A Whole New World

*Ten minutes earlier*

I reached the forest fairly quickly, my limitless stamina being a beneficial factor. I found the carriage, it had been stripped of any usable parts. The wheels, doors and gold plating had been removed, leaving a wooden shell sat on the outskirts of the forest.

As I entered, the uncontrollable weather of the Everfree Forest arrived, and a downpour started. If it had been cold, I hadn't felt it; I was too close to my goal to let cold air put me off, and my fury at these bandits was enough to heat my body.

I found a patch of wet mud by a tree, and used it to smear my face. The mud would hide any shine my skin would make in the rain. I pressed forward into the forest. On the ground, I saw the round imprints of pony hooves, and they were fresh. A clap of thunder broke the silence, and heard voices in the distance.

I threw myself onto the ground, using the grass strapped to my body as a means to hide in the roots and the mud. I saw the silhouette of a unicorn wander towards me, carrying a crossbow in his magic. He slowly approached where I was lying, getting to within a few feet of me. When he got close enough for me to hear his breathing, he said, "Dear sweet Celestia I hate this rain," and turned back round, returning to where he had come from. After waiting a few more minutes, I slowly stood up and followed him. He would lead me straight to the rest of them. Except he would never get there.

I kept following him, moving between the trees, keeping myself hidden as much as possible. Eventually, I saw a light in the distance. The faint, orange glow of a campfire. The pony had stopped, and would probably turn round soon. I raised my rifle, aiming the sights on his head. I had heard enough war stories to know about drowning out your shots, and this storm would provide the perfect cover.

I waited for about thirty seconds, and the bandit started to patrol back to me. When he got within ten metres of me, there was a flash, and the forest was lit up. The bandit paused, looking straight at me, but I didn't move. He was about to investigate what the unusual shape was, but thunder always comes after lightning, and as the sound of the storm tore through the air, I pulled the trigger.

The bandit wasn't even given a chance. The round tore through his head and he collapsed in the dirt, his blood mixing with the puddles. I held still and silent, waiting to see if anyone had heard, but no voices came, and I continued through the forest.

As I got closer to the fire, the outlines of more ponies started to form, and voices began to break through the darkness.

"...was too easy. Without the armour, you wouldn't have guessed they were 'highly trained' Royal Guards."

"You're telling me. Best raid we've done in weeks. The way that last guy was begging for his life as I put the bolt through him," I saw the one talking laugh, and my blood boiled.

The fire was burning in a clearing, and I saw three ponies sat around the fire, with a couple of tents next to them. One of them - a unicorn - was using his horn to put a sheet of magic over the fire, protecting it from the rain. I don't think he'd noticed the water collecting on top of the forcefield. I leaned next to a tree on the edge of the clearing, and aimed down the sights at him, waiting for another clap of thunder.

The bandits were celebrating their latest raid, and had just finished contemplating what they would do with the supplies they found. Bored with deciding whether they should sell or keep it, Blackeye figured it was time to move on to a new subject, "Did anypony see that thing that tagged the new kid?"

"Yeah. It was about twice the height of some of the ponies, and it dropped the guy just like that," the unicorn protecting the fire said, "One minute he was sneaking along, the next he was dead."

"Wierd-lookin' thing. Any idea what it was?" The earth pony next to him was just as confused as the others.

The unicorn was about to reply, but a clap of thunder overhead drowned him out. Blackeye jumped, and looked at the night sky, "Darn weather. That's the one downside about this forest; you never know--"

He was cut off when he saw the unicorn collapse on the floor, a small pink cloud floating in the air where his head had been. Immediately, the forcefield covering the fire flickered, and died with him. The puddle on top fell onto the fire, and the two remaining bandits were plunged into darkness.

"Buck! Did you see what just happened to Horizon?!"

Blackeye walked over to the unicorn, and prodded him with his hoof, "He's dead! Something killed him."

They heard a rustling in the trees, and the other pony span around, firing his crossbow into the forest, "What the hay was that?" He turned to Blackeye, "What the buck is going on?"

His voice was flooding with fear, and Blackeye was starting to get nervous too, "Dunno, go and check it out."

