit at least, Bloodline tears up whenever she mentions you, you need to see your sisters again.” He insisted.

“Do you know how far Everfree is from here? Celestia dumped you in the farthest corner of the earth she could find. It’s at least three weeks travel from here.”

Wait... I WAS OUT FOR THREE WEEKS?!

“Anyways, thank you for the offer, but if you could tell them I’m doing fine, that would mean the world to me...” Sharp Shade said.

Blackwing was speechless, he felt the feeling similar to when he first arrived; shocked beyond what a normal human was capable of experiencing without suffering a breakdown.

Maybe he did break down, maybe he was absolutely insane, after all, he felt like a completely different man than he was months ago.

“I’ll take you to Raider’s Flats, somepony might take you on a stagecoach back, I’ll give you some money for the ride...” Sharp Shade said, not even looking him in the eye.

She looks sad, knowing that her sisters are alive, she probably feels terrible knowing she can never see them again, maybe if they died she wouldn’t have to worry about them...

“Alright... Sounds good.” Blackwing replied.

They walked down the sand dune, on their way to Raider’s Flats to go their separate ways.

They arrived at the desert town of Raider’s Flats and visited the local stagecoach service.

Sharp Shade stood near the door for the stagecoach ride’s office, kicking up dust, scarred with a disappointed look.

Blackwing walked out of the door and sighed, “Apparently I saved the owner’s mother when I saved Ponyville from Luna, he’s going to give me a free ride back.”

“Good deal... I guess this is goodbye then?” Sharp Shade asked.

“I guess so.”

“It was nice meeting you Blackwing, treat my sisters well, they mean the world to me... Or at least they did.”

“Don’t worry, they’ll be fine.” He assured.

Blackwing bent down to eye level with her and cracked a promising smile, “No harm will come to them, I promise you that.”

Sharp Shade nodded and hugged him tightly, “Thank you so much...”

Blackwing stood back up and waved as he headed towards the stagecoach that pulled up.

“Blackwing...” She called.

He looked back.

“Sorry for pulling a knife on you...” She laughed embarrassingly.

Blackwing chuckled and took his seat on the vehicle.

Endless hours of conversation, laughs, and stops for food later, Blackwing and the colt in charge of the stagecoach had arrived in Ponyville.

The trip only lasted a few days, Blackwing laughed to himself at Sharp Shade’s exaggeration.

He hopped off the stagecoach which stopped on the town’s edge.

“Thanks for the ride man...” He said to the driver as he walked off.

“No problem Blackwing, anytime.” The colt replied as he rode off.

He walked down a dirt road with Ponyville behind him, he could only focus on reaching home.

He walked through the familiar forest with a sense that he was being watched by someone.

Someone in the treetops.

He looked behind him and up in the treetops he saw a black figure.

The blob dropped down from the trees when he spotted it.

“Where the hell have you been big brother?” She said.

Blackwing sighed in relief, it was Stormcloud in her odd nylon suit.

“How long was I gone?” He asked.

“About a week and a half, Bloodline is worried sick about you, she ended up asking everywhere if they’ve seen you... How come you don’t know how long you were gone?” She replied.

“I’ll explain later, where are the others?”

“At a track in a town nearby, I’m racing there today.” She explained.

“Then... Why are you here if you’re supposed to be racing?” He contradicted.

“I forgot a few things back home, come on...” She walked off.

Blackwing followed her back home, as she collected her missing things, he took off all of his gear in his bedroom, he needed to air out and shake any loose sand away from his clothes.

He decided he’d leave without his gauntlet and wing harnesses, only bringing his sword.

“Ready to go Mitchell?” Stormcloud asked from another room.

He walked out of his room, “As ready as I’ll ever be...”

She nodded and they headed back out the door.

As they walked through the forest, Mitchell noticed a strange metal device on her back, similar to Bloodline’s cybernetic augmentation.

“So, this racing thing... How fast can you run?” He asked.

Stormcloud snickered and looked at him, “It’s not a running race, it’s a flying race...” She replied.

He raised an eyebrow, “But you don’t have wings...”

As he finished his sentence a pair of razor sharp blades shot out of the device, smaller blades followed and connected themselves to each other, forming metal wings flexing in different angles from large ball sockets.

“They look sharp. Don’t you get accused for cheating?” Blackwing said.

“It isn’t cheating when they’re bolted to your spinal cord... Ironic how an earth pony like me can be the best flyer in the land, don’t you think?” She asked.

“Sure.” He replied with little attention.

He cleared his mind of any thought lingering in his head and the next thing he knew, he was in some sort of locker room, sitting on a wooden bench.

He flickered his eyes, he noticed Bloodline standing in front of him, asking a question with a contempt look on her face.

“-I was worried sick Mitchell! Are you listening?!” She yelled.

Blackwing snapped out of his trance, “W-What?”

“Where did you go, you vanished without a trace, Celestia said you were dead!” She replied.

“She’s a lying sham, she dumped me in a desert to make it seem like a win-win situation for herself.” He explained.

“Desert? Where?” She asked.

“A place far out... Raider’s Flats.” He answered.

“By the way, that reminds me, I met someone along the way.”