The other pony was freaking out, but he knew better than to question his superiors. Shakily, he reloaded his crossbow, and slowly walked into the trees on his hind legs, his forelegs supporting his weapon.

Less than a minute later, Blackeye heard a gasp from the trees, then silence. He called out to the pony, but there was no reply. Fear was starting to get to him too now, and he backed up until he was pressed against a tent. He called out again, but only the sound of the rain reached his ears. He gripped his crossbow tighter.

Blackeye was frozen solid now, and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw movement. He turned and attempted to fire at the disturbance, but his crossbow was pulled out of his hooves and tossed into the night. He watched it disappear, then turned back to the threat, but something wrapped itself around his neck and lifted him off the ground. He couldn't even scream as he saw a creature that looked like it was part of the forest, staring back at him.

Right after I saw the unicorn crumple, I moved to another position. As I pushed through a bush, I heard one of the ponies fire his crossbow, but it passed harmlessly by behind me, I was moving too fast for him.

I hid behind another tree and came to a stop. I heard the bandits talking, and one of them ordered the other to search the trees. Big mistake, separation was just what I needed. I waited for another twenty seconds, and heard the fearful breathing of a pony pass by. Sliding my knife out of the sheathe, I slowly followed him, shortening the distance between him and me quickly.

When I got within a foot of him, he turned his head to me and let out a gasp. He tried to fire his crossbow, but I pushed it out of the way and plunged the knife into his neck. A look of shock covered his face as he looked into my eyes, but his gaze slowly drifted towards the sky as his life left him. I lowered his corpse to the ground quietly, and removed the knife, turning my attention to the final bandit.

I heard him shout to his comrade, "Hey, Quick Hoof, you out there?" I kept silent, and slowly moved around the camp to get behind him. My nightvision had kicked in now and I could see him backing up against one of the tents. As I moved closer, he spoke again, but it was quieter now, and filled with fear.

"Anypony...?"

I felt no sympathy however, as I rested my rifle against the tent, and came round the corner to face him. He saw me, and tried to fire, but I simply grabbed the crossbow and wrenched it out of his grasp, throwing it aside. As he turned back to face me, I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up, his legs dangling uselessly.

"Where are the others?" I asked him, my voice slow, and filled with cold fury. He didn't reply, he was just staring at me in terror. I shook him violently, "Where?" I raised the knife to his throat, its blade still dripping with Quick Hoof's blood. Slowly, he raised a shaking hoof off into the trees. I turned to look where he was pointing, but couldn't see anything.

"Are you telling me the truth?" He nodded his head, "Sure?" I pressed the knife deeper into his neck. He nodded again, and I dropped him onto the floor.

As I picked up my rifle again, I heard him speak, "Are you going to let me go?"

My voice became flat as I said, "My friend is dead, and his blood is on your hooves. But before he died, he asked me to do something. I promised him I would fulfil that request."

"What...?"

I didn't reply. I simply raised my rifle, and put two rounds into his skull.

"Why is he doing this? How can he be so cold?" Twilight didn't like this vision at all, and was starting to feel dizzy after they saw Dutch shoot the unicorn by the fire.

"I suspect he has experienced something in his past," Celestia replied, "We constructed that weapon from his memories, and there was another memory that had been locked away. I am not certain, but it almost certainly has a connection. When he returns, we will have to ask him what happened that has made him this way."

Twilight was feeling ill from all of this, and asked to be escorted to somewhere she could sleep. She needed time to wrap her head around what was happening, and Celestia didn't blame her. Twilight wasn't even twenty years old; something like this would have been too much for her. Celestia, however, had participated in war, and was no stranger to death. She had heard reports of bandits in the area, and she had seen these ones wipe out the convoy from the vision.

She understood the principle of justice, but as she watched Dutch kill the final pony, even she began to question his actions. How could he be so used to this? It must affect him to some extent.

She had to find out what that memory was, but she could only find out if Dutch told her. Whatever was blocking it was strong, but for Equestria's safety, she had to know. She asked the servant standing nearby to fetch a unicorn guard, and he left with a bow.

She contemplated what she would do when he arrived.

I had arrived at the bandit's main camp, and saw ponies running backwards and forwards in the darkness, between tents and other strctures. Those last two shots had alerted them, and they had sent another pony to investigate. I killed him quickly, but the rest of the bandits knew I was coming, and I had decided to take a more direct approach.

They outnumbered me, so resorted to moving between the trees, picking off ponies whenever there was a clap of thunder. I had been watching them run around, and counted eight of them. Seven of them now lay dead, and the final pony had come to a stop in the middle of the camp. He threw his crossbow onto the ground, and yelled out, "Where are you?!"

His question was answered, as I walked out from the trees and let him see me. To my surprise, his eyes showed no fear or sadness, only acceptance. I briefly considered letting him go, but I shook the thought from my head, and finished him off with a final bullet.

Looking around, I saw the death that I had inflicted, and I thought back to those days when I was fifteen. When it had happened. I stood over the final pony's corpse, should I have shown him sympathy like I had before?

No. You let that man go because he had shown kindness. The others hadn't. That was why you killed them, and not him.

My thoughts were interrupted as I heard a yell behind me. Before I could react, something smashed into my back, and the rifle flew from my grip as I fell into the mud. I rolled over, and saw metal flash in the moonlight and lunge towards me. I dodged it, and lifted a boot, smashing my assailant in the stomach. I scrambled to my feet, but before I could grab my rifle, the attacker came at me again.

I grabbed whatever was holding the metal, and identified the threat. It was a pegasus. His body was large, but his wings were powerful enough to hold him in the air. His eyes were filled with hatred and rage, and he had a piece of jagged metal strapped to his hoof, which he was using as a knife.

I pushed him away, and he charged again, slashing at me with his makeshift weapon. I jumped back, but the metal sliced through the grass and clothing attached to me, and I felt a burning pain in my chest. I yelled out, and raised my hand to the pain, finding it to come away darkened with blood. I looked at the bandit, and I could see an evil smile escape his lips.

He made a third attack, but I was ready this time. He raised his blade, and swung it downwards towards my face. I raised my arm and blocked his attack. At the same time, I used my other arm to push his hoof down and across his body, imitating the move I had instructed to Rainbow Dash. While he was distracted, I pulled my knife from under my arm and countered his attack, slicing his throat in one quick motion.

The pegasus collapsed on the floor, and put his hooves to his throat, as if trying to stop the bleeding. I knelt over his writhing body, and pushed the knife into his heart. I may have been merciless to these bandits, but I wasn't sadistic, and I didn't let him suffer. His twitching slowly came to a stop, and he closed his eyes.

I stood back up and walked over to my rifle, picking it up and letting the rain wash off the mud that had caked it. I stood there for several minutes more, letting my body slow down, thinking about everything that had happened over the past 24 hours.

In the war stories, they would say that you're supposed to feel sorrow and remorse for taking a life. You're supposed to contemplate the act that you have commited, and have regret for it. But the truth is the only emotion I felt was satisfaction. These ponies had ambushed us. They had killed those guards without mercy, and they had intended to kill me too. There were now a dozen families who would never see their husband or father again. I had taken revenge for what they had done and it felt good. I didn't feel a single second of guilt. They were my enemy, and now they were dead. Full stop, case closed.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light behind me, and I spun round to see unicorn in shining armour standing in front of me. I barely had time to react as his horn glowed, and I saw ribbons of light engulf me. I felt my feet leave the ground, and my vision began to twist and blur. I felt like I was getting stretched and pulled in every direction, then compressed into an impossible shape, only for the unknown force to yank me apart again.

After what felt like hours - but was probably only a few seconds - I felt my body hit something, and the light around me dissipated. As I came to my senses, I found myself lying on hard ground. My vision cleared, and the surface revealed itself to be a tiled floor. As I lay there dripping, I heard a couple of voices, and I raised my head to find the source.

Princess Celestia was standing over me, and her expression was unreadable as she stared down at me.

Hope you enjoyed this. Dutch's mysterious past will be revealed in the next chapter